Does anyone know about growing loofah (luffa)? Wikipedia says that it's a sub-tropical plant, but I'm wondering if it will grow where I am in zone 8b.
I'd love to grow these and make loofah sponges for our own use and to give as gifts. We grow squash really well here in the summer, and I'm hoping loofah would be the same.
One day until winter vacation and it's so warm the garlic is sprouting 🙃🧄
Cleaning and Using Sheep #Wool for Insulation
Posted on July 29, 2020 by Laurence Manchee
Excerpt: "Benefits of sheep wool insulation
Sheep’s wool is an outstanding insulator with as good or better insulation properties as #RoofMate or #RockWool. As opposed to shop-bought insulation the homemade wool is not processed into compact blocks. The loose wool can be pushed into small gaps and does not need to be cut to size, making it is easier to work with.
Sheep’s wool is more #EnvironmentallyFriendly, is not itchy to work with and is fireproof. It regulates humidity, does not burn, purifies the air and is a good sound proofer.
All in all, it is better than any #insulation we have used in the past and is more cost-effective."
Learn more:
https://www.keelayogafarm.com/cleaning-and-using-sheep-wool-for-insulation/
#SolarPunkSunday #WoolInsulation #SyntheticAlternatives #AnimalProducts #DIY #Homesteading
So... pigs! (a thread)
I want to do a full post about them soon, and what we're planning on doing with them, but, some background:
Homesteading is trendy right now, if you didn't know. There are influencers making entire six figure or higher salaries making small-scale farming look cute, and other factors -- like increasing cost of living in cities, the ability to do remote work for some people, disillusionment with "society" or fears of climate collapse -- are pushing a lot of people to try to buy land and get on the bandwagon (or get on the bandwagon in their small suburban lots). It's wonderful that more people are interested in producing their own food and evaluating our reliance on industrial, extractive food systems, but if we're being honest, lots of these people are doing this without a psychological basis for intense physical labor, consistent work ethic (i.e: working around the clock and not quitting or skipping chores because it's cold or they're hard or you're sick or whatever), and appropriate ethics around animals as being sentient living beings deserving of care but who also are a critical part of a whole and who ultimately serve a purpose (usually food production) and instead see animals as accessories, pets, or status or novelty items.
One of the very unfortunate side effects of this is that lots and lots of people are purchasing and then breeding livestock... and then deciding that they can't actually kill them because that would be *awful*, continuing to breed them, and ending up in basically a cycle of overwhelm where without new animals coming in the novelty is worn off to the point where they don't want to do it anymore, so they keep breeding them, but then they're overwhelmed and cannot provide adequate care or afford all of the animals they have.
Livestock "rescues" are popping up left and right, diverting resources to "saving" these animals, all while many rural communities are still impoverished (despite that their tax base is increasing with upper middle class people flooding their housing markets) and without decent food.
There's a solution to this: actually producing food. We could also, then, divert some of this food to urban communities who are also without food.
The vegan debate is enormous (and I cover some of my thoughts in this post: https://rancholibertad.com/on-the-ethics-of-livestock/) but also a little ridiculous. We can pretend all we want that a vegan diet reliant on industrial food systems is actually a diet that *doesn't cause harm*, or that farming without commercial inputs is possible without animals (it isn't) or that somehow wild-sourcing all of our food is feasible in any ecosystem in the US (it isn't -- not at scale, as in, this isn't a meaningful lifestyle change any large percentage of us could make without *any* agriculture, and this isn't a lifestyle that's been lived in a very, very long time regardless of how people wish to categorize Indigenous peoples as "hunter gatherers").
So this is how we're orienting to this issue:
What we have capacity for, we're attempting to procure from these failed homesteads, where they are "calling it" and attempting to dump all of their animals.
The goal is to provide a high-welfare environment, correct any health issues, leverage the animals' instincts to support the land (i.e: pigs love rooting and can help decompact soil and clear rocky areas, turkeys and chickens help with pest control and can consume most cover crops that we plant in garden areas too small for ruminants, etc.) and then to humanely dispatch them when it is time and feed our community (or sometimes our omnivorous or carnivorous allies, like our or community members' dogs, cats, etc. that also support similar land regeneration projects through guarding or other contributions).
