TCLynx
TCLynx
Brenda
Bloom where you are planted.
http://restfultrailsfoodforestgarden.blogspot.com/
"the qualities of these bacteria, like the heat of the sun, electricity, or the qualities of metals, are part of the storehouse of knowledge of all men. They are manifestations of the laws of nature, free to all men and reserved exclusively to none." SCOTUS, Funk Bros. Seed Co. v. Kale Inoculant Co.
Joel Hollingsworth wrote:
I agree with Marina.
For inspiration, you might look at the system Emilia Hazelip worked out. It's for a mediterranean climate and probably not the best for you, but it is a year-round polyculture for a place with no hard frost.
Do strong insecticide plants like tobacco or jicama help against the sweet potato weevil?
Marina: I just read that castor beans repel moles, both the roots where they grow and the occasional seed dropped into a burrow. I'm not sure how true that is, or if the risk of ricin poisoning is worth it to you, but I thought I might mention it.
TCLynx
http://www.greenshireecofarms.com
Zone 5a in Central Ontario, Canada
TCLynx wrote:
I tried to look but got a file not found error from the link.
Travis Philp wrote:
Not to get off topic but I found something on weevils you may like to try.
In Kilifi, Kenya, farmers create planting mounds or ridges incorporating a good amount of fresh leaves of Lantana camara before planting sweet potatoes.
marina phillips wrote: Will eating the beans poison animals? Is that the point of dropping them down their holes?
"the qualities of these bacteria, like the heat of the sun, electricity, or the qualities of metals, are part of the storehouse of knowledge of all men. They are manifestations of the laws of nature, free to all men and reserved exclusively to none." SCOTUS, Funk Bros. Seed Co. v. Kale Inoculant Co.
http://www.greenshireecofarms.com
Zone 5a in Central Ontario, Canada
A book that answers exactly this is by Linda Woodrow called THE PERMACULTURE HOME GARDEN. It would probably greatly interest you. It has fascinated me even though my land is not flat enough to do her rotations... chickens included. She has got her production up and her workload to the minimal. Excellent ideas she has and can be relicated almost like a recipe on flat land. Maybe check it out next time you are in a bookstore. She has places for annuals and places for perennials... a really neat system design.TCLynx wrote:
I've been struggling with a couple concepts that don't seem to easily work together.
Crop rotation is kinda important down here since we don't have a period of frozen ground to get rid of plant pests over winter. However, I rather like the idea of mixing things up quite a bit and poly culture food forest gardening.
How do I sort this out? (either logistically- how to rotate when things are planted all mixed together all over -or- mentally, if I keep things all mixed together is crop rotation really not needed?)
I am currently forgoing Sweet potatoes for a couple of years since we got hit pretty bad by sweet potato weevils which is a real bummer since sweet potatoes are one of the few things we really like that does well through our summers.
TCLynx
Hey! This is too marvellous! An actual use for lantana! It is a real nuisance weed here... the birds love the berries.... (just had a thought... maybe my hens will too!.... no maybe not... more seeding)... anyway... birds love the berries and so spread it around so quickly. Is really difficult to keep in check. I must admit to having really searched the net for usefulness... and only came up with basketry... and didn't look so good. So thank you very, very much!Travis Philp wrote:
Not to get off topic but I found something on weevils you may like to try.
In Kilifi, Kenya, farmers create planting mounds or ridges incorporating a good amount of fresh leaves of Lantana camara before planting sweet potatoes. This improves soil organic matter and at the same time serves as a repellent of the sweet potato weevil, thus improving both yield and quality of harvested tubers. The superior quality of sweet potatoes grown using Lantana leaves have been confirmed by Ministry of Agriculture staff in the area.
Heres info on Lanta http://www.floridata.com/ref/l/lant_c.cfm It only grows to 1.8 meters, so says this source, so it won't take up much room on you to have some to chop and use as mulch
TCLynx
Lantana (Lantana camara) – mwingajini
Use against: Insects
Insects: Many species
Preparation:
1. Crush one handful of leaves in 1 litre of water, add a little soap,
spray.
2. Dry and grind ashes into a dusting powder.
3. Burn the branches and dust the ash over beetles and leafminers.
Cyara wrote: the birds love the berries.... (just had a thought... maybe my hens will too!.... no maybe not... more seeding)
"the qualities of these bacteria, like the heat of the sun, electricity, or the qualities of metals, are part of the storehouse of knowledge of all men. They are manifestations of the laws of nature, free to all men and reserved exclusively to none." SCOTUS, Funk Bros. Seed Co. v. Kale Inoculant Co.
TCLynx wrote:
Cool thanks for all the good ideas. I'll have to look for that book chelle.
The Lantana against the sweet potato is an idea I'll definitely try. Of course Lantana is a Category I invasive exotic species here in Florida but so is the Orchid tree and that is a handy nitrogen fixer. Both already growing around the property. Perhaps I'll save and make use of the leaves of the Lantana instead of just hacking it down all the time.
Brenda
Bloom where you are planted.
http://restfultrailsfoodforestgarden.blogspot.com/
"the qualities of these bacteria, like the heat of the sun, electricity, or the qualities of metals, are part of the storehouse of knowledge of all men. They are manifestations of the laws of nature, free to all men and reserved exclusively to none." SCOTUS, Funk Bros. Seed Co. v. Kale Inoculant Co.
Writing from Madhuvan, a yoga retreat/organic farm on the West Coast of Costa Rica.
Writing from Madhuvan, a yoga retreat/organic farm on the West Coast of Costa Rica.
I have never sensed the force being as strong as in this tiny ad:
GAMCOD 2025: 200 square feet; Zero degrees F or colder; calories cheap and easy
https://permies.com/wiki/270034/GAMCOD-square-feet-degrees-colder
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