39 Comments
Jul 19, 2023Liked by William Hunter Duncan

Great looking garden!

I hope you guys have a great time in the woods.

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Thank you, Doc! Yes, it is a fine time in the wilderness sitting in circle with men who have done the work needed to get their proverbial shit together.

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Jul 20, 2023Liked by William Hunter Duncan

As in “Beetle Rodeo” on the path of Integrity?

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Jul 20, 2023Liked by William Hunter Duncan

In that case we’re due a bigger conversation at some point.

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Jul 20, 2023·edited Jul 20, 2023Author

No beetle rodeos planned, though a lot of the guys in the circle at the Rendesvous are quite liberal, and I tend to be a conservative provocateur, I always anticipate fireworks.

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Jul 20, 2023Liked by William Hunter Duncan

😂 Indeed

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Jul 19, 2023Liked by William Hunter Duncan

Great work! Congrats! Good luck with the nephew. Hope he has a great adventure!

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Thank you. He and his friend are very excited.

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Jul 20, 2023Liked by William Hunter Duncan

Try beneficial nematodes for those potato beetles.

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Thanks! I will be prepared next year. There are not many remaining, it seems mostly a late spring thing.

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Jul 20, 2023·edited Jul 20, 2023Liked by William Hunter Duncan

That's very good advice. Beneficial nematodes would knock them back because they have to pupate in the soil as part of their life cycle, and the BEs would get them there. One application (of the right species) in the early spring would go a long way. Just watch your soil temps. Next up is compiling a list of all natural predators (which is thankfully lengthy since they're native- check out the CPB wikipeida page) and research how to attract them. Your environment there looks very predator bug friendly, if you just add the right flowering attractant, it should make a difference. (I've gotten great results with buckwheat and alyssum to attract tachinid & hover flies.) Apparently either Bacillus thuringiensis san diego or Bacillus thuringiensis tenebrionis will kill the CPB. BNs and local predators are always better, but those are good back ups that'll target the CPBs. Unfortunately diatomaceous earth and other "natural" pest controls like Neem are not discriminatory. Thanks for the update, your garden looks terrific. And since mine is a washout this season, (incredible, maddening rain!) it's nice to see someone else's success!

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Beautiful cabbage!!

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Fresh cabbage is the best!

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Jul 19, 2023Liked by William Hunter Duncan

I must’ve only tried non-fresh...🤢

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Jul 19, 2023Liked by William Hunter Duncan

Got back from a week in Croatia with my family. 8 ball zuccini (courgettes) the size of my head! Carrots, leeks, potatoes, chillis doing well Big cucumbers and regular zuccini. Tomatoes and eggplants (aubergines) slow. Sorrel and Chard gone wild. Got some leggy mixed salad too. 1st year doing this. Loving it.

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Very glad to hear it!

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Jul 19, 2023Liked by William Hunter Duncan

Got any beneficial beetles in your garden?🧐

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Probably, though not an expert I can't be certain. Though, big ag started importing an Asian beetle that looks like the lady bug. That beetle feasts on aphids, which became a greater problem because of big ag monoculture, so aphids aren't a problem here, though the Asian beetle exterminated the lady bug, the Asian beetle bites people, and they come in your house by the hundreds in the fall.

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Jul 19, 2023Liked by William Hunter Duncan

😮😕

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Jul 19, 2023Liked by William Hunter Duncan

Diatomaceous earth for those beetle larvae! Couple of summers ago I pinched so many of them my hands were stained purplish for two days!

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I will look into that. Thanks. Yeah, can't count how many I have squished.

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Jul 21, 2023Liked by William Hunter Duncan

Great post, Hunter! The pest situation with the beloved beets and potatoes is tragic, and I hope you can find a natural deterrent (ideally, introducing another bug of some kind to take out the bad guys).

I can hardly wait to hear more about your nephew and his friend. They need you, and I hope with all my heart that their experiences during Rendezvous, and with you in general, guide them back on the Good Red Road.

Ron and I loved being in your garden, and we are still eating the last delicious morsels of your bountiful food gift. The photo of us playing the Martin Backpacker at The 80 together is precious. We look like hobbits. No surprise since we practice Divine Magic and alchemy, as you do.

Much love to you and to your folks. We still think about you all every day.

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12 other men including the boys here in the wilderness, more to come. Much to write about and experience. And much gratitude for meeting you and Ron.

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Jul 20, 2023Liked by William Hunter Duncan

I hope you taste the beet greens - fabulous. Almost better than the root. Beets keep on giving. And are you eating the squash blossoms? Stuff with cheese, dip in a batter, and saute. I learned to appreciate them in Santa Fe years ago.

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I often add beet greens to salad, while my father likes them boiled like spinach. I will definitely try that with the squash blossoms!

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Jealous. I am getting green beans. Everything else is not even close to harvest.

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That reminds me, I forgot to put the three lbs of beans I picked in the pic for the Rendesvous.

Crazy thing is too, winter went right up to about May 04. But then we had about four days of spring and went right into summer. It was hotter in May than it has been in July.

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Rubbing in it, are you🤔 We live in Eastern Washington. Our weather has been changing. We get more rain in Spring now. Temperatures cooler. First day of SUMMER, I had a fire in the wood stove in the morning. Even afterward, temps were going down into the 40's at night for a few weeks.

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Jul 20, 2023·edited Jul 20, 2023Author

Nevah!! I prefer spring to summer, in May, and summer to spring in July. And it has been desert-like dry here since 2022. BTW I just read your latest post and subscribed. Fellow patriot.

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Interesting. First, Eastern Washington is technically a desert, with 13 " of moisture in a year total. I thought your area had all kinds of moisture. Thank you, fellow patriot!

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High desert, as I recall. Beautiful country. Yes we have on average about 30 inches, the record something like 48. The last three years however have been dry. Nothing about the weather, like society, is certain anymore.

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It is interesting here. Desert, thick forests of pine, Douglas Fir and Tamarack. Also many lakes, rivers and resovoirs. Just crazy woke on the West side if the state.

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Absolutely gorgeous! Your garden is huge. How many square feet? Are you located in the Upper midwest? (You don't have to answer.)

I'm jealous! I'm hoping to have my own homestead within a year. (I need to save for a down payment.) I've been in the RV for two years. It's been great, but I'd like some food production. :)

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Thank you! Good to see you back online Monica. The garden is about 1/3 of an acre, more if you add in the watermelon patch. Central Minnesota is the place.

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Minn Ee Sooota! Ya sure, you betcha! :P

1/3 of an acre! That's a lot. You must be feeding an army!

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A test to see how much I can put away for the winter, with plenty left for friends and neighbors.

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You're getting close enough to find out!

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Probably 100lbs of squash, 200-300 lbs of potatoes, 50lbs of carrots, 40lbs of onions and about 40 head of cabbage...that and lots of preserves

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Thanks WHD Great update & How wonderful your gardens Grow!

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