tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9062174246991896882024-03-06T07:31:47.849+00:00Engineering Our FreedomThe story of my efforts to engineer a way to freedom, by making the means of production easily accessible through open-source hardware and permaculture design.4ndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675315515117082792noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-906217424699189688.post-62877628178444684032019-03-16T09:35:00.000+00:002019-05-04T03:47:46.061+01:00Enterprise Models to Change the WorldThese are the
companion notes for my presentation to London Zeitgeist Day 2019, “A
Transitionary Enterprise” later today, which is a follow-up to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQrMR4Hc6Iw">my presentation last year</a>.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/abPj6Eip0YA/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/abPj6Eip0YA?feature=player_embedded" width="480"></iframe></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This will cover a
brief update on my previous talk, look at some practical models for
systems that we can build now to meet our basic needs sustainably,
then at the kind of social/organisational and financial models that
can serve as a stable structure to such projects.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The general idea
being to find some paths for positive action in a global situation
that currently looks extremely bleak, so more focus on the ‘good
news’ than last year.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Part 0: What’s
happening in Energy?</b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There are a wide
range of contending solutions for energy storage (and generation of
course) that were not mentioned in the free book <a href="http://ourrenewablefuture.org/">Our Renewable Future</a>
because they have not yet been proven to be practical at the large
scale needed for our electricity grids and industry.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Examples that have
been tried include:</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Flywheels – very
good at balancing fast changes and keeping Alternating Current
synchronised, but have low energy density.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Compressed air
storage – similarly has a low energy density, but a few sites have
saved on costs of constructing tanks by building them into large
existing underground caverns, which obviously don’t show up often
where you want them to, much like sites for pumped-hydroelectric
storage.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There are of course
many more such technologies, and we <i>do</i> need a diverse mosaic
of them wherever locally practical, in order to relieve some demand
on lithium deposits and rivers that could be dammed. However, if we
want to meet the kinds of demands of our global energy grid, whether
we use very intermittent renewable power or overly stable nuclear
power in the short run, we will need some ‘better value’ systems
to both manage changes in electricity demand and fuel machines such
as tractors that are too energy intensive to use batteries.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It appears that
electro-chemical batteries can’t get much better for energy
density, no matter how much we innovate, <a href="http://energyskeptic.com/2015/making-the-most-energy-dense-battery-from-the-palette-of-the-periodic-table/">due to the physical limits of what elements we have to work with.</a></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
One of the top
contenders for balancing our grid at the moment is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryogenic_energy_storage">Cryogenic Energy Storage</a>, i.e. compressing air so far that it becomes liquefied,
and takes up nearly 1000 times less space.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This has had great
improvements in efficiency recently, by using insulated hot and cold
sinks that capture and save the large amounts of heat transferred in
compression and expansion processes.
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhsA_9kP1IOqQKPHgOaPCEURlQdUkLOf-szH1CCK-fzz6RgIqdDUm304709xm2d58CgT1Qet0nphGwUlaIA8ou6IZc3kAY2fcp9anQfInJuB4N3J7IrpSdTQU3DIFMxRkGa-ZvuIL4R-M/s1600/highview-power-cryogenic-energy-storage-process-powerpulse.net.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="567" data-original-width="1000" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhsA_9kP1IOqQKPHgOaPCEURlQdUkLOf-szH1CCK-fzz6RgIqdDUm304709xm2d58CgT1Qet0nphGwUlaIA8ou6IZc3kAY2fcp9anQfInJuB4N3J7IrpSdTQU3DIFMxRkGa-ZvuIL4R-M/s400/highview-power-cryogenic-energy-storage-process-powerpulse.net.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From <a href="https://powerpulse.net/project-to-modularize-gigawatt-scale-cryogenic-energy-storage/">powerpulse.net</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Currently CES is most
practical for grid balancing due to the low cost of the simple
mechanical systems involved, making it easily scalable.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There <i>have</i>
been motors developed in the past fuelled by liquid nitrogen, as it
is far easier to transport than hydrogen, however its energy density
per weight is lower than that of modern lithium batteries.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There is a better
renewable fuel solution available however, better even than
‘<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-diesel">E-Diesel</a>’ on air pollution and production efficiency.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
That is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonia#Energy_carrier">Ammonia</a>.
Not traditionally thought of as a fuel, it acts as a stable
storage medium for Hydrogen, which on its own needs to be stored at
dangerously high pressures and leaks out of any tank it is placed
into, due to being comprised of the smallest molecule known.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwkYPeu4kC2R3RARuhEx9EyRKidzDoj18uqIo2WB_7vqaLUO-sSjlVPUo0thzu8cdeIZK5OBR5sL7o8RjMsUZu6ouIYBaHHuJrKxt0lcwmTTkrJ6VBrNJxPfYesHI9rTgPsHJaDEh-5dM/s1600/small-scale-ammonia-production-ammoniaindustry.com.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="725" data-original-width="1357" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwkYPeu4kC2R3RARuhEx9EyRKidzDoj18uqIo2WB_7vqaLUO-sSjlVPUo0thzu8cdeIZK5OBR5sL7o8RjMsUZu6ouIYBaHHuJrKxt0lcwmTTkrJ6VBrNJxPfYesHI9rTgPsHJaDEh-5dM/s400/small-scale-ammonia-production-ammoniaindustry.com.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From Nitrogen+Syngas Magazine, via <a href="https://ammoniaindustry.com/small-scale-ammonia-where-the-economics-work-and-the-technology-is-ready/">ammoniaindustry.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Due to ammonia’s
existing use in production of artificial nitrogen fertilisers for
conventional agriculture, there is a full-scale transport
infrastructure available to use with it, and so there is also very
active development on to make its renewable production more
efficient. Currently the industry is almost entirely supplied by
hydrogen separated from natural gas, so there is support for it to
become renewable whether it is used as a fuel or not, due to that
demand from agriculture.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The simplest way we
can store energy has been around for a long time, and can be
supported by anybody at a home level, but is currently being eroded
by installation of new gas ‘combi’ boilers. That is hot water
storage. Every insulated hot water tank serves as a small buffer
against shocks in energy supply, which can be extremely important in
winters of temperate countries.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The Institution of
Mechanical Engineers published <a href="https://www.imeche.org/policy-and-press/reports/detail/energy-storage-the-missing-link-in-the-uk's-energy-commitments">a report on energy storage in 2014</a>, highlighting this problem.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Drawing your
attention again to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/potholer54/">Peter Hadfield’s Youtube channel</a>, where he
has posted some excellent videos explaining the science behind global
warming and climate change too clear up many misguided criticisms
online.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Over the new year
Peter posted a couple of videos trying to convince conservatives of
why they shouldn’t shy away from climate science based on some
party-line of the moment. The video’s argument is based on previous
support from conservatives, notably Margaret Thatcher, who was the
first politician to champion the cause of addressing climate change
on the world stage, and the large number of business opportunities.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Unfortunately Peter
began the video by stating that what followed was <i>opinion</i>, and
did not pay his usual attention to the rigour of checking scientific
sources, which I can understand as the climate is closer to his field
of geology, however I see it as a bit of a cop-out and lost learning
opportunity.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Some of the bad
ideas spread as a result:<br />
Peter gave a
couple of examples of energy storage technologies that showed up in
Science Magazine -</div>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/12/eaao7233">Aluminium-Graphene batteries</a> were shown to have an excellent lifetime, but a low energy
density that puts them in a class between typical rechargeable
batteries and super-capacitors </li>
<ul>
<li>This may be good for
a small device charged often, but is of no use to bulk storage or
heavy industry, especially since graphene production is nowhere near
fast enough to meet such a demand.</li>
</ul>
<li><a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/07/ammonia-renewable-fuel-made-sun-air-and-water-could-power-globe-without-carbon">Ammonia fuel cells</a>
were shown to improve on energy efficiency for that fuel production,
but with a great decrease in production speed. LINK</li>
<ul>
<li>So a lot of energy
and materials would need to be spent on making these, giving a poor
measure of energy stored on energy invested.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Peter hand-waves
such problems as simply taking more development, ignoring physical
limits and the scale of our energy needs that I highlighted last
year. I sincerely hope that enough viewers will point him to <a href="http://withouthotair.com/">Without Hot Air</a> or <a href="http://ourrenewablefuture.org/">Our Renewable Future</a> for him to take notice.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj44ScGPHdWRPfi2RaS-9Si805OTt-lN27nSxVtMz00AssaA-IyRgVJG6agJ-pUmzY7DAt9Xd2XoHO0O_77boRBcaJkxmxsYxHcv2ISBZzPXBBwHXWh2EyknPk2LptvS-MqXFv7V0-7a8c/s1600/WEB-Figure-3-1-US-Final-Energy-Consumption-by-Fuel-2012.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="1000" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj44ScGPHdWRPfi2RaS-9Si805OTt-lN27nSxVtMz00AssaA-IyRgVJG6agJ-pUmzY7DAt9Xd2XoHO0O_77boRBcaJkxmxsYxHcv2ISBZzPXBBwHXWh2EyknPk2LptvS-MqXFv7V0-7a8c/s400/WEB-Figure-3-1-US-Final-Energy-Consumption-by-Fuel-2012.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ORF Fig.3.1; US final
energy consumption by fuel.<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Close to the global
average - We still need to increase our renewable power generation by
5 times in order to meet our electricity needs, and 5 times again to
meet our fuel-needs, assuming no growth in overall demand, for a
total increase of 25 times our current renewable supply. If we use an inefficient way of producing ammonia, that may be doubled again to 50 times.<br />
<a href="https://engineeringourfreedom.blogspot.com/2018/06/a-picture-of-transition.html">It is vital that we reduce our consumption otherwise we will need to use even more fossil fuels to build these technologies, when we only have low-quality reserves left</a>.</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Since the video is aimed at conservatives, it's understandable that the only alternative given to a false dichotomy of popular irrational left or right-wing viewpoints is a less absurd conservative approach, however it is still disappointing to hear Peter's apparent ignorance to any other arguments out there.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Fortunately there
are already some very practical plans for transitioning our economy
into a more stable one using renewable energy that happen to come
from relatively left-wing positions (if non-traditional, libertarian ones).</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
One that covers a
high-level economic viewpoint is explained in the book “<a href="http://www.steadystate.org/discover/enough-is-enough/"><i>Enough Is Enough: Building a Sustainable Economy in a World of Finite Resources</i></a>” by Rob Dietz and Dan O’Neill.<br />
Published in 2013,
this was based on the <a href="https://steadystate.org/wp-content/uploads/EnoughIsEnough_FullReport.pdf">findings of their Steady State Economy Conference in Leeds back in 2010</a>, and does an excellent job of
putting Ecological Economics into simple terms.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiihJnaIM_vW-z-a8mpj2nGCvMa1ZWhwA1e3pkQZLBYzyziyV-3hsnpX4MxtIa6Qd0tigD2D4Ic1zFB-HPMsA29wteBbM5hu-oR8wWrLn4lMwYeqvbVhBLtR9O2xsf6IBgnMvUorw3EQLo/s1600/enoughisenough.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="432" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiihJnaIM_vW-z-a8mpj2nGCvMa1ZWhwA1e3pkQZLBYzyziyV-3hsnpX4MxtIa6Qd0tigD2D4Ic1zFB-HPMsA29wteBbM5hu-oR8wWrLn4lMwYeqvbVhBLtR9O2xsf6IBgnMvUorw3EQLo/s320/enoughisenough.jpeg" width="213" /></a></div>
This is a number 1
book to gift to someone involved in business, government or third
sector organisations who needs to understand how not only is
continual economic growth unsustainable, but that we can build an
economy that prospers without growing.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
For a more practical
guide to grass-roots methods in developing such an economy, you can
do little better than “<a href="http://www.greenbooks.co.uk/the-transition-companion">The Transition Companion: Making your community more resilient in uncertain times</a>” by Rob Hopkins.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
You don’t need to
be technically-minded to have a big impact on this transition
however, as shown in an excellent example towards the end of <i>Enough
Is Enough</i>, about some action research supported by the Population
Media Center:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Albert Bandura, a
widely cited psychologist, has demonstrated that mass-media role
models can be powerful teachers of attitudes and behavior. As the
characters in PMC’s soap operas deal with the consequences of their
decisions regarding sex—exposure to sexually transmitted disease,
treatment of wives and daughters, and pregnancy—the audience gets
to live vicariously and absorb some take-home lessons. Audiences
cringe as “bad-guy” characters make dubious decisions and their
lives spiral out of control. But the truly influential characters are
those who overcome obstacles and uncertainties to make positive
changes in their lives.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Some of the plots
are heartwarming, but not nearly as heartwarming as the results. For
example, PMC broadcast 257 episodes of the radio drama Yeken Kignit
(Looking over One’s Daily Life) in Ethiopia between 2002 and 2004.
An independent study, which surveyed both listeners and non-listeners
before and after the program aired, found:</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
• Nearly half of
Ethiopia’s population tuned into Yeken Kignit regularly.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
• The fertility
rate fell from 5.4 to 4.3 children per woman.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
• Demand for
contraceptives increased by 157 percent.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
• Listeners were
five times more likely than non-listeners to know three or more
methods of family planning.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
• There was a 50
percent increase in communication between mothers and their children
about sexuality issues. </div>
</blockquote>
Source given - William Ryerson, “<a href="http://www.populationmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/EFFECTIVENESS-OF-ENTERTAINMENT-EDUCATION-012609.pdf">The Effectiveness of Entertainment Mass Media in Changing Behavior</a>” (Population Media
Center) <br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The difference was
not just numerical though, as highlighted in PMC’s report:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The outpouring of
emotion in Ethiopia, in response to PMC’s programs, has been
overwhelming. Ethiopia’s news
media have run almost a hundred stories on the soap opera phenomenon
PMC created. From all
over the country – and even beyond the borders of Ethiopia –
15,000 letters have poured in to
PMC’s office in Addis Ababa.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
…</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
A letter from a
listener discusses how the program has made her daughter safer from
abduction:</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“The story of
Wubalem reflects clearly the harmful traditional practices in our
country such as abduction
and sexual violence. These practices have prevented us from sending our girls to school.
We were afraid that they would be abducted. Our first child was married at the age
of 14 after she was abducted. We were worrying for years as we thought that our
second child would face a similar fate. The radio drama focusing on abduction and sexual
violence that you have presented and the discussions conducted on these topics have
aroused considerable popular indignation. The people have now
strongly condemned such
inhuman traditional practices. Unlike in the past, special punitive measures have been
taken by community people against offenders involved in such crimes. As a result, we have
no worry in sending our girls to school. Our children go to school safely and return
unharmed. Please keep the program on the air.”</div>
</blockquote>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So with great
respect to the artists who make a positive difference to the world,
here’s something for the entrepreneurs and techies such as myself.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Part 1: System Models for
Sustainability</b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
How we build
renewable/circular economies of energy, food, goods production,
housing and funding to lead the way into a sustainable society.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
<b>Energy:</b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
First of all,
surplus renewable energy (e.g. wind) doesn’t need to only be used
for the electricity grid.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Some industrial
sectors that use lots of energy can be transitioned to on-demand
production...</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The aforementioned
fuel cells can produce ammonia for fertiliser production and other
uses.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Water electrolysis
can do much more than just produce hydrogen:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguJoXB3mqF-a22Ib_6PsF7eSEIsG67Y7IOIKmxJZOBu0Mz91GdS-cjbYkYOk6KsnFYJBqXWep4IXseYlmDWWacBGI-ugGScJnB6H37bv-VoceobVfsF0dG-Y3fedM-j9WHpjdkvWokj0A/s1600/800px-Chloralkali_membrane.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="335" data-original-width="800" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguJoXB3mqF-a22Ib_6PsF7eSEIsG67Y7IOIKmxJZOBu0Mz91GdS-cjbYkYOk6KsnFYJBqXWep4IXseYlmDWWacBGI-ugGScJnB6H37bv-VoceobVfsF0dG-Y3fedM-j9WHpjdkvWokj0A/s400/800px-Chloralkali_membrane.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chloralkali_process">Using salt-water creates two useful chemical by-products: chlorine and lye.</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
These outputs can be used as building blocks in many chemical processes, such as producing <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypochlorite">hypochlorite</a>, the backbone of our clean water supply (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium_hypochlorite">as a calcium salt</a>) and basic household cleaning (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_hypochlorite">as a sodium salt</a>), never mind the use of lye in producing soap, and there are many more possible energy conversion processes that you can use. Just don't take your chemistry advice from Tyler Durden.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
<b>Food:</b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Here are some
examples of key technologies in a circular economy of food:</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaerobic_digester">Bio-Gas Digesters</a>
take agricultural waste in, such as weeds and stalks, which
would otherwise release methane into the atmosphere while they slowly
break down, and instead put it into a tank seeded with gut bacteria,
where the methane can be captured, and the end product is an organic
fertiliser in liquid and slurry form.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijAxF5PvsSBB45vlpZ1r6EPcl61Z-bilZdQwn9aPPEOo-xAKuRIsRPYWcN481we-4Dldk4Vfepwarh9G3tFpzUhW4zuDvlRnNHznudqgladwQhAXkmTRaeGA5-SZfCQpY5fg9ocjvaQTY/s1600/Schematic_of_the_Biogas_Reactor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="423" data-original-width="730" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijAxF5PvsSBB45vlpZ1r6EPcl61Z-bilZdQwn9aPPEOo-xAKuRIsRPYWcN481we-4Dldk4Vfepwarh9G3tFpzUhW4zuDvlRnNHznudqgladwQhAXkmTRaeGA5-SZfCQpY5fg9ocjvaQTY/s400/Schematic_of_the_Biogas_Reactor.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Those outputs could
make a great input to a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroponics">Hydroponic</a> system, where plants are
grown without soil as a medium, resulting in great water savings and
lower pollution by having no run-off.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Finally,
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fungiculture">Fungiculture</a> has been shown to work with some industrial food
wastes, as I’ll describe shortly.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Here’s how a
system that links up these systems with more well-known aspects of a
local food economy could work:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxAG7IHw-4XOr-N_V2R0Z3a7f3ClXMJRlNbeN4-RoRXY7MNSLo8FDTKL6Y6nL1zA4SjpuomwOvPBwwSfKlUUbO3c7bsPPVAzXCrFs1w0Q4yOusfmv0n_v7Ba4zf42ThE4WodIGEtQxkSU/s1600/Circular-food-economy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1050" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxAG7IHw-4XOr-N_V2R0Z3a7f3ClXMJRlNbeN4-RoRXY7MNSLo8FDTKL6Y6nL1zA4SjpuomwOvPBwwSfKlUUbO3c7bsPPVAzXCrFs1w0Q4yOusfmv0n_v7Ba4zf42ThE4WodIGEtQxkSU/s400/Circular-food-economy.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A great
aspect of this system is that you can start anywhere and build out
across the web in what’s called a “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vertical_integration">vertically integrated</a>”
industry in typical linear-economic language.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
<b>Circular Fungiculture:</b><br />
<br />
One good case study
for this is the Green Grow initiative started in the north of
Scotland, where delicious oyster mushrooms are being grown on spent grains
from distilleries and coffee shops, in shipping containers kept warm
by low-level waste heat from those related processes.<br />
The remaining mycelium (the fungal equivalent of a plant's root structure) is used as an additive to compost heaps:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinUi8j-5Iz37T7zz2YPhIiKegC1WWEUgmfH3Hjs6bX-kxVaM5fHsJBfwyC-OzoWUntuwAn6oMs5IsHowxh8AO57JWpZ5cUyRHjYKcgB4zmcZZdN79KmFpZGpyrGh-vj29NRN89HF0MJSE/s1600/green-grow-circular.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="447" data-original-width="630" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinUi8j-5Iz37T7zz2YPhIiKegC1WWEUgmfH3Hjs6bX-kxVaM5fHsJBfwyC-OzoWUntuwAn6oMs5IsHowxh8AO57JWpZ5cUyRHjYKcgB4zmcZZdN79KmFpZGpyrGh-vj29NRN89HF0MJSE/s400/green-grow-circular.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The mushrooms have
been sold to local restaurants and made into <a href="https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/green-grow">vegan ready-meals for sale on their crowdfunding page.</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
One of the best things about the scalability of mushroom cultivation versus greenhouse growing is that mushrooms don't need sunlight in order to grow, so they can sit happily at the very bottom of a 'vertical farming' installation.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Automated
Small-Scale Agriculture:</b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Next is the <a href="https://farm.bot/">FarmBot</a>
project, which could solve the gap between the low
marginal cost of intensive field-based mono-crop agriculture (which
unfortunately attracts pest and disease problems), and the resilience
and pest-resistance of diverse small-scale food gardening (which has a high labour cost).</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
To do this they have
designed a farming robot that fits over a raised bed, which they
developed in a quite reliable strategy of making the designs
open-source like the RepRap project, but only after selling enough
kits to early adopters to get their business started on stable
grounds.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpgAi6zAyjD_VV_IlmISBSopDf0cdwZ1QQ02nnj4HflN32gu5GeyNHDbrrOUG6QR7mGEr8v7wKTQfVDNYltKziYPFo-Z8k43Zo80RveE7fPnzSTvSKTROu_8w7OpD3jnkqw1-9SOje8sU/s1600/FarmBot_Genesis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="1125" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpgAi6zAyjD_VV_IlmISBSopDf0cdwZ1QQ02nnj4HflN32gu5GeyNHDbrrOUG6QR7mGEr8v7wKTQfVDNYltKziYPFo-Z8k43Zo80RveE7fPnzSTvSKTROu_8w7OpD3jnkqw1-9SOje8sU/s320/FarmBot_Genesis.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Basic kits cost
$3500 at the time of writing, and they calculated that its pay-back
period vs buying veg: <a href="https://farm.bot/blogs/news/what-is-the-return-on-investment-of-a-farmbot">about 5 years for their standard model, or evenless for a larger raised bed.</a> </div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
That sounds like a
big cost, however they have recently introduced payment plans.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Systems such as
these could be excellent if expanded further in size.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Oil-Free Tractors
and Grain-Free Happy Eggs:</b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Then for field and
orchard agriculture to grow the few things that you can’t get into
a hydroponics basin or a raised bed, there is also a great improved
composting & soil-tilling system that was described by the
Permaculture Research Institute of Australia a few years back.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Geoff Lawton first went
to visit <a href="https://www.vermontcompost.com/">Vermont Compost</a> to learn about their amazing system that
produced chicken eggs without any grain input, while providing a high
standard of living to the chickens, where unlike typical ‘free
range’ egg production the males were not culled, nor were the
chickens even fenced in, as shown in <a href="https://permaculturenews.org/2013/12/06/grow-chickens-without-buying-grain-feeding-compost/">this article & video.</a> </div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I would embed the video,
but it has been restricted on Vimeo to only play on their blog, so please do <a href="https://vimeo.com/168769047">go and watch it</a>. Just don't mind the overly-dramatic intro music. 😝</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Afterwards Geoff and the PRIA then put together
and tested a system that did this on <a href="https://permaculturenews.org/2014/03/14/building-chicken-tractor-steroids/">a smaller scale for individual farms</a>, while moving the chickens along in a mobile run known as
a ‘chicken tractor’, as they turn the soil in their natural
bug-foraging behaviour, without the high fuel cost of a tractor and
causing less damage than a plough, although moving at a snail-pace more
suitable to a wind-powered <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theo_Jansen#The_strandbeest">Strandbeest</a>.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpngZ-hM2Eljnvhd9GOV4bQgsVMPX-UlM_6MTyeJ-DxyqKid-TKYqfWw95ST6i59vhruGJ8taZYGk9vCSEbhPk-WlUgPvlWC0GrH5JTcgLrPy92NJgcyemqs1HXl0DzV-oniM9su9rCAM/s1600/chicken_tractor_on_steroids_03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="620" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpngZ-hM2Eljnvhd9GOV4bQgsVMPX-UlM_6MTyeJ-DxyqKid-TKYqfWw95ST6i59vhruGJ8taZYGk9vCSEbhPk-WlUgPvlWC0GrH5JTcgLrPy92NJgcyemqs1HXl0DzV-oniM9su9rCAM/s400/chicken_tractor_on_steroids_03.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Geoff's "Chicken Tractor on Steroids" driving compost heaps across a field.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Restoring the Wilds:</b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Finally, for the
great task of restoring our desertified lands destroyed by
conventional farming practices, there is a great example of a group
who have created a quite odd circular economy of supportive
processes.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://www.earthforlife.org/">Earth for Life</a> run
wellbeing and wildlife skills courses in north-east Scotland, taking
groups on woodland excursions to learn craft skills, wildlife
identification, and appreciation of forestry, while restoring
landscapes, clearing invasive species and supporting participants
well-being through immersion in nature.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrn2FDQWrUyYOWwkNP0QiR1FF623toYwrY4CS9ForRN3VEAACWTRC8Nz_uwtnaK9Znv0TmAFTlHoFTn93qXVSQ_3OiyiDwJKkcmQdZa8jggz35rPxVHYfWah4FgQ3itorp4eXJUaZqGJs/s1600/Circular-wellbeing-economy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="460" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrn2FDQWrUyYOWwkNP0QiR1FF623toYwrY4CS9ForRN3VEAACWTRC8Nz_uwtnaK9Znv0TmAFTlHoFTn93qXVSQ_3OiyiDwJKkcmQdZa8jggz35rPxVHYfWah4FgQ3itorp4eXJUaZqGJs/s320/Circular-wellbeing-economy.png" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Recycling Gadgets:</b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
As for a materials
and production economy, here is a more structured look at a model
that I alluded to last year on recycling materials into the start of
a localised resource-based economy as a microcosm:</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdUYRrVBKIVSRlcI4_t4X5qClLXzGg-NpSHBao_TSl5VblkslXm5vRf3Qeo1sLltKKePbGC6CssfLZRyEf7yhnpgfsLoyPxwwI1ZHovsPcUpAhzCuHjXaz6fOh2OWEmMsoaY3mt-g9dNc/s1600/Circular-tech-economy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1050" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdUYRrVBKIVSRlcI4_t4X5qClLXzGg-NpSHBao_TSl5VblkslXm5vRf3Qeo1sLltKKePbGC6CssfLZRyEf7yhnpgfsLoyPxwwI1ZHovsPcUpAhzCuHjXaz6fOh2OWEmMsoaY3mt-g9dNc/s400/Circular-tech-economy.png" width="400" /></a></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Some organisations
do this up and down the country, and wherever there isn’t an
electronics recycling firm, there is money to be made.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
You’re unlikely to
find a niche by now except in developing countries, however this
provides options for extending the model into local economy.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The parts on casting
injection moulding plates are hypothetical, and something that I’ve
been planning to work on locally for several years, but have been
sidetracked by so many other projects and problems, that it might not
come to fruition until next year along with the connected plastic
recycling system.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Hackerspace-Library-Café
Complex:</b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Meanwhile, local
<a href="https://wiki.hackerspaces.org/">workshops/fab-labs/hackerspaces/makerspaces</a> can use those resources
from a recycling enterprise in creative ways.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://therestartproject.org/">Repair Cafés</a> keep
devices working and in circulation, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Things">libraries and sharing schemes</a>
save on consumption, and all of these can draw donations or
membership fees to financially sustain themselves, a great
synergistic model of building local resilience being proven across
the world, but certainly quite technical to set up.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8gk8dzG6MXUbinruSwRiX_Fma0JNZMhYzti1B4muNvI0ckLYAzNSAuWWkPaTnghY02WbODZF2OKbL4lMkPlBXQWh6LPevQ4fGcqyOG8_LWu8ukFpWfcO73bQVIymPM2EqismczTazMsA/s1600/Circular-tool-economy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="460" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8gk8dzG6MXUbinruSwRiX_Fma0JNZMhYzti1B4muNvI0ckLYAzNSAuWWkPaTnghY02WbODZF2OKbL4lMkPlBXQWh6LPevQ4fGcqyOG8_LWu8ukFpWfcO73bQVIymPM2EqismczTazMsA/s320/Circular-tool-economy.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Co-Housing:</b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
As proven everywhere
that a serious approach is taken to housing a group efficiently, such
as in hotels, student dorms, ships and military bases, the best way to meet basic
needs of things like laundry and cooking is not to give every living
unit its own fully-fitted kitchen & laundry, but to invest in
high-quality shared facilities. This of course works best when the neighbours have some shared goals or values that tie them together, as with some examples above, or employees of a company.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsCIRjbYGhphhAmSEwbe-Nyo4t84FQ0wiiRPB6A_c6-z2Fc76d_pcv3fJ8S70gH6kqJKhNGThDPHxF38Rs_kZFMJtDVpwZrvPU9eCfyl5W4iR_92FSEdrMtP7OsUBSz1_X1XQ7YGjkgqI/s1600/800px-Polarstern_laundry_hg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsCIRjbYGhphhAmSEwbe-Nyo4t84FQ0wiiRPB6A_c6-z2Fc76d_pcv3fJ8S70gH6kqJKhNGThDPHxF38Rs_kZFMJtDVpwZrvPU9eCfyl5W4iR_92FSEdrMtP7OsUBSz1_X1XQ7YGjkgqI/s320/800px-Polarstern_laundry_hg.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo from the German research vessel POLARSTERN <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Polarstern_laundry_hg.jpg">via Wikimedia Commons</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The housing market here is increasingly difficult for young people to get into, and <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/8/1/26/pdf">minimalist living is a rising trend in the west.</a><br />
This creates demand for more of this type of accommodation, but the absurd land & housing prices also make it difficult to get into the business as a developer. So, better ways to approach this may be through lobbying for changes in building standards and land law reform, so that we can have co-housing at a comfortable scale that supports local communities, unlike so many failed high-rise projects.<br />
<br />
<i>Enough is Enough</i> puts forward a case for businesses to have to buy permits in order to use natural resources or pollute, to be paid to the rest of society as a dividend, rather than buying permanent monopolies on parcels of land, but that is too much of a tangent to go on here.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Economies of Scale
Example - Tesla Motors:</b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Paradoxically, it
costs a lot more to start a business if you want to sell something cheaply, due to the
investment to set up manufacturing.<br />
For producing some things, such as microprocessors, the basic investment is so high that centralised production makes sense, especially with the product being so light.<br />
Without that
automation, new products come with a far higher price, due to labour
costs, and when companies are pushed to grow so far that they
over-invest, then they try to create demand for their products with advertisements.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
When that doesn't work, and they claim to be “too big to
fail”, they beg for government bail-outs.<br />
<br />
This is why Tesla Motors often received misguided criticism for starting by selling luxury cars to wealthy early adopters.<br />
However, Elon Musk had <a href="https://www.tesla.com/blog/secret-tesla-motors-master-plan-just-between-you-and-me">set out a "Master Plan" in 2006</a> to:<br />
<ol>
<li>Build a low-volume sports car, which would by necessity be expensive.</li>
<li>Use that money to build an affordable car</li>
<li>Use that money to build an even more affordable car</li>
<li>While doing the above, also provide zero-emission electric power generation options.</li>
</ol>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
and as noted in his <a href="https://www.tesla.com/blog/master-plan-part-deux">2016 update</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The reason we had to start off with step 1 was that it was all I could
afford to do with what I made from PayPal. I thought our chances of
success were so low that I didn't want to risk anyone's funds in the
beginning but my own. The list of successful car company startups is
short. <b>As of 2016, the number of American car companies that haven't
gone bankrupt is a grand total of two: Ford and Tesla.</b> Starting a car
company is idiotic and an electric car company is idiocy squared.</blockquote>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
(Emphasis added.) Thankfully, Tesla doesn't seem to be going down the self-destructive path of seeking ever greater sales growth, mentioning in that update that once their self-driving tech is mature enough, they will pivot from the paradigm from
selling cars for ownership to maintaining a fleet for car-sharing. Being a shareholder-owned company that could face rebellion from investors, time will tell whether this intent succeeds.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Part 2: Sustainable
Organisations</b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Dan & Rob ask in
<i>Enough is Enough</i>, how can we keep industries at a scale that’s <i>just
right</i>?<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhemkciI2_voYbBHZ1rI2VtcdBTpT3RtjkEjmvCMnLa1KzqBlNhQuXf1OLoGyQSYyYDgZRXjdWhbn3_ZFis0SdlQYELKC7tDa_j4zr0riSyLZ_3x5ao96iTSOlD5VZ1jfQa-5JJOqD3_ks/s1600/EiE_fig.14.1_transformed.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="349" data-original-width="350" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhemkciI2_voYbBHZ1rI2VtcdBTpT3RtjkEjmvCMnLa1KzqBlNhQuXf1OLoGyQSYyYDgZRXjdWhbn3_ZFis0SdlQYELKC7tDa_j4zr0riSyLZ_3x5ao96iTSOlD5VZ1jfQa-5JJOqD3_ks/s320/EiE_fig.14.1_transformed.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">EiE Figure 14.1: Tending towards a Steady State Economy</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Without growing to
that Goldilocks scale, economies don’t meet their citizens’
needs.<br />
This unfortunately generates the fallacious economic argument that (global) economic growth improves the lives of the poor because "a rising tide lifts all boats", which isn't much help if you don't have a boat.<br />
<br />
Dan & Rob argue that, with wealth divides only becoming greater with economic growth, and following <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953605004375">research</a> <a href="https://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/">from Wilkinson & Pickett</a> showing how inequality is destroying societal health, we would be better served to focus on improving equality within and between societies, than suicidally trying to increase all production.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Without soft limits
to growth, we wreck the planet and reach the hard limits of non-renewable resource quantity & reserve quality.<br />
So we need
organisational structures that aim for the goal (high standard of
living), not just one means of achieving it (economic growth).</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><br /></b>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
<b>Old and New Means of Trade:</b><br />
In media pointing out how fractional-reserve banking leads to an inflationary spiral unless accompanied by economic growth, we've often heard a myth that money lending only occurred in history after currency was invented.<br />
<br />
In his book “<a href="https://libcom.org/files/__Debt__The_First_5_000_Years.pdf"><i>Debt: The First 5000 Years</i></a>”, David Graeber explores how our modern systems of money and credit came about. He first explains the myth of barter, a nonsensical idea that thousands of years ago people regularly traded different types of objects directly with each other, such as an ox for several chickens or robes.<br />
<br />
David shows a progression in anthropology
from hunter-gatherer gift economies to agricultural town-scale credit systems.<br />
<br />
In <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gift_economy">gift economies</a>, people help their family members out of loyalty and need, without an expectation of being paid back, as they knew each other closely and have an interdependent relationship, nevertheless gaining social status/credit for altruistic behaviour.<br />
When such existing societies were visited by European explorers, they even found the idea of trade offensive, as to immediately give something back in exchange for a gift offered is to reject a friendship - to say that you might as well never see the person again.<br />
<br />
When humanity formed into large static communities based around agriculture, they necessarily involved interactions with strangers, and so formalised IOU systems were set up in order to establish trust, where people who did not know each other as closely would mark <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tally_stick">tally sticks</a> in units of grain.<br />
<br />
Money and markets appeared not separately from government, but when forced upon communities by empires; a fact that causes great discomfort to some right-libertarians.<br />
For a simple example, requiring coins minted with a monarch's head as a tax, while issuing those coins as payment to soldiers in order to ensure that citizens would fall in line to feed a standing army.<br />
<br />
David gives some historical examples of this such as the Madagascan people being forced to pay for the costs of having been invaded and 'civilised' by the French empire, nevertheless doing their best to resist attempts to drop a consumer culture upon them:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The colonial government was were also quite explicit (at least in their own internal policy documents), about the need to make sure that peasants had at least some money of their own left over, and to ensure that they became accustomed to the minor luxuries—parasols, lipstick, cookies—available at the Chinese shops. It was crucial that they develop new tastes, habits, and expectations; that they lay the foundations of a consumer demand that would endure long after the conquerors had left, and keep Madagascar forever tied to France.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Most people are not stupid, and most Malagasy understood exactly what their conquerors were trying to do to them. Some were determined to resist. More than sixty years after the invasion, a French anthropologist, Gerard Althabe, was able to observe villages on the east coast of the island whose inhabitants would dutifully show up at the coffee plantations to earn the money for their poll tax, and then, having paid it, studiously ignore the wares for sale at the local shops and instead turn over any remaining money to lineage elders, who would then use it to buy cattle for sacrifice to their ancestors.</blockquote>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Cited as: "On the tax, <a href="https://www.persee.fr/doc/outre_0300-9513_1987_num_74_277_2617">Jacob 1987</a>; for the Betsimisaraka village study, <a href="http://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:12290">Althabe 1968</a>; for analogous Malagasy case studies, Fremigacci 1976, Rainibe 1982, Schlemmer 1983, Feeley-Harnik 1991. For colonial tax policy in Africa more generally, Forstater 2005, 2006."</span><br />
<br />
As for barter, the only places we tend to see that are in very perverse and controlled circumstances, such as within prisons, between feuding groups, into countries affected by trade embargoes, or perhaps dysfunctional families competing to see who can give the best christmas gift.<br />
<br />
Another great book that puts an aspect of money into clear wording is “<a href="http://sacred-economics.com/read-online/"><i>Sacred Economics: Money, Gift and Society in the Age of Transition</i></a>” by Charles Eisenstein.<br />
The title's beginning may sound like it tends to the metaphysical, but Charles actually advances a very practical and moral argument for why <i>credit</i> or <i>debt</i> on its own is not our problem, as its core concepts tie our social bonds, but the way that <i>monetary</i> debt has <i>interest</i> applied to it causes all manner of social harm through usury.<br />
He argues for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interest_rate#Negative_interest_rates">negative interest</a>, which is a very useful tool for stabilising a de-growing economy, as it discourages the hoarding of credit. However, such a system lends itself far better to digital currencies than coin/paper currencies, where it was referred to as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demurrage_(currency)">demurrage currency</a>, an awkward but nevertheless successful system (in terms of encouraging economic activity).</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
Thankfully, this interesting tangent leads to a modern solution...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGBYA384KsHsOTvJpTGsksa79M1rYppZ5x4IWlpOq4H_atvX7QZ0YWCDizSZF_CeHhIOGPUr6VRFi57PeygraAAlqNkCN80VIFrE5-BSoaB4FimWE6cBAGq8Zx0Ij5KxBOuuyKC5lmaeA/s1600/brixton-pound-surtr-crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGBYA384KsHsOTvJpTGsksa79M1rYppZ5x4IWlpOq4H_atvX7QZ0YWCDizSZF_CeHhIOGPUr6VRFi57PeygraAAlqNkCN80VIFrE5-BSoaB4FimWE6cBAGq8Zx0Ij5KxBOuuyKC5lmaeA/s400/brixton-pound-surtr-crop.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A shop accepting the Brixton Pound local currency digitally. <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/surtr/10006819356">Image via surtr.</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b></b><br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Local Currencies, LETS and Time Banking:</b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_exchange_trading_system">Local Exchange Trading Systems</a> (LETS) are a reputation-based trading system that bridges the gap between gift economies for friends & family or neighbourly favours, and international currencies for trade with distant strangers.<br />
It fits well at the scale of a single town, enabling trust between people who don't know each other well but are part of a larger community, and lubricating the local economy with credit, so that resources are not imported or exported so much.<br />
Not only is it an excellent tool for encouraging industry at a sustainable scale, but it enables local control over interest rates, and a negative interest rate that slowly tends all balances to zero can be a mathematical way of expressing debt forgiveness, basic income, social dividend, or an initial alternative to charity for those who have fallen on hard times.<br />
<br />
