tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5474844625251308412024-03-03T16:25:34.019-08:00Aquaponics Alive!Sharing my learning experiences with aquaponic gardeningdirkmcgurk@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926654919472491567noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-547484462525130841.post-953400732834969562015-01-03T15:16:00.000-08:002015-01-03T15:16:00.448-08:00Some System Updates!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Here's a quick update on the greenhouse aquaponics system in Delaware. Unfortunately I haven't been down there frequently enough to take care of it as much as I'd like, but I've got a radial flow filter built, and I just need a larger pump and tubing to hook up the sump tank and second grow bed. I'll be working on that in the next few months.</div>
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My buddy Graham in Trenton, NJ has been working on his indoor IBC tank setup. Here are some photos that I took.</div>
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Also in Trenton, my friend Jon built this really cool bookshelf with an integrated fish tank. I talked to him about making the bookshelf above the fish tank into a small grow bed with lights mounted under the shelf above. That would make a slick bookshelf / aquaponics system. Check it out!</div>
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dirkmcgurk@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926654919472491567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-547484462525130841.post-26996734480673955092014-12-02T21:34:00.001-08:002014-12-02T21:37:17.324-08:00Aquaponics Greenhouse update<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I took a quick video of the Aquaponic IBC system my small greenhouse. The Alpine Strawberries are doing great, but all the tomato plants look dead. I'm buying another heater to keep the water a bit warmer, and we have a small space heater in there to help the plants and koi fish to survive the winter. The mint growing in the ground is still thriving, and it's definitely not cold inside the greenhouse. My next step is to build a solids lifting overflow, and a radial flow filter from a 5-gallon bucket. Then I'll hook them up to the IBC tank, draining into the 100gallon sump tank. Then I'll add a stronger pump which will pump water to both grow beds. I'm hoping to get all this done by spring so we have a fully assembled system by then. Check out the video:<br />
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dirkmcgurk@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926654919472491567noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-547484462525130841.post-12320027553212642642014-11-12T12:00:00.000-08:002014-11-12T12:00:03.318-08:00Aquaponics Greenhouse Tour<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The greenhouse is pretty much complete. It gets a bit hot in there in the middle of the day, so I'm hoping I won't need to install any ventilation or anything. I still want to install the sump tank, and second grow bed, but I need to build a solids filter and solids lifting overflow first. Check it out.<br />
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dirkmcgurk@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926654919472491567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-547484462525130841.post-30044664724204548312014-11-10T12:00:00.000-08:002014-11-10T12:00:03.282-08:00Some Nature Videos<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Some koi fish at Shofuso Japanese House in West Philly. They're hungry!<br />
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This caterpillar is munching my dill!<br />
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Jewelweed Seeds exploding!</div>
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dirkmcgurk@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926654919472491567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-547484462525130841.post-22097416387871906322014-11-07T12:00:00.000-08:002014-11-07T12:00:03.502-08:00Some Paintings<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I've recently taken an interest in watercolor painting, and have done some nature-related paintings. The herb paintings are practice for an herb shelf that my girlfriend and I are painting together. Enjoy!<br />
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Juneberries</div>
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Maple Leaf</div>
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Chives</div>
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Rosemary</div>
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Mint</div>
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Basil</div>
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Wild Carrot</div>
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dirkmcgurk@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926654919472491567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-547484462525130841.post-67601156593633786222014-11-06T14:55:00.000-08:002014-11-06T14:55:47.316-08:00New IBC Aquaponics in Trenton, NJ<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
My buddy Graham with th SAGE Coallition in Trenton, NJ has started up a makerspace called The Hive. I believe there are at least 5 artists now using their warehouse space to create art, and awesome projects for the community. They have a bunch of IBC tanks, and a few South-facing windows, so Graham started constructing and IBC aquaponics setup. I came over to lend a hand one night and snapped a few photos. Enjoy!<br />
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dirkmcgurk@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926654919472491567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-547484462525130841.post-88276228531818487702014-10-16T14:54:00.000-07:002014-10-16T14:55:34.212-07:00A Food Forest in Philadelphia<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I was visiting the Shofuso Japanese house in Fairmount Park with my girlfriend when we stumbled upon a food forest right here in Philadelphia. I've read about several Philly Food Forest plantings done by the Philly Orchard Project, but hadn't seen any yet. They had signs surrounding the site that described the process of installing the different aspects of the system. Well done, <a href="http://www.phillyorchards.org/">Philly Orchard Project</a>! Check it out:<br />
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dirkmcgurk@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926654919472491567noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-547484462525130841.post-23976692760071761122014-09-25T15:38:00.002-07:002014-09-25T15:38:56.562-07:00Stropharia aka Garden Giant Mycelium spawned to garden bed<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
My buddy Brian gave me some Stropharia spawn a few months back that I have been running out onto fermented woodchips. The woodchips are finally fully colonized, and I spread them throughout the mulch around my garden. Hopefully it will outcompete the Alcohol Inky Cap mushrooms in the garden, and I'll have some Garden Giant mushrooms in the Spring! Here's some photos:<br />
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The woodchips colonizing in the burlap sack, buried in a small hole.</div>
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The mycelium is exploding with life!</div>
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So good!</div>
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I'm hoping that the Stropharia will out-compete these inky cap mushrooms, which are edible, but toxic when eaten within 3 days of consuming alcohol. That's no fun...</div>
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dirkmcgurk@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926654919472491567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-547484462525130841.post-34669356624384264262014-09-06T06:00:00.000-07:002014-09-06T06:00:00.852-07:00Backyard Garden Update<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Expanded Garden</h2>
I recently expanded the garden to make room for some more crops. I extended the existing in-ground raised bed, and dug two more. I planted lettuce and carrots in the 1st extension, chard and onions in the 2nd extension, and kale in the 3rd extension. I'm seeing a lot of grass pop up in the 2nd extension, rather than chard and onions, but we'll see how it goes. The lettuce is growing well, and nothing yet in the kale bed. I pulled back the cucumbers, no more of those for this season. I'm still harvesting chard, tomatoes, peppers, and sage.<br />
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Three new beds dug and planted.</div>
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Before the expansion</div>
