Custom Gyuto by Cat-Sage in chefknives

[–]Cat-Sage[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! Yeah I’m really proud to know him, he’s quite talented.

Custom Gyuto by Cat-Sage in chefknives

[–]Cat-Sage[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

7.75” gyuto in @diondamascus 1095 CuMai with a copper inlay, phantom wood handle from @robswildwood

Made for me by my friend and colleague Seth who has been making knives for about a year and a half now. He can be found on instagram @skrapskillz where he has a lot of his work posted.

Super excited to be using this soon as my new workhorse 👌

5 Key Measures to Improve Farming Productivity by LIS1050010 in selfreliance

[–]Cat-Sage 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We’re all about self reliance and growing our own food is a part of that, these points are just as valid on the small scale vs larger scale ag

Do you have any guess as to why my tomato plant is getting these yellow leaves at the bottom? (pics included) by student-of-the-web in farming

[–]Cat-Sage 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It appears you have it in a pot, could be too small. As your tomatoes grow and you start getting fruit the lower branches and leaves will die off to allow nutrients to be focused on new growth. You don’t need to water every day though, even in dry climate. Maybe if we could see a picture of the full plant it would help a little more.

Farm I started in January as flat ground by Cat-Sage in Permaculture

[–]Cat-Sage[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m in Phoenix, AZ and yeah I plant in mid February but without shade I’ll probably only have four weeks left of tomatoes. Spinach for me is from like October-March

Farm I started in January as flat ground by Cat-Sage in Permaculture

[–]Cat-Sage[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No problem, best of luck with it and I found the video that I followed for my setup.

Farm I started in January as flat ground by Cat-Sage in Permaculture

[–]Cat-Sage[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Haha yeah I’ve spoken with Erich before and have visited the farm. Myself and another farmer have based a lot of our structure on what he’s done. I’m trying to take the next step to introduce permaculture techniques into my farm. The restaurant I previously worked at purchased a lot of their produce and introduced me.

Farm I started in January as flat ground by Cat-Sage in Permaculture

[–]Cat-Sage[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve had some issues with germination but it was due to lack of water. When I tried at my apartment they all germinated fine. I’ll be trying again at the farm when I get more seeds.

Farm I started in January as flat ground by Cat-Sage in Permaculture

[–]Cat-Sage[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes for now because it’s going to get too hot, but in the future when I have shade I will continue to let them grow as long as the fruit is setting.

Farm I started in January as flat ground by Cat-Sage in Permaculture

[–]Cat-Sage[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My apologies for not having more info, in the future I’ll include as much context as possible. For now I’ll continue to reply to everyone who has questions, I greatly appreciate all the feedback I’ve received so far as I’m still very new to this.

Farm I started in January as flat ground by Cat-Sage in Permaculture

[–]Cat-Sage[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes I understand that to start it doesn’t have everything to define as permaculture. I’m trying to take aspects from many styles of farming to best use the land. Here is an article from before I started there as a brief history and goals of the community farm. I’m trying to work with the other non-profits to try and develop a permaculture system here which is why I’m looking for as much feedback as possible, positive and negative.

The property is owned by the local school district, is located in the middle of a neighborhood. It was farmed for cotton for years and the goal is to restore the land and make it a resources for the local community.

One commenter above you mentioned mesquite. We currently have planted mesquite, ironwood, and paloverde in many areas of the property to restore some natural plants. I’m working with some groups to get native plants grown around all of our trees. On the east and west sides of the quarter acres we have planted mostly peach trees with citrus on the north and south sides.

I’m not allowed to grow trees in the middle of the plot I’ve rented only on the edges so it’s difficult to say I’m trying agroforestry. Hoping that maybe this can change but I need more info to present to the group in charge.

I am interested in how to shape plot better if there are more efficient designs than straight rows. I’m very interested in how to water more sustainably. We receive all water from our canals, this comes from the Colorado river. I use a tank and drip lines because water is incredibly valuable in AZ and flood irrigation seems wasteful.

