tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6720154631193306703.comments2013-04-26T06:13:12.497+08:00The Green ReserveGreenReservehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11983489732617974558noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6720154631193306703.post-38100556824239076752013-04-26T06:13:12.497+08:002013-04-26T06:13:12.497+08:00Coconut is a great attractant. It's important ...Coconut is a great attractant. It's important that you shred it (and I think the shredded coconut was boiled) and keep it moist. Other garbage likely would help your cause as well - but now I have an "infestation", they seem to never leave, even if I go on vacation for a couple weeks and there's no food :)GreenReservehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11983489732617974558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6720154631193306703.post-30404484056910237602013-04-14T03:29:46.210+08:002013-04-14T03:29:46.210+08:00hi, we are running an experiment to raise Bsf and ...hi, we are running an experiment to raise Bsf and we would like to know how it goes with coconut.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6720154631193306703.post-13945467199977968602013-02-14T00:58:10.113+08:002013-02-14T00:58:10.113+08:00Thank you for sharing this post. I found it very i...Thank you for sharing this post. I found it very inspiring and informative. More businesses need to be environmentally aware and strive to make a difference. Every contribution helps the cause. I know of a business, <a href="http://www.mseimmigrationraidupdate.com" rel="nofollow">Micro Solutions Enterprises</a>, who uses recycled foam pads from their printer cartridges to make carpet padding or used in waste to energy. It is very inspiring when businesses show that they care about the environment.<br /> Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13324749627031574046noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6720154631193306703.post-83234937990370997292012-12-29T19:09:20.505+08:002012-12-29T19:09:20.505+08:00Like!Like!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6720154631193306703.post-78887112589707217402012-08-22T03:14:07.282+08:002012-08-22T03:14:07.282+08:00Great Blog! We have many similar areas of interest...Great Blog! We have many similar areas of interest. Gnomehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08084833709556721131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6720154631193306703.post-8289606505428277322012-08-14T11:03:11.010+08:002012-08-14T11:03:11.010+08:00I agree with us baby boomers making mistakes to ma...I agree with us baby boomers making mistakes to make the world the way it is now, but.....it has not been TOTALLY the fault of the baby boomers that the world is in the state it is in. everyone and every generation is contributing in an ongoing fashion along with the continuing changes of the universe that the baby boomers have no control over. It is our responsibility as residents of this earth of all generations to all contribute to the positive change in an ongoing fashion. Blaming others is not going to help anything. what's done is done, you can't get back time. Move ahead and plan what we can to make positive change. We would not be alive without previous generations. ):<br /><br /><br /><br />Karinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02244890786287545632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6720154631193306703.post-58612143599414279462012-08-13T10:44:36.137+08:002012-08-13T10:44:36.137+08:00We missed you in the market! We came a tad bit lat...We missed you in the market! We came a tad bit later. This is great news! I never even thought or heard of using the microwave. But for home growing and cultivation of spawn it sounds pretty legit and your results seem to prove so. Nice work!<br /><br />There's tones of reishi by the way goring around the Salcedo market. It might be a good time to start cultivating it in the farm.<br /><br />- Marco, Ministry of MushroomsMinistry of Mushroomshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13530531749789760787noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6720154631193306703.post-25419029172840352882012-07-14T12:05:49.143+08:002012-07-14T12:05:49.143+08:00http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/13/busine...http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/13/business-is-not-economics/<br /><br />To quote Obama:<br />"... if you’re a head of a large private equity firm or hedge fund, your job is to make money. It’s not to create jobs. It’s not even to create a successful business – it’s to make sure that you’re maximizing returns for your investor."GreenReservehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11983489732617974558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6720154631193306703.post-59950886983110381052012-03-19T14:08:23.863+08:002012-03-19T14:08:23.863+08:00I'm in, and I should be able to scrounge $500-...I'm in, and I should be able to scrounge $500-$1000.