Nancy Graven

Moderators, if I have put this in the wrong forum, please move it, or tell me where to put it?

I think the forums could use a a section for--
" I don't know where to put this, how do I figure out where to put this, this fits more than one topic"

Caveat: I've done one watch through on this- with some backing up and replaying a sections.

I found this on YouTube and watching it kind of has my brain itching. It's sort of makes sense but at the same time it doesn't seem right.

Is this guy trying to stack functions without taking into account interactions and the volumes of materials that might be needed?
It just seems like what he's trying to do isn't quite right? Though I will admit I don't know where this guy is geographically.

Examples:
The first ditch he digs he goes through all the effort to line it with pond liner, as well as installing  tubes, then covers it up and builds a planter for cacti that is offset and only covers part of the installation.

I'm not sure the tubes are deep enough for geotherm . Are any of the tubes that are actually in the ground deep enough for useful geotherm? Is it primarily meant to be a thermal battery? He does mention thermal storage.

The above ground raised beds might be more of a thermal battery, but if so, is there enough soil mass there for that? Why do that in addition to the ones that are actually in the ground but in a pond liner? They have a similar 'wicking bed' design like the second inground ditch (next) with similar questions regarding the double tube design.

The second ditch has a double set of tubes, as well as sand because it's supposed to be a water filter (biocell?) for gray water, that he then intends to pump out and water the plants in the greenhouse.
I did not see any sort of overflow to drain out the excess*.
It's supposed to be a wicking bed, but roots and water will have to pass around the upper set of tubes. The upper and lower tubes are also connected through one manifold on each end, so when those bottom tubes fill up with gray water, air is not going to circulate** he does mention pumping them out for cold weather - but there will still be water down there.
Oh yeah, this is also intended to grow worms?

This is all being installed in a greenhouse that (might?) be attached to the residence itself? If so, will humidity and mold from moist tubes compromise air quality in the home?

This guy shows off some fun equipment as well as demonstrating his welding abilities. Certainly being able to rent/buy all the materials he needed instead of recycling and scrounging made things easier. But I sort of have the feeling that logic was not entirely baked here.
I see the logic in each of the individual parts, but I'm not sure about the integration.
If I am wrong, then I am wrong, and I am okay with that. But some of the stuff you're just doesn't quite feel right. Am I wrong?

Nancy


*eventually the water may come up to the top of the pond liner which is a few inches below soil surface (gray water)

** on that note, gray water and air circulating through the same location? Isn't this a mold and ick issue? Especially with gray water? And if you're putting gray water into those tubes won't food particles and other things eventually cause clogs? Maybe he intends to just water the surface and let it percolate down into the sand layer?

https://youtu.be/Cf8GWyD9LgI?si=aDsEVCm4l7s3mczW

I just did a search on permy's to find an Ola thread to send to a friend as we were chatting about the greenhouse they're building.

I was specifically looking for Will's Thread about creating Olas with sport drink bottles and mortar. But I also found this thread which is fascinating as well.

Would sections of soaker hose work for sub irrigation around plants? Whether a chunk of hose on a tee fitting or just a hose with sections of Soaker buried in the ground?

Since the water is going from the inside out, the soaker hose sections would probably not get clogged? It would probably also survive cold Winters better than clay, perhaps discontinuing water in the fall so that the hose empties out. Or heck, adding some insulation on top of the area where the hose runs to protect it and insulate it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acByGuSMALc

this is the vid

Could the bubble of Earth under the plastic around a Wofati be viewed as a passive climate battery?

Yesterday I watched a video about  (building an almost tropical geothermal climate battery Greenhouse)
They go into some detail describing how a climate battery works versus geothermal.

I kept thinking about it..

In the video I don't think that the earth part of the climate battery is in any way separated from the soil around and under the greenhouse. Air is forced via fan into the tubes that go through the battery down below the greenhouse. It is used to provide some cooling during the summer time, but more importantly it is used to keep the greenhouse above freezing during cold weather. It uses an active system, Motors and Technology to move the temperature transfer medium (air) through the tubes to give up heat or collect Heat. It is 'active' .

The Wofati has a water resistant layer over the soil closest to the structure. As well as possibly some slight insulation in the form of protective carpet or other material guarding the waterproofing layer. But that dry soil is still connected to the soil below it.
I thought that I read something about the temperatures in the first wofati (Allerton Abby?) Fluctuating in the first couple of years but then gradually evening out, possibly because the soil Behind the Walls finally 'charged' enough to reach a sort of equilibrium?

I wasn't sure where to ask this question, but when I did a search, this forum had a bunch of mentions. So I figured that asking a bunch of people that are building structures that use these processes would be a good place to start.

If there is another Forum that this should be moved to, please let me know.
Thank you everyone in advance, my brain sometimes chews on stuff and won't give up and I really am curious about the answer to this.

Love this!

Matt McSpadden wrote:Hi Nancy,
I once got a whole box full of expired coffee packets from a gas station down the road. It was a pain to open them all and keep the garbage from blowing away, but I simply used it as a soil amendment in the fall on my garden and sprinkled it around without bothering to add it to my compost pile.

There is a difference between unused coffee grounds and used coffee grounds as far as the PH goes... I just can't recall which is which right now. Anyone else know?

Thank you. This is a container that was opened ( seal broken) and then forgotten in a cabinet. I would guess that since coffee is acidic, unused coffee probably leeches acidic pH?

Luke Mitchell wrote:

I've also heard that slugs and snails don't like coffee grounds and will not crawl (slide?) over it if they can avoid doing so. I have tried to create rings of coffee grounds around sensitive plants but, to be honest, I've not noticed much of an effect.

A final thought is that it may be good for disguising plants for whom the pests discover by smell. Carrot root fly, for example, is famous for smelling out the carrots that it lays its larvae in and people often use a guild of aromatic plants, such as marigolds or garlic, alongside the carrots to discourage the fly. I wonder if coffee grounds in close proximity to carrots would help too?

Ooo! Sounds like it could be used as a top dressing? Even if it doesn't help, it probably won't hurt.

Thankyou.

Unused coffee, I'm pretty sure I can compost it without a problem? Is there a better use for it? Like, could it repel Garden pests or something?

A couple of days ago I was offered an opened can of coffee that had been left in the back of a cabinet for several years. I'm not a big coffee drinker, so I don't know how long coffee is good after it is opened but certainly it can't be good if it's several years old? Probably pre-covid? I took the can knowing that used coffee grounds are popular in compost, so I'm pretty sure that it would be fine.
But I got to thinking about it, and realized that there might be better uses for stale coffee.

It is the "Chock Full O Nuts" brand, if that makes any difference.

That sounds very inexpensive.  How long have you owned it, and how is it zoned?