Ryan Hobbs

Kris schulenburg wrote:I’m in no hurry. He is a nice ram and I would like for him to have a good home.
You probably know they are vulnerable to dogs and coyotes as you are planning your fence. Good luck with the fence. Lmk if you want to know anything else about him.

I don't check a gift horse's teeth. But if you want to you can tell me more. He looks good and sounds good and him being sn icelandic triplet is great for starting a multipurpose flock. I bet his wool would be good for hand spinning.

I can probably come down to pick him up the first or second week of august. When do you need hep with the foot trimming?

I do have a question about fences. My original plan was to construct a permanent fence with sheep panels and barbed wire and permanent posts. However I can't afford to do that all at once on short notice. Would electric sheep netting be good enough for this year and build the permanent fence next spring when I buy ewes?

Kris schulenburg wrote:How is your search for dairy sheep going? I had someone back out of buying a ram lamb and was wondering if you would be interested in him. I would trade him for help holding holding 12 sheep while I trim feet. Looks like you are less than 3 hours away.
His mom gives 1 gallon a day. His dad is Icelandic from milking lines. He is a triplet.

I would love to accept. I don't have the pasture fenced yet though. If you can hold onto him for me until then, I will help with your next shearing as well. I'm not available on the 28th of this month or the 1st of next month.

The Food forest will transition to food prairie on one side and aquatic on the other, so all three are listed together.

Chestnut, pear, and persimmon trees are already present.

::Dominant Species::
Apples
Peaches
Cherries
Prickly Mountain Ash
Hardy Giant Pecan
(Note, other trees located under different headings)

::Soil Busters::
Daikon
Mandrake

::Living Mulch::
Summer Squash
Winter Squash
Cucumbers
Melons
Strawberries

::Insectaries::
Culinary Sage
Russian Sage
White Sage
Corriander
Thyme
Oregano
Nicotiana rustica
Goldenrod
Honey Locust

::Shrubs::
Thornless Raspberry
High Bush Blueberry
Camelia japonica
Lingonberry
Pawpaw
Viburnum

::Bioaccumulators::
Asparagus
Mustard
Comfrey
Sunflowers
Mushrooms

::Nitrogen Fixers::
Illinois Bunchflower
Honey locust
Pole beans
Clover

::Climbers::
Grapes
Hardy Kiwi
Morning Glories

::Barrier Plants::
Hardy Orange
Citronella Geranium

::Rhizosphere::
Potatoes
Garlic
Fennel
Onions
Leeks
Wild Alliums
Ginseng
Turmeric
Beets

::Tall Grasses::
Sorghum
Winter Rye

::Aquatic Plants::
Sacred Lotus
Rice

::UPDATE::

the food forest guild has been updated to 12 layers and 45 species. I didn't set out to create new layers, but found that some of the categories needed split up. I will post the full list tomorrow if I remember.

Nathanael Szobody wrote:Woohoo! Now you're talking! A great addition to the"vine" category would be wild rosehips. They're so delicious in the late fall and early winter and packed with vitamin C (and other good stuff). They also produce copiously on complete neglect. Partial shade is fine.

I was thinking of jujubes for the same reason, but they are a tree, not a vine. I only have a half acre tho.

Okay, I gave this some more thought and changed my mind about the silvopasture.

Now it is going to be a food forest. I am moving the garden to higher ground, expanding the pasture into the current garden, and converting the silvopasture/orchard into a very diverse food forest.

Trees: apples, pears, persimmons, peaches, cherries, thornless honey locust, chinese chestnut, and prickly mountain ash.
Shrubs: blueberry, blackberry, camelia, lingonberry, viburnum
Vines: hardy kiwi, grapes
Groundcover: strawberries and cucurbitae, spreading and mounding herbs
Nitrogen fixing: pole beans, illinois bunchflower, clover
Bioaccumulators: mustard, asparagus, comfrey, sunflower
Barrier plants: hardy orange
Insect attractants: tobacco, goldenrod, vibernum, sage family, carrot family


Edited to add: the hardy orange is a barrier to mosquitos and deer. The bunchflower is also a hay crop and useful medicinally to remedy addiction according to its traditional use in combination with Nicotiana rustica as a smoked herb.

Nathanael Szobody wrote:

Ryan Hobbs wrote:

Nathanael Szobody wrote:Exciting stuff! I'll be following...

About the orchard: traditional orchard? Food forest? Back to Eden? Alley cropping? What's your plan for sustainable fertility in that sector?

Have fun!

Silvopasture. The chickens and sheep will graze there, and the leaf drop will not be moved.

Might I suggest adding support tree species among the fruit ones?

I was considering honey locust. It fixes nitrogen and has an edible seed pod and supports bees.

My grandmother and I want to attend, and we are close-ish. But it sure is expensive.

Hello from Stout* Ohio!

*Stout is about 14 miles west of Portsmouth Ohio. It takes an hour and a half to get to Cincinatti, and two and a half to Columbus.

Nathanael Szobody wrote:Exciting stuff! I'll be following...

About the orchard: traditional orchard? Food forest? Back to Eden? Alley cropping? What's your plan for sustainable fertility in that sector?

Have fun!

Silvopasture. The chickens and sheep will graze there, and the leaf drop will not be moved.

Burl Smith wrote:hmm...I dare say the application of the Ruth Stout method on these 2 acres will require many large heaps of woodchips.

RSM uses straw.