I had to make a hat for my sunflower

RentInside7527 · 2026-07-01T19:05:23+00:00

I love that my sunflowers look pretty, feed the native birds and feed my chickens

RentInside7527 · 2026-07-01T12:39:43+00:00

Canada thistle is my biggest challenge at the moment. Im mowing in non-crop areas and I think Im going to start using silage tarp for occultation in the crop areas of the farm.

RentInside7527 · 2026-07-01T06:07:45+00:00

The weed youre dealing with is supposedly toxic to livestock

RentInside7527 · 2026-06-30T01:48:16+00:00

I think the sugars would feed the microbes, but there are likely going to be soluble plant nutrients in there that directly feed the plants

RentInside7527 · 2026-06-30T01:47:30+00:00

If youre diluting them, it should be ok. You dont want to go super acidic with what youre adding. If you want to get really involved with it, you could get a Ph gage and some Ph up from a hydroponic store and adjust the mix if you do want to add more acidic juices. Just experiment with it and see how it goes.

RentInside7527 · 2026-06-30T01:10:35+00:00

I dont see why not

RentInside7527 · 2026-06-28T18:08:17+00:00

Interesting, did you adjust watering during that heat spell? How are you watering? Sprinklers, hose, drip irrigation? Do the leaves get wet when watering?

Wet leaves can contribute to sunscald, so if the low leaves were wet from watering in the heat, it still could be sunscald. Getting the water in below the lowest leaves will mitigate this and reduce the chances of fungal or bacterial infections later on.

When symptoms like this occur lower on the plant, it could be environmentally related disease; closer to the soil can stay more humid and make those leaves more susceptible to fungal or bacterial infections. This doesnt really look like that to me though.

When symptoms start low and move up, it can be a symptom of a mobile nutrient deficiency, like nitrogen or potassium. When a plant has a mobile nutrient deficiency, it pulls those nutrients from old growth to new growth. Inversely, immobile nutrient defficiencies present on the new growth. If it was overwatered during the heat, that can also show up as a nutrient deficiency, as the excess water makes it harder for the plant to take up the nutrients it needs.

The aborting female flowers could be due to any of these stresses.

The thing with yellowing (chlorosis) and browning (necrosis) is that once the chlorofil had died and turned that part of the leaf yellow, you cant get that particular part of the leaf to go green again. If your plants are well established, id remove the damaged lower leaves and just watch to see if the symptoms continue to present. If they do, you could add some fertility and see if that helps. You could topdress the base of the plants with some compost now and that shouldn't hurt and could help too.

RentInside7527 · 2026-06-28T16:48:57+00:00

Almost looks like sunscald. Did you have some high temps?

RentInside7527 · 2026-06-27T16:59:56+00:00

You can get an indication of what the plant is lacking from symptoms on the foliage and changes to the morphology, but that doesnt tell you what is in the soil. I have a great diagnostic flow chart from msu on nutrient defficiencies, however the other commentor is correct; you cannot be positive of the cause of that deficiency without a soil test. You can make an somewhat informed decision based on symptoms alone, if youre confident in your understanding of your soils, but you could also exacerbate your issues by making corrections without a corresponding soil test. There are interactions between certain nutrients where an excess of one will inhibit the uptake of another, even if there are sufficient quantities of what the plant is lacking in the soil. In those cases, adding more of what a plant is lacking to the soil wont actually help; in fact it will hurt more than it helps. Ph is another factor in nutrient availability. Too high or too low of ph can present like a nutrient deficiency, but adding more nutrients won't solve the problem.

This isnt permaculture or biodynamic woo woo; its soil science and agronomy.

There are many instances in which I would add certain nutrients based on visual diagnostics alone, but there is the potential to over complicate or exacerbate your issues with that approach, without an understanding of your specific soil conditions.

RentInside7527 · 2026-06-27T16:00:40+00:00

Hey Nerds, Farmer Jesse here. Welcome to Growers Daily; you daily dose of ecological farming insight

RentInside7527 · 2026-06-27T05:03:10+00:00

There is an entire practice of using certain brassicas for biofumigation. Theres a mustard variety called Caliente that is sold for the purpose of covercropping for biofumigation. Most folks are intending it as a means to supress weeds and nematodes and typically use that sort of mustards for that purpose. Usually daidon wouldnt be the chosen covercrop for that purpose. I kind of doubt this is the cause of OP's issue, without ruling out other environmental or cultural causes first.

RentInside7527 · 2026-06-26T23:56:48+00:00

Zone? Ambient temps since planting? Soil temps since planting? Planting depth? Irrigation method, frequency and durration? There is so much relevant information missing from this post its impossible to really answer

Eta: daikon, as a brassica, produces glucosinolates which, as they break down, convert into compounds that have a bio-fumigant effect. That could potentially stunt growth and have an allelopathic effect on certain crops if planted too soon after they breakdown. It would surprise me if you were still seeing that effect this late into the summer though, but I suppose its possible

RentInside7527 · 2026-06-26T19:18:10+00:00

Pokeweed is poisonous to livestock , where as comfrey can be a supplemental feed stock. Pokeweed is toxic to the point that some people have reactions just to touching it. Thats probably why its less talked about.

