Kaiwiki Clay

Does anyone know of a product or solution that will aerate 55 gallons of compost tea while drawing minimal power from a 12v source?

I'm searching for "bait aerators" (for keeping live fishing bait) right now but haven't come across one that seems powerful enough. Also bait aerators produce lots of tiny bubbles. I've found that compost tea likes big bubbles, so "SCOBY" strands can form.

This is for brewing tea in remote locations with no AC power where hauling in brewed tea would be back-breaking.

Thanks!

Is there an easy, cheap way to shunt power from a main array to a secondary?

Say I have two arrays (battery+panels) one for main house power and a secondary for crucial power needs, ie, 12v pump and fridge. In event of the main power failing, I'll just light candles and not listen to music. But should the secondary (crucial) array fail, I'd like to be able to flip a switch and draw off the mains batteries. Preferably without causing a house fire.

Basically, I'd like a one-way battery shunt that will maintain voltage in the crucial batteries, even in event of failure, while not drawing power into the mains if I play the music too loud and drain the main batteries.

And dumping excess power to the secondary when the mains are full (every day)

Ornamental taro is Edible - if you are extra hungry. At least the leaf will be, although it will take a long long time to cook. Most "ornamental" taro I have seen doesn't produce a corm of significant size.

I'm growing a dozen or more varieties. Mostly traditional Hawaiian varieties, although I did just plant out a bunch of bun-long (Chinese taro) and a new hybrid variety. Three varieties (don't know the names) I grow haven't produced any corm in two years - all three are "running" - ie they spread quickly. Which is cool because they hold their own against grasses and weeds. I use these ones for the leaf - known as "lu'au". Cooked as a spinach. The ornamental "black magic" vareity has never produced corm in 5 years of growing, and I've never bothered to eat the leaf - it's for looking at, and is a really striking plant.

Point being, try to find a known edible variety. Taro is ornamental in it's own right.

Alternately, you could make a heck of a lot of hugelkultur beds, and pick out the stones by hand as they come up. As long as you're not running machine cultivators, some rocks in the soil can't hurt too much, and will aid drainage and provide trace minerals for centuries. If the soil was growing well before it was dug up, it will probably continue to grow well even without sifting

The permaculture designers manual has a simple drawing of a motorized rock/seed/soil sifter.

30 tons of soil is about 30 cubic yards (soil depending of course). That would make 60 yards of 3 foot wide, 1 1/2 foot tall beds.

You could use two sifters big enough to handle a loader-scoop at a time. Say one screen of 3-4 inch (old chain link fence might work) and one of 1/2
inch size. Put the screen at a 45 degree angle and it should mostly self-clean. The spoil from the first and second screen could be the foundation of the beds, if
you need more drainage.

I wish I had 30 tons of good soil and a tractor. Want to share? Although shipping to Hawaii might be cost prohibitive...

a grafted tree will need to be pruned - it's natural form is that of a branch, not a stout trunk. fukuoka was working with decades-old trees when he gave the advice not to prune. a seed planted into the ground will grow into the exact tree it should be. talk to your trees. a clean cut with a sharp saw is much better for a tree than a limb ripped off from snow-load or fallen branches. pruning is an art. done properly, pruning can improve a tree's productivitiy, lifespan, and beauty. done poorly, pruning can kill a tree.

proper pruning removes crossed branches, diseased wood, and opens up the tree for more light and air. a seedling tree does this by itself, a grafted tree does't know how.

pruning a tree means a lifetime of work. but that work pays off. do it right, keep the saw sharp and clean. domesticated plants need care, pruning, fertilizing, and weeding. i know that's not the "permie" ideal, but it's the truth of my experience.

Rob Sigg wrote:BTW does anyone know how often the batteries should go into absorption stage? I typically drain them down to 50% daily and get to absorption daily as long as there is sun. When there is a cloudy day my batteries drop to 22 volts(24 V system) and my inverter will shut it self down at 21 volts. IM just wondering how long I can stay between 21 and 24 volts before I start to damage my batteries long term. More of a worse case scenario planning than a day to day use question.

if you are regularly dropping your batteries below 24.2v, you are wearing them out. if you can, reprogram the inverter to shut off at 24v and buy more panels/batteries (or use less power!) and save yourself money in the long run. my batteries are 8 years old and i expect another few years out of them. those suckers get boiled every sunny day, and watered often. Rolls-Surette 480's or 530's are well worth the hefty price tag.

If your batteries are reaching absorption each day but being discharged to 50% or less each night, you need more batteries, not panels. 200 some amp hours is a bit low for 750 watts of panels. i've got 660 watts of panels and 1060 amp-hours of batteries - my system is 12v though. the system rarely drops below 12.5v.

MPPT controllers are the way. boost that voltage! i had to run 3 pairs of wire to my 3 60 watt panels (through a PWM controller), and only one pair to my 480 watt array (through the MPPT). MPPT technology makes solar PV feasible in rainy/cloudy location.

Aloha Ajit-

I'm in Hawaiian Acres right now!

do you have albizzia in the area? they build excellent soil very quickly. if you have a few years, you can plant albizzia, let it grow, and then cut it down and plant your fruit trees right next to it - it will break up the rock, create biomass and add lots and lots of nitrogen. no need to bring in the backhoe! don't introduce them to new areas though!

a good NFT (nitrogen fixing tree) for your area is Gliricidia. so easy to propagate and vigorous, and not very weedy at all. Acacia angustisima is another good one, altho more weedy. Calliandra cathyosus (that's spelled wrong) is another good one, and has beautiful flowers. much more weedy than Gliricidia thou, so be warned.

perennial peanut is an excellent ground cover. it's not gonna out compete the pilau miale though. hardly anything will, it seems. luckily, pilau maile isn't that hard to eradicate - just make sure to cut it back before it goes to flower! as a side note, the leaves are edible as a steamed spinach. if you can get past the smell (eww!)

chipping up the strawberry quava for mulch is a great idea, but you can also just cut it down and pile up the logs - hugelkulture style. maybe grow some Oyster mushrooms on em, or at least Turkey Tails. less fossil fuel use.

for quick establishment, the backhoe idea is solid. bust up the lava as deeply as is feasible, mulch it really heavy (1'+) and give it 6 months. then plant your trees. they will love it.

get a dump truck to drop off a load of mulch from the municipal green waste. 20 yards cost me about $150 - may be different for you

send me a PM if you got any questions.

aloha
Kaiwiki Clay

I'm setting up a rotational pasture system, moving/butchering pigs after each pasture is turned over. Then replant with comfrey, sugar cane, squash, sweetpotato etc etc. My worry is that the pigs might eat too much comfrey - it grows faster than any of the others and excludes them. The pigs, of course, love comfrey, and will eat the entire plant before most other pasture crops. I know comfrey is linked to liver problems in humans. Isthis a concern with pigs? Should I let them eat their fill, or paddock off smaller sections so they aren't gorging on comfrey?

Aloha