Jay Angler

It's a real shame when a good name gets bought by a company that simply wants to grab what they can before it goes under. Buyer beware has never been more important.

This makes it difficult. If someone asked me what pots I use, I could tell them, but I couldn't tell them if they had any hope of getting the quality I got in the order of 20 years ago (maybe longer...)

I do believe I started earlier than many people at trying to buy for quality - not name or "the in thing" - good basic quality. I also learned early from my parents' mistake that dishwashers do more damage than you might think, so I hand wash almost everything except our Corel dishes and casseroles and our cutlery.

I would love to get more cast iron, but I don't have the strength to lift much of it one handed, so I really need the cast iron that is designed with two handles, one of which has to give me good leverage. These aren't as common, and second hand can be pretty hard to find. There used to be some antique stores up island that had some interesting cast iron, but I haven't been up that way with extra time to go hunting since I realized how great cast iron is despite its weight.

r ransom wrote:...Is collecting supplies getting in the way of doing the hobby?

I think it's a very fine balance. Having supplies on hand, means that you get to start things when you're in the mood, and possibly, get some of the raw materials cheaper than if you wait until you have a specific plan.

However, I have met people who seem to have huge stashes of raw material, and just don't seem to get around to using them. Sometimes I think it's the fear of "using something up on less than a worthy application".

I think I have been trained since elementary school that even "art" has to have a perfect outcome, rather than there being joy in the process. I am getting around that somewhat by using mostly upcycled materials. Despite it being "upcycled except for the thread", my recent jeans skirt project gave me both pleasure in making it, *and* I love wearing it as well.

Just like we've needed to teach people about permaculture and help them change what they see as "a wonderful garden" from manicured and in blocks, to a bit messy and chaotic, maybe we need to work on people in the hobby world?

Danusia Lucja wrote:Judith is correct, tomatoes are self pollinating.

Most tomatoes are self pollinating, but I have twice seen native bees on my tomato flowers, so there appears to be something that is attracting them. There are Industrial Honey Bees very nearby and I don't see them taking an interest in the tomato flowers.

I will keep observing...

r ransom wrote:  But I did score this cast iron one at a thrift shop the other day.  Couldn't resist.

That is gorgeous. I wouldn't have been able to resist either! Good score!

I would make an effort to plant things that aren't too invasive that will help to outcompete any weeds that come along. 'Hens and chicks' succulent comes to mind.

Nancy Reading wrote:Finding a frog in my new polytunnel

Yes, but was the frog happy to be there?

I met a couple who no longer needed frequent access to the second story of their house. They had built a wooden horizontal hinged platform to seal the area above the stairs to reduce heating costs.

If you need light through it, you could build it so that some areas had plastic to let light through?

So much depends on exactly what your situation looks like. A diagram and photos would be a big help.

Timothy Norton wrote:Personally, I have not had to add any outside worms to get them to appear. They just seem to figure out how to get there and appear to raise their future generations there. I hope that might be your experience too in the future if you try! :)

Considering that I've occasionally found worms in the eves trough of our 2 story house, I think they're capable of teleportation.

That said, Thekla is correct that worms were imported from Europe and they may have naturalized to many of our ecosystems, but I think I'd want to research potential reasons for *not* introducing them to an ecosystem they haven't yet been introduced to.

Permies think that worms are universally wonderful, but they evolved in an ecosystem which evolved with them. The "Jumping Worm" has had some bad press and I gather part of that is that it eats the detritus in the soil faster than it is easily replaced and this can be a net negative in many situations. I have read that fishermen have released worms leftover from fishing into Canada's forests and that is having a negative impact.

Chance Lunceford wrote: 3) Heavily alkaline soils - they don't like alkalinity, and had chlorosis and were way more susceptible to herbivorous insects.

We tend to run on the acid soil, but the only way I can water is with our deep, calcium rich well water. I think that's what did in my blueberries when I tried growing them. I'm thinking I will try putting some Fir needles on top as mulch, but maybe even more, put some Fir needles in a bucket, fill with well water, and let it sit a couple of days and then be watering from that bucket?

The plant looks to be a good colour and I haven't noticed an insect problem, so I'm thinking it's a sun problem mostly. I had already started some beans around it, and I'm trying to make sure they shade it, but our UV index has been in the "high" range regularly, and there's only so much I can do quickly.

The "well draining" is always an issue - we go from too wet to too dry with very little time in between. I am thinking that before the winter storms come I will need to have it covered somehow. I recall that the fellow who sent the plant to me sounds like he had it partly protected by the overhang of his house, so that also may be a factor I have to consider.

Thanks, Chance, for describing your experience with the plant so well. It gives me some directions I could experiment with.

I once lived in a place that had a lot of what the locals called "ravines". Steep-sided, quite deep valleys with a small creek in the bottom. At one time, most people figured these were just left-overs from the glaciers melting after the last ice-age. Then we had a storm of the century, and houses near the bottom got washed away, and some people (thankfully not many), lost their lives.

Even though I was not personally affected, it has made me very aware that "flood plains" don't always look like flood plains, and building on high, stable ground is important. The downside may be high winds, but there are ways to deal with those also!

Everyone stay safe - there's some wild weather happening and it's not over yet...