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Found the culprits 😅

Northern MI, 5b

My thoughts are that the seeds have been in the ground awhile, because we were colder than expected the week after planting. Will sowing soaked seeds now, and there being less time in between sowing and sprouting, maybe outpace these little buggers?

Hi- name’s Ben. G’day. (Not Aussie.)

I’m new to Permaculture, but a massive enthusiast and promoter. I even own one of Bill Mollison’s books now. Wildly fun to read. It is my goal to one day acquire (in a Monte Python voice) huge tracts of land and develop the ecology of that parcel. One of my favorite plants is the Jerusalem Artichoke and I’m keen on getting as much feedback as possible about other people’s knowledge and experience with this plant.

Here’s some of what I know about it already:

• Tubers are edible
• Perennial
• Hardy, low maintenance
• Good for pollinators once flowers bloom (late summer for me)
• A Lesser Goldfinch magnet was the flowers bloom; they eat the leaves and seeds
• Pretty to look at; green through late winter to early winter for me

Some questions I’m seeking answer to:

• What “pests” are attracted to it?
• Does it make good green manure or manure in general?
• What are some good companion plants for it?
• Is it invasive?
• What soil and environment does it thrive best in?

I’m looking for a discussion about this amazing plant- I want to know it from the root level up. Thank you for any information you can provide and happy thriving!

Have a very overgrown feijoa tree that’s started to get sooty mould over the leaves which has me started to open up the canopy, cut low mlying branches etc. Am I on the right track? First photo is of how it was before I started. I haven’t touched the top of the tree and unsure if I can/should.

The star Google AI is not giving me an answer. Will pecans suffer from the toxins in black walnut hulls. I read that black walnuts can affect plants up to 80 feet around them. Could I plant pecans within 20 feet of a black walnut?