Frugal Friday

[ecosophia]

Welcome back to Frugal Friday! In honor, so to speak, of the wildly inflated price of eggs, this month will be Egg Meme Month on Frugal Friday. Yes, you may consider this encouragement to get your own henhouse up and running!

Aside from that, this is a weekly forum post to encourage people to share tips on saving money, especially but not only by doing stuff yourself. A new post will be going up every Friday, and will remain active until the next one goes up. Contributions will be moderated, of course, and I have some simple rules to offer, which may change further as we proceed.

Rule #1:  this is a place for polite, friendly conversations about how to save money in difficult times. It's not a place to post news, views, rants, or emotional outbursts about the reasons why the times are difficult and saving money is necessary. Nor is it a place to use a money saving tip to smuggle in news, views, etc.  I have a delete button and I'm not afraid to use it.

Rule #2:  this is not a place for you to sell goods or services, period. Here again, I have a delete button and I'm not afraid to use it.

Rule #3:  please give your tip a heading that explains briefly what it's about.  Homemade Chicken Soup, Garden Containers, Cheap Attic Insulation, and Vinegar Cleans Windows are good examples of headings. That way people can find the things that are relevant for them. If you don't put a heading on your tip it will be deleted.

Rule #4: don't post anything that would amount to advocating criminal activity. Any such suggestions will not be put through.

With that said, have at it!

Comments

Seeking advice on heat options for a renovation

[(Anonymous)]

I'm about to embark on a significant renovation on my house. I'm going by the book, which means I have to obtain a building permit and pass code inspections. I was originally planning on putting in a woodstove but the inspector took a dim view of that and doesn't think it's adequate to heat the house. Code requires capability of maintaining 68 degrees in each room, which I sense this inspector is interpreting as every room having a heat source. Portable space heaters are not allowable for meeting this requirement.

I'm pretty frugal and believe in heating the body rather than the space - see, for example, Heating People, not Places (https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2015/02/restoring-the-old-way-of-warming-heating-people-not-places/) - so I can be comfortable at temperatures well below 68 and would never set the thermostat that high unless maybe I had company over. Also, it's a row home with good southern exposure and large windows, so I get a lot of solar gain and don't lose that much heat given the shared walls with the neighboring houses. I currently have a natural gas boiler and baseboard radiators; for several reasons I'm going to terminate my natural gas service so keeping it isn't an option.

At this point I'm thinking of putting in something that's cheap to install, just to get past this requirement, and then mostly not using it. Does anyone have any recommendations of what to use? It'd be a plus if it's actually something nice to use (e.g. electric baseboard is not nice to use) but would have to balance install cost against quality of the heat and cost to operate.

Re: Seeking advice on heat options for a renovation

[(Anonymous)]

Hi,
I have put a lot of thought into similar options because I have looked at similar options with new construction using lots of insulation, thermal mass, and a masonry heater, but then there still needs to be a formal 'heating system' to meet the codes. I am an architect by trade so to the best of my knowledge, the solution I propose below should meet most of the codes in US municipalities. How big is your place? and what climate zone or growing zone are you in?

Go ahead and install the wood stove or something similar that is epa compliant (they are big on that) unless your municipality is outright banning them - some counties and cities in my state unfortunately are. Then get those oil filled electric baseboard heaters. They are more efficient than the standard baseboard and still cheap. Make them as small and out of the way as possible. The benefits of them are - they are cheap, they have some thermal mass, and have 'automatic function' and meet code.
If you leave in the winter you can turn them on to something like 50F and your pipes won't freeze (as long as the power stays on). The rest of the time you can mostly have them off or turned way down and use your wood stove. If your wood stove is relatively central, your place isn't too big, and you insulate well and pay attention to good weather-stripping and insulated window treatments that you close at night, you can probably heat 90% with your wood stove. Or if you are super handy try building a masonry heater. They use far less wood because they pull as much heat out of the smoke as possible, and there listed designs most municipalities will accept. If you surround your stove and pipe with as much non-combustible thermal mass as possible, you will have to use it less.

If you are remodeling a bathroom, you can use those electric in floor heat mats under new tile instead of baseboards. If you insulate that portion of the floor extra well, and have a thermal break under the mat (some come with a little bit of one, something like half inch closed cell foam board) then the tile acts as an insulated thermal mass and so is more efficient with the heat. Because there is lag, you kind of have to leave them on when its cold, but surfaces that are warmer than low 60s often feel warm to us because most houses are insulated so poorly (and so we have to have warmer air temperature to compensate).

