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Brent Carlson's avatar

Everyone needs to start planting vegetables. I’m fortunate to live in Chile where the climate is such that I can grow year round. Potatoes and lettuce are winter crops. I also have many varieties of fruit trees and make my own jam. My biggest addition are my chickens. I started with 6 hens and a rooster. I now have 8 hens and a brood hen has been sitting on eggs for 20 days so I expect more chicks any time. I’m not self sufficient but working on it.

I suggest everyone start gardening. Hard times are coming

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William Hunter Duncan's avatar

Agreed! Glad to hear you are well on that path, and appear a bit more resilient than most.

If I am going to grow year round I am going to have to build a heated greenhouse.

I have a basement full of homebrew I made in part from the fruit trees I had at my old house in the city. I figure long term the orchard I am building is a basis for a potential fermentables business. Speaking of currency in hard times.

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Brent Carlson's avatar

I like the idea of home brew. That’s a very tradable item. The stronger the better.

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William Hunter Duncan's avatar

Lots of grapes and a still make brandy or base for absinthe. Mine is mostly in the 10-14% range, bubbly fruit wine, wild ferment. If I get back into it I am going to slap a fancy label on it and sell it at a high price to the fancy people who flock to the lakes in the summer time.

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TFish's avatar

suggestion: add some weeps or slots at the bottom of your incline. this will keep water from accumulating inside the lip of your lid.

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Lisa@eatrealfood's avatar

Awesome work. Proactive steps reeforces in us positive emotions. My thoughts deflect to electricity. Haber Bosch fertilizers created from oil based machines allowed us to grow to 8 billion population

To quickly reverse our energy paradigm, without alternates like small scale nuclear, is a genocidal cult.

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Mrs.Nomero's avatar

I started winter sowing using milk jugs and clear storage totes but I would love to build a cold frame like yours. Thanks for the detailed instructions.

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William Hunter Duncan's avatar

Nice DIY! I would have offered even more detail, but since the size depends on the glass, I didn't add the measurements. The top could be acrylic or rigid poly or poly sheeting even, instead of glass. The angle is approximately 15deg, but I just used a piece as long as a side piece, and ripped it from corner to corner.

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