William Bronson wrote:I've considered Dubai cockroaches as a vermiculture substitute for soldier flies, they eat everything...
i looked them up and saw no results in google - aren't dubai roaches the same as other roaches? and cockroaches are a real problem not to be taken lightly. i don't want any of them in my compost or anywhere else near me or my garden/home.
I would imagine there will be solider flies and other animals in your area. Sometimes it will take them time to find the area and if their is a heavy use of poison in the are, it may even kill soldier flies.
Apart from that, if you cover rotting material with mulch it will encourage soldier flies to nest and deter most other flies. They will go through a carcass very quickly once you get them going. pretty sure BSF naturally existed in the area before US colonization.
Nicola Stachurski wrote:
I can see the tropics are getting wetter, and Australia overall is getting hotter, but I don't see that areas south of Brisbane are getting wetter (though NSW does seem to be in parts).
I have heard many people bringing up the same thing you are talking about, we used to get regular afternoon storms in the past. I just don't think it can be used as a reliable indicator of the future climate. Preparing for drought, high temperature, fire and extreme rain events is essential in most parts of Australia.
If the forecast is right the cyclone will not hit us. Hopefully plenty of rain though.
Nicola Stachurski wrote:
Chris, I don't know where you are in Qld. I am near Ipswich, and a number of people have told me how much drier the summers are now, in particular my father-in-law. He is an old bushie, a green thumb who fed his family on what he could grow and raise. He is 70 now, and his father went to a nearby primary school, so he is very much a local.
I certainly notice a change in the 11 years I have been living on my property.
I know people who have been living here for many generations who will tell you that 'climate change' is a hoax. Go to the next person and we are all going to die from climate change. The fact is the climate has been accurately recorded for 100+ years, hotter and wetter is the trend in SE Qld. We might even get another cyclone in a few days, I was not alive for the last one here.
Being ready for change is a good idea, most people cannot cope with the 'normal' variability. It is very hard to know what will happen over the next few decades, but no doubt it will be brutal.
Great thread topic, keen to see how it goes. It seems to be overlooked by many people, probably not very profitable to fund studies that decrease fertilizer sales.
Myrth Montana wrote:Interesting. Plants as ... dairy farmers.
Joe Banden wrote: Thanks for the link, now I have something to read!
I have been trying to read that thread for longer than I can remember. I get so far then end up spending hours or days looking further into an idea that is presented. I wish it was available as an audio book.
Also check out these videos if you have not seen them, especially planting in drylands.
I would plant some trees in cages to start with. I get very good success planting (seed or saplings) in cages and literally 0% survival without cages or other exclusion. While controversial on this forum, I sometimes use fertilizer to help plants establish quickly.
I live in an Australian subtropical area that has lost it's Wet Season over the last decade. That means it is now arid- though I doubt many locals would agree.
The last few years have been a bit dry, but it was much worse in the early 2000's and many other times in history. While it is possible that a new weather pattern may be starting, the long term trends show it is actually wetter and hotter now.
I fail to see the downside of an electric trimmer, unless you need a very close shave everyday for your employment. I use electric on my face and the rest of my head. No need for a mirror, water or lube. The cost of electricity is almost impossible to calculate it is so small. Shave face 2-5 times a month, shave head every 1-2 months. If i lived in a cold place I probably wouldn't bother doing either.
Switching to a healthy form of nicotine would be a good solution. There are a number of benefits of nicotine use, no need to throw the baby out with the bath water.
Hicock45 is solid. He is sponsored by an ammo company and a gun shop, but gives honest reviews, especially of low quality arms. Also that Grandfather many people wish they had, unless they were as lucky as me.
Victor Skaggs wrote:
Remember that no generation is a unit... among us from the 60's there are radicals and hippies and back-to-the-land people, and there are also alt-right, ultra-conservatives and money-grubbing yuppies. The same is true of every generation, and I'm convinced most of our fate is not in our hands. We're all being severely manipulated. Hang in there... it is possible to do the right thing despite the forces arrayed against us all.
Generations are subject to similar environments. Apart from a few exceptional people like David Duke I don't think there are many boomers who are 'alt-right'. Boomers were the first generation to be exposed to extremely subversive mass media.
J Davis wrote:I would think on 20 acres, there would be some trees worth saving. The roots help prevent erosion, the shade helps soil get established.
Yes, I agree 100%. The operator understands this to some extent (as in high value trees, but not pioneers), however basic propaganda to support how this works would be greatly appreciated, especially regarding pioneer species.
