Today I made / bought / learnt .... (for a post oil world)

Ludi

And of course Anna Edey of Solviva heated the greenhouse with chickens and rabbits.
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joeltrout · Light Sweet Crude Joined: Sep 19, 2007 Posts: 1317

I have been buying into the stock market on a slow basis which will give a good return on my investment to help me afford a ranch in the future to share with my family.

By the way, less than 160 acres is not a ranch, I hear people talking about their 30 acre ranch and laugh. Thats a big lot where I come from.

joeltrout

Ludi

A decent ranch is 500 acres, or maybe a square mile.

A farm, however, can be tiny.
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patience · Expert Joined: Jan 04, 2008 Posts: 1523

Today I did a shakedown run to town in the "new" 1983 VW Rabbit,filled 'er up for $23, and went to the discount grocery to buy meat on sale. The new freezer is about 1/3 full. I still have to fix the seat adjuster so my wife can reach the pedals, but otherwise it's ok. Put away the canned goods we got yesterday to fill shelves.

Found a 500 gallon LP gas tank on the net for $250, and made the deal! It will take a few days to get it home. The plan is to fill it in off-peak season, and have enough to cook with for a LONG time. That will fuel the 3 burner gas cook top from Harbor Freight, and will take 2 of the 7 qt. pressure canners at a time. With any luck at all, we will can on it this summer on the sunporch/summer kitchen and keep all that heat out of the house.

My wife finally got resolution on her withdrawal of 401k funds, now assured that the check has cleared. (Story on the Meltdown thread in planning.)

It's full tilt around here, playing catch up on preps for bank failure/PO living.

mommy22 · Heavy Crude Joined: Jul 22, 2005 Posts: 270

The fireplace insert that I've been wanting since we bought this house 9 years ago is in!

Shannymara · Master Joined: Oct 04, 2004 Posts: 5438 Location: Oklahoma

I satisfied myself that the greenhouse is working properly (per the max/min thermometer/hygrometer I installed), so I went ahead and put in most of the plants that need it.

It's sturdier than it looks, and I expect it will last this winter and next, by which time I should have a more permanent one. So far I feel like it was worth the $150 given the durability, size (6 x 6), ease of installation, and portability. The weak point is the zipper-close doors. They are decent quality, but I expect the zippers will break before the greenhouse itself has any major problems.

You can see my kava plants have really been struggling with the dry air in the house this winter. They should recover quickly now. There are 6 bananas (which will go in the ground next fall), a dragon fruit, miracle fruit, 2 kava plants, 3 neem trees (still small), and that little burro's tail ornamental in there right now. I'll be starting some seeds in flats shortly as well.
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"Every junkie's like a setting sun..." - Neil Young

SpringCreekFarm · Intermediate Crude Joined: Mar 03, 2006 Posts: 891

Today I attended a trade show held at the Organic Conference at the University of Guelph. I purchased a few different types of open pollinated seed, some organic foods to try out and one book: Rodale's Garden Answers.

I spoke with a few organic grain distributers on the accessibility of seed and market for organic grain. As it turns out, the accesibility problem I was forseeing was just a bad assumption of mine because there are many sources these days, for organic grain seed. The market is there if you happen to be certified organic, which I don't really want to get into. I'm really only interested in being self-sufficient with maybe a little to sell on the side.

I picked up some interesting information on sprouting seeds which is somthing I've wanted to get into for the last little while. Apparently sprouts are the most efficient way to use grains. The process unleashes many times the value of vitamins etc that is in the unsprouted grain.

I noticed this years event had a lot more organic food vendors compared to other years. There weren't as many seed vendors as other years and all in all the event looked smaller.

Oh and finally I spoke to the Mycosource guy about raising some Shitake mushrooms. I've recently been on a logging mission and I'll have some choice white oak logs ( approx 4" dia ) to innoculate. I'm thinking I'll setup a shaded area near the house to raise them as I'll probably get ripped off if I leave them in the bush. If I do decide to get into it I'll be sure to post about it in the future.

After the trade show I made a stop in Waterloo at my favorite surplus store and stocked up on some cheap goods like barn hardware, UHMW plastic, spices, satellite cable, mini spiral CF lights, etc etc etc. Things I know would cost me much more elsewhere.

I spent the last 4 days off on holidays from my job. I relaxed a little, did some logging, sorted out some stuff in the shop and basically had a bit of time to not worry about computer problems for a few days. The brisk wind and the minus temps that bit into my face made me feel alive and the sun was shining every day. Life is still good.

Shannymara · Master Joined: Oct 04, 2004 Posts: 5438 Location: Oklahoma

patience · Expert Joined: Jan 04, 2008 Posts: 1523

We ordered 2 Xantrex C60 charge controllers, and 6 Evergreen 180 watt solar panels online yesterday, to confirm when I get shipping costs. Two of the panels are for my daughter's place. (Shhhh! It's a surprise.) That will bring us to 1440 watts of panels, which is to be cofigured as two stand alone systems, 720 watts each, charging separate battery banks. Redundancy for reliability. Off to Harbor Freight now for a couple 2000 watt inverters. The new 15 c.f. GE freezer is running about .64KWHR/day, steady state. Love it!

steam_cannon · Expert Joined: Dec 28, 2006 Posts: 2467 Location: MA

patience · Expert Joined: Jan 04, 2008 Posts: 1523

SteamCannon,
Nope, we found a deal on EBay, at about $3900 delivered, by truck from FLA. They are "scratch and dent" models, and are fine. The 4 I already have are great, warranty and all. Vendor is Sun Electric. Do an EBay search for 180 watt solar panel, but be quick, they don't last long.

steam_cannon · Expert Joined: Dec 28, 2006 Posts: 2467 Location: MA

SolarDave · Heavy Crude Joined: May 19, 2005 Posts: 381

One more "step" for pedal power - how I spent part of my day today.
The first real test will take place in an hour or so...

Pedal Powering and Electric Blanket

I "paid" for it by turning the heat off this month. Not down. Off.
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<A HREF="http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen/green_virtual_gym.html">Posted from a Pedal Powered Computer</A>

Shannymara · Master Joined: Oct 04, 2004 Posts: 5438 Location: Oklahoma

I bought the complete archive of Mother Earth News 1970-2007 on CD (4 CDs) and it arrived today. I'm very happy with the way they formatted it. The archive is in HTML so you can view it with a web browser on any computer. They give you 3 options for how to find content depending on your preferences. I decided to make this purchase because time after time when I would search for information on various topics I'd end up finding what I needed at their web site archives, so I felt it worthwhile to get the archive for my library.

I also ordered a few more seeds, this time from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds; thanks to RedStateGreen for turning me on to that resource. I don't know how I missed it before and they have many varieties I've never seen anywhere else.

I also planted my agave in the ground after having it in a pot for years. Smile

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"Every junkie's like a setting sun..." - Neil Young

Ludi

The sheep ate the agaves I put in the ground.... Sad

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