I mixed oatmeal in my last recycle...forgot how many pounds,the amount is in my topsoil thread somewhere. Yes it was done with fungal intent in mind.
Oatmeal topdress
- Thread starter h.h.
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SeaMaiden
Why not? You might have to make a salt fence or... This'd be pretty funny.... Get that electrified tape they use for livestock, make snail corrals with that.
It's a real bummer that we don't have garden snails up here. I remember the first time my dad had all three of us girls go through damn near every inch of the English ivy to collect all the biggest snails we could find. We got BUCKETS-FUL! Out come the old Habitrail cages (we used to raise hamsters) with cornmeal feeding stations and jar lids of water. We watched them mack down on the cornmeal for two weeks, then one day, Dad says, "Come on, girls! It's dinnertime!"
I swear, it was one of the tastiest treats I'd had, ever.
Got garden snails?
I jest. They sound beneficial, if you could keep them off the plant. A source of meat one could, under the right conditions, raise in their basement or shed without neighbors complaining.
I found some good information, but few internet sources. None in this country. Seems interstate shipping is often prohibited as well as international of course. I'm sure for good reason, though it may have something to do with the other meat industries as well worrying about self succulency cutting into their market.
I've eaten snails twice. One time good, the other time bad. It must depend on the soil.
I found some good information, but few internet sources. None in this country. Seems interstate shipping is often prohibited as well as international of course. I'm sure for good reason, though it may have something to do with the other meat industries as well worrying about self succulency cutting into their market.
I've eaten snails twice. One time good, the other time bad. It must depend on the soil.
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growingcrazy
Try out some quinoa! Plants seems to like it, I topdress with it every few months.
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SeaMaiden
Yeah, I looked around for information on the subject years ago, found some rather expensive kits and that was pretty much it. They're an excellent source of protein. In fact, did you know that the commonly garden snail was brought to the North American continent as a food source? They're rampant in certain areas of SoCal and people spend an inordinate amount of money on control, which wouldn't be necessary if we hadn't forgotten that we can eat them. I've never had escargot that I didn't like, and if I had a wild population I would be making good use of them. I remember most of what Dad taught me about cleaning them out, how to get them out of their shells, etc.
Actually I just picked some up along with some corn meal. I put them together into a coffee grinder and made a flour. I gave them a good teaspoon each along with some more castings. I've neglected a top mulch in order to screw around with the oatmeal. At this point, i believe I've achieved it's maximum benefit. With the flour, I can water it into the mulch for an occasional feed. Time to mulch.
This is where I usually turn to the yucca. The fibrous material makes excellent mulch. It also makes excellent cover for gnats. I end up using the cork and the bark.
In this case I need more diversity. Maybe some eucalyptus bark on top of some horsetail? Maybe some palo verde or dry leaves from around the olive tree?
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SeaMaiden
Did you know that quinoa needs to be rinsed prior to cooking because of its high levels of saponins?
I'm not sure I'd trust snails from the California's armpit. I'd want to raise a generation first.
Now I have to go to the big city.
Be verry, verry quite, I'm hunting snails. Oh no, it slimed me. Snail busters. Snail Wars?
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SeaMaiden
Round 'em up with quinoa!!!
Saponins are good. It may make a good foliar. They're the reason my tea foams so heavily. Probably what many mistake for bacterial activity.
Yucca is full of steroidal saponin. It's been suggested that the indigenous tribes of the Colorado River grew big from eating the flowers.
Rinsing may help the flavor of the quinoa. I have a hard time with the taste.
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SeaMaiden
I had a horrible time getting good flavor from quinoa, and then I got some from Whole Paycheck and the instructions said to rinse it well. After that it was much easier to derive deliciousness.
Quinoa cookies. Toast some of the quinoa first. Hold the chocolate if you want. DONT hold the flaxseed - maybe even use a handful of unmilled seeds. Do it.
Judge not Real Mom. Well not this once, anyway.
Judge not Real Mom. Well not this once, anyway.
Once I pulled out the coffee grinder, I started grinding everything. The grains, coconut, horsetail, basil pods, sunflower seeds, seed off the desert willow and acacia trees. I even splurged on some dried kelp.
While spending money, I picked up a couple 5 gallon Smartpots. Short and stubby, I didn't really care for the size and shape plus they made a mess with their overall drainage. Lord knows I don't need help.
I ended up suspending them inside a 5 gallon bucket with a hempy hole. 3/4" pipe was filled with DE and held up vertically as the bags were filled with 100% vermicompost. The pipe slid out leaving behind columns of drainage material for wicking purposes. A collar was cut from a 3 gallon pot and was used to increase the overall height. The gap between the outside of the collar and the inside of the bucket was filled with DE. A 6" pot was used to form a planting hole which was dusted with the grindings. Twenty worms and a bit of mushed banana. The plan was to let it set for a week. It sat for a couple days anyway...
