The simplest ideas are always the best it seems! A cat version of that digester might be worth a go, although it might work a bit differently when there's a load of wood shavings and urine included. There's an experiment worth taking on.
Sounds unpleasant in theory, but it works! I don't know what kind of wood the shavings are from, but they're sold in big bales as horse bedding so some kind of softwood I'd assume. It works much better than the grit - absorbs odour at least as well, doesn't get stuck to their paws, and of course it's biodegradable. But what we're doing so far is piling it into the bin and sending it off to landfill, as we're not too comfortable with having a pile of cat waste down the bottom of the garden. Can anyone suggest a way around this? Bin collection here costs 9.50 a pop, ouch!
(I know there are some people who say that a cat should be either permanently indoors or outdoors, and not both at the same time, but there are some fairly dangerous animals around here that a kitten could neither fight or run from, so we keep them in at night.)
Beyond a bucket under the sink, that is. Has anyone got some ideas that don't involve drilling holes in the wall or putting permanent fixtures in the garden?
I was just wondering this, as I'm under the impression that it's something people have gravitated towards or arrived at under a wide variety of circumstances.
For me, it was the realisation that the current global trade system, aside from being massively destructive on all levels, is not something we can rely on for long. So we need to take care of ourselves and our communities in the least resource-heavy ways we can, and to plan for the long term too. As in, centuries ahead.
As well as that, I'm partial to anything that means you can gain more for less effort.
There's an old house not far from me, now derelict unfortunately, where loads of little pieces of variously coloured glass were embedded in the plaster as a decorative feature. I'll try to get a photo up.
I've been looking up permaculture methods of feeding horses in winter when, in this climate, ordinary grasses stop growing and large amounts of hay and other feed need to be bought. I'm also wondering about pasture management, i.e. a wide enough variety of plants to ensure good grazing as well as keeping the ground in decent order (a running horse can rip the place up like a plough!). And I'm not having much success. So if anyone has come up with this stuff, even just little tips here and there, it'd be much appreciated. Just trying to compile a bit, that's all.
This is great. I'm in Ireland, where the dull and often very changeable weather makes me pessimistic about getting anything growing properly sometimes! But to see you growing stuff this well, not too far south of the Arctic Circle, is very encouraging!
Hi Brandon. Just wanted to pitch in a little addition. You say you know nothing about farming as yet. Well, the best way to learn is hands-on practical experience. I strongly suggest you work on an organic/permaculture farm for a little while, whether paid or intern (e.g. WWOOF). You'll be much more confident that way!!
Yeah I was going to test the soil, but I figured the expense of a kit didn't justify only ever using it once. I just wanted to see if anyone else had tried the blueberry/conifer idea.
http://sites.google.com/site/livingwithoutmoney/ The author of this website claims to have lived for several years without money. And I'd believe him! There's an excellent FAQ all down one side, with vast amounts of insightful information given through simply answering questions. He's also got a blog at http://www.zerocurrency.blogspot.com/
This thought just occurred to me. I've recently moved into a house that has two dwarf Leyland cypresses beside each other in the garden. Now, I have a vague notion that conifers acidify the soil, and I also know that blueberry and cranberry shrubs do best in more acidic soil. So I'm wondering, have I got a potential for some companion planting here?
I know a few people who habitually retrieve food thrown out by shops and restaurants. In Europe it's called skipping or "doing the bins", in North America, dumpstering or dumpster diving. One friend has often filled his kitchen cupboards from what big supermarkets have thrown away. Marks and Spencer is a good target I've been told, as everything they sell is wrapped in plastic and therefore practically immune to contamination. http://www.wikihow.com/Dumpster-Dive
Ireland is great for hitching, especially in the west. I've hitched the length of the country within a day on two separate occasions! Here's some advice from someone who's been doing it a few years.
Get hold of a tachograph. This is a little paper disk that truck and commercial van drivers use to record details of their journeys. Like the motorbike helmet idea, very few truck drivers will pass by someone holding one. You can get one from a truck driver - every cab has a stack of them.
Know a bit about what conditions cars need to stop. Your ideal hitching spot is level ground, straight road, hard shoulder wide enough to park in, somewhere traffic is slower such as just after a roundabout/traffic calming/junction, the sun not behind you, and of course don't stand in the way!
Presentation! Look calm or even a bit happy. Wear clean intact clothes, and nothing that could stereotypically be considered a sign of an "undesirable" (figure that out according to local prejudices). Maintain a good posture.
Don't even bother trying to hitch in the dark. It's futile.
I haven't yet figured out how to hitch out of cities without spending money or walking for hours. Can anyone suggest anything?
Since decaying wood gives off small amounts of heat, I was thinking that if done properly, stacking rotten logs in some kind of cavity under a relatively thin floor might at least keep the temperature above a certain level. You'd appreciate that in a cold climate if you could manage it. Any feasibility? Or am I way off?
