Mk Neal

What is your rain situation?  Could you set up a rainbarrel or several to collect water off the building in the picture? Then you could attach soaker hoses or drip hoses to the barrel tap and open the taps when you leave so that the plants get a slow deep watering whenever there is rain in the barrels.

I do this with my vegetable beds.

I understand the attraction of CSA as a business model, I would worry about relying on just 9 families for basic incomes, though.  Just one customer dropping out would have a relatively large impact on your monthly receipts. Maybe keep up some side revenues streams?

Also, as a business owner in a different line of work, I know it is easy to paint yourself a rather rosy best case scenario, and then there's always some unexpected expense or loss. Seems like you are in a better position than most to whether the ups and downs though, since at lease you have your own food covered from your land.

Roberta, if your keeping the filling that long, one idea is to just can fruit in syrup and add the starch at time of baking.

My neighbors have a butternut climbing a fence.  This year I planted a Navajo green Hubbard for the first time, and it really likes to climb. Climbed up my bean tripods and all over my currant bushes.

I don't know of any,  but maybe you could grow garlic or onion in little pots hanging from the arbor?

Try searing a high heat to "power through" the slime factor.  Works great on oysters and shiitakes, which also tend to slime.

I've never heard of these.  What do they taste like?

Pearl Sutton wrote:I actually am almost always at one end or the other, either dealing well with everyone, or dealing well with no one. And one more weirdness: I deal easiest with people I trust totally, and total strangers. Hardest for me is people I know, but not well.  On a bad day, I'd rather deal with an utter stranger than a casual acquaintance.

:D

I feel this way too. I think there is an "awkward valley" between the trusted friends whose acceptance and allegiances you are sure of, and strangers who you will probably never see again so you are not trying to make an impression or build a bond.

My mom has kept a stand of sumac next to her house for decades.  She lets it grow as tall as the second story windows or so, then cuts it all down, not on any fixed schedule. It regrows fast.  You will get very straight, very round lengths of wood with few branches. I don't think it is good for much other than biomass, though.  It is light, weak wood--maybe because it grows so fast. I do not think it would be useful for fencing, at least not as supporting posts.  You could use the 1 year wood like cane or bamboo, maybe.

Keep scattering seed and watching the landscape.  Wildflowers from seed can take years to grow into something you recognize.  I don't know how long ago you started,  but it might be that you have some successes out there that are just waiting for the perfect wet spring to bloom.