Cécile Stelzer Johnson

Hi, Josie.
It's hard to diagnose for sure, but yep, there might be these problems:
---If the containers were in a place with temperatures higher than 99.5 [Hatching temperature]. [Remember, if you have fertile eggs, these embryos still want to be born, lime water or not]. I refrigerate them before putting them in lime water.
---If there were tiny cracks [not always visible to the naked eye]. You might want to candle them before putting them in lime water, not to see if there is an embryo but to assess the condition of the shell: Some shells will show as porous: dark but with a thousand little spots with lighter color. Remember, if you would not have chosen them as eggs for incubating, they are probably not good enough to store this way. The lime water is used to make the shell totally impervious, so if there are imperfections... that's a problem.
---Just in case, for the next batch, start feeding a lot of oyster shells a week before selecting the eggs. I'm mixing them right in with their food. I have one hen who, for some reason, wasn't eating enough calcium: her eggs were always soft, with a very weak shell.
---Finally, make sure the lime water is strong enough: There should be lime accumulating on the eggs and at the bottom of the container. The lime should be added "to refusal".
As far as trying to salvage the eggs that you think might still be good, I wouldn't: they have been dunking in suspicious lime water for a while, so you can't be sure if they have absorbed anything bad from that water.
---Better start with fresh, perfect eggs. You want eggs that never had caca on them, eggs that candle well [with no indication of porosity]
Good luck to you.

Nancy Reading wrote:Welcome to permies J Wicker.
I think we're going to have a good year for hazelnuts locally this year, but I don't have squirrels here to pick them for me. The birds and mice do plant them around, but not in big caches. They do usually get to the good ones first, but I'm keeping an eye out - they'll soon be ripe enough!

I had commented on this thread before but never made the boxes. The main trouble with squirrels is that they will plant them in caches that you don't think about, like the exhaust pipe of our motorcycles or inside the mower, where they cut a few wires to hide them more conveniently.
I'm still trying to think of a place that would be as attractive to them as convenient to me. It has to be completely water and snow proof, have a hole that will allow them to squeeze in but not much more and be a place you would never think of...
still thinking. At this hour [9/9/25] they have harvested the hazelnuts I was looking at 2 days ago. I suspect they saw me looking at them...

Timothy Norton wrote:Good Evening Permies!
My question of the day has come to the subject of garlic, or how to preserve it.
Softneck garlic is common in the grocery store, especially due to its longevity of storage just in its natural state. I however live in a cooler environment so my options are all hardneck varieties. I have discovered that garlic is discouraged from being canned from what sources I can find. I have followed some instructions that is essentially exposed cloves packed in canning jars and pouring vinegar over them to store them under refrigeration. So far so good!
How do you store your garlic harvests?

It seems that the reason for not canning it is that garlic is a low acidity food. If you can't eat it fast enough, it needs to be cured first. Then you can freeze it. Chop or mince and pack it in freezer safe containers.
You can also chop and dehydrate it, then grind/ pulverize it for long term.
It can also be stored in a mixture of vinegar and oil for a few weeks in the fridge.
I love a whole garlic head microwaved for 1 minute in a small ramekin: cut the top to expose the flesh, pick the flesh left in the tops and put in the ramekins. Add olive oil, nuke and enjoy. (I use a baby spoon to pull the cloves out of their husk. Yummy!)

paul wheaton wrote:So, what would be an example of this.  How might one "corn beef"?

The best example I know of large amounts [very large amounts] of flesh being kept "safe" by corning was in the little French town of Aigues Mortes [Literally "dead waters"], now a tourist destination. It will turn your stomach if you are not ready.. So get ready!
This gruesome event led to the tower being nicknamed the "Tour des Bourguignons". Here goes:
In 1421, during the 100 year war of the French against the English, the Burgundians were allied with the English against the French crown.
A Burgundian sympathizer betrayed the city of Aigues-Mortes, allowing Burgundian soldiers to enter and take control.
The people of Aigues-Mortes, loyal to the French king, revolted and massacred the Burgundian troops.
As the ground was frozen at the time and the dead could not be buried, their bodies were piled inside the tower and preserved with salt [corning]. Aigues Mortes was built on the Mediterranean sea as the waters receded. Even today, it is an important harbor for the production of salt from the sea. So those folks were likely preserved in pure sea salt which is still very abundant in the marais salants (Salt marshes) still in production today.
That preserved them until the ground thawed and they could be buried. It prevented a certain pestilence as decomposing bodies would surely attract flies, rats with all the accompanying maladies associated with those.
(Told you it was gruesome. I visited it with my Students when we went to France and you can actually enter the tower, made of stones with mortar in between. It looked to be at least 20 ft in diameter inside. The guide told us that bodies/salt were piled up at least 15 ft.
Imagine the number of bodies to fill a cylinder 20 ft in diameter 15 ft high! First a layer of salt, then a layer of bodies, salt/ bodies/salt/ bodies... 15 ft worth! (Imagine the poor guys who were charged with burying the bodies in the spring!

