Tyler Ludens

I use smooth cotton dish towels to dry seeds on. Works a treat.

Daniel Ackerman wrote: I’ve observed a very heavy rope like netting placed across front-line dunes.

Looks like that is available as "Jute Erosion Control Mesh" sort of a giant burlap.

Switchgrass, a native, is one of the strongest plants to use to stop erosion.  It is nearly as strong as stone construction, plus has the other advantages Redhawk mentions. Personally I would plant a broad buffer zone of Switchgrass along the eroding area.  

The supplier I use:  https://www.seedsource.com/catalog/detail.asp?product_id=2005

Another thing that is helpful is to give handfuls of good garden soil or aged compost, preferably with small bugs in it like immature sowbugs.  Chicks get a tremendous amount of nutrition from this.  I always gave chicks soil or compost as soon as they are old enough to get out of the nest.  "Pecking" at the soil with your finger helps show them what to do if they don't get the idea right away.  

Engineering fail, Bill.  KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid).

wayne fajkus wrote: You cannot let them out of a coop to forage and expect them to come back to the roost at night.

I was somehow able to get them to go into their pen at night after foraging in the yard all day but I don't remember how I did it!  I think I must have lured them back in with food, because they wouldn't necessarily go in automatically at night like chickens do.

I prefer the turkey personality to that of chickens - turkeys don't fight, at least mine didn't, and the males didn't grab the hens, they did a courtship ritual with the hen eventually sitting down and letting the male approach.

They were definitely more difficult to raise than chickens.

Yes, if the mom gets frightened in a pen, she can trample the babies, so the pen needs to be secured from any kind of disturbance from dogs and other varmints.

Artie Scott wrote:I have no idea how expensive the poults are!

At Murray McMurray Hatchery, unsexed are $12.80 per bird.  https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/turkeys.html

I raised Royal Palm Turkeys and they were ok moms, but not great.  The babies still got into trouble.  Making sure the coop and run doesn't have anything they can get stuck in or stabbed by is crucial.  Some of our babies managed to get stuck in the chicken wire and died.

I think it is worthwhile trying to breed heritage turkeys but they need a bit more attention than chickens.  I would definitely like to raise them again some day.  The initial stock is a substantial investment, though, and need plenty of attention and the right feed.  Heritage turkeys must have sufficient protein in the diet or they will grow very slowly.

Eric Lehmann wrote:Luckily we don't have much frost and if so, only at night and not much.

I encourage you to try growing Moringa if you don't already plan to.  It is currently my favorite tree.  Grows ten feet tall in one season!  Leaves, flowers, and pods are edible.  Also good for mulch production.