flaja Hatfield

It is said in Atlanta that you have to move a parked car every couple of hours to keep the kudzu from taking it over.

I've seen photos of Kudzu that has attacked buildings by going through open windows.

If it gets cold enough in the winter kudzu will die back to the ground, but the roots will always survive to sprout again in the spring.

tribalwind wrote:
you say no rammed earth,straw-bale,ceb

No this is not what I said.  What I said is, “Is there someway to build a greenhouse other than simply putting windows in a wall made from rammed earth, strawbale, CEB etcetera?”  I don’t mind these ecological materials, but I’ve never seen them result in anything but a plain box.  I am curious to know whether or not these materials can be used to build something that has curved shapes.  Could you use these materials, or some other ecological materials, to build something like a Romanesque or Gothic cathedral that has arch-shaped windows or domed roofs?

design it yourself.

Since I am not an architect and my background is in biology rather than physics or chemistry, this would not necessarily be advisable.  I could experiment to my heart’s content, but with no more know-how than I have, I could end up with a building that falls down.

dominating/conquering nature and putting it in a box...anal retentive even.

I am not an environmentalist.  I am a conservationist.  I am interested in preserving nature only for the sake of conserving natural resources for future use.  I am not an earth-worshiper the way many environmentalists are.  The earth is mine to use by God-given right as long as I don’t abuse that right.

Does anyone have any ideas for using an ecologically sound building method to put up a greenhouse apart from using materials recycled from other buildings?  I’d like to have something that resembles London’s Crystal Palace or a palm house at a botanic garden, but I want to use ecological materials.  Is there someway to build a greenhouse other than simply putting windows in a wall made from rammed earth, strawbale, CEB etcetera?

paul wheaton wrote:
I would like to suggest that we consider wild foods that are harvested with knowledge. 

Doesn’t the very definition of wild food mean it is something for which you don’t have a record of what the food has been exposed to?  Granted, you don’t have a complete record of what has been applied to food that comes from a farm.  But if you get sick from that food you do have legal recourse- you can sue the farmer, trucking company and grocery store.  Whom do you sue for damages when something from the wild makes you sick?

Len wrote:
I have made bread from nuts that rivals most store bought bread.... though it doesn't taste as good as the wheat and rye breads I make at home.

Who can afford bread made from nuts?  I bought a bag of almonds just before Christmas from Sam’s Club.  I went back last week to buy another bag and the cost has gone from $7 a pound to $9 a pound.  Pecans and walnuts are about the same.  I couldn’t fathom making bread from nuts.

Ludi wrote:
Try collards, they are a staple southern green.  And as high in calcium by weight as milk, if I remember correctly.  Will grow all year and are delicious. 

Can’t stand the sight nor the smell of them when cooked.  I often grow collards in my garden and then give them away just to have something planted when it is too cold to grow green beans.

Collards will not grow in Florida's heat.  They are strictly a winter crop.

Pakanohida wrote:
Organic ground beef is $3/lb here.

Where on earth are you located?  Does your butcher deliver?  Here in Florida I am doing good to find non-organic hamburger (20% or more fat) for less than $2 a pound.  Ground chuck is easily $3 a pound.

Ludi Ludi wrote:
Not really.  Produce is not closely checked for contaminants.  People are regularly made ill by produce bought from the store, within the confines of the law.  I submit there is not one example of someone made ill from non-poisonous plants harvested from the wild.

How many people have gotten sick after eating bad produce that was grown, harvested, packaged, shipped and sold when the law was fully obeyed?  When you rely on illegals, who don’t care about hygiene, picking your food, you are bound to have problems eventually.  Likewise when you eat wild foods that may have been contaminated with pesticides and herbicides applied to nearby farms and/or lawns.

craftylittlemonkey wrote:
Believe me, produce grown here is not more precious than weeds beside a golf course.

I haven’t said one word about taste because I am talking about safety, not taste.  If you eat something from the wild you have no clue what it has been exposed to.  At least if you eat something that you produced yourself or someone else produced within the confines of the law, you have some control over what you are eating.

Ludi Ludi wrote:
As livestock, probably.

But how far?  I have been watching a BBC program about some people that are trying to re-establish an Edwardian Era farm.  They specifically said that sheep meat was not imported into Britain in any reasonable amount until around the turn of the 20th century when refrigerated ships allowed the meat to be transported from Australia and New Zealand.