For when you finish the chemistry book - A Muck Manual for Farmers (1842)
"It is usual to help the ground with muck, and likewise to recomfort with muck, put to the roots; but to water it, with muck-water, which is like to be more forcible, is not practised." — Bacon.
Something to consider regarding pruning - temperature affects fruit ripening with the process slowing considerably when over 85°F / 29°C (Tomatoes not Ripening?) so vines do benefit from the microclimate shade leaves create. I have noticed the degree of sparseness/lushness in greenery (natural...
As the seeds dry down more the clusters are easier to separate with gentle rubbing. To remove the seeds from the "trash", the easiest is to run them through seed screens but if you don't have those, you can winnow them in front of a fan - the seeds will fall while the chaff is carried with the...
@Bluejay77 I remember you mentioning how you use zinnias in your bean patches to "distract" the pollinators - how do you position them - in groups next to the beans, interspersed between, off to the side more away from the beans, or... ? TIA and hope all is well =)
Regarding the lack of flowers on fruit trees - the flower buds for the season are actually formed almost a year prior, so it's last season's conditions (weather, pest/disease burden, and fruit set) that determined the flowering for this year. It is cyclical in that the tree focuses its resources...
Thank you to all who contributed your thoughts on my isolation distance / population size debate - I appreciate the benefit of your thoughts and experience.
Every year I have an internal debate with myself on the number of varieties per species to grow with the goal of preserving the chosen varieties. Given a commonly accepted recommendation of at least 10 plants per variety and 20 feet between varieties for common beans, how does one manage to...
Cute! My one suggestion if possible is to make a version that does not include the chickens to attract people who do garden but who don't have chickens (and vice versa.)