Mark Allen

So, reading the replies it strikes me how some cultures hate the douchebag and some embrace it. The roaming monk from Buddhist lore is the accepted douche bag. Mostly because he makes you question your own value system. He is a socially acceptable questioning administrator, or rabble rouser if you will. He shows up trashes the place then moves on but as he is leaving everyone is crying and saying how much they are going to miss him... I think you are spot on Paul. We need the acceptable rouge amungust us, or douchebag whatever you wish to call him. At the very least he brings a good time...😈

In this video you can see the ATV is not able to move the log on the ground but is able to move the log quite easily once the lever is used to lift it off the ground. I would dare say this video demonstrates less damage than even a draft horse.

I found this device on YouTube: It looks like you would be able to use an ATV with a smaller engine as you would not have to overcome the logs full surface resistance. Speculation on my part... Hope this helps.

I am not sure what the name of the plant is but my Grandfather told me that his Dad planted it here in Georgia as a forage plant back in the 40's. You may be able to id the plant with a forage book or use your local county Extension agent to identify. The agent would have a Forage plant book to thumb through.

Brenda Groth wrote:..but why not just grow the Kiwi up an arbor of some sort to remove the problem of it killing a tree?

It is my understanding that the Hardi Kiwi is a very heavy mass so the arbor would have to be extraordinarily sturdy. I would love to hear from some people who have actual experience with the crop. I think I am going to use the Hardi Kiwi to take over my sweetgum trees. The only problem is that they are soft wood and with that kind of weight how long would they stay standing if they died?? Oh well i won't know if I don't try!

John Polk wrote:That labor force has not always been illegal. "They" were allowed to migrate seasonally to work the crops, then go home with a fortune of cash in their pockets.

Times changed.  Most had no reason to go back home...there was nothing for them there.  Laws also changed.  The business model was built on a legal source of labor, that through changing laws vanished.

The entire monoculture business model in this country needs an entire overhaul if we are going to be able to feed ourselves economically.

There are so many facets to the argument here it really makes my head spin:

As the quote above says the labor force picking apples hasn't always been considered an illegal force. Sure there was a law that says one should go through the proper channels to work in the United States but no one ever paid attention to those laws until the mid 90's. Now migrant seasonal workers are considered "illegal", end of discussion, based on what? A border line drawn on paper? Where was the stop gap measure that allowed the workers to become legal? Wouldn't an initiative to create legal workers be the next logical step? Why are so many willing to cut off the flow of seasonal workers because of unenforced laws? Our American enforcement agencies are the ones who did nothing to enforce the laws for 40 years! When do we accept our own responsibility in the problem???

In the past it was obvious, some might say moronic to point out, when you need a seasonal work force one employees the people who are reliable, well trained and willing to do the work for the pay. Why is this concept not obvious anymore? Because the workers are a drain on our local schools and medical system? Why can't the same migrant seasonal workers become reasonably ascertained legal seasonal workers and ushered home when the work is done? Legal workers pay taxes! Legal workers can have a voice and have a right to demand higher wages from orchard owners! Illegal migrant workers have no voice! Does anyone here see what I am saying?

The right for groups to have a voice are Constitutional Rights because they WORK as leverage. Give seasonal workers a voice and the orchard owners will stop showing up on congress' door step asking for help. The Orchard owners will have no choice but to pay higher wages! In turn American workers can and are economically encouraged to compete in the work place. Legal Seasonal Workers will pay taxes and medical insurance premiums! Which in turn will improve our system as a whole. (See Side Note)

The Constitution of the United States was built on Permaculture Principles!!(Whether we as Americans know it or not) When one group makes another subservient then the controlling group takes on the responsibility of performing the maintenance of the subservient group. The same holds true in permaculture. Just like in our gardens when we use highly volatile and quick release fertilizer in our gardens we make the garden dependent on our input. But when we meet our garden as an equal and treat in a way that it has been treated for longer than a millennia our problem becomes our solution. We reap the benefits of having an equal relationship by many times more than we could produce on our own.

I am not suggesting we impart citizenship to migrant workers, but I am suggesting we have the power observe and interact with the solution, realizing our dependent nature on other beings. The line drawn on a map creates an opportunity for functional interconnectedness but we have to work for it, or our fear of loss will drive us to bitter alternatives such as resentment and ultimately shooting ourselves in the foot. Our mono culture system is what we have to work with now so making the system work for us is imperative as we build food sovereignty. A multiple element food system will not pop up overnight!!! However, as the general public begins to get sick from mono culture production the idea of healing foods will drive permaculture development and make migrant worker arguments a footnote in history.

