Tereza Okava

Thekla McDaniels wrote:It might be a challenge to find one small enough to go through the space on the zipper,

Yeah this is the challenge, or else smaller trinkety things are often too small to stay. Sometimes I can bend the central part to make it tighter. Otherwise I'm basically stuck using split rings (like for keys) and since they're big by themselves I feel silly putting something else on them.
I do have access to heavier wire, and I probably should just sit down for a few hours with some pliers and see if I can come up with some interesting twisty patterns. The wire isn't always rustproof, though, so that can be another challenge in itself.

(makes me miss the old JoAnn and crafty stores of that type in the US, which were full of sections of this sort of stuff)

I'm so glad this thread was bumped!

As I'm repairing my clothes they're lasting longer and longer. The hardware is failing.
Like many people, I have large button collections, so that's under control.
What's become a real issue for me lately is zipper pulls.... Does anyone have any brilliant ideas for zipper pulls that are slightly more elegant than, say, zip ties or paper clips?

i am not an expert. i understand the toxin is like cassava (which we eat without any issues), degrades upon cooking (like half an hour of boiling). That cooking will remove most of the bitterness, and sometimes multiple boilings remove the bitterness and sometimes it can't be helped and they're still too bitter to eat.
But i've seen somewhere conversation about some poisonous type and I haven't seen every type of bamboo so I truly don't know. worth a search.

we make a point of never ever eating raw shoots. i don't think we have what the poisonous one is but it still never is going to taste good raw.
After harvesting we peel (knife slit down the side, shuck off the leafy part) and the remaining part goes into salted water. you'll see a gradient in softness- anything a knife won't slide through like butter (any resistance) isn't something we eat and gets tossed for the animals. We usually do it in a big group.
There have been times when we've sliced them and cooked them in slices, but generally we keep the tips whole, cook them whole, and then slice and cook in the final application later.
I don't remember how long we cook them, but it's a while. I have seen my mother in law taste, drain and replace the water and declare it needed another go. Basically til the bitter is boiled out.

I'm going with some kind of weevil. Heaven knows ive eaten plenty of them myself (even when things are buggy I can't throw away food-- there have been timed when i washed and washed and hoped for the best, but i suspect i got some extra protein!)

(we eat pretty much every kind of bamboo we can find. we never eat any of it raw, only after significant boiling, and anything that is still bitter after a good boil gets tossed out. there are ongoing debates in my family about what kinds are good and what kinds are bad, even though everyone grew up eating it... we basically just don't worry about it and if we find bamboo sprouting, we harvest it. your mileage may vary!)

Jay Angler wrote:If you cut a shoot (many are edible if cut young, but you need to know what type), it won't grow, so one way to keep it under control is to cut lots of shoots in the spring and only leave shoots where you want them.

if they're small enough you should be able to just break them off with your hand, don't even need to cut. this is the time to do it, before the sprouts get too fibrous to break.

it sounds like the initial problem is non compliance with a plan that said you wouldn't import waste. that is a legal issue and i would still hunt around for someplace like extension that provides legal aid to farmers.
A simple search yielded a number of state ag university resources on hugels-- I haven't read it all, i'm just compiling here.
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are there any fact sheets on hugelkultur from state extension offices that can be used to support agricultural plans?

Yes, several U.S. state cooperative extension offices have published fact sheets on hugelkultur, a permaculture technique using buried wood to create fertile raised garden beds, which can support sustainable agricultural plans like soil building and water retention.
Key Fact Sheets
• Oklahoma State University Extension's "Sustainable Landscapes: Creating a Hügelkultur for Gardening" (HLA-6501) details benefits like stormwater management and construction steps using woody debris.[1]
• Washington State University Extension's "Hugelkultur: What is it, and should it be used in home gardens?" (FS283E) evaluates its origins, building methods, and research on effectiveness for home and landscape use.[2][3]
• Kansas State University Horticulture and Natural Resources offers a fact sheet on permaculture hügelkultur, describing layered organic materials for natural raised beds.[4]
Relevance to Agriculture
These resources from land-grant university extensions emphasize practical applications, such as improved soil aeration, reduced irrigation needs, and decomposition-driven fertility, making them reliable for farm or garden planning in varied climates. Clemson University (South Carolina) and others reference them for extended growing seasons. Access PDFs via extension sites for full diagrams and case studies.[5][6]

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1. https://extension.okstate.edu/fact-sheets/print-publications/hla/sustainable-landscapes-creating-a-hugelkultur-for-gardening-with-stormwater-management-benefits-hla-6501.pdf
2. https://rex.libraries.wsu.edu/esploro/outputs/report/Hugelkultur-What-is-it-and-should/99900501546101842
3. https://pubs.extension.wsu.edu/product/hugelkultur-what-is-it-and-should-it-be-used-in-home-gardens/
4. https://hnr.k-state.edu/extension/horticulture-resource-center/horticulture-newsletter/documents/2024/march2024/Hugelkultur template.pdf
5. https://www.piercecountywa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/104847/Hugelkultur-Brochure
6. https://hgic.clemson.edu/hugelkultur-gardening/
7. https://projects.sare.org/project-reports/fne19-942/
8. https://doee.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/doee/service_content/attachments/Hügelkulture.pdf
9. https://www.dcmga.com/wp-content/uploads/docs/garden-basics-plan/gb-hugelkultur.pdf
10. https://thesovereignhomestead.com/a-primer-on-hugelkultur/

My first call would be to someone at Somerset Cty Rutgers cooperative extension service.
https://somerset.njaes.rutgers.edu/
my second call would be to one of the research/extension offices at Rutgers proper, maybe here https://ifnh.rutgers.edu/centers/agricultural-food-ecosystems/
or here https://ecocomplex.rutgers.edu/
plus there are all the experimental farms
https://sebs.rutgers.edu/research/centers-facilities

it sounds to me, if someone is saying you are in violation and need to remediate, either someone has it out for you (who is reporting a violation of what you do on your own farm?? that seems very strange), youve run afoul of someone, etc. A connection with links to legal resources will be useful.
Good luck.

mine is even worse- a hose coming out of a large rain barrel. It takes a lot of time. I have scouted out old leaky hoses thinking i'd just be able to leave them on the ground to drip but either there isn't enough pressure or some other finicky problem. I'm hoping someone else has some good ideas!!!