Leigh Tate

Gordon, welcome to the wonderful world of goats. And welcome to Permies! I've been keeping goats for about 15 years, so I can offer what I've experienced and observed. I've had the same thing happen to me, with the bucks breaking in to get to the girls! (Talk about a 3-ring circus).

If it was me, I would mark both possible breeding dates on the calendar and then both potential due dates. For Nigerian Dwarfs, gestation is about 145 days. Typically, they lose interest in the bucks once they're pregnant, but I've had does go into false heats three weeks after their first date with a buck, get a second date, and then deliver full term kids near the first due date. It must have something to do with hormones.

So I think it's best to be prepared. Keep a close watch on them when the first due date approaches (a range of 140 to 150 days would all be considered normal) and have your kidding supplies at the ready. Then enjoy those baby goats!

I love this one. . .

Julie Horney wrote:Hey, I dug 10 mini swales on contour along a 68-ft x 8 ft food forest row. . . . Leaves and debris have lessened that depth to about 6 inches. Should I re-dig them before winter?

I would. I say that because we have a number of mini-swales like you describe and have experienced the same thing, i.e. filling in. All swales tend to fill in over time, with the bigger ones taking years. When you dig it out, you may find it contains nice organic matter that can be used as mulch or incorporated into a batch of compost.

I live on the other side of the continent, catty-corner from you, but I have a very similar climate. Our oldest (and largest) swale was dug almost four years ago. I left the bottom of the swale unplanted, planted the berm, and left the upper side as is. My observation is that if you don't plant it yourself, nature will do it for you. Some of what I planted on the berm has thrived, but some things didn't make it. Nature was quick to fill in the gaps. So I guess it depends on whether or not you're happy with nature's choices.

The idea behind starting this thread was my own realization that permaculture creates a unique beauty that is different from a standard cultivated garden or landscape. When I first read Sepp Holzer's Permaculture, I looked at the pictures and thought "What a mess, how can he tell what's what?" But as I started to implement the permaculture principles I was learning, I started to see that the permaculture garden and landscape create their own unique beauty. So while the typical cultivated urban landscaper may see a mess, a permaculturist will see a wild natural beauty as our gardens and landscapes are allowed to create their own ecosystems. The "beholder" in this case are the Permies!

My neighbor gifted me with a bunch of chestnuts. I've never had them before. So except for the old seasonal song that mentions them roasting by an open fire, I don't know what to do with them. I tried one raw but wasn't too keen on that. Does anyone have some ideas to share? Recipes?

Mary Cook wrote:Leigh--I question the "ripens before frost, therefore astringent" part. I think frost is irrelevant to the question of ripening and astringency, and that astringency means it isn't ripe. For the wild trees, even the ones in the open that have branches closer to the ground, most persimmons need to be picked up off the ground--and USUALLY their being on the ground means they're ripe.

The ones I'm referring to were gathered off the ground, were orange, soft, and squishy, but still astringent. As with other types of fruit trees, I suspect there's a lot of variation in the fruit. I did find putting them in the freezer made a difference.

I'm wondering about the Asian ones--do they have similar seeds?

The variety I have has similar seeds, but there's so much more pulp that the seeds aren't as bothersome.

I also wonder if there are any hybrids with much larger fruit than American ones but hardy to zone 6.

That would be a good research project.

Mary Cook wrote:Here's my question for this thread--does anyone have experience with both Asian and American persimmons, who can compare them?

I do, but it's limited. I planted the Asian persimmon because our wild persimmons were too high to get (mature tree too tall) and I found that they ripened before first frost anyway, so they were often astringent. But I'm in the southeastern US, so location is a factor for that. Plus the American persimmons are small with lots of seeds, so it's time consuming to separate the pulp from seeds and skin.

What I like about the Asian persimmon is that they don't need frost to sweeten. Plus they are quite large with plenty of pulp. Much easier to process. Unfortunately, my tree has had a poor harvest for the past several years, so production doesn't seem to be consistent from year to year. The American persimmon always seemed to have more abundant production.

That said, the only thing I've done with any of my persimmons is make and freeze the pulp. I freeze it in muffin tins and have a nice amount to defrost for pancakes, muffins, or cake.