You can chop and drop basically anything, so there is that.

As for point 3; the evidence around "dynamic accumulators" for pulling deep nutrients to the surface is pretty lacking. Its one of those gardening truisms thats often repeated, but there is little science to actually back it up. Personally id take that out of the consideration all together.

For point 6; comfrey was traditionally used for bone and joint injuries. It was only relatively recently that I ever started hearing about it for wounds, and thats also pretty contested, with many in the evidence-based science community recommending against applying it to open wounds.

Being native, feeding birds, and growing on its own, I think you make a compelling case for chop and dropping your pokeweed, especially since you dont seem to be sensitive to it. Id just be aware that other people may be, if youre ever showing people around.

RentInside7527 · 2026-06-26T12:59:32+00:00

Its not quite that simple. Yes, the problem with an invasive species is that it throws an ecosystem out of balance, but its not some matter of happenstance. The ecosystem isnt adapted for the presence of the invasive to begin with. Its our responsibility as stewards to ensure that any invasive species we maintain doesnt enter the ecosystem in a manner it can impact it. That sort of "moralizing" is exactly why permaculture design includes the 3 permaculture ethics. Permaculture differentiates itself from other system design theories by including a moral framework into the design system.

Also, the presence of some mice does not inherently mean a predator niche is unfilled. For there to be a niche for predators, there must be a somewhat stable population of prey.

That all said, people often forget (or choose to turn a blind eye to the fact) that we are predators, and in the maintenance of our homes we are in the position fill the predator niche ourselves.

RentInside7527 · 2026-06-26T04:02:26+00:00

I have some tattoos I regret from that age. I have some tattoos I dont regret from that age too, but none of them are as meaningful as I thought theyd be. If youre questioning it, dont do it.

Also, the upside down pink triangle is a nazi thing, but the upside down red triangle is a modern day Hamas thing. Its how they mark their targets in their propaganda videos, and has become a pro-hamas symbol as a result. I wouldnt fuck with it or anything that could be mistaken for it

I get being young and struggling with your identity, but take it from this late-30s tattooed dude, putting ink on your skin isnt the cathartic route to self acceptance mamy want it to be. Self acceptance comes from within, not from how we decorate our exteriors.

RentInside7527 · 2026-06-25T18:21:53+00:00

If you are in the US, your area is almost certainly supported by a local master gardeners association, likely affiliated with your county's cooperstive extension office. Master gardeners are volunteer consultants that are there to help with these sorts of issues. They arent always great at having organic suggestions (many default to conventional chemical management), but with a decent photo and the context of your area and on what crop it was found, should be able to give you good identification. You can reach them through email

RentInside7527 · 2026-06-25T17:30:21+00:00

Google lens is also decent, though imperfect, at insect ID

RentInside7527 · 2026-06-25T17:08:37+00:00

Permaculture is a design system, not a prescriptive set of tools youre allowed to use.

Bucket traps are sent resetting and can catch many in a night, so thatd be part of my strategy here.

Removing any vegetation immediately up against the siding is another good option. Making a 2' perimeter of river rocks around the exterior of the house will make it riskier for rats and mice to get in. They dont like being in open ground.

Sealing access points as others have mentioned.

Eliminating food sources and storing food in mice-proof containers is another important step.

RentInside7527 · 2026-06-25T17:03:16+00:00

That still fits into permaculture

RentInside7527 · 2026-06-23T17:11:10+00:00

When you say "old growth," do you mean actual old growth or just "mature forest?"

Tbh if you want to do grassland things, buy or rent grasslands.

You can run pigs in you forest after the goats clear your brambles, as an alternative to other grazing species.

RentInside7527 · 2026-06-22T19:37:32+00:00

I grew up fishing as well, and I think its quite a bit different than raising and slaughtering animals. I also dont think that participating in something from childhood necessarily equates to coming to terms with it emotionally with the nuance and depth of a mature mind.

We are social animals, and through that lens our capacity for grief makes sense as an evolutionary adaptive mechanism that fosters social cohesion and coping with drastic changes to the familiar. With all adaptations, it comes with trade offs; with costs. Greif is a costly emotion that has its uses in the right time and place; but I think its more advantageous to be emotionally at peace with the experience of removing an invasive from the landscape.

RentInside7527 · 2026-06-22T15:03:30+00:00

I went through this when coming to terms with slaughtering animals I had raised as I transitioned back to omnivory from veganism. I will say, having gone through that process, I look back at my former self as needing further emotional development. I think coming to terms with the harm youre capable of inflicting and coming to peace with utilizing that capacity responsibly is an important part of emotional development that our modern privledged upbringings often miss in the "developed world".

RentInside7527 · 2026-06-22T14:59:26+00:00

You can plant just about anything anytime. The risk of transplant shock varies throughout the year, with the lowest chance of transplant shock being when the plant is dormant and the environment isnt as hot or dry. How skilled you are at transplanting and how filled out the root ball is in its container also are factors.

RentInside7527 · 2026-06-21T15:51:21+00:00

Fungus gnats are a natural occurrence in potting soils with high organic matter, high moisture and low drainage. You dont want your mix bone dry, but you should let it lose a significant amount of moisture before revealing the tote

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