Mike Barkley

gardener & hugelmaster
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since Mar 01, 2018
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Biography
After a long career electro-geeking for R&D labs in the electronic industry Mike has checked out of the rat race & moved to the woods. Not entirely off grid but trying to achieve that goal. He raises a few animals & enjoys growing healthy food in various gardens. He is a life long nature lover, adventure seeker, & to a certain extent a minimalist. Eventually bears will probably eat him & turn him into compost. He is ok with that.
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Recent posts by Mike Barkley

Welcome to permies!

I hope it's obvious enough to not dump anything toxic in there like motor oil or chemicals. Mesquite is another wood to try to avoid using. From the looks of the soil I would suggest mixing a lot of animal manures & leaves & grass clippings & small sticks into the soil before carefully filling all the empty spaces between the logs with it. The less voids left after construction the better off the hugel will be in the long run. I wouldn't worry about a few ants. The ants are going to do what ants do anyway.
3 weeks ago
... when you wouldn't be surprised if Pearl's combination nail puller/pumpkin scraper is painted bright pink or purple.
3 weeks ago
... right before a hurricane you spend a few hours digging up a large part of yard to throw cowpeas in so you don't have to mow it all summer. Then on Labor Day weekend you pick a large batch of delicious purple hulls peas. Less lawn, more food.

... you save dryer lint & add it to the food scraps to be buried in the garden to feed the soil critters. Don't worry. I don't own clothes made of synthetic materials except a few specialty items used for backpacking. No worms were poisoned in the making of this post.
1 month ago
Doesn't look like a prickly pear to me. My guess is it's a close relative.
1 month ago
It is a fascinating concept. I read about this a while ago & it seemed promising. Do you have a source for the pseudo-scorpions? Please keep us updated with your results.

I stopped using chemical treatments years ago. Preferred to go with the survival of the fittest method & also tried some specific varieties that were specifically bred to be more agressive about removing mites. Hard to be sure how it compared to chemical treatments but I'd say it is mixed results. Some years are better than others.
1 month ago

Side note: Store bought, jarred cactus is not delectable.



haha   I bet not. In my Texan opinion jarred nopales is horribly wrong on so many levels.
1 month ago
Summer is almost over. These seem like some good tunes for that.









1 month ago
I'm not sure if this is quite the info you are looking for but pumpkins & butternut squash grow late into the fall season (here in the southern USA) & both store well for months. Rinsing them thoroughly after harvest & then wiping them with a mild vinegar/water solution helps extend their shelf life even further.
1 month ago