Annie Collins

Cara Campbell wrote:Hello,
has anyone used wooden wine boxes for a worm bin?
Thanks!

I am sure the wooden boxes would work fine. The worms do need a certain level of moisture so the wine boxes would rot after time, but then you could just the set the worms up in some new wine boxes when that happens. My first outside worm bin was a very large wooden box, about 4' x 4', and it took a few years, but it rotted and fell apart. I just left it all in pieces and now the worm bin has become a sort of worm pile. :-) They continue to be happy and prolific. I only have a tarp with a couple of holes over them to keep them from getting overly wet when it rains.

About 5 years ago I made a small bed, about 5ft. x 10ft., just to plant a few things into. One of them was stinging nettle that I bought from a farmers market. I didn't realize how invasive stinging nettle was considered. I planted it next to comfrey, as well as a type of mint, some thyme, and a couple of other things, I forgot what. I pretty much neglected the bed since. Looking at the bed now, I find there is a lot of healthy nettle, but it didn't even take over the whole bed. The comfrey is there still as well, exactly where I planted it. And the mint is also still there, also having grown into a bigger space of the bed, but also not taking it over. I let the nettle do pretty much whatever it wants, except grow over the comfrey. I cut it back from there. But I don't cut it back otherwise and I do see it go to seed. I have not seen any nettle anywhere else on my property in all these years. Yet the ones in the bed are thriving. I do harvest some to dry and make tea from, but that's about it. I am wondering if planting it in a bed helps it stay put? I guess that doesn't make sense since the seeds can still disperse. I also don't have any barrier around the bed. It's ground level and just goes from bed right to grass. There isn't even an edge of stone or anything. We only mow around the edge of the bed. I wonder why it's staying in the bed and not showing up anywhere else.

The link below is to a spatula that the company claims is natural rubber. They sell other ones as well where they state they are silicone. So the one that says natural rubber may actually be just that! Wouldn't that be nice. It has a bamboo handle.

https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/kitchen-supply-rubber-bowl-scraper-spatula-with-bamboo-handle/300116659?keyword=natural-rubber-spatula

Speaking of worms, I put all of my natural fiber clothing, which is really all I wear, in with the composting worms when the clothing is too far gone to save anymore. The worms seem to love them since they are gone within a few weeks of me putting them in. True of old towels and any other cloths I have around the house that are falling apart.

Elena Sparks wrote: Which collar do you use?

The Dogtra or SportDog are 2 trusted brands. You are right, they are a bit expensive, but worth it. Quality really matters with these.
They also often have them on eBay for a lot less. Just make sure that it's the remote correction collar and not the bark collar which self-corrects and has no remote with it.
I hope it all works out for you and yours!

About five weeks ago I took one of my dogs for a walk which we do regularly. One of her favorite parts of the walks is to go running and splashing into a shallow stream when I have her off-leash in the park (she is very well trained and has an instant recall, otherwise I would not let her off the leash in public). This particular day she must have stepped on something while in the stream that caused her a lot of pain on one of her paws. She yelped and kept on verbalizing her discomfort despite normally being a very quiet dog, and immediately came out of the stream. I checked her leg and paw thoroughly, but could not find the source of what caused her the pain. She stopped limping about a minute later and we continued on with the walk. Since that occurrence, she has not gone back into the stream on her own. I have to coax her a few times before she does so, and then only reluctantly. Just that one negative experience has caused her to no longer want to do something that she has enjoyed for over 7 years, since she was a puppy. She LOVED that part of the walk. Not anymore.
My point is that if it was my dog that was going after chickens, I would put a shock collar on her in a way that she does not realize it is being put on, let her run around with it for while so she makes no association with me putting something on her, then set her up with the chickens. Once she starts to go after one, I would immediately shock her with the highest level possible. I cannot imagine that it would take more than 2 shocks, 3 at the most, before she makes the association that going after the chickens is going to cause her strong discomfort, and she will leave them alone thereafter. It is how they also keep dogs from going after rattle snakes. Aversion therapy can literally save dogs' lives, or keep them in their current homes., whatever the case may be. It's worth the time to set the dog up, and worth the bit of discomfort for the dog for that short time, IMO.
It is important to have a quality shock collar for such a lesson. The timing of the shock matters a lot for the dog to understand quickly. I have heard that some of the cheaper collars can have a slight delay which can be confusing to a dog.

I would liked to have purchased this, but Paypal is still requiring that I open an account. I'm not willing to do that. And I don't have any crypto currency.

I feed our dogs kelp in their food. Kelp is a complete wholefood mineral source. I make sure it is sourced from places like Norway, one of the fewer parts of the planet with still relatively clean ocean. I don't like to give any mineral isolates since humans don't know enough about the correct amounts and balance of minerals any of us need, nor do we understand enough about how they all interact with one another, which is why I keep all supplements in wholefood form.
We have had many dogs over the years. Not one has ever had any type of tumors or cancer, none has had any allergies, nor anything else, for that matter. Their teeth are healthy and don't require brushing. The only time they go to the vet is when it is time for the rabies booster, which in our state is required every 3 years. Every single one of our dogs has lived long, healthy lives, and our current two dogs seem to be following the same trend, with our older 90 lb. male at almost 10 years old now still running to retrieve a stick or ball as if he was 3.  We also do other things differently than what many do as far as what foods we feed, vaccination protocol, etc.

In most states the department that could answer your questions best is the Dept. of Agriculture. It seems it is no different in OH. Here is a link to get you started:
https://agri.ohio.gov/divisions/food-safety/resources/cottage-food

In my state it is the same dept that is responsible for overseeing the cottage food industry. The person that came to inspect my home kitchen as well as the one that came to watch me make food in a commercial kitchen (if one uses both types of kitchens for preparing one's foods for selling, one must be certified in both separately, at least in my state), both were very kind and helpful.

I'm sure there is a phone number on the site that I linked. I find it is always best to get the information straight from the source.

Good luck with your business!