Building a new terrace to grow a years worth of onion, some echinacea, herbs, and other things too.
And how we stopped buying bedding for ducklings and chicks.
A word for the haters :)
Edited 128d ago
permaculture
"Your city is a scab on the landscape: sidewalks, roads, parking lots, rooftops—the built environment repels water into sewers & then into the environment. Urban planners have been doing it for centuries, treating stormwater as a nuisance to be diverted away as quickly as possible to avoid flooding. Not only is that a waste of free water, it’s an increasingly precarious strategy, as #climate change worsens #droughts but also supercharges storms, dumping ever more #rainfall on impervious cities.
#Urban areas in the United States generate an estimated 59.5 million acre-feet of stormwater runoff / year on average—equal to 53 billion gallons / day. Over the course of the year, that equates to 93% of total municipal & industrial water use. American urban areas couldn’t feasibly capture all of that bountiful runoff, but a combination of smarter stormwater infrastructure & “#SpongeCity” techniques would make urban areas far more sustainable."
#permaculture #wetlands
https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2024/03/us-cities-could-capture-billions-gallons-rain-water-conservation-drought/
Every potter is a bit of a pyromaniac. As soon as the temperature drops below 60°F, it’s fire season. I have an entire body of work that I only make in the winter because I fire #pottery in my outdoor woodfire kiln. #Permaculture geeks will love this: I built a #RocketKiln with post consumer materials based on the design of the rocket stove. I also use post consumer waste as fuel. I’m excited to share this process with you over the next couple of months. More info: https://potterybyosa.com/blogs/clay-people/portrait-of-a-kiln-lisas-orrs-rocket-kiln
Do you hate #broligarchs?
#Billionaires? #AiSlop but still think there is merit in #AI?
Here is my proposal for a stand alone.
OFFGRID COMMUNITY AI SYSTEM.
That's right.Your very own co-op AI
The calculations are very much back of the envelope, first cut, but quite feasible.
A 32billion parameters, frontier level performance compatable open source #llm model. The power requirements is that of 3AC units including cooling. Serves 15-20 concurrent users. 40 households of 4 people each (taking into account actual AI model distributed use metrics and contention ratios)
40 households, subscribing at $30/month over 2 years + power (solar). Train with your own datasets.
Entire set up takes half a rack.
LETS GO!!!
#OpenSource #FOSS #CommunityTech #OpenHardware #EthicalAI #ResponsibleAI #AIForGood #TechForGood #Solarpunk #RegenerativeCulture #Degrowth #AppropriateTechnology #OffGrid #SelfSufficient #Homesteading #Permaculture #RightToRepair #MakerSpace #DIYTech #decentralizedtech
This is what I've learned this year. Suit it to taste/#climate.
Fava beans, lentils and/or Scarlet runners depending on the temperatures.
Swiss chard, figs and blackberries, woodland or alpine strawberries depending on climate.
Mulberry trees, hazelnuts, and chives. There is also something called tree kale or purple tree collard.
Amaranth grows where it's very hot. Use the beans and #composting to nurture the soil.
3-4 Kilowatt hour incoming #solar charge, and about 9 to 10 KW hours of lithium phosphorus batteries.
Run nothing but 48 volt systems or you're wasting your time.
This radiant installation pictured below has given me a 20° variance between external and internal temperatures.
I use the lights from some cloning chambers I built into the house to stabilize the temperatures through the winter. Vent heat from LED light fixtures into the house. If you need more heat, use a wood burning stove.
It gets a little chilly but it can drop below 20° f and it stays habitable inside.
This is one layer of the insulation, my math called for two. Halfway done I will still make it through this winter.
I use the water storage to further stabilize the temperature.
I made it 80% of the year with just this pitiful water catchment system I installed in a hurry.
It is two small tarps going into a shady 30 gallon water bucket.
The upgrade will be an 8x8 tarp headed into a 50 gallon rain barrel.
The gardens take more water than humans. For months sometimes it's simply will refuse to rain.
When it does rain, the power takes a hit thus of the batteries.
Expect to put the farm ahead of everything else.
Cut down invasive trees. Use them for firewood and to hide you from the outside.
