Kevin Young

April,

You did such beautiful work, and I really appreciate all the pictures and descriptions. This summer I became interested in batch box rocket stoves and built one in my back yard. I am thrilled with how it works, but all I have currently is a core firebox and riser. All my parts are just compressed earth blocks of clay, sand, and perlite--they are holding up great so far, but I have only fired my stove for about 7 hours total.

After learning about the DSR design, I thought about doing that, but with a little oven over the burn tunnel. For simplicity I want to just modify my current stove in the manner shown in the drawing. Since it is just one more box on top of the second, I'm wondering if I should call it a triple shoe box?

Jesse Glessner wrote:     I recently viewed the two videos below about a 'fire proof' material and wondered if anyone at permies or anyone working with the rocket stove engineering knew about this material and whether it could be used in the rocket stove risers. It would be interesting to see if the material would hold up over time.

After I saw that first video 2 or 3 years ago I tried making a small cob oven in my backyard with that material as a lining. It turned out awful! I had misunderstood--it is not insulative, but rather heat-resistant and heat-reflective. It needs to burn a bit to become a black body radiator, and it has a pungent smell when it burns, and that smell stayed in my oven. I had put it on moist, and over time it cracked and fell apart. I think you would want to make it in the right shape and dry it first, maybe do it as panels.

In short, it did not work for my application (it was a bad idea--for an oven you want a mass to heat up, not a heat reflector), but I think it possibly COULD work as a rocket riser. I may give it a try by molding it around a large PVC pipe, letting it dry, removing the pipe, burning the inside with a torch, and then using it. I think it will be brittle, and will need support, but I'm guessing it may just work.

I happen to have a LOT of tips for dip pens--what was used before fountain pens. You have to occasionally redip the pen into your bottle of ink. Note: I only have the tips. They are all antique, but they are all very functional. You have to get your own pen body (or make one). You can buy little metal holders for the pen nibs. If there is interest I could post pictures. I used them for a bit, but most of the time I don't have an inkwell with me. They are very good for pen and ink drawing, and I have several styles (none for calligraphy). I'm happy to trade for seeds or other fun stuff.

When we moved to our current house a year and a half ago, the first thing I did was find a tree cutting service and ask for a load of wood chips and logs. I built a big hugelkultur right in the front yard along the road and put woodchips down over the rest of the yard, followed by planting wildflowers. I got a load of dirt to cover the logs, and a neighbor with a Bobcat was kind enough to cover the logs after watching us shovel for a couple of days. I was getting busy with work and was worried about not getting the hugel planted, so my son went to the store and bought 2 pounds of chia seeds and covered it--we soon had a giant chia pet that everyone wondered about. It turns out chia gets quite tall--about 4 or 5 ft tall before it froze! For all the neighbors who asked what was going on, I specifically told them it was to make sure they knew we were weird and that our yard was not going to be "normal."

Pearl Sutton wrote:I have brain injury problems from multiple bad head injuries, and I do vitamins for it. The idea is to give the body the nutrients it needs to do the repair work it needs to do.

Here is a nice article that backs up what you said with some study results: https://ilchiro.org/hit-in-the-head-concussed-there-is-more-to-do-than-rest/

One thing not on your list and only mentioned briefly in the article is Lion's Mane mushrooms--they are well-documented for improving brain and neural health. I take a supplement (2 capsules/day) from fungi.com. I imagine there are a lot of mushrooms to consider. Psilocybes helps in forming new synapses, I believe. My brother started micro-dosing with it a few times a week about 1.5 years ago and has reported improved brain function (and a sudden disappearance of seasonal depression).

I like these fly traps: https://www.amazon.com/LKAN-Catcher-Reusable-Outdoor-Restaurants/dp/B07TRQ95JF/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=LKAN&qid=1627913537&sr=8-2 the only trouble I have is keeping bait moist.

This is a great idea! I don't have land, but I do make a habit of finding free food all around town. I realized that basically any fruit tree or grape vine in someone's yard was probably not planted by the person now living there, and many people have trees without any intention of using the fruit. Plus there are wild sources of food. I can imagine using this app to map out all the sources where I have been given the ok to pick, along with contact details of the person I spoke to, and I could set a reminder for the following year. It's not just food--I would mark which yards have interesting flowers where I might collect seeds, or which people have nice gardens and might share seeds. It might be even better if there could be a social aspect, where people could share sources together to facilitate community foraging and seed swapping. It might be nice to have an option to add tags. Maybe I have a tag for grapes, one for apples, one for apricots, etc. and then I could search for "grapes" and see all the places where I have documented vines.

I get your logic about only reusing lids on high-acid foods, but the danger with meats and low-acid is botulism. Botulism is not caused by a failed lid--rather it is an anaerobic bacteria that forms heat-resistant spores. So, the danger is not from contamination by a poor seal, but rather a spore that was on your food that survived because of not getting up to proper temperature and pressure. You could have a perfect seal, but if a spore survived your canning process it will germinate, the bacteria will divide and start producing toxins, and you will not even know it is spoiled. Happily, botulinum toxin is destroyed by heat, so cooking canned beans or meat for a bit after opening also decreases risk. It's ok to have viable botulism spores on high-acid or high-sugar foods, as they will not germinate, hence you only need to water bath and kill any living bacteria.

That said, I think I too would not reuse lids for products that need pressure cooking-I assume that the higher temperature and pressure would make a used lid more likely to fail, and botulism or not, a broken seal is an invitation for bacterial and fungal contamination.

I planted some peach pits last fall and none of them came up (I am in northern Utah). Did you do anything special prior to planting? I'm surprised to see how quickly your peach trees have grown!

I can understand growing a locally-adapted annual vegetable, but growing a locally-adapted peach seems much harder due to the long time span between planting and harvesting. Do you have a timeline or specific plan you are working through? And if you obtain something you are really happy with, where do you go from there? Do you clone your new variety onto existing root stock, or do you keep on breeding?

Joseph,

I'm very excited to find you here! I read your articles in Mother Earth News years ago and they made a strong impression. I recently moved to northern Utah, and I'm just on the other side of the mountain from you, so I am anxious to see your farm and buy your produce (to save the seeds, of course!)