Weekly Garden Thread - January 28- February 3, 2023 [Savvy Seed Storage Edition]

January 28, 2023 | Diana in WI/Greeneyes in Memoriam

[Diana in Wisconsin]

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you.

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[Augie]

I get my chicks from a feed store that’s about ten minutes from the house. Closest hatchery is over an hour away.

I expect the perch are cold. Pond is under ice right now.

[Ellendra]

A few years ago I talked with a local hatchery about the possibility of raising quail for them. Now I’m kind of sad I didn’t pursue that further. Demand for quail is growing almost as much as the demand for chickens. The quail-raising groups I’m in are growing fast, as people realize they’re easier to raise in confined spaces. Some people are even raising them on apartment balconies, just so they have a steady supply of eggs and meat.

If I had a rooster, I could expand my chicken flock for free. One of my hens goes broody every year like clockwork. I’d love to let her hatch out some chicks.

*sigh* After my house is built. . .

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

I looked at some You tubes about raising Japanese Quail. A lot less space required. They make noise but not as much as chickens.

There is a farm that raises game birds about 15 miles from me that would provide chicks, but I would still have problems with suburban neighbors calling the city and shutting it down. (People are tearing down homes around me and replacing them with expensive upscale housing.)

Ideas...A house. If you have a lot of timber...cedar or poplar Stackwood might be an inexpensive way to build. I saw an article in Harrowsmith magazine about a cordwood house in Wildrose that cost $1200 at the time. (about 1975) The house was about 1200 sq feet.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordwood_construction

https://cordwoodconstruction.org/

[campaignPete R-CT]

Our heat wave is starting early.

Warming by 13° in next 4 hours.
By 33° in next 24 hours.

It’s 5° now, up from -10° last night with wind

[campaignPete R-CT]

The heartland may not know that out East many of us have been in autumn since October.

We’re finishing our 48 hour winter, going back to extended-autumn.

Early Spring starts 3/1
25 days away

[Ellendra]

Not enough timber on my land to try that yet. I have a plan that I think will work, I just need to run it by the Building Inspector first.

I can get the frame for a metal carport fairly cheap. My plan is to start with that, wrap the outside in wire mesh, then cover the mesh with fabric that’s been soaked in concrete. A second layer of wire mesh/fabric/concrete on the inside of the frame, with a gap between the two layers of about 6 inches. Fill that gap with concrete that has insulative materials mixed in, and the result should be pretty solid.

I have different recipes for the concrete used in each layer, so the outer one would be waterproof and the inner one would be mold-retardant.

If things get bad before I get it finished, I know how to make concrete from natural materials. It’s a lot more work than just buying it in a bag, but it can be done.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

It sounds like a the home developed by Kurt Billig in the 1950s when he worked for Central Building Research in Delhi India. Wet Hessian or Jute stretched on a metal pole frame. Once dry, painted with concrete slurry. Dried and given another coat. In cold or hot climates a second shell with air space or insulation.

If you do not already have it there is a good book, "The Owner Built Home" by Ken Kern. (A picture of it on page 242.)

He discusses concrete with cob materials or rice hulls.

You could also use styrofoam beads. Or something like:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OUgqlzDIrw Foam concete.

There are also log cabin kits, but they are not light.

Whatever you decide I hope it goes well!