Pasture Rotation Paddock Size Calculation

We have three horses.  Combined, they weigh about 3,000 pounds.  Using that figure, we can start to figure out the rotational grazing needs for our homestead.  Our horses eat a combined 80 pounds of dry forage per day.

We currently have about 4.5 acres of pasture.  First we need to figure out the grazable height of forage.  Estimate the height of grazable grass and legumes and clover (excluding seed heads, etc., which are not grazable).  Then, subtract three inches to deduct the non-grazable portion.  The difference is the height of grazable dry matter.

Next, use a "pasture stick" to estimate the quantity of dry matter in the pasture.  This figure gives you a number of grazable dry matter.

This is a total guess, but I estimate that we have about 1200 pounds of dry matter in each acre.  Based on this, it will take the horses about 15 days to eat most of an acre paddock of forage.  Need to get a pasture stick.

A rule of thumb is to graze animals when grass is 6 to 8 inches high. Rest grass when it is grazed down halfway (3 to 4 inches high).  “Graze ½, leave ½.” 

We need to establish five paddocks and rotate the horses through them.  

Goat Kidding Preparations

There is a lot of work to do to prepare for goat kidding.

First, you need a kidding stall.  We intend to use one of our two horse stalls.  By the beginning of April, we need to have it set up.  Probably, we will use a 12' fence gate to close it.

Second, we need a kidding kit.  We are using the FIAS Farms kit materials.  We already have most of the stuff on hand.  But we need to organize everything into a tote.

Third, we need to begin administering some herbs to prepare our goat. We are natural so we do not intend to vaccinate, or chemically treat our doe Edna. However, we will give her some of the herbal supplements she needs to reduce her delivery risks.

FIAS Farms created a spreadsheet to calculate some of the critical dates.  I charted them on my calendar.

Jerusalem Artichoke, or Sunchoke (Helianthus tuberosus).

This plant is in the Asteraceae or Compositae family.  It grows to seven feet tall in rich and damp thickets.

The tubers are edible.   The tuber develops a pleasant sweetness during the winter, especially if subjected to frosts, and is then reasonably acceptable raw Otherwise it is generally best cooked, and can be used in all the ways that potatoes are used. The tubers are rich in inulin, a starch which the body cannot digest, so Jerusalem artichokes provide a bulk of food without many calorie. Some people are not very tolerant of inulin, it tends to ferment in their guts and can cause quite severe wind. The tubers are fairly large, up to 10cm long and 6cm in diameter. The tubers bruise easily and lose moisture rapidly so are best left in the ground and harvested as required. The inulin from the roots can be converted into fructose, a sweet substance that is safe for diabetics to use. The roasted tubers are a coffee substitute.

A very easily grown plant, it grows best in a loose circumneutral loam but succeeds in most soils and conditions in a sunny position. Plants are more productive when grown in a rich soil. Heavy soils produce the highest yields, but the tubers are easily damaged at harvest-time so lighter well-drained sandy loams are more suitable. Dislikes shade. Likes some lime in the soil. Jerusalem artichoke is reported to tolerate an annual precipitation of 31 to 282cm, an average annual temperature of 6.3 to 26.6°C and a pH in the range of 4.5 to 8.2. 

Jerusalem artichokes were cultivated as a food plant by the N. American Indians and they are today often grown in temperate areas for their edible tubers. There are some named varieties. 

The plant is a suitable crop in any soil and climate where corn (Zea mays) will grow. It survives in poor soil and in areas as cold as Alaska. It also tolerates hot to sub-zero temperatures. 

The first frost kills the stems and leaves, but the tubers can withstand freezing for months. 

The plants are particularly suited to dry regions and poor soils where they will out-yield potatoes. Tuber production occurs in response to decreasing day-length in late summer. Yields range from 1 - 2kg per square metre. The tubers are very cold-tolerant and can be safely left in the ground in the winter to be harvested as required. They can be attacked by slugs, however, and in sites prone to slug damage it is probably best to harvest the tubers in late autumn and store them over the winter. It is almost impossible to find all the tubers at harvest time, any left in the soil will grow away vigorously in the spring. 

