William Bronson

gardener
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since Nov 27, 2012
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Biography
Montessori kid born and raised in Cincinnati.
Father of two, 14 years apart in age,married to an Appalachian Queen 7 years my junior,trained by an Australian cattle dog/pit rescue.
I am Unitarian who declines official membership, a pro lifer who believes in choice, a socialist, an LGBTQ ally, a Black man, and perhaps most of all an old school paper and pencil gamer.
I make, grow, and serve, not because I am gifted in these areas, rather it is because doing these things is a gift to myself.
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Cincinnati, Ohio,Price Hill 45205
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Recent posts by William Bronson

The fava and the mustard greens are booming!
8 hours ago
Not a serious suggestion for this situation, but what if one added water internally?
Drill out a big 1 inch hole, fill it with water, plug it with a rubber stopper.
If you want add gravity fed irrigation lines directly to the interior of each log.
Or invert a wine bottle of water into the hole in the log.
Just silly ideas, but it does make me wonder if a hollowed out piece of wood could work as an olla.

On the tap water situation, I believe ascorbic acid, vitamin c , will neutralize chloramine.

1 day ago
Maybe plug the chimney end?
2 days ago
Sounds like the logs would be happy in tent with automatic misters, like what is used to grow cuttings, or on a flood and drain system, like from hydroponics.

Probably not worth the extra everything those would take to set up.
3 days ago
The bucket stepping stone idea is basically digging a hole, fill it with organic matter and  and put a stepping stone over it.
The bucket just keeps the sides and top of the hole stable.
The stepping stone keeps the space usable for other things, like walking.
It can be inside a garden bed or in the middle of a pathway.

I don't think being self sufficient for compost materials in a small space is very viable.
I do get a lot of compost materials from my yard, but I greedily gather biomass from everywhere around me.
Most of my best soil is made from decades of autumn leaves that were imported from my neighborhood.

I have found elderberry to be an easy to grow plant that creates a lot of biomass, and some food.
Jerusalem Artichokes make lots of food and lots of biomass.
Rhubarb and horseradish make big leaves and lots of food.
This year I've been planting fava beans every where, as a nitrogen fixer.
They are the easiest beans I've ever grown, and they make decent amount of biomass.

If you have room for a rain barrel you could grow duckweed, and apply it directly to the soil of the beds.
Duck weed is one of the fastest growing plants in the world.
3 days ago
That wall construction looks rock solid!

I've used the drywall joint compound that comes as a powder to repair 100 year old plaster and lathe walls.
It works great, even over multiple layers, almost an inch deep.
What are you using for plaster?
3 days ago
Could  you just leave them in buckets?
I would expect the water to wick up the log in that circumstance.
Maybe put some sand or sawdust in the bottom to stop the skeeters.
3 days ago
When I picture my retirement, I often picture myself picking a handcart around my neighborhood.
I already have limited access to vehicles, so a lot of moving materials around the corner to my second yard has been accomplished by  hand.
I currently have a best down bike trailer that I use, pulling it by hand.
I have built a chick-shaw as part of trying to comply with my cities chicken ordinances, which thankfully have changed.
I was not satisfied when I was done, but I learned a lot while doing it.

Wheelchairs are in relatively short supply compared to bicycles.
If you choose to support teach wheel on both side, making a cart with bicycle wheels is fairly simple.
With the use of an angle grinder the bike itself can donate the wheel holders, or they can be made of scrap steel, and either way, bolted to the carts structure.

I also think protecting the cargo from the wheel is important.
It doesn't add much weight, since the material needs to be stiff but doesn't need to be load bearing.

I think adding electric power makes sense if you live anywhere that's not flat.
A single powered wheel mounted in the rear, might be ideal.
This would allow it to be engaged/disengaged by the driver simply by pressing up or down.
It could probably be regenerative, recharged during braking.
Powering both wheels independently via chain drive also  seems doable, but messy by comparison.
3 days ago
Well, some of the transplants took, but not most of them.
I will replant soon.
4 days ago
Every bed is a place to compost.
I layer leaves onto my beds in the fall, pour pee onto the leaves over the winter and move the remaining material to a compost pile in the spring.
This adds nutrients directly to the place you want them to be anyway.

I've recently started using totes filled with leaves to put 5-6 nursery pots in.
This serves multiple purposes.
The leaves hold water like a sponge, providing it for the the plants on the pots, without drowning them.
At the same time the leaves decay, becoming leaf mold.

Something I've yet to try is a bucket stepstone.
Basically a bottomless bucket, sunk into the ground and covered with a stepping stone.
4 days ago