jason holdstock

Rick Valley wrote:It may seem like a crass display of rank, but for over 25 years I was founder of the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the American Bamboo Society, and newsletter editor. I've literally looked at bamboos around the world.  I kinda get way nitpicky, but I can offer my self as a resource for information. Because of it's distribution is nearly world-wide, there is often a bamboo that will fill the niche you have.  As an illustration, there are two ways to make a bamboo roof: 1) as roof tiles: take a 4" + culm* and split it  in half, and do as you would with fired clay tiles for a lighter roof. Won't last as long as fired red clay tiles, but it's a fraction of the weight, and sequesters carbon vs releasing CO2, eh? Bamboos began evolving as the Atlantic Ocean began to grow. SO- one bamboo genus is NATIVE in the Mississippi drainage and S. Appalachians, where the non-relocated Cherokee people continue their tradition of bamboo basketry. The hardiest bamboos are from China, and there are a few species in Africa, so only Europe is bamboo-less. Generally  basketry or cables are made with split bamboo. NB: Bamboo rots very quickly in ground contact. The most accessible Bamboo friendly tools are made in Japan and my source is Hida Hardware in Berkeley CA, they will ship. Beware trying to cut bamboo with, say, a normal USA-made pruning saw with set teeth grabbing the fibers instead of cutting them, (except for a rough felling cut, because a US-made Fanno pruning saw CAN be re-sharpened) Cordless reciprocating saws (buy your blades by the box!) are something I wish I'd had back when. You might find a Japanese Hardware in the Seattle Area too. Playing king of the jungle and using a machete for all the cuts will be very sloppy, wasteful and tedious. Currently I grow only a few species, but my hands, with swollen joints and crooked fingers from all the nursery work in the winter constantly remind me of the fun. But I am willing to answer Q's and I might be able to share appropriate species from the few  (8?)  I have growing at Julie's Farm here in Eugene. I recommend diving deep into the bamboo scene if you want to turn geeky.

I've always steered away from it on the assumption it will spread uncontrolably and takeover the world, or at least my garden
So suggestions of how to stop it doing that, best types for poles from 1" to 3", best for a hedge, what sort of saw you actually want, types especially for a Coastal Euro setting would be awesome!?

On the subject of clover, would anyone know if you have to kill it or dig it in to allow the nitrogen in its roots to become available in the soil?

Asking where is the soil coming from was to see if for instance it's already in a nice pile, loose and close, making a skid steer possible. Digging down for it would make a machine that digs better I would think (no experience of skid steers). A 180 or backhoe might work if that's available and cheap but would take longer than a 360.

Does the berm all need to be "topsoil"? So remove topsoil from where your source is, dig up subsoil, make berm with subsoil, cover in topsoil to help grow something (with roots eventually retaining your "angle of repose"). Cover the source area with a bit of the topsoil so something will grow back more easily, or use a pond liner to make a pond out of a more hole type hole, using the topsoil remaining around that for planting and habitat?

I can't see the slope staying steep enough to keep any animal off. You could put a brash hedge around it? Live willows pushed in at 1 foot centres all around would grow pretty quick and be hard to get through, especially if you push them in at 45 degrees?? Like this? Two rows even?
https://www.thewillowbank.com/living-willow-structure-kits-for-sale/willow-fedge-screens/

Hiya
Where is the soil coming from?
How far do you have to move it?
How nice a profile do you want to look at forever?
If you want to place the soil on top of a pile of brush wouldn't a machine pushing the soil displace the brush in the process?
Three years ago having never driven a digger/excavator/360 before I hired a 2.5ton one for a week for some ditch digging on soggy ground and didn't get stuck, got quite good at ditch digging and had fun.
The following year I hired the same size to dig two ponds, dig the rest of my ditches and double or triple handled the dirt to create two bunds/berms that are about 100 metres long, 4-5 feet high and 6-8 feet wide. This was about the limit of what that 2.5ton machine could reach. I also dug up and extended my driveway, placing and shaping the topsoil created and putting back type 1 stone, tracking it in to compact it, which taught me how hard getting something flat was. I've worked with many digger drivers in the past up to around 30ton machines and the difference between someone who could dig a hole, or create something flat, smooth and to a level, and the few who really are genius's is quite obvious when you watch for a while :)
Last year I hired a 1.5ton 360 that you can jack the tracks out wide for stability or in to fit through a house doorway so small but still stable enough for me. This had nothing like the reach, and what I had previously done with the 2.5 could not have been done without filling in ditches, shifting spoil on and over, then moving it again, much slower and hassle. It drank about half the diesel though! A friend recently bought a small old machine that had levers actually connected to the valves which was hard work and smoky, not fun. But now I have clear ditches, new access points with drainage pipes under, and would be happy to have a go at any other digging other than accurately bottoming out a dig for someone else's wallet to pay for stone or concrete to go on.
I would have hired a bigger 360 to start with but in the UK the 2.5ton plus trailer is about the max a suitably rated car can tow, beyond that I'd have to pay for a truck to deliver. That could have meant hiring a dumper truck too which would fit on the truck at the same time, quicker again even with just me jumping between the two.
I read somewhere that a digger is between 150 and 200 times faster than you with a spade. Life is short :)

