Michael Qulek

A modern type of solar steam generation is up and running out in the California desert.  This idea was not forgotten, though it's turning out that photoelectric panels plus battery storage is a more cost-effective method to generate electricity.

https://www.energy.ca.gov/powerplant/solar-thermal/mojave-solar-project

High-voltage residential solar panels are now dirt-cheap that anyone can build a functional off-grid solar system these days.  I'd recommend focusing your attention (and solar rays) in that direction.

I recently scored some recycled sliding glass doors from a contractor that was installing new ones in an apartment building I happened to be driving past.  I stopped and asked, and got to take twelve 72X36" glass panels for free.  I'm going to use those for the construction of a greenhouse on the side of my cabin.

I wonder if you could do something the same, building a small enclosure around your totes, with glass facing South, and the other three sides and the roof heavily insulated?  I would design the enclosure such that it could be sealed up in winter, but opened to the air come spring, so the water doesn't get too hot.

What's the ATCC # for "super ninja turbo" yeast?

I've never had an issue with wood removal.  I just drive a 4X4 into the wooded area, buck up the fallen trees for firewood in situ, and drive back out.  I supply ALL the year's firewood needs from winter storm blow-downs.  

If you want to drag whole logs out of an area, one thing that would help is the old hood of a car with chains attached to it.  Just dump the top end of the logs onto the hood, chain the hood to the back of your vehicle, and then drag it back to your operational location.  The scarifiction of the ground from the other ends of the logs dragging on the ground is usually conducive to the fresh growth of wind-blown tree seedlings.

I've attempted planting Black Locust on my own property, and the animals browsed it straight to the ground.  None survived.  Only orchard trees fully encapuslated in steel chicken-wire can survive.

Looking at the original article, I see a dearth of technical specifications, not even a BTU rating?  This leads me to believe it's a theoretical thing that may never see the light of day in a working system.  I've seen a lot of "ideas" on the internet bantered about that have NEVER been tested in any kind of real-world application.   So, good luck with that.

What I can tell you from personal experience, what WILL work is a high-voltage home-based solar system that can power a traditional air-conditioner.  High-voltage residential solar panels are getting dirt-cheap right now, with 6W/$ for panels in my local area.  I personally have built two systems now that HAVE run a 8000BTU air-con from at least 9am till 4pm with zero battery depletion.

My own personal strategy for solar cooling is to start the air-conditioner in the early afternoon with my 48V cabin system, allow West-facing panels to keep the air-con running off solar only till about 6pm, then start draining the battery after 6pm.  By then though, the cabin has been cooled off, and is only cycling on and off, so battery depletion is not as great as starting it after 6pm.  I selected a wall-mount air conditioner, and what has worked well is leaving the air-con on till about Midnight, then shutting it off and opening the windows.  In my Sierra Nevada location, I've never yet had to run the air-con all night till the next morning, so I can't say what it would be like in a deep desert location.

In terms of fire protections, you really should not be focusing as much attention on the walls as you should the roof.  Here in California entire towns are burning down even though they have stucco walls and clay roofs.  The biggest problems are exposed rafter ends that overhang the walls to keep the rain drip away from the foundations.  Blowing embers get lodged in the exposed nooks and crannies, and fire eats it's way into the building via the undersides of the roofs.  Keeping embers from getting caught is how you will stop a fire from spreading.  Also focus on ladder fuels right next to your building walls.  That means no plant grow immediately under the eaves of the roofs that can catch on fire, and bring fire up to the eave level.

Also have a fire-proof zone on the ground immediately off the walls.  I poured concrete sidewalks 360 degrees around my cabin to keep fire at least 4' away from the walls.

I think most of the strategies for keeping away fire will also help keep away pests.

If you have a old, scrap piece of plywood, wet an area of ground around where the chickens are, and lay the plywood over it.  Each morning, turn over the plywood to expose the worms/bugs that collect under the wood.  You might scrape them all off into a tray, or simply allow your chickens to scramble over the plywood, collecting what they will.

Another option for your fishheads is to string them up above ground a couple of feet above your chickens, and let the flys lay their eggs on them.  The developing maggots then fall into the chicken pen.

I suppose this is a great opportunity to conduct an experiment yourself, and report back the results to us.  Why don't you try a variable distance planting and record your observations.  You could plant your pea plants at 1', 2', 4', and 8' spacing in different areas of your orchard, and measure the resulting nitrogen contents of the soil at periodic intervals.  A nitrogen percentage kit can be purchased at Home Depot.

Along with the effects of nitrogen concentration, you could also report on other effects, like the presence of wildlife, tree access to pruning, ect.

Keep in mind that nitrogen is NOT the only nutrient your trees need.  They also need Potassium, Phosphorus, and some other nutrients in smaller amounts.

I could suggest some alterations.  There are lots of DC water pumps that work on DC current at variable voltage, usually from 30V up to 300V.  With a solar pump controller, you could position a higher-voltage pump down the well, and then pump water out of the well, and up the hill to a relocated storage tank.  As you mentioned, high-voltage residential panels are dirt-cheap right now.  Here in the US, I'm getting 250W panels for <50USD.  With a higher voltage pump, you could position your storage tank ~30 meters above the well's location, pump during the day, and then feed the water to any nearby location by gravity any time of the day.  A one-way valve will keep the water from flowing back into the well.

For my own water system, I have two 20,000 liter tanks positioned about 50 meters above the well-head.  With the one-way valve positioned just downstream of my main water tap, I have pressurized water flowing 24/7.

Basically, the amount of force applied by a pulley(s) is multiplied by the number of times the pulling cable is added.  With a single pulley attached to the ceiling, and one length of the rope supporting the load, a pulling force of 50lbs results in a pulling force of 50lbs on the load.

If you add a second pulley wheel (one on the ceiling, and one at the load), you double the force.  50lbs of force on the rope yields 100lbs of force on the load.  But, the amount of rope you have to pull doubles.  So, in the first example, if you pull 1 foot of rope on the ceiling pulley, you lift the load 1 foot off the ground.  With the second example, you need to pull 2 feet on the rope to lift the load 1 foot.

With three pulleys, you increase the force 3 times, but have to pull the rope three times as far, and with four pulleys, it's 4X the force, but four times the length of rope pulled.

In each case there is conservation of energy,  With four pulleys, it's 4X the force, but you have to pull 4X as long.

Does that make sense?  You could use pulleys for any heavy load you can't pull on your own.  Maybe a engine out of a car, lifting bales of hay to the second floor of your barn, or using pulleys to tighten fencing wire? Lots of applications.