John Duffy

To gain the most knowledge about growing in your area, I like to visit some area farmer's markets and talk with the vendors. I have asked many vendors if I could visit their farms in order to learn. I always offer to trade manual labor for good information. So far, nobody has turned me down...  A few hours of toting this, hoeing that, pulling weeds etc. can open a lot of doors...The majority just say, "c'mon over and we'll show you." As long as they don't perceive you as competition, people will take you under their wing.

My clay is so hard, my carrots look like corkscrews...But, my potatoes do just fine

John Dean, I feel your pain! My walls and ceilings have this swirl pattern. I invent new swear words every time I have to paint...I've ALMOST got the wife convinced to let me skim coat over the evilness

Timothy, my spoiled pooch has been plagued withe the demon itchies and gnarly hot spots every Summer. We  went to my sister's to visit and he went swimming in her pond that had been treated with copper sulfate. His hot spots and itching disappeared within 2 days! We had been using all the Vet recommended stuff including some ridiculously priced "special diet" dog food...Nothing we have found has worked anywhere near as well as his dip in the pond. Best of luck with it. We've gotta take god care of our fur babies.

Box Elder makes a great carving and wood-turning wood. Very easy to carve!

Thank you, Paul and fellow Permies for helping me to become a better steward of planet Earth and a more thoughtful human being. I can't list all the things I've learned here. I keep spreading the word!

Thank you, Cristobal for the great information! I was pretty much uninformed when it comes to fire brick. I figured it was all jut about the same. Thank you for sharing some very valuable knowledge!

Andria, congrats on scoring a big pile of goat pooh...'When God gives you poop, make compost." (OK, I improvised that) Nonetheless, if you put a pound or two of red wigglers into that pile of goat doodles, they will make you some lovely vermi compost that you can add to your Hugle...If you have access to manure, worms are the way to go. Vermi castings here in Indiana sell for $2 and go up from there. VC is amazing stuff!