#Bulk Mulch Near Me

[meadowacres]

Classic Cedar Mulch Near you – Buy Classic Mulch Online| Meadow Acres Garden Centre

Order Classic Cedar Mulch in bulk from Meadow Acres for delivery in Kitchener, Cambridge. Perfect for creating a beautiful garden. Order now!

[a1asod]

Enhancing Your Garden’s Beauty With Gold Timberline Mulch

When it comes to landscaping and gardening, finding the right mulch can make a significant difference in the overall aesthetics and health of your outdoor space. One mulch variety that has gained popularity among gardeners is Gold Timberline Mulch. In this blog, we will explore the benefits and uses of it and how it can enhance the beauty of your garden.

What is Gold Timberline Mulch?

Gold Timberline Mulch is a premium organic mulch made from finely ground, aged bark. It is renowned for its rich golden color, which adds warmth and vibrancy to any garden. This mulch variety undergoes a rigorous composting process, ensuring that it is free from weeds, pests, and diseases.

The Benefits Of Gold Timberline Mulch:

Weed Suppression: It acts as a natural barrier, preventing weed growth in your garden beds. By inhibiting weed germination and growth, it reduces the need for manual weeding and helps maintain a clean and well-maintained garden.

Moisture Retention: One of the significant advantages of using this Mulch is its ability to retain moisture in the soil. It acts as a protective layer, reducing evaporation and helping the soil stay moist for longer periods. This is especially beneficial during hot summer months or in regions with dry climates.

Temperature Regulation: It acts as an insulating layer, protecting plant roots from extreme temperature fluctuations. It keeps the soil cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter, creating a more stable environment for plants to thrive.

Enhancing Garden Aesthetics:

Visual Appeal: The rich golden color of Gold Timberline adds an instant visual appeal to any garden. Whether you have vibrant flowers, lush greenery, or architectural plants, the contrast provided by the golden mulch creates a stunning backdrop, making your plants stand out.

Uniformity And Cleanliness: By applying a layer of Gold Mulch, you can achieve a uniform look throughout your garden. It covers any exposed soil, providing a clean and polished appearance. Additionally, the mulch prevents soil erosion, keeping your garden beds intact and tidy.

Best Practices For Using Gold Timberline Mulch:

Preparation: Before applying It, clear the garden beds of any existing weeds or debris. It is also recommended to add a layer of organic compost or fertilizer to provide additional nutrients to the soil.

Thickness: Apply a layer of Timberline Mulch that is about 2–3 inches thick. This thickness allows for proper moisture retention and weed suppression while still allowing air circulation to the plant roots.

Mulch Maintenance: Regularly check and replenish the mulch layer as needed, especially after heavy rain or wind. Maintaining an adequate mulch layer ensures that your garden continues to receive the full benefits of Gold Mulch.

Conclusion Garden Mulch is a valuable asset for gardeners looking to enhance the beauty and health of their outdoor spaces. With its weed-suppressing qualities, moisture retention abilities, and visual appeal, it provides a multitude of benefits for your garden beds. By following the best practices for its application and maintenance, you can enjoy a vibrant and well-maintained garden all year round.

Source: https://bit.ly/46p7TFs

[mountainbarkexpress]

Western Cedar Mulch, Bark Mulch, Nuggets & More in Calgary

Wholesale Western Cedar Mulch, bark mulch, and nuggets at Mtn Bark, Calgary's trusted supplier for cedar mulch, organic soil, bark, and fencing. Serving Calgary and nearby areas.

[dynamictreesolutions-au]

Aged Forest Mulch  | Dynamic Tree Solutions

Aged Forest Mulch is a natural material that decays over time. Unlike fresh mulch, it doesn’t drain nitrogen from the soil, making it safe to use in and on top of the soil. It enhances the soil and has  a richer color as well as finer texture, making your garden look polished. For more information  you can contact us.

Visit our website:-  https://dynamictreesolutions.com.au/

[twoguysbarkblowing]

Two Guys Bark Blowing LLC | Bark Supplier | Garden Soil Delivery in McMinnville OR

Two Guys Bark Blowing LLC is a trusted Bark Supplier in Lafayette OR, specializing in high-quality bark products for landscaping and garden projects. We deliver directly to your site, ensuring fresh and premium bark for your gardening needs. Our experienced team is committed to providing efficient and reliable service tailored to meet the specific requirements of each client. In addition, we are renowned for offering prompt Garden Soil Delivery in McMinnville OR. Our top-grade soil is perfect for enhancing garden beds, boosting plant health, and improving soil structure. Two Guys Bark Blowing LLC ensures quick delivery and expert advice to help you achieve the best results for your garden. Call us for a consultation.

