testing Rocket Mass Heater

Rocket Mass Heater: Heat for your winter garden.

I back in August  tested a small version of a rocket heater using about $20 of fireplace bricks and a metal vent pipe. you can read more about how it works here. My test works, but clearly i need to do some more math with my air intake ratio, to make this work better.

Why make it better. maybe you've heard of my winter strawberry challenge.

Rocket stoves offer some advantages over cast iron stoves:

• 1/10 the wood needed
• cleaner air going out (less smoke)
• less costly to built

USDA Zones update

The USDA Plant Hardiness Map has changed for the first time in 20 years. Here's their press release about it.

unfortunately my area is still Zone 5

Winter Garden

Someone at work challenged me to grow strawberries in the winter. Well I said 'challenge accepted'.

The rules:

• No energy from the house
• located outside
• plants must produce red/pink strawberries.

I found someone replacing their windows and some old lumber, made a hotbed (4ft x 2ft). On sunny days it get up to 110F, on snowy days 35F. They have bloomed once already, but the berries died when they were green.

This isn't the last improvement to my frozen strawberry challenge. It is hopeful to see my plants survive with so little work.  More updates to come...

Lawn Care: Part 2 Mowing

Why to mow tall.

When I first got a house and started mowing my theory was "If I mow short, then the grass will grow slower. Thus less yard work and less mowing." Problem was that the law was always brown and weeds were rampant. I spent more time than ever fertilizing, watering on dry weeks, and weeding. When the lawn finally got water, the grass would grow rapidly and need to be cut. In short my grass was unhealthy and I was struggling to keep it alive.

Mowing high and relax. This year I started mowing high. My mower has a max setting of 3 inches (wish it was more). The changes were small at first, but 4 months later I am relaxing more then last year. The grass grows fairly slow (having reached its max height). The grass is greener then my neighbors, because the roots go deeper (I haven't needed to water the lawn at all this year). Weeds are slightly less of a problem, but there is always a battle between lawn and weeds. However now my grass is healthier, and seems to be fighting weeds better.

Keep in mind

• Some southern grasses (that like hot weather) due better at lower heights (2in-3in)
• In states that get more rain, I have heard that wet grass tends to folds over and needs to be cut shorter
• here in Wisconsin I keep hearing and reading that 3-4 inches is the recommendation.

Reference Links:
http://www.allaboutlawns.com/lawn-mowing-mowers/how-high-should-i-cut-the-grass.php
http://www.donnan.com/mowing.htm
http://www.richsoil.com/lawn-care.jsp

The Weather

With all this crazy weather. I am going to tweet the daily forecast. Maybe include a phrase of what my garden plan is for the day.

Thistle Weeds: A thorn in my side

Canada thistle (Cirsium Arvense)This pointy weed might look tough but actually is a delicate plant if you know its weak spots. Thistle is a creeping perennial, meaning the roots will grow like vines under the ground and popup a new plant. It doesn't do well in shade. (colostate.edu)

Medically
This plant is used to treat: tuberculosis, diarrhea, intestines worms, gastritis, skin eruptions, skin ulcers, and poison-ivy rash (georgetown.edu  and naturalmedicinalherbs.net). The leaves and roots are usually used for teas or mashed up to make a paste. I don't need to tell you that eating a prickly plant is not a good idea.

Removal
Killing this weed could be a tough battle. This is one of those plants where you need to attack the greens not the roots. Unless you dig out all of the vine like roots new plants will show up, but this plant is easy to starve out. Every article I read showed that you should take a multi prog approach to remove these weeks (Curt, spray, and shade) They have multiple roots that spider out and can go as deep as 15ft. If digging out the plant is you plan, any roots left behind it will regenerate and create baby weeds (Canada Thistle). Most web pages say not to hand pull the weed, but cut the green part down to the ground.

Chemically Roundup's Ortho Weed B Gone Max seems to be the preferred chemical choice. garden forums says you will need to apply is a second time with the weed comes back. Organically you have lots of options: chop off the leaves, prevent sunlight by covering with cardboard, use farm animals to eat the weeds (like cows), use bugs that love eating this plant (Canada Thistle Stem Weevi), spray with vinegar, or burn with a burn torch.

Personally I will be cutting it down and spraying with vinegar. This might take a few weeks, but slowly starving the plant seems like the best approach. Remember disturbing the roots only encourages new weeds.

Storing Your Extra Food

Waste not, want not

So you started your first garden and planted 6 tomato plants. Now you have too many tomatoes. Or you have more then one raspberry plant, and they all ripen at the same time. Or in your fridge you have that extra herbs from yesterdays dinner. Maybe you should be freezing, canning, or dehydrating?

As with most things in life, everything has its place. In my kitchen (like most people) I have a frozen food in the freezer, canned food in the pantry, and dehydrated snacks in the cupboards. When I have to do the work, I prefer dehydrating. This process takes a fraction of the time, space, requires no refrigeration, keep more nutritional value in the food, and will last for years.

The Freezer is one of the biggest parts on my energy bill (mine is even the newer Energy Efficient model). For all vegetables you need to take that extra step, of steaming, before freezing. I get about 3 months before freezer burn sets in. Nutrient lose for frozen food is 40-60% from the moisture expanding when freezing, causing food cells to rupture.

Canning is so much work, there is a reason it is done in big batches. You need to throughly clean and sterilize all the jars/cans. Then you need to prep all your food using the right ratios of salt or sugar. Next you need to pack each can/jar so you have enough 'head room'. Then boil them for the right amount of time and let them cool. Even after all that there is still a good chance of a few going bad from botulism. My mom would only keep canned/jarred items for only a year. The longest I have seen groceries store canned items is 3 years (salt a main ingredient in that can). One batch canning need pot that is 16 -33quart (4-8 gals) of water boiling. Weather you use gas of electric, that 2hrs of boiling is going to be easy to spot on your energy bill. After that no energy needed. Nutrient lose for canning food is 60-80% from high temperatures and foods immersed in water during period of preparation.

Dehydrating is just easier. Most of the food I dehydrate just needs to be cut into slices and set on the dehydrator. 8hr-12hrs later take it out and put it in an air tight jar. You can't over dry food, so if leave if for any extra day in the dehydrator no problem. It should last 2-10 yrs, maybe longer. A single light bulb uses more electricity then my dehydrator and after pack it no electricity needed. No salt or sugar preservatives are use. Nutrient lose for dehydrated food is 3-5% from low heat during the drying cycle and the gentle air flow.


Summary Chart

Process	Nutritional Loss	Expiration Ave	Energy
Dehydrate	3-5%	2-10 yrs	Little
Freezing	40-60%	3 months	Lots
Canning	60-80%	1-3 yrs	Lots

Resources
http://www.storefood.com/self/nutrdehy.html
http://www.dehydrate2store.com/