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The basil seems to have some sort of nutrient deficiency. I thought it might be calcium or potassium, so I made a solution of crushed egg shells and water, shook it up well, added some wood ash for potassium, and poured that around the basil roots. It hasn't helped yet after two days. I think the other basil plant looks like it needs nitrogen, so I'm going to get some of that in there (biochar charged with pee, or just pee).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2dyNJmbN8BsRJ5EWbCkiIjvwwomrQHyfAE6adghaEmyaQKmFXld64qWIJspIg0_fL0o3n3Gcea-hXh_78KctY4T92hP6I71jmJiToLg8H2kwFyi0yE9mibkC3yf4vhz9LHB5NUs3DIG_E/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2dyNJmbN8BsRJ5EWbCkiIjvwwomrQHyfAE6adghaEmyaQKmFXld64qWIJspIg0_fL0o3n3Gcea-hXh_78KctY4T92hP6I71jmJiToLg8H2kwFyi0yE9mibkC3yf4vhz9LHB5NUs3DIG_E/s1600/photo+1.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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Sad Basil</div>
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Happy Tomatoes</div>
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Fermenting Wood Chips for Stropharia </h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGKNCYmdagTZUTOvDw2_PbM8q1Rzk798lsrSdUU9DSJLuXUmH5mDUl0Dwo9CioQotGWnlRBcAXWmFoRL1ZYC4Q8xbl25cfh9gaHZpxJbsKdWqo4MkPUvfg9J0R_oCvlak7SwfWbn2ysqQp/s1600/640px-2011-05-19_Stropharia_rugosoannulata_Farl._ex_Murrill_183478.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGKNCYmdagTZUTOvDw2_PbM8q1Rzk798lsrSdUU9DSJLuXUmH5mDUl0Dwo9CioQotGWnlRBcAXWmFoRL1ZYC4Q8xbl25cfh9gaHZpxJbsKdWqo4MkPUvfg9J0R_oCvlak7SwfWbn2ysqQp/s1600/640px-2011-05-19_Stropharia_rugosoannulata_Farl._ex_Murrill_183478.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Hopefully I'll be seeing these in my garden soon!</div>
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I've been interested in mycology for years, experimenting with oyster mushrooms, lion's mane, and listening to lectues by Paul Stamets in my free time. I even got to see Paul talk at Burning Man in 2013. I saw him talk again in Philadelphia in 2014, and one of the things he talked about was his "mycototes." It's a system where he ferments wood chips, submerged in water, for about a month. Then he drains the water, and the result is a fungus substrate that can be rapidly colonized by mycellium, especially Stropharia, (garden giant, or winecap mushroom). I know some guys starting a gourmet mushroom cultivation business in Philadelphia, who traded me some stropharia spawn on sawdust for some bricks of coco coir that I had. I soaked some woodchips in a trashcan for about a month. The trashcan had a leak, so I had to refill it frequently, and occasionally the water level dropped and left the wood chips unsubmerged. However, the experiment seems to have worked. The fermenting woodchips were colonized with anaerobic bacteria, which died off when exposed to air after draining the wood chips. I filled a burlap sack with the wood chips, mixed in the stropharia spawn, dug a hole behind the shed, and dropped the sack into the hole, and covered it lightly with a tarp. I've been watering occasionally, and the burlap sack is now filled with mycellium. I'll save some of this for future spawn, and I'm going to mix the rest in around the woodchips in my garden. Hopefully we'll have lots of garden giant mushrooms popping up and going into our dinner!<br />
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Beautiful! Look at all that white stringy fungi mycellium.</div>
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Drying Herbs</h2>
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My Girlfriend got me a dehydrator for my birthday, so I've been drying herbs from my garden and my parent's herb spiral. Right now I've got some thick leaf oregano drying. Fresh herbs in homegrown tomato-basil sauce for the win!<br />
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Plans for solar dehydrator</h3>
I saw a neighbor of mine was getting rid of some old windows, so I grabbed one and am planning on using it to make a solar dehydrator like these here:<br />
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Sprouts</h2>
My girlfriend also got me a sprouting kit for my birthday. Sprouts are tasty on sandwiches, and can be grown year-round indoors without light. Super cool!<br />
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dirkmcgurk@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926654919472491567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-547484462525130841.post-74636960524005724662014-09-04T22:35:00.003-07:002014-09-04T22:35:22.265-07:00IBC Aquaponics Update<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The IBC Aquaponic system in Delaware is still cycling. It's had some pH swings, too high, then too low. When it was high, I added some HCl to lower it a bit. When it was low, I drained about 1/4 tank and added hose water which is high pH. Green algae still a problem. I cleaned algae from grow bed by waiting until the Bell siphon kicked on, shutting off the pump, and waiting until the water all drained from the grow bed. Then I just wiped out the algae. No sign of the two Koi fish added before cycling. :( I'm sure they're dead. Well, now that I've killed some fish, I guess I'm a real aquapon. :-/<br />
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When I last checked on the system on September 1st, the nutrients looked like this:<br />
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Seedlings are growing, and I'm planning on adding them when they get a little bigger.<br />
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My dad has started constructing a PVC frame for a small greenhouse. We're going to try to use insulation, water heaters, and maybe a small space heater to keep the system running through the winter. We'll see how it works out!<br />
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The bell siphon had stopped working for a few days. It seemed like the grow bed wasn't filling up quick enough to kick on the siphon. We took apart the pump and cleaned the filter, and it pumped water much faster, fixing the siphon issue.</div>
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Below are a couple sketches of my plans for the system. I was originally thinking of adding a solids filter that would sit above both grow beds, but now I'm thinking that if I add a sump tank to grow duckweed, I can add a radial flow solids filter, and a solids lifting overflow to the sytem, which might help keep the system clean, especially the pump.</div>
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Old Plan</div>
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New Plan</div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">We're deciding between a 90 degree roof, or a rounded roof. I think the 90 degree roof will help keep snow off the top of the greenhouse, which is my major concern.</span><br />
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We just have to get the greenhouse up before it gets cold. My dad's having almost as much fun with this project as I am!</div>
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dirkmcgurk@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926654919472491567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-547484462525130841.post-61520941090730229432014-09-04T21:13:00.002-07:002014-09-04T21:13:36.709-07:00Kombucha<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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For the past few months I've been brewing my own Kombucha Tea. Kombucha is a fermented, sugary tea which many believe to have health benefits. The sugar is digested by a SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast), that weird spongey thing floating in the jars below. The scoby is actually edible, but I've never taken a bite! I've read that the pro-biotics in kombucha are good for digestion and gut health, and when I drink it, I feel a tingly, enjoyable sensation that is hard to describe. It feels good to drink! However, I have some reservations. In an article that Paul Stamets wrote called <i><a href="http://www.fungi.com/blog/items/kombucha-my-adventures-with-the-blob.html">The Manchurian Mushroom</a>, </i><i><a href="http://www.fungi.com/blog/items/kombucha-my-adventures-with-the-blob.html">My Adventures with "The Blob"</a></i>, he warns that Kombucha hasn't had in-depth studies to show it's positive or negative health effects. It contains usnic acid, which has anti-biotic effects. Stamets warns that frequent consumption of Kombucha could have similar effects as over-use of anti-biotics. Namely, killing off beneficial bacteria in the body, and naturally selecting the harmful bacteria that can tolerate the unnatural conditions and become especially adapted and difficult to treat. For those reasons, I cut back my consumption to about 1 cup per day at most, which is the maximum that Stamets recommends to drink. Stamets also warns that the sugary environment necessary for brewing Kombucha invites other, potentially harmful bacteria to grow. All Kombucha brewing information that I've found stress the importance of inspecting the SCOBY regularly for signs of infection.</div>
