Kathleen Sanderson wrote:There are a lot of useful aspects to your idea, even if not altogether what you were hoping when you first mentioned it. I have a small pond on my property, and I've been thinking about putting an island in the middle of it, primarily to contain a clump of bamboo -- we are in zone 6b, and can grow several kinds here, but I don't want to turn running bamboo loose on the neighborhood, either. It's just that it's such a useful plant, I'd really like to have some. My pond is old and needs to be re-dug, and the material could just be dumped in the middle to form the island.
Then you have all those edges where you could grow plants that like wet ground, like asparagus, rhubarb, horseradish, and many other edible marsh plants.
I have exactly the same plan, an island of bamboo! We are probably a year or so from digging the pond in our lowest, wettest field, as the last and biggest of a series of water catching structures on our slope. The plan is that the island will be planted with edible and timber bamboo. I want cattails and other aquatic edibles in the pond itself.
Justin Gilsoul wrote:I just stumbled onto this forum recently in searching for emergency water well pumps. Looks like a wealth of knowledge on this page on topics that I enjoy, so I was glad to sign up.
After researching the options, I decided to order the Flojak. Though I don't plan on putting it into use immediately, I will update this thread when it arrives and give a brief "out of the box" review.
Thank you, Justin! I look forward to hearing how it worked for you. And welcome to permies!!!
Henry Jabel wrote:Assuming it is staph be careful when you wash yourself, it started on my head and spread to a few other areas lower down persumably when I showered. Also get a covering on it to stop it spreading too. I didn't try some things suggested like honey, berberine etc because I simply didnt have any, so they might be worth a go if you have to wait for the doctor.
If it's Staph...just regularly dab bleach on it with a cotton swab, and alternately, tea tree oil with some facial tissue. This method is very cheap, easy, and actually works waayyy better than oral antibiotics. Because topical treatments go directly to the source with skin infections.
Although, if the Staph has gotten into your flesh or bloodstream somehow, then this won't be sufficient.
That said, this doesn't really look like a Staph infection to me, though. They tend to look like red swellings, sometimes with a whitehead like a zit. But, not with a flaky white ring...
"We use this exact same one. We keep it on the kitchen counter, and we empty it every morning for the chickens. The inside smells bad, when opening it, but when closed, no smell. I don't rinse it out every day, but I do about once a week. And maybe every two months I actually wash it.
It's really zero hassle, zero smell when closed. Almost every day we fill it full."
If the inside smells bad when opening and/or emptying it......well, don't you have to open it multiple times all day long to add stuff like a banana peel or whatever? Part of the reason we don't like a lid is the convenience of tossing stuff in with just one hand all day long and for several days without it smelling.
I am in Gulf Coast 8b/9a. I grow passion vine on a pomegranate bush. The vine does not get going well until after the pom has flowered. It is very vigorous after that but in late summer after it drops its fruit the Gulf Frittilary butterfly pretty much decimated it, which is fine with me. I complete the job easily and compost the vines or just chop and drop. I have lemongrass,perrenial onions, spearmintg, savory, and raspberries at the base and a hibiscus planted on the east side. I plant peanuts around all of it and mulch with their hay plus add lablab to the hibiscus in the spring.
Alder Burns wrote:I have made granola out of sweet potatoes! ...So....scrub and peel out bad or rough spots, but otherwise leave most of the peel on, grate them raw....using a food processor if there are a lot. Take the gratings and dry them out.....however. Store the grated pieces like this in jars or sealed containers, no need to refrigerate. When I want a "batch", take some out and drizzle with some kind of oil or grease or lard or whatever, and then toast quickly in the oven or solar cooker till they are a bit browned. This is then the starchy base of the granola, replacing the oats. The oil and browning helps them not soak up milk too quickly so they stay crunchy. Add whatever else, fruit, nuts, etc. and enjoy
This sounds yummy and I just might try. do you have a trick to prevent them from turning brown? I use Asian sweet potatoes and my main objections is that they oxidize in a minute or less unless I dip them in lemon juice or vinegar.
i dehydrate standard red potatoes shredded and would think that a 4-5 min blanching would solve the darkening problem... if i here in mn find a cheap price on these im gonna try that granola idea!!!
Many common foods contain cyanide. Many MD's have used amygdalin as part of an effort to fight cancer. Some people have cured cancer using only amygdalin. Some cultures who eat apricot pits have astonishingly low rates of cancer. Many doctors have urged people to eat a few of the seeds as a preventative to cancer. Millions have died from chemotherapy, not from the cancer they were trying to cure. Big Pharma set up phony studies, intentionally showing that amygdalin couldn't work, because they were threatened that inexpensive natural cures could harm profits from their deadly but hugely profitable chemotherapy. Many people who use natural supplements study them carefully and know which ones to use. For example, I make medicine out of blue elderberry, but not red elderberry.
John S
PDX OR
Thanks everyone, I really appreciate such positive feedback on the Medicinal Forest Garden Handbook, and if you think of any publications/places that could do with a review then do get in touch. I am just now working on a new website for the Medicinal Forest Garden Trust which aims to support education and research in sustainable harvest of medicinal trees and shrubs. On the website we will include a short online video course linked to the book. I will post an update when it is all set up in the autumn, just getting to grips with video-editing skills!! Best wishes, Anne
Paula Broadfoot wrote:I love creeping jenny as a ground cover. Supposed to be good for wounds, but it can also be invasive. Not a problem where I am letting it run.
