Chris Clinton

Howdy. Need to change out a sink and started trying to find ways of sealing pipe threads not using all the PTFE products that have taken over that application. No luck finding anything on youtube thus far but the search algo's are what they are now. Anyone made pipe dope from scratch or recommend a product for water pipes that's free of forever chemicals and such? I've found a little to go by here: https://theplumbero.com/how-to-make-a-pipe-dope/  but would love to hear some direct experience. I also saw toothpaste and hair used in a recent Project Kamp video. thanks in advance!


edit: Now that I've posted this I see some similar threads recommended below it. Still not really much in the way of answers but apologies for creating another thread

The only times I've seen wood chip piles hit smoke point or ignite they were more than 2 or 3 stories tall. A pallet company a half a mile from me accepts chips for some reason (I don't know why) and stacked them really tall to the point I remarked that it would catch fire when driving past. Sure enough it happened last year and at least one fire truck was there for like 3 or 4 days. Any hot compost is going to let off some steam, but I can't imagine a heap that a typical chipper truck dumps ever being a threat. I once had a windrow of around 12 loads from the street trimming crew sit for years and turn to black gold without any concern.

I found one single stem in the nettle patch with 3 leaves whorled per node instead of the usual opposite two. Didn't really realize till I had it in my hand and couldn't find exactly where I cut it from but there were no others. Anyone every seen this? I'll try to root the stem and see if it keeps up this growth habit. Any guesses what's going on with this, random sport mutation or some sort of physiological response?

Sticking cuttings of two varieties of basket willows alongside my big hugel project. This will get extended in the future. I had planned to get more in this Spring but so it goes...

These weren't cutting all that bad but better to give them some attention before I finally got around to my grafting work for the season. Disassembled and cleaned and sharpened with files, stones, and a strop. Lubricated and protected with coconut oil.

Mike Barkley wrote:Chris Clinton ... I don't think that would qualify for commerce but I think it would fly as an oddball BB.

For clarification, is that because tree work does not fall under "permaculture labor" or because I did not specifically state that I would be paid for my effort. I think they've been getting quotes in the thousands and I said I'd tackle it for $300. It's not a favor for a friend situation, I just need the firewood and this tree is close by and has a head start in drying.

A question pertaining to this BB: https://permies.com/wiki/115209/pep-commerce/Sell-permaculture-labor-site-paid

Would cutting up and removing a large fallen oak tree for a neighbor count as permaculture labor?

Still chugging along on this project amidst all the other things. Still haven't completed the full length of the base layer but it's over 2/3 done I'd say. Had to keep clearing perennial weeds, move a compost pile out of the way and think about the layout some more. I buried some old terracotta pipe I had laying around as a way for water to pass from the trench on one side to the pond zone and then proceeded establishing the hugel. Starting to dig the pond out some more beyond the original pits. I have a good bit more of mugwort rhizomes to dig out for the final stretch and decided I'd focus for now on completing the first 6 feet for the sand badge. I don't think time will allow completing the whole in time for spring planting and it allows me to test things on a smaller scale before applying those lessons to the whole. As this project progresses it feels more and more like a masonry build. The main tasks of mixing soil with charcoal and compost feels like mixing mortar. Each lift of logs has it's faces and fill. Trying to pretty much surround each log with soil and not have just a contiguous mass of wood. I've landed on using fibrous plant matter to hold the soil mix in at the edges, starting with dry grasses and such during winter and now using whatever fast growing early weeds are around, primarily speedwell at the moment. I don't use anything that will sprout roots from its stems and lay the plant matter with its roots pointing out into the sun and air. This works well for filling the gaps under new logs and keeps the soil from rolling off. I can basically build vertically plumb with this method. I try to show my process in the photos. This is about as far as you can get from the quick machinery based method but maybe it will help someone. I'm about 4-1/2 feet above grade on the first section and it is stable and compacted enough to stand on. I drilled 2 holes 7 feet apart on a piece of bamboo and hung washers as plumb bobs to determine the trench pathways and have made a small start to gauge how deep I'll go and how high to build first. A long pole leaned against the hugel helped me visualize the amount of side fill I'd need.

Sweeping the floors on a rainy morning. Bringing in firewood and having too many cats ensures a good harvest of sweepings. Poor curry tree doesn't have a sunny spot in the house to overwinter but should make it back outside soon before it looses all its leaves.

Time to do a little laundry. I don't have a normal washer/dryer so this is a regular exercise for me. I have a small collection of different washing options, including an old electric wringer washer but for this BB I just used a plunger and a 30 gallon can and an antique hand crank wringer. I tend to presoak my dirty farm clothes for a while, agitating with the plunger periodically. I then drain and wring the clothes, measure the greywater friendly detergent and do the actual wash cycle. Wring, then rinse cycle, then wring again. Really not the best to put clothes with buttons through the wringer, it does tend to break them sometimes. The denim jacket I just squeezed out by hand, no way that's going through the wringer. Up to little second story deck where the pulley style clothesline runs back to the barn. I use mostly clothes pegs I make myself from willow and scrap cans. Once dry I folded them back into the basket to take inside.

here's my dream "washing machine"