Rusty Bowman

Megan Palmer wrote:How are you getting along with your greenhouse Rusty? This might be useful if you haven’t already completed it https://youtu.be/pXPakvPzgpE

Thanks, Megan! I skimmed through. Will take a closer look when I get more time.

I have not started a greenhouse. Figured I'd focus on building my house first. At the rate I'm going on that though, it's going to be a while. 🤔

Christopher Westmore wrote:Minimum wage does not buy a living but it could be fair if you provide a place to stay and some basics.

I have seen a lot of people abuse these situations and claim they are offering a "learning experience" or "apprenticeship". A couple of things I see that repeat themselves.

A real apprenticeship is teaching someone a life trade that is marketable, someone doing ______ for the fist time is not teaching anyone anything, they are still figuring it out themselves. Doing manual labor on someones property is not learning marketable skills, it is labor. These situations usually the low paid of free labor leaves in a few days.
Now if you have a rocking organic farm with years of fine tuned growing and building experience with a crew of friendly young people to socialize with you can offer some value and people will stay. If you have a piece of secluded land a shack with a colmen stove you better be paying someone for their time or they will not stay long.

Then you have the issue of insurance, if someone brakes their back and sues you for everything you own ?

Just a couple of thoughts.

Point taken. I think.

This wouldn't be my first rodeo....

My plan would be to find someone that lived locally....someone who has seen or is generally familiar with my work....and wants to learn how they too can craft something similar.

My wife is an insurance agent so I haven't many worries on that front.

I was primarily interested in what a fair wage would be for someone to be my assistant in return to learn a variety of skills...to get first-hand experience under my tutelage. I'm not looking for someone to simply slave away.  The first responder, Trace, mentioned $12-$15. Sounds like a reasonable place to start to me.

Thanks.

Thanks for the replies, everyone!

Hi all,

I am preparing to build a passive solar straw bale home and shop this summer. While I will have some help in the evenings and on the weekends, the rest will be done by my two hands...minus the concrete and plumbing.

I am considering taking on an apprentice....someone with limited to no construction knowledge or experience... someone who otherwise is good with their hands, ambitious, and most importantly....wants to learn how to use tools and build using both conventional and unconventional methods.

Stud framing, post and beam, standing seam roofing, steel fabrication, reclaimed and new materials, cedar siding, earthen plasters, earthen floors, cob, natural finishes, principles of passive solar, etc, etc will be some of the facets to this project. This will all be done with an array of tools...from the most basic to a variety of modern power tools.

As much as I would appreciate having the help, I am genuinely interested in helping someone who is keen to learn. So, this could be a great experience for someone. What is a fair wage to pay though?

Thanks. Before we know it, the flowers will be popping and birds chirping. Spring's coming!

rusty

R Scott wrote:Here is one with comparisons and numbers. https://threefoldfarm.org/consulting

Are you looking for totally off grid or will you have grid power for fans and such (you just want to avoid buying a tanker of propane every year)? There seems to be a difference in design to think about--grid tie is much easier to pump the heat out of the storage.  

Are you looking at rock, dirt, or water as the mass or a combination?

Holy smokes.... there's heaps of valuable info on that site! Just what I was hoping to find. Thanks much for that!

As to your questions, my new place will be on grid. And you're correct: I don't want to be paying for or burning a bunch of propane. As far as mass.... it will likely be mostly if not all dirt... but with a fair bit of rock on site, I could incorporate that in as well, depending on the design.

rusty

James Freyr wrote:Hey Rusty, may I suggest the book Four-Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman. He has been doing what you're asking about using cold frames and unheated greenhouses where he lives in Maine. It is an excellent book that I believe thoroughly covers the topic and offers a wealth of information, ideas and techniques to garden year round. Hope this helps!

Thanks, James! I actually have that book. It is where I learned how to harvest salad greens throughout the winter. As I recall though, his greenhouses were more conventional and he didn't use them for growing fruit... and I think the veggies he was growing in them required a second covering for protection. That said, it has been a while since I've had that book open. I'll have to take another peek. Thanks again for the recommendation on an awesome book!

rusty

In the early stages of designing a greenhouse for myself, I'm trying to gather various examples of greenhouses with track records in climates similar to mine or more challenging. I'm at 42.5 N latitude and 3700' elev.... in a 6a zone.

