Kimi Iszikala

S Smithsson wrote:I store dehydrated and dry things in glass jars, mason/canning or reused, with an oxygen absorber in each one. you can get a big batch if them and store Them in a mason jar- they last years, sealed, before use.

sandy

I just save the desiccant packets from food I buy, and recharge them in the dehydrator or oven to re-use in jars with my dehydrated food. When I lived in the cloud forest of Costa Rica taking photos for a nature reserve's web page, we just had a big wooden box with a lightbulb in it which is where we stored our electronics to keep them dry. We kept desiccant packets in there too, and put them in our camera cases.

Greg Strong wrote:So I’m incorporating stainless steel hardware cloth to roll into tubes in my version of the Johnson-Su, thinking I would rather not have any plastic especially PVC in my composting operation.

Can I ask for a picture of yours? I’m curious about your setup.

How’s it going?

Cheers and best wishes.

Wonder how it's going for you?

If it's any consolation to those reading this, the vent pipes only stay in for a couple days, to allow the fungus to stabilize the channels. Then they are removed.

If you still want to avoid the plastic, even for a couple days, I get it!

Well, this all sounds super cool.  Thanks for the very helpful explanation.

I dug back through my old emails and found my 2018 conversations with the EDAC folks at UNM. Our area is at 1m resolution. At the time I talked with them, I think it was 2016 data; I have no idea if it's been updated.

This looks really fun to play with. I am going to write it into the soil remediation grant I'm writing just to see if they'll go for it (it would also make more folks in our area aware of the resource). If they don't, we will probably end up getting it. We were able to get our LiDAR data in 2018, but at least at that time we could only access it with MARS software and it was way cumbersome. Hopefully going down the rabbit hole playing with maps won't keep me from making the progress on our soils!!

...also, I guess you need QGIS to read the maps? Is there other software you need? And I assume you can zoom in to whatever part of the land you want to look at?

Hey Greg,

Is the price a flat rate regardless of the property size?

Kimi

Eric Hanson wrote:Kimi,

I get it, even subcompact tractors are expensive.  Maybe someday you can afford one.

When I bought mine I was actually in the market for a somewhat larger one, but circumstances demanded that I get a tractor very soon.  That subcompact tractor was amazing.  I sold it to my neighbor when I bought my current one.

Hang in there, the day will come!!

Eric

Thanks again, Eric!, sure appreciate the encouragement. And hey, if your neighbor is moving on up himself, and looking to sell that subcompact tractor again, maybe we can come get it on our way home from our summer trip to Wisconsin, haha!

John C Daley wrote:Instead of looking at what gear you may need, why not write down what actions or gear would make life easier.
I am going to ask if a small truck or motorised wheelbarrow would be a good start?

Because thats what I found at my farm.

Thanks again, John. Yes, that was what I was thinking, which put me on the MechMaxx site looking at their motorized wheelbarrows. That would really help with the hauling, moving and dumping, but would still leave me and my husband who has a twice-broken back (we're both in our late 60s) to do a ton of shoveling and loading of mulch, char, logs, and sizable rocks... so when I saw their motorized wheelbarrow with a bucket, I thought it would be a big help. I do take to heart your comments about the complexity making it a possible pain in the neck to keep running, but my hub loves working on machines and keeps his 2005 pickup with 250,000 miles running reliably.

I think I will ask for the barrow with loader, and be ready to drop down to the motorized wheelbarrow if they ask me to tighten the budget.

I have really appreciated everyone's input -- and with the advice being pretty split between "you don't need all that" and "you need a tractor" I think this might work out to be the in-between helper that will get us by for this project and the next few years...

Eric Hanson wrote:Hi Kimi,

Nice project and beautiful land!  I was looking through your list of equipment and I see some things I like and some things I might add.  I like the Mech Max items.  I have just recently seen them pop up online.  They look good, the specs and close up views of details make them look like they are solidly constructed.  The prices are definitely attractive.  Any of the items you listed look like they could be put to good use.