But as for the dead wood. Renting a chipper and putting 6 inches of mulch around the trees worth saving woud help reverse the dry/erosion pattern.
This is not financially viable, but otherwise it is a good idea
The larger dead wood could be used in small dotches on contour with soil back on top, planted with native grasses and then wood chips around the plantings.
If I were explaining it to someone unfamiliar, id use the back to Eden narrative. Nature doesnt leave soil bare. Man does that and it leads to erosion and desertification. To reverse that process requires intentionality, shade, moisture retention. The wood in the ground acts as a sponge. The wood chips on top provide protection for the world, bugs, young plants from the sun.
I have tried to explain this, but it is not being absorbed by their brain very well. My communication skills are a bit retarded, which is why I need help from you guys.
Yeah, I have mentioned this to them already. I really need some sort of fairly simple propaganda. Preferably in the form of a video or pictures that shows this and the other benefits, supporting fungi and other soil life, increasing soil carbon, not wasting nutrients etc.
Something like this video, but more related to the use of woody material to improve soil being better than burning to ash. Also if there are any more detailed case studies of a similar nature.
Tyler Ludens wrote:In a hot semi-arid situation I have found buried wood beds to be better than hugelkultur. It may be possible that really large (6-10 foot tall) hugelkultur would work in this situation, but from my own experience, small hugelkultur does not.
Thanks, that was a quick reply. In an ideal situation buried beds would be good, but this would probably cost too much. I was thinking maybe something more like just having the woody material in rows and covering it with soil approximately on contour, possibly partially below ground. However it needs to be fairly cheap and quick.
To start with I really need to find a really good simple explanation of how using the woody material benefits the soil and plants. My primary problem is explaining the benefits, I'm really bad at explaining things and teaching. It needs to be suitable for a biologically illiterate person, not hours of lectures by Elaine Ingham or similar.
Also after trying to explain this to the land owner, it also needs to be converted into instructions for the dozer operator. Complex solutions are not going to be practical.
Someone is asking me for advice relating to the best way to used cleared tress and shrubs (mostly small regrowth). The work will be done with a bulldozer and on a limited budget.
In an ideal situation I'm thinking a system of hugelkultur (sort of), swales, strategically leaving some pioneer species and dams. While I understand how these things are beneficial, I'm having trouble explaining the benefits of doing this to someone who likes to just do things how they are done 'normally' and lacks any biological education.
The area is around 20 acres of smallish regrowth in a fairly hot semi arid area with very poor soil. The overall aim is reducing fire danger, restoring pasture, growing useful trees and increasing water supply.
The standard practice is to clear and burn, which while relatively easy is a waste of resources IMO.
So my question are:
Do you think there are better uses for the cleared material than a hugulkultrish approach? (plenty will be available for bio char, timber etc. but this is not practical for the majority of the material)
Are there basic explanations of how hulgelkultur style use of woody material can work on a large scale? Preferably in video or with pictures.
Has anyone dealt with a similar situation, if so what did you do?
I see the potential to improve the soil and achieve the other goals mentioned. If I cannot convince them of the benefits of a less conventional approach, it will only be a short term solution that damages the soil and will need to be continuously repeated.
I think 'permaculture citiy' is an oxymoron. Cities are inherently unsustainable and 'anti-community'. I don't see any problem with skyscrapers, but they are inefficient in many situations. There are all sorts of things you can do with tall buildings other than packing them full of humans.
Don't be in a city or large town.
Know your neighbors.
Be well armed and hopefully have military friends or training.
Ensure only rational thinkers have any political power in your group, you don't want people trying to let in zombie refugees.
Learn how to cook zombies so they taste good.
Are their any benefits of longer fasts that you don't get by eating once a day? I don't have any trouble losing weight, are there other advantages to fasting 2+ days?
Slightly off topic, but one other thing I have often wondered about is if it ideal to eat meals that contain a mixture of different food types eg. meat and vege at the same time. Wouldn't we digest food better eating meat and veges (even different types of plants) as separate meals, as I assume we have an evolutionary history of doing? For example have a vegan meal, carnivore meal, vegan meal, carnivore, carnivore, leafy food, carnivore, tubers, carnivore, carnivore, fruit... etc. While something like a chimp is a fair way off a human they don't appear to gather fruit to save for when they catch a monkey to snack on.
What do people think about borax and honey? It works really well, but I'm not sure if it could cause any problems.
As mentioned ants are good in most situations, however they should not be trusted with electricity and nobody wants a bull ant nest where they need to walk everyday.
