Total cost of strawberry jam:
This batch:
Strawberry plants: $16,
Labor: free
Sugar: 15 pounds, $3.00 per 5 pounds = $9
Jars (came with rings and lids): $9/12 – 24 used =$18
Pectin: 2 packs, $3.50 each = $7.00
So, total cost was $50 for 24 jars = $2 per jar
But, for future batches, the strawberries will be paid off, although the jars will still cost a lot. So, the cost for those batches will be something like (0+9+18+7=$34/24 = $1.42 per jar). The cost of the pectin can be brought down significantly by buying in bulk; but the cost of the lids cannot. The jars can often be purchased for cheaper, at garage sales or other sources, though sometimes not. Certainly my family has a few jars lying around, as does Kelsie’s Grandmother. But mostly, these are quarts – not the cute jam jars; a quart is a lot of jelly. But, it is not quite so many peaches, or cherries, or pickles: those are not quite so daunting at all. I could see eventually, the cost coming down to something like $.50-$.75 per jar, which is much lower than we are spending now, and assumes that the jar cost is entirely absorbed (either the jars were free, or the jars, once purchased, are reused so no additional cost is incurred in their use). The jar cost remains a general overhead problem. On the other hand, the savings if we eat the jam ourselves and reuse the jars is substantial: ditto the use of the jars in lieu of an otherwise expensive gift. If we have the time, we can save a lot of money canning our own foods. And, we can make them the way we want: which is a huge plus as well. I don’t think it’s a false economy, and its pretty fun: and it resonates with the values I have of being self-sufficient and economically viable.
Oh: and the jams delicious.
Sunday, July 05, 2009
Is it economically viable to make strawberry jam?
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Make Your Own Rain Barrel
Below we have provided directions on how we make rain barrels. Some of the tools are specialized and can be costly. However, recommended less expensive alternatives are discussed. You can put your own rain barrel together for about $20.
The Benefits
Water Efficiency
o Use water wisely by watering your garden with free water collected from your roof.
o Rain water is great for plants.
o Connect a soaker hose to your barrel, a great way to water shallow rooted plants such as rhododendrons.
o Use your rain barrel in areas where you may not have a convenient spigot. Near your compost pile is a good idea to keep it as wet as a wrung-out sponge, promoting the composting process during the dryer months of summer.
o Rain water is usually soft and free of dissolved minerals. This untreated water is great for your indoor plants, your garden and lawn, or washing your car.
Diversion of Rain Water from the Wastewater Treatment Plant
In older areas where storm sewers and sanitary sewers are combined, the disconnection of downspouts can be enhanced by the use of a rain barrel. Collect rain water that would have otherwise been unnecessarily treated. A rain barrel won't solve the combined sewer overflow problem, but it is a good way to help.
Some tips for making your barrel
o 55-gallon food grade quality recycled barrel.
o Install an overflow at the top. This is an important feature. A full barrel has the potential to spill additional water over the top and may cause localized erosion.
o Consider attaching the overflow to the downspout with a valve. Simply turn the valve off when the barrel is full and redirecting the runoff back into the downspout.
o As an alternative to the spigot on the diagram, purchase a spigot with a threaded nipple and simply twist it into the 1" hole.
Tips for using your rain barrel
o Do not use collected water for drinking, cooking or bathing.
o Keep the lid secure so children or animals cannot fall into the barrel.
o Disconnect the barrel during the winter to avoid constant overflow during the rainiest months. Attach it in the early spring to fill it for use.
o Most recycled barrels need to be cleaned before first use.
o If a moss killer has been used on the roof let a couple of rainfall events go by before collecting the roof runoff.
o Elevate your rain barrel slightly to make access to the spigot easier.
o The screened louver vent will prevent mosquitoes from breeding in your barrel.
o Consider joining multiple barrels for additional capacity!
Making a rain barrel is as easy as 1,2,3
Step 1
1. Use a 6" hole saw, a saber saw, a keyhole saw or a drywall saw to cut a perfectly round 6” hole on the top of your barrel.
2. Drill two holes with a 29/32” drill bit, one towards the top for an overflow and one towards the bottom of the barrel for the faucet.
3. Next use a 3/4" NPT pipe tap and twist it into the upper 29/32" hole, then untwist the tap and back it out of the hole, then repeat the same process for the lower 29/32" hole.
4. Rinse your barrel out thoroughly, as it previously had a food product in it. Avoid using bleach, as it is environmentally harmful in the storm drains. For an environmentally safe soap solution use 2 teaspoons of castile soap and 2 teaspoons of vinegar or lemon juice for every gallon of water used to clean your barrel.
5. View diagram
Step 2
1. Twist in the threaded side of the hose adapter into the 3/4" threaded hole towards the top of the barrel.
2. Prepare the threaded side of the brass faucet by:
* Wrapping it tightly with teflon tape, make four or five rotations until all the threads are covered; or
* Applying a thin ribbon of Kitchen and Bath All Purpose Adhesive Caulk, or similar sealant.
3. Twist in the threaded and now prepared end of the faucet into the 3/4" threaded hole towards the bottom of the barrel.
4. View diagram
Step 3
1. Cover the 6" hole in the top by placing the 6" louvered screen onto the barrel with the louvered side up and the screen side down.
2. Slide a hose onto the hose adapter at the top of barrel to direct the overflow water away from your home.
3. Place two cinder blocks under the selected downspout and place the barrel on this raised base.
4. Cut your downspout about 4" above the top of the barrel, add an elbow, and make any final adjustments to the base and barrel.