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I've heard that the history of Kombucha is a mysterious one. It's said that Kombucha was discovered in Asian monastaries in the mountains. Apparantly monks would brew Kombucha, and had passed down the culture of bacteria and yeast from brewer to brewer. Whatever the history, it's an intersting drink, and a fun experiment!</div>
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The kombucha ferments in a jar for 7-10 days.</div>
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After the initial fermentationn, it is bottled, and then fermented again at room temperature for 2-3 days. During this secondary fermentation, fruit and herbs can be added to infuse flavors into the brew. After 2-3 days, it goes in the fridge and is ready to drink!</div>
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Here's a <a href="http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-kombucha-tea-at-home-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-173858">How To guide to brewing Kombucha at home.</a> And if anyone wants to try this out, let me know. I have extra SCOBYs that you can start with!</div>
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dirkmcgurk@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926654919472491567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-547484462525130841.post-61773728943031874502014-08-08T06:41:00.000-07:002014-08-08T06:41:09.328-07:00Herb Spiral in West Philly Community Garden<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Over the past two weekends I spent some time building an herb spiral at a community garden at 37th and Brown St in West Philadelphia. All the bricks were found in the surrounding neighborhood, and the soil from the Philadelphia Horticultural Society Community Garden next door. This little garden is maintained by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/growing.home.92?fref=ts">Growing Home</a>, a non-profit organization trying to empower communities to grow their own food on the unused land in their neighborhoods. This herb spiral was built entirly for free with reclaimed or donated materials. Everything besides the corn was seeded, since we didn't have transplants available. Hopefully in a few weeks I'll stop back and see how it's doing. Check out the photos!<br />
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After the first day.</div>
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Alex and Elissa from Growing Home</div>
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Corn Planted!</div>
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Here's the seeds that we planted</div>
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dirkmcgurk@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926654919472491567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-547484462525130841.post-46543588418568831982014-08-07T23:46:00.001-07:002014-08-09T21:11:21.754-07:00Wild Foods, Garden Things, and Music at the Gandhi Garden<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Recently I took a bike ride to collect some wild yarrow and blackberries. Yarrow is an herb with lots of uses and benefits. The blackberries were about 20-30% ripe, so I was able to collect about a cup. They're really tart, but also really tasty!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6fxGNAA1_zBvSWsANcsvQyLsS9coM51xIY_xXeremsouZrBVWb_lLRNNtZjZ5A2gTwyvFKs4KUIMJUXSY4Az8rgYFqJhZpl38HAoFUIuFRlYevVVJCUvFUd1Uqn9iDocOnMGv1vUAw-M4/s1600/IMG_4951.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6fxGNAA1_zBvSWsANcsvQyLsS9coM51xIY_xXeremsouZrBVWb_lLRNNtZjZ5A2gTwyvFKs4KUIMJUXSY4Az8rgYFqJhZpl38HAoFUIuFRlYevVVJCUvFUd1Uqn9iDocOnMGv1vUAw-M4/s1600/IMG_4951.JPG" height="300" width="400"></a></div>
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I also recently got an email from a Wild Foodies group in Philadelphia about the plant of the week, Rose of Sharon. I hadn't heard of it, and when I saw a picture, I recognized it as a plant that my landlord has growing up and down the edges of his property. I found a recipe to stuff the violet, pink, and white flowers in goat cheese and bread and fry them. That seems tasty, but I also want to find a recipe that doesn't completely hide the taste of the flower. I believe the leaves are edible as well. There's food all around us!</div>
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I found this praying mantis hanging out in my Kale a couple days in a row. Good luck or something, right?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2AsG4fCqgAmeP_0WT_lja5eB-taa1nMnXazsqaEYx4p7d5h-5jqzYY_SsCKVgOYuosNl2QRoiZjBuWeZ7ZwwWG2y6jRbGzhe40IbgBQuFE2fN7WmUU8xABt2x0tm4I7l2USPc7XyTJpgN/s1600/IMG_4912.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2AsG4fCqgAmeP_0WT_lja5eB-taa1nMnXazsqaEYx4p7d5h-5jqzYY_SsCKVgOYuosNl2QRoiZjBuWeZ7ZwwWG2y6jRbGzhe40IbgBQuFE2fN7WmUU8xABt2x0tm4I7l2USPc7XyTJpgN/s1600/IMG_4912.JPG" height="300" width="400"></a></div>
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Then I found these melting, drippy mushrooms growing on my straw bale garden next to some watermelon and pumpkin seedlings. It was a hot day, but I've never seen that before. Trippy!</div>
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At work the other day, I was playing with a little butterfly or moth. It looked a bit like a monarch on the top of it's wings, but with the wings up, it looks more moth-like. What do you think? He wanted to eat my finger. Silly guy!</div>
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A few nights ago, some friends of mine with the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SageCoalitionnj">SAGE Coallition</a> threw a cookout/concert in downtown Trenton at the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/theGandhiGarden">Gandhi Garden</a> (219 East Hanover St Trenton, NJ). <a href="https://www.facebook.com/vitaandthewoolf">Vita and the Woolf</a> played an awesome set, and Ruff House brought the funk! It was a great time!</div>
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Vita and the Woolf</div>
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Ruff House</div>
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I also recently harvested a bunch of Queen Anne's Lace (wild carrot) flowers to make a jam. I need to collect a bit more, but I'll post pictures when that's finished. It's suppossed to be very tasty, so I'm excited to see how it turns out.</div>
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dirkmcgurk@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926654919472491567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-547484462525130841.post-3826219895071576522014-07-14T21:29:00.000-07:002014-07-15T07:28:59.256-07:00Berry Harvest! Homemade Salve! A Suburban Permaculture Backyard!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This weekend was great for harvesting <a href="http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Plants.Folder/Wineberry.html">Wineberries</a> near me. Wineberries got their name because they have a high sugar content, making them great for making wine. They are an asian cousin of the rasberry. I harvested a bunch down in Rancocas Creek Park in NJ. I made some jam, and maybe next time I'll make some wine! By the time I got around to making jam, I had already eaten about half the berries. I had about 2.5 cups of berries left, so I used <a href="http://the3foragers.blogspot.com/2010/07/wineberry-jam-and-wineberry-jelly.html">this recipe</a>, but I cut all the ingredients in half. It seemed to be a bit liquidy after cannning, but we'll see how it looks when it's cooled.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7xvb0EG5lmavJIew9hYaUOwasUdFLudqv94NQZhekBD_m8kq8bSVftSY-zPoritTqY2wa_CZtvRbldkFseYuBId65aO77bRzjkyzRTIqAwDCtgqKJ7d7qY9XpROABa1bsO3mh1Eu-OeWW/s1600/IMG_4747.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7xvb0EG5lmavJIew9hYaUOwasUdFLudqv94NQZhekBD_m8kq8bSVftSY-zPoritTqY2wa_CZtvRbldkFseYuBId65aO77bRzjkyzRTIqAwDCtgqKJ7d7qY9XpROABa1bsO3mh1Eu-OeWW/s1600/IMG_4747.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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A huge patch of Wineberries</div>
