Jeff Roan

Hi,

I'm a second year gardener an have a new location to garden in this year. Last year thing's went great. This year I have cucumber bettles! There just hang out all day eating my leaves on the squash. Is there a organic solution for them? Most organic sprays I've seen have garlic an cayenne pepper in it. But also have liquid soap. The liquid soap doesn't seem Organic to me. Any suggestions would be great. Liquid soap or not

Thanks Permies! Jeff

Me an my friend our form Bloomsburg, PA. He post the Fruit roll-up things up top of this post. I would be interested in visiting to even helping out with anything permacultured. Havnt got any land myself but friend an family are letting me put gardens on their land for now. Currently looking for land to buy but its so expensive in my area. Thinking rent to own a house of a family member. Not much land with it, but I will turn the whole yard into a garden hehe. An I want to put a rocket mass heater in to hopefully replace the oil furnace.



Cheers, Jeff

Hi Permies,

Hav'nt been on here since winter. Started a garden this year (it was prepped last year, plowed, tilled, an let set over winter) Then we plowed again tilled an rototilled to plant.

I had a little poison ivy in an area that was just plowed (added on to the garden) this year. I been using grass clipping that I collect from people to smoother the poison ivy an burn it out. But I'm not sure this will solve the problem permanently. I dug some up tonight an it was kinda like a pencil root with a poison ivy plant coming out the middle of the pencil. So im guessing I cut up a bunch of roots an spread them down a line being there a new line of poison coming up worse then what I first encountered at the new section of garden.


So will the grass clippings work by just covering the plant coming out of the ground? An what other organic methods will take out this or work best.



Thanks Permies!

Whats Potash? An cant the pestocides break down after time? Will the pestocides travel from the compost into the plants bearing food?

Well I hope nothing leachs out. I did power wash some of the tarps I took. Im going to get more dairy cow manure an compost with leaf's it's a 10 parts leaf's 1 part cow manure. Think I'll leave the other bins open now and see if there's any differnt.

I just have alot of heavy duty pond liner I salvaged from a construction site dumpster. I figured why not line the bins with this. I wont lose material through the pallet boards, it will protect the pallets from the weather, and draw more heat from the sun. Oh an wont accidently shove my pitch fork between the boards when im turning it. Just my idea and first bins I've built.

Is the coffee house a locally owned or franchise like Dunken Doughnuts? I'm guessing local, I'll have to look for one in my area. My friend collects all the coffee grinds at work like that for his worm bins. As for grass clipping, I met a fellow today that asked what I was going to do with the bags of leaf's I was taking that he put out for garbage. He thought it was interesting and also mentioned he bags his grass in the summer. An I could have this grass if I made sure I picked it up. So I told him I'd stop back in the summer to arrange it.


I'll like your bins how long does it take to turn to soil?

Hi fellow composters!

My friend an I bought a chipper. He has worm bins that he gets the juice out of to pore on plants (forget the name of it atm) but worm bins take lots of card board. It's very time consuming like you said to tear the card board up. So the shreder works great for him. I have some woods to clear an can shred my leaves up more (so they compost faster).

Seen it on the way home from work an made a deal to go halfs. Guy wanted 400, looked it up, they go for 750 new and this one was in pretty good condition. Asked him if he would take 350 (always gotta haggel). So 175 a person, if one person wants their money back, the other one has to buy him out or the item goes back up for sale. The terms we agreed to.

Been grabbing leaf bags on the way home from work.. It's awsome when you have little time to gather materials and others do the work for you.
Please share your idea's of getting materials to compost. I have plenty of leaf's (Carbon) it being fall an all. Have a source of dairy cow manure near by too. Temp on compost was 125 today.

Heres some pics of my bins I built. Some veggies I took from dumpster diving.

Ya I know of a few more places that have bee hives. I'll have to stop in. Who knows maybe theres not bee anymore an they would want to sell. I'm not keen on the looks of the wood boxes with flashing he had. I'd like to by a hive that is very durable (maybe plastic or some material that dont break down) and looks nice to the eye.

I was watching on how to attacked and caputer a swarm. This seems like it would be cheap an a great way to start maybe for cheap. I could make a swarm box and put lemon oil drops in it. Check it ever 2 weeks an put a drop or 2 at the entreance. Bee's have very good smell. His 7 hive's are 1 mile away. An he says they go off an swarm somewhere durrin the year.

I have plenty of time to wait an research this before I put any money up (6 months till april). I'll be goinga meeting up wit more people to learn more and get a better idea what I want an what I'm gettingmyself into haha.