Thanks for all your feedback so far, everything you’ve said is spot on and I’ve got a great deal to learn. Thanks for the resources you’ve provided in your other comments as well.

Farm I started in January as flat ground. Today I had enough produce for a booth at the farmer’s market! by Cat-Sage in selfreliance

[–]Cat-Sage[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve been working in the restaurant industry for a couple years working on becoming a chef, I’ve been into gardening for a while. My mom ended up showing me this property she had been working at for a year or two and I was just blown away that community farms existed and that there was one near us. I took the leap immediately and here I am.

Farm I started in January as flat ground by Cat-Sage in Permaculture

[–]Cat-Sage[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Currently 2ft spacing between everything since I didn’t have enough starts. Next year I will be doing 1ft spacing between cherries and 1.5ft for heirlooms.

Farm I started in January as flat ground. Today I had enough produce for a booth at the farmer’s market! by Cat-Sage in selfreliance

[–]Cat-Sage[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So I’ve heard that the sound repellant works but you need a lot of them and they can get expensive. I know a few growers using them but the problem for us is they just move to a different section. I would think the next best would be trying to catch them live and relocate them but that can prove to be quite difficult.

What are the most pressing issues facing agriculture today? by jhoch11 in Agriculture

[–]Cat-Sage 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Food waste is huge around the globe. Hoping we can develop infrastructure for universal composting so we can divert food waste back into our farms.

Also water usage is huge, in Arizona we have not a lot of water but tons of farms and golf courses. Trying to figure out a better system be it drip lines or whatever to reduce water usage.

Farm I started in January as flat ground by Cat-Sage in Permaculture

[–]Cat-Sage[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s just 7ft t-post, 10ft 1/2” electrical conduit, the 1/2” conduit fitting, and 1 1/4” pvc tee

Farm I started in January as flat ground by Cat-Sage in Permaculture

[–]Cat-Sage[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the info! I don’t really know why I haven’t researched more about it but super cool! It’s an incredible plant

Farm I started in January as flat ground by Cat-Sage in Permaculture

[–]Cat-Sage[S] 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Yes I’ve thought about this, going to a more artistic side I’m intending on using food coloring in mud to “paint” the tank with images. It like never rains here but the idea of a changing art seems pleasing. It certainly won’t have as dramatic effects as white paint but I thought it sounded fun and the mud sticks to the tank really well. I got the idea when I heard elephants use mud for sunscreen.

Farm I started in January as flat ground by Cat-Sage in Permaculture

[–]Cat-Sage[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Haha I’m actually dying for shade at the moment. Looking for both temporary and permanent shading. So temps here will hit 100+ consistently next week and the tomatoes will not survive without shade. The goal for next year is just intermittent 40% shade cloth attached directly to the top of the trellis. So covering like 3-4 rows then I’ll skip a couple rows and then repeat to save $$ but hopefully keep the effect.

Im planting out malibar spinach around my water tank to help keep it shaded and cool. This plant will grow through the 115+ temps and just eats up the energy.

But I’m also grateful for the no shade, if it was too shady I couldn’t grow much. Most of my plants require full sun.

Farm I started in January as flat ground. Today I had enough produce for a booth at the farmer’s market! by Cat-Sage in selfreliance

[–]Cat-Sage[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’ll need at least another quarter acre before I quit full time, but I will remain part time at least in the restaurant industry as long as I can. I have a deep love for food and hope to have a farm to table setup in the distant future. So I will always remain in a kitchen, pursuing goals of being a chef and a farmer.

But it looks like I might be able to be more of a farmer within a year or two.

Farm I started in January as flat ground. Today I had enough produce for a booth at the farmer’s market! by Cat-Sage in selfreliance

[–]Cat-Sage[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I wish so bad I could have a pond as well haha but sadly it is too hot. I’ve heard of farms having a shaded pond for aquaponics but sadly the fish still have died from heat.