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dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45472
Location: yes

Posted: Fri Jul 12, 19 2:52 pm Post subject:

Jam Lady wrote:

Re charcoal and biochar - an interesting snippet from a recent Atlas Obscura piece about a recreated traditional Maori garden in New Zealand.

Writing about growing sweet potatoes it notes that: "Like in traditional MÄori farms of the past, theyâ€™re the main feature of the garden, grown in regular mounds, or puke. To grow kÅ«mara in cold, rainy New Zealand, Wiremu Puke, an ethnographic researcher from the NgÄti Wairere clan notes, the gardeners of yore mixed the soil with pumice and charcoal to keep them warm and encourage drainage. At one point, in the Waikato area, there were 2,000 hectares of this modified soil"

No comment about puke the planting mound / Puke the ethnographic researcher

mr gardiner the gardiner, mr butcher the butcher etc etc ?

ancestor with a mound seems plausible if his clan grew that way.

gregotyn

Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 2201
Location: Llanfyllin area

Posted: Fri Jul 12, 19 3:44 pm Post subject:

My biochar man has not been for a couple of days, and I won't have a lot of time for the next couple of days-my hay making in full swing and so will be helping friend get the hay off my patch asap. Although he is threatening to wrap it up at my place rather than carting it and wrapping at his place. He thinks it can stay with me until he needs it, no chance! The grazers are after the grass as soon as they can get on there. I say hay, it will be haylage which it appears horses stomachs can tolerate, they can't eat the fully fermented stuff, silage, in the way ruminants can. I think horses only manage grass because it can be processed in the colon.

I am listening to all they say about biochar, but not necessarily taking the info into the brain and retaining it! I think I need a note book and to learn shorthand.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15579

Posted: Sat Jul 13, 19 6:33 am Post subject:

Having written a lot of notes at school and college during my formative years, I luckily can write them quite fast. Tried shorthand, but only in a mild sort of way, so never really learnt it. I use some of my own; abbreviations, initials instead of names and a few scientific symbols, but manage with longhand otherwise. Naturally I am popular as a minutes secretary as nobody else wants the job.

Hope the weather goes well for your hay/haylage Gregotyn. I am trying to spot water part of my veg patch every night, and so far seems to be doing quite well.

Different cultures have different ways of growing food, but never sure if these brilliant ways are necessarily better than our own traditional ways in our climate. The temperature and light levels in the UK are different from many of theirs, and the plants we grow too, so it can make a big difference to the results. Always interesting to hear about other ways of doing things, just whether it is suitable for us.

gregotyn

Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 2201
Location: Llanfyllin area

Posted: Sat Jul 13, 19 9:37 am Post subject:

I must admit when I garden I do it old fashioned, like my granddad used to do, but the wispy bonfire that he had, has always eluded me. I like to dig deep for my beans and so on. I haven't done much the last few years been too busy working and chopping wood, but I have plans to retire soon-well, before winter sets in. I was worried that I had reached a standard of living beyond my pension; but realise that I will save a lot by not going 30 miles a day to and from work. I will miss it-the money-but shouldn't need so much in theory, and I have most of what I need, cut out the "wants"-just buy the "needs". I also have a source of wood locally-been this am to collect a couple of pallets. I also have made 'things' for gardens which have sold in the past-cloches for example. Also there is a council worker who needs so much doing on her allotment, but wants someone else to do it for her, which I can quietly, in my own time, when I retire. I will be making a green house that is certain.

Talking of spot watering is there any merit in putting a tube into the ground and pouring water into that and so straight to the root reducing evaporation?

The man making the haylage had just turned up at the place where I collected the pallet from this morning as I was leaving. I was hoping it was going to be hay, as the friends I give the hay to don't like haylage, for their horses.

I agree with you about the wonder ways of gardening, but the man's crops with the biochar are very good in the green house. I may try out once I am at home and gardening again.

Ty Gwyn

Joined: 22 Sep 2010
Posts: 4563
Location: Lampeter

Posted: Sat Jul 13, 19 11:05 am Post subject:
Those 12ft high broad Beans you mention,have put a lot of energy growing to that height,it will be interesting to how well they crop.

Jam Lady

Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 2507
Location: New Jersey, USA

Posted: Sat Jul 13, 19 6:35 pm Post subject:
Just got two more quarts of apricots from the local orchard. So good! Some to eat, some to - what's my name, now . . . some to preserve as jam.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15579

Posted: Sun Jul 14, 19 8:01 am Post subject:

We can occasionally get apricots grown on the Isle of Wight, and they are lovely, but sadly most of ours are imported as it is hard to get dependable crops in the UK. Lovely to get local ones.

Gregotyn, there might be advantages to a leaky hose in the ground. I have used one on the surface before, but not buried. I have individual raised beds, so would need to think about that. I use the rainwater from the tank under the greenhouse, so it would be rather harder work pumping it up and lifting it into a tank higher up I think, but will certainly consider the idea.

Sounds as if you will have plenty to do when you 'retire', and not so far to travel. Pity the grass will not be converted to hay, but haylage. I think I understand the difference, but do horses not eat haylage, or is it just the preference of the owners?