Re: Seeking advice on heat options for a renovation

[(Anonymous)]

Did you ask the inspector what options are acceptable? Then, having done that, if it appears reasonably certain that one specific company or installer is being privileged, you could perhaps contact your city council member. We seem to be in a shrinking government mood so one would think officials have a pretty strong incentive to work with voters. Mary Bennett

Re: Seeking advice on heat options for a renovation

[chickadeevt]

Hello, anonymous. I bought a house with an oil burning furnace. Thanks to the heads up I got from JMG and Kunstler years ago (Peak Oil and resulting complications), the first thing I did after moving in was get a wood stove installed for "back up heat". You know, so handy when the power goes out. I actually use the wood stove most of the time and keep the oil furnace thermostat at 55 degrees F. During the coldest nights it kicks on a few times. The wood stove can keep the house a perfectly comfortable temperature, I'm just too lazy to get up in the middle of the night. I've heard rocket stoves are more efficient but didn't really look into it. Hope this helps!

ChickadeeVT

Re: Seeking advice on heat options for a renovation

[(Anonymous)]

I love my electric baseboards, not sure why you think they are not nice to use. They are not the same as in the wall fan driven electric heaters, they do not have a fan they are convection driven. So my house has electric baseboard heaters in front room and bedrooms, and the 2 bathrooms had a heat lamp in the ceiling fixture. I keep them turned off -- except when the woodstove needs work or replacement, or someone in one of the bedrooms wants more heat, they are ill or company is staying over and my 1st floor, northside bedroom doesnt get enough heat as everywhere else from passive gain and woodstove, so I turn on the heater there for a bit if the room is being used. I also turn on the heaters in at least part of the house if I am out of town in the winter so the cat doesnt freeze. Having a heat source that works when out of town or injured, so cant carry wood, is good.

My electric baseboard heaters are hydronic, so the electric element heats hot water that radiates out from the fins. And there is a metal shroud in front of the fins so no fire hazard and to direct the air flow, it makes its own thermosiphon type air flow with no fan. It is quiet, it does not get too hot so no one burns themselves and its not a fire hazard, it is a very comfortable heat, especially as the water holds heat, so it is a more consistent heat. It is also expensive at .42/kWh, so I use my wood stove for heat in general. Mine are 208/240V, so wire size is not bad, and they actually do not take alot of watts at once. The Cadet Soft Heat line is similar to what mine are, I can replace with those if one breaks. The reason they named their hydronic baseboards soft heat is because of the steady, low, comfortable heat as opposed to the ones that dont have the water in them.

I would also recommend putting int eh wood stove, no matter what he thinks. Talk to a woodstove install company in our area to get advice, not your building inspector on that.

Atmospheric River

Re: Seeking advice on heat options for a renovation

[(Anonymous)]

Hi,
I read the bit about this week being about chickens and read your post as an upgrade to a hen house! I thank the Gods that the world is not yet so crazy as t mandate heating in a hen house.

I love our wood cookstove. Very useful and they heat a huge amount of space.
Maxine

Re: Seeking advice on heat options for a renovation

[kallianeira]

In older houses here it is common to have two fireplaces back-to-back sharing a chimney. That would get you two woodstoves, in adjacent rooms, each heating its own and nearby rooms. Might that work?

iridescent scintillating elver

Re: Seeking advice on heat options for a renovation

[(Anonymous)]

Wish I had a solution for you.

But I can sympathize. Building codes and homeowners' insurance are the bane of frugal, climate-appropriate housing. Around here, you can't insure anything that doesn't have a central HVAC system, which is extremely frustrating when the thing we really, really want is a house built before all that, designed for the climate, and then not updated much :/ Newer houses literally cannot be maintained without constant climate control, so once that came onboard, it was not optional.

Re: Seeking advice on heat options for a renovation

[(Anonymous)]

An air source heat pump may be cheapest of all, depending on jurisdiction, because some places have tax rebates for 'em. (even a couple that are really too cold for that to be wise.) If you're plumbed for forced air or hydronics from the last iteration of this house, you can get a unit to work with that. If there aren't pipes, you can plumb PEX water lines yourself easily enough, and it doesn't take much space. (Ductwork is too much of a headache and waste of space to add to a house if it's not there already, IMO.) You can also look into a mini-split system. I find them ugly, bulky, and hate that they need extra holes in the walls-- but there is a cost advantage, especially depending on subsidies.

