Judy J Johnston

The cupboard part would be about 400mm X 300mm X 800 mm....I can adjust it depending on the number of rows of cans...

I am making a solar dehydrator from empty beer cans that are joined together and painted black to form tubes which make the solar panel....the air goes through them into a box/cupboard that has flymesh shelves. I like reusing stuff, and I was given a white cupboard that is the perfect size and would be easily modified for the solar/cans panel to slot into. I think it is melamine...(you know the cheap type furniture you can get and eat Swedish meatballs) BUT....it will get pretty hot in the cupboard (Aussie summer), and I'm concerned that the melamine will off-gas...and leach into the drying food. Any body know anything about this...what else could I use to make the walls of the cupboard?....thinking plywood would have the same issues??

Coming from Australia we have to cope with lots of very hot temps. I also don't have town water, so have to be very water wise. Drip line hoses are the best..mine lay on the soil and are covered by mulch, keeping the soil moist and avoiding evaporation. You can use olla pots for individual precious plants. I made my own from terracotta pots, or use water spikes on upside down bottles. Having lots of compost in your soil helps a lot as it hold the moisture well

I find that up to 30cm is ok.....I sit on the ground to garden. If they are raised beds I have to stand and bend/stoop to garden which is worse for my back.....I try to grow without buying in stuff...so I sieve rocks from soil and make my own compost.... I'd need too much to fill beds high enough not to need to stoop...

We used styrofoam boxes at school to make wicking beds for herbs and flowers. We used broken up lid pieces instead of rocks/gravel/scoria in the water reservoir

I was hoping for the enzyme cleaner. I made an orange based one but it doesn't seem particularly effective....chances are I did something wrong....

Clove oil in vinegar works well

I really like to beast one..pressing down makes good sense to me...does it crush most of the garlic ....I find some don't press tight enough and half the clove just sits there uncrushed....Beau M Davidson

I found possums weren't interested in my sweet potatoes or my potatoes...everything else was eaten unless protected...agree that they love it ripe tomatoes but not the plant. To save my pumpkins I made wire baskets to cover each pumpkin pegged down by tent pegs...desperate times, desperate measures. By the way...I was very excited to see a thread with our down under problems. I am in NSW.

...I want to know if anyone has put a rocket mass heater into an existing fireplace...is it possible, where can I purchase plans? Ta