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Sunday, August 19, 2012
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Friday, August 17, 2012
Mushrooming Together
Mushrooming Together: Processing mushroom logs
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Best Practices:
DO cut the trees while dormant. This is the period where water in the inner bark is low, insuring tight bark retention for the life of the log, and the amount of carbohydrates is high. Bud swell is a visual indication of dormancy breaking. To the unpracticed eyes, dormancy means no leaves, even itty bitty ones. In fact it means little green in the buds at all; the buds being tight.
DO let the wood age… at least 2 weeks if possible. Though inoculating immediately after cutting the wood will not kill the spawn, it may not “invite” hyphal growth for a time period, so in essence spawn becomes a “sitting duck” for awhile. If spawn sites, sawdust spawn in particular, are not properly sealed, there is a risk of it drying out if the logs are subject to wind and warmth before growth commences.
DON’T let the wood dry out. How much aging is determined by the rate of drying. Here is where you have some control … if you want to inoculate very soon after felling, stack the logs loosely with lots of air space (but still keep them out of direct sun where the bark may get excessively hot. ) On the other hand, wood cut in the dormant period can wait for MONTHS to inoculate after felling if they dry slowly, such as in cold, snow covered locations. If you are concerned that wood cut very early in the dormant season (such as fall) is too dry (after months of cool weather laying in the woods), take a moisture sample. Optimal moisture content in bed logs is 40-45 % moisture, but growth is possible from 27-47%.
If it is going to be a month or more before you inoculate your wood from the date of felling, bulk stack the wood in a protected area away from direct sun to slow the drying and keep the bark cool.
Do Our Best:
Bottom Line, for best results, get your wood cut now, but don’t let the hurry of and early spring allow for poor choice of tree selection in the woods; fall is only a few months away and is also a great time for inoculation! Once you’ve procured your wood, relax and then schedule your inoculation. Have a few tarps or another porous material such as pine or cedar boughs handy to cover the logs and prepare a protected place to stack your logs while you get everything else together!
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Sunday, August 5, 2012
More Scoop... On The Poop.
More Scoop... On The Poop.: Copeland Casati Greenmodernkits.com talking about her own research into composting toilets
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Table 4-3.Average Concrete Masonry Units and Mortar Per 100 Sq Ft of wall
Table 4-3.Average Concrete Masonry Units and Mortar Per 100 Sq Ft of wall:
112.5 per 100 square feet @ $1.50 per unit @ Home Depot
One 50 lb. (22.6 kg) bag will cover 35-40 sq. feet (3.25-3.7 sq. meter) at 1/8
inch (3.2 mm) thick. $12.65 Home Depot
1500 sq ft footprint 30' x50 ft 10ft high approximately 1600 sq ft of wall
$2400 for the block, and $1000 -1200 surface bonding cement
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112.5 per 100 square feet @ $1.50 per unit @ Home Depot
One 50 lb. (22.6 kg) bag will cover 35-40 sq. feet (3.25-3.7 sq. meter) at 1/8
inch (3.2 mm) thick. $12.65 Home Depot
1500 sq ft footprint 30' x50 ft 10ft high approximately 1600 sq ft of wall
$2400 for the block, and $1000 -1200 surface bonding cement
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Saturday, August 4, 2012
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Giant Cape Gooseberry rareseeds.com
Giant Cape Gooseberry:
(Physalis peruviana) The cape gooseberry is
native to Brazil and was grown in England by 1774. It
was cultivated by settlers at the Cape of Good Hope
before 1807. The delicious yellow fruit grow inside
paper-like husks that are easy to peel. They are great
dipped in melted chocolate or made into pies and preserves. Larger than the common ground cherry.
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(Physalis peruviana) The cape gooseberry is
native to Brazil and was grown in England by 1774. It
was cultivated by settlers at the Cape of Good Hope
before 1807. The delicious yellow fruit grow inside
paper-like husks that are easy to peel. They are great
dipped in melted chocolate or made into pies and preserves. Larger than the common ground cherry.
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How are Chicken Eggs Fertilized
How are Chicken Eggs Fertilized:
7 days for sperm to reach the infundibulum
The sperm can remain there viable for 7 days
A yolk will enter the infundibulum every 24 to 36 hours
The yolk gets surrounded by the egg white in the magnum, whereas the formation of the shell membrane starts in the isthmus. From there the yolk (covered with egg white) travels to the shell gland, where the shell formation is completed and the shell gets hardened. The egg is ready to be laid, which is usually done in the middle of the day. Once the fertilized egg is laid, the hen is ready to start with the formation of a new egg.
Using a tube with a flashlight called a candler to check for fertilization. An egg that has been in an incubator, or sat on by a hen for a couple days will have a darkening of part of the yolk, after 3-5 days you'll see veining.
Usually hens lay a lot of eggs before going broody. I’ve seen hens hide a nest and lay 18 eggs before starting to brood. But you never know. When a hen is truly broody they will stop laying eggs.
If you put other eggs under her, remember that it takes about 21 days for eggs to hatch. If you start eggs a day or two apart, she might hatch them all or she might not. When the first chicks that hatch are ready to leave the nest to get food and water, she will abandon any unhatched eggs and let them die. She will take care of the living chicks. The hen will raise the chicks for about 6 weeks, and then loose interest.
It is best to collect all the eggs you want her to hatch and start them at the same time. You can keep fertilized eggs at temperatures between 40-70 degrees for up to two weeks before beginning incubation. And mark them so you know which ones they are. You need to check under her daily to remove any other eggs that might show up. The other hens may lay in the nest with her or she may steal eggs from another nest and bring them back to her nest.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_can_you_stop_a_broody_hen_from_being_broody
The broody hen just wants to be left alone and if she is bothered too much she will stop brooding. Keep her occupied and away from the nest she has chosen. Remove any and all eggs, move her as often as possible and bother her, making her uncomfortable.
7 days for sperm to reach the infundibulum
The sperm can remain there viable for 7 days
A yolk will enter the infundibulum every 24 to 36 hours
The yolk gets surrounded by the egg white in the magnum, whereas the formation of the shell membrane starts in the isthmus. From there the yolk (covered with egg white) travels to the shell gland, where the shell formation is completed and the shell gets hardened. The egg is ready to be laid, which is usually done in the middle of the day. Once the fertilized egg is laid, the hen is ready to start with the formation of a new egg.
Using a tube with a flashlight called a candler to check for fertilization. An egg that has been in an incubator, or sat on by a hen for a couple days will have a darkening of part of the yolk, after 3-5 days you'll see veining.
Usually hens lay a lot of eggs before going broody. I’ve seen hens hide a nest and lay 18 eggs before starting to brood. But you never know. When a hen is truly broody they will stop laying eggs.
If you put other eggs under her, remember that it takes about 21 days for eggs to hatch. If you start eggs a day or two apart, she might hatch them all or she might not. When the first chicks that hatch are ready to leave the nest to get food and water, she will abandon any unhatched eggs and let them die. She will take care of the living chicks. The hen will raise the chicks for about 6 weeks, and then loose interest.
It is best to collect all the eggs you want her to hatch and start them at the same time. You can keep fertilized eggs at temperatures between 40-70 degrees for up to two weeks before beginning incubation. And mark them so you know which ones they are. You need to check under her daily to remove any other eggs that might show up. The other hens may lay in the nest with her or she may steal eggs from another nest and bring them back to her nest.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_can_you_stop_a_broody_hen_from_being_broody
The broody hen just wants to be left alone and if she is bothered too much she will stop brooding. Keep her occupied and away from the nest she has chosen. Remove any and all eggs, move her as often as possible and bother her, making her uncomfortable.
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