If you're not in subsidy-land when it comes to heat pumps, and don't have ducts/piping, then I'm afraid electric baseboard will likely be the cheapest to install. Not to run, obviously, but if you're planning on heating with wood only regardless, who cares? If you are lucky you might get a used set dirt cheap from somebody else renovating who hates the things. As in "haul away" cheap, given the old-fashioned/low-class connotations baseboard heaters seem to have these days. If its only to keep the inspector happy, you never even have to turn them on.

Re: Seeking advice on heat options for a renovation

[temporaryreality]

Thank you for asking this heating question and to all those who commented with ideas. I’ll end up needing this info if we move forward on our potential build and for the exact same reason of the county not letting wood be sole heat source. Thanks Atmospheric River for mentioning the reasons that might actually be ok. :)

Not an advertisement but a recommendation.

[degringolade]

I have a heating mat for rooting starts and a temperature controller that works with whatever you plug it into.

https://vivosun.com/vivosun-heat-mat-thermostat-p58820960379603406-v58820960379603396

It works with dang near anything, small refrigerators, crockpots, etc., and it only runs less than $20.00.

I just made tempeh in a crockpot that worked out just fine. I made yogurt in a crockpot that worked out just fine.

Incubation temperature control doesn't cost that much and I am certain that other people can think of things it can be used for. Right now I am thinking about getting one of those itty-bitty refrigerators and knocking out a true dark lager.

Re: Not an advertisement but a recommendation.

[temporaryreality]

Do you just set the pot on the seedling mat, wrap it up in it, or?? Sounds interesting!

Re: Not an advertisement but a recommendation.

[(Anonymous)]

This is such a cool idea. And the alternative uses for it are inspiring.

Caldathras

Herbal Medicine for Kilo Niner

[(Anonymous)]

I saw this great looking book on herbal medicine for dogs at work this week.

The herbal dog :holistic canine herbalism applications and practice by Rita Hogan.

""In this comprehensive guide to holistic care for dogs, clinical canine herbalist Rita Hogan explains that by looking at dogs as individual ecosystems with unique personalities, physiology, and needs, we can select effective and personalized herbal remedies to support their constitutions and provide relief from many different ailments. Hogan, who has spent more than two decades working with canines, uses energetic principles (cool, warm, dry, damp) to reveal how herbs are not "one size fits all" and how to find the root cause of chronic imbalances. She discusses in depth how a dog’s main organ systems work, how they are connected to each other, and why we need to understand them when choosing specific herbs and foods. Presenting safe, clinically proven, and effective protocols for common canine conditions—from acid reflux to allergies to itching, scratching, and yeast—Hogan presents a wide variety of holistic and herbal remedies: from herbal tinctures, glycerities, and phytoembryonics to flower essences, essential oils, medicinal mushrooms, and homeopathy. Her comprehensive materia medica of canine-specific herbs that she uses in her practice details what herbs are good for which conditions and why, what types of energetics are involved, safe dosage recommendations for each herbal remedy, and when to discontinue an herb."--Provided by publisher."

Contents:
Holistic canine herbalism -- Food as medicine -- Canine energetics -- Everything Is connected --Remedies --- Planning herbal protocols -- Herbal applications -- Plant and fungi monographs

Justin Patrick Moore

Re: Herbal Medicine for Kilo Niner

[(Anonymous)]

Justin Patrick Moore-- thank you so much for this. I am ordering a copy now.

Re: Herbal Medicine for Kilo Niner

[moser99]

Thank you, Justin. This looks exactly like the book I have been searching for. We have had three cats that became sick and died after vaccination. One vet was honest enough to say an aggressive tumor was caused by his injection.

Our dog was sick for three weeks after his last vaccination.

I will report back. It looks like it is a newly published book.

garden seed sale

[(Anonymous)]

Pinetree Seeds has all vegetable, flower and herb seeds on sale for 30% off their usual low price this weekend.

https://www.superseeds.com/

I have been buying from Pinetree for over a decade. They offer small amounts of seed for low prices. Usually, the packets have enough seed for one good planting, with little or none left over. I have never had a problem with non germination of Pinetree seeds, I want to say about 80-85% germ. keeping mind that is my best estimate. They offer hybrid and OP seeds, some heirlooms (defined as, or understood to be, OP varieties older than c.50 yrs., which have fallen out of commerce or never were in commerce until the present time and been maintained by home gardeners) and of course no GMOs. I don't think they offer the newer varieties produced by the Crisper technology, which are quite expensive. Some of their hybrid varieties are patented.

