Jake Esselstyn

I bought an old BCS 745 about a year ago. It's one of the heaviest models they've made, so presumably the most difficult to handle. I'm just a few years younger than you and I handle it fine. There is a lot of technique that goes into it. When I first got it, I would get tired quickly from either tilling or mowing. Hell, in the beginning I'd get tired just from changing implements! But over time, I've gotten better at finessing the machine and it's now fairly easy to handle. I wouldn't want to run it all day, but a couple hours at a time is fine. I suspect a lot of people try them without the skill to finesse it, get tired quickly, and decide it's not effective. I'd bet that after a few hours on the machine you'd get the hang of it.

Hi Bob,

Thanks for the tips on onions and garlic. I'll give that a try.

I planted a mix of about a dozen varieties of moschata this year and they've done well. I didn't knowingly include any tromboncino, but I did get one fruit with that shape. Here's a look at what I picked today. More to come...

Unfortunately, I am usually the mother hen. I like to let the little birds out to forage while I'm about, generally paying half attention. A cat lurking in the barn shadows could make that difficult. Can barn cats be acclimated so that they treat young domestic birds as off limits? Probably easier to do if I get kittens and give them a lot of early exposure.

How do folks keep the peace between barn cats and poultry? I'm contemplating getting a couple mousers, but worried it will make raising young chickens and ducklings more difficult.

It's as hot and humid here as just about anywhere. Very difficult to dry anything outside during the summer. But my attic works really well. On a sunny summer day, it will be 150ºF and 20% humidity in the attic. Things dry very quickly up there.

Yup, pickle juice martinis are outstanding.

The "problem" we run into is that we drink the juice faster than we eat the pickles. So we're left with pickles high and dry in the jars. We've been known to add a splash of vodka to a little pickle juice, which prevents the hangover in the first place.

Try a rope saw. They're cheap and effective and you can reach much higher branches. Using a ladder is pretty risky. Falling branches can easily knock you off. Can't say I haven't done it though...

Hi Bob,

Great to "meet" you. Good luck with your cabbage and chard! I'm holding off a bit longer on winter greens. It's still very hot and my garden is full of winter squash and sweet potatoes, both of which need more time.

How do you cure garlic and onions? I grew up in a very different climate and what I saw my grandparents and parents doing hasn't worked for me with our humidity.

I'm also in La, but on the SE side of the state, just a bit north of Baton Rouge. It would be great to have a network of folks growing food in our hot, humid, swampy conditions. I'm hoping to get better at growing food for my family and animals. I've learned a lot, mostly by making mistakes and reading about how people do it in other climates. I could probably learn a lot faster if I had a better network of similar-minded people in the area interested in sharing mistakes, experience, and seeds.