[usafoodorderingsystem]

Black mulch 

We have premium black mulch available for sale in our shop; it is double-shredded recycled tree trimmings from hardwood mulch. For this mulch color, we are using a carbon-based dye that is pet-friendly. If someone searches black mulch near me we are one of the bulk mulch providers in Houston and surrounding areas. One cubic yard of mulch can cover almost 100 square feet and is 2 inches thick. Most of our customers are landscapers, homeowners, contractors, landscaping companies, etc. Common mulch available from our store is red mulch, cedar mulch, playground mulch, etc.

[truscapepa]

Fall Lawn and Landscape Care: Essential Preparations Before Winter

As fall arrives, it’s the perfect time to give your lawn and landscape the attention they need before winter sets in. Proper fall maintenance not only protects your outdoor space from the harsh conditions ahead but also sets the stage for a healthy, thriving lawn in spring. Here are key steps to take this fall to ensure your landscape stays in top shape.

1. Fertilizer: Feeding Your Lawn for Winter

Fall is a critical time to fertilize your lawn. Applying a fall-specific lawn fertilizer helps nourish your grass as it prepares for dormancy during the colder months. A slow-release fertilizer can provide essential nutrients, strengthening the root system to endure winter and promoting healthy growth come spring.

2. Leaf Removal and Lawn Mowing

As the leaves start to fall, it’s important to keep your lawn clear. Leaving piles of leaves on your grass can smother it, leading to dead patches. Regular lawn mowing in the fall also helps keep your grass at the right height for winter—slightly longer than summer but still short enough to avoid mold. If you're pressed for time, consider hiring a lawn mowing service near me to ensure your lawn is well-maintained before winter.

3. Mulching: Insulating Your Garden Beds

Fall is a great time to refresh the mulching around your trees and garden beds. Adding a layer of mulch insulates the soil, protecting roots from freezing temperatures and retaining moisture. Whether you use organic mulch or rubber mulch, it will improve soil health and protect your plants through the winter months. You can even search for mulch near me to find local suppliers for bulk purchases.

4. Lawn Aeration: Encouraging Root Growth

If your lawn has seen heavy foot traffic over the summer, now is the time to aerate. Lawn aeration helps relieve soil compaction, allowing water, oxygen, and nutrients to reach the roots. This promotes stronger root systems and prepares the lawn for the coming winter. A professional lawn care service or lawn aeration service can make this process easy and effective.

5. Weed Control: Tackling Weeds Before Winter

Fall is also the best time to tackle any weeds that have popped up. Applying a weed control treatment in early fall will prevent them from taking over during the winter. A pre-emergent weed control product ensures that you’re not battling weeds when spring arrives, allowing your lawn to flourish without competition from unwanted plants.

6. Outdoor Maintenance: Winterizing Your Landscape

Preparing your landscape for winter is about more than just lawn care. Fall is a great time to check your sprinkler system for leaks or damage. Hiring a professional for sprinkler repair near me ensures the system is properly winterized and won’t freeze over. Additionally, trimming shrubs, cleaning up garden beds, and removing debris from your yard will help protect your landscape from snow and ice damage.

7. Seeding and Overseeding

If you’ve noticed bare patches or thinning areas in your lawn, fall is the perfect time for seeding or overseeding. Cooler temperatures and increased moisture make fall the ideal season for grass seed to establish roots before winter. Pairing overseeding with fertilization gives your lawn a head start for spring growth, especially if you plan on using lawn treatment services.

8. Preparing Your Landscaping Projects

Fall is also the time to plan and schedule larger landscaping projects before winter hits. Whether you’re looking to install sod, refresh your garden beds, or build a retaining wall, fall preparation ensures you’re ready to go when spring arrives. Reach out to landscaping companies near me to begin planning any projects you’ve been considering.

9. Lawn Edging and Trimming

Maintaining sharp edges along your flower beds and walkways can prevent overgrowth and make it easier to keep your yard tidy through the winter. Fall is the best time for lawn edging to create clean lines and keep your landscape looking sharp. You can also trim back perennials and other plants that need attention before frost hits.

10. Finding the Right Lawn Care Services

Whether you’re preparing for a DIY approach or seeking professional help, there are plenty of lawn care services near me that specialize in fall maintenance. From lawn fertilizer service and weed control to lawn mowing and aeration, investing in proper care now will prevent larger issues later. Be sure to ask about lawn treatment near me and get your property in top shape for the colder months ahead.

Conclusion: Preparing for Winter Success

Fall is the perfect time to give your lawn and landscape the attention they deserve. By focusing on fertilizer, mulching, aeration, and outdoor maintenance, you can ensure your lawn enters winter strong and ready to thrive in spring. Whether you're searching for lawn service near me, lawn treatment near me, or landscaping services near me, taking the right steps now will make all the difference.

