Alexandra Malecki

Water is life!  It's helpful to know some things about plumbing.

6 tiny list items:
1) Fix a leaky toilet
2) install an “instant bidet” on a toilet
3) unclog a drain with zip tool
4) clean/decalcify a faucet aerator
5) perform a water quality test
6) set up a temporary water pump in a pond or water source

1 big list item:
1) set up a sink with a foot pump

Thanks for checking and approving =)

Ash Jackson wrote:In this Badge Bit, you will set up a temporary water pump in a pond or water source.
To complete this BB, the minimum requirements are:
 - set up a temporary water pump in a pond or water source

To show you've completed this Badge Bit, you must provide:
   - a picture of the water source without a pump
   - a picture of you installing a water pump at the source
   - a picture of water being pumped somewhere else
   - OR a 2-minute video of you doing this

My friend flood irrigates his land but that wouldn't work for hugelkultur so I set up my water pump to a sprinkler to water the hugel using water from a nearby ditch. I got drenched in water fumbling with the sprinkler! Fortunately it was a hot day.

Mike Haasl wrote:This BB applies to European, American or any other stand-up cutting scythe.  The techniques may vary between the types of scythes so do your research and take the steps that are appropriate for your tool.

To get certified for this BB, post:
   - Explanation of your scythe type and how you are going to sharpen it
   - Video of dull blade trying to cut grass clearly showing it's not sharp, or close up clearly showing dull edge
   - The sharpening process (perhaps peening, perhaps grinding, perhaps using a stone, etc)
   - Video of sharp blade easily cutting grass, or close up clearly showing sharp edge

I have a Fux 40 bush blade. From one scythe revolution: "Traditionally these are not sharpened by peening, if used for mowing tree and brush seedlings. Instead they are sharpened by honing it first with an artificial whetstone or mill file, followed by a natural stone."

I used a 120 grit whetstone followed by a 400 grit whetstone that I purchased from one scythe revolution. I specifically have the bull thistle and the artic fox whetstones: https://onescytherevolution.com/whetstones.html

Dull scythe video:


Sharp scythe video:

Liv Smith wrote:
In this Badge Bit you will drive a truck and trailer backwards with turns.
        To complete this BB, the minimum requirements are:
             - you must drive a truck and trailer backwards 150 feet
             - turn around obstacle(s) so the trailer deliberately ends up oriented at least 90 degrees differently from how it started
             - properly connect and disconnect trailer from truck
             - test that the lights are working correctly
             - any street-legal motor vehicle is acceptable

         To show you've completed this Badge Bit, you must:
         
               Post a 2 minute video of you:
                   - connecting the trailer properly
                   - testing the lights
                   - driving a truck and trailer backwards and with turns
                   - disconnecting the trailer properly

I had over 10mins of video to edit down and I think it took longer to edit the video than it did to do the BB action!

Minimum requirements for this BB:
- Cook 4 different things on an open fire
  - Wood fire on the ground - not in a grill
  - At least 1 item buried in coals
  - At least 1 item is cooked on a spit
  - Not a skewer on a grill

To show you've completed this Badge Bit, you must provide proof of the following as pictures or video (<2 mins):
   - give the recipes for each 4 different things you are cooking
   - preparing the food to be cooked on an open fire
   - cooking the food on an open fire (using the methods required)
   - the finished cooked food (meeting the above stated requirements)

I stoked an open fire and used a shovel to move the coals to my cooking area. I don't prefer food with ash on it and I like monitoring my food without a bunch of smoke in my face.

First recipe - sausage
  Cut green willow to setup a spit. Move coals under it to prevent sausage from getting ashy or cooking too quickly. Turn every 2 mins, ready to eat in 10. Eat it straight. No utensils makes for faster cleanup.

Second recipe - sweet potato
  Move coals below grating. Cook sweet potato on grating for 60mins. Add new coals every 15 mins and turn the sweet potato after 30mins. Eat it straight. No utensils makes for faster cleanup.

Third recipe - russet potatoes
  Move coals below grating. Cook potatoes on grating for 60mins. Add new coals every 15 mins and turn the potatoes after 30mins. Eat it straight. No utensils makes for faster cleanup.

Fourth recipe - onion
 Cook in coals for 45mins, I didn't need to refresh the coals. Remove outer layers until ash is gone and eat it straight. No utensils makes for faster cleanup.

OR! I misread it because there's so much sand?

Take 2 below. do you agree with this?

I did a jar test of my soil at home to compare with the soil texture triangle. I'll admit that I don't really see the boundaries... but I did my best guess. I know that the differences between sand, silt, and clay are the particle sizes. I shook my jar test vigorously for ~5mins then let it settle for a day.

Does anyone agree with my delineations? disagree?

paul wheaton wrote:hugelkultur.....

If you wanna rent an excavator for a day, that's fine.

If, say, I go for a threefer (rocket season extender BB with straw-level hugel BB that also works for GAMCOD) I assume that I need to account for the rocket build expenses? Or should I just focus on the gardening expenses? Do I account for the fuel of an excavator that's free for me to use?

Thx

Dave Burton wrote:To complete this BB, the minimum requirements are:
 - set up a sink with a foot pump

To show you've completed this Badge Bit, you must provide:
   - a before picture of the sink without a foot pump
   - a halfway picture through the installation of the foot pump
   - an action shot of the foot pump sink working
   - OR a 2-minute video of you doing this

Wow, this was a big one! I recycled a sink cabinet (plus sink and faucet) that I saved from a past renovation. I watched a few youtube videos and purchased parts. Hooking up the foot pump wasn't a big deal but figuring out where/how to mount the foot pump to resist the load and structurally reinforce the cabinet took the most work. I took a "halfway" photo but a few more hours into it I took a new "halfway" photo... it seemed that the halfway point kept changing as scope creep occurred.

I'm thrilled to now have a manual sink to bring to my friend's off-grid farm to enhance the sanitation.

Christopher Weeks wrote:There’s a BB for caring for volunteers in polyculture, right? It might work for that.

Yup, I already did that BB: https://permies.com/wiki/122923/Encouraging-volunteer-wild-plants-PEP#2933426

The clarification needed was about which aspect to count calories from harvesting the plant: foraging or gardening. Since the dock is growing in my garden then I'm going to account for it in the gardening aspect.