Re: A Neo-agrarian culture
One ten year cycle that comes to mind that is effective in weather is the Saturn cycle. It is one third of a full cycle which puts it in a symilar value constelation. When it has a watery element behind it the seasons are ususaly wetter, the production higher and the prices lower. Cheers, Peter. - Original Message - From: Rex Teague [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, May 07, 2002 7:50 AM Subject: Re: A Neo-agrarian culture
Re: Shredders for composting
In my experience it pays to mix all materials going into a compost heap. I have always retuned between 10% to 25% old compost mixed in with the new materials. I have often made composts using large quantities of grass collected in a forage harvester and even when tumble mixed with a bobcat there was still pockets of silage in the heap. this means that the heap needs turning fairly soon after the initial setup to get air into them. If one is hand making the compost this problem is much easier to avoid. best wishes, Peter.
Re: Shredders for composting
Dear Allan, Why not just mow the rye over with a mower and spray with Barrel Compost and then turn in by spade as a green manure, roots and all. Saves a lot of effort and still aids the soil. Then make a proper compost heap, with your hay and green matter and manure, for later use, and use your last lot of compost turned in with this lot as well on the raised beds. Cheryl Cheryl - Thanks for the suggestions. I'm working with acres here, often by myself. I'm going from covered soil to raised bed that I transplant into almost immediately, hence the raking off of the heavy organic matter, which, incidentally, extension agents in these parts do not feel contribute substantially to organic matter if turned in (roots, which remain in my beds being the greatest contributers and of mass equal to the tops). I do BC the beds right after spading-lifting-tilling. If I had money-time, I'd be hitting all the beds with Pfeiffer Field Spray, also. Please let me know if I've misunderstood what you are saying. It is not my experience that I can get right into the beds if I plow down 'full grown' rye, even with BC -Allan
Frost tonight in Northern Virginia
As unlikely as it would seem, Robert Farr and I are looking at the possibility of frost in our gardens this evening. This is a full month PAST the 'safe-to-plant' date extension gives and almost 5 days past my own intuitive 'safe date.' (Although I have to admit that I was cringing while transplanting tomatoes earlier in the week. Robert has some 2500 pepper plants out. I have 2000 sweet potatoes slips in the ground and hundreds of tomatoes in the ground. Predicted lows are 38 tonight and tomorrow night, but the site of the predicition is some 15 miles away and is hundreds of feet lower than where our sites are. SO, the possibility of a freeze or frost is there. The wind has been high this spring, also, so remay is not an option that I'm considering. (I don't want to beat the plants.) I have compost kit valerian on hand. I wonder if somoene can give me directions for mixing that, diluting it (I probably need to spray about 3000 sq ft of beds, not really all that much.) Any other suggestions w.b. appreciated. I'm simply not up-to-date on frost-proofing things like spraying water on leaves in the evening, and so on. I think that a 'hard freeze' is not likely, but I only have the predicitons of the weather service to go by. -Allan
Re: Horsetail/Equisetum Arvense
Tony Pam, If it's tea for human consumption you're planning on, I have read that it is wise to ONLY collect the horsetail after the first 4-6 weeks of growth after appearing in the spring otherwise it can be toxic to humans. I don't know if this is also true for making compost tea. Jane - Original Message - From: Anthony Nelson-Smith [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, May 18, 2002 11:21 AM Subject: Re: Horsetail/Equisetum Arvense Steve - Pulling horsetail shoots damages the plant? I should be so lucky! I approve of this plant in the right place, but not overwhelming my veg patch. I've dug down three feet into my subsoil (solid glacial clay) without coming to the end of its stolons - I've read that they can extend downwards for several yards. Every spring I pull each shoot as it appears, and appears, and appears; after a decade or more, they are as vigorous as ever. Of course, if I'd _wanted_ them there Naturally, I dry the best leafy shoots for tea making. Tony N-S.
