hans muster

Heating is transforming calories (if from gas, fossil ones) to extend a growing season, and produce other, edible calories. How many more calories can you produce with heating?

The conventional approach is to check if the $$$ or €€€ you put in is compensated by the $$$$ or €€€€ you get out. The ecological approach, is if the calories you put in are more than compensated by the calories you get out.

Often, with the conventional approach, producing a high-value crop is grown, especially one out-of-season (when the price is high). When following ecological principles, the approach is more to grow a crop which is better suited for the climate.

Another brain-storm for the greenhouse: would a "restaurant in the jungle" work for your conditions? You could produce part of the crop yourself, and reserve a greenhouse area for a nice dining room with an exotic feeling. If you are a cooperative, you could cover different aspects, in a circular economy way.

Not knowing your finances it is difficult to decide for you...

Throwing in a few ideas: As the place is covered, have you thought of livestock?
Rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens, ducks, ...
Could potentially be combined with your growing tables, stacking functions.

Rufaro Makamure wrote:It will be a bonus if ducks can eat this plant and it's something I am willing to try out.
...

Word of caution: I was talking about hedge plants in general, as I do not know this species you are planting. Planting a multi-purpose species which you know can be fed to your livestock as a hedge was the idea.

Here is a list of tropical forage species, maybe you recognize something which might be suited for your place?
https://feedipedia.org/content/feeds?category=13591
under "other forage species" there are also other trees which might be suited.

Edit: you might find this selection tool to find the species best suited to your place helpful
https://tropicalforages.info/identify/key.html

If I may: have you thought of using the vegetation from the hedge to feed an animal, then using the manure for your field?

rabbits, giant cane rats, cuys (giant guinea pigs), sheep... would be adapted. That way you can produce food at the same time.

Or if you still have your muscovy ducks, they also would eat leaves for part of their diet

Hi,
I am not sure, are you talking about Arachis pintoi? If yes, feedipedia gives 21% crude protein.
It is written it stands heavy grazing, but I think that was tested with ruminants. However, I think as long as you rotate your small livestock quickly through it, removing only part of the biomass, it would work.
https://www.feedipedia.org/node/702

Soon microsoft will only support windows 11, therefore many companies will dump their old infrastructure, or sell out very cheap. If you find an reasonably recent (one 2-3 years), and ask someone to install linux on it, yoiu will be set up waaayy cheaper than 1000$, with equal, if not superior quality. That is if you think in the long term.

I first read desert pizza, so was thinking of sorghum dough, a paste with drought tolerant pumpkins instead of tomato sauce, baobab leaves instead of spinach, camel cheese on top, and a dribble of olive oil.
Anyone getting hungry?

But for dessert pizza, no idea, sorry, not the sweet type

Hi,

Parc Carreg is experimenting with raising guinea pigs outdoors year-round, in pens moved daily. They use them as lawnmower.
Depending on your predator pressure, their setup won't work for you, but the work to meat ratio seems quite interesting for small areas.
I would love to know how many kg of meat can be produced a year with the moves once a day.

Before replying:
do you have electricity?
where are you, what is the lowest temperature you get?
do you already have your mobile chicken coop?

If you have electricity, using brooder plates works for keeping the chicks warm. Even outside, depending on the climate/weather.
Online, I have also seen tent-like structures for chicks with integrated heating plates, but they seem really cheaply done.

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=heating+plate+chicken&atb=v320-1&iax=images&ia=images

Thanks for the tip with the sand blaster, but I guess the paint will just be removed as dust, and fly everywhere as well.