Bardo McCoy

Hey there!  I'm not sure if this is the right forum, so please fee free to let me know if I'm off-base.

My plan is to build a straw bale house, and to date I've done a lot of reading on the subject.  That being said, there's no substitute for experience!

To that end I'm available to intern (gratis, natch) in helping others make their home dreams come true, in return for experience and instruction.

What can I offer?  Good question:

1) Fit and Strong
2) Self-employed, Flexible schedule (able to take a week off, no prob).
3) Pleasant enthusiastic and hard working

I have my own tent and (some) tools, so I shouldn't represent too much of a burden.  That being said, if you're looking at an extended period, I'd probably expect you to feed me 

Again, if I'm posting in the wrong area or am otherwise being inappropriate, please let me know.

Much thanks!

Much thanks for the wonderful advice - We've been down to the local health store to look at the options, as well as doing a little more research.  Hopefully this will help!

Much, MUCH Grattitude 

Hi everyone - There`s so much good info on these forums, I was wondering if I might impose on some wise souls for a little advice on behalf of my darling wife.

She suffers from chronic insomnia (about 2x or more a week for years) which takes the form of racing thoughts and `body energy` which prevent her from getting any sleep.  Come morning however, she often ends up crashing and disrupting her day. 

Oh - and it`s probably worth noting that the racing thoughts aren`t colored by anxiety or worry, but rather simply an over-activity of the mind.

She`s tried relaxation therapy as well as melatonin, but neither has offered any relief.  It`s also worth noting that she`s a pale freckled redhead with a high sensitivity to pain and drugs, medicines and foreign substances in general.

It`s affecting the quality of her life, and if anyone has had any positive experiences in how to handle this, it`d be greatly appreciated.

If I`ve omitted anything material, please feel free to ask any follow-up questions.  One again, any advice, insight, or observations would be greatly appreciated!

Much Thanks, from both of us 

I just wanna say that everyone sharing experience and knowledge like this is awesome.  I've got a whole lot of research to do now on soil chemistry.  MUCH thanks, everyone 

@Lapinerobert: Never heard of Ladakh before - sounds intriguing.  Saw an amazing movie set in Bhutan a little while ago called "Travellers and Magicians" - beautiful movie, but I'd really recommend it for the commentary which provides an amazing glimpse into the history and society of the region.

@Brenda - thanks for making me smile!  And yeah, come to think of it, I hear coons hate the smell of people - In Toronto where I live we have tons of Raccoons - in my last neighbourhood (right downtown) we had about 7-12 on our block alone.  I also seem to have recall reading that they DETEST the smell of baby powder for some reason...

Thought this might be of interest - Anyone doing this currently?

Via National Geographic: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/09/090918-urine-ash-fertilizer.html

@Peter: 

Interesting stuff.  Funny how when you ask questions, you end up learning stuff you never thought you would - i.e., about selenium, how it works,  and the whole thing re: aquifer depletion and the central valley.

REALLY glad I joined this forum 

@Peter:

Wonder what canola actually does to the selenium - gonna go look it up - thanks!

@Jeremiah: Earthboxes look awesome!  Great way to lower effort AND increase yield - more for less, that's the key!

Much thanks to you both for getting back on this.

Makes sense that first step's first - find out what if any specific problems there might be in the soil, and then base any required remediation around the specific problems.  On that note, thanks for the advice on soil testing.

And I feel a lot better now re: the container gardening, concerns about sufficient watering notwithstanding.

For anyone else that's interested, here's a great little pamphlet I found that offers an informative introduction to cleaning up polluted soil:

http://icgrows.wikispaces.com/file/view/BioremediationPamphlet.pdf