Ryan Burkitt

Eric Hanson wrote:I want to expand on what Rico already mentioned--the thorns!!


I had a few, short Honey Locust bushes on my property when I bought it.  I thought that they would be the end of me.  Those thorns are really something else.  It is so very difficult for me to even handle the wood sometimes because those 3" thorns are so sharp and so strong that they easily cut skin.  If I remember correctly, they are mildly toxic, thus causing scratches that do not heal up as quickly as others have in the past.  When I say mildly toxic, I don't mean these are going to kill or really harm your health unless your diet was nothing but Honey Locust thorns, but when they scratch, the wounds are jagged and swell a bit.  They do of course heal, but I have a couple of 4"-5" scars left from my battles trying to move Honey Locust brambles that have either been cut down or somehow fell on the ground, perhaps from weather or some other cause.

The worst battle I ever had was when I inadvertently drove my tractor over a Honey Locust twig laying on the ground.  That little stick had a bend in the branch and as I rolled over it, the branch popped up and a thorn punched right into the sidewall of the right front tire of the tractor!  And I mean that thorn completely punctured the sidewall and the tire deflated almost immediately.  Very slowly, gently I drove the tractor back home and that tire was almost shredded, flopping off the tire rim.  I took the tire/rim into the dealer and they told me that I would need two new front tires!  So that tractor now has two front tires that are newer than the rear tires!  It was not cheap.



I am not telling anyone not to grow Honey Locust if that is your plan.  Honey Locust have several useful advantages and might well suit your goals.  I fully support you if that is the way you want to go.   Just please beware of those thorns!!!






Good luck in whatever you want to do and my hopes are with you!!


Eric

Do you have any experience using honey locust as a tree crop?

George Ingles wrote:I planted some Honey Locusts several years back, in hopes of providing fodder for pigs and cows.
My understanding is that the sweet pulp surrounding the seeds within the pods is the main food value of them.

My trees have grown very slowly and haven't made pods yet, so I cannot say from personal experience yet.

In the book it says the pods can be ground up and cattle can eat the pulp and seeds. However, it also said sheep have the ability to grind up the seeds themselves, because the way their teeth are designed. So I was thinking pigs may be able to do the same. Also it says i the book if you graft the trees they can produce a fair crop within 5 years. Up to 250 lbs of pods/ tree. Yeah  Highly recommended the book.

I’m reading a book called Tree Crops by J. Russel Smith and it talks about grafting honey locust trees to produce more honey locust pods. Does anyone know how this would work? What’s the point of grafting and why would that produce a higher yielding tree?

I’ve been reading Tree Crops by J. Russel Smith and it talks about using honey locust pods as a food source for livestock. It mentions mostly cattle eating honey locust pods, but it also mentions pigs eating them. However, I was wondering what part of the pod is edible to pigs. Do they eat the seeds or the sugar part? Or do they eat both?

Anne Miller wrote:I believe for making grits the hominy would be dried first before grinding.

https://permies.com/t/54159/questions-making-hominy

https://permies.com/t/284240/Instant-Nixtamalization-Cornmeal-Mush-Polenta

Thanks

Mk Neal wrote:If you’re trying to make grits like the kind you can buy in the store, those are hominy grits. So the corn kernels are soaked in lye, boiled, and the skins rubbed off. That removes the chewy bits. Then the bare hominy kernels are dried and ground to grits.

Sorry, scratch the last message, read through message again

Mk Neal wrote:If you’re trying to make grits like the kind you can buy in the store, those are hominy grits. So the corn kernels are soaked in lye, boiled, and the skins rubbed off. That removes the chewy bits. Then the bare hominy kernels are dried and ground to grits.

I thought about doing that, but I thought the hominy would become doughy and turn into clumps. Do you separate the grits and then cook it with lye? Or do you separate the grits after cooking?

I keep trying to make grits by grinding corn in a hand crank, separating the flour, and then cooking the more rough grit material. However, I keep getting flaky chewy parts when I cook the grits. I’m guessing these are the protective outer covering of the kernel. I was wondering if there was a way to remove the chewy outer parts or do I need to keep grinding the kernels further to break up the outer coating?

Samantha Lewis wrote:Hello Ryan!

I would make sure your milk is clean.  If you are using raw milk you might try making a clabber and see how that turns out.   If the clabber smells rotten you probably have bacteria in your milk.  




Also be sure you are not using metal.  Kefir is sensitive to metallic spoons and strainers.  

Are you fermenting anything else in the house?  Some ferments do not play nicely with other ferments.  Specifically kombucha and sourdough cannot hang out together.  


How to make clabber:

I knew this could be done with goats milk, but bot cow’s milk.

Samantha Lewis wrote:Hello Ryan!

I would make sure your milk is clean.  If you are using raw milk you might try making a clabber and see how that turns out.   If the clabber smells rotten you probably have bacteria in your milk.  




Also be sure you are not using metal.  Kefir is sensitive to metallic spoons and strainers.  

Are you fermenting anything else in the house?  Some ferments do not play nicely with other ferments.  Specifically kombucha and sourdough cannot hang out together.  


How to make clabber:

I fermented sauerkraut not too long ago, but I might try pasteurized milk from now on