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  • From: Barbara Lamar <blamar AT satx.rr.com>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] small diverse gardens
  • Date: Sun, 05 Dec 2004 19:17:45 -0600



Thank you, Barbara. Of course, that Fukuoka quote does not say how many seeds are in each pellet. Given the, um, truth-seeking nature of this list, there may be some who will want to give this more light.

Sorry, I should have quoted a bit more. Fukuoka goes on to say that the pellets are about 1/2 inch in diameter. Given that this 1/2 inch ball includes the seeds and enough clay to form a protective coating, there couldn't be more than a few seeds to a pellet.

I have thought about you from time to time, typically when something pops up about your part of Texas, and wondered how your owner-built homestead was faring. It's good to have you back and posting. How's the water level in the pond?

Pond isn't completely full, but it's at a reassuring level for this time of year. Got pretty low this summer, but we had a lot of rain in the fall.

How's your daughter?

She's having a wonderful time at the University of Texas at Austin where she's a junior majoring in urban studies. She could hardly wait to hit the highway and head to the bright city lights. She got a scholarship by writing an essay about her unusual childhood, and after she'd been at college for about a year, she thanked me one day, for being an interesting person and teaching her a wide variety of things as she was growing up. I was disappointed to see her go but didn't try to disuade her. Many of the things she's learning in school are fascinating and seem well worth learning.

How does your garden grow?

The gardens at Altamira (the homestead) have some of the healthiest weeds around. Many of the perennial food plants are doing well; some have bitten the dust. I'm looking for someone to live on the place, since I'm only able to go out there on weekends at the moment.

I wanted more money than I was able to make in the country for various things I couldn't make or barter for, such as a new engine for the truck, a rain water tank large enough to get me through a dry summer, contact lenses. So I moved to the city, thinking I would only stay for a little while. As it turned out, I've quite enjoyed running a law/CPA practice this time around and am having so much fun I think I'll keep doing it for a while. I'm keeping my focus on small businesses and start-ups, encouraging wage earners to go out on their own. The only down-side of what I'm doing now is that since I'm now earning income and incurring some non-deductible expenses, I do have to pay federal income and social security taxes. Thus, I'm helping to finance certain activities I consider immoral. On the plus side, I'm in a better position to be heard and possibly help change things for the better. (I've been amazed and delighted by the impact the documentary SUPER SIZE ME appears to have had on the fast food industry -- speaking out CAN make a difference!).

My assistant and I are working on creating a system that will allow me to only come into the city a day or two a week, but at the moment I'm spending most week days in San Antonio, about 60 miles from Altamira. I have a small garden here that's doing very well. There have been the usual problems with neighbors who prefer tidy, well manicured landscapes, but fortunately one of the head guys with the city code enforcement division loves native plants and is intrigued by edible landscaping. No one has noticed the gray water pond, because the papyrus and taro and Louisiana irises look like just another garden bed.

I have great fun this time of year rescuing bags of leaves from the city landfill. Unfortunately, the yard is not large enough for us to grow more than a few vegetables and herbs and fruits. There's a native pecan tree whose nuts the squirrels eat or destroy (I could always make a squirrel trap, of course -- fried squirrel makes a pretty good meal), and a friend gave me a jujube seedling, and there are a couple of loquats and a lemon tree and a fig tree and some banana trees (bananas grown in a protected area will produce fruit most of the time here in San Antonio). I'm keeping an eye out for a place with 1/2 acre or so where I could have chickens and grow a more substantial part of our food. There's a city ordinance against keeping chickens, but it doesn't seem to be very strictly enforced.

There are those here now unaware that self-reliant women still build their own abodes, gardens, garden structures and anything else needed. Toni will likely be happy to receive this confirmation that women don't need men cluttering the homestead.

I really must put my homestead web site back up.

Barbara





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