Small, easy projects that make a big difference

Due to various pressures in my ecosystem, I generally start plants from seeds in 3" tall paper pots.

So I'd started 12 Maxibel Filet beans ~8 days ago and all of them germinated. However, MF beans tend to produce in a bunch and then do nothing. So I decided I'd make more paper pots and start some more. While I was at it, I made 4 paper pots for the Red Noodle seeds a friend gave me, and 8 more for some more Scarlet Runner bean seeds which were sitting around asking for dirt. SR beans take longer to germinate - the ones I started at the same time as the first lot of MF beans are just starting to poke up, rather than already spreading their leaves like the MF's are.

So that makes 20 paper pots made yesterday, and now 20 paper pots filled with dirt today, and seeds added and they're now all hanging out on my dining room table.  So much for getting on with the project which is now sitting *under* all those bins of paper pots! Not a big problem, as I've got plenty of outside projects demanding more attention!

But seeds take time to germinate and plants take time to get big enough to produce, so it was really nice to get the seeds started on their journey. Of course, now I need to decide for sure where they're all going to live???

This year I fell off the wagon when it comes to starting all my own tomatoes from seed, so I had to purchase some starts locally.

They are really taking off now, so last week I cut off some suckers and stuck them in water. This week I'm potting the first of them up to go out into the 'tomato jungle' along the fence, and have just pruned more today.

Hopefully this will increase our tomato yield for the year and give us a whole bunch of plants for the price of a few starts, and make those plants that were pruned healthier too. Yes, they're all indeterminate varieties. Its not the diversity of a garden full of plants started from different seeds but it is a solution for this year that I'm happy with.

The title of this thread reminds me of a project I learned of on these forums many moons ago where some guy in the desert made a small dry stack stone gabion which was perhaps 500 feet long and by doing it in JUST THE RIGHT SPOT he restored an entire valley's hydrology

I'd love to see hundreds of projects like these that leverage small tasks for BIG RESULTS

In my region it makes me think that perhaps a properly placed snow fence could be one such example though I confess I don't know how to determine exactly WHERE one would place that, though generally I'd say higher is better

I dunk watering cans in rain water barrels to water a lot of things.  I finally got around to doing a small, easy project to keep from plugging up the sprinkler rose (nozzle at the end).  I took a scrap piece of window screen and stuffed it down in the filling hole for the watering can a little bit.  Then hot glued it down all around the perimeter.  Now leaves, pine needles and other flotsam can't enter the watering can and plug up the holes.  Took 10 minutes and makes watering noticeably more enjoyable.

Amy Gardener wrote:For years, I have submerged a brick in the back of the toilet tank to reduce water used for the flush. Today after much reflection on typical US biorhythms, I put another brick next to the first. I figured that most of my guests stop by after their morning ritual so this is a “#1” toilet. Flushing .8 gallons of water for the basic guest tinkle is more than generous. This reduces by half the 1.6 gallon flush in the original “low flow” toilet. This seems like a good compromise for guests not fully trained in the art of saving water.
As for me, the composting toilet works just fine for all permaculture business.

Great idea!  I'm doing that right now!

Thanks Amy!

Like some others, I have health challenges and it makes it hard to know when I will have energy. So I’m working on doing a little bit every day this winter, so next growing season is more relaxing. Summer heat is not my friend so it’s important to plan(t) ahead . Today our joy was adding two butterfly bushes to our hedgerow and filling the coops with leaves from the neighbor. Poco a poco.

Today's small project was to apply bubble wrap (leftover packaging from last year's house move, currently being saved for our son's planned house move) to the remaining single glazed windows in our house. They will need replacing with double glazing as the wood is rotten but that's a summer job. It will be interesting to see if it actually makes a difference (along with the thermal lined curtains) to the comfort in the house this winter.

I'm not on-site right now, but I just downloaded a manual on oyster mushroom cultivation for future use.  I'd call that a good use of two minutes.

Jojo, I like the idea of mushroom cultivation.  Good for you.

My new project is learning to use the laptop I got a Christmas, yesterday.

It has a touch screen and no mouse.

I was able to get and pull up the permies forum.

Dear hubby ask me what I am going to do with that (laptop).

