Rabi'a Elizabeth Brown

For years I've grown green pepper plants in pots. They flower, they fruit! That part usually isn't an issue.

But the fruit is bitter! It tastes very vegetal, almost grass-like.

This seems to happen no matter what variety I try: regular old bell, shishito, and so forth.

How do I encourage "sweeter" fruit? Obviously these are green peppers, not red. But I'd like to ensure more palatable fruit.

I just bought a BBQ-Toro Rocket Stove, as pictured below:



Tried to light it for the first time last night and ... no dice. Flames would catch, but nothing persisted in burning for more than a few minutes.

I used sticks, a few leaves, pine cones, matches, and a piece of fatwood. The fatwood may have been my problem, since it took up most of the burn area and it absolutely refused to catch fire. I even tried putting a little cooking oil on some of the sticks: still no dice. I live in a VERY dry area, so I don't think that damp wood was the problem.

YouTube isn't of much help here. And yes, I have the Art of Fire book, but I don't find it very helpful with regard to lighting fires in small spaces. I don't do well on manual tasks without precise instructions, sadly.

I would be much obliged if you could provide VIDEO as well as a list of essentials on how you might get a similar stove going... and keep it going.

Thanks!

Hi all,

Long story short, I need / want non-plastic storage containers for my sun-intensive southern Spain terrace that can accommodate decent quantities of soil, etc. Should I go with wood?

Longer story:

I live in a 2nd story apartment with no elevator, and I'm on my own as a 57 year old woman who lacks physical brute force (but not force of will ;-))

I live in southern Spain, where the sun's UV rays tear through most material quickly, including plastic. We do get some rain but it's infrequent.

I'm doing the type of gardening on my terrace that requires bags of substrate, soil, composted manure, and so on.

This material needs to be stored outdoors on the terrace. I can't be schlepping heavy bags up and down the stairs frequently.

Build-your-own solutions are NOT an option for me. I am NOT handy at all nor do I want to pay someone to build something for me.

So ... I'm looking at lightweight wood storage bins whose exteriors I could paint or finish to be more sun resistant.

Like this one: https://www.ratioform.es/p/cajas-de-madera-con-cierre-546622/

Note the metal edges: in this dry climate they'd probably be fine.

What does everyone think?

Hi all,

I just acquired several baby olive trees! Most are Lechín de Sevilla, but there's one "picudo" in the mix for pollination purposes.

I have terraces, no garden, so the trees will live in pots on the terrace. In summer there's quite a bit of sun, especially on the upper terrace.

I live in southern Spain, near Granada.

Here's what I'm thinking for care. What do y'all think?

I've been advised to get 25 liter pots for them, and I shall do so shortly.

I'll be using a lightweight substrate with organic material and perlite.

I have a decent organic liquid fertilizer that I'll use once a week or so for the first few months.

I've also been advised to water twice a week for this first summer.

Companion plantings on the terrace: lavender so far, God willing a few more pots of wildflowers for a pollinator garden.

Baby pic below.

Look at what I gathered in 30 minutes! There’s dry grass at the bottom of the bag.

I live near a river but we get a ton of sun, which bodes well for future tinder gathering God willing.

oh wow, I have plenty of small fruit tree farms nearby, and I'm betting the farmers wouldn't mind someone trundling off some of those prunings, God willing. With consent of course.

And I would never have thought of pine cones. Brilliant.

Megan Palmer wrote: I don't have a rocket stove but pine cones are my favourite tinder for our wood burner. The cones burn for longer when they have had slum gum, (the dirty wax left over after rendering beeswax) poured into the scales of the cones.

We also use the dried leaves of yucca, flax and cordylines tied into bunches and fruit tree prunings.

I am brand new to the rocket stove world!

My stove will be my alternate cookstove, and I do have a nice tile terrace outside where I'll be able to use it in safety.

Firewood and pellets are plentiful and cheap here in southern Spain. But as a firestarting newb, what are my best bets for "tinder"? I don't leave much used paper lying around the house.

Some ideas so far:

* Used paper towels stuffed in toilet paper tubes
* Dried plant material from down near the (clean) river
* Char cloth made from cheap T-shirts from the second-hand store
* Some of the ideas in this article: The best tinder materials for starting a campfire. Some of the suggestions sound toxic, though.

What do you use?

Ooo, that is exciting.

My gas grill was acting wonky, which prompted me to buy this cute little rocket stove: https://www.manomano.es/p/bbq-toro-rocket-stove-rakete-2-gris-rocket-stove-11427710. It just arrived so I haven't yet tried it out!

Now I just have to settle on a reliable quick-burning fuel supply for it: wood and pellets for stoves are plentiful and inexpensive here in Spain, but I don't use much paper around the house (except for paper towels, which might be my answer).

Monica Truong wrote:I'm most excited that it is possible to modify it for indoor use! Found this is a sneak peak into what the film will document on YT. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHjGQMoxFI4

It's the first time I see the issue.

I'm told that EcoFlow support in Europe (where I am) is quite good, so I'm going to try them.

Sigh, the unit is brand new.

Gerry Parent wrote:Hi Liz,
Wondering if your charge controller within the unit is on the fritz?
Cable connections secured well and dry?
I assume this is the first time its happened and that its continuing the trend today?

I live in southern Spain. I have one 200W solar panel and an EcoFlow Delta 2 battery / portable charger. Both are a couple of months old.

The panel faces southeast, which at this time of day is a good direction for it. Today is sunny with a little cloud cover.

I noticed that the charge to the EcoFlow is really strange as of today. It cycles up to about 90 watts and then plummets back to 0 a few seconds later.

Right now there's direct sun on the panel, and the input is at 0. It seems to be hanging out at 0 for the most part.

I put some video in an album, which you can view at the link below.

I have white electrical tape around the cables to prevent them being killed by the UV rays here, which are intense in the summer. Hoping that this is not the issue.

This is the first time I notice this, and it seems wrong.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/BHknr4GaMyuc7sG4A