Is that the same plant as bind weed "Convolvulus arvensis"? I have this morning glory ALL OVER! It is the bane of my existence! I have been struggling with that plant from hell for 12 years now. I would recommend anyone not to let that devil weed get out of control. I swear if you sit long enough at my place you will have one if not 2 of those devil plants trying to climb you. My poor clover is gets choked out by that stuff. I spend at least 2 hours a night pulling that shit. I will compost them until they get the seeds on them. Then into the fire they go. I bet i pick probably 3 or 4 5 gallon buckets worth every night. I do have poor soil so i know its trying to be a ground cover but uggghhhhhh!
I've seen thyme used, forms a nice carpet. I'm sure the long established western culinary herbs are medicinal in some way. Hay, why don't i look it up? .... Wow, scroll down and maybe find a ground cover that covers your health concerns: https://www.healthline.com/health/health-benefits-of-thyme#1 To Your Noble Health, OgreNick
I am in zone 9b in Central Florida and grow all manner of medicinal and edible herbs. Oregano, basil, (culinary, greek dwarf, various purples, have grown Thai) rosemary, temperate Tulsi basil, woad, lemongrass (becoming endemic) lemon balm, lemon verbena, patches of mint and spearmint, jamaican mint. These herbs I have in partial shade: patches of mugwort, astragalus, chamomile, skullcap, valerian, feverfew, yarrow, patchouli. I know I am forgetting a lot more...florida cranberry, red hibiscus, a massive patch of longevity spinach, large patch of comfrey, calendula, borage. I experiment with a lot of different herbs to see where they like to be, what makes them happy-and generally they like to be in the shade or partial shade of a large fruit tree (for instance a great deal of these are near a mulberry, pecan, barbados cherry bananas and moringa). I plan on expanding even further with the medicinals as well. Experiment and see what works for ya. Good luck.
Artichokes have been transplanted to a spot in the forest garden and seem to be growing well. Since, mostly, both seeds I put in each cell germinated I separated them to plant and they bounced back quickly.
Walking stick & Thousand Head kales sprouted indoors, but the snails seemed to love them when put outside to harden. Most survived, but I decided to transplant to bigger pots instead of the garden in hopes of getting some size & vigor on them. They still look cruddy, so will probably try again for the fall garden if these don't make it.
Scarlett runner beans have been planted in a small section & quickly sprouted and got about 4 inches tall. Then they kind of stalled, not looking bad, but not growing (this happens with most of my bean attempts, so I soaked them in rainwater with Burpee beam inoculant before planting). Since nights are still in the high 50s-mid 60s, I hope they'll pick up when nights are warmer soon.
Dwarf Tamarillo has sprouted, but still tiny & in the nursery flat.
Aunt Molly's Ground Cherry sprouted and was up-potted until I heal enough to plant out.
Paracress ("toothache plant") germinated and I planted in bigger pots since they are small & snails are rampant right now.
**Edit to add the other greens I forgot**
Orach was sown in flats & has done fine. Will be planting them out soon.
Perpetual spinach is similar to the kales, with some mortality and weak survivors.
The recent, emergency surgery & hospital stay kind of caused a setback with my sowing, so I was late with a few things (and still haven't gotten everything sown), but did some vine peach & Mexican sour gherkin seeds last week and they're coming up now.
Overall, I'm not totally writing off anything just yet. For the two weeks I was in the hospital, most of them were outside in the Jiffy seed trays and were exposed to hot sun with no water, then torrential rain, as well as easy accessible to snails & caterpillars. Plus, after I was home, it was almost another week before I could get out there and deal with them all; so they may be stunted & weak because of that. Now, I've put most of them in larger containers and gave them a drink of comfrey/yarrow tea to see if I can boost them a little more before putting them in the ground & at the mercy of the snails/slugs. Whatever doesn't make it I'll try again in fall or next spring.
Just a P.S.:
Los Angeles is proposing a wildlife overpass to the Highway 101 so that the pumas (mountain lions/cougars) can go from one forest preserve to the other without getting hit. It's up for debate because some say it's a bottleneck choke point which the wild cats would not likely go through. I like the idea since the highway does cut the Los Angeles National forest in half. Why didn't they allow bridge overpasses.underpasses along the highway when originally built. $$$ of course. The other debate is about increasing their population. Last weekend, a 2-year-old toddler was grabbed by the neck and dragged away while the family was hiking. The Dad threw his backpack at him and successfully chased him off. They euthanized that animal. Geez. Is our overpopulation causing problems for them. Ya think?
I wonder, how does your large electrified fencing work on the big permaculture homesteads? I enjoy Geoff Lawton's videos about moving their grazing animals around the acreage. And the chicken tractor seems to be successful with an electrified wire on the field fence, then well-closed trailer coop for moving later on.
No easy answers,
Chris
Your Fellow Permaculture Enthusiast
