How are you an expert?

[Hinotori]

I'm decently knowledgeable on how to take care of chickens and get them to do what I want. I know where to look for what I don't know.

I'm an expert on getting silkies to pose for pictures, not that that helps really in anything.

I'm getting pretty good on what will grow in our wet weather and waterlogged soils.

Also good at getting plants to grow in pots. I have 5 potted grapes. Two of which are old enough vines that I get some fruit. The concords may not ever produce in this climate, but they are chicken shade and leaf snacks.

 

[tortoise]

Does someone have a suggestion where I might join a discussion of Permaculture here?

Please start a thread! I'll join you! I'm familiar with the idea in theory but am interested in putting more into practice!

 

[Denim Deb]

I'm good at IDing plants-I'd better be after going to school for it! I've been wanting to work on a lecture on poisonous pasture plants so I can contact the various barns, 4-H groups, etc. in the area and see if I can make some money by presenting it.

 

[Amiga]

Please start a thread! I'll join you! I'm familiar with the idea in theory but am interested in putting more into practice!

@tortoise , I made a thread in Miscellaneous under Conservation (and a few other words I already forgot. sigh) - Called it Permaculture, Regrarian, etc. I think.

 

[Beekissed]

I can't believe I just saw Freemotion and WannabeFree on here! Hi, ladies!!!!! Freemo, I'm doing BTE too!

I'm not an expert at anything that I can think of right off hand...maybe being a student? Nah....I'm not even good at that, but I keep doing it all the same. I'm a student of life, I guess you would say. A sponge.

I love learning on a wide range of things, I love DIY things, I love being frugal and making do on little and repurposing things. I've raised chickens about 40 yrs, so I've picked up a few things about them but am most decidedly still learning new things on them every day, which I think is one of their charms...always something to learn there. Will NEVER consider myself an expert on that, though.

Good to see some past members with MUCH to share coming back to do so....I'm eager to sponge up the knowledge flow.

 

[Denim Deb]

Expert definition: X is the unknown factor in many mathematical equations, or an x boyfriend, spouse, etc. A spurt is what you get when you have a pin hole leak in a hose or pipe. So, and expert is a unknown or has been drip under pressure.

 

[valmom]

Hm. I consider myself a jack of all trades rather than a real "expert" at anything. I am pretty good at most livestock. (maybe except pigs. They are delicious but scary. I will pay someone to raise them!) I spin, knit, crochet and weave. I water bath can a little bit- still haven't gotten over spending the big bucks for a pressure canner. I am getting a garden in this year for the first time in 2 years since the house had been for sale and I didn't want to work on a garden. I suppose fiber would be my most expert thing in terms of what I do, though.

 

[NH Homesteader]

My biggest issue is finding sheep that have been tested for all the diseases goats can get, or permanently splitting the property so they never cross paths!

 

[Farmfresh]

As Bee said they have no fleeces, because they shed like a big old dog. The only thing you can really use their wool for is felting and of course for compost. The Katahdins are mainly used for meat, but they can also be used as a dairy animal. Sheep milk is primarily used for cheeses.

Also sheep aren't browsers like goats are. They are a mid level grazer. It is amazing how God created all of the creatures to each fill a special niche.

Goats browse the brush and low branches up to about 6 feet and higher if they can climb it. Sheep eat a lot of weeds and forbes as well as grasses. For example a sheep can eat poison ivy like a goat does and will eat things like dock weed that most other herbivores won't eat but they require a richer forage than a goat so they also consume grasses and legumes like clovers or alfalfa. When a goat eats too rich a diet they end up with problems. Sheep also have a VERY low tolerance to copper where a goat has a high need for it. A mineral block designed for goats or other animals can actually kill a sheep. Of course horses and cattle are simple grazers eating mainly grass and pigs eat grass as well as roots and animal life they find on or under the surface.

If you get a wooded acreage you should first run a combo of goats and hogs. Between the two they will clear the land. As the land opens up and starts supporting weedy grass sheep are the next in the progression. The sheep will keep down the undesirable weeds and promote growth in the better grazing plants. Finally, the land will be open enough and productive enough to run cattle and with effort horses. Of course fowl play a part all along the way as well. Turkeys and chickens will thrive best running after the goats and hogs because a wooded environment provides them with a lot of the foods like wild berries, seeds and even small acorns that they naturally eat, in addition to insects. They of course also do well following sheep and cattle eating weed seeds and scratching through the manure piles to eat larva.

 

[Wannabefree]

INSTEAD