One way that LETS systems are protected from abuse is with an initial credit limit that expands with use, preventing someone from simply taking from a community without giving anything back.<br />
However, they can still result in inequality if some types of goods or services are in higher demand compared to supply than others, and so people charge more for them. This is remedied somewhat by a negative interest rate, but other social checks & balances are needed along the way.<br />
<br />
Ideally we want to get past this to a place where our needs are so readily met by infrastructure at a sustainable scale that a gift economy can extend to everyone we know, without having to worry about formal credit systems, which is utopian by current standards. <br />
<i>Enough is Enough</i> supported having many local currencies to respond to local issues and support sustainable economics, rather than the authoritarian push for one global currency, what with the failure of the Euro experiment to suit individual regional needs and all the damage it has done to southern European states.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Now, we sometimes hear assertions from quite dull politicians that they believe "profit is not a dirty word", but by the very utterance of this denial, they are admitting that they are aware that it <i>has</i> become a dirty word, but they don't understand <i>why</i>.<br />
<br />
Many people may understand the term profit to mean charging more for something than it cost you in time, energy and materials, but in a business sense this is just a <i>return</i> on investment. A '<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonprofit_organization#Nonprofit_vs._not-for-profit">Not-For-Profit</a>' company can charge more for something than it cost to make, so long as they reinvest that extra money, pay staff with it or send it to good use in a charity.<br />
Arguments may arise here over whether increasing the pay of some or all workers is a good use of extra money, or you might wonder if it's wise for a cooperative to buy an expensive new kitchen appliance to benefit all staff in their office, but the real organisational difference of "profit" here is over how that decision is made...<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Shareholder-Owned/Publicly-Traded Corporations</b><br />
A for-profit corporation is quite a different beast to your typical small trader's private company. People who hold shares in such a corporation have votes on its strategic direction in proportion to their investment, and receive dividend money skimmed from the company's positive <i>return</i> even without contributing anything to the process.<br />
From <i>Enough is Enough</i>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Henry Ford had a plan for improving social conditions that famously ran up against the profit mandate in 1918. Ford had declared that he wanted “to employ still more men; to spread the benefits of this industrial system to the greatest number of people, to help them build up their lives and their homes,” instead of paying increased profits to shareholders. However, a court order forced the Ford Company to issue a special dividend to shareholders rather than reinvest the money as Henry Ford wanted.</blockquote>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Cited to: Matthew Doeringer, “<a href="http://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1052&context=djcil">Fostering Social Enterprise: A Historical and International Analysis</a>,” Duke Journal of Comparative & International
Law 20, no. 2 (2010): 304 </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGh5CnaDjuyeNq4IWN3hLAy0lUJvMqDAT9gEgdQAM0DnqQ-1CktC5b9-uBWnswG9NeKVo6TPE96Yu0eeXZ_z4sWAmWYYQqah4M7HbHTNp5WfYtLAfHdLSawNfGqMuAKZFRAneUx0c6EtI/s1600/Mosquito_%2528Ochlerotatus_annulipes%2529_and_Midge_%2528Culicoides_impunctatus%2529_biting_human_%2528me%2529-mirrored.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="556" data-original-width="800" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGh5CnaDjuyeNq4IWN3hLAy0lUJvMqDAT9gEgdQAM0DnqQ-1CktC5b9-uBWnswG9NeKVo6TPE96Yu0eeXZ_z4sWAmWYYQqah4M7HbHTNp5WfYtLAfHdLSawNfGqMuAKZFRAneUx0c6EtI/s320/Mosquito_%2528Ochlerotatus_annulipes%2529_and_Midge_%2528Culicoides_impunctatus%2529_biting_human_%2528me%2529-mirrored.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shareholders, large and small. Photo <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mosquito_(Ochlerotatus_annulipes)_and_Midge_(Culicoides_impunctatus)_biting_human_(me).jpg">by Dunpharlain</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Unfortunately, their competition for higher share prices and bigger market share also drives constant growth, leading to the aforementioned "too-big-to-fail" collapse.<br />
<br />
The main advantage that they have in a market is also this sheer cut-throat pursuit of profit regardless of social impact, right up to committing major crimes so long as it's legal or they can get away with it.<br />
Whether it's Texaco/Chevron dumping toxic waste in Ecuador while it's a banana republic under the thumb of the US, then <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-45455984">fighting bitterly for years to avoid paying for it when their government changes</a>, or any of the big food companies marketing addictive and unhealthy snacks to children, or <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/14/world/americas/mexico-coca-cola-diabetes.html">Coca-Cola</a> and <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-09-21/nestl-makes-billions-bottling-water-it-pays-nearly-nothing-for">Ne</a><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36161580">st</a><a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/nestle-200-dollars-water-plant-evart-michigan-flint-water-crisis-tap-water-a7975511.html">lé</a> in particular bottling groundwater in regions with drinking water shortages, or the first-world-problem of companies like Electronic Arts putting elements of gambling with real-world money into their video games marketed at children <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46286945">to the point that it creates a crisis</a> - they push what they can get away with every year <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gaming/news/ea-faces-prosecution-belgium-fifa-19-loot-boxes/">until the law cracks down</a>, and then carry on anyway claiming no guilt.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Registered Charities:</b><br />
Normally thought of as the default opposite option if you want to make a positive difference in the world, and they are often recommended for Transition Town initiatives, but <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charitable_organization">charities</a> aren't without their faults.<br />
To set one up in the UK, a group must first register a limited company and then apply for charitable status. This can be a complex process if you don't have experience with it, and means that you are subject to both company law and charity law.<br />
Some advantages are tax exemptions, and how a mandated rotation of board members keeps talent fresh.<br />
As disadvantages:<br />
<ul>
<li>their trading activities are restricted,</li>
<ul>
<li>sometimes got around by having a trading subsidiary (which takes yet more time to set up), but they generally tend to be dependent on grants and donations,</li>
</ul>
<li>rotation of board members can exhaust a pool of talented people after some years, depending on the constitution's terms,</li>
<li>the usual requirement of an all-volunteer board for strategic decisions means that paid managers have less input and decisions are made slowly,</li>
<li>they can be tricky to set up, with a constitution to write</li>
<ul>
<li>and with a minimum size of having:</li>
<ul>
<li>A Chairman</li>
<li>A Secretary</li>
<li>A Treasurer</li>
<li>and other spare trustees</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<li>and their accounts must be independently assessed and publicly reported every year. </li>
</ul>
This can seem very daunting to a small group, however there can be some systems to lower these requirements a bit:</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Scotland created an organisational form called a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charitable_incorporated_organisation">Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation</a> (SCIO), which relaxes some rules such as paying for an accountant to check the annual accounts, while simplifying the two set-up steps of forming a company and gaining charitable status, into one step that bakes the status into the type of organisation.<br />
<br />
More countries are following suit with this simplified charity form, but then there are also other legal options arising...</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
<br />
<b>Public-Benefit Corporations (CIC/GmbH/B.Corp/L3C):</b><br />
While '<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_enterprise">Social Enterprise</a>' isn't a legal status, just a way of operating, benefit corps tend to be a highly suitable hybrid structure to use, and relatively new.<br />
For example the UK's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_interest_company">Community Interest Company</a> designation, like any other private company, can be a one-man-band, keeping tight control over operations, but with a registered interest in benefiting the public.<br />
They take far fewer people to set up, however, they don't get charitable tax advantages and can't be a politically-motivated organisation or take part in lobbying.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Cooperatives:</b><br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperative">Co-ops</a> are one of the most diverse categories of enterprise, which can be set up to be owned or managed by their employees, customers, or other types of members.<br />
<br />
Their democratic nature leans them towards stability and sensible decision-making, avoiding overly risky and harmful actions while still remaining competitive.<br />
For example, <a href="http://www.uk.coop/sites/default/files/uploads/attachments/co-op_economy_2015.pdf">twice as many co-ops survive their first 5 years of operation</a> as compared to other types of business, and at the start of the 2008 financial crisis, cooperative banks made up around a <i>third</i> of European lending, and expanded while other lenders cut back, yet by the end of the crisis they <a href="https://neweconomics.org/2014/02/co-operative-banks-international-evidence">only accounted for 8% of losses</a>.<br />
They tend to keep to a sustainable scale, and when broader co-operation is needed they federate with secondary cooperatives of which the members are other cooperatives. Staying small may be seen as a weakness to insane growth economists, but in our new economy it is a great strength.<br />
<br />
<b>Community Supported Agriculture:</b><br />
In addition to the community-funded renewable energy schemes that I mentioned last year, a particular type of co-operative that deserves mentioning here is CSA, commonly known as a 'vegetable box scheme', whereby members subscribe to local farms, getting some decision-making power in what gets grown, and receiving a regular delivery of local seasonal food.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieCmaKSkaQUouvaieCaHWxymr4EJrX8TJyIHlXipNmTEYAlF-qRIAXejjF05ituPhG3W-pBjx6exZ5NJYOfvUOCUQXso32-kxvqEwL8Uid_iQANA3Tu6N-lqy4r_XHKvL5Hf6DNl14IXs/s1600/800px-20170915-FAS-PJK-0961_TONED_%252837087900882%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="532" data-original-width="799" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieCmaKSkaQUouvaieCaHWxymr4EJrX8TJyIHlXipNmTEYAlF-qRIAXejjF05ituPhG3W-pBjx6exZ5NJYOfvUOCUQXso32-kxvqEwL8Uid_iQANA3Tu6N-lqy4r_XHKvL5Hf6DNl14IXs/s400/800px-20170915-FAS-PJK-0961_TONED_%252837087900882%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A weekly offering from Kate Edwards' farm in Iowa, <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20170915-FAS-PJK-0961_TONED_(37087900882).jpg">by USDA</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The benefits are great and varied -<br />
<ul>
<li>Saving yourself time, energy and wasteful packaging costs that would otherwise be spent at a supermarket,</li>
<li>Making a huge difference to your environmental footprint by reducing the distance that most of your food travels,</li>
<li>and supporting the sustainability of local farms, where it might otherwise be difficult to set up a pest-resistant diverse growing program when the prevailing culture pushes them towards monoculture cash crops.</li>
</ul>
One of the challenges with these schemes, as I have heard from local CSA farmers, can simply be many over-worked folk's lack of knowledge and confidence in cooking.<br />
For example, for many people where I live, their culinary knowledge extends to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stovies">stovies</a> or beans on toast, and I have been asked by someone else at a supermarket checkout before what I was going to do with an aubergine that was amongst my pile of vegetables and junk food, so I gave them some tips on tasty omelettes and curries (never mind moussaka). I don't mean that in any elitist way, it's just a sad shame that many people never got an opportunity or encouragement to learn how to cook good food.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Guides to setting up:</b><br />
There are yet more organisational options, and I haven't enough time to do them justice here, but thankfully other people have already spent much time producing in-depth guides to setting up these kinds of organisations.<br />
Your best bet for guidance would be to contact your local equivalent to our 'Third Sector Interface' or 'Business Gateway' shops for face-to-face advice, or equivalent of Companies House or the charity regulator OSCR.<br />
You can find many videos online explaining these issues, but in other countries you should ideally go to a local organisation to make sure that you get any nuances of local law right.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>In case there's anyone left who I haven't offended yet:</b><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl7ZEhZGqddAhKgHjXJd_AFSPUAeanGlKncYeU32Vubj8elBVGLC14TL5t535eR4-wjuhzdwQRLZS824b4RZw_4uZIpUzbUBNA7yFdz5gEigpcENyr7bYgaGUIkj__9LJqI4CwvzjQxYI/s1600/fourchoices_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="916" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl7ZEhZGqddAhKgHjXJd_AFSPUAeanGlKncYeU32Vubj8elBVGLC14TL5t535eR4-wjuhzdwQRLZS824b4RZw_4uZIpUzbUBNA7yFdz5gEigpcENyr7bYgaGUIkj__9LJqI4CwvzjQxYI/s400/fourchoices_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Comparing the usual green-living rhetoric with more effective measures: having one fewer child has 73 times more impact on your carbon footprint than eating a plant-based diet - <a href="https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/the-four-lifestyle-choices-that-most-reduce-your-carbon-footprint">via Lund University.</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
While there is truth in this, that parents in industrialised nations have a huge effect on global resource use per child that they have, this kind of persuasive approach may inflame xenophobic conflicts across the world.<br />
Thanks to <a href="https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2016/11/16/translator-migrants-hate-christians/" rel="nofollow">news of islamic migrants seeking to out-breed christians</a>, whether reflective of reality or not, a growing white nationalist crowd, who have seen <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/breed-and-conquer-europe-al-aqsa-preacher-exhorts-muslims/" rel="nofollow">their insane opposites</a>, have been spreading memes of 'whites' being 'replaced'.<br />
These groups have thus seen encouragement of family planning in Europe as 'genocidal', and their ostracism from society has lead directly to the Christchurch mosque shooting, as detailed in Brenton Tarrant's own stale-meme filled manifesto.<br />
To any of those nutters, unfortunately his violent action will likely just intensify those sentiments among muslims, even if they were a small minority before.<br />
As the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographic_transition">Demographic Transition theory</a> has shown, deaths encourage birth rates, where war-torn countries have some of the highest birth rates, as those who are left over-compensate for the loss of their kin.<br />
<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3924067/">More recent research</a> in this field is suggesting that the cross-generational spread of cultures and religions that promote high fertility, could result in an evolutionary pressure encouraging those cultures.<br />
Like it or not, the 'developed' world is the main problem when it comes to consumption levels, but they are the last people who should be criticised on having children, with below-replacement birth rates.<br />
<br />
Some of the best things a concerned citizen can do at this point to promote sustainability, are to support groups that are building hospitals, schools and supporting women's rights in high-birthrate countries, and beating those fertility-promoting religions such as catholicism and islam through education and child protection.<br />
While some of you might expect free education to eventually give rise to an enlightened culture that responsibly handles family planning, this doesn't have enough effect where parents involved in insular cults and religious sects indoctrinate their children and restrict their exposure to other viewpoints. Where their practices are damaging to the whole of society, this needs to be recognised for the child abuse that it is.</div>
<style type="text/css">p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; line-height: 120%; }</style>4ndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675315515117082792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-906217424699189688.post-34590921759769197932018-06-02T09:36:00.001+01:002018-08-16T23:59:25.344+01:00A Picture of Transition<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">This
article serves as the full and extended notes for my presentation to the 10th annual
London Zeitgeist Day, 2018:</span><br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9VT_XqXjQNM/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="180" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9VT_XqXjQNM?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Finally ready, with <i>big</i> thanks to Olli the cameraman, and especially David Dann for splicing this together with my slides and backup audio on a part where the main recording broke. Please see <a href="#Errata">talk errata</a> at the end to clarify verbal slips.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">These notes
include points that I wanted to mention but couldn't squeeze into
the time-slot offered, and full explanations for topics that I had to breeze over. Any later town hall style presentations
are likely to benefit from the full story.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">I
will be exploring the challenges that we face in transitioning to a
100% renewable-energy economy, how this may impact on society, how we
can adapt in such a way as to not only ease this transition but end
up taking an improved quality of life out of it, and some practical
actions that you and I can take in order to move this transition
along in a healthy direction.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><br /></b>
</div>
<b>
</b>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Free
books:</span></b></div>
<a name='more'></a><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">The
parts on energy borrow a lot from two books that I highly recommend
on the topic as they have done a great job of making this complex
subject more approachable. Best of all, as the authors knew just how
important public understanding of this topic is, both are available
to read completely free online!</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">The
first, referenced more briefly, is “<a href="http://www.withouthotair.com/"><i>Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air</i></a>” by the late Professor David J.C. MacKay of Cambridge
University, which one decade ago took a focused look at whether the
people of Britain could support themselves with their local renewable
energy resources, based upon their current consumption patterns.
While it is of limited use for examining our global potential and now
slightly out of date, it features many great examples and
“back-of-envelope calculations” that serve to make the scale of
each topic easier to grasp.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Amongst
appraisals of a wide variety of technologies (for 2008) and their
practicality, the book looks at local cultural resistance to the
adoption of these technologies as a major barrier to change.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">The
second and more recent book of the two is “<a href="http://ourrenewablefuture.org/"><i>Our Renewable Future – Laying the Path for One Hundred Percent Clean Energy</i></a>” by Richard
Heinberg and David Fridley of the Post-Carbon Institute. It takes a
more global look at our energy supply, although slightly USA-centric
in places with its statistics, and considers some more physical factors
restricting our ability to transition.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">There
is a focus on solar and wind power, since those sources present the
greatest opportunity for growth, and are the most tried-and-tested
means of harvesting renewable energy.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">This
book may be the most important one for anyone to read at this point
due to some shocking points it covers that I will come back to
shortly. Referred to as ORF here where I have borrowed their images.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Also
worth noting is “The Winning of the Carbon War” by Dr Jeremy
Leggett, which looks more at the cultural struggle between vested
interests in fossil fuels versus environmental advocates and
activists while pointing out large-order trends that will inevitably
put those fossil fuel giants out of business.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">I
do think he tends to be overly optimistic, which makes sense as he
runs a solar power company and needs to be optimistic in order to get
investors, but if you want to stay up to date on what is happening in
the energy industry, then there's nowhere better to look than <a href="http://jeremyleggett.net/">his blog</a>.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">If
I'm going to talk about something as big as our economy, a term too
loosely thrown about by politicians and journalists alike, then I
feel that I should define what I mean by that, and when you look at
the common definitions given to this word, you can see one of the
core pieces of 'doublethink' in this society – holding two mutually
contradictory ideas without recognising the conflict.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwY_OWwRp38Ngs_enI8EE6RioWXixz4vETz0CcrM7ToOnrTXTXvFL9r2nizns91NI9WxxEFvH8LwSAwrGDlgYxBPWlj3XTfpokMIRCN5qNzO18cXDFdOBjevxHG04HZJTFuMBr71fsxfc/s1600/Economy+OALD+Definition.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="808" data-original-width="755" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwY_OWwRp38Ngs_enI8EE6RioWXixz4vETz0CcrM7ToOnrTXTXvFL9r2nizns91NI9WxxEFvH8LwSAwrGDlgYxBPWlj3XTfpokMIRCN5qNzO18cXDFdOBjevxHG04HZJTFuMBr71fsxfc/s400/Economy+OALD+Definition.png" width="373" /></a></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">First
on <a href="https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/economy">Oxford Dictionary's</a> list is the way it is used to describe our
industry and how we organise trade, which seems to be a given at this
point, while the third definition is closer to its original meaning
(given by its etymology from Greek “household management”),
referring to using resources in such a way as to avoid waste. Yet if
we examine our current industry and how it uses resources, waste and
mismanagement seem to be two of its most striking features.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">So
when I'm talking about an “economy”, I mean generally some way of
managing resources, though our current methods could be better termed
an “anti-economy”, and the latter meaning I would only use in a
phrase to “economise” something.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><br /></b>
</div>
<b>
</b>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">The
Scale of Our Anti-Economy:</span></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">If
you've ever seen any of the brilliant artwork that came out of The
Zeitgeist Movement, then you may have seen <a href="https://maxon.deviantart.com/art/Profit-motive-has-no-conscienc-134580627">this poster</a> before, giving
a feeling for our industry's excessive environmental destruction:</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir8jCqwewBNfG-ldEOgYQvXx3-HRYoElgPTuj7aiXU_sTg30rbCqSbLxFCvzE3-qaBj2wi0WsVg-wIiqifxCoUrV9t0-B-k6WQm1PwJueRpRAfkdL2mr1NgV607Px9bwxScaHG9ahVkEU/s1600/profit_motive_has_no_conscienc_by_maxon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="851" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir8jCqwewBNfG-ldEOgYQvXx3-HRYoElgPTuj7aiXU_sTg30rbCqSbLxFCvzE3-qaBj2wi0WsVg-wIiqifxCoUrV9t0-B-k6WQm1PwJueRpRAfkdL2mr1NgV607Px9bwxScaHG9ahVkEU/s400/profit_motive_has_no_conscienc_by_maxon.jpg" width="282" /></a></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">It
is an exaggeration of course, so I'd like to show you something that
better represents our physical reality, because we don't really have
some giant monstrous machine towering over us every day, do we?</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Art
or Reality?</span></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzClJ83srFacDvAkKneo_RDTCIYl6aVkKlCAw1N_CeI1o4j3vc-2h5_pOa41fMLCgHsksv0V236Hp-0aEgG_dhEuYDBUJL2OeasF5QcLVE5aKGNNsIC6Iq25XL7RJNt4O4NEYRH_UKlig/s1600/bagger_288_3-wileyearthpages.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzClJ83srFacDvAkKneo_RDTCIYl6aVkKlCAw1N_CeI1o4j3vc-2h5_pOa41fMLCgHsksv0V236Hp-0aEgG_dhEuYDBUJL2OeasF5QcLVE5aKGNNsIC6Iq25XL7RJNt4O4NEYRH_UKlig/s400/bagger_288_3-wileyearthpages.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">So
here's a picture of some giant monstrous machine towering over us,
with some kind of huge saw-blade looking thing on the front of it,
and I have to wonder, in this age of easy photo-manipulation, how
many people would suspect that this is fake or just yet another piece
of original artwork.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Can
you guess?</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">I'm
sad to break it to you that it is a real photograph, of just one of a
set of the largest & heaviest land vehicles that humanity has
ever created, bigger even than the crawlers that used to move NASA's
Space Shuttle systems onto their launch pads, and what we have
dedicated our largest vehicles to only makes it even more sad.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">These
are bucket-excavator machines, which scoop up huge volumes of topsoil
in order to access underground resources, chiefly coal, in
area-mining operations. Each one of those scoops is big enough to
pick up a small car, and it can shift over <i>23 million</i> cubic
metres of soil per day.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWAgfowwK9UNnt8RU_XIVcVoxNFsQKco0eh-YGMLJsSfcoSmGpDsyxol7Gqnby5rGhz4rzOy7ltw_z0pDX2uMFxP6PQCEa-1VZOe8hyIHeqpRO69JjT5a83p9nXDBb2yr5AE_jJlnML58/s1600/Bagger-garzweiler-Martinroell.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="1600" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWAgfowwK9UNnt8RU_XIVcVoxNFsQKco0eh-YGMLJsSfcoSmGpDsyxol7Gqnby5rGhz4rzOy7ltw_z0pDX2uMFxP6PQCEa-1VZOe8hyIHeqpRO69JjT5a83p9nXDBb2yr5AE_jJlnML58/s640/Bagger-garzweiler-Martinroell.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagger_288">Bagger 288</a>, the pictured example crossing the road, doesn't get the record
for biggest <i>self-propelled</i> vehicle, as it gets fed external
electrical power in order to help it run that huge wheel and conveyor
belts that feed into processing machinery.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">So
if you're going to use electrical power to dig up coal, then
transport it to plants that burn it in order to produce electrical
power, obviously you must be getting more energy out than you're
putting in, in order to make it worthwhile, which is a concept that
I'll come back to shortly.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>“<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Not In My Back Yard”:</span></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">So
when you see scenes of devastation like that, and I'm sure you've probably
seen the mess that is the Canadian oil sands by now</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNqygBI7dXio0j9-x6Js4Xfz6EGvgmPL-EzL1s12qGzImxNvwxwxPeQfgdcd5kSogFK2ndbnzwHzczExf419dQLAC2gJ606ZaWA5884imKR_ms75D7bDXehEBCAGPj19A8p0K-Xc_14ks/s1600/canadian+tar+sands.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="932" data-original-width="1400" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNqygBI7dXio0j9-x6Js4Xfz6EGvgmPL-EzL1s12qGzImxNvwxwxPeQfgdcd5kSogFK2ndbnzwHzczExf419dQLAC2gJ606ZaWA5884imKR_ms75D7bDXehEBCAGPj19A8p0K-Xc_14ks/s320/canadian+tar+sands.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Athabasca Oil Sands. <a href="https://garthlenz.photoshelter.com/image/I0000WD23Ow7SRfA">Photo: Garth Lenz</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">it
makes it a bit hard to sympathise with these guys:</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGkynAyGTcYFKfXi2iuIgwLvORDG5ameCBsVGQuMhkxxxIjthgU2tqLVFo1G058Vmfu643h5CFRQkZz_WwDNgbOonpEe1jkHmYq7ZiVnUupU2Zog22lqOVH3AZxMPIWaxvgWn1w8mSq2I/s1600/Stop_Highland_Windfarms_Campaign_-_Lochgelly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="750" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGkynAyGTcYFKfXi2iuIgwLvORDG5ameCBsVGQuMhkxxxIjthgU2tqLVFo1G058Vmfu643h5CFRQkZz_WwDNgbOonpEe1jkHmYq7ZiVnUupU2Zog22lqOVH3AZxMPIWaxvgWn1w8mSq2I/s320/Stop_Highland_Windfarms_Campaign_-_Lochgelly.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dafties. Photo via shining loch blog.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Look,
I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but can someone please
explain to me why it is that they don't mind getting the petrol to
power their cars and coal to heat their homes from the aforementioned
wastelands, yet they somehow see putting wind turbines such as these:</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD6XoXAEv_kv7C1YgJNwk4A9eIRS7BOBn7bqt0UjoEWlonB6vH4Y9Qws6zHWGqsDHG0P4loIJblmMwKPfd2fW2eK1ys4jNyr7uxNedl_tlZBOwsTEWGKeof3h8O5IRyr0RZEsTl7fUh6Q/s1600/Ardrossan+Wind+Farm%252C+Scotland.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="997" data-original-width="1501" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD6XoXAEv_kv7C1YgJNwk4A9eIRS7BOBn7bqt0UjoEWlonB6vH4Y9Qws6zHWGqsDHG0P4loIJblmMwKPfd2fW2eK1ys4jNyr7uxNedl_tlZBOwsTEWGKeof3h8O5IRyr0RZEsTl7fUh6Q/s320/Ardrossan+Wind+Farm%252C+Scotland.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ardrossan Windfarm. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ardrossan,_Scotland,_United_Kingdom.JPG">Photo: Vincent van Zeijst</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">...which
I find quite beautiful, onto our <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Red_deer_on_the_hillside_above_Strath_Ullie_-_geograph.org.uk_-_307904.jpg">highland moors</a>, which
were once covered in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caledonian_Forest">lush Boreal rainforests</a>, now mostly barren from unsustainable logging
practices and over-grazed by sheep & deer <a href="https://vimeo.com/86466357">since we got rid of their other predators</a>, as
“trashing the highlands” or “destroying our scenery”?</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">This
insane conservative mindset may seem quaint to an outsider, but I
have to live around some of these people and sometimes interact with
them when it comes to getting things done.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">However,
they did touch on one truth among their very silly placards, and that
is how both energy costs and fuel poverty are rising. I can relate
there having been in that kind of situation. Fuel poverty, for those
unaware in milder climes, is what happens to people living in cold
places where heating is necessary for survival, never mind comfort,
when they cannot afford enough fuel to heat their homes. It is a
daily fact of life for some people in Siberia with its regular cold
weather, but here it happens most often to old people in Scotland, especially
in areas of the highlands where there are no natural gas pipelines to
heat people's homes, if for instance they're in cheap accommodation with wasteful electric radiators.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Where
I last stayed, many people would burn anthracite coal delivered by
truck, in filthy choked wood-stoves, because it's the cheapest way to
heat your home there. The only reason they can get away with this is
that the population density in the far northern highlands is so low,
and the typical wind-speeds so high, that there is no opportunity for
smog to settle. However, once you burn away the carbon, you are left
with some quite toxic heavy elements in the ash, which made their way
deep underground to these coal beds, such as mercury and uranium, which is why the areas
downwind of old coal-fired power plants <a href="https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/1018/do-coal-plants-release-more-radiation-than-nuclear-power-plants">tend to be far more radioactive</a> than anywhere near a normally-operating nuclear power
station (<i>yet still insignificant</i> over a wide area).</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">This
is also why the mercury concentrations in the oceans <a href="https://thefisheriesblog.com/2015/09/28/where-does-the-mercury-in-our-fish-come-from/">have grown so high</a> that pregnant women are <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/should-pregnant-and-breastfeeding-women-avoid-some-types-of-fish.aspx?CategoryID=54">advised not to eat</a> much of large
fish high in the food chain, especially tuna, lest it cause defects
in their children. Frankly, with that, plastic, and everything
else nasty flowing downstream, you should probably stop eating any
fish at all for the sake of your own health if not the fish stocks,
which humanity has now <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/half-the-fish-in-the-sea-wwf-report-a6691461.html">cut in half in the last 50 years alone</a>.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Shipping:</span></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">But
I digress (enormously). Back on our economy, this time with a wetter
theme, here's another teaser to give you a feeling for scale.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwmsuhL8kQTs3iAAbNbJrmd3eaAjv22WhrsI-oUMaJYGJD9v8Z6MgY7ErraH9z20C9DTzKV-PKRBL2nspHZXiq36uUSnFWvqNnI9VZ5RjCiW15WzT1F_HBWLjLHfFb89dx0EOd4y4YmQA/s1600/ship.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="283" data-original-width="499" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwmsuhL8kQTs3iAAbNbJrmd3eaAjv22WhrsI-oUMaJYGJD9v8Z6MgY7ErraH9z20C9DTzKV-PKRBL2nspHZXiq36uUSnFWvqNnI9VZ5RjCiW15WzT1F_HBWLjLHfFb89dx0EOd4y4YmQA/s320/ship.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Fake?
Although I haven't found the original source of the photo that
spawned this image macro, I'm afraid the ship is very much real. This
big hauler is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Blue_Marlin">MV Blue Marlin</a>, capable of delivering cargo ships, so that they may bring you the latest iPoop from Santa's
Sweatshop, or even capable of moving oil rigs out to cause another big catastrophe:</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBnxEmxEvPN3Cfo03hqJFxdUoFOxzA9t_Nk6Grf6SEmJq9mEJ_BDTYWcYHwbyheyFZGyD4Y2IGnM9rkWg-NA5zUzGrsHh9Q2L6N8WQkbmgski7BkJrQEROfUaIm6-cgZRnKNx-IWK3aGE/s1600/Dockwise_HLV_BLUE_MARLIN_preparing_to_offload_OCEAN_MONARCH_-_Jim_Hatter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBnxEmxEvPN3Cfo03hqJFxdUoFOxzA9t_Nk6Grf6SEmJq9mEJ_BDTYWcYHwbyheyFZGyD4Y2IGnM9rkWg-NA5zUzGrsHh9Q2L6N8WQkbmgski7BkJrQEROfUaIm6-cgZRnKNx-IWK3aGE/s320/Dockwise_HLV_BLUE_MARLIN_preparing_to_offload_OCEAN_MONARCH_-_Jim_Hatter.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">The
regular sized cargo ships themselves, whether moving containers of
electrical goods, tanks of gas or oil, or open holds full of loose
bulk materials such as coal and minerals, are the backbone of global
trade, and are almost entirely dependent on oil as fuel</span><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">.</span><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;"><a href="#1">[1]</a></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">While
these tend to be used for delivery of things that don't break down
quickly (including our solar panels!), the international trade of food tends to use flights and
refrigerated trucks, which are also currently dependent on oil, with
large flights especially having no viable replacement on the horizon;
more on that later.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Total
Energy Use:</span></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">So
you must wonder with things going on at this scale, how much energy
are we using?</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">This
graph<a href="#2">[2]</a> from 1850 onwards shows how much energy humanity as
a whole has used each year from various sources:</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyVjc59omcHpw8t-KGuVUbqivOVLste8lQqahZ3arAmquaZJDEHP2KMZzQoZqXxTCuoLWQbjLwbG0qkRTEZF1l8GXhwLnXJbRDGGtRCpJyQY3OCvSSIfQopLaCpeu_96uru_CVl7d4foM/s1600/WEB-Figure-I-3-World-primary-energy-consumption-by-fuel.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="692" data-original-width="950" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyVjc59omcHpw8t-KGuVUbqivOVLste8lQqahZ3arAmquaZJDEHP2KMZzQoZqXxTCuoLWQbjLwbG0qkRTEZF1l8GXhwLnXJbRDGGtRCpJyQY3OCvSSIfQopLaCpeu_96uru_CVl7d4foM/s400/WEB-Figure-I-3-World-primary-energy-consumption-by-fuel.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ORF Figure i.3</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">As
you can probably guess, a lot of this gets wasted.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Notice
how our entire economy used to be based around wood, later taken over
by coal, yet towards the right-hand end of that graph the use of wood
started growing slightly before levelling off?</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Some
of that increase shows why deforestation has been accelerating over
the last century, but in later years there has been a push for more
responsible, efficient and sustainable forestry practices, so we have
managed to do more with less land.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">However,
the human population has been growing during that time, so this may
be a little deceptive.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Some
good news is that the rate of global population growth has been
declining since the 60s, slowly creeping to a plateau predicted by
2050, but what do you suppose this looks like when population is
taken into account? You may be surprised.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTyT03hF8J-iV6CXbT8rQrmA6Qi-UfTff_SrUBw_GmMBEkEZ6Aq-DYMgbfOVjVs2rK9z4JZZB-ojLSHiBZhwkBPFxZxoppzQ2jETSiKEtSohAqjBW7Nk77Bv4tgpLhxhBFh6dXSuetEQM/s1600/WEB-Figure-2-1-World-primary-energy-consumption.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="717" data-original-width="965" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTyT03hF8J-iV6CXbT8rQrmA6Qi-UfTff_SrUBw_GmMBEkEZ6Aq-DYMgbfOVjVs2rK9z4JZZB-ojLSHiBZhwkBPFxZxoppzQ2jETSiKEtSohAqjBW7Nk77Bv4tgpLhxhBFh6dXSuetEQM/s400/WEB-Figure-2-1-World-primary-energy-consumption.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ORF Figure 2.1</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">When
we divide by the world population at the time, you can see that per
capita energy consumption<a href="#3">[3]</a> has still grown enormously, and
most of that change occurred in the decades immediately after
world-war 2.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">This
was the age of consumerism, as advertisers learned to apply the
science of psychology as a dark art to persuade masses of people to
buy things that they did not need, by tying consumption to their
social status and personal image.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">For
perspective, there was a great example given in chapter 2 of Our
Renewable Future, where it was calculated that the total at the end
today is roughly equivalent to having over 700 billion humans working
full-time hard labour, assuming that they can keep up an average of
100Watts for 40 hours per week. Or in other words, the energy
equivalent of every person having about 100 servants each.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">An
oft-quoted very rough statistic that goes along with this (as in the Story of Stuff) is that during
the last half of the 20th century, the amount of resources consumed
by the average US citizen more than doubled, while measures of their
happiness have declined, and their government have also been
pushing that culture on the rest of the world at the same time.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">If
you want to know more about that transition, I would highly recommend
reading “<i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/New-Human-Rights-Movement-Reinventing/dp/1942952651">The New Human Rights Movement</a></i>” by Peter Joseph. Although
there may be more dedicated books to the subject, this one still goes
over it at length around chapters 2-3, puts it into a larger context,
and is very up-to-date.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">You
can also see here that the share of wood used as fuel per person has
actually been <i>declining</i>, whilst its overall use grew due to
the aforementioned population growth.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">But
it's hard to tell in those squished-together layers, did Peak Oil
happen?</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhttHJwFE6NxRRLsMM5OhkTkeOpuWYPK3iqy-To8zeq-24sUudw4qsfZg9vuW6IryCRDXXot8z7HQRRE5LibiYXZCRkE5lW4WDsOnMlwXfa9pvy14RDkY3Mb3yh6kmE8Eu8NAMjvAH3jvM/s1600/peak-oil-by-country.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="661" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhttHJwFE6NxRRLsMM5OhkTkeOpuWYPK3iqy-To8zeq-24sUudw4qsfZg9vuW6IryCRDXXot8z7HQRRE5LibiYXZCRkE5lW4WDsOnMlwXfa9pvy14RDkY3Mb3yh6kmE8Eu8NAMjvAH3jvM/s400/peak-oil-by-country.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Source: Energy Watch Group<a href="#4">[4]</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">So
there has been a strange level of scepticism lately regarding peak
oil, due to some recent developments in its extraction, but in many
oil-producing nations in the world, production has already peaked
decades ago and has been declining ever since, and this is a matter
of history.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">The
denial has come from one fact in the most media-dominant
English-speaking nation…</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4CE0foyPlFE3zUBkzibv5zILlN_PC20hzm1hxJ-8WjazQpQaJzpH-GUOsod6oiUII-OnJx8zu2y1w_PWqHT0yw7_x860iKyDR_CC_1X5b6KaqJKtA_STrR_IiYy1dzyHbjIGnY4fXvUI/s1600/US+Oil+Output.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="660" data-original-width="1066" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4CE0foyPlFE3zUBkzibv5zILlN_PC20hzm1hxJ-8WjazQpQaJzpH-GUOsod6oiUII-OnJx8zu2y1w_PWqHT0yw7_x860iKyDR_CC_1X5b6KaqJKtA_STrR_IiYy1dzyHbjIGnY4fXvUI/s400/US+Oil+Output.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">From Jeremy Leggett's <a href="https://www.slideshare.net/jeremyleggett/2018-q1-an-eclectic-chronology-in-pictures-and-charts-of-developments-in-climate-energy-tech-and-the-future-of-civilisation">2018 Q1 chronology in pictures</a>.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;"></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">There
was a sudden resurgence in US oil production, due to the recent
development and rapid roll-out of hydraulic fracturing technology,
used to force out what is known as “tight oil” (narrow pockets of
oil trapped between layers of impermeable rock), but as the global
market price of oil dropped in recent years, fracking proved to be
too expensive to compete, and thousands of jobs in the sector were
lost almost overnight.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">It
has since come to light that after 10 years of investment, most of
the US fracking industry is nowhere near making a profit, while most
of the wells used have <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/us-shales-peak-could-be-4-years-away-2018-2?r=US&IR=T">already peaked or are about to reach peak production</a>. </span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">According
to Professor David Smythe, their costs and debts amount to roughly
double their revenue so far, and the uneven geology of Britain
compared to Texas makes the process far more dangerous, as the water
table is more likely to be polluted along fault lines. See <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYCMrcjtBWg">his talk at TEDx Findhorn</a>.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">If
you want to know more about this and have the latest news on the
collapse of the oil industry aggregated for you to easily read, then
you should definitely follow <a href="http://www.jeremyleggett.net/">Jeremy Leggett's blog</a>, as he
loves that stuff.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Peak
Consumption and Resource Scarcity:</span></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">But
what is “Peak Oil” or a 'peak' of any resource?</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">When
our distant ancestors first walked the planet they would have found
nuggets of gold, silver and even copper in their native forms as
shown here:</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWR4N0ppdylo5Wvgx3gM_3uc5HR4UftkucZpq6SkHM6asgtjr3SUj8-O5Cx0M7atKdG4DxU0l2f1O_wlXIb8_GrPah9zmksNSN9oXJJt1_3ZRxFrXAUbf-C0vp7GwCZwpSx26pcew1Jbw/s1600/Native_gold_nuggets2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="178" data-original-width="347" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWR4N0ppdylo5Wvgx3gM_3uc5HR4UftkucZpq6SkHM6asgtjr3SUj8-O5Cx0M7atKdG4DxU0l2f1O_wlXIb8_GrPah9zmksNSN9oXJJt1_3ZRxFrXAUbf-C0vp7GwCZwpSx26pcew1Jbw/s400/Native_gold_nuggets2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Native Gold Nuggets. <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Native_gold_nuggets.jpg">Photo: Aramgutang</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMUvsuoH_leKxdEZQ7vT4dMS4hhwmtPGNfS_4g_WNu7OOeF2mOF8wqOE_mJRYHjcGqCvVqaXJuKvDbuHYmrSnIl2MfQlgb5Tt2_VzF6vRRmJgjOMCl0LwsAYVcCdwufGe5HPO8mty23yI/s1600/Natural_copper_nugget.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMUvsuoH_leKxdEZQ7vT4dMS4hhwmtPGNfS_4g_WNu7OOeF2mOF8wqOE_mJRYHjcGqCvVqaXJuKvDbuHYmrSnIl2MfQlgb5Tt2_VzF6vRRmJgjOMCl0LwsAYVcCdwufGe5HPO8mty23yI/s320/Natural_copper_nugget.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Native Copper Nugget. <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Natural_copper_nugget.jpg">Photo: Jurii</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">As
such obvious deposits of scarce resources were quickly snatched up,
what we are left with today tends to involve moving aside hundreds or
thousands of times as much rock as whatever we are trying to get at.
