Abe Coley

Michael Cox
Post 1/22/2017 2:13:22 PM     Subject: Biochar making - various kiln designs
"[...] I have used open fires "

Two weeks ago I made about 150 gallons of charcoal in two hours using the open fire method aka "when the coals begin to turn white, put more wood on top of it."   I really liked how quickly I could produce a huge batch - much faster than any containerized methods i've tried.

After I hosed the fire out and soaked the coals real good, i drove the front wheels of my truck back and forth over it, picked out the few un-crushed pieces (mostly knots & super thick pieces that didn't char all the way through) with a pitch fork, hosed it down again and drove over it again. End product is a very fine material, largest pieces being about 1/4 inch.

I think open fire / truck crush is my favorite method for making charcoal to go in the compost.

Making dry charcoal for blacksmithing on the other hand... I don't see any way around using a kiln of some kind.

Michael Cox
Post Today 2:01:12 AM     Subject: How do I make this fence?
I notice you are using what looks like milled off cuts. Here in the UK, where these fences are used a lot, the wood is typically split chestnut. Splitting is quick and I believe is supposed to give longer lasting product because the fibers are left intact.

I do love your gearing mechanism though. Quite ingenious!

Phil Gardener
Post Today 5:53:54 AM     Subject: How do I make this fence?
That machine is brilliant!

Thanks, glad you like it.

I'm not too worried about the longevity of sawn pickets here in western MT because the climate is so dry that just about any piece of wood stuck up in the air in a vertical orientation lasts a very long time.

I have access to a coppiced poplar tree plantation where I can cut thousands of round poles that are about 2" diameter at the base and 8' or 10' long, very similar to what the Wheaton Labs people are using in their junkpole fences. Once the leaves drop I'm gonnna harvest some of those coppiced poplars and give them a try. However, I get those mill scraps delivered for free via dump trailer to my house every week, so time-wise i don't think it's going to be any faster or less work to go out and harvest wood myself.

So I watched that video back in March of this year and quickly afterward built my own fence machine for making 8ft tall fences.

Fence machine works good. I have put up 460 feet of fence so far since may 1st or so. It makes 50% shade and cuts the wind noticeably

I use six pairs of 17 gauge galvanized electric fence wire, spaced at 1ft, 2ft, 3ft, 4ft, 5ft, and 7ft. Gearing is 16 teeth on the crank and 32 teeth on the wheels. Easy to turn.

For wood I have been using mill scraps called log jackets that are the D-shaped barky outer pieces first milled off when making a squared beam. I fly them through the tablesaw to make .75" x 1.5" x 8' pickets and always try to get rid of as much of the bark as possible. The first couple rolls I made with heavier, barkier pieces and they didn't come out as nice as when made out of tablesawn pickets.

I make them in 13 foot long rolls for use on 12 foot post spacing. Any longer and they are too heavy for one person to put up.

If fencing an open space it could be wheeled along a fence line, attaching to posts as you go, avoiding a ton of labor in cutting the wires, rolling/unrolling and putting up sections, restringing the machine, etc.

If made to keep out goats you'd need to use some pretty heavy pickets, and you'd need to either build it in place or make shorter lighter rolls.

a flat of moss beneath your dish drying rack

Whatever the fruit and nut trees they've already planted, maybe try to plant beneficial species between the already existing trees to strengthen their connections and interactions.

If there are some benign weeds just let them grow and focus only on the noxious and invasive ones.

acceptible distance from sewage can vary significantly depending on soil and water conditions. i think best solution is to raincover and containerize to eliminate chance of liquid seepage, a la what these people got going on in this thread

Also another link, to its page on Montana Plant Life .

This book I have, "Useful Wild Plant of Montana" by Minnie Rittel, says inner bark and pine nuts of white pine, ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, and sugar pine all were frequently eaten by native americans & early settlers. Book also says inner bark of cottonwood was eaten by early settlers.

You might also include the trees with edible but not super appetizing fruits such as mountain ash, red osier dogwood, hawthorne

Perhaps worth a try to rub on some emu oil, lavender, aloe, or heck even some cortisone.

Whenever I have to cut over the top of some rocks or logs or whatever, i use a grass whip and choke up on the handle. Be sure to do you cutting early in the morning while the dew is still on the plant, otherwise you'll have a hard time cutting and your blade will go dull in about three schwing-schwings.

Also those huge lawn scissors work ok, but again you have to use them when the dew is still hanging.