5. Add a hose on the faucet or keep it available to fill a watering can.
6. Enjoy your rainbarrel!
7. View diagram
Tools List
Drill
6" Hole Saw (a saber saw, a keyhole saw, or a drywall saw will also work)
29/32" Drill Bit
3/4" Pipe Tap
Materials List
Louvered Screen
3/4" Brass Faucet
Teflon Tape or All Purpose Caulk
3/4" Hose Adapter
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Brand new shiny server.
Well, I just sold a guinea pig; Used the cash to buy a bag of feed and a bale of stringy grass hay. It’ll do for keeping the chickens in bedding well enough. The chickens have damn well gone through the weed I brought for them yesterday. Those gals sure can eat. They aren’t laying much for anything, don’t know what that’s about – but we’ll have to start figuring it out.
So, the brand new adventure is linux. Over the last couple of days I installed an Ubuntu server. Turns out, with our happy little DSL service we have a static IP. So, I installed an Ubuntu LAMP server, and then installed the Gnome desktop GUI. The system installs like a breeze – it was super easy. I’ve already installed all of the tools I would want to be able to run just about any web pages I could dream about, and certainly all of them that I could design at this point: that’s cool.
So, now I can be about the business of working with OpenLaszlo. I have a web server for development purposes and sharing with folks. Having a server here at the house doesn’t make things all that much more convenient than having it elsewhere: but I have learned a lot during the installation process, and that’s worth something. It wasn’t that tough, and seeing the heron on the linux desktop proud and beautiful was a pleasant sight.
Linux has come along way since I first experimented with it. The operation system now is quite more robust: with much less hands-on experience needed. As far as being an operating system that can be used by anyone: I think linux fits the bill quite nicely. With the WINE emulator, you can even run windows programs right from within the interface with ease. All in all I am extremely satisfied with my new server.
Dominic
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
We've got Strawberries
I've picked 4 quarts so far, and there's still a lot left that will need to be picked.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Game Night.
We just got back from Game night. I love game night. Tonight I was thinking that I love game night because it gives me new ways to think about the world. Each game we play is a different abstraction of the world, and it only describes specific subset of interactions: but to be believable it describes them abnormally well. I’ve found that the interactions are then often able to be extrapolated out to the real world more often then you might think, and so by strategizing in a game and learning to play it, you are learning more than just how to win the game: you’re learning new tools that you can use to win at life. I like having the most diverse set of ways of thinking about situations I can, I like being able to “figure things out.” As such, Game night is a boon, because it gives me a new way to think about things almost every time I go: and the interactions I have with the other people there are a whole new way of applying those things that I learn. Its interactive, its iterative, it is never boring and we have fun: its everything I like in a good experience. That’s why I keep going back.
Yeah for Game night, and the skills that may (or may not) come in handy in the real world.
Dom
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Life on my farm.
Gently, rain falls on the parched earth outside the slightly cracked window behind me. Peaches snores on the couch, one eye more squinted than the other to block out the light from the lamp shining on her face. Chubbs lays on the bed, dreaming of chases and treats: yelping in anticipation every few moments during fits once in a pleasant while. The guinea pigs, in their abode in the shed, are happy: they have all of the hay they could want, and it is delicious. The Chickens have water, they are struggling to find their food again after I put it in the coop hut: but they’ll get it – they don’t seem that hungry. Every time I go out there I toss them a couple of handfuls of grain, I wonder if they’d like me to spade over some soil for them to dig in. The rain is picking up now, as Live’s song “Lightning Crashes,” begins to crescendo: almost loud enough to wake peaches but not quite loud enough that she seems to want to do anything about it.
On the kitchen counter is a note from Kelsie, to have fun and smile today: what a lovely note. The kitchen is a mess, things are strewn all over the house: at least the guinea pig room is clean, finally, since we moved those little buggers out into the shed. They’ve really enjoyed being out there, and we’ve enjoyed that as well. This weekend will be the first time I change their cage while they are outside: and I’m actually looking forward to it.
I’m not sure if the used bedding is a correct addition to the garden beds. I know that Steve Solomon doesn’t think that it is. But he was dealing with sawdust and shavings from horses, which won’t break down ever. The particle size of the bedding we use is so much smaller, and is therefore easier to breakdown. Additionally, the nitrogen from horse manure is not sufficient to thoroughily wet the sawdust or become distributed throughout it to the degree that it contains a high enough percentage of nitrogen to even think about decomposing. Guinea pig bedding though, has a lot more nitrogen. Not just from the pellets, but we also give the guinea pigs such a large helping, of fresh clover from the clearing each day, they have more than enough nitrogen, and that mostly ends up in the bedding. Does the stuff spontaneously compost? No. But, I don’t think that the nitrogen required to break the stuff down is so high that it isn’t valuable for use, that its proclivity for nitrogen stealing is such that it should preclude its use as a nitrogen source. Especially during the summer when it is just going to sit on the surface and keep the roots moist while worms burrow throughout it and find the nuggets the guinea pigs left for them there. I know for certain that after using it: the beds appear healthier. I also know that if I used more nitrogen fertilizers – the productivity in the beds would absolutely skyrocket at this point, there is so much extra carbon they can breakdown for food and all they need is a little nitrogen. Its up to them though. We’ll reevaluate in another few months, I want to know what happens to the beds with the sawdust after the course of a summer: I’m counting on fungi to breakdown some of that stuff and thence be broken down themselves.
So much I still want to do.
Dom