So we will look for types of rock formations that are typically
associated with the exact element that we are looking for, such as
prospecting quartz to find a vein of gold:</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwnOn-IvZvb_hjsTmUHRu_uDXvk5aMLiGR_UqjyXsgCX7FgG8gP2ymGTD0PfYFxtgGvwSeIr2QHDv5ISYEaZ4hY92GenCvtYTFm9flQ2TllcGGLg6FU5OY8X5qS8ZLnZk8MzQDe5eqwQ0/s1600/gold+vein+in+quartz.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="473" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwnOn-IvZvb_hjsTmUHRu_uDXvk5aMLiGR_UqjyXsgCX7FgG8gP2ymGTD0PfYFxtgGvwSeIr2QHDv5ISYEaZ4hY92GenCvtYTFm9flQ2TllcGGLg6FU5OY8X5qS8ZLnZk8MzQDe5eqwQ0/s320/gold+vein+in+quartz.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gold Vein in Quartz. <a href="http://visualsunlimited.photoshelter.com/image/I0000T.8XzVKUYuw">Photo: Dr. Marli Miller</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">The
extra time and energy required to extract those resources, along with
their perceived scarcity, makes them cost more money per ton.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">A
peak in production occurs when so much of the easiest-to-mine
deposits have been used up, that the increasing difficulty of mining
whatever disperse bits are left accelerates faster than technology
can advance to improve extraction.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">This
becomes a huge problem when a society has been built around an
expectation of industrial growth, only to meet a decline in what they
can use, where further growth on a finite planet is physically
impossible.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">A
great old talk that explains this point thoroughly is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O133ppiVnWY">“Arithmetic, Population and Energy” by Professor Albert Bartlett</a>.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Al famously states that “The greatest shortcoming of the human race
is our inability to understand the exponential function”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Another
good book to plug, sadly not a free one, and this one is more of a
reference manual: <a href="http://booklocker.com/books/6175.html"><i>Scarcity</i> by Christopher Clugston</a> makes a
strong case for the threats posed by some of our most critical
non-renewable resources becoming scarce.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">You
can also find a shorter and more optimistic appraisal of the subject
in <a href="https://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com/education/"><i>TZM Defined</i></a>, pages 217-222.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Imagine
the implications if we couldn't make half as much concrete as we used
to, or hit a limit on the rare-earth magnets used to build generators
of all types, or a rare element critical to efficient solar panels or
computers…</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">All
while we need to revamp our whole economy as quickly as possible!</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">This
decade's daftest market bubble: Asteroid Mining, supported by people
who either have no idea <a href="https://what-if.xkcd.com/7/">just how much energy it takes</a> to bring things into and out of Earth's gravity well, or expect
us to have a working space-elevator sometime in the next <i>decade</i>
rather than <i>century</i>.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">The
challenges with renewable power that we hear about most often are
things like the intermittency of wind power and the range of electric
vehicles, but I'd like to talk about some of the larger-order
economic-scale problems that don't get discussed, boiling down to
supply and demand.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">While
we hear plenty about how there is enough solar or wind potential to
meet our current needs several times over, (see TZM Defined, p190
onwards) little is said about how easy it will be to actually put the
generators in place, due to popular ignorance on the energy cost of
doing so, as I'll get to shortly.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">I
don't discuss climate change here, partly because it won't
fit into the presentation, but mostly because it's unnecessary to
make my case, and only makes the situation even more urgent.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/potholer54/videos">Peter Hadfield's YT channel</a> already does a fantastic job of providing</span><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;"> clear explanations on some of the confused 'controversy' surrounding climate science.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">If
you want to know <i>how bad</i> the situation with our climate could
possibly be, for instance with methane hydrate deposits in the Arctic
coastlines now evaporating and causing localised warming that could
soon melt what is left of our thinned northern ice cap, you should
have a look at <a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.co.uk/">Arctic News blogspot</a>.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">However,
be warned that while presenting some hard evidence that they claim is overlooked by the IPCC, I think their
outlook for human society (possible near-term “extinction”) is
overly pessimistic, <i>even</i> for 10 degrees average temperature rise from pre-industrial levels, causing famines via desertification, and world war driven by mass climatic exodus; because they discount human ability to adapt and
support a lower population (which could still mean a lot of dead people) in desertified regions with
climate-controlled spaces using existing greenhouse and heat-pump technology, or the efficacy of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_greening">desert greening</a>,
in an opposite extreme to the kind of futurists who assume that carbon capture
technology will make everything rosy for them with no effort required
on their part. We must avoid assumptions, but reality could easily look more like one extreme than the other depending on how effectively we change minds.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">If
there is <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/arctic-circle-wildfires-rage-on-as-blistering-heat-takes-hold-of-northern-europe-11443819" title="link added retrospectively">much truth</a> to their hypotheses then I'll say again, the situation becomes extremely urgent.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">The
Supply vs Demand Stack:</span></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">In
more bad news of debatable pessimism, the climax of Sustainable
Energy Without the Hot Air asks whether we in Britain <a href="http://www.withouthotair.com/c18/page_103.shtml">can live on only renewable energy</a> available within our borders, by stacking up
and comparing our current energy consumption with those potentials,
and the summation is grim, but makes clear some areas to make
savings:</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvG_t_2wTOFVIedkBwJyi1phv4bZ5AffBXwSjzjPUgVchsNlHKWPqN7AIXtiQPYj1HcZhnOJhFaHSQINUGPYcPMCmhSMPB-_xpvdFKjN1wz6f9pBnV2N4lsWL0pYIvMGlmpRFBhBp6EJM/s1600/withouthotairfigure125balance.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="743" data-original-width="218" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvG_t_2wTOFVIedkBwJyi1phv4bZ5AffBXwSjzjPUgVchsNlHKWPqN7AIXtiQPYj1HcZhnOJhFaHSQINUGPYcPMCmhSMPB-_xpvdFKjN1wz6f9pBnV2N4lsWL0pYIvMGlmpRFBhBp6EJM/s640/withouthotairfigure125balance.png" width="186" /></a></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">The
estimates indicate that Britain is using more energy than it could
plausibly generate renewably with current technology, making the
island over-populated and dependent on energy imports.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">However,
a lot of that energy use is wasteful due to consumerism, inefficient
old heating systems, a medieval transport system (why do you think
they call it a <i>carriageway</i>?) messily hacked together with
digital-age technology, and space-wasting agricultural conventions.<a href="#5">[5]</a></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">This
provides a useful examination of what is possible and practical, but
barely touches on what is affordable with our existing resources.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">For
an example of wasteful imports, can someone please tell me why some
of the cheapest apples that I see on supermarket shelves come from
South Africa or even New Zealand?</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">What
kind of mercantile trade deals must be put in place to make such
absurdity possible?</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Embodied
Energy:</span></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">But
as you can see there, transporting stuff around isn't the only energy
that goes into production, nor even anywhere near the largest
portion.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Whether
reducing ores then casting or forming metal, polymerising organic
fluids to then mould into plastic goods, or sawing up trees into
planks, energy has been used to produce the material for every object
around you.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Fo3TvYkNXWo4sUdy9gLz9D0cYfOyjZ495_Qpav1vV2XaM0LLylcCMdwGp43OwIavMaRDctIDQTTX7Ai8vAYBF8od2A_dFuXR1azuLoW6i_oGuk5WRn9Dv-34rWbB-W9JEpJqoo-55Io/s1600/682px-WTC-Steel-Recycling-Into-USS-New-York.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1023" data-original-width="682" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Fo3TvYkNXWo4sUdy9gLz9D0cYfOyjZ495_Qpav1vV2XaM0LLylcCMdwGp43OwIavMaRDctIDQTTX7Ai8vAYBF8od2A_dFuXR1azuLoW6i_oGuk5WRn9Dv-34rWbB-W9JEpJqoo-55Io/s400/682px-WTC-Steel-Recycling-Into-USS-New-York.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Pouring recycled steel. <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Navy_030910-N-7542D-254_Workers_from_the_Amite_foundry_pour_molten_steel_recycled_from_the_World_Trade_Center,_into_the_mold_of_the_bow_stem_of_the_Amphibious_Transport_Dock_ship_USS_New_York_(LPD_21).jpg">Photo: US Navy.</a> Note the almost white-hot sparks – reaching
any steel's melting temperature of well over 1000°C requires either
a blast furnace or graphite electrodes and a <i>lot</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
of electricity.</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEAgfMw7mb_jP8Nr3pmlzT4Tk8ztNaE424zCV1RCvUwVSDOPk1UFrsx3rJzrPChLWLMK24OOkg5EKvy04oq5T9y6kMBS5ZFQnFTpx_SAz8aKZXS3LcztyCQ4fKUYp0s9vWDuuAxVb6iPA/s1600/Traditional_sawmill_-_Jerome%252C_Arizona_-_cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="560" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEAgfMw7mb_jP8Nr3pmlzT4Tk8ztNaE424zCV1RCvUwVSDOPk1UFrsx3rJzrPChLWLMK24OOkg5EKvy04oq5T9y6kMBS5ZFQnFTpx_SAz8aKZXS3LcztyCQ4fKUYp0s9vWDuuAxVb6iPA/s320/Traditional_sawmill_-_Jerome%252C_Arizona_-_cropped.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Rip-sawing wood into planks. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Traditional_sawmill_-_Jerome,_Arizona.jpg">Photo: Andrew Dunn</a></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Embodied</span>
Energy (EE) is the amount of energy needed to make and bring these
materials to a factory, before turning them into products.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Here
are just a few examples of the embodied energy of different materials that I've put together from <a href="http://www.organicexplorer.co.nz/site/organicexplore/files/ICE%20Version%201.6a.pdf">Bath University's Inventory of Carbon and Energy</a>:</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj338jWtkAzM70YawqhDwAQWmpXw5JnMfRQRK7BiwUvLDmtW4oInJ1b-wKKzqvE0myv9htKP5ZdQUUAiRZDGW1F3FsQWTM7Grw7lPm5WqfhjlL_8upAbpGlUe6SBu6BPHtYVxHyYcF3uBA/s1600/EE-chart.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="567" data-original-width="605" height="373" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj338jWtkAzM70YawqhDwAQWmpXw5JnMfRQRK7BiwUvLDmtW4oInJ1b-wKKzqvE0myv9htKP5ZdQUUAiRZDGW1F3FsQWTM7Grw7lPm5WqfhjlL_8upAbpGlUe6SBu6BPHtYVxHyYcF3uBA/s400/EE-chart.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">*Where densities were not included in that text, I took rough values from wikipedia. The
'feedstock energy' is the amount of energy that would have been
contained in what the plastics were made of, whether oil or sugar, if
it had been burned as a fuel.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Most
of these values are fairly close averages, being quoted as about ±30%
at worst, but notice that for timber I have included the range of
values they found where this was significant, as it varied by a
factor of nearly 20!</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">This
difference was due to the delivery cost of wood, which shows just
what an excellent material it is when used locally, and hints at
another concern – how sustainable is wood-chip for a fuel if it has
to be delivered?</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">A
good rule of thumb could be that right now if you need to get fuel
shipped from another state, then getting a wood-fired boiler for heat
as a way to lower your carbon footprint would probably be some
moronic greenwashing.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Also
note that these materials have vastly different applications due to a
huge variance in things such as strength, conductivity and ability to
be recycled.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">For
instance, typical structural steel is roughly 10 times as strong as
HDPE bottle plastic, which is why, as with the concrete bridge that
recently collapsed in Florida when a crack was visible before its
steel suspension cables had been installed, conventional steel-framed
buildings can have high safety factors (ability to safely hold a few
times more weight than they are designed for), do not collapse until
you have cut through the beams holding them together, and being more
ductile, steel bends visibly when over-loaded, long before cracking
and breaking apart.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">So
although a lot more energy may go into forming metals; if properly
applied in design so that you have more than twice the strength
necessary, products can end up lasting hundreds or thousands of times
longer than if they were only barely strong enough.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">This
is regularly abused by companies in order to produce cheap items that
barely work, but break down quickly, creating a poverty trap for
those who can't afford better implements.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Anyone
who still doubts the existence of <span style="font-style: normal;">planned</span>
obsolescence should try using goods from a pound/dollar shop, as we
did in my student days.<a href="#6">[6]</a></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Energy
Investment:</span></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">This
energy cost is related to the energy industry by the term “Energy
Return On Energy Invested”, which if you are familiar at all with
investment jargon, contains the commonly used term “Return On
Investment” or ROI, referring to a ratio of how much money a
parasite expects to gain via different types of stock or usury.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">In
this case the term EROEI, as used in Our Renewable Future, refers to
the amount of useful energy that you expect to generate after
expending some to access it.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">So
whether you're drilling a well to access a geothermal potential or
fossil fuel deposit, then refining and transporting that fuel, or
processing various materials to make solar panels and wind turbines,
you need to first use up some energy to get any back, and the
relative amounts vary with each type of system and its location.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg33KB2mjAJ_PsJBP9ubbkBkETyWZsLKcYEqCQeTa0jUEp5ratFdUvCzvvSuu-mShS7M48hSMWUFl3us3oOYHkgHmQwHe5ttiojLRXZhBoEe2BZFCbbeu_BOjv6DJ6D7xyiTqWaV8oK71s/s1600/PV_Manufacture+-+cheetah-exchange.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="862" data-original-width="1200" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg33KB2mjAJ_PsJBP9ubbkBkETyWZsLKcYEqCQeTa0jUEp5ratFdUvCzvvSuu-mShS7M48hSMWUFl3us3oOYHkgHmQwHe5ttiojLRXZhBoEe2BZFCbbeu_BOjv6DJ6D7xyiTqWaV8oK71s/s400/PV_Manufacture+-+cheetah-exchange.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">PV Solar Panel Manufacture Process. <a href="https://www.cheetah-exchange.eu/pv_technologies.asp?i=20">Diagram: Cheetah Exchange</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">What's
especially important about this is that in light of previous points,
with the likelihood of oil taking increasingly more investment to
obtain, combined with the continually growing demand for energy, we
have potential for a severe crisis situation on our hands.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">According
to a 2013 study at Stanford University, all solar PV installed until
2010 was a net energy sink, due to the energy cost of manufacturing
and installing it.<a href="#7">[7]</a></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">That
sounds strange; you might think “hang on, but solar panels pay off
over a matter of years, and we've been making them for decades”,
and that is true financially, but earlier panels had a relatively
poor pay-back period, the rate at which panels have been produced has
been slowly accelerating, and they were built using fossil fuel
energy, keeping the price down and enabling that fast growth.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">If
you think about it, some PV panels might never generate more energy
than it took to make them, for instance those tiny ones on scientific
calculators, and that's fine, as they are just there for the
convenience of not having to change batteries, which are overall an
energy sink to the economy.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">How
fast would we be able to increase our solar capacity if we had no oil
or gas left to heat the furnaces used to make them?</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">For
any energy source to be useful, it needs to have an EROEI of at least
3:1,<a href="#8">[8]</a> whereas back in the days when you could drill a hole
in a field in Texas and oil would gush out, prospectors got an energy
return of about 100:1, which decreased as wells dried up and had to
be pumped, and people had to drill deeper.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">These
days we can get ratios of about 19:1 and 10:1 from wind<a href="#9">[9]</a>
and solar<a href="#10">[10]</a> respectively, but that is heavily dependent on
location.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Intermittency:</span></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Now,
the most commonly referenced problem, intermittency, is quite
self-explanatory so long as you know what is meant by the word.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Simply
put, harvesting energy from earth systems that vary in output from
one hour to the next makes them unreliable on their own, at least
compared to 'dispatchable' gas generators and hydro-electric turbines
that can meet grid demand at almost a moment's notice.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">This
chart<a href="#11">[11]</a> shows how chaotic wind and solar power are in
particular:</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHvQ9g4vkcL3CKQikyraB9E4kzVNzluX5DahBnwj4d8Ja3KSDyGw-MhUHrFIb26ZgcrlOCn4w0WXeVvdevranOX4etwaEOaBxu3MUzmhHCsR1rhJeIes0d1BoTc4851iwp-OeK9uzEtjY/s1600/WEB-Figure-1-4-Monthly-weekly-daily-electricity-production.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="868" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHvQ9g4vkcL3CKQikyraB9E4kzVNzluX5DahBnwj4d8Ja3KSDyGw-MhUHrFIb26ZgcrlOCn4w0WXeVvdevranOX4etwaEOaBxu3MUzmhHCsR1rhJeIes0d1BoTc4851iwp-OeK9uzEtjY/s400/WEB-Figure-1-4-Monthly-weekly-daily-electricity-production.png" width="386" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ORF Figure 1.4. <span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Wind and solar power supplied to the German electric grid over 2013;
averaged over months, weeks and days.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">As
you can see here, there is a lot more solar power available during
summer months, as to be expected, which is good if you need to cool
your home in a hot climate, but not so useful if you more often need
to heat your home in a cold climate. Meanwhile, wind followed the
opposite pattern, which almost balanced that out on the monthly
chart, except for a couple of periods during winter when there was a
lull in the wind lasting for weeks at a time, and it is during these
periods that stored energy becomes crucial during cold winters as
mentioned previously.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Storage
and Adaptations:</span></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">But
of course, storing surplus electrical energy for later use tends to
involve yet more investment of energy.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN-4L2a7gVuzPwNEmtCH1hNWoDWAHKR1HDwD033HWbgd-dJPxgX_uevdStoUc0DxVQazclyQhyphenhyphenpM0fLq-MqQRvwM-7q-6u151Ko-DkmunD_syfhw00A0l6dSoPP9_9hmGwB8VDqxQAJfI/s1600/Pumpstor_racoon_mtn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="326" data-original-width="569" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN-4L2a7gVuzPwNEmtCH1hNWoDWAHKR1HDwD033HWbgd-dJPxgX_uevdStoUc0DxVQazclyQhyphenhyphenpM0fLq-MqQRvwM-7q-6u151Ko-DkmunD_syfhw00A0l6dSoPP9_9hmGwB8VDqxQAJfI/s400/Pumpstor_racoon_mtn.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumped-storage_hydroelectricity">Pumped-Hydro Storage - Wikipedia</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">This
brings us onto the concept of Energy Stored On Investment:</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">ESOI
(as used in ORF) means how much energy can be stored over a system's
lifetime for each amount used to build it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Chapter 3 of ORF gives example ESOI ratios for a few storage technologies:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Pumped-hydroelectric reservoirs: 210:1<a href="#12">[12]</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Hydrogen fuel cells: 59:1<a href="#13">[13]</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Lithium-ion batteries: 10:1<a href="#14">[14]</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Lead-acid batteries: 2:1<a href="#14">[14]</a></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">As
you can see, old lead-acid battery technology is abysmal in this
regard. However, while hydrogen storage may be cheaper to build, its
operation is far more wasteful, with a round-trip in the best
hydrogen systems leaving you with less than a third of the energy
originally fed to it.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Compare
this to lithium batteries with about 90% round-trip efficiency.<a href="#12">[12]</a></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Grid-timed
tariff schemes (like my current storage heating) can help people and
more importantly (due to their bigger share of per-capita usage)
<i>businesses</i> to save money while using energy effectively. When
paired with more efficient systems, such as heat pumps, the savings
are even greater.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Alternatively,
surplus energy can be transmitted between distant regions
experiencing entirely different weather, requiring yet more
infrastructure investment.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>“<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Almost
There”?</span></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">So
what do you think when you hear that a country is now getting nearly
all of its electricity from renewable sources?<a href="#15">[15]</a></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9PiR2JjcHAu4CzyCrs_g2HtSQrWUPOHPUFXHO6dfsxs5Pu4wMymTOMEIH6pNTdystCvtasS9FW1gLAqtczlKyjchUKqq103C-KKjeViqyhS9pN-haH4CkuElICmPRJFkmtmEZ8EgUJxw/s1600/WEB-Figure-11-1-2016-02-15-Electricity-generated-by-non-hydro-renewables-by-country-2014.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9PiR2JjcHAu4CzyCrs_g2HtSQrWUPOHPUFXHO6dfsxs5Pu4wMymTOMEIH6pNTdystCvtasS9FW1gLAqtczlKyjchUKqq103C-KKjeViqyhS9pN-haH4CkuElICmPRJFkmtmEZ8EgUJxw/s400/WEB-Figure-11-1-2016-02-15-Electricity-generated-by-non-hydro-renewables-by-country-2014.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">ORF Figure 11.1. Percentage of electricity generated by renewables in
selected countries, 2014.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">They're
already self-sufficient, or at least almost there and way ahead of
us?</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Well
I have some bad news for you, because it means very little due to how
we use fuels…</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMq4AIYASQPfrp1Of-yio8yWwnzRSOuzewDuk1JXuYczY7JWDUYw4zoYm_g8eqNdRrHz9ux1xXu2qRAeib8d6Nea9EWFnTRmDwhREeeCQllqucZP9djIyN__PZgmFSdpOp6wvIQTbcdzo/s1600/WEB-Figure-3-1-US-Final-Energy-Consumption-by-Fuel-2012.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="1000" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMq4AIYASQPfrp1Of-yio8yWwnzRSOuzewDuk1JXuYczY7JWDUYw4zoYm_g8eqNdRrHz9ux1xXu2qRAeib8d6Nea9EWFnTRmDwhREeeCQllqucZP9djIyN__PZgmFSdpOp6wvIQTbcdzo/s400/WEB-Figure-3-1-US-Final-Energy-Consumption-by-Fuel-2012.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">ORF Figure 3.1. U.S. final energy consumption by fuel type, 2012. NGL
= natural gas liquids; LPG = liquefied petroleum gas. Source: IEA and
U.S. EIA</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Most
of the energy used in the world is not used in the form of
electricity, but burned fuels. Similar to the breakdown of US energy
consumption here, the world average is about 19% of all energy
delivered as electricity, with a higher fraction in industrialised
countries, and a lower fraction in poorer countries that have not
fully rolled out an electric grid yet.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">This
means that most of our industries have yet to adapt to using
electricity, hydrogen, solar thermal power or some other form of
renewable energy.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">In
<i>Our Renewable Future</i>, the authors raise a very important point
of referring to electricity as “high-grade energy”, as it is so
easily transported and applied to many uses, and that anywhere we are
using electricity to directly heat something, as in an electric
radiator, is an unfortunate waste, since so much of our electricity
is generated from some heat source in the first place, and the
conversion to and from electricity appears pointless.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">So
in order to have a future at current energy consumption levels, not
only would we have to replace all of the fossil fuels powering our
electricity grids, but <i>5 times that much</i> by various energy
sources!</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Heat
Industry:</span></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">As
it turns out, a lot of that fuel is used to produce heat, and most of
that is for high temperature applications such as producing cement,
metals and firing bricks.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2g-27HfNlm9K_irCpc2vJS8-zCurCPk1CjOOn5hPNq4H4b05SLVJy14MRHTEK0O5uXryshp0UnDDGUXGnu28R1lhAK7WQhZFJ9cpFRNdWmzjczfWHEj4ZOtKlp_gJk_uWM7H5NsqE5lE/s1600/WEB-Figure-5-1-Temperatures-used-in-industrial-processes.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="596" data-original-width="1000" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2g-27HfNlm9K_irCpc2vJS8-zCurCPk1CjOOn5hPNq4H4b05SLVJy14MRHTEK0O5uXryshp0UnDDGUXGnu28R1lhAK7WQhZFJ9cpFRNdWmzjczfWHEj4ZOtKlp_gJk_uWM7H5NsqE5lE/s400/WEB-Figure-5-1-Temperatures-used-in-industrial-processes.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ORF Figure 5.1 – Temperatures used in industrial processes.<a href="#16">[16]</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Some
high-temperature processes can be fed directly by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concentrated_solar_power">concentrated solar energy</a>, however very few of these facilities exist, they will
again take a huge energy investment to construct, and for processes
such as cement, ceramics and some chemical production that require
the temperature to be kept very stable, you can only do this
somewhere with no clouds! That restriction would then mean more
energy costs to deliver the products.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Charcoal
can be used to smelt steel; the temperature you reach depends not so
much on the fuel as on having high-pressure air fed to it, hence the
name “blast furnace”. However, there is nowhere near enough wood
to meet current steel recycling needs.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">To
quote Our Renewable Future, Chapter 5:</span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">charcoal-based
smelting still flourishes in Brazil, which has large iron deposits
but little domestic coal. It is the world’s largest producer of
charcoal and the ninth biggest steel producer. About half of Brazil’s
charcoal industry relies on plantations of fast-growing eucalyptus,
cultivated specifically for the purpose, with the rest sourced from
native forests through deforestation and from the use of sawmill
by-products. While in medieval Europe charcoal-making was a cottage
industry, Brazil has scaled up the process to encompass thousands of
charcoal kilns operating at any one time.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">But
could other countries do what Brazil does? Probably not. During the
nineteenth century, when charcoal was still widely used industrially
in the United States and elsewhere, forests were being cut at a rate
far above that of regrowth. Meanwhile, we were producing only a small
fraction of the steel being made today. There is, quite simply, not
enough forest in the world to enable this option to be deployed on a
large scale. Just compare China’s annual steel production (over 800
million tons) with Brazil’s (34 million tons) and consider the fact
that Brazil’s carbon emissions from steel production have increased
in recent years due to deforestation, even though the proportion of
coal</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">used
declined. To supply the charcoal needed by the steel industry
entirely from renewable, plantation-grown trees, an additional 1.8
million hectares of land (4.4 million acres) would need to be
dedicated to charcoal production. 9 And we haven’t even considered
using charcoal for production of cement and for other
high-temperature processes.”</span></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">This
means that either far more electricity would be needed to provide
this heat in future, or we will have far less steel available, and we
must repurpose some of the vast majority of our agricultural land
that is wastefully used to feed cattle, into managed forestry, as
orchards can produce not only an easily-sustainable protein & oil
source from nuts, but can also yield high-quality hardwoods at the
end of a tree's useful life, substantially stronger than fast-growing
pine.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Transport:</span></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Now
let's look at transportation, and you might think “that's easy,
electric cars are already practical”, but I'm not talking about
cars here. Although they make up the vast majority of road vehicles,
they barely make up half our energy usage in transportation, if that,
while the rest comes from moving goods and materials around, whether
by the huge cargo ships shown earlier, heavy trucks, or via planes
for faster delivery times.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMkzoe975JikJStyhcVvHITtWWkTNvKrLqJdMBc9DD0sWkEg2xPiVrbBUfq3Z4qGR4Fi8mKRl-G9J_QY_8t7ZgcjzMmhOJiIA2OMGv6JhTHUYm8X2-uZlIvs3RuSDD1EUvXm4O38ScpDE/s1600/WEB-Figure-1-3-Volumetric-and-gravimetric-density-of-fuels.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="862" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMkzoe975JikJStyhcVvHITtWWkTNvKrLqJdMBc9DD0sWkEg2xPiVrbBUfq3Z4qGR4Fi8mKRl-G9J_QY_8t7ZgcjzMmhOJiIA2OMGv6JhTHUYm8X2-uZlIvs3RuSDD1EUvXm4O38ScpDE/s400/WEB-Figure-1-3-Volumetric-and-gravimetric-density-of-fuels.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">ORF Figure 1.3. Volumetric and Gravimetric Density of Fuels</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">This
graph compares the energy density by volume and by weight of
different fuels and storage media, which means that points on the
left side of the graph tend to be very heavy for a given stored
energy, and so could not be used in aircraft, while points at the
bottom take up a lot of space for a given energy, and so would force
any vehicle to be built bigger to accommodate, or have most of its
space taken up by fuel tanks with very little left for passengers or
cargo.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Important
caveat: this does not include the system used to store the fuel, so
while hydrogen alone may have great weight efficiency, the tanks used
to store it at such pressure as to keep it in liquid form without
exploding have a considerable impact on its energy density, depending
on the size of the tank.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">I
should also re-iterate the difference in operational efficiency –
batteries running motors lose 10-20% of the energy they are charged
with, while hydrogen engines lose about 70% of the energy input,
mostly from the process of producing it by electrolysis, and
combustion engines lose about 60% through heat and noise.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Meanwhile,
there is something important missing here because it's so far off the
graph that putting it on even a logarithmic scale would mean
squashing these until it's hard to make sense of them, so I rather
prefer this bar chart to drive the point home:</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3XIbE6pu5vgJBDLp9w8ZJFkXVwPs7WjBsgUGo-5y-h5_4LtZWLoBlJmtd7DZNLds_XMd7U-dhTjCny0tH0aymL01TcJ6UGuCXX-0fBTEQnBF4KcGQczjahCzJg_kC8n-ojZJT8jYbWtU/s1600/xkcd_log_scale_1162.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="508" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3XIbE6pu5vgJBDLp9w8ZJFkXVwPs7WjBsgUGo-5y-h5_4LtZWLoBlJmtd7DZNLds_XMd7U-dhTjCny0tH0aymL01TcJ6UGuCXX-0fBTEQnBF4KcGQczjahCzJg_kC8n-ojZJT8jYbWtU/s400/xkcd_log_scale_1162.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">from <a href="http://xkcd.com/1162">xkcd.com/1162</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">This
difference in energy density in is why it has made sense to displace
enormous amounts of earth, grind it up and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enriched_uranium">separate it in centrifuges</a>
in order to obtain the right isotope of this one rare element,
uranium.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">To
be clear, that is, the process of controlled fission in a nuclear
reactor provides literally <i>over a million times more energy</i>
per kilogram of fuel than a petroleum combustion engine does.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">You
might be wondering why I bring this up in a section on transport,
when nuclear reactors tend to be heavy, expensive machines buried
underground, requiring a lot of time and resource investment, which
brings me to nuclear shipping.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Nuclear
Shipping:</span></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">When
most people think of nuclear power at sea, they probably think of
nuclear submarines, and even then might be thinking of missiles and
not propulsion systems.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">However,
nuclear-powered ships have been operating successfully for decades
now, in roles that demand long endurance between refuelling, such as
on icebreakers and aircraft carriers.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzym-DSCfgrsMd0k-CoNyg1vnF_DiV29pTGAz13-c2qlq3GlZkAwmNIdDBDgP204ERE_OTHxzJhRJS08tHeJpjV1J4nUcrL6YIKJaybmwvD3ukvIAA3xCjYqblQ4iaOul2xS0qxgZorb4/s1600/800px-Sevmorput_croptight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="800" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzym-DSCfgrsMd0k-CoNyg1vnF_DiV29pTGAz13-c2qlq3GlZkAwmNIdDBDgP204ERE_OTHxzJhRJS08tHeJpjV1J4nUcrL6YIKJaybmwvD3ukvIAA3xCjYqblQ4iaOul2xS0qxgZorb4/s400/800px-Sevmorput_croptight.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sevmorput">Sevmorput</a>, an icebreaker-cargo ship.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">These
were designed to provide more fragile ships with passage through
thick sheets of Arctic and Antarctic sea-ice, but a major milestone in global warming was already achieved in the winter that just passed, as the Arctic sea-ice has <i>thinned so much</i> that a normal cargo ship was able to <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/arctic-sea-route-first-ship-no-icebreaker-winter-icebergs-ice-shelf-teekay-russia-a8208596.html">make the northern passage in winter without an icebreaker for the first time</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">The
first and most famous example of a nuclear-powered cargo ship was the
NS Savannah, proposed by President Dwight Eisenhower to showcase
peaceful uses of nuclear power.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3-YY_zuuneGeTrqI46j7sWMrU2iD6ou9ZjwAn3mZiT2dP1TtAmWSzYJKuY1vWtC83HoTcwJhBppzm1Z17AMwXp1Pl_80rLJ-JwCkiuNMWFzDFiyz-wq0T7z5qkQEViwqJsf6Sa7VolUg/s1600/NSsavannah-1962.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="728" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3-YY_zuuneGeTrqI46j7sWMrU2iD6ou9ZjwAn3mZiT2dP1TtAmWSzYJKuY1vWtC83HoTcwJhBppzm1Z17AMwXp1Pl_80rLJ-JwCkiuNMWFzDFiyz-wq0T7z5qkQEViwqJsf6Sa7VolUg/s400/NSsavannah-1962.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NS_Savannah">NS Savannah</a> passing under the Golden Gate bridge.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;"></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">A
dual role of cargo and luxury cruise-liner made operation expensive,
and she was only in service from 1962 to 1972, right before the 1973
Oil Crisis that could have made nuclear cargo ships price-competitive
with diesel vessels.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">For
more info on the relationships behind that oil crisis, see the
fantastic documentary <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRbq63r7rys"><i>Bitter Lake</i> by Adam Curtis</a> (<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p02gyz6b/adam-curtis-bitter-lake">BBC iPlayer alternative link</a>).</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Now,
I'm not proposing this as a solution, but merely pointing out that as
oil becomes more scarce, air transport becomes unaffordable, and
after we have solved most land-transport with some combination of
rail and road, until a hyperloop/et3 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vactrain">vactrain</a> system can be built, we
need something to fill that gap for international transport. It is
quite likely that we will see a resurgence in this technology as
corporations cling to global trade. This could lead to a security
risk with increased payoff for pirates, causing more <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Range_Acoustic_Device">LRAD</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Denial_System">ADS</a> weapons to be used on them.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">However,
there is of course a clean renewable alternative
to this with wind power, but I don't mean the good old fashioned wooden tall-ships famous
of the age of sail.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Wind
Shipping:</span></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">A
modernisation of this is the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kite_rig">Kite Rig</a>, which is exactly what it
sounds like, where you fly a kite from a ship:</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYj9XfG1byObSt44jXYAtS92_NaVVaBHw70Q8RvlLflIBhc-Aimmyyr1VX_YHCtHJXs9_6MlamVOiH257BJmELaFnK8FyCQMe8B9-P_ISVe69vkttanW0ssurZ3MgpFpO5iRtSEMXv_wI/s1600/768px-Theseus-Quelle_WesselsReederei.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYj9XfG1byObSt44jXYAtS92_NaVVaBHw70Q8RvlLflIBhc-Aimmyyr1VX_YHCtHJXs9_6MlamVOiH257BJmELaFnK8FyCQMe8B9-P_ISVe69vkttanW0ssurZ3MgpFpO5iRtSEMXv_wI/s640/768px-Theseus-Quelle_WesselsReederei.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I can't even see the wires at this resolution O_o <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Theseus-Quelle_WesselsReederei.jpg">Photo: Reederei Wessels</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">By
the same reason that turbines are fitted atop high towers (because
the wind is faster up there where the ground is not <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boundary_layer">slowing it down</a>),
a much smaller area of kite than sail is needed for the same thrust,
with an overall material saving compared to heavy masts rigged to the
deck. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airborne_wind_turbine">A similar concept</a> has also been floated for direct power generation.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Another
example is the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotor_ship">rotor-sail or Flettner rotor</a>, a system where the
Magnus effect, that is, the lift generated by a cylinder rotating in
a crosswind, can be used to add thrust without any complex rigging
arrangement, by simply controlling the speed and direction of the cylinder(s) rotation.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBfTJtrbPKCA0EeO4xfBA7hB5mZnad6CdjVt4jel1QMx2SY_0G9ADEoMQwAABihpS17xq5ROS7YjiRc3-cnUQbw211Ip9Uv-ocM5lLkDZPc-JicLoKkg-lYz_7fn1RAiB4uE2lWqGC-p8/s1600/E-Ship_1_%252820037221244%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBfTJtrbPKCA0EeO4xfBA7hB5mZnad6CdjVt4jel1QMx2SY_0G9ADEoMQwAABihpS17xq5ROS7YjiRc3-cnUQbw211Ip9Uv-ocM5lLkDZPc-JicLoKkg-lYz_7fn1RAiB4uE2lWqGC-p8/s400/E-Ship_1_%252820037221244%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Wind power, (partially) delivered by wind power. <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:E-Ship_1_(20037221244).jpg">Photo: Alan Jamieson</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Better
yet, both of these systems are highly automated, so even though they
may only offer power while the wind is blowing, there is opportunity
to save a lot of energy and man-hours with a fleet of automated ships
bringing bulk cargo, if it makes sense to trade off delivery time.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Unfortunately,
with modern corporations obsessing over their schedules and profit,
these are currently only used in tandem with conventional combustion
engines, in order to provide around 15-25% fuel savings.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Whatever propulsion is used, so long as we want to move things between continents then shipping is very much here to stay until we build something better, as MacKay <a href="http://www.withouthotair.com/c15/page_92.shtml">showed, shipping is one of our most efficient modes of transport</a> in terms of energy used per ton-kilometre, alongside conventional rail, which is a bit faster.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Agriculture:</span></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Just
a couple of centuries ago it used to be the case that a quarter of
our farm land fed draft animals, who then ploughed the fields for us.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Biwq5XMsTm9jbE-45MMysni6DdeAYeGHbuf60yBJpoEOxpVMJxRurHM92qb2RnhEEhr__Z_yjbojYvE1UkGXYcRQuo2R_pA48xbDlWGZoL_Ov-GtM-AhsSGUWSIP_FeFP0hKvEZQjfU/s1600/Ox_Plough.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Biwq5XMsTm9jbE-45MMysni6DdeAYeGHbuf60yBJpoEOxpVMJxRurHM92qb2RnhEEhr__Z_yjbojYvE1UkGXYcRQuo2R_pA48xbDlWGZoL_Ov-GtM-AhsSGUWSIP_FeFP0hKvEZQjfU/s400/Ox_Plough.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">This quaint image to us is still a reality in poorer southern nations where
people cannot afford tractors. <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ox_Plough.jpg">Photo: Muni-Muti</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;"></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Now
we use more than 7 calories of fossil-fuel energy for every calorie
of food that we produce:<a href="#17">[17]</a></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwQcS8Hk4mWf9sE2U5Z8Yjoxdk2oKSZheZS1jVXNY7t-T4r71mCi488D7xzFupHSiex6ZU7vNeU9E5-ua-xB7Tj6OaO3qUTXCq2nvmF6QYcIaO-dgMCPX6jzr92pU0SB8F1yMx9GBNrkc/s1600/WEB-Figure-2-7-Food-System-Energy-Use.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="661" data-original-width="882" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwQcS8Hk4mWf9sE2U5Z8Yjoxdk2oKSZheZS1jVXNY7t-T4r71mCi488D7xzFupHSiex6ZU7vNeU9E5-ua-xB7Tj6OaO3qUTXCq2nvmF6QYcIaO-dgMCPX6jzr92pU0SB8F1yMx9GBNrkc/s400/WEB-Figure-2-7-Food-System-Energy-Use.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">ORF Figure 2.7. Energy Inputs and Outputs in the US Food System</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">I
am not implying that energy usage in food production has become
worse, as energy content is not a great gauge of nutrition,
refrigeration reduces overall waste and has gradually become more
efficient, and because of that saving, per person, less land is being used for most foods
(except for meat, where most of the energy gets lost, as animals
wander around doing what animals do before getting butchered).</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">However,
this chart highlights the impact of our food production industry and
just how dependent it is on fossil fuels right now, never mind that
conventional fertiliser-based monoculture (single-crop) farms are turning land into
desert with this method, as flattened planes of soil experience high run-off during heavy rains, both losing topsoil and poisoning waterways at the same time.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqrkaJdZJkd3oTAyBuNkKdIVPlMTdT9lZgsdp7hrgegT9WGB54nS_6cP2jn5q07jrdWFR0XYfTMOEStxJVplx6VlDlD0OpkKCaDgkpzSTpy1SwTyG-7pyRjeFNv6rhEgsmh_R_6aoN66s/s1600/A_farmer_tilling_his_field_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1761803.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqrkaJdZJkd3oTAyBuNkKdIVPlMTdT9lZgsdp7hrgegT9WGB54nS_6cP2jn5q07jrdWFR0XYfTMOEStxJVplx6VlDlD0OpkKCaDgkpzSTpy1SwTyG-7pyRjeFNv6rhEgsmh_R_6aoN66s/s400/A_farmer_tilling_his_field_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1761803.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">A Farmer Tilling His Field in Norfolk, using conventional methods. <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_farmer_tilling_his_field_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1761803.jpg">Photo: Evelyn Simak</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">These methods have been found to deplete topsoil at a rate over 10 times greater than natural processes are replacing it, compared to no-till methods, which are much closer to replacement rate and more easily sustainable.</span><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;"><a href="#18">[18]</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">We
can now save a lot of water, fertiliser and energy with hydroponic
growing, but not all of our foods are suitable for this kind of
system, especially tree crops, and the energy investment cost just for greenhouses is
enormous, never mind to build new urban vertical farms (so perhaps we should retrofit some <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/30_St_Mary_Axe">glass towers</a> after kicking out the office drones?).</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTMh2rsvnB1mb29xWb18nO-HCCFSeG0xc9_kdhO5uva7DmdaihV3ZKDAw0THNCTG03J0uCRDN8FbNjjikCgQIPlMF3pw3rJv8CqjAKxOMpP30_R71hZV0eN4v5Jvn5e3uRQnPiOptuEiI/s1600/800px-Hydroponic_g11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="800" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTMh2rsvnB1mb29xWb18nO-HCCFSeG0xc9_kdhO5uva7DmdaihV3ZKDAw0THNCTG03J0uCRDN8FbNjjikCgQIPlMF3pw3rJv8CqjAKxOMpP30_R71hZV0eN4v5Jvn5e3uRQnPiOptuEiI/s400/800px-Hydroponic_g11.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Tomatoes grown hydroponically in a greenhouse, on straw bales. <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hydroponic_g11.jpg">Photo: </a></span><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hydroponic_g11.jpg"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Giancarlo Dessì</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;"></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">So
again, our quickest savings here can be made <a href="http://www.cowspiracy.com/infographic">by eating less meat and dairy</a>, but
in the long run, we need to localise our food production with the
above systems and polyculture methods that minimise pest problems,
and better application of hydrology with Permaculture design, so as
to retain water in the ground and ponds instead of allowing it to run
off from flat areas, which damages topsoil and makes floods worse.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Then,
if we can find an interim solution to the inefficient distribution of
market systems that leave billions malnourished, such as a Universal
Basic Income, we might get a handle on the remaining food waste.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOPFlWP955PLcvQ1-LU6rQ75m4SpzL2vYIC1n1tfvQ6LeJykjWtwnyJOwwVqk1Lk33I68vVyTXuXmjtfDauma883kX7ZVq0R54hnwQRWcZ9pSJ9bZpjA1Kzo8UI05jP1-voR-gOqg6-pM/s1600/Rotten_Oranges.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOPFlWP955PLcvQ1-LU6rQ75m4SpzL2vYIC1n1tfvQ6LeJykjWtwnyJOwwVqk1Lk33I68vVyTXuXmjtfDauma883kX7ZVq0R54hnwQRWcZ9pSJ9bZpjA1Kzo8UI05jP1-voR-gOqg6-pM/s320/Rotten_Oranges.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yuck. That could at least have been diverted and preserved as marmalade if real local demand information (online orders) controlled distribution instead of price/profit-based central planning. <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rotten_Oranges.JPG">Photo: Wormsandstuff</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">How
much do we waste?</span></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">You've
probably heard plenty about how much we are wasting from various
charities that go on about it every day (or one of the many reports
in recent years from the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation on
how we keep producing enough food (on a crude energy-based measure)
for about 10 billion people, but waste lots of it and still leave
around a billion people starving or severely malnourished), so I
won't waste space feeding you all the statistics, but just for a
brief flavour:</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Only
9% of our waste plastic is recycled worldwide, after creating 8.3
<i>billion</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> tons of it, of which
6.3bn now exists as waste.</span><a href="#19">[19]</a></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivTfije0HabgC2_LL7y6V62UBR2Bj1nqUCL-369mMARnPyfnnSJ84wDkT5D89Q2wabYvNdZPoaT5xRRtt0ab1-80O3yYLlQe1cQTyOA7IJyocrhscYq0ZRK57y0cfA-wbRhrVavOTU1jU/s1600/Waste_electrical_c.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivTfije0HabgC2_LL7y6V62UBR2Bj1nqUCL-369mMARnPyfnnSJ84wDkT5D89Q2wabYvNdZPoaT5xRRtt0ab1-80O3yYLlQe1cQTyOA7IJyocrhscYq0ZRK57y0cfA-wbRhrVavOTU1jU/s400/Waste_electrical_c.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Electrical items at a dump. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Waste_electrical_c.png">Photo: Wikiworld2</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Only
16% of our <i>electrical waste</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
is recycled, despite a strong legislative push to end this.</span><a href="#20">[20]</a></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">There
are about 1.2 billion cars in the world, and car-sharing schemes (not
that unregulated-taxi 'uber' nonsense) have shown that each car
included tends to take 15 off the road.<a href="#21">[21]</a></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZh368GMubwKUOxQ1TkhpQUbE3DMaa27uOM50gWkBxu-W61QZkOTvMOESgnBDXfrjvSuIe9gSq_Yfk5Q_E6UWmLjt8ONBJcj33qAKJ3QeRtaiuDkbxhZstoV-i7X6eB6M24HMRWMVnzhQ/s1600/lemmings1%255B24%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="640" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZh368GMubwKUOxQ1TkhpQUbE3DMaa27uOM50gWkBxu-W61QZkOTvMOESgnBDXfrjvSuIe9gSq_Yfk5Q_E6UWmLjt8ONBJcj33qAKJ3QeRtaiuDkbxhZstoV-i7X6eB6M24HMRWMVnzhQ/s400/lemmings1%255B24%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Original source unknown</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">A
certain level of hoarding is seen as normal in this culture, whereas
most of humanity's time on this earth as nomadic hunter-gatherers
involved keeping as few possessions as possible.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Market
economies are founded upon an assumption that was valid a few hundred
years ago, that goods were scarce and therefore few people could own
them, while resources were abundant, and therefore entrepreneurs
ought not to be restricted from exploiting them.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">The evolution of capitalism has now produced the opposite reality,
where due to the insanity of trying to make one of
everything for everyone, there are far more goods than we can
possibly use at once, and the gigantic industrial system that has
produced them now threatens its own existence with resource
shortages.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">However,
when looking at the enormous waste of unused goods around us, you can
begin to take a different perspective on scarcity, that in fact <i>there
may not be many resources left to dig out of the ground, but plenty
of them all around us to be recycled</i>, if we can just muster the
energy and collective will to do so.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">So
now I'd like to transport you to a distant point in space-time, a
wondrous place where you can get your most basic needs met for free:</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/SlQH2bgr-S4/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SlQH2bgr-S4?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">"<i>Water</i>", Limmy's Show</span><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;"> (Except some git has now blocked it here on copyright grounds. You can probably still get to it on a YT download site.)</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Of
course, the situation shouldn't be over-simplified, as in reality we
wage-slaves pay a flat rate to Scottish Water in order to use however
much we need without metering, because it is an abundant resource
here, while anyone on a job-seeker's pittance gets a reduction in the
rate.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">But
who tries to hoard and sell something just because is has no marginal
cost, that is, all additional water comes for free?</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Well,
not humans and not here, but in California they recently had a
problem with mega-corporation Nestle bottling water in the middle of
a drought, while Coca Cola have been destroying some of India's
groundwater resources for years.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">What
I want to talk about is creating social arrangements where our
different needs are met by voluntary associations at no necessary
financial cost, due to the practically zero marginal cost of their
upkeep using renewable energy.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Some
of the biggest differences could be made by changes in government
policy, for instance in ORF, the authors gave many examples of ways
that governments can support a renewable transition, through <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feed-in_tariff">Feed-In Tariffs</a> (with examples of where and why that failed or succeeded such
as Spain and Germany respectively), or various carbon taxation
schemes where some of the revenue is dedicated to renewables projects
or fed back to citizens and community initiatives.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">However,
since the current conservative government around here have shown
their stupidity by cutting feed-in tariffs, I have little to no hope
in them being of help any time soon, and I want to talk more about
projects that we can all start up and get involved in, seeing results
on the ground long before established parliamentarians learn that
they have been lied to by fossil fuel lobbyists.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">From
Overshoot to Steady State:</span></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;"><a href="https://www.overshootday.org/">Earth Overshoot Day</a>, the point in a year when we have used all the
resources that this planet can renew in one year, was 2nd August in
2017, and creeps ever closer.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">There
are two main parts to this problem: how much each person uses, and
how many people there are.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvy9aWxiVX0XKK3y6OFWu8Z8IXTrz09WdE4j2YI_VTjSZQlncQqxCnk0Gm7RvxNKGbCHZVektKN-jtoo7Oo1kJgS2EG2Mlg5BkFwiY-hSJspXvVDs_De_FhPRAE-oc0O76UPzJPvpZ9EM/s1600/WEB-Figure-11-2-2016-02-15-How-many-Earths-does-it-take.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="968" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvy9aWxiVX0XKK3y6OFWu8Z8IXTrz09WdE4j2YI_VTjSZQlncQqxCnk0Gm7RvxNKGbCHZVektKN-jtoo7Oo1kJgS2EG2Mlg5BkFwiY-hSJspXvVDs_De_FhPRAE-oc0O76UPzJPvpZ9EM/s400/WEB-Figure-11-2-2016-02-15-How-many-Earths-does-it-take.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">ORF Figure 11.2. How Many Earths</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">The
best way for us to curb population growth is to lower the death rate.
