Mike Barkley

If rookies don't work with bees they will never progress further. Practice makes perfect. Maybe next time have your son constantly spray smoke while you work with the bees???

Here in the deep southern US I have found cilantro to be a good companion to asparagus. The cilantro starts to go to seed about the same time as the asparagus starts to appear after winter. I harvest the cilantro gradually as the asparagus gets taller. I let some make seeds & spread those around. They easily sprout again in the fall when the asparagus is starting to fade.

Did you use a smoker to help keep them calm?

Yes, they could easily be added together.

Here's an example of a Savonious wind turbine using 55 gallon drums.

When I lived in the forest I composted all the deer & wild pig bones, hides, & innards from the "bone pit" the "gut bucket" was dumped into. Hundreds of deer & pig remains after they were dressed out. Used the excavator a few times to get them out & haul them to the garden area.

The weirdest thing I've ever composted though was a waterbed frame. It wasn't intentionally composted per se but I knew it would eventually decompose. I used it to compost other things in. Over the years I added soil to the outside edges & eventually the whole thing disappeared. It was just gone.

My guess is a dress or gown.

I have only ground it with a molcajete but I think any regular mill or coffee grinder would work just fine.

Doubtful the trees would survive your climate but you never know until you try.

Mesquite has bean pods not nuts. They're not especially hard even when dry. Dried ones make a good flour when ground up.

To complete this BB, the minimum requirements is to make at least 4 lbs (fresh weight) of seed balls/bombs:
     o at least an inch in diameter
     o can either be used immediately or quickly dried for storage (before the seeds germinate)
     o at least six different species in each ball/bomb
         - at least four of the species are perennials
         - possible species:
            o nettle
            o dandelion
            o maple
            o mulberry
            o apricots
            o apples
            o black locust
            o sepp grain
            o daikon radish
            o alfalfa
            o tomato
            o sunflower
            o lupine
            o squash
            o kale
            o turnip
            o cherry

To document your completion of the BB, provide the following:
- A picture of the seeds in your mixing container
- The balls/bombs being created
- A picture of the finished balls on a scale showing the weight
- A listing of the seeds you used



I made these last year but never posted for a BB. Better late than never. The perennials used were squash, tomatoes, dandelion, wildflowers (under the turnips), sunflowers, turnips (the large bag on the right side of the pic), & if I remember correctly a few peanuts. These were for last years guerilla gardening project.

I used a combination of garden soil, clay, & composted cow manure to make the mud. The scale shows roughly 1/3 of the round balls being weighed. I did not weigh the square balls but there was approximately the same total weight for them. All together the entire seed ball family weighed about 10-12 lbs.

I made square balls because in my experience with making seed balls that is the easiest way to make them. I made the round ones just for this BB.