Tyler Grace

I don't buy compost anymore, in bags, in bulk or any other form. I used to in the winter because I live in Colorado and it gets really cold during the winter.

I've managed to keep a small amount going in a tumbler on my deck, even though I hate using plastic tumblers. I can keep it hot enough not to freeze and inoculate biochar at the same time.

You can also do hot piles in mid-winter as long as you keep the nitrogen levels nice and high. It requires a lot of maintenance if your area gets really cold though, so I've heard. Been meaning to try it out.

Ok, here's a ridiculous idea that would take a lot of time and planning and probably a lot of money....

Rig up some kind of conveyor belt that runs along side the stairs. Each step has a platform/lever on it which is connected to the conveyor belt through a bunch of gears and pulleys that act as a come-along or snatch block to cause the conveyor belt to slowly move upward/forward. The forward motion of the conveyor belt would be triggered by the weight of you stepping on each lever/platform every time you take a step up the stairs.

I have no idea how you'd build it but there you go!

If it were me, I'd just do hugelkultur berms, which is somewhat similar to what you were talking about.

I'll add a "winter coat" to my berms with leaves, humus or wood chips.

This year I added a layer of soil/organic matter, dead limbs and sunflower stalks to build up one of them that has sunk a substantial amount.

I still have to trim my shrubs for next year and also start taking cuttings around March-ish for propagation.

That's pretty much it, aside from trenching and building new berms, which I didn't do this winter but still have time before the ground completely freezes.

Just listing perennials and biennials on my hugel berms:

Shrubs: Aurora haskap, Tundra haskap, various hybrid haskaps (can't remember names), Pixwell gooseberry, Invicta gooseberry, jostaberry (gooseberry+currant hybrid), red currant, black currant, random raspberry, triple crown blackberry, serviceberry

Cover: creeping rosemary (anti-grasshopper), mint (weed/pest control), yarrow

Misc: comfrey, burdock, stinging nettle, dwarf junipers, sand cherry

Used to keep them all in one bag like Charles Tarnard was talking about. This system has been working out okay but it could be better.

I keep this in a backpack at all times, so I got them on the fly if I need them.

I'm friends with a woman who teaches PDCs for Pikes Peak Permaculture in the Colorado Springs region, including various towns all around Colorado.

She is looking for a venue to teach personal classes for her LLC located in north/eastern Colorado Springs, Peyton or Falcon.

Please send me a purple moosage if you know of a place. Thank you.

M Ljin wrote:I just made a loaf of chickpea egg bread yesterday (I have been avoiding grains) and it turned out good and similar in texture to what you are describing.  

Nice! I try to stay pretty low carb and avoid grains as well, so I basically avoid bread all together. Even the "keto friendly" bread that actually isn't keto friendly.. I'll occasionally cheat and eat sourdough bread though because I can't resist.

Would you mind sharing the chickpea egg bread recipe?

I've been propagating comfrey like crazy throughout the years. I believe it's the Russian variety (Symphytum × uplandicum) with the pinkish flowers that is not as invasive as some of the others.

They grow very quickly and have a surplus of vegetation, sometimes too much... I will chop and drop it, use it in compost, feed it to the goats etc... I also want to get into making comfrey tea at some point.