#Pigs #Homesteading #RegenerativeAgriculture #CommunitySovereignty #FoodProduction
Has now taken to just sitting there staring and harassing the poor girls
The hawk is back and has resorted to trying to attack through the chain link fencing. There's no way it can get to them now but it's still trying.
I have never seen a hawk this relentless
#Soapmaking from Scratch: #Woodash #Lye
Sally Pointer, Apr 4, 2023
"Part one of a series looking at the history, archaeology and practical creation of soap starting from ashes and fats.
Today we are setting up a lye hopper to turn wood ash into a strong alkali suitable for soapmaking."
Learn more:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5KLWPSMot8
#DIY #SolarPunkSunday #WoodashLye #SoapmakingHistory #Homesteading
Today I slaughtered a goat and a rabbit
https://piefed.blahaj.zone/c/dull_mens_club/p/436166/today-i-slaughtered-a-goat-and-a-rabbit
Sad to report our old farm hen Dim Jim passed away today at nearly 10 years old.
She helped usher in quite a few new broods over the years. She was part of the first flock we ever had. She was a very good hen.
RIP Dim Jim
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
BDG feature: Warm Days and Frosty Nights
🔗 Read more: https://tinyurl.com/jzsxebpb
#Buddhism #Homesteading #Mindfulness #Nature #Dharma #BuddhistPractice #Seasons #Impermanence
Open source Highest Good food information: The whole handbook is 50 chapters in 5 volumes – a total of 792 pages, including 170 pages of color photos and illustrations. http://permaculturenews.org/2010/01/06/farmers-handbook/
#Permaculture #OpenSourceFood #SustainableAgriculture #RegenerativeFarming #GrowYourOwnFood #FoodSecurity #Homesteading #EcoEducation #CommunityGardening #RegenerativeLiving #HighestGoodFood #SoilHealth #SustainableFuture #FarmToTable #KnowledgeForAll
Omg. Most of the apples we harvested off our trees this year went to making hard cider. I did use some of them to make two big jars of homemade applesauce. We opened one of those tonight and it kicks ass! So much more flavorful and tangy than store bought.
We had breakfast for dinner tonight and I put some of that applesauce on top of my pancakes with just a little bit of syrup. Will totally be eating my pancakes this way til we run out. So So good!
Definitely will make a bigger supply of applesauce next year.
Guld, hönsens natttoalett förvandlas till fantastiskt gödsel.
Plus värmer hönshuset under processen.
#självhushållning, #homesteading
If you want to know how long salted, cured, egg yolks last in the fridge, the answer is 5 years and counting. Just had a bowl of steamed rice with one grated up over it. So far, so good. 🤞🏼🤞🏼
#food #eatlocal #homesteading #eggs #foodpreservation
Lady & the Owl Man | My Mountain Farm WINTER IN SPAIN Creating an Off-Grid PARADISE (48:54) https://videum.eu/video/1Az #SelfSufficiency #OffGrid #Homesteading
Let's see your dogs! This is Demi (brown eyes) and Mason (blue eyes), who are littermates. Their dad is a Siberian Husky, and their mom is a GSD/Lab mix. They just turned a year old last year, and they absolutely love living on 40 acres. Everyday is an adventure for these two #dog #dogs #dogsofmastodon #DogLover #pet #pets #thursday #animal #animals #showme #pup #pups #puppy #social #follow #homestead #rural #country #rural_life #homesteading #Homesteaders #farm #farmer #love
An Easy Vinegar Recipe That’s Better Than Store Bought
This story is part of our Guide to Modern Homesteading. Read the other stories in the series here. Budget balsamic. There once was a time when I never felt a need to stock any other kind of vinegar in my pantry, as long…
#dining #cooking #diet #food #Italianvinegar #healthyish #homesteading #Italia #Italian #italiano #italy #roastchicken #Vinegar
https://www.diningandcooking.com/2390338/an-easy-vinegar-recipe-thats-better-than-store-bought/
"Struggle session" has an entirely different meaning when you are out in the muddy chicken pen in the dark without your coat in the rain trying to figure out why the chickens won't go into their house even tho it's pitch dark and the light is on in the chicken house and the auto door keeps trying to close while you are frantically trying to reprogram it by a sketchy head lamp with it's battery dying....
Stinging Nettle — The Most Nutritious Plant On Earth [ANZ60K3h2ow] (15:27) https://videum.eu/video/1vj #foraging #homesteading