I recently applied the tip learned in a forum post about laundry line.  Just happened to be a good time to prune some of the cotton limbs, so I used them to prop up two sagging lines, lickety-split.

I think that sometimes the most important projects are the ones that repair broken things so they can go back into full service.

One of my wonderful raised beds had a broken corner because the piece of wood had split.



I was able to get the old piece of rotted wood off fairly easily, and installed a new chunk of 2x4. However, the bed had spread. I had to dig out the soil that had settled and was blocking the frames from going back into position. I was able to brace the right hand side against a neighbouring bed, as it was *really* resistant. My son was able to push the front into position while I drilled pilot holes and got the bracket screwed back on.



Of course, then I had to rearrange all the dirt again. The bed had settle a lot also, so I shovelled 8 buckets of finished compost into that side and corner.



Of course it's going to take at least 8 more buckets to build up the other side of the bed, but that's tomorrow's job! I need to pace myself, as I can't afford to hurt myself.

I didn't do it today, but had a little win to share. Last year I picked up some Chaenomeles fruit from the roadside. They have the potential to give me a lemony flavour in a climate that doesn't support lemon cultivation (!). I split the seeds out and planted them outside in a pot. So far so good - lots and lots of fruiting potential! I think they are all germinating!

This qualifies as small, but it sure wasn't as easy as I had hoped.

Years ago I made a slightly taller than 1/2 a barrel compost for the centre of an African Raised Keyhole design. I think these would work well if they were near animals or a kitchen that generated grey water to add to the compost, but alas, this bed was too far from both. It also was getting too much shade, and too much deer pressure. Then Albert ran over half of it with a trailer... He meant well, but the marbles are rattling a little bit now that he's well north of 80 years old.

So I've gradually been levelling it, removing wood and soil to other projects. However, I've still been adding to the compost, as the upcycled, free from the metal bin, lid from a smoker (probably) is quite heavy, making this compost rat free.

So this week I decided to get on with moving it. I picked a spot, but it still has half digested compost in it making it *really* heavy. Yes, I should have gotten help. Instead I took a bit of a tumble but got it into Big Green despite that. I then moved the 2 concrete blocks it was on.

However, since it wasn't going to have a bed supporting it, I wanted it to have 3 points of support. One rock and 2 blocks would work, except I needed to dig the blocks half way into the ground. Again harder than I expected due to the depth, but the soil in that area is awesome - all that work I did about 5 years ago seems to have paid off at least near the rock!

I got smart then, and asked my friend Terry to help me slide it out of Big Green into position. Good call. With the 2 of us, we could do it safely. By myself, not sure what or how bad the results would have been!



The really nice thing is that this spot is on the way to the back field, which makes it great to dump small bits of kitchen compost as I walk by. A friend who visits, often brings her kitchen compost, and this spot will be near where she usually parks also. It's also near one of the gardens that I'm working on deer/bunny proofing so it can go back into useful production.  But that's another project that's turning out much more difficult than I had hoped!

Jay Angler wrote:I think that sometimes the most important projects are the ones that repair broken things so they can go back into full service.

This!
I managed to mend the handle on my hoe that had been left out of the shed and trodden on (I think). Luckily the rest of the handle was fine  - its a nice hardwood handle. It had broken where the coach screw secured the handle to the head. Because the manufaturer had filed the end of the screw flush, I couldn't remove the nut and ended up having to hacksaw that off. I found a nice stainless standard screw to replace it, whittled the new end of the handle to fit the head socket, tapped it in firmly and pilot drilled and fixed the new screw.

good as new

Hopefully the handle will last a few more years now. I'll try and do better about putting it away properly out of the weather now I have my new yurt-shed.

Nancy, thanks for the reminder! I need to go outside, find a 'riight-size' branch from the peach tree I pruned, and make a handle for the pole-saw/pruner I bought. It was only about $16, including shipping, because it came without a handle. Then, not only will I be able to finish pruning the peach tree, but I'll be able to collect tree hay from next to our road, where the trees all need to be trimmed back!

Amy Gardener wrote:Let’s face it: grand plans for permaculture transformations can appear so overwhelming that instead of jumping into the unknown, it’s easier to escape into one’s comfort zone or plan, plan plan. Mustering the energy and courage to initiate a massive overhaul of existing conditions can be downright scary!
To inspire each other to take a mini-leap into action, what did you do today that gave you an immediate sense of permaculture accomplishment?

