al aric

I hope it lives, I really do.  I have one.  It's enormous.  It puts out shoots.  It grows and takes over its space.  If that was my house I would get that tree away from it as fast as I can knowing how big they get.  It's dark so I can't take a picture of mine to show you right now.  Mine is about 6' in diameter and spreading.  It will probably be 10' in diameter in a couple of years if I don't aggressively cut it back.  I'm sure you can visualize what that would do to your foundation and your home.  It might be hard to imagine that when you're wrestling with a struggling plant right now...but imagine success.  It would mean bad things for your house.

Hello there from East TX!  Where are you?  I'm not asking for the address but the general area.  As it turns out there are several people in East TX into permaculture and I'm one of them.  

I always laugh when I ask a question and questions come back.  I think to myself "answer the question"!  Here I am asking you questions.  I used to live (In the US) at a similar elevation and it provided similar challenges to composting.  I use a 3 year composting cycle, meaning from the time I start a pile to the time of use is 3 years.  Each year I start a new pile.  So I always have 3 simultaneous piles going.  I do this for a variety of reasons, one of them being I get a really good break down of the materials after 3 years.  This was especially true at a high elevation (which is your case).  I'm wondering how long your normal compost cycle is?  The dryness has me concerned.  Are you regularly monitoring your pile?  The suggestions that you have already received are good suggestions.  Moisture is so often a problem with compost.  I treat my piles like plants and I water them and monitor them intensively because if I don't they will dry out and die.  My piles are often huge (several feet in diameter) but with supervision I keep them alive.  Also at your elevation is it safe for me to assume you have snow?  Is heat generating from your piles in the winter?

Just a few thoughts and I do emphasize with your if your somewhat disappointed with my questions when you're the person asking a question but I'm trying to drill down to the possible issue.  

Happy composting!

For several years I have been using spreadsheets.  I then put out markers to confirm the spreadsheets.  When a marker becomes somehow broken, I have a spreadsheet to refer to.  Between the markers and spreadsheets I can keep track of things.  I keep details about various trees, when they bloom, when they fruit, etc.  I sometimes keep paper back ups in a binder, but they usually disappear over the years.  I know it sounds like a bit much to put everything in a spreadsheet but it has been really helpful.  I often have several different varieties of the same fruit tree and it's nice to compare the projected yield times for fruits vs.  what really happens.  I do the same thing for my vegetable gardens.  I especially enjoy keeping track of when I plant vegetables and then when I harvest them.  Different varieties have different projected days to harvest and it makes it nice to know how accurate that is in your particular area.  This is especially helpful when I plant my winter garden.  If I know when I planted in the fall and when I harvested in the spring it will help me nail down a good fall planting time.  Of course so much of this depends on weather but I find it to be helpful to take the time to use spreadsheets.

I grow several different varieties of Persimmons.  They are slow in many ways including growth.  I've always had really good luck with giving them time in a situation like the one you have on your hands.  I would just treat it like the other tree this year and see what happens.  They've surprised me several times over the years.  Just my two cents worth.

I'll be the first to admit.  I look at these forums and I expect someone else to organize meetings.  I think that somehow I can magically pop into meetings with permaculture friendly people exchanging ideas and having a pot-luck.  Sound familiar?  Do you do the same thing?  Maybe I should do something.  

I'm putting this out there to see if there are enough people that would want to have meetings from time to time.  Pot lucks, BBQs, etc.  I'm stretched a bit thin but I'm always interested in sitting down and exchanging ideas.  Is anyone else interested?  I was thinking about putting together periodic meetings...

Hello,

First I want to thank you for taking a look at this post.  I'm looking for people in our community that actually have experience in something specific.  I would like to put in an agricultural well for an approximately 10 acre piece of land.  If successful I will scale up for other parcels with improvements.  I completely understand that the type of agriculture on the land can dictate specifications.  The normal ag well scenario is this:  Dig 300' + (in my area), put a high HP pump on top of the well and electricity carries the day.  I'm not looking for that.  I've had multiple ag wells in the past and I'm looking for an alternative.

I'm looking for a situation that has a windmill that pulls up the water and puts it into a storage tank.  I'd like to have multiple options in my set up.  I would like to use gravity for some drip irrigation, I would like to use some sort of pump powered by some alternative energy set up if possible to generate psi for other uses of irrigating other areas.  

