Samantha Lewis

I think it is really neat to go out in extreme weather!

It seems like it is always a beautiful day if you have the right outfit.  

A fun accomplishment for me is to go around in deep winter wearing all woolen clothes I made myself.

Hello Brian!

You can definitely re-use the culture to ferment another batch.  A lot of folks do that anyway to add lovely flavor and continue the culture.


If you are trying to go low salt, it will probably have a shorter shelf life so I would put it in the fridge once it starts fermenting.
Be sure to keep all solids below the liquid and check it regularly and scoop out anything that starts to look off.  Just disturbing the surface regularly will help too.  
Keep everything extra clean!  You don't have the high salt level to cover for errant bacteria.


Another way you can prolong the life of fermented foods is to make them extra spicy.  Hot peppers, garlic, onion, turmeric, ginger horseradish and radish will all help in preserving and warding off bacterial spoilage.  

Tina Sexton wrote:I want a rocket stove but can't build one. Is there anyone near east Tennessee that I can contact to build for me?

Hello Tina!

Welcome to the forum!

Here is a list of rocket mass heater builders:

https://permies.com/w/rmh-builders-list

Hello Benedict!

I grind my own wheat for flour and horse feed.   Generally white wheat will have a lower protein content than red wheat.

If you are wanting to grow the higher protein grains it will take more nitrogen in the soil than you need for the low protein grains.

I think this was a lot of fun.  It is a little wiggly and kind of a weird fish eye look.  

It seems like it gives you the freedom to use your hands and move around a lot more than when you have to hold the camera

Emi Oakes wrote:Awesome idea! With the cold I'm starting to dream up RMH ideas for my little conventional house. I arrive Oct 17 for 2.5 weeks in the SEPPer program, and would be thrilled to help if some projects went later in the month too : )!!

Hello Emi!

We will definitely have rocket mass heater stuff still going on while you are here!

I am looking forward to meeting you!

Overnight, we had our first frost out here at Wheaton Labs!  
Paul fired up the rocket mass heater this morning so the season of wood heat has begun.  

I walked out through the gardens to see the frost.   It is so neat to feel winter really coming on.  

It felt great to come back into the house, feel the heat and hear the crackling of the first fire of the year.

Winter is coming and this is a great time to get to know all about how to heat your home or work space with a rocket mass heater!


The best way to learn about rocket mass heaters is to use one and really feel the heat.  
Come out to Wheaton Labs these first two weeks of October.  We have 24 rocket heaters currently in operation.  You can run them all if you want!


Rent one of our beautiful cabins.  The rocket mass heater will keep you cozy all night and the cabin will still be warm in the morning when you wake up!

If you want, you can come down to the main house and join us for breakfast.   We have the permaculture bootcamp running Monday - Friday working on rocket mass heaters and other fun projects.  

Tuesday is community night when we all get together for tacos and share what we have been up to.

Fukuoka Flat is ready to rent!  We will give a special deal of $250 for the month.

https://permies.com/t/380183/fukuoka-flat-place-park-camping



So many lovely places to stay and enjoy the luxury of a rocket mass heater:

The Red Cabin

https://permies.com/wiki/40/55002/Red-Cabin

Cooper Cabin
https://permies.com/t/80/33160/wofati-cooper-cabin#1230920

The Tipi

https://permies.com/t/29327/RMH-Tipi


We have warm bunks in the solarium and in the fisher price house

Hello Gabe!

Welcome to permies!

I think a lot of your questions will be answered through doing.  

As you build the systems, you will see how they work together.

What region are you in?  I would go to other intentional communities and see what they have built and what is working well.

Wheaton Labs in Montana, built and run by Paul Wheaton, is an excellent example of  technology, innovation and simple living.  
https://wheaton-labs.com/

I would encourage you to spent a few days or a week there to get to know how it feels to live in a place like you want to build.   I believe you will come home with tons of great ideas for you new project.  


If you cannot travel to Montana, invest in a personal consultation with Paul.  He has personal experience with many communities and their founders.  
https://permies.com/t/131485/permaculture-consultation-paul-wheaton

 - the movie - classic
 - music "I got you babe" by sonny and cher
 - pancakes for dinner
 -  build more shelves
 -  Celebrating Masanobu Fukuoka's Birthday!  balls and seed stuff for spring!

Grey appreciates the half-assed holidays, quoting: "There's a reason for the holiday season: keeping the winter blues away. The Bootcamp celebrates a plethora of "Half-assed" holidays, during which half the day is spent doing something a bit different. From putting up lights or shelves, to making a quilt or heating the house up to 80°F, we keep each week interesting with our own unique, themed holidays."

He has a special connection to this movie, being from Pennsylvania:



We continue with Dez, who was "…… grateful for Groundhog Day.. we built a shelf and ate donuts and flapjacks.. in the morning we did more work on red cabin.."







Who's the old guy in overalls?



And they of course HAD to watch that movie:



Magdalene got into the spirit of the holiday with the shelf-building and pancake and pancake making.







and the foods:



There you have it. Check out the other Half-Assed Holidays here https://permies.com/w/half-assed-holidays#1573526

If you want to dive in deeper consider joining the Wheaton Labs bootcamp for a hands on Half-Ass-Holiday experience! : https://permies.com/link/hahbootcamp