If that surprises you, as it is quite counter-intuitive, then you
should have a read up about the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographic_transition">Demographic Transition theory</a>.
Wikipedia is a fair place to start, and <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_on_global_population_growth.html">Hans Rosling's TED talk</a>
makes a quick intro.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">You
might have heard a specious claim that African parents having
multiple starving children are being irresponsible, but the
stereotypical emaciated kid in an Oxfam advert tends to look like a
skeleton with skin on <i>not</i> because they don't get enough calories,
though they may be malnourished (masses of people forced into actual
starvation have a tendency to riot, as seen in the many food riots
that began the 'Arab Spring'), but because <a href="http://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/sanitation">they are suffering from
<i>diarrhoeal diseases</i></a>, which cause the body to lose most of its fluids.
This is caused by poor sanitation infrastructure providing tainted
drinking water, or lice infestation.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Parents
in those situations are not being irresponsible, just logically
improving their chances of having some kids survive disease, as our
ancestors once did as recently as two centuries ago, but some good
news is that countries are now going through that transition much
faster than we did as the first nation to industrialise and defeat
most diseases:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi2NfwVxhT5YXQsUhuYvYZwrfd5aikJ4CXa73P67mB6JIX9UQy_fuBxuYSjR0MjBP_c2LPwwqBhZkoa-5_bm7hwadkNxbu3dPXXwWTllN9HOw5CgXADtgwd_mHf2v67uZzeM9XtcH_duA/s1600/Years-it-took-Fertility-to-fall-from-6-to-below-3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="560" data-original-width="800" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi2NfwVxhT5YXQsUhuYvYZwrfd5aikJ4CXa73P67mB6JIX9UQy_fuBxuYSjR0MjBP_c2LPwwqBhZkoa-5_bm7hwadkNxbu3dPXXwWTllN9HOw5CgXADtgwd_mHf2v67uZzeM9XtcH_duA/s400/Years-it-took-Fertility-to-fall-from-6-to-below-3.png" width="400" /></a></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Even
with a stable population, we have the problem mentioned earlier of
how our per-capita consumption has grown over the last century. Due
to the way our money supply is mostly created in the form of
interest-bearing loans from private banks (see </span><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdpRssUgsvI">Positive Money – Ben Dyson, Z-Day 2015 London</a></span><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">, or</span><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;"> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCECDA315A8848B99">Khan Academy's free course on Banking and Money</a>) this requires constant growth to
service the interest and prevent this unstable scheme from collapsing
or suffering runaway inflation.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">One
of our best options to escape this short-sighted scam is to take away
private banks' ability to create new money when they loan it, and
start creating it interest-free in the form of a Basic Income.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">However,
this will take a long drawn-out political battle, and today I want to
talk more about what we can do to make an immediate difference in our
own communities.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Libraries
of Things:</span></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">The
biggest difference that we can make is on the demand side. Undoing
the current culture of consumption may require millions of parents to
stop leaving their kids in front of ad-funded media, and could take
years for those already indoctrinated to adapt, but they need
something to adapt to and learn from, and that's what we need to
create today.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Tool
libraries are a way for you to get access to all the kinds of things
that we use infrequently, but have been told by advertisers are
Thneeds that we should all buy one each of, made at the lowest
possible quality so as to be affordable.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Ideally
for this we should get the highest-quality items to share, as they
will last the longest and be the most repairable.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFbCbxh9vISBCDkiOYyAenJA4fkPWYZLDqlpoudqcO5ZuAmAe8PNZDa1Gbo0syNE_P58A2bxzHxzDITx2LKgD67GJDVBMt4vH6D2ZUkptuUUQkaMaujHgfRdN6IVkBfAX5QS0aKuxIu8I/s1600/IMG_20180414_112324.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFbCbxh9vISBCDkiOYyAenJA4fkPWYZLDqlpoudqcO5ZuAmAe8PNZDa1Gbo0syNE_P58A2bxzHxzDITx2LKgD67GJDVBMt4vH6D2ZUkptuUUQkaMaujHgfRdN6IVkBfAX5QS0aKuxIu8I/s400/IMG_20180414_112324.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some storage at <a href="https://edinburghtoollibrary.org.uk/">Edinburgh Tool Library</a>, the UK's oldest established tool library.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">But
it's not enough just to share what we already have, if our community
needs access to something vital machinery that is expensive on the
market, typically being hoarded by someone to extract rent.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">The
usual Marxist approach to this was “hey guys, let's go murder the
capitalists hoarding those machines”, and what a bloody mess that
divisive notion created in the last century.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">We
need new methods of democratising access to means of production, that
don't divide and antagonise people by wealth class, especially given
the dawn of autonomous killer robots that now defend the status quo.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Wealth
Without Money:</span></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">The
title of the second part of my presentation comes from <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/Wealth_Without_Money">an initial proposal written by Prof. Adrian Bowyer</a> when he launched the
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RepRap_project">RepRap project</a> at the University of Bath in 2004.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">There
he points out that although socialist critique (that capitalism tends
to produce inequality and a desperate dispossessed class with no
means to improve their situation, where the means of production is
restricted by a minority) is correct in diagnosis, the
Marxist-Leninist prescription of violent revolution has turned out to
be a terrible idea in practice, leaving hardly a dent in the
prevailing market system and a lot of dead bodies in its wake.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">His
alternative stems from a mid-20th century concept by John von Neumann
– the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_constructor">Universal Constructor</a>, a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-replicating_machine">self-replicating machine</a>, but
all attempts at realising that by then had involved complex pre-made
parts, and the proofs-of-concept did not manufacture anything useful
afterwards.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3gopTlUbashdUPp03AYV1XroumliSE95pbOqAlAIaAw-GtASgXHHWEijqu4Ez6BBMWChfPSR7gc8sFImJ5WBzULflOms6mf_4jNRvpH-kYSQ9LKxI8YW1PMZBhIlMn-jVVElkJiPE-84/s1600/Advanced_Automation_for_Space_Missions_figure_5-29.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="722" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3gopTlUbashdUPp03AYV1XroumliSE95pbOqAlAIaAw-GtASgXHHWEijqu4Ez6BBMWChfPSR7gc8sFImJ5WBzULflOms6mf_4jNRvpH-kYSQ9LKxI8YW1PMZBhIlMn-jVVElkJiPE-84/s400/Advanced_Automation_for_Space_Missions_figure_5-29.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Self-assembling robot concept - NASA, 1982</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Instead
of having the machines self-assemble, the Replicating
Rapid-prototyping machine focuses on producing usable parts which
human users then put together, assuming the availability of some
common electro/mechanical parts such as motors, electronic chips and
a power supply.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">By
making the designs freely available online, this also meant that the
machine could evolve rapidly through a process of artificial
selection.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdNdgGxDidNzrYMuHgzLXmv0s9-6wRw30BnP0G5eItJVlgud4zbfXymfsR9qLdLpai9RSU4I5m33i2GEopyBhwJcJASJZMJasFx9cKSjPFbG9UtCof6E992RpQlo8AWjUTWxxk3plfkjw/s1600/800px-First_replication.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="800" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdNdgGxDidNzrYMuHgzLXmv0s9-6wRw30BnP0G5eItJVlgud4zbfXymfsR9qLdLpai9RSU4I5m33i2GEopyBhwJcJASJZMJasFx9cKSjPFbG9UtCof6E992RpQlo8AWjUTWxxk3plfkjw/s400/800px-First_replication.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RepRap Darwin's first child, 2008</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">A
milestone end result of this was that a type of 3D printer that cost
tens of thousands of pounds before the turn of the century, became
available at a cost of a few hundred pounds.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZwMqDAa0pBUUmqujhFbRg468Yci2pJ-QeDdsjMRiLf6PZlby-O-411Kt8zlWeAbVkhC6T_uGVhX94JiDdqJ17lh1LcMn5SUqYfHPn8AmLktg9dLFgaKKfVqwxvfbJTvKnJ60qv7s0pc/s1600/1200px-RFT_timeline2006-2012.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="843" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZwMqDAa0pBUUmqujhFbRg468Yci2pJ-QeDdsjMRiLf6PZlby-O-411Kt8zlWeAbVkhC6T_uGVhX94JiDdqJ17lh1LcMn5SUqYfHPn8AmLktg9dLFgaKKfVqwxvfbJTvKnJ60qv7s0pc/s640/1200px-RFT_timeline2006-2012.png" width="336" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/RepRap_Family_Tree">Reprap Family Tree</a>, impossible to read here, and impossible to keep track of after 2012 without a worldwide team of conservationists on the case.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">And
so this experiment was a success, as the RepRap has taken off as a
wide range of technology evolved via human selection, and somewhat
intelligent design.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">The
diversity of these 3D printers has exploded so far that it would be
extremely difficult to complete this chart now, which cuts off in 2012.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">If
you want to know more about how all this started and evolved, you can
read my article <span id="goog_1151238655"></span><a href="https://engineeringourfreedom.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/evolution-of-3d-printing.html">Evolution of 3D Printing<span id="goog_1151238656"></span></a>, from 2013, formerly on the
now-defunct TZM Blog.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Replicators
Become Reality:</span></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">I
would like to propose to you that high-tech replicator systems in
both of these senses (of self-assembling replication, i.e. the
Star-Gate SG-1 'Replicator' and replicating complex supplied
patterns, i.e. the Star-Trek Next-Generation 'Replicator') already
exist in the world today, but in the same way that programmable
computers existed in the 1940s – they take up a whole room and some
of their moving parts are humans:</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxNUlYo8nw0Lj9PnRtRlpfTeEp9zI29t9G6JmLlZbDcevwOI2nANU3F08kqQyyPjM8uIdFfTkgVBUWxODdywu1Ii3HunfXQQUnxan9DOlo_GI2SZVj55oU7bdqhHxDtAR7sCLAkqiv2HQ/s1600/639px-Hackerspace_charlotte.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="639" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxNUlYo8nw0Lj9PnRtRlpfTeEp9zI29t9G6JmLlZbDcevwOI2nANU3F08kqQyyPjM8uIdFfTkgVBUWxODdywu1Ii3HunfXQQUnxan9DOlo_GI2SZVj55oU7bdqhHxDtAR7sCLAkqiv2HQ/s320/639px-Hackerspace_charlotte.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hackerspace Charlotte, NC, USA</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">I
am of course talking about <a href="https://wiki.hackerspaces.org/">Hackerspaces</a>, a global movement of
shared creative spaces where people share ideas and tools. The most
developed examples have the equipment and knowledge necessary for
small-scale electronics manufacture, so they could technically
reproduce any tool in their workshop.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">In
that way, the 3D printer is just one organ within a larger organism,
as other technologies are required to produce standard metal parts
for its construction.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Tools
for Self-Replication:</span></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">At
the start of David Gingery's 1980s book series <a href="http://gingerybookstore.com/">Build Your Own MetalWorking Shop From Scrap</a>, he recounts someone saying that “The metal
lathe is the only machine in the shop that can duplicate itself or
any other machine in the shop.”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNZW_Z9iuwbTJ4m1-G6yp-zwEM1JPXv9soDhD6Lb2UEg9zDLlIyRKu2UHNBoqmsWW1b9xejk3Yr31y45C-og2zROEdOgWmRyrwEmQpdnb8R0WGZDPfMOEdgiarIib3AP4Ip3ABplQaEBM/s1600/Working_out_lathe_%25281914_%25E2%2580%2593_18%2529_%252818160099621%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="632" data-original-width="800" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNZW_Z9iuwbTJ4m1-G6yp-zwEM1JPXv9soDhD6Lb2UEg9zDLlIyRKu2UHNBoqmsWW1b9xejk3Yr31y45C-og2zROEdOgWmRyrwEmQpdnb8R0WGZDPfMOEdgiarIib3AP4Ip3ABplQaEBM/s320/Working_out_lathe_%25281914_%25E2%2580%2593_18%2529_%252818160099621%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">A metalworking lathe of over 100 years ago, preparing weapon parts
for WW1.</span> <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Working_out_lathe_(1914_%E2%80%93_18)_(18160099621).jpg">Photo: Tyne & Wear Archives</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">This
is largely true, as being able to turn accurately-sized shafts to
transmit power is crucial to many other machine tools. If you want to
make the dies that cut threads into mass-produced bolts, you need a
lathe. If you want an accurate barrel to blow someone's head off from
a safe distance, you need a lathe. But how do you make the lathe
without one?</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">That's
the start of a book on a bucket-size charcoal-fired foundry, which
many people have now been using to recycle scrap aluminium into
sturdy cast-metal objects, such as the body of a lathe.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjppwPyywMD2l_FS34lXAuFS6AOd52zU1niWuuiHOEQ0w-QDtJH5KuS774dwIWqUnsR-nqSV8KQ09-mA8ZleWc9ZU-FKqNBh-F8i9a6fyxNz9u3z0rRiQuDL77ZsGxgnREF11_-s7an1m4/s1600/FLQKYQ8HAQ2UG1L.LARGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="1024" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjppwPyywMD2l_FS34lXAuFS6AOd52zU1niWuuiHOEQ0w-QDtJH5KuS774dwIWqUnsR-nqSV8KQ09-mA8ZleWc9ZU-FKqNBh-F8i9a6fyxNz9u3z0rRiQuDL77ZsGxgnREF11_-s7an1m4/s400/FLQKYQ8HAQ2UG1L.LARGE.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Sand-casting aluminium from 3D-printed moulds, note how molten
aluminium doesn't even glow at all in daylight, as a relatively
low-temperature, passing 600°C, is needed to melt it. This still
requires forced air to get the fire hot enough – sometimes hacked
together with a hair-dryer by these experimenters. <a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Easy-Sand-Cast-3D-Printed-Objects/">Photo: Haus Page</a> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">The
book talks about cutting wooden moulds with hand tools to form the
parts, but now of course you know that we can do the same with far
less effort and potentially greater accuracy using a 3D printer.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;"><a href="http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/">Open Source Ecology</a> was created to provide easy-to-follow designs and
documentation for such machines built in a modular way so that they
would also be easy to repair, and chiefly using metals, as they are
endlessly recyclable.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">For
instance, here's a working prototype of their <a href="https://wiki.opensourceecology.org/wiki/CNC_Torch_Table">plasma-cutter table</a>,
able to cut forms out of inch-thick plates of steel:</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg3qITosZt5TH0kD-Eys56y6ssG539Sx9_c8_As7pxo7AnUTHP6_TNKOODM7YIK84N5bobRxypmQCNeuDzdlpmFmkQ_qJ7Wl4vC9czoSMdpYGmHAQAEgE_VnBb2xo5dmjsHzgpgzucQL8/s1600/800px-Cnc-torch-table-2010-ose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg3qITosZt5TH0kD-Eys56y6ssG539Sx9_c8_As7pxo7AnUTHP6_TNKOODM7YIK84N5bobRxypmQCNeuDzdlpmFmkQ_qJ7Wl4vC9czoSMdpYGmHAQAEgE_VnBb2xo5dmjsHzgpgzucQL8/s400/800px-Cnc-torch-table-2010-ose.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">It may sound like tech from a Star-Something franchise, but a Plasma
Torch is quite simple in principle once you understand Arc
Welding, and Wikipedia now does a far <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_torch">better job of explaining it</a> than my lecturers ever did. <a href="https://wiki.opensourceecology.org/wiki/File:Cnc-torch-table-2010-ose.jpg">Photo: Nikolay, OSE</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Their
'<a href="https://www.opensourceecology.org/gvcs/">Global Village Construction Set</a>' is only partially complete,
but already features such well-tested foundational machines as a
<a href="https://wiki.opensourceecology.org/wiki/CEB_Press">Compressed-Earth Brick Press</a> for building houses in clay-heavy
landscapes, and a <a href="https://wiki.opensourceecology.org/wiki/LifeTrac">modular tractor named LifeTrac</a>:</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghWWeQAHB2qpZhaJuC1KUoHMeY4psyOlRXF1af3mZLRdnacwSMINzwh4eNwXfReEapjrimKNL8HtynznUbQOUh-FAnALeyvP6tmq-wQwWoHLovOnP-KMJsHS4Xk6uqcVEPNGEqdOGJW6A/s1600/LifeTrac+6+-+IMAG1537.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="368" data-original-width="640" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghWWeQAHB2qpZhaJuC1KUoHMeY4psyOlRXF1af3mZLRdnacwSMINzwh4eNwXfReEapjrimKNL8HtynznUbQOUh-FAnALeyvP6tmq-wQwWoHLovOnP-KMJsHS4Xk6uqcVEPNGEqdOGJW6A/s320/LifeTrac+6+-+IMAG1537.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lifetrac v6. <span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">To enable not only conventional agriculture, but more importantly the
kinds of earthworks used in Permaculture's famous passive irrigation
systems. <a href="https://wiki.opensourceecology.org/wiki/File:IMAG1537.jpg">Photo: Audrey Rampone</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Resource
Recycling – Waste Materials:</span></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">A
major problem with electronics recycling in a marketplace is that of
course the materials that have a significant monetary value per ton,
such as gold and copper, tend to get recycled first, whereas bulk
engineering materials that were originally chosen for their low cost
so as to sell devices to as many people as possible, such as common
casing plastics ABS and PolyCarbonate, which make up the majority of
most devices' volume, often end up sent to landfill by the ton once
they are separated in a time-consuming or energy-intensive process; a
slight improvement from when the whole lot was simply dumped on
somebody else's doorstep.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_xqsX-mt-sg8LpcWKn9ZPDwrTyK25uFKnXQPkQ9h9C05-AUxH3T_Uw-m88M0MVoNKDL00kyQDS2dXHEjKFUGJg2FZ5wogfAQ8z5CYsmnyoN5a0aKtHOZTEOYhzrSAh7wQ3hxU9OJGMV4/s1600/800px-Ewaste-delhi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_xqsX-mt-sg8LpcWKn9ZPDwrTyK25uFKnXQPkQ9h9C05-AUxH3T_Uw-m88M0MVoNKDL00kyQDS2dXHEjKFUGJg2FZ5wogfAQ8z5CYsmnyoN5a0aKtHOZTEOYhzrSAh7wQ3hxU9OJGMV4/s320/800px-Ewaste-delhi.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Useful materials being recycled by hand by low-wage workers. Now this
ends up being done here either by volunteers or very expensive
machines, limiting our recycling capacity. <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ewaste-delhi.jpg">Photo:</a></span><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ewaste-delhi.jpg"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;"><span lang="en"> Matthias Feilhauer</span></span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;"></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Why
does this happen? It has to do again with embodied energy, transport
energy and a problem with globalisation.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Even
though it takes less energy to recycle polymers, the monetary value
that can be recovered from doing so drops below zero as soon as you
try to transport it very far, because these were chosen as the
cheapest practical materials to begin with (due to the low cost of
oil), so the market price per kilo of chopped up granules is low,
that without machinery to chop up casings you end up paying for
someone to remove your plastic. Such is market logic.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">However,
if you can get systems in place to process the plastic locally, its
use value in local production is far greater than its market value…</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Recycling
Into a Resource-Based Circular Economy:</span></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Back
in 2012 I drew up a very rough systems design <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120331002003/http://www.zeitgeistmediaproject.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2289:how-a-rbe-might-work&catid=8:literature&Itemid=5">flow diagram of what a Resource Based Economy could look like</a>, for the now-defunct Zeitgeist
Media Project (another victim of funding shortages in an
un-incorporated social movement).</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Back
then, just fresh out of university, I imagined that in a more or less
business-as-usual-til-collapse scenario we might end up doing
widespread <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landfill_mining">landfill mining</a> for precious minerals, due to the sheer
reckless waste of end-of-life electronics for the first few decades
of computer use, until recently when the EU's WEEE recycling
requirements have just started to get a handle on this.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">To
use an old idiom, <i>there's gold in them thar landfills</i>!</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">I
also figured that if you wanted to start a resource-based economy in
microcosm, it could be a good idea to situate yourself on a landfill
or other waste disposal site, so that people would simply bring you
resources for free, which you could then sort and recycle into a
small local economy.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">But
as with most good ideas, I later found that some people were already
doing something similar, and I was glad to find them!..</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Having
just got involved in the RepRap project by building one myself, I
learned that these wasted plastics included some of the practical
ones that could be used for the type of filament extrusion process
used in desktop 3D printing.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfiDLwbO56Z6JOoYzqf4UK093bJrXqAKP32voKKUL5TldZ-kSayb4I5iaaNyjKKf9sEceA3Cm0JrEs4u2SA-J8gE5KnSNFLkFhM8apERHo3vhnma4KFdOPpsdlpoXhzNNgUZ30gqSfTJk/s1600/DSC04309_scaledown.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfiDLwbO56Z6JOoYzqf4UK093bJrXqAKP32voKKUL5TldZ-kSayb4I5iaaNyjKKf9sEceA3Cm0JrEs4u2SA-J8gE5KnSNFLkFhM8apERHo3vhnma4KFdOPpsdlpoXhzNNgUZ30gqSfTJk/s320/DSC04309_scaledown.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Waste plastic electronics casings, collected in the yard of an
electronics recycling charity in the Scottish highlands, where it was
not affordable to have the plastic picked up for recycling until there was enough
to pour it into a an extra-tall open-top container lorry.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Unfortunately,
the processing machinery has such a high monetary cost, due to its
high energy cost, that such charities can't afford it without big
grant funding, which takes a long and painful process to acquire,
hampered by the fact that grants almost only support brand new
equipment.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Thankfully,
there has recently been a project similar to OSE, focused on creating
<a href="http://preciousplastic.com/">open-source hardware designs for machines to recycle plastics</a>:</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Fih_ZP7S0F3ILg4KYxY1_soQNQLgwdnLDourr3dj4v0LECF6TSztMQhOuYWNe-DDhVtEV23rDcILUN7zf76vt-bnNWsy4vlMcrhxAoGx1V3iHkDA9ZnnZb8MSdXvjNrva_9DWnNzNrM/s1600/hero-machines.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1600" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Fih_ZP7S0F3ILg4KYxY1_soQNQLgwdnLDourr3dj4v0LECF6TSztMQhOuYWNe-DDhVtEV23rDcILUN7zf76vt-bnNWsy4vlMcrhxAoGx1V3iHkDA9ZnnZb8MSdXvjNrva_9DWnNzNrM/s400/hero-machines.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Precious Plastic machines - left to right: Shredder, Extruder, Injection Moulder, Compression Moulder.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Likewise, these machines are low-cost, but tend to come with no
warranty.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Meanwhile,
if you want an example of people making do with little, we have a
more raggedy looking setup where some waste consumer plastic was
being recycled:</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7RaWxDbt7k5NRDCS6e1MBy8omrM_HzqrVcyuz2U0m7X7rL_11i74EjDgizlV5rs_qJWlZOTePgx6wd2KoSybLHsp5iEmGAKyXHK4dtEMmXuzhtaqg5FXWZwqiYAFIv-0X-FFA3IQ7P4c/s1600/20150831_171023_sorting_scaledown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="816" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7RaWxDbt7k5NRDCS6e1MBy8omrM_HzqrVcyuz2U0m7X7rL_11i74EjDgizlV5rs_qJWlZOTePgx6wd2KoSybLHsp5iEmGAKyXHK4dtEMmXuzhtaqg5FXWZwqiYAFIv-0X-FFA3IQ7P4c/s400/20150831_171023_sorting_scaledown.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can you guess where?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">A
hint is all those spots of sunlight peeking into the warehouse –
those are holes created by shrapnel, because this operation is
located on the Gaza strip, where some people fearing for their lives
every day have managed to get recycling with second-hand hardware.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Somewhere
secret around the corner they had a lab with a few RepRap 3D printers
brought in. Let's hope that wasn't shelled since this photo was
taken:</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdD099AF_nn3QfncstVgGvfpXg5c9wcNsgLZmTDzd3J9v2zDktOGUNUlOy8jXW2zrWu0hcsuuhyphenhyphenKjKYBvXiD0ZKSVaxbDtn3hw1s0FUJKuqXVdOEl-fVkTYgwgpl5vOwdS58Azu6kK6tY/s1600/Gaza+Printers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1080" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdD099AF_nn3QfncstVgGvfpXg5c9wcNsgLZmTDzd3J9v2zDktOGUNUlOy8jXW2zrWu0hcsuuhyphenhyphenKjKYBvXiD0ZKSVaxbDtn3hw1s0FUJKuqXVdOEl-fVkTYgwgpl5vOwdS58Azu6kK6tY/s400/Gaza+Printers.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3D printing lab in Gaza</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">These two photos were taken by Kliment, a lead programmer on RepRap
software, and Dr. Tarek Loubani, who gave <a href="https://media.ccc.de/v/camp2015-6703-3d_printing_high-quality_low-cost_free_medical_hardware">this extremely inspirational talk on developing low-cost open-source medical hardware</a> as good as western standards, for poverty-stricken regions.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">So
if they can do that under such difficult conditions, you must wonder,
why do we have any trouble with every amenity available to us? The
answer as usual is the grant money for new equipment problem
mentioned previously, and I'll come to ways of addressing that at the
end.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Dirt-Cheap
3D Printing:</span></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Not
only can 3D printers create objects made out of the very mud under
your feet:</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW97aGxAFga2d3nR2VOXhIo6O_jKY4RSWF7LG0302Bsd7Ezc7oSDVG9OMeSQtLjxY9ZO8CfVgzjqr_5yv9VQLpaFw1ESC047rZcZx7_Cx_cDOxEBucwVKEm6uFNQdIzxbe8yQ7iYwH2zI/s1600/Ceramic_sanford_bunny_small_needle_nozzle_building.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="548" data-original-width="640" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW97aGxAFga2d3nR2VOXhIo6O_jKY4RSWF7LG0302Bsd7Ezc7oSDVG9OMeSQtLjxY9ZO8CfVgzjqr_5yv9VQLpaFw1ESC047rZcZx7_Cx_cDOxEBucwVKEm6uFNQdIzxbe8yQ7iYwH2zI/s400/Ceramic_sanford_bunny_small_needle_nozzle_building.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3D printing a bunny in porcelain clay. Why not. <a href="https://richrap.blogspot.com/2012/04/universal-paste-extruder-ceramic-food.html">Photo: Richrap</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">...(which
is part of a <i>whole</i> 'nother presentation that I gave to a club back in 2015, and should
really get round to doing this turning-into-an-article thing with)
but many of the parts needed to build a RepRap that it can't easily
make itself, such as motors and steel rods, can be scavenged from old
office printers and scanners:</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1vHWY2EgFMoLpl0y2eTVBDioTsHYwX8DHx_Yxv35CIce4Z7quxY4SIDZsM4RQsqEtnNGggnpUU2Gsmf6YqqycFxqK-UFGVzcQCfkfQJqVz9bOHJkbntUtAIhPcSCshQQDn2jv-y9N7VE/s1600/IMG_20180528_231106_crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1068" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1vHWY2EgFMoLpl0y2eTVBDioTsHYwX8DHx_Yxv35CIce4Z7quxY4SIDZsM4RQsqEtnNGggnpUU2Gsmf6YqqycFxqK-UFGVzcQCfkfQJqVz9bOHJkbntUtAIhPcSCshQQDn2jv-y9N7VE/s400/IMG_20180528_231106_crop.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Just a small selection illustrating some of the variety among parts
that I have scavenged from old hardware since <a href="http://engineeringourfreedom.blogspot.com/2011/12/salvaging-inkjet-printer-and-other.html">this article</a>, awaiting
support and funding for the last few bits (control electronics) to
make more RepRaps for a hackerspace. Older printers/scanners and big laser
printers or photocopiers tend to be the best source of high-quality stepper motors.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;"></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">...which
as you are probably all aware, seem to regularly be at the cutting
edge of the insanity that is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_obsolescence">planned obsolescence</a>, with their
cartridge-sales business model.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Here
is an example of a RepRap that someone built mostly out of cast-offs
and waste electronics, bringing the total bill to $65:</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHNQrZcngqzuwdVLQO5juOleyKbhNny4b9nRwQaNOFcvMECNfTWPzTe-2eVxNfXKigJQFidiN5JHnNoBYNe0WThEdTPN8BlltBPdkyKXx8B__4CxPY9SWIrj26ai0sSoBamOQvCRpoRKI/s1600/186c3ed7337d32cb9181c86a61a94a80_preview_featured.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="472" data-original-width="628" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHNQrZcngqzuwdVLQO5juOleyKbhNny4b9nRwQaNOFcvMECNfTWPzTe-2eVxNfXKigJQFidiN5JHnNoBYNe0WThEdTPN8BlltBPdkyKXx8B__4CxPY9SWIrj26ai0sSoBamOQvCRpoRKI/s400/186c3ed7337d32cb9181c86a61a94a80_preview_featured.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1429273">Read more here.</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">For
an example of a successful group making a difference on this, <a href="http://moraywastebusters.org/">here's one that I know</a>.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Moray
Waste Busters take old home goods, from furniture, books and
crockery, to bikes and electrical appliances, check them for quality
and sell them back on to the public at a low price.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Now, re-selling
old stuff is nothing new, as high-street charity shops up and down
the country do it all the time, although you may have noticed lately
many of them also selling mass-produced tat from China in order to
increase their profits, as the pursuit of more revenue for their
owning charity gives them a kind of tunnel vision to the damage that
can cause.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">What's
special about Waste Busters is that their core purpose is to reduce
waste, and in a partnership with their local council, they are one of
only a handful of such groups in Britain who are actually sited on a
municipal recycling centre.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">The
model is extremely successful, showing steady growth, and they have
reported an increase in sales of 250% over the last 5 years:</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Dqj1NH_OSV9bC0tz_BMHY7551VGHLb3tzvF6Ke0o1Ow4IRYHxVuzTHpLRsJDQq62CaRHAMtxTuZrrLzYIZ8rcwb93yyMWVhBw4TfCen2bPIqGE61X1FrC5UJQXYX2UBvtg_49QczSew/s1600/MWB-Sales.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1110" data-original-width="1584" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Dqj1NH_OSV9bC0tz_BMHY7551VGHLb3tzvF6Ke0o1Ow4IRYHxVuzTHpLRsJDQq62CaRHAMtxTuZrrLzYIZ8rcwb93yyMWVhBw4TfCen2bPIqGE61X1FrC5UJQXYX2UBvtg_49QczSew/s400/MWB-Sales.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">MWB's Total Sales in GBP, from 2004-2017, split up by month. With
poorly labelled series, I couldn't tell ya whether those months start on
January or the financial year, but I guess the latter.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">As
an excellent transitional initiative, ideally we need a presence of
one of these kinds of organisations on <i>every</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
town's recycling centre, and if you want to know more about such
organisations, you can check out some of the others that fall under
their national quality-certification scheme, <a href="https://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/revolve">Revolve</a>.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">MWB
have also recently started running creative upcycling classes, using
scrap materials from items that couldn't be put back into re-use.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Sharing
Cities Network:</span></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">For
lots more great initiatives as part of a <a href="https://commonstransition.org/">Commons Transition</a>,
check out these maps of your local area <a href="https://www.shareable.net/community-maps">on shareable.net</a></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">...and
if there isn't one for your area? Get together and make one!</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">For
this presentation I wanted to showcase a nice initiative that sprung
out at me from London's map:</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;"><a href="https://savethedate.london/">Save The Date</a> takes edible waste food from suppliers who couldn't
sell it fast enough, and uses it to cook restaurant-quality meals,
offered to the public on a pay-as-you-feel basis. Delicious.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Transition
Network:</span></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">If
you want a brief course in how to organise projects like these, you
should take a look at Joe Duggan's talk from London Z-Day 2016, “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9YvOIMTu7c">A Transition Town in Action</a>”, and if you're inspired by that, either
find a local group to get involved in, visit one in another town,
read one of Rob Hopkins' books such as “The Transition Companion”,
or other materials on <a href="http://transitionnetwork.org/">Transition Network</a> and get organising in
your local community!</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Community
Interest Companies and Community Benefit Funds:</span></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">If
you find that your area is short on grant funding for sustainable and
socially beneficial projects, then you could even turn to your
community in order to start your own grant-funding body!</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">For
example, a few motivated people within the small Sunart community in
the west of Scotland identified an opportunity where an old dam on
their local burn was not being used:</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqN9iAgveKU0nISC6F1eAJGlG8vjBBAMoljX1Yro5CWAoas9Xlswl_QRCxzNyiMn56JmprcZfeqSmVYMJl9ToYAF3uQhPxPDQGmDlcN2PJctX4aq-A4_o2ziUQ8U4BfPa-8JixY9EpsEU/s1600/IMG_3872-dam-context.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqN9iAgveKU0nISC6F1eAJGlG8vjBBAMoljX1Yro5CWAoas9Xlswl_QRCxzNyiMn56JmprcZfeqSmVYMJl9ToYAF3uQhPxPDQGmDlcN2PJctX4aq-A4_o2ziUQ8U4BfPa-8JixY9EpsEU/s400/IMG_3872-dam-context.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Existing dam on Alla na Cailleach burn, via <a href="https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/highlands/368442/community-hydro-scheme-shares-offer-gets-off-to-good-start/">Press and Journal</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">So
they created <a href="http://communitysharesscotland.org.uk/news-and-events/news/sunart-community-hydro-goes-live">a Community Shares</a></span><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;"><a href="http://communitysharesscotland.org.uk/news-and-events/news/sunart-community-hydro-goes-live"> scheme</a>, where only local people could invest in and vote on the project (with a fairer democratic model of one-shareholder-one-vote instead of the typical corporate plutocracy one-share-one-vote), and they
raised enough to install this hydroelectric turbine in a hut:</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5lfd0xb4nYlr_ookwfN90jbCax68qDGBgDfO5JFGAU2j5GHCFKsf6mVDFFsaJ-C083yoh4wTjY09qvilEem835rfCE8VSNmZTkAs32IKvVoqI0FWV6rh5FKFyQEAkvflXjbHhSez2ItE/s1600/Sunart+goes+Live%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="477" data-original-width="715" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5lfd0xb4nYlr_ookwfN90jbCax68qDGBgDfO5JFGAU2j5GHCFKsf6mVDFFsaJ-C083yoh4wTjY09qvilEem835rfCE8VSNmZTkAs32IKvVoqI0FWV6rh5FKFyQEAkvflXjbHhSez2ItE/s400/Sunart+goes+Live%2521.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Turbine house ready, from CS article above.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">The
last I heard from one of the organisers involved, James Hilder of An Roth Associates CiC, they have
already paid off the installation costs after a couple of years, and
are now using some of the surplus from selling something like £100k
worth of electricity per year, to support local projects on their
Commmunity Benefit Fund.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">...and
if all else fails, there's always the Big Lottery Fund for most
things.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">So
I want to conclude with David Mackay's mantra -</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Every
Big Helps:</span></b></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Don't
go around worrying about switching off every phone charger, as it
makes no difference and you'll just be wasting your time. You can
make big differences for instance with home insulation.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Demand
grid-timed storage-heating/cooling from heat pumps, for a cheaper
tariff and a balanced grid!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Stop
buying stuff you don't need! Share locally. A tool library is much
easier to access than organising with your neighbours, but while you
don't have one, you should still join StreetBank.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Don't
fly hundreds of miles away for a break, enjoy some local scenery;</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">If
there's not enough nature to roam in your local area, you need to ask
why!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Eat
less meat to save vast areas of land to be re-forested, which can
then give us more on-demand fuels from timber or oilseeds.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">More importantly, campaign to end subsidies of meat and dairy that encourage people to eat artificially-cheap unsustainable foods, and have the subsidies shifted to support farmers to transition into providing more sustainable sources of protein and fat</span><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">.<a href="#22">[22]</a></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Organise
initiatives in your local community, and build a resilient local
economy!</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
I'd like to give special thanks and dedicate this post to Michael Craig Ruppert (1951-2014): Cop, whistle-blower, writer, musician, investigative journalist, political activist, and peak-oil awareness advocate.<br />
- For inspiring us to stay alert and rebuild communities to make it through these interesting times.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;"><b>Bonus
– My pet myth to bust this year:</b></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;"><a href="https://grist.org/business-technology/none-of-the-worlds-top-industries-would-be-profitable-if-they-paid-for-the-natural-capital-they-use/">None of the world’s top industries would be profitable if they paid for the natural capital they use</a>” - a hack journalist named David
Roberts wrote this misleadingly-titled article for Grist, and it has since been parroted around a lot in TZM.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">When
you actually read the body of it you can realise that “top”
didn't mean “biggest”, as most would assume.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Trucost
Consultancy found the industries with the <b>most environmental
impact</b> would be unprofitable if they were charged for those
impacts, which should come as a surprise to <i>nobody</i>.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">This
simply shows that there are some industries that are causing criminal
levels of pollution by avoiding regulations that would make it
illegal.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Given
the state of lobbying in the USA, again, are you really surprised?</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Footnotes:</span></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span id="1" style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">1:</span><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">If you want to see just how horrible things can get when logistical
systems break down, have a look at the famine and disease that struck Germany
when we bombed their infrastructure in the final years of WW2, Cuba and
North Korea when the Soviet Union collapsed and their oil supply was cut off, or Iraq after the first
Gulf War with UN sanctions. In all of these situations, the suffering of civilians was enforced by
abstract political boundaries - trade embargoes and military fronts, and
could have been alleviated by some compassion from outside. Alice J. Friedemann recently wrote a short but
enlightening book on this delivery-dependent aspect of our society, titled "When Trucks Stop Running -
Energy and the Future of Transportation".</span><br />
<span id="2" style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">2:
ORF Figure 1.3 – Source : Data compiled by J. David Hughes.