Fw: [globalnews] Dry Rio Grande Point of U.S./Mexico Friction
Dry Rio Grande Point of U.S./Mexico Friction SILVER CITY, New Mexico, May 17, 2002 (ENS) - The Rio Grande, the river dividing the United States from Mexico, no longer reaches the Gulf of Mexico into which it has emptied for millions of years. The water has stopped flowing due to a sandbar formed by several years of low water levels plus high water usage in drought stricken northern Mexico. Left high and dry, Texas politicians are threatening retaliation in what has become an acrimonious water dispute between the two countries. Sharing the Waters, a report issued today by the Interhemispheric Resource Center, a nonprofit policy studies center, outlines the international dispute over the waters of the Rio Grande and Rio Bravo rivers in Texas and Mexico. The Rio Grande forms the border between the United States and Mexico. Here it flows through Big Bend National Park. (Photo credit unknown) The report by Mary Kelly and Karen Chapman of the Texas Center for Policy Studies shows how Texas officials have accused Mexico of a failure to live up to its obligations under the 1944 binational treaty governing the waters of the river basin and how the resources are to be shared. Northern Mexico has replied that it is suffering from a persistent, severe drought that has reduced capacity in its reservoirs to dangerous levels. One of the largest reservoirs in the Mexican portion of the basin, La Boquilla on the Río Conchos in Chihuahua, is at about 20 percent of normal capacity. Further down the Conchos, the Luís León reservoir is at less than 20 percent of its normal storage. Mexico's reserves amount to less than 10 percent of that system's capacity. Under these conditions, short of cutting off all irrigation south of the border, it is not practical for Mexico to rapidly repay its current deficit of about 1.4 million acre-feet as agreed under the joint 1944 Amistad/Falcon Reservoir Treaty. However, many people in Texas are demanding that Mexico abide by the treaty regardless of the consequences to that country. Chapman and Kelly say, Those Texas politicians leading the charge against Mexico seem to agree with farmers in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas who maintain that Mexico is purposefully managing its part of the Rio Grande/Río Bravo basin in order to deliberately withhold water and put Texas farmers out of business. They have mounted a sustained campaign to convince U.S. federal officials that Mexico should be transferring all its Río Bravo water through to the Rio Grande instead of using some of it for irrigation in Chihuahua. In response, Mexico points out that the many farmers in the area have had to resort to dryer crops such as grain sorghum in order to survive. Francisco I. Maderas Dam, located near Delicias, Chihuahua, on the Conchos River, stores irrigation water and generates hydro power for the region. (Photo by Enrique Rios Gonzalez courtesy Rio Grande/Rio Bravo Basin Coalition) The government of Mexico has signaled its intent to tackle these problems by announcing plans for 11 irrigation modernization projects in the northern part of the country. A series of new water recycling programs has been started as a way to meet its water debts and address its own domestic water needs. The joint U.S.-Mexico North American Development Bank, created in a side agreement to the North American Free Trade Agreement, proposes to fund $40 million of the $420 million total price tag that Mexico's National Water Commission estimates as the total cost of the irrigation and municipal infrastructure improvements project. Most federal officials in Washington have maintained a low profile on the issue. But constant pressure from Texas officials, widespread media coverage and lack of progress in resolving the dispute could bring attention from the federal government. Earlier this week, President George W. Bush, formerly governor of Texas, discussed the water issue with Mexican President Vincente Fox, who responded with a public statement promising Mexico will establish a plan for paying its water debt within 15 days. Last week, Mexican and U.S. conservation organizations convened a forum in Chihuahua to discuss what cooperative actions can be taken to protect and restore the Río Conchos basin. Chapman and Kelly warn that further escalation of the dispute could damage the bilateral relationship, affecting the two countries' ability to cooperate on water issues along other parts of the border, and threaten progress on other issues such as immigration and economic development. In the near term, says Chapman and Kelly, the governments must agree on a formula for allocating what rain does fall this year. A realistic payment plan for the current deficit, based on actual
OFF:Fw: [globalnews] IMF and World Bank Blamed for Worst Health Crisis in History
