James Bradford

I like the "observe for one year" idea.   That's a great way to make sure you don't bulldoze some rare micro-eco-system to build your food forest.   You don't have to be there everyday, but when you are there, remember to map out where all the valuable and rare things are growing/living already.  

i was gonna say to try them on more sunlight ...not too sudden of a change, just gradually move them to brighter and brighter spots.   Mine are in pretty fertile soil, they don't seem to might that.    Maybe try cleaning out a gutter that's full of leaves (good compost in those kind of places), and use that to pot up one of your next pups.

maybe try screwing a thin strip of straight, 1/4" thick board, to the log.  then use that as a guide for skill saw or table saw.   table saw or band saw would be easiest.

if you're gonna do a lot of em, I'd build a jig to secure the log and guide the saw blade.  Keep the log long while you're cutting the 90 deg. out so you have something to hold/clamp

a basic sawing jig is just a strip of thin (plywood) screwed to a 2x4.   2x4 on top to guide a skill saw, and screw the log to underside of plywood ...overhanging by the amount you're cutting off.  

for 90 deg, just rotate the log and screw your clean cut to underside of plywood to make 2nd cut

hope this makes sense, probably a picture would work better.

today's recipe was: young, tender black-eyed peas, okra, thai basil, and lambsquarter

This is my current cooking setup.   I'm propane independent now ...9 months out of the year ...unless I get lazy some day.

It started with a citronella candle that I was using on my porch to keep mosquitoes away and out of my cabin.   Those candles cost 8 bucks each, and the wicks don't last for the whole can of wax; that got me to looking for cheaper option.  

So, I started burning cedar chips in that small rectangular, stainless steel, tray at left in the picture.   That worked great and I just carried it around where-ever I was working to chase away the skeets.   So then I tried cooking on it.  It worked, but as it got drier, I worried about burning sticks falling out.   So then I went fancy ...  big terracotta pot with just the right amount of soil in bottom to hold a stainless steel pale at just the right height under my grill.  I also drilled a few holes in the fire pale for venting.   It works really great, and sparks and embers fall inside the terracotta pot.   I start a fire 1st thing in the morning, the smoke clears the skeeters, and by 10 am I have that inner pale full of burning coals to cook my "whatever the garden has" omelet.

Flame Acanthus looking spry in this August heat.

...better than a feeder for attracting the hummers!

Mexican Honeysuckle now on-deck as well:

It's time to use the compost tea ...I do one cup per 5 gallons.  i have a lot more tea in the pipe-line and so I will probably up the dose next for the next watering.

My watermelon patch gave birth to a 30.5 lbs Charleston Grey ...hoping I picked it at the right time.   I'm taking it to the farmer's market tomorrow to show off -- hope its good.

More great mid-summer blooms:   Rock Rose and Cardinal Climber

Quick updates from a quick trip to Houston.

My favorite pecan tree is loaded this year.   We had plenty of rain, and so now we just need to get thru the rest of the season with no pecan blowing tropical storms for a bumper crop.

I still got wood-chips to spread, and they are composting down great in the piles.   Last time, I buried a load of lemon rinds in the chips, and that really composted up nice in only a few weeks.

The newest beds for my mom are working out great, and my brother is helping to decommission beds that are furthest from the house.

There's been a terrible infestation of pharoh ants, with a perk that they have completely displaced the fire ants.   Hopefully these guys will atrophy at some point ...they're everywhere.

Everything I planted last couple of visits seem well without much attention:  1 peach, 2 date palms, 1 pomegranate, bunching onions, and mint.  No trace of the garlic, but I bet the bulbs are down under the chips somewhere.