Post-1965 data from BP, Statistical Review of World Energy (annual),
http://bp.com/statisticalreview Pre-1965 data from Arnulf Grubler,
“Technology and Global Change: Data Appendix” (1998):
http://www.iiasa.ac.at/~gruebler/Data/TechnologyAndGlobalChange/</span><br />
<span id="3" style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">3:
ORF Figure 2.1 – Source : Data compiled by J. David Hughes from
Arnulf Grubler, “Technology and Global Change: Data Appendix”
(1998):
http://www.iiasa.ac.at/~gruebler/Data/TechnologyAndGlobalChange/ and
BP, Statistical Review of World Energy, (annual)
http://bp.com/statisticalreview</span><br />
<span id="4" style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">4:
Image credit: Energy Watch group.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Found
via a slide in Jeremy Leggett's presentation “The Winning of The
Carbon War” given to London Futurists in 2015:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2EMFCdsIOE</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">This
copy is from http://electionsmeter.com/show_images.php?id_img=137</span><br />
<span id="5" style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">5:
Hacking in an old programming sense, of improvising a work-around
instead of taking a top-down design approach. Convention in the sense
of a widely-used method.</span><br />
<span id="6" style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">6:
I have even used what appeared to be a higher-quality can opener from
a major supermarket, Morrisons if I recall correctly, which later
snapped at the top of the handle, rendering it unusable with no
leverage, and I found that the steel tang concealed under a plastic
grip <i>had a completely unnecessary hole drilled or punched into it</i>
near the top in order to weaken it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Today
I would weld it back together, but just like everyone else I had
neither the skills or tools for that back then. Now I'm using a much
older german-made can opener that I found in a skip, and has already
outlasted the rest in the time that I've had it.</span><br />
<span id="7" style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">7:
Michael Dale and Sally M. Benson, “Energy Balance of the Global
Photovoltaic (PV) Industry: Is the PV Industry a Net Electricity
Producer?” - Environmental Science and Technology 47, no. 7 (2013):
3482–3489.</span><br />
<span id="8" style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">8:
Charles Hall, Stephen Balogh, and David Murphy, “What Is the
Minimum EROI That a Sustainable Society Must Have?” Energies 2, no.
1 (2009): 25–47.</span><br />
<span id="9" style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">9:
Khagendra P. Bhandari et al., “Energy Payback Time (EPBT) and
Energy Return on Energy Invested (EROI) of Solar Photovoltaic
Systems: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis”, Renewable and
Sustainable Energy Reviews 47 (2015): 133–41,
doi:10.1016/j.rser.2015.02.057.</span><br />
<span id="10" style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">10:
Ida Kubiszewski, Cutler Cleveland, and Peter Endres, “Meta-analysis
of Net Energy Return for Wind Power Systems.”</span><br />
<span id="11" style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">11:
ORF Figure 1.4 – sourced from Bruno Burger, “Electricity
Production from Solar and Wind in Germany in 2013” (Freiburg:
Fraunhofer ISE, January 9, 2014),
https://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/en/renewable-energy-data</span><br />
<span id="12" style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">12:
Charles Barnhart and Sally Benson, “On the Importance of
Reducing the Energetic and Material Demands of Electrical Energy
Storage,” Energy & Environmental Science 6, no. 4 (2013):
1083–92, doi:10.1039/C3EE24040A and:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Charles
Barnhart, Michael Dale, Adam Brandt, and Sally Benson, “The
Energetic Implications of Curtailing versus Storing Solar-and
Wind-Generated Electricity”, Energy & Environmental Science 6,
no. 10 (2013): 2804–10</span></span></span><br />
<span id="13" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">13: Matthew Pellow et al., “Hydrogen or Batteries for Grid Storage? A Net Energy Analysis,” Energy and Environmental Science 8 (2015): 1938–52, doi:10.1039/C4EE04041D</span></span></span><br />
<span id="14" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;"><span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">14: Mark Schwartz, “Stanford Scientists Calculate the Carbon Footprint of Grid-Scale Battery Technologies.” https://news.stanford.edu/news/2013/march/store-electric-grid-030513.html</span><br />
<span id="15" style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">15:
</span><span style="font-size: small;">Source : J. David
Hughes, Global Sustainability Research, Inc. (data from BP
Statistical Review, 2015).</span><br />
<span id="16" style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">16:
</span><span style="font-size: small;">Source: Euroheat & Power, Ecoheatcool Work Package 1 (Brussels: Euroheat & Power, 2006).</span><br />
<span id="17" style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">17:
</span><span style="font-size: small;"> Center for Sustainable
Systems, University of Michigan, “U.S. Food System Fact-sheet.”
Pub. No. CSS01-06 (2015),
http://css.snre.umich.edu/css_doc/CSS01-06.pdf</span><br />
<span id="18" style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">18: D.R. Montgomery, "Soil erosion and agricultural sustainability", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104, no. 33,(2007)</span><br />
<span id="19" style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">19:
</span><span style="font-size: small;">9% - Science magazine:
http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/7/e1700782, via National
Geographic:
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/07/plastic-produced-recycling-waste-ocean-trash-debris-environment/</span>
<br />
<span id="20" style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">20:
16% - UN, via The Balance:
https://www.thebalance.com/e-waste-recycling-facts-and-figures-2878189</span><br />
<span id="21" style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">21:
15 vehicles per 1 shared:
http://www.economist.com/node/21563280?frsc=dg%7Ca</span></span><br />
<span id="22" style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">22: Guys, when looking for vegan sources of protein, don't settle for soy rubbish; it'll just give you a nice big cancerous pair of tits in the long run due to its phyto-estrogen content. Excellent complete sources of protein and essential oils include <a href="https://www.superfoodly.com/amino-acid-profile-whey-hemp-pea-rice-pumpkin-protein/">pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds</a>, and many others...</span><br />
<span id="Errata" style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">Verbal slips in talk: at 3 minutes I said "getting more out than they are getting in", which should obviously be "putting in", at 5:30 I said "oft-quoted" way too fast, at 6:15 I referred to saudi oil <i>extraction</i> as "consumption", and at about 13 minutes I said fossil fuel extraction would "gradually increase" after the initial boom, which should obviously be "gradually decrease" as wells are depleted. Only by adding new wells faster than old ones declined did overall production grow.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "liberation" serif , serif;">If
you have any questions, suggestions, see mistakes, or need more clarity on some
part of this, please leave a comment!</span></div>
</div>
<style type="text/css">p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; line-height: 120%; }a:link { }</style>4ndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675315515117082792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-906217424699189688.post-31588617136303882992018-05-29T09:47:00.000+01:002018-05-29T09:47:40.864+01:00Still AliveNow I've learned far more about the world since graduating than I ever did at university in the same timespan, and this weekend I'll be presenting just a few of my thoughts, on a general topic of transitioning our wasteful and unsustainable linear economy into a circular economy founded upon 100% renewable energy. In summary, it's certainly necessary, but definitely not easy.<br />
The subject deserves at least an hour for me to get all my points across clearly, but I have less than half of that to deliver it, so I intend to post my notes here as a companion guide at the same time. Stay tuned for more.<br />
<br />
Plot-hole filler:<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
After being abandoned in the middle of nowhere by my last true friend, losing all motivation for my projects, and getting backstabbed by someone I <i>thought</i> was a friend there, while freezin' ma baws aff as a horrible winter hit a draughty council house that I ended up in, I got quite fed up and managed to escape that one-horse shitehole, to a town that actually has a lot of community spirit.<br />
Having been here for over three years now, after moving home a total of 10 times in 9 years, I think I've finally found the right spot for me.<br />
After a long period of putting my life back together I feel almost ready to engineer our freedom, and/or die trying.<br />
<br />
This post is dedicated to anyone suffering through depression, and finding out that most people have no fucking clue how to help you. I hope that you find whatever kind of support it is that you need.<br />
I had to throw myself at every opportunity that I could, when I could manage it, as nothing helped much, but slowly building a new social network around me has seemed to make some difference, even if there's still nobody else whom I can call a true friend who has my back. <br />
I'd like to share a couple of songs with you that I find motivational, one for my dad's 'boomer generation:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3AG_ororx8E/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3AG_ororx8E?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
...and a favourite of mine for the current generation:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/CritHnI63_4/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CritHnI63_4?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />
Excuse the cheesiness.4ndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675315515117082792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-906217424699189688.post-80988521119263716032013-03-16T05:37:00.000+00:002018-06-17T15:49:32.935+01:00Evolution of 3D Printing3D printing, that amazing technology that has recently grasped the media's attention, evoking comparisons to Star Trek's 'replicator' that could assemble any known object out of its basic molecules. Behind all the hype, what can it do, and will it really change our world?<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span id="goog_1374481770"></span><span id="goog_1374481771"></span>
<b>Early History:</b> <br />
'3D printing' as it is known today actually spans several similar manufacturing methods that were a natural evolution from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_numerical_control">CNC</a> machine tools developed in the first half of the 20th century CE.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Woodlathe.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Woodlathe.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A manual wood lathe. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Numerical Control made old subtractive manufacturing tools (ones that cut material away from a plain starting block in order to reach a desired shape), such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lathe_%28tool%29">lathes</a> less prone to operator error, first by use of 'cutting by numbers' (where operators would dial in exact coordinates on a gauge to cut holes and file between them, rather than attempting to guide a cut through a straight line or curve by hand), followed by punch-card fed computerised motor controls, and eventually full digital control by microelectronics that can now be fed instructions derived directly from a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer-aided_design">CAD</a> model or drawing.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cnc_lathe.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Cnc_lathe.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A CNC lathe.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Those advances took production processes that were seen as a highly skilled art or craft and allowed them to produce highly standardised replaceable/interchangeable parts, and so cut the costs of repairing any given product. Most importantly, CNC <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milling_%28machining%29">mills</a> that use an X-Y table and a cutting head that moves up and down (in the Z-axis) laid foundations for most 3D-printing technology. While these milling machines have been used heavily in recent decades by industrial giants in China, for carving out mould plates with which to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Injection_moulding">injection-mould</a> plastics into all kinds of things that people often don't need, some creative minds wondered whether we could perform that process in reverse - using a toolhead moving in 3 dimensions to deposit material rather than taking it away. Thus, through the 1970s and '80s there were several different methods patented for building up a solid object in thin layers, and a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapid_prototyping">rapid prototyping</a> industry was born.<br />
<span id="goog_1374481804"></span><span id="goog_1374481805"></span><span id="goog_1374481806"></span><span id="goog_1374481807"></span><span id="goog_1374481808"></span><span id="goog_1374481809"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Stereolithography_apparatus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="355" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Stereolithography_apparatus.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stereolithography (photo-polymer resin) 3D printing.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereolithography">Stereolithography</a> was patented by Charles W. Hull <a href="https://www.google.com/patents?id=ye8zAAAAEBAJ">in 1984</a>, who went on to found the first rapid-prototyping giant, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_Systems_Inc">3D Systems</a>, in 1986. SLA involves projecting cross-sections of an object onto the surface of a pool of photopolymer resin using a UV laser, in order to cure the resin into a solid object. This process has resulted in parts with extreme precision, with layer thicknesses several microns thick, so that they make excellent visual prototypes and artistic models, but the material used is brittle, expensive and difficult to recycle.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/FDM_by_Zureks.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/FDM_by_Zureks.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fused Deposition Modelling (thermoplastic extrusion) 3D printing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fused_deposition_modeling">Fused Deposition Modelling</a> was patented by S. Scott Crump <a href="https://www.google.com/patents?vid=5121329">in 1989</a>, and the next year he commercialised the process when he co-founded the company <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratasys">Stratasys</a> with his wife Lisa. FDM involves repeatedly squeezing lines of recyclable molten <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoplastic">thermoplastic</a> through a fine nozzle onto a work-surface. Initially this process resulted in a rough surface finish and quite fragile objects, but numerous advances have been made in recent years to improve on this. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/Selective_laser_melting_system_schematic.jpg/800px-Selective_laser_melting_system_schematic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="173" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/Selective_laser_melting_system_schematic.jpg/800px-Selective_laser_melting_system_schematic.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Selective Laser Sintering (one type of powder printing)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Some other 3D Printing methods have involved binding powders together by various methods, such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_laser_sintering">Selective Laser Sintering</a>, where layers of powdered material are spread out repeatedly in a box and melted with a laser so that their cross-section sticks to the layer below, and the type of inkjet & powder 3D printing used by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z_Corporation">Z Corp</a>, where an inkjet head drops a binding material onto the layer of powder spread out below it.<br />
These methods allow a great variety of materials to be used, and also eliminate the problem of printing sections that overhang the print-bed when using FDM in Earth's gravitational field, which can otherwise sag if not solidified rapidly enough, although that particular problem has more recently been solved within FDM by using a second extruder to lay out a soluble support material such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyvinyl_alcohol">PVA</a>, which can then be easily washed away from the printed object.<br />
<br />
<b>Enter the Replicators:</b><br />
In 2005, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RepRap_Project">the RepRap project</a> was founded by Dr Adrian Bowyer and some of his students at the University of Bath. Its stated aim was to produce a "Replicating, Rapid-prototyping" machine, i.e. a 3D printer that could produce <a href="https://reprap.org/wiki/Darwin/BackgroundPage">some or all of the key components</a> needed to assemble an exact (or better) copy of itself. With a keen interest in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomimetic">biomimetic</a> systems (ones that mimic natural biology), Adrian's hope was that by allowing these machines to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-replicating_machine">self-replicate</a>, given a user with a supply of basic industrial materials and fittings, they might replicate exponentially and hence create an exponentially increasing production capacity, while given some human creativity, they might also evolve into more advanced forms. Both of these hopes have turned out to be true since the project began.<br />
Within two years the <a href="https://reprap.org/wiki/Darwin">first full design</a> was complete, named after <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_darwin">Charles Darwin</a>, one of the founding theorists on biological evolution, a trend which continued through the project. It was based upon Fused Deposition Modelling, but since Stratasys had trademarked that term, the project coined the general term "Fused Filament Fabrication" for their production method. Another year passed and the first 'child' of this machine, fully constructed from parts printed on the first 'Darwin' along with standard fasteners, started printing a 'grandchild' part in May 2008. By September it was estimated that there were <a href="https://www.seedmagazine.com/news/2008/09/mechanical_generation.php">at least 100 copies</a> of Darwin 'in the wild'.<br />
In November, one of the RepRap contributors, Zach Smith, launched a website called <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/">Thingiverse</a>, which allows people to upload Free-and-Open-Source digital designs for others to print. At the start of 2009 he then co-founded a startup known as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MakerBot_Industries">MakerBot Industries</a> with his friends Adam Mayer and Bre Pettis. Their company would go on to take a large share of the US market for hobbyist 3D printers by using cheap laser-cut parts in their kits, combined with clever marketing, and received a warm reception from the 'maker' community for their supporting website Thingiverse, though they suffered some controversy in later years when they <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/foundry-group-invests-in-makerbot-industries-2011-8">took $10-million in venture capital</a> investment from The Foundry Group, filed <a href="https://www.google.com/patents/US20120059503">a patent</a> on one of their designs, and were recently <a href="https://josefprusa.cz/open-hardware-meaning/">criticised for releasing a closed-source/proprietary printer</a> based upon past open-source innovations, which was even <a href="https://www.hoektronics.com/2012/09/21/makerbot-and-open-source-a-founder-perspective/">criticised by Zach Smith</a> who has since left the company.<br />
<br />
By October '09, the <a href="https://reprap.org/wiki/Mendel">second full design</a> for a RepRap was released, named after <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregor_Mendel">Gregor Mendel</a>, and its stark improvements in design were detailed here by Edward Sells:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/6983001" width="480"></iframe><br />
In the next two years there were several more variations made upon this design, including a <a href="https://reprap.org/wiki/Huxley">miniaturised version</a> named after <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Henry_Huxley">Thomas Huxley</a>, a <a href="https://reprap.org/wiki/Prusa">greatly simplified and low-cost version</a> designed by Josef Prusa, plus many small modifications and one-off 'RepStraps' (coined from '<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bootstrapping#Straps_on_leather_boots">bootstrapping</a>') that adapted those designs to locally available materials.<br />
By September 2011, <a href="https://blog.reprap.org/2011/09/tipping-point-of-print-quality-open.html">the quality of a RepRap Prusa Mendel had surpassed that of some Stratasys systems</a>:<br />
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<a href="https://farm7.static.flickr.com/6190/6129585407_2d4609e003_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://farm7.static.flickr.com/6190/6129585407_2d4609e003_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Come forward to 2013, and there are dozens if not hundreds of full designs for DIY 3D Printers listed on the <a href="https://reprap.org/wiki/Build_A_RepRap">RepRap Project Wiki</a>, <a href="https://github.com/search?q=RepRap">Github (including Free and Open Source Software on which to run a printer)</a>, and on <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/search?q=RepRap">Thingiverse</a>, while several alternative ways to host free 3D-design files have been springing up, such as <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-01/24/pirate-bay-introduces-physibles">the 'Physibles' torrent category on The Pirate Bay</a>, graphical page templates for <a href="https://boingboing.net/2012/11/06/mediagoblin-a-free-as-in-free.html">MediaGoblin</a> and <a href="https://garyhodgson.com/reprap/2012/09/githubiverse-a-github-pages-template-for-3d-printing-projects/">Github</a>, and easy-to-use sites like <a href="https://cubehero.com/">CubeHero</a> and <a href="https://fizzybles.com/dir/">Fizzybles</a>.<br />
Some notable designs include the <a href="https://reprap.org/wiki/Printrbot">Printrbot</a> designed by Brook Drumm, who intended for it to be so simple and low-cost as to enable putting one 3D printer in every school, and easy enough to construct that any interested students could build their own from parts printed on a school machine. A designer calling himself Whosawhatsis has been <a href="https://reprap.org/wiki/Wallace">redesigning this</a> to be more robust and naming its successor after <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Russel_Wallace">Alfred Wallace</a>.<br />
The <a href="https://reprap.org/wiki/MendelMax">MendelMax</a> design is known for being one of the most rigid RepRaps, using aluminium extrusions for its frame, as are used in some commercial CNC machines, and building upon this solid design, the Colorado-based company Aleph Objects released a printer that was <a href="https://www.fsf.org/news/hardware-certification-aleph-objects-lulzbot-3d-printer">the first hardware product to receive the 'Respects Your Freedom' certification from the Free Software Foundation</a>.<br />
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<b>The Current State of 3D Printing:</b><br />
In May 2012, the <a href="https://surveys.peerproduction.net/2012/05/manufacturing-in-motion/">first major statistical survey of the 3D Printing community</a> showed up many interesting points, including this distribution of printer types, showing that for sheer volume and quality for a given price, nothing could beat RepRaps, which had only been around for a quarter of the time of the professional rapid-prototyping companies, and that <a class="ext" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polylactic_acid" target="_blank">PolyLactic Acid</a><span class="ext"></span>, a biodegradable polymer made from plant starches, is now the most-used 3D printing material.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://reprap.org/mediawiki/images/9/96/3D-printing-user-chart.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://reprap.org/mediawiki/images/9/96/3D-printing-user-chart.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RepRap For The Win</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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It should be noted that 3D Systems had spent much of the previous two years buying up 24 small 3D printing companies in order to become the largest 3D printing company in the international market, but that only lasted <a href="https://singularityhub.com/2012/12/18/after-merger-3d-printing-industry-has-a-new-leader/">until Stratasys and Objet merged to form an even larger competitor</a>.<br />
More recently, Joseph Flaherty of Wired reported on <a href="https://www.wired.com/design/2013/02/3-d-printing-patents/">10 existing patents</a> that may stymie new business startups in the 3D-printing industry.<br />
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Nevertheless, various extremely high-tech and low-environmental-impact innovations based upon 3D Printing have been brought out in the last couple of years, which are set to evolve several industrial sectors and ways that we solve problems.<br />
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For example, a team in Glasgow University have been developing <a href="https://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/jul/21/chemputer-that-prints-out-drugs">3D-printed chemical reaction vessels</a> that allow highly complex drugs and other organic molecules to be produced from basic ingredients, by customising the paths through which they interact, and so control the duration and nature of those chemical reactions, to bring about a maximum amount of a desired product.<br />
'Bio-Printers' such as <a href="https://singularityhub.com/2009/12/03/organovo-has-its-first-commercial-3d-bioprinter/">those produced by Organovo</a> are getting <a href="https://singularityhub.com/2013/02/13/autodesk-and-organovo-team-up-to-bring-printable-human-organs-closer/">close to being able to produce artificial yet biological and fully-functional human transplant organs</a>, tailored to the needs of the recipient. Last year they were already <a href="https://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443816804578002101200151098.html">printing lengths of blood-vessels</a> that could be used for the likes of cardiac-bypass operations. Not only could this ease the strain on our medical system's use of organ donations for life-saving or <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/20/scientists-create-new-ear_n_2728612.html">reconstructive</a> surgery, but could also reduce the risks involved with it. Some <a href="https://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-BioPrinter/">DIY versions</a> are already popping up.<br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contour_crafting">Contour Crafting</a>, a type of 3D printing similar to FDM/FFF but using ceramic materials such as clays or concretes, has been suggested as a method for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdbJP8Gxqog">producing dwellings with high material efficiency</a> <a href="https://www.media.mit.edu/node/2277">both on Earth and on expeditions to Mars or our Moon</a>. <a href="https://www.blogger.com/www.thingiverse.com/thing:20733">Open source versions</a> <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:28018">of similar technology</a> have shown to be capable of printing some very intricate structures in clays:<br />
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The capabilities of <a href="https://singularityhub.com/2010/04/05/5-axis-robot-carves-metal-like-butter-video/">commercial CNC machines</a> and 3D printers are reaching amazing levels, with <a href="https://www.zeitnews.org/natural-sciences/materials-science/next-year-s-3-d-printers-promise-big-things-really-big-things">Objet's new '1000' printer</a> being capable of creating objects 1 metre long and printed out of 14 different materials. Meanwhile, initial results are being released on an <a href="https://pwdr.github.com/">open source powder-printer prototype</a> and an <a href="https://www.3ders.org/articles/20130104-first-open-source-d3d-scanner-from-3d-creations.html">open source 3D scanner</a> may make it easier than ever to precisely reproduce museum items without damaging them.<br />
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<b>What this could mean for the future:</b><br />
There has been much debate lately about the significance of 3D Printing and its possible effects upon human industry. While it presents a radical expansion of production capabilities, critics have been quick to point out that 3D Printers may not find a 'mass market' (i.e. to see one in every wealthy home, as with lesser robots such as inkjet printers, washing machines or microwave ovens), because <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/review/508821/the-difference-between-makers-and-manufacturers/">an average working person doesn't know how to use CAD software or have enough experience with mechanical design</a> to create their own functional novel items, or because <a href="https://blog.makezine.com/2013/02/14/3d-printing-revolution-the-complex-reality/">the price of small plastic parts will always be lower for mass moulded parts</a>, and the market for novelty items is very small. However, these critiques turn out to be awkwardly myopic once you realise they are confined to a belief that a capitalist market system can be sustained indefinitely.<br />
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Many people have been looking at the available data on our global resource stocks and industrial output, and have come to a conclusion with extremely little doubt, that not only is <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=79G3Jsb2KYwC">the current paradigm of 'economic growth'</a> impossible to continue <a href="https://www.postcarbon.org/">in light of our current fossil fuels</a> and other resource stocks, but <a href="https://www.booklocker.com/books/6175.html">even if we were to stop increasing our consumption right now, our current use of natural resources would crash into a wall of disappearing non-renewable resources</a> (or slow-renewing ones like fossil fuels, which took millions of years to form, and little over a hundred years for us to burn halfway through them), and those high-tech gadgets that western societies habitually build to shoddy standards and then throw away, would be available to even fewer people.<br />
It is imperative now that we not only use renewable energy and recyclable resources, but we must pay more attention than ever to the first of those three R's often used as a municipal recycling service slogan - <u>Reduce</u>,<u> </u>Reuse, Recycle. We must first reduce our cyclical consumption of natural resources to almost half of their current levels, and begin completely phase-out any linear use of non-renewable or non-recyclable materials. As <a href="https://www.withouthotair.com/c19/page_114.shtml">Dr David MacKay so astutely pointed out</a>:<br />
"Have no illusions. To achieve our goal of getting off fossil fuels, these reductions in demand and increases in supply must be big. Don’t be distracted by the myth that “every little helps.” <i>If everyone does a little, we’ll achieve only a little.</i> We must do a lot. What’s required are big changes in demand and in supply."<br />
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The same goes for resources more tangible than our energy supply. It doesn't matter if you re-used a plastic bag from a supermarket, those things are difficult to recycle and tend to result in an inferior material that cannot be used for its original purpose (i.e. they are <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downcycling">downcycled</a>, not recycled). I have said for several years that if regulating a market via 'representative democracy' were ever feasible, we would have long ago seen a blanket ban on non-biodegradable plastic films for food packaging, and on any use of those plastics where a recycling system was not in place. However, if a 'free market' could really bring about rational use of resources on its own, then we wouldn't have to tell these suppliers not to do such irrational things in the first place. Yet we do have to, and mindless mass consumerism for the sake of cultural or advertising whims, as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bernays">Edward Bernays</a> encouraged so well, has to stop if we want to survive as a species.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/71/PaleBlueDot.jpg/530px-PaleBlueDot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/71/PaleBlueDot.jpg/530px-PaleBlueDot.jpg" width="353" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The Earth is the only world known, so far, to harbor life. There is
nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could
migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment,
the Earth is where we make our stand. It has been said that astronomy is
a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no
better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant
image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to
deal more kindly with one another and to preserve and cherish the pale
blue dot, the only home we've ever known." - <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan" title="Carl Sagan">Carl Sagan</a>, <cite><i>Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space, </i></cite>1997 reprint, pp. xv–xvi</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Luckily for us, there are far better methods of organising consumption so as to increase our material efficiency such that we meet people's recurring needs not with half as many resources as we do today, but with more like a tenth of that input. One model to meet this need, which has been gaining popularity recently, is known as '<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collaborative_consumption">Collaborative Consumption</a>'. Simply put, this involves a community, or individuals within one, acquiring tools that people may need to use infrequently, such as vacuum cleaners, high-resolution cameras, performance equipment, et cetera, and borrowing them from each other while sharing the cost of maintaining them.<br />
There is also a type of institution that has done this successfully in the background for centuries, contributing enormous amount of value to human culture and technology - we call these institutions Public Libraries. In western nations today, they provide a lot more than just books, yet there is still so much that they are lacking.<br />
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<i>Every parking lot packed with cars awaiting their registered keepers</i>, every white-collar house stuffed with dusty sports equipment that youth clubs could use, and <i>every new-year's dumpster filled with discarded plastic toys from <a href="https://blog.thezeitgeistmovement.com/blog/4ndy/slay-santa">a previous year's Consumptionmass</a></i>, is a testament to the possible abundance of human productivity, squandered by a system based upon fear and status.<br />
Yet <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnpEyRSWncU">islands of trust are appearing within that ocean of fearing one's neighbour</a>, even if these examples do begin with locks and keys on shared items, just as public libraries within this monetary system regularly place RFID tags in books, and corresponding alarms at their doors, to work around the neuroses generated within that marketplace. Examples include the US car-sharing company <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zipcar">Zipcar</a> who as of last month were sharing <a href="https://ir.zipcar.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=740755">less than 10,000 vehicles between over 777,000 people</a>, and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C3%A9lo%27v">Vélo'v</a> service in Lyon, France, where from the years 2005-07, <a href="https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1011/1011.6266.pdf">16,000 journeys per day were completed between 343 stations, with around 4,000 bikes</a>, with the service reporting having over 52,000 subscribers at that time.<br />
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These systems form an important transitionary step in a trend towards a situation that has been advocated by groups such as <a href="https://thezeitgeistmovement.com/">The Zeitgeist Movement</a>, termed '<a href="https://youtu.be/4Z9WVZddH9w?t=1h30m10s">Access-Abundance</a>'. In such a situation, communities would produce a small number of such short-used tools compared to the number of users, yet more than would be needed at any one moment, to the highest material standards possible, in order so make huge long-term savings in time, space, energy and raw materials. Such low-scale and localised consumption is ideal for the application of 3D printing, which would be able to not only create an infinite variety of ergonomic customisation for local users' needs, but also create replacement parts on the same day that they are needed, instead of keeping warehouses full of spares and waiting a week for them to be delivered. That goes even without mentioning that <a href="https://www.ifixit.com/Manifesto">repair is better</a>, and that the collaboration that comes with the use of a local hackerspace or tool library <a href="https://www.shareable.net/blog/collaborative-consumption-is-overrated-0">yields its own fruits in sparking people's creativity</a>.<br />
<br />
In summary, a wholesale evolution in production <i>can</i> be provided by 3D Printing, it can <a href="https://voxelfab.com/blog/2013/01/theres-no-money-in-3d-printing/">drive costs of production towards zero</a>, and not only is it completely possible, it's completely necessary. 4ndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675315515117082792noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-906217424699189688.post-1367564308414224392013-03-10T00:34:00.000+00:002013-03-10T00:52:12.573+00:00Winter Finishing Touches on a WindbreakSo, for a well-overdue update of what's happened this winter of 2012 to '13, some of the useful things I learned, whether hard lessons or delightful ones, are as follows:<br />
While I saw most of the annual plants that I put out demolished either by slugs or sheep, and only got a few halfway-decent fruit from <a href="http://practicalplants.org/wiki/Fragaria_vesca_%27Semperflorens%27">Alpine Strawberries</a> in their first year of planting, the only significant food crop that I was able to grow in spite of all that and the mostly unfettered hard winds came from a very unexpected place. A bunch of radish seeds that I had sowed on compost mostly next to a plum tree and a few other spots were taking off very healthily.<br />
<a href="http://engineeringourfreedom.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/every-sheep-has-silver-lining.html">I had mistaken them for turnip plants</a> at the start of autumn when they brought out lots of pink flowers, but upon pulling one out to thin them down, I discovered that not only were they radishes, but the root growth was utterly terrible, no larger than a single chick pea and very woody by the time the plant was in flower, so I left them to self-seed, until I got this surprise as their flowers fruited...<br />
It turns out that radishes grow not only an edible root crop, but also some tasty little seed pods (only roughly similar pea pods in shape), which were very nice when sliced into salads.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk336lATXI5ddEIkIjPNDNO9Ve2BoZ_gwq1TvqwRPNgErC30wOhGvXtKnAVxhDnGMUhvOcHdaaXEPqShk7Lpo4ZLIgDL3hiW0-pvFqvGgRwjnHjA1QvRiSXtcNzBbDZtXI1X75r7pap_M/s1600/DSC02897.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk336lATXI5ddEIkIjPNDNO9Ve2BoZ_gwq1TvqwRPNgErC30wOhGvXtKnAVxhDnGMUhvOcHdaaXEPqShk7Lpo4ZLIgDL3hiW0-pvFqvGgRwjnHjA1QvRiSXtcNzBbDZtXI1X75r7pap_M/s400/DSC02897.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See the root of the plant that I plucked these off of; it was tiny in
proportion to the above-ground part of this plant, although I shouldn't
really be surprised when growing root crops in rocky soil.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a name='more'></a><span id="goog_465726278"></span>I've also confirmed that local bumblebees love these <a href="http://practicalplants.org/wiki/Phacelia_tanacetifolia">Fiddleneck</a> flowers:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBFtYyUHc1Atel1zNd8ydNiRG7Y_RCGTqec63OcVqc2n4KYxc9X49VxDWJHuwXySWyGfAq2KHHX4o3HRJHJWYcovuGo_99uVlaXqhi_FGxEnPFjGFtoJ5ow9508tujGFHae0dRNsbxllA/s1600/DSC02890.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBFtYyUHc1Atel1zNd8ydNiRG7Y_RCGTqec63OcVqc2n4KYxc9X49VxDWJHuwXySWyGfAq2KHHX4o3HRJHJWYcovuGo_99uVlaXqhi_FGxEnPFjGFtoJ5ow9508tujGFHae0dRNsbxllA/s400/DSC02890.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Most of these were already setting seeds, but there were still plenty of
flowers to keep the bees fed, and the sage that I planted out at the
base of these green-manure plants, should benefit next season from the
nitrogen that they fix into the soil.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Once I uncovered them from rampant grasses, I found that the <a href="http://practicalplants.org/wiki/Tropaeolum_majus">Nasturtiums</a> I planted out had been chewed up by slugs a lot, but they were still growing strong.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUgUYBW12qkzSJYKbxTebv7_cblpEkB-4WqjNDWLocz0oRXjzIBJAi4CVAiamW81S6Ve3sq9kFirCuV3XUtrzCGibuo0ToZCbv1uTfDDNi2kjFt-iqx1DzxAVgdEgqBViPy64LYjRENIk/s1600/DSC02876.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUgUYBW12qkzSJYKbxTebv7_cblpEkB-4WqjNDWLocz0oRXjzIBJAi4CVAiamW81S6Ve3sq9kFirCuV3XUtrzCGibuo0ToZCbv1uTfDDNi2kjFt-iqx1DzxAVgdEgqBViPy64LYjRENIk/s400/DSC02876.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I cut clumps of grass with a knife here to mulch around them, but the
nasturtiums should eventually out-compete the grasses anyway.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
To have some fruit bushes within the westward wind-break hedge, I tried sticking some more <a href="http://practicalplants.org/wiki/Rubus_fruticosus">Blackberry </a>cuttings straight outside, but this time making sure to use thick, 2-year-old canes instead of the shoots that I had tried to use before.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjBtPMPgtmXVz6WRtJrRR5v6MUV6uDisuolcesKB9C68vRR9N8obbx68xlUEycDTH8KRKZL7E-bxMm_nCgQFLTfh5zhsrdhgx99x9eTR2k6isBndSD_kKuuw5DFfpOxCfwFpwReQcCXFY/s1600/DSC03029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjBtPMPgtmXVz6WRtJrRR5v6MUV6uDisuolcesKB9C68vRR9N8obbx68xlUEycDTH8KRKZL7E-bxMm_nCgQFLTfh5zhsrdhgx99x9eTR2k6isBndSD_kKuuw5DFfpOxCfwFpwReQcCXFY/s400/DSC03029.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With the shoots trimmed back, this should hopefully take root strongly and sprout shoots next year.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I also took cuttings of some very successful local <a href="http://practicalplants.org/wiki/Ribes_uva-crispa">Gooseberry</a> bushes, treated their base with a bit of powdered seaweed that I was told is supposed to encourage rooting, and shoved them straight into fresh compost.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRafwYwyMrx7Z6fMW8wFz5l6JhgsxlK8u7H1aQcQ2cHKaRChYzzwG06eRBy7TrcwZGWaKTR2kLslu98enMnKz4Qlg0XticdmxEI1Y21hX0fizKuVCmPJdXKlJVY5uxU9Bj3WeMmvjv5Y0/s1600/DSC02985.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRafwYwyMrx7Z6fMW8wFz5l6JhgsxlK8u7H1aQcQ2cHKaRChYzzwG06eRBy7TrcwZGWaKTR2kLslu98enMnKz4Qlg0XticdmxEI1Y21hX0fizKuVCmPJdXKlJVY5uxU9Bj3WeMmvjv5Y0/s400/DSC02985.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As I write this, these all seem to have taken root, and are now growing spring leaf buds.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
To complete the windbreak around this pioneering patch of woodland, I first started by getting hold of a very useful plant that should grow very quickly and spread via its root system.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaZifCG3j8jAn1_TKi27JUDuZK_aYUVWBTjmA6jND2CxErfsfuO6Msz2JeDQebCpby8aldCpx6eHGsMd8kNRR2R3GSLlJOnSlhlDWmEuNqBmsRw2BE0JpLp1wzhxMnCfhyphenhyphenDLztYyylZTs/s1600/DSC02935.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaZifCG3j8jAn1_TKi27JUDuZK_aYUVWBTjmA6jND2CxErfsfuO6Msz2JeDQebCpby8aldCpx6eHGsMd8kNRR2R3GSLlJOnSlhlDWmEuNqBmsRw2BE0JpLp1wzhxMnCfhyphenhyphenDLztYyylZTs/s400/DSC02935.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not only are Bamboos some of the fastest-growing plants in nature,
followed closely by some species of Cannabis, but this <a href="http://practicalplants.org/wiki/Phyllostachys_aurea">Golden Bamboo</a> in particular
grows edible shoots in spring that are said to be palatable even while
raw, and like many others it will eventually produce functional pipes.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Later I planted a few <a href="http://practicalplants.org/wiki/Corylus_avellana">Hazel</a> and <a href="http://practicalplants.org/wiki/Castanea_sativa">Sweet-Chestnut</a> trees, which are supposed to be very hardy to strong winds and have historically been used in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coppicing">coppiced</a> hedgerows, so even if they don't produce a lot of food they will serve a structural function and also provide some regular firewood.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSYXoeaW7x3qAT2iF3iXTY7NlZjahi_84kCr_D67L67tnLIZKfUSKadubnRCNpBsfLMQxevniGRC6pKgfkR-of8bLETKj8mcfLUaFeCsUVZWwufKrw9fxFQtoAcppc6R3nckB3eqM5_Ck/s1600/DSC03073.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSYXoeaW7x3qAT2iF3iXTY7NlZjahi_84kCr_D67L67tnLIZKfUSKadubnRCNpBsfLMQxevniGRC6pKgfkR-of8bLETKj8mcfLUaFeCsUVZWwufKrw9fxFQtoAcppc6R3nckB3eqM5_Ck/s400/DSC03073.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bundle of baby trees rescued from a housing estate being re-developed.