I created a desert oasis at the group home I stay at when in the city. The peace it brings to all who sit here in the evening was well worth the effort.

PROJECT #1

Our little house is a two story. The lower level has dirt backfill on two sides, so is somewhat of a daylight basement. You have to go up seven steps to get to the deck wrapping around three sides of the mail level and from which you can get to the main entry door.  The dimensions of the deck are:  eastside-  10' x 30';  south side- 6' x 46'; and,  westside 8' x 32'.

That's a lot of growing opportunity, whether for show or go.

Below the south side is a water hydrant. I ran a 3/4 PVC pipe up the wall, under the deck to the railing area, then installed pipes strapped to the bottom edge, just under that railing and along all the railing.  I joined some sections with T's so I could run pipe up to just under the railing cap, where I installed elbows and fittings that allowed me to install water hose friendly ball valves.

Now, instead of having to fill a water bucket, several times, in the house or down below, we have hoses on each run and can water with ease. Not only can we water everything on the deck, we can water many of the things in the yard from the deck.


Since the dog run (we call it (that part of the desert) "The Swamp") attaches to the deck, the PVC can be extended to run the length of that section of the cyclone fence. About a 45' section by tying it to the underside of the upper, horizontal pipe to install another valve and hose for watering or just washing a car.

In the end, this was a game changer, as regards watering things.

PROJECT #2:

Like many, we have to drain and blow out lines each year.  The standard approach is to use an air compressor.  I have a stationary unit and two portable units.  Usually, I duct tape an air nozzle to just fit in valves and get away with using my little pancake compressor, but I was curious as to if a leaf blower would work.

People like to make claims about things they know nothing about. Being able to use a leaf blower to the end of blowing out short runs of lines (e.g., 100') was said to be not possible. I didn't have a beer, let alone someone to hold it, but I went ahead with my experiment anyway.

I cut a disk just a fraction of an inch larger than the the blower end, then tapered it using my drum-disk sander. That converted the wood cylinder to a tapered plug and cut back greatly on how much attention I had to give to tolerances. The plug fit the leaf blower end just fine.

Next I drilled a hole just big enough to accommodate a hose end without a fitting, but which had a female end on the other end. The whole mess is only a couple feet long.

The leaf blower is much easier to deal with than my compressor and it worked very well for blowing out the few lines I have around the place.  In fact, it may have worked even better (or I opened valves in different sequence) because there were no sections that leaked this year.

Small easy project, yes, but became more than I would have imagined.  It started as a way to get kitchen waste out of the open compost bin to hopefully cut down on the rat population.  Plenty of yard debris to keep the compost going without adding rat food to it.  I was planning on building stacking worm bins.  Mesh bottom, sits on the ground so worms can come and go as they like since I am not a very diligent worm keeper and often forget to feed and water my above ground worm bin.   Idea is to continue stacking one on another as they fill.  Then, take the bottom one and put it on top when food waste had been converted to castings so that any worms remaining in the castings will move to the bins below with food.  Then I don't have to figure out how to save the worms before I use the castings.  Got the bins built.  Started filling with food waste.  The lid was getting mold on the underside so I decided to paint it.  Had to put a different lid on until I cleaned off the mold and got around to painting and paint dried.  This different lid did not fit tight, but tight enough to keep rodents out.  Apparently, delightfully, not tight enough to keep black soldier flies out.  About two weeks in to filling, I noticed the writhing mass of what I think are black soldier fly larvae or meal worms.  I have had black soldier fly in my yard so this is exiting.  The chickens think this is particularly exciting too!  Bonus...it seems as though there are fewer filth flies in the yard now.  I had read somewhere that if you have black soldier flies, you will have less filth flies.  Win, win, win all around!  

Felled, limbed, hauled, bucked, split and stuffed the last of the firewood for this winter. 'B finished strawing her garlic few days ago in the newest garden.
Got some road work done.
Spreading straw for the dogs to nest in for the winter under the big spruces they favor.
Squaring some timbers on the sawmill that I cut prior with the chainsaw mill.
Tilling the two fallow gardens in prep for tarping.