I particularly like to buy annual flower seeds from Pinetree. Mary Bennett

Re: garden seed sale

[michele7]

Thank you, Mary! Pinetree offers Heinz tomato seeds that do really well here in the South. This is the variety I planted two years ago and got over 100 pounds of tomatoes. I just placed a nice order of veg, herb and flower seeds. Thanks again for the heads up!

How to keep your DRM-free ebooks from Amazon

[slithytoves123]

I hope this is an appropriate contribution (if not, feel free to delete!): with Amazon having announced that the ability to download the actual Kindle ebook files to your computer is coming to an end this coming Wednesday, February 26, I thought I'd draft a brief guide for how to keep the ebooks you may have (like me) foolishly bought from the Big Slimy River and use them on any future e-reader you might buy.

First Note: this only works for books that are not protected by DRM. Most Kindle ebooks are DRM'd but you may be surprised at how many aren't. (Yes, there are ways to remove DRM but since that's illegal in the USA I won't be discussing that here.)

Second Note: You'll need to still have a Kindle (the actual device, not a Kindle app on a phone, tablet, or computer) and have it registered to your Amazon account. If you don't, Amazon won't let you download the ebook files.

With those notes out of the way, let's get to the process:

Step 1: Go to the Amazon My Content and Devices page. Select the "Content" section on the page. This should show you your list of books.

Step 2: For each book, find the "More actions" menu and select "Download & transfer via USB." Select your Kindle when prompted (if you have more than one, any of them will do.) Save your books your computer, preferably to their own folder.

Do this for every book that allows it. Yes, this is a long, tedious process if you have a lot of books. There are some bulk downloaders out there but I haven't found one that's not sketchy and doesn't require some serious technical skill to use.

Step 3: Install and run Calibre.

Step 4: Add your downloaded ebooks to your Calibre library.

Unfortunately, there's no way I know of at this point to determine which ones are DRM-free and which are not just by looking at them, so we have to go to the next step.

Step 5: Select all your ebooks, go to the "Convert books" menu and select "Bulk convert." You can leave the default settings if you wish, which will give you EPUB versions of your books (which a lot of ereaders like), but I like to change the format to TXT (in the top-right corner) because I'm not trying to actually convert the books to a different format for use, and converting to TXT is the fastest.

You may get an error that says some number of them can't be converted. This can't be helped, so click on through it.

Wait until the process finishes before moving to the next step. (You'll see "Jobs: 0" in the lower right corner of the Calibre window when it's done.)

In the mean time, you'll almost certainly notice a bunch of error popups. That's what the next step is about.

Step 6: This is another tedious, annoying part. Once the conversions start, any ebook that has DRM is going to cause a dialog box to pop up stating that it can't convert that book. Depending on the size of your library and how many are DRM'd, there may be dozens or hundreds of these popups. You'll have to click "Close" on each one. (But you may be able to click close on one and then hold the "Return" key to close the rest rapidly. This worked on my Mac but I'm not sure if it will work on Windows.)

Step 7: Once you've closed all the popups, go back to your Calibre library window and select "Formats" on the left pane and then select the format you converted your books to (EPUB or TXT). These are the books that are DRM-free.

If you just want to use Calibre to manage/read your ebooks, you're done.

Step 8: However, if you want to move them to another folder for backup, select all your books in the appropriate format (e.g. TXT) and go to the "Save to disk" menu and select "Save single format to disk..." (You're using the converted format to select the books but exporting their original files.) Select either the AZW or AZW3 format (these are the original Amazon ebook formats — some Kindle books are in the TPZ format but to my knowledge all of those are DRM'd) and then tell Calibre where you want to put your books.

You may need to do this twice: once for AZW files and once for AZW3 files. Each time you'll get an error saying that some files could not be saved — that's because they're in the other format, so it's fine. Select a folder to back up your books to, such as on an external hard drive or cloud synced forlder (Dropbox, OneDrive, etc.).

Your ebooks will be sorted into folders, first by author then by book. Calibre will also export a cover image file and an OPF file, but as far as I know you can ignore those.

After you've exported your books, you can safely remove the books from your Calibre library and uninstall Calibre.

I hope this helps! I posted this here because keeping the books you already bought instead of re-buying them just to get away from the Big Slimy River is technically a money saver.

Re: How to keep your DRM-free ebooks from Amazon

[athaia]

Almost everything you buy from amazon has DRM, though. I don't think stripping it from a book *you bought* for the sole purpose of storing a single copy somewhere out of reach of amazon's grubby paws (which is known for having edited or even deleted books people had bought...) is illegal, even in the US.

