John Seaver

Howdy all!
I have access to a substantial amount of non-organic lemon peels i was thinking i could compost them with leaves but am afraid that pesticide residues will contaminate the heap! Any knowledge or opinions would be great! Thanks

We are in Porter! That was my plan, hoping to get winter rye in but may not....our first year on this land. Thanks do you find the rye helps break down the leaves?

Aloha from Maine!!
here we are, getting ready for winter and putting the beds to rest. I want to ask all of you what you would do...I have sandy and acidic soil, does this mean it has more nitrogen content??? I am having fifty yards of semi- composted(80%) broken down, manure dropped off and tons of leaves..... my thought is to put a layer of leaves (2in) down and then a layer of compost (2in) on all the beds. in the spring i will till, what do you think??

thanks...both great ideas not really room for trees but the huglkultur may work...we just put one in front of the house

i live on a busy two lane road and am wondering how far off of it my garden needs to be... will a fence block pollutants? 20ft? 50? 100?

greetings all!
i would like to retro fit my 1800's barn with a living roof.... is this possible, my concern is the weight of soil and plants. has anyone done this?

I have recently re located to a site with a small pine forest on the north side of my field. After just assuming that pine needles for mulch added acidity to the soil, I decided to research it. To my delight I have found that there is no real effect on the acidity levels of soil mulched in pine straw, in fact, they help to maintain around a 6.5 ph level. My next concern were the terpines found in the needles that deter germination...it turns out that after they have browned, and the pine scent is gone, so are the terpines. I have began to mulch my veg garden with them and love working with it as a mulch...mainly because 10 minutes of raking results in a pile perfect for a 30'x30" bed. Now, what I would like is to hear from you all about whether or not my research has mis-leaded me or guided me into a really great solution to all my mulch needs! I so respect this community and your opinions, wisdom and experience have become such a valued asset...thanks again!

Howdy All!
Heres what I want to do, and I would love to hear thoughts and advice.... I want to build a stone/log greenhouse that is either half underground or burmed on the north wall. Why stone and log? Because they are free and on my property, I know it is probably the most labor intensive method but it will be very cheap! I am wondering if I can build a dry stacked stone wall, similar to the foundation of my farmhouse as a retaining wall underground. Then lay a log along the length of the top as a header and more logs as rafters, I was thinking to fasten them together timberlock screws would work? I will be using pine. This will be a passive solar design with a rocket stove I have already incorporated into the interior so I would love thoughts on how to improve, thoughts, wisdom from experience etc... Look forward to all your insights! If you have any videos or links that would be great too!!

thanks for the tips, we have a rmh in our seedling house and love it but for our home, we want a wood stove....looking for something affordable, reliable and efficient

so...i am in the market for a wood stove but there are so many choices that i cannot seem to make up my mind...there are some used ones around but part of me feels like a new one would be better since we have a liitle cash reserved for it. i am looking at a Drolet and wondering if anyone has experience with this company, any help would be so great! we built a cob hearth andd looking forward to seeing how it all works