The Compost-Powered Water Heater: How to Heat Your Greenhouse, Pool, Or Buildings with Only Compost!

The Compost-Powered Water Heater: How to Heat Your Greenhouse, Pool, Or Buildings with Only Compost! PDF

Author: Gaelan Brown

Publisher: The Countryman Press

Published: 2014-05-05

Total Pages: 168

ISBN-13: 1581571941

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It seems almost too good to be true: make high-value organic compost while generating reliable combustion-free heat. But it works, and this book is your practical introduction. With detailed plans for constructing small DIY systems, step-by-step illustrations and photos to guide you through the process, and calculations to help you estimate the heating capabilities of various approaches, this book will be invaluable.

The Compost-Powered Water Heater: How to heat your greenhouse, pool, or buildings with only compost!

The Compost-Powered Water Heater: How to heat your greenhouse, pool, or buildings with only compost! PDF

Author: Gaelan Brown

Publisher: The Countryman Press

Published: 2014-05-05

Total Pages: 168

ISBN-13: 1581577044

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Here is a revolutionary approach for heating rooms and generating hot water. Author Gaelan Brown has worked with engineers and compost scientists to refine methods of composting that can heat greenhouses, barns, buildings, and hot water, all without combustion. It seems almost too good to be true: make high-value organic compost while generating reliable combustion-free heat. But it works, and this book is your practical introduction. With detailed case studies of large scale engineered systems and plans for constructing small DIY systems, you'll find step-by-step illustrations and photos to guide you through the process. A review of calculations to help you estimate the heating capabilities of various approaches and other planning tools make this book invaluable for compost heat recovery on any scale.

Young House Love

Young House Love PDF

Author: Sherry Petersik

Publisher: Artisan

Published: 2015-07-14

Total Pages: 337

ISBN-13: 1579656765

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This New York Times bestselling book is filled with hundreds of fun, deceptively simple, budget-friendly ideas for sprucing up your home. With two home renovations under their (tool) belts and millions of hits per month on their blog YoungHouseLove.com, Sherry and John Petersik are home-improvement enthusiasts primed to pass on a slew of projects, tricks, and techniques to do-it-yourselfers of all levels. Packed with 243 tips and ideas—both classic and unexpected—and more than 400 photographs and illustrations, this is a book that readers will return to again and again for the creative projects and easy-to-follow instructions in the relatable voice the Petersiks are known for. Learn to trick out a thrift-store mirror, spice up plain old roller shades, "hack" your Ikea table to create three distinct looks, and so much more.

The Resilient Farm and Homestead

The Resilient Farm and Homestead PDF

Author: Ben Falk

Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing Company

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 323

ISBN-13: 1603584447

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The Resilient Farm and Homestead is a manual for developing durable, beautiful, and highly functional human habitat systems fit to handle an age of rapid transition. Ben Falk is a land designer and site developer whose permaculture-research farm has drawn national attention. The site is a terraced paradise on a hillside in Vermont that would otherwise be overlooked by conventional farmers as unworthy farmland. Falk's wide array of fruit trees, rice paddies (relatively unheard of in the Northeast), ducks, nuts, and earth-inspired buildings is a hopeful image for the future of regenerative agriculture and modern homesteading. The book covers nearly every strategy Falk and his team have been testing at the Whole Systems Research Farm over the past decade, as well as experiments from other sites Falk has designed through his off-farm consulting business. The book includes detailed information on earthworks; gravity-fed water systems; species composition; the site-design process; site management; fuelwood hedge production and processing; human health and nutrient-dense production strategies; rapid topsoil formation and remineralization; agroforestry/silvopasture/grazing; ecosystem services, especially regarding flood mitigation; fertility management; human labor and social-systems aspects; tools/equipment/appropriate technology; and much more, complete with gorgeous photography and detailed design drawings. The Resilient Farm and Homestead is more than just a book of tricks and techniques for regenerative site development, but offers actual working results in living within complex farm-ecosystems based on research from the "great thinkers" in permaculture, and presents a viable home-scale model for an intentional food-producing ecosystem in cold climates, and beyond. Inspiring to would-be homesteaders everywhere, but especially for those who find themselves with "unlikely" farming land, Falk is an inspiration in what can be done by imitating natural systems, and making the most of what we have by re-imagining what's possible. A gorgeous case study for the homestead of the future.

The Year-Round Solar Greenhouse

The Year-Round Solar Greenhouse PDF

Author: Lindsey Schiller

Publisher: New Society Publishers

Published: 2016-10-01

Total Pages: 553

ISBN-13: 1771422084

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Build your own passive solar greenhouse for year-round food production in any climate Fresh, local nutrient-dense fruits vegetables are hard to find in winter in cold climates. Growing warm-weather crops like tomatoes, bananas, avocados, and other perennials is nearly impossible using conventional structures. The solution for millions of backyard and small-scale commercial growers is self-heating solar greenhouses. The Year-round Solar Greenhouse is the one-stop guide to designing and building greenhouses that harness and store energy from the sun to create naturally heated, lush growing environments even in the depths of winter, covering principles of solar greenhouse design and siting, glazing material properties and selection, controlling heat loss, ventilation, and construction methods. Additionally, an in-depth section covers sustainable ways of heating the greenhouse without fossil fuels, including using thermal mass and storing heat underground with a ground to air heat exchanger. Variations include attached solar greenhouses, earth sheltered greenhouses, plus integrating hydroponics and aquaponics. More than a dozen case studies from across North America provide inspiration and demonstrate specific challenges and solutions for growing year-round in any climate. Grow your own food, anytime, anywhere using the power of the sun!