Ty, the answer to the beans will be how much they are producing. If there is plenty of potash in the biochar, they should be producing well.

Jam Lady

Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 2507
Location: New Jersey, USA

Posted: Sun Jul 14, 19 12:45 pm Post subject:

Mistress Rose, I think what Gregotyn was suggesting might be something for individual plants. When I coordinated the community garden back in Connecticut - and obviously had a plot of my own - I did something of the sort for cucumbers. Take large tin cans, the size tomato juice comes in, and cut one end completely off. Use what we used to call a church key and punch a series of triangular holes around the bottom. Sink in the ground and if you want to be "fancy" add a layer of dry manure to the can. Pour water in as needed. It will slowly dribble out the bottom holes, supplying water down at root level.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15579

Posted: Mon Jul 15, 19 6:07 am Post subject:

That sounds a good idea for the greenhouse, but only practical for things like cucumbers where you have one rather large plant. We can only grow cucumbers under cover here, but see it would be useful growing them outside. I had thought of using a similar system in the greenhouse, or the leaky hose might work there.

One of my peppers has a small fruit on it, but then it isn't a huge plant yet, so rather pleased about that. Have had 2 small courgettes off the plant in the greenhouse and some chard thinnings as well as the mangetout peas.

gregotyn

Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 2201
Location: Llanfyllin area

Posted: Tue Jul 16, 19 2:28 pm Post subject:

Oh the 'bio beans' have cropped-why some are falling over with too much weight to carry. I have had some of the beans and they are very good; I ate them raw rather than cook them. I would normally have them as a separate course, when I'm buy them, with slightly melted butter-yum, because that is how I really like them. I agree with you MR, that we all have different ways of growing things, usually passed down from the previous generation and all seem to work for "them"!

The haylage is all but finished by the friends who have it, they think they should pay for it, but whenever I call there is always a meal or something for me that I see the hay as a thank you to them. Well I don't know the full total of haylage made but it will exceed all previous numbers- we wrapped over 100 mini bales last night before the string ran out; I am hoping that all will be finished when I get home in half an hour, saving my back. I am not sure about haylage and why it is good enough for horses. Silage is no good for horses, the fermented grass process does something-can't remember what-to their insides. I would always make hay by choice-smells better than silage too! But hay is so dependant on good weather.

Retirement should be today! I plan as much self grown food as possible, for feeding me. I may get as far as keeping a pig or 2, but will have a few chickens at some stage. I don't see this as a bad investment as I will live forever....... I used to have a garden, but it got taken over by a creeping tree and is now about a quarter of an acre of 'growing' firewood. I would definitely be doing the gardening in raised beds, sitting down to the work is essential as I get older. I also plan to sell a few logs from the gate, and I have a reasonable pension and there is only me. I would like to demolish the house from a 4 bed house to a 2 bed bungalow, but doubt if the powers would let me! Don't think the cash will go that far anyway!

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15579

Posted: Wed Jul 17, 19 6:30 am Post subject:

Seems as if you have plenty mapped out for your retirement, which can only be a good thing. Is there any way of doing something about the tree?

Most of my raised beds are not too high, but I used to work with a man who was confined to a wheelchair by polio, and he used to work with raised beds, so assume his were a suitable height to work from his wheelchair.

Glad the haylage crop was good. As you say, hay needs more sun, and that is in shorter supply where you are than in a lot of other parts of the country.

Ty Gwyn

Joined: 22 Sep 2010
Posts: 4563
Location: Lampeter

Posted: Wed Jul 17, 19 12:22 pm Post subject:
Haylage is basically a day short of making hay, Horse people prefer it as less risk of dust as in hay They don`t feed silage as fermented feed as it can cause colic.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15579

Posted: Thu Jul 18, 19 5:41 am Post subject:
Thanks Ty; I never have been quite sure about it. Not keeping horses, never had to bother, but I know they have very delicate stomachs.

gregotyn

Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 2201
Location: Llanfyllin area

Posted: Thu Jul 18, 19 1:31 pm Post subject:

Haylage in our case was made due to rain on the way and we just got it all baled and wrapped in time. It would have been better to have made the hay the previous week when every body else locally was making theirs, but my Wolverhampton friend was having non of it; my attitude is that as soon as the neighbours start, then move yourself into gear and get going. The local farmers know a lot more than a townie like me or the friend, regarding weather. My agricultural education taught me to use local knowledge.

I like raised beds and had those I'd got high enough to be able to sit down to the job with a minimum bending to do the weeding. Weeding became almost a pleasure, but I remember that I put fertiliser down for my plants not the weeds!

The Royal Welsh show is on next week. I will be there on the Monday, the first day as it is usually the quietest. Royalty day is always Tuesday. I get there as early as I can and then go round the show live-stock about 8am, and do the rest as it "hots" up and the world and his wife arrive. As you can imagine there will be a full report on Thursday!

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15579

Posted: Fri Jul 19, 19 6:50 am Post subject:
Have a good time Gregotyn. Going at a quiet time is my choice too. I have never liked crowds. Hopefully the rain yesterday will have brought on my vegetables better than the watering I was giving them.

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