Make fall lawn care a priority, and your landscape will reward you with a beautiful and healthy lawn next year!

[primelandscapers]

However, with mulch installation, the chances of pests attracting your plants go down a notch. How? Because the mulch adds to make the soil denser, that prevents the diseases from reaching the stems or foliage.

But beware, some mulches are receptive to insects and attract them to your landscape and also to your house. That’s why we recommend our expert mulch installation in Buffalo NY, services, for the best mulch suitable to your pest control requirements.

[ottawa-firewood]

At Ottawa Firewood, we take pride in offering the highest quality products and services. We provide a variety of garden and landscape supplies throughout the entire Ottawa region.

Ottawa Firewood delivers premium supplies like soil & compost, mulch, sand, riverstone, gravel, and firewood to your home or business in big white bags that hold just over a cubic yard. Our custom blended products come from the best suppliers. You can rest assured that you’re getting superior quality products in the exact quantities you ordered.

[championlandscapesupplies142]

Blooms and Beauty: Install Flowerbeds in Houston

Elevate your outdoor space in Houston with professionally installed flowerbeds. Our skilled landscapers design and plant stunning flower arrangements that bring color and life to your surroundings. Whether it's a small garden or an extensive landscape, we'll transform your space into a floral masterpiece. Enhance your curb appeal - install flowerbeds in Houston today.

Call: (281) 675-2098

[mountainbarkexpress]

Looking for premium Landscaping products in Calgary, Canada?

Looking for premium bark products in Canada? Click here for top-quality mulch, bark nuggets, and ground cover solutions. Perfect for landscaping projects, MTN Bark offers natural, sustainable products that enhance soil health and garden aesthetics. Elevate your outdoor spaces with eco-friendly mulch options today!

[dynamictreesolutions-au]

Buy Bulk Mulch | Dynamic Tree Solutions

Are you looking to  Buy Bulk Mulch ? Get top-quality Commercial Bulk Forest Mulch in Brisbane at Dynamic Tree Solutions. We offer bulk mulch , direct your doorstep. You can enjoy far better prices than garden centers, sourced directly from the professionals. Order our premium mulch products at affordable prices. Contact our team for more information.

Visit our website:-  https://dynamictreesolutions.com.au/

[walker-journal]

Extreme Noodling (Dave+Adam)

Timing: Near Winter’s end, before Dave got bit

Summary: Dave and Adam wrassle some giant catfish (the google searches for this chatzy changed us as people I’m pretty sure. I know too much) 

Content Warning: lots of fish gore

The frost-flecked marsh water sloshed around Adam’s boots as he waded through the mire. Feathery moss hung in pale sheets from old maples and gnarled gum trees. Vertical clumps of reeds and cattails marked where the sparse islands of solid ground gave way to sluggish swamp water. This particularly frigid winter had touched the murk with thin sheets of ice, the fragile pristine white breaking under the slightest pressure for brackish mulch to pour through the cracks.

Adam was out in the frigid marshland today at the behest of David Herring, a sailor whom Nell has possibly summoned from hell as a birthday stunt. Adam was trying to take his return to Hunting gradually. His powers were slowly returning day by day, although resurgent strength and sharpening senses hadn’t brought any answers along with them.

Even more grueling training and keeping busy at work would have to suffice now, resolved  Adam as he held his rifle dry across his shoulders and waded towards where Herring was waiting.

Dave had braced himself against a nearby tree, his bag hooked over some higher up branches. Despite the frigid early spring weather, he stood in shorts and watershoes, already water and mud logged, but like this he could feel everyone and everything coming, no matter how big or small.

It was always a smart idea to have your back braced against something when you weren’t sure exactly where you stood with the person you’d called for back up. Dave wasn’t the type to calculate who owed who after surviving something together, and you never knew exactly what flavour of hunter you were getting until they had their knife against your throat. Most of the time, it had been alright, but considering the blood that stained Dave’s hands, he wasn’t surprised when things went the other direction fast. But the water in the marshes was even more still than the lakes, so he felt the ripples of Adam wading through the water long before he saw the young hunter approaching, so he was ready and waiting by the time Adam had slogged close by.

“Walker,” he greeted, raising a hand in greeting. “You gone up against a prodigium catfish before?”

Adam had to give mad props to the titanium viking balls this dude must have to go all beachwear in an ice swamp. However, as Adam might still want to have kids someday, these waders were staying on. Manly bayou bonding would have to wait.

“Read about them, never hunted them before,” the young Hunter admitted, the hot hills of California and the holy land having been more alghoul country then noodling holes.  

