!!!! SEPP to Boot: Stephen's Experience (BEL)

Stephen B. Thomas wrote:

Be careful with that leak and ensure it is fixed or you could get the cistern filling up the pump house.

Stephen B. Thomas wrote:BEL #699

First off: fare thee well, Chris! Thank you for being a Boot with us for several months. Best of success to you in Belize.

Today I shuttled Chris to the airport for his flight back east, then ran errands in town. I returned late in the afternoon, but still had time to take care of a few tasks before the day was done.

When SEPPers Derek and Suzanne were here, they helped with several tasks. One of the last they did prior to their departure was to process the pumpkins for our GAMCOD project. They cleaned and weighed the pumpkin flesh as well as the seeds separately, so we could do an accurate calorie count of our gourds. Then Suzanne was wonderful enough to slice the pumpkin into bite-size chunks, which were later transferred into the rocket-boosted dehydrator. I packed and labeled everything today. In addition to this pumpkin, they also sliced up and dashed with cinnamon a selection of apple slices. Thanks, Derek and Suzanne...!



Speaking of Derek, he and Chris started planting sunchokes on the Turtle Lot berm in the areas I'd finished the new berm trail. Since I'd finished the trail the rest of the way since then, I decided to start planting sunchokes on the rest of the berm as well.



I only had time to clear away the grass, however I'll use that as mulch when I do the rest of the planting tomorrow.



Finally: this might not seem like a big deal. But two things I'd like to mention: this is the first of the firewood I've brought in this season. Secondly, this small amount of wood will likely last us until the middle of November...! The rocket mass heater in the Fisher Price House is fantastic.



I just spent so much time off-site today that I really didn't have much to show in terms of projects, but sometimes that's how it goes.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day...!

Oops...I guess Chris and I didn't make it clear that we had used hori hori knives as pitons and had pretty much planted across the top of the berm before the path was completed.  I definitely felt my right quad the next day from the adventure.  I agree with you that the GAMCOD hugel is probably a better size for growing on, although the massive berms that require climbing gear have other higher priorities.

Suzanne is the one entirely responsible for the apples...after learning of rhubarb candy for the first time there and sampling for QC, I wanted to make more.  Since we were there, She Who Must Be Obeyed thought a rhubarb crisp would be nice and apples make that better, so off she went berm climbing to find a few of the last apples at base camp.  Since she picked more than necessary for the crisp, the rest were dried.  Some were a more tart variety, so after the simple syrup had been used for the rhubarb, she dipped those apple slices in and the wet slices would be a good spot for sticking some cinnamon on, so that's what she did.  I was simply her burro hauling trays between the kitchen and the dehydrator.  

If I recall, some of the pumpkin chunks were roasted with some root vegetables the Thursday evening.

Thanks for everything, but particularly in light of this post for showing us the solar dehydrators and helping us with pros and cons.  I wound up purchasing plans earlier this week and a spring / summer project will likely be a build.

Oh, I chuckled when I saw "big truck"...I traded in a 3/4 ton diesel pickup on this K1500...I'm very pleased with it's performance in terms of fuel economy and towing abilities.

Defenceless...SMH.

Regarding the corn scoop, perhaps it could have seen better results with a storage corn in the three sisters arrangements with pole beans and winter squash.  I certainly don't know, but with other crops in there things may have gone better and at least you'd have potentially had other yields that you could be more excited about.

I'm sensing a pattern here...what would you have done without Jennifer around for a couple weeks?

I don't believe we ever caught the name of the Kubota...I'd picked up a large staple in one of the rear industrial tires of my B2620 years ago, so I've seen that look.

Regarding the GAMCOD project (and admittedly not sure this is the best place to ask), I've been scratching my head a bit.  1/20th of an acre is 2178 square feet.  From my memory, I can't see that one hugel covering that much space.  If it were 10' wide, it would need to be 218' long to make up the area.  I'd guess Fisher Price House is possibly in the range of 1200 square feet, so a patch would need to be nearly double the size of that structure to be 1/20 acre.  Am I out to lunch?  What are the rough dimensions of that hugel?

Coming away from our time there, we are planning to implement some hugels / berms although wood is a bit tougher to come by, although we do have some from downed branches and trees over the year.  I was considering documenting a patch for next year, but wanted to double-check dimensions.  According to onlineconversion.com, an acre is 43,560 sf.

Oh, Rotkraut or Blaukraut are words for fermented red cabbage (red kraut or blue kraut is apparently how they translate).  I started some before we visited you.

Hello again, Derek!

Turns out I must have forgotten the proper details for the GAMCOD stuff. From the amount of space in an acre, to the amount of calories in 100g of a food, to the composition of the dirt we used (I've learned it's more likely silt than clay)... I goofed on a number of fronts. This week hasn't been an easy one to sit down and sort out all the details of our harvest yield and how many calories it produces. Maybe next week I will have time for some serious admin efforts to sort out all this. My lack of understanding and abundance of incompetence is impressive, even to someone as stoic as me.

Meanwhile... Thanks again for all your input and insights, Derek...! A couple responses:

- personally, I prefer shorter hugels. Our 5-foot-tall hugel worked wonderfully, and we could begin growing without requiring a scaffold and/or paths.
- it's kind of an inside joke here that our sauerkraut is called "fermented cabbage," no matter what colour it is. The current batch is a lovely violet-red. The Italians would call it "Profundo Russo," says I.

I appreciate you and Suzanne spending your time out here with us! It was a treat to have you hang with us and contribute so much to the good vibes that week.

Here are the Boots' GAMCOD yield and calorie count totals. For this information, the website referenced will be listed along with the item. I'm primarily leaning on the USDA's website nutrition.gov , and I've measured our yield in grams.

PUMPKINS
- Flesh: 22,164.7g
Calories: 5,763.6

- Seeds: 508.3g
Calories: 2,821.1

POTATOES
- Whole: 2,644g
Calories: 2,211.1

SUNCHOKES
- Whole: 13,390g
Calories: 9,774.7

TOTAL CALORIES, GAMCOD PLOT: 20,570.5

GAMCOD Plot size: 8ft x 25ft (200sq ft)
Acre Size: 43,560 sq ft
One Acre / GAMCOD Plot = 217.8

GAMCOD Calories expanded to cover a full acre = 20,570.5 * 217.8 = 4,480,254.9

...That seems like a lot, to me. Can someone help correct my calculations?