On a third of an acre in a village, living alongside his wife and trusty hounds, Tim works towards living life within nature instead of at odds with it. Chickens, gardening, mushrooms and much more occupies Tim's mind as new projects appear and old projects complete. Tim is currently working towards renovating his 1850's home while turning lawn into edible space.
I can't help but smile like a fool every time I look at my pumpkin patch. The happiness this mess of vines brings me is priceless. There have been a couple losses at the edges of the mass as deer smash and nibble immature fruit but deep in the leaves is growth. While I did not plan to have the patch reach into my flowering spaces, it isn't the end of the world. I will just have to plan better next year!
For example, I have been rather impressed with Rouge vif d'Étampes pumpkins this year. Not only have they been vigorous, but they have no signs of mildew while a nearby gourd has been rather beat by it.
Marketmore 76 cucumbers is a common heirloom strain in my area and for good reason. It performs well in both drought and wet years.
If possible, separate the pellets from the bedding as they can be used immediately in gardening areas or stored for future use. I have not tried composting rabbit bedding/urine indoors but have found it to be a little pungent during handling. I would want to make sure I had enough carbon rich material to balance it out.
I like the idea that Douglas gave of utilizing a garbage bin or similar container. If for some reason you get a big whiff of ammonia, you will know to add more carbon material to the layer the next time. You then periodically put it outside in a big pile so it gets mixed up and (hopefully) start hot composting from all the mixing.
I've had issues with squirrels for a few years. It turns out that the squirrels stayed in the area because of a combination of the proximity to a year-round bird feeder and convenient lodgings kept them nearby. My garden was just an added benefit. We have now limited when we put out feeders to certain seasons and plugged up some holes in an outbuilding; the squirrels have mostly gone off to greener pastures now. While squirrels will travel over open ground, if you can expose more open space before they can reach your garden it could deter them. Arial predators at least would have a better chance deterring them for you!
I still experience some limited fruit loss from squirrels, but I am not losing the entire crop like before.
Thank you all for the bit of relief, it is nice to know that this is a normal process when certain conditions are met.
To be fair, I'm pleased with the prospect of having some free mulch material to utilize before the big leaf drop occurs. It also helps me balance out my garden trimmings when placed in the compost.
I purchase a variety of meats from local farms/butchers and have run into the idea of finishing beef recently. I have read some people swear they can taste a difference if a cow is grain or grass finished. I'm not sure I can detect a difference so I wanted to ask the group.
How do you prefer to finish off your beef cattle before sending them to freezer camp?
I've been trying to think of a use for scapes in my household as they are rather underutilized. I try my best to minimize waste so I kept the idea rolling around in my head for about a year now. I just so happened to stumble upon a sauce online that is semi-local and ordered it to try it out.
Essentially, the sauce is a vinegar base with scapes as flavoring. I have found it to be a lovely non-heat/non-spicy touchup to food. I have used it on eggs so far and rather enjoy the mixture of garlic and acid that it provides. I really think making them into a sauce might have merit to help preserve the harvest!
My poor pup stepped on a bee during our walk and decided to sulk at the top of the stairwell. Of course, she had to keep an eye on what was happening at the bottom of the stairwell. Someone has to make sure no robbers get in, injured paw or not!
Following the great participation with Permies Poll: Do you compost at home? I feel the next question that should be asked is HOW do you compost? There is a myriad of ways, and not every way is a good fit for everyone.
[applepoll]
There will be only one apple to apply to the choices, please pick your main compost setup. Feel free to reply with other compost piles you may maintain as well.
Please feel free to share details and pictures of your compost setups in the replies below!
If I have missed the type of composting that you do, leave a reply and I will add it.
