Trace Oswald

Just re-read, and Pearl covered this.

I love Instructables.

Mike Jay wrote:

Priscilla Stilwell wrote:Thanks Mike. Why did you start with nuts, out of curiosity?

 I started with them because I can grow a decent number of fruits and tons of berries in my climate.  Nuts and fat/oil sources are a bit harder so I started with them.  Plus they take longer to bear so I figured I should get them going sooner.  The only truly hardy nuts here are hazelnuts and butternuts.  My hickory are very borderline and I also have Carpathian walnuts that I believe are also borderline.

Mike, Shagbark Hickory are rock-solid in zone 4.  I have lots of them and -40 doesn't seem to affect them at all.  I have read that it takes them 40 years to begin production, so it may be a tree for your grandchildren.

I currently only have hazelnuts and walnuts that I planted.  My walnuts started producing by year 3 or 4, my hazelnuts got their first nuts this year, and only a handful of them, but I was very happy to see them.

I have a much more eclectic approach to all this.  I just pick a spot, plant a food-producing tree, and fill in around it with a lot of support plants and things I like.  I keep adding to the outsides of the guild until they touch.  I let paths and the like figure themselves out.  I'm not good at planning things like this, so I just plant.  I also make rock piles, brush piles, and other habitat places any old place that strikes me.  I envy people that have a well laid out plan and have nice organized areas.  My areas look much more like a blind man in a wind storm set them up.  But they make me happy.

My sincere belief is that nothing can really be done to control mosquito populations.  Some things help to keep them away from a certain area for a limited time.  Of everything I've used, I once purchased some super-concentrated garlic liquid that you mixed with water and sprayed in the area you wanted to protect.  It worked really well but had to be reapplied fairly often.  I have no idea if it kept beneficial insects away as well.  I think I have tried nearly everything else there is with very limited success.  If I were in your position, I would use the garlic spray again.

Jay Angler wrote:We have a wild plum in our field and although its fruit is quite small, I was quite surprised at how good it tasted. I hadn't considered using its seeds as part of a living hedge - the place I need said hedge may be too shady for it - but having read this post, I will think about it and do a little research!  Thanks

The fruit is the same on mine.  It's very small, but the fruit is very good.  The skin isn't nearly as good, so I peel that off with my teeth and just eat the fruit inside.

The great thing is, even if you find out your area is too shady, you aren't out anything.  My trees are on one side of a narrow access road with big pines on the opposite side shading from the south.  They get pretty good sun in the summer, but the rest of the year, they are pretty heavily shaded much of the day.  I'll try to take a picture showing the layout.

I used to dumpster dive stores right after holiday seasons were up. I once found 40 tins of Christmas cookies still sealed in those metal tins that are painted with Christmas scenes. Not my most profitable dive, but one of my favorites.

James Freyr wrote:

Simon Gooder wrote:
What do you all do about serious pests? Especially rats...

We have a couple farm cats, and they're pretty good with the rodent population control. My suggestion is using nature to do the work for you, either with cats, or if you're not a cat person, a dog, specifically the terrier breed. Terriers can be pretty ruthless hunting rats, and can quickly get a rat population problem under control, and remaining rats will likely leave the premises to avoid the threat. I think that not only will either of these possibilities help your situation, there's also the added benefit of having companionship with a cat or dog.

As a kid we had a little schnauzer terrier mix kind of dog and he was a terror on the rodent community.  He would spend hours hunting and killing them.  If I had a large rat problem, I would get a rat terrier from good working lines.

Fredy, I would just move them into the shade.  I have burned paw paws and the new leaves came in fine.  Aloe can't hurt :)

I don't know much about transplanting paw paws.  I have one in a container and I heard they are pretty hard to do and that they have to be moved while dormant, but James probably has more experience with this than I do.  I'm going to wait and move mine when it is dormant, but mine is still tiny and is in a big pot.

Eric, it may be that you and the other neighbor going over together and talking to him and letting him know that doing that isn't acceptable is enough.  It may not be, but it's a reasonable first step.  If that doesn't work, I would send a registered letter telling him the same.  After that your only options may be the fence as Elle said, which does nothing for the noise or the driveway of course, or, calling the police.    That may initially escalate the issue.  Many people respond to police visits with anger and more acting out, but you can establish a pattern of behavior then.  Game cams on property line and the driveway may help as well, when it comes to proving it was the adult, not the children as he may claim.