December 9th, 2023 Issue
Sequential Cover Cropping / Is The Spirit Blowing On You? / Korean Natural Farming / Making Double Extraction Tinctures / Float Fishing #10 Mayflies / Fly Tying Lesson #10 Double Dry Fly Hackles
Sequential Cover Cropping
The home that I dwell in, is in a forested part of our homestead. I really enjoy living in the forest. It is much cooler in the summer, and changes in so many ways throughout the seasons. Because I do a lot of foraging, I am able to step outside my door and pick a salad, especially in the spring. The forest in the spring is totally different, than it is during the summer. In the spring, there are many species of wild flowers, and other understory plants, that live their perennial life cycle for the most part, before the large deciduous trees are fully leafed out. This sequential transition, has always stuck out to me. The forest is very self sustaining, getting better with each season. No one goes there and fertilizes these plants, yet they are all healthy and strong. In fact most wild edibles are more mineral dense than the majority of the plants growing in your garden. No one is rotating their positions, no they grow in the same place, season after season, and no pest and diseases end up wiping them out.
I have thought much about this natural fertility cycle over the years. But this sequential transition from understory growth thriving, then going dormant as the larger trees begin to leaf out, has been of special interest. Remember what we have been learning about the soil life. When those understory plants are photosynthesizing, they are feeding extra root exudates to the soil biology. As the understory plants begin to go dormant, and their leaves and extra roots are shed, the biology begins to consume them, and turn them into humus. As this is happening, the larger deciduous trees are beginning to leaf out, and start to feed the soil life with their root exudates. But the biology is making important minerals available to the trees, as they work on decomposing the understory plants shed parts. So this sequential cycle, is an important part of the fertility cycle of the forest.
My garden is certainly not a forest, I realize that. But is there a way that I could use a similar approach in the garden, to keep my fertility cycle humming steady, supplying what the biology needs and the plants? I think there is, and I have been happy with the results, I have been seeing in the garden.
In the last newsletter, I showed you a picture of the Quilt Garden from last summer. I also showed you a screen shot, of a spreadsheet that I use to organize and plan the layout. I told you to pay close attention to how the cover crop plots were laid out. I have cover crop plots, for spring and summer cover crops, and I have them spread throughout the garden, in a checkerboard type pattern.
In the spring, I sow all the light green plots on the spreadsheet. Come summer, I begin to mulch over the spring plots, and sow seed in the summer plots. Just as the spring plots are starting to decompose, the summer plots are beginning to grow lush. This transition, is providing a great diversity of substances, to the soil food web we discussed in a previous newsletter.
In the next newsletter, I will be going through, in detail, how I put a cover crop down with mulch to feed my soil livestock.
Is The Spirit Blowing On You?
When I was younger, I remember someone sharing with me the illustration of the church being a bed of coals, and if we separated ourselves from that group of coals, we would stop burning and go out. They would quote the scripture:
Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Years later I was going through a great turmoil over this, because I had found myself in a place where I could not find an assembly that I had peace to take my family. People were telling me to move. Yet God wasn’t leading in that way.
One evening I was sitting in front of my fire, mesmerized by the glowing coals. Then the above illustration came to my mind, and I ask the Lord, “don’t you want me to be in a fellowship”? He very clearly showed me that the illustration was flawed, and not based in Truth. How do those that are in prison for their faith, and are kept away from other believers, continue to glow. These people are able to glow brightly. So how is that?
If you talk to a blacksmith they will tell you, one of their most important tools is their bellows. Without a controlled flow of air, directed properly, they cannot do their job. The only reason the coals in a fire stay glowing, is because of the input of airflow. You take that away, and the coals go black.
So I got my tongs, and took a coal out of the fire and laid it on the tile, and I began to steadily blow on it. Here was this coal, all alone just glowing brightly. Then I realized that if I were to shut the wood stove down completely, the large mass of coals would go out. Yet if I continue to blow on this single coal it will continue to glow beautifully.
We live in a time of great apostasy. The church here in America, for the most part, has grown very cold and dark. For many it is difficult to find an assembly of glowing coals, that the Spirit is blowing on. Although the ideal would be to find such an assembly, it just isn’t possible for some. But that does not hinder the Lord from allowing you to be a beautiful glowing coal, amidst this dark generation. The Lord has given each of His children certain Spiritual gifts. If you want to glow for His glory, allow Him to develop those particular gifts, He has given you, and learn to use them to bless others. Then regardless, if you are in an assembly, or what seems like being alone, you can glow for Him, and His glory.