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This beautiful berry was everywhere</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0gnDqfshvPgya-kyhaBuPw4KSJXWHFE2XaUgI07pLf1nUb3TbKNfr1-OAaHXVWhyphenhyphenk3DCXHD-ZKy6kYmuvXw5eLzG9Say7rOjpzeZZHaNjhz8lIUhyTY9DpmMGnYAcIRphRGm6HekHXQyG/s1600/Wineberries+Harvest.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0gnDqfshvPgya-kyhaBuPw4KSJXWHFE2XaUgI07pLf1nUb3TbKNfr1-OAaHXVWhyphenhyphenk3DCXHD-ZKy6kYmuvXw5eLzG9Say7rOjpzeZZHaNjhz8lIUhyTY9DpmMGnYAcIRphRGm6HekHXQyG/s1600/Wineberries+Harvest.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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I harvested about 5 cups</div>
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JAM!</div>
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I can honestly say this was the best PB&J I've ever had. 12-Grain bread, Organic Almond Butter, and Homemade Wineberry Jam. :D</div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">I also filmed a video tour at my buddy Joe's house, where he's got a beautiful permaculture garden in his suburban backyard. I'll be posting that video as soon as it's edited.</span></div>
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Coming soon, a tour of a suburban permaculture backyard</div>
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I also made some Jewelweed salve from Jewelweeed harvest on my lunch break from work. I used organic coconut oil, beeswax, jewelweed, plantain, violet, sage, essential oils (lavendar, tea tree, and sweet orange), and vitamin E oil to help with preservation of the salve. I have some available for sale or trade if anyone's interested. It helps soothe skin irritations like poison ivy, bug bites or stings, scrapes, or burns.<br />
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It's a gloomy day, but these green onions on the windowsil are happy!</div>
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dirkmcgurk@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926654919472491567noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-547484462525130841.post-42940596114696054582014-07-14T09:20:00.002-07:002014-07-14T09:20:22.524-07:00Another Herb Spiral<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
After seeing photos of the herb spiral that I built for my parents, my girlfriend's parents wanted one as well. While they were in Europe on vacation, we built one in their backyard. Here's some photos of how it turned out.<br />
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My parents, and my girlfriend's parents both expressed concern about how to harvest and use the herbs. I'm putting together an information packet that will describe harvest time, how to harvest, and how to use all the plants in an herb spiral. I'll be posting that on the blog when it's finished.<br />
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dirkmcgurk@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926654919472491567noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-547484462525130841.post-35034950075545200592014-07-08T18:18:00.000-07:002014-07-08T18:30:13.235-07:00My Permaculture Journey (so far)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I first learned about Permaculture in late Fall of 2013. I had been interested in aquaponics before then, but didn't know what permaculture was. I had seen the term permaculture mentioned on posts in <a href="http://reddit.com/r/aquaponics">reddit.com/r/aquaponics</a> but didn't know what it was all about. I read a little, and watched some youtube videos, and more and more, it just felt right.<br />
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<i>In my garden</i></div>
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During college, I didn't have much of an opinion on politics or activism, and I had no interest in gardening or ecology. Don't get me wrong, I've always loved nature, and camping, and wildlife. But in my youthful ignorance, I felt that the world's problems could wait until after I finished engineering school (and in all fairness, they did wait). I didn't have the sense of urgency to action that I feel these days.<br />
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Toward the end of school, my friends started composting, and eating healthier, and I noticed, but didn't change my own habits for a good while. But eventually, I started feeling bad when I didn't recycle in front of them, or if I used excess paper towels. And eventually I learned more about the world, and I wanted to use my skills and education to make it better, because frankly, the future seems pretty bleak at times. I started recycling, and turning off the lights more often. I had grown edible mushrooms in my college years using waste coffee grounds from a coffeehouse near my apartment, and was already very fascinated with fungi. Then I learned about aquaponics, and that fascinated my engineer mind.<br />
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<i>My first aquaponics project</i></div>
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<i>Earthship in North Philly</i></div>
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I'd read about earthships online, and even got the opportunity to help build one on an abandonded lot in North Philly. It was that day working on the earthship that I met a guy who told me was into Permaculture. I went home and looked up this Permaculture thing, and it was all downhill from there (in the best-possible way, like riding your bike downhill).<br />
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<i>At Burning Man in 2013</i></div>
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I had been building art (<a href="http://www.quentini.com/">a friend's projects </a>at first, <a href="http://www.cargodropphilly.blogspot.com/">then my own</a>) at the Burning Man Art festival since 2010, and adopted the idea of <a href="http://www.burningman.com/whatisburningman/about_burningman/principles.html">radical self-reliance (encouraging the individual to discover, exercise and rely on his or her inner resources) and leaving-no-trace</a>. So, I had already entertained the idea of a possible homestead in my future. Over the 2013/2014 Winter, I listened to countless podcasts, watched video after video on youtube, and read books and articles all about permaculture. I had a 3 hour commute every day to listen to podcasts and an hour lunch to read books and articles. That's around 4 hours a day studying Permaculture for about 3 months. I was amassing a good knowledge base, but had little experience outside of my aquaponics projects and my mushroom cultivation years prior.<br />
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<i>My apartment's windowfarm herb garden made from recycled materials</i></div>
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<i>Rosemary in the Windowfarm</i></div>
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<i>Oyster mushrooms in my kitchen</i></div>
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<i>Lion's Mane mushrooms in a homemade fruiting chamber</i></div>
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In Spring 2014, I started a garden in my landlord's yard, and convinced him to pay for 2/3rds the initial cost for half the produce in return. The garden is now supplementing our diets, and giving me fresh ingredients to learn about canning and preserving. I signed up for a 7-month, one-day-per-month Intensive Organic Gardening class with Ben Weiss, a local Permaculture instructor. I've learned a ton, and this has really made me look forward to being able to take a <a href="http://www.patternliteracy.com/courses/permaculture-design-course-faq">Permaculture Design Certification Course (PDC)</a> in the future. I've used much of what I've learned in the class in my own garden. I tried composting in a bucket. Then I heard about my friend composting with worms, and had to try that out. Now I've got tons of worm castings for the straw bale gardens I just set up. The straw came from a local farm. I got a load of mulch from a local tree service.<br />
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<i>Learning to use a broadfork for a no-till garden in Ben Weiss's 2014 Intensive Organic Gardening Class</i></div>
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<i>Serviceberries (Juneberries) foraged from outside my work's office building. They made a delicious dessert for my family reunion thanks to my girlfriend!</i></div>
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I've taken wild plant foraging classes with local teachers, and have realized a more symbiotic relationship with nature. I've found that my landlord's property is filled with edible and medicinal plants like Woodsorrel, Bitter Dock, Lamb's Quarter, Feverfew, Violets, Lady's Thumb, Dandelions, Clover, Purslane, and Plantain. I've even gotten my landlord to start eating the weeds! It turns out, the property used to be a chicken farm, and when my landlord moved in, it was covered in grape vines, and berry bushes, and different fruiting trees. It sounded like a permie's wet dream! He cut everything down except one apple tree, and paved over a large portion of the yard. Since I've moved in and started gardening, we've had many conversations about organic gardening and permaculture, and I think he regrets having "cleaned up" the yard all those years ago. Now, we're working to re-create a productive landscape on his property.<br />
