Zoltán Korbel

Air fryers are the Devil's asshole. These appliances when turned on smell like disgusting plastic, and the food smells like it too. The non stick coating is what probably causes this smell and I bet it's carcinogenic like Teflon.

I only use cast iron or stainless steel pots and pans, I don't even microwave my food which disorganizes the water molecules in the food.

Do the seeds of the different type of Caragana plants taste similarly?

On the Plants for a Future (pfaf.org) website I found Caragana boisii, and it says that the seeds of the boisii and arborescens varieties should be simiar (edible without much flavour). Other than this I found nothing about how it tastes which is why I am asking people here on permies.

Nurseries They sell the arborescens and pendula varieties in my country as ornamental plants. This means that these plants are not invasive here (zone 7a), right?
Or nurseries mostly care about profit and not maintaining the homeostasis of the eco system?

In general, if a plant lives in a zone which is at the end of it's habitat spectrum, it shouldn't be as invasive and vigorous as if it lives in a place which is in the middle of the spectrum, right? For example if Caragan arborescens' habitat is in USDA hardiness zone 2-7, then if I plant it in zone 7a, it shouldn't be as vigorous, and invasive as it would be in say zone 4, right?

Hi Everyone!

I'd like to plant a non invasive, edible, perennial legume bush in zone 7a to improve the soil (nitrogen) and to eat the seeds (I don't mind if they are bland, I'll just season them) for their protein content.
I am looking at Caragana arborescens and especially Caragana boisii, a smaller variety, because my garden is on a micro lot. Has anyone tasted the latter one?

Hi Everyone!

Air potato (Dioscorea bulbifera) and Chinese yam/Light root (Dioscorea batatas) are relatives.
The former grows big aerial tubers/bulbils, the later is cold hardy.
Is it possible to somehow graft the air potato stem onto the Chinese yam roots and grow aerial tubers in a colder climate (7a)?

Whatever compass direction your contour is, that is how I would chose your garden length.

I don't understand this. How does contour direction influence garden length? By "length", do you mean the direction of the long axis of the hypothetical rectangular garden beds?

The direction of the contour lines on my lot are roughly S-N, which is how I set up my garden beds. The footpaths are on contour so that they hold water. My microswales are on contour as well and all the rest of the area in the upper half of the lot consists of the garden beds, which are irregularly shaped.

Do I plant rows of plants in the garden beds in the  S-N direction?

I further looked into this topic and I found people suggesting that the long axis of a rectangular garden bed should be oriented south to north.
How does slope (in my case eastern) influence garden bed orientation?

Anne Miller wrote:It sounds like you are on the right path!

Go for it!

So you think I should do this?  

"shortest plants can be on the southeastern side and the tall ones on the northwestern side of the garden."

Hi Everyone!

I have a 10x10m (33x33 feet) lot on an eastern slope with a very gentle grade. The direction of the long axis of the garden beds and micro swales  is roughly south to north. (Edit: The footpaths and swales are on contour.) I get sun in the morning from the east and at noon directly from up above, from the south, and in the afternoon, the hill blocks the Sun from the west.

I want to copy the edge of a forest where shorter plants are at the front (south) and taller ones are at the back (north) so that they don't cast shade on the small ones. Since the garden slopes to the east, the shorter plants can be on the lower eastern side and taller ones on the higher western side as well. Or maybe the sout-north, east-west axises can be combined and the shortest plants can be on the southeastern side and the tall ones on the northwestern side of the garden.

The tallest plants I will be planting are Chinese Yam - Dioscorea batatas which will climb on a 2-2.2 m tall (or maybe even taller than that) trellises. Some of the Yam will be grown for it's aerial tubers/"Yamberries" (I won't dig the roots up), and some for their roots (the roots' growth will be directed as much as possible in a horizontal direction with wooden planks placed under them at an angle which deviate very slightly from the horizontal).

I will mostly grow Yam and plant them in rows.
I have attached a map of my garden.
How should I orient the Yam rows for solar efficiency and where in the garden should I plant them?

Phil Stevens wrote:This might be certain species...around here it's spread by birds and we mostly find it at the margins of pine forestry and shelterbelts. I've not seen any tendency to suckering on the ones in my immediate vicinity but will start paying close attention.

What USDA hardiness zone does  "Cfb - oceanic temperate" correspond to?