Ryan Hobbs

Lime-mortared Stone Dome with recessed windows and welded steel roman blinds. Steel plate doors. Cellars underneath for food storage and workspace. I witnessed an EF1 tornado last night and it is still on my mind... You get worse out on the high plains. This thing would probably be fine even with an EF5. If you can get peace of mind for $5k, do it.

https://www.outsideonline.com/2411125/lynx-vilden-stone-age-life?utm_source=pocket-newtab#close

I envy this lady a bit. And I totally understand.

Jay Angler wrote:We need to remember that tobacco can be very toxic to our helpers as well, particularly the bees. It would be one thing to have simply grown a few plants along with a field of other plants, and a totally different thing to use modern equipment to process and spread tobacco juice to places nature wouldn't. Just because nature makes something, doesn't mean that it's a good idea for humans to use that substance in unnatural ways. (Just ask someone who accidentally ate the wrong mushroom!)

That's true, and I would only use it judiciously. Never on flowering plants during the bloom. I actually have about 1 lb of tobacco leaves for medicinal use. A poultice of it is an oldtimer cure for bee stings. I have used it on boils with some success. Plus the wasp attracting thing is cool.

Scott Stiller wrote:Very interesting Ryan!

I forgot to mention that hornworms prefer tobacco over tomatoes, and it's the hornworms that injure the tobacco in the wild resulting in the waspocalypse.

I'm thinking of making paper from flax and okra, I have the equipment just lying around, I need a source of fiber and a binder and I was thinking flax might work for the fiber. Is this doable?

I'm excited about this stuff and really want to give it a shot!







I'm thinking chopped apples, currants, and brown sugar-brandy syrup with a bit of lime...

I think the weirdest pie is Stargazey Pie, what with the fish heads poking out, but my actual entry here involves tomatoes, beef, cheese, onions, etc...

So, you make 2 crusts, a top and bottom. You fry up a bit of beef, fry and crumble some bacon, slice and saute mushrooms, slice and caramelize onions, chop some dense meaty tomatoes roughly, mince some fresh garlic, add herbs of your choice, use a handfull of a sharp cheese, and beat some eggs.

Fill the bottom crust with the stuff I listed, add the top crust, cut steam slits, brush top with beaten egg yolk. Bake until the eggs are done and the crust is golden brown.

While that is Baking, Get out a small jar of unseasoned tomato sauce and heat it up. When the pie is cool enough to cut, but still somewhat hot, cut some slices and serve them with the tomato sauce drizzled over the top. I call it Hobbit Pie.

It is developed over time from this recipe: http://www.councilofelrond.com/recipe/a-hobbits-delight/
And it is interesting to note that the second time I made it, I added eggs and removed the wine.
The 3rd time I made it I added cheese.
Then, at some point I ate an Aussie Meat Pie. And I was struck by how perfect a combo would be.
And Hobbit Pie was Born!

William Schlegel wrote:Giant pumpkins and Hubbards are both Cucurbita maxima and thus readily hybridize.

Cucumbers come in two species Cucumis sativa and Cucumis melo the later of which readily hybridizes with melons such as canteloupe which is also Cucumis melo.

Spaghetti squash is Cucurbita pepo which readily hybridizes with gourds, summer squash like crooknecks and zucchini, and many other pumpkins and squash which are Cucurbita pepo.

Fact remains, they can cross even if it is unusual.

So, I'm creating a bit of a hybrid system for the standard Large Grains, Fabaceae, Cucurbitaceae, and King Stropharia guild.

I'm starting by digging holes in the lawn 1 ft deep, 2 ft wide, and 4.5 ft apart on centers in a loose grid over a large area. The soil and sod are set aside on a tarp. I'm filling the holes with woody debris, leaves, and topping the wood with year old manure that was digested by BSF. Then the dead sod goes on top of the wood and manure. The soil removed from the holes is being mixed with compost, lime, and other amendments, and is going to be piled up in low domes over the sod and will have the seeds sown directly into them, with a topping of partially decayed hay as erosion control. This fall, I hope to get the annual food production gardens fully mulched with wood chips, and that includes the spaces between mounds. All of the chips will be inoculated with King Stropharia mushrooms.

The large grains this year are Northstine Dent Corn and Sweet Corn. The legumes are bush beans and snap peas. The Cucurbitaceae are 8 kinds, and so many are started that there will be overflow. The simple turned mounds for the excess squashes and melons will be also inhabited by radishes to repel squash pests.

I planted my potatoes yesterday... by dropping them on top of the ground and covering them with hay. I have grown lots of potatoes in plain sand, in piles of leaves, and in tire towers... I have found in my experiments that the more fertile and damp the medium, the less potatoes you get, and the more they get scabby. The one thing that does help them is spraying the tops with compost sun-tea. I used to have a large water jug sitting on a chair I found in the garbage which had compost and water in it. It sat out in the sun for a week or so until I used the liquid and added more stuff. I used a watering can with a fine showerhead type spout and drenched the tops with the compost tea. When I did that, I never had a problem with leaf diseases.