Recent content by Telemark

It's a possibility. The people who don't bother getting the replacement basically give Starkntheir money. The trees that die can pslossibly be written off the bottom line to lower their taxes. Interesting thought.

B-118 is notorious for leaning trees. I only ever considered it because it is supposed to tolerate wet soil. I was then steered toward P-18 instead. All my apples are on M-111 and Antonovka, but I will be planting some on P-18 and Dolgo in the future. I'd steer clear of B-118 if I were you...

It's basically peat moss and fertilizer with a huge mark-up. You can make your own for a fraction of the price, and get better results. I'll use miracle grow on established plants if I get it for free, but I won't ever buy it, and I won't use it in pots.

Same. I get "mushroom compost" that is basically aged bark and wood chips. A layer of that in the bottom of the pot, and the rest is a mix of peat moss, that same mushrooms compost, fine compost, and about 10% soil from under my compost bin. Everything should smell like the forest floor. If...

I graft like a mad SOB. I've just gotten so old that I want to try to buy a couple years. My order this Spring is purely rootstock.

I did manage to get a credit for the ones that died in under a year, but the processes was a huge hassle, and of course they didn't have the trees I wanted at the price I had paid. I almost regret getting the credit because now I have to order something from them and pay shipping. I was...

Flaring its tail.

I'd do that. Maybe it returns to the scene of the crime.

They're out there, but they tend not to be charismatic, so they generally don't get elected. No, but it probably won't surprise me. If it was insider trading, they're allowed to do it. If it was leaked information, I'm only pissed off about not having the information myself.

That's very much on line with what I'm saying. US agriculture is not just food. It's also a strategic asset and a national security issue.

The problem I have with that is you make it seem like all agricultural subsidies are bad. I don't think that's accurate. I think a lot of changes need to be made, but I also don't think massive radical changes are generally helpful. To be clear: I am saying we should reduce agricultural...

No, I'm not. I want the government to collect and distribute tax money in the way that best serves society. That's it's job and raison d'etre. Advocating for the government to do its job is not even remotely the same as advocating for more government. The government has enough money and more...

Economic libertarianism would eat you alive, along with 99% of Americans. Unregulated capitalism puts all the power into the hands of the people with capital. If you want markets to be fair, they have to be regulated. Elected officials, i.e. the government, are the ones who should be doing...

I only want Uncle Sam to fix society's problems, not individuals' problems. That's what the government is for.

We don't have a labor problem in agriculture. Whatever Americans dont want to do, we hire immigrants to do. We wouldn't have domestic berries without migrant laborers. Technology mostly fills in the gaps. It won't be long before AI causes increased productivity while requiring less labor...