Becky Proske

Apple cider vinegar is the first thing I reach for when I realize that I've got a sunburn. It can really help with the pain and heat and bring immediate relief. Plus it prevents the skin from peeling later as it heals. I will dab ACV on the sunburn with a cloth and use it full strength. Let it sit for a little while and then wash it off. If you can't stand the smell, I suppose the ACV could be diluted with water and it might still work just as well. I also apply aloe vera afterwards and repeat the aloe as needed in the following days. If you don't have your own aloe plant, aloe gel products can be found for purchase, and sometimes fresh aloe leaf is available in grocery stores. I've also heard that Hen & Chicks (Sempervivum) are an option for burn treatment, working similarly to aloe, however I have not tried it, so can't speak to the effectiveness or interchangeability. Seems like the yield would be better from an aloe, depending on the quantity needed, but good to know that Hen & Chicks could be used in a pinch otherwise!

This has been my go-to recipe for pumpkin bread for years. It's made with oat flour. Really enjoy warming up a few slices of this bread and eating with butter at breakfast time. Good for busy mornings.

Healthy Pumpkin Oat Bread

Ingredients (makes 2 loaves)
2 eggs
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup quick oats
1 cup oat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt

Directions
1.) Preheat oven to 350F and line loaf pans with parchment paper.
2.) in a small bowl, whisk eggs.
3.) Add pumpkin, yogurt, honey and vanilla, stir to combine.
4.) In a large bowl, mix together spices, salt, baking soda, oat flour and oats.
5.) Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir to combine.
6.) Pour batter into loaf pans and bake in oven for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Source: https://www.erinliveswhole.com/healthy-pumpkin-oat-bread/

The original recipe calls for chocolate chips, but I've never added them and I think it's been delightful without that extra ingredient. At times I've used molasses instead of honey and I did not use the full 1/3 cup for molasses. This added a depth in flavor to the bread, which was a nice change too. It's easy to use my own pumpkin puree, made from baked pumpkin, which I keep frozen in per-measured amounts for this recipe specifically.

I'm not sure I like any of the options either. I can agree with the other comments,  Triple Burn Masonry Heater is probably the best, but I still think it could be better. If you are wanting to appeal to a wider audience who doesn't know as thing about rocket mass heaters, then consider some of the key words that are bounced around a lot these days (like: eco, zero-waste, sustainable, regenerative).

Using the term "high efficiency" instead of "triple burn" might catch the attention of more people.

I don't know about currant cuttings or coconut water.... but here my thoughts.

Comfrey would be a good candidate for a natural rooting hormone. The allantoin in comfrey proliferates cell growth and an herbalist will use it medicinally to heal wounds. Any plant with this characteristic might be something to consider. Perhaps rooting hormone is another benefit to making comfrey tea for the garden. I would consider including the comfrey root when making a batch of rooting hormone tea, since growing new roots is the goal, this will infuse the water with the root "essence".

I have also heard of aloe vera gel being used as a rooting hormone substitute, which I first discovered in a post made by Strictly Medicinal Seeds.

I have not tried aloe gel or comfrey, but I find the topic interesting. With woodier sources like willow or currants, it might be important to leave the stems on the the water long enough to sprout and grow roots, therefore infusing the water with growth hormones.

If I plant some raspberries to grow and intertwine on one side of my coop, will I regret it? How likely would it be that I need to repair that side of the coop and have to fight thorny canes?

Exactly why I asked, thanks! If I plant raspberries on the *inside* of the perimeter would it be any better?

The biggest difficulty I can imagine with having raspberry canes in close proximity to the chicken coop/run would be in livestock care. If I needed to catch a chicken for some reason or another, thorny brambles would be an unpleasant problem to deal with in that situation. Even if thornless raspberries are planted inside the run, a paddock rotation system might be needed to prevent the chickens from eating the young greens before the plants get going in spring. I don't know that I'd recommend planting brambles, thornless or not. I'd look at other ways to give chickens the benefits of raspberries (shade, shelter, fodder etc).

What might be some intelligent ways to address something like this before the workers come to undo all of your work?

I agree where communication and education was mentioned, it is certainly important. I also think aesthetics is important too. This might be something that is easy to overlook in permaculture thinking, and beauty would be especially important to urban areas. Perhaps maintaining a more manicured look in the more visible areas would be helpful. Choose to plant common garden flowers and showy foliage at the perimeters. Add elements of art to create focal points here and there.

I agree, the plant looks like Dracaena fragrans (corn plant) judging by the way the leaves join the stem.

The yellow and brown spots on the leaves look like a fungal disease to me.

Fungus spots can be a tough one to resolve naturally. Better air circulation would be a good place to start. I also wonder about root health. I would definitely check for root rot too.

The plant could be staying too damp for too long depending on the potting mix used and if the root system had a chance to grow into it's new container before winter. Cooler temperatures (especially on a windowsill) and the low amount of sunlight (if in the northern hemisphere), can cause problems when the soil stays too moist for too long during the winter months. In most cases it is better to water less during winter, especially with a freshly re-potted plant, because the root system is not large enough yet. If the new soil around the root ball stays too damp for too long, it can cause root disease too.

John vk,

I've had good luck with growing seedlings indoors through winter that sprouted late in the fall (with and without grow lights). However, these where happy accidents with tomato and impatient seedlings, both of which are tropical plants. For a couple years I started my onion seeds in August and transplanted them out to the garden as tiny "onion sets" the following spring. This worked too, but also add a lot of extra care time and the plants didn't gain as much growth as I had hoped. In general, plants grow slowly during the winter months and there is a likelihood they will get spindly, even under grow lights (I'm thinking of my figs here). Sometimes the hardening off part in spring can be a setback if the process is not managed well. Since the honey locust is a woody native of the temperate growing regions, (which naturally experience a winter dormancy), my instinct tells me to work with the seasons here, when starting trees from seed.

I think you will get a healthier plant over all, by starting them in spring outdoors.

But you're situation experience could be different from mine. If you have the space and ample seed, why not experiment? Maybe sprout half now and see what happens and save the rest for spring.

I found this video to be a very useful reference for starting the seeds. Good luck!

Hi John vk,

My thought is wait until spring. In my experience, once the seedlings get going, they grow fast. I started my seeds in early May and they grew at least 12 inches in their first season and doubled that size during their second season. They grew so quickly that I felt confident in transplanting them out to their permanent places that fall of their first year. The tree seedlings have done really well in their second year despite infrequent watering. Attached is a pic of the last honey locust seedling I still have in a pot, waiting to be transplanted to a permanent location. It's just over a year old and 25 inches tall. The young trees that I was able to get in the ground earlier are taller.

It could depend on your climate, soil type and the length of your growing season, but since the honey locust grow so quickly, I would not recommend starting the seeds now and growing them under lights during the winter. I don't think you'll gain much or save time. It might be better to start them in spring and save the indoor space for something else.

One interesting thing I've noticed about the honey locust seedlings is how they fold their leaves at times. Mostly over night, but also sometimes after being handled or moved. So if you notice this happening, don't worry, it's normal. They are really beautiful plants.