Had a busy few days , the sixty foot run of raised beds is completed and all filled , used a old cement mixer to blend in the compost , sand , horse manure , and soil .....its that nice i could eat it myself !....there are seven tiers ....i have made some cloches from some clear corrugated sheets , enough for three tiers .....made another raised tub out of a plastic round manhole extension....filled ready for ....something ....planted some Jerusalem artichoke up on the bank 11 Cains .
Had a good clean up ....drive....brushed and shovelled up ......from a growing perspective i am now into plan E (forced on me) but its all coming together now ..... the water generating wheel idea has now morphed into two ..... this will give me two bites from two sources using a alternator on one and a dynamo the other with a fail safe of a dynohub just in case ....on the one run i am going to make a form for concrete to create a channel but that will be for good dry summer weather .
The poly tunnel is ready to move... but until the earth works is finished (not even started yet ) i cannot site it permanently ...temporary is bad enough ....but with luck the situation should right it self by years end ....Mushrooms ....going to get that done next week....i intend to attach the box to the side of the brew shed facing south/west (next to the cold frame) .
Bright sunny day here today, me and wild child had a big sort out ...the deck cleaned , gazebo moved over and the roof cover is back on, table and chairs cleaned down and a bleach wipe down, emptied 16 tubs and refilled with new compost ...these hang on the deck rails and are for WC s flowers ....revitalised another 10 big floor tubs....had a good brush up and all shovelled up...
moved a pile of bricks n blocks all stacked nice and neat and out the way.
Popped out to have a look at a small green house...plastic job....but cheap and shit...although its a temporary fix for my toms n cucs ...we left it there....i can make a better job ....and i will tomorrow......i have all the gear required ....finished off the day laying some chippings down for a pathway by my raised beds .
Bought that cheap shit plastic greenhouse after all , i forgot i used the timber on another job...when i priced up the timber it did not stack up for a temporary fix....anyway its up and fixed to the deck , grow bags are all in and the shelf is full with trays sown some sweet corn, lettuces,and planted more potatoes in those pop up container bags done two and another four will be done tomorrow , warm here but windy today.
The four grow bags laden with seed potatoes done yesterday and set in position, woke up this morning ...darr darr dun dun darr dragged a comb across my head.....shower.....coffee out on the deck ...check out the meadow on the opposite mountain...out comes wild child ....full English breakfast ...trips but retrieves her composure "why are you dancing? i enquire"...i am not bloody dancing you idiot ! i tripped over you'r slipper !.....what are you doing today?.....i don't know yet ...i light the fire ...pop down the wood shed fill the three firewood baskets ,empty the ashes ....chop a pile of stick enough for starting for next week....i start the digger just to bump up the battery...the sil appears from around the back " oh great i have marked out the levels for you" roped in just like that.....today was spent playing on the digger and prepping for a deck , this was done quick enough joists went in and levelled off all deck boards are down and fixed ..bar two..... the quadrant cut around the pond was done ....will finish off tomorrow.....now then ! i want all of you to familiarise yourself with THE BEATLES number "anytime at all " the intention is we all sing this to anyone being bastard miserable or cranky ....now when i want you coming in....just listen for the double rim shot on the snare drum (Ringo) does not ...but SS does ....thank you for your indulgence !
Ordered a few more 30ltr barrel kegs off ebay today ...bought enough supplies to fill them all to the brim this afternoon tinned ham , corned beef,spam,dried milk,peas,tomatoes, rice,mixed herbs,beans,spaghetti,oats, coffee ,tea,and steak and kidney pie ...this now completes my prepps for (grab and go) wise.
Been having a wander about the boundaries , a few trees have come down and need harvesting ....but more pressing are about forty trees that need to be felled before they create a bigger problem , this will also benefit more light for growing veggies ,so i will be addressing that situation shortly, most of the seeds sown are now popping their heads up.
Cut a four foot trunk in half with my chainsaw ready to make a bench seat and cut four legs ...out came my draw knife and debarked the lot, drilled the four holes and shaved the legs to a tight fit and knocked them home with a block hammer , looking good so far ....back rest next...then a table to make next, they will both be sited by the stream where wild child and i can take afternoon tea and cucumber sandwiches...um yeah ...weather guy said turning warmer this coming weekend and next week .
Bought a new security system the other day with night vision .....so i will get on with that this weekend and get it all up and running....not looking forward to the attic though but needs must.....i need to find my frow ....the workshop is so tidy .....i can't find a bloody thing ! .
Bought a load of LED light bulbs today, 240V only 6W, take just 50mA, with care i reckon i should be able to run the whole house on a leasure battery and inverter if nessesary.
(18 April 2018, 20:35)Pete Grey Wrote: [ -> ]Bought a load of LED light bulbs today, 240V only 6W, take just 50mA, with care i reckon i should be able to run the whole house on a leasure battery and inverter if nessesary.
LED bulbs are fantastic. I was forced to make the change a couple of years back due to the government phasing production of the incandescent bulbs out of manufacture. I did not like or appreciate the forced change when it occurred, but now I am a real supporter of the LED bulbs.
The LED uses reduced wattage and produces nearly zero heat. I have a couple of the bulbs that are three years old and if their performance is an indicator I will not be replacing blown out bulbs for a long, long time. Old bulb performance at my place was 6 month replacement schedule.
Apparently running the lights at my place was not a real draw on the total energy use since I have seen absolutely no reduction of my electric bill whatsoever!
Back in the 1990s when I built my last off grid cabin it took nearly 1000w just to light the house if I turned everything on at the same time. I had to factor that into the gen-set requirement and started machine requirements at 3,000w.
If I used just the 12v florescent light it would drain the battery in a couple of evenings without good sunshine.
Now, using the LED bulbs throughout the entire house, I can turn every light in the place on and consume only 50w. I can light the house and run the fridge off a little 2500w gen-set.
It makes running the gen-set just for lights a real waste. Might as well turn on the fridge too.
Also allows one to use a simple and cheap 150w+- solar panel, feeding a rec-battery or two for light, run the laptop.....
Almost makes one want to have a separate small solar system just for lights and relegate generator use to using power tools or keeping the deep freezer powered to protect food.
It also lowers the wattage needed on the inverter on that small system, where the price really jumps above the 1000w level. At least it does over here. Going from 800w to 1200w is nearly double the price.
Yes we’re now set up for lighting now, but we have no backup power for our freezer and are not planning to. We have a lot of salt, more than enough to salt all the meat in the freezer and we have a couple of tubs which should take it all, we aren’t worried about the other stuff in there it will just be cooked and that’s it.
If the grid goes down permanently i think there will much more pressing things to sort out, setting up water systems being number one.
Unless you live in a very secluded area, where you can guarantee no intruders will come around OPSEC means you don’t stick a lot of solar panels on your roof or run a noisy generator to attract attention.