Sweet potatoes must be one of my most favourite vegetables. This was the first year I’d had a chance to grow them; Sow True Seed kindly provided a selection of slips – All Purple Organic, O’Henry and Beauregard. The vines quickly took over the garden, sending out runners like Triffads. I didn’t realise until late on…
Category: Green Inventions
Super Coop Part III – The Green Roof!
This chicken coop has taken me a long time to build. Correction: the materials for this chicken coop have taken a long time to find; hands on building time was pretty easy! Sadly the ‘foraged’ trailer that made the super-coop mobile was reclaimed by its owner and the coop is now more of a static…
Growing Potatoes in Straw
I’ve been digging raised beds for weeks. I’ve started making protein shakes out of bananas, peanut butter and chocolate soy milk, just so my body doesn’t fall apart. My soil is pretty much clay; it sticks to the spade and I have to stamp it off like I’m squishing a bug. I’m worried about the…
Turning Pallets into Eggs – Part II
It can be hard to plan for an apocalypse. No one seems to know when or what it’ll looks like – or rather, there are just too many options to choose from. However, if you stick with the broad biblical categories of Pestilence, War, Famine and Death, there is one failsafe rule: When those horsemen…
Turning Pallets into Eggs – PART I
From my reading of Stephen King’s, The Stand, I’m making the wild assumption that chickens will survive the apocalypse (they are one of the blessed species). I’m now pleased to report that I’m pretty confident my chicken coop will too. Like the cockroach, it will probably outlive humanity. It’s lucky the Mayans were wrong because…
Scally-Worms Move to Luxury 5* Accommodation
5* Accommodation Belle and I were given a luxury worm hotel for our wedding. It’s an awesome feet of DIY. The structure is made from plastic fencing off-cuts. The base of the drawers are wire-screen, so the worms can travel from one level to the next. Being top feeders this means once one drawer is…
One-beam Bench from Scrap Wood
Inspired by one commenters comment about Piet Hein Eek on my last Bench Post, I used a little more of my dumpster find to make a one-beam bench: This bench is way easier than the last one, but you do need to be a little careful measuring and drilling the holes (more on measurements below)….
How to find a beautiful bench in the dumpster:
By popular request… that’s not true. Although actually it is the most requested thing on this site. But also the only requested thing on this site. In all honesty I’m writing this for the unfortunately named, Coop Poop. The hardest thing may be finding the pallets. Every time I see a shop or restaurant being…
I found a beautiful bench in a dumpster
I was surprised that someone would throw away such an awesome bench, but then again it had been cunningly disguised as old pallets: RESCUED STORED DECONSTRUCTED STAINED PAINTED VOILA
Homemade Refilling Egg Rack
It took our hens a long time to start laying. Lucy was the first and the event was celebrated for days. We cleared a whole shelf in the fridge just for her ‘jumbo’ egg. There was certainly no question of which egg was laid when. A few weeks later and Spacey and Lacy have caught…
How To Make Your Own Green Sprouter
I say: Every body should be growing something edible. You say: But… [insert appropriate excuse about the size/location/inconvenience of your place of residence]. I say: You should start with sprouts – anybody can do it anywhere. You say: I’m a convict in a maximum security prison. I say: Not even a small window sill? You…
Rotating Compost Bin
Belle said I can’t keep buying bags of compost. So I asked the worms, ‘What’s up with the compost production?’ Worms said, in a thousand tiny but synchronised voices, ‘Who the hell do you think we are? Some hybrid monster sandworms from Arrakis?’ ‘Jeez,’ I said. ‘Just asking.’ ‘Well,’ they said. ‘You need to lower…