Andrés Bernal wrote:Willow feeders are a best solution than compost for gardeners:
I understand that the product is superior in nutrients to compost, but if the product is only usable for willows, it is a product of limited use. I was hoping that the Wiki would say that it has wider use. I was also hoping to hear a claim that willow itself has wider use.
Maybe it will be useful to have more information on what the willow feeder feeds? Well willows obviously, but not everyone may have use for a lot of willow. (It seems like a mediocre grade firewood.) Can other plants take the willow feeder output in smaller quantities and thrive? (I'm guessing so, as "night soil" used to be a common fertilizer before synthetic fertilizers.) That kind of information would be valuable.
Regarding this key claim: "An interesting thing about pathogens ... 99% of them die in about two months. That number goes up to 99.999% in six months. And 99.9999999999% in two years. Faster in a dry environment. " A number of us who want to implement a willow feeder will need to convince not only themselves but skeptics around them regarding this claim. People will bring up worms, eggs of worms, etc. So some pointers to some authoritative research backing this claim will aid adoption.
Hello, I'm looking for a cold climate- (Zone 5) friendly softneck garlic. I grow hardneck quite well but they don't keep past March/April. Fruition used to sell a cold-weather adapted Lorz (https://www.fruitionseeds.com/shop/vegetables/garlic/organic-lorz-italian-softneck-garlic/) but since they're stopping selling stuff, I don't feel so sure about trying Lorz from a different supplier.
Here's an update after using soil blocks for 4 seasons and Winstrips for 2 seasons.
I think I'm getting better at soil blocks and honestly it doesn't feel like that much more labor than Winstrips. I've tried the Mini Wini Large (this is equivalent to the 50-cell tray) and the Mini Wini Small (equivalent to 128-cell tray). The former works well for me. The latter I'd say is actually more work than soil blocks as the extra seeding mix doesn't readily fall through the gaps between the cells - I have to use a pencil to poke them through. Moreover, I had a significantly lower germination rate of onions with the Mini Wini Small than with soil blocks. I have no idea why that would happen and I should probably repeat the experiment to be certain. I wish the Small worked well for onions as they don't really need that much space/soil as seedlings.
Here's a very belated update on my effort to grow mulberry trees from locally (Broome County, NY) obtained cuttings. I collected hardwood cuttings from a couple of healthy trees from a neighbor. I put them in potting soil. The leafed magnificently, but not a single one of them rooted. I probably had 20 odd. Moral of the story is that it very much depends on the variety of mulberry. Some root easily, some don't. See Akiva Silver's experience: https://www.twisted-tree.net/propagating-mulberry-trees
Mk Neal wrote:That’s unfortunate! Try putting any undamaged beans in cold part of freezer for a week, in hopes of killing any remaining bugs.
Any chance that any residual moisture in the beans might damage them from being frozen? Or that doesn't happen if the pods had dried and the beans feel hard?
Thank you all for sharing your insights and experience with this. I went through the harvest looking for the bigger beans without the yellow powder to save as seeds and noticed a few with holes in them in the process. I'm a bit surprised that I didn't see more beans with holes given how much yellow powder there is.
Some of the 2023 harvest is in a plastic jar with a plastic screwtop and the rest in a glass jar with a metal screwtop. They seem secure enough. Did not notice any bugs. The 2022 harvest (which is unaffected) is in a tupperware one shelf over.
Hello, some time in the last one month my stored 2023 fall harvest of dry runner beans have developed a coating of yellowish-green powder. (See photos.) I rinsed it off (easily) and cooked, ate it, and survived, but I'm curious to know what this is, if it will eventually ruin the beans or their usability as seed. Interestingly, this hasn't yet happened to the remains of my fall 2022 harvest. Any info will be greatly appreciated.
