It seems like there are many things that are triggering the site to log folks off. We're taking a good look at it and I hope that we'll have a fix soon. in the meantime, please report any oddness regarding this issue in this thread. Those reports help us to make things better, faster.
Kathi from Oak Hill Homestead just made her e book about making vinegar available for free if you sign up for her newsletter. I got my copy and have to say that it is a very good intro to making vinegar. She goes through the process and gives good tips and hints through the twelve pages of the book. I've made some different vinegar varieties over the past few years but I'd never thought of some of the ones that Kathi has created, such as pineapple vinegar. That sounds like it would be pretty awesome.
Here's a link to one of Kathi's blog posts about making vinegar: Homemade Vinegar
The free e book can be had by signing up for her newsletter here: Oak Hill Homestead
I just signed up for a copy of an e-book from Oak Hill Homestead that's about making vinegar. It's a short read but it's got a bunch of good basic tips on getting started with the process of making vinegar. Here's a quote from the e book:
One of the most versatile liquids in history was probably discovered by accident when someone left wine to ferment too long. The sour taste was probably an unwelcome surprise to the procrastinating vintner, but his mistake was an important discovery to ancient civilizations.
I've had a good time making vinegar and this little e book would be a good place to start if you're thinking about starting to make your own. It's available for free if you sign up for the author's newsletter.
I had a dream last night that there was a little clear ball rolling around on my floor. When I looked closely at it, there was a little hermit crab inside of it, pedaling that ball around like it was a paddle boat. It was sitting on a little seat and using it's tiny legs to pedal itself around the room.
You've put up one hell of a fight, and all of your hard work is a monument to your dedication and strength. While the time horizon has changed and the obstacles seem ever more steep, I hope you stand tall and keep fighting the good fight. You've been a great example to so many here, and by the sounds of it, to your family as well. Best wishes Travis. If there are such things as miracles, I'm hoping you get one. You deserve it.
paul wheaton wrote:Maybe a good question is: why do people even ask?
I suspect that the question is a stepping stone placed by the person asking the question, to illicit a certain response which will allow them to move on to suggest that there is some unfair discrimination that has lead to the numbers in the statistics being as they are. But then again, some folks just might be curious.
Why aren't there more X people in Y field of study?
I would imagine the factors involved are numerous and complex. Though I'll be the first to admit that I like a short and sweet answer, some things can't be boiled down to a soundbite. That's the trouble with discourse in today's age. There's too much info and not enough time. AND nobody has enough time to really dissect all of these complex questions, but we all still want an answer. So we go with the quickest, most basic thing that we can come up with and we go with that. Even if somebody put a ton of effort into writing a book completely devoted to answering that specific question, almost nobody would bother reading it. That's kind of how we operate now.
It looks like the course and videos will be re-opening May 16th. There will be a discounted pre-sale for a week ahead of the second release. I'd like to hear from folks who've purchased the course. What are your thoughts?
I can't remember where I read it, but i think rabbits make two different "poo pellets". One is kinda wet and sticky, well digested and sorta gross, while the other is more dry, fiberous and light. I think the latter is what the mothers will deposit for the kits to eat in preparation for weaning.
Chickens are pretty hardy and they seem to recover quickly from small injuries. It looked like it had a sore foot and was trying to keep the weight off of it. Glad to hear it's doing better now. Time seems to heal most wounds. I've got a few birds with crooked toes and some that have lost toes due to frostbite. They seem to get around just fine once things heal. It's amazing how much damage they can handle and still go on with life.
Last year one of my older birds (6 years old) got attacked by a hawk and had her neck ripped open and an eye crushed in before our rooster rescued her. I thought she was a goner, but her neck wound closed up fine and the feathers grew back in perfectly. She still has the one bad eye, but she gets along just fine with the one good eye. She only makes left hand turns now though. She's still one of our best layers.
That one looks like some kind of puffball to me. I bet if you broke open the bulbous part of it, you'd find a powdery cloud of spores. Before they mature the inside is sort of like marshmallow in texture, but as it gets mature, the spores loosen and are easily made airborne. Probably best to mess with it outside. :)
They usually make the nest a day or two before kindleing. The nest box ought to be in place and filled up with straw. Really pack it in there, she's gonna chew it into a fine fluff for the center of the nest. And she'll take out any of it that she doesn't need.
Remember that she'll only be in the nest during feeding time. So roughly twice a day for maybe ten to twenty minutes. She won't go in there otherwise, so the nest and the litter of kits is what keeps them warm. The mothers stay away from the nest so that they don't risk exposing them to predators.
Once she gives birth, you'll be able to see nest of fur moving ever so slightly. The day after that, you will want to open the nest up and inspect it for dead kits. remove the dead ones and return the nest to the cage. Try to be quick about it and give the doe a treat (small apple slice) to keep her busy while you check things out.
If they are young trees they may take a couple of years off of fruiting as they grow. Some of my trees haven't put more than a couple of apples on in the 5 years I've had them, while other in the same area have fruited to the point of nearly breaking. My honey crisp fruits so heavily each year that I've had to do some serious work to keep it somewhat vertical. For the most part all of my older trees (50 years+) generally fruit heavily one year and then lightly the next.
