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Neil Glasgow wrote:INumerous companies are growing Mycelium for insulation and furniture. However, the real benefit from Mycelium is its a Vegan approved meat and dairy substitute. That’s right, when grown on a suitable substrate, it’s fit for human consumption and creates Vegan products ranging from bacon to dairy products.
In my opinion, the Permaculture community should put together a team dedicated to the on and off-grid production of food and explore the two main ways to make Mycelium: submerged Fermentation (liquid) and the Solid state method described in this article. Large investments are being made to develop Mycelium food products so I propose we put our thinking caps on and design a homesteader version for the masses. I believe Mycelium could figuratively be the next Manna from Heaven food source.
Here is the link to one company offering a meat and dairy free product from Mycelium. https://www.naturesfynd.com/products
Michael Ot wrote:
Richard Henry wrote:I see some discussion related to insulation both underneath the floor and in the walls. Has any thought been directed at natural insulation such as hemp? Hemp is a great insulator whether in brick form or poured or as hempcrete. Basically it provides a better insulation than equal thickness fiberglass, about on a par with mineral wool, but with the advantage that it can get wet and dry out whereas mineral wool basically loses its insulation value on wetting and cannot recover as hemp does. In addition, hemp is a natural insect and rodent repellent and continues to sequester additional CO2 as it ages. In addition, non-treated hemp does not burn until it hits around 900 degrees F. Hempcrete is made of the central hemp core, or hurd, lime and water. It can provide some structural support, especially in a floor situation while being far more healthy than Portland Cement. I believe it would provide a really decent leveling material beneath such a structure and act as a vermin retarder as well as carbon sink.
For the earth cooling tubes, I remember an inventor friend who raised that concept about 50 years ago. The main concern I had then and still would, relates to the fact that ambient air being drawn through cooler soil will tend to create "rain-out" or condensation in the tube. If the tube is closed, then mold will rapidly follow and the system becomes an increasing risk factor for healthy air. My modification was to use a perforated (on the bottom) pipe wrapped in geotextile (could be hemp cloth) to keep soil and small beasties from entering while allowing condensate to seep downward and out with some porous material underneath, hopefully directed to a french drain or other area to sequester the condensate from the incoming air. In a more arid environment, perhaps one could direct such condensate to holding tanks to create an Arrakis-style water source. For non-sci-fi readers, this came from Frank Herbert's novel, Dune. More work, but potentially rewarding, especially if melded with a rain collection system.
The insulation will depend on what is easily available. If Wheaton labs has access to hempcrete I think that would make a great subfloor material. Apparently someone is doing wool insulation, if that is produced in great enough quantity then it could perhaps be used for the walls and ceiling.
Cooling tubes are a pet topic of mine, they will have weep holes and probably some gravel underneath to keep them dry.