Question about tire gardening

Another reader posed the following question: "I have been following your tire garden adventure since the beginning and have been really impressed with how well it worked for you on your previous property. I would like to try them out where I live (outside of Houston, TX), but my only concern is if the black tires will soak up the sun and get too hot for the roots. I would be curious to know if any of your readers in the southern U.S. have tried tire gardening and if it was successful for them. Thanks!"

 

Unquestionably the black color of the tires played a factor in our garden's success at our last home. In North Idaho, extending the growing season by even a little bit – by having raised beds to capture heat – is an advantage.

However the opposite is true in hot climates such as Texas. The first solution to come to mind is to paint the outside of the tires white, to reflect sunlight.

Has anyone in southern climates gardened in tires? If so, please let us know your experiences (good and bad) with this resource.

Pasture requirements

A reader just sent in a question as follows: "I know it is just fall, but I am one those that plans ahead. Say in the spring I wanted just 4 cows, how much pasture minimum am I looking at?"

There is no cut-and-dried answer to this question because there are so many variables involved. Climate, latitude, rainfall, quality of vegetation, etc., all factor in. Pasture requirements differ between, say, Louisiana, Nevada, Wisconsin, and Maine.

Since I'm having a very busy week and don't have time to do this question justice – despite its importance – I thought I would let readers chime in with their advice and experience.

So let's hear your answers, folks. How much minimum pasture should this woman consider for four cows?

More unanswered questions

Catching up on additional unanswered questions:

How is your book selling?
When is Don gonna write one?
Have you finished the 'sheet curtains?'

The book (that would be The Home Craft Business) is selling modestly but steadily. No complaints.

Don's been flirting with writing a book for years. He's such a blinkin' good writer! But he's so busy with other things that it hasn't happened yet.

The sheet curtains were actually made several years ago, LOL. Still in use, I might add.

Other questions:

When it comes to groceries, what, if anything, do you have to purchase? Or do you make absolutely everything from scratch?
Also, is there anything you miss about living in an urban area? And what do your parents/siblings think about the way you guys live? Are they preparedness-types too, or do they think it's strange?

Groceries: Oh goodness, we still buy lots. Becoming self-sufficient is a whole lot easier said than done. We have meat, dairy, and eggs pretty well down pat. But surprisingly, vegetables and fruits have been the hardest to conquer up here. We would have done much better on the garden this year if the weather had cooperated and the tractor hadn't died (it's still dead). We lost two of our fruit trees, probably because the roots hit this impenetrable layer of clay we have a few feet down. Next year we're going to take the wise advice someone posted on this blog and build above-ground boxes for fruit trees. We'll also get our raised beds in for strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries. We will be planting wheat this fall, too. (Don't worry, I'll blog about it.)

As far as making everything from scratch - well, we try. We buy nearly everything in bulk and try to avoid prepared stuff.

Is there anything we miss about making a living in an urban area? No.

What do our parents/siblings think about our lifestyle? Well, after twenty years they've come to accept that we're endearingly eccentric. Nuff said. Are they preparedness types? Not in the slightest. Both our families are high on our list of folks we'll take in if bleep happens. I'll add, that's a lotta people.

Unanswered questions

A reader email the following: 

Hi Patrice,

I've got a handful of questions about things which were discussed in some of your previous topics. For example, did any of your potatoes grow?   Are the Great Pyrenees puppies getting homes yet?  Have you decided to sell your tankards online?   I imagine there are other regular readers who have similar questions about past topics.  So, how about having a topic once a month in which we can ask these questions and you'll answer them?    That would require much more of your time, so perhaps it would not be practical...but it certainly would be fun from this side of the pasture. 

 

Keep on speaking out.  This country needs more people like you.

 

Here are my answers:

 

Nope, the potatoes never grew.  Heck, nothing grew.  To a larger or smaller extent, it's that way for most everyone's gardens this year.  Five of the eight Pyr puppies have homes so far; we're hoping to go visit and indulge in some "puppy love" but so far haven't found the time (it's a 3-hour round trip, not counting time spent there).  Yes, we plan to open a retail page this fall, after our busy season is over.  And yes, I'm happy to answer any unanswered followup questions folks may have.