I'm no apple expert, but I'd say that your trees are taking this year to do some rooting and vegetative growing. With luck, next year will have a bumper crop of fruits. Adding in some compost around the tree and planting some orchard companions like chives, comfrey, tansy, burdock, clover and other ground covers around the drip line of the tree can help mine minerals and nutrients for your apple trees to work with.
One other thing that may or may not apply is the concern about apple borers. If they exist in your area, it's a good idea to keep an eye out for them between May and October when they are feeding on your trees' innards. They can really do a lot of damage in a short time and rob the tree of it's fruiting ability. Thankfully either compressed air or a thin wire is all you need to kill them.
Willie Smits: Village Based Permaculture Approaches in Indonesia
Online we have all seen videos of people doing small scale permaculture in their backyards or on small acreage. While these are often awesome examples of permaculture in action - how do you translate these projects to the large scale? How do you engage a whole community and work with government to make change using permaculture across a whole region?
In this video Willie Smits talks about his work on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi - an island with steep topography, overpopulation and with a unique/diverse local culture. Willie Smits explains how he was able to work with the people living on Sulawesi to address the problems of deforestation by promoting a permaculture inspired environmentally friendly agriculture production system. Through this system of agroforestry, Willie Smits created new and better jobs for the local people while reforesting the island promoting local plants and animals.
By working with the local communities and through the application of a joint planning module trust was built making this work possible. By working with a big farmers cooperative in north Sulawesi and building trust with the local community Willie Smits has created a potential blueprint for other communities to implement permaculture principles.
For only $10.00 you can access this presentation by Willie Smits to learn how to work with communities and build trust in order to better implement permaculture principles.
That's quite impressive. What are your plans for the field? Are you going to graze animals on it? Turn it into a food forest? Maybe a little bit of both?
Both chop and drop or rolling it are good ideas. Goats are also a pretty good animal for chewing down a high field, and the manure is spread out evenly in convenient pellets. There's so many options, based on what your goals are for the field.
I guess it depends on the size of the shoe box. I think something made of wood is better. From my experience, a next box that's 10 inches wide, 10 inches high and 18 inches long is big enough for most breeds. The high sides are needed to keep the kits from jumping out. Once they get out, they have a hard time getting back in the nest. This also gives adequate room for the doe to get in and out of the nest one one side without jumoing directly on the kits.
For the most part she'll stay out of the nest. She's only going to go in there to feed the kits roughly three times a day. So there needs to be enough room in the nest box to hold enough straw and fur to keep the kits warm while the doe isn't in the nest.
You could try putting a little peanut butter or apple butter on the waterer's nipple. That might entice her to try licking it. Then she'll quickly figure out that that's a place to get water. Since she's got a litter on the way, you'll need to keep her well hydrated, so if the bowl is working... great.
I bought them a pretty standard bag of pelleted feed, some timothy hay and then a steady supply of the things they were eating while they were wild. AS you'll see, that began my venture into raising rabbits.
I made the video in my Siberian Peashrub thread using lightworks. I was able to cut the videos together and add some titles and notes. I could also have added an audio track with a voice-over or music track. It took about an hour to make this one. It's more tedious at first but it gets a lot easier as you get used to the controls.
I used an old Cannon powershot camera so the video is rough to begin with. I moved the files to my PC, imported them to lightworks and then got busy chopping them up and putting them in order. I suspect if I had a better camera, the end result would look much better. All still, no bad for a free deal.
There are tons of videos and tutorials available on YouTube for using lightworks. It takes a little while to get the hang of it but once you do... you're off and running.
One of my favorite plastic related things is the open source systems created by Precious Plastic. If you've got some extra plastic laying about, or you know where you can get some, then you may be interested in building some of these tools to help turn old junk plastic into new and practical items to be used again. Heck, you might even be able to open your own small business with the right idea and motivation.
I think I know what you're talking about. Do they look like this?
or like this?
Sometimes it can be that the egg is super fresh and the gasses in the egg haven't yet escaped the albumen. Other times, it can be that the egg was partially frozen before it was collected so the albumen is somewhat ruined. I've also seen this from older hens just before they stop laying for the season. I don't think it has anything to do with the new rooster though. :)
Perhaps a fish trap of some sort would work. You could leave it in place for a day or so and then check it. If there's anything in the pond, you're bound to catch at least a little one. Just make the entrance small enough that a turtle can't fit into it. If one gets in, it'll drown if it can't get back out in time for a breath. Plus, it'll likely eat any fish that you do catch.
It's that time of year again. The Grow Your Own Food Workshop is about to begin and tickets are available now. Here's everything you need to know.
Here's a direct link to the official page where you can learn all about the workshop and see a video from the team explaining everything you need to know about it: Grow Your Own Food Workshop Jump to the registration page here: Register Here!
The GYOF Workshop team has asked us to share their message with you:
If you’re like me, you want to get the most out of your garden this year, so let’s grow together.
