beth Cromwell

If you are sprinkling, please consider a mask, the fine very sharp particles of DE can be very destructive on your mucus membranes, all the way to your lungs.

Thank you, the pictures are especially helpful. I have small areas on 3 sides of the house, and have created small habitat, I have snakes, lizards and toads. I had bees plenty this spring,, but since, gone..
plus, we  have chickens in the back, so probably cannot use the larger ones, besides not having space.. But I was just reading about getting lady bird beetles, and green lacewings for my daughter's food forest, and a bit for me. But the lady birds seem to have their own issues, so, does anyone have experience about this, please? It was too late to get any preying mantis, but again, they can  eat some of the other beneficials that I have been encouraging.
Appreciate the article, thank you.

That looks like a major win!  Congratulations, well done!  Warm, well fed, happy family : )  

As it has gotten chillier here in Florida, I was wondering how your rmh was doing...glad to hear you are warm and that tea is brewing....I am headed out to reheat my tea, it cooled before I could drink it (not complaining, I have only covered tender plants one time so far : )

Praise God, you have done a great work for your family, your home, I hope you enjoy the winter, all cozy : )  thank you for sharing the trials and successes of your work.

Is anyone able to check this post, is the property available? Thank you : )  

I am so thankful to see the work that you, Staci, have done on this, and by yourself (well, I did see kidlets helping once, I think : )

But moreso, the consistent and timely advice, how sweet!  In our supposedly busy world, I am heartened to see the level of commitment to helping you in this project, the kind way advice was given, and the sweet reception of said advice : )

I sure hope it works! May God heap blessings on your head, Thomas : )  And may God bless you also, Staci

Hi, so glad to see this question...but some  say that if you have a question, chances are others do too...when I saw this suggestion the other day, I wondered, and then hoped it would be this easy : )  

I need to do this, thank you!  Also, can I use the wood ash from last winter's fires?  Or are you speaking of a special preparation that I have read about elsewhere?

Planting for the fall, it still seems so hot, but I need to do what I can for my garden, many eyes are judging the issue of gardens by my small plot : )  I have successfully made compost, and have a good mulch, aged bunny and clean cow pooh, saved and bought seeds...now, the energy to plant  : )  

Thanks to all who post, I read about so many good farming practices here, and practical help, I am grateful  : )

Happy Fall : ) betty

So glad to see a recent post, it looks like you are starting off well, learning, planting, doing workshops, talking to folks, watching videos...all the beginning stuff that we might want to skip over, or hurry through, but that are so important.  I am glad your first apple and pear seeds are doing well, and even a few planted! Yeah!

I have some peach pits in the freezer now, I guess for Florida, I will have to wait for spring, we are so hot...July is too hot a month for any planting, but I took out my plan, and am thinking of the how and where of my fall adventure, with only 2 small raised beds, and a bit of ground, many pots...I have lemons and limes, avocados, moringa, malabar spinach, a few onions left, some herbs, some I have been able to dry and save : )  But also, many failures, more learning opportunities, yes?

I am glad to see how much you have learned and done, and look forward to more of your adventure, thank you for sharing : )

So, if I am not mistaken, my takeaway is that mulches, grass clippings, and wood chips from commercial companies (including local utilities) would be suspect.  Choosing to ask for drop off from local tree trimmers (non commercial/home?) and private lawn maintenance would be okay? What about glyphosate/round up?

For my compost bin and plants, I just got cow manure from the organic farm that grows my grass fed beef, should i ask about their hay? Or their grass? It seems it could get complicated...

I have used the bunny poo from my granddaughter's bunny, but I know Mr Fluffykins only gets organic 'special' hay (straw?) for eating and his cage, so I have not worried...and the grass from the home I live in has been free of any sprays for at least 2 years, not sure before that, and the tree shavings from a daughter's home were spray free at least 2 years, if not more...some of the studies I read said that 'persistent' could mean as much as 12 years, probably more like 4 to 5 years of residue...makes my little adventure even more precarious, it seems.

Anyone have any ideas, oh, I also get worm castings from nearby, I think clean...now I will have to research again...  This has been a less than successful year for me, trying not to be discouraged...so, I am thankful for any help, I did read the referred sites by Tyler, thank you : )

Thank you for addressing this, and thank you for any additional thinking : )  

I know nothing about building, but I have dealt with mold a lot...I do not think it is possible to truly remediate mold with bleach.  You can lighten the look of the mold, maybe slow or stop the top layer, but the unseen mold inside/underneath continues to grow, and can cause considerable health issues. Most companies that remodel or renew homes will not bleach and cover, and insurance companies (I know not an issue here) are very amenable to complete replacement of any water damaged materials, especially in Florida. I have had 2 homes with water damage that had to be properly addressed, and am thankful that insurance covered the repair.  

I am so glad to see all the folks willing to learn to do their own repairs, and even help on habitat projects and friend builds to learn, so much can be done with a bit of mentoring, reading, watching.  But mold can be pretty sneaky and pretty virulent, causing a wide array of health problems, hard to detect, doctors never look at your environment, they just push symptom pills, which just adds to your body's toxic load.  So just my grammotherly, old nurse advice, please take time to learn the correct way to get rid of mold!

Happy homesteading to all : )