Kyla Hatfield

I am nearly completely ignorant about most of what you're asking, but I did just happen to meet some folks who raise pigs (met the pigs too, some 10 day old cuties and one very large sow!)  They informed me -- the humans that is, not the pigs -- that pigs are WAY better at clearing and keeping clear blackberry thicket.  Pigs apparently totally do away with blackberries, even grubbing out the roots.  I was told this as we walked over the relatively bare ground between pigs and human household...... and that where we were walking had once been total blackberry thicket, before the pigs were given that area to graze and root around in.......  A fenced off area to the right still contained blackberries the pigs had no access to.  My friend who was showing me their place said goats only nibble, in comparison to pigs.  They move their pigs around to clear certain areas.....

I guess it depends on the degree of blackberry removal you're interested in accomplishing!

I'm enjoying this and applaud your project!  Fencing scraps?  I would use fencing scraps (if I understand you right, you mean wire fencing?)  for plant trellising, perhaps, or, if you have a section that is about 11 feet long and around 3 feet high (if it's higher you can bend over the excess) you can make a cylinder and use it for compost or leaf mulch......  I have sometimes had to really hunt for the right fencing scraps for my compost cylinders! (the way I prefer to create a composting structure....)  Usually it seems you can't just buy it cut to length and I am not wanting 25 or 35 feet of it!

anyway, those two uses come immediately to mind.

enjoyed your blog too.  Nice to see that barn storage turned from chaos to order! 

Yes, thanks for the book!

Just to say, too, the webinar was really not that great as I said, it was focused largely on pest management of various kinds and then some on marketing.  However, it was organic based, no pesticides or chemicals involved.  Even so, not very great.  The one thing I found really most interesting was the info about the different conditions in different areas of the US and how that affects apple growing.

No, not permaculture by a long shot, but I will still probably visit around some of their other material.  Maybe I will learn something. 

I watched this, did anyone else?  I am completely ignorant, or was, about apple growing, so the organic cultivation info -- mostly about pest and disease control -- was very interesting to me.  The marketing info not so much but maybe useful for those in the position to use it.

I watched the recording tho, not the live webinar, and so discovered that website has a ton of info, I bookmarked it and will explore more later.  this is focused on Appropriate Technology -- so meaning to support sustainable growing practices.......  probably some real good stuff in there tho not specifically a permaculture focus.

just thought I'd post a mini review and toss it out there, did anyone else check this out?  What did you think?

Here is their main website, from here it looks like you can access a ton of videos and documents.... 

http://www.attra.ncat.org/index.php

Hope you'll be able to post updates....... good luck with it!

I am doing sheet mulching over grass also though not in a hoop house.  The first year I did it, it was over piled up dirt that had been sort of construction rubble, in a very dry climate, with a bunch of weedy oats in and all around (the ones that have seedheads called "foxtails" that stick in animals' coats like burs..... can't recall the name of the plant other than that.)

anyway, it worked excellent well in that climate.  I used cardboard and newspaper when I ran out of cardboard and then piled up on top whatever I could get my hands on in the way of compost manure soil and mulching material.  Tried to mulch with dried leaves I raked up without crushing them as I had no way to do that, wet them down real real good and they still dried up and blew away.  Twice.

It still worked.

Doing it here in a wetter climate, on top of healthy turf, is a new one but we shall see.

In terms of your manure, I would choose the horse from that array, just because I think it is safest (less likely to burn plants if it is too fresh -- don't use the others unless they are months old I'd suggest).  each one has its own properties though and with that much to choose from you can learn over time which is best for which application (abundance!)  Layer the manure with straw and compost if you have it.  Pile it up as thick as you can up to about 6 inches or so, and give it some time to settle if you can.  If you have to plant it right away, well, water it in real well first and think about your layers more carefully as they will not have time to decompose and meld.......  so in that case I'd put straw on the cardboard, then as much older compost mixed with soil as you have, top dress with a manure that is not too hot and then more straw on top, try to wait a little bit to plant in that even.

Watch out for the hay as it will have seeds...... but if you compost it first it will add more nutrients than the straw will..... you probably know all this already. 

Probably people here know way more about this than I do!  But I am indulging myself here.  I love sheet mulching, it works so nicely when it works.

Here I have a light straw/hay mulch on the far bed and chopped up leaves on the near bed.  I didn't have enough of either to do them both the same.

Yes, more details please! 

Really nice.  How long would you say it took, for you to make the transition? 

That's real interesting, and sort of confirms my notions about the meaning of "brix" but I am still confused about the "not rotting" angle.  Perhaps it only means it does not start to rot as soon???

anyone got a clue on this piece?

Okay, for those curious and interested, here is the website for the products my friend was recommending to me.  I have not yet made a decision on this as I am not sure I want to spend money here, but notice that in the very top of the home page it refers to "not rotting" as a characteristic of high Brix.

I am puzzled!  I also thought originally it had to do with sugar content, and it makes sense that a good soil base and a plant with complete nourishment throughout its life cycle would produce structures within the plant which would hold the maximum sugars.  This just makes complete sense to me as a lifelong amateur student of living systems.  When that which goes into building it is incomplete or flawed, the "final" product is also, is weak or distorted in some way.  Reference the discussion elsewhere about natural building and how it ages and the recent comments that, in terms of how a structure ages, it does not matter so much the building method per se, but the quality of materials and skill of construction applied, examples given.

Anyway, the website I mentioned is here:
http://www.tandjenterprises.com/