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Thanks! Since mid-April I have managed to clear about 1.75 acres of silvopasture. I hope to clear one more acre by the end of the year. I try to keep my videos short. I see no reason why the vast majority of videos can't tell the story in less than 5 minutes.

Yep, I will watch it and post updates later.

Thank you for your comment! You are absolutely right. Eating persimmons before the first frost can be "dangerous" to your "health."

Thank you for your comment! I also plan on having apples, pears, grapes, and blueberries. I will have plenty for trading!

Thanks for your comment! Food preservation is important. When I was growing up my Mom would can hundreds of quarts of beans and tomatoes and freeze many pints of corn. Most people have lost the skill and, frankly, just don't want to bother.

And all the food that people ate hundreds of years ago that we have all but forgotten because it is not profitable to produce it so now it just doesn’t count as food!

And the stuff we call "food" is laden with chemicals and processed junk. No wonder everybody is sick.

Thank you! I hope you like seeing the videos as much as I like making them.

We are in Kentucky and my family has owned the land since 1882.

Thanks. Not sure how good the video is, but the subject matter is pretty cool.

Thank you for that input. I have never seen that color of glass either. Any idea when it stopped being produced?

@@holmesteadridge I guess it must be at least 50 - 60 yrs.

Thanks!

That's amazing. It is the strangest thing to find when working in the woods.

Me too! Ricky, who lives across the road, has a John Deere Gator. I'll make sure you get the the grand tour.

Tiny? No, I have never found anything.

They are very hardy, and very difficult to remove.

Thanks!

That does have me beat. They are always hanging around but there is no way I can get that close.

Thank you for your comment! Yes, I love the wildlife. I see something new everyday.

Merci! It is a beautiful place.

I stay out of trouble that way. It will really look amazing when it is all finished.

The wind settles, the sounds quiet, and the heat of the day begins to lift. I agree, my favorite part, too

They will stay in the pots. If I put them in the ground the deer will eat them.

Thank you for watching and commenting! Please continue watching the channel. I try to upload something every day.

Thank you! I hope it was informative.

Thank you for your comment! There are so many trees in this area I will have plenty of material to add to these check dams for years. I also plan to add spent hay in the future which will provide both a method to slow the water and add the seed you suggest. Great suggestions! Thank you!

Wow! Great info! Thank you! The compost pile you see is less than 20 feet from a Red Oak which produces multiple cubic feet of acorns. I am literally surrounded by oak trees. I have never heard anyone mention them as an ingredient for compost, before. I will use your expertise and make a video in the future. May I mention your CZcams handle in it?

Thanks. Keep watching. New stuff happens all the time.

I’ve a whole mess of stuff on my channel……..

I have watched a couple of your videos on the three sisters and will be back for more.

I am happy to hear that. My last video, I “lost” a subscriber. Can’t please all the people all the time I guess, but if you stop back let me know how I can make a simple garden experiment more interesting!

Yeah, they do drop off from time-to-time. I will absolutely make suggestions if I think something can be done better.

Thank you!

I have thought about vermiculture but it requires a little more effort than I care to put forth at this time. Composting, as I do it, is a much more hands off process and, generally speaking, produces more compost. I add water to the pile when necessary but by adding additional green material (kitchen scraps) there is usually not much need for water.

​@@holmesteadridge you must live in a rainy climate. There's still green stuff growing. Where I am, everything is brown and dead, unless it is being watered, as we have 0 rainfall from March or April until October or November. Compost piles that aren't watered will sit for years.

Vermiculture is the next natural step for the full compost process. 1 to 2 weeks after your pile finishes it's last thermal cycle, you will have fungi moving to continue the process. It's this fungus and it's byproduct that worms eat directly. Most biomass needs to go thru the worm/insect process to be bio-available to plant roots.

Thank you for your comment! Where are you located? In our area of Kentucky we receive about 42 inches per year. Our dry months are July-Aug-Sept. We have had an inch or so in the past 36 hours, so that has been a blessing.

Thanks for the comment. I am very interested in vermiculture. I hope to add that piece of the puzzle in the future.

I really am without a logical explanation. The tree seems healthy. There was no obvious problem with the branch, itself. We had adequate rain during the spring. We had a dry June, but I don't think that would have any effect. Just a weird situation.

I started using "over fifty" as a way to set myself apart from all the "kids" in their 30's and 40's who are doing this. Hopefully it will inspire others who are not-so young to give it a try. The video I show tomorrow is after I cut the branch up and get a look at the break, a "post mortem" of sorts. In a few days I will post another video of an ash tree, which has been dead for years, which finally fell. I heard it fall also. Not sure what the tipping point is for these trees but there have been a bunch of them over the past few years on Holmestead Ridge. Thanks for watching!

Merci!

Yep. I was 7. It was an exciting time. I wish I had worked at keeping it clear back then. Well, maybe starting in the '80s. it would have made my life, now, much easier.

Thank you for your comment! I have about 24 acres to turn into silvopasture. I have years of work ahead of me. I pace myself and I will definitely continue the updates. Thanks for watching!

What is a silviopasture?

Thank you for the question. Silvopasture is pasture which includes trees. The trees provide shade so the livestock are not in full sun all day and allows them to graze instead of all of them clustering under one tree for most of the day, or worse, having no shade at all. With silvopasture there is enough sunlight getting through to grow grass and enough shade so the animals can graze in comfort. My job on Holmestead Ridge is to clear enough trees so we have the correct balance. It's a big job!

Awesome! That’s amazing. Do you achieve this by only felling whole trees or do you prune them also? Sounds like there might be a certain element of danger to your plan

The Place look's like Giant Born Site ...with mother and father of course. Strong burning to you

Chuck built it in the mid-to-late 70's. You probably didn't go down there at that time.

Thank you for your comment. I am not a scientist, just a farmer trying to do things right.

@@holmesteadridge I was thinking take a sample of water that's been stored for a long while.

Gotcha. I am using it for watering plants and not watering animals so it really did not cross my mind to have it tested.

@@holmesteadridge I'm running some through a sand/gravel filter to aerate it a bit.

Do you include charcoal?

Thank you for your comment. I have never heard that before. I appreciate the tip!

It does not go far. Maybe focus on what you can make and use it in a VERY small area to improve that soil. That small area should require less compost the next year and you can expand your area. OR maybe just go with composting in place. Put the stuff you would normally compost directly on top of the soil around the plants.

Thank you for your comment. Other than gaping holes at the base of the trunk the trees do appear healthy. My goal is to create silvopasture so many trees must still be removed. Those with the issues I described will be the ones I will remove rather than the larger, healthier trees.

It worked well and I think I will turn it again this week. Still has way too much brown stuff.

Sorry for the late reply. I have rabbits but don't see many in this area. I think the deer beat them to it. I will watch your video again.

Merci!

Yep. Next year I will fence it in.

I think Christmas night might be a good time for that.

It really is a different place and it will only get better with time.

We accomplished a lot. The heat was not too bad. Working in silvopasture keeps things cooler.

Thank you for your comment!

Thank you for your comment! I try to show before and after videos and give updates on what I am doing on the Ridge. I just share what I am doing. I am glad you like it. Please watch the playlists for some really cool transition videos.