The darker brown-barked ones are chestnuts and the lighter green-barked
ones are hazels.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Indoors, I lost a whole tray of <a href="http://practicalplants.org/wiki/Morus_nigra">Black Mulberry</a> seedlings simply by forgetting to water them over one sunny weekend that dried their compost out on a windowsill, while I have still been completely unsuccessful at germinating <a href="http://practicalplants.org/wiki/Caragana_arborescens">Siberian Pea Tree</a> seeds, so now I've been cold-stratifying another set of dormant seeds in our fridge over winter, to give this another go (I didn't use all of the seeds that I got at once, knowing that I would probably mess up with some of them on my first attempt).<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3GqAA0U8RPMKs8uKuL__mVrh8cl70pL9B2FQe5LnMm2YOYOTHGgDBwBLbGp4D0vP07ik7g6l7GpGfyp35bchQh5smCZBPXLB8KbYtE26RVfGa1yIkFloBcqwyQFxjZVUupUK7fsrXj10/s1600/DSC03069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3GqAA0U8RPMKs8uKuL__mVrh8cl70pL9B2FQe5LnMm2YOYOTHGgDBwBLbGp4D0vP07ik7g6l7GpGfyp35bchQh5smCZBPXLB8KbYtE26RVfGa1yIkFloBcqwyQFxjZVUupUK7fsrXj10/s400/DSC03069.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here it seems that the cutting I took of a plum-tree shoot failed to
take root, although that was treated with the same seaweed powder as the
gooseberry cuttings. On either side are <a href="http://practicalplants.org/wiki/Acer_saccharum">Sugar Maple</a> seedlings, one of which, along with the <a href="http://practicalplants.org/wiki/Elaeagnus_angustifolia">Oleaster</a> at the back, is now suffering from a fungal infection long after this picture was taken.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Of course, to establish a highly productive food-forest, plenty of nitrogen-fixing pioneer shrubs are needed to support the growth of canopy trees.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZSKYtp_E1xt9eg5pzHskFo73G311iC_0ApMD0IG5ze2_FPLIhSIRhkpRYB67HY2ELI5jPmnHPQwjdkgpFIpLKxadz8_eL-3jObc2sLSxXXCT1yJzFh-Gn9ZT9vR7cMZOvvf_XEzaZ_rk/s1600/DSC03228.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZSKYtp_E1xt9eg5pzHskFo73G311iC_0ApMD0IG5ze2_FPLIhSIRhkpRYB67HY2ELI5jPmnHPQwjdkgpFIpLKxadz8_eL-3jObc2sLSxXXCT1yJzFh-Gn9ZT9vR7cMZOvvf_XEzaZ_rk/s400/DSC03228.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The potted <a href="http://practicalplants.org/wiki/Elaeagnus_x_ebbingei">Elaeagnus x Ebbingei</a> that I planted out seems to be
recovering from root shock, with several leaves growing at its base, but
the <a href="http://practicalplants.org/wiki/Elaeagnus_pungens">E. Pungens</a> isn't showing signs of life.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Meanwhile, some <a href="http://practicalplants.org/wiki/Elaeagnus_angustifolia">E. Angustifolia</a> seeds that I planted indoors have had some very mixed success. Six of them have germinated out of a couple dozen at most, but their drip tray was knocked over by a local cat that got in at one point, and of the ones that I managed to recover, only 3 have not died due to shock or fungal infection. With this difficulty establishing various potted, cut or sown Elaeagnus shrubs, I have grudgingly turned to our thorny native <a href="http://practicalplants.org/wiki/Ulex_europaeus">Gorse</a> to see whether cuttings of that will have any more success.<br />
This time around I remembered to do <a href="http://engineeringourfreedom.blogspot.com/2012/02/taking-cuttings.html">something that didn't occur to me before</a>, which was to steep some of our plentiful <a href="http://practicalplants.org/wiki/Salix_alba">White Willow</a> bark in hot water so as to make a tea that encourages root growth, and left cuttings of gorse in this overnight.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip_0mrOtWzGNIVWxPhFbR8MIRTx9-XmGEIEHnOzYJHWY5xIa7f9vGqRF3YRnFZDUt_n6XUFNxQS6gRcO8xtts-rBay6W-5N7CHheF5SU07utVTTHvr9kPkb5ZT6fyduRbUoXQsV1lUf6M/s1600/DSC03253.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip_0mrOtWzGNIVWxPhFbR8MIRTx9-XmGEIEHnOzYJHWY5xIa7f9vGqRF3YRnFZDUt_n6XUFNxQS6gRcO8xtts-rBay6W-5N7CHheF5SU07utVTTHvr9kPkb5ZT6fyduRbUoXQsV1lUf6M/s400/DSC03253.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Those vicious green thorns actually make a healthy winter livestock feed if you grind them up.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The north bend of the windbreak now looks a bit like this after pruning most of the trees:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbcqwjGv4DXW0jpLlYehpY0N-0CF2hflU7Jzf4-RFtytoTirdxQdc8lqd2cIYjyQB3t693DTn5Xc3qiNIqso5PifBslBUC9Vj34FJAJrpgtVhKzulq4V7MvPl5azHa6tK9DwE69A3tIXQ/s1600/DSC03224.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbcqwjGv4DXW0jpLlYehpY0N-0CF2hflU7Jzf4-RFtytoTirdxQdc8lqd2cIYjyQB3t693DTn5Xc3qiNIqso5PifBslBUC9Vj34FJAJrpgtVhKzulq4V7MvPl5azHa6tK9DwE69A3tIXQ/s400/DSC03224.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, that is actually a whole window + frame mulching down some of the
grass in front of a baby crab-apple tree (I put a couple of those in to
aid pollenation of other apple trees).</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
A couple of neighbours have been doing some serious modification and renovation of their old houses round here, so I also have some scraps of concrete slabs/bricks that can be used to compress grass down for areas to grow on, far more effectively than I could do with cardboard last year. I have shoved small boulders around on the grass here a few times and noticed that compression counts more than a lack of light when breaking down grass to give a bare patch of ground to grow on.<br />
<br />
My forest-garden plan now looks like this:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWQ84E9W-dhUV46WqmGIZFTI_8QuNL-Ge0MTP_iHUj0LnvQDvEnW0PQuXYspSe0U-EXY-3QTGwQDoAl1Dm7d5PbxZCx7BicFN1AWZSPjFskfNK41ICpUtBsLQl-5jeAIFJBmnVknVh78Q/s1600/Plan+2013-03-09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWQ84E9W-dhUV46WqmGIZFTI_8QuNL-Ge0MTP_iHUj0LnvQDvEnW0PQuXYspSe0U-EXY-3QTGwQDoAl1Dm7d5PbxZCx7BicFN1AWZSPjFskfNK41ICpUtBsLQl-5jeAIFJBmnVknVh78Q/s640/Plan+2013-03-09.jpg" width="451" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finally scanned in. With a rough U-shape to the treeline, this can
now function as one end to a larger stand of trees that could shelter
the community's little-used ground from harsh winds and make it easier
to grow herbaceous-layer crops in a wide clearing.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The "?" mystery plant at position 4T is this next one, which I got off a neighbour who wasn't sure what it's called either.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi9juYEhhy_BU9RsWzMmjMYRssu6dpBzzsKTlQ2TRAYOGfI_bXEMUUwcf08_rn8cGWotOmXpHKtSyQgcK1RLaR-8SFM71Bp0LkAWpH0VEju0fW8gcZiD83EuwD8NghvzDoIHEwSoc5uk4/s1600/DSC03271.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi9juYEhhy_BU9RsWzMmjMYRssu6dpBzzsKTlQ2TRAYOGfI_bXEMUUwcf08_rn8cGWotOmXpHKtSyQgcK1RLaR-8SFM71Bp0LkAWpH0VEju0fW8gcZiD83EuwD8NghvzDoIHEwSoc5uk4/s400/DSC03271.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'll also put an entry about it <a href="http://engineeringourfreedom.blogspot.com/2012/06/flora-and-fauna-identification-in.html">here</a>. I'm not certain, but that also looks like some <a href="http://practicalplants.org/wiki/Cortaderia_selloana">Pampas Grass</a> has sprung up right in the corner, although it looks a bit stunted.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This mystery cane-plant has a growth pattern somewhere between bamboo and hazel, in that it grows a few trunks that branch out moderately, but its shoots are completely hollow inside in order to pass fluids through, while older branches have a straw-size hole through the middle of them. A bit of dead old growth that I have found on another plant was extremely lightweight and made excellent kindling for a fire.<br />
<br />
I have also found an ideal species to fill the woodland niche of 'climber' up here, a plant known as <a href="http://practicalplants.org/wiki/Actinidia_arguta">Tara Vine, or Kiwi Berry</a>, which produces a small hairless kiwi fruit about the size of a grape, and most importantly grows in some very cold climates. I am currently chilling some of their lightly dormant seeds in the fridge along with the others. <br />
<br />
Over the rest of winter I've been preparing several other projects that are partly linked, such as picking out usable boards from old pallets to build a <a href="http://permaculture.org.au/2010/06/21/home-made-bee-hives/">small beehive</a> with, which can both aid fruit pollenation and provide a couple more useful natural products in the form of honey and beeswax. I've gathered up a can, pipe, sand and clay with which to build a <a href="http://www.artfulbodgermetalcasting.com/6.html">mini-furnace</a> and do some <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_casting">sand casting</a>, which will enable me to make some very strong joints and possibly custom aluminium heatsinks for the <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:27791">wind turbine</a> that I'm developing, and possibly even build a <a href="http://www.floweringelbow.org/projects/make-your-own-lathe-from-other-peoples-rubbish/">reused-motor lathe</a>. I've also been trying to figure out how <a href="http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/Knitting_Machine">old sock knitting machines</a> work in order to make an Open Hardware version of one. Take that as a teaser for anyone who wants to read a bit about what I'll be updating on soon alongside a couple of theoretical pieces.4ndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675315515117082792noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-906217424699189688.post-42240195931434145962012-11-04T00:12:00.000+00:002012-11-04T12:52:05.389+00:00Prep to PrototypeOn the way to prototyping my <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:27791">ducted wind turbine design</a>, there have been a few silly setbacks as usual with 3D printing, and that's before even mentioning how awkward part sourcing is when no one supplier ever has everything you need, and I end up forced to waste postage on a few orders just to get electronics to build a data-logging controller with. Also I'm writing this for a second time since Blogger ate my post by erroneously bringing up a blank workspace one morning after I was 90% through this post, and saving over it before I could close the tab. Unlike those lovely <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etherpad">etherpads</a>, there was no writing history to revert back to. <br />
<br />
I've brought this reprap to its working limits in a couple of different ways over the last few weeks, firstly with a bespoke drill-guide that I made in a similar way to the <a href="http://www.dremel.com/en-ca/attachments/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=565" rel="nofollow">dremel cutting kit</a> only super-sized so as to allow a cheap hammer drill to make nicely perpendicular holes in the absence of a drill press.<br />
A trouble with this print is its huge width compared to the narrow surface area actually in contact with the print surface, which meant that, being a PLA prototype, it could barely adhere to the kapton-taped surface strongly enough to stay down. When some overhanging edges started to curl up slightly, the resulting light collisions with the extruder head caused the wider of two parts to start lifting up off the printbed with an audible crack. I found a quick fix to keep that part in place before the whole surface dislodged.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJyS5bGg97ZuqYypR1fWvqzt9DMG9ko4ryVAAmHq6gRnSxjSJyqC8mVTfoe83_AE1mtPbNCL30gzFtIK_42fNcZsuKltpNZR3qVdf9r2Q9yvqWKydt_c-zXGMYP9APb00qil2z0qY5m3I/s1600/DSC02575.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJyS5bGg97ZuqYypR1fWvqzt9DMG9ko4ryVAAmHq6gRnSxjSJyqC8mVTfoe83_AE1mtPbNCL30gzFtIK_42fNcZsuKltpNZR3qVdf9r2Q9yvqWKydt_c-zXGMYP9APb00qil2z0qY5m3I/s400/DSC02575.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bulldog clips and small allen keys were handy, so they held the part down.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This print was eventually successful, but not before another limit in size surprised me.<br />
<a name='more'></a>There is a slight complication in the build volume with this triangular-prism shaped frame, depending upon how the extruder is fitted; normally the greatest available Z-height is clearly limited by when the tallest part of the extruder reaches the top bars, or in my case when part of the extruder motor reaches the control-board mounting plate.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyYlJAYgOyfMXc-uPCz8ZpTeRipvE17WMuykBXMKCJGd8lu0z4v0hBlSrwuS8-J3RWBb9ckXGxgveCIuvCoCZZLRFa45tg7vivzSuokskU0iSrPsuLQCGQmGpZaE6lvA69pqE2XWzuqK0/s1600/DSC02595.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyYlJAYgOyfMXc-uPCz8ZpTeRipvE17WMuykBXMKCJGd8lu0z4v0hBlSrwuS8-J3RWBb9ckXGxgveCIuvCoCZZLRFa45tg7vivzSuokskU0iSrPsuLQCGQmGpZaE6lvA69pqE2XWzuqK0/s400/DSC02595.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Above centre: on the top layer of the smaller part of this print, 75mm up, the motor passed so close to the frame that I could no longer see the gap. I removed one of the board's mounting blocks at that corner when I saw it get close, or it would already have collided.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This complication arose since the extruder motor was mounted at the positive end of the x-axis, so that when it was at positions close to that end of the x-axis, height was limited by the extruder motor potentially moving through space occupied by one of the frame bars at 60°, and because there currently isn't an option in host software such as printrun to only allow prints to fit within a space more complicated than a cuboid.<br />
<br />
When starting to test I learned a simple lesson about the J-Head Mk.IV hot-end: don't ever forget to turn on a cooling fan when running PLA through it. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN_IDtUkyZOdUEtx-Zql7dh2tXGwDy66LUbnVkaxNbSBxXC2VB_UczxUwj0YdWEWBM69eEyYXfZZVAFF8dYq_7u7dVKdcn4eDMw3CeJBIrdDTdxKeTm7LhY9_94ovOQUFi1u__JizoMfQ/s1600/DSC02632.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN_IDtUkyZOdUEtx-Zql7dh2tXGwDy66LUbnVkaxNbSBxXC2VB_UczxUwj0YdWEWBM69eEyYXfZZVAFF8dYq_7u7dVKdcn4eDMw3CeJBIrdDTdxKeTm7LhY9_94ovOQUFi1u__JizoMfQ/s400/DSC02632.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Result of no cooling: molten PLA worked its way up to plug the heat barrier.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Thankfully this hot-end is very easy to dis-assemble, and as soon as I dug a bit of that PLA out of the top, by removing a chunky set-screw from the end with an allen key, the remaining clogged PLA practically popped out with a still-warm PTFE sleeve.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg93X1HKGfR9lUsg3OHEUffvKbv31sSOgZlYRsXvw3dzVQ7mHmb39Q9q-sXKrNYdtzn_JCcQFWEzUomw8yt0oS8My5m6jKce9Xk6qxH2LGJieunLivJHCKyf2bZBaIVbIgjdaXAyfFhXCA/s1600/DSC02634.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg93X1HKGfR9lUsg3OHEUffvKbv31sSOgZlYRsXvw3dzVQ7mHmb39Q9q-sXKrNYdtzn_JCcQFWEzUomw8yt0oS8My5m6jKce9Xk6qxH2LGJieunLivJHCKyf2bZBaIVbIgjdaXAyfFhXCA/s400/DSC02634.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That black set-screw I think is about M8 size, and is a clever way of keeping the sleeve compressed while having a gap for filament to pass through.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
So I gave printing on cardboard another try, this time trying to print a plant-holding part of my rotary hydroponics kit, but something else went wrong in the first layer when it seemed that the hot-end couldn't stay up at melting temperature.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4bfhPEecKeYGYf-4O1499j9PGgk-Se9_Qp172wuobL7A5i998V3TCrPEKdZL6HRzLu5t7eCqMBMVEcirmnofyfdeus567KinP0fwUBOcD5Kq2wtNMJ6PMtjwuDvp2MwubtDEZO1CoFHw/s1600/DSC02643.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4bfhPEecKeYGYf-4O1499j9PGgk-Se9_Qp172wuobL7A5i998V3TCrPEKdZL6HRzLu5t7eCqMBMVEcirmnofyfdeus567KinP0fwUBOcD5Kq2wtNMJ6PMtjwuDvp2MwubtDEZO1CoFHw/s400/DSC02643.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adhesion to inside-of-cereal-box cardboard was initially great until this.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After testing the heater and checking around with a multimeter to figure out why it was completely failing to heat up anymore, I realised that an electronic part had blown out that I would never have expected to do so before.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhru8pZJxn38medrUUNk_UXUkkYN1GD4hf9z_Av0tfTojuJFKt9g3TGBu2TrrMh1uVk5uRKHijx2ks-DRB_12TbpgKqJsiZxTEvlAztMLIlcCplc5c8qCwSRs91-Hqh8QxywZ92Nh8AioM/s1600/DSC02665.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhru8pZJxn38medrUUNk_UXUkkYN1GD4hf9z_Av0tfTojuJFKt9g3TGBu2TrrMh1uVk5uRKHijx2ks-DRB_12TbpgKqJsiZxTEvlAztMLIlcCplc5c8qCwSRs91-Hqh8QxywZ92Nh8AioM/s400/DSC02665.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This nearly-new wire-wound heating resistor that came installed with the new hot-end somehow ruptured under normal operating conditions. 'W21 5PS' is printed on the opposite side.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
While it's a cheap part to replace, I decided that I wasn't going to wait over a weekend to get a new one, so I tried taking the working resistor out of my old hot-end that was still lying around for spares, as you can see it in the top-left of the last picture. On dis-assembling the old heater block however, I found out that putting cheap thermal paste on one of those resistors isn't a great idea, as it had turned into a fine grey dust that got everywhere after a year of repeated heating.<br />
There was still another problem with fitting my old heating resistor though.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtt7eNkiYCImVlcodAtJsoSuU6zlJR4jSre4XlXHtKgoH5D8-gCQ98bVxaGZXZGlLKIKflSnlVp85PQ5_Pu0RHOnWYiAB9Fn6imUnXX8TKqVX5-ULzMEtxwSBixDQNrN62v8VFupRADK0/s1600/DSC02669.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtt7eNkiYCImVlcodAtJsoSuU6zlJR4jSre4XlXHtKgoH5D8-gCQ98bVxaGZXZGlLKIKflSnlVp85PQ5_Pu0RHOnWYiAB9Fn6imUnXX8TKqVX5-ULzMEtxwSBixDQNrN62v8VFupRADK0/s400/DSC02669.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It didn't fit.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpqGUs-ctQTRLMqrtAwlV1jn9NtkuhLbLaw1Zfli6cqOTfga-g8QuJxbL_zxDo4nNBTiicEbqd6cANagB0Uaikb2ZgVMv4wgDEHp5mUMF23i5CUR8RKhgGsgeN8jd3OE3BtL3D6_b6x3k/s1600/DSC02674.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpqGUs-ctQTRLMqrtAwlV1jn9NtkuhLbLaw1Zfli6cqOTfga-g8QuJxbL_zxDo4nNBTiicEbqd6cANagB0Uaikb2ZgVMv4wgDEHp5mUMF23i5CUR8RKhgGsgeN8jd3OE3BtL3D6_b6x3k/s400/DSC02674.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">But a bit of aluminium foil quickly solved that.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
My quick solution may not give a perfect fit, but at least it was back up and running so that I could continue testing PLA onto cardboard.<br />
First I tried a wide part that would test the warping problem that I had with paper. For this I used a z-motor bracket from Prusa's Mendel iteration 2 repository, aligned flat along the build plate. I quickly saw again something else that I needed to improve in my printer:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgDu7DV3aNHiZjwVUqTuSPTifBSw-hZTTD_6vAOySi0aX27ulMNx0N66b62quorVMHbi2kFIjBDeSsmg1tVlYBsYGkIjyEE6aNaPYjeeov312MKLQMhIargjdD5d3oFat2X_rOpdoKgAg/s1600/DSC02730.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgDu7DV3aNHiZjwVUqTuSPTifBSw-hZTTD_6vAOySi0aX27ulMNx0N66b62quorVMHbi2kFIjBDeSsmg1tVlYBsYGkIjyEE6aNaPYjeeov312MKLQMhIargjdD5d3oFat2X_rOpdoKgAg/s400/DSC02730.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Overhanging corners of PLA start to curl up slightly during printing.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Although I clearly needed to add some cooling to improve the quality of slight overhangs in PLA, at least the bottom surface warp wasn't bad.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNeF-B8Wf02rbqxcurLy3UFKmLmXn4o2Tc0Lxiais-UDolckGtIWcTw-qV31u221KGXoa9WBjD9tl_bf7xJ09er5m9wJIeo6MJFWreGXrqrA2XZ4dU1mOPki0KXZ_LxuSFYdsA5ra0ocY/s1600/DSC02738.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNeF-B8Wf02rbqxcurLy3UFKmLmXn4o2Tc0Lxiais-UDolckGtIWcTw-qV31u221KGXoa9WBjD9tl_bf7xJ09er5m9wJIeo6MJFWreGXrqrA2XZ4dU1mOPki0KXZ_LxuSFYdsA5ra0ocY/s400/DSC02738.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty good actually, very near parallel.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
My solution to cooling was to hook up a fan that I'd salvaged from the case of an old discarded mac computer with some spare wire and old <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7157">bolt-on PLA bushings</a>.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_RcbMrLahaP3HOU1h2QpuNJWRGBeczRPE1N4YGXENEpadwGq2E-HL-NLKCutA9-HYUw6pT-SVtDg9uNtveE7lsqySmTlLfw7XsaH8HS3JytqTWCbWWwoXY3wJoOQjYswgllNxql86_0I/s1600/DSC02748.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_RcbMrLahaP3HOU1h2QpuNJWRGBeczRPE1N4YGXENEpadwGq2E-HL-NLKCutA9-HYUw6pT-SVtDg9uNtveE7lsqySmTlLfw7XsaH8HS3JytqTWCbWWwoXY3wJoOQjYswgllNxql86_0I/s400/DSC02748.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fan in foreground with another z-motor bracket cooling down.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The result of a re-test was much better: <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8rWlB3UrnbLiDrMCGs5o-D0V0W4fhYxHxhhHyZmXIOjimNvPWCzs3R5hrFeJL_SGJAMjQ6cMOzajtEUqQgTWVrKoqoPik2EU9DowHT9qyJGgQKuic_p9uz1uzPyoPMOaSXZCRyVu4RIU/s1600/DSC02752.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8rWlB3UrnbLiDrMCGs5o-D0V0W4fhYxHxhhHyZmXIOjimNvPWCzs3R5hrFeJL_SGJAMjQ6cMOzajtEUqQgTWVrKoqoPik2EU9DowHT9qyJGgQKuic_p9uz1uzPyoPMOaSXZCRyVu4RIU/s400/DSC02752.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So good that it would fit right away without any reaming.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
However, the wiring for this new fan was a bit messy, being shoved into the screw terminal plug for my motherboard at one end, with jumper wires at the other end (visible above), and I resolved to tidy up some of the growing mess that was the wiring of my printer (the x-carriage fan was plugged in by a terminal strip that I turned back-to-front whenever I wanted to switch it off, while I had used a bit of screw terminal block to connect 240V mains wires to a 12V power supply, which were one misplaced hand-tool away from a nasty shock - all in all, an embarrassment) with a power switchbox using some nice chunky switches that I had lying around.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimRR-61hmkbVL58sms_-npZUbv8TCu2spDUf8jQD-dk5kthO-bBU32b2SeJNgb35oJioS0smfCRkOyjiJufkSe5zOezO3aqNXw4PYUREO-t0YMuhYq82XkJoKH4HZRz8IYPPmGIIaYx4o/s1600/DSC02775.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimRR-61hmkbVL58sms_-npZUbv8TCu2spDUf8jQD-dk5kthO-bBU32b2SeJNgb35oJioS0smfCRkOyjiJufkSe5zOezO3aqNXw4PYUREO-t0YMuhYq82XkJoKH4HZRz8IYPPmGIIaYx4o/s400/DSC02775.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A large print of my custom switchbox design.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The print didn't go badly until the last few layers when the extruder jammed just as it was about to print some holes for the lid to hinge around. Thankfully it wasn't an exploding resistor this time, but a far easier-to-replace part.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghMlMiZyx3qadOwewpJbJVsB95ZCoW5jI9d41NNyKY3ZpH7cppumEX6BEdcNyPwItl09bRZdu9PfCMg5xkRZiYWWFQGVWZ1_NX9I7pnh0zJTkj79ydDkGMiKEb46juASDJfKXQPPego2U/s1600/DSC02779.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghMlMiZyx3qadOwewpJbJVsB95ZCoW5jI9d41NNyKY3ZpH7cppumEX6BEdcNyPwItl09bRZdu9PfCMg5xkRZiYWWFQGVWZ1_NX9I7pnh0zJTkj79ydDkGMiKEb46juASDJfKXQPPego2U/s400/DSC02779.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gregfrost's <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:17030">filament-guiding extruder idler</a> ('guidler') broke between layers, allowing the filament to slip off the extruder biting point, so I designed and uploaded a <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:27559">reinforced version</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I had heard a little snap from that region earlier and not thought much of it, which was silly, but at least it shouldn't happen in future. It seems that printing a few wide things across cardboard isn't a very wise idea though as shown here:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT0byck3_5dCO0zJdQxZu6MBtR5V9acOPJMJ9F5TfKyNH0NgmGDgfGsZ2B4WCZLDpbFeAkdHU_pHR0GpNq43qs5og6TmfnOjXMuDusOmpsTmg3vGM9WVhnIGto2TIDGqTeKlXBOmCAjr8/s1600/DSC02781.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT0byck3_5dCO0zJdQxZu6MBtR5V9acOPJMJ9F5TfKyNH0NgmGDgfGsZ2B4WCZLDpbFeAkdHU_pHR0GpNq43qs5og6TmfnOjXMuDusOmpsTmg3vGM9WVhnIGto2TIDGqTeKlXBOmCAjr8/s400/DSC02781.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Warp was pretty bad this time.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I eventually got it all together though, making my power wiring somewhat neater and making it easier to switch fans on and off, even if I still can't have the fans controlled by the old gen6 motherboard.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBc86U5h3-plV2F3c3ZninDoV68WE_HT_3yJWd5bppUPvdNH6g08u5hhsbpnWCbCaqcOSf1qHcDWLiK7rOsNZiBYOisOcYmAh95HOPDg-eeHYGjp9L6IANRlpLt1ZybnNqxfOmPHTzqlM/s1600/DSC02800.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBc86U5h3-plV2F3c3ZninDoV68WE_HT_3yJWd5bppUPvdNH6g08u5hhsbpnWCbCaqcOSf1qHcDWLiK7rOsNZiBYOisOcYmAh95HOPDg-eeHYGjp9L6IANRlpLt1ZybnNqxfOmPHTzqlM/s400/DSC02800.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My electronics mounting board is now about as crowded as it can get.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
After testing wide-object warp (the badly warped box seemed to be more due to adhesion loss than flexibility in the cardboard), I wanted to check out how well a tall object would print, so I placed a couple of the same motor brackets in their usual vertical alignment along with a few bar clamps to also see how well small things would do here.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzQK0m15gtU26TjR9NzXSSNkBzy9Y32zEUeSkqNKWGk6envTvyzKvtfeZVBi_kwHZD139hfRqGMI4YJh9tgaT1uzpFPgTdyLYWtuxWR0iVGFek7H6tysNC9NzYU65dt5uLPSLVw7vsabY/s1600/DSC02805.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzQK0m15gtU26TjR9NzXSSNkBzy9Y32zEUeSkqNKWGk6envTvyzKvtfeZVBi_kwHZD139hfRqGMI4YJh9tgaT1uzpFPgTdyLYWtuxWR0iVGFek7H6tysNC9NzYU65dt5uLPSLVw7vsabY/s400/DSC02805.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I also set slic3r to code in a line of skirt material around each object individually rather than around the whole print at the start, hoping that this might help to stop edges peeling up.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The small bar-clamps turned out fine, but the motor brackets not so well due to there being enough flexibility in the cardboard for them to get knocked back and forth by the extruder head.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdWRnW-zEB04jnowibnNVP7h6QlPFtfP_BZEGOz389LVtm8jEpmSGgedJsdeCfAbDEhl3l2N8a5ggui2LvK_3HcLqa8YuD6qi39iFCENPyytnpPyqLMaS09x_OprhJsBSrYpnKqnIs7zg/s1600/DSC02812.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdWRnW-zEB04jnowibnNVP7h6QlPFtfP_BZEGOz389LVtm8jEpmSGgedJsdeCfAbDEhl3l2N8a5ggui2LvK_3HcLqa8YuD6qi39iFCENPyytnpPyqLMaS09x_OprhJsBSrYpnKqnIs7zg/s400/DSC02812.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These definitely weren't usable straight off the printer.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Since the small parts were fine, I tried again with more, this time with the both the bar clamps and <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:8985">geodesic dome connector ball-joints</a> that I <a href="http://engineeringourfreedom.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/printing-pla-on-paper.html">had trouble with last time</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwqJdh2XIm6RflDYaM5nxIp_MDj0k76tIc6EOTLJAiC3WcK2J9XKZuMrHuP4xdyvGu3GcMBPILs_kep3dNgS_6AZ77kb9ZYEED2hH0df4kSDJW-f6MJShR7TiXoyNwkQsbAcAnHU1dVxo/s1600/DSC02814.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwqJdh2XIm6RflDYaM5nxIp_MDj0k76tIc6EOTLJAiC3WcK2J9XKZuMrHuP4xdyvGu3GcMBPILs_kep3dNgS_6AZ77kb9ZYEED2hH0df4kSDJW-f6MJShR7TiXoyNwkQsbAcAnHU1dVxo/s400/DSC02814.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh, and a pulley.</td></tr>
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<br />
That worked exceptionally well, so I did some more.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4GjaF9BQEjGjng3Bj1u-_ilTjiQXvepWMUahiFeqZEXVngH8oHNRDiMeyCbr1sTPlgH3xNwaHBlOXD3-Z8CsLi99t3Im-eD-QaUykCZy27ei5ZzdPqeHWkBgz4dsxz67lgizcBDGmdAA/s1600/DSC02817.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4GjaF9BQEjGjng3Bj1u-_ilTjiQXvepWMUahiFeqZEXVngH8oHNRDiMeyCbr1sTPlgH3xNwaHBlOXD3-Z8CsLi99t3Im-eD-QaUykCZy27ei5ZzdPqeHWkBgz4dsxz67lgizcBDGmdAA/s400/DSC02817.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These were still great, even though the parts spanned a lot of the cardboard area, and they pop off cleanly and easily by simply bending the card after printing.</td></tr>
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I almost forgot to mention, a friend kindly picked up a sheet of cut glass for me at our nearest glaziers (about 100 miles away), and since then print quality with PLA has been unmatched on my heated bed - adhesion is just great every time so long as the glass is clean.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDazpps-yO3liBAXeOkW8aI2nHS9sbKf_nsFuxn2dxFraeIswYT_h17jPEKjrgf99rbaEWEesPzA3ukNeNp9RQ6iiajZrFT9fB-WaCkiE6hcduYBcjGgVmKl_2JcSXQbr9zW6k-5tpnqs/s1600/DSC02834.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDazpps-yO3liBAXeOkW8aI2nHS9sbKf_nsFuxn2dxFraeIswYT_h17jPEKjrgf99rbaEWEesPzA3ukNeNp9RQ6iiajZrFT9fB-WaCkiE6hcduYBcjGgVmKl_2JcSXQbr9zW6k-5tpnqs/s400/DSC02834.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bottom surfaces are almost perfectly flat too, with a very shiny finish.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So cardboard seems to be a useful cheap temporary surface, but nothing can compare to a glass surface if you can get access to it (cost was not a problem for me - about tree fiddy - but distance was). One obvious disadvantage though is the extra weight (about 300g) that this 3mm plate adds to the y-carriage, which puts a further limit on the top speed that this printer can run at, due to risks of the plate becoming loose or increased backlash at high speeds. As a small technical point, I've measured temperature on top of the glass plate at about 65°C while the aluminium plate is at 72°C.<br />
I've also seen people on the reprap IRC saying that they have successfully printed ABS onto a glass surface by using a thin layer of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyvinyl_acetate">PVA</a> (a common wood glue, which forms <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyvinyl_alcohol">a water-soluble biodegradable polymer</a> that has also been used as removable support material in dual-extrusion printers). This is great since it means that people can stop using polyimide as a print surface, since it is clearly unsustainable as a thermoset that loses its 'stick' in a number of months. There is a slight paradox there though since ABS as our main heat-resistant prototyping material is itself an unsustainable feedstock as we don't have any way to produce it that doesn't use fossil oil. This I'll be looking at solving through over-engineering soon - by sand-casting parts in recycled aluminium from PLA forms.<br />
<br />
After all that, I've finally prepared a couple of test pieces to see how strong the mounting points in my wind turbine design can be, meanwhile it looks like the studding&nuts used as cheap leadscrews on my z-axis are finally wearing out badly from friction. I'll update with details when I have some results from strength tests, as this post has become long enough and I have a few other things to be doing first.4ndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675315515117082792noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-906217424699189688.post-70763521026794824102012-09-04T15:41:00.000+01:002012-09-04T16:23:43.439+01:00Practical PlantsA new website launched in the last month that could be a powerful tool for Permaculture designers worldwide. At <a href="http://practicalplants.org/wiki/">Practical Plants</a>, produced by a web developer and a writer who are together also building an organic farm in northern Spain, the huge database provided by <a href="http://pfaf.org/">Plants For A Future</a> has been forked in a wiki format, while retaining database-search functionality and adding a beautifully-styled new interface, so that hopefully the information brought from that old database can be improved by weeding out inaccurate or incomplete information and using better sources.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDK1c0aukMalZaiX5Vndz1pYeVssPgRmUas8Kfz_ZOaQnShd_gnVwC0hdSLCpnlD14YC7kQfVxPnZpDvv_QbIdsYdMB2PvvTgc3grJFClzMqD1WonUoFPxdxWsB3Pa5TNtp-pZDQMfBds/s1600/Practical+Plants+Beta+Site.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDK1c0aukMalZaiX5Vndz1pYeVssPgRmUas8Kfz_ZOaQnShd_gnVwC0hdSLCpnlD14YC7kQfVxPnZpDvv_QbIdsYdMB2PvvTgc3grJFClzMqD1WonUoFPxdxWsB3Pa5TNtp-pZDQMfBds/s400/Practical+Plants+Beta+Site.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Practical Plants beta homepage</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
While PFAF has primarily focused on species appropriate for a temperate climate, Practical Plants aims to cover information on species in all climates on Earth, while adding other useful structural information to the database such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Companion_planting">companion-planting</a> guilds. Various practical uses of each plant will now be linked clearly to relevant parts of the plant, for instance to help people avoid eating unpalatable or toxic bits of some plants. This extra structure needs some tidying to install though since it wasn't already in the existing database structure, so why not help out when you have a moment?<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
In yet more exciting news about <i>actual</i> practical plants, a European research and development group for alternative sources of natural rubber have hit a benchmark recently as one of their partner companies <a href="http://www.zeitnews.org/natural-sciences/chemistry/latex-hunt-produces-key-results-europe">prototyped natural-rubber tyres, made from two plants that can be grown in temperate climates</a> - <a href="http://practicalplants.org/wiki/Parthenium_argentatum">Guayule</a> in warm-temperate regions and <a href="http://practicalplants.org/wiki/Taraxacum_kok-saghyz">Russian Dandelion</a> in cold-temperate areas such as here in Scotland.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.eu-pearls.eu/NR/rdonlyres/E3DF05E7-27CA-4C0E-BF0C-D635E497AB9B/168071/image003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://www.eu-pearls.eu/NR/rdonlyres/E3DF05E7-27CA-4C0E-BF0C-D635E497AB9B/168071/image003.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tyres from weeds by Dutch firm <span id="_ctl1_Phsfeer_onderdeel2">Apollo Vredestein</span> :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
A great advantage of using latex from those plants is that it doesn't contain allergens like latex extracted from the tropical <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hevea_brasiliensis">Rubber Tree</a> does.<br />
<br />
On more practical temperate plants, from what I've tried here so far, germinating tree and large shrub seeds still seems to be very hit-and-miss. After I had only two <a href="http://practicalplants.org/wiki/Arbutus_unedo">strawberry tree</a> seeds germinate out of about a couple dozen tiny seeds sown (they were so small that trying to count them looked pointless), the first one to germinate didn't grow more than its initial pair of leaves, then later shrivelled up and died from what looks like a fungal infection.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUmm9ssOPZdT04D1DUq6Uy-cVyN8b5Qh443ML8TTCXRJBvkaNUNupZK8Yjy-a7a3aMPZra7mi92SntlLayCv7t4KpU59S0rwY7u73Ya7jHca0N58WUr5eDBkxFKW0mcY1lz9cSilMXiq4/s1600/DSC02718.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUmm9ssOPZdT04D1DUq6Uy-cVyN8b5Qh443ML8TTCXRJBvkaNUNupZK8Yjy-a7a3aMPZra7mi92SntlLayCv7t4KpU59S0rwY7u73Ya7jHca0N58WUr5eDBkxFKW0mcY1lz9cSilMXiq4/s400/DSC02718.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two Arbutus Unedo seedlings, 1 month after sowing. Re-potting the right-hand one after its original container got knocked over was likely another factor in its demise, though its growth was already stunted by then.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAx48itxrjST26610CSWKb0ErdbvUAifYXPAGIckbnM4abtRvLcMk6r7cjh-t0dK9_gMGravEjN9pwR-UI3WRtdQzoZv38Dw091ngUXngkbS2LKqMcXj5hzWIXiVhLq6qYCOg172GUVTE/s1600/DSC02711.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAx48itxrjST26610CSWKb0ErdbvUAifYXPAGIckbnM4abtRvLcMk6r7cjh-t0dK9_gMGravEjN9pwR-UI3WRtdQzoZv38Dw091ngUXngkbS2LKqMcXj5hzWIXiVhLq6qYCOg172GUVTE/s400/DSC02711.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My only surviving Arbutus Unedo seedling up close, soon to be re-potted. Fortunately they are self-fertile, so I just hope this one is as fruitful as it is disease-resistant.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
While many of the <a href="http://practicalplants.org/wiki/Elaeagnus_angustifolia">oleaster</a> seeds that I have been chilling have caught a fungus like the <a href="http://practicalplants.org/wiki/Acer_saccharum">sugar maple</a> seeds did, the <a href="http://practicalplants.org/wiki/Morus_nigra">black mulberry</a> seeds seem to have been luckily unaffected.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKFh57sEYaoMwS_FK4RIICDbmsGnqg116cedP7geUbY63_OjDOrpF4ZU4OOa8q1KJKTInZnpWi1xiM7aQGFUTfXgoWjUdpmhqStfCoQ_x5aepEegT1XS4bU02BCpoa2Zryv7hhvnPa_2Y/s1600/DSC02721.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKFh57sEYaoMwS_FK4RIICDbmsGnqg116cedP7geUbY63_OjDOrpF4ZU4OOa8q1KJKTInZnpWi1xiM7aQGFUTfXgoWjUdpmhqStfCoQ_x5aepEegT1XS4bU02BCpoa2Zryv7hhvnPa_2Y/s400/DSC02721.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After sowing a tray of 24 mulberry seeds, 12 germinated within a week while a 13th one seems to be lagging behind weakly.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Also shown above are a new row of <a href="http://practicalplants.org/wiki/Caragana_arborescens">siberian pea tree</a> seeds potted at the back, which I have had no success in germinating yet, and a couple of larger brown pots each with one of a few oleaster seeds that I picked out to try and curb the spread of mould in their jar. Now seems to be around the earliest that I should sow them, since the supplier suggested anywhere from 10-30 weeks, while PFAF quoted 12 weeks' cold stratification.<br />
<br />
