Questions? Answers!

I had some excellent questions from an anonymous reader, and I would like to answer those.

NO TILL
I had previously mentioned about using newspaper and no till for a portion of the garden.  It turns out that it's a small portion, newspaper laid on the ground, seed potatoes planted directly on top, and covered with straw.  I haven't seen anything poking out yet, but I'll report when I do.  I did not use newspaper in any other areas, although I would have liked to.  It would have taken a very, very long time to lay the paper, and I was a bit pressed.

BUCKWHEAT IS A WEED?
Anonymous expressed concern about using buckwheat in such a liberal fashion as I have been, strewing it everywhere.  Buckwheat is a strong plant, and tends to take over where it establishes.  It's roots give off a chemical that suppress other plants, and the tall canopy shades out the competition.  However, unlike mints, grasses, and thistles, buckwheat cannot spread through root rizhomes, it can only establish through seed.  If the plant does not go to seed, or the seed is collected, the buckwheat does not come back, it is not a perennial.  In Canada, buckwheat is planted as a crop in limited quantities, and is easy to grow.  The seeds are good food for animals, and the hulls are quite useful as well.  Buckwheat is probably one of the most common soil-building cover crops in use around the world today.  Oh, and bees love it!
My land is quite large, and my neighbors are far away, and buckwheat seeds are heavy, and can't be blown far.  My neighbors won't get any stray seeds growing on their property, but if they did, I'm sure they would spray just as for any other broadleaf plant.

WHAT IS A WEED ANYWAY?
Why do gardeners hate weeds so much?  Is it our love of order?  The desire for neat, straight rows of plants, growing with no competition?  Or is there some science?  Conventional wisdom tells us that "weeds" consume precious water and nutrients.  What then happens?  Do those nutrients vanish?  They are stored in the leaves. If we leave our garden to bare soil, we will find ourselves with crusty dry dirt in no time flat!  Many types of weeds spread across, keeping moisture in the soil.
Dandelions and other tap rooted plants penetrate the subsoil, creating carbon pathways, and nutrient channels that can be used by other plants.  If you cut them, and drop them, the leaves are excellent mulch, and contain a large amount of needed minerals.  Clover is a legume, and is also a wonderful mulch.  Grass can be suppressed with mulch, or pulled.  I already have plenty of dandelions growing in the garden, and I will control them, only to make sure that my garden plants can get through.  It's a lot faster to just cut them back than to pull them out.
Many so called "weeds" are found mainly in poor soil, and were designed by God to rebuild the soil structure.

CHICKEN
There are as many ways to raise chicken as there are moons circling Jupiter.  I choose to raise them in a way that reflects their natural habitat, the jungle.  Yes, chickens come from the jungle!  They do very well outside, all year round, and will roost in bushes, and trees if they are available.  Since I have no trees, I will have to put roosts out.
Pastured chicken has a very different taste from what you find in the grocery store, and a firmer texture.  It is not necessarily organic, but it can be.  Organic chicken can also be raised in little tiny cages, and many are.  Organic only refers to what the animal eats, not the conditions it is raised in.  My chicken will be many steps beyond organic, and I intend to market it like that!  Pastured meat is a fast-growing market segment, and there is plenty of consumer demand, especially from those who are concerned about the cruelty of raising a bird in a cage that is so small, it can't even turn around...

Ready to roll!

Well it's official, my entire family has now reached adulthood.  My youngest sister just turned 18!  Time flies when you're doing stuff.  I was thinking about that, and then I realized today that my daughter will be 12 years old in 4 years from now.  She's 2/3 of the way to puberty!!!  At least I've got my anti-boyfriend shotgun secured already.  I need a few years to practice my 'threatening brandish at the door' routine.  I've already taught her most of the sensitive attack points on a male body.

