Nancy Reading

Sketching a possible plan with rocket forge/bell/bench with flue exiting through wall.....I may have clay pipe that I can use to line the flue with. I think a smaller diameter would be better than I have drawn here. Clean outs would be required....

This is a book I don't find linked here. We actually have a hardcopy (dated 1901) that was left here by a friend, and it is fascinating to dip into it. It covers a wide range of skills from french polishing wood to forging steel as it was done over 100 years ago. Want to build a log cabin or thatch a roof? You can read about it here.



The whole book seems to be on the internet archive:
https://archive.org/details/sponsmechanicsow00spon/sponsmechanicsow00spon/page/n5/mode/2up and I'm pretty sure it would be out of copyright generally now.

Some of the information is likely to be of less use: setting up a bell pull system, or gas lighting for example. But the uses of different types of wood, and the tools for doing different jobs by hand won't have changed that much.

Well, they would need pruning anyway before planting, so you're saving the receiver of the plant a chore!

I'm glad you're feeling better - we've got some pretty nastry seasonal bugs in this area too. My husband has been pretty poorly, but OKish now.

Let us know what you find out with the daylily. It's the sort of thing that is recomended for forest gardens as an edible perennial, but I've not done more that take a nibble so far. The flower buds, leave shoots and root tubers are all supposed to be edible. When I've planted mine I did notice some little sausage shaped tubers, but the plant was new so I didn't take any.

As regards fava beans. I don't overwinter them here (the season is just too wet and windy for too long and the stems rot), but planting in the autumn to get an earlier crop is definitely a thing further South in the UK. If they've flowered I don't think they over winter, but young plants will take a bit of frost and snow. I would try cutting them back (and use the leaves as a green vegetable) and see whether the roots survive and grow on in the spring. Nothing lost unless you want to plant something else there early next year.

Rob posted about his kickstarter here but it looks like he didn't get much response, and the link is now obsolete. I guess February 2020 wasn't a good time to be trying to start up a business idea!

I've realised I actually find it easiest to save seeds from biannual plants here (kale, carrot, parsnip...). Because they over winter and usually flower in spring, they have a chance to ripen when I get a bit of dry and warmth in summer, so I can harvest and dry them quite easily.
Plants that go to seed the same year are often a bit hit and miss as they ripen later in the summer or autumn, when the weather is getting cooler again, so drying is much more difficult. I'm hopefully selecting for earlier ripening seeds just by succeeding in saving the seeds!

Some great ideas there thanks William!
I do like the idea of using glass bottles in a window. I have some I dug up from the old waste pit and it would be pretty cool to be able to use those. Useful threads:
https://permies.com/t/3486/cutting-glass-bottle
https://permies.com/t/40/11155/dirt-glass-bottle-walls
It also occurs to me that I am building a forge....so may be able to melt glass into a specific window shape.

As regards the flue temperature, I'm toying with the idea of a stone bell, which would extract some of the heat. I'm also not sure what flue I have, or will use. I might have some double wall flue, but it seems extravagant to use that for this. It is also not impossible I might still try for a stone chimney through the wall.

Christopher, I suspect that some sort of dormer/frame over the door will be the easiest option for the door height. I have a step at the doorway in my pallet shed, and it is a bit annoying to have the change in height. Also could be a bit dangerous, if someone forgets it is there, as a trip might send someone down the hillside.

Jay, rain can fall horizontally here pretty often! A hat is a good idea for stopping the rain falling down the chimney rather than spark arresting . I suspect we can find something suitable, or if I go for a stone chimney, then maybe some tilted paving slabs might work as a cap.

Interesting.
I've always thought of mackerel skies as being a sign of a change in the weather, either from settled fine to rain or vice versa. We don't get the mares tails so often here -  that's a sign of wind at higher altitude I believe.

Thanks William!
I'm hoping I might make this happen next spring, but there are a lot of other projects that may take priority (including actualy working on the house!)

I think I'm aiming for a dome shaped roof, as as it will be blended into the surrounding soil surface it shouldn't have much steepness. AS you say the corrugations of the corbel logs should help it keep in position. MInd you more fleece on top would give the membrane some protection from stones, so that might not be a bad idea to cover it on top as well.

I hadn't thought about mice. I guess as long as they don't eat through the membrane they are welcome... I'm not storing food in there as it would get too hot from the forge to be a root cellar, it's more a fun experimental thing to do that might just turn out pretty good.

One thought I've had is #7: I think if I can find enough rotton rock I will back fill behind the walls with rubble - that might help avoid the walls getting too damp. I'll need to check that the surrounding surface tends to slope away on all sides so as not to direct water into the building at all.

Another overnight thought was I'll have to think about the doorway. 3 -4 foot is not going to be tall enough for even me to walk through at all comfortably. A reall big log for the first roof supporteither side might give me another foot I suppose? Most of our spruce is only about 10 inch max diameter. How else could I get a little more height in the doorway?

The Albanian houses use the central hole as a smoke vent. I wonder if I could flash round a flue there with glass somehow? I suspect it would be a pain to get it to seal against rain at all.

I couldn't find any peas, although the cooking and ploughing scenes were interesting - lots of things cooked on skewers like kebabs