Yea it’s a win win- the plants/vines shade the tank in summer, and benefit from the thermal mass in winter. There are bananas in ground on the other side which is south facing, still alive after multiple hard freezes

Couple of good rains and all 5 tanks are filled. Hopefully enough to get the plants and animals through another Texas summer!

#rainwatercollection #permies #grownostr #homesteading

There are a lot of proposals for geoengineering out in the open, and then there’s this

When in doubt, focus out. Figure out how you can help someone and provide value instead of getting lost in your own thoughts or situation.

You don’t have to figure out your whole life’s mission in one go- iterative decision making is huge.

Basically make one small decision, course correct from there, another decision, etc.

If someone was coming to you wanting this same advice what would you tell them?

Removing ourselves and looking at things from a 3rd party observer perspective can definitely help.

Lots of meditation and some consciousness altering substances have helped me see things as an observer.

Keep us posted on your journey!

I’m hoping it’s assassin bugs. Thanks y’all!

Anybody recognize these bugs that are on a mulberry tree? I’ve tried flicking them off but a few eventually come back.

Might have to bust out the Texas bug book..

#permies #nostrees #grownostr #homesteading #asknostr

Nice, I looked up fish scale swales when you mentioned them the other day but didn’t find anything.

This is definitely how we plant individual trees here in Texas to hold all the water we can

Hey grownostriches, I’m wondering what is the under $1k tangible item that has given you the greatest Return on Investment?

Could be personally or in your business, but I’m thinking mostly from a homestead perspective.

For me it’s gotta be the lil 5x10 utility trailer.

That thing has probably made or saved me over $60k in 6 years of owning it..

Whether it’s getting free/cheap building materials, bulky furniture/appliances that don’t easily fit in the truck, bulk soil/compost, whole logs for milling, etc. And that doesn’t even include the value derived from it in my edible landscaping business.

Curious what yours are?

#grownostr #asknostr #homesteading #BIFL

Mainly it’s for plum curculio grubs, but also birds pecking, and squirrels making them disappear

Has anybody used the Clemson fruit bags or something similar?

I’m experimenting w them for the 1st time at a few clients’ gardens (on peaches especially).

For just a few trees it’s viable but definitely not orchard scale.

They do look a bit ridiculous tho 🤷‍♂️

#grownostr #homesteading #permies #nostrees

Nice! Is your ghee all good stored at room temp or do you keep it in the fridge or even a root cellar?

Anyone else make their own butter? I’ve been doing it in the blender but need a scaled up system for 10+ gallons of milk at a time.

Any suggestions are appreciated!

Also open to tips on making ghee. Tried my hand at it for the first time and it seems self stable (3rd pic)

We used to do kerrygold but homemade local A2 raw milk butter is the bees knees (even if I can’t get all of the milk perfectly pressed out of the butter)

#homesteading #rawmilk #permies #grownostr

The plywood platform with cardboard and paper to catch poop is about 5’ high and the roost bars about 6.5’ so I can walk under them.

The platform on the right is where we feed scraps and some grain (also young chickens can hide from the big ones underneath it)

I tried uploading a video of our setup but it wouldn’t work (2nd day on here so still figuring things out).

Here are a few pics of our setup. Hardware mesh to keep rodents out and allow ventilation is important.

Solar powered automatic door is probably the best $100 I’ve spent.

All the materials in our build besides the hardware mesh and pt studs were repurposed.

8x20’ structure cost about $650 in materials

Hope this helps!

Such a classic album. Takes me back to school trips with my Sony discman

What are you guys doing with your swales? I’m experimenting with bamboo laid on contour with pallets for potted trees on top. Should allow water to infiltrate the heavy clay.

Also not sure what else to plant on the berm. Went with a bunch of strawberries, one fig, one pomegranate, a dwarf mulberry, holy basil, hibiscus, etc. Zone 8

#grownostr #permaculture #urbanhomesteading #earthworks

Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park is sublime. Went last summer with the fam and it was magical.

Stout grove and the little trail down to the Smith River ftw

Enjoy the redwoods!

Not sure about that. I just sent myself a few thousand sats from my exodus wallet to a new wallet of Satoshi and everything’s been seamless.

Don’t know if that’s helpful at all but figured I’d share what worked for me. Best of luck!

Anyone have a good solution for planting fruit trees in a chicken run?

This is the best I’ve come up with for about 15 different trees..

I’ve also laid cardboard around them to prevent scratching and that somewhat works.

#permaculture #chickens #grownostr