Erica's Boot Camp Experience BRK

I'm living in Bavaria, south Germany, and to me the tree looks like a "Birke", which are very common here and which would translate to "birch tree" I suppose...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birch
love and peace

Erica Egge wrote:Post 5

Today I finished putting in the weather stripping around the door at Allerton Abbey, and figured out one of the three window screens. The screens will need to come out again anyways because we need to replace the opening mechanism for the window. This afternoon was looking for parts for the windows and other research.  

Taco Tuesday is always a bit chaotic, but those fresh corn tortillas make it worth it for me. I made some vegan cheese sauce, which was delicious and well received. It probably needs a new name, because it is delicious, but it is not cheese.

This evening I got an at home haircut, and I think it turned out well. We learned to cut our hair last year and I find it much less stressful (and cheaper) than getting it cut elsewhere.

The picture of the nest...possibly Osprey.

Post 8

Gardening time this morning was very cold but also very enjoyable. I did the usual chopping and dropping of the grass and path maintaining, but I also installed some coshes. I am very interested to see how things grow under there, they started to get condensation after being in the morning sun for only 15 minutes or so. I would like to grow some corn, squash, and beans. I tend to get side tracked and overly excited about all the seeds. The spring onions are going strong, and some more flowers are starting to bloom.

My mushrooms are coming back. Muahahah. I soaked the whole package overnight again and got some more pins!

We took a drive this weekend and were treated to some beautiful views, the pictures don't do it justice.

Looks like a birch tree.

Post 9

I thought I would write a review of my experience with the rocket mass heater in the Red Cabin. Before staying here I had never used a rocket mass heater, and had done minimal research, so this will be a newbie perspective.

The first couple nights were hard. I kept getting smoke back, I had the wood at an angle, and I only had one or two pieces in there at a time, because otherwise it would go out. I have since learned to prime the chamber until I can feel the air sucking into the feed tube. Also, it has worked best for me if there are several pieces of wood in feed tube, but maintaining decent amount of space between the pieces so that the fire can flow. Thinking about flow while working with this heater has been helpful

Another thing that was not immediately obvious to me was how the RMH feeds itself, sorta. The wood is only really burning at the bottom of the chamber so as it burns through, gravity breaks the wood, and unburnt wood gets into fire. Sometimes though if the fire is going out, the sticks need a little poke to break and feed more fresh wood into the flames.

The heater does a decent job of heating up the cabin if it is running hot for at least 90 mins. That mass at the red cabin has a wooden bench, which has never felt warm to the touch after lighting and running the fire, which kinda makes sense since wood doesn't hold heat well. I have also felt the pebbles in the mass which get up to about room temperature. In the morning it can be colder than my preference, but it is still warmer in the cabin than outside.

I have lit some of the other RMHs here that have wider feed tubes, and they are easier to use. I haven't gotten as much smoking with those and you can load larger pieces. Since the red cabin has the mini RMH we are splitting our wood very narrow, and have to get up to feed it relatively frequently. Some days, it lights really easily, other days, I try for what feels like an hour, only to be in a cold space with a smoke headache. Overall, the RMH is really cool, and it is very efficient with the wood, but the mini is hard to use, and I think there could be better material for the bench so it would actually warm.

The following video is my attempt to capture the heater, the flames did not come out very distinctly, but hopfully gives and idea. If you all would be interested I can make a more extensive video about this heater

Nicole Alderman wrote:

Erica Egge wrote:There was a mushroom grow kit that i grew a while ago, and some growth pictures here. Does anyone know if they can grow more than one set of mushrooms?

I honestly don't know! When we ate all of our mushrooms, I "planted" the whole thing next to a decomposing alder in hopes it would take over it. Still haven't seen any signs of that, though!

The bulk of the growing part of the mushroom is under ground. The bit we eat is the sexual reproductive bit that has the spores. The fungal growth under ground is very slow and it also depends on heat and humidity. Eventually it will happen and you can expect one flush per year but with some skill and daring you can get a second but not as many.
As each successive flush occurs, there will be a widening circle ⭕️ and this is how you get fairly rings. As the ring grows so does the number of mushrooms. One of the other things to do is to twist off the mushrooms 🍄 not cut them off. When you get inside, cut the bottom of the stork and chop finely. Replant the ends and eventually you will get another plot of mushrooms. But again, it will take time. The mushroom kits are basically ready to produce when it gets watered.
Hope this helps.
Cheers

Erica Egge wrote:Post 5

Taco Tuesday is always a bit chaotic, but those fresh corn tortillas make it worth it for me. I made some vegan cheese sauce, which was delicious and well received. It probably needs a new name, because it is delicious, but it is not cheese.

You could call it Gary. It has been done, but you could keep it going, if you don't want it known as nondairy cheese, or vegan cheeze.

https://spreademkitchen.com/blog/why-is-vegan-cheese-sometimes-called-cheeze

Could it be a birch ( white river birch) does it shed and look like paper?

Post 10
Well, It has been a minute since I posted, but I wanted to update this thread. Today was great. Nine and I figured out why my car wasn't starting this week. The negative battery terminal was cracked and was not getting a solid connection, so glad it is something I can get the part and fix myself. Also got to sharpen my pocket knife that has been dull for years. And to top it off I made gnocchi for dinner, the texture came out very well.

I got pictures of none of those things. So here are some plants that are growing in my garden patch! These are the super stars of the patch right now. I planted the potato, peas, and quinoa, the strawberry is an established perennial .

Alicia McNamar wrote:Could it be a birch ( white river birch) does it shed and look like paper?

Yeah, I think it is a birch tree. I will have to look to see if it sheds the next time I am in town

Post 11

It rained the majority of today. The kind of cold rain that makes you want to curl up by the fire with a cup of tea and a good book.

This morning we celebrated Dez's car free existence and I went to scout places to camp on the lab during the events. While on the lab, I saw a plant that looked alot like a plant that appeared in my mom's garden this year. Nine mentioned it was nettle, but it doesn't look like the standard variety of stinging nettle to me. My mom noticed the very long root and how it shoots up suckers. I am curious what this plant is trying to tell us about the soil. Maybe that the soil is compacted? Or perhaps it is an acidic environment?

The last photo is of Lupine, which is a beautiful nitrogen fixing perennial. This picture is from base camp, but hopefully my mom's garden will have established lupine too soon!

Thistle. If I said nettle I misspoke. /facepalm

We call it Canada Thistle. Edible, if one has the patience to remove the thorny edges.

Erica, I think your last picture might be a muscari rather than a lupine.  Check out the leaves on this picture of a lupine.  You'll notice these leaves out there as well as there are wild lupines growing on Paul's land.

Jen Tuuli wrote:Thistle. If I said nettle I misspoke. /facepalm

Yes, it is a thistle. But there are many species of thistles. I don't know which one this is.