Dane Geld

I manage an estate where the main house summer cooled is done by well based geo thermal.  it's a big nut upfront for minimal operational cost.  the advent of mini splits have pretty much killed small scale geothermal projects.  that might be your answer, mini splits.

there are some architectural things, but I'm not sure if they solve heat or humidity issues.  or if the difference matters.  thick walls and large overhangs.  double roof/ceiling, inner one curved and perforated and the outer one either curved askew or angled.

When i look st a soil test, i look at two numbers first, then i kinda look at the rest.

The first two things i look at are pH and CEC.  We're going to have to talk about that CEC.

pH is mildly high.  Find a chart of availibility of nutrients by pH range, and you'll see why people freak out when pH approaches 7.

I'd become familiar with the symptoms of chlorosis.  

CEC doesn't really exist on a range of low or high.  It's a measure of chemical activity.  Every mineral, every nutrient, binds and releases with other minerals, water, plant roots based on molecular bonds.  A high CEC reading means those minerals are tied more tightly to the soil.

Good news?  Leaching is unlikely to be a problem.  Anything added, ie, fertilizer, will be captured in the soil and will stick around.  The bad news?  It may be hard for plants to get the soil to release those nutrients for the plants to use.

If i got a soil test that gave a CEC in the 60s, i'd get a new test.  From someone who uses a different lab.  That is how rare i've seen numbers over 40.  My first reaction is to see if a mistake was made.

If that number is accurate, throw your assumptions out the window.

The rest of the numbers are kinda there.  Maybe a bit on the low side of optimum, but presence is more important.  Plants are highly adaptable.  Our desire to achieve optimum is much more of a sliding scale.

Soundboard.  It’s a drywall product, you’ll have special order it.

There’s a recycled blue Jean insulation that is used for sound deadening.

Sound waves travel through direct contact.  An easy way to dramatically reduce sound transmission is simply to offset framing on your side.

Simple answer, nope.

I know plenty of folks who are willing to give you an "internship" in exchange for the work experience.  even (more than) a few who charge to teach you how they do things.  after a lifetime spent in ag and hort, i got some feelings about such things.

What is it you want to do where you feel you need the degree?

Don't get me wrong.  I got one of those degrees.  30 years later, i still use the coursework nearly every day.  and if I had to do it over again, I would not declare a major in ag or hort.  not a single job I ever got needed the degree.  having it didn't hurt, but the work experience i could point to was more than sufficient.

Most places I've found who "require" a degree hire you cheap fresh out of college, and when it's time to pay up for the experience, they don't.  you move on to the next job, which you get because of the experience.  the few jobs I've found that would be worth having and require the degree, you need to be specialized, and you need a graduate degree.

So what is it you want to do that you feel you need the degree as well as the experience?

My advice to a younger me:

1.  mechanics, any kind, preference given to diesel.  If you spend much time around farms/ranches, you'll figure it out pretty quick.
2.  welding.  fabrication in general.  if you're an overachiever, go for machining.
3.  electronics.  they're here to stay.  they are becoming more integrated into everything.
4.  spanish.

take 1-3, expand upon the subjects, and you have ag engineering.  It's as close a college program to becoming MacGyver as there is, and as good at future-proofing any job as I can think of.

There are a wealth of short term job opportunities that surround college programs.  It could be jobs, summer jobs, part time jobs, internships that are offered to students, semester off programs, any number of work opportunities that exist in the sphere of colleges.  You may have to seek them out, but they do exist.

I may add certain courses/certifications to this:  soils, entomology, plant pathology, AI...not the high tech one everyone is so eager to be all about right now, the other one...maybe enough to claim a minor in ag.

DTV shredder.

Question: do you have valves to shut off water supply past the pressure gauge?

If you had a leak between supply inlet and pump, you’d get no water.  All you’d get is air.

If you had a leak beyond the pump house, pressure would be consistent but pressure would never build past a certain point.

It’s possible there is enough water in the cistern to prime, but then you pull out enough to lose prime, causing the pressure drop and the cycling.  You should be able to observe this in action.

It’s also possible you have a developing pump issue.

