One can use iron/steel or brass wire - it's just a little more exposed to decay (rust, oxidation etc), and somewhat less conductive than copper (and obviously silver and gold, being better conductors than copper, are simply out of the question for expense!). I wouldn't ever use aluminium for a...
It is unfortunate when opinions are formed on insufficient evidence.
I'll be getting some copper wire to try some experiments with my pot plants this spring. I've already noticed that my mandarin seedling growing in a terracotta pot is doing much better than the one in the plastic pot (both...
You obviously didn't read Christofleau's book ay? The apparatus act like antenna, absorbing natural atmospheric electricity and redirecting it to plant roots, allowing the crops to grow largely disease and pest free without the use of additional fertilisers. "Power consumption problems" are thus...
Because it has been known since the late 18th century that electricity makes plants grow better (watch the first 16 mins).
One French researcher, Justin-Etienne Christofleau, wrote and patented many electroculture devices between 1920 and his death in 1938. He has one [BOOK] (English, printed...
I think the main thing is an easy supply of trace elements which allow the plants to go gangbusters on the secondary metabolites which result in increased disease and insect resistance. I might try putting a cup of ash in my dead pot (nothing grows in it) and see if this will revive the soil.
If you have the time to spare (and a lot of clay soil on your property), one could very easily build a clay-brick one with a much lower cost than commercial bricks. Waste bricks from a demo might also be cheaper. The main thing will be ensuring the brick walls dont bow out once the fill goes in.
There is one Korean cultivar my wife likes, she says they're even better than Kents. They're very small, round green pumpkins available in Asian groceries from time to time.
Always good to diversify your options! Grow what grows, and grow what you know you'll cook!
For me its definitely taste. Kents are one of the sweetest pumpkin cultivars available and excellent roasted, souped, pancakes, pies, etc; seeds are true to type and they grow like mad. QLD blues are dull in flavour by comparison, but still lively vines.
I fertilise when I see my plants putting on new growth. For citrus and banana that can be two or three times per year; pomegranates and peaches probably only need once in spring because they'll go to sleep for winter (even if its not cold there).
Desert kurrajongs (Brachychiton gregorii) would grow very well in your area, though, @Grandmother Goose ! They're such beautiful trees, too. The edible seeds are just a bonus!