William Bronson

I'm trying to kill the grass in a lot I own.
I've already imported woodchips, torched it,  pulled it up,  weed whacked it hard, etc.
I would till the woodchips under  to sap the soil of nitrogen as the break down,  but the ground is too rocky.
Adding huge amounts of nitrogen to an urban yard seems irresponsible,otherwise I would fertilizer burn it.

Now I'm thinking of pH as a tool for killing the grass.
Lowering pH with sulfur, or raising it with lime,either might kill the grass in the spots where it persists.

Might be a terrible idea,  but I thought I would throw it out there.
What do y'all think?

I'm trying to get into working on bikes with my 11 year old daughter.
We have lots of tools, and I have turned plenty of wrenches, but I don't know what tools we need to work on a bike.
I'm sure one can get by on not much, and I don't think we will be building wheels from the spokes up, but when we sit down to work on a bike, I don't want to be stymied by getting up to look for the right tools.
Experience has taught me that keeping a set of tools for each broad task saves time and effort.

So, bike people, what kind of tools should we keep at hand for working on bikes?

I'm reading "weed shaming" as shaming anyone who identifies something as weed that they want rid of.

I've probably done it,  as I hate grass and I don't grok people who try to eliminate lawn "weeds" in favor of grass.
Ask how to be rid of dandelion and I will probably  ask why you would want to.
Fair question,  but not a very helpful answer,  and some people will be more...vehement with their questions.

I personally consider poke and honeysuckle as weeds to be eliminated from my yard.
If I came on permies looking for help eliminating poke from my yard,  I wouldn't be surprised if someone took me to  task for not appreciating it as an edible, nectar producer that accumulated minerals.
Its still an plant I don't want around,  despite these good qualities.
Other plants have similar positive qualities without the headaches.

In not sure how persistent corn or sunflower stalks are,  but if they last long enough, maybe sunchokes would also work.
They will give tubers, spreading them is stupid easy,and they only need to be planted once.
Bamboo or reeds are also possibilities.
Balancing  growth vs.  controllability is always an issue when growing biomass.


My reasons for making charcoal :
-Sell to artists.
-Bake with the "waste" heat.
-Add to chicken bedding.
-Amend soil.
-Fuel a  generator.

Neat idea.
I have no experience,  but I have started growing trees for charcoal.
I get willow stakes for free,  I'm considering hybrid poplar,  I'm trying to root mulberry,  but there are trees that volunteer.
Box elder,  honeysuckle, tree of paradise and mulberry all show up uninvited and regrow from being cut back hard.

Including nitrogen fixers like autumn olive or redbud might be a good idea.

Anything that takes well to coppicing or pollarding and/or suckers/self seeds profusely should be awesome.

I'm building some new wicking containers, bug ones, and I'm considering trying nylon rope for the wick.
In the past, I have always used a soil wick, just more of whatever soil mix I was using , extended down into the reservoir.
The advantage I see for using the nylon is simplicity.
No big holes to cut, no pipe to buy.
But I've never used nylon rope, so I'm concerned it won't get the job done, or that it will take a lot of rope to match even a modest soil wick.

Does anyone out there have experience with using fabric wicks in wicking  containers?

Aerated compost tea is made from finished compost.
Weed tea fertilizer is made anaerobicly from freshly harvested leaves.
What happens if you aerate a weed tea fertilizer,  rather than leaving it untouched?
Would it compost faster?
If we added kitchen waste,  would we get the same kind of results?
Would chicken bones break down such a soup?

You're point about cancer risk is a good one.
I don't know about artificial  Vs. natural smoking persay,  but when researching wood tars compared to petroleum derived tars, the papers I found all gave wood tar a glowing report, to the point it was considered a tonic, while damning the petroleum based stuff.
Mind you,  these seem to originate in places where wood tar products have traditionally been consumed internally,  as medicine and flavoring.
These cultures are known for health and ling life,  but....

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tar%23Wood_tar&ved=2ahUKEwi6jouH26DiAhVPcq0KHZDJB-EQygQwCnoECAMQBA&usg=AOvVaw0PyH_jWrvFS3mdj-2NwSoM&cshid=1558032610709

There are all kinds of studies on the cancer causing effects if various foods and methods of preparation, so many, with so many conflicting conclusions, that I tend to just throw up my hands.
Maybe wood or solar powered dehydration would be a safer choice


On a different  note,  do the seals on the fridges and freezers in the Philippines successfully exclude the tiny ants and other pets?
I imagine derelict appliances are harder to come by there,  but if they are available, they could make for a nice storage cabinet.

It occurs to me that the convenient meals you seek might better be created from the cheapest natural resources available there,  labor.
Rather than cooking the way you like it and storing that meal, teach someone to cook the way you like.
They cook for you every day, you compensate them,  and ideally,  you make money selling any extra meals, thus storing the extra meals as cash.
A lot of potential problems there, but it is the traditional way one can maximize the out put of skilled labor(you).

Cowboys had Cookie to make them meals, maybe you and your wife could benefit from  one as well.

Just to put this idea into context, this is roughly how my grandmother went from being a talented home cook to a teaching gourmet cooking classes and catering events

Seems like a win-win-win idea.
One or both might be stunted,  but you need them to stay small anyway.
If one is dominating the other, you can prune accordingly.
Maybe plant two dissimilar trees next to one another, to counter the spread of disease and pests.
Maybe splice early and often to ensure varietal survival.

I have a yarden that is small and the soil is full of rubble.
I just today decided to put multiple plants into each hole, because digging a hole there  is REALLY difficult.
Today it was a a bunch of volunteer seedling  that I added to a hole along with a willow stave.
Maybe I'll drop a nitrogen fixer in a hole with a grape vine and a dwarf chinkapin oak, or a  pear tree and an almond.

I think smoking would be the best way to preserve the meat.
Adding smoked meat to a soup would be delicious and easy.