Scott A. J. Johnson

I think part of the key here, which pretty much we all probably do, is whatever we wear, wear it out, then make rags. Then compost the rags (if applicable). Then apply the compost... and eat the food.
I've got a pipeline of newer "nice" work clothes for teaching classes, which get demoted when my "crap" work clothes are done. And the cycle continues.
Thanks all!

Hey Folks,
I've seen this brought up various times and I'm curious if any new insights are out there.
So far, i see the following points:
1) Thrift store buys are good because the ecological impact is already over, so this isn't so bad, if you can find what you want (agree).
2) Reparability and compostability are important, so having all natural fibers and no forever chemicals (e.g., waterproofing) is important to folks (agree).
3) High-end brands like Patagonia have nice looking stuff with fair-trade, organic, etc, but are pricey for something that is going to be abused (and they're partly synthetic and thus not compostable) (agree).
4) Some like to buy Duluth brand on deep discount (I don't like the fit and am a standard size, so I almost never find the discounted stuff in my size anyway).

Any other important issues, brands, or ideas I'm missing? These points all make sense but don't give a good bottom line.

Maybe, if I want something exact and can't find it at the thrift store, Ebay is worth a look? I've been doing that instead of Amazon for really specific stuff I need for projects.

I've been making a linen shirt for years. Each season I grow and process flax into stricks, which my friend is spinning into linen thread, which I will weave into fabric and make into a shirt. Not really feasible for all my work clothes or I'll be wearing a grain sack with a strap over one shoulder for a while.

Thanks and happy fall.

Good on you, Jenny! Sorry we're basing it on the social media angle but...
Hoping we can bring in some new eyes to permaculture-ish topics through this, and you have to fish where the fish are, I suppose. :-/
Good luck!

Hey Permies,
We are excited to announce our 100 Days/100 Hours of Gardening Challenge (#100days100hoursGardeningChallenge). In this forum, there's no need to try and convince you of my following boilerplate: Every year, growing some of your own food becomes more attractive. In 2020, the pandemic drove home-grown food to new recent highs. Although some new gardeners didn't continue in 2021 as we came out of pandemic lock downs, with the recent rise in gas prices and on-going supply chain issues, it would be a surprise if gardening didn't surge again in 2022. But I wanted to share this with the forum, since lots of us are already getting plenty of time in the garden -- might as well be entered in a raffle.

We are challenging every gardener to spend one hundred hours in their garden in the first hundred days of their season. We'll be conducting this challenge primarily on Instagram, with profiles of participants, trends, and other topics also covered on our blog. In September, everyone who has participated in the challenge by posting at least semi-regularly over their hundred days will be entered in a raffle for prizes donated by sponsors.

It's easy: post pictures on instagram (or facebook) with the hashtag #100days100hoursGardeningChallenge (https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/100days100hourgardeningchallenge/) with pictures of your garden efforts. See full participation details and prizes here: https://lowtechinstitute.org/100days100hours/

Thanks and happy growing,
Scott

P.S., We are still accepting prize partnerships from interested organizations and companies. Please be in touch if interested.

We've built some of the long Langstroth hives. So far this is my favorite type of hive. Three free plans here: https://lowtechinstitute.org/2017/03/26/beehives-three-ways-long-lanstroth-layens-and-tragkupa-for-sale-too/
One of the plans is for a Swedish Trågkupa. I haven't built it yet, but it is still on my list. It is essentially a big box with a trough that holds the bottom box of frames. Then Lang or other boxes are stacked inside for additional hive space, over which the entire big box gets closed. It can be insulated in the winter. Could be disguised to look like something other than a beehive if your local codes aren't friendly, not that I would encourage lawlessness.
I hope you'll share how the log hive turns out.
The bee stand and cover is nice. Do you have bears? Such a stand would lend itself to bear-proofing. I've put Langstroth hives into a shed (https://lowtechinstitute.org/2018/05/22/introducing-den-bienenstall/) with a side entrance. Also nice if you have a spare shed sitting around.

What you describe would work, in my experience. I plant mine similar to yours: on the surface with about that much compost. I would probably do more of a long mound rather than a flat 12x3 row of compost. I mulch between the rows with cardboard and then pile on woodchips. One problem with woodchips is they draw out nitrogen when they decompose. Maybe woodchips between the rows and then wet, rotting straw on top of the rows. The straw keeps the temp on the soil down. Make sure to keep the rows mounded as the season goes to keep the potatoes covered and not green (re-pile or add more straw).
The tubers themselves don't need rich soil, they need soil that is easily movable so they can expand (i.e., not clay). The richer the soil for the roots, the better the production, generally.
My org did some research on this you can see here: https://lowtechinstitute.org/category/research/no-2-potato-growing-methods/.

Reading the title, I thought you were referring to volunteer tomatillos. I planted them once years ago and have a bumper crop of them every year from the volunteers. Frankly they are becoming a pest! But a welcome one.

Great idea!
We set out to grow, gather, and hunt/raise our own food for a year. As one person, I harvested over a million calories. I use less than an acre, but then also had chickens (and venison hunted on a neighbor's plot).
The calories are toted up here: https://lowtechinstitute.org/2021/02/16/calories-grown-in-foodmageddon/
I'm excited to see this, but hope you'll share the episodes eventually in a public place. I think people would love to see it.

Best of luck!

I know I'm late to the party, but when I saw the story about ash preservation, I did some digging.
It turns out that ash is an ethylene scrubber (study: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/289879296_Kinetic_studies_of_ethylene_oxidation_by_potassium_permanganate_adsorbed_on_rice_hull_ash_lahar_ash_or_coconut_coir_dust). My guess is that by storing tomatoes in ash, it inhibits the spread of ethylene gas, which retards the ripening of the fruits and their neighbors. Maybe I could even store my apples in the potato cellar now, if I bury them in ash to keep the ethylene from running amok.

Thanks for helping get the word out, Mike.
I'm Scott and the one running this project. I'm available at scott@lowtechinstitute.org for any questions.

Stay safe, everyone!