PROJECT #2:

The leaf blower is much easier to deal with than my compressor and it worked very well for blowing out the few lines I have around the place.  In fact, it may have worked even better (or I opened valves in different sequence) because there were no sections that leaked this year.
I love this leaf blower idea. I have one and am going to try this method. I can hardly wait!

Good reminder Thea!  I made up an adapter from a schrader valve to a garden hose fitting.  I take my little cordless tire inflator that can easily do a bike tire or slooowly do a car tire and plug that into it.  Screw it onto the inlet side of a hose reel and it will blow the whole line out easily.  No messing with a big air compressor or laying out the whole hose on a slope.

Here's an easy permaculture project that feels really significant: earthworm rescue.
Over the last few days, we've received about 1/10th of our annual 11" of water. Rain causes the earthworms to migrate from the sheet-composting areas and tree wells onto the normally desiccated silt-sand driveway and asphalt street where they will surely die without intervention. Using leaf stems to lift the little red wigglers, I gather them into a bowl then re-home them in shady moist composting areas around newly planted fruit trees.
This only took about 45 minutes each day to gather innumerable helpful soil aerators, fertility builders, and producers of free worm castings.  I also feel very fulfilled in saving so many beautiful lives!

We do that too, Amy! We live in the suburbs at present, and if we take out walk after it's rained, so many worms are stranded on the concrete footpath. It makes for a very low walk, stopping every few steps to rescue a worm!

The weird thing is I don't ever recall seeing worms do that when I lived in Australia.

It's a wet, cold winters' day and a small, easy project that makes a big difference is just the thing to do!
Our spices were all over the place, and since we both enjoy cooking, getting them organized makes a big difference.
I had found six wooden cases that originally held a bottle of port each. They came with plexiglass lids.
After attempting to saw one panel into a decorative shape and the panel just coming off its thin airgun nail fittings, I proceeded to remove one panel from two more cases.
Hey presto, a spice rack!
Now we still have to fix the wires for the spotlights... ;)

Nina Surya wrote: Hey presto, a spice rack!

So have you organized them based on the dishes they're used in, or the "everyone seems have forgotten" way of alphabetical order?

Mine are in alphabetical order... unless my son has been cooking! He makes good food, so I don't  complain.

Hi Jay,
They're loosely organized according to the desired flavour-world outcome; Italian/French or Asian or Arabic, but the space underneath only fits one kind of spice jar so regardless of spice world, they're all tucked there.
My coffee additions (cinnamon and cardamom pod) also live close to each other and close to coffee.
It's a totally new situation, I suppose the spices will find their intuitive places in use - so yes, ultimately it's the "everyone seems to have forgotten" order.

The Los Angeles area fires are the latest wake up call for those living in extreme drought conditions.
Today I completed a small easy project (about 5 hours work) that may help protect this property from future fires. I cleared out the flammables in Zone 0 (fuel reduction 0 - 5 feet from the house) and composted the debris. I pruned tree limbs, cut native grasses and cleared anything that could catch fire that was near the house to create a wildfire safety buffer.
Anyone else looking for a winter project may want to investigate Defensible Space from readyforwildfire.org for ideas about creating a safe perimeter around the home and other structures.

That's HUGE, Amy, so important! I need to do the same at our Bulgarian house.

Yes Jane, AND, small/easy enough to make a huge difference in one day!
The threat of catastrophic weather-events can seem so out of our control when watching the news that it is tempting to think, "Why even bother trying?" Yet when I took on this doable defensible space project, I felt really empowered. This small-HUGE job gave me hope and enlivened me. Sharing the post with others like you who might implement the expert advice gives me MORE hope and exhilaration. Thank you Jane!

Making a Draft stopper (Door snake) made me think of this thread.



Consider making one or a few if you live in a colder climate.

Taking hardwood cuttings at this time of year is so easy!

just one bush

My currant bushes are all a bit over grown since they have got too thick for my secateurs. One bush I coppiced fully as it was so overgrown, and I managed to produce 88 cuttings from the one bush! Inserted along the south side of my tree field I'm hoping for a nice harvest there in a couple of years. Even inserted in grass like this I get a fair proportion take :)

88 potential new berry bushes at the woodland edge