LA Plant Genetics

https://spore.social/@Laplantgenetics

Public Key

npub1t9kyquvrjucafpkqd0eejf5ehudremllhv9a9dj5serln7ny7zns0pzk8f

NIP-05 Address

laplantgenetics_at_spore.social@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqs9jmzqwxpewvw5smqxhuuey6vm7x3uallmkz7jke2gv3lelfj0pfcvtjrqp

Author Public Key

npub1t9kyquvrjucafpkqd0eejf5ehudremllhv9a9dj5serln7ny7zns0pzk8f

Show more details

Last Notes

2024-10-13 14:56:31

- reply

Sadly, AI makes adults less intelligent than a 4 yo, but they feel like geniuses.
One of the "results" was figured out almost half a century ago in commercial farming. But there are clearly "accepted" ways to do things (fish tank water > human urine for instance). I would guess 90+% of the researchers have never grown plants outside the lab, and therefore probably don't know how to make compost or other common practices (like how to fertilize plants with urine).

2024-08-25 18:19:57

Grocery store? No, just raided the yard. Also harvested but not shown: elderflowers, roses, CA buckwheat (St. Catherine's lace). The small bucket of figs (#MissionFigs) has already been eaten. #Tunas will be juiced (for pink lemonade) & pulp fermented for cooking wine. #Oranges are eaten cold. #KadotaFigs & #BrownTurkishFigs will become fruit butter. #HomegrownFood #FruitScolling
https://spore.social/system/media_attachments/files/113/024/006/746/943/528/original/26ffca98a6e7a997.jpg

2024-08-25 01:28:43

- reply

The most important thing is to keep as much organic matter on site as possible. If you need to prepare a bed, but the compost isn't "done", you can bury it in the bed (with about a foot of soil on top), but the plants will need extra water. This method is great in swampy areas, or places with plenty of rain as it will keep the plants from waterlogging.
Instead of maximizing compost, focus on maximizing retained organic matter.
Otherwise, it sounds great.
#compostodon

2024-08-21 22:14:19

- reply

I'm willing to try composting anything and was being silly about it.

2024-08-21 19:28:37

- reply

🤣
I had multiple grant proposals to compost municipal waste rejected for the process being too inexpensive.
🤣
I will try to compost anything. When I finally succeed in composting plastics, nothing will be safe.
🤣
(Worms don't like my composting methods, but they sometimes sneak in, especially when things get more soil-like. They are surprisingly good climbers).🪱😬

2024-08-21 01:46:30

- reply

As a chemist, it is never wrong to wash your hands both before & after the restroom/eating.
Ethanol (e.g. straight vodka) is to kill surface pathogens.
Bleach (1 part household bleach/hyperchlorite, 9 parts water) is for viruses, fungi, bacteria & DNA.
Or you can get a hypochlorite generator & make improved bleach from salt + water that isn't as shelf-stable (cheap for bulk cleaning).
Warm, soapy water is excellent at lysing (opening) bacteria & is in fact part of DNA isolation.😷🥰

2024-08-20 05:25:31

The #figs have finally arrived!
They are only about a month late.
#ClimateDiary #FruitScolling #MissionFig
https://spore.social/system/media_attachments/files/112/992/674/246/976/021/original/ce5eee7ee08478f2.jpg

2024-08-17 15:37:09

- reply

If you are lazy & don't shred anything, it will take 6 months to 10 years for the material to compost in place. Chopping/shredding is only necessary for a quick turn around, if you are short on space (e.g. 15-day compost piles).
Also, some wildlife (bees, ants, lizards, etc.) enjoy piles of woody debris as habitat. Many invertebrates enjoy piles of dried weeds. So you are also helping the local wildlife by creating homes for them when you don't shred.

2024-08-17 15:19:48

- reply

There are many articles, this one is free & describes what happened.
https://www.sciencealert.com/how-12-000-tonnes-of-dumped-orange-peel-produced-something-nobody-imagined

2024-08-17 15:17:20

- reply

We have citrus trees. Any dropped fruits start composting within a day or two just from being on the ground & are returned to soil within a few months. The green mold that forms speeds the process along for us.
However, your system may react differently. If it doesn't work, use a method where it is left undisturbed without mechanical aeration. The mold generates compounds that kill bacteria, so it may cause problems in turned piles that don't get hot quickly to kill it.

2024-07-06 15:15:03

- reply

Death Valley weather for everyone it is!
#humor

2024-06-29 23:42:01

- reply

I have a very interesting method for aerating my piles that works extremely well. Adding air pipes/pumping heated air in would be very bad.
My setup passively prevents excessive moisture (e.g. from rain) and otherwise is pretty good at retaining moisture. I spent decades working out how to get everything to work without manure and with minimal added water. I have tried almost every composting method there is and designed something better.

