Jerry McIntire

Good question Christopher. We have not yet built our new house and only have a restored outdoor composting toilet here. But thanks for the reminder to post here when we have one built.

Jhanine Buiza wrote:Would a portable toilet like this be a good alternative to a composting system, or is it better to stick with composting for long-term use?

That's an expensive portable toilet, though it says it can be installed permanently. Is it an alternative to a composting toilet? I don't see any information as to what is included. Is the toilet included? I don't see a vault. Is it a composting toilet?

You can build a composting toilet for much less, or buy one, still for less. If you need a septic field or a connection to a municipal sewer system, that will cost yet more although it avoids the cost and hassle of pumping to remove the contents (which most portable toilets require).

A composting toilet is part of an integrated system that reduces waste, keeps rivers cleaner, fertilizes/builds soil, lowers costs, and reduces your dependency on businesses or government.  I hope that you find a strong solution. The composting system that requires the least work uses a vault below the toilet somewhere (gravity fed), or an indoor bucket toilet and outdoor closed bins such as wheelie bins (trash cans).

Doug McEvers wrote:The soil building properties of small grains must be part of the equation.

Where is this Doug? What climate and growing zone? As Geoff pointed out, it depends on your location and the weather you have.

M Foti wrote:I'd put my 1960 massey 65 diesel up against ANY electric tractor

Run those diesel tractors on biodiesel! Mark Shepard (author of Restoration Agriculture) does that on his farm in Wisconsin. Fortunately, not much tractor work done in winter when it's below zero there.

First off, avoid Amazon of course. And most large retailers. I have never had difficulty finding good wool rugs, secondhand being my favorites.
I like to see and feel what I am buying in rugs. There are many rug stores in large cities, but local producers allow you to buy closer to the source and with less markup. Wool is my favorite. Cotton is not as durable or as warm in cold/damp weather, and it is uncommon to find cotton that is not an environmental nightmare in its production.
Used rugs, especially high quality wool rugs, are often in good condition and more reasonably priced.

Here's a photo of rotational grazing as it's practiced at the local dairy where I buy fresh milk and yogurt here in El Bolsón, Rio Negro, Argentina.
To the left is the previous paddock, to the right is fresh grass for the next rotation.

I just purchased the webinar via Paypal, no issues. My VPN says I'm in the USA though I'm not.

Jerry

We spread leaves on our garden beds in the fall. It's better if they've gone through the leaf vacuum or the lawnmower. Chopped up, they stay in place. We also let our chickens roam in the beds after fall harvest, and again in the spring before planting, to mix things up and fertilize with manure. Fall or spring, if we have a full compost bin that has been sitting for several months, we spread that under the leaf mulch.