Ryan Sharon

I haven't posted in a long time, but I have been lurking.
Just curious: this looks like it replaced the old RMH+bench. Is it the only heat source for Allerton Abbey at this  pointor did I miss the a thread?

As amazing as wofatis are for retaining heat, I was under the impression you would need a bench to keep the place warm through a Montana winter.

Also, is there a sketchup/exact dimensions and materials list for this specific heater?

I can't comment from personal experience, but I seem to recall a podcast in which Paul said it had been in use for several years prior to the video being made.

As for the other questions, I believe several of them were addressed in that same podcast.

I definitely recall him saying that up to that time it was so efficient that so far nothing had come out at the bottom.

It sounds like you want something that WILL yield some...'product', in which case it seems logical that you could reduce the number of chambers or reduce the time between cycles.

Unfortunately, I don't know of an easy way for you to search the podcasts other than by title.

Perhaps Paul could comment on this? (Sorry, Paul. I know you have a thousand other things going on)

The most amazing version I've seen is the one Steve Heckeroth built, which, not surprisingly, was documented by Paul towards the end of the following video:

It has been more than 30 days and yes, I did contact them.

Not long after I posted this they responded to my message and reset my download token with no hassle.

Scubbly truly is awesome!

Sorry for distracting you from the much more important task of completing the new RMH videos. I look forward to downloading my dd version soon!

Greetings Paul and Co.

Back when you were running the combo deal for the 4 RMH videos along with the World Domination Gardening videos, I bought the package and proceeded to download and watch all 4 of the RMH videos.

A day or two later, I downloaded the World Domination Gardening videos, but it was an unattended d/l and while I *thought* I had them, now that I'm ready to watch them it turns out I have 3 5Kb files...Ooops...

I know that Scubbly provides a limited period to download before it expires, but I was wondering, as this is kind of a unique situation: Is there a chance you could help me with this? I can provide you with a Paypal transaction ID or the original download token.

Sorry for the inconvenience and this will teach me to take the reliability of my connection for granted.

Sorry all for not responding sooner; been taking advantage of the long days and by the time I would normally be getting online I'm ready for bed.

Tyler: that is a feat! I've dug up a fair amount of dirt on this property and it remains one of the most demanding tasks I perform.

Anne: Nothing is too trivial for this thread. The important thing is that it was a feat for you. Also, I'm envious: we don't have any deciduous trees here, just conifers. I would kill for 30 bags of mulch!

Pearl: 4 *feet* deep?! That is impressive! Again, I'm envious. If you don't get that tractor, I look forward to a tale of haunting permie horror. As for the wood chips, we were in a 'right place, right time' situation. CalTrans was taking down trees all along the coast in our area and they were hauling the wood chips 1 hour north. Needless to say they were more than happy to drop the chips with us being a mere 2 miles from the current work site.

As for my own project: our neighbor has a backhoe, but we had just paid out for materials to build our cabin...er...tiny house is probably more accurate...as well as a water storage tank so the budget was too tight even to cover fuel costs on the backhoe. I would have gladly accepted machine assistance if it were an option.

Considering how much money some of our projects are siphoning up I may have a few others to add to this thread that didn't get a budget, thus I may have to 'Proenneke' a few more things around here.

Keep the stories coming folks.

Bump

I know there are other permies out there that have done something extreme, and I'd like to hear your stories.

N Linnea wrote:
Question: is it growing everywhere (like taking over type of thing)?

I wish! We've had the property for 3 years and only discovered the patch this year. It sparsely occupies a very tiny corner of a meadow we spend a fair amount of time on, so I probably would have noticed it.

This is the only evidence I've seen of the species on our 40 acre parcel and it is no more than 10 square yards.

Regardless, I can't make any guarantees on genus or its ability to propagate (or take over).

For that matter, I wasn't even 100% sure it was comfrey when I first found it.

Todd: thanks for the info! I'm hoping to divide this source and use it as a nutrient accumulator for some black locust we're adding to a patch of dismally degraded, highly acidic, clay soil.

I thought this might be a fun thread where people could share their most ambitious or demanding projects. It doesn't need to be purely 'permaculture'; think of it as the gardening version of extreme sports.

I'll start:

This spring we acquired about 20 dump trucks worth of wood chips and used it to cover an acre of bare land...using only a wheelbarrow and shovels.

What's the whackiest or most extreme project you've done? Permaculture, gardening and natural building are all fair game.

Note to moderators: if there is a better section of the forums for this, feel free to move it.

I don't know how helpful this response will be, but here goes:

I'm in Northern California as well and the comfrey in this picture was growing naturally on our property. Obviously, I can't guarantee it's origins, but the fact it is growing unassisted is a good sign.

If you are interested, I'd be happy to send some your way. However, I have never done root division on comfrey and fear I may not get it right on the first attempt. I'd be open to any tips/guidance from fellow permies.