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<i>Scott Kellogg and Stacey Pettigrew's amazing urban farm in Albany, NY</i></div>
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I took a Regenerative Urban Sustainability class at Scott Kellogg and Stacey Pettigrew's urban farm in Albany, NY, which was amazing to see all the interconnected, regenerative farm systems. They were growing mushrooms, keeping chickens, ducks, and rabbits, gardening organically, maintaining large aquaponic systems, composting, and utilizing many other permaculture systems. From that workshop, I brought home some Stropharia (Garden Giant) mushroom spawn to introduce to my woodchips in the garden. I'm nearly finished the second herb spiral I've built, and I have two more planned for community gardens that I volunteer at.<br />
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<i>My first herb spiral, at my parent's house in Delaware</i></div>
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<i>My second herb spiral, it just needs plants!</i></div>
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The point of this post isn't to brag about how much fun I'm having learning and practicing permaculture. The point is that,<b> you don't need to be in an ideal situation to make your situation work for you while reducing your footprint, and increasing your handprint</b>. Large changes require small steps. I try one or two new things out at a time. This allows me to focus on getting it right, without taking up excess energy and time and becoming a chore. I've done my best to cut out distractions like mindless TV and video games. I try to keep track of my projects and keep notes as a citizen scientist. I don't have any formal schooling in permaculture or ecology, but experience is the best teacher, and I believe that with dedication, anyone can teach themself to become an expert at almost anything.<br />
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<i>My most recent garden update</i></div>
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I've got a number of things working against me right now. I don't own land, I rent. I have a 3 hour commute every day. I don't know that much about gardening. I don't have all the skills that I want. But, I'm using permaculture design and ideas in my every day life, regardless of my situation. I have friends who do container gardens on their balconies, and they compost, and that's all that they can do at the moment, but that's better than nothing. My first aquaponic system wouldn't even fit in my apartment, so I asked a friend if I could put it in his bedroom. My next aquaponic system was in my second floor apartment with a WindowFarm and a 5 gallon water cooler tank as the fish resevoir. When I moved to Trenton, NJ, I volunteered at a community garden and met some new <a href="http://sagecoalitionnj.com/">artist friends</a> with a studio and space for my next aquaponic system (currently under construction). Through working with these new friends, I've potentially got a space and all the supplies needed for a large-scale, multiple IBC tank system that we've just begun to work on. I've also helped out with their community improvement efforts through guerilla gardening on Saturday mornings.<br />
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<i>Guerilla Gardening in Trenton, NJ</i></div>
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My largest, system to date is a single IBC-tank system in Delaware at my parent's house. Space is a huge limitation for me, but I've used my network of friends and family to find space to practice my passion.<br />
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<i>My IBC Aquaponics in Delaware</i></div>
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One of the most important lessons I've learned in life is to never limit yourself. There are enough circumstances in life to hold you back, don't let your own fears and insecurities prevent you from following your dreams. The more you explore and learn about how to live a more harmoneous and regenerative life, the more you can create the world you want. Prioritize the things that make you happy and fulfilled. Focus on what's important to you, and cut out the excess. If I can do it, so can you. One step at a time.<br />
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<i>Advice from one of my heros</i></div>
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This post was inspired by the 7 July 2014 episode of <a href="http://www.thepermaculturepodcast.com/2014/byte0707/">The Permaculture Podcast with Scott Man</a><a href="http://www.thepermaculturepodcast.com/2014/byte0707/">n</a>.</div>
dirkmcgurk@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926654919472491567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-547484462525130841.post-59336152533023772942014-07-08T17:21:00.004-07:002014-07-08T17:21:54.873-07:00Oyster Mushroom Kit from Back to the Roots<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Some photos from the first flush of Oyster Mushrooms that grew in the Mushroom Kit from Back to the Roots.</div>
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Pinning</h4>
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A day or two later</h4>
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A day or two later</h4>
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Harvest Day</h4>
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These were started on May 11, started Pinning on June 2nd, harvested on June 6th.</div>
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dirkmcgurk@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926654919472491567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-547484462525130841.post-9896634248277705812014-07-08T17:19:00.002-07:002014-07-08T17:22:31.418-07:00Review of Scott Kellogg and Stacey Pettigrew's Regenerative UrbanSustainability Training (RUST) in Albany, NY<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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In June 2014, I attended a Regenerative Urban Sustainability Training class with Scott Kellogg and Stacey Pettigrew in Albany, NY. They are the authors of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Toolbox-Sustainable-City-Living-Ourselves/dp/0896087808#">Toolbox for Sustainable City Living</a>. The class focused on giving an overview of the many systems that they've implemented on their urban farm. Aquaponics, microlivestock, mushroom cultivation, soil testing, growing microgreens, composting, sheet mulching, and rainwater collection were just some of the topics covered. This was a great experience to see functioning systems that feed into each other. Efficiency is maximized as one system's waste becomes another system's input. As for the class, time management and organization seemed to be an issue. Classes started late, and ran late each day. Although, Scott and Stacey were very helpful for any questions from the class, and provided tons of additional reference books to skim through during lunch, the class was more of an overview of these ideas rather than an in-depth study. Tons of useful knowledge was packed into a great weekend.</div>
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A compost sifter made from bicycle wheels.</div>
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Inside the immense greenhouse.</div>
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A floating bioremediation water filter prototype made from plastic bottles and netting. Water-filtering plants grow in this net and the whole thing can be tethered near a polluted site.</div>
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Biogas Demonstration</h3>
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More info about Scott and Stacey and their work here: <a href="http://radixcenter.org/about/">Radixcenter.org</a></div>