Plants are sensitive to day-length hours, requiring longer periods of light from seedling to maturation of plant, and shorter periods for tuber formation. They do not grow where day-lengths vary little. The plant is good weed eradicator, it makes so dense a shade that few other plants can compete. 

The young growth is extremely attractive to slugs, plants can be totally destroyed by them. 

Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer or rabbits. Grows well with corn]. Plants can be invasive.
                                    

Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Division in spring or autumn. 

Harvest the tubers in late autumn or the winter and either replant the tubers immediately or store them in a cool but frost-free place and plant them out in early spring. 

Jerusalem artichoke is propagated by tubers, which should be planted as early as possible in the spring when the soil can be satisfactorily worked. Late planting usually reduces tuber yields and size seriously. 

Whole tubers or pieces about 50 g (2 oz.) should be planted like potatoes and covered to a depth of 10 cm. Pieces larger than 50 g do not increase the yield, though those smaller will decrease it. Deeper planting may delay emergence, weaken the sprouts, and cause the tubers to develop deeper, making harvest more difficult. Basal cuttings in spring. Harvest the shoots when they are about 10 - 15cm long with plenty of underground stem. Pot them up into individual pots and keep them in light shade in a cold frame or greenhouse until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the summer.

Plants for a Future

NC State University, Horticulture Information Leaflets, Growing Jerusalem Artichokes, Jonathan R. Schultheis, Extension Horticultural Specialist (1999)

Shiitake Cultivation Planning

Maximizing Your "Mycelial Mileage", published at Fungi.com, has some interesting thoughts on mushroom cultivation.

My cultivation will be outdoors on oak logs.  Figuring out the best technique and location are in the cards.  One item in this article that jumps out is the recommendation to cut logs one to three months before innoculation.  Trees emit a natural anti-fungal substance soon after cutting.  This means I need to trim up my white oak so the branches can begin to calm down in preparation for innoculation later this year, in the spring.


The video below, issued by the UK Forestry Department, has a fair amount of technical information about shiitake cultivation.

NC State: BEES System Low-Cost Education

NC State offers low-cost education for beekeepers through the BEES System.  This looks like an excellent educational opportunity.  It's $25 for each course.  The beginner beekeeping program costs a total of $75.  If you pass the NC State test, the university will issue a electronic BEES Certificate of Completion.

Earth Users Guide to Permaculture

This weekend, I finished Rosemary Morrow's earth user's guide to permaculture, 2d ed., (Chelsea Green Pub. Co. 2006). The book is written in clear sentences. I really liked Rob Allsop's illustrations.

The book has five sections:

1. Observing;
2. Ecological;
3. Applying;
4. Resilience; and 
5. Social.

Each section has substantial merit and so much meat that it will take review and contemplation to take it in and understand its breadth and scope. The application section by itself is worth buying the book.  

A couple notable chapters were 

• climates and microclimates (ecological);
• trees, forests, and windbreaks (ecological)
• developing your design methods (applying)
• a chapter each for permaculture zones zero to five (applying)
• design for disaster (resilience)
• pest management--IPM (reslience)
• aquaculture (reslience)

The book tends to devolve slightly into political environmentalism from a governmental perspective.  I am not sure how the authors would feel about individual liberty philosophy. Clearly, that is a trait that many permaculturists exhibit. That said, the political crap is definitely a far-backseat to the practical principles that Morrow clearly explains in her excellent book 

Now I just need to apply some of the stuff I learned.  

DIY Rain Catchment with 55 Gallon Barrels

I built a small, experimental water catchment system for the north side of my garage using 55 gallon barrels and pvc pipe.  If it works, it has the capability of holding around 150 gallons.  I will need to drain it before each new rain event or it will likely overflow.

The interesting element of this project is the use of upside down barrels.  The piping is introduced into the female bung screw holes with male adapters. The barrels are flipped over so the top is underneath the system.

The standard 55 gallon barrel has a bung cap that screws into threads in the barrel.  The key to this system is the male pvc pipe adapter and slip.  The entire system is mostly closed with minimal drilling into the barrel except for two places--the ingress and egress overflow points of the system. Here, for example, I created the small catchment system for our garage roof. My north-edge plastic gutters drain into the first barrel which gravity fills through the pvc piping into the other barrels.  Here is how I made the system using mostly 2 inch pvc parts.

