Nathanael Szobody

Huh, I've never seen basalt mesh. Can it be wrinkled up like chicken wire? That's the real strength of the ferrous cement; it is "pleated" with lots of tiny folds for 3 dimensional reinforcement. As for rust, it all depends on how you treat the surfaces of the ciment.

That explanation is very helpful.

I would recommend ferrous cement for the projects you describe. Affordable and sturdy. Totally DIY.

Joao Winckler wrote:Yeah once it gets going it just keeps showing up. I had a similar thing with a few vigorous self-seeders in raised beds, you end up spending more time pulling seedlings than actually harvesting. At least the chickens get something out of it.

I'm my garden, pulling up seedlings IS harvesting ;-)

It really depends on if your concrete is reinforced and if the cement is dosed sufficiently. Plain concrete will always crack without rebar reinforcement.

That being said, the cracks are not always terribly significant for something like an in-ground cistern. I built my water tower with nothing but bricks and mortar. It leaks so I just planted banana trees around it...

An attack rooster is just a little confused about the pecking order. Resetting the pecking order is not difficult; just put your game face on.

Enter the chicken yard and immediately go on the attack before he can: chase him hard, round and round. If he tries to chase you have a broom in hand to knock him around until he's convinced to run.

Once he's convinced to run hard away from you, then catch him. Hold him upside down by the legs and shake him a bit. When roosters fight they bite the comb. So grab the comb, pinch it a bit, and shake his head around with it. Toss him to the ground and keep chasing him until you're satisfied there's no fight left in him.

Next involve the kids. Let them pinch the comb and hold him upside down, toss him and chase. That should do the trick.

Arborvitae are extremely hardy. Cut about 8 inches of a branch tip off and stick it in soil. If kept moist and warm it should root in a couple months.

This was grown from a cutting:

With this size of surface area, you really got to get growing your organic matter: alternate cover crops of daikon radish mixed with clover in one rotation, and rye grass or sorghum on the other. This way you will have organic matter building both underneath and on the surface. A few cycles of this and you should have soil building nicely.

Hi Becky, since it looks like you've already done some mesquite hugel, I'll be curious to hear the results.

My experience in hot and dry is that wood laid on the surface is more effective for soil rehabilitation. The biology will consume it as appropriate and integrate the resulting nutrient into the soil below. Meanwhile humus slowly builds where the woods touches the ground.

Ever notice how well the weeds grow around a fallen log? A whole garden can be designed this way: cut the wood into short, semi-straight lengths. Lay then in rows with narrow spaces left in between for planting. This is world's best mulch and will last quite awhile.

Hey Erol,

Can you share some pictures to help visualize? My main concern would be getting the earth bags covered in some sort of plaster, because they will degrade in the sun.

Nicole Alderman wrote:

This week, we're studying the ancient Minoans. I wanted to do something memorable for them before moving onto ancient Greece. I want them to come away with at least the idea of "the Minoans existed and we know about them from the frescos they made, and here's the basic idea of how a fresco is made." I only have one class period, because next week we're moving on to ancient Greece and the making of theater masks. The theater masks themselves will be a multi-week project.

That's pretty cool. Have you considered doing a single class craft? Like one single fresco that everyone contributes to? And one medieval waddle and daub house that's a bit larger and easier to tie the roof to?

Alright I'm done making suggestions I promise. You're doing fantastic.