FOREIGN POLICY IN FOCUS http://www.fpif.org/ What's in the News at FPIF? May 16, 2002 **IMF and World Bank Blamed for Worst Health Crisis in History Salih Booker, FPIF Advisory Committee member, says, The IMF and World Bank have much to answer for. Many of the strongest critiques come from Africans, although they have little opportunity to travel to Washington to demonstrate. The policies of the World Bank and IMF have eroded Africa's health care systems and intensified the poverty of Africa's people. These institutions must be made accountable for their role in causing the worst health crisis in human history, which Africa now faces. Africa Action has launched a new campaign called Africa's Right to Health Campaign. The campaign is based information on a new position paper, Hazardous to Health: The World Bank and IMF in Africa, published by Africa Action and written by Ann-Louise Colgan. According to this new paper, The policies dictated by the World Bank and IMF exacerbated poverty, providing fertile ground for the spread of HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases. Cutbacks in health budgets and privatization of health services eroded previous advances in health care and weakened the capacity of African governments to cope with the growing health crisis. Consequently, during the past two decades the life expectancy of Africans has dropped by 15 years. For information about Africa Action's campaign and to read the new report, go to: http://www.africaaction.org/action/campaign.htm For analysis by Salih Booker and other Africa Action staff, visit: http://www.fpif.org/advisers/booker.html For more FPIF analysis on Africa, see FPIF Africa index: http://www.fpif.org/indices/regions/africa.html Siri D. Khalsa Interhemispheric Resource Center P.O. Box 2178 Silver City, NM 88062 USA (505) 388-0208 (505) 388-0916 (fax) e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Websites: http://www.irc-online.org/ http://www.us-mex.org, http://www.americasprogram.org/ http://www.fpif.org/ , http://www.selfdetermine.org The IRC is a nonprofit research and policy studies institute; a think tank without walls. Our two main projects are the Americas Program and Foreign Policy in Focus (FPIF). ___ stop-imf mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.essential.org/mailman/listinfo/stop-imf To subscribe or unsubscribe by e-mail, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED], with your administrative request in the subject line. Or go to http://lists.essential.org/mailman/listinfo/stop-imf Yahoo! Groups Sponsor -~-- Take the Yahoo! Groups survey for a chance to win $1,000. Your opinion is very important to us! http://us.click.yahoo.com/NOFBfD/uAJEAA/Ey.GAA/KlSolB/TM -~- Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
Fw: [globalnews] EU Caving in to US on GM Food
Subject: [globalnews] EU Caving in to US on GM Food (From Le Monde Diplomatique) The United States wants the European Union to lift its 1998 moratorium on the import of new genetically modified organisms. This is one-sided free trading - as at the same time the US is adopting protectionist measures to help its steel industry. The EC, far from resisting, is doing its undemocratic best to help the US. by SUSAN GEORGE * The United States declaration of unlimited war on terrorism was not the only outcome of the 11 September attacks. Appealing to patriotism also enabled President Bush to squeeze a bill through the House of Representatives, by only 216 votes to 215, giving him trade promotion (formerly called fast track) authority. If the Senate follows suit, the executive will be entitled to negotiate international trade agreements without interference from Congress, which will have no power of amendment. Congress will have to accept or reject the texts as they stand, and outright rejection is unlikely. Without such authority, it is argued, US negotiators lack credibility, as their partners will fear negotiated agreements may be vitiated by Congressional amendments. With Congress still to take its final decision, the ministerial conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), held last November in Doha, Qatar, was another slap in the face for the opponents of neo-liberal globalisation and a success for the business lobby. It launched a new round of comprehensive negotiations, called the Doha Development Round, to take over from the Millennium Round that failed in Seattle in December 1999. Of the areas it covered, the environment is probably the most sensitive in the immediate future. Mention of the environment in the final declaration of the Doha conference was mainly due to pressure from the European Union, backed by Japan, Norway and Switzerland. India was strongly opposed to it, followed by most of the developing countries and the US. But the cost of securing a mention of the environment was very high. This was because of the inclusion of an important rider making the results of future negotiations on compatibility between WTO rules and multilateral environmental agreements binding only on countries that have already signed MEAs - which is reason enough for all countries to follow the example of the US and not sign, or renege. It was also because, totally contradicting the stated aims, there is a risk of the WTO gaining the upper hand over MEAs. And that is just what big businesses, especially biotech firms, hope for. Pascal Lamy, the European commissioner for trade, shares this perspective. Before the signing of the Doha declaration, he wrote to his friend Robert Zoellick, the US trade representative: You have informed me of your government's deep concern that Europe might use the negotiations decided on in Doha to justify illegitimate barriers to trade, particularly trade in biotechnological products and application of the commercial clauses of present or future multilateral agreements on biosecurity. As the European Commission's negotiator, I am writing to assure you that will not be the case. I can also assure you I shall not use the negotiations to change the balance of rights and obligations within the WTO with regard to the precautionary principle (1). The last sentence speaks volumes. It means that there is no question of the EU calling for the precautionary principle to be strengthened, no question of the EU demanding that the burden of proof in biosecurity be reversed. So any country or group of countries