GARDEN
Everything is planted!  Well, almost.  I want to put in some radishes yet.  We just came out of about 1.5 weeks of steady rain, and the warm sun is going to be out for this next week.  The peas I planted about 2 weeks ago have sprouted, and are about 2 inches tall.  I haven't seen any of my beans, potatoes, carrots, or sunflowers yet. I went out into some pasture and tossed a whole bag of buckwheat, quinoa, clover, amaranth, and some barley. I found a few birds munching on my seeds, so I shot one with my shotgun and I haven't seen them since.  I can see the seeds all over the place when I walk about, so I'm sure that most of them will be around to hopefully germinate.
The greenhouse is holding up well, even without a door (hey, I'm a busy guy).  I've got 4 Roma tomato plants that I bought the other day, and a bunch of cucumbers that I started myself.  This morning, I found a fairly thick layer of ice on some water in a wheelbarrow, but the tomatoes were completely unfrosted inside the greenhouse, despite the zillions of gaps all over the dam thing!  I wouldn't want to trust that protection too far, so I put some plastic over them tonite, it could be cold again.

CHICKENS
I've ordered the brood heater, which is on it's way from the US, along with the electronet fencing.  I just need to fashion some sort of hawk protection for the chickens, and some roosts, and we'll be sailing up the Bayou with both guns blazing.  That is, I can order the chicks from the hatchery.  My plan is to mix and grind my own feed, unmedicated of course.  I've cleared a bunch of room in the greenhouse.  I will start with 250 chicks, and once they've cleared the brooder, I'll order another 150~ and another electronet fence.  It takes about 18 weeks for the chickens to reach market weight, so that will bring me to the end of September.  By then, I should have lined up some customers, and set up a website.
Keep your mouse peeled for www.sunset-meadows.com/chicken for ordering details!

OTHER RANDOM STUFF
My work with the census is going well, I've only got about 55 forms to collect yet.  I'll be heading out on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday to hassle, I mean, ask people for their forms.  I've yet to find anyone who hasn't been totally cooperative, so I'm enjoying the work pretty well!

My wife, Heather is starting a business promoting cool products, and she earns commissions off what people buy under her name.  Please visit www.fhtmca.com/heatherschneider and buy lots of stuff.  You know you wanna!  Seriously, there's a LOT of things, computers, clothing etc.  Check it out.

Building a greenhouse

I almost should have titled this "Building a greenhouse during a hurricane"  but that was a bit long.

The completed frame of the greenhouse.  2x4x10', cut at the top to form a peak, with a small triangle of plywood at the top, and a bracer about 1.5 feet down.  The entire frame is attached with rope at the top.  I wouldn't recommend this, if you can put wood straight across the very top to protect the plastic. 

Inside the mostly completed plastic cover.

The most up-to-date picture.  The plastic is tight, and the door is framed and cut.  The other end is capped with plywood.  Inside there is no wind, and I will be placing my soil blocks in here, as well as making more blocks.

Close up of the door.  That little flap of plastic will be cut away once I've built a door.

All in all, I wish I had built this greenhouse from PVC conduit pipe, which would have been much, much faster.  The plastic would last longer too.  I also would buy a product called "wiggle wire" which attaches to the bottom frame of the greenhouse, and holds the plastic without puncturing it.  It isn't expensive, and allows you to tighten the plastic from time to time.  

When the plastic on this this finally gives out, I will cover the north end with plywood, and paint it white.  Then, I will put polycarbonate panels on the south side, which will make it much stronger, and it will last many years.

A few days ago I had a few good friends here, and we got a lot done.  The plastic, of course, but we also planted about 160 bareroot strawberries, and collected a bunch of llama manure from my neighbor.  I planted a couple more packages of sunflowers, a bag of potatoes, and found that my neighbor has my favorite chicken, the Buff Orpington!  She also has a turkey, guinea fowl, and a bunch of sheep.

I should mention that the wind has been blowing about 27 kph, but from the east...normally it's north or west. I have no fencing to the east, so it's really irritating!  I have quite a bit more work to get done, but that greenhouse was the major project I wanted, and it's finished!  Sort of!  Needs a door!

Next project, get a brooder heater, and buy 400 chicks from a local nursery.  That's next wednesday.  Then, purchase electronet fencing, and some chick feeders and waterers.  And, a pump action 20 gauge shotgun.  Hey, a man's gotta have a shotgun!

I bet no-one in the world is talking about this right now!

I just got off my Facebook, where just about every single person in my friends list is rejoicing about the apparent death of Osama Bin Laden.  I though I would sound off about that too, although you might not like my opinion once you read it.  You've been warned.

