- Part 26

gumption and the intermittent failure

If the South's summer heat and humidity bear any consolation, it is that I have to seek shelter in the house for much of the day and thus am able to extend my reading. I enjoyed the first third of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Pirsig but struggled as the protagonist ascended higher into the mountain and into rarefied philosophical issues for which I was not prepared. Now in the last third of the book the running is easier. His thoughts on gumption and practical issues of machine Read more [...]

ideas from the past – the kang

I am reading the F. H. King classic "Farmers of Forty Centuries: Organic Farming in China, Korea, and Japan" written in 1911 and there are so many nuggets of useful information, including the "kang". He observed the kang during his visit to Mongolia and his commentary made me think of the rocket mass heater (now popular in permaculture circles) with which it shares a number of features. He describes several kangs - in one case it was 7ft by 7ft and about 28" high and "could be warmed Read more [...]

honey harvesting – mistakes

Yesterday, Sunday, I had my best honey harvest in the two years I have been collecting honey from my bees. I filled just over 32 pint jars, which equals 4 gallons. Earlier this year (4/29 and 6/3) I collected 1.2 and 1.4 gallons of honey, so total yield is 6.6 gallons. If I assume an average weight of 12 lbs per gallon, this is about 80 lbs of honey, which is good going for me. But my activities were tinged with regrets. I made some mistakes and regret them. I have two hives. The one Read more [...]

some summer observations

Each year I learn a little and try out different techniques. Although 50 miles north of Atlanta and slightly higher, it gets really hot. So one of the changes was to establish a new growing area which receives full sun through mid-day and is shaded from the afternoon sun by large maple trees (I must remember to check the trees' roots are not invading my growing area). And I have noticed a difference. I battled last year with cucumbers and this year they are doing much better protected from Read more [...]

timing the tomatoes

My tomatoes plants bear well but usually by August they look bedraggled. The yellowing of the leaves which begins at the lower limbs progresses upwards and I am left with skeletal remains and a few lonely tomatoes. A few years ago I tried to extend the harvest by breaking my rule (all my vegetables are from my seed sowing) and buying several large healthy looking tomato plants. They did poorly. Perhaps they were nurtured on energetic synthetic fertilizers and could not acclimatize to my all Read more [...]

Trudy the hunter

I have posted on Trudy's successful pest patrol activities. But she has graduated now. She is a hunter. A hunter could be defined as killing game or other wild animals for food or sport and, perhaps you would rank a hunter who kills for food higher than one who kills for sport. If you follow this progression, then the higher the % of the prey consumed the higher should rank the status of the hunter. Trudy this week achieved the highest status. She raided a rabbit's nest and it was only Read more [...]

DIY and its virtues

I just read a good essay in the New York Times - "A Nation that's losing its Toolbox" by Louis Uchitelle (July 21, 2012). He laments the loss, not only of factories and good manufacturing jobs, but also "mastering tools and working with one’s hands is receding in America as a hobby, as a valued skill, as a cultural influence that shaped thinking and behavior in vast sections of the country. " He says that manufacturing is important, not just to create jobs and reduce the trade deficit and help Read more [...]

feeding the contour ditches

I have several contour ditches cut on the side of the hill. Each ditch is horizontal, catches rainwater sliding down the hill and irrigates plantings horizontally aligned with it - such as tomatoes, fruit orchard, blueberries and blackberries. Since almost all of my irrigation is with rainwater I try to make every drop count. I lose water which streams beyond the reach of the ditches, especially down an access road I cut up the hill. Previously I dug finger drainage ditches which intercepted Read more [...]

the upending of the West?

My focus on organic growing has recently been distracted by intrusions from reality – the fox raid on the chicken, a robbery while I was away from the house and, now, by unusual summer heat and the question of the economy. I have always lived in the West – South Africa, the UK, and the USA and accepted the notion that the West led the way. But not anymore. For me it was the Olympics in Beijing, that signaled the rising ascendency of Asia. In the 90's and beginning of this decade we in the Read more [...]

rat and rabbit patrol

While I attend to the irrigation, Trudy my Heinz 57 canine companion, investigates and patrols. A few weeks ago, as we returned to the house, I noticed her cheeks were puffed and when I coaxed her mouth open a little rabbit slid to the ground. It was too mangled to survive, so I despatched and buried it. This morning at the door entrance was a token of appreciation from Trudy - a rat which she had captured in the vegetable garden. No despatching was required this time and after a quick photo Read more [...]