I’m so excited to about The Grow Your Own Food Workshop, because the focus of this workshop is not only to educate but also to support you.
No, no one will come to your garden and help you pick hornworms off your tomatoes, but we will help you figure out what to do about them once you have them. I’m talking about the kind of support like when you used to pick up the phone and call your mom, to ask her how to tell if something in the fridge has gone bad. Remember? She asked you how old it was, what it smelled like, and maybe what it tastes like….:) Then she just knew and told you exactly what to do. That’s the kind of support I’m talking about!
We have a special Facebook group where you can ask ANYTHING. We also have a community manager to keep it a safe, encouraging, fun place to get help with your growing.
Oh, and there are over 15 expert gardeners hosting FREE classes! Then if you get the paid option you get 30 more videos on top of that! Is that valuable? Sure, knowledge is great, having access to important information is necessary for success.
But what you DO with that knowledge is even MORE important!
So this workshop is for you if you are a DOER!
THE GROW YOUR OWN FOOD WORKSHOP!
...we’re not going to just TALK about it! We’re gonna DO it!
The best part is that the tickets are FREE but only for a limited time! Sign-up NOW because you don’t want to miss it!
Over 15 Expert Gardeners teach:
Seed Saving
Companion Planting
Vertical Gardening
Composting
Growing Herbs
Raised Bed Gardening
Vermicomposting
Gardening Basics
Basics of Organic Gardening
Growing 3 Medicinal Herbs
Growing A Year's Worth Of Food
Growing Tropical Plants
Which Gardening Method Is Best For You
Getting Started With Hydroponics
Starting Seeds Indoors
…and MORE!!!
Registration is FREE! Follow this link to reserve your seat today, and I will see you on the inside.
Justin Rhodes and his family recently completed their Great American Farm Tour. The film they have created documents their journey, the people they met along the way and so many awesome farms and families. The documentary will be released for worldwide viewing in a matter of days and it's FREE!
Here's an introductory video about their experience:
The full documentary follows Justin and his family of six as they travel in a school bus that they modified themselves. You'll get to see all of the following parts of their adventure as well as so much more.
Together, as a family they:
Turn an old school bus into a fabulous home on wheels.
Close down their farm (including ALL their animals).
Explore the Greatest Farms in ALL 50 states (Alaska and Hawaii too :)
Meet regular folks who are doing extraordinary things.
Uncovers the unimaginable beauty of farms and natural landscapes
Laugh along with the unique humor from their children and their hosts.
Discover THE Greatest Farm in America (the answer might surprise you ;)
Premiere Planned to Begin APRIL 14th, 2018
PLUS! If you sign up NOW they will email you exclusive previews NOT available to the public as well as other goodies specifically for their audience.
Did I mention that our very own Paul Wheaton is also featured in the documentary. I bet you can't guess what he's talking about in the film.
Judith, I'm so happy for your success. You've been so supportive and I love to see how seeds from my place have gone on to make other places around the world a little more diverse. I really appreciate your feedback. Thank you
I've still got about 2.25 cups (500ml) of hyssop seeds available. Anyone who wants some will get twice as much seed for the same price. I encourage you all to consider donating some seed to any bare patch of dirt in your community. These flowers are beautiful, prolific and perennial. They attract tons of pollinators and the seeds are easy to save and germinate. They are edible and a favorite among my kids as a trail nibble.
I also noticed that they keep their seed head all the way through the winter and many species of birds returning to the north, use them as a feed source. Oddly I got the original seeds just to add some color to my polycultures and it turned out to be one of my family's favorite plants, for all of the reasons above. Even humming birds seem to enjoy them.
I've heard of folks putting the biochar between two sheets of plywood and then running it over with their car or truck a few times. If you put it in the driveway, you can probably just leave it there for a few weeks and crush it as you go to and from your house. Seems like a good idea unless the wood you are using has nails in it.
I'm just guessing here, but they may be eggs. There are many species of insects that lay their eggs on a stalk or filament. I think the idea is to keep them dry and out of the way of predators.
The good news is that they are probably harmless. The unfortunate news is that they are likely the eggs of a lacewing, a serious predator of aphids.
Insects in the order Neuroptera often lay eggs on stalks. The larvae of Lacewings are fierce predators known commonly as Aphid Wolves. It is believed that they have adapted to laying eggs on stalks to help reduce the possibility that hatchling Aphid Wolves will devour one another upon hatching.
Glenn is right. As long as the sugar content is high enough, you won't have any trouble with mold or bacteria. Just keep it airtight in a cool dark place and it will be just fine. If mold appears on the surface of the syrup, just skim it off. If you feel weird about using it if it's molded a little, just reboil it and it should be good to go. I buy maple syrup from a place down the road from me by the gallon. One gallon will last me a couple of years, but it's the most economic way of buying it. I sometimes divide it up into multiple jars and store it in the cabinet.
One thing about mold: White mold is usually fine as long as it's not super fuzzy looking. Green is not great, but likely harmless. Black mold is no good. If my syrup had black mold, I'd probably not use it, just to be on the safe side.
Do you have a way of measuring the sugar content of your syrup?
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