Timothy Norton

Judith Browning wrote: I think I see a cross piece in your photo that seems like a good addition instead of pulling just on the handles.

The aluminum pieces appear to be some kind of additional support for the broad fork for shipping. It is rather thin but it does make me think that some kind of pull support for the handles may be beneficial. After I get some initial work in, I might decide to cob up something a little more hand-friendly to try.

I unfortunately think I will be waiting for spring to try out this new tool. Maybe I will be inspired to break some new ground this autumn and make a new garden?

For people who may be new to birds molting, here is an example picture of what pin feathers look like.

Pin Feather Example

A pin feather is a new feather, wrapped in a keratin sheath, that is in the beginning stages of development. There is a live blood supply connection at the base of the feather as it develops. When the pin feather is attached to the blood supply, it is VERY sensitive to the bird. Once the feather is developed, the blood supply severs from the feather and the keratin begins to become brittle. Birds (and their flock mates) will eventually pick the keratin off and the new feather will unfurl.

That is wacky, who could of guessed the entrance had such importance!

I wonder if it is a comfort factor for them, like a sort of worry about predators if they were near such a big opening?

Thank you for sharing in any case.

Bump

What are publishing standards and why do we need them?

paul wheaton wrote:Some sites on the internet will publish anything that anybody submits. This is not one of those sites. . . When I talk on these forums, I am trying to nurture a style of communication that I think is good for a forum. . . a safe place for gentle souls to talk about homesteading and permaculture. . . In order to have that place, we need a strong defense against the spammers, the haters, the icky people, the trolls, the corporate trolls, the "hate in the name of love" people, etc.

That defense starts with our publishing standards.

Be nice. The rule here is simple, be nice. But what does that mean? Basically, it means being polite and respectful of others and their opinions. It means not assuming others are less than perfect because they have different ideas or do things differently.

Leave room for others' ideas and opinions. The art of disagreeing is all about the wording.
   Not nice: "You're wrong!"
   Nice: "I have a different idea about that."
   
   Not nice: "That's a stupid idea."
   Nice: "I didn't have much luck with that."

   Not nice: "Nobody does that!"
   Nice: "Interesting idea. Another possibility might be . . ."

Respect for copyright. Copyrighted material used without the original author or maker's permission is deleted. This includes links to free copies of pirated material that is protected by copyright.

Free speech and Censorship.  People sometimes think they should be able to say anything they want. They can, just not on Permies. If it violates our publishing standards, it gets deleted. Because this is a privately owned site, Permies has the right of censorship. The owner of the site, Paul Wheaton, is the one who gets to decide, and he's the one who developed our publishing standards. Our goal is to keep Permies as a positive place for constructive conversation about permaculture and homesteading.

Politics, religion, marijuana, GMOs, pesticides (and other toxic gick), justice, social justice, climate change, and other hot button subjects.  Sometimes, things like politics and spirituality are relevant to various aspects of permaculture. Or maybe someone wants to ask a question about their neighbor's use of herbicides. The problem is that people tend to have strong opinions on these topics. The discussion easily becomes divisive and argumentative, and people get defensive  and sometimes hostile. Plus, controversial topics attract trolls. The Permies solution for this is Cider Press.

Cider Press. The Cider Press is a restricted category of forums for Permies members who understand our publishing standards and know how to be nice. The requirements to post in Cider Press is to have apples and PIE (You can learn more about apples here, and about PIE here.)

The same publishing standards apply to Cider Press, with the added feature that staff can award apple cores. Apple cores means you lose apples! You can read more about apple cores and how to avoid them here.

Spammy promotions. We appreciate people who have permaculture and homesteading products, books, videos, websites, blogs, workshops, etc. to share. However, we have a spam detection system in place that will flag posts that are written in a spammy style. You can read how to promote your stuff without being labeled as a spammer, here.

Moderation issues. Sometimes, people are unhappy because we enforce our publishing standards. The place to talk about moderation, staff, or bot performance is in our tinkering with this site forum. Questions, comments or complaints about bots, staff, or moderation anywhere else on Permies will be deleted.

Probation posts. If a post is really good except for some small thing that isn't up to our publishing standards, the post is put on probation. A semi-automated PM is sent from staff explaining the problem and requesting that the post be edited to conform to our publishing standards.

The pucker factor must of been off-the-charts the minute that stone started rolling.

Glad to hear nobody/nothing got hurt.

I agree with you Walter, a lot of the worry about land that can grow crops is through a lens of conventional farming. The easiest example I could give is all the work that Paul Wheaton and the Boots have done to create Hugels full of food at Wheaton Labs. There are certain spaces on that property that is mostly rock, with little soil, and over time has now created fertile patches to grow on.

Personally, it seems like some people have a crop in mind and try to make the land fit the crop. Instead, I think we should look at what the land can provide and pick crops to fit the land.

A friendly reminder that Permies is a space for a discussion of ideas, from the most mundane to the incredibly revolutionary. Please keep an open mind and use kindness to convey your own thoughts.

Compost influence on Plant Hormones

Do you know that compost contains plant hormone components/enzymes that can influence plant development? Studies show that, depending on feedstock, compost can contain a wide array of hormones that could be categorized into six separate groups. These include auxins, cytokinins, gibberellins, brassinosteroids, abscisic acid, and salicylic acid. While many of these hormones exist, in varying amounts, in compost itself they are broken down by microbes over time. This could range from hours, to days and even longer.

Auxins - Stimulate cell elongation and plant growth. These help create bigger, healthier, well rooted plants.

Cytokinins- Promotes cell division. More cells mean bigger plants!

Gibberellins- Promotes and regulates growth, stem elongation and seed germination. This component is most influential on a plants transition between different stages of growth (Germination, vegetative, and flowering for example.)

Brassinosteroids- Assists in growth regulation, plant development and stress resistance.

Abscisic acid- Important stress-related hormone found in plants that helps regulate many processes. Abscisic acid helps create more resilient plants against adverse conditions.

Salicylic acid- Assists in plant growth, development, and disease resistance. Salicylic acid aids in plant defense against disease and pests.

Chickens and the Deep Litter method.

The Deep Litter method is a low maintenance chicken coop waste management system that relies on adding layers of carbonaceous materials over soiled bedding for an extended period of time.  An initial layer of carbon rich material is laid down to catch poultry droppings/dust/feather/ect. After this layer is sufficiently soiled, more carbon rich material is layered over this and left in place. Over time these layers build and the lower layers start composting, until it develops into a deep mass of semi-composted poultry bedding. This low maintenance system only requires an annual/biannual cleanout depending on the amount of material utilized and your stocking density.

Deep litter bedding benefits from poultry's natural propensity to dig and scratch. They will intermix layers, introducing oxygen and moderating moisture, assisting the composting process to further breakdown material.


For more details on the How-To of the deep litter method, check out this thread.