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  1. lighthawk

    Raised bed pics

    Steve. The stone is stacked as you illustrated in your post because I collected and placed the stone before I aquired the topsoil. (There is a further description on my page) I lined the interior side of the stone with landscape cloth to prevent soil "leaking" through. There is no mortar. As I...
  2. lighthawk

    Raised bed pics

    I have a 4wd ATV with a small dump box on the back. I drove around the neighboring corn fields and picked them up for free. Farmers were happy to see me get them out as they are hard on their equipment. Took all summer to build and fill it though. When I first moved out here (91) I built all my...
  3. lighthawk

    Cold Weather Composting

    My "cold wearher" compost pile. Just keep turning it over to the right. First year far left. Put a stump in the back corner to cut up corn stover, brussel sprout stalks etc.
  4. lighthawk

    Genetically modified wine yeast takes the headache out of red wine

    I Have two in my library. One is "From Vines To Wines" By Jeff Cox. Very detailed and I found it confusing when I first started. Much of the terminology used is not very well explained and it goes into far more detail than a home winemaker needs. IMO The other is "First steps in Winemaking" by...
  5. lighthawk

    Raised bed pics

    Thanks. Lot of work but it is paying off.
  6. lighthawk

    Seeding B.O.S.S. Update

    Considering that I just paid the feed store $10.00 for 25 lbs You can bet I will be growing and harvesting these annually. :rainbow-sun
  7. lighthawk

    Genetically modified wine yeast takes the headache out of red wine

    Actually they are added to kill any yeast that grows naturally on the grapes. Foriegn wineries rely on the natural yeast. American wineries add yeast.
  8. lighthawk

    Genetically modified wine yeast takes the headache out of red wine

    It is the sulfates. Every wine made in America and bottled for sale contains them. Imported wines are sulfate free if you order directly from an overseas winery but if they are on the store shelf they contain sulfates. I also make wine sulfate free. Never had a headache from my homemade wine.
  9. lighthawk

    Raised bed pics

    My Raised bed garden. 12' x 24' And My raised bed Blueberry/strawberry patch
  10. lighthawk

    Seeding B.O.S.S. Update

    Yesterday morning I put a handfull of seeds right out of the feed store bag on a cookie sheet between two moistened paper towels. This morning when I checked probably 10% of them had already sprouted. I will put as many as I can grow into seed starting pots and feed the remainder to my girls...
  11. lighthawk

    Chickens and Cold Weather

    Thanks. The girls did just fine out there this winter. I let them out to roam in the limited amount of exposed grass in the yard today for the first time since christmas. Temperatures have been very mild and they loved their Valentines present. :weee
  12. lighthawk

    Chickens and Cold Weather

    I often see the girls eating snow that has blown into the run but the run is pretty well protected from the weather and the only time snow gets in is when we have a wind from the northeast. We have a prevailing southwest wind so that is not often. Hence the heated waterer. You can view their...
  13. lighthawk

    Seeding B.O.S.S. Update

    The young lady at the feed store told me that they were probably heated after harvesting to dry them for storage not necessarily to prevent germination. She also gets volunteers around her feeder. Going to dampen some paper towels and find a warm spot to see if any will germinate. Thanks all. :)
  14. lighthawk

    Seeding B.O.S.S. Update

    Thanks all I will check the bag to see if they have been heated. Hi Rusty, Gobles is just west of Kalamazoo.
  15. lighthawk

    Plants Toxic To Chickens

    Read a study some time ago that arsenic in small amounts actually prevents and kills some forms of cancer. Some populations that had very long life spans were studied and found that they had a common practice of putting wood ash on their gardens and farm fields. There are trace amounts of...
  16. lighthawk

    Chickens and Cold Weather

    iajewel. We have had a hard winter here and the first winter for the girls. They came through fine. I supplement with black oil sunflower seeds, a head of cabbage occasionally and I hung a suet feeder for them in the fall. I don't keep any food or water in the coop so inside the coop is dry as a...
  17. lighthawk

    Chickens and Cold Weather

    That is exactly how I have trained my birds to stay off the deck. I keep a garden hose there always on for watering my potted plants so if any of the girls set foot on the deck she gets a quick spritz. Works like a charm. Got tired of all the presents they were leaving me. :thumbsup
  18. lighthawk

    Seeding B.O.S.S. Update

    Does any one know if Black oil sunflower seeds purchased at the feed store or TSC will germinate. I would like to start growing my own But if they are treated to prevent germination I would be wasting my time. TIA Thanks for all your input. I did raise about 20 plants this summer and the...
  19. lighthawk

    small garden to a 1/3 of an acre - looking for advice

    I mow about 2 acres of lawn so I use a lawn broom behind my ATV to collect the clippings and mulch the garden. Last fall I planted the garlic in about 4 inches of mulch and they came up right through it but nothing else. My first year I tried landscape cloth and weeds came up right through it...
  20. lighthawk

    Hardy Kiwi

    Ariel... you might want to check out raintreenursery.com they have a huge variety of kiwi with very good descriptions and growing tips. They do say it will be 2-3 years before they bear fruit and have an excellent description of culture requirements and cullinary uses Good luck.
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