Christopher Weeks

master gardener
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since Jun 24, 2018
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Biography
I steward 20 acres of Cromwell Sandy Loam in the north woods of Minnesota. I clear birch and aspen as needed to plant food sources.

I always have more projects going than I can keep up with which isn't really awesome but I don't know what to change.

I vote for Libertarians and Socialists because they know what it means to have principles and that matters more to me than the exact details of what they believe in. I'm a gun-toting vegetarian. I write code for cash and grow food because no amount of cash will buy real food these days.

I have a wife, two kids, two grandkids, and three cats. I've never had a dog, but I'm thinking about changing that. I hike, garden, read, play games, code, cook, spin and knit, putter, and play at arting.
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Carlton County, Minnesota, USA: 3b; Dfb; sandy loam; in the woods
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Recent posts by Christopher Weeks

At Wheaton Labs, Cooper Cabin has

an indoor willow feeder with a foot-pump sink to wash your hands.

(https://permies.com/wiki/190867/Cooper-Cabin-SEPPer#1573697)
But I couldn't find details anywhere with a quick search.
3 days ago

Tereza Okava wrote:from what I understand of making syrup, a large surface area facilitates evaporation. I don't know what kind of pans sugaring traditionally uses, but for molasses you use a pan that is about as big as a table, the bigger and flatter the better. More surface area helps you get faster evaporation. Concentrating everything in a bucket seems like it would take longer.


I do have a syrup evaporator pan (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQQ625Q) in the garage but haven't built the cinder-block "stove" for it to sit on so I've just been making do with pans on the stove - a 4 gallon that we use when canning sauces and the regular 2-gallon "pasta pot". An extra pan for another burner would help out even if they're not ideal.
3 days ago
It is seamless -- with the handle brackets seemingly spot-welded on the outside.

Nothing about the grade of SS appears on the bucket or the Amazon listing. When I asked the question, I got this back from the AI:

The Grip Stainless Steel Bucket product page lists "Premium grade stainless steel" but doesn't specify the exact grade (such as 304, 316, etc.).
Based on customer Q&A discussions, one reviewer mentioned that buckets are "typically made from the 300 series of stainless which tends to be cheaper and also highly resistant to rust." A customer also noted that a magnet doesn't stick to it, which suggests it's likely 300-series (non-magnetic) stainless steel rather than 400-series.



I did find a prop65 warning on the label for "lead-cancer" ... so maybe I'll just use this for ashes or something.
3 days ago
I bought this four-gallon SS pail on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07P6DNKCG to experiment with devising a lid that would make it good for collecting sap.

I haven't tried that yet, but I'm wondering about boiling sap in it. Is there any reason not to? (There's a label stuck to the bottom center, but let's assume I can scrape enough of that off to be willing to put it on the stove...)

Is there anything special about the shape or material that makes this a bad idea?
3 days ago
I wonder if you can figure out the balance-spot. Maybe every other year you harvest the comfrey from the orchard and drop it somewhere else where it's needed.

Also, how do you move it? Whenever I "move" it, I end up with comfrey in the old spot and the new one!
4 days ago
I've finished about 1 3/4 quarts so far this year and we had two commercial maple syrups in the house to compare against. My home syrup is darker and all three of us prefer the flavor of it.
4 days ago
Toria, is this your film or is what you wrote quoting someone else?

To show you've completed this Badge Bit, you must provide:
  - a picture of the innards of the game cam next to fresh batteries and a fresh memory card
  - a picture of the game cam put back in place
  - at least six pictures from the game cam



Two short videos and four stills as well as the innards pic and the picture of where it is right now:




4 days ago
I've made nettle soup a few times. Eating it feels good, but I (and more so) my family don't really love it. But I was wondering about variety and found a few options at this thread: https://permies.com/t/44253/Seeking-nettle-recipes
4 days ago