I have been contributing soil qualities produced to the fungal action produced through the use of the oats. Certainly there are signs of fungus. I do find on dissection of a test pot that many of these qualities are directly associated with the oats themselves. Using slightly greater quantities in the test pot, I found the oats work as a binder in the soil, not only holding the fine particles together, holding them apart as well allowing penetration of the elements. To me, this alone warrants their use. This could probably be obtained through the use of locally obtained ground seeds and grains as well. While I am concerned about uncomposted material in soil creating a late term rush of nitrogen, I see no ill effects reported by respectable growers that are already ahead of me in the game. I see it as a viable way of increasing the amount of ewc used, at least in top dressing, without creating mud.
And it makes good cookies.
While spending money, I picked up a couple 5 gallon Smartpots. Short and stubby, I didn't really care for the size and shape plus they made a mess with their overall drainage. Lord knows I don't need help.
I ended up suspending them inside a 5 gallon bucket with a hempy hole. 3/4" pipe was filled with DE and held up vertically as the bags were filled with 100% vermicompost. The pipe slid out leaving behind columns of drainage material for wicking purposes. A collar was cut from a 3 gallon pot and was used to increase the overall height. The gap between the outside of the collar and the inside of the bucket was filled with DE. A 6" pot was used to form a planting hole which was dusted with the grindings. Twenty worms and a bit of mushed banana. The plan was to let it set for a week. It sat for a couple days anyway...
I have been contributing soil qualities produced to the fungal action produced through the use of the oats. Certainly there are signs of fungus. I do find on dissection of a test pot that many of these qualities are directly associated with the oats themselves. Using slightly greater quantities in the test pot, I found the oats work as a binder in the soil, not only holding the fine particles together, holding them apart as well allowing penetration of the elements. To me, this alone warrants their use. This could probably be obtained through the use of locally obtained ground seeds and grains as well. While I am concerned about uncomposted material in soil creating a late term rush of nitrogen, I see no ill effects reported by respectable growers that are already ahead of me in the game. I see it as a viable way of increasing the amount of ewc used, at least in top dressing, without creating mud.
And it makes good cookies.
That seemed to do the trick. A cupful in the pancakes yesterday morning with a few berries under some dark maple syrup...
Getting quite a few quinoa sprouts. May be a better way to use them. Though not local, they seem organically correct as well as eco friendly.
http://www.retire-in-ecuador.com/Quinoa.html
More so than oats.
Have to try them ground without the oatmeal.
http://www.retire-in-ecuador.com/Quinoa.html
More so than oats.
Have to try them ground without the oatmeal.
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SeaMaiden
But I thought you were looking to increase fungal hyphae growth, not sprouts. What I remember reading about growing quinoa, it doesn't require a lot in the way of fertile soils, but does require a good bit of watering.
I go where the trail goes and find all kinds of fascinating things along the way.
I made up a 5 gallon container to transplant into, used a 6" pot for making a hole. Sprinkled it with the quinoa and what not, then reinserted the 6" pot. Pulling it out to check revealed worms a worming and sprouts a sprouting up and down the sides suggesting alternative uses. While bought as a grain, it's a tiny bit more costly, as a seed for sprouts, it's cheap.
I made up a 5 gallon container to transplant into, used a 6" pot for making a hole. Sprinkled it with the quinoa and what not, then reinserted the 6" pot. Pulling it out to check revealed worms a worming and sprouts a sprouting up and down the sides suggesting alternative uses. While bought as a grain, it's a tiny bit more costly, as a seed for sprouts, it's cheap.
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SeaMaiden
I like that analogy, so forevermore I will now envision the first 'h' in your nick to stand for Hansel (as in Hansel and Gretel).
I have several pounds of a couple of different types of quinoa that I plan on someday growing, so as to add to my 'grain repertoire' (whatever grains I can grow, I want to try to grow). Did you know that some bedding straw sprouts? I believe mine is some sort of wheat, it'll be fun to find out.
Is that a canoe in your avatar... or are my eyes just that bad (or is my brain looking for canoes that aren't there)?
I have several pounds of a couple of different types of quinoa that I plan on someday growing, so as to add to my 'grain repertoire' (whatever grains I can grow, I want to try to grow). Did you know that some bedding straw sprouts? I believe mine is some sort of wheat, it'll be fun to find out.
Is that a canoe in your avatar... or are my eyes just that bad (or is my brain looking for canoes that aren't there)?
I always wondered what that h stood for.
I did read that nitrogen increased the yield. Nothing about what it did for flavor.
If you have mesquite, you can grind it's seeds in a blender, pod and all. Sort of a cinnamon flavored flour. Good stew thickener or pancake additive. Probably good in Ojo's cookies as well. Clean you out good if you eat too much. Good for diabetics.
http://www.mesquiteflour.com/
The "canoe" is a zucchini with a bowl carved in it.
I did read that nitrogen increased the yield. Nothing about what it did for flavor.
If you have mesquite, you can grind it's seeds in a blender, pod and all. Sort of a cinnamon flavored flour. Good stew thickener or pancake additive. Probably good in Ojo's cookies as well. Clean you out good if you eat too much. Good for diabetics.
http://www.mesquiteflour.com/
The "canoe" is a zucchini with a bowl carved in it.
