Thea Morales-McClendon

Have you thought of venting into buckets? Or an old hot water heater? These options would have an old nylon stocking attached to the hose. Place hose inside the lid of a 5 gallon bucket before attaching the stocking. Be sure to use clamps on the inside and outside of the lid. Drill 1 inch holes (use your discretion) towards the bottom of the bucket (I use 5 holes).
For the hot water, try coiling copper pipe around the inside tube of your rocket stove. It’s efficient and easy. I got the idea online when searching off-grid hot water without electricity.

“Root cellars are great places to store food because of the stable, cool temperatures that essentially act like natural refrigerators.” If you can, ferment, dry, freeze dry, or pickle what you grow, a root cellar is a great non-electric option.

I plan to inhabit my land in a few weeks. I, too, am plagued with allergies. I often use the remedy attached to help with them.
I will build a dome home with areas for laundry and drying in one of many sections. See main picture; the dwelling can be as large or small as you want to build it.
You may want to look into aircrete to build with. I’ve done my research and it is a great option for allergy sufferers. There are ways to pipe in heat without smoke, but I don’t have a picture to post.

Tamara Carroll wrote:I see many posts that say that you cannot use steel in your J-Tube as it will get too hot and not hold up. Why then, can you use a metal barrel over the combustion chamber. Also, I see a stainless barrel for sale online. Would it benefit me to use stainless rather than a cheap metal barrel?  Thank you for your input.

Tamara Carroll- I used a broken water heater for my barrel. It works beautifully and is still going strong after many years. Unlike many other mediums I've used, the radiant heat it produces far exceeds my expectations.
As with most things, I got the idea online.
I’ve also decided to revamp the existing seating to incorporate something I saw on permies using half barrels to capture more heat exhaust.

Mike Barkley wrote:

Wonder if the underground part would work for making black garlic?

Black garlic can be made in a crockpot.
Place whole clove bulbs in a crockpot on low heat for 12-24 hours. Check a bulb after 12 hours. If not black and a bit shriveled, continue cooking for 4 hours at a time, checking different middle bulbs each time.
The benefits of black garlic far outweigh that of regular garlic. It has a milder flavor with none of the garlic breath.

Trying to see if it works

Mike Bettis wrote:6 years into my search for a true partnership and love and I'm on the verge of giving up. I'm curious how many others have given up on searching for a loving partnership and how homesteading has been for them. It seems extremely hard if not impossible to homestead solo. But I am leaning towards this and curious how others fair alone, without help and without companionship. I recognize that I fit in no where and it's time to just accept that. I have always sought to be the true authentic me, but in the end it leaves me far too different than anyone else out there.

So much is said about what is not meant in this post, so let me bypass all of it and get straight to the question. I recently purchased five acres. I’m 70 years young and feel like I can handle 5 acres. First order of business was a septic system on the cheap. According to the state I’m in, having one is a must, especially if I am off-grid. To me it was a complete waste, but rules are rules.
Second is a dwelling. I’m in process of building an earth shelter in dome shape. This will afford me the luxury of having part of my garden atop my dwelling and the shape will hold up under the pressure of whatever Mother Nature throws at it.  
Third is relationships. I have traveled far and wide and have formed bonds of lasting friendships with diverse families. We keep in touch and, when summer is at its peak, they will bring their tents and families to help harvest, can, preserve, dry, and stash all the goodies for the next few years.
I have thought about chickens, but decided on khaki ducks. I thought about sheep, but I may get Nigerian Dwarves instead. I have lived this life before, love my own company, and, as long as I don’t take on too much, I should be able to handle it all by myself until I pass it on to the one who proves to love it also.

So many wonderful “gramma” stories! Here’s my share: Both my gramma’s knew each other, having their homes seven blocks apart. My gramma down the hill crocheted a variety of beautiful pieces and would start a square with any leftover thread. What she made off of the patchwork squares were quilts that went to folks “more needy than me”. My gramma up the hill would sew a myriad of things, mostly for her grands and great-grands. She, too, took the excess and made quilts to donate to the poor. Down gramma had a garden of banana trees, orchids, pigeon peas, and enough fresh vegetables to feed 13 children into adulthood. Up gramma had coffee, concord grapes, mountain apples, and kalo. They lived close enough that the barter system worked well for both families. Down grandma even made wine for both families out of up gramma’s grapes.
On our island, at that time, life was simple and love abounded. They never allowed religious differences to mar familial relationships.

Colm Farrell wrote:Hi, I have a new polytunnel and am trying to plan for the growing season. Would any of you care to share what you’re growing in your permaculture polytunnel? I’m in Ireland. Thanks]

Hello!
Has anyone tried using plexiglass instead on their polytunnel? I have two sheets and I live in the desert.

Christopher Weeks wrote:

r ranson wrote:Does anyone have a fantastic dressing recipe that is so easy even I can make it?

Dressing is another area where I don't use recipes, but follow a simple heuristic instead. But it is dirt-simple:
- Pick an oil that you like. (1)
- Pick a vinegar that you like. (2)
- Mix them half and half. (3)
- Add stuff you like, ground finely. (4)

(1) I use premium olive oil or a toasted sesame oil. Sometimes an infused oil, usually with chiles.

(2) I make a lot of vinegar from: raspberries, birch/maple syrup, apple scraps, leftover wine or beer, amaro, other fruit scraps -- often blended and flavored with spruce tips and flowers. And we buy rice-wine vinegar and balsamic. So I just grab something off my pantry shelf. Whatever I feel like works well. Whatever you have will be fine. You could use lemon or lime juice in a pinch.

(3) My ratio is half and half. Many, many recipes call for more oil than vinegar, so you can adjust however you like, but I prefer half and half...and it's easy to remember. How you mix depends on how much you care. You can skip and just layer them. You can shake them in a bottle. You can blend them for maximum, but still temporary, emulsion. If you're blending, you probably want to add stuff from the next step as part of that process.

(4) Once again, you have a lot of leeway. this step is entirely optional, but I don't remember ever actually skipping it. I basically always add freshly ground black pepper. Usually I add some smashed and minced garlic. Some people sweeten it. If you're using a blender, you can easily work in some cheese -- parmesan is probably the most common, but anything works. Any herbs or spices you think will showcase or contrast the salad ingredients work here. Try ground lemon peel on an asparagus salad. You also don't have to be traditional -- miso or dried mushrooms or pickle relish or cocoa are all legitimate things to try.

It's really easy once you have something like this as a framework.

Yes! I was going to write, but you covered most of what I was going to say. I also use the 1 to 1 oil/vinegar combo. I often use some kind of berry and herb in my recipe. Usually a quarter to a half cup of fruit (depending on the berries) and a tablespoon of herbs.