oliver moss

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since Mar 31, 2014
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Recent posts by oliver moss

I wouldn't imagine any problem from moving them around, in fact I'd think it was good for them. However, if they have been discharged for a year, then they may have suffered serious damage. That depends on how low voltage they have been at/are at now. I would think charging with a car charger is certainly better than nothing, as long as they are in 12 volt banks, in fact a faster charge would probably be better than a slow one. You need to check the voltage now, and monitor it during charge.
10 years ago
If you have a suitable area to do it in I'd use a rotary cultivator.
10 years ago
What were you growing that only produced 500 euros? -
I know it's very labour intensive, I'm doing it, but I made £1000(UK) of sales in the first year with only about £200 costs. Subsequent years have been gradually improving. I've needed to irrigate quite a bit but my water usage has been less than 100 m3 per year which if bought costs around £150, although my barn roof will collect that amount in a year.
I found baby leaf salads too time-consuming so am not growing them much now.
10 years ago
I have a couple of 'Green Pans' that I've had for a while. I imagine it's some sort of glass-like ceramic enamel that they are coated with, although I have wondered if they are really completely non-toxic! - anyway, they cook great, I love using them, but I think you do have to be very careful not to scratch the coating or they will lose their non-stick properties. Also I try to be careful not to overheat them. I would never use them without oil or liquid as some people say you can.
10 years ago
Charging cellphones is a very small problem, as there are plenty of solar options. The small cheap stand-alone solar chargers are not very good though so I would not recommend those. I live off-grid in the UK and for the last 2 years have been charging 2 cellphones from an old car battery that is permanently hooked to a 4 watt solar charger. You can buy a clip-on cigarette lighter socket to attach to the battery, and car chargers for phones etc for very little money from Ebay or elsewhere. (this charging set -up of mine lives in the corner of a polythene tunnel(hoop) greenhouse to keep it dry.

To charge larger items like your blender, You'll probably need a more powerful solar panel, and probably an inverter to give you mains power from your battery(you may also need more batteries, but I'm not familiar with your blender so cannot advise about that) Once again, inverters can be bought online for a minimal amount of cash.
Whatever, you should be able to do those things easily within your budget.

Refrigeration is a more difficult problem so I'll leave someone else to hopefully contribute there.
Good luck, and I'm sure you'll enjoy your land.
10 years ago
I think maybe they don't do it as much now. If they've been cold-stored then there's probably no need. I haven't had to buy any for years now so I'm a bit out of touch.
The tubes I've been using and Tubex, because I got a whole lot of used ones from freecycle. I find them very satisfactory. Look quite similar to Plantra tubes.
10 years ago
I would put them above the cardboard without a slit, maybe with a little compost on first, then cover with as much manure/compost/mulch as you can. I don't see much/any risk from e-coli as the spuds are going to be cooked before being eaten anyway. Scab should not be a problem as your mulch is likely to be slightly acid. I would never add any lime to mulch or soil for growing potatoes.
Some I've tried in the past really didn't grow at all. Things may be different in the US (I'm in the UK) but I think ones that sold as 'new potatoes' are probably not treated with sprout suppressant, but I decided that any 'old or maincrop' ones bought in the spring probably have. You should be ok with organic ones anyway
I always grow some of my own saved ones now and they generally do better than the bought 'seed potatoes' in fact I've often found that certified seed potatoes have evidence of disease on them including blight !!
It sounds like a great idea, and if they can make it work then I'm impressed. However, I'd be very surprised if it can really be financially viable as it must be vastly more expensive than building a standard road. I'd think that solar roofs are much more practical.
10 years ago