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6720154631193306703.post-83275802684573864122012-03-19T10:05:34.291+08:002012-03-19T10:05:34.291+08:00Here's a start: you can volunteer either as a ...Here's a start: you can volunteer either as a person who:<br />1) has no money and wants to be a steward to/on the land, or<br />2) has money and wants to give it to a sustainable investment, or<br />3) both wants to be on the land and invest.<br /><br />Right now, I'm number 2, and we can start our kitty at about $30,000. Who else is in, and how can each type of steward contribute?HumbleAuthorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14881221814981893141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6720154631193306703.post-73088864002134596722012-02-08T21:45:24.761+08:002012-02-08T21:45:24.761+08:00Awesome!Awesome!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6720154631193306703.post-51970600324703202572011-12-04T07:25:32.346+08:002011-12-04T07:25:32.346+08:00Awesome and right on the money;)Awesome and right on the money;)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6720154631193306703.post-77685734644772583962011-10-19T19:55:54.487+08:002011-10-19T19:55:54.487+08:00Apologies for the broken sociologist link... now f...Apologies for the broken sociologist link... now fixed.HumbleAuthorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14881221814981893141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6720154631193306703.post-12191199388132345072011-10-02T19:54:23.982+08:002011-10-02T19:54:23.982+08:00Good times ahead. We can build a society on truly...Good times ahead. We can build a society on truly sustainable principles.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6720154631193306703.post-24162340699096523912011-10-02T15:00:47.226+08:002011-10-02T15:00:47.226+08:00The Factor E Farm guys and their Global Village Co...The Factor E Farm guys and their Global Village Construction Set have been developing tools and templates so people can build small scale and somewhat self sufficient farms. It hasn't been fully developed yet but they have some basic plans and architectural renderings of something they call the Hab Lab, which is a shared living building, with private quarters and shared major facilities like laundry and kitchen.<br /><br />Check it out at<br />http://blog.opensourceecology.org/<br /><br />Search for Hab Lab.<br /><br />They also have developed some equipment for building the building.lowteqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05170971982695849921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6720154631193306703.post-1046952645390590982011-05-06T06:04:22.734+08:002011-05-06T06:04:22.734+08:00I've been around the world a couple times and ...I've been around the world a couple times and I seem only to be succeeding in giving my kids asthma, skin problems, and poisoning the whole family with residual pesticides. I've got a lot to answer for when it comes to what this family has been putting in its mouths and lungs, and clean living is probably the best way to get back on track. I understand what I'd be cutting out, and I may miss it, but right now I'm guilty of exposing my family to a lot of environmental nastiness and I need that to stop. This plan still contains a lot of "ifs", but should the prerequisites be met, this is the way I'm going.GreenReservehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11983489732617974558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6720154631193306703.post-91271413353406799292011-05-06T03:34:18.475+08:002011-05-06T03:34:18.475+08:00I so desperately want the back to the land movemen...I so desperately want the back to the land movement to succeed. I loved it in my twenties and love the prospect of it now.<br /> Still, there is a reason our human societies have evolved as we now see them. While the concept of undividual sustainability is attainable, it is simply not what we are inclined to do as a species. I do not want to give up the lifestyle I have, with its easy access to the Arts, Travel, Opportunities for education, fast paced and cutting edge innovations in tools, health care, and labour saving equipment. <br /> Within a prudent diversity, we know how to farm, store, improve the productivity, and restore the health of the land. We just don't want to be there every day when that good work is going on.<br /> What we will struggle to accomplish is to build a sustainable community that retains the best of what we already have and does not force us to lead plodding lives, year over year, with uninteresting but useful and productive people and no change of scenery except the seasons. <br /> My premise is that we have as much work to do in building an artistic and stimulating society, with personal property rights, as we do to build the net zero farm compound.