While disposing of <a href="http://practicalplants.org/wiki/Araucaria_araucana">monkey puzzle</a> seeds that had failed to germinate, I noticed one thing that might have been a factor in me only getting 1/4, as there was what looked like a thick tap-root trying to grow straight down from one of the failed seeds, which of course didn't get far before it turned a right angle on the bottom of its pot, since I was quite stingy with some peaty potting mix when I sowed them.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEincXHw7O1aSweWJ7c1OpUthJ-pY5STDYA5VRUnL1pi3VXnNhWZMei_AR-D4OiOV2XUYIOhkBDeo2zTS_yEn2HRqgg-UCvo6a1fJMXWt1r-wB1BMIb2I4kRBTdevMkSPzgI4_-B19ZT7EQ/s1600/DSC02651.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEincXHw7O1aSweWJ7c1OpUthJ-pY5STDYA5VRUnL1pi3VXnNhWZMei_AR-D4OiOV2XUYIOhkBDeo2zTS_yEn2HRqgg-UCvo6a1fJMXWt1r-wB1BMIb2I4kRBTdevMkSPzgI4_-B19ZT7EQ/s400/DSC02651.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monkey Puzzle taproot (trimmed slightly).</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Taking a lesson from this, I've now tried sowing my last 4 monkey puzzle seeds, filling narrow pots nearly to their brim with a much lighter compost. I'm determined not to over-water them and will surely report what I find.<br />
<br />
So, more than half of the various dormant seeds that I have tried to cold-stratify in a fridge have been afflicted by mould, though all the jars used were washed with boiling water before they were soaked. My best guess is that either the seeds already had such fungi and bacteria on them when they were dropped in to absorb water, or that airborne spores entered the jars when they were opened to put seeds in and later drain water out before chilling.<br />
Since creating an even more scrupulously sterile atmosphere for the seeds would involve a disproportionate increase in effort, this lead me to wonder whether some <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fungicide#Natural_fungicides">natural fungicide</a> could be put in containers used for cold stratification, so I'll be testing that with my next few batches of seeds that I keep for sowing next spring. From <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16104824">this study</a>, clove or cinnamon essential oils sound like promising candidates.4ndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675315515117082792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-906217424699189688.post-72835195679555138762012-08-16T11:23:00.000+01:002012-08-16T11:25:33.806+01:00Every Sheep Has a Silver LiningWith <a href="http://engineeringourfreedom.blogspot.com/2012/04/did-you-say-shrubberies.html">the Elaeagnus shrubs that suffered greatly</a> after I planted them outdoors a few months ago, for a pair of evergreen species to lose most of their leaves during spring, I was understandably worried that they would die due to root shock and waterlogged soil.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeymohufY9sI7RvXdk3i1NB74j2gsLTk5NApB1ryDPxDdzoOYVA2c6Ovv1GG6-9ZyQQHHL3OfMkMvoUE9FBqGub9BWzMtMj0i5EB9sJjxgiYSaBYuo7owDOHGGJnTg1Li2q4iuutYGMww/s1600/DSC02544.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeymohufY9sI7RvXdk3i1NB74j2gsLTk5NApB1ryDPxDdzoOYVA2c6Ovv1GG6-9ZyQQHHL3OfMkMvoUE9FBqGub9BWzMtMj0i5EB9sJjxgiYSaBYuo7owDOHGGJnTg1Li2q4iuutYGMww/s400/DSC02544.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What's more, they seemed to be completely over-run by local 'weeds' to the point that I couldn't see this one.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
However, since the tiny forest garden that I'm pioneering was <a href="http://engineeringourfreedom.blogspot.com/2012/08/it-hits-fan.html">slightly chewed up by marauding sheep</a> a couple of weeks ago, I've spotted signs that they are getting some strength back, and noticed some of the other plants that I stuck out growing vigorously.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a name='more'></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAFttoXnQ0NXzo3Mgc0xSYHuu2SGgcAooUG2PMNlX5zaWXdruVJdSu54S7Klq-So0eoaXj4aUtWIOrQAXGKBlK8JxVEByAvofHDUAt8-iHQSDLq25neK2otmuGLNtUReENQ6MZU69IfUk/s1600/DSC02545.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAFttoXnQ0NXzo3Mgc0xSYHuu2SGgcAooUG2PMNlX5zaWXdruVJdSu54S7Klq-So0eoaXj4aUtWIOrQAXGKBlK8JxVEByAvofHDUAt8-iHQSDLq25neK2otmuGLNtUReENQ6MZU69IfUk/s400/DSC02545.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Elaeagnus+pungens">E. Pungens Maculata</a> looks pretty dead, but on closer inspection...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt4JeyJmxHMHPMLZ5pZTdXnaiISkbwE3Ucm9JZWS2CpXpg1kO8k2rHTX99coOHKEyxVc6_z5P_uap_TVuonMgTv4lXtwVyNAN1BKP0T-dvjd8xM23TlaAmXbpALQxJx9UhNEsZ6_NmEYw/s1600/DSC02546.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt4JeyJmxHMHPMLZ5pZTdXnaiISkbwE3Ucm9JZWS2CpXpg1kO8k2rHTX99coOHKEyxVc6_z5P_uap_TVuonMgTv4lXtwVyNAN1BKP0T-dvjd8xM23TlaAmXbpALQxJx9UhNEsZ6_NmEYw/s400/DSC02546.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm not sure if a couple of those new leaves were nibbled by slugs or caterpillars, but it looks like there's some life in this shrub yet.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After clearing a mess of vetch out of my way, I uncovered the other Elaeagnus.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq1a76PdKtq1TvEX89LqwBSeFC0-TiLsh5aU4jTBddo2f0caDRtMHr3nEVVpPf8mb-vEZHg35o0_wH94K7pz2JppiFCLFpdvPhb45KoIOYz8_FQrXYURoS0smiBmoSYqQI06C-Rpi4lQ8/s1600/DSC02547.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq1a76PdKtq1TvEX89LqwBSeFC0-TiLsh5aU4jTBddo2f0caDRtMHr3nEVVpPf8mb-vEZHg35o0_wH94K7pz2JppiFCLFpdvPhb45KoIOYz8_FQrXYURoS0smiBmoSYqQI06C-Rpi4lQ8/s400/DSC02547.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Elaeagnus+x+ebbingei">E. x Ebbingei</a>, just as it was always growing stronger than its counterpart
before, still has an original leaf or two at the bottom.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjETkK5dVrEvw8NIzRzbqIu9OhqsLJDa4I99YO6CJSATvwoTVR8IRd45XZ0jqDXCSLkc9arzfkuVcmv0m7sc2ZX7H1Ebpy3o0sm1RFjWtKvtF8xccvwc7VkRn5DuVgNQFu4jT1qnHGy2ro/s1600/DSC02549.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjETkK5dVrEvw8NIzRzbqIu9OhqsLJDa4I99YO6CJSATvwoTVR8IRd45XZ0jqDXCSLkc9arzfkuVcmv0m7sc2ZX7H1Ebpy3o0sm1RFjWtKvtF8xccvwc7VkRn5DuVgNQFu4jT1qnHGy2ro/s400/DSC02549.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This one also has some new leaves forming halfway up the plant.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I hope that as a lot of the plant life dies down over autumn and winter,
these evergreen elaeagnus shrubs will have a chance to flourish with
some newly established growth.<br />
<br />
It seems a lot clearer now that summer has taken its course and I've learned a bit about <a href="http://engineeringourfreedom.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/flora-and-fauna-identification-in.html">local flora and fauna</a>, that the variety of life on this patch of land I'm working is a bit more diverse than the adjacent fields, which are regularly grazed down to almost nothing by herds of sheep; much more than just grass stands out here now.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjReD1W49oWny8DIn6-WcOgCemG9GoSmvEdnp7GOSuXzAVYxgTyfxPIUNslRxd74wmSVzpbtuj_d-_vip1_2D6_q3psAy5wQxUOJ_TRkcq2NnQZe-0Cql65G1szP_Q3590eApclkQi8CVA/s1600/DSC02524.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjReD1W49oWny8DIn6-WcOgCemG9GoSmvEdnp7GOSuXzAVYxgTyfxPIUNslRxd74wmSVzpbtuj_d-_vip1_2D6_q3psAy5wQxUOJ_TRkcq2NnQZe-0Cql65G1szP_Q3590eApclkQi8CVA/s400/DSC02524.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Visible here are many white flower-heads of an edible perennial, <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Heracleum+sphondylium">common hogweed</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I'm glad to know that although my <a href="http://engineeringourfreedom.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/digging-small-swale.html">peas</a> mostly didn't succeed as edible legumes, instead getting eaten by mice and slugs, native 'weed'-like legumes such as vetch and clover have been widespread enough to start repairing the soil on the swale that I dug.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTiQABH-wym8iEj4l8IaYLpCMyZqcanBvCv3geStd-gEUICPxGRzETnglCJ5B5Xhf5uXTc6YM3Bv76Mc6BG1Q60dMIPU4imahLMrj7Zs713_hAW86ubwOfksP8oCSssNMgMfWzNQ8Ct80/s1600/DSC02539.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTiQABH-wym8iEj4l8IaYLpCMyZqcanBvCv3geStd-gEUICPxGRzETnglCJ5B5Xhf5uXTc6YM3Bv76Mc6BG1Q60dMIPU4imahLMrj7Zs713_hAW86ubwOfksP8oCSssNMgMfWzNQ8Ct80/s400/DSC02539.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's not quite ground cover yet, but these two local soil-repair species
are slowly creeping up the bank, and soon I'll be able to plant out
some rhubarb divisions that should cover the swale in shade.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzaisCeo-iRRqFl3c7RCSDzjmwYfHEUcnT_lJkUSSaQbEW9FhRsP2CQpXGfy6mwnxl-uVrDj9GyrUKRd6Hy2VlU3Oui3D5vRPICdPpOnA9GdQEaqGkN2tsSRLBleEG8F4fhnLlHmTUeKI/s1600/DSC02540.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzaisCeo-iRRqFl3c7RCSDzjmwYfHEUcnT_lJkUSSaQbEW9FhRsP2CQpXGfy6mwnxl-uVrDj9GyrUKRd6Hy2VlU3Oui3D5vRPICdPpOnA9GdQEaqGkN2tsSRLBleEG8F4fhnLlHmTUeKI/s400/DSC02540.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I planted this crimson clover out after it became quite overgrown on a windowsill. It didn't germinate easily outdoors like the 'fiddleneck' green manure plant did, so I'm doubtful whether it will self-seed and join those local species.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I've been surprised and pleased at how resilient some of the <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Cynara+scolymus">globe artichokes</a> that I've planted out have been. They should be successful in this region since they are a type of thistle, and <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Onopordum+acanthium">local thistles</a> do famously well here, but some of these have managed to survive through quite a bit of damage from herbivores.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKYq6gL3V_dye-iyblLftY5H08QhVo_AAd3rpOKEby5h1uQj71E0s7acLQHqLCv7z032gsT6bqIBL7hoQBkGeuCS_jMdP8j6s5oiHTQrxSWPiQ4Sxz-udIU0EkJC8UngKox5bGu0Y3eT4/s1600/DSC02533.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKYq6gL3V_dye-iyblLftY5H08QhVo_AAd3rpOKEby5h1uQj71E0s7acLQHqLCv7z032gsT6bqIBL7hoQBkGeuCS_jMdP8j6s5oiHTQrxSWPiQ4Sxz-udIU0EkJC8UngKox5bGu0Y3eT4/s400/DSC02533.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Although practically none germinated when planted straight outside,
these two globe artichokes (light green plants at top) that I stuck out as quite small seedlings
have survived repeated slug attack.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs2P3YCYMEjdj2SBW2TlBBMR-7oZH-RIiv8cZ2USHzW2Suc2LmpFVISbgTgI7UcL0M-pSAoLoKGLW0Od-zjNWQYrRRV53YHZmWRTSAXH_T9NCfcorTYRD6e-0eqxCReSgp2p_mBQ03wAY/s1600/DSC02538.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs2P3YCYMEjdj2SBW2TlBBMR-7oZH-RIiv8cZ2USHzW2Suc2LmpFVISbgTgI7UcL0M-pSAoLoKGLW0Od-zjNWQYrRRV53YHZmWRTSAXH_T9NCfcorTYRD6e-0eqxCReSgp2p_mBQ03wAY/s400/DSC02538.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After an artichoke I stuck out near here was eaten to a stump, probably by a
rabbit, I planted the bottom-left one with half a 2l PET bottle for
protection, cutting the neck into strips to anchor it into the ground.
Since then the top-right one popped up, which I guess was a seed I
planted months ago only germinating in summer warmth.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I'm not certain what these are, but given that I sowed radish, squash and turnip seeds in this area, I think they are most likely gold-ball turnip plants. Although <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Brassica+rapa">turnips</a> usually have yellow flowers, I have <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Prairie_turnip,_Badlands_National_Park.JPG">seen some</a> with purple.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgifLF0x_T3Vm5nZUbICIp87BDDknW1yNsYsE_1fbDxtFceJNOg2m0ZjhL-eCEwk_r5Ei98TC8vv42onrvuUX1vDElZXyxYRkZDnuhVIQHqlkRtCW72gx_4N1WeBL95R_LcQBi4dE3eW64/s1600/DSC02529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgifLF0x_T3Vm5nZUbICIp87BDDknW1yNsYsE_1fbDxtFceJNOg2m0ZjhL-eCEwk_r5Ei98TC8vv42onrvuUX1vDElZXyxYRkZDnuhVIQHqlkRtCW72gx_4N1WeBL95R_LcQBi4dE3eW64/s400/DSC02529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Suspected turnip plants on the right (fiddleneck and hogweed on left).</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The tree line is also now more closely approaching Mollison's recommended ideal open-to-equator horseshoe-shape windbreak that I'm trying to mimic, with the addition of a couple of very young <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Malus+sylvestris">crab-apple</a> trees bought for a few quid each at a local summer fair. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt_WSbwteVrjXnP9vXT0dAZloYrxgu7F5VdeE7uAo-tAlJQn8pm5G6mf1fgqdX4otXBm2ZMclUrMJ78_Y3FHTuBUmpWTJGBrQLP5G6edjCXGO5NUYT2WFiJasLr1a84sqR6cO49CLrXr4/s1600/DSC02489.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt_WSbwteVrjXnP9vXT0dAZloYrxgu7F5VdeE7uAo-tAlJQn8pm5G6mf1fgqdX4otXBm2ZMclUrMJ78_Y3FHTuBUmpWTJGBrQLP5G6edjCXGO5NUYT2WFiJasLr1a84sqR6cO49CLrXr4/s400/DSC02489.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First crab-apple planted between the plum and <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Betula+pubescens">downy birch</a>. These are usually brilliant for pollenating
other apple trees, and have a high pectin content useful for making jam
with other plants such as rhubarb.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSiL-gnaCsFi63IWfpDjUeO5MGZp5Jw3_3raJyPZQfgw-YbHLkeQdMd-Xy5OrEuKTxGTnkMSZ5s6W0wXxK1G8xTBiCa6FXjFRHWAXSKalJyaHDJl4Lo0MckmCRoODFgLTTHWLxjqiF8vk/s1600/DSC02500.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSiL-gnaCsFi63IWfpDjUeO5MGZp5Jw3_3raJyPZQfgw-YbHLkeQdMd-Xy5OrEuKTxGTnkMSZ5s6W0wXxK1G8xTBiCa6FXjFRHWAXSKalJyaHDJl4Lo0MckmCRoODFgLTTHWLxjqiF8vk/s400/DSC02500.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Second crab-apple tree in the northernmost corner of this plot. They are both so short that they should have
no trouble with wind while establishing roots, what with the fenceline
and all the hogweed around them just now.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Back inside there has been a bit more success with germinating tree seeds. While I only have 3 strong-looking <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Pinus+sylvestris">scots pine</a> seedlings now surviving out of well over a dozen seeds that I tried to sow in previous weeks, the first couple of <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Arbutus+unedo">strawberry tree</a> seedlings have popped up when I was beginning to think that none would.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhioLkGfQVsJjEAp3dvHEUSZo8OsuntQRK6c4jAk4L1-DFjBr5wxwMnRCwF3yvcuoiAWxWjAan4ko16B-uGJme9DpwZb7F24urTa35tfpqCVsp7d0EIAQXLDOu2ok6RAt1owV_YLHUfxfU/s1600/DSC02615.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhioLkGfQVsJjEAp3dvHEUSZo8OsuntQRK6c4jAk4L1-DFjBr5wxwMnRCwF3yvcuoiAWxWjAan4ko16B-uGJme9DpwZb7F24urTa35tfpqCVsp7d0EIAQXLDOu2ok6RAt1owV_YLHUfxfU/s400/DSC02615.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left seedling took a little over 2 weeks to germinate, while right one
took just over 1 week, after both seeds had been cold-stratified for ~10 weeks.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Meanwhile I scraped a skin of moss off the pots of failed pine seeds and re-used the compost underneath to sow some <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Acer+saccharum">sugar maple</a> seeds. After 4 months cold-stratifying at the back of a fridge, most of them had some white fluff on their surface from a mould that got in, which I carefully wiped off before potting them. This time after watering the seeded pots I sprinkled a thin layer of dry compost over the top in order to (at least initially) discourage moss growth.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBSaE2lRxOMPhjMwHMl6D26tp12yqaW_KyGLM07pCeIPMh0ZSZ5l8hTZK-w5-M1-wUT_YAx9vTXz4spS87F_NGVxDvPMvzDFNNg_Wp0JWhIJdBp8MDDxHmb5hVOokIDOx6GgBhaDNraGg/s1600/DSC02621.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBSaE2lRxOMPhjMwHMl6D26tp12yqaW_KyGLM07pCeIPMh0ZSZ5l8hTZK-w5-M1-wUT_YAx9vTXz4spS87F_NGVxDvPMvzDFNNg_Wp0JWhIJdBp8MDDxHmb5hVOokIDOx6GgBhaDNraGg/s400/DSC02621.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A dozen maple seed pots with the remaining 3 pine seedlings. Re-using
some yogurt pots to free up some finer plant pots, since these could
take a very long time to germinate.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I was most happy when I cleared out a couple of the pots that I had stuck <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Araucaria+araucana">monkey-puzzle</a> nuts into, which were over-run with moss and mould, and discovered that the seedling I <a href="http://engineeringourfreedom.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/it-hits-fan.html">thought had died</a> when the mouldy seed case snapped off the stalk quite low down, was still very much alive.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSWV4QjDRsQSH7PAzhDSJB893mj-6qaLpU3aIqXHHZc3tVBIAI2ooPdRjIpI0xXFIUd7XerlnesXrghtgcNEh-ykMRu7oEqnRwy6Qf7TCUvqDj9I-DmqrAPB2L3r67vbgAAb5pv8LuQwA/s1600/DSC02617.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSWV4QjDRsQSH7PAzhDSJB893mj-6qaLpU3aIqXHHZc3tVBIAI2ooPdRjIpI0xXFIUd7XerlnesXrghtgcNEh-ykMRu7oEqnRwy6Qf7TCUvqDj9I-DmqrAPB2L3r67vbgAAb5pv8LuQwA/s400/DSC02617.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monkey puzzle baby, hanging in there, to be re-potted soon.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I've also now sown about half of the mulberry seeds that have been stratifying in the fridge, to see whether 4 months is long enough for them. Thankfully they didn't get infected with a mould when they were first sealed in there.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXrRlFKvomJKgs7pDG0Hh96QAJqEhJosOillJEu6617dsTch81sk0J-c8p7wSe21OskFV8TC47Z9gwZZH0LzFvr7FkeTuYOc87c7On0jQzdmWaoqDUP9teKlqrUtd9oqlJZukv1uuvtFk/s1600/DSC02612.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXrRlFKvomJKgs7pDG0Hh96QAJqEhJosOillJEu6617dsTch81sk0J-c8p7wSe21OskFV8TC47Z9gwZZH0LzFvr7FkeTuYOc87c7On0jQzdmWaoqDUP9teKlqrUtd9oqlJZukv1uuvtFk/s400/DSC02612.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From left to right, a cutting of the epicormic side shoot that <a href="http://engineeringourfreedom.blogspot.com/2012/06/flora-and-fauna-identification-in.html">started growing out of a damson tree</a> (hoping it's rootstock, which would be useful), some sage plants about ready to be re-potted or planted out (some rosemary seeds in the same pot have still failed to germinate), a tray full of mulberry seeds, and the remaining un-germinated arbutus unedo in the back.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
4ndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675315515117082792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-906217424699189688.post-32281584491315261052012-08-11T17:54:00.000+01:002012-08-11T17:54:43.364+01:00Printing PLA on PaperA few days ago I started doing tests of 3D-printing PLA using paper as a build surface, since I previously <a href="http://engineeringourfreedom.blogspot.com/2012/06/confluence-of-aspirations.html">saw it briefly trialled</a> with some success.<br />
<br />
My first test mimiced Doxin's test by simply using cheap white A4 printer paper. The first things that I tested printing on the plate were: a new and more robust axle support for <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:8290">my spool stand</a>, and a couple of the ball-joint pole-end-caps for EFFALO's <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:8985">2V geodesic dome</a> connector set. The paper wasn't clamped down very well since I could only find 4 bulldog clips at the time, and had wrinkled up either end of the paper slightly when attempting to clip it with its longest side in the X-axis before settling on having it along the Y-axis.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIr0McTSqaFrASXxy331pv-TsKI8IMZKkFLCBYgzsXMx9jS7_fVTCyXSuRzyAYauRCDGeENSP4byWBeglIUqRruSVbeOh_oTZw8O9psCa_kH8ZZO5pAjgbMFuxMsMrG29LlA9e9EVmRlc/s1600/DSC02379.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIr0McTSqaFrASXxy331pv-TsKI8IMZKkFLCBYgzsXMx9jS7_fVTCyXSuRzyAYauRCDGeENSP4byWBeglIUqRruSVbeOh_oTZw8O9psCa_kH8ZZO5pAjgbMFuxMsMrG29LlA9e9EVmRlc/s400/DSC02379.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paper set up for first test.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a name='more'></a>I pre-heated the printbed to something around 90C at full power, and then set it to half-power before starting the print. (I should probably note here my peculiar heated bed setup for anyone who hasn't already seen it; after a kit from mendel-parts that came with two 70W variable-voltage laptop power supplies <a href="http://engineeringourfreedom.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/testing-abs-on-mendel-parts-heated-bed.html">didn't prove sufficient to print with ABS on its own</a>, I got a simple standalone 12V-fixed supply to dedicate to the gen6 control electronics, while <a href="http://engineeringourfreedom.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/series-heating-and-other-developments.html">connecting the laptop supplies to the heated bed in series</a>. With them set to put out a total of about 32-26V, and a total of roughly 8Ohms on the printbed heating resistors, I am usually just over their maximum working amperage for 12V, which gives me a temp around 100-110C needed to keep ABS stuck down to the printbed. However, I have no automated feedback control over the temperature during printing since that gen6 board doesn't support it.)<br />
<br />
Initially, the adhesion between PLA and the paper surface seemed to be just great, much better than to kapton (polyimide) tape anyway, which has been a good surface to use for ABS.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigu9WHJjSKgbXls24dfjig1qhPgRbcbC_KZxDdjnEvfadPiihfhhsyJUaROeOPQkTkwyTrdnPLxY928z2SJeo79ghZHPSQlsZhc4SwXkSj2xC6XujlRzsy6zcoG18Y5Z5DBGBv7Nkk06g/s1600/DSC02381.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigu9WHJjSKgbXls24dfjig1qhPgRbcbC_KZxDdjnEvfadPiihfhhsyJUaROeOPQkTkwyTrdnPLxY928z2SJeo79ghZHPSQlsZhc4SwXkSj2xC6XujlRzsy6zcoG18Y5Z5DBGBv7Nkk06g/s400/DSC02381.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laying the first layer down.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
However, several layers in, one of those small ball-joint parts started to give way from the paper surface.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_28rm902TWsJgUjSMayvdsJ4y0itWfeCC2-sTyb74Xi2BeUU98wEqenPtjljLdiVoEB0bqoo2nxCf5uJpo7rI7PF-F7G_LzFY2gwdgzXKvOfYX878phROgStcSMtfTVqWCTMukDL9470/s1600/DSC02382.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_28rm902TWsJgUjSMayvdsJ4y0itWfeCC2-sTyb74Xi2BeUU98wEqenPtjljLdiVoEB0bqoo2nxCf5uJpo7rI7PF-F7G_LzFY2gwdgzXKvOfYX878phROgStcSMtfTVqWCTMukDL9470/s400/DSC02382.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unlucky that adhesion was lost, but lucky to catch this moment on camera as the nozzle kicked one part up on its way past.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I left it alone to see how it turned out, partly to want to do a full test and partly because the part that had broken loose was tiny while my frame part that was most of the print had already committed a fair amount of PLA. You might also see in the picture above that the paper had started to curl up at the edges due to some shrinkage of the PLA as it cooled.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG5MJ2-1vgInzJJWQZGcESZXm2CsZ8ifmkK0ThU-m_kQVReWQHKBvwELff4zu3npfk4sbtBkoDDFmJNhg1HM67Tl84QOnmyoZYK3p0-WnyMWu8EcFE4DmsSsJlzgjs2JFe9Mrrjlxl9L4/s1600/DSC02385.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG5MJ2-1vgInzJJWQZGcESZXm2CsZ8ifmkK0ThU-m_kQVReWQHKBvwELff4zu3npfk4sbtBkoDDFmJNhg1HM67Tl84QOnmyoZYK3p0-WnyMWu8EcFE4DmsSsJlzgjs2JFe9Mrrjlxl9L4/s400/DSC02385.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finished test-print.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I was somewhat lucky that by the end of the print, the other two parts hadn't been destroyed, as strings of PLA being extruded into air next to the displaced part ended up anchoring it in place, hence the neat dome on top of a mess above.<br />
When I allowed the parts to cool, I found them far easier to remove than was suggested by Doxin<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSXldSVSavb2M310XOqcDmKWELZPaueuLGfR2mVGknhTj-O1i7_eRARX840KIb06mP4PJV0yOmJ9z0XZJnn1eaTnkURAexFM6JZ4j8cr8d2o35fxKRoJLtnhE_3LLf7E5ktgpO2ZAjMCI/s1600/DSC02388.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSXldSVSavb2M310XOqcDmKWELZPaueuLGfR2mVGknhTj-O1i7_eRARX840KIb06mP4PJV0yOmJ9z0XZJnn1eaTnkURAexFM6JZ4j8cr8d2o35fxKRoJLtnhE_3LLf7E5ktgpO2ZAjMCI/s400/DSC02388.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First paper test part removed, without any cleaning.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The paper barely seemed to stick to the PLA part at all, and although it had a faint tinge of white, I didn't have to wipe any paper off of this part or the ball-cap that survived. The part was slightly warped once it cooled due to the amount of slack given by the paper, but it is still completely usable for its intended purpose.<br />
<br />
For my second test I clipped down a sheet of printing paper again, making sure to keep it as flat and taut as possible with the bulldog clips. Once again I pre-heated the printbed at full power, this time making a note of its temperature as 91C across the paper, while 95C on the kapton surface at the edge, then switched it to half-power when starting a print of two top vertices and two footed vertices from Prusa's 2nd iteration reprap parts.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoqIQ6LYX_ST8WkHGfaP2w7lPlxy6fgT50pfVYd1ulcnHbK0GZzXc3RiMdWjtwBIsSpMQetz_pHdqFGeVWVd0Zc2eUqjQwJlW6gyFZZfNWS3SEFuxpVQXIBD0la-uiL_KBYsFyIDbNV1A/s1600/DSC02401.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoqIQ6LYX_ST8WkHGfaP2w7lPlxy6fgT50pfVYd1ulcnHbK0GZzXc3RiMdWjtwBIsSpMQetz_pHdqFGeVWVd0Zc2eUqjQwJlW6gyFZZfNWS3SEFuxpVQXIBD0la-uiL_KBYsFyIDbNV1A/s400/DSC02401.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2nd test 1st layer, notice that for some reason these newer parts have arrows that should point away from gravity when assembled, or in a bunch of directions people have called 'up' ever since uninformed goat-herders declared the earth to be flat.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I took a bit of footage of this test, showing in rubbish phone-quality video how well it got on at the second layer:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="291" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/47318277" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="400"></iframe>
By about the 5th/6th layer I started to notice that the paper was increasingly wrinkling up and that at least one of the vertices was starting to peel away from the paper at one end. I quickly measured the bed temperature at about 55C through kapton tape at the edge. My best guess at the time was that having the printbed on at 18V was not keeping it hot enough to keep the PLA sufficiently adhered on the paper surface, due to differential expansion and contraction between the two materials as they cooled, since I had seen the paper wrinkle up a lot when I switched the heated bed off at the end of the last print, before the previous parts came off easily. So, I set the heating back onto full power til the end of the print, went out to do some gardening and hoped that the parts would remain stuck down.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6X8Vgh3jLI4nlTSPi7juhWKzKAHx0YXSPXUgVASXtJeSbBRy7hsBlKt9zi7x_xbyTb96NfGpf5Qbtug-bEpLduOiGvtKxBJ1U6A7DBf58OwFgJDeLJ_47jTaP-A6e-BUJeD9vmjNAtZU/s1600/DSC02431.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6X8Vgh3jLI4nlTSPi7juhWKzKAHx0YXSPXUgVASXtJeSbBRy7hsBlKt9zi7x_xbyTb96NfGpf5Qbtug-bEpLduOiGvtKxBJ1U6A7DBf58OwFgJDeLJ_47jTaP-A6e-BUJeD9vmjNAtZU/s400/DSC02431.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They did.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The part quality was pretty good, but after I switched the bed-heating off and allowed them to cool, I could see the paper wrinkling up a lot as they warped from cooling contraction.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqYmT7oJ_cNhlmq8v_Kz42-kdbkyFoONawLslYlQFbJhRnWPPjH7B-trn0zHi-2ZM-vMiOfMoJqHLCC2A9Tnf1s4OvNxok1KGGk0w9iYPTHNbiqISgbSzljJIvoJS5qRJJc1vEwKD8sYE/s1600/DSC02437.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqYmT7oJ_cNhlmq8v_Kz42-kdbkyFoONawLslYlQFbJhRnWPPjH7B-trn0zHi-2ZM-vMiOfMoJqHLCC2A9Tnf1s4OvNxok1KGGk0w9iYPTHNbiqISgbSzljJIvoJS5qRJJc1vEwKD8sYE/s400/DSC02437.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reverse side of the paper, with parts still attached, gives a nice visualisation of the stress/strain being put on the paper by contraction of the cooling PLA.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The amount of warp wasn't huge, but it was enough that I probably won't sell these parts to anyone, and just use them if I'm building some frame of my own, such as for a base for my rotary-hydroponics unit, since it could be annoying when trying to get a printer frame nice and square. The amount of paper that remained stuck to the parts instead of peeling off cleanly probably covered about 10% of their area, but it was pretty easy to scrub/scrape that off afterwards, although they would be completely usable with a smudge of paper stuck to one side.<br />
<br />
Next I wanted to see whether newspaper could be used as a printing surface, since it can be easily procured for free and would be better than wasting higher-quality printing paper. I was wondering though whether the dye on the newspaper might stain the parts, and whether that would make them look ugly.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSNhO2_Db5GT5JKh4gJMCDgBmOEKU7fKmRc9roN08G1vHfDY8HAjUyqj9HQU-szum7FbMmDoNgdw0HQns_VIL1vwlALV1iFnN16zTDqtb6FeZ9A1NW0uUpXUhMIe6kZiPDSU4bx4Aq6eI/s1600/DSC02444.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSNhO2_Db5GT5JKh4gJMCDgBmOEKU7fKmRc9roN08G1vHfDY8HAjUyqj9HQU-szum7FbMmDoNgdw0HQns_VIL1vwlALV1iFnN16zTDqtb6FeZ9A1NW0uUpXUhMIe6kZiPDSU4bx4Aq6eI/s400/DSC02444.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First newspaper test sheet clipped down. +10 points for recycling and +9000 points
for something other than the 2012 olympics on the front page.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Not wanting to risk having trouble with adhesion due to heat changes during printing again, I swapped out the voltage-setting block on one of the power supplies so that I now had 18.5V+12V. After letting this warm up for a while I took quick temp readings of 80C through tape at the plate edge, 75C at the paper edge, and 81C in the middle of the paper, then set a print running to built two Prusa-i2 footed vertices.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbZ5HnlwU8IiVVnbsWjtOkdpn59KaE1Xyr2ETc_WneNgyuetvtughUojJZ9ZyGiXp2X62SeUI_fjvHz-YF8-1dU47aBQlDYzjlIn5BlyfMzZdW9NgNN6f9oXJugSF2ivfw2mn4OeH8iOs/s1600/DSC02453.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbZ5HnlwU8IiVVnbsWjtOkdpn59KaE1Xyr2ETc_WneNgyuetvtughUojJZ9ZyGiXp2X62SeUI_fjvHz-YF8-1dU47aBQlDYzjlIn5BlyfMzZdW9NgNN6f9oXJugSF2ivfw2mn4OeH8iOs/s400/DSC02453.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first layer just finished, adhesion looks fine. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
By the end of this print those temperatures had just crept up to 93, 90 and 97C respectively, and the newspaper barely curled up at all during the print.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKd2BJydYEZFsR8yVOTTaMGpbpf6q5uZa_CSeUgGqsekCAqivFDu1c3tvEg6W7gnEetMhzq_hdGwUAbXmdprYi2Qz7uh9edTnllQugA88kCk4HvL4I5COrV_BRr8znjMrPa8bal5rQTp0/s1600/DSC02466.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKd2BJydYEZFsR8yVOTTaMGpbpf6q5uZa_CSeUgGqsekCAqivFDu1c3tvEg6W7gnEetMhzq_hdGwUAbXmdprYi2Qz7uh9edTnllQugA88kCk4HvL4I5COrV_BRr8znjMrPa8bal5rQTp0/s400/DSC02466.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First test parts removed from newspaper print surface.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
This print went fine, albeit with as much warp as the previous test, and my suspicions about staining the PLA were confirmed. Scrubbing the excess paper off didn't noticably take any dye with it, so I think it has soaked into the first layer of plastic. I don't intend to sell these either, unless someone out there sees some artistic merit in a pair of footed mendel vertices with part of "inverness highland games" across one side of them.<br />
This gives me ideas about intentional applications of printing on dyed paper though; perhaps some aesthetic or functional designs could be displayed on the outside of parts by printing them to scale with your intended parts-plate and then zeroing the extruder on a set point on the paper. More appealing to any parents out there wanting to print something fun for their kids, it could even be possible to print a PLA jigsaw puzzle this way, with the PLA soaking up dye from a digital image mirrored before printing on a regular inkjet printer.<br />
<br />
On to the second test, I set out a plate of 8 bar clamps from the Prusa i2 set, and 4 of the ball-joint caps that I had a problem with before. If anything was going to let go from the paper here, I expected it to be them with their tiny footprint in the first layer relative to their height. Temp readings here went from around 80C at the start up to 85C when I stopped it, due to this:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9voIzVGzyJLZeYj6b60s3Wkla_tDShBR57m4orRcrRJQX660z3dbdrbvEdVqI8_KfoQuI0nz0i4H6Ln9NvPE_H2vmXvMP34MXVTlHgpYW94iZ7cjbGs_VWIHwhYMST15VtdrYlHNGqF0/s1600/DSC02480.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9voIzVGzyJLZeYj6b60s3Wkla_tDShBR57m4orRcrRJQX660z3dbdrbvEdVqI8_KfoQuI0nz0i4H6Ln9NvPE_H2vmXvMP34MXVTlHgpYW94iZ7cjbGs_VWIHwhYMST15VtdrYlHNGqF0/s400/DSC02480.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Several layers in, things got a bit messy.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I was very surprised when most of the bar clamps started coming loose from the paper, and there didn't look to be much hope of this print producing anything other than a mess, so I aborted it to investigate.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxjMCE9FtW6R2VNqBr94Z5iRG2VHYS7Ih43LA0VSOq3CVMht0TQjKRPeSTxeiXf7ShOnLoRLOt_30deo3YSomTHFN990gEaQ40dCn2cvnmHxhf9E8oQDhpLhr8eOgHyRsF-pwPW7ijUAs/s1600/DSC02481.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxjMCE9FtW6R2VNqBr94Z5iRG2VHYS7Ih43LA0VSOq3CVMht0TQjKRPeSTxeiXf7ShOnLoRLOt_30deo3YSomTHFN990gEaQ40dCn2cvnmHxhf9E8oQDhpLhr8eOgHyRsF-pwPW7ijUAs/s400/DSC02481.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marks left on newspaper by small parts after removal.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
All the parts were easy to remove from the paper, taking no paper with them at all, and it seems to me that what happened here was too much ink in the heavily black-dyed sections interfered with the parts adhering to the paper, acting like a thin layer of dust that quickly gave way, which makes sense if the newspaper was produced by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_printer">laser printing</a>, in which particles of dye are attracted to the paper by a charged roller and sealed on with heat.<br />
I guess this means I won't be getting any bar clamps with a snapshot of someone's kilt on one side, unless I can find someone to supply me with tartan filament (it'll probably be widely available in web-stores by April now that I mention it).<br />
Speaking of which, I recently received a delivery of more PLA filament from a new-ish UK supplier called <a href="http://www.filamentprint.com/index.asp">FilamentPrint</a>, who provide PLA not only at a competitive price in general, but importantly to me with a cheap delivery service who are actually <i>cheaper</i> than Royal Mail when delivering to the Scottish Highlands, which I haven't seen any other couriers do (most of them seem to loathe all the driving up single-track roads to get here and demand a hefty surcharge). One of their new staff apparently managed to misplace one of a few 100m PLA reels that I ordered when packaging it, but when I asked about this by email I got a very apologetic reply 1 hour later from someone else at the firm saying that they would send out the missing spool of filament the same day, when it was already late in the afternoon, and it turned up yesterday. I doubt they'll be making another mistake like that quickly, so I would recommend them to anyone on this island starting out with 3D printing, on the basis of both price and customer service.<br />
<br />
Back on topic, I was almost ready to give up on newspaper due to that mess the other day, but I did one last test shown here to see whether distance from the centre of the paper was affecting adhesion strength at all:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6t5WlKe2huyjemp5suO0QI5D2nUaZsU4GdZn6hZfgBsI86BxsOWS0JWd8SBBdc2yPBeGxpXlXbRuVSmk0bRHIiXlfqoVuDRMe-CLg0rSXQbltHognusKW9mZ-3TpjFdwE-rxWUEVf0KI/s1600/DSC02483.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6t5WlKe2huyjemp5suO0QI5D2nUaZsU4GdZn6hZfgBsI86BxsOWS0JWd8SBBdc2yPBeGxpXlXbRuVSmk0bRHIiXlfqoVuDRMe-CLg0rSXQbltHognusKW9mZ-3TpjFdwE-rxWUEVf0KI/s400/DSC02483.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A hub part to make one of my modular filament spools.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
While surface adhesion for this part was quite solid, it warped quite badly in spite of my finding a few more bulldog clips to place around edges of the paper, and I ended up trying to flatten it a bit by leaving a book on top of it with a couple of full 822g jars on top while the plate was hot. It seems to be a usable part now, but this warp problem is putting me off using paper as a print surface.<br />
<br />
For my initial conclusions, so long as there isn't a huge amount of ink present, it seems that adhesion is more reliable than on kapton tape alone, which I can only get PLA to print on after wiping it clean with a dash of dark rum (yes, no joke, <a href="http://engineeringourfreedom.blogspot.com/2011/04/bodge-it-quick.html">that actually works</a>; my theory is that after the ethanol cleans fingerprints away, a thin brown-sugar-derived residue is probably left behind that aids the sugary PLA in remaining stuck down), while using acetone to clean the printbed has only worked before using ABS for me.<br />
There is a bit of a paradox in that larger parts appear to remain stuck down to the paper better, while those same parts are more subject to warp. Paper might prove effective for small parts that are unlikely to warp, wherever the first layer has enough surface area to adhere well. I've also just been thinking that perhaps warping problems might be reduced to some extent by using stiff card instead of paper, so that it can't wrinkle up - using the inside of dry-food packaging boxes as a print surface, before recycling the cardboard, might be a worthwhile experiment.<br />
