Too funny. Saw this post yesterday & thought "when did the no frost pocket requirement get added?" Then read the BB about 4 more times & still didn't see it.
Rather than a moat why not add wood to the 3 foot deep hole in the ground to make it super hugely? I built mine entirely above ground then added a small pond along the uphill side. Worked great for growing some rice but later in the season when tomatoes & such started getting rowdy I thought it could become an ankle breaker so it has gradually been filled with wood & other organic materials. Not much chance of it becoming a frost pocket or someone accidentally hurting themselves now. I think as long as there is sufficient documentation to clearly show that 3 feet of your hugel is underground it could still be certified. Hoping so ... I've already buried the wood for about half of the base for Humphrey v2.0
These companies probably don't ship to Portugal, especially during this virus situation, but they might be able to provide information to a source there. I would be hesitant to buy any live animal that needs shipping. Especially until shipping becomes more reliable again. I would probably buy whatever is available locally & start with that.
Good luck in your new venture. Your English is good.
The park where Wurstfest is held has huge pecan trees along the river. There are some downtown too. They're probably ripe & will be dropping nuts soon, if not now. I know that's not quite the answer you were looking for but ... free nuts!
Mine have done well again this year. Never had an insect problem with okra. They are in rather poor soil along with black eyed peas. I guess it could be called a Clemson Spineless & TX Hill Country Red landrace. Both grew together for the past 5 years but haven't really noticed any cross pollination. They still seem distinct. We didn't get any rain for a month or more & they were too hard & stringy to eat then. I grow it mostly for making gumbo but we also freeze some & eat it breaded with corn meal then fried. It's still going strong but will probably slow down soon.
I think mixing the manure in now will give the worms, the mushroom mycelium, & other soil lifeforms time to recover from the disruption & start doing their jobs again. I think that will allow the soil to be more stable & fertile for spring planting. Any future horse manure could be added to the top to not disturb the soil again.
I would suggest picking a couple of shelters along the AT & using those as base camps. Several in Shenandoah Nat'l Park are within 1/2 mile or so of the Blue Ridge Parkway, although that closes during heavy snows. It would still be available to walk into town if it became necessary. There are several parking locations along the road. It's worth considering carrying an emergency locator beacon. The AT blazes are white & virtually impossible to see in snow. The trail itself can be difficult to see in snow. There are many side trails to explore. Beware of heavy ice bringing huge tree limbs down on top of you. No fun at all. Microspikes are probably more useful than snowshoes there. Be aware that everything is harder & takes longer in severe winter. It's also more crucial to not make a bad mistake. Have fun but be safe!
You can plant directly into fresh horse manure. There is no need to decompose it first. If you're going to mix it or add soil on top I suggest doing it before winter.
Swiss chard tolerates the heat & drought rather well. If it withers in a drought it revives quickly after some rain. Mine usually survive winter too. Kales do better in the cold but suffer in heat.
Buckwheat might work for you too. Doesn't tolerate much cold but it grows very fast. About six weeks from planting until harvest.
Turnips maybe? I was going to suggest blackeye peas & okra but those aren't happy with cool soil. Swiss chard might work, especially if you can germinate them in a cold frame or greenhouse first.
This time of year (hot) the bees hanging out is perfectly normal. It's called bearding. I think it's mostly for temperature control inside the hive.
The bees will use the super if they need it. Sounds like they're close. There probably hasn't been much nectar for them to make any honey the past month. Goldenrod is starting to bloom around here. A good sign for more honey coming soon.
Sleek looking airplane & I love the concept. BUT Houston, we have a problem. There are no pitot or gyroscopic instruments shown. Not even a simple magnetic compass. That appears to be an all "glass cockpit" ... everything depends on electricity. Everything. On an electric airplane. What could possibly go wrong?
Approximately the first 1/3 of the book describes the meaning of the human element of the book's title. It describes left brain vs right brain phenomenon & how that affects decision making & human interactions. It also describes methods to improve & use both side of our brains. There are some interesting tools provided to help analyze any given situation or task. This section gives some practical examples of how the topics & tools being described can be used to form a new homestead or community. Then it goes into how we are all connected to nature, all the way back to the first single celled organisms. Throughout the book beginning in this first section the ethics & principles of permaculture are discussed as it applies to humans. In my opinion this first section is the most unique compared to other permaculture books. It was thought provoking & interesting. It sets the groundwork for the remainder of the book.