2024-06-29 23:03:00

- reply

I usually have 20-30 composters going at once. I never check moisture levels or temperature or turn it. I definitely don't want it going into the thermophilic stage (that was very hard to design out).
I have a custom setup that is fix it & forgot it because I don't have time for other methods. I can visually tell when it needs more water (usually only in summer) and I get better quality compost than I have seen come out of other systems, with more possible inputs & better outputs.
https://spore.social/system/media_attachments/files/112/702/385/769/900/588/original/6bb2d490e9d92015.jpg

2024-06-29 22:24:52

- reply

Well, the plastic is going somewhere, and if it went to commercial facilities, there might be more incentive to reduce the volume (as opposed to just sending them to a landfill).
Also, you can compost some plastics, as the article you linked noted. I feel like the more barriers to composting (must be free of x, balanced ratios of y & z, etc.), the less of a climate solution composting becomes.
Composting should be just set it up & forget it until it is done.

2024-06-29 20:10:01

- reply

Why not compost everything first, then sort it out after composting is done? So many large composters are already pulling trash out of the finished compost.
(Plastic is very hard to compost unfortunately).

2024-06-19 01:40:40

- reply

Have you tried just adding the paper unshredded? It takes a bit longer for the worms to process, but they will do it.

2024-06-11 02:22:56

#Compost #corn is shedding #pollen & silking out. Going to have to pollinate it so I get ears. #Compostodon #Bloomscrolling
https://spore.social/system/media_attachments/files/112/595/601/812/893/181/original/3e00223d03457f0a.jpg

2024-06-08 15:53:50

- reply

We gave up on the worm bin. It was too much work hiding it from the chickens and we didn't really have a good use for the liquid coming off it (we don't irrigate). Plus it was a pain to extract the castings. We have a shredded paper area in the chicken playground for them to find bugs & worms by scratching instead now. (We also have way more worms than with the worm bin, plus bonus bugs.

2024-06-08 00:51:59

- reply

Con: the worms never ate the paper before the chickens broke into the worm bin, ate the worms, and scattered shredded paper everywhere.😱

2024-05-30 13:26:47

I have a bumblebee nest in one of my #Compost piles.😍 It is an all black bee, so it doesn't photograph well. Composting builds habitat for wildlife. #Compostodon

2024-05-29 02:53:52

- reply

We will celebrate #CompostingDay by eating a celebratory meal using food grown while composting. Compost squash is definitely not safe, I need to check if the baby squash are edible.
https://spore.social/system/media_attachments/files/112/522/106/407/420/436/original/035dfa010a2e0f90.jpg

2024-05-26 19:20:56

So I set up an experiment to see what my #corn seeds (all the same variety given to me) would grow best in. I have the results, but I would like a prediction to compare it to. Please vote which plants you think will be the most vigorous. #Compost #Compostodon #Maize #ScienceMastodon #PlantScience I will reply once the poll closes with the actual results. Thanks!

2024-05-25 06:30:28

- reply

Unfortunately, our chickens figured out how to get into the worm bin and proceeded to eat the worms. Sometimes they are too good at finding things to eat.🤣

2024-05-20 13:09:24

#Compost #squash going crazy but it isn't producing good fruits.
https://spore.social/system/media_attachments/files/112/473/564/681/138/518/original/074eea6163ebfed5.jpg

2024-05-19 15:45:30

It's #Mulberry season and I am busy with harvesting & processing them for the next month (then probably onto figs).
https://spore.social/system/media_attachments/files/112/468/518/252/086/925/original/f2b1ff88754c034f.jpg
https://spore.social/system/media_attachments/files/112/468/519/058/428/797/original/46fbe23783da8551.jpg

2024-04-28 14:39:57

- reply

[@compost](https://regenerate.social/@compost)
I have gotten unexpired seeds that wouldn't germinate and have grown from packets that expired a decade ago.
Generally, stores that keep seeds outside (in the plant area) are not as likely to grow as those that are inside (temperature controlled). One store even had rain in its seed area due to no roof in that section.😱

2024-04-27 19:47:01

- reply

I usually only send seeds that were harvested in the past year or less. Some seeds will keep several years, decades or even millennia someplace cool & dry (I.e. a seed vault). The store packets have expiration dates so they put out fresh seed every year (stores used to keep stuff on the shelves for years until it sold). There shouldn't be germination issues with "fresh" (under a year old) seed unless it is handled incorrectly.

2024-04-27 19:34:53

- reply

I have extra seeds (especially green onions) and sometimes plants. But is there such a thing as too many seeds?🤔
(I used to send them for "business" day at my kid's school, where they were popular with the kids--they had school cash they earned for good behavior in class they could trade for stuff other kids brought from home to "sell").

2024-04-21 19:57:33

- reply

[@compost](https://regenerate.social/@compost)
I live in a high fire area, the recommendation here is to keep organic mulch to 3 inches (7-8 centimeters) thick or less. I find once the soil is active, it is hard to keep more than a thin layer of mulch due to rapid decomposition. Anything too thick for mulch should be buried or burned (in a fireplace) with ashes returned to the soil (e g. tree branches). No exposed compost piles! (Look up trench composting for something that is ok).

2024-04-20 14:40:55

- reply

I pull the weeds and use them for mulch in designated spots (where they are piled thick). As I am spreading them close to the collection point for weeds & plant trimmings instead of sending them out with the trash, it is less work for a healthier garden. I just leave grass trimmings & leaves where they fall 90% of the time.
https://spore.social/system/media_attachments/files/112/304/048/728/490/482/original/353df7304d3aa3f0.jpg