Dave nodded, watching Adam intently - mostly to be able to read his lips to make sense of what he could hear. At least the swamp was quiet, in the harsh way that winters often were. He didn’t have any kind of teeth guards on this time, his long canines exposed as he talked.

“This’ll be my fourth,” he replied, “but most of the others were juveniles. Feels about… fifteen feet, at a guess. Right now it’s about sixty feet that way.” He pointed deeper into the marsh land. “Fortunately, they ain’t agile creatures at that size, but they’ll crush you if they can. If you’ve read about them, I'm figuring you know about the barbs and arms.” He shifted, unstrapping a machete from the bag he’d hung from some tree branches. “If you think you can land the perfect shot, take it. Otherwise I’m thinking it’ll be better to get it in shallow water and incapacitate its arms for an easier kill.”

“Gothya, watch out for the barbs and baby Kermit arms, we gotta beach it in the the shallows unless there's an opening,” Adam reiterated, looking out at the hushed landscape of frost and brackish silt.

“But before we start I gotta ask,” the Hunter insisted as he knelt on the soggy crust the snowy embankment. He leaned the nonessential gear against the grey trunk of a willow.

“So...are you like sensing the fish right now? Do aquaman powers come with the whole wereseal thing?”

“Selkie. Something like that,” Dave replied, with just one eyebrow raised at Adam, unsure if he was missing out on some youthful slang or that Adam was not as informed as some of the other hunters around. Wereseal. The damn nerve. Not that there was anything wrong with being a werewolf, but Dave didn’t lose control like he’d gotten rabies once a month. It was all this damn tv, now everyone thought that just because you could change forms you’d have to be some cheap knock off were-

Dave hmmphed. Tiny pulses of water against his skin warned him of the large, slow being stirring in its tunnel, its mouth resting nearby the surface, waiting for prey to come nearby. “Any other questions? Ain’t exactly your college classroom.”

Ok, wait...so like, could Dave sense fish? If he could, was that a Dave-Selkie thing or a Dave-Dave thing? A tinge of frigid heat flickered in the back of Adam’s skull as something grew near, farther and larger than the palpable “otherness” that radiated from Dave. The Hunter tensed, but wasn’t going to pass up his last chance here.

“One more question….did uh….a hot Turkish motorcycle chick call you from a Hell Dimension for her sister’s birthday?”

The frosty mire stirred with an upwelling of bubbles that brought the brackish scent of rotting things with them. The dirty ice cracked upwards as an enormous bulk  briefly surfaced fifty feet away.

“Its like..ok if its yes, just been bothering me.”

Dave just… stared at Adam.  Had he heard that right? The words were distinct on the lips, but the sentence made no sense, not even when Dave happened to know there was a Turkish spellcaster who summoned things from hell dimensions. He wasn’t sure if he should be offended or complimented by the idea. “A hell dimension?��� Dave repeated, just to make sure he’d heard right.

“The fuck are they teaching hunters these days? No, Walker, unless you consider Texas a hell dimension.” He cocked his head, considering. “Guess that wouldn’t be too far from the truth.”

The turbulence of water under the surface against his ankle had Dave looking around suspiciously, but the giant catfish was just reasserting itself in the water bed much, much to the starting of many smaller fish nearby, that darted away, including in their direction. Whether or not Texas was a hell dimension would have to be debated another day, preferably over a chilled beer.  “If we steer it a little to the left, the water there’s pretty shallow, and lots of land for you to use.” Not sure he was prepared for whatever other questions Adam might have, Dave began to wade deeper into the water, looking to get much closer before he caught the catfish’s attention.

“Not gonna lie,” Adam began with cheerful candor as he parkored his way between the more solid clumps of sodden shallows. “Texas sounds like a rough time for anybody who likes water.”

Dark hazel eyes glanced again towards the breach of a large slick mass against the ice, glimpsing what might’ve been a piscine whisker, before they focused back to Dave, crinkling with suppressed mirth around the edges.

“Waaaaaait,” came the dire moment of revelation. “If you have magic skin...in Texas, did you like accessorize it?”

“Dave, my dude...did you wear sealskin chaps?”

Adam was just in the start of pantomiming the Dave sauntering around Huston in this deviant form of cowpoke asswear when bulky shape burst from the icy murk.

“Hell yeah!”

Dave’s eyebrows raised right into his hairline as he looked over  at Adam, deeply unimpressed at his realisation. For a brief second, he almost knocked Adam into the water to quiet the kid, before remembering what they were here for. Maybe later.

“You’re lucky that thing works better dry,” Dave retorted, looking down pointedly at Adam’s rifle, but the tiny quirk at the corners of his lips belied his grumpy demeanor.