Good luck.

my reaction to someone telling me they aren't strong enough to operate a BCS is general befuddlement.  My second reaction is, then you are using it wrong.

but I get it.  Most walk behind tillers are operated by people in a way where you use sheer brute force to handle the machine.  Truth is, you should just be there to guide the machine, and let it do the work.

I used to have a troybuilt.  If I grabbed onto it and pushed down, I could stop the machine in it's tracks and dig a hole.  If I did that with a BCS, it would tear my arms off.

Frankly, I found the BCS much easier to operate physically.  Because as stated, you just guide it.  Put it in gear, use the hand controls, let the machine do the work.

As far as I know, the primary danger of disease spread in plants is not actually disease...diseases are fungal, not bacterial or virus.

Most diseases I know of that are spread by plant parts are either on the surface of seeds or are on actual plant parts...leaves, stems, etc.  The "diseases" that are spread by seed are less likely to be fungus and more likely to be virus.

If you are not crossing international borders, I'd not be too concerned.  If there are no quarantine zones where you are or are moving to, specifically for what you mention, either the plants or the diseases, I'd not be too concerned.

There's a relatively simple hot water treatment for seeds (122 degrees for 25 minutes) to "clean" the seed of anything that might be catching a ride on the surface...seeds are plant parts, and while very few diseases are actually in the seed itself, they may well try to catch a ride on the surface of the seed coat or shell.

The only way I can answer this and keep it to five is to play with the definition of the rules.

For example, I'm going to say my tool belt, or my cordless battery.  By default, if I have my tool belt, I have everything on it.  And the battery itself is not worth much.  however, the things it powers...

For the record, my daily carry tool belt is 6 items:  pruners, soil knife, pocket knife, flashlight, pliers, 11in1 screwdriver.

what are the things I'd highly recommend for yard/landscape/small farm/homestead?

push pull hoe.  not a scuffle hoe, not a stirrup hoe, a push pull hoe.  triangular in shape, flat.  I used to rely on scuffle hoes or stirrup hoes.  I happened across a yard sale with a flat hoe in a design I hadn't seen before. so of course I had to take it home.  It sat for while...it was older, handle was in rough shape, i have no shortage of tools.  I was an idiot.  The first time I used it, I won't say it was a religious epiphany, but I'm telling you...if you think wire weeders/scuffle hoes/stirrup hoes are great, you have got to try this thing.  I don't leave home without it.

pine straw rake.  a few years ago, we had a tropical storm come through. it left a mess in terms of branches and pickup.  such a mess I was motivated to find other ways of getting the job done.  What I found was a pine straw rake.  I keep finding new ways to use it.  thatching, debris pickup, yard leveling, seeding prep, and best of all...you can do it from a tractor seat.

stein arbor trolley.  kind of a niche tool.  there a few competing things in the marketplace, no two quite exactly alike.  There's a reason I selected this one over the others.  It was designed to be pulled by hand and to get branches/logs through gates and across yards where you couldn't take equipment.  I have a list of modifications to make, the first is to extend the drawbar and put a tow hitch on it.  It's something I use practically every day and keep finding new ways to use it.

if shovels are a part of your life or work, I recommend a nursery digging spade.  Mine has a steel handle.  I can dig a hole in asphalt with it.  It slices through roots like butter, and I use it as a pry bar far more than I should.  Actually, who ever gets away with using a shovel as a pry bar?  My brand of choice is king of spades, mostly because it was the first such one I ever used, from A.M. Leonard.  It's heavy.  Mostly, it does the digging for you.  I hand it to someone and they nearly drop it.  After they use it, they want to keep it.  It's another one of the things I don't leave home without it.

I am continuously surprised at the number of people who don't know what a soil knife is.  

My name is Wayne and it's been 20 years since i broke my last shovel...

i tried that Corona marvel some time ago.  technically, I didn't break.  I did try to make some kind of shovel origami sculpture with it though.

my answer was king of spades, alloy steel handle, i got mine from a.m. leonard.  part shovel, part axe, part pry bar.  i highly recommend the rubber pads to go with it.