Jim Mickiby

Thank you all so much for the detailed and thoughtful feedback!

Is there a rule of thumb for how long worm castings are still “magical” after having been sifted and removed from the bin and worms?

As I understand it, the microbes are the key part of the magic - do they tend to be long-lived and hardy, or go dormant rather than die? Does anyone know if the microbes can survive being frozen, like some bacteria can?

Any advise, pointers, success stories, or general musings on the subject would be warmly regarded.

Thanks in advance, permacomrades.
-J

Hey there,
I live in AR and could give you some info. Wanna send me one of this moosage things?

Hi D,
I live in Little Rock and am in the education phase of permaculture as well. I'm a 36 year old, recently divorced fellow. I'd love to chat or visit about what you have going on. Shoot me a PM or moosage or whatever they call it here.

PS - congrats on your recent land purchase!!

Hey Steven,
Thanks for the reply! I'm using all-purpose flour and I've been keeping my starter in the kitchen at a steady room temp of around 71°F.

Good morning Permies!
I have a question about my sourdough starter - why isn't it rising? I've read that there are two tests for readiness to make a leaven: (1) the starter doubles in size after refreshing and (2) if the starter floats in a glass of water.  Mine passes the float test (floats when I spoon some into a glass of water) but never expands.

A few details about my starter: It was 'born' about 7 days ago using all purpose flour. It has been consistently bubbling nicely. After once-daily feedings the first few days, I started noticing hooch on the top. I then switched to twice-daily feedings and the presence of hooch and alcoholly smell have mostly subsided and the bubbles continue.

Any ideas on what I can do to get it to rise?
Thank you all!
Jim

Hello permies!  
I live in Central Arkansas and I'm looking for someone who would be willing to trade chicken/duck/goose, etc. eggs for live mealworms on a regular basis, starting in the spring.  I would be open to edible goods other than eggs, so long as it is something you are producing organically.  I'm not trying to make money or get ahead - I'm simply trying to find a mutually beneficial use for the yield from my mealie hobby .  I've gotten my costs of raising them down to very little after my initial setup, so I'm hopeful that I can provide a lot of worms to someone who could use them and also happens to frequently have spare eggs.  Sounds like a win-win to me!
Peace and love,
Jim

Good evening Permies!
Does anyone plant sunchokes in their chicken run for the chickens to eat as they sprout?  I'm considering tough plants that will (hopefully) continue to regrow shoots as they are nibbled by the chooks.  In addition, I'm considering a paddock-style division of my two run spaces so that the sunchoke sprouts in area A and B could get a week or so head start while the chickens are using area C.  Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Jim

Good morning permies!
I'm in the early stages of planning a retirement homestead and I'm looking into alternate means of income, whether in the form of money or bartered goods.  I'm currently a CPA, which is a skill that I had originally thought I would have to mostly "hang up" when I retired.  But then I got to thinking, what if I had 3 or 4 people located nearby who would use my knowledge to help them structure their income, capital purchases, etc. on an ongoing basis and then ultimately file their taxes each year, and in return...I don't know...one would bring me a piglet and a few hens each spring, one would fix my tractor when it breaks down, etc.  In theory it seems to be a win-win.  But I'm wondering if there would even be any interest....are most homesteaders self-sufficient enough that they already have their taxes figured out?  Or do many homesteaders scramble to gather their financial info every April and run down to the temporary, strip-mall tax store to have someone file their taxes?

I guess my question is, are there any homesteaders who would value the idea of trading goods or services for ongoing tax prep and planning from someone they know and who understands their business/lifestyle?  Has anyone heard of something like this for tax prep/planning?  I'd love to hear from anyone with thoughts on the matter.  

Thanks and love!
-Jim

Thank you all so much for your replies!  I apologize for taking so long to get back to everyone - I'm not able to get on here as much as I'd like.  
@mike - thank you for the heads up on the pine!  There is a ton of pine grown in my area and it can be bought very inexpensively through the state forestry office...or university extension...can't remember exactly which one, but they're stupid cheap!
@Glen - thanks for the clarification on the BL thorns!  And yes, unfortunately we have a large area of EAB in my state .  Although I've been reading a lot of people saying how the EAB only attacks the older trees, which could still leave ash as an option for coppicing?  Not sure, but I'm definitely going to continue looking into it.
@Nadine - I've never heard of Hempcrete!  But off-the-chart R values sounds just about as cool as "hempcrete" .  Thanks for the heads up on that - I'll definitely be looking into it:)
@ Daron - Best of luck to you as well!