Linda Johansson wrote:The map always shows me as zone 4 but not far from zone 3 so I tend to play it safe and assume I’m zone 3. And sadly, clay soil is my only option for planting. All the soil on the farmstead is clay, and yeah, we live in a low area. The trees are located in full sun and heaven knows we get plenty of good strong winds. The creeping Jenny is…everywhere. Dang near impossible to get rid of that stuff and it just spreads like crazy.

Ouch. Indeed, your options are limited. You might have to bring in some soil that is better and plant your trees slightly on a mound for better drainage, mixing original soil and new soil, but yes, that limits your options. Also, it gets expensive fast if you want a real food "forest". On the other hand, the more plants/bushes you place on a small area, the more water they will draw. How many inches of rain can you count on? because that too will impact your calculations.

So, Linda, you have creeping jenny and it has mildew.  these are the conditions for mildew on creeping jenny:
Ideal conditions for powdery mildew
"Temperature: Moderate temperatures between 60–80°F are most favorable for the fungus. These conditions are common during the spring and fall seasons.
Humidity: Powdery mildew thrives when there are fluctuations in humidity. Spore production is favored by high humidity (around 90%), while low humidity is ideal for spores to be dispersed by the wind.
Air circulation: Crowded, poorly ventilated, and shady areas create the perfect microclimate for powdery mildew to flourish. Tight spacing between plants traps moisture and restricts airflow around the foliage.
Shade: Creeping jenny in shady spots is more prone to powdery mildew than those in full sun. While creeping jenny tolerates some shade, direct sunlight can kill the fungus.
New growth: Powdery mildew often targets young, succulent plant growth, which is more susceptible to infection. Over-fertilizing with nitrogen can stimulate this type of vulnerable growth".

Check if you have any of these conditions where you are and try to mitigate them.
You don't tell us which growing zone you are in or what the soil is. Perhaps you planted in a low spot? with clay soil? it's hard to say...
Good luck to you.

Curious George wrote:Anyone have suggestions for companion plants that will help prevent fungal diseases on fruit trees? For example, this year I noticed mildew on my young apple trees.

 It is hard to say that a companion plant would help:
You identified the problem as a fungal problem. So there is a *fungus*, airborne or waterborne, that is coming on your trees. Favorable conditions, such as high humidity, wet weather, and leaf wetness, promote spore germination and infection.
You might want to look at your watering schedule or at what's on the ground: Fungi overwinter in debris on the orchard floor, in infected twigs, cankers, or mummified fruits, serving as a source for new spring infections. I don't spray much but I religiously clear the floor of any damaged fruit during the season.
"Dr. Google" recommends a couple of home made sprays to remove more specifically the mildew from fruit trees:
"Baking Soda Spray:
.
Mix 1 tablespoon of baking soda with 1 teaspoon of liquid dish soap and 1 gallon of water. Spray on affected areas and repeat as needed. The baking soda helps alkalize the leaf surface, stopping the fungus.
Milk Spray:
.
A mixture of 40% milk and 60% water can both treat and prevent powdery mildew.
Vinegar Spray:
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Mix 4 tablespoons of vinegar with 1 gallon of water. The acetic acid in vinegar kills the fungus."
So it seems that messing with the PH of the fungus helps to kill it, too.

