Day 3, the beginning of 1406290

Today I did some research about Asian beetles in an attempt to learn how to mitigate their presence inside of our new home. They offer a positive benefit by eating aphids but little can be done to deter their presence. They dont eat clothing or chew on your things so they pretty much just come indoors to die as the temperatures drop in the fall. Hopefully we can find a way to seal the undersides of the roof as best we can and just be satisfied that that is the best we can do.

Secondly, I did some research on Siberian Elm. Although the species has some allelopathic properties, using the wood in our hugelkultur plans for the garden should be fine. I also set out to find a compatible fungus to break down the dead elm trees and golden oysters are a perfect solution since both the tree and the fungus originate from a Northern climate. We have already seen some of last years golden oyster fruitings on a tree, but I wasnt sure if the tree was in fact a Siberian Elm or not. I want to be sure that golden oysters wont be harmful to our other trees if we do in fact decide to cultivate and inoculate as we gain control of their population.

We got a cost of materials for the basement steps and its going to be under $200 so I couldn't be happier than that.