Robert Kish

It took 15 months for the first egg to start floating and I've been a little afraid to use any of them now since the jar is getting cloudy. Now that my layers are molting (in winter, no less) I was considering opening the jar and seeing what is salvageable. The experiences of my fellow permies is very encouraging! I'll see what they taste like this weekend (and throw away the floaters).

Hi all, I am making my own 3d model using the instructions given in order to fill in the gaps in the bill of materials and to help me understand the project better and I’m noticing some inconsistencies.

First, there is a brick missing from the riser end of the burn tunnel (unless the burn tunnel is supposed to feed the 8” duct and bypass the riser).

Second, there is a layer missing from the feed end (three bricks 4.5” wide mounted vertically is only 13.5”, you would need another layer 2.5” wide to add up to 16”).

Third, 125” overall length would mean that a 10 foot long 2x4” isn’t long enough, even with the boards attached at the ends.

Lastly, the spacing of the feeding port is not adding up, I’m getting around 6.25” from the back edge and about a foot from either of the sides, measuring from the inside of the 2x4s.

I’m assuming that the bricks are clay fireplace bricks for the base and insulated refractory bricks for the burn tunnel, but links to commercially available products for all the parts would clear up any confusion.

I’ve never seen a rocket mass heater in person, but I’m interested in building one outside in my detached garage, I’d like to have one in my basement eventually, I’m not sure my floors could handle the weight of having one in my living room.

Thanks for doing all this work, the 3d model looks fantastic! I plan to post my model when I finish it.

It’s cool, but if you think about it, you could store your batteries in cargo containers for easier exchanges and retrofit much of the existing fleet rather than build a bunch of new ships. You could also add a gasifier specialized to consume plastic fishing nets and pick them up en route for free, while cleaning up the ocean. Not criticizing, brainstorming… 😊

Hello all, a coworker of mine from the Philippines and I were talking about my new flock of chickens and he told me that back home many people have chickens over their fish tanks. He said that cat fish would be a good choice.

The fish apparently like the taste of chicken poop. I can’t imagine how murky the water would get with multiple nitrogen sources, but he insists that they have always done it this way and it works just fine.

Anyone have any thoughts of how this could be function stacked? Would a worm bed be better? Could shrimp be integrated? Cray fish? Any aquatic plants that might be beneficial?

Thanks!

New to livestock. My first flock of chickens. 4 Isa Brown, 4 Wyandot chicks. My kids adore them! Too cold to have them outside, I think, so we have them inside for now. Will be tractoring in a pvc geodesic dome but also built a coop and double run for the fall.

I am experimenting with growing a garden in leaves! Nothing but leaves!

Let me tell you how much I am loving this... I built two fences about 2 to 3 feet apart and filled it with last years oak leaves about 2’ high (I had to do something with them anyway). I can leave the garden for more than a week and the plants don’t need watered, everything I have planted is doing great in spite of frosts, chipmunks, neglect, and a fairly dry spring. I did cover the leaves in a layer of mulch, but I think it would have done okay if it didn’t have it. I have a sprinkler hose mounted above the mulch, it doesn’t get every inch but it hasn’t needed to.

It has reduced to about a quarter of the height since I put it together (not what I wanted but I can deal with it. The tomato’s have been productive since late May (in Ohio) when I transplanted them. I have blueberries ripening, Three varieties of  tomatoes, peppers, celery, cabbage, ground cherries, beans, cucumbers, squash, Comfrey, and sweet potatoes all growing in this bed. Many from seed, several are transplants

I have a red oak tree that’s 15’ in circumference and the 1st branch is at 19’ up. It’s enormous, and it sits in my side yard with nothing around it. I had thought of using ropes to train kiwi up into it, I had never thought to use squash and beans.
Great advice!
My apples and grapes grow on an escipilliar together. Both are happy but only two years into it.