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dirkmcgurk@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926654919472491567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-547484462525130841.post-87592599350191296612014-07-02T21:13:00.002-07:002014-07-11T08:49:10.733-07:00Aquafarm 2.0 Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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A little while back, I was contacted by Alejandro from Back to the Roots. He had seen my first Aquafarm review, and appreciated the review. We chatted about our similar ideals and regenerative food production goals, and he offered to send me some updated parts for the Aquafarm. The updated Aquafarm is in stores already, and included several improvements. First, there is a new pump. This is a water pump rather than an air pump. It’ more efficient, and quieter than the air pump was. There was also a new upper grow tray to accommodate the different pump and tubing. Also included was an updated grow medium. The new rocks are white in color, rather than brown, and they are more porous than the original grow media, allowing for more beneficial bacteria to turn the fish waste into plant food.</div>
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Overall, the update greatly improved the Aquafarm design. I would hesitate to recommend the original design because of the loud pump, and the fact that the air pump died after a few months. This updated version is definitely one that I’m now comfortable to recommend. I’ve had great success growing basil and purslane under a daylight color lamp in a bedroom. Here’s a quick video review of the updated Aquafarm 2.0 from Back to the Roots. You can buy the updated Aquafarm at Petco stores, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Back-Roots-AquaFarm-Packaging-Vary/dp/B00CN52TRM">on Amazon</a>, or <a href="https://www.backtotheroots.com/shop/aquafarm">directly from Back to the Roots</a>.</div>
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dirkmcgurk@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926654919472491567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-547484462525130841.post-61775587458815470292014-06-23T09:51:00.001-07:002014-07-02T21:12:16.537-07:00Home and Garden Projects update 6-22<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I recently fenced in my garden area to keep the neighborhood cats out. I ran out of straw, but luckily a local tree removal device is going to drop off 2 cubic yards of wood chips this week for free. I have some Stropharia (aka Wine Cap, aka Garden Giant, aka Portabello) mushroom spawn to mix into the wood chips. I'm also getting 2 bales of straw next weekend for a couple straw bale gardens I want to play with.</div>
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Hey, put me down, I'm not done eating!</div>
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Exploding with life!</div>
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So far I've harvested:</div>
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Swiss Chard, Lettuce, Lamb's Quarter, Radishes, and Beets</div>
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Some yard mushrooms.</div>
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Burdock in the yard.</div>
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Orange spots on the backyard apple tree. My landlord hasn't taken good care of it, so I'm hoping to do some trimming and try to bring it back to health. Branches crossing, it's a mess. Already, there are lots of apples forming, though!</div>
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Here's a short video showing the IBC Tote Aquaponic System that I'm contructing at my parent's house in Delaware. It's finally just about ready for fish and plants.</div>
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While at work, I realized that the trees outside the cafeteria are Juneberries! They we're ripe and delicious.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSa8MwaawygXvrNIFBQh5nk-x3K0yRUvy8gXUu9GFXztgADDkAnr871FK8zZ6cRnpXnwGIGcSqvEYN9CwcoBCx42nJuplcPzA_U3402YrXIRumjnhmf-D_bDRACbuTlAbuc5u27HygY7ZC/s1600/photo+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSa8MwaawygXvrNIFBQh5nk-x3K0yRUvy8gXUu9GFXztgADDkAnr871FK8zZ6cRnpXnwGIGcSqvEYN9CwcoBCx42nJuplcPzA_U3402YrXIRumjnhmf-D_bDRACbuTlAbuc5u27HygY7ZC/s1600/photo+4.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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I got about 3.5 cups of Juneberries (aka Service berry, aka Shadbush, aka Shadberry.</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">My girlfriend baked them into a Juneberry crisp dessert for my family reunion.</span></div>
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dirkmcgurk@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926654919472491567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-547484462525130841.post-79673344838978237252014-06-21T15:35:00.001-07:002014-07-08T17:26:55.385-07:00Herb Spiral Thriving<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This Spring I built an herb spiral at my parent's house in Delaware.<br />
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This is just after planting the herbs:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAplK5xMF0wuoumBUXT4AMeQw1sw-HM6ivtSnIDwEfKvWHZHMmRNtTooSObxRJ0T1dcUG9u2z3flWWhHmpH5gpmqqo4Kt1bnGf7DKY8m0naT8i6guUxO9_wenHAc60z0RCPM-daE6LP_MG/s1600/photo+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAplK5xMF0wuoumBUXT4AMeQw1sw-HM6ivtSnIDwEfKvWHZHMmRNtTooSObxRJ0T1dcUG9u2z3flWWhHmpH5gpmqqo4Kt1bnGf7DKY8m0naT8i6guUxO9_wenHAc60z0RCPM-daE6LP_MG/s1600/photo+4.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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This is a few weeks later:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLV6hyphenhyphenjIH8DxZfHtSeHw0fbjQEvZ-ovDIfrvkpSGGeA_npfiZ8-lPYSWF3DjLFly-GQzWoDm3oNPSIIoLLThkDaWWliPM1Kr6FUUmWs8Jpv3-_NUGp8f6cPnsAn0kpiOBewhT7OCdRHVub/s1600/photo+5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLV6hyphenhyphenjIH8DxZfHtSeHw0fbjQEvZ-ovDIfrvkpSGGeA_npfiZ8-lPYSWF3DjLFly-GQzWoDm3oNPSIIoLLThkDaWWliPM1Kr6FUUmWs8Jpv3-_NUGp8f6cPnsAn0kpiOBewhT7OCdRHVub/s1600/photo+5.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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I got some Parrot's Feather, Water Hyacynth, and water-cultured Peppermint for the pond.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFqdnB-I66diM-M45bhx9zzQYy4e1wIZ9bdN8LM0DKHeEQyjSQkq3bgeY7BO_9wlntDT7PdOJ3I8pL4gYraalCrK9qxNhP7XuREO8b8zTSpjHUAQYOPUXzf02Od0jg0WcIzM4HoImoOGhS/s1600/photo+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFqdnB-I66diM-M45bhx9zzQYy4e1wIZ9bdN8LM0DKHeEQyjSQkq3bgeY7BO_9wlntDT7PdOJ3I8pL4gYraalCrK9qxNhP7XuREO8b8zTSpjHUAQYOPUXzf02Od0jg0WcIzM4HoImoOGhS/s1600/photo+3.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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And here it is today, looking great!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE8I1XiyRAS_3TiMzWjbug4032-iz5E2WXJrDawtnNpnhXAdKZsjaSj_F-TJJDCls5X90WH8lneVb_WhqwHESyLF2LCwJLkthh17j0fZ4FUw01JOzazmdaSclOKTKdFYoRLIV5doTraGGX/s1600/photo+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE8I1XiyRAS_3TiMzWjbug4032-iz5E2WXJrDawtnNpnhXAdKZsjaSj_F-TJJDCls5X90WH8lneVb_WhqwHESyLF2LCwJLkthh17j0fZ4FUw01JOzazmdaSclOKTKdFYoRLIV5doTraGGX/s1600/photo+3.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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I followed the plans here:</div>
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<a href="http://fuentesfarm.wordpress.com/2014/02/04/spiral-herb-garden-chart/">http://fuentesfarm.wordpress.com/2014/02/04/spiral-herb-garden-chart/</a></div>
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Soon I plan to build a smaller version with smaller bricks. I also want to see how cheaply I can build this in a community garden in Philly with discarded cinder blocks.</div>
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dirkmcgurk@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926654919472491567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-547484462525130841.post-8706418337412578642014-05-29T14:37:00.004-07:002014-05-29T14:38:18.697-07:00Notes from Paul Stamets' Talk in Philadelphia on May 2nd<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><i>Paul Stamets<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<b><i>The Wagner Free Science Institute<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<b><i>2 May 2014<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<u>Paul’s Hat</u></div>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Fomes fomentarius (a Hoof Polypore mushroom) aka Tinder mushroom – used to make Amadou (a spongy, flammable substance)</li>
<li>Critical to our survival – used to carry fire</li>
<li>Boil the Mushroom, it delaminates and is very flamable</li>
<li>Hypocrates used as a medicine - A styptic (also spelled stiptic) is a specific type of antihemorrhagic agent that works by contracting tissue to seal injured blood vessels. Styptic pencils containastringents.</li>
