~Starr
... how to you convince friends and family that compost is safe even with the presence of predators?
Mediterranean climate, hugel trenches, fabulous clay soil high in nutrients, self-watering containers with hugel layers, keyhole composting with low hugel raised beds, thick Back to Eden Wood chips mulch (distinguished from Bark chips), using as many native plants as possible....all drought tolerant.
Starr Brainard wrote:e follow up question is about skunks and porcupines espeically with concern for our dog. Here are my questions for you all:
1.) In bear and wolf regions, how often do you have trouble with these predators, and what strategies have you used to keep them away from your compost?
2.) In these regions, how to you convince friends and family that compost is safe even with the presence of predators?
Thanks!
Mediterranean climate, hugel trenches, fabulous clay soil high in nutrients, self-watering containers with hugel layers, keyhole composting with low hugel raised beds, thick Back to Eden Wood chips mulch (distinguished from Bark chips), using as many native plants as possible....all drought tolerant.
Ask me about food.
How Permies.com Works (lots of useful links)
It's never too late to start! I retired to homestead on the slopes of Mauna Loa, an active volcano. I relate snippets of my endeavor on my blog : www.kaufarmer.blogspot.com
First off your relatives seem to be all over the place. So the questions you asked, in the context they are posed, are really difficult to answer. But I will take a stab at it.Starr Brainard wrote:Hello. I have several family members with land that in theory are supportive of me practicing my permaculture technique on their land, but when I suggest design options are very resistent. The main reason for skepticism is fear of predators. The first question when I mention anything having to do with compost (pile, combined chicken ssytem, sheet mulch, you name it) is "What about bears/wolves?" The follow up question is about skunks and porcupines espeically with concern for our dog.
I am not in a bear wolf area now. But I was years ago. I had no trouble with them at all. In fact the joke was we never saw a bear. Only bear buttsStarr Brainard wrote: Here are my questions for you all:
1.) In bear and wolf regions, how often do you have trouble with these predators, and what strategies have you used to avoid interaction with them?
I had no need. See above. However, if a bear or wolf has no fear of humans, the best bet is to give it a healthy fear. It's safer for both the humans and the predator. Bear pepper spray, shots fired in the air to scare it, etc... all can work. If they don't, call the local Game warden to have the animal removed. If the danger is extreme and present immediately, and the animal won't be scared away, shoot it. I know that sounds extreme to city folks, but nature isn't always pretty. You are actually doing nature and evolution a favor though, by weeding out the animals unfit for coexistence with humanity. Thus the animals that can learn boundaries will survive and breed, instead of the rogues. That is always the last resort though. Try everything else first. One thing most people don't quite understand is that by far the majority of cases where a predator becomes a problem, it was inadvertently trained to become a problem by naive people. It's the old "Don't feed the bears syndrome". If you feed the bears, they become hungry every time they see humans. A bear that becomes hungry every time it sees humans, may one day decide to eat a human. But if every time a bear sees humans shots are fired, or pepper spray is used, or other loud noises and unpleasant things, then every time a bear even smells humans, they go the other direction. thus the "bear butts" see above.Starr Brainard wrote:2.) In these regions, how to you convince friends and family that your designs are safe even with the presence of predators?
I suggest you look up Allan Savory's Holistic management for predator friendly stock advise, or Joel Salatin's Poly Face Farm.Starr Brainard wrote:3.) Could you refer me to any related posts? I'm certain this has been discussed before, and would love references to good converstations.
Thanks!
"Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted & thoughtful observation rather than protracted & thoughtless labour; & of looking at plants & animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single-product system."-Bill Mollison
Mediterranean climate, hugel trenches, fabulous clay soil high in nutrients, self-watering containers with hugel layers, keyhole composting with low hugel raised beds, thick Back to Eden Wood chips mulch (distinguished from Bark chips), using as many native plants as possible....all drought tolerant.
Ask me about food.
How Permies.com Works (lots of useful links)
Mediterranean climate, hugel trenches, fabulous clay soil high in nutrients, self-watering containers with hugel layers, keyhole composting with low hugel raised beds, thick Back to Eden Wood chips mulch (distinguished from Bark chips), using as many native plants as possible....all drought tolerant.
"Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted & thoughtful observation rather than protracted & thoughtless labour; & of looking at plants & animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single-product system."-Bill Mollison
Cristo said: Our immune systems can handle some pretty decent amounts of these things. But we must always, like death and taxes, be respectful of bacteria. We shouldn't get it on our hands and eat a sandwich or a piece of fruit. We shouldn't rub our eyes or ears with hands that have handled compost. We shouldn't EVER get it airborne in an enclosed space and breathe it.
Mediterranean climate, hugel trenches, fabulous clay soil high in nutrients, self-watering containers with hugel layers, keyhole composting with low hugel raised beds, thick Back to Eden Wood chips mulch (distinguished from Bark chips), using as many native plants as possible....all drought tolerant.
Mediterranean climate, hugel trenches, fabulous clay soil high in nutrients, self-watering containers with hugel layers, keyhole composting with low hugel raised beds, thick Back to Eden Wood chips mulch (distinguished from Bark chips), using as many native plants as possible....all drought tolerant.
Cristo Balete wrote:
Permaculture promotes the use of very thick mulch of mowed grass and weeds, that can put a thick barrier between us and whatever is in or on our soil.
Ask me about food.
How Permies.com Works (lots of useful links)
"There is nothing, Sir, too little for so little a creature as man. It is by studying little things that we attain the great art of having as little misery and as much happiness as possible." - Samuel Johnson
"People may doubt what you say, but they will believe what you do."
"Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted & thoughtful observation rather than protracted & thoughtless labour; & of looking at plants & animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single-product system."-Bill Mollison
Come join me at www.peacockorchard.com
Mediterranean climate, hugel trenches, fabulous clay soil high in nutrients, self-watering containers with hugel layers, keyhole composting with low hugel raised beds, thick Back to Eden Wood chips mulch (distinguished from Bark chips), using as many native plants as possible....all drought tolerant.
Ask me about food.
How Permies.com Works (lots of useful links)
We are hauling truckloads of *&&^%, we are shoveling it in the wind, the heat, the rain where it runs in streams around us. We are walking in it, we are tracking it everywhere. We get it on our gloves and we rub our eyes, nose and mouths with it unknowingly. I come in contact with brown stuff, green stuff, white stuff, and oddly enough, orange stuff daily. I come in contact with a pond that is a circulating cesspool of animal droppings. Big bird *%^$, bat &^%$, histoplasmosis is here. It's a whole different world where it's rural and producing food in an organic setting -- a permaculture setting. The amounts of stuff a lot of us on this forum come in contact with are huge. We are covering acres in ^%$# and compost.
List of Bryant RedHawk's Epic Soil Series Threads We love visitors, that's why we live in a secluded cabin deep in the woods. "Buzzard's Roost (Asnikiye Heca) Farm." Promoting permaculture to save our planet.
List of Bryant RedHawk's Epic Soil Series Threads We love visitors, that's why we live in a secluded cabin deep in the woods. "Buzzard's Roost (Asnikiye Heca) Farm." Promoting permaculture to save our planet.
Hello. I have several family members with land that in theory are supportive of me practicing my permaculture technique on their land, but when I suggest design options are very resistent. The main reason for skepticism is fear of predators. The first question when I mention anything having to do with compost (pile, combined chicken ssytem, sheet mulch, you name it) is "What about bears/wolves?" The follow up question is about skunks and porcupines espeically with concern for our dog. Here are my questions for you all:
1.) In bear and wolf regions, how often do you have trouble with these predators, and what strategies have you used to avoid interaction with them?
2.) In these regions, how to you convince friends and family that your designs are safe even with the presence of predators?
3.) Could you refer me to any related posts? I'm certain this has been discussed before, and would love references to good converstations.
Thanks!
List of Bryant RedHawk's Epic Soil Series Threads We love visitors, that's why we live in a secluded cabin deep in the woods. "Buzzard's Roost (Asnikiye Heca) Farm." Promoting permaculture to save our planet.
Mediterranean climate, hugel trenches, fabulous clay soil high in nutrients, self-watering containers with hugel layers, keyhole composting with low hugel raised beds, thick Back to Eden Wood chips mulch (distinguished from Bark chips), using as many native plants as possible....all drought tolerant.
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