not wishing to import a given product (like the EU and hormone-treated beef) will continue to be required to prove that the product is dangerous. And the exporter will still be exempt from any obligation to prove it is harmless. This was no doubt the return demanded by Washington for its agreement to mention the environment in the declaration. The EU's capitulation on this issue may soon impact genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Lamy's consideration for the US is not entirely reciprocated. Barely a month after Doha, Zoellick announced that the Bush administration was considering filing a complaint about Europe's alleged delays in authorising imports of new GMOs, and its directives about traceability and labelling. The EU has effectively maintained a moratorium on the import of new GMOs since 1998. In fact, the measures on traceability and labelling put to the EU council and the European parliament last July, not yet implemented, are the commission's chosen method of opening the door to new imports. By enabling Europe's consumers to choose between products that do or do not contain GMOs, the EU is attempting to make its policy acceptable. But the US remains adamant: it is not prepared to countenance a moratorium or rules on traceability and labelling. GMOs are harmless. End of story (2). At present
Re: Horsetail/Equisetum Arvense
Daniel - Thanks for that! It's hard to see how my often waterlogged, heavy clay soil could contain excess nitrate, but there's no harm in trying... Tony N-S.
Re: A Neo-agrarian culture and a question
On 19 May 02, Peter Michael Bacchus wrote: One ten year cycle that comes to mind that is effective in weather is the Saturn cycle. It is one third of a full cycle which puts it in a symilar value constelation. When it has a watery element behind it the seasons are ususaly wetter, the production higher and the prices lower. Cheers, Peter. Interesting?? 8-) My prosaic understanding of cycles is very much limited to the big lines as Marie puts it... it's a Dutch expression. Ray Tomes popped up on another list I was on and he struck me as having a good command of the subject hence the reference I sent along. Peter a question I've been meaning to ask you. If I remember correctly you were to visit Europe in the first half of this year and time permitting, hunt out some research on heating sources for cooking. Any joy... I'm extremely curious? Cheerio... Rex
RE: Shredders for composting
Thanks for the reply. The thing is, I don't know how small to shred compost material! I find that making compost with unshredded material just increases the amount of work, especially when turning. We do everything by hand, so need to make composting making as easy on the body as possible. Also, due to South Africa's semi-arid climate, the rate of soil organic matter mineralization is more than 5 times that in Europe. Conservative estimates mentioned during a conference last week ranged from 200 - 300 tons per hectare in year 1, 100 tons for the next two years, before repeating the cycle again. Some farmers double those amounts. Thus, optimised compost making, with minimised energy and labour inputs are essential. Therefore sieving is just an extra handling process, which I don't want to get into. I have had this experience in an urban garden and simply cannot afford to go that route now that I am working a larger area. Care to expand on your ideas of a roller / crusher? Thanks Stephen Barrow -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, May 18, 2002 1:14 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Shredders for composting Why do you want to shred something so small??? It would be gone soon anyway. If it is not done, screen and re-compost. You would be better of with a slow moving heavy weight roller to crush and expose more surface area, less parts to wear and bend and fix. SStorch
Re: Shredders for composting
I like Steve's suggestion for crushing with a roller. I did a bit of that when i had access to a clean concrete slab for a while. My 5' roller, filled with water weighs about 1200lbs.,and worked well, except for some of the larger woody turnips which wouldnt get squeezed in front of the roller's grip. It was hard work by hand when the material built up, and i slipped into it on occasion, getting a run on it. That's as far as i got before thinking of making a long handle extension to the tractor hitch for going back and forth totally clear of the slab with the tractor. Of course this required shovelling up into wheelbarrows/wagon, spreading straw and min.soil in between layers, and sawdust around the edges of the slab to soak up the valuable juices. Volume is a factor. Obviously it would be ideal to just fling the mix into an established heap on one side ot the slab. I have also used an old electric lawnmower,with a mulching blade, suspended upside down on a 45degree angle, and with the lower part of the shroud-rim cut away. I used an old piece of furnace duct/plenum as a chute above it, and had a small enclosed wagon underneath(.less shovelling). The cuttings were randomly adequate with different materials, but it all helped the disint. process. For loose straw,spread out, i always drove back and forth over it with the riding mower set high, till the lengths were suitable. I am definitely saving for a strawbale chopper, commonly used for short-piece poultry bedding, etc. I plan to use the short material as a consistent mulch for some plants. It's so easy to move around the stems. I have also combined saved bags of (dry) tree leaves spread out, with long green lengths of scythe-cut rye and clover strewn over