M Ljin

Varnish, in its botanical form, is a kind of poison sumac tree. The sap is tapped like rubber and used to coat and seal things. Staghorn sumac, Rhus typhina, also has a milky sap which hardens to a clearish wax/resin.

In staff meeting today we discussed pottery a little in its being an alternative to plastic. Paul thought that the glazes in pottery could be a potential source of toxins, and I replied that natural varnishes or shellacs could work, although varnish is derived from the poisonous, allergenic urushiol. Perhaps ordinary sumac could be a source of varnish for pottery or wood projects?

Can we think of any other uses for this sort of substance? Processes for tapping? (Likely similar to rubber…)

Blaine Clark wrote:Why aren't contractions more popular?
I known't and I caren't.

They are quite a pain, you know.

Riona,

I tried planting them in a wet spot too (with very good soil) and they disappeared. But in a drier, better-drained hugel mound one survived through the winter. Either a container or maybe raised above the ground in a mound could help maybe?

Unfortunately you are not the only one afflicted with afflictions of the bowels upon this woeful day, John. There may still be some marsh marigold toxin in me from Monday, or maybe the initial poisoning caused a microbial imbalance. Whatever the case, it is not letting up.

I think it depends more on how often and how much you would burn. If it is efficient enough, you might want to have a separate stove for cooking (rocket stove?) that won’t store so much heat.

My understanding is that unlike a conventional wood stove, rocket mass and masonry heaters heat a space slowly because first a mass is heated, then the mass radiates heat out through the day and night, even without a fire going inside.

This may help:



Also our hugelkultur resources page: https://permies.com/wiki/272570/Hugelkultur-resources-WIKI#2849899

Any others?

This convinced me even more it’s borage.

But Judith’s all seem to be comfrey.

In the pictures above, the flowers are all like stars (borage), not bells (comfrey). In Judith’s thread, and J’s picture, they are bell shaped, and also in my garden, they also are bell shaped (comfrey). The shape of the inflorescences is flatter and more spreading in Jen’s pictures, and the flowers are more dominant as opposed to leaves. The stems are more rigid. All of this makes me think borage.

Judith Browning wrote:beautiful!!!

do you happen to know the variety of comfrey I see there in previous photos that has those bright blue blooms?
I have that one and have been trying to ID.

Not borage?

That is such a fun “rattlesnake” on the guitar! I wonder how to make one. I have attached a bell to weigh down the neck of a homemade instrument too however it never would seem to produce any recognizable rhythm.

I saw this today too—Sally in the Garden, a traditional tune, by Laurel Premo & Anna Gustavsson. They are playing gourd banjo and nyckelharpa respectively—two instruments I never expected to hear in a room together, and it sounds amazing.