Brendan Edwards

All these responses are great and appreciated.  I am in process of trying to locate this thing intelligently in my space, its a trick. The best places for it have low wooden ceilings that make me uncomfortable to install something on fire... The other places are not in heavy use during winter and are really large... Has anyone seen something that uses some of this concept but is really compact?

As far as code, there really isnt any in a lot of places bc so much of the rural country is deserted so they are happy to see repairs taking place. They stay out of your business mostly. And I have made massive changes to this building. The original form is beautiful but largely dysfunctional to live in. Almost nobody likes the old house designs as far as actually living in them.  

Q: If THE RMH needs the same type of costly exhaust system to install, then what is the benefit over building a masonry Stove or using a old cast Iron with a masss around it? Just some efficiency? I guess it's still less expensive too. can I make the inner riser out of fire brick?

This is the roof line so you can see why I am trying to find an alt concept than through the peak of the roof. This corner doesn't get strong wind at ground level.. we have hills all the way around and the Ocean  is in a straight line through the image.  Once you get up a couple meters you get air movement. at sunset, the ocean sucks all the air out due to the temp differential out at see and the land cooling off.

Thanks,  So is exhaust above roof peak the only option or is there some other way of sorting it?  

what do you think of building a shield for the exhaust to mitigate wind?

Hello,

 I read through a bunch of posts on this subject. I haven't yet seen a clear answer.  I am likely in same boat as plenty of people; To vent through roof I would need close to 10 M of vertical rise , so I am looking for a viable horizontal solution. I see that people have done it.. I'm brain freezy on which method to use. I see that protecting the exhaust from wind on the outside is important, but am fuzzy on other details.  I am assuming the classic drum can J tube thing with a internal riser made of a acetylene cylinder or possibly fire brick..  thanks for thoughts

Dennis Bangham wrote:I am planting a couple long rows of Comfrey (Blocking 14).  i intend to harvest it using an electric pushmower a couple times each year, after it gets established. Using some ideas from JADAM, I will put it into a large barrel with water and a handful of leaf mold.  Let it sit for a couple months and use as liquid fertilizer.  

why comfrey in particular?

I was checking out JADAM,  guy I know was using it..   he ended up needing standard NPK to kickstart things.  I think it works well though..  do you have some experience with that?

Sergio Cunha wrote:

Brendan Edwards wrote:

For now I imagine something like a bamboo/leaf compost with powdered biochar and possibly some powdered oyster shell  as a  base...  but I am just going with things I have used and already know..  

If I understand you well, you intend to use bamboo leaves in the compost. If so, be aware that bamboo leaves are hard to compost because they have too much silica. I use bamboo leaves to mulch my garden paths so they will last more than a year...  Even though I live in the tropics!

What sort of time scale you think it would take to use chipped bamboo in possibly more agressive compost (hotter more GM fungus or something)  1 thing that seems common in bamboo areas here is dark soil with micro rhizome,  but these have had time to develop. The reclaimed areas seem to produce nicely..  but ya  there is no fresh bamboo refuse.  Silica in that rfesh form resists decomp?  perhaps,  but it seems to work well after

There will be an industrial fertilizer shortage, its baked into the cake.  It's not an accident, it's part of the current attack on all of civilization.  Everyone in this Forum agrees that its not the best way to grow and that people should decentralize from, megafarms. That aside we have a problem incoming.  The previously industrial farmed land will have productivity cut tremendously in 2 steps  1. loss of industrial fertilizer  2.  poor soil health with too few inputs and too little time to regenerate. I want to help start a small scale Organic Fertilizer operation. I would like it to be a model and it will be open source, I hope people copy and improve.   It needs to be scalable. so it cant depend on kitchen scraps or other small quantity stuff.  The product needs to work as amendment so I want something more concentrated in goodness than a simple mulch.  I will make it area specific.  In my case I have a sea to access so I will include fish and bivalve and seaweed etc.  I will start my scale at a target of 5 tons for the first year so that we know we are looking for a small industrial scale..  beyond a few guys with shovels and wheelbarrows.

My question is what would be the composition of an ideal fertilizer that can be produced without major scientific processes (meaning i would need years of study and costly equipment)?   I can include basic  science,  such as biochars or kilning oyster shells or  basic ferments.   we need to do what NPK does as well as we can but want to supply more material for the soil to return to real soil... with living biome.  I am sure someone(s)  have solved this already,   so I am happy to jus copy and adjust to my region. I am in Japan,  I dont see a lot of large scale organic fertilizer ops.  I am looking to offer a simple product that can do the job ..  or a couple of options..  but it should be ready to go..  

Using biochar is  on the list.  I would add that into the mix early so it gets composted for a few months.  we have massive amounts of bamboo which can be harvested for free,  possibly even at a small profit.  I have read that things like oyster shells are more bio-available after being roasted a bit..  

The way I imagine these operations working is that we would set up relationships 1rst with local municipality (try to receive leaf/grass/tree cuttings)  work on local business for fish waste and oyster shell..  see if usable kelp is accessable or not..    So I can imagine that much of it..  but I am looking for how to get to the product part.  what's  gonna be the crucial elements and finally the recipe?   Then  we can  come up with a simple industrial process..    for now I want a production that does not require starting a livestock business,  though I am aware that that is a great direction for nutrients.


For now I imagine something like a bamboo/leaf compost with powdered biochar and possibly some powdered oyster shell  as a  base...  but I am just going with things I have used and already know..  

Thanks for discussion!

That's it..  I'm in zone 9  Japan.  looking for a wheat that will do well here.  I have some wheat seed of unknown variety..  if I just keep growing it and getting seed what are odds it just adapts??  how many Gens?  thanks!