If you don't de-DRM your downloaded books, Calibre cannot convert them, which means you can't read them. There is a Calibre subreddit, which has great tutorials, because right now they're being flooded with panicked kindle users.

Shopping from your stash

[teresa_from_hershey]

Sewists and craftspeople all talk about shopping from your stash. That is, rooting around in your boxes of fabric, yarn, notions, and patterns to see what you could use for a project instead of heading out to the fabric store and buying something wonderful and new.

If you've got a stash, it's always better to check it first for a project. It's already there and paid for!

But have you considered shopping your stash for everything else?
Recently, as I repurposed two will-never-be-used-again-for-a-shower stalls into kitty litter box holders, I finally noticed the shampoo bottles gathering dust on their shelves. Why didn't I use that shampoo, conditioner, etc.?

The stuff gets old but it's still useable. So I dusted them off and they're now waiting to be used.

It occurred to me that we've all got pantries, workshops, toolsheds, freezers, linen closets, under sink areas, and so forth. What is actually buried at the far back corners?

Can you use that up instead of buying new?

It's worth checking those rarely accessed top shelves in closets and seeing what you forgot you bought!

Re: Shopping from your stash

[(Anonymous)]

This reminder is particularly timely as it appears that Joanne's Fabric is about to be closed for good sometime this spring. I will reserve for open post my opinion about monopoly control.

freezing eggs

[michele7]

If you have an overabundance of home raised eggs from your flocks or just got an amazing deal on eggs, you can freeze them. I bought some rectangular shaped silicone molds online. I crack one egg into each section and freeze. I then pop them out and vacuum seal them in packs of 4-6 eggs. I did this with duck eggs which I use exclusively for baking. When I need eggs, I thaw what I need and whip them in a small blender. The yolks get hard and need to be whipped to regain their smooth texture. I've never tried to fry a thawed egg, but you may be able to scramble them.

Re: freezing eggs

[hippieviking]

I can't speak to freezing eggs, but at our place freezer place is at a premium. We definitely have a thriving trade going, getting high quality fish from one neighbor and some great wine from another amongst other smaller trades. For keeping eggs though we have tried numerous methods ourselves.

Just from personal experience:
1. We have had eggs on the counter at room temperature (must be unwashed) for over three months. (Middling temperatures in the house, probably generally in the 60s)
2. We have refrigerated eggs for nine months (unwashed).
3. We have eaten water glassed eggs that were 18 months old.

All of these methods worked perfectly fine. If freezing eggs works for you then by all means, you do you. My experience has informed me that eggs are ridiculously stable for food storage though and we spend too much time worrying about them.

HV

Heating

[(Anonymous)]

Sunny Florida has the same rule in the building code. Look at some type of central heat with ducts to each room if you have a basement floor ducts. Heat source electric heat strip, nat gas or propane. We wanted a wood stove when building our house the insurance company would not insure the house. Installed a fire place which was a metal box looks like a fire place air can flow all around the beast does a nice job. Most building inspectors think than can walk on water best to not tell them other wise. Blueberry

Bantams

[(Anonymous)]

Hi Everyone,
I have raised chickens for years and I hope you will consider raising some bantams. The benefit of bantams is their wonderful mothering instincts. If you get a hen and a cockerel, they will produce a flock of chicks effortlessly every year. My Mille Fleur bantams have feathered feet and the tiny grey chicks hatch with tufts of grey down on their feet. They are so cute!

They are also great layers. If you crack a bantam egg into a saucer and then do the same with a large hen's egg and you will find the yolk of the bantam egg to be almost as large as the other egg's yolk.

If you keep only hens, you will not have a problem with crowing as only roosters do this. Bantam roosters have a much quieter crow than a big rooster too.

Bantams come in many beautiful colours and patterns. Mille Fleur bantams are considered to be among the top ten most beautiful chickens in the world. They are also an endangered breed so keeping a flock of them is a good act to preserve this wonderful variety.

A small flock of bantams will eat up all of your food scraps and turn them into beautiful, nutritious eggs. They have lovely personalities and make great pets. They are also going to be much gentler on a garden than big chickens. They will not tear up the garden but they will eat a ton of bugs.
Maxine

Re: Bantams

[(Anonymous)]

The Mille Fleur bantams are quite pretty.

My partner and I keep Old English Game Bantams. They are one of the smaller bantam varieties. Like most bantams, they are quite broody. They have a shorter laying season than standard breeds but their eggs are quite large, much as you've described. They are quite self-sufficient and forage outside their pen a lot. Quite inexpensive to keep.