Side Note:
I am not pro-Union! I think Unions of longevity (forced membership unions) are another group that misuses our law and does not follow the Constitution. If there is work place safety issues, then sure Unions are a useful tool. But like all tools Unions should have well articulated goals and once the goals are met then the organization should be abolished. Forced Membership Unionizing is Unconstitutional and a detriment to us all!!! Unions for arbitration purposes are of no value to the greater community.

Zachary Crawford wrote:another georgian here. currently living in europe but my home is in thomaston. will be looking to get connected with something like a csa locally when we return. also thinking about buying land and moving further north into the north georgia mountains.

Check out Carlton Farm and Bray Farm for CSA's.
Mark

Madden Elout wrote:I'm in Stone Mountain, so just outside the metro area.

Have you looked up The Funny Farm? They are in Stone Mountain.

Duane is into permaculture and natural building. Our permaculture class with Shades of Green, Inc. in Decatur helped him build a cob oven. I don't think the oven did very well but I think he is planning on redoing it and he will need some help.

Lessons Learned about pine straw

Pine Straw is a much better top layer mulch protecting plants from moisture loss (once the straw settles) and protecting the soil from the intense rays of the sun in the south. I have found that the south has a kind of perfect storm for composting. The heat combined with humidity composts deciduous material very quickly. So, soil building the humus layer and protecting your effort is of utmost importance here. This is where layering is important. When you compost and get great humus from all of your beautiful grasses and leaves then you really should cover the humus with something like pine straw or chipped wood to protect it and the little critters from the devastating summer sun. We also have another problem in the south with soil building. Clay. Although Clay holds an enormous amount of water when it is soaked it has some detrimental effects on annual plants because of feast or famine. The clay particles are really small and flat so they compact when it is full of water, this means it has very little space in between the clay particles and is hard for roots to uptake oxygen. When clay is dry it becomes compacted and sticks together with a suction like grip and provides no space to grow. Then it becomes hard and takes a tremendous amount of water to rehydrate. Remember clay is used to make bricks. So, the key is to maintain a balance in the mostly clay soil. Stay away from the extremes by protecting your growing asset. First and foremost create humus every day by composting all the time. Protect your composting effort by using easily found pine straw on top of the humus. Finally. break up that clay and work the humus down into the clay. Your plants will thank you as you are adding space to grow, nutrients to support photosynthesis, and oxygen to breath.

I am using a broad fork to break up my clay soil down to 16 inches. This is not easy!!! In fact the broad fork is causing me to develop an aversion to my garden. But once the ground is broken up the first time it will be much easier to maintain on a yearly basis. So, I toil and tell myself about all the happy plants I will have in June!!

One more point with the broad fork, If you live in a neighborhood or don't know where your services enter your property then you MUST, MUST, MUST call your local dig alert before you use your boradfork. My gas line is 12 inches down and I would have surely torn it out of the ground with this beast of a broad fork I bought. Dig alert is usually free to the public! But you will need to call at least 72 hours before you dig and you will need to mark out the area you are digging with white paint or I use lots of sticks I cut off of my trees when I was pruning last year.

I busted my gas line when I was using a trencher three years ago. I was all tough and cool using the trencher up until I heard this loud hissing and realized I was smelling gas. Then I must have looked like a whipped puppy when the fire engine, the ambulance, the gas company, the power company, the telephone company and the water company were standing around looking down at my trencher and I had to explain that I didn't know about Dig Alert. That is the first and last time I ever want to call 911. Trust me it may seem like a pain but when the gas companies investigator knocks on your door to determine if you will have to pay for all of the services that were employed during the gas leak, you may not think a quick call to 811 was so painful after all.

Thank You everyone for all of the wonderful advise! I appreciate permies.com so very much...

Mark

Madden Elout wrote:

My only expectation is a simple one: to come out the project with knowledge that I could use to build my own home in the future.

I am interested in building a small natural/recycled shelter in my back yard for a meditation studio. I am putting a Rocket Mass Heater in and I have been collecting resources for the last year. I don't have a design as of yet but I have an idea of what I want and most of the supplies to get the foundation/walls up and running. I am thinking of trying several techniques ie: pounded tires, urbanite and cement foundation, cob walls, wadle and daub, Wood frame. None of these methods are set in stone and I don't have experience in any but building a cob oven one time. So, if any one has design experience and a willingness to work through it. I have a project to work. Even if you don't have design experience, let me know I am willing to try something even if it comes to an epic fail (but I seriously doubt that). My supplies list: 7 bags of raw Portland cement, urbanite+, rocks, clay (harvested), sand, Bottles/Cans!!, 2 Glass doors, IBC container for water, flat area to build, bricks for RMH, assorted wood, lots of time, enormous appetite for learning

I am in the Woodstock, Georgia area. markallen200@gmail.com

Mark