Category: Growing organic

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 [...]

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 [...]

welcome diversion and a bit of luck

My property is about 50 minutes (=50 miles) north of Atlanta.  Some 30 minutes into the trip I will often find a pretext to stop at the convenient Lowes DIY store for a "necessary " purchase as well as for the free coffee, friendly cashier and to ease springs.  The last reminds me of my army days when, after serious imbibing in the NCO mess, we would "request permission to ease springs" and then stumble over the tent guy ropes into the darkness of the night. So this morning was no different Read more [...]

loss of bearings and prop 37

A good friend had a Hatteras 58 ft  long range cruiser.  I loved the boat.  It had a big engine room and, as it had been outfitted over the years with new electronics and other necessities, it had different DC voltages for different circuits and a spaghetti of wires in all directions.  When components failed, and they often did, I would haul out the wiring diagrams and try trace the fault.  The diagrams enabled me to understand the function of the wires.  When we left harbor I found my bearings Read more [...]

earthworks – terraces, contour ditches and tree trunks

My permaculture readings have focused me on developing an edible forest garden and earthworks figure prominently in my designs.  Although I already have a number of different fruit trees in my orchard I decided to expand the selection and expect, by the end of November, to receive 2 goumi, 2 pawpaw, 3 kiwi (2 female, 1 male), and a medlar, aronia, sour cherry, and juneberry.  With these pending arrivals I have been at work preparing their planting sites on the side of the hill. The earthworks Read more [...]

benefits of organic milk – kefir

We have started making our own kefir fermented milk products.  Kefir originated when shepherds discovered that milk carried in leather pouches would ferment and produce a fermented beverage which has a pleasing taste, once your are accustomed to it. We were given a starter culture and the procedure is you add milk to the kefir grains and allow it to ferment for 24 hours at room temperature.  A tablespoon of the kefir grains is adequate for 8 ozs of milk.  After 24 hours the grains have converted Read more [...]

Fall inspection of the bees

In Cherokee county bees attract a lot of interest.  I attended the beekeepers' monthly meeting last Thursday.  We are fortunate to have a commercial beekeeper as our coach and guru.  I had missed the previous month's meeting where they discussed inspecting for mites and chemical treatments.  The meeting last Thursday was about Fall inspections and feeding. First as to mites - most of the attendees were doing sugar dustings and mite counts -you sprinkle sugar on the bees and they vigorously Read more [...]

Bermudagrass campaign ctd., neighborly gifts

I mentioned a couple posts ago the battle I am having with Bermudagrass.  A few days ago we had really good rains which softened the soil and made it much easier to slowly withdraw the long Bermudagrass shoots.  When the ground is dry the shoots clinging to the lumps of sod are easily broken and they remain in the ground to incubate a new invasion.  I have a rototiller which I hardly ever use now I subscribe to the view that the spinning tines, which move at a set depth in the ground, create a Read more [...]

unintended consequences – Bermudagrass, vegetation in contour ditches

When I began planting my vines and blueberry bushes in the field, Bermudagrass (also known as "devil grass" because it can be an highly aggressive difficult to eradicate weed) was not a problem.  Yes it lurked among the broad bladed tall grasses but it was one of many.  Now it is a major problem and it can thank me! Bermudagrass is a wiry perennial (easy to cut your fingers if you are pulling hard on it), and is low-growing (hence easily checked by taller grasses) and it spreads by above ground Read more [...]