... Accept no sheep imitations. * Q-Blue 1.0 --- FidoPCB v1.5 beta-'j' * Origin: * MetroNet * Columbia, MD * (1:261/1137.0) @PATH: 261/1137 1023 396/1 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (721) Thu 29 Dec 94 19:05 By: Sheryl Moore To: Don Charron Re: Alternative crops ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:147/180@fidonet.org ce94f784 120 days...that IS short.rules out pumpkin,but you could try squash,tomatoes,green beans,onions,turnips,beets,short-term watermelon,cantalope,potatoes,carrots,lettuce,kale,cabbage,peas,black eyes ,and a bunch more.we plant our jalapenos and tomatoes here at easter and go to about nov.1st,usually.start the transplants from seed in the greenhouse in feb.you would have to check and see what your best markets would be in your area..what is the most demand,yet the least supplied(highest prices if you have to have it brought into the area)that way you would have an idea of what would be most profitable to try to grow locally..of course,that is not all the considerations,but it is important.you'll see what i mean when you get the disk back.if you have a chance,read booker t.whatley's book..$100,000 on 25 acres.lots of great ideas for alternatives..not just plants.or how about greenhouses furnishing flowers or houseplants,or winter vegetables?or animals?or a tree farm?(xmas or woodlot)or mushrooms(common or shitake) or a dude ranch?there are a lot of different things you can do besides vegetables with that much land.list your pros and cons of the land you have..soil,climate,topography,timber,game animals,etc.a friend of mine planted christmas trees on part of a 40 acre place,and had a lot of deer and game birds and bass,and opened it to hunters for a fee,and so much a lb. for each fish,plus entry fee,during the different hunting seasons. when i started farming 15 years ago,i had lived in the city all my life and never planted a garden..don't be afraid to ask (what seems to you)stupid questions,as long as you get intelligent answers.whatever you decide to do,find someone who is the best at it,and learn from them.also,get books from the library on that subject and read,read,read. that and downright stubborn -never-give-up persistance will do it.i used to bug every neighbor with a garden,and any ag people within 200 miles for info.now some of them come to me...and i am STILL learning.i heard a ^[[A^[[Kand am STILL learning.whatley says in his book"the best thing a farmer can put on his land is his shadow"that holds true with any enterprise.you have to keep on top of it.will get that disk back soon as it gets here..hope it helps you. --- FidoPCB v1.5 beta-'j' * Origin: MEDICUS BBS in Edmond, OK 405-478-8250 (1:147/180) @PATH: 147/180 20 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (766) Fri 30 Dec 94 11:06 By: Dave Gardner To: Ian Smith Re: Re: Round-Up Residue? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:137/105.0@fidonet 2f045a18 > I once walked barefoot (unknowingly) over a paddock that had just been > sprayed with RoundUp. Lost all the tough skin off both feet, down to > fresh, pink skin, and spent a few weeks walking very gingerly indeed. > Whether that was from the glyphosate or the unlisted surfactant - the > one that was killing fish in streams in Canada, we heard - I know not, > and care less. Bad news stuff. > > A friend has toxicology CDROMs from the Canadian EPA, which weren't > too keen on it, either. The only time it's used around here (by > 'progressive' folks, at least) is to protect around (non-edible) tree > seedlings that people are trying to establish amongst the aggressive > imported kikuyu grass that is our biggest weed problem here, for major > replanting jobs where mulching each tree is seen as too big a job to > be viable. Even that use remains controversial. > I understand what you are saying. I would not want to come in contact with any pesticide. That includes BT. I spray pesticides for a living and I'd be the first to admit that they are misused, overused, and the long (and short?) term effects are not known. However, people want nice dark green yards. And they don't want apples and oranges with blemishes. Pesticides are here to stay. I do hope however that more research is conducted to know what we are really dealing with, and that the current trend towards regulating them will continue. Had the paddock you walked thru been a yard in Florida, it would have been well posted with signs letting the public know it had been sprayed. dg --- RBBSMail v18.2 * Origin: EXECUSERVE RBBS (1:137/105.0) @PATH: 