We completed construction of the donkey house, stuck some more cuttings and prepared another section of land to plant some trees. The video shows it all…
The Donkey House is done!
Updated : November 4, 2014
The Most Fun You Can Have With Your Bibs On!
Dear Mike,
Most donkeys here in Melbourne Australia have a black cross on their back, across front shoulders and full length of their spine.
Story is that after Jesus rode on the donkey they all have a cross on their back, and it is
traditional her to give them a Biblical name, I could only remember all the bad girls in the
bible so I had to borrow one, I can assure you Hannah is the first good girl in the Bible so
that is what I called her, we had to give her away as some neighbour dobbed us in to the
local council and we were told to move her even we had over 1000 square metres of land.
I don’t think Jesus came to Australia, we are not very religious here.
regards Peter Lindstrum
Hi Mike
Thank you for all that you do to assist and encourage people to grow things for sale or just for enjoyment.
I have been landscaping and gardening for 65 years and I find your free advice very helpful.
I live in Panama City Beach Florida zone 8 or 9 on most garden maps where I garden and grow citrus, 6 trees at present. Trees, bushes and other landscape materials grow much faster and larger here than in Ohio or Kentucky where I am from originally. For example a Butterfly Bush here will grow into a tree if left alone. Can you comment on this as we don’t usually have killing frost here.
I am a subscriber but could not download a copy of your free book.
Thank you again!!
Harold Keown
North Florida
Harold,
You are absolutely right about the growing schedule difference between Florida and Ohio. Nurseryman friend of mine moved from Ohio to Florida and started a nursery down there and he would tell me it was insane how fast he could produce plants in Florida. In a very short period of time he built an incredible business in Florida.
I have lots of hibiscus, I like mine bushy so I trim them according to the moon according to almanac.com
I find they are very easy to grow, and propagate,What I do is I take cuttings and stick them in a pot,,,,then the leaves usually fall off,,then I water regularly and wait, soon they have new leaves, and voila ,, easy,,,,, then after the new growth has taken hold usually a few months later,,,,I take the pot, stick it upside down and shake the pot, gently, and then separate them and fit them in their individual pots,,,,,, that’s it ! enjoy and happy gardening. !
(This is sort of a P.S. to what I wrote before.) My property is bordered on one side by a creek and beyond that were more houses. I wanted more privacy and a windbreak so I planted Willows mostly but anything I could get to grow in my highly alkaline clay soil also got planted. Trial and error proved Lilacs worked well, Poplars, roses, Mock Oranges worked also. Evergreens died quickly as well as Maples. Anyway, with the Willows and roses came beaver and deer which pruned my bushes and made lumber for dams out of my trees. At first I was mad at them for ruining all my hard work. Then the trees came back within a year bigger, bushier, and healthier than before and the bushes seemed to thrive on being nipped back by nibblers. I know it looked awful for awhile but I have to admit if I pruned the trees and bushes myself I probably would have killed them because my knowledge of plants is so small you can stick it in your ear and not feel it. This is why I read your emails and watch your videos. I think you are a very good teacher and I’ve put it to use making my property healthier for both humans and animals. I believe in sharing with the wildlife where possible. Recently, bunnies, California Quail, pheasants, and a skunk or two have joined the list of wildlife sharing with us. Yes, I did say skunks. Funny, they get along with my cats pretty good and they haven’t sprayed us……yet. We don’t bother them so they have gotten used to use being around. For my cats we planted catnip but they ignored it. However I find the catnip loaded with bees when it blooms. The bees are doing a good job on the hybrid berry bushes now that they have been drawn to our property and the bushes are loaded with huge berries every year lately. Well, you just never know what will happen but it seems I have gained more than I lose from the wildlife around me. I also have my very own beaver pond! I’m thinking of adding fish. If you know people with brown thumbs like me you might tell them to let the wildlife take over.
Dear Mike and family, I used to have 2 horses at a time and 150 chickens on six acres and would collect their manure and let it mature (cook) in a huge pile for a year, then spread it back onto the land. My soil really needed the manure since we’re on a flood plain with way to much silt left behind. I have so much clay I could start a brick factory. The horse and chicken manure over the course of 25 years made it possible to have a nice lush backyard where only weeds would grow before. Since the property was large and the number of poopers were small, it took a long time to make great soil. I also would cut the pasture down when it got too tall and leave it for rebuilding the soil. Your donkeys are a going to be small manure producers but will make a nice addition to your plant business. Be very careful not to use manure before a year is up because it can be too “hot” for young plants and letting it heat up kills parasites you don’t want to re-introduce back to your fuzzy friends. Small Banty chickens can be used around gardens because they won’t dig up the soil like large chickens will and their egg shells can be put back into the soil. They eat a huge variety of bugs and even rodents that nibble on your plants. Animals and plants compliment each other in many ways and I don’t understand why someone would “slam” you for adding the donkeys. Maybe they’ve never been around farm animals or don’t understand where manure really comes from. I’ve been around kids, and even adults, who think eggs come from grocery stores! Good for you on the donkeys and I hope you enjoy them.