<br />CurmudgeonBillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04745911358284153151noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6720154631193306703.post-30073179045771050262011-05-05T21:53:59.210+08:002011-05-05T21:53:59.210+08:00Hi John, thanks for your comment. I've read th...Hi John, thanks for your comment. I've read that BSFL colonies can be finicky, since they generate heat, they must be kept cool in tropical climates to prevent crawl-off, but they need to be kept above a minimum temperature for optimum processing. I think these would be kept in the greenhouse, which would be built on a solar-gain intensive model and could also be fed chicken poo:<br />http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/waste_mgt/natlcenter/sanantonio/Newton.pdf<br /><br />Or pig poo:<br />http://www.eawag.ch/forschung/sandec/publikationen/swm/dl/bsf_prospects.pdf<br /><br />Even though reduction of faecal sludge by BSFL is possible:<br />http://www.eawag.ch/forschung/sandec/publikationen/swm/dl/bsf_prospects.pdf<br /><br />I'm not that into it. I would send the human waste (and any large animal waste) to an anaerobic digester for the production of methane. The resulting fertiliser from the anaerobic digester would be spread on the fields, or further rendered inert through the use of a biological machine (per Dr. John Todd).<br /><br />As for heat, I have thought a lot about it. Canada is cold, and heating is energy intensive. You raise very valid points. My final reasoning was that since Canada can also get very hot, and I would rather have a heater than a heater and an air conditioner, I would stick to heating. Raising very carnivorous and finicky rainbow trout, for example, who love cold water, would be tough in an Ontario summer. They are also not as hardy and fast-growing and versatile as tilapia. If I was to consider all energy inputs, I think it is easier to plan on keeping heat in the greenhouse rather than heating a little in winter and cooling in summer.<br /><br />Thank you for your comment, it is a great chance to test these theories!GreenReservehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11983489732617974558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6720154631193306703.post-20475543599291594622011-05-05T21:25:20.060+08:002011-05-05T21:25:20.060+08:00You sound really knowledgeable, so you probably al...You sound really knowledgeable, so you probably already know that maintaining healthy black soldier fly colonies throughout the winter is not easy. In addition to a fresh, indigenous supply of adult females, heat and humidity, they need sunlight to reproduce.<br /><br />"An artificial light source influences mating and oviposition of black soldier flies, Hermetia illucens,"<br /><br />http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21268697<br /><br />I don't know if you want to use the BSFL on your human feces. Based on the link below, biodiesel from BSFL is a more effective way to harvest the methane.<br /><br />http://www.organicvaluerecovery.com/studies/studies_biodiesel.htm<br /><br />Whether you have the capacity to refine the BSFL into biodiesel is of course a major question. Digesters might be the more appropriate technology. <br /><br />You mentioned tilapia. AFAIK, you have to keep the water temp pretty high for them. Perch is another option which I believe does not require such constant warm temperatures. <br /><br />Best of luck to you.John Caspernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6720154631193306703.post-34183074304593315212011-05-05T09:17:24.875+08:002011-05-05T09:17:24.875+08:00The acre count is low by Alberta standards, but wi...The acre count is low by Alberta standards, but with Fukuoka agriculture, small is beautiful. In Fukuoka ag, there is no pesticide nor herbicide application because of an intelligently thought-out precedence of mulches. Barley is planted under white clover, which fixes nitrogen and crowds out lower broad leaf plants. When the barley is harvested, the fall rice is already planted, and the barley stalks are put down as ground cover. In addition, Fukuoka would soak the land to make it tough for certain weeds to get through. With the mulch down on wet soil, the rice comes up and when it's strong enough, Fukuoka let the field dry. At harvest, when the rice stalks were put down as mulch, he would already be sowing the barley and white clover for next year. It's a very intriguing prospect, getting two grain crops off one plot every year with no fertiliser of pesticides, and worth a look.<br /><br />Grain, garden, and pasture is something about which I have no idea, but under Fukuoka farming, only a quarter acre is required per family for grains!HumbleAuthorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14881221814981893141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6720154631193306703.post-85273995256743798892011-05-05T07:49:04.560+08:002011-05-05T07:49:04.560+08:00I have several comments and questions but I will m...I have several comments and questions but I will mention only one for the moment. You mentioned no till farming. This is pretty standard practice in farming at the moment, at least in Southern Alberta. There are a number of great reasons for choosing this option. They problem of course is weeds. No till farming has traditionally led to increased usage of chemicals. Opinion or thoughts?