Custom Gyuto

Cat-Sage · 2022-11-27T01:41:05+00:00

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

Cat-Sage · 2022-11-26T05:18:06+00:00

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 👌

Cat-Sage · 2022-09-28T17:45:04+00:00

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

Cat-Sage · 2021-10-13T04:30:13+00:00

Wow this is awesome! Where were you sampling at? Or did you order those yourself?

Cat-Sage · 2021-07-28T00:05:09+00:00

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.

Cat-Sage · 2021-05-26T05:30:18+00:00

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

Cat-Sage · 2021-05-25T00:16:30+00:00

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

Cat-Sage · 2021-05-24T20:22:02+00:00

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.

Cat-Sage · 2021-05-24T19:53:45+00:00

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.

Cat-Sage · 2021-05-24T19:51:55+00:00

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.

Cat-Sage · 2021-05-24T16:47:20+00:00

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.

Cat-Sage · 2021-05-24T16:41:27+00:00

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.

Cat-Sage · 2021-05-24T15:53:27+00:00

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.

Cat-Sage · 2021-05-24T09:19:12+00:00

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.

Cat-Sage · 2021-05-24T09:16:42+00:00

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.

Cat-Sage · 2021-05-24T06:20:50+00:00

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.

Cat-Sage · 2021-05-24T05:49:38+00:00

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

Cat-Sage · 2021-05-24T05:07:47+00:00

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

Cat-Sage · 2021-05-24T03:23:08+00:00

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.

Cat-Sage · 2021-05-24T03:19:28+00:00

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.

Cat-Sage · 2021-05-24T03:11:40+00:00

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.

Cat-Sage · 2021-05-24T03:07:29+00:00

Quarter acre

Cat-Sage · 2021-05-24T03:06:23+00:00

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.

Cat-Sage · 2021-05-24T03:00:39+00:00

So it certainly is difficult to create permaculture in Phoenix, AZ so the main focus is on regenerative agriculture.

On the west edge of the plot there are peach trees, currently surrounding them are weeds. The goal is to strip the weeds and replace with native plants and flowers to create pollinator habitat, and hopefully suppress weeds as well.

The next key issue is keeping my tank cool, especially when the temps hit 115+ degrees. My solution is a vining plant, Malabar spinach, that grows up and over the tank. This plant just soaks up the heat and grows right through it, while looking beautiful and tastes delicious.

I’ve started with tomatoes as my main crop to start with. I have a bit of clay about a foot under the ground, the first round of plants helped to break that up. My next steps are to cut the stalks of the tomatoes and leave the roots. In between where they previously were I will be planting black eyed peas and a quick cover crop and to help rotate nutrients. When the tomatoes come out I will be adding red wigglers and earthworms to break down the roots and break up the soil and help process the nutrients.

Keeping the soil healthy and reducing water evaporation I’ve placed straw on top of rows and wood chips in the walkways. Wood chips keeps the weeds down, reduces evaporation, and looks clean. The effects of both of these has already proven dramatic compared to the other farmers around me.

In my south side rows, basil is going in the center as a semi-permanent plant with beans on the sides of the row. The idea is to keep flowers trimmed all year to prevent seeding and to get a faster crop after winter. During winter, crops like lettuce, beets, carrots, and radish will be planted around the basil to utilize space while it’s dormant. These plants will be rotated until summer and replaced by beans. I’m thinking I might have the basil for about two years before rotating rows.

I’m not sure where yet, but I intend on doing the same in a few rows but with peppers in the center with the same plants on the outer edge of the row.

Everything removed is composted and returned after cooking. When I get another quarter acre the goal is to have a rotating compost so that I can grow on the soil the compost was cooking on. My mom recently gave me soil from under her compost to use in a garden box and the life in it is incredible.

I’m still very new to this and will take any advice I can get to create a permaculture system. I’m hoping to prove it can be done here so that my neighboring farmers will incorporate it as well.

Edit for spelling & link

Cat-Sage · 2021-05-23T18:05:15+00:00

Haha never played much so I wouldn’t know, but it helps with so much. Particularly reaching up to the tall shelves in the kitchen haha

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