It was one thing feeling it stirring in the muck, and another for the large form  to crash through the crackly thin layer of ice. Dave grinned, his canine teeth bared as the form surged through the water, its wide mouth gaping for prey, not realising that it was no longer the predator. In the water, Dave was the more obvious target, so he started backing into the shallower waters, letting it think it was hunting him.

Considering how big the damn thing was, Dave hadn’t really expected it to be able to grab a nearby tree and use that to propell itself at Dave, barely diving out of the way before its jaw shut around him. When it’s body crashed through the water again, it sent waves of water and mud flying, but in missing it had given Dave an opening to drive the machete into its back, hoping to slice through the spine. The catfish flailed in protest, grabbing Dave with an arm like a tree trunk and dragging him under water.

----

“Aw shit,” Adam laughed as he tried to get a hold on the slick flailing creature that was driving Dave down into the murk, “it's trying to send you back to Texas!”

The icey bog water stung Adam’s bare arms with a cold burn that was soon replaced with an oiliness that seeped between his fingers. Adam gritted his teeth and lips shut to try to to get any of the frigid brackishness in his mouth as the catfish bucked and flailed beneath him.

Adam plunged his combat knife into the creature’s side, grime mixing with pale blue blood and the sudden reek of raw damp chicken. Trying to keep hold, Adam yanked out the blade and brought it down again and again, attempting to get the catfish to favor its wounded side and hopefully roll Dave out of the water.

----

It was fortunate that Dave was both hard of hearing and currently being wrestled by an enormous catfish underwater, because if he had heard Adam’s comment, there might have been a sea creature versus hunter alliance. The heavy set slime on his skin kept the catfish’s hands sliding off him, but as he was knocked deeper and deeper into the dirt, the chance of dying from being crushed by catfish was increasingly looming.

Dave bared his teeth and bit into the scaled underside of the catfish with little success, unable to open his mouth enough to get any kind of hold, but the overhead action above the water seemed to have more of an effect. Dave kicked himself out from underneath the catfish as the catfish trashed and tried to reach for the human above it, more interested in a prey that it could actually drown.

It curled its other arm around Dave as it reached for Adam, distracted by the dagger slashing deeper and deeper into its side. It wasn’t watching as Dave opened his own maw and bit down on its arm, bone snapping under his canines.

When Dave emerged from the water, it was with one of the arms firmly between his teeth, torn off the body and dripping blood into the water, he grimaced, dropping it onto the roots of a nearby tree that had started to sink into the water as the soil beneath it had given way to watery mud.

----

“Holy shit,” Adam effused in admiration of such unmitigated badassery, a grin brightening the Hunter’s grime-covered face as he climbed up the side of the flailing catfish. He hoisted himself up with each deep stab of the knife into the catfish’s spongy flesh as if it were a rock-climber’s spike. “That was fucking ace….hey what’s it taste like? Bet you got like Marsh-Mono now or something…”

Adam’s preliminary diagnosis on what disease Dave had doubtless contracted was cut short as the Hunter accidentally stabbed too deeply and pierced an organ. Greenish black fluid hemorrhaged from the wound and Adam let out a stream of gagging curses as the slimy knife slipped from his fingers into the acrid effluvium.

That momentary loss of purchase was all the catfish needed. Adam plunged into the marshwater as the fish spun into a deathroll and opened its toothless maw wide.

Adam’s world became warm and damply dark.

----

“Ah, fucking hell,” Dave groaned, wading deeper into the water. He couldn’t see where Adam had gone, but he couldn’t feel anything human sized with flailing limbs moving around in the water. If he’d been knocked out, it was a matter of moments before the human risked drowning. You couldn’t heal an absence of oxygen in your lungs. Thick blue blood pumped out of the catfish’s side, murking up the water, but it was still kicking, moving towards him with its still remaining arm. This was going to be tough just by himself, and without Adam moving around in the water, Dave had no fucking idea how to find him.

The catfish swiped, and Dave dodged out of the way with a slash at its side, seeing where Adam had been hacking deep into it, where it was also bleeding and oozing viscous pus into the water, stinking up a storm. Still no sign of the wayward hunter. Shit, shit. Hoping that with its movement he might get a better feel of where Adam was. “WALKER!” He barked, watching the catfish and staying well away from its brutish arms.

Which was when he realised there was something else moving inside the catfish and he realised exactly where Walker was.

“Jesus Christ.” He drove his hand into the deep gash in the catfish’s side, causing it to spasm in pain, hoping he could distract the catfish long enough for one of them to think of a plan to get Adam out of the monsters without… risking killing him while fighting the catfish.

