I loved this step by step article from 2004 from Greg Bickal, I take no credit. It shows how to use a 55 gallon barrel as a filter. In this case, he is using it for a pond. I want to continue to look at good methods to filter out chlorine from my garden water. I do know there are inline-filters available and that may be the quickest solution. But I would also like to combine some rain water catchment and our city water into a single solution for garden at some point.
Category: General Homestead Updates
Can’t Believe it
It has been fully a year since I last posted. Todays topic is preparedness. With the BOA collapse, the dock workers strike, hurricanes and the Iranian attack on Isreal and increase stresses at work – it has reminded Mrs. SNH and I that we need to stay vigilant and stay ahead of the potential threats that we face.
Americans have become accustomed to purchasing items on their debit/credit cards linked to their bank accounts. I am recommending that we ensure that there is enough cash on hand to cover a months worth of expenses in addition to the standard emergency fund recommendations by the financial pro’s out there for 3-6 months in a high yield savings account.
In addition to cash, we are seeing the stores completely empty of supplies in our local area which reinforces the idea that you need to make sure you have enough food to feed your family for a period. Of course – becoming a producer and growing as much of your food as possible is the ultimate in resiliency. Become independent, become hardened and have backup plans for everything!
It’s a short post and there is much more to explore in these topics, but it will have to wait. Check out the money guy on youtube! Tons of great financial info.
Rocket Stove Part 1
This is the rocket stove build, part 1. We started with a firebrick base and my *incredible* masonry skills.
- Here are some things that I really need to practice:
- Cutting blocks
- These were cut with a chisel, so I only did the bare minimum and broke many blocks in the process.
- Application of mortar and keeping things level
- Taking my time to make sure things are square.
- It took my all of about 2 hours to assemble. I was more excited to build it quickly than to build it well.
- Cutting blocks
- Upgrades to this stove:
- Add an ash tray for easy extraction after cooking
- Add decorative bricks on the outside to make the appearance more fashionable
- Add a grill for cooking access
- I have one that I can use temporarily from my barbecue grill
- Notes about the first test:
- This stove gets really hot at the top
- This was the reason for the build, a reliable wood fired outdoor cooking surface.
- Great backup if hurricanes hit my area and we can’t power our electric stove for a few days.
- Using only a few sticks is sufficient for cooking in comparison to a pit fire which requires a massive amount of fuel. I may put a bin on the porch or the garage to collect the random sticks from the yard and have them convenient for use.
- After initial lighting, the smoke is significantly reduced when the rocket stove is running at full power.
- This will be great for marshmallows with the little SNHers without too much fuss.
- Now we have to finish the stove to make it look nice, add a firepit as posted previously and add the pavers to form a seating area in the back yard. As they say, it’s a process, not a race.
- This stove gets really hot at the top
Harvest Calculator Update
Good morning SNH family, just pulled some onions and potatoes out of the garden today. Here is the total value harvested since March!
Food not lawns continues
We finally made good on planting up some new figs. This will help give us more fruit consistently in the coming years as they grow as discussed in a previous article about staggering harvest times with your perennial plantings.
I still need to finish up with some nice mulch and a decent ring around them. I found that the previous homeowner left the remnants of a plastic garden border buried. That is the thing sticking up between the figs in the picture. I planted the larger Brown Turkey in the corner to fill that area of the yard, leaving about 6′ of space between the fence. I plan to keep both trimmed to around a max height of 8′.
We also did some harvesting over the last few weeks.
Get Growing!
Mr. SNH.
Inflation…Offset it with a garden!
I worked a good bit in the garden today and had to share some of the pics. Our winter veggies are starting to get too hot. The lettuce is bolting, the last of the turnips were given to a neighbor and I pulled some of the old Tabasco and Jalapeno’s that didn’t make it through the short freeze.
The good news is that I have been planting lots and lots. Tomatoes, peppers, seminole pumpkins, eggplants, cucumbers, some old cantaloupe seeds and watermelon.
The blueberries are on their second year of growth. I bought them as twigs and most are now about 2′ high. Next year will be the year for getting berries off of them. They take so long to get into production, but well worth the wait.
Lastly, I put in 2 peach trees as bare roots making good on my plan for citrus, peaches and figs to extend the fruit harvest over different periods. The peaches are actually flowering and now have a good set of leaves. I was a bit worried as I bought them from TyTy in Georgia which has some mixed reviews. In this case, I would give them a thumbs up. They came well packed and are so far fairly healthy.
I’ll end with this thought: in Florida you need to have a plan to battle the sugar sand. It seems like it is just swallowing everything that we put into it. I am making more of an effort with mulching in the walkways to get some humus underneath. I’ll rotate the humus into the gardens when it is broken down a bit. I also want to experiment a bit with biochar as a way to re-charge the sand and store nutrients like a battery. When folks in the neighborhood trim trees, I’ll collect some of the wood and start the biochar project. Sound like a good thing for a late summer night. I have been excited to see the work from David the Good and have taken a good bit to his teachings. They are practical and centered on food production.
A hodge podge post
Hello SNH’ers, the family has been busy this December. A few things to note: the garden is producing well for our winter items. Lots of lettuce, pickling cucumbers and pak choi are coming in. I also have a good amount of collards, mustard and some swiss chard growing.
We got to bake some really tasty things, like some great gluten free peanut butter cookies and a peach upside down cake.
On the investment side, I am still seeing lots of inflationary effects and have diversified the portfolio to include some income producers like JEPI, QYLD and some stabilizers like SCHD. We are seeing slower growth rates in both the 401k and Roth accounts, typical of the political and business climate right now. I am working to weed out the portfolio from items that haven’t performed and don’t maintain the same outlook when the initial positions were taken.
The winter brought some awful service issues to our home. First, we had to replace a septic pump, then an air conditioning issue hit us up. Lastly, we had to repair an alternator. That really has wiped out a few months of savings, so our new year will see us get back into the black.
Here are some nice things to look at from the last quarter:
Lastly, I have really been enjoying watching David the Good on youtube. I encourage you to check out his videos. They can bring a dose of practicality to an otherwise crazed gardening world.
Have a great afternoon. Mr. SNH.
The outdoor fire pit build
I started messing around with a 3d cad software called onshape (https://www.onshape.com) and built a basic fire pit that I intend to build this fall next to the rocket stove. Here are the plans if you want them.
Chicken coup nearly ready
I spent the weekend building the chicken coup. The ladies are getting too big and need to have some room to roam. Vertical beams are sunken to 18″ with a concrete footer. The max height is 6’6″, but tapers to 6’3″ at the rear. I planned on originally roofing the top, but now think we will just put wire on it for now. If it rains, they will have access to the inside of the shed. This will also help keep the structure around during a hurricane. If I put a roof on it, it might just sail away.
I did not get as far as I wanted to since it is V-day weekend and Mrs. SNH’s birthday weekend. This is always a very busy time of year.
The house is great, but we didn’t know there was a fencing problem!
Ok, sorry, had to borrow that from that insurance brand. Really, once we got rid of the tree, we were able to install a fence and keep Cocoa the wonderdog out. She supervised the construction of the fence. The garden area is shaping up for some planting this year.
