Adrien Lapointe

Georgia Lenhart wrote:Would covering trenches at night or during cold spells be sufficient to prevent them from becoming frost pockets?

My understanding, and I read the article a while ago, is that covering the trenches helps keep the cold air out of the trench. My guess is that the ground temperature helps to keep the air temperature in the trench more moderate.

Mike Haasl wrote:I've wondered if other species that go dormant in winter might work.  And even plants that can handle freezing but just not my level of freezing in Wisconsin. Like figs....

I think it could work provided they could get enought light. I have experimented with figs in Canada, but I have not had much luck with getting fruits. I should probably write a post one day, but to stay on topic, what worked and would be similar to the trench idea is hilling. Basically, in the fall, I would lay on its side the tree in the pot and burry both adding lots of mulch on top, sometimes even full bags of leaves from nearby trees. It is a lot of work! I gave up last fall and just burried the pot. I am expecting the top to have died, but hopefully it regrows from the roots. We will see.

Wondering if anybody has experience feeding red wrigglers (Eisenia fetida). Would they eat them?

“This year we found significant differences between OPEC and non-OPEC members in the longevity of proven reserves. All OPEC countries have proven reserves that are expected to last over 10 years, ranging from Iraq with just over 10 years to more than 14 years in Saudi Arabia. In non-OPEC member countries, Mexico ranks last among individual countries with fewer than five years of proven reserves, whereas Canada’s reserves are projected to last almost 20 years.”


https://www.rystadenergy.com/newsevents/news/press-releases/total-recoverable-oil-worldwide-is-now-9-lower-than-last-year-threatening-global-energy-security/

Am I reading this properly? We are at most 20 years away from running out of oil?

While I know it would be better not to extract and burn oil, I cannot see our industrial civilization transitionning away in such a short time without lots of deaths.

We have a slug problem and we want eggs. I hear ducks are good slug hunters and that some breeds are excellent layers, so we are considering getting some.

However, while I have experience with chickens, I have very little with ducks. We kept some when I was a kid, but apart from the fact they are messy with water, I don’t remember much.

Here are some pros and cons I can think of for both chickens and ducks.

Chickens

Pros
- Lots of people raise them. I.e lots of information about how to raise them.
- They can jump pretty high to get away from predators
- Lots of chicks available for sale

Cons
- They are destructive in mulched gardens with their scratching.
- They are sensitive to very cold weather.

Ducks

Pros
- Very hardy to cold
- Good layers
- Don’t scratch
- Good layers

Cons
- Need access to water to clean themselves
- They will make a mess of mud and poop with the water.
- Apparently can be loud.
- Not as readily available, so they can be more expensive.

Am I missing something?

Verge is hosting another virtual summit starting tomorrow.

You can find more information about it here:

https://permies.com/t/168617/Hope-Knowledge-Plan-Global-Permaculture

I am not sure if anybody posted about this online event starting tomorrow. In case nobody did, here is information about it and how to join in. The lineup of speakers is impressive.



You can register here

I think there’s a chance that transplanting favours genetics that tolerates it.

Mark’s mass selection program described in his book is (as far as I know) based on transplanting nursery grown trees. When I visited New Forest farm a while ago he was saying that he got trees from multiple sources, so I would assume there was a mix of growing techniques.

I prefer direct planting as it minimizes work and does not disturb the roots. I think it is less predictable than nursery planting. Some species work better.

I have experimented with air pruning beds and nursery beds. I like both.

I found that small sticks and branches even if they are still somewhat green will char well when mixed in some lumber off-cuts. I use a TLUD.

Donald Smith wrote:Quick question regarding black locust, when grown from seed, how old do they have to be before they start to make flowers?

It depends, but some I started from seeds in 2014 flowered and produced seeds this past summer (2020). I would have to check, but I think they produced a few flowers the year prior (2019).

Could I get a special link too? Please.