137/105 69 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (771) Fri 30 Dec 94 16:30 By: Sheryl Moore To: Helen Fleischer Re: mulch ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:147/180@fidonet.org cf1204f5 well,we used to have a joke about mulching potatoes with newspapers..the bugs get so interested in the news that they forget to eat the potatoes...seriously,the paper mulch works,just don't use any colored sheets..something in the ink..we also had a nettle here that was a fantastic potato beetle killer..they would actually LEAVE a potato plant to eat on the nettle,and it would kill them.never did find out what the name of the nettle was,but it grow about 1 ft high,is a light-grayish green and has stickers EVERYWHERE on it,above ground.makes a great trap crop. --- FidoPCB v1.5 beta-'j' * Origin: MEDICUS BBS in Edmond, OK 405-478-8250 (1:147/180) @PATH: 147/180 20 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (845) Sun 1 Jan 95 7:55 By: Steve Wotherspoon To: Don Charron Re: alternative crops ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 3:640/217@FidoNet 00877ed4 @REPLY: 1:3413/107.0 2efa5eb4 @PID: FM 2.2c.mL OC0002F9 @TID: FastEcho 1.41/g 15019 > This is my first message on this echo so I hope it is on topic. > We have a quarter section of land about 100 miles east of > Edmonton, ALberta, Canada. It has a continental type climate and > I believe it is zone 3. The soil is light. I am looking for > alternative small plot crops to grow in place of the usual > canola,wheat,barley etc. Any legal suggestions welcome. Thanks > in advance for any info. do you have water for irrigation? if so then you might have a look at turf. We enjoy great returns here in Australia. Cheers Steve # Origin: P.O.D.S. Queensland 61-7-398-5334 (3:640/217) @GPTH: 640/217 9600/0 @GATE: 1:382/502.0@fidonet 2f05dd4c * Origin: FidoNet <-> PODNet EchoGate! (1:382/502.0) @PATH: 382/502 91 92 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (860) Sun 1 Jan 95 19:51 By: Sheryl Moore To: Don Charron Re: new program ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:147/180@fidonet.org 1094406b you don't know what you started..i got the bug to write another ag program,incorporating some of my old ones and adding new subjects..my husband is furious(g)..i spend 8 hrs a day at work on a computer,and come home and program till bedtime,except when i'm catching up on mail,or keeping up w/housework,or quilting,or something.anyway,i'll send you that tffd when your disk arrives,but thought i'd let you know as soon as i can get it done(couple of months?)i'll have one on diversified alternative farming.my biggest problem is i get all these great ideas that i want to incorporate in a program,and can't fit it on a disk when i'm thru!then i have to go back in and cut it into smaller,more manageable chunks and string them together.wish me luck. --- FidoPCB v1.5 beta-'j' * Origin: MEDICUS BBS in Edmond, OK 405-478-8250 (1:147/180) @PATH: 147/180 20 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (871) Sun 1 Jan 95 16:37 By: Helen Fleischer To: Sheryl Moore Re: mulch ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:261/1137@fidonet.org 10911def SM> well,we used to have a joke about mulching potatoes with newspapers..the SM> bugs get so interested in the news that they forget to eat the SM> potatoes...seriously,the paper mulch works,just don't use any colored SM> sheets..something in the ink..we also had a nettle here that was a SM> fantastic potato beetle killer..they would actually LEAVE a potato plant SM> to eat on the nettle,and it would kill them.never did find out what the SM> name of the nettle was,but it grow about 1 ft high,is a light-grayish SM> green and has stickers EVERYWHERE on it,above ground.makes a great trap SM> crop. Colored inks used to contain heavy metals, (lead, cadmium, etc.) like some art pigments. I don't know if they still do, but I don't plan to take the chance. If you ever find out the name of that nettle, tell me. I may just sow it outside my board fence. It could do double duty as trap crop and discouraging "taggers." Alas one already got our fence and it wasn't till I called the company that put it up for us that I found out that fence surface cannot be cleaned of that stuff. Now I'm trying to get the creeper and ivy and trumpet vine to cover that section, but the darn plants are being stubborn about it. At least it's only a poorly legible rendition of the word "eclipse" not some 4-letter comment. Then I suppose I'd be more motivated to try to find a paint to paint over it.