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I have posted this on other subreddits. Please skip if we have met before. Sorry for taking your time twice
This isn’t a big startup pitch, just a small project I’ve been thinking about. I’m just trying to get a few honest takes.

Lately, I’ve been frustrated with how hard it is to find appliances that just… work. Everything’s “smart” now. Full of sensors, screens, and updates but most of it breaks after a few years. It feels like planned obsolescence has become normal.

So I started exploring a different idea:
What if we brought back fully analog household appliances. 100% mechanical, no digital parts, built to last 20+ years like the old freezers from the 80s?
Simple design, modular, easy to repair, even usable off-grid.

It’s not a scalable business, more like an experiment to see if people are tired of modern “smart” junk and would actually pay for something built to last.

I’d really appreciate any feedback, especially the honest kind.
Is this worth exploring, or just nostalgia in disguise?

some pertinent questions i have would be: do u think there is a market for it and would people be okay to pay a premium for this kind of product?

Thanks.

Hi all, I recently had the opportunity to observe some farm practices in the highlands of Guatemala. One of the most interesting was watching a new milpa being planted. The farmers had burned off the grass and vegetation in a fallow field. They then sowed corn directly into the sod using a long handled digging stick. They would take a step, open the soil with the stick, drop two or three kernels, step on the hole to close it, take another step and repeat. They sowed a field of about half an acre entirely by hand. From what I could tell they were sowing corn and beans together. I sadly don’t speak Spanish so I couldn’t ask very detailed questions.

I have the privilege of being a farmer and having some space to work with. I am contemplating doing something similar in a 5500 sq ft area that has been managed pasture for close to twenty years. Unfortunately, I can’t conduct a controlled burn, but am planning on scalping the sod with a mower and planting in the same way, albeit I’ll give the corn a head start. I have a collection of indigenous seeds that includes maize, storage beans, gourds, sunflowers, and an early variety of jalapeno.

My question for you all is whether you think seeding into sod will work or whether the grass is likely to choke the corn. The Guatemalan guys showed me how they hill up the rows at different stages of corn growth which also serves to control weeds. But I grew up a totally conventional farmer and I’m paranoid. Mechanical cultivation and synthetic herbicides are available, I’d just rather not for the sake of experiment. Ultimately, I’d like to make some published materials available after doing this for a couple of years. There seems to be very little information on this growing system in English, at least that I could find.

Appreciate any feedback. I’m in zone 6a, Upstate NY. Get a good amount of rain most years. Average to good natural fertility. Thanks for reading this long question.

Hello! I am rearranging some things in my yard, and as a result I have a ton of extra soil…. My plan was to build a hugelkultur bed with it in the back, but it’s a pretty much full shade under the south facing dripline of some very mature black walnuts. My plan is to focus on a native woodland garden back there, since conditions aren’t great for edibles. I am in Wisconsin, zone5b. Anyone have some advice on building one in the shade? Or photos of yours for inspiration? My goals are feeding the family and the wildlife- preferences for natives if not specifically a crop for us.

I already had the idea that I was going to buy paper decoy nests to keep any wasps from settling closer to our zone 1, but they must have caught wind and one settled right into our back porch roof before I got around to it. 🤦‍♀️ The back porch is central to our main food garden, and is high traffic for us and the kiddos. How do I peacefully ask the wasps to move out? Would the decoys still work now? And will decoys keep other beneficials away? I’d like to find the balance between “pollinator friends” and “please dont sting my children” here. Not to mention how much I really do NOT want to spray anything right there a mere two feet from our food garden. Advice is much appreciated!

It came prepotted and soiled of course, I’ve not got much experience with plants like these, but I figured itd be nice to pick up and see what I can do with it, I bought a considerably smaller strawberry plant too, they both seem fairly healthy however the blueberry plant did have some decaying leaves that I cut off but I didn’t go crazy as not to stress her, my plants are currently just sat open in the sun as it’s gonna be sunny for a while here, any advice from experienced growers on how to maintain them and keep them healthy?

My first year gardening solo and I’m trying to generate and follow living soil practices. Very new so it’s not an exact science (nor will it ever be knowing my brain) but I am doing my best to pay attention. I transplanted these marigolds a few weeks ago and last week I noticed that the leaves are turning purple. What can this an indicator of? I’m worried about nutrients as it seems as though other transplants in my bed aren’t taking off as I thought they would. Bok choy bolted. Lettuce is growing so slowly I haven’t been able to harvest any despite it being one of the first things I put in in mid-March. Chives are doing amazing though! Perennial at this point. Zone 8a/b.