Stephen B. Thomas

Riona Abhainn wrote:I'm glad you will get to do it again.  Wondering if Paul will run bootcamp for the month you're away?  I enjoy hearing you on the podcast episodes when you join Paul on them.

Yep, I am grateful I have the chance (and the funds) to do this. I combine it with visiting family and old friends on the east coast, adding variety and skill-building to the return trip back home.

Bootcamp will still be running while I'm away (we have two excellent team members right now: Esteban and Molly), though Paul doesn't want to take in any new Boots while I'm off-site.

Pleased to hear you enjoy those few occasions when I can sit in with Paul on those podcasts...!

Amy Gardener wrote:One of the best decisions that I made last year was to invite Stephen out for a few days of work on my acre homestead.

You're very kind, Amy! And an excellent host. Stoked to return this coming February.

Nancy Reading wrote:What a great way to spend your 'holidays'! I hope that you get to see how some of the projects you helped with last year turned out.

James, Amy, and Jen have all confirmed I can make a return visit this year, so I'll be able to report back.

Bri Cierp wrote:I still don’t know if I’d want to eat them, though. They don’t get along well with my tummy.

Maybe an additional item for the list above: "They are an acquired taste."

I had a wonderful time doing this in the previous winter. I want to do it again. To sum it up:

WHAT: a volunteer for 3 to 5 days
WHEN: February 2026, estimated dates below.
WHERE: see the maps below... The date listed on the map indicates when I will likely be in the shaded-purple area on that map.

More details noted after the map images. These are important.







(Week 3 is solidly booked! I may be able to visit other places in this area, depending on how the rest of the schedule works out. If you'd like some help, please send a PM.)



The Details and Important Notes:
- No, I can't be everywhere. I am "snowbirding" and don't have an all-terrain vehicle. That's why I'm avoiding generally-cold and snow-covered areas on this trip.
- No, unfortunately I can't accept every invite. Please don't take it personally.
- That being said: first come, first served.
- The only thing I request in exchange is a place to sleep (out of the precipitation) and vegetarian food to eat. Coffee will also be of tremendous help.
- I'm not some permaculture guru. I can make no promises. However, I am very willing to put in some hard work to help you with your existing or soon-to-be-existing homestead and permaculture projects. Maybe my BEL thread can clue you in to some of the things I've accomplished and helped with over the past couple years at Wheaton Labs. Click here to have a look. I also had a wonderful experience in 2025, and took some photos showing our projects.
- "Three is the magic number." I think three days at your site is what I can manage, though if my schedule turns out to be light, then I may be able to stay longer.
- It's unlikely I will be able to bring many tools with me on this trip. Please have what you need for me to do some tasks for you already on-site.
- This is not WWOOF or HelpX. I am not a Boot or the High Commander while at your place. This is a personal project. We will make our own rules and guidelines.

Please send me a PM if you think I can be of help to you when I'm in your area. Thanks for reading...!

John Hutter wrote:What if,

the interior of the structure is completely sealed off from the unpeeled framing (cob doesn't need bark to stay in place) and

there is no bark anywhere there is wood on wood contact in the frame - or the only contact points are the cut ends of logs.

Depending on your climate and the amount of moisture trapped in the logs, I'd still be concerned with mold and fungus growing in those logs. Particularly if you seal it all up with cob prior to adequate drying, I'd think that the cob would absorb at least some of that excess moisture and then gradually break off. I imagine (as this is all a thought experiment anyway) that this would lead to rotted logs in the worst case, and in the best case scenario periodic applications of additional cob would be required, at least until the logs were sufficiently dry.

If there's a way to assure that the logs have been dried, then I'd feel a lot more comfortable in using them with the bark still attached. Otherwise, personally I would spend the needed time in the Spring to peel some logs.

Lately I've been studying and observing quite a lot about sunchokes. And I'm almost convinced that, were I interested in dating, I'd be a sunchoke.

I grow without permission.
I defy corporate influence.
Extreme conditions don't faze me.
I'm a turn-off to the typical.
When others wither away or evaporate, I'll still be there.
However if you put me on a shelf, I won't be around long.
My true value is secreted beneath the surface.
Even on my bad days, I will always have more value than a potato.

BEL #832

Here's a video recap and assessment of how one of our hugel berms has recovered after suffering a landslide last year. Things are looking all right over there.



Thanks for watching, and enjoy your day...!

Way to go, guys...!

Last year, we had pumpkins and counted the calories for the flesh separate from the calories for the seeds. Wise move.

Cécile Stelzer Johnson wrote:Did you use a special cultivar? I know OIKOS had some that they have selected for their ability to stay close to the mother plant.

I think our current stock is the equivalent of a landrace version. Every year, we grab some from a plant and then drop them in areas that had no sunchokes that season.

Sunchokes have been growing here since before I arrived (over 3.5 years ago), and I don't recall Paul or any other gardeners here ordering any from elsewhere. There are so many here at this stage that it seems silly to even consider purchasing any, ever. It might be to the point that we have separate cultivars growing at Basecamp versus those growing at the Lab. Those parcels of property are about 2 miles from each other, and some microclimate differences may have emerged over the years.

All the sunchokes from this current video series were grown at Basecamp, while all those in the GAMCOD project videos are grown at the Lab. It would be interesting to see if there were any noticeable differences between the plants' yields based on where they were harvested, but just from a casual glance I haven't observed any.