Member Hippocrates_Garden
MemberForum Replies Created
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I consider Renogy a decent, budget, but throwaway brand. I’ve not heard a whole lot of good re: any service. I use Renogy charge controllers and so far no problem, but not using them real hard, and not in big systems. That all-in-one is just another rebranded one. It boils down to how much you need to depend on it. If it is truly critical, then I’d stick to the well-known, decades-proven brands. Schneider, Victron etc.
After that, who has U.S.-based support, either direct to manufacturers or established dealers?
For not really -that- important systems, or just testing, trialing, learning, amazon.Thus far I have:
Batteries: EG4 48v rackmount (6), Epoch 48v waterproof (4), LiTime 12v 100ah (4), one diy LiPo and 8 6v deep cycle lead acids.
Charge Controllers: Victron (mppt), Renogy (pwm and mppt)
Inverters: Victron, Harbor Freight
All in One: EG4
and various panels, cables, racks, etc. -
This is why, we need ever-increasing numbers of community-sized, neighborhood-sized market gardens and “farms”. But they can only exist if people directly support them. Grow your own, or buy directly from someone local who does, and you know how they grow. Bypass the big corporations.
Yes, it will cost more, immediately out of pocket at the point of sale. But with the quality of the food, the quality increase of the community, and the resiliency to the local food system, is worth it.
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Great to know there Thy_Abundance.
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about 15 min of research, and it appears first of all, Peppercorn plants are tropical, hardy to zone 10 (for outside cultivation).
1) can they be grown from seed, yes, but not from the grocery store as those have been treated in such as way as they become sterile. one would need untreated, unblanched seed, and I’m finding it difficult to find.2) From seed, multiple sources report it can take 4 years + for them to begin bearing, grown as a perennial. If one can regulate the temps correctly, and do proper pruning to keep them from getting to large (they are a vine), might be able to keep them alive long enough, or maybe they will bear a bit earlier, but haven’t found verifiable evidence of this.
Anything is possible, with the right knowledge, skill, and resources. There are those growing citrus in the high desert where it isn’t possible, without an earth-sheltered, greenhouse of some sort, and a lot of practice. Perhaps, this is part of why the “spices” of the orient have been so valuable for hundreds of years. If it could be easily cultivated everywhere, it would not be as valuable. Just what i was able to glean.
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First time with chickens, I say.. don’t worry about the “best” of anything other than, what will be the easiest for where you are. Your general, all-around, easy to care for, Chevy’s of the chicken world.
Hard to go wrong with something like Rhode Island Reds, Honestly, maybe contact Murray McMurray and just say “Hey, I live in (x) state, first timer, and want the closest thing to bulletproof hens possible, what are your suggestions?
Pretty much any hen lays eggs, and any of them can be eaten. Get a year or two of figuring out feeding, watering, maybe moving etc. then with that experience, move in a desired direction. There are almost infinite possibilities for different circumstances and goals.
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Yes, which is why, despite not being in but like 4-5 groups, when someone posts a link to a video in 5 groups, I see them all, every time. Since everyone sees every post… um. perhaps just post it once? in the most appropriate group?
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Don’t even know what the “social-web” is. Is it like a social disease?
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I’m not familiar with Mustard for potato beetles, but that doesn’t mean it’s not been investigated. Off the top of my head, I remember Mustard as a “bio-fumigation” method for nematodes. As I recall one method was growing it, tilling it in (maybe, maybe one of the few times I’d till), and covering it with plastic to keep the “gas” in place longer.
A quick search found this article which discusses mustard biomass and/or seed meal as a fumigate for nematodes, and speaks a fair bit of potato beetle control as well, but not in the way one expects.
If I read it correctly, the fumigation is not very specific, affecting pretty much all nematodes. Unfortunately, there are specific nematodes, which do not affect plant roots, as there are root-feeding nematodes, as well as predatory nematodes. Meaning, that from a crop plant health standpoint, bad nematodes (root feeding) and ones that have no direct effect on plants, are actually beneficial, as they are predators of other insects or their larvae, which do cause damage.
Thus there are at least two predatory nematodes which are predators or biological controls of potato beetles. However, using a non-specific fumigation method on all nematodes may decrease the effect of the root feeders, but also decrease the population, and thus positive effect of the predator nematodes which are having some positive effect on controlling potato beetles.
So, from this one research paper, if control of potato beetles is the concern, using mustard as a fumigant may be counterproductive. Impossible to tell, unless there has been an effort to determine if there are predatory nematodes already in the soil. If there are none, then fumigation would have no effect on the Potatoe Beetles, though it may reduce root-feeding nematodes, which was not mentioned as a problem you are having.
If there are predatory nematodes in place, then the best long-term solution might be, finding out how to increase their population. If there are none, then possibly find some to introduce.
Most of my direct experience with this came from Dr. Elaine Ingham’s “Soil Food Web” course where we learned to use pretty good microscopes to see and identify bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes and more as part of efforts to enhance the positive soil life, which then makes the full soil food web flourish, and thus feeds the plants which directly or indirectly feed us. We didn’t get to the species identification level, but at least being able to decently identify the “good guy” (predator) vs “bad guy” (root feeding) nematodes.
I believe Billy and either his wife or son are currently in Dr. Ingham’s course, and the information may be more fresh in their mindes.
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It’s likely time to go back to tests being in-person essays, in the old “blue books”. If the student is quickly turning in polished essays from home, but can’t write a paragraph in person….
Standardized, multiple choice tests have nothing to do with real life. When is the last time, in real life, has a situation arisen, for which the answer or solution was saying “A”, “B”, “C”, “D” or “All of the Above”?
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For me, Insurance is a scam. The only insurance I’ve carried in the last 10 years is auto, because without it, no tags. I dropped Farm Bureau, after having been with them for over 20 years, with no claims when for a brief time they tried to pull this stunt where they said “if we have your auto or house, but not both we’ll drop you”.. so I dropped them. Oh, I did have health insurance, when I was employed as a nurse, because it was essentially free with my system (as long as I stayed in the system).
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One of the ways I’ve heard to find an appropriate price is #1) make sure you’re not losing money and #2) If no one complains it’s too high, raise the price.
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Perhaps, when enough of us remember and begin acting like “The Government” is us, and not some self-important suits that have weaseled their way into an office, we won’t have to ask that question.
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I have property, with a utility line going right through the middle of it. Know how i keep them from spraying? I maintain it so they don’t have to. Simple
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Gotta ask. How do you buy property, that’s not next to property lines?
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Everything in moderation. (including moderation)