Matthew Alger

WOW from 30 ft?? I thought I had misread cutting "to the ground" on a web article, I guess not. I just discovered the pollarding term today I'll have to research further.
Perhaps I can 'kinda sorta' bonsai along with pollarding.

I think fear is the wrong word for it personally. Am I concerned with the potential? Absolutely as should be any reasonable person in my opinion.

As I would love to hold complete confidence in my abilities to raise perfect, healthy chickens, the fact remains that they will be semi free range and therefore exposed to insects and birds that may carry disease. I live right in a migratory path as well so it's important to pay attention.
The cases started in China not too long ago, spread to India, then Africa, Canada and recently there was a case in Oregon of a "backyard" flock of chickens testing positive for the avian flu, it's spread far quite fast so it serves the homesteader to be aware and informed.

I use a great tool for gathering worldwide information quickly and easily, after all how can one claim to be informed without all the information?
http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/index2.php

Unfortunately H5n8 has reached California not too far from my town, and considering how restaurants and freight companies are not within my control I have made the informed decision to stay away from fowl for a while, as well as being critical about keeping my future flock as safe as possible (On that subject any effective natural antibiotics for chicks? Will echanchia benefit their immune systems perhaps?)

That being considered I say manifest the most positivity you can, but it's careless to disregard these concerns.

I just purchased a Eucalyptus Silver Dollar that's about 9 feet tall, and it is destine for our main garden space as a natural bug repellent.

Now the height is to be controlled to maintain our view but I would like to have a large bonsai center piece, so I am going to pot it to control it's growth.

The diameter of the tree is just under an inch so I am confident I can train it a little bit at least, the thing is most bonsai methods are for tiny decorative trees and it is hard to find a good place to start for this unusual endeavor.
My first thoughts are to perhaps begin tying down the trunk and incrementally adjusting my ties until the tree begins distorting in the desired directions.

I am imaging a bit of a spiral lower trunk while training the upper half to expand more lateral than vertical, pretty much a typical bonsai design only larger.

What are some of your opinions out there? Any one have experience with large bonsai trees? Would this perhaps be more feasible if I did start with a lil tiny guy?
Looking forward to hearing from some folks!!

+alex Keenan -Thank you for the advice that would be perfect my household is so full of coffee fiends I have been separating the filters from the compost as there are so many. I'll have to experiment with this!

+Rebecca Norman -Interesting now I assume your speaking on the floor mats for entry ways? If so I could see those having a lot of glues and other chemicals for preservation -although I am surprised anything could survive such thorough composting at all.

+Kate Muller -Thank you for the resource!! I purchased mine form a local organic garden store though no treatment specification was listed, upon talking with the employees today I was assured it likely wasn't chemically treated as the manufacturer stated that "Most commonly mineral oil is used" during production. However I still am a bit wary.

Thank you all for your replies! I'm beginning to really like this forum.

Right on Stephen I'll tell you since finally trying out some tea it's become a staple regiment for my garden!! Below is some information I always find very useful come every spring -this guy knows his stuff!! He offers products as well if you're interested but the data he provides is excellent, thorough and free it is all well worth the reading I assure you.

http://www.microbeorganics.com/

PS. 'Ctrl + F' on web pages is your best friend.

So I am trying a hugelkultur bed for my vegetables, I practice organic growing and recently purchased a roll of jute netting for erosion control/soil structure in the bed. The thing is the jute netting smells like creosote (Telephone poles) as do hardware store burlap products, obviously I wouldn't want to plant edibles in soil with chemically treated fabrics.

However am I even correct that it is creosote treated? Or might the smell be the burlap? Any info or experience would be appreciated as I can't wait to get this bed finished!!