<br /><br />I was also looking at your proposed acre count. I thought our 5000 acres in Alberta was a small farm; however, I am discovering that 100 acres was the traditional land division in Ontario. I would be very interested in how you plan to divide the land between grains, garden, and pasture. To me, the interesting part is the agriculture and how that would work. That is heart of the idea in my opinion, all the rest is gravy.mChris Bnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6720154631193306703.post-11378187376112262112011-05-05T06:04:44.465+08:002011-05-05T06:04:44.465+08:00I think the key is to go in whole hog and learn ab...I think the key is to go in whole hog and learn about how hard it is AFTER committing to it. Ignorance is bliss. <br /><br />I'm keen to try intensive greenhousing and no-till grain farming (Fukuoka-style). In Fukuoka grain farming, laziness is a virtue (and I am really virtuous). Fukuoka could feed five or six people from a quarter acre given his yields and never once used a tractor; his method was very thought intensive but minimised individual labour. He even harvested with a scythe. Another reason why more hands is better in this case. One Straw Revolution is a great read in this regard. It's like a treatise on Buddhist farming.<br /><br />Thanks for the encouragement though, I'm in the process of "engaging stakeholders" and planning for a possible transition... nothing is 100% yet but perhaps I can get there with bullheadedness and an incapacity to listen to reason. :)GreenReservehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11983489732617974558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6720154631193306703.post-59263480764995549672011-05-04T23:22:07.700+08:002011-05-04T23:22:07.700+08:00A creek running through the land would be a very B...A creek running through the land would be a very BIG bonus. Research 'ram' pumps which are self sufficient, and non electrical. They are tricky to prime, but once started, like a single stroke piston, work continuously using water pressure to move the piston. When the irrigation or water is not needed, it can be diverted right back into the creek. Used one in Smithers BC, it was amazing. <br />Also, I live on (between) two long standing 'organic' farms... in the Okanagan BC. And, the farmers state that 'organic' is not as 'clean' as one might wish to believe. You still use diesel and other mainstream practices: to till, tend, and harvest crops; if you intend to supplement your income selling produce. I have participated and observe how labour intensive and 'hard' the life of a farmer is. All that being said, Yipee Kayee - I am so happy to see the movement grow legs - go for it with all your heart! ZoeNaramatarahttp://www.ecoethicz.canoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6720154631193306703.post-24342506905398863532011-05-03T06:27:46.474+08:002011-05-03T06:27:46.474+08:00Just as you can say "there are no such things...Just as you can say "there are no such things as "markets" let alone "free markets", there are only human beings interacting with one another in the biosphere", I can say there is no such thing as Nature, only a bunch of chemical reactions... and I would be half right, just as you are.<br /><br />A market is what we call the exchange of stuff between people in the biosphere. Market denial is just as egregious an omission as climate denial. Throughout this blog, I have constantly said that capitalism simply is a fact. Not a good fact, not a bad fact, but a fact. The market has been coerced into foolish win-lose dynamics. That's exactly what I am talking about fixing.<br /><br />Denying the market won't fix it.GreenReservehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11983489732617974558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6720154631193306703.post-62379825879419178382011-05-02T21:37:37.806+08:002011-05-02T21:37:37.806+08:00there are no such things as "markets" le...there are no such things as "markets" let alone "free markets", there are only human beings interacting with one another in the biosphere, and too often--as presently conceived, imposed and enforced--within grossly unequal win-lose dynamics (market theology is just that: religion).<br /><br />and while it is true that "nature is smarter than you", She's currently being brutally raped, beaten, enslaved and destroyed by your almighty "market" religion (in other words, for all Her intelligence, She's no match for humanity's arrogant, indifferent ignorance).<br /><br />your rationalization disguised as critique reminds me:<br /><br />1) to never underestimate the power of denial; and<br /><br />2) that it's not the love of money but money itself that is the root of all evil (far from being a benign, neutral "medium of exchange", it is in fact a blunt instrument of coercion, manipulation, domination, destruction and control)StopTheInsanitynoreply@blogger.com