The RTFA was a hot topic a year, or so, ago. Everyone in the country seems to have seen it in the media (imagine that). My daughter in Boston, Ma. called me and asked if I was going to have to get rid of my farm, lol. Don't get me wrong - it is a concern for some people in Michigan. What's screwy is some people don't understand why other people want to raise their own food, duh? Even if RFTA going away at some point most people will still be able to have a garden, maybe a few critters. In my defense I do not currently know, or follow, what the latest legislation is. The Michigan Small Farm site, or RaZ are probably on point with the current news.
Silly, I think bush beans produce the most, and have a finer skin, however, pole beans are fun, cool to look at the way I plant them, and easier to pick since I can stand up for the most part.
If ground squirrels are a problem I can offer a few solutions: 1. Get a few cats and let them hunt (my mole population has decreased but songbirds are targeted as well). 2. Place a few live traps near the beans. 3. You can grow them in a raised bed. 4- 2x12 any size you like. At the bottom of the bed place hardware cloth and then fill in the bed. The hardware cloth will prevent them from digging up into the bed. Surround the raised bed with 24" chicken wire as a fence. It will keep small critters out. If you make the bed rectangular you should be able to plant a row, or two, and pick directly over the fence.
Did I mention we just rescued 20 more chickens? All under a year old. This is the second time we've done this. I won't go into details, let's just say people should not get chickens that can't house them as the grow "bigger"...Chicken math is NOT our strong suit but being suckers must be!