My goal is to grow year round, traditional veggies and fruit... WITHOUT supplemental heating.

After attending a greenhouse design workshop in the Colorado mountains where all manner of veggies and fruits were being grown (I ate freshly picked figs while pruning banana trees) at 7200' elev in a 4b zone with no supplemental heating, I was sold on that design. That design method is referred to as "climate battery" or "SHCS" (Subterranean Heating and Cooling System).

(side note: I attended the workshop partially due to a client wanting me to design one of these greenhouses for her. Unfortunately, her plan changed and I didn't get to use her as my guinea pig) ;-)

That said, I would be very interested in hearing/seeing what other designs have proven to work for people who are growing similar crops in similar climates without auxiliary heat. Of course, I would love to hear about those using the "climate battery" design as well. I am less interested in theoretical designs given all that can be found on the Net. I would like real-life and preferably long-term experience and numbers... even if they were not success stories.

Anyone?

Thanks,
rusty

Thanks for your post, Jen Fan. I edited mine a bit on your suggestion.

Really thought I'd end up building a home and living there. Life is always in flux though.

Cheers!

rusty

Own a confluence on 28 acres! Unique with its two creeks, I feel badly for letting this property go. It's time though. 20 miles north of Boise, 3 miles east of Horseshoe Bend. Access via country maintained road.

3 miles east of the Payette River, 3 miles west of the Boise National Forest.

Two sides of this property abut BLM land. The other two sides are buffered by the creeks.

Virtually unlimited access to public lands and various recreational opportunities out the back door: kayaking, rafting, MTBing, ATVing, motorcyling, hiking, backpacking, horseback riding, snowmobiliing, camping, hotspringing, fishing, hunting, ziplining, paragliding......

Lax building codes with no minimum size. Build what you want!

Wildlife, including beaver on site. Well, power, septic approved, and private bridge. There's also a little and completely secluded island on one of the creeks. Perfect place to hang out or soak in a wood-fired hot tub under the milky-way! Priced to move. Please pass the word. Thanks!

https://imls.paragonrels.com/publink/default.aspx?GUID=792d8eca-226b-4755-9946-6cc725eddc75&Report=YesOwn&fbclid=IwAR2_BgyKnx8TZsDBg6gc_r2fxfbNhP6nxZOjZbhABniyfGs41aTbxv6fwsI

Here's a bit extra info: http://www.earthenexposure.com/permaculture/land.htm

Kelly Beck wrote:Very good stuff! I'm hoping to do some grey water use this year. The washer is a great place to start. I'm sorry if this was already discussed in the thread and I missed it, but when using cleansers appropriate for eventual garden use, I need more info.

Does anyone have experience or info?

Here are some of my thoughts. Please let me know if I'm off base. I have used baking soda with essential oils for laundry in the past. I want to do this again. I'm also learning to make natural lye soap, but I haven't researched if its safe for the garden yet.

Also, how about grey water storage WITHOUT aeration? Would laundry water be nasty after awhile? Hmmmm....

Thanks!

Kelly B.

Kelly,

Yes, the "laundry to landscape" system is a great place to start. Very easy. As far as soaps, I don't know about the baking soda. I use a liquid detergent by ECOs that clearly states on the jug that it is greywater safe. Art Ludwig had a list of varying detergents that were good in one of his books and perhaps on his website too. I would check that out as he has or had a wealth of info there for free. Seems he even had a recipe for homemade stuff.

I'm not familiar with aeration but, can tell you from personal experience that greywater gets nasty smelling in a hurry. You want to get it on/in the ground as soon as you can so all those tiny creatures we can't see will deal with it.

On another note, not sure why the subject of crap and urine came up in this thread but for anyone that's apprehensive about its use...for anyone that cringes at the thought of it being called a "resource"... all I have to say is that the Humanure Handbook is a must read. Jenkins also has some good stuff on greywater in it and the philosophic aspect is excellent. In my humble opinion, it's one of the top books in the genre of eco, sustainable, etc living.