If I were in your shoes I would be tempted to acquire a small tractor.  Specifically I would want it for the bucket and its ability to tow.  One of the Mech Max items I am looking at is their dump trailer.  I can see it being filled with a lot of wood chips, towed to its proper location and dumped.  Then those could be spread with the bucket.  I know that a tractor is a significant investment, but even a small, subcompact tractor will do wonders, much more than pull its weight.  And the loader & bucket will be the most useful d attachment that you are ever likely to acquire.

I am thinking about that dumper cart and while I am sure that it can be put to good use, I am pretty certain that a tractor loader will carry a larger, heavier mass than the dumper ever could.  I have used mine extensively.


By all means, if you think differently, then definitely follow your own intuition.  I have given my thoughts and if they are helpful, then great!  But if not, then use your own judgement.


Good luck,

Eric

Thank you so much for your reply and kind words and advice, Eric! I would love to have a subcompact tractor if we could afford it... We even looked into just getting a little ATV that could haul a sprayer or mini dump trailer. That was rejected last time we applied for this grant, and I think even the machines I put on this time may well be rejected... We are still finishing up building our house, so it will likely be a couple years (if ever) that we could afford a mini tractor, unless maybe if we go with Alibaba...!

Leigh Tate wrote:Kimi, I sincerely hopes this works out for you.

Thank you for the kind words!

Leigh Tate wrote:I don't know if I can be of much help, but my husband and I have been frustrated with insufficient funds to obtain truly helpful equipment. Someone already mentioned your goals and that would be a good place to start. I think if you browse our earthworks forum, you'll get an idea of what goals people have and what equipment they use to accomplish them.

My wish list includes something for making large swales and perhaps pond. There are options for this, but we've never been able to afford any of them. These kinds of earthworks are excellent aids for irrigation of larger areas.

Have you looked into USDA's EQIP and CSP programs? I don't know much about them, but did just put in an application, so we will hopefully be learning more soon. Our NRCS officer who came out to evaluate our land for this little healthy soils grant, was encouraging about us applying for their cost sharing programs, which will pay for contractors to come out and do that type of earth moving work, as long as they are willing to follow NRCS engineering requirements.

Leigh Tate wrote:Two invaluable pieces of equipment for us have been our portable saw mill and our WoodMaxx chipper (ours is a WM-8M). These have been some of our best investments along with our workhorse farm tractor.

Green with envy! We have been dreaming of a portable saw mill (one day), and that chipper looks like a beast!

Leigh Tate wrote:My experience is no on a hand-push seeder. For the best results a grain drill would work better. Broadcasting does work, but a lot of seed is lost to birds, critters, washing away by rain and wind, and non-germination. Germination rates are much better for seed that is covered with soil. If you want to use the cover crop method of improving pasture, a crimper / grain drill combo would be ideal.

Is there any manual equivalent of a grain drill, do you know? The ones I find online look like they need to be pulled by a tractor. I don't think we could really make use of a tractor on our land; it is too steeply contoured, too many trees and shrubs, and it would tear up the land, I fear. We would love a little bobcat or skid steer, but I think we are unlikely to get them either before we die...

I wonder if it would work to mix seed in with compost and distribute it with a compost roller, or broadcast with the compost mix, and then cover with straw, maybe roll it in to help it stay in place at all... as you can see, I am casting about.

Anyway, thanks for your reply and input! I really appreciate it.

Rico Loma wrote:I think you are correct, a full metal floor is not great for birds. But could you improvise with wood? Maybe some 1 x 6 around the four sides, attached to the frame, that would be a critter deterrent of sorts

When I kept 50 plus birds in 6 long tractors, I moved them about every 10 days.  I used a combination of cinder blocks, oak firewood, and roofing metal to guard the 4 sides, but from the exterior.  Yes, it was more work, but saved many lives of my little velociraptors.  That extra time for relocation paid off.
You might be better off moving them at longer intervals regardless,  not sure, but with rocky soil in NM that approach could behoove the soil project.

Great suggestions, Rico! That sounds doable, to protect the chicken tractors from the outside and just move the protections along with the tractor. Thank you!