Of course, a thin plate of glass cut to the size of a reprap's print-bed is still the best surface that I've heard of for PLA, but when the nearest glazier's shop to me is 100 miles away, I can only make do with what I've got for now, and I think that will be trying to keep a kapton-tape surface scrupulously clean from finger-print-grease.4ndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675315515117082792noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-906217424699189688.post-44483243058229218562012-08-04T17:32:00.000+01:002012-08-25T15:16:05.596+01:00Lessons in Rapid Prototyping and DesignNever before did I realise what a huge difference software and firmware can make to 3D-print quality.<br />
<br />
Not long after setting my reprap up again in its new home, I found it having problems moving in the Z-axis, where the motors would refuse to move half the time, which after describing it on IRC people helped me figure out that the controller was telling the motors to accelerate too fast. <br />
The acceleration that had been implemented in June 2011 <a href="https://github.com/kliment/Sprinter">Sprinter</a> firmware still caused a significant amount of 'jerkiness' in axis movements. By updating to the latest version for June 2012, not only did more appropriate acceleration, adjusted by a predictive 'look-ahead' buffer, improve this current problem, but it also cut out a vibration problem that <a href="http://engineeringourfreedom.blogspot.com/2011/10/first-part-to-break-on-my-reprap-mendel.html">broke my Y-axis</a> last year, by pausing at the end of each move for a few ms, when making very short successive movements in order to draw a narrow zig-zag fill line. This helps because in most stepper-motor use there is no feedback control mechanism - the idea being to move a set number of steps then lock in place and hope for the best, which in reality can result in nasty vibrations. By stopping for a moment, the transient vibrations resulting from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overshoot_%28signal%29">overshoot</a> can settle, so there is less chance of them <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vibration#Forced_vibration_with_damping">feeding into some resonant frequency</a> and shaking the printer to bits.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/76/High_accuracy_settling_time_measurements_figure_1.png/800px-High_accuracy_settling_time_measurements_figure_1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="233" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/76/High_accuracy_settling_time_measurements_figure_1.png/800px-High_accuracy_settling_time_measurements_figure_1.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Illustration of overshoot, via Wikimedia Commons.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
In the new firmware a minimum temperature is now set by default, which might have prevented another <a href="http://engineeringourfreedom.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/replacing-small-parts-by-rapid.html">previous incident</a> that I had with over-heating when a thermistor connection broke.<br />
<a name='more'></a>I also upgraded to the latest version of the <a href="https://github.com/kliment/Printrun">Printrun</a> host software along with the latest version of the bundled <a href="http://slic3r.org/">Slic3r</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gcode">gcode</a>-generating software; aside from pronterface's new <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghzloAkkLp7V3z_jPspp1eNsHERhmw9O72ogWzrBICErkmZphrQVxo9hWisTLkBQCHcmywWVt9EJvmChhyEBnv-vCv46L-EOS37oU9KFWjrKIDfGsanyJSMzYN1hyphenhyphenF1vk3koTQ3NEypf4/s400/Pronterfacenew2.JPG">easy-to-grasp user interface</a> and slicer's big reduction in complexity over skeinforge, there are a couple of things that I like most about this: a function in slicer that sets a minimum distance the extruder must travel before filament will be retracted (useful where lots of repeated retractions on complex narrow infill used to make my extruder jam, such as with <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/image:53945">this part</a>), and another one that defines a distance to move up in the Z-axis at the start of every retraction and drop back down at the end (which for a little extra print time can prevent the nozzle from ever dragging through lines already set down, which is important on the first layer while a bond to the print surface is still forming).<br />
In summary, if you ever meet an open-source programmer, give them a hug.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, I recently discovered something that wasn't so well coded in a proprietary program, SolidWorks. When I had tried to open STL files in SolidWorks before, all it did was import 'STL graphics', which was essentially a picture of the object in question that you could rotate as eye-candy but had no solid surfaces that you could sketch on to cut extra holes or extrude extra structures. With lots of other people complaining about the number of things posted on Thingiverse with only STL files supplied, since they couldn't edit them in SCAD or some other programs, I pretty much wrote off the possibility of editing those designs for the last year, figuring that it wasn't an easy thing to do in any CAD software yet (though something at the back of my mind said it should be).<br />
A few weeks ago while looking for SolidWorks-compatible files in order to make some edits that I'd been wanting to make to Greg's Hinged Extruder for months, I stumbled upon some options that allow SW to import STLs as solid bodies, and hence enable them to be carved up any way you want.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizrN0nNKKHPBCWBkzAfgpf3CSvy33XeNIeAnzx7xBWjjdJdgKltydqs80SomkvJY8eWHoFs0ujkWtGbBMR88rkRzCgnKrA-mlM_L0Xssv52mZKX2sZSaFjUk-GQCPrD44aO2jLKB1NvLE/s1600/solidworks+import+STL+default+options2.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizrN0nNKKHPBCWBkzAfgpf3CSvy33XeNIeAnzx7xBWjjdJdgKltydqs80SomkvJY8eWHoFs0ujkWtGbBMR88rkRzCgnKrA-mlM_L0Xssv52mZKX2sZSaFjUk-GQCPrD44aO2jLKB1NvLE/s400/solidworks+import+STL+default+options2.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Solidworks STL Import - Default Options</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqLQXp_g7tEhvHI0262KKmyrF37cI2DF786QqayYKYGH7WznArI6sGTRosG1PH7t1BcWj7cWARz1dZVN0t-7xUJtVK97-PtWFVXvc54ipH9j0HvuH4Gmv5T3IcSTyVYZTUM1oXXfY6zqE/s1600/solidworks+import+STL+useful+options1.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqLQXp_g7tEhvHI0262KKmyrF37cI2DF786QqayYKYGH7WznArI6sGTRosG1PH7t1BcWj7cWARz1dZVN0t-7xUJtVK97-PtWFVXvc54ipH9j0HvuH4Gmv5T3IcSTyVYZTUM1oXXfY6zqE/s400/solidworks+import+STL+useful+options1.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Solidworks STL Import Options - how they <i>should</i> be by default.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I was kicking myself for not spotting this before, as this pretty much opens up all STL models on Thingiverse for fixing/editing. Since I'd already started, I continued to create <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:27559">a modified M4 version</a> of that hinged extruder using <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:16928">Tom's SW file</a>, but was now also enabled to edit Greg's '<a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:17030">guidler</a>' part for a better fit.<br />
<br />
<br />
Meanwhile I found that the <a href="http://engineeringourfreedom.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/makeshift-workbench.html">old v5 extruder hot-end</a> that I got with my kit from <a href="http://www.mendel-parts.com/" rel="nofollow">Mendel-Parts</a> was increasingly creating problems for me. I was already annoyed that they stopped supplying replacement parts for it around the same time that the PTFE barrel on mine became warped at its threaded end, and I had been reading that more current hot-end designs using a thin PTFE liner that extended far down the barrel, minimising the contact&melt-zone and hence friction against metal parts, were practically never jamming by comparison, which was making me want to upgrade. For this reason I got hold of a <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/J_Head_Nozzle">J-Head nozzle</a> from local supplier <a href="http://www.emakershop.com/Seller=1149">Reprap3D</a>:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeL1cqRDL20HMLVLDDFpfZAJuKGdEsLTQhSku04PjBLxTVurVG26q6UX0pQYf0lRfudMI1C268lvb8V0JDQOh7efSZ9HKJ7ehrjErC0tlA1fyiZLeWpXIdpWpZQQ9HCKeHpY55duPB58k/s1600/DSC02358.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeL1cqRDL20HMLVLDDFpfZAJuKGdEsLTQhSku04PjBLxTVurVG26q6UX0pQYf0lRfudMI1C268lvb8V0JDQOh7efSZ9HKJ7ehrjErC0tlA1fyiZLeWpXIdpWpZQQ9HCKeHpY55duPB58k/s400/DSC02358.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The J-Head Mk.IV-B looks damn sexy by comparison, with the heatsink-notched PEEK body and all-in-one nozzle-heat-block that improves heating efficiency. Shown here after I had applied some Kapton insulating tape.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Not only was the large force required to push plastic through the v5 nozzle a problem, along with the weakness of the PTFE used for its main body and the fit problems and extruder-body damage that came with the PEEK-block mounting system, but the original connections that I used to the heater and thermistor were giving out. The small bootlace-ferrule crimps were giving way one-by-one from months of vibrations, and as I soldered each connection back together, I was having other problems with short-circuits, broken circuits, and eventually, total failure of the thermistor resulting in overheating during printing.<br />
There was a fluke of the kind favoured by cheesy hollywood writers, whereby one of the last things I was printing as the old nozzle failed, was a new extruder block to fit the new hot-end. Due to overheating it was badly warped and I had to cut some holes into better shape with both drill-bits and pen-knife, but here are the old and new extruders for comparison:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhthBZQIPsmnhOxr1hsBoLwd9_ENpm5vlf9QvplX0-Pez1N_RIpuOh9v8knTv0XWqr6clrd7ZEdUFVBJKPC3LpRROjQ1nRGgy_nu0jCYlDOUSdbRkO9LqS5k_OAaazWVdqtPqz3DdKkbjg/s1600/DSC02362.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhthBZQIPsmnhOxr1hsBoLwd9_ENpm5vlf9QvplX0-Pez1N_RIpuOh9v8knTv0XWqr6clrd7ZEdUFVBJKPC3LpRROjQ1nRGgy_nu0jCYlDOUSdbRkO9LqS5k_OAaazWVdqtPqz3DdKkbjg/s400/DSC02362.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left: Old'n'busted Mendel-Parts v5 in my M4 extruder body. Right: New-hotness J-Head Mk.IV in a prototype M4 body.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The left extruder body was already a temporary replacement for one that was breaking after
previous overheating problems. Had the original design incorporated the
zip-tie slot shown in use on the right, the ferrule connections might have
lasted a bit longer. The new connections themselves I fixed in a different way. Instead of crimping wires twisted up along a straight line with the resistor pins and thermistor wires, I put them end-to-end, twisted the connections together, crimped a ferrule over them, bent that ferrule back on itself (which tears it slightly), melted lead-free solder over the ferrules for reinforcement, then tightened heatshrink around each tough little block. Hopefully this should stand up a lot longer, but I'm keeping the old extruder in a box as an emergency replacement (though I'll be needing a new thermistor for it anyway).<br />
Theoretically it's not advisable to use lead-free solder (mine says it is 96.5% tin, 3% silver, 0.5% copper) so close to a heating block that routinely exceeds 230C when printing with ABS (or could be <a href="http://richrap.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/indestructamendel-polycarbonate-3d.html">even higher with PC</a>), since the melting temperature of tin is 232C, but in practice the little distance from the heating block and passing air keeps the temperature slightly lower, so all that heat is likely to do to them is keep the joints from becoming brittle.<br />
Since starting to use the J-Head hot-end I've noticed a big increase in print quality, which may be mostly due to the slightly smaller nozzle diameter - the new one has a 0.4mm outlet while the old one was 0.5mm. <br />
<br />
In other news, I've just released a few files with a glimpse of <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:27791">my cowled wind turbine design-in-progress</a> that I've been mulling over for a couple of years now and sketching up ideas for in short bouts of inspiration. My hope is that with something more solid to look at with some very recent CAD work that I did for it, some other designers may be able to help me to improve it.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3y5VPRDEqvgZwuPAYpdVp5SbuIVRKa9KsuQAZvenymlRIfDnYqSAQTau8dtCc7nbS8HPjf1B8xgF16uXsv4bGfEIBu76N5ptjoKOPicWPSSNqZqRQJabMQDBiCVd00eoAtbQ0yK99qzk/s1600/Storm_Turbine_0.2.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3y5VPRDEqvgZwuPAYpdVp5SbuIVRKa9KsuQAZvenymlRIfDnYqSAQTau8dtCc7nbS8HPjf1B8xgF16uXsv4bGfEIBu76N5ptjoKOPicWPSSNqZqRQJabMQDBiCVd00eoAtbQ0yK99qzk/s400/Storm_Turbine_0.2.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My 'Storm Turbine' design 0.2, about half the design work done now.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Once I get a moment I'll probably write up a wiki page for this project on Open Source Ecology.<br />
I've also started doing my own tests with printing PLA onto paper, so will report back on that shortly, brb need to eat now.4ndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675315515117082792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-906217424699189688.post-49939664318597049932012-08-03T01:20:00.000+01:002012-08-11T00:01:43.414+01:00It Hits The FanGardening in a region where you're almost always surrounded by sheep has its obvious pitfalls...<br />
Sometimes those sheep or their mischievous little lambs find a way past the fences you put up, because they can see that not only is the grass greener on the other side, but there are also tasty things other than grass to chew on.<br />
<br />
One or more of those sheep got over a fence recently and wreaked havoc among the crops I'd planted, trampling some while eating the tops off others...<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoVyfSigbLLL6OuLUvFY9Bq-oL3_aOhRZ6374sPLob9NKBF2dT0ACJpoq9IxqvyCcQIDQ9jyPTN1p58-WzXAkpP6vfIgcQg52JrPvs0H7C7V7tLH6VG7HfJgF3RGDDSmp-NKtaVK4B1Qs/s1600/DSC02328.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoVyfSigbLLL6OuLUvFY9Bq-oL3_aOhRZ6374sPLob9NKBF2dT0ACJpoq9IxqvyCcQIDQ9jyPTN1p58-WzXAkpP6vfIgcQg52JrPvs0H7C7V7tLH6VG7HfJgF3RGDDSmp-NKtaVK4B1Qs/s400/DSC02328.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They seem to love eating fiddleneck flowers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiILUXM56hC1DuxaU6Vc-anMSYkpyrK3oPmu68JUGvdCFohiOX6BL_Q3v6UvTx7eDYr75WxF3ugDObxDBwBCtEbdAwch7KaeVJzkWLiDyDhVg4a0zt39AhsSRdYsq8hHYR1DitCeXrM8SA/s1600/DSC02340a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"></a><br />
<a name='more'></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiILUXM56hC1DuxaU6Vc-anMSYkpyrK3oPmu68JUGvdCFohiOX6BL_Q3v6UvTx7eDYr75WxF3ugDObxDBwBCtEbdAwch7KaeVJzkWLiDyDhVg4a0zt39AhsSRdYsq8hHYR1DitCeXrM8SA/s1600/DSC02340a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiILUXM56hC1DuxaU6Vc-anMSYkpyrK3oPmu68JUGvdCFohiOX6BL_Q3v6UvTx7eDYr75WxF3ugDObxDBwBCtEbdAwch7KaeVJzkWLiDyDhVg4a0zt39AhsSRdYsq8hHYR1DitCeXrM8SA/s400/DSC02340a.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and of course crapping on all the vegetable beds.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
They even chewed most of the leaves off a low-hanging branch of this damson tree, which is more something that I would expect goats to do.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh68bikFT_Ybj0aAgpZvsZLYJEkBFHbBstFUNh0B-wx5Xy_ZyznWSAY_6I21UlJu9S0uaCcFY5sapp8Yawb9lOC8frMWAhyphenhyphenDVGE1_RU1eLm-76yRYBfPCymRSxCtJOTSZ3bJU780SfvySE/s1600/DSC02334.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh68bikFT_Ybj0aAgpZvsZLYJEkBFHbBstFUNh0B-wx5Xy_ZyznWSAY_6I21UlJu9S0uaCcFY5sapp8Yawb9lOC8frMWAhyphenhyphenDVGE1_RU1eLm-76yRYBfPCymRSxCtJOTSZ3bJU780SfvySE/s400/DSC02334.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As if the rabbits weren't bad enough.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Back on a windowsill, what initially looked like a blueberry it now seems is not; I don't recognise these flowers:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKPfKqgQLbqmlMnTdiu8mGW1u1QwOJZqa98ZwnCMA8p4vEKfHgqpYEZmo7SuS4mo4LH25Xyi13ygTmBrokjS5ovRMPQ5z2hpeln498FConMxvgHbr8HKO7o3MshJC_pjQvH2_LSGveoPw/s1600/DSC02348.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKPfKqgQLbqmlMnTdiu8mGW1u1QwOJZqa98ZwnCMA8p4vEKfHgqpYEZmo7SuS4mo4LH25Xyi13ygTmBrokjS5ovRMPQ5z2hpeln498FConMxvgHbr8HKO7o3MshJC_pjQvH2_LSGveoPw/s400/DSC02348.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Do you?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Meanwhile, most of the tree seeds that I have tried to germinate so far, haven't.<br />
<br />
I've had no success so far with Strawberry Tree seeds sown after 6 or 10 weeks of cold-stratifying, and only one Scots Pine seemed to germinate weakly after 6 weeks. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqePHONgOVj_Px6omlhIAx3jYDUuJS_YpptRrFIap1mUtPx9-IraNi2AONqEct8-8nP9XucwlVnGNV-r6dwNUcU30gJQHJjaNEh_syAaV0v7rnI95hu-E2-EzWxkFJhIauv1XJvdrzsQA/s1600/DSC02277.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqePHONgOVj_Px6omlhIAx3jYDUuJS_YpptRrFIap1mUtPx9-IraNi2AONqEct8-8nP9XucwlVnGNV-r6dwNUcU30gJQHJjaNEh_syAaV0v7rnI95hu-E2-EzWxkFJhIauv1XJvdrzsQA/s400/DSC02277.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm not sure why it got thin at the base like that, but it may have something to do with hibernation times, or could just be a dodgy seed.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Scots Pine seeds seem to have been the most successful so far, germinating about 50% of the time, though half of those become weak and fall over (or get knocked over by pets):<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDSxVdV20RuH_6_QH1P8wo4oPdelaHDSn1AmCeHm_6pbHqc049gvvxJ1yCptQwk8Dr23Jl3roEaUEGrmEgATwcRVOgYUVuMrIh0ZodJZoe3wAxh55DX3Ln9cGFCHeQGW8aR23ENmwy4go/s1600/DSC02371.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDSxVdV20RuH_6_QH1P8wo4oPdelaHDSn1AmCeHm_6pbHqc049gvvxJ1yCptQwk8Dr23Jl3roEaUEGrmEgATwcRVOgYUVuMrIh0ZodJZoe3wAxh55DX3Ln9cGFCHeQGW8aR23ENmwy4go/s400/DSC02371.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These were sown after 10 weeks.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The one Monkey Puzzle seed that germinated, out of four that I planted a few months back, eventually succumbed to a fungal infection and snapped off the stalk. I'm thinking that maybe I need a lighter potting soil to sow some of the seeds in than the garden-variety compost that I've been using.<br />
Also, since all four Elaeagnus cuttings that I tried to propagate indoors appear to have slowly died, I think I'll make up a rooting mix from brewed willow next time I try and do that, in case that can help them to establish. Forgetting to clip their remaining leaves in half can't have helped either.4ndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675315515117082792noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-906217424699189688.post-25928889365301719812012-06-23T01:47:00.000+01:002012-08-11T00:02:27.474+01:00Confluence of AspirationsOn locally appropriate crops, some <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Fragaria+vesca+%27Semperflorens%27">Alpine Strawberries</a> that I planted out along the swale wall from pots are doing fine, and I hope to give them some <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Rheum+rhaponticum">rhubarb</a> in between for company soon by separating some of the rhubarb that's already growing around here.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGRrfknOWdcSDi-8xC4AzGje9YrUeHvK22flORznOlZNHnRggo_DzFtAOV7NulLSSz2xaf6Rlp1g4_KJULbgAo3_zOhTBoFQQpL_JOqFuAJJEOC6hZ7XPEK8svlc1UL4dsuZebcf9k3QM/s1600/DSC02244.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGRrfknOWdcSDi-8xC4AzGje9YrUeHvK22flORznOlZNHnRggo_DzFtAOV7NulLSSz2xaf6Rlp1g4_KJULbgAo3_zOhTBoFQQpL_JOqFuAJJEOC6hZ7XPEK8svlc1UL4dsuZebcf9k3QM/s400/DSC02244.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This Alpine Strawberry plant is just going through flowers and starting to grow fruit at the same time.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Speaking of which, a single patch of rhubarb in a garden here made a bumper crop this year, producing about 6kg of usable stalk (leaves were composted), which with a handful of cooking apples made enough jars of jam to last a small family a whole year.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGpWcjmk-ynJzkzyymV2kDa6hi71AXcFJsvyjtfS-eQXXGaisMFu9s66lXssgdpVZax4uY3GeFH2BmWjhhpeuU61oBN3zqaMtPIrIUOOdCsLmsFtMzjp5T_vQB9uTwQSkTlVBoLkxDgGA/s1600/DSC02215a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGpWcjmk-ynJzkzyymV2kDa6hi71AXcFJsvyjtfS-eQXXGaisMFu9s66lXssgdpVZax4uY3GeFH2BmWjhhpeuU61oBN3zqaMtPIrIUOOdCsLmsFtMzjp5T_vQB9uTwQSkTlVBoLkxDgGA/s400/DSC02215a.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I told you those leaves could get big.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I've only managed to germinate two tree seeds so far:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYh_vUPrrOzBumhWPbSIhCtr8OjzGzLYzd66IvXykgBMSK3ggQimOJ8E_IYztfVZTFzQ_3zVtiO0okpHzhKPIDSyBgXIXHc9dsuHGQ5orhL2uq8oYHU7hvlGYRTSCXIIikwQFeGQEaZu8/s1600/DSC02141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYh_vUPrrOzBumhWPbSIhCtr8OjzGzLYzd66IvXykgBMSK3ggQimOJ8E_IYztfVZTFzQ_3zVtiO0okpHzhKPIDSyBgXIXHc9dsuHGQ5orhL2uq8oYHU7hvlGYRTSCXIIikwQFeGQEaZu8/s400/DSC02141.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Araucaria+araucana">monkey puzzle</a> seed that previously had me <a href="http://engineeringourfreedom.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/sowing-perennials-indoors.html">concerned with spots of mould</a> was the first one to shoot up, gradually pushing the seed out of the soil over the course of about a week. This photo was taken nearly a month ago, after ~5 weeks in the soil, and since then it's fallen on its side and barely grown a few millimetres.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxu7QUqD1xlH7dhyIF4xEOsD4IeRyF_FyRZ3Y920rh3wb0IJJNqAl7DJhDqTFxQyPAKbbQ902rnlkUjeYZ_JvBqR-47ocN9Dt5zfEoZnmKwDic-JH_FbiHg_h4gLMBi2lIfvkdxDx7y0g/s1600/DSC02238.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxu7QUqD1xlH7dhyIF4xEOsD4IeRyF_FyRZ3Y920rh3wb0IJJNqAl7DJhDqTFxQyPAKbbQ902rnlkUjeYZ_JvBqR-47ocN9Dt5zfEoZnmKwDic-JH_FbiHg_h4gLMBi2lIfvkdxDx7y0g/s400/DSC02238.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Pinus+sylvestris">Scots Pine</a> seedling is planted in a re-used Yakult pot, see where I cut the tiny bottle such that the top half would fit in the bottom half, which acts as a drip-tray (it helps to puncture the side above where water will sit, so that air pressure doesn't stop water draining through to the bottom).</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In the background were some trays that I'm trying to grow more perennial herbs in, such as rosemary and sage (which are supposed to make good companions) and lemongrass. Most of the nasturtiums that I planted straight outside earlier in the year haven't germinated, and those that have are tiny, so I'm trying to see whether I can get any of those to germinate in pots inside now too.<br />
<br />
Here the rhubarb, asparagus and blueberry that I kept inside are doing very well though, after all growing from seed.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkgOjctT-j07KaU43T0T6D7xWNAP7aY_CkQHXuwtpC34oF_goVk8kzbgOX__PaJcI1P3lkLyFNsQzlZMLTv22hjyGip6fD9coVkmWkFR_Z2rNSkgdiwSZmk1WarsQKiwYTFS_QznR_c1w/s1600/DSC02273.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkgOjctT-j07KaU43T0T6D7xWNAP7aY_CkQHXuwtpC34oF_goVk8kzbgOX__PaJcI1P3lkLyFNsQzlZMLTv22hjyGip6fD9coVkmWkFR_Z2rNSkgdiwSZmk1WarsQKiwYTFS_QznR_c1w/s400/DSC02273.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Divided <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Asparagus+officinalis">asparagus</a> and rhubarb growing strongly.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKUD6u526Kda_fEZRPx8AhJ68OWke4LWZNb1WnS5llFjaSZ9_o7Yq-v3GwqsMYvEo7ouMqOS9Q1YN8iXye5sz2hI0PyM64wfa0B-oSi0XRH_vWGbypgQ-_SCiZ66b6Y3OI177RAl5TSdI/s1600/DSC02274.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKUD6u526Kda_fEZRPx8AhJ68OWke4LWZNb1WnS5llFjaSZ9_o7Yq-v3GwqsMYvEo7ouMqOS9Q1YN8iXye5sz2hI0PyM64wfa0B-oSi0XRH_vWGbypgQ-_SCiZ66b6Y3OI177RAl5TSdI/s400/DSC02274.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The only <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Vaccinium%20corymbosum">highbush blueberry</a> that I germinated from what I sowed, growing in its own pot. At least I hope it is; the stem should become a bit woodier if it really is blueberry.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Frustratingly I haven't managed to get chives or onions to germinate much so far either outdoors or indoors. I don't think they like it here.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGRWWWE4nqD9mrp22kycELA1FDLHMOxxM3tF1wPlWBqbM3N_mRtqt7Yndb5cUxeR3LFqtzoPAQMVmSz8cV5FYMHXbW6NAN38_TK4FnnoMrO6cJ8nhJItSGvFSTERO4KOZQRRCTjHU4rJs/s1600/DSC02252.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGRWWWE4nqD9mrp22kycELA1FDLHMOxxM3tF1wPlWBqbM3N_mRtqt7Yndb5cUxeR3LFqtzoPAQMVmSz8cV5FYMHXbW6NAN38_TK4FnnoMrO6cJ8nhJItSGvFSTERO4KOZQRRCTjHU4rJs/s400/DSC02252.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The '<a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Phacelia+tanacetifolia">fiddleneck</a>' green manure that I sprinkled in many places seems to
be the most successful plant here though, so I guess the soil quality is
quite poor, and hopefully this will improve things. Here you can see one in flower.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, I've only just set up my reprap again, after having trouble going through ridiculous numbers of boxes trying to find the right bolts to put a desk back together to support it on. Hopefully now I'll be able to get back to sending reprap parts to other makers, prototyping my rotary hydroponics rig, and working on a safe small wind-turbine over the next few months.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyU-eKEIV1XYgYenRaVUlN8pggdKPjqPRadSYT3NsGDgK2xJw5qKzNVZrniTGnPCzCzdoNS7hqcrrT0iBhxDZvol-QR31InK5o_z5Z3UXOSIIL5hx5GvlMVHtJ3hB7lsz_D0A2VsSL-74/s1600/DSC02255.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyU-eKEIV1XYgYenRaVUlN8pggdKPjqPRadSYT3NsGDgK2xJw5qKzNVZrniTGnPCzCzdoNS7hqcrrT0iBhxDZvol-QR31InK5o_z5Z3UXOSIIL5hx5GvlMVHtJ3hB7lsz_D0A2VsSL-74/s400/DSC02255.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After travelling a few hundred miles, getting everything connected back up, adjusting the Z-axis height and prodding the <a href="http://engineeringourfreedom.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/replacing-small-parts-by-rapid.html">bad connections on the extruder hot-end</a> to get it to heat up, it quickly knocked out an upgrade part I designed for the x-carriage, with just one false start on the bottom layer. I'll have to replace that hot-end with something better soon.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
It was good to get back to chatting with reprap developers on the freenode IRC though, and something very interesting turned up today. A new user going by the name Doxin came on asking about calibration and PLA-use, and then asked a question that was a bit outside the current box, whether printer paper could be used as a 3D-printing surface instead of tape or glass. I know masking tape has been used a lot for PLA prints, so figured it might work and encouraged them to try (though suggesting a fire extinguisher be handy :). The results were very pleasing to see.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.minus.com/jbpHfaRRctkN04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://i.minus.com/jbpHfaRRctkN04.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A test print stuck down just fine to paper held on by clothes pegs. I'm told that with the ultimaker that this was printed on, the bed remains stationary and extruder moves in 2 axes; stronger clips would probably be needed with a moving printbed as on a reprap or makerbot.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.minus.com/jJhbXRcznZ8j8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://i.minus.com/jJhbXRcznZ8j8.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">While the plastic stuck so well it tore up some paper, this was apparently very easy to scrub off with a fingernail and damp cloth.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
That maker reckons this is far more convenient than using tape. If large sets are printed on a single sheet, I reckon it could even be better for the environment, especially if some scrap like newspaper is used. I'll probably try it out myself next time I'm printing with PLA. The related photo album is <a href="http://minus.com/mRkYgKpjO/">here</a>.<br />
<br />
In more salvage efforts, I got this heavy-duty motor from an old and busted washing machine:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh043YovkFiCBK_iUUKXkiJFSXhlRAlBjVTsa3fOn51oF9eF_EghiVgcARnuL8TlWyD6ZKZxERoIL8tRt_anUZ4TjtprcKh_oxSCetP9iDYgtc6s1wZruVmbeR5jn-n2pkQ-qCohfWKySs/s1600/DSC02267.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh043YovkFiCBK_iUUKXkiJFSXhlRAlBjVTsa3fOn51oF9eF_EghiVgcARnuL8TlWyD6ZKZxERoIL8tRt_anUZ4TjtprcKh_oxSCetP9iDYgtc6s1wZruVmbeR5jn-n2pkQ-qCohfWKySs/s400/DSC02267.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Such a high-powered motor, if I can build a controller for it, could be very useful for a DIY industrial machine such as a lathe. There are no stickers making it obvious, but I think this thing might run off high-voltage AC from the mains.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQq5jKquBxGx81u44RuiPHIwlL1nAts4YIsouhEnjmbITVPeen1QHBULqu55fO8hGK6KAKMMmTwyqVVaw5KDJe4P5s5z2Tf3shHHrFqUY6q6OrWYw-8uPu_jPpcWfDPGH9wGyOQW75oxI/s1600/DSC02271.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQq5jKquBxGx81u44RuiPHIwlL1nAts4YIsouhEnjmbITVPeen1QHBULqu55fO8hGK6KAKMMmTwyqVVaw5KDJe4P5s5z2Tf3shHHrFqUY6q6OrWYw-8uPu_jPpcWfDPGH9wGyOQW75oxI/s400/DSC02271.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It appears to be an induction motor though, so wouldn't be any use for generating electricity. There are strange wires around the back end here and a chunky connector with 7 flat pins just off the bottom of this photo.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8f54sNhhrR5x8hr8EdKR8AANia1qclMMXveyLSzONqQ_CmMJbB6w_IRCJzN97Lim2OSyyOsb07NwoUjyxF228ILmpQA6iul7vfpJT0_g6BBYrJRKOReFvBL8jgKNMIXAVhO9ZqMOFrH0/s1600/DSC02268.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8f54sNhhrR5x8hr8EdKR8AANia1qclMMXveyLSzONqQ_CmMJbB6w_IRCJzN97Lim2OSyyOsb07NwoUjyxF228ILmpQA6iul7vfpJT0_g6BBYrJRKOReFvBL8jgKNMIXAVhO9ZqMOFrH0/s400/DSC02268.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There's also some odd wire-pulled lever next to the shaft that looks like it might be a brake, but I haven't figured it out yet, and might just get rid of it.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>4ndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675315515117082792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-906217424699189688.post-69547664791664241182012-06-01T01:36:00.000+01:002012-08-11T00:03:21.302+01:00Flora and Fauna Identification in SutherlandIn this post I will try to identify many of the seedlings and volunteers/'weeds' that I have seen growing well around my local area in the cool maritime climate of Sutherland, around the North/West coast of Scotland. Your help is greatly desired, so please leave a comment if you have a clue! This post will be updated until I consider it reasonably complete. (Last updated 1/7/12)<br />
<br />
As for local flora, <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Bellis+perennis">daisies</a>, <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Taraxacum+officinale">dandelions</a>, <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Urtica+dioica">nettles</a> and <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Calluna+vulgaris">heather</a> (all with edible parts) are so ubiquitous around grassy areas here that there's no point wasting a photograph on them. Seriously, this last month I've seen a whole sheep field turn white with daisies, mowed lawns shine bright yellow with dandelions, everyone on this island has probably seen how nettles like to take over any odd nook or slope where moisture gathers, and heather... well let me just say that every few years the sheep farmers set entire hillsides ablaze up here to get rid of the stuff after it has taken over; some of the current google maps satellite images for the region still show glowing patches and smoke clouds at low levels of detail.<br />
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Most plants here suffer salt-burn from the coastal winds if not well protected, especially trees:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUPgWdQZhwn_wCQB969hJ3K_SMJLA4kh812XKLLz2HDvivRY_7tUsvi_A97VGMzqWDpXFpErEgBAWuiKH1IZLVP7CoCcnwE_lJHQgh4LAJesV8sQRXikpL9hRTTWBi0v_4B32DeEdcWIo/s1600/DSC01870.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUPgWdQZhwn_wCQB969hJ3K_SMJLA4kh812XKLLz2HDvivRY_7tUsvi_A97VGMzqWDpXFpErEgBAWuiKH1IZLVP7CoCcnwE_lJHQgh4LAJesV8sQRXikpL9hRTTWBi0v_4B32DeEdcWIo/s400/DSC01870.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a native <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Sorbus+aucuparia">Rowan</a>
tree, known for producing a quite tart fruit similar to cranberries
only much more sour, typically used to make jellies to accompany meat,
otherwise a great bird food when left on the tree. It probably prefers to be further inland though.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-wmkMUp2PNfqJEj4X9eUlfNCWG2kTGkv_Al6wRsss6KaW33mK4stBMnQJ_e84r0r22igld1IfbxyFK0QyV1KtyBxSBpxLwge_ZWQooqsrcMyafwsx2cIeyQjIRYh-oIwWiQxpyCxT_zU/s1600/DSC02043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"></a><br />
<a name='more'></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-wmkMUp2PNfqJEj4X9eUlfNCWG2kTGkv_Al6wRsss6KaW33mK4stBMnQJ_e84r0r22igld1IfbxyFK0QyV1KtyBxSBpxLwge_ZWQooqsrcMyafwsx2cIeyQjIRYh-oIwWiQxpyCxT_zU/s1600/DSC02043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-wmkMUp2PNfqJEj4X9eUlfNCWG2kTGkv_Al6wRsss6KaW33mK4stBMnQJ_e84r0r22igld1IfbxyFK0QyV1KtyBxSBpxLwge_ZWQooqsrcMyafwsx2cIeyQjIRYh-oIwWiQxpyCxT_zU/s400/DSC02043.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I saw these beautiful flowers by the roadside, and I think they are a relative of thistles and artichokes, given the shape of their flower buds.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiff80K-Om9By0odr0xLr_igsY2d_xJChjgzO0FgihapZMmOn9f-vCZD8OwNqLdfUAaxGAFwv4EGn8lucDegSd27j5-QaDxulPhLdaEYDOg6ihnu4xG42MYXrubq6gIyy116X6U0vzzc_I/s1600/DSC02230.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiff80K-Om9By0odr0xLr_igsY2d_xJChjgzO0FgihapZMmOn9f-vCZD8OwNqLdfUAaxGAFwv4EGn8lucDegSd27j5-QaDxulPhLdaEYDOg6ihnu4xG42MYXrubq6gIyy116X6U0vzzc_I/s400/DSC02230.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I have identified this as <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Heracleum+sphondylium">Common Hogweed</a>, which is edible, and I have tried some myself. The youngest shoots are supposed to be the best, as with many plants, while older bits of stalk etc. are mostly just good for soups. However this plant also has a huge and highly irritant cousin native to the Caucasus, known here as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_hogweed">Giant Hogweed</a>, and you should watch out for that plant invading here.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcfcTBR06JIKdXjoffLYAI5nguBZ8fawh3Rb75z2yVePrQG8NJZfzJ2cGQNAcPKkgbQ2yzRuiQUN84G9zOOEUtRU7C7RgrC74GFOVuuu9qLqNEqa_zoihu_JcODDPR5Qu8ntzNOdda_6o/s1600/DSC01966.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcfcTBR06JIKdXjoffLYAI5nguBZ8fawh3Rb75z2yVePrQG8NJZfzJ2cGQNAcPKkgbQ2yzRuiQUN84G9zOOEUtRU7C7RgrC74GFOVuuu9qLqNEqa_zoihu_JcODDPR5Qu8ntzNOdda_6o/s400/DSC01966.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I have seen several of these growing healthily near here completely untended, but the greatest concentration I have seen of them was at a council dump-site, so I suspect that they might lock up some toxins in the soil, and would bet it's not a good idea to eat them.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSlr6aDv7g2UKWoUZYg_2EuiDYuMxyVebCsb0Uit5SFDhMupAo0GTutYhXWwVZqqitzA8ZZEujBDuxHWn9ppeKl3zYCYkkWrcPJfLHQmuSEpsHPAYEQArP7VwXfEJeaOB6ap4ZY_RyR-c/s1600/DSC02139.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSlr6aDv7g2UKWoUZYg_2EuiDYuMxyVebCsb0Uit5SFDhMupAo0GTutYhXWwVZqqitzA8ZZEujBDuxHWn9ppeKl3zYCYkkWrcPJfLHQmuSEpsHPAYEQArP7VwXfEJeaOB6ap4ZY_RyR-c/s400/DSC02139.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This nearby tree <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caragana-arborescens-flowers.JPG">looks similar</a> to a <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Caragana+arborescens">siberian pea tree</a>, but I think its leaves look too big, widely spaced and waxy to be one, and that it was probably introduced from outside this region.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbr2pDkeS7AI8kuguuxD2aZsm8H9GHGyRKWMfmPgvUMe_dK-JNydoa6TytexcQ19-o3NZEEJu3jchw7zSV7KwegIEGOyif5H60FH4XXMMv6rYZKMmaflzKdhyhNazywmMYe0jfdAVvS9Q/s1600/DSC01765.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbr2pDkeS7AI8kuguuxD2aZsm8H9GHGyRKWMfmPgvUMe_dK-JNydoa6TytexcQ19-o3NZEEJu3jchw7zSV7KwegIEGOyif5H60FH4XXMMv6rYZKMmaflzKdhyhNazywmMYe0jfdAVvS9Q/s400/DSC01765.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This picture taken nearly two months ago is of a hedge that was doing quite well facing towards the sea, clearly making a great hardy windbreak. I wouldn't mind knowing what it is.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT1veanRrjwtxPXlFbq65_0Bywm8fXwpHD45oZzkvKgkeZ6AALEgqatMEg2BZyvwMxsCMHGYZ9mc6yWpJPY0hwkXKJtrh5cdjJefE_Ho3TIo8blrWd4cAoDpzaZbqhpVlLDW38v51dCC8/s1600/DSC01969.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT1veanRrjwtxPXlFbq65_0Bywm8fXwpHD45oZzkvKgkeZ6AALEgqatMEg2BZyvwMxsCMHGYZ9mc6yWpJPY0hwkXKJtrh5cdjJefE_Ho3TIo8blrWd4cAoDpzaZbqhpVlLDW38v51dCC8/s400/DSC01969.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The spiky little shoots dead-centre of this picture have started springing up on the large sods that I turned over where trees were planted.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgthFzx9duy_LzTjVD7f-uJB6huqIQrjrvzn_so-bHBr3Z0YNorR82VNsSkQFySDF5qZwkh1WmFX-pmh4N3SPon3UbUq-lxL-8IXJmbUgtHