Matt McSpadden

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since Feb 24, 2021
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Central Maine (Zone 5a)
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Recent posts by Matt McSpadden

So a different question is how long between when you planted the plants and saw the discoloration? Could the yellowing and purple be stress from something after being transplanted? I often get a little purple on the plants after transplanting if I get a cold snap or a really big rain or something that would stress them out.
2 days ago
Do you plan your meals before grocery shopping?​
Generally yes.

What does meal planning mean to you?
I figure out what primary protein I'm going to cook, and then sometimes I pick sides and sometimes I let that just be whatever I can find.

Do you use a list to remind you what to buy?
Yes, for a while I've used the free version of the "Out of Milk" app. It took a while to setup over time a little here and there... but I can add the prices and category (I named them according to aisle or department) and it will keep track of items on your list and that cost and the items in your cart, including tax. I had it sorted by aisle, so I could skip aisles with nothing I was planning to buy. After the setup, it helped me be very efficient. And back when I was married, it has a feature to sync across devices so that if I was shopping, she could add stuff and it would show up, or I could add stuff to it while she was shopping. It would even show what was in the cart... so when I was shopping with the kids and she was wondering why it was taking so long, she could see if I was mostly through the list or not.
3 days ago
Sarah: What is your best skill at your job?
Tara: Hiding where my boss cannot see me.
Sarah: Why is that a good skill?
Tara: Because good employees are hard to find!
4 days ago
Hi All,
Does anyone have any ideas or tips on preparing or cooking a good amount of food in a very small kitchen?

I have an opportunity to go on a week long vacation in an RV. There will be 7 of us... and I am trying to minimize eating out. We will have access to a tiny 3 burner stove and oven in the RV as well as a firepit outside for a few of the nights.

4 days ago
Another vote for shredding it. Though, we used to make zucchini bread out of it. I'll have to check out the pancake recipe. I don't have our recipe for chocolate zucchini bread, but here is one that looks similar.

https://www.recipetineats.com/chocolate-zucchini-bread/
4 days ago
Are you allowed to collect seaweed where you are? Many types of seaweed are high in magnesium.

Here is Maine, USA we are allowed to harvest up to 50lb of wet seaweed per day. I tend to go at low tide and focus on the dried stuff at the top of the tide. I have only done it a couple times but I added it to compost one time, and another time, I added it before putting down a layer of woodchips. I don't know what the laws are like there... but if you could, sounds like you might be surrounded by a great source on the Isle there.
4 days ago
I would think peas or pole beans.
Hi Tom,
I typically use my greenhouse for starts and then use it for chickens in the winter. There are a number of ways to accomplish what you are describing, but most of them will require quite a bit of time and work to build insulations walls, heat storage, heat producing devices, etc.

Probably the simplest concept I think would come from Eliot Coleman who lives here in Maine and wrote a book called 4 season harvest. You will notice he did not call it 4 season growing. But by changing up a little of what we grow and using a greenhouse and row cover, he is cable to harvest vegetables all year round. Changing some of what vegetables you grow is part of it too. You are not going to be growing a tomato, even in a greenhouse, in Maine during the winter without a source of heat.

**Edit
It is like the story of growing a lemon tree in the alps. Can you do it? Yes... is your time better spent on growing something that will grow more easily? Perhaps. I think you can absolutely do what you are talking about, but I worry trying to grow "normal" vegetables in a "normal" greenhouse may require more effort than you want to invest for the output you get.
2 weeks ago
I am in Maine, northeastern USA. I do want to make sure I follow codes... but I think there are a good many things above and beyond and sometimes sideways from the codes that can be done better.
2 weeks ago
Welcome to Permies!

Unfortunately, I do not have much experience with engines, so I would not know what to be looking for. There are some really handy people around, and they might be able to give some guidance.
3 weeks ago