If you know someone, that you think would benefit from this newsletter, please share it with them. Thank you!
What is Korean Natural Farming?
Quite a few years ago, I was helping a native pastor in Cameroon Africa. He was wanting my help, with an agricultural project that his church was developing. The problem was, they had a very limited amount of resources that could be purchased. They really had to depend on the natural resources around them, in order to have what they needed to grow a garden.
Looking back I see how the Lord used this experience in a very import way in my own life. I spent many hours studying, and talking with other growers, thinking through the concept of what could be done with just the resources that are around us. During this time of study, I came across two different concepts that were totally new to me, and have become very important.
The first was the Ramial Chipped Wood (RCW), that I have been teaching you about, and the research that Laval University was doing back in the 1970’s. The second, was Korean Natural Farming (KNF). This is a type of growing that was developed in Korea, among the farmers that were concerned with the chemical agriculture that was destroying many Asian countries, and causing their farmers to become dependent on purchased products, that were making corporations rich and the farmers poor. KNF was developed, to teach farmers how to harness their local resources, to help limit the purchases they need to make, to be successful.
I have told you several times, that if I could only do one thing, it would be the RCW. I had began doing both the RCW and the KNF at the same time. Wow! I began to grow some of the nicest gardens I have ever grown. But this last summer I set aside the KNF, to see what kind of a difference it would make. I needed to try and perceive how much of what I was experiencing, was the result of the RCW. Quite a bit of the improvement was the RCW. But there are some benefits to the KNF, that I cannot ignore. I now see KNF as an important tool, in my gardening tool box. So I am going to take the time to share what I have learned here.
Several years ago I attended a week long class, out in Idaho, taught by Chris Trump. (If you want to see some interesting videos, you can look at his YouTube channel). That class was very important in my education. It filled in some important holes in my understanding. Chris has spent quite a bit of time in Korea, learning directly from the original founder of KNF. My level of understanding about KNF is a beginner level. But being added to all I have learned over the years, it has been very eye opening for quite a few reasons.
Some of you may not ever practice KNF in a serious way, that is ok. But I do want you to understand the concepts, because they will enrich your understanding, in so many other ways.
The above picture, is of an Indigenous Microorganism collection (IMO). The Koreans have developed some really interesting ways of collecting, and growing beneficial microbes, to be used in the garden. It will be fun to teach you how to do it in upcoming newsletters.
Making Double Extraction Tinctures
If you want to learn how to get the most, from the medicinal plants and mushrooms you forage, you definitely want to learn how to do a double extraction tincture. This is the process of making an extraction first with alcohol, and then a second extraction with water. Certain important constituents are only able to be released in alcohol, others in water.
In the previous issues of this newsletter, I discussed both Turkey Tail and Chaga. Both are very important medicinal mushroom species. If you watched the video on Chaga, you saw how small I chopped up the pieces, as I was harvesting the mushroom. I want the pieces in a tincture to be small, so the alcohol and water will have a large surface area, to more effectively work on.
The alcohol extraction needs to be done with something that is at least 80 proof. I will often use an 80 proof Vodka. In order to mix in the eventual water extraction, the alcohol content needs to be at least this high. Then it will still be safe, and shelf stable.
After my pieces are put in a glass jar, then I will pour in my alcohol, till it completely covers the contents. Then I will put on a good lid, that is air tight. You want to have it sealed for two reasons. The first, is alcohol will evaporate if the lid is loose. The second, is that you are going to shake this jar each day for two months.
After you are done with the alcohol extraction, you will pour the alcohol into a measuring container of some kind. Once you determine the exact quantity of alcohol you have, now you can prepare for the water extraction. You will now take the Chaga pieces, and put them in a pan. Now measure out the same amount of water, as there is alcohol, and pour it into the pan. Now take a careful measurement from the rim of the pan, to the surface of the water you just added. This is the level you will simmer too, to know you have the right amount of water in the extraction. Now add extra water to the pan, so that the losses from the simmering process, will take you to the level you measured. As you are simmering, having a lid on the pan will help with water loss. You may have to add more water while it simmers, to make sure you don’t come below your intended target. I will allow it to simmer for at least a couple of hours, maybe even longer if I have it on the wood stove, and I am very carful to keep the necessary amount of water in the pan.