The next section goes into permaculture ethics & design principles & how to apply the tools. There are several detailed examples.
The last 2 sections are about the earth & humans. There are many interesting bits of historical & scientific data throughout both sections. Easy to use & understand info. Not a zillion charts & graphs. Just useful & interesting information. The chapters talk about soil & water & food as well as human habits like waste & monocropping & excessive consumerism. The book does not get political except in the most general sense. It does point out some flaws in modern society & how harmful & unnatural some things are. It provides solutions & ways to think about finding solutions. Which leads to food production & distribution. This is not a gardening book. I think tomato was only mentioned once. This book is geared more towards thinking about why we buy things from the other side of the earth that we could produce locally & ways to make that happen. Why us humans need to make that happen. For instance, there was one sideline that said there are 1 billion obese people in the world & 1 billion starving people in the world. With another 1.5 billion expected to appear on the finite planet within the next few decades. We humans need to fix this mess!
A large part of the food discussion was about various diets & nutritional needs. There is a link for a food calculator/pyramid tool that looked interesting. Haven't tried it yet. There's a fair amount of discussion about meat & dairy. Also thinking outside the box. Alga, seaweed, insects, that sort of thing. There's even a cricket pizza recipe.
I think almost anyone who enjoys permies would enjoy this book. I think it would be very useful for someone about to start a PDC or homestead or community. Perhaps the most important beneficiary would be the person who doesn't understand why permies refuse plastic bags at the grocery store or why they eat the dandelions rather than zap them with poison. Or why you ride your bike when you could drive. The one who says "all water comes in plastic bottles, right?". This book is as much about why as it is how to do permaculture.
I was helping someone install a big machine that goes ping. It had about 20 extra feet of 480 volts 50 amp power cord that needed to be removed. As I went to turn off the circuit breaker the guy said it was already off. I stupidly listened to him. I knew better but got careless. I did not verify. Cut into the cable. Sparks sparks & more sparks. It wasn't off. I still keep that pair of cutters as a reminder to never ever trust someone else that it's off. They're missing chunks of metal that vaporized. I'm pretty sure I ruined a perfectly good pair of underoos too.
Speaking of stupid things on a motorcycle I fell asleep one night on a long straight stretch of I-10 trying to beat a hurricane home. Woke up when the road turned & the bike went off the pavement ... barely missed a huge metal sign ... headed down a steep hill with a very short amount of time to stop before crashing through a fence. That could have ended bad. Was WIDE AWAKE the last 75 miles to home.
Use coals rather than open flames. Easier to control & gives more consistent results. I use a slightly moister dough compared to baking bread in an indoor oven. Larger loaves seem to work a little better than small ones.
I try not to bother ants. As James mentioned they are an important part of soil building & the food web. They (or any insect) can be a serious problem if they infest an electrical box though. I remember a post by Dr. Redhawk saying a good way to eliminate them is to spread fresh coffee grounds 3 feet around a mound & water it in. Apparently that will kill the queen.
Ouch. I don't know the answer to your question (other than we're all going to die someday) but if you find out please post the results here. A very interesting problem.
I think they'll be fine. Asparagus are hardy plants. For future reference it might be useful to add your location via your profile. It often helps with plant related questions. Here in TN my asparagus is about 25% brown now. They're getting ready for winter. Any remaining in late October/early November will be cut down. They need that dormant period during winter to produce bigger & better stalks the following year. Good luck with yours. They require some patience to get established good but once you harvest your first crop you'll know why I think they're one of the best veggies to grow at home. The taste & texture is far superior to store bought.
Did the grasshoppers visit recently? If so the plant is probably still alive. I would keep watering. The above ground parts die off or need to be chopped down for winter anyway. Depending on your location you might see some new growth before winter.
I'm originally from centex & grew figs there. My suggestion is to transplant it outside mid September after the dog days of summer are gone. Give it lots of water for about a month after that. Don't panic if it drops all the leaves, just keep watering it for a month.
