Derek Thille

Thom Bri wrote:So back to my normal method. Plant beans when the corn is up, and squash when the beans are up. I can also plant the corn much later. This year was abnormally early, at the end of April. Didn't seem to hurt the corn, except that germination was poorer than I expected.

You may have noted it earlier in the thread, but are you able to direct sow your squash where you are?  Here, the season is short enough that we generally need to start with plant starts / seedlings.  I'm concerned if I followed your method with starts that the squash might overwhelm the young beans.  Of course, transplants do seem to take a bit of time to really get going so it may not be that bad, especially if I plant them a bit farther out.  Thanks.

Samantha Lewis wrote:

Derek Thille wrote:D'oh!  Missed it by that much...we arrive the 22nd.  Oh well, I'm sure there will continue to be some harvesting and processing to get involved with.

Hello Derek!

I am so glad you are coming out to Wheaton Labs!

What are you interested in harvesting?  What kinds of preservation and processing are you wanting to do?  

On September 29th we start Rocket Prep Week.  
I am excited for that one.  We will be learning all about rocket mass heaters and Cob just in time for winter!
https://permies.com/wiki/262607/Sepper-theme-weeks-Rocket-week#2582799

I'm not sure whether you're trying to make me laugh or cry...we leave the 28th...sigh.  

I started fermenting just a couple years ago, so I'm still relatively new to that and am certainly looking to improve and learn new ideas there.  I really do want to get a closer look at the solar dehydrators in action.  I'll have to remember to ask She Who Must Be Obeyed if there's anything that tickles her fancy.  We do have young apple trees that aren't regularly producing yet so if there's apple goodness going on, that would be good to learn about.  We do hope / plan to earn some meals by working with the boots.

Carla Burke wrote:

Derek Thille wrote:That can't be good for the convertible top....

Nope. But, it's an old one, already leaking, and I'm undecided, at this point, whether I'll keep the car. It needs more work done to it (just to get it drivable, not including the ragtop) than it's actually worth, and I could easily buy another used vehicle in good running condition, for less, so... there it sits.

I collect old Buicks so I know the dilemma...how much do you put into repairs / restoration?  I find it sometimes comes down to how much joy the auto gives you...sounds like Flo will get another chance to please you.  

Every now and again I need to remind myself that every year is different.  The timing and amount of rain and heat and frost has a significant impact on what does well in a given year.  That's part of the reason we strive to plant a variety of things in the garden each year to try to ensure we have some sort of a harvest.  

Our corn is progressing.  Hopefully I get enough time this fall to be able to prepare some spots for three sisters attempts for next year.

Now for our crops, it's a battle against the first fall frost for the more tender plants...that's usually about mid-September in this part of the world.

That can't be good for the convertible top....

D'oh!  Missed it by that much...we arrive the 22nd.  Oh well, I'm sure there will continue to be some harvesting and processing to get involved with.

Not speaking from experience, so not necessarily all that valuable.

Like most things permaculture, the answer is "it depends" (and that answer works exceedingly well in other areas of life).

I think an element is that we need to start by looking at what one wants to accomplish.  It will be a different answer for "city folk" who want to move outside the city and have a big garden but keep their job and income than it will be for someone who is looking to unplug from as much as they can and be as self-reliant as possible.  Of course, there will be everything in between on that spectrum.

Another thing I've come to believe is that there is no such thing as self-sufficiency.  There is certainly self-reliance and you could arguably have a fairly self-sufficient community, but being able to do everything yourself is a stretch if not impossible.  

So, I think a good set of goals and plans is probably the best starting point.  From there, one can set priorities and break things down to what is achievable with certain resources (time, money, labour, 8 forms of capital).

No example, but our local regional theatre had the play Clue as part of the program last season.  It was hilarious, so if Clue comes to a theatre near you, I'd recommend going to see it.

J'accuse Derek in the theatre of distracting the Permies thread.

Thom Bri wrote:

Same here. Since I started growing this corn I became interested in the colors.

Have you gotten any decent harvests that far north? How long is the growing season?

We haven't yet, but we really only started larger-scale gardening again in 2022.  That year critters took out most of the seedlings before they got very far.  Where we are growing was under chemical ag through the 2021 season, so we are also working on rehabilitating the soil.

If I recall correctly, we have an average of about 115 frost-free days.  Since corn prefers some heat, I do look for shorter season varieties.  Our acreage is near the edge of industrial ag corn production.  There's always a lot of sweet corn grown in the region.  

In about 10 days the city of Morden is hosting its annual Corn and Apple Festival.  Morden is about another 40 miles SW of our acreage...when you get there, you see a fair amount of corn, beans (not all soy but navy and pinto as well for sure), and sunflower grown, as well as potatoes.

After growing up with nothing but yellow corn (some variation in shade), I'm enjoying my relatively recent discovery of the variety of colours of corn kernels.

Our recent attempts have included Mandan Bride, Assinibioine Flint, Tom Thumb popcorn, and possibly Saskatchewan Rainbow Flint, from Heritage Harvest Seeds corn.

Our spring trip to Peru opened our eyes further as well with the development done in Inca times for different purposes including for varying microclimates.