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dpack
Joined: 02 Jul 2005 Posts: 45472 Location: yes
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Posted: Fri Jul 12, 19 2:52 pm Post subject: |
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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 Māori farms of the past, they’re the main feature of the garden, grown in regular mounds, or puke. To grow kūmara in cold, rainy New Zealand, Wiremu Puke, an ethnographic researcher from the Ngāti 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. |
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gregotyn
Joined: 24 Jun 2010 Posts: 2201 Location: Llanfyllin area
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Mistress Rose
Joined: 21 Jul 2011 Posts: 15579
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Posted: Sat Jul 13, 19 6:33 am Post subject: |
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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. |
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gregotyn
Joined: 24 Jun 2010 Posts: 2201 Location: Llanfyllin area
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Posted: Sat Jul 13, 19 9:37 am Post subject: |
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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. |
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Ty Gwyn
Joined: 22 Sep 2010 Posts: 4563 Location: Lampeter
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Jam Lady
Joined: 28 Dec 2006 Posts: 2507 Location: New Jersey, USA
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Mistress Rose
Joined: 21 Jul 2011 Posts: 15579
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Posted: Sun Jul 14, 19 8:01 am Post subject: |
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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. |
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Jam Lady
Joined: 28 Dec 2006 Posts: 2507 Location: New Jersey, USA
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Mistress Rose
Joined: 21 Jul 2011 Posts: 15579
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gregotyn
Joined: 24 Jun 2010 Posts: 2201 Location: Llanfyllin area
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Posted: Tue Jul 16, 19 2:28 pm Post subject: |
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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! |
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Mistress Rose
Joined: 21 Jul 2011 Posts: 15579
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Ty Gwyn
Joined: 22 Sep 2010 Posts: 4563 Location: Lampeter
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Mistress Rose
Joined: 21 Jul 2011 Posts: 15579
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gregotyn
Joined: 24 Jun 2010 Posts: 2201 Location: Llanfyllin area
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Mistress Rose
Joined: 21 Jul 2011 Posts: 15579
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