Build Your Own Farm Tools

Build Your Own Farm Tools PDF

Author: Josh Volk

Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC

Published: 2021-08-17

Total Pages: 429

ISBN-13: 163586321X

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Josh Volk, author of the best-selling Compact Farms, offers small-scale farmers an in-depth guide to building customized equipment that will save time and money and introduce much-needed efficiencies to their operations. Volk begins with the basics, such as setting up a workshop and understanding design principles, mechanical principles, and materials properties, then presents plans for making 15 tools suited to small-farm tasks and processes. Each project includes an explanation of the tool’s purpose and use, as well as the time commitment, skill level, and equipment required to build it. Projects range from the super-simple (requiring a half-day to build) to the more complex, and include how-to photographs and illustrations with variations for customizing the finished implement. Along with instructions for building items such as simple seedling benches, a mini barrel washer, a DIY germination chamber, and a rolling pack table, Volk addresses systems design for farm efficiency, including how to design an effective drip irrigation system and how to set up spreadsheets for collecting important planning, planting, and market data. This publication conforms to the EPUB Accessibility specification at WCAG 2.0 Level AA.

California Friendly

California Friendly PDF

Author: Douglas Kent

Publisher:

Published: 2017-03-09

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 9780692800263

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California Friendly® is California's future. Water reliability is dependent on using water wisely. We need to create sustainable gardens that rely on less water. This maintenance guide will help you support California's future:*Uncover the secrets of efficient irrigation.*Explore the techniques for irrigating with recycled water.*Get the maintenance tips for hundreds of California Friendly® plants.*Discover the methods and means of managing weed and pest infestations.*Learn how to maintain rainwater capture opportunities.This book has been written for every landscaper, gardener and land manager in Southern California. It has been produced by the very first collaboration between three Southern California organizations, LADWP, MWD and SoCalGas. Grab a copy--they are free--use the information in your garden and help us create a beautiful, thriving and sustainable future.

Composting For Dummies

Composting For Dummies PDF

Author: Cathy Cromell

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2010-01-14

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 0470631260

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Back-to-basics gardening that will benefit the earth and your wallet! Want to use ordinary waste to create an extraordinary garden? Composting lets you turn household food waste, yard clippings, and more into free compost and mulch that's chock-full of nutrients. From building and working with traditional compost bins to starting an indoor worm-composting operation, Composting For Dummies makes these often intimidating projects easy, fun, and accessible for anyone! Digging into compost basics get a handle on the benefits of composting and the tools you'll need to get started Choosing the best method and location find the best composting method and location that's right for you, whether it's above ground, in a hole, in a container or bin, or even right in your kitchen Building your pile learn which ingredients can go into your compost pile, what stays out, and how to mix it all up in the right proportions Stepping beyond traditional composting get the lowdown on vermicomposting (letting worms eat your garbage), growing green manures to compost later, and sheet composting in the same spot you plan to plant Open the book and find: A step-by-step guide to composting The right gear and tools for the job Tips on constructing your own composting containers and bins Materials you can safely compost (and those to avoid) Cover crops to improve your soil now and compost later Recommendations for using your finished compost What worms contribute to your compost Troubleshooting advice if your compost pile isn't cooperating Learn to: Turn household food waste, yard clippings, and more into nutrient-rich compost Build and maintain your own compost bin Use worms to aid in composting, both indoors and out Give your vegetable and flower gardens a boost of energy

Fostering Sustainable Behavior

Fostering Sustainable Behavior PDF

Author: Doug McKenzie-Mohr

Publisher: New Society Publishers

Published: 2011-02-01

Total Pages: 184

ISBN-13: 1550924621

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The highly acclaimed manual for changing everyday habits-now in an all-newthird edition! We are consuming resources and polluting our environment at a rate that is outstripping our planet's ability to support us. To create a sustainable future, we must not only change our own actions, we must educate and encourage those around us to change theirs. If one individual recycles his plastic containers, the impact is minimal. But if an entire community recycles, enormous amounts of resources are saved. How then do we go about transforming people's good intentions into action? Fostering Sustainable Behavior explains how the field of community-based social marketing has emerged as an effective tool for encouraging positive social change. This completely revised and updated third edition contains a wealth of new research, behavior change tools, and case studies. Learn how to: target unsustainable behaviors, and identify the barriers to change understand various commitment strategies communicate effective messages enhance motivation and invite participation. The strategies introduced in this ground-breaking manual are an invaluable resource for anyone interested in promoting sustainable behavior, including environmental conservation, recycling and waste reduction, water and energyefficiency and alternative transportation.

The Homeowner's Energy Handbook

The Homeowner's Energy Handbook PDF

Author: Paul Scheckel

Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC

Published: 2013-04-29

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 160342847X

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Are you looking for creative ways to lower your energy costs, generate more of your own power, or become less reliant on the grid? Paul Scheckel offers practical advice for taking matters into your own hands. Explaining the fundamentals of solar, wind, water, and biofuel energy production, Scheckel shows you how to build and maintain a wide variety of energy-saving and energy-producing equipment, ranging from thermosiphon solar hot water collectors to bicycle-powered generators. Use less energy, save money, and help preserve the environment.