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Article – They’re All Part Fungus - <a href="http://www.phschool.com/science/science_news/articles/they_part_fungus.html">http://www.phschool.com/science/science_news/articles/they_part_fungus.html</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Mycorrhizal Symbiosis book - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mycorrhizal-Symbiosis-Third-Edition-Sally/dp/0123705266">http://www.amazon.com/Mycorrhizal-Symbiosis-Third-Edition-Sally/dp/0123705266</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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“Habitats have immune systems and mycelium is essential to
communication.” (Paraphrazed)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Convince timber industry to chop and mulch rather than burn<o:p></o:p></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal">Produces faster growing
trees<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Stores carbon rather than
releasing it<o:p></o:p></li>
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Mushroom cultivation variables<o:p></o:p></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal">CO2 exposure determines
length of stem<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Light exposure determines
width of the cap<o:p></o:p></li>
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A Human foot covers ~ 300 miles of mycelium (may be
inaccurate, I didn’t catch the number)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Small voids between strands of mycelium hold water. As the voids lose water, micro communities of
bacteria grow in the voids and help mushrooms.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Ratio of bacteria cells to human cells in the body: 100 to 1<o:p></o:p></div>
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Epigenesis – the ability to adapt with a network design<o:p></o:p></div>
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Japanese Slime mold experiment – Atsushi Tero et al. 2010<o:p></o:p></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal">Subway design optimization
using slime mold<o:p></o:p></li>
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“Pairing with fungi during extinction events increases
chances of survival.” (Paraphrazed)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u>Prototaxites </u>– 30 foot tall giant mushroom that
towered over all vegetation on earth in a time when no vegetation reached above
~2 feet. Fossil of prototaxites was
found in Saudi Arabia? (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI5frPV58tY#t=362">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI5frPV58tY#t=362</a>)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u>Honey Mushroom</u> - Armillaria<o:p></o:p></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal">parasitic, kills trees<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal">can create huge swirl
patterns in trees<o:p></o:p></li>
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Mycellium is the immune system of the mushroom<o:p></o:p></div>
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Network structure creates resiliency<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u>Enokitake</u> Mushrooms<o:p></o:p></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal">Farmers growing these
mushrooms showed significantly lower cancer rates<o:p></o:p></li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLb-_FhCaidnHxHGDQB0DpSkjvQgKwTxkfQnt23GZ3nLVx2O1lA67Z9FFg_yfuSLFhDxKrBBOjPd7GTaNJAMNPLSkBiJKUuvRdeihdXe8WZ_7x-sPuWW83A7TCj_jTJcNZnKWuSVXZRPci/s1600/Enokitake.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLb-_FhCaidnHxHGDQB0DpSkjvQgKwTxkfQnt23GZ3nLVx2O1lA67Z9FFg_yfuSLFhDxKrBBOjPd7GTaNJAMNPLSkBiJKUuvRdeihdXe8WZ_7x-sPuWW83A7TCj_jTJcNZnKWuSVXZRPci/s1600/Enokitake.bmp" height="318" width="320" /></a></div>
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<o:p><i> Slide taken from Paul's presentation</i></o:p></div>
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<u>Lion’s Mane Mushroom</u> - Hericium erinaceus<o:p></o:p></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal">Contain Nerve Growth
Factors that promote nerve cell growth<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Improving effects of the
mushroom Yamabushitake (Hericium erinaceus) on mild cognitive impairment:
a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial.<o:p></o:p></li>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="circle">
<li class="MsoNormal">By Mori K1, Inatomi S,
Ouchi K, Azumi Y, Tuchida T.<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18844328">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18844328</a><o:p></o:p></li>
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<li class="MsoNormal">Effects of Hericium
erinaceus on amyloid β(25-35) peptide-induced learning and memory deficits
in mice.<o:p></o:p></li>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="circle">
<li class="MsoNormal">By Mori K1, Obara Y,
Moriya T, Inatomi S, Nakahata N.<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21383512">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21383512</a><o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Mice given amyloid plaque
causing polypeptide<o:p></o:p></li>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="square">
<li class="MsoNormal">Control mice react to
new object, mice with amyloid plaques lose curiosity and problem-solving
ability (navigating a maze)<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal">After ~21 days eating
Lion’s Mane, the mice regained curiosity and maze-solving ability<o:p></o:p></li>
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<u>Shiitake</u> - Lentinula edodes<o:p></o:p></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal">Drying shiitake produces
Vitamin D in mushroom<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal">UVB exposure skyrockets
Vitamin D<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Dried Shiitake can produce
Vitamin D and store it for years<o:p></o:p></li>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="circle">
<li class="MsoNormal">Control: 40 IU/mg<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Sunlight 10 hours: 46000
IU/mg<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal">UVB 14 hours: 267000
IU/mg<o:p></o:p></li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Stropharia</u> - Wine Cap Mushroom - Garden Giant
Mushroom<o:p></o:p></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal">Grows slowly in lab,
quickly in soil / wood chips<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Inoculated swales with
garden giant mushrooms<o:p></o:p></li>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="circle">
<li class="MsoNormal">Reduced e. coli in soil /
water<o:p></o:p></li>
</ul>
<li class="MsoNormal">Mycofiltration /
Mycoremediation<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Mycototoes – Woodchips,
straw, water in large bin (with cracks for drainage)<o:p></o:p></li>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="circle">
<li class="MsoNormal">Ferment for 2 weeks
(stinky, anaerobic)<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Drain<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Oxygen sterilizes
anaerobic bacteria<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Mushrooms grow super fast<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSKQyMFw8GM">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSKQyMFw8GM</a><o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal">500 lb mycelium produces
100 lbs of mushrooms<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Mycototes make huge
mushrooms<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Rain garden design to
filter e. coli water with stropharia<o:p></o:p></li>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="square">
<li class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.fungi.com/blog/items/mycofiltration-for-urban-storm-water-treatment-receives-epa-research-and-development-funding.html">http://www.fungi.com/blog/items/mycofiltration-for-urban-storm-water-treatment-receives-epa-research-and-development-funding.html</a><o:p></o:p></li>
</ul>
<li class="MsoNormal">Oregon street cleaning
project to clean storm water<o:p></o:p></li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mycoremediation of oil spills<o:p></o:p></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal">Hemp bags, filled with
grasses, fermented in salt water will grow mushrooms<o:p></o:p></li>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="circle">
<li class="MsoNormal">Used to corral oil slicks
and break down hydrocarbons<o:p></o:p></li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Chaga (Inonotus obliquus) – Dangerous to environment when
harvested commercially<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Stamets model for permaculture – in “Growing Gourmet” book
by Paul stamets<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Agarikon</u> - Laricifomes officinalis - endorheic