The roosters are bold little characters. We have watched the roosters work together to protect their hens (much like the velociraptors in the first Jurassic Park movie). Watching a standard vs bantam fight is absolutely hilarious. The bantam roo always wins. Quite long lived, as well. We have a rooster who is over 10 years old.

Unfortunately, we have not found them to be as gentle on garden or lawns as you but, fortunately, they are more attracted to the leaf litter under the trees. They certainly do make it more challenging to establish additional pasture for our geese.

Caldathras

Frugal Gardening

[(Anonymous)]

I will be giving a talk on frugal gardening next month, and am open to suggestions. My personal focus has been largely on soil building, self-sustainability and preventative health - so I have plenty of info on composting, rain barrels, seed saving, and basic organic growing. If anyone has any favored tips, especially about saving money, please share.

Re: Frugal Gardening

[(Anonymous)]

One of my favorite need to due in the garden is Bio-Char home made. Lots of info on the web. Great stuff to mix with soil when planting fruit or nut trees. Blurberry

Read the ingredient labels!

[(Anonymous)]

I felt quite foolish today when I turned down one brand of stock powder in favour of another, only to find that the one I'd bought had a lot less actual ingredient then the other! The ingredients lists (at least where I am) list ingredients in descending order, so a stock powder with vegetables second contains a lot more actual vegetable than the one where the vegetables appear seventh. My options for chicken stock also contain no actual chicken, so that's one point in favour of home-made stocks!

Oyster sauce also varies in its actual oyster content from 3% to 40% among my options, so there's a significant difference that needs to be accounted for. The cheaper option may end up costing more if you have to use much more of it to get the same effect.

Constant vigilance! At least these days they have to tell us when they adulterate their food ...

Re: Read the ingredient labels!

[(Anonymous)]

I just dont use powered or boxed "stock", as it usually isnt. While I do make home made stock from frozen veg scraps, most soups I make I just dont use stock. Most of the soups I make are flavored just fine by the ingredients and spices and legumes ( and for meat eaters, by the meat you put in would flavor). I make the home made stock to have on hand for clear soups when I am sick or such. Another real good real flavor to use is miso, the real refrigerated item, it keeps for a very long time in the refrigerator. I havent had any on hand for a long while, but when the kids lived here and I had to make more clear broths that is a good healthy addition.

I tease my daughters that the boxed chicken broth is likely "homeopathic", they just pass one chicken thru a giant vat ( this is a joke as we actually use and like homeopathic remedies). There is no standard. And the ingredient list for the liquid broth is no real indication as water should always be the first listed, and then if they list chicken, veg, then "natural flavors" and salt, well all that chicken veg has to be is a bit more than the flavoring powder, which is miniscule by weight. So it is a waste of money and gets us used to those "flavorings" instead of real soup taste.

Atmospheric River

Hydroponic garden update

[ecosophia]

I had my first part-homegrown salad today: two heads of miniature hydroponically grown leaf lettuce, plus a few organic vegetables from the store, plus chicken, a sliced hardboiled egg, and some goat cheese made for a first-rate chef salad. The lettuce was as fresh as you'd expect, given that it was harvested maybe five minutes before I sat down to eat, and very flavorful. I've already planted more.

All in all, this kind of little home hydroponic unit seems to be a very frugal and convenient way to grow a steady if modest supply of greens for salads, sandwiches, etc: not a huge contribution to the food supply, but a nourishing and pleasant one. If I have the chance to move somewhere with a little more space, I'm going to seriously consider getting several such units, or possibly one of the big freestanding units with 3-5 levels of hydroponic tank, and see if I can produce most of my own vegetables this way. I'll also be experimenting with organic nutrients and other potential upgrades as things proceed. So far, success!

Re: Hydroponic garden update

[(Anonymous)]

glad it worked, home grown fresh lettuce is a world of difference from a bagged salad mix

It came to my mind just now that Jack Spirko, the survival podcast does alot of hydroponics due to where he lives, and he has episodes and recommendations. I havent listened to his stuff for years, so I dont know what angle he is speaking from these days, it was big on permaculture a few years ago, but I went over to thesurvivalpodcast.com and put hydroponic fertilizer into his search box and a few potential useful ones came up. episode 3402 Nov 13, 2023, is specifically on small indoor setupsto grow greens. https://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/winter-salads if you go there you can see his bullet point summary there of what is in the podcast. He feels someone spending a hundred or so ( 2013) would pay for itself in short order with all of a families salad greens.

Atmospheric RIver