Adam’s silver knife appeared from the catfish’s belly, a brief protrusion of metal followed by an upwelling of dark blue ichor. The enormous fish thrashed as Dave’s hand in its wound exacerbated this new pain burrowing out from the inside. The catfish bucked in spine-twisting arcs on the frosty mire as it instinctively tried to get free of whatever invisible thing was tearing at it.

The knife blade surfaced again when the panicked  flailing no had briefly subsided, the incision growing into a long fleshly tear that spewed gummy stomach lining. Long strips of blue-tinged mucosa and yellowish subcutaneous tissue spurted from the wound each time the blade retreated, staining the marsh ice in a splots of organic dyes.

Adam’s gore-caked right arm snaked through the widened opening, trying to find some kind of grip outside as the fish’s frenzied motions turned his world into a dark barrel-roll hell of sloshing fluids and pythonic stomach muscles. It was a dicey business as the fish’s jostling and this cramped space made accidentally stabbing himself a real possibility. The Hunter had nearly opened up a vein when he’d had to fold into the fetal position to retrieve the spare silver knife.

It was times like these where being trained to abandon thought and focus only on each incremental steps of survival came in handy. The horrid smell, the acrid taste of bloody filth in his mouth, the vertigo of the fish’s thrashing, the burn on stomach acid in his skin and eyes, and the rip-popping compression of the catfish’s spasming stomach messes would’ve made it easy to just panic.

Luckily, Adam had spent enough time being taking  doses of ever-higher concentrations demonic Terevi venom as a teenager that being digested  was no longer an excuse to slack off. It’s really those salt of the earth family values that build character y’know?

Adam stuck out one leg through the widened opening and placed it again one fleshy end of the wound for leverage as he pressed the knife’s blade upward, sawing his way through sinews and fat as frigid marsh water poured in through the opening.

Something suddenly gave and the world spun. Adam hit the squishy sod with a groggy oof but convulsing to hack up catfish blood.

The first time the catfish tried to roll, Dave punched it in the eye. The second, he sliced off one of its barbs and it knocked him into the water with its remained arm. Dave’s head smacked into a tree branch and he briefly saw stars. He got out from under it, and saw a shape tearing through the scaled belly. A leg. Walker. He almost wanted to surge forward and grab him, but the bleeding hole wasn’t enough to fit a whole man through, and yanking Adam out of place might trap him and make him suffocate. Dave couldn’t let the catfish roll  again, or Adam’s leg would snap like a matchstick. Dave hacked at its back with the machete again, blood spewing his body with every swing, now he knew where the hunter was cutting his way out from, keeping the catfish from grabbing at Adam or rolling again. With a final hack and a burst of bloody flesh, its intestines spilled out into the water in large ropes and bobbing in the water like grotesque pool floats. Adam along with it. The catfish spasmed, and twitched, its gills trembling, before at last it became still.

“Jesus fuck,” Dave said, rushing over to Adam’s side. He paused, waiting for the worst of the convulsions to pass before bending down, picking up Adam’s arm and swinging it over his shoulder. If the kid passed out, Dave was worried he’d faceplant into the swamp and breathe water. “Easy does it. Easy does it now,” He muttered, lowering Adam to sit on some firmer ground. “Keep your eyes shut, I’m gonna get this crap off your off your face so you can breathe,” Dave said, not being precious as he wiped the acidic gunk from Adam’s face, pulling a flask of water out of his belt and using it to rinse Adam’s face. He held his hand so that the water wouldn’t go into Adam’s nose nor mouth. Wasn’t looking to waterboard the guy afterall, just make sure that the acid didn’t cause permanent injury to his eyes or anything.

Pressing the half-filled flask into Adam’s hand so that he could drink or wash himself as need be, Dave stepped back, giving Adam space to catch his breath and assess his own wounds. He leant against a worn out tree, feigning a casual demeanor so Adam didn’t feel as intensely scrutinised as he was being. The thick sludge of blood and grime covering Adam from head to toe was mixed with stomach acid, and the little skin that Dave could see was turning pink where it wasn’t battered blue. “Always thought hunters had a flair for the dramatic, but you really take the cake,” he joked with the hint of a smile on his features, but the worry was there. Adam’s injuries would heal faster, but Dave wasn’t the one who’d just been eaten. He just remembered the feeling. “When you’re ready, you’re gonna need to get back in the water to wash the rest of it off.”

