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Jim P
Jim P
11 years ago

Jack, very impressive what you have done. I can’t waiting to see more. Keep of the great work!

Jim P
Jim P
11 years ago
Reply to  Jim P

Jack, very impressive what you have done. I can’t wait to see more. Keep up the great work!

Ben
Ben
11 years ago

Just proves u can’t buy everything u read. Sunflowers always pitched as allelopathic but I haven’t seen it and apparently you haven’t either!

Mike E
Mike E
11 years ago

Wow Jack, your property has come a long way since your first videos. By this time next year you’re going to have yourself a paradise!

Max
Max
11 years ago

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well if that’s true then video’s are worth ten thousand! Excellent videos Jack. I’ve been taking your teachings to heart and I started to apply them to our homestead. Seeing these videos gives me some releaf that I’m doing the right thing or at the very least heading in the right direction.

Joe
Joe
11 years ago

Hey jack

I don’t presume to be an expert but your black chicks look a lot like my black jersey giant looked when she was a chick.

Nancy
Nancy
11 years ago

Jack,
Such progress, proof that your plans were founded on knowledge and careful planning. The poultry really made the Texas property impressive. I loved the happy sunflower surprise sheltering the small plants. Keeping eyes and all those aspects as well as sharing it all with us along with TSP and Perma Ethos, amazing.

Pat
Pat
10 years ago

Hi Jack, Did your pomegranate trees ever bud this year. You did not mention the pomegranate trees on any of the videos.

Brent Eamer
Brent Eamer
10 years ago

I assume given the Texas heat, things like Tomatoes, peppers go in probably in September or would that be early spring like March. It’s so alien to me. My pepper and tomatoes are struggling in mid 60’s weather. I would die to be able to grow peaches up here

Brent Eamer
Brent Eamer
10 years ago
Reply to  Brent Eamer

Having trouble locating Comfrey up here. From what I read, it is similar to asparagus ie) crowns or cuttings. So I don’t think you can grow it from seed. I can’t find Rock Phosphate either. But I have 200 lbs of Jersey Greensand and wood ash for Potassium; and for Phosphorous, bone meal , so I think I will start with wood ash since I think it will be available more quickly than the greensand. I also found an old book I found at a flea market last year “SOIL, The 1957 yearbook of agriculture”. They discuss all the nutrients, care of soil, moisture, practices. Soil alone is a rabbit hole of study.

Brent Eamer
Brent Eamer
10 years ago
Reply to  Brent Eamer

A quote from the book LOL

“The modern American kitchen contains enough boron to produce 16 tons of alfalfa hay”

It’s a 800 page hardcover tomb…

The New Mike
10 years ago

Very cool videos jack. Glad to see the progress.

I have learned that my currants really have to have about half day (morning only) OR LESS sun per day, no questions asked. I planted a row under a cherry tree, and because of the way the sun angles are right now in the summer, it’ll get shade from about 11-5 or so, but late in the evening that sun pierces right under the tree and demolishes the currants.

I’m not 100% for sure, that is the reason because I have another that is getting 100% full sun all day and looks very green (a black consort). If its not the sun, its definitely the soil (very very heavy soil).

I have two white currants tucked up against the house and they look amazing. Lots and lots of new growth. Picked berries off of at least one of them.

One of my pomegrantes hit a brick wall or something and lots all of its leaves. Its supposed to be a hot and humid loving one so I’m not sure what the deal is (also in heavy soil). There is another pomegranate I got last year not a few feet away and it looks amazing. It has 1 leaf hanging on for dear life, so maybe that means it wants to focus on roots for now…

Scott
Scott
10 years ago

How much irrigating have you had to do versus just working with rainfall? I know getting things establish I assume almost always calls for more water than rainfall, but I was wondering just how effective the swales have worked for you. Do you have any idea how many gallons of irrigation you have used for mere comparison sake? I though one of your early videos on the swales you said you had about 20k gallons held and soaking. The drought here in central New Mexico is just murder. I pray the monsoons really kick in this year.

Norcal Mike
Norcal Mike
10 years ago

Wonderful, Jack! I’ve gotta ask you the same question I ask myself each year: whatcha gonna do with all that fruit when it starts blowing up on you?

I favor paleo in the form of tons of veggies and some meat, but that’s hard to recon that with a perennial food forest that tends toward fruit and nut trees. With a similar setup, a few years further along, I get many buckets of fruit but chickens and ducks are the only elements I find truly compatible with how I eat. Today I’ll be giving away ~80 lbs of Santa Rosa plums as we’ve already put up well over a year’s supply of preserves.

Cal
Cal
10 years ago

Great vids. Where did you find the reusable zip ties?