them...and drove over it with the tractor/rotary mower. This mixed very well, and was relatively easy to scoop with a manurefork. This is done on my main grassed drive- paths- as- a -work -area. They are cut often enough that i dont worry about many weed seeds coming along in the mix. I've mentioned this before as my favorite procedure for fine tuning a compost mix: If you have a manure wagon, adding an inverted U-shaped hood over/behind the beater bar,(to contain/deflect the flailing goodies) you can mix into it all the ingredients in any combination, or as it's available, in appropriate layers, wetting as/if needed, adding 500 or BC ,and then PTO-flail it out into one heap , no turning afterwards.just insert preps and cover with straw/soil. If it seems too warm, attach a long multi- hole-drilled pipe to an aircompressor, and inject at different places. That said and done, i wouldn't do any turning,chopping if not necessary, .and time is on your side. ..manfred
Re: Frost tonight in Northern Virginia
Last night, our good friends and fellow BD CSA ers lost all of their basil and half of their tomatoes in their little hollow (as opposed to hill, for those of you who don't speak 'Kentucky')farm in the next county over. Up here on our ridge top, we noticed a few darkened leaf tips, but that was all. Hope it didn't get you Allan. Christy - Original Message - From: Allan Balliett [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, May 19, 2002 7:45 AM Subject: Frost tonight in Northern Virginia As unlikely as it would seem, Robert Farr and I are looking at the possibility of frost in our gardens this evening. This is a full month PAST the 'safe-to-plant' date extension gives and almost 5 days past my own intuitive 'safe date.' (Although I have to admit that I was cringing while transplanting tomatoes earlier in the week. Robert has some 2500 pepper plants out. I have 2000 sweet potatoes slips in the ground and hundreds of tomatoes in the ground. Predicted lows are 38 tonight and tomorrow night, but the site of the predicition is some 15 miles away and is hundreds of feet lower than where our sites are. SO, the possibility of a freeze or frost is there. The wind has been high this spring, also, so remay is not an option that I'm considering. (I don't want to beat the plants.) I have compost kit valerian on hand. I wonder if somoene can give me directions for mixing that, diluting it (I probably need to spray about 3000 sq ft of beds, not really all that much.) Any other suggestions w.b. appreciated. I'm simply not up-to-date on frost-proofing things like spraying water on leaves in the evening, and so on. I think that a 'hard freeze' is not likely, but I only have the predicitons of the weather service to go by. -Allan
Re: Frost tonight in Northern Virginia
- Original Message - From: Allan Balliett [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, May 19, 2002 10:45 PM Subject: Frost tonight in Northern Virginia Hi Allan This is a situation where you use that refractometer and anything you can lay your hands on that will raise plant brix - I would try several different mixes with things like - liquid calcium - fish - seaweed - sugar - molasses - any teas that you have got ready - as well as or in combination with the appropriate BD remedy. We would dowse and do bottle mixes first for mix order and compatability, then test sprays with the little pump sprayer that you get in the grocery store - only needs a square metre of crop, couple of meters of row or a few plants, if there is not a useful response (2 brix) forget it. The valerian may be adequate I have no experience of using preps this way. (will be testing that this coming crop season) All the best Lloyd Charles As unlikely as it would seem, Robert Farr and I are looking at the possibility of frost in our gardens this evening. This is a full month PAST the 'safe-to-plant' date extension gives and almost 5 days past my own intuitive 'safe date.' (Although I have to admit that I was cringing while transplanting tomatoes earlier in the week. Robert has some 2500 pepper plants out. I have 2000 sweet potatoes slips in the ground and hundreds of tomatoes in the ground. Predicted lows are 38 tonight and tomorrow night, but the site of the predicition is some 15 miles away and is hundreds of feet lower than where our sites are. SO, the possibility of a freeze or frost is there. The wind has been high this spring, also, so remay is not an option that I'm considering. (I don't want to beat the plants.) I have compost kit valerian on hand. I wonder if somoene can give me directions for mixing that, diluting it (I probably need to spray about 3000 sq ft of beds, not really all that much.) Any other suggestions w.b. appreciated. I'm simply not up-to-date on frost-proofing things like spraying water on leaves in the evening, and so on. I think that a 'hard freeze' is not likely, but I only have the predicitons of the weather service to go by. -Allan
Re: Frost tonight in Northern Virginia
The scary thing was that it didn't frost last night, but I still lost a bunch o' peppers due to the low temps - 36 prob. - and the winds. I solved the prob. temporarily by moving all the peppers into barn stall, garage, living room, etc. Whew - -- Robert Farr (540) 668-7160 The Chile Man * An organic farm producing hot sauce marinades, salsas, mustards, and barbecue. * Subscribe to our online newsletter at http://www.thechileman.com * Check out this article about us from The Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/style/food/A8659-2001Jul17.html * Open Houses and Farm Tours throughout the year. See web site for details!
