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Post by richardw on Sept 11, 2016 3:21:01 GMT -5
It doesnt freeze inside my greenhouse because of the use of stone/concrete thermal mass
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Post by mskrieger on Sept 11, 2016 13:04:23 GMT -5
imgrimmer, yes I believe you are right that the colder parts of Ukraine are a pretty good comparison to winter here. That's neat that the idea of growing citrus in the ground could work! And a plastic roof seems like a viable solution. Essentially a big tarp, which is what we used to cover the pool with during the cold season anyway. richardw, the coldest temperature ever recorded in my town was -15F(-26C). A more common winter low is -5F, with lots of wind. Snow cover is hugely variable, with some winters snow-free and others buried under a meter or more. Luckily I live on the top of a hill with sandy loam soil and excellent drainage. The water table isn't a problem I have to worry about.
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Post by philagardener on Sept 11, 2016 14:19:06 GMT -5
Interesting, the colder parts of Ukrainian winters seemed like they would be colder (to me) than Connecticut.  |
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Post by mskrieger on Sept 12, 2016 11:24:46 GMT -5
Interesting, the colder parts of Ukrainian winters seemed like they would be colder (to me) than Connecticut. You know, it's hard to tell just from looking at average climate data, because that doesn't tell you what the wind, snow cover, daily variability etc are. Connecticut and Ukraine do have some similarities though. Coastal Ukraine is quite moderate, much like coastal Turkey and Iran. Inland Ukraine probably gets much more extreme quite quickly. Connecticut is quite similar. I live on the coast but work a couple hour's drive north and inland, and driving from my house to the university where I work is like driving into Mordor in the winter. Judging from the average temps, my home city is colder than Odessa, but it's hard to tell. Generally I find North Americans discount how crappy the weather is in New England and Eastern Canada compared to Asia. But when you look at ocean and atmospheric currents, precipitation and temperatures, you realize that they are quite comparable. Quebec is just as bad as Siberia, for example. From that point of view, I suspect Ukraine might be most comparable to the Great Lakes region of North America--interior continental climate tempered by proximity to large bodies of water. So...maybe Odessa is like Toronto (cold and snowy in winter, but some semi-tropicals like magnolias can survive in protected areas), and Kiev like Ottawa (most extreme winter/summer temperatures of any capital city in the world)? But as we know, all gardening is local! In any case, I'm going to try the citrus-in-the-pit technique and report back in a few years...and we'll have a New England data point. |
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Post by walt on Sept 12, 2016 15:03:15 GMT -5
Sheeps wool is hair, or course. Andhair is high in (non-digestible) protein. It has nitrogen. It shouldn't take it out of the soil.
shheps wool has gotten so cheap that sheep farmers I know, who are few, don't bother to try to sell it, unless it is a special kind that home weavers, hobbists, like my daughter, will pay a good price for.
So it is more economical to breed short-hair sheep for meat.
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Post by steev on Sept 13, 2016 1:26:10 GMT -5
Odessa is where my maternal grandma was from.
One of my farm's neighbors recently gave up wool-sheep for hair-sheep, recently.
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Post by richardw on Sept 18, 2016 13:50:04 GMT -5
Odessa is where my maternal grandma was from. One of my farm's neighbors recently gave up wool-sheep for hair-sheep, recently. Would that be mainly because its difficult to find shearers in your area steev |
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Post by imgrimmer on Sept 18, 2016 16:34:59 GMT -5
Would that be mainly because its difficult to find shearers in your area steevHere, wool only costs your money. You need the sheerer but nobody buys the wool. Small scale sheep owner only have problems with the wool. My father selected for self losing wool. Others breed for hair sheeps like the so called Nolana. |
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Post by philagardener on Sept 18, 2016 18:09:42 GMT -5
My father selected for self losing wool. Did it go gray too?  |
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Post by richardw on Sept 19, 2016 0:36:38 GMT -5
There's still good money in wool here, blade hand shearing is my trade and now that i'm getting bit long in the tooth i only shear the sheep owned as pets or simi-pets, these sheep tend to grow mountains of wool which i take as payment.
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Post by steev on Sept 19, 2016 20:40:20 GMT -5
Would that be mainly because its difficult to find shearers in your area steevNo, it would be because the wool gets too full of weeds. |
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Post by imgrimmer on Sept 19, 2016 23:59:38 GMT -5
My father selected for self losing wool. Did it go gray too? it worked well for the sheeps but his own is a bit tricky it takes longer then thought. it turned gray but still refuses to fall down  english..... |
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Post by mskrieger on Sept 22, 2016 16:47:52 GMT -5
There's still good money in wool here, blade hand shearing is my trade and now that i'm getting bit long in the tooth i only shear the sheep owned as pets or simi-pets, these sheep tend to grow mountains of wool which i take as payment. Sheep are not raised in my neck of the woods, but I once saw a sheep-shearing demonstration in Ottawa. Blade hand shearing. Impressive trade--large, upset sheep aren't easy to handle. |
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Post by mskrieger on Sept 22, 2016 16:53:54 GMT -5
and richardw, how do you sell the wool? Wholesale or to individuals? |
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Post by richardw on Sept 23, 2016 0:30:00 GMT -5
and richardw , how do you sell the wool? Wholesale or to individuals? I sell to to this roadside guy who grades it into the different micron thicknesses bales it up and he on sells it at auction
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