Hercules

He is finally here.  Our Buck. 

I've been looking for a breed that is dual purpose and I think we found him.  He is a Beveren and should get to 10-11 lbs.  We don't have any experience but have read lots of blogs and since we live in an area were we can't have chickens we went for the Rabbits.  My kids are happy and we already have lots of rabbit friendly greens, trees, shrubs growing in the yard so once we experiment a little with the feed and get it down we will try and get off of  commercial pellets asap.  He has already had kale, parsley, clover, we are going to go slow but we are really excited. 

If you have pointers out there just let me know.  One of the biggest questions is bamboo a good forage.  I have read it is excellent for cattle and horses in the winter but I can't find anyone out there feeding it to their rabbits. 

What a great urban idea

I have taken a mushroom growing class at Mushroom Mountain in South Carolina and the folks up there are first class.  As a suburban dweller and someone who lives in the south where their aren't many basements or cellars, I think using a old tractor trailer or shipping container would be a great place to grow mushrooms.  This little article I found online had a similar idea but takes the idea of urban renewal and reuse to a whole new level.  It sounds like they are doing some great things up there. 

Check it out:

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2012/11/worlds_first_biocellar_to_be_b.html

Big Blue

In Permaculture when you are doing a design one of the things that you need to do is list all your current resources.  What do you have?  What can you do? What can't you do?  You need to do an evaluation that show your potential or lack of potential to do things.  One of the many things that we all need are tools.  There are the shovels, picks, axes, etc that we all need to get things done and then there are those things that most people don't have but may need from time to time. 

That's where Big Blue comes in.  Everyone needs a 4 horse / livestock trailer in the suburbs of Atlanta Ga. don't they? 

Before

After

 It's ready new lights, floor, paint, and it has working brakes.   Some things are better if they are available and ready when needed.  Not everyone needs every type of equipment out there.  In my quest to create social capital (I'll have to talk more about that later) I have bought and cleaned up this trailer for my use and local like minded individuals that may have need for such a thing.  If you need help picking up a new backyard goat, or a pig or two, let me know I'd love to meet you and we are up for the adventure. 

I am going to need some practice pulling this thing...

The What am I going to do about it part of the last post.

So here we go.  I start this thing off with all the good stuff I have read.  Any questions?  I have the books if you don't have the funds or access to the reading I will be glad to look something up just give me a shout.  If your local and want to look something up let me know we can meet for some coffee, I always want to meet like minded individuals.

Next, I want to connect with some different groups around atlanta and do a bit of volunteering.  Maybe I can help them with what I have read and they can help me with the hands on stuff.  On that note I found a great group of people down in Decatur  at a place which used to be called the Oakhurst Community Garden but they changed their name to The Wylde Center , here is the link: http://wyldecenter.org/  They are really nice people with a great program.  I only helped for 2 days and the director Stephanie Van Parys showed me how to remove seedling plugs and transfer them to larger containers for later sale.  They are a non profit and sell a lot of plants to fund activities that they have going on from beekeeping to raising rabbits and chickens to composting.  I took a composting class last year and built a composter for my backyard. 

There is no great science to transfering seedlings but what I did learn is the trays with the square holes allowed the plug to come free much more easily and whole (which I would think should lead to better growth due to less root disturbance) 

 

These are the ones I liked : above

These are the ones that were a bit more difficult : below

 

 

Another thing I learned was the that volunteer that was before me either created more work or made things much easier for me.  If the volunteer was careful and put 1 seed in each plug hole they were quick and easy to get out and transplant, if they put 3 or 4 in each hole then you had to spend time seperating the seedlings and taking more time.  It was fun and I'm sure I will do it again soon. 

 

 

Why I don't Post, and what I am going to do about it!

Initially, when I created this blog I wanted to have a place where I could store all the information that I found online that I felt related to one of my interests. Whether it be a blog site or an interesting article etc. What I have since realized is that blogging can be a useful tool to chronicle my learning and a record of my growth as well as a place to learn from others.

Over time I have read many blogs and I follow the ones I like best but in reality can't follow them all.  One thing that I have found from time to time on many of the blogs is a listing of what they are reading or have read.  Thru this list created by multiple different people and different thinkers in different places etc. I have over time developed a library of my own and thought I might list all the books I have read so as to possibly help others find a title that might be of interest to them and or help them find an answer they were looking for.  If anyone has any additions that they feel I should add to my library please let me know.   The list is long and it has taken some time to find many of these books used so as to not break the bank.  You might also ask how did you read all these books :  I was told by my first permaculture teacher that if you are going to make a commitment to gaining knowledge that you need or want to acquire, you need to commit to reading at least 1 hour a night.  I have done that and more and have more questions now than I began with. 

This list is in no particular order:

Intro to Permaculture

Permaculture a Designers Manual

Gaia's Garden - a guide to home scale permaculture

Designing and Maintaining your edible landscape naturally

Gardening - When it counts ; growing food in hard times

How to grow more Vegetables - (and fruits, nuts, berries, grain, and other crops) Than you ever thought possible on less land than you can imagine

The Resilient Gardener - Food Production and Self Reliance in Uncertain times

The Ruth Stout: No-Work Garden Book

Water Storage - Tanks, Cisterns, Aquifers, and Ponds

Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and beyond
Vol 1 and Vol 2

Edible Forest Gardens
Vol 1 and Vol 2

The Power of Duck

The Freshwater Aquaculture Book (Mclarney)

Tree Crops - A Permanent Agriculture

Water for Every Farm

The book of Bamboo (Farrelly)

Farmers of Forty Centuries - Organic Farming in China, Korea, and Japan

The Complete Herbal Handbook for Farm and Stable

The One Straw Revolution - Masanobu Fukuoka

Worms Eat My Garbage

It will Live Forever : Traditional Yosemite Indian Acorn Preparation

You Can Farm (Stalin)

The Owner-Built Home

The Integral Urban House

The Solar Greenhouse Book

The Passive Solar Energy Book

Craft Cider Making

Reference Books:  (not fully read but skimmed for info)

Cornucopia II - A source book of edible plants
Plants a Plenty
The Fruit Garden Displayed
Seed to Seed
The Grafters Handbook
Deciduous Orchards
Low Cost Passive Solar Greenhouses
The Soapmakers Companion
Smart Soapmaking


All the books listed were good and informative but of all the books listed my favorites are:

The Power of Duck
The Freshwater Aquaculture book
The Integral Urban house
Farmers for Forty Centuries

Not just Permaculture but very much related. 

As I finish additional reading I will be posting my additions.