Re: Frost tonight in Northern Virginia
In a message dated 5/19/02 7:44:42 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: The scary thing was that it didn't frost last night, but I still lost a bunch o' peppers due to the low temps - 36 prob. - and the winds. I solved the prob. temporarily by moving all the peppers into barn ,stall, garage, living room, etc. Try stirring and spraying your hot sauce on 'emSStorch
Re: Shredders for composting
Dear Allen, I remember seeing Hugh Lovels pictures, where he chops his corn down and does a rough turn in, then sows directly into the green corn trash with a pasture mix. Maybe Hugh will come out and discuss this? Do you have a spader? Wouldnt that do the work for you in turning in - I saw one recently and the turning in and bed tillage was fantastic.All ready for replanting. Why would you use Pfeiffer sprays if you are already using BC ?(which I presume has all the BD compost preps in there). Cheryl Cheryl Kemp Education and Workshop Coordinator BDFGAA Phone /Fax : 02 6657 5322 Home: 02 6657 5306 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] web: www.biodynamics.net.au - Original Message - From: Allan Balliett [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, May 19, 2002 10:22 PM Subject: Re: Shredders for composting Dear Allan, Why not just mow the rye over with a mower and spray with Barrel Compost and then turn in by spade as a green manure, roots and all. Saves a lot of effort and still aids the soil. Then make a proper compost heap, with your hay and green matter and manure, for later use, and use your last lot of compost turned in with this lot as well on the raised beds. Cheryl Cheryl - Thanks for the suggestions. I'm working with acres here, often by myself. I'm going from covered soil to raised bed that I transplant into almost immediately, hence the raking off of the heavy organic matter, which, incidentally, extension agents in these parts do not feel contribute substantially to organic matter if turned in (roots, which remain in my beds being the greatest contributers and of mass equal to the tops). I do BC the beds right after spading-lifting-tilling. If I had money-time, I'd be hitting all the beds with Pfeiffer Field Spray, also. Please let me know if I've misunderstood what you are saying. It is not my experience that I can get right into the beds if I plow down 'full grown' rye, even with BC -Allan
Re: Shredders for composting
Allan, One way to handle green rye is given in Plowman's Folly by Faulkner, not suitable for your raised bed thing, but then, in me humble opinion, neither is rye, period. A winterkill crop like oats or ryegrass would be better suited especially since you have acres to mow before you sleep, eh? I believe, and someone jump down my throat if I am wrong, that you can make hay out of green rye and then feed it to animals. The hay part means you can save it and feed it only as needed. The animal part means they will work it into a green slurry for you, and then even produce milk, meat, wool, in the bargain. Yeah, you'll get a little less green slurry that way, but believe me, making anything like cereal rye into a green slurry takes more horsepower or patience than most of us likely have, plus your time might be better spent elsewhere. A simpleton's solution might be to mow and leave beside your raised bed for use as a mulch later on. You'll lose some magic to leaching and such, but it'll be right there when you need it.maybe in the fall? In the tractor tool scheme, I think something like a silage chopper might do enough to beat up the stuff for composting well without the overkill implied in 'green slurry', at least to my mind. Re late frosts, if it makes you feel any better (misery loving company and all) they had one in the Niagara region of Ontario too. You should expect late frosts, you know after Blue Ridge comes the 'M' word, eh? At least from time to timebut those vineyards in the Niagara region don't expect it. On to small scale things, I grew rye to maturity once in a small patch, Gene Logsdon-like, and used the dry straw both chopped and wholeboth ways worked to deliver aeration into the green stuff. I certainly agree with what's been said about getting a mix of sizes and shapes of materials for composting. I am, since my youth, a big fan of rameal chipped wood for a bulking agent and fungal food in composting, as well as a dandy mulch for the right crops I have used a 5 HP chipper shredder