Julie Pastore

V Kay wrote:My experience has been that one of the best ways to keep cool is make sure I'm not carrying around extra body weight. When I'm overweight, I'm miserable in the heat, but when I'm at a healthy weight, my surface area-to-mass ratio improves, and I can dissipate heat better. Since I eat a high-fruit & vedge diet when I'm maintaining a healthy weight, the extra water and phytonutrients also help reduce inflammation, which in turn helps with staying cool.

I realize that excess weight isn't necessarily an issue for everyone on this thread.

ME TOO! ...and, eating any and all fats heats me up, so avoiding fats and meats during hot seasons is critical for me! In fact, I wonder if fasting, when possible, is helpful?

I have a monstrous acacia -longifolia, I believe - shading out my fruit trees. It is also threatening the neighbor's house as it is leaning over a little bit. I thought about removing limbs on the one side To make it a little bit lighter, But what else can I do with this thing?  What would you do?
Hiring tree trimmers is very expensive. I wonder if anyone would want to come trim it for the wood. In Oakland,  California.

sent a purple moosage ('private message') these threads get confusing to me.

Hi Edward,
I am interested! Long story short, soon I will finally be free to move out of the Bay Area with my kind, quiet, smart, and helpful 15-year-old son. My aging mother is in Portland, so I wouldn't mind being closer to her (how far are you from Portland?). I have been doing edible landscaping and propagation here as a hobby and been a nanny and doing odd admin-type work for a living. I have lots of diverse skills: nonprofit management, website construction, writing/editing, fixed a washing machine last winter...always learning. I did an ecological art thesis at Reed College (no wonder I'm a nanny, right? Haha).
I studied Permaculture with the Bullocks, Pilarsky, and Rick Valley; pond building with Jim Mollison, joined in on the Village Building Convergence in PDX while there, and nerd out on farming, homesteading, and natural building videos. I have also worked on self stuff (co-counseling), community, and social skills (NVC aka Compassionate Communication).
I am wondering how you define the word "partner;" I'd love to discuss this further. I am really ready for homesteading. Please text and let me know if you want to talk 503-351-6032.

Adam Gardener wrote:

Julie Pastore wrote:Hi Adam,
There is a lot to say...trying to figure out a scenario in which my youngest son can finish high school with his friends (at Berkeley high), but the Bay Area is so expensive, we'd end up in a concrete hovel and I'd be much happier if we could get more rural in a spacious place. I'm open to collaborating on a land purchase or lease.
Julie

I can definitely relate. The reason we are moving before we are ready is that our landlords are tearing down the cabin we rent to build their forever home.

Unfortunately due to losses from wild fire, and losses from the holding company of my investments going bankrupt, and the general lack of opportunity to earn capital out here I am in no place to purchase land, but I wish you luck!

So not to purchase, what about Renting/Leasing? Or are you only interested in joining an established site?

Hi Adam,
There is a lot to say by way of introduction. So maybe a phone call..? I can send you my resume?
I am in a very similar situation except that I am finally leaving, with a push from the landlord (who wants to sell), the home of 13 years in Oakland (I followed the kids' dad here). And feeling like I will go crazy if I can't continue to implement my creative edible landscape- and natural building- type visions. I can share pics of what I've done here (accomplished having spent almost nothing due to not owning the land).
I currently nurture
artichoke,
apricot,
passion vine,
bamboo,
thornless blackberry,
raspberry,
blueberry,
yacon,
prickly pear,
aloe, agave,
various other succulents,
natives,
worms,
etc.
I have been trying to figure out a scenario in which my youngest son can finish high school with his friends (at Berkeley high), but the Bay Area is so expensive, we'd end up in a concrete hovel and I'd be much happier if we could get more rural in a spacious place. I'm open to collaborating on a land purchase or lease.
Julie

Randall McLaughlin wrote:Sorry to dig up an old post, BUT, looking for info on the topic and this is the only thread I come up with, and I have a question on the start post.

It sounds as if John was describing carbon-zinc batteries, not alkaline, right?

This would work the same for either, right?

Randall

Did you get answer to this??

Dan Boone wrote:Strong hydrochloric acid (you may know of it as "battery acid) is a tricky product to handle safely.  Mistakes, splashed droplets, unexpected trickles, leaky containers, unventilated fumes -- these can damage work sufaces, clothing, skin, eyes, and lungs.  It's not ALL that hard to do safely, but the required level of care may be more than you want to volunteer for in your routine gardening activities.

That said, I don't see anything in this idea that would disqualify it from working with a weaker acid that's safer to handle.  Say, white vinegar (acetic acid, usually 5%).

You'll need more of it, and it will need more time to work.  Warmth will help.  Perhaps put the batteries in a pop bottle of vinegar, store in sunny place, shake from time to time?

Likewise your chelating agent.  If conditions of your life make collecting and saving urine inconvenient, I should thing a bit of cleaning ammonia (the cheap stuff, no added soaps or perfumes, just dilute ammonia) would work.

Disclaimer:  I haven't done this.  I am musing about possibilities.  Be careful out there.  Don't make any accidental soda-pop-bottle bombs.

Thanks for this! I never would have gone out to buy pool acid but I do have vinegar already and so may try it!

Jordan Lowery wrote:Like I said before it depends on the plant species I have never done oxalis before because it's not a problem plant for me. It could die off in a week maybe two years. I have a feeling seeds can be even hardier given you add a species that can lie dormant under lake beds until drying out surfaces them and they sprout for example. Which could have been underwater for years before the drought.

To answer your question no I did not add more plant material.

Are you afraid that they will sprout underwater and move into tour garden? Just don't dump the leftovers on top of fresh soil.

And again this is not a compost tea, compost teas use compost not raw plant matter.

Are you saying oxalis bulbs won't rot away in a bucket of water? That's what I'm trying to do right now.
Also, would you expect the oxalic acid in the water to be good for blueberries and other acid-loving plants? ..bad for any plants?