He didn’t ask, are you alright. He didn’t ask whether it hurt. He didn’t need to. He knew how trauma was what each hunter collected by the armful, this just another harrowing near death experience out of dozens that Adam had walked away from. This one might not even leave a scar, just a story to tell over a beer. Tomorrow, Dave would feel like he’d been hit by a truck, and in a week his muscles would still give him hell. In a week, Walker would likely be right as rain. But healing hurt, both the mental and physical sort, so he waited for Adam’s cue before coming in to help him get on his feet again. His own legs began to protest under both their weights, his ribs creaking. For right now, the adrenaline rushing in his weathered veins made this just about bearable, but they needed to make a move before the tides turned against them.

“I’ll tell you what, Walker. Once we’re both patched up, I’ll buy you dinner and a beer just to celebrate you not being dinner.”

[sebbysheepie]

Hi! So, i have an actual genuine question, but i really don't know how to word it. The jist of it though, is this: what's your opinion on the 'horror farms'? Like, the ones shown in 'documentaries', where the animals ARE treated terribly. Cows raised on corn and chickens that can't walk, that kinda stuff. Like, should i stay away from that meat, or does it actually matter at all? If I'm misinformed, please let me know, I'm just trying to educate myself!

It’s fine, ask away. I’m very blunt myself so just saying stuff works best I always find.

Horror farms. Yea I wanted some of those shows and honestly how would they stay in business? We have animal welfare checks and health inspectors that are by law allowed to come in and check any time they want too in anywhere they wish to see. Something they don’t like. They shut you down. Normally they give you a written warning with what they want fixed and a date to have it done by in which time they return to check and heaven help you if you didn’t do it.

We are under such tight scrutiny with health and animal care that what I’ve seen on some of those shows cannot be happening with the systems we have in place, that leads me to believe that what they show are places that do not have the same guidelines or systems.

That being said thou there are some factors that are true but are grossly exaggerated, let’s take the cattle eating corn. Yes. They do. Dairy need high energy foods to make milk otherwise they lose condition and that’s when you see cattle that look like all bones. Putting aside illness. Cattle are like athletes, they need proper nutrition to work and produce at peek levels. Corn is a high energy food. It’s also a useful crop, some of us grow it. Sell the seed grain which is the only part edible by humans. Then use the rest as cattle feed. We mulch it and mix it with other food stuffs for the cattle. That also works as a finishing feed for beef. We can also grow a fast growing type of corn I just call cattle corn. It’s smaller. Bitter and tough. We tend to mulch everything for the animals. In our case we silo it and ferment it for them. Every day. Two times in our case we have an automatic feeder that which the girls are in the barn it goes around and drops a pre set amount of feed in front of the cow to eat while we milk. This system has been in place since the 90s. Old but serves well. Our cattle have enjoyed it since they came in the line. Corn doesn’t kill. Same as fast food. If you eat too much you can get issues but when it’s coupled with exercise and roughage the cattle do well. As for beef. The pure corn diet is rarely the case because like candy. You can’t go long term on that. You get so many issues. That’s a short term diet for fattening up before market. Think of it like bulking up because we get paid by weight. But that animal is not fed that diet all it’s life. It would not survive on pure corn. The vast majority are grass fed till the last few weeks when they are moved to lots and fed up.

https://arrowquip.com/blog/animal-science/cattle-feed-plan

This one follows a lot like what we do here

Now as for chickens. I’m not a big scale chicken farmer. What we do is chickens and turkeys for ourselves. But since my family is huge we have plenty. My sister does this area these days. But we all pitch in. Now. What you see in places like wal mart is the massive chicken breasts. Those are often from the chickens that only love about six to eight weeks. Called a Cornish cross. We’ve tried them before and honestly. You have to butcher them soon because if you let them go longer that’s when you see the issues of being unable to walk and sickness. They are bred to be fast growing and huge. Truthfully this is what the markets want. Lots of meat for little cost. As terrible as it sounds. Think of it this way. You get a bunch of chickens this month you can be eating next month or shortly after. Feed cost is low and they grow big. I’m really torn on it myself because for people that have little food these animals could be a massive difference in food security. Yet their hearts and lungs give out due to the rate at which they grow. To feed people they are amazing. But for the animals themselves to have any quality of life, it’s gotta be short. We tend to have longer living animals that usually grow to fall and more laying hens. I can’t say there is right or wrong on this topic because again. It’s easy to say “ that’s terrible they live so short and I’m gonna eat something that lives longer” when you can afford to wait and put extra into the feed costs. But for some people that don’t have any money to spare and hardly any food.. what right do we have to demand they eat something someone else feels more ethical. I’m not going to judge it. It’s just not something I would raise personally.