to cut up straw, and expect it would work best on green rye if fed in bundles, butt end first. Probably also best to feed it right after cutting while the turgor is still there. I would take my screen off completely, letting the front cutter and the hammermills do all the chopping and roughing work. Mixing grassclippings, straw/leaves, and wood chips in about equal volumes, by running them together through this shredder, I never failed to get 150 F temps when I wanted them. Most of the grass clippings go in thin layers on the worm beds now, though, which saves a lot of annoying ahrimanic shredder work. They get sandwiched between layers of leaves for the sake of C:N balancing. The long and short of it, Allan, is there are likely several different things you could do with your mown rye. I agree with you that none of them include incorporating it immediately and then planting soon. I hope for your sake it is far enough along to actually be killed by mowing. There is technology out there of all shapes and sizes, able to shred everything from giant tree roots to little office envelopes. If you just want to scarify the stuff enough so that the 'crobes can get into it, putting it under your macroherd for some time ought to work, and that was just what Sir Albert did. 'Trampled underfoot' isn't just about the subway rush in New York, you know... A layer of green rye, stomp, stomp, stomp, a layer of straw, leaves, or wood chips, stomp, stomp, stomp, some more green rye, stomp, stomp, stomp, a bit of manure falls in, plop, plop, plop-get it? :-) Frank Teuton---has recently been reminded of the power of hooves, from Belgian horses to sheep, and even birds can scratch up compostables a bityou might call it 'macro-comminution' if you've been spending too much time at sites like this one: http://www.earthlife.net/insects/isopoda.html - Original Message - From: Allan Balliett [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, May 19, 2002 8:22 AM Subject: Re: Shredders for composting Dear Allan, Why not just mow the rye over with a mower and spray with Barrel Compost and then turn in by spade as a green manure, roots and all. Saves a lot of effort and still aids the soil. Then make a proper compost heap, with your hay and green matter and manure, for later use, and use your last lot of compost turned in with this lot as well on the raised beds. Cheryl Cheryl - Thanks for the suggestions. I'm working with acres here, often by myself. I'm going from covered soil to raised bed that I transplant into almost immediately, hence the raking off of the heavy organic matter, which, incidentally, extension agents in these parts do not feel contribute substantially to organic matter if turned in (roots, which remain in my beds being the greatest contributers and of mass equal to the tops). I do BC the beds right after spading-lifting-tilling. If I had
Re: Steiner Beehives
Thanx for your reply, Michael - I'll keep you apprized as I learn more. - Wes - Original Message - From: Michael Roboz To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, May 17, 2002 7:13 PM Subject: Re: Steiner Beehives Dear Wes, Gunther Hauk in New York State is doing a lot of research into hexagonal supers, etc. for beehives. [EMAIL PROTECTED]Business Information: Company: Pfeiffer Center Address: 260 Hungry Hollow Rd. Chestnut Ridge NY 10977 Phone: 914-352-5020 ext. 20 Let me know the latest. I haven't seen a Bee Symposium for a least three years on this list. jim jensenE-mail Address(es): [EMAIL PROTECTED] was the bee symposium umpire. Cheers, Michael
Re: Shredders for composting
I believe, and someone jump down my throat if I am wrong, that you can make hay out of green rye and then feed it to animals. The hay part means you can save it and feed it only as needed. The animal part means they will work it into a green slurry for you, and then even produce milk, meat, wool, in the bargain. Yeah, you'll get a little less green slurry that way, but believe me, making anything like cereal rye into a green slurry takes more horsepower or patience than most of us likely have, plus your time might be better spent elsewhere. Frank - It takes a very mature cow to be able to properly digest winter rye 'grass' or 'hay.' That pretty much excludes we stocker scheme folks, who are working with animals less than 2 years old. It would take a lot of rabbits to eat the stacks of rye that I have , but I'll try some of it on some of them tomorrow. -Allan
