Experiment with 64W basement winter garden in my climate. My climate is really freaken cold, and my basement is really cold.

Anyway, I had leftover wood, foam insulation, and some pallets. So, I decided to mess around, and make a basement vegetable and herb garden. I had to buy a light and 2 survival blankets, 30$ total. The rest was free / recycled. Depending on how it goes I may transition it to a mini aquaponics system. It has about a R6 insulation value on 3 sides top and bottom, plus a reflective Mylar door. The height of the light is adjustable. It is intended to grow lettuce, basle, parsley etc. I will make a nice post if it works out, but figured I would post what I have. Seems to warm up well with just the one light, and seems to have enough light if the door is down.

Experiment with 64W basement winter garden in my climate. My climate is really freaken cold, and my basement is really cold.

Anyway, I had leftover wood, foam insulation, and some pallets. So, I decided to mess around, and make a basement vegetable and herb garden. I had to buy a light and 2 survival blankets, 30$ total. The rest was free / recycled. Depending on how it goes I may transition it to a mini aquaponics system. It has about a R6 insulation value on 3 sides top and bottom, plus a reflective Mylar door. The height of the light is adjustable. It is intended to grow lettuce, basle, parsley etc. I will make a nice post if it works out, but figured I would post what I have. Seems to warm up well with just the one light, and seems to have enough light if the door is down.

gmsurvival:

hqcreations:

erieforage:

Winter notes:
I moved into my new house late in the season, and had no time to bring in wood. I decided to try compressed wood bricks. They have really worked well. They burn slower then lumber and leave almost no ash. They light easy and fast. I figure a ton of bricks equates to about 1 3/4 cord the way we are burning. Right now I have a bout 3.5 tones out in the garage. I think that will bring me through the winter. I got it delivered at $210 a ton. I will still bring in wood if I can get it free, but I think I am going to buy at least 2 tons of bricks each winter.

Cooool. Never heard of these wood bricks before. You think they recycle scrap wood to make this? Can I ask where you got these?

HERE is info on them. And yeah, its basically compressed wood waste. They seem to be based around Philidelphia with a couple oddball outlets in New York and Florida. Ace seems to be a bit source of them in the area. You can look up bulk retailers HERE and from what I am seeing $175 per half tone is average.

Just an update we bought them again this year and they are working out great. They were not from a big box store and they were 200$ a ton. This time I had to pick them up myself.

gmsurvival:

hqcreations:

erieforage:

Winter notes:
I moved into my new house late in the season, and had no time to bring in wood. I decided to try compressed wood bricks. They have really worked well. They burn slower then lumber and leave almost no ash. They light easy and fast. I figure a ton of bricks equates to about 1 3/4 cord the way we are burning. Right now I have a bout 3.5 tones out in the garage. I think that will bring me through the winter. I got it delivered at $210 a ton. I will still bring in wood if I can get it free, but I think I am going to buy at least 2 tons of bricks each winter.

Cooool. Never heard of these wood bricks before. You think they recycle scrap wood to make this? Can I ask where you got these?

HERE is info on them. And yeah, its basically compressed wood waste. They seem to be based around Philidelphia with a couple oddball outlets in New York and Florida. Ace seems to be a bit source of them in the area. You can look up bulk retailers HERE and from what I am seeing $175 per half tone is average.

Just an update we bought them again this year and they are working out great. They were not from a big box store and they were 200$ a ton. This time I had to pick them up myself.

erieforage:

My wife made up some violet and dandelion salve, and was nice enough to write up a description for me.

This is a basic salve, using oil infused with both violet and dandelions. Violets are said to be healing and soothing, good for cracked and chapped skin, and dandelions are reputed to have mild analgesic qualities, helping with soreness and pain. It should make a good salve for sore, chapped, cracked skin, and achy muscles. I have never actually made this salve before—this recipe was cobbled together from several web sites and a basic knowledge of salves.
After collecting and drying violets and dandelions, fill a half pint jar full of the dried flowers and pour olive oil over them. Poke around a bit with a chopstick or knife to release air bubbles, and top off with oil. Cover and store in a dark place for at least 5 weeks. When you are ready to make the salve, strain the herbs from the oil and discard. Gently warm the infused oil (in a double boiler ideally) and add in the grated beeswax. I used about 2 tablespoons of beeswax to approximately ½ cup infused oil, and the salve is fairly soft. If you want a firmer balm-like mix, add more beeswax. Stir the wax into the warm oil until it melts completely. Add 1 tsp of vitamin E oil to act as a preservative, and pour into tins to cool. If you would like to add essential oils, put them in when you add the vitamin E.

So it’s winter and that means wind burn and eczema, yeh. I though I would repost this because my wife just made more. It works well and 2 tins last a long time.

erieforage:

My wife made up some violet and dandelion salve, and was nice enough to write up a description for me.

This is a basic salve, using oil infused with both violet and dandelions. Violets are said to be healing and soothing, good for cracked and chapped skin, and dandelions are reputed to have mild analgesic qualities, helping with soreness and pain. It should make a good salve for sore, chapped, cracked skin, and achy muscles. I have never actually made this salve before—this recipe was cobbled together from several web sites and a basic knowledge of salves.
After collecting and drying violets and dandelions, fill a half pint jar full of the dried flowers and pour olive oil over them. Poke around a bit with a chopstick or knife to release air bubbles, and top off with oil. Cover and store in a dark place for at least 5 weeks. When you are ready to make the salve, strain the herbs from the oil and discard. Gently warm the infused oil (in a double boiler ideally) and add in the grated beeswax. I used about 2 tablespoons of beeswax to approximately 1/2 cup infused oil, and the salve is fairly soft. If you want a firmer balm-like mix, add more beeswax. Stir the wax into the warm oil until it melts completely. Add 1 tsp of vitamin E oil to act as a preservative, and pour into tins to cool. If you would like to add essential oils, put them in when you add the vitamin E.

So it’s winter and that means wind burn and eczema, yeh. I though I would repost this because my wife just made more. It works well and 2 tins last a long time.

biodiverseed:

Shortly after 2015 began, this blog hit 10,000 followers. I’ve decided that my New Year’s Resolution is that one tree is planted for every person following this blog.

I want to track how many trees we can plant, so if you would like to participate, please use THIS FORM to document trees you plant in 2015 as a result of this project. I’ll post pictures and submissions under the tag #10000Trees2015.

I’ve made a commitment to try and plant a minimum of #100 trees a year: If I live to be 85, that will be roughly 6200 trees in my lifetime. I count on planting many, many more. This year alone, I planted over 1000.

So far, I have been encouraged by the amount of collective action that has been taking place via this blog: the #Paw Paw Project has resulted in over 1000 free seeds of the Paw Paw (Asimina triloba) being planted in 9 different countries. If even half of those germinate and grow successfully, that is 500 rare fruit trees preserved around the world.

A tree can absorb 27 kg of Carbon Dioxide a year; one large tree can provide a day’s worth of oxygen for four people. [x] It is absolutely vital that ordinary people become interested in conservation and cultivation.

I have written hundreds of posts on #germination, #stratification, #cloning, #tree planting, #fruit trees, and #forest gardening, and you can always ask if you have any questions about planting tree seeds. Consider planting native and keystone species in your area: it is an easy thing to do, and it might just get you interested in working with plant life!

biodiverseed:

Shortly after 2015 began, this blog hit 10,000 followers. I’ve decided that my New Year’s Resolution is that one tree is planted for every person following this blog.

I want to track how many trees we can plant, so if you would like to participate, please use THIS FORM to document trees you plant in 2015 as a result of this project. I’ll post pictures and submissions under the tag #10000Trees2015.

I’ve made a commitment to try and plant a minimum of #100 trees a year: If I live to be 85, that will be roughly 6200 trees in my lifetime. I count on planting many, many more. This year alone, I planted over 1000.

So far, I have been encouraged by the amount of collective action that has been taking place via this blog: the #Paw Paw Project has resulted in over 1000 free seeds of the Paw Paw (Asimina triloba) being planted in 9 different countries. If even half of those germinate and grow successfully, that is 500 rare fruit trees preserved around the world.

A tree can absorb 27 kg of Carbon Dioxide a year; one large tree can provide a day’s worth of oxygen for four people. [x] It is absolutely vital that ordinary people become interested in conservation and cultivation.

I have written hundreds of posts on #germination, #stratification, #cloning, #tree planting, #fruit trees, and #forest gardening, and you can always ask if you have any questions about planting tree seeds. Consider planting native and keystone species in your area: it is an easy thing to do, and it might just get you interested in working with plant life!