John Suavecito

I had been rat-free for almost a year.  Then with the cold and the storing of apples in the fall, I thought I'd heard something.  I saw apples getting eaten.  I looked at the old, soft plywood floor and noticed a small hole in it.  I blocked it, but the next day, I noticed a big hole in it.  Uh Oh!

I realized I couldn't just put more soft wood there, and the door had to close. It was by the door.  What am I going to do? I went to the nearby restore and bought a cookie sheet for $2! It seemed to work temporarily, but the ends were rounded and it went up on all four corners.  That seemed to beg temptation to the critters to nibble around it.  I got out the hack saw and flattened it and cut the rounded edges off, so it was a rectangle.  That seemed ok, but it felt like it could move.  I put two bricks on the edge of it.  Now I knew they couldn't move it.  

However, the other day, I saw what I thought was a juvenile rat, crawling along the top shelves.  I had trapped him in the tool shed!  I set out mouse and rat traps. Yesterday I think I caught him.  I threw him in the trash and now I'm crossing my fingers that I'm once again rat-free. I've neither heard nor seen any critters since.

John S
PDX OR

Many people will end up appreciating your Pearls of wisdom, even if they don't remember they're from you, or from Pearl.

John S
PDX OR

Why wouldn't you mix it with real soil?
John S
PDX OR

I can't tell how much it costs. It's a great idea for someone who is running a small business with it.  We get 10cents for each can here.  I don't need a high volume device.
John S
PDX OR

Wooden sticks like that in the ground get lost or become part of the soil in my experience.  An engraved/etched label on aluminum will outlive me.

JohNS
PDX OR

I usually just get out an old pair of scissors and cut away.  Then I use a hole punch and a string and I use it to make labels for my trees/plants.I recycle the lid and the bottom.
John S
PDX OR

My experience with yacon is that there are very specific ways to do this.  What you have there is the storage vehicle of the energy of the plant.  It is not like potatoes. No eyes will appear. That part won't grow a new plant.  These are like sunchokes, dahlias or skirret.   The main part of the plant has the seed/growing part.  It will make other little ones.  It looks like a small plant with roots. The big root is what you got.  It has been cut off from the main plant.   You can eat it.  To store it, put it in sawdust or something that will keep it moist and well drained. YOu dont want this to rot! I'm not an expert at yacon , but this is what I remember.

John S
PDX OR

Great info, people.  The different types of buttercups listed in Jay's article helps explain why Nicole can have them in well draining gravelly soil.  Mine are in the more traditional, very wet, poorly draining, acidic soil.  I figure I might as well keep some in the very wet, shaded area they are in.  Pollinators are people too, my friend.  Princess Buttercup says, "You don't need to kill all of the buttercups.  Especially me."
John S
PDX OR

This is how it looks afterwards:

I noticed a couple of years ago that some of my storage apples were rotting much faster than the others. I feverishly removed the rotten ones, sometimes taking some bites that were still good out of the apples. Then this year, it hit me. There is a reason that some of my apple bins have more rot than others. Some of my bins have excellent air flow in and out, and some don’t. These are plastic shelving stacks that go up to 8’ high. I got them at a yard sale for $1-2 each. I think they were used for kids’ toys. I realized that if they don’t have air flow, I need to create some airflow. I got out three sizes of drill bits and created some air ports. It has taken awhile, but I think it’s going to make a big difference in how many apples last a long time and how many rot quickly. I have been careful to throw away the tiny bits of plastic, as they aren’t good for our kidneys and livers. Nor are they good for the critters and soil.

I am a little embarrassed at how long it took me to figure this out. It’s not exactly rocket science. Hopefully, someone else might think, "I need more airflow in my storage fruit, " and they will find a solution.

John S
PDX OR