Amjad Khan

Hey Jay,
Imagine getting a reply 3 years later! I hope you've been well. It sounds like things were doing great in your garden and I hope they still are. I've made some progress upgrading my garden by adding raised beds and getting in a truckload of wood chips.

For all,
I have some bad news. I had two mature Norway Maples removed from my garden to open up light for fruit trees, and the tree removal company happened to damage my Golden paw paw. It was the best of the lot. Basically the top two thirds were removed (see picture). It looks like they cut it after it had sustained some damage. Does anyone know what the chances of the tree surviving are? The chances of the tree thriving?

My persimmon also died off above the graft about two years ago and I'm getting a replacement this spring.

Teri,
What a lovely way to breathe some natural aesthetic into your mom's room. Staining those painted rocks looks spectacular. Even if your mom isn't able to articulate her appreciation, you can be sure that she appreciates it. It's heart-warming to hear a story of someone taking good care of their parent rather than leaving it up to strangers. Saying that, I hope you do have the support you need to take care of your mom and yourself.

Bless you and your family!

You mention your daughter being lonely. Have you considered getting her in touch with other children who have similar symptoms? Most likely this will be online, although if you're in a large enough city there may be some groups which meet in person. Having a "modern day pen pal", especially one who can understand what she goes through, may be helpful. Have you asked her what she wants to do about what she's facing, which supports she wants?

I wish you and your family all the best.

Mr. Redhawk and all, I have a question about the three sisters and I hope this is a good place to ask it, as you've mentioned the growing style in the main post. "They even planted in the Three Sisters style, where each plant supported others that were planted as neighbors."

Is the nitrogen from the bean root bacteria available to the companion plants while that bean plant is alive, or does the bean plant need to die, and the root nodules need to decompose, to make the nitrogen available to the neighbours?

Thank you,
Imran

I saw some videos on youtube where people talk about goji berries' tendency to sucker. I have a plant that I'd like to plant out into my zone 6a garden in London, Ontario, Canada this year and would like to be proactive about eliminating future work thinning suckers. I would like to plant the goji bery in some type of metal tube that will block suckers from going through. Will this work? How deep would I have to have the tube go down to block any suckering? I was unable to find this type of information elsewhere so I thought I'd tap into the vast knowledge that is permies.com.

Thank you in advance kind permaculture community!

Amjad

I'd like to see more please!

General protection from the sun's direct rays can also be addressed: sunscreen and sunglasses to protect exposed skin and eyes, and hats as was mentioned, all go a fair way as preventative measures. I think that frequent breaks from the heat (getting to shade or even air conditioning), and constant hydration are probably the best ways to avoid getting too hot.

Importantly I think we should get more in touch with listening to our bodies. It will tell you when you've had too much. Often we push past these natural reminders and that can be when issues begin.

Stay safe, and stay cool!

This link is to a webpage that talks in detail about heat-related illness

Terri Matthews wrote:Oh, tonight's meal was GOOOD!

We had garden green beans cooked with a bit of bacon fat, cole slaw from my cabbage, BBQ pork, and something called an "apple kuchen" that is made with cake mix with butter as a bottom layer, chopped apples with sugar an cinnamon as a top layer, and sour cream with 2 egg yolks (from my eggs) drizzled on top.

The kuchen was too sweet for my tastes but otherwise excellent, and everything else was flat out delicious.

Is that a German dish? the 'kuchen' part sounds like some items we had from Germany: Christmas baum kucken, and flam kucken (excuse my incorrect spelling).

Your garden sounds like a very wholesome project for you Terri

John Weiland wrote:Just wanted to add this inspirational video link and story....from way north of Lake Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

I'm amazed by the interest the children have in gardening. I'm very happy projects like this are being done in Canada. I hope the rest of the world is doing similar things. Thank you for sharing that video John!

Where are you from John?