WAR.  WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR.
Absolutely nothing.  Except stimulating the economy.  And keeping peoples attention focused from other, possibly more sinister events.
In 2001, 19 men flew some Jumbo Jets into a couple of massive buildings, and killed a lot of innocent people.  As we find out, the mastermind of this attack was an old man name Bin Laden.  He was not unknown to the world, or the US, nor did he act alone, and neither were his attacks "random" or "unprovoked".  The attacks themselves were horrible, and yet mysterious, and there are more questions than there are answers.  See "Loose Change" for more information about the collapsing of World Trade Centre 1 and 2, which were specifically designed to withstand the impact of an airplane in the 20's.

Ok, enough conspiracy.  Bin Laden fought for the CIA, who trained him to fight the Ruskies in Asscrackistan in the 80's.  He was an ally.  Then he wasn't.
After the 9/11 attacks, the US, and specifically Dick Cheney, and George "Dubya" Bush, went to war with Afghanistan, on the pretext that OBL was hiding there, which was NOT confirmed.

Based on that, the US bombed Afghanistan, and from 2001-present has killed EACH YEAR, the same number of INNOCENT CIVILIANS as the Americans killed in 9/11, about 3,000 a year.  Thousands more die of causes related to the war.  No one weeps for these people, except Afghanistan.
Iraq has been worse.  Millions are dead.  No one can remember why we are at war with Iraq without referring to the admitted lie of "weapons of mass destruction".

This is terror.  It is being waged against these countries by ourselves!  But, the soldiers who fight are not to blame.  They are fighting a politician's war.  Most of them are weary, they want the war to end, but the roadside bombs, shootings, and car bombs continue, and no one knows what to do next!

OBL is dead.  Nothing will change.  The war cannot be won, there is no objective to be taken, no people to be freed.  The people themselves produce "insurgents" who fight our men.  This bothers me, a lot.  A friend of mine just got back from A-stan, and he had no good words or news.  It is a dangerous place, and we should not be there!

VOTING
I don't often have two rants on one blog post, but tomorrow is election day, and I can't help myself.  Come with me down the rabbit hole, if you dare!
Voting for leaders is nothing new.  The Greeks did so, as did many ancient kingdoms, and hundred of countries today hold "elections", most of which are so clearly rigged, that we wonder why those people even bother to try!
In 1767, the original 13 American colonies revolted against King George because he dared to impose tariffs (taxes) on them.  Today, my government takes over 50% of my earnings to pay people to play solitare on thousands of computers, in hundreds of offices across Canada.  $10,000,000,000 goes to the smallest population group in Canada, who themselves pay no income taxes of any kind.  The leaders in these groups earn $300,000 for leading 1,200 people.  That money came from me, and you.
Tomorrow, millions of people will "cast a vote", and try to "make a difference".  None of them will, especially here in Alberta.  Millions of people will decide who will "lead our country".

The real question is this (for me):  Why can't I make my own decisions?  Why must I pick some one to lead me?

Not a single member of any political group in this country knows me.  Yet, they presume to take 1,000 hours of my time, every year, and commit my time to causes that they deem "worthy", but produce nothing.  They tell me that I cannot raise more than 2,000 chickens without buying "quota".  They forbid me to purchase raw milk, which I would like to drink.  They print, borrow, and spend money that no one has earned yet.  They have racked up $500,000,000,000 of debt, in my name and yours.  They have voted themselves pay raises, lavish and extravagant pensions, tax free allowances, and perks of all kinds.  I suppose I should be glad that they don't actually work very often, sometimes less than 100 days per year.  Every day that Parliament is in session, is a day that I should be guarding my pocketbook.

"If I don't vote, then I cannot complain".  It wouldn't matter if I did complain!  Who's listening?  I would rather vote in ways that actually matter.  I buy organic food, voting with my dollars for healthier apples.  I purchase beef from a trusted family source.  Because of the money I spend, people are moved to produce what I want!  I can actually wield that power for my own benefit.

I support the people, their rights, and obligations as God told us in Exodus 20 when he gave us the 10 commandments.  He has never amended His Law, and never will.  His Law can protect you, if you follow it!

If you vote tomorrow, please drive safe.  Traffic accidents always go up on voting day.  I'll be doing something productive.

By for now!