Do not bulldoze Fern Gully. Any clearing you create will then have to be managed.
A composting toilet that separates the liquid is essential.
Be mindful of bugs at all times in all places or eventually they will remind you forcefully that they exist.
An #ecosystem of dragonflies, lizards, and bats has sprung up to deal with endless swarms of insects.
Yellow jackets live nearby and outnumber the bees 50 to one. The yellow jackets and wasp do most of the pollinating as unfortunate as that is.
In this new world you have forbidden bees or nothing.
Birds are a double-edged sword, but there is nothing worse than an unchecked bug swarm being your existence for the rest of your life.
Squirrels, chipmunks, woodchucks, All manner of groundhog, hedgehogs, larger animals such as deer join the crows.
Work something out with the birds, work something out with a yellow jackets, work something out with the animals and the trees.
You are building an ecosystem, a small world.
The condensation from the leaves creates a rain every morning.
I'm not sure what tipping point stops this, but I have no plans to find out.
This kind of depends on going #vegan, I'm not going to lie. Supplement it with textured vegetable protein, nutritional yeast, and multivitamins.
A simple thing is to glob peanut butter into a bowl of course cut oats, then sprinkle with cinnamon.
You should plan on some sort of internet connection, recreation, and a shower or two at least every week, or you will quickly go mad.
Time your heavy labor for shower days. That way you won't be stuck gross.
Keep peroxide, witch hazel, creams, and health and beauty aides of course on hand.
Wash your clothes in a bustub and rinse them out in the storms.
Learn to build fences and barriers both living and material. Grow blackberry up a deer fence made of t-post, these posts can be driven to anchor a row of cinder blocks to the ground. This will also deter vehicles. A layer of barbed wire deters humans.
Create walls of hazel and figs. Learn to work the #hedge.
#ClimateDiary #Permaculture #Homestead #Anarchy #SolarPunk
Edited 1y ago
I am a master of my craft. If you're looking for a plant list. Here's what I've taken with me after a lifetime of study and work
Cool: Lentils, Fava beans, Swiss chard, Kale, Spinach.
Warm: Amaranth, Sunflower, Seminole pumpkin, Scarlet runner beans.
Other: Blackberry, Mulberry, Fig, Hazelnut, Alpine strawberry.
Rotate to taste.
This is for whatever the climate zone is in Alabama for the year 2024. Assume it will not be the same for long and adapt accordingly.
Don't waste your time with July and August 🔥🚒
Don't waste your time with December and January ❄️
#Permaculture #Gardening #Green #Solarpunk
Edited 1y ago
Hey, are you one of my friends who has heard me talk about growing a fairy castle and have you been waiting on me to finally get around to showing what I'm talking about? Wait no longer!
https://tippitiwichet.wordpress.com/2026/04/14/growing-a-fairy-castle/
Welcome to The Loop Farmstead and our new home at Spectra.video #farming #agriculture #permaculture #solarpunk #gardening #sustainability
Why would I want to be a subsistence farmer?
Edited 143d ago
Where do the #lowtech and #NeoLuddites hang out? The #permaculture and #bicycle geeks? The co-op and #RepairCafe heroes?
Looking for alternate scenes around alternate living: sharing, building, eating, and learning together.
Much obliged.
It's been a while since I posted here, and at this point all of my previous posts have auto-deleted. Might as well reintroduce myself.
I am Gabriel, and I am based in Costa Rica. I work as an independent software developer and systems administrator.
As of late, my computer interests lie in #selfhosting, #Linux, and #containers. I care a lot about #privacy and ownership of our data and devices.
I am also passionate about #permaculture, #reading, #cycling, #fermentation, and #synthesizers.
New #gardening video up! Read the script on my blog or watch me on YouTube for a chance of seeing Mr. Freddy "the kitty" Mercury, or just listen to it, visuals aren't necessary.
BTW, I'm looking to get into doing research for podcasts, and this article was written with this in mind, if you need a researcher and would like to see a sample. Don't worry if it's not a gardening #podcast I have wide interests.
Edited 80d ago
squash happiness
... a much needed break from tomato madness 😅
I did it. I finally used my hoard of photos to make a video celebrating a year of free gardening in a trailer park.
Edited 96d ago
