Dione Holt

+ Follow
since Feb 05, 2022
Merit badge: bb list bbv list
Biography
Artist
For More
Colorado, 6000ft, 5a
Apples and Likes
Apples
Total received
In last 30 days
0
Forums and Threads

Recent posts by Dione Holt

I am starting from scratch in a patch of high desert. We have one garden bed, one compost bin built and some roughly dug swales.

Here are the 2023 goals:
- Get water infrastructure - rain barrels, irrigation (pre-water softener) installed, dig more swales
- Build some wind breaks
- Bring in compost to improve the soil
- Start planting some trees for a future food forest and hope they survive
- Fill and plant our one raised garden bed

It feels overwhelming right now...
2 years ago
I don't want to attempt to diagnose your issues, but wanted to share mine. I recently realized I have been exposed to ciguatera toxin from eating certain fish. It might be a new case, but likely from where I grew up (daughter of a fisherman from tropical Australia, so we grew up eating a lot of fish!). Ciguatera is mostly found in larger fish, higher in the food chain in tropical zones like Australia and the gulf of mexico. The worst fish for it is Snapper, grouper and mackerel. It shows up for me as itchy, swollen feet and hands and I can't keep my legs still at night. Sort of similar to restless leg syndrome. It never leaves your system and can come back when you eat more fish. A friend had a much more severe reaction after eating fish in South Texas that caused paralysis and hospitalization. It took 18months to diagnose. In her case she relapsed not only every time she ate fish but also from chicken and pork in the US that is fed fish meal. All the more reason to ensure you know the source of your food. This probably helps you none, but its not a very well known issue in the US and is not very often diagnosed correctly so thought I'd share.
2 years ago
My compost seems to do better when I start dumping lots of spent greens from my garden - pea plants, broccoli leaves, kale, lettuce that went to seed etc. So for that reason I'd recommend green stuff. It disappears very quickly though and a full compost bin quickly shrinks to not much at all. So for that reason maybe your limited space is better served with something that has more bulk to it.
2 years ago

Christopher Shepherd wrote:I was a hydraulic and mechanical engineer for 20 some years.  Most of the top engineers I worked with come off of the farm.



I completely agree (but also add they come from boats. I'm the daughter of a fisherman and consider myself a first rate engineer...)

My former company insisted on hiring the top students from the top universities but the best engineers were from regional areas from working class families. How do you teach innovation and problem solving without having grown up needing to innovate and solve real problems in the real world? Watching my Dad fix things with whatever he had on hand taught mea different kind of skillset I'd never get in school.
2 years ago
The two biggest things I disagree with how we were taught was about nutrition and the climate/water/rain cycle theory which I'm sure has a name.

We were taught nutrition from the food pyramid and I've come to realize how flawed it is and likely influenced by american agriculture industry. Nutrition should really emphasize the importance of fresh fruit and vegetables. I realize now how much nutrition influences everything beyond just getting enough protein, carbohydrates and fats. Hopefully it has changed since I was in high school but I doubt it.

The climate and rain cycles is so much more involved than we were taught. Of course it probably takes a college level degree to explain fully, but I feel like what we were taught was not even correct.
2 years ago
Thanks for responses so far. We'll be at 7800ft in Colorado in zone 5a. There's black bears, mountain lions, elk and deer. The basic plan is to keep the house and 1 acre garden on one side of the property and start to plant trees the other side. The bears would need to come out of the mountains and through some residential areas to get to us, but I believe they already roam through - there are wild strawberries and other berries already growing. I'm hesitant to plant more fruit/berries for them to become more permanent residents.
2 years ago
I have a 9 acre piece of land in definite bear country. It was formerly cleared and grazed by cattle and I'm wanted to restore the land and plant more trees. As I'm learning more about permaculture, I want to plant fruit trees and berries but I'm really worried about attracting bears. I recognize they are part of the eco system and its probably an unavoidable outcome. Just wondering people's thoughts - go ahead anyway or are there ways to deter bears from your fruit trees?
2 years ago