Basically. If you live in a place that has long cold winters. The fresh strawberries in the store are not local.. hence they have been shipped in from somewhere, maybe go with something like potato’s. If you don’t live near an ocean and you want fresh seafood. Maybe not the right choice, you gotta see what farms are around you. Goats? Sheep? Cattle? Or your in a place that has loads of seafood and wildlife but few farms. Hence. Seafood and wild game might be better. You know your area better then me. Or you should learn it. Then decide from that what is best for local foods. I know it’s not easy to meet local farmers but you can go to a butcher shop and talk with them. You can get a good feel from a well run work environment that way and they usually won’t buy from poorly run places or stop buying if something about the animals isn’t right. I find a new tactic these days is buying into something as a group. We’ve been having these. A few people ask to buy a steer and each buy a share. Which they divy up after the butcher is done. I’ve seen groups of seven people all buy into one animal and I think that’s great. Nothing goes to waste and they all communicate amoung themselves to what they want and sometimes pop up to see how things are going. That’s an option too. Same as talking with smaller farms and ordering the finished meat too. You figure what your comfortable trying and if that’s just going to Walmart. Then you go there. Look past the labels because really. Grain fed organic beef in one freezer isn’t gonna be much different from the no name in another area <<. Grain fed means corn usually btw!. Then maybe work your way into farmers markets and buying there to someday maybe buying right from the farmer yourself. Good luck!

[thestudentfarmer]

The very start of our garden....

So I want to share the start of the garden, or more accurately the VERY base start of it.

5 years ago my sister and I took a huge financial leap and purchased a house.  It was something we had sorta planned together when we were younger, but didnt really think much of until we moved into an apartment together. 

(It keepss loading the pic at the bottom of the post, so I apologise for multi edits)

This is what it looked like when we first moved in. Cropped out for our neighbours privacy is also a palm tree.

We knew from the get go that we wanted to be able to garden and 'farm' as best we could from our location, even if we didnt fully know how. We specifically chose it because we could keep chickens, it wasnt in an hoa and was close to where we both worked. If we had been able to, we would have purchased further out of town, but we had to make some sacrifices to get what we wanted on our budget and still be able to do what we wanted.

As you can see the previous owners put in rock, likely because it is extremly low maintenance and looked nice (according to the real estate agent, its 'basic' and adds value to a listed home ��). It took us nearly 4 years to remove the rocks. 😥

We tried listing it up on craigslist for sale, for free, offered to help load it up. Would have helped cart it off but due to being broke kids and now a mortgage to pay off we had one really old car between us and it was not something that  would go the distance so to speak (another reason for our location choice).  In the end.... we ended up shoveling a few scoops each week into the trash until it was gone. That took at least 8 or 9 months. Unfortunately we are still pulling rocks out of the smaller area near the front patio, but it is what it is :(

The end result was a hot barren chunk of cracking clay like earth and a stump. The soil in our area is literally clay and rock. It is HARD as all git, you can take a shovel to it and get mayby 3 Inches in the ground.

Those teeny plants pictured we pulled them out, because we wanted to try and grow mostly edible plants and the tiny bushes were not edible in anyway (come to find out, they are generally considered poisonous but a very common landscaping plant in our area! 🤯). The palm we ended up cutting down as we are not fans of the palm trees around here for pest reasons and it was getting too big for us to trim and care for on our own. We also tried all the things we did for the rock to no avail. In the end we paid a neighbor to cut it down and remove it for us. The stump we're keeping, mostly because it makes a nice planter roost :)

Since we really didnt know what might have been used on or in the soil we had to work to amend it some and wait. We added no less than 6 truckloads of free state offered woodchip/compost and just waited. Mostly because we didnt have any extra money or knowledge or on where to go next. (At the time as well we did not have a good social network, nor access to computers to research, thank the sky and sea for updated phones and libraries!)

I would like to add as a side note, if you have the money, buy compost/mulch from a reputable company, if you can. The bulk free stuff was not fully broke down and sprouted lots of little mesquite trees and a bunch of thorny bushes that are native to our home state. We ended up waiting a lot longer than we wanted, at least another 6 months, but probably longer and had to pull/trim/dig out whatever sprouted. I ended up with lots of prickly thorny wounds over that time, even with gloves :(  I do think in the end it was worth it though, but dang them prickly thorny boi's hurt!  End side note 

Anywho, during the last 3ish years I decided to start attending collage. Originally it was to learn about aquaponics and crop production since the local communitycollege has a course in it, which has now turned into me going for at least an associates degree in sustainable agriculture. I went in to get solid know how on how to grow food and grow it well. To which, so far I have not been dissapointed. I'm still attending and have a little while to go, but that is still a part of my story unfolding day to day :)

So last november was when I finally got us going in seriousness to getting our garden going. Some was due to the covid situation, but more because unless we just get to it and do it we'll never really learn how to do it!

Next post I'll share how we did our set up~

🌱 🍃 Happy Gardening everyone! 🍃 🌱