Erica Egge

How is the green house doing in the winter? Do you have any temperature logs from the November until now? Has there been and issues with the gray water freezing? Did you try to grow anything in there? If so how did it do

Post 13

Wow time really flies. Today I worked on the sink for the Cooper Cabin bathroom. I enjoyed getting the round sink to fit into the cabinet. Nine is making the other fixtures in that space and did an amazing herringbone pattern with surplus paint sticks. I intend to use the same type of pattern for the door that will go on the front of the sink cabinet.

I have been making other sinks to help with feeding large groups in the classroom, one for washing dishes, and another for washing hands.The dishwashing station was challenging to figure out how to make the pump and faucet work together well. After spraying water everywhere and taking it apart completely, Mags and I figured it out. We ended up bypassing the mixing valve all together which solved all of the problems. The hand washing station was very fun to make. All the corners came together really nicely and I innovated on the location of the foot pump. It is on the ground level now so you don't have to awkwardly raise your leg to pump the water. I also learned to wait until the linseed oil has had a chance to dry overnight before testing the water pump. The towel rack is round wood that I prepped for another project that fell through, but it was perfect for this! The roundwood streched my creativity and problemsolving, which was truly delightful. It has been a long time since I got in the "can't stop, won't stop" mode, but that towel rack did it :)

I have really been enjoying getting to focus on one project at a time. I really appreciate the team here who is figuring out the day to day schedule, it makes things go so smoothly and it is alot of work so THANK YOU.

I have been clamping a square to help me get my assemblies built, which has been working pretty well, but it is hard to set up.  This corner clamp seems like it would be very useful for a variety of projects.

Enjoy the pictures!

Hans Quistorff wrote:

I am curious what this plant is trying to tell us about the soil. Maybe that the soil is compacted? Or perhaps it is an acidic environment?

Thistle is probably trying to tell you the soil is exposed or does not have enough other things growing there. Like the dandelion it arrives opportunistically on the wind and occupies any open niche. More problematic and less desirable than the dandelion; do not let it go to seed unless you plan to collect the seeds for a supplement. .  

Thanks for the info Hans, I think maybe letting it be or smothering it so the hard work of the tap root won't go to waste.

Post 12

This morning was gardening time. I officially have 5 potato plants. I am so thrilled. Also, the sun-chokes are coming back!  Paul and I chatted about when to use green mulch,versus brown mulch. Apparently when using green mulch,  it mixes with water and creates a nitrogen rich tea, so some plants like it, and some plants don't.

This afternoon I worked on the hand washing station I am building for the events so people can eat with clean hands easily. I'll post some pictures of that tomorrow. But for today's post, I wanted to share the signs I have been making over the past few weeks.

Greg Martin wrote:Erica, I think your last picture might be a muscari rather than a lupine.  Check out the leaves on this picture of a lupine.  You'll notice these leaves out there as well as there are wild lupines growing on Paul's land.

Greg, thank you! I thought the muscari were just baby lupines, but I have seen those leaves elsewhere and was a bit confused.

Post 11

It rained the majority of today. The kind of cold rain that makes you want to curl up by the fire with a cup of tea and a good book.

This morning we celebrated Dez's car free existence and I went to scout places to camp on the lab during the events. While on the lab, I saw a plant that looked alot like a plant that appeared in my mom's garden this year. Nine mentioned it was nettle, but it doesn't look like the standard variety of stinging nettle to me. My mom noticed the very long root and how it shoots up suckers. I am curious what this plant is trying to tell us about the soil. Maybe that the soil is compacted? Or perhaps it is an acidic environment?

The last photo is of Lupine, which is a beautiful nitrogen fixing perennial. This picture is from base camp, but hopefully my mom's garden will have established lupine too soon!

Alicia McNamar wrote:Could it be a birch ( white river birch) does it shed and look like paper?

Yeah, I think it is a birch tree. I will have to look to see if it sheds the next time I am in town

Post 10
Well, It has been a minute since I posted, but I wanted to update this thread. Today was great. Nine and I figured out why my car wasn't starting this week. The negative battery terminal was cracked and was not getting a solid connection, so glad it is something I can get the part and fix myself. Also got to sharpen my pocket knife that has been dull for years. And to top it off I made gnocchi for dinner, the texture came out very well.

I got pictures of none of those things. So here are some plants that are growing in my garden patch! These are the super stars of the patch right now. I planted the potato, peas, and quinoa, the strawberry is an established perennial .

Greg Martin wrote:
Did Erica get some of the Theo that I sent?  Most of that was vegan as well.  It's a great chocolate time to be vegan :)

Yes, I did, it was DELICIOUS! Thank you so much for sponsoring that chocolate party!

Post 9

I thought I would write a review of my experience with the rocket mass heater in the Red Cabin. Before staying here I had never used a rocket mass heater, and had done minimal research, so this will be a newbie perspective.

The first couple nights were hard. I kept getting smoke back, I had the wood at an angle, and I only had one or two pieces in there at a time, because otherwise it would go out. I have since learned to prime the chamber until I can feel the air sucking into the feed tube. Also, it has worked best for me if there are several pieces of wood in feed tube, but maintaining decent amount of space between the pieces so that the fire can flow. Thinking about flow while working with this heater has been helpful

Another thing that was not immediately obvious to me was how the RMH feeds itself, sorta. The wood is only really burning at the bottom of the chamber so as it burns through, gravity breaks the wood, and unburnt wood gets into fire. Sometimes though if the fire is going out, the sticks need a little poke to break and feed more fresh wood into the flames.

The heater does a decent job of heating up the cabin if it is running hot for at least 90 mins. That mass at the red cabin has a wooden bench, which has never felt warm to the touch after lighting and running the fire, which kinda makes sense since wood doesn't hold heat well. I have also felt the pebbles in the mass which get up to about room temperature. In the morning it can be colder than my preference, but it is still warmer in the cabin than outside.

I have lit some of the other RMHs here that have wider feed tubes, and they are easier to use. I haven't gotten as much smoking with those and you can load larger pieces. Since the red cabin has the mini RMH we are splitting our wood very narrow, and have to get up to feed it relatively frequently. Some days, it lights really easily, other days, I try for what feels like an hour, only to be in a cold space with a smoke headache. Overall, the RMH is really cool, and it is very efficient with the wood, but the mini is hard to use, and I think there could be better material for the bench so it would actually warm.

The following video is my attempt to capture the heater, the flames did not come out very distinctly, but hopfully gives and idea. If you all would be interested I can make a more extensive video about this heater