Kate Flood wrote:

jason holdstock wrote:I was wondering if there can be too much rainfall on a compost pile?
I live in N Scotland near the coast so not too cold in the winter but quite wet year round.
I had thought that too much rain would sluice out anything trying to decompose so I found a pallet sized piece of thick plastic that I put on top.
But the pile looks too dry?
Should I maybe put the sheet on over winter maybe?
I also have some annoy big lumps of polystyrene that washed up on the beach that I may cut into 10" thick slabs to insulate the sides. Worthwhile?
Or I also thought about trying an actual wormery so rain won't be an issue and I will keep all the goodness to put where I want, rather than just flowing downhill of the current pile!
Any thoughts?
J

Hi Jason,
Thanks for your questions. I'll start by sharing an edited extract of my book and then provide you with some personalised info.

"All life needs water, and the microbes and bug buddies in your compost are no different. Compost works best with 40–60 per cent hydration. These figures seem like a clearly definable amount, but what does this actually mean in practice? The organic matter in your compost needs to stay moist at all times, but what I don’t want you to do is to get trigger-happy with your hose and saturate your compost.

The best way to test the moisture content of your compost is to grab a handful and give it a squeeze. You only want a drop or two of liquid to come out; if you have more than this, then you have a problem. A happy heap will feel just like a wrung-out sponge – all the organic matter is coated with water, but there are air spaces in between.

There should be a thin, barely visible film of water covering all of the compost particles when they’re actively breaking down. This is because microbial decomposition happens most rapidly in that layer of water surrounding the particles of organic matter. Depending on the weather, you may need to add extra water (as dry compost will just sit there, doing next to nothing). But be careful not to over-wet the contents of your bin, as the compost will become anaerobic and start to stink, and the decomposition will slow down. If things become a little slimy, then add dry carbon to balance out your food waste and garden refuse."

Here's some suggestions for you: Your compost will not only soak up water from rain but also from the soil so if you are experiencing a very wet season then you may need to build your pile on top of non-treated timber pallets and place a tarp over the top. Do a squeeze test (as I explain above) and if it becomes too dry then you can remove the tarp when it is raining or add some water yourself.

I don't recommend using the polystyrene to insulate your compost, as it is not a stable material and will break down into micro-plastics quite quickly especially when out in the sun.

I love wormies! Definitely give that a go too.

Hope this helps.
Kate

Thank you for the reply.

There is unfortunately a lot of polystyrene around, since the fish farm pontoons are nearly all plastic cubes filled with it. When the weather breaks them up who know where they go, so making use of it would be good. The council doesn't want it, so it just gets left. I was going to shrink wrap it first to contain the bits.

So I need to monitor my pile for moisture and act accordingly?! Thank you.

I was wondering if there can be too much rainfall on a compost pile?
I live in N Scotland near the coast so not too cold in the winter but quite wet year round.
I had thought that too much rain would sluice out anything trying to decompose so I found a pallet sized piece of thick plastic that I put on top.
But the pile looks too dry?
Should I maybe put the sheet on over winter maybe?
I also have some annoy big lumps of polystyrene that washed up on the beach that I may cut into 10" thick slabs to insulate the sides. Worthwhile?
Or I also thought about trying an actual wormery so rain won't be an issue and I will keep all the goodness to put where I want, rather than just flowing downhill of the current pile!
Any thoughts?
J

I didn't know that potatoes have a bum. So when chitting in an egg box or something to keep them from not touching put them bum down, which is the way they want to be to grow :)

