James Freyr

James Freyr wrote:
I don't want them to be pets, they are livestock.

Funny how things change.

A road divides one side of my farm from a neighbors farm. The pictures below are from another thread here about managing pastures. The picture below was taken a couple years ago in the middle of November.

Do you own a soldering iron? A little flux and a dab of solder and I believe that could be the best way to mend the broken wire with a semi-permanent repair.

I have a small orchard on my farm and I do mulch donuts. And on some of those donuts, last year I mixed in some comfrey seeds, and in some of them I now have comfrey plants. Clover and other things are showing up on their own around some of my trees. It's now time for me to add more mulch to widen things and make bigger donuts. Mmmm. My suggestion is to get the soil covered back up in mulch, and if there are particular things you desire to be growing under your trees, just plant or sow directly in the mulch.

I second the notion that they are more likely a gooseberry due to the little thorn evident in one of the pictures. I grow currants and gooseberries on my farm, and only my gooseberries have little thorns.

D Tucholske wrote: I'd be amazed that any were still left in the wild, after the White Pine Blister Rust purge.

It is possible that the Ribes you have could have a natural immunity to the blister rust, if it was growing when the blister rust came through. Or it appeared after the blister rust and just hasn't been exposed. Slight chance you may something special growing there.

An example of natural immunity I'd like to cite here due to a genetic mutation is the modern Dunstan Chestnut tree. After the blight nearly eradicated the American Chestnut, a man named James Carpenter discovered a single thriving American Chestnut in a grove of dying and already dead trees. This single tree is responsible for the American Chestnut blight resistant hybrids we have today. More here for anyone interested: https://chestnuthilltreefarm.com/learning-center/dunstan-chestnut-history-2/

I made a simple hand-sketch of the location of my fruit trees and berry bushes for the purpose of keeping track of what variety is where. I don't get involved with graph paper and protractors. I second Trace's notion to do what works for you, and if you're not being called to or feel enthusiastic about making a map or chart, skip it.

John F Dean wrote:I shined the flashlight under the truck. While I saw nothing, I was met with an impressive deep throated growl.

Hmmm... Nothing visibly there but was audible. Clearly this must be a cryptid of some kind, possibly from another dimension.

I see your location is Southern Illinois. Do you live near Enfield? Maybe the Enfield Horror was looking for a meal on your farm.


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Or do you live near Carbondale? Maybe it was an Abominable Swamp Slob, though they appear to be too big to squeeze under a truck.


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Gaurī Rasp wrote: Can it spread to my raspberries & blueberries? Help!

Orange rust only affects blackberries and black raspberries and is limited to the genus Rubus. It will not spread to your blueberries. Red raspberries are immune(1). It appears little can be done to treat infected canes. There are orange rust resistant varieties of blackberries on the market.

(1) https://fff.hort.purdue.edu/article/orange-rust-in-brambles/