First, remove the bung nut.  You can then insert the male threaded pvc adapter with slip into the hole and screw it down.  I used plumbing tape over the threads of the adapter to discourage leaks. This adapter creates a nice seal and the slip piece allows us to attach the other plumbing.

Cut 4-inch short pieces of pvc pipe for the top of each barrel.  Cut the pieces of pipe at a 90 degree angle, smoothly cut.  Use pvc primer and solvent to connect and set up a good seal between the pipe and adapter. When done, you have an adapter screwed into the bung hole with a short piece of pipe sticking up out of it.

Connect your other fittings to the end of the pipe that emerges from the top of the adapter. For this three-barrel system, from left to right, I installed one 90 degree and two T-joints.  You need more T-joints if you want to link additional barrels.

You will set the barrels up on something solid like concrete blocks.  Level the blocks out.  You should aim to place each barrel slightly higher so that the last barrel is the highest.  However, you do not want the last barrel so high that your system overflows at the ingress point. If you get this right, gravity forces the water to fill most of barrels full before water overflows from the third barrel's overflow pipe.  I will get to that in a bit.

Flip all the barrels upside down and organize them on the blocks so the pipe joints are lined up.  Measure and cut pieces of pvc pipe so each barrel is linked underneath by 2 inch pvc pipe.  Use the primer/solvent to set up a good seal for the pvc pipe between each joint.

The last barrel T-joint has a 3/4 inch bushing at the end.  Into this bushing, one can screw a faucet.  This allows you to drain the barrels in times of drought.

You can improve on my design by extending pvc pipe from the last T-joint before installing the bushing. You  might need a 2x2 coupling to do this.  The design improvement will give you more space to make your drain hose connection.

The top of the last barrel must have an overflow outlet.  This is a pretty small system. In a heavy rain, a roof the size of my garage (around 500 square feet) can fill the three little barrels in about 15 minutes.

For the ingress hole in the first barrel, use a 2 3/8 hole cutting bit on your drill to cut a hole in the top of the upside-down barrel.  Attach a 18 inch  pipe to a 2 x 4 inch coupling.  Stick the pipe end down the hole.  It should fit pretty snuggly.  The 4" coupling is big enough so your gutter downspout will fit into the top of the coupling.

The overflow system is similarly engineered.  Cut the 2 3/8 inch hole near the top outside end of your last upside down barrel.  My current overflow system is still a work in progress.  I will update this later when I get it figured out better.

For now, I temporarily rigged my overflow pipe with a 6 inch piece of pvc pipe connected to a 3x2 coupling.  I connected the pipe to the coupling and stuck it into the hole.  The overflow comes out the coupling and spills onto a brick next to the barrel.  However, the seal and overflow system is inadequate.  Moreover, the spill does not go where I want it to go.

I will figure out how I can put some kind of rubber washer between the coupling and the barrel so leakage will be reduced.  Unless I figure out something better, I will connect a 3" pipe, a 90 degree joint, 3" pipe, 3x2 coupling, 2" pipe, 90 degree joint, 2" pipe, 2 x 3/4 bushing, drain hose.

Eventually, my plan will connect my drain pipe together using a hose Y connection.  The drain hose goes down hill to a swale at the top of our western planned orchard.

Watch this post for updates when I figure out the parts for the overflow and drainage elements.

The parts for the project (all 2 inch pvc) were as follows:

• Barrel Plumbing Connections

1. 2" pipe; 
2. 3x male threaded adapters and slips;
3. 90 degree joint;
4. 2x T joints;
5. 2 inch to 3/4 inch female bushing;
6. 3/4 inch Faucet
7. drain hose;

• Ingress Connection

1. 2 x 4 inch coupling;
2. 2" pipe

• Overflow Connection

1. 2 inch pvc pipe
2. 3 inch pvc pipe
3. 2 x 3 inch coupling
4. 3 inch 90 degree joint
5. 3 x 2 coupling
6. 90 degree joint
7. 2 x 3/4 female bushing 
8. 3/4 inch faucet;
9. drain hose