Ebo David

I reread my reply I need to post a clearification.  if you are making ristras, first do it with red chillies, not green.  I have used dried green chillies, but I have never seen a green chilli ristra (they might be done that way, but I am not sure).  What I meant when I postedthe last sentence was chillies "can" (instead of would) be harvested green, buit have a different taste.

r ransom wrote:... Although chillies here are sometimes harvest early as green, it's unlikely to happen in the store as immature chillies don't keep as long as mature harvested ones, so the green chillies are a different cultivar to red chillies.  Personally, I don't like immature red chillies as they taste very different to green chillies.  

A germination test will help determine if it's worth keeping the seeds.

I grew up in New Mexico, and it was traditional to hang mature red chilli on a string (called a "ristra").  If you have extra chillis from your harvest, you might want to hang a couple some place that gets decent ventellation and see how well they dry in your area or not.  My guess is that they would do find inside of the house (which has controlled hummidity), which has got to be drier than a stone's throw from a river at 7,000' elevation.  And yes, they would be harvested early (while green), and have a different taste.

Bell petters, are different.  I do not know any ever drying those, but I could easily be wrong.  (Hatch) Chilli's are a staple spice, bell peppers are treated as a vegetable.

"Homeopathy is unique, complex and it's own thing, separate from classic herbalism."  Quite true.  Also, up until the 1990's or so, almost every medicine you find at the pharmacy started as a plant, animal, or something natural -- the active incredients would then be isolated, and synthasized...  The couple of times I tried homeopathy, it did not seem to work at all, but that was me.  Your milage may varry.  

A couple of extra points on classical herbalism, the "active ingredient" extracted by modern medicine in pill form is only one small part of a plant.  Many times there are other ingredients which buffer or provide some support.  It is part of why I prefer herbal medicine when I can sort myself out.

When I studied medicinal herbs, Oh so long ago, my teacher suggested that I start by studying herbs that would help myself day to day (it helps motivate you to undestand it deeply).  What types of illnesses and/or injuries would I be expected to have, or have family/friends to have?  For myself, I used to have nasty issues with allergies, and arround that time I served apprentiships with a master blacksmith and a tool and die machinist -- suggesting a focus on herbs that deal with allergies, inflimation, burns and cuts.  For someone on permies, I am guessing that we are talking about typical gardening, forestry, and animal husbandry issues.  I am guessing that would include the allergies, inflimation, burns and cuts mentioned befure plus different infections (both fungal and bacterial)...

Early on in my studies, my teacher held up a couple of "herb books" (each with 100's of herbs in them).  She explained that traditionally even experienced healers never knew more than a dozen or two plants, and maybe a hundred or so preparations from those.  So, start with a couple of plants, and see how deep you can go.

On last thing - start with things that are not dangeriously toxic (like digitalis and mistletoe - whose dosage calculations are life and death critical).  Also start with something you can grow in your garden (or a container), so that you become familiar with every stage of the plant (including harvesting and preparation).  

While this is not a list of "try these", I hope my comments help.

We have had very good luck using caterpillar-/low- tunnels, and a suitable heater <https://www.amazon.com/BioGreen-Palma-Grow-Greenhouse-Heater-Digital-Thermostat/dp/B06XCJGNJK>.  We were able to keep 90% of our Louisiana garden living through the Feb. 2023 Texas ice storm.

Just another potential solution.

Bob Stuart wrote:I have about four bushels of wood chips, ranging from green to rotten.  I have a tent-heater airtight available, and some open-burn opportunities in the fall.  Is this enough material to bother with, and how would you convert it if it is?

What is the size range of the chips?  Normally when people biochar they want to at least have some chunks left.  That said, if you can put the chips in a *nearly* airtight can, then it would probably work for you.  So, give it a try...

* if it is airtight, then the heat will cause it to pop open or explode.  You want enough leakage so that the volatiles escape.

@Hans, with the white bags, have you ever tried burning the edges to melt the threads together?  The seed bags are better, but I think the other ones might work with a little prep.

The place I live now has all sorts of restrictions, and for large brush piles they require a permit, and you have to check in with the local PD.  Probably not required for an enclosed barrel, but then again, I would like to think I am smart enough not to burn on fire-hazard days.  The real problem I have is that when I was clearing a bunch of dead/down stuff, one of the people helping me decided to push a 20T to 50T pile into an old breached fishpond (basically a big hole in the ground).  I have to deal with all that eventually in some way.  That is likely going to be a winter burn in the snow to control everything.  That or maybe I will try to use a timber hook on the backhoe and start dragging things up, splitting, and charing...