Author: Richard

why do tulip poplar trees have such unusual trunk variations?

I don't yet have the answer for why, in the woods, a number of tulip poplar trees have multiple trunks from the same base. But the really unusual feature is how the base of the tree appears hollowed out. My current theory is that the tulip poplar grew up alongside the stump of a tree and then it sent out adventitious roots around the stump to mine the ingredients in the stump and when this was done and the stump had disappeared, it was left with a hollow base. Here is another example Read more [...]

harvesting an oak tree and growth rings

I really am not into cutting down trees gratuitously, especially not an oak tree, which is one of my favorite trees.  When I made a road through the woods I selected a path which would require the fewest and smallest trees to be removed.  But this week I needed wood posts.  I did not wish to purchase the treated 4" by 4" posts because they are loaded with preservatives which will leach and be absorbed by the roots of my fruit trees, vines etc.  Composite posts deform and are expensive.  Even Read more [...]

why, in a forest, are the leaves of a small oak tree larger than a big oak tree?

Yesterday, while walking through the woods, I noticed a very large oak tree leaf.  Automatically, I looked up and around for the parent and saw just large pines and then, on the side, a smallish 14 ft oak tree.  Could this small tree have produced such a large leaf, I wondered.  It still retained some leaves and indeed they were very large. Now I know that oak trees will wait patiently in shrub form for an opening in the canopy above and then they spring to life.  I have found 1ft high Read more [...]

why metamorphosis?

If we accept that the living world around us did not just happen, but is the result of millions of years of adaptation and improvement the question rises for me - why do so many insects (and frogs etc.) go through metamorphosis?  I am referring to whole-change or complete metamorphosis where the juvenile form (called a larva) looks very different from the adult form.  Think of butterfly and moth caterpillars (larvae) which change into flying adults.  Or mosquito larvae which live and feed in freshwater Read more [...]

mushroom shelter – improved irrigation

In a recent post I mentioned that mushroom production in my mushroom shelter has been poor due to inadequate watering.  The system I installed had a 0.5" diameter water pipe run from a nearby slightly higher rainwater collection tank to the ceiling of the mushroom shelter from which the water flowed via bubblers onto the spawn impregnated logs.  Water flow was weak and the bubblers often clogged. I rectified this by replacing the 0.5" diameter pipe with a 1" pipe and by eliminating the bubblers Read more [...]

the Bermuda grass campaign ctd.

In my 9/21 post I described various tactics I am using to eradicate Bermuda grass organically and how I covered an area with 6mm thick commercial grade black plastic.  Bermuda grass likes heat and rather than try solarize it with clear plastic (and this would only have possibly worked if I had tried this before the onset of summer), I thought completely depriving it of light might be more effective. Today, some 3 months later, I decided I needed some of the covered area to plant out my remaining Read more [...]

a pleasurable Fall task -fruit trees

"task" and "pleasure" seem opposed but not when it comes to fruit trees.  I enjoy planting fruit tree saplings.  Fruit trees are a long term investment and some of the best advice I received was to plant the trees first and then focus on the vegetables and berries.   While in Portland last September I visited the Powell bookstore, which is a landmark.  In the growing section I found the Lee Reich book "Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden" marked down to $9.  I snapped it up,  read it and then Read more [...]

tasks for Fall

I am preparing for winter. cover crops - I cleared the tomatoes and weeds, added compost and sowed winter rye and crimson clover.  A few years ago I used hairy vetch, which worked well and next year I will order more since the local supplier, who originally sold me the seed, no longer carries it. firewood - during the year I cut a new 5 foot wide route through the woods and I steered the path to avoid the larger trees.  I had to uproot and remove smaller trees and I cut their trunks Read more [...]

from peaflowers to DNA

I never studied biology and as I pursue my "new track "in growing and interacting with nature I am at a disadvantage. I recently completed the excellent "Introduction to Sustainability"  MOOC provided by www.coursera.org entirely free, and learned a lot.  I enjoyed the experience and have now decided to study biology.  There is a coursera course starting summer next year "Introduction to Biology: DNA to Organisms" and the notes suggest acquiring "Biology" by Campbell Reece.  I was able to Read more [...]

boxed in by a dubious premise

Georgia is the center of the poultry industry.  At a local luncheon the former president of the largest poultry operation in the state recently  (October 2012) said the industry grew tremendously since 1970 from 1.5 billion to 7.5 billions pounds of chicken a year.  He added that by 2050 the world's population will be 9.1 billion up 34 percent from the current 6.8 billion and meat production must increase by 74 percent. His comments and others like his, operate at two levels - the explicit Read more [...]