Anyone else into it? For those who don't know, it's a whole subculture that has grown up over the last few decades around the concept of cheap, accessible and fun music. There are international connections all over the place built up through touring (playing gigs for no more than fuel costs, food and a place to sleep), trading records, zines and other publishing, travel, correspondence and so on. Professionalist attitudes and sense of entitlement are frowned upon, if not met with outright hostility! Everyone's equal, whether it's the founders of everyone's favourite band or a kid who's just been to see their first show. I could go on for ages and ages about this, it's so great... Here's a sample of my local: www.eirecore.cjb.net. Good week for me this week. Tonight I'm seeing Fag Enablerz in Dublin, then Friday going up to Belfast for the Lobotomies. Both are highly thought of in the local scene, and both are playing what will possibly be their last ever gigs! Waaaaa!
I think community is the key to long-term success without a wider economic/logistical structure. During the Spanish Civil War, people in the countryside in Catalunya and Aragon voluntarily collectivised their property, drove out large landowners and clergy (who were mostly fascist supporters), turned large buildings such as churches into storehouses and workshops, shared labour, formed networks with other communities, and did a great job of fighting Franco's forces along with it all, despite being poorly equipped. In the cities, much the same went on, although obviously with differing situations and resources. The fascists won the war in the end, supported by Italy and Germany, but the structures people built of their own accord looked like they had the potential to continue indefinitely.
If you're outdoors, I find bunches of slightly damp grass, or sphagnum moss (bog/moor only though) work well. Far better than any paper in fact. I was wondering about comfrey leaves too, since they're large, tough and slightly abrasive.
This discussion has just reminded me of Tool's song Disgustipated:
"And the angel of the lord came unto me, snatching me up from my place of slumber. And took me on high, and higher still until we moved to the spaces betwixt the air itself. And he brought me into a vast farmlands of our own midwest. And as we descended, cries of impending doom rose from the soil. One thousand, nay a million voices full of fear. And terror possesed me then. And I begged, "Angel of the Lord, what are these tortured screams?" And the angel said unto me, "These are the cries of the carrots, the cries of the carrots! You see, Reverend Maynard, tomorrow is harvest day and to them it is the holocaust." And I sprang from my slumber drenched in sweat like the tears of one million terrified brothers and roared, "Hear me now, I have seen the light! They have a consciousness, they have a life, they have a soul! Damn you! Let the rabbits wear glasses! Save our brothers!" Can I get an amen? Can I get a hallelujah? Thank you Jesus. "
If you have 6 months, you could cover the ground with cardboard or a few layers of paper, spread compost over that, then cover that in straw. Wait for all the grass to die off, by which time the card or paper will most likely have broken down completely, and get sowin'!
Persimmons are hard to come by commercially here, so I'd love to get a few trees started off. I'm in a temperate maritime climate with maximum temperatures in the mid-20s (Celsius) and minimum minus 5-10 (occasional snap down to -15 or so). Cloudy a lot of the time. How would they fare here, and what kind of varieties would I be best advised to look for?
Ludi, there are raw vegans who take the nut approach (bad idea in my opinion, all that fat), and those who eat a lot of fruit. The latter are often at least partly informed by the 80/10/10 approach, meaning calories come from about 80% carbohydrate and 10% each of fat and protein. In practice, this means a big pile of sweet fruit! Not really viable in the long term unless you live in the tropics or some other place conducive to high and varied fruit productivity, but if you can afford it, it's great!
Veganism is fundamental to my outlook (although I'll wear second-hand wool!), an approach which has served me well for years. I'm in great shape and rarely even catch so much as a sniffle in winter. But any time I've been able to go 100% raw, even for a few days, the difference has been amazing. Sharper mind, waaaaay more energy, feeling light and happy all the time - give it a go!
What I know about this tree so far: it's a nitrogen fixer, it thrives in my climate (temperate maritime), it grows lots of dead-straight rods after it's cut back, and the logs are good for growing oyster and shiitake mushrooms. Anyone got any other benefits of it?
I'd be interested in this too. A friend has a horse and two ponies and spends a lot getting them hay, fibre mash etc. Jerusalem artichokes are really easy to grow here so it could be a very efficient source of feeding. I assume such animals would be much more interested in the stalks and leaves? If so, all the better - more tubers for us!
I second honeysuckle - my absolute favourite smell in the world! Lavender might be good, attracts bees too. Or if your climate is mild enough, some lemon verbena. The smell of that always gives me a fit of giggles for some reason! I've got an article summarising aromatherapy lying around somewhere, maybe a look at that would give some better ideas.
Hello, just came across this forum the other day and thought it'd be a good place to glean a bit of knowledge from. I've just begun learning about permaculture of my own accord, no land at the moment unfortunately though. I'm in the north-west of Ireland and I was just wondering if there's anyone here who's anywhere near me?
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