Burra Maluca

Blake Lenoir wrote: Are there plants out there that help give corn more nitrogen to aid its commercial growth?

Pretty much any of the pulses.

Soy, peas, beans, lentils, chickpeas, etc could all be grown as part of a commercial crop rotation without the farmer having to make major changes to they way they operate or get in extra labour or machinery.

The only real 'downside' is that the price of wheat and corn would likely go up due to decreased production, whilst the cost of dry peas and beans would go down due to increased production. So people will likely have to switch their diets to eat more pea soup and blackeyed peas and less cornbread.

Anyone want to start an Eat More Beans thread about the best recipes we could use to increase our consumption of the types of beans most likely to be grown more?

Most 'tree kales' are perennial because they almost never go to seed. Generally if they do, they die. So not a 'true' perennial.

In Portugal we have a 'perennial' bush cabbage that is mostly perennial because the flowers are religiously removed every year, usually at the bud stage so they can be eaten as broccoli. Eventually the plants get a bit too big and unwieldy so they are allowed to seed, which they do very freely, and then generally they die. Most live for around six or seven years if the flowers are removed.

Just occasionally one survives seeding though. And I've been selecting for ones that survive seeding. So far the longest lived one I've had that has never had flowers removed lived for four years, seeding three times.

Here's a photo of one of my best ones.  



I wrote a bit about it here.

I'd always heard that nine-star perennial broccoli only survived if you religiously harvested the brocolli. I bet it could be selected to survive a bit longer though...

Well I went to collect the two lovage plants that my friend picked up from the market for me only to discover that they were actually pots of several young plants, not one larger plant. I gave them a day or so to settle in and I've just transplanted NINE young lovage plants into a long, trough-shaped pot. And next I'll put the contents of the other pot into tree-growing plug trays. Maybe I'll risk one or two straight out into the GAMCOD bed too, seeing as it looks like I have a few spares.

I'm hoping they'll cope with the shock of transplanting well enough that I'll have spares to give away to anyone who might visit.

That's one thing I love about plants. If you find one that you love and that seems to love you back, you end up having plenty to share with the people you love too.

Gotta share that love around!

Nancy Reading wrote:Are those Eucalyptus? I'd have thought those would be ideal for firestarting.

No, they are oleander. Which as Harry Potter fans know is ideal for making wands. And as livestock owners know is highly toxic.

I'm trying to figure out if they'll be safe to use for lighting fires in case they give off any toxic smoke. I'm not even sure if they are safe to use as compost. I figure the bigger bits will be ok to burn on the rocket mass heater as they'll go on when the fire is already hot and the draught established so I suspect the toxins will be completely destroyed and discharged up into the air, not into my living room. But I'm not so sure about during start-up.

Vermelha seems to have declared them to be nest material (I guess dragons are immune to oleander poison?) and is busy chanting  "Nyth! Nyth Nyth!" to Rock, who seems to agree.

Though maybe just for a peaceful life as even he doesn't have enough energy to match our Vermelha...

Edit to add that according to the AI search bot

Dragon Vulnerability
Dragons are not immune to oleandrin.
The blue oleander, in particular, is specifically noted for its toxicity to dragons.

So now I'm not sure what to think - who do I trust? Vermelha, who is a dragon herself? Or the AI search bot, which tells me that dragons are not immune?

Decisions, decisions...

Maybe I should find her something else to nest in.

Mark Brunnr wrote:Now you just need a miniature of Bilbo Baggins, sneaking away with a glow stick...

Ah but dragons are such complex creatures...

They say fire makes a good servant but a bad master. Dragons are a bit like that, especially fire-dragons like Vermelha. But if you take the trouble to go deep into yourself and not only find but also understand and befriend the dragons you find lurking there, you may well find that if they learn to trust you they will gladly share their hoard with you. But to win their trust you will have demonstrate that you intend to use the spoils of that hoard for good.

I'm quite certain that at the right time of year anyone interested in learning how to light a rocket mass heater would be welcome to visit and that Vermelha would donate a few of her sticks and show them how to lay them in the burn chamber and huff on them to make them burn.

She's been out cutting more sticks.



There's a big heap of leaves that might end up getting used instead of paper for the initial fire-starting too. And some bigger bits that she can't quite bite through because he teeth are rather new. I think my other half is going to be presented with them for cutting up on the saw bench.

On the other hand, she seems to be in deep discussion with Rock, the Welsh sheepdog, about whether this heap of leaves would be better turned into a nest...



You never can tell with dragons...

Tommy Bolin wrote: the ends/tips/smalls are outstanding, dense kindling that lights very quickly with a torch established draft.

Yup, my little red dragoness has been busy creating a hoard of that stuff!

I think she's done rather well...

A well trained dragon is also useful for welding up the secondary air intake.

She still needs a bit of practice at this though because now the tube won't lift out...

Tommy Bolin wrote:Disney did it better.

Oh dear, that backfired a bit didn't it?



It is very important to teach your dragons self-control, and design them correctly.

I admit Vermelha did let herself get a bit overexcited that first time we let her test her newfound fire-breathing ability, but she has calmed down a bit since then. We thought she'd be a good replacement for the butane blowlamp we tend to use for setting fire to things but she didn't quite seem to grasp that we just wanted pretty patterns burning on that wooden beam, not the whole thing setting alight.

She's currently devoting herself to collecting a hoard of sticks ready for burning this winter. I might let her gather up a big nest of dry leaves, too.

I guess I should take photos of her progress...

Oooh - all you need now is a spurtle to stir your porridge with to stop it from sticking!

One of these is useful...