Quite a few questions. Let's take them in order:
1/ to prepare for this kind of lifestyle: You are doing exactly the right thing: Get information, free if possible, even better if you have good heart projects like Habitat for Humanity or you volunteer at a Community Farm: They will teach you A LOT, at least for the type of ground and the zone you are presently living in..
2/ It's better to start earlier with a lower capital: You have to start small, anyway, rather than have grandiose projects and perhaps go in debt and get discouraged because things are not turning out perfect on the first try.
3/ Observing the land for a year before building anything permanent: It depends: If your dream plot is very different in soil composition, growing zone, like in another State, perhaps taking a vacation there might be in order, but as you look for properties available, if you know the essentials [which you can also find online, by the way, like soil composition, growing zone, frost line, potential for flooding, frost-free days etc.], you could start with a good solid house and then start dreaming in the winter, with seed catalogs etc. An alternative is to visit the County extension office nearby and they will have a wealth of resources for you. [Mostly for free!]. If you have a day job, that's the best and cheapest alternative to trying to "tent it".
4/ Looking back, no. I made plenty of mistakes, like buying 25 trees and then not having the time to get them planted and watered properly; I had grandiose plans.  but I suspect you won't make too many because, unlike me, you strike me as "a planner". Starting small also makes for less costly mistakes!: You can back out of a project that's not panning out for you without losing too many feathers!
5/Permanent structures... like the house? or sheds, coop, etc? I'll set aside the house because if you start from scratch, that's an enormous project that is likely to delay the other stuff immensely, so let's assume you buy a house already made.
Depending where you land, close to a spring, lake, mountain, pay great attention to the paths That's a situation where centralized is better] and the closeness to water and electricity. I chose to build my coop about 300 ft from the house. Well, what seemed like "just a little ways so we don't have to smell the chickens" became a pain for watering in the winter, transporting their feed there, socialize with them, doing the slaughtering or even putting on the finishing touches to the coop and build an addition without electricity. Now we have battery operated Ryobis, so it's a breeze, but it was tough at first.
6/ the logical order: Well, the house, because living away from the property isn't easy. You'd have all the same problems, but now, you will forget tools you need at home and waste a great deal of time and probably cussing enormously!.
Garden and critters. Having done the opposite, I would take care of the coop and getting whatever critters you would like first and garden next: They produce manure in abundance and will help you greatly with the garden. Starting a garden "from scratch" can be a back breaking job, especially in clay soil, and your first year, you would work like crazy, need chemical fertilizers and still get rather mediocre, discouraging results. You can let them do the scratching: You can find a Farmers market to buy your fruit & veggies the first year. [Also, because meat is usually a more expensive item in every food budget, you might want to start with that first. Oh, learn to put food by if you don't know yet!]
7/ as far as the questions you should ask, yes, that will depend on your personal goals, but it seems to me you are really asking reflective and deep questions, so I think you will pace yourself properly, without procrastinating too much
I have faith in you. Go for it!

I have not fed them this way, but very close: Our city demands people bag their leaves in the fall. I have taken a few bags and emptied them in their "winter run" [a covered area I send them to when I'm cleaning their coop].
Well, they didn't rush to eat those leaves but they did scratch and tear them in tiny pieces. Those pieces mixed with the sandy ground there and practically disappeared. mixed with their dung, they will be valuable mulch.
They will eat the leaves green, though. If you make a "bouquet" of smaller cut branches and tie it to the fence, it seems easier for them to tear the leaves off.
Also, they are quite good at tearing the leaves off of the suckers on my fruit trees in their enclosure [I have to put up with deep nesting baths around my fruit trees, but oh, well...]

Elena Sparks wrote:I don't know if this will be helpful at all, but I use a long trough to feed my poultry flock. I like to soak their food, and that doesn't work well in a traditional feeder. Plus, I have ducks and geese in with my chickens and the waterfowl tend to clog feeders up because of their wet bills. I fill the trough twice a day, and try to hit a balance between giving them everything they need, and yet not giving them so much that there's tons of extras left for the mice to eat at night.
Here's some pictures of my current setup:

I have tried just bout any kind of feeder. A big advantage of the trough is that all chickens can feed at once, including those chickens who are not dominant. I use one in my "winter run"[ A stationary hoop house I push them in when I need to do a thorough cleaning of the main coop]. Also a good place for them  to eat or to have a dust bath when it is raining heavy outside.
The mice might come in when the chickens are not there [at night] but I have a 1/4" mesh for the walls going all around, so I have not observed any mice scat in it. At night, the trap door to the outside is closed, so they can't eat at night. During the day, the chickens can patrol it on their way in or out of the coop to the pasture, it is well lit and there are not any places to hide, so for the most part, mice can't really fill up. I have observed a cheeky chipmunk, though, and now that I know where he was coming in, I plugged it!
I started using the trough when I had some broilers. They grow huge and very muscular, not really fat but the round feeders they gather around somehow didn't really allow all of them at once. Also, the trough [I use a 10 ft. gutter] could be covered when you need to limit access as those big broilers need to be 8 hours on 8 hours off. [they grew so fast that I didn't get to implement the cover. I'm wondering about these covers for gutters so that the leaves don't drop in the gutter and plug it.
Oh, well, next time...