My neighbour has one of the biggest BCS with the Honda engine, a flail that's about 2' wide, a rotary plough and a scythe thingy.
He moved in about six months before we did and he let me borrow it with the flail to try and tame the grass that has ruled the roost here for decades. It has a locking diff and braked wheels and lots of gears.
I am not unfit and not unstrong (is that a word? :))
The ground had been grazed generations ago then left to the occasional deer, lazy beds mostly but with uneven areas and wide ditches. It would go almost anywhere at any angle taking you with it. Turning it around is hard. Getting it to go where you want rather than it wants is hard. Keeping it out of a ditch while cutting along the edge is hard. Trundling along on a flat smooth bit of ground is easy. Turning it on flat smooth ground is easy. I used it for three sessions of a few days each just with the flail on unsmooth ground.
Other neighbours borrowed it to rotary plough two lazy beds of maybe 50 yards long, 3-4 yards wide. Slightly more exposed so the grass on them is not quite as hostile as mine. Three of them in turns and it pretty much broke all of them over two days. One handle had to be anchored in one hip  while it bucked. Similar experience for the neighbour owner when he ploughed some of his. All previously ploughed decades ago so no stones.
Talking to some dealers about a small 4 wheel tractors one thing they said was to use a draw plough on a 2 wheel would not have the weight to grip to pull unless it had dried out much more than a four wheel could cope with.
I bought the smallest Goldini 4 wheel with a three and a half or four foot flail I forget, a "normal" plough, tiny backactor and a tipping box. The flail really struggles with the grass, maybe I should have got a smaller flail or bigger tractor? But up one size of tractor ups the implement prices hugely. Second hand at tiny tractor size is rare and beaten to death.
It's fab. Flotation tyres and centre pivot means it won't sink unless it's carrying max weight. Front and back diffs means it will cross wide ditches dangling wheels as it goes. The lazybeds are maybe 4 yards wide and 100 long. I can shunt a few times and turn round easy enough. With a 2 wheel I would have to have my feet down in the ditch while pushing the thing round. The flail or plough are not light so you would most likely have to lift them off the ground to swivel it all 180 degrees?
Mine wasn't cheap but has allowed me in two years to found my future firewood, this alone means it will pay for itself compared to buying it in. This year will be first ploughing to plant cereal now I've got some of the grass beaten. Grass tufts that sensibly speaking needs an axe to get it up. Ridiculous.
I would suggest the effort needed even for a fit person is off putting on that 2 wheel unless you are on flat easy ground. If so I can see some appeal.

I use a breadmaker for kneading. I order a 25kg bag of grain every few months to put through my grinder when required.
So, 9/10g of dry yeast in the bottom of the container, 630g of just ground (and so warm) flour, 450ml of a bit warm tap water, 5g of salt on top.
Three hours 15mins later a slightly too sticky mix. I hate the sticky, that's why I use the machine.
Turn it out onto some of the same flour, sesame and linseeds, squash it out, roll it up, (the roll needs to create tension so if it wasn't sticky it would try to unroll itself), repeat to pick up all the seeds, dump it into the tin, push it into the corners. Cut shallow slices in the top surface to allow it to rise more easily, sprinkle missed flour and seeds on top, cover with a raised (cake fly cover net thing for support) teatowel to keep the heat in till it pokes up above the tin.
Sometimes I do this but leave it in the fridge overnight if timings mean I need to cook in the morning, but the rise can get more sketchy.
If I don't turn it out straight away at the end of the machines timer even though it hasn't sunk in the container I don't get the same rise once in the tin. You snooze you lose.
Just before ovening a tiny splash of boiling water from the kettle over the top.
Sitting on a small pre-heated pizza stone thing, 10 mins at 230 C, 30 mins at 200 C. Tip onto drying rack, cover with teatowel to cool and dry out a bit.
Mostly, it's not a brick. I like the lack of anything else added.

For instance  

https://www.pressurecookerlawsuit.org/pressure-cooker-accidents

Some older models may not have a separate blow out valve? And Aldi in Australia seem to have had an issue with one they sold. Most of the searched incidents say basically no-one knows how it happened, except one who said he forced the lid too early.
I know the steam release valve on our Instant Pot doesn't look like it comes apart but is supposed to be regularly dismantled and cleaned, not obvious without reading the instructions.