After you have accomplished the simmering, then you pour off the water extraction, into a measuring container, and make sure it matches the amount of alcohol extracted. Once these two amounts are found to be equal, you can mix them together and store them in a dark, cool place.
You now have a medicine, that will last for a long time, if it is well taken care of. Many people will use this kind of an extraction to treat cancer and other diseases. It is so high in antioxidants, it is also beneficial for just maintaining your health. If you are seeking to treat any kind of disease, you may want to consult a doctor about a recommended dose. I will put up to ten drops in a drink when I consume it. God bless your efforts!
Float Fishing Lesson #10 Mayflies
Mayflies are one of the most important aquatic insects that feed fish, especially in river systems. There are some very important species that are prevalent in lakes and streams, most notably the “wigglers” Hexagenia limbata. These are the largest mayfly species in the world, and are very common here in Michigan. People will travel from all over the world, to fish certain trout streams and lakes during this flies hatch. Most mayflies take one year to develop, these wigglers will take three years, and many species of fish are very aware of their presence, and seek them out. Ice fisherman will fish the live nymph under floats, especially for perch. Steelhead fisherman will also fish them under floats, in the rivers as well.
There are thousands of species of mayflies. Ranging from the huge wigglers, I just discussed, down to tiny #28. For you, what will be important, is to go to the stream or lake that you fish the most, and start to collect what you can find. It isn’t important that you know the scientific name. You just need to know the size and color, and the habitat that you found it in. If you can find it in good numbers, then you are looking at an important food source for the fish. Stomach samples will fill in the time of the year the fish are focused on them.
Most mayfly species will perform their life cycle during one year. After the eggs are laid, they develop into what is called a nymph. This nymphal stage is the majority of their lifespan. The fish are very aware of them, and seek them out. Some species will live under a rock, some clinging to weeds, others burrow in the muck. Remember, 90% of what trout and panfish eat, are aquatic insects, and 70% of the 90% are subsurface. In other words nymphs.
When the nymph is ready to hatch, with most species it will swim to the surface of the water, and begin to push out of its nymphal shuck, and push through the surface film at the same time. This stage is referred to as an emerger. Just like with the midges, we discussed in the last newsletter, this is prime pickings for bigger fish to focus on, because they are easy to catch.
Once the mayfly has emerged, it will fly away up into nearby vegetation, or your porch, if you have an outdoor light on at night. If you were to see one of these newly hatched flies, you would see that often their wings are a light grey color and not translucent. These flies will then undergo another change, and shed their skin another time. Now thier wings will be more translucent, maybe with some spots, depending on the species. Now they are sexually mature, and are able to mate. Depending on the species, most often they will meet in a large group over the water, starting quite high in the air. The flies will be mating, and the females will prepare to lay their eggs. This can be quite an experience for the fisherman. This is called the “spinner fall”. I have been in spinner falls of large mayflies that where amazing. What is referred to as a blanket hatch. At first you look up at the sky and it is filled with mating flies. The flies are sweeping up and down as they fly. Descending slowly towards the water surface. At first you get down low to the water to avoid them, but eventually you have to stand up into them. It is quite an experience. It is a real let down though, fishing wise. The surface of the water can have so many flies laying their eggs, the fish just gorge themselves. But the chance of them selecting what you have to offer, is extremely slim. Hatches this dense are not common, but I have experienced it before. During most spinner falls, there are fewer flies available to the fish, so it is much easier for you to present to them.
The reason I am a float fisherman, and a fly fisherman, is because certain parts of this life cycle are best presented with a fly rod, but the majority of the fishing season, the nymphs are much more effectively presented with a float. I am not a purest. My moto has always been: “Give the fish what they want, with the most effective presentation possible”. Remember, a float fisherman, that is skilled, will out fish almost every other type of fisherman, the majority of the time. My coach, Mick Thill, proved this time and time again.
Now as I go through this entomology series, it is not intended to be exhaustive in its content. I am introducing you to certain concepts. If you find that certain types of these insects, are more important than others on the bodies of water you are fishing, then you can take a much deeper dive on the internet, about those specific types and species. There is an amazing amount of information out there you can study.
Fly Tying Lesson #10 Double Dry Fly Hackles
In this lesson, I will show you some of the tricks, to getting two dry fly hackles wrapped, so they stand up real nice.
https://rumble.com/vwljz4-fly-tying-class-lesson-10-double-dry-fly-hackles.html
Thank you! Look forward to learning more about cover crops.
Great article. One of my favorites. Thanks Craig!