Samantha Lewis

Diatomaceous Earth (DE) sprinkled on the path will make them move to a new location.  Find out where they are coming in and put down lots of it.  They will probably be gone in a few days.   If they start coming in at a new place, treat the new area.  

I would also check to see where they are heading when the come in.   If they have found a food source, you will want to get that cleaned up so they no longer have a reason to come inside.   Wipe up all their trails with hot water to get the ant smells off.  Treat with something fragrant that you like.  Essential oils or some other fragrant herbal smell.

They will change their ways if you change the environment.

Are you ready to make some tangible change in the world around you ?
Paul wants to make it possible and affordable to make the world a better place starting in your own community.



Right now, you can get 24 of his books and 12 DVD's


Here is the deal:

Get 12 copies of "Build a Better World in You Backyard"



Plus 12 copies of" Skills to Inherit Property" (S.K.I.P)


More about the SKIP book here:
https://permies.com/wiki/160690/physical-copy-SKIP-book


and 12 step by step instructional dvd's on how to build a rocket mass heater Building a Cob Style Rocket Mass Heater



If a person was going to get just one movie, this would be the one. A cob style rocket mass heater is "the old reliable". We have two projects to demonstrate this technique. One in a log home and one in a tipi. We put one in a tipi as part of an experiment to test how warm a person can be with a rocket mass heater and zero insulation. We interview the couple that stayed in the tipi for the first winter, with a strong focus on how comfortable they were when it was 26 degrees below zero.





For a limited time, you can get:
12 "Build a Better World" books
12 "Skills to Inherit Property (SKIP) books
12 Cob Style Rocket Mass Heater DVDs


You can think of this as a permaculture party pack.  Have a party or potluck in your backyard or garden.   Share permaculture with your friends and neighbors, give these books and DVDs away or sell them.  

Right now is a great time to get the SKIP book out to people who are home schooling their kids or looking for an alternative to college.

I think Muscovy ducks are probably the easiest meat animal.  

They go from hatching to full size in about 6 months.  They will hatch and raise their young with no help from me.  In a lot of situations you can feed them for free.  

In the summer, if you just have a mud puddle, the ducklings can live happily on the insects that come to the puddle.  

It seems to me that ducks use far less grain than chickens.   They also are easier on their habitat.  If you don't have enough paddocks to move animals around in yet I think ducks are a good start.  

I love rabbits too but they seem to be always getting out of their paddock.   Otherwise they are very easy and can be almost free to feed.

If you want chickens for eggs, I would get a gentle breed that does not fly much, the buff orpington is nice and no trouble.

I think the main thing is to start really small with the fewest possible animals.  That way it will be easy and delightful.


Good luck!

I like to start with fruit.  I think it is hard to beat a good bowl of blueberries, apple slices or some nice grapes.  

When fruit is out of season I try to have dried and frozen fruit on hand.  

I follow the fruit with eggs and or sausage.  This is too much protein for me in the morning but for a strapping 14 year old, it gives him good energy.

We also like to make a little parfait with fruit, sprouted nuts and kefir.

If we are being fancy or I have extra time, I will make crepes or Yorkshire pudding.

Emi Oakes wrote:Hello! Would love to visit via the Seppers program- I'm new to permies.com and amazed what Wheaton Labs is doing : ) Exactly what I want to be learning.

I'm thinking about potentially two weeks in the coming months (maybe late Sept - mid Nov) in some private space that would be comfortably heated with a RMH, perhaps wofati style. Are things available then and functional for the fall weather? Also curious if this overlaps with other scheduled projects or events I should take into consideration. Thank you! Happy to pm or email to coordinate - Emi

Hello Emi!

Thanks for contacting us.
We would love to have you visit!

I think you would would be really happy in Cooper Cabin, it has a great rocket mass heater.  It also has a nice kitchen with a rocket cook top and indoor willow feeder.    


Let us know what dates you are looking at and I will get you on the calendar.

Thanks!

Stephen B. Thomas wrote:I have a very-specific, but accessible to nearly everyone reading this, kind of request.

We're having problems with Rex, the Lab's excavator. It our quest in attempting to fix it, I've acknowledged that an operator's manual would be exceptionally useful.

Anyone willing to pick up a manual for us? One link appears to cost $30:

https://heavymachineryequipment.com/downloads/hitachi-ex120-owners-operators-manual/

The entire bundle is nearly 1,000 pages. Thankfully, this is an indexed PDF file that will be helpful for us to root through so long as we're working with Rex.

Anyone willing to jump in on this, you have my gratitude...! Thank you!  :-D

Hello Stephen!

Do you sill need the excavator owner manual?

It looks like if I buy it I will get to down load it.  Would it be better if I just sent you $30?

Hello Ty!

Wheaton Labs has a great program called the permaculture bootcamp.  

You can gain skills and meet new people.  

https://permies.com/wiki/bootcamp

Phil Stevens wrote:I got some of these seedling bags and a grow mat as a gift:

https://www.floatingpeaks.co.nz/shop/garden-gift

I liked them but they might be on the pricey side. I've often thought about felting some of the many bags of wool I've got into matting, but just don't have the time for it at the moment.

Thanks Phil!

That site has a lot of great ideas of things we could do with extra wool!  They have weed suppression squares that you can put around a plant like mulch.  They sell a wool pouch that you fill with soil as a seed starting mat.   The stuff is a little spendy and a lot of the products are sold out. That makes me think this could be a good income source for someone here on permies with a little entrepreneurial spirit.

I just over winter animals in the area that I want to garden.  I have to over winter them somewhere and in the spring I can plant whatever I want.  It works really well for me and there is no extra work.