Thom Bri

I spread out seeds on newspaper or tissue to dry. Often they sit there for a few weeks. Then I put them in plastic containers.
Plastic is inferior because if there is the slightest exterior moisture the seeds will mold. So, my long drying time.
I put corn seeds in the freezer, due to insects that can come in with the seeds.
Seeds that come in still on the stalk will go into paper shopping bags. Lettuce, some flowers, tobacco. These hang on the wall in the garage.

Pearl Sutton wrote:
More snow tonight, looking like by tomorrow noon or so I'll top out at 8 inches, give or take.
I'm glad I'm warm, hoping I don't lose power, but ready for it if I do.

It's a lot colder here, but not much snow. One nice thing about the cold is the roads are dry. Wet, freezing snow is the worst.

We have a newish, high-efficiency gas furnace. It's actually slightly oversized for our square-footage. Last night it couldn't keep up and the house was colder than the temp setting. In really cold temps we turn up the temp higher then we normally keep it, in order to prevent pipes freeing.

Stay snug!

Back when the kids were babies, we would make large batches of mashed/pureed foods and freeze them in ice cube trays. Super convenient to thaw pre-made food.

Welcome! We seem to have a lot of S Illinois people here.

Pearl, we have a very similar rug, also bought on sale. I like it.

Temps here, west of Chicago, -15F (-25C).

2. One is a domestic, no idea what variety. It was here when we moved in. The other is a wild rose that I spotted while mowing the lawn. I swerved around it and let it grow. Small white flowers. Wicked thorns!

Thea Harvey-Barratt wrote:Not sure if this is helpful in the context of permaculture, but offered for what it's worth. My dad used to be a treasurer for a large commercial brewery. They sold their spent mash to pig farmers.  At a certain point, they decided to buy a string of breakfast restaurants and the pigs to supply them because the mash was such nutritious food for the pigs, and they had essentially unlimited access to free pig food. My point is that it's good food, and economic at the commercial level.

My neighbors used brewers waste for cow feed.

My dad raised pigs commercially and so we got all the farm magazines. One article I recall from the 1980s described a test done comparing fermented grains with dry grains in pig feed. I don't recall the specifics but they definitely found an advantage. I believe it was a reduction in phytates.

Ground the first corn from the 2025 season today. Still have a lot left over from 2024. I suppose I'll feed it to the squirrels and birds and gophers.

Alder Burns wrote:What varieties of squash were you growing?  I've had good results in multiple situations with the Seminole pumpkins and their relatives.  They seem to keep on growing and producing in spite of bugs, borers, mildew and the rest.  The vines do like to climb, though, so you might have to discourage them from climbing the corn and sunflowers, since the squashes might break them down with their weight as they grow.  Many times I've had to get a long pole to fish them down out of the trees and bushes!

I have been growing Japanese Kabocha squash, since that's what my wife strongly prefers. This year I will add Red Kuri, another Japanese variety. Both are Maxima varieties, so tend to be susceptible to bugs. But no point in growing anything we won't eat.

Regarding climbing, it's a thing. I walk through a few times a week and move the vines to where I want them. Even the beans can pull down corn eventually, especially if there is a strong wind.