Michael Martin

In Mesoamerica species of Montanoa (Asteraceae) have been used for centuries as natural birth control. Some of the compounds in the plant were heavily researched by pharmaceutical companies in the 1960's. The plants are large herbaceous perennials that can stand a few degrees of frost, but can be grown in tubs and overwintered indoors in colder climates. They are stunning when in bloom, and emit a fruity, ripe-apple type scent.

Interestingly it wasn't until female scientists researching herbal medicine went to Mexico that the traditional use of this plant surfaced. It was traditional women's lore and was not discussed with men (especially in a catholic culture)

Do a Google search on vetiver grass. It has been widely used in the tropics to halt erosion and helps to restore fertility The roots also can reduce soil nematodes.It does not produce food directly, but can act as a nurse plant for establishing food-producing tree cover and mulch for gardens.

Beyond that, the ususal-suspect strategies of controlling /eliminating feral goats/camels, swale/gabion/earthworks, etc. would all come into play.

For a N-fixing tree species, the local yeheb nut (Cordeauxia edulis) is ideal. It is highly endangered due to overgrazing. The seeds are said to taste like cashews.

I have found it difficult to seed carrots through standing mulch or cover crop.I used to turn my cover crop/previous crop residue under to get a good seedbed.That way I was able to seed immediately after harvest (this was in San Diego County. so 12 month growing season)Also avoided the use of plastic mulches, and the time out of production required for solarization.

There are some good videos and descriptions at the Earth Tools website:

http://www.earthtoolsbcs.com/html/bcs_implements.html

+1 on Azolla. Grew it in tubs with various water plants, including water chestnut and it seems to increase the growth rate of other plants in the system ( I never measured this or ran a controlled experiment, but that was the impression I got). It doubles its biomass every couple of days ( at least under Hawaiian conditions) so must be continually harvested from the waters surface or it will form a mat that smothers everything else, but the upside is that it make first rate mulch or compost.

I would go with the cattail or something similar; bamboos, although they like abundant moisture, are not adapted to have their roots constantly submerged. Plants that would work would be species of Gahnia, Juncus, Cyperus, Equisetum or Typha (cattail).

Hello,

How is the title to the 1250 acres secured? Can non-nationals own land in Peru? What is the topography of the property like?

I'm with the other posters here... I'd go but only with enough other permie people to be able to vote the existing people out at tribal council...

Seriously though I have thought about the idea of finding an uninhabited or sparsely habited tropical island to form a community. I loved living in the tropics; food production is a lot easier when you don't have winter to deal with.

Wow... 40 posts about Jerry. The time spent just on this forum topic is more than jerry deserves.

There will always be Jerry's in any organization. Organizations that survive and thrive are the ones that identify their jerrys quickly and get rid of them. Wheaton Labs is not responsible for fixing jerry or motivating jerry or delving into his psyche to "help" him heal the hurts of the past etc. Wheaton Labs has offered jerry an opportunity to learn and grow and have meaningful work to do. Jerry's response is to blow off his minimal obligations and spend his energies finding ways to circumvent any responsibilty (and work).

I have had Jerrys work for me ( briefly) One got into drugs and stopped showing up for work (right at the startup phase of a new business BTW, and he was our only employee at the time) After an absence of a week, he called up on Friday and wanted to come get his check!... you know, for the week he hadn't been there! Another jerry sat in his cubicle and surfed the web for eight straight, while the lab samples he was supposed to be analyzing piled up. When I finally fired him, he was truly shocked and indignant; he expected that the letters after his name granted him license to do as he pleased. Worse than his inactivity and attitude was that he set an example for the rest of the employees whose performance deteriorated as well.


Jerry is a weed; so do some chop-and-drop. Show him the gate. Let Darwin take care of him.

This inventor has developed a machine that dries and powers poultry offal and feathers using compressed air:

http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:Tornado_in_a_Can