Chunk - Those are some fine specimens of the Golden Morel. Absolutely beautiful!!! One of my favorite outdoor things to do...often combined w/ fishing. Lost all my morel pics. I do have a really nice pic of a porcini though...I'll post it up soon. I didn't even know what I was looking at!! Worms, mushrooms and hugelkulture are big on my list these days. My back is killing me...but I got a shitload of 'old' soil to move from a dispensary tomorrow. Time to buck up buttercup.
Here is the start to some Sweet basil and flat leaf parsley, the only one you can cook with. The curly is to freshen your breath. Lol. I wanted to start my herbs since I cook with them. I get real bored if I'm not playing in dirt. Lol I hope everyone has a grateful day.-FT
My sister and brother have riverfront property in SW Washington that has several "honey holes" for these Morels. We're able to harvest them by the 5 gallon bucket load at the peak of the season. I've also got a couple of areas nearby that are loaded with Chanterelles.
I'm a retired chef and you are making me drool with those mushrooms. What I could make. The sauces,the stuffed chicken breast with apples. Soooooo much stuff i could make. Your so lucky. ☺
FT, We are pretty lucky here in the PNW (right PAK?). An hour and a half west of me and there's crabbing, clamming and deep sea fishing. Within 20 minutes of my home, there are several rivers with salmon, steelhead and sturgeon. When we harvest the Chanterelles, We slice them thin and sautee' them in clarified butter and garlic, then vacuum pack them and freeze them. We'll thaw a package to use in soups, stews, spaghetti or even as a topping on steak. With the morels, we do the same thing with the big ones, but the smaller ones we'll dehydrate. The little Morels store real well dry and when ready to use, we just pour boiling water over them and they rehydrate back to almost fresh condition. It's good to see this thread heating up in anticipation of spring
Chunk asked, "We are pretty lucky here in the PNW (right PAK?)" When the sun is out and the skies are blue and the temperature is warm there is no better place on the planet that I'd rather be. The PNW is one of the best mushroom locations you'll ever find. They're all over if you know where to look. Unfortunately I don't have chanterelles growing in my cedar forest. Morels like the environment that cottonwoods do but I've got cedar in my forest. I do know where to look though. I don't have the sweet spot for morels though. Filling 5 gallon buckets is just outstanding.
Don't see many morels around my place, but you'd be hard pressed to walk in the woods after a rain and not see chanterelles. Delicious, delicious, chanterelles. Oh and oyster mushrooms, too....but those aren't as delicious and are much more common... Super jealous of all the morel action over there.
The single and only reason I don't compost in the winter here in Maine is the snow. I simply don't have access to my base materials (leaves and horse manure) since they're all buried in snow right now. A properly constructed compost heap will creat it's own warmth that external temperatures can't touch so yes, if you have access to your materials and aren't buried in snow then it's a fine time to get a jump on this. Carbon:Nitrogen ratios and the size of your heap are key. J
Can you throw some links my way? I have had recent thoughts concerning this about my compost pile; I have another load of manure ready to turn to compost and I'm considering should I make a new pile or add to my current one. If i make a new pile, I'll throw in my food scraps and some amendments and let that compost while I'm using my first pile. If my first pile is too small, I'll have to add to it. I haven't been too attentive to my CP (compost pile), and haven't taken a thermometer to it, so I don't exactly know if it hit that thermophilic cycle. I'm guessing if your nitrogen:carbon ratio isn't high enough, and your pile isn't large enough, it won't hit this part of the cycle. I think the problem with the soil I'm using right now was that my humus wasn't completely composted, maybe due to improper management.
[quote name="jerry111165" post="21253672" timestamp="1422524313"]The single and only reason I don't compost in the winter here in Maine is the snow. I simply don't have access to my base materials (leaves and horse manure) since they're all buried in snow right now. A properly constructed compost heap will creat it's own warmth that external temperatures can't touch so yes, if you have access to your materials and aren't buried in snow then it's a fine time to get a jump on this. Carbon:Nitrogen ratios and the size of your heap are key. J[/quote Thanks a million and one lol we've been in the upper 70's all week till I got up this morning. Its only gonna top 45 max. Did you get slammed by that last snow storm too?
If you Google 'composting' you will get lots of information. This is what I do when I want to learn something new. I read many of the Google finds and then attempt to consolidate the information into something that makes sense to me. The basics are materials with high nitrogen will heat up the pile. That's why I use straw plus alfalfa pellets. You need to mix in some brown material like leaves. I use shredded maple leaves from my trees. Finally you need to throw in some manure. I prefer horse manure but cow, sheep, chicken will all work. When I first put together my compost I stack it up in layers adding my mineral mix to the initial creation. The minerals are to provide 'housing' for my micro-herd. I turn this inside out about every 4th day for the first couple of weeks. On my last turning (about 2 weeks into the composting) I start adding kelp meal, crab meal, neem cake to the pile as I'm turning it inside out. Then it's turned about once a month after that. I created my compost pile around Thanksgiving and it already is starting to look like soil. The worms find it and turn it into vermicompost eventually. This is what it looked like last weekend when I turned it.