mycorrhizal fungi - Nicknamed “elixir of life”<o:p></o:p></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal">Contains compounds
effective against various flu/pox virus strains<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Doesn’t Rot, rather
petrifies the supporting tree branch with calcium oxalate<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI5frPV58tY#t=691">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI5frPV58tY#t=691</a><o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Anti-tuberculosis /
anti-microbial properties<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Google: “Small Pox
Stamets”<o:p></o:p></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
73% of Anti-cancer drugs come from natural sources<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Worst Cancer – Merkel Cell Carcinoma<o:p></o:p></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal">“Nghiem Hypothesis” - Dr. Paul Nghiem MD, PhD<o:p></o:p></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Turkey Tail Mushroom</u> (Trametes versicolor)<o:p></o:p></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal">Effective in studies
against Breast Cancer<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Seem to de-cloak tumor cells
from the body’s immune system<o:p></o:p></li>
</ul>
</div>
dirkmcgurk@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926654919472491567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-547484462525130841.post-65959938965532717872014-05-09T11:49:00.000-07:002014-05-09T11:49:06.043-07:00Herb Spiral Project in Delaware<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEgNdUnB2IjtpjFoXdhWTLiOIObSEhgorOLAtTbfQMQSdGCrBemFGPwosyvIrsOER6Jb-A3iJHWgKlf9wcEC2H3LNcH3QoYICdI2FL6vzE7XBcK3K4O4EoaGhku7eR-J5GLjxkn4Eohrrv/s640/blogger-image-769619234.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEgNdUnB2IjtpjFoXdhWTLiOIObSEhgorOLAtTbfQMQSdGCrBemFGPwosyvIrsOER6Jb-A3iJHWgKlf9wcEC2H3LNcH3QoYICdI2FL6vzE7XBcK3K4O4EoaGhku7eR-J5GLjxkn4Eohrrv/s640/blogger-image-769619234.jpg" /></a></div>
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<i style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Before and after the most recent work day.</i></div>
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I've been working on building an herb spiral in my parents yard in Delaware. It's just about finished.</div>
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<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
An herb spiral is a permaculture design that allows you to grow up to 16 different herbs all requiring different conditions, from watercress and mint to rosemary and oregano. The design channels water from the top of the garden to the small pond at the bottom. The structure creates microclimates through variation in sunlight and soil moisture. We'll place plants at the top that need less water, and plants at the bottom (near the pond) that need more water. The north side will have shade-loving herbs and the south side will have herbs that need more light. The idea is to grow a wide variety of herbs that will be available for the kitchen.</div>
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<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
It's a good idea to place an herb spiral close to the kitchen. That way, if you're cooking dinner, you can easily cut fresh herbs for your recipes.</div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
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<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
If you want to learn more, or build your own, detailed instructions can be found here: http://fuentesfarm.wordpress.com/2014/02/04/spiral-herb-garden-chart/</div>
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dirkmcgurk@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926654919472491567noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-547484462525130841.post-27695873184520388162014-05-08T12:01:00.001-07:002014-05-09T11:49:50.617-07:00NIWA - Smartphone Control of your Hydroponic Garden<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I recently learned about a new product concept for an indoor hydroponic garden that looks like it has potential.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx9ONIPkQd8_9CHu81lTt4qO-eB9FENP0_3_0cpzqnB1nEc98AUzxC9_I180IFsDYtOXXJuRoOrw_s6toF6osb94ArWy7C-VPEtUYh-g8_r1mxCx3Ivc30LJ0_awSh75mtI1F5C_fhiN5P/s640/blogger-image--229010766.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx9ONIPkQd8_9CHu81lTt4qO-eB9FENP0_3_0cpzqnB1nEc98AUzxC9_I180IFsDYtOXXJuRoOrw_s6toF6osb94ArWy7C-VPEtUYh-g8_r1mxCx3Ivc30LJ0_awSh75mtI1F5C_fhiN5P/s640/blogger-image--229010766.jpg" /></a></div>
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NIWA (<a href="http://www.getniwa.com/">www.getniwa.com</a>) is a pretty slick looking 5 liter recirculating hydroponic system with lights and automation controlled from your smartphone.</div>
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Compared to the Aquafarm from Back to the Roots, this looks like a more serious food production system. The Aquafarm is a nice, compact system that can grow some herbs and is a good introduction to aquaponic gardening, the NIWA looks to be able to produce some serious food, and I suspect the price will reflect this increase in performance. NIWA claims to be able to grow tomatoes, strawberries, orchids, or medical plants.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKOGw2kqulVJMPJJa2eb1BTB2riL2_eVX1as30x2jFZ4d0vklTLL7JidZLMBJwAqQ-BWlc5V5xXDzz3Hqw-Nj6utdwcwPWUNOYraxxWL6fbRw70CjG9zhQl_gD4sdjxOzxas945jXkBPnK/s640/blogger-image-360090733.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKOGw2kqulVJMPJJa2eb1BTB2riL2_eVX1as30x2jFZ4d0vklTLL7JidZLMBJwAqQ-BWlc5V5xXDzz3Hqw-Nj6utdwcwPWUNOYraxxWL6fbRw70CjG9zhQl_gD4sdjxOzxas945jXkBPnK/s640/blogger-image-360090733.jpg" /></a></div>
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I've been in contact with Aga, one of the founders of NIWA, and asked about integration with a fish tank for an aquaponic system. While they haven't yet worked with any aquaponic experts to determine what would need to be done to the system to integrate aquaponics, they will be offering a maker-kit on the kickstarter which will include the electronics and gear inside with instructions to build the system on your own. I can imagine this could be used to hack an aquaponic version.</div>
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Some of my favorite features:</div>
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Automatic nutrient and irrigation adjustment for different plants. You don't have to do additional research, just tell NIWA what you're growing, and the nutrients and irrigation cycles are adjusted to optimize growth. Or, if you want to experiment, you can manually adjust the settings.</div>
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<div>
Automatic heating, ventilation, humidity, and lighting control. NIWA claims to monitor climate. In the system and automatically adjusts for optimal growth. If there is enough light in the room, the lights will be off. If the room isn't bright enough, NIWA will sense this and turn on the grow lights.</div>
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Cloud connectivity let's you monitor and adjust the system from anywhere with an internet connection.</div>
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NIWA is getting ready to launch their kickstarter campaign on Monday, May 12, 2014.</div>
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The kicstarter prices are not too bad. I don't know if it'll fit into my budget, but I definitely want to try this thing out!<br />
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<a href="http://www.getniwa.com/" style="text-align: left;">www.getniwa.com</a></div>
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dirkmcgurk@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926654919472491567noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-547484462525130841.post-19568733613345217852014-04-25T08:29:00.001-07:002014-04-25T08:29:10.578-07:00Urban Agriculture vs. Conventional Agriculture<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I just read a great article that I wanted to share. On the <a href="http://verticalfoodblog.com/">Vertical Food Blog</a>, this article describes the benefits of Urban Agriculture (local and sustainable) compared to traditional agriculture methods. Even more motivation!<div>
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<a href="http://verticalfoodblog.com/urban-agriculture-and-better-food/">http://verticalfoodblog.com/urban-agriculture-and-better-food/</a></div>
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dirkmcgurk@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926654919472491567noreply@blogger.com0