Jeffrey Dustin

Link to the Maket Pipe company's crushing strength of 1/2, 3/4, and 1 inch emt to give a very rough idea of material strength.  I would sacrifice test a specific piece before planning and building a structure.

https://youtu.be/1oCEMd4v9B4

I am from central Maine originally and my gothic arch hoop was 1" emt on 4 inch centers for a 20 foot long 14 wide hoop structure.  Held up to neglect for 3 years and not brushing snow off.  I sold everything and moved south because 20+ winters is more than enough for me.

A line of 98 pound weaklings can hold up the same ampunt of weight as one strongman or woman.  I would say the emt is totally adequate IF you plan to use it calculating a lot of overbuilding and tons of extra emt and bracing.  I build a hoophouse out of 1 3/8 top rail dog chainlink fence and it was strong but i could have used a dozen emt to do the same trick and this was in zone 4a with heavy snow hurricanes etc.

Its all in the engineering.

I would like tp build a pond for fishing.  I have 5.5 acres of aloping land with house.  It slopes down about 80 feet according to the contour maps.  There are two ravines carved by rain and time in the back 2 acres.  The soil is sand subsoil with leaf humus from the hardwood trees.  Zone 8a.  Lots of BFTs big fat trees.  Pecan and oak.  They say the sand is roughly 20-30 feet before it hits clay.  We get abput 45 inches of rain per year.

If i dam up the two ravines, would rain gradually fill into a pond?

Thoughts encouraged!
Jeff D

Can the CINVA Manual CEB Ram be made of wood?

Can the Wofati incorporate rammed earth blocks: CEBs and earthen floors & wall plasters? Also, does there have to be a synthetic moisture barrier on the sides and even the roof? What if there was gravel or small stones pushed up against the outside of the building and buried.  The little rocks would then allow the droplets to migrate downward and away from the building maybe? I'm not a builder.

There are soils, then there are barren ledges of death!

I am blessed with a nice sandy sandbox to play in and abundant rain and snow with few big rocks.  Seems the glaciers did their thing and deposited my town with a bounty of play sand.  Very nice!

In my area I have a bunch of mature pines and mixed other woods.  I would like to pump the
wonderfully clear stream waters into my growing beds through a simple sump pump and hose combo...maybe when I get rid of my snow and ice pack I’ll double dig the sandy beds and do a photojournal for your enjoyment.  The hydram pump was a bust...so I am going hi-tech with an extension cord and an electric pump.  Why stress my well pump, right?

I have heard the critique of Grow Biointensive and I think there have been thoughtful rebuttals by John Jeavons & Co. that satisfy me.  Some soils are bad news with rock, shale, what have you.  I haven’t found GB or the prsctitioners of the same dogmatic or rigid in its prescription.  Jeavons has said if you can’t or don’t want to dig that deep that is up to you...but for maximizing food quickly this can be effective in the smallest of spaces.

Some folks can’t physically dig or would simply rather not do it.  That’s ok, too.  The no-till approaches work well.  I would ask the question: which is more labor: using a garden spade to lever out soil to 12” then a garden fork to loosen another 12”, a little sprinkle of compost, voila! or cartage of tons of mulch, spreading it, repeat.  The double dig is one and done while the mulch degrades and requires lots of additional mulch.  I have tried both and from my perspective the mulch was ok but I had a lot of slugs, mice, and voles that lived under the mulch and ate up all my crops.  Also GB is supposed to be a whole system and no only the double dig.  I really like digging and sweat equity.

Whatever works for you and your lifestyle
is probably best.

Could you build a PSG with an RMH whose exhaust piped underground into a manifold or looping series of pipe like in the Ceres Greenhouse Systems? What would happen if you could use all that extra heat and pump it into the soil?

Could you get a cheap, tropical greenhouse even in the northern reaches?

i’d like to give the hydram to you, Jesse so you can take it apart and bring this appropriate tech to more people.  If you ever up in Maine and can help me load it, i will give it to you for free.

Ok, so I have a ball valve with on/off lever attached to the upright delivery outlet.  It is set to the off position.  So far, so good.  I have gotten an order of 100' of PVC schedule 40 pipe in 10' lengths, connectors, 45 degree connectors, 90 degree elbows, straight pipe-to-pipe fittings, etc.  The steel was way overpriced at $40 - 45 per 10 foot length.  All I could afford was PoisonVC (PVC).  The water in the stream is the highest it has been in a long time with the snowmelt contributing a large and rapid flow.   There is already a 10 foot galvanized steel drive pipe attached.  It is too short to provide the proper water hammer effect as far as I can tell.

Yes, thank you Jesse! I think we are getting much closer to a functional pump.  Good! I am excited to turn this wasted endeavor into a water source for my crops and animals and bee flowers.

I am going to the hardware store to get my driveline up to 100'.  I'm going with steel for 2 reasons.  While much more $, it is better camoflauged to avoid neighbor attention AND the steel I think won't leach into my water supply like PVC.  It is also very sturdy.

I need some kind of on/off to go on the upright delivery tee.  I will measure the OD of my delivery tee outlet with a micrometer or caliper.  Then with all my gear, I will go down to the water and get muddy!

Stay tuned! If I get this running I will post some fun pics.