Lol what you've got in your pile is pretty much exactly what's in mine: manure, leaves, straw, and garden leftovers. I probably haven't turned it as frequently as I should have, but I've added kelp meal and alfalfa pellets the past 2 times I've turned it, and just got some rock dust so will probably add it my next time (today or tomorrow). My pile, though, is about half the size of yours and, pending an even closer photo of yours if possible, maybe not as broken down. From my bedroom window it looks just like a pile of brown/black dirt, but closer up I can still see some original materials (the stalks taking the longest to degrade). I don't cover it either. I do have a big enough tarp to cover it and enough materials to make my pile as big as yours, though; should that be the route recommended(?). I also plan on having 2 piles, at some point, anyway, at different stages of composting. I get what you're saying about doing the research myself being super easy, I was just hoping(lazily/selfishly?) somebody had some gold-nuggets out there on-hand.
[quote name="midwest_toker" post="21254497" timestamp="1422550556"][quote name="jerry111165" post="21253672" timestamp="1422524313"]The single and only reason I don't compost in the winter here in Maine is the snow. I simply don't have access to my base materials (leaves and horse manure) since they're all buried in snow right now. A properly constructed compost heap will creat it's own warmth that external temperatures can't touch so yes, if you have access to your materials and aren't buried in snow then it's a fine time to get a jump on this. Carbon:Nitrogen ratios and the size of your heap are key. J[/quote Thanks a million and one lol we've been in the upper 70's all week till I got up this morning. Its only gonna top 45 max. Did you get slammed by that last snow storm too?[/quote] Hell yes we got slammed. What a mess - and another foot is forecasted for tomorrow and then more on Monday. Winter in Maine. By the way it sounds like you've got a perfect composting weather. I'd be all over it if I was you. There is a "backyard composting" thread if you haven't seen it, it might be a good resource to help you get started.
Hi Steve. "Mother Earth News" has got some great articles on building compost heaps. Just do a quick search on Mother Earth News with compost in the search line and you'll pull up what you need. There's also some really good information and links in the beginning of the "Backyard composting" thread. I've learned my own lesson about adding new material to an existing compost heap - unless you've got plenty of time. The problem with adding new material to an existing compost pile is that you're basically starting all over again so it will take much longer before you have finished compost. I preferred to gather my materials and make one big heap. When I have more materials I'll just keep on dumping them out by my compost area and then start a second one when I have enough stuff. Size of a compost pile is important just for the fact that a larger pile will store more heat. Now, heat isn't actually necessary to compost but cooler temperatures will slow down the breakdown of the composting materials. I'd be more than happy to go further into this with you if you'd like. J
I recently bought some aloe plants that are just rooted and are about 5 inches tall. I know aloe doesn't do good in regular soil. It will get root rot. It needs 50% inorganic matter like pumice and sand and the other half compost and other matter thst will continuously feed it. Does anyone have a recipe. I know what the Internet says but does anyone have any suggestions. Thanks -FT
I've just mixed coarse sand into my standard soil mix and its seemed to work well. Heavy on the sand. J
So I don't believe there is a 'chicken' thread over here...but I'm curious how some of you raise your chickens, particularly, anything that can be done/grown to lower feed costs. 25-30 bucks for a 50lb sack of organic feed, depending on type, is that about right? How long would something like that last based on 10 chickens or your situation or whatever? Jerry, thanks for the reply over in the Easy Beginner soil thread. Certainly a way of growing that I will be striving to achieve. On another note, I probably got about 5-6 yards of soil from a dispensary the other day. Plan on adding some compost to it and building some Hugel's...can't wait!!!
Re: "can't wait" - me neither! This deep snow isn't going anywhere quick. Just due to age (of the chickens) we are down to just a few these days but it's still nice getting fresh eggs - and of course the manure/bedding does get used up too. My buddy came up with a great way to utilize them in harmony with his garden; the entire garden was fenced in 8' and then a fence was put down the middle. The coop would go on one side one year and the chickens would use that side as their yard while he gardened in the other side. They would eat ever weed, every weed seed, every bug and fertilize it to boot. The next year he'd switch sides and garden in the fertilized, totally weed free aide and switch the following year again. Ideal situation for sure. You use more feed in the winter but the other 3 seasons they don't use anywhere near as much grain because they're eating bugs and anything else they can peck at. We'd throw them all kinds of different kitchen scraps and they love it - they're like pigs. J