Matt McSpadden

One great aspect of Permaculture is the ability to function stack. To use an area, item, or process in more than one way. Most of the time people do this on purpose. I had an unintentional one just recently. A while back I needed some steps to my shed, and just set a couple of cinder blocks in place. A single purpose... or so I thought. However, this past weekend I had an outdoor event for my side business and I needed something to keep the awning from blowing away. I did not have time to go find or buy something, so I grabbed my steps and turned them into awning weights. Worked great!

Have you ever had any function stacking that you did not plan for?

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Just remember that a tow is cheaper than an OUI. Call us to get your car home.

Ticks are in full bloom here in Maine right now (and other places) which is probably why this article cycled back around.

https://www.motherearthnews.com/natural-health/repel-ticks-sulfur-remedy-zmaz01aszsel/

The premise is that by ingesting small amounts of sulfur, the ticks will not bite you. Has anyone tried this method before? Did you have success or failure?

Bob: We finally figured out what is wrong with you
Rob: What?
Bob: On the left side of your brain there is nothing right. And on the right side of your brain there is nothing left.

Sorry, to clarify, I used lines of cinnamon on the floor near a doorway to deter ants. It worked... and we probably used half of those typical small herb 4oz bottle sizes to cover a double french door... so maybe 7ft total with a little past to cover the frame too.

I have used Zinsser Bulls Eye Clear Shellac. It claims to be all natural, and the Internet claims they do in fact make it from the excretion of that beetle. Other places say that it is a combination of real and synthetic. I suspect it's less bad than most, but I can't back anything up.

**Edit - Went to their site and now maybe the amber is the better option vs clear because they bleach it to make it clear? See second picture of their description.
**Another Edit - here is the full PDF on their products. https://www.rustoleum.com/-/media/F7350AC8AA7E4787A1287F1E775BA1CC.pdf

Lisa Chin wrote:I’ll be starting on the walls of my place soon and recall a conversation I had many years ago with a couple that had built a mud brick house.
They said they added chilli powder to the mud to deter ants from coming into the house and that it had worked for them for many years.

Has anyone else heard of this and does anyone know how much chilli powder to use?

I have not used chili powder for ants, but I have used cinnamon which is supposed to work similarly. It's supposed to irritate their outsides and mess with their ability to follow scent trails. We had to use quite a bit, but it did work. I suspect chili powder would also work, but I think you would need to use a lot... or re-apply as a spray to the outside for it to work long term.

I can only help with question 3 with any certainty. I can add something to the "anything else" too. I bought pre-mixed shellac.

I absolutely feel that it is worth doing a second coat. Technically it may reactivate the first coat a little... but the reactivation takes time, and if the first layer is dry, the second layer doesn't mess with it too much, and then dries with a thicker finish that will stand up to wear and tear better than a single coat.

Then, I would personally say stay away from dyed shellac because of one experience that may or may not be related to the dye. I've used shellac for quite a few wood projects. I would always buy the pre-mixed without dye and I would work on the project... set my brush aside and let it dry. Then the next project would come along, and I would put the brush in the can, and let it soak for 30-60 minutes, which would soften he brush up and let me do my next project. However, one time they were out of what I normally got, and I found another product by the same company that said all the same stuff... except it had color. When I did the same thing with my brush, it dried hard, and I went to soak it for about 30 minutes. It had not softened at all. I let it soak another hour, still no softening at all. I ended up leaving it soaking for probably 5 hours and it never softened. I ended up having to get a different brush. So I now avoid any dyed shellac. Your mileage may vary.

Stacy DeRemer wrote:... Any chance you have experience with this method and allelopathic trees (black walnut or tree of heaven) or any advice on experimenting with them? I assume I’d have to help them decompose and give them extra time before trying to plant anything but, any suggestions for encouraging the process?

I do not have any experience with tree of heaven specifically, but I do have experience with cedar and white pine which are said to be mildly allelopathic. In my experience neither is as bad as some people say. And both did not last very long after cutting. If anything is growing by the stumps right now, you can grow more. For faster decomposing I would drill a bunch of holes in the stump and plant mushrooms... or else just cover it with dirt and leave it for a while.

I have generally heard that sunflower seeds should not be more than 15% of a chickens diet.

I would also consider some kind of black soldier fly or other insect "farm". Chickens needs protien, and that can be a great source.