The key is this:  I'm willing to set up a wind plus other methods agricultural system that uses a variety of methods.  I'm keeping an open mind to suggestions hence this post.

I'm soliciting opinions from those who have tried this and their successes and not so proud moments.  Some of the specifics I'm looking for are specific brands, specific set ups, cost analysis, etc.  I'm not looking for my question to be answered with a long list of questions.  I think most of you know what I'm talking about there.

So many times  we do our research but it's people selling things and people who actually haven't done what they're talking about.  I'm looking for the veterans.

Thank you

This reply is an answer to a question (above) in the thread if it was addressed to my post:

I want to make it clear that I did not use the word "superior".  That was only used in your question and I want to be sure that the readers of this thread are not reading this believing that I used that word in my reply.  It's important that I make that clarification because the use of that word could be offensive to many and I don't want my post to be "branded" with the use of that word.  Moving on, the stand out portion is the fact that someone had the motivation and fortitude to work 40+ hours while taking a full load in college.  This is (statistically) a very small group of students.  This coupled with the fact that "harder" core subjects were pursued as opposed to the easier subjects adds to the standout qualities of the applicant.  The amount of hard work and dedication that would be needed to do successfully navigate intellectually challenging courses under those conditions would make an applicant a stand-out candidate.  If the question was not referring to my post then I will ask the reader to disregard.

Hello,

I can answer this because I experienced it.  Getting a degree often means getting into debt.  It doesn't have to.  You can work while going to school to earn your degree.  Odds are good you will sleep less.  Odds are good you'll be running from your job(s) to school and you'll be studying off of cards every spare second.  You might even earn dark circles under your eyes.  You may experience fatigue like you've never experienced before.  Odds are good that your significant other will always want more time with you.  If your love is strong amd good your relationship will survive.  If your will is strong  you will endure the misery of working too many hours while taking a full load.  If your character is strong you will graduate with your degree and a high GPA.  

If you decide to take that route, my recommendation is to take the hardest courses you possibly can in your pursuit because the skills will serve you well.  By that I mean math and science based classes related to your pursuit.  Take a good look at Agronomy and Agricultural Engineering.  I've been involved in permaculture and organic gardening for many years.  The classes that look "easier" won't help you nearly as much as getting a solid foundation in the field.  I don't want to make this reply about me and my education, I want to make it helpful to you but believe me when I tell you that solid math and engineering skills married to solid agricultural science are applicable to your area of interest.  

Employment is a tough question.  It's always tempting to take a well paid job offer with excellent benefits from corporations that are in direct opposition to those who practice permaculture. Your desire to pursue that field will be tested and you will discover how loyal you are to the principles of permaculture.  

The degree(s) will give you far better employment opportunities, more credibility when you are giving speeches and advice, and a solid foundation for solving complex problems.  The hard skills will be especially helpful in dealing with water issues.

If you take the time to locate reduced cost colleges and universities and go to those institutions along with working your resume will be very strong.  Can you imagine what it would be like to walk into an job interview and they look at your resume and you show that you worked 40+ hours a week while taking a full load?  I can assure you that you will stand out.  Try to get inside of your potential employers' heads and imagine what they will be thinking while they're looking at the resumes of people who had parents paying the way or people who refused to work during college while accumulating debt.  I'm sure I don't have to connect those dots for you.  

Ultimately the decision is yours but I hope that these words are helpful.

Good luck!

I'll chime in because I really enjoy growing this particular tree.  I've only grown it in very hot (summer) environments (zone 8).  Usually 8b.  Triple digits are the norm in the summer where I have grown them and they have thrived and fruited.  I mention this because there are different types of zone 8 climates with regard the the upper limits of the temperature spectrum.  The zone is designated due to the lower limit of the spectrum.  I can't say for sure why your tree hasn't fruited because of the numerous potential causes.  The video video  earlier in this thread was interesting and cause for concern.  I just can't help but wonder if the summer heat is enough.  Again my response is simply a thought and possibility.  Fertilization also comes to mind, particularly Phosphorous (roots and fruits as they say).  I hope this helps.