Homesteading/gardening
- Thread starter justjess
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It depends on your location, I guess. You can check the local stores first. If you want to make the purchase online, I can recommend checking Michigan Bulb https://www.pissedconsumer.com/michigan-bulb/RT-F.html. I often order bulbs and perennials there.I think I'm finally ready for gardeningThough I don't know what to start with. Where do you buy bulbs, garden kits, etc.?
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polymoog
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1. i collect the rainwater from the roof via the gutters into 55 gallon drums. its not 100% efficient and i (and you, of course) can do a masterful job of it if you have the time and plumbing skills.
2. i dont filter it for livestock or plants, but i do run it through a water filter for airborne contaminants. i prefer drinking the rainwater in my area rather than the spring water (or the river water) which has a lot of calcium. the water filter i have (berkey) does not take it out. i find the rainwater to be much more hydrating.
3. if you have drainage problems and the soil is often wet, i would work with it. plant jaboticaba, cacao, grumichama, or other water-loving fruit trees there. kang-kong (vegetable) thrives in those conditions, too.
otherwise, i would get some untreated wood and make raised beds.
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how much space do you have?
1. What if gutters collect too much debris? I wanted to install some tanks to collect water from the roof as I don't have an "outdoor" area per se just a roof and a top floor veranda. But how could I maximize water collection? Via a massive funnel?
2. My other idea was to have a series of tanks as a filtration system as I intend to drink the water myself (I don't trust bottled water (?)) or install a filter system with the tap. I can set up a distillation system to have drinking water. Lot's of things are in the thinking stages at the moment lol
3. The veranda is almost 3mx3.5m, it's tiled flooring with 2 drain holes however only one is operating the other is out of order. I've tried growing plans in pots and it started well until I had mealy bugs. Also loose soil was getting on the floor and with the scorching heat, it ended up becoming algae and I couldn't keep on top of it not being experienced enough. I also attempted to compost but that just resulted in a big stinky mess!
End game is to be more self reliant/sufficient for basic things like onions, tomatoes, potatoes and herbs etc.
polymoog
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see if you can get a photo of your roof.
let me tell you what i did:
i have a steel sheet-metal type roof. i took a 3" schedule 20 PVC pipe (thats the thinner, drainage grade) and cut it lengthwise and opened up the crack until it "clipped" onto the edge. theres a small gap, so i get tree debris and sometimes pythons living in the gutter, but i dont care. at the end of the roof, i left enough space to glue on a 90 degree elbow and angle it down into a barrel.
on the other far side of the roof, i put another elbow down that goes into another barrel because my roof is absolutely NOT level, so some water goes one way and some goes the other direction. if you test out the level and find it pitches the way you DO NOT want, you could either turn an elbow up and put a small piece of pvc and a cap on the end so that that water is forced to go one way or you could add another 90 degree elbow and run another piece of pipe underneath that (attaching it to the roof beam with string or wire or something) with a slight pitch so that the water runs toward the barrel of your choosing.
before the pipe goes into the tank, you can put screen material to catch the debris. i saw a guy in thailand that simply put a big, fine net over his rain pot so that the debris was kept out and the mosquitos couldnt lay eggs on the water surface.
if there is debris that collects on the roof, then the rainwater will naturally leach tannins from the leaves and debris. the water will be brownish, and that brown color will not drop out of suspension. running it through a berkey water filter will cleanse it, but the potable water will still have a tint to it. still, its completely drinkable.
as far as a distillation process, i found a guy who had access to a foundry where they could make custom stainless steel items. i gave him my schematic and he had it made for me: it is a stainless cone that collects distilled water vapor. you could do something similar to collect the water vapor droplets and have them collect into a glass jar.
the mealy bugs can be sprayed with neem or you can crush them by hand-- thats a separate, resolvable issue. the pots need a tray underneath-- if you have a big hole on the pots (terracotta or whatever), do what i do: get some coconut fiber from the husk and block up the hole so excess water can seep through and the soil stays inside. if you dont have any fiber, look for something similar.
composting in the tropics should be easy with the heat. go to amazon or YT and look at some of the options and build one yourself. there was a guy who flipped one of those blue 55 gallon drums sideways and added a small side door to add the compost. he would roll it a few times per week to mix it and it worked well. you can mount a pipe on each side (like a roasting pig on a spit), set up a little stand, and turn it that way, too.
lightseeker
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polymoog
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regarding the cowhorns: ones that have been cut off the cows during the dehorning process-- will they work? i have a few saved up, but never got around to making the preparation.
lightseeker
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Yep that would work afaik. The cow horn one is the most important because it treats the compost pile so you'd be doing alright if you just did that one. The guy in the video mentioned some people do that, but also said it's best if you can do all 7.
Here's the audiobook of where it all comes from if you have time for a thorough overview, or there's a lot online and on youtube of people who do it.
This year I decided to have more plants at home. Having looked for the ones that are good for beginners, I now have several dracaenas. They turned out to be great for my house decor. Also, there are various types, some of them even have flowers (I didn't know about that before reading more info about these plants). And it has to be noted that they are perfect for people with allergies because they remove toxins. The bigger the plant, the better its toxin-absorbing capabilities will be.
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