guildfordcycads

My pumpkins have gone very mildewy with all this rain 😩 I’ve got four pumpkins coming, as you can see currently yellow. What do I do? Will the mildew affect the pumpkins, or any of the other plants? (They’re right next to tomatoes and bush beans)

I am contemplating some small terraces on our property. Zone 7B. High annual rainfall. Infinite rock at our disposal. House was built in a clearing surrounded by forest. The clearing is a rocky hillside. Digging is not an option without borrowing/renting a tractor.

I’m been considering some smaller stone rip-rap style terraces. Make a small rip-rap “mound” and back fill with compost. 1.5-2ft tall tops depending on how wide we want the terraces. My landscaper friend suggested small Gabion walls and backfill. Either way, picking and wheelbarrowing around rock from the property will ultimately be the most time consuming part.

I made rock wall terraces in the “backyard” for one garden, and it’s held up pretty well and looks great- but dang did that take FOREVER in being selective with rocks to achieve good leveling and eye pleasing angles. No cement- dry stack. This holds up fine- but the time is a drawback. A random mound of stones seems easier- could be wrong.

I’m hoping terraces could make our front easier to maintain. Right now, it needs to be weedeated 2-3 times a year and that’s time consuming and difficult- rocks. What is the best cost saving solution? I’m cool with yet another project that takes a while. Each year things get a little nicer.

I initially posted this in r/vermiculture. I collected hundreds of jumping worms and started keeping them in an improvised worm bin, in order to experiment with worm control and potentially lethal solutions.

It’s been over a month, I’ve been preoccupied with monitoring worms and their refusal to die, and wanted to share what I’ve discovered so far. Apologies for any rambling (and excessive parentheses).

I set up 7 initial testbeds out of windowsill box planters (to approximate 1 square foot) lined with plastic mesh at the bottom, using a single combined soil source (composed of infested soils, castings, mulch, leaves, and mown grass as well as sawdust from a local mill) to set a depth of around 4 inches, and introduced a minumum of 60 worms to each box (some died in the collecting/counting process and more were added, and I got sloppy at the end) which were deposited on one site or distributed across the planter in order to monitor movement trends in select situations (sulfur, lime, Sluggo, pine needles)

This is more approximate of a late-stage garden infestation over a forested infestation, especially at twice the population of 30 worms per sq.ft estimated by a study in Vermont. Two control boxes were made, one of which was thoroughly mixed with pine needles in the complete upper layer and surface of 2/3 of the soil. Two boxes were dedicated to copper treatments, being fungicide sprayed leaves or sawdust with surface-only distribution, and full fungicide drenches. One box was prepared for testing Sluggo, one for Miracle-Gro (24-8-16) fertilizer, and the last for testing the effect of sulfur (applied on 1/2 of the box only).

I later created an additional planter for testing garden lime (1/2 box only), re-established the MG box (due to it being a contaminated graveyard), as well as used 6″ pots for short-term and specific testing of graduated concentrations (1x, 2x, etc.) of small volume liquids (beer, black and oolong tea, Sledgehammer, MG) with an 8 hour acclimation period and a worm population of 15.

My sensational headline: Miracle-Gro kills jumping worms! In limited, artificial, ‘labratory’ settings, using off-label high concentrations and dose dependant based on soil volume, 6-12 hours from the time of application. I believe the lethality is due to the urea content and it’s breakdown into ammonia/ammonium, but I haven’t bought any urea-only fertilizers to test that theory, yet. I don’t feel that a dilute ammonia drench is in my best interest, but perhaps in the name of science…

Basically, not much seemed to faze the jumping worms other than 2x MG solution at a rate of 1 gal/sq.ft (50% death, 50% migration/escape) or 3x MG solution, same rate (100% death). I did see worm death at full and 4/3 concentration in small volumes (6″ pots) which was not reproduced in larger volumes (planter boxes). It does take time to see the effects, and the deaths are… unpleasant (On the surface: twitching, spasming, last gasps of a dying nervous system. Below the surface, melty death. Can be difficult to identify corpses, as well as keeping found survivors alive. Skin contact with the lethal soil… is generally fatal to the worms, and remains so for at least a week, closer to 3).

Initial soil moisture levels, permeability, and evaporation rates (nitrogen volatilization) probably play a big role in how effective this method will be in the field. I have no data on the effect on jumping worm cocoons. This is a nuclear option, and should be treated as such.

I did find citrus oils had an unusual effect on the worms, and that is planned to be the next research avenue. Citrus slices (grapefruit, lemon, orange, dehydrated and used to make sun tea) on soil surface was producing dead worms. Essential oils (limonene/citral, around 80 drops per gallon) vigorously shaken (not stirred, ha!) and delivered at a rate of 1 gal/sq.ft produced 50% worm death in 50% of initial trials, as well as significant surfacing activity (30-50% of population, extreme water-seeking behaviour), reduced worm sensory reactivity (seemed blind, lethargic, non-responsive to stimuli), and depleted skin mucus. A number of worm tails were found separate from their body, and a small number of worms appeared to be breaking down mid-body. Worms that could hide/retreat to high moisture areas, survived. The oil seemed harmless fairly rapidly after application (absorbed in soil, perhaps solar breakdown of oils), which helps manage environmental concerns.

I’m going to test 2 alcohol emulsions (homemade vodka-lemon extract, 91% isopropyl alcohol and EO blend, diluted into water) and citrus cleaner (Purple Power brand, minimal ingredients, diluted) next. Direct, undiluted citrus EO application (1 drop) is fatal, though not immediately. I might source other citrus oils to test their effects, provided that further limonene tests are effective/promising. Grapefruit, in particular, and perhaps neroli essential oil. A citrus-vinegar drench might be much more effective than citrus-water.

Other items of interest: changing soil pH (with sulfur amendment and watering) did have a deterrant effect on the worms (similar to past studies involving other worm species) until they got hungry. Sluggo seems to be an attractant (also tested in sulfur box), and a high value food, non-lethal. Yucca saponins don’t seem to have the same vermicidal capability as tea seed meal saponins, and seem to negate the adverse effects of MG when applied simultaneously. Copper fungicide drench is a mild irritant, less effective than mustard, not the coffin nail I was expecting. Perhaps other forms of copper poisoning will be effective.

White vinegar spray (5% acidity, undiluted or diluted by half, single spritz) was very effective in stunning jumping worms (within 10 seconds) for easy disposal. Alternately, use a salt shooter to deliver un coup de grâce (untested, but an amusing thought. Salt application is fatal). Forbidden salt-n-vinegar snacks? I might test saline-vinegar and citrus-vinegar sprays for lethality.

Only drown/murder/dissolve jumping worms in peroxide IF YOU ARE A SADIST. Same goes for using insect spray. You’ve been warned. Just use rubbing alcohol if you want summary executions. I find that salt water is the second best drowning method, following alcohol immersion.

I ran quite a few tests, have plenty more information for those who are curious. Feel free to attempt translation of my notes, or voice questions/comments/concerns/suggestions/critiques/encouragement. I still have over 700 worms to experiment with!

The radish seeds I purchased are labeled “sprouting radish”. My intended use is as a cover crop. Will these seeds work as a cover crop or do I need different radish seeds?

I’ve been covering more my yard with mulch and after rains I get a lot of mushrooms now.

So, I’ve lived my (M33) whole life in the city, and only since november I have moved to an organic agriculture school. I live here, I work the land and do other various tasks for at least 4 hours a day.

Now, after all of these months, I’m feeling a little bit discouraged. We produce enough leafy greens for our own consumption, for example, but the gross of our feeding is bought.

Last summer we did have quite a lot of tomatoes, but that was it. Maybe a little bit of corn, enough for two weeks? We do have bananas all year round so that’s nice.

So, is it feasible to feed yourself off the land in any regard? I’m not even asking for half of our consumption, just a quarter would be nice.

The project I’m being part of is a three and a half hectares (8.5 acres), most of it dedicated to pastures for the cows. It’s been going for 15 years, and it started as a barren land, so in that regard the lushness is unbelievable. We have two big Agroforestry systems that don’t yield a lot of crops but give us plenty bananas, they also have a few frutals in them. And there’s our main garden, here’s a list of vegetables that worked and which didn’t:

Worked: tomatoes, corn, bananas, radish, beans, cucumbers, hot peppers, jamaican hibiscus

They grow, but slow and barely any food: carrots, beetroots, pumpkin, cabbage, mandioca, potato, sweet potato, lettuce

Didn’t work: spinach, aubergine

Also, this winter we had three cows to look after, and the calf died, most probably of malnutrition (one day she couldn’t stand up anymore). Take into account that my mentor took charge of their feeding as winter started, so it’s all on him. (He is in his mid sixties, most of his life a farmer)

So all of this together is making me doubt if I’m learning proper agricultural practices. We rely so much on donations to keep our animals fed, I don’t think we could feed the chickens enough on our own.

Our main source of income comes from buying milk from our neighbors and making and selling cheese. We also make marmalades and sweets, mostly of production of friends, we give them back a small portion and sell the rest (it would spoil otherwise, so everybody wins here).

So… I don’t know… Am I wasting my time? Is it like this mostly out there? I did learn quite a bit these months, but I don’t want to ingrain bad practices in my head. After the calf died I lost so much respect for my mentor, maybe I am being too harsh? Seems a little inhumane to let a cow die of starving. Maybe it wasn’t the lack of food, but the other two cows are sooo skinny right now.

I really want to make my little contribution to making this a greener world, but I’m not becoming a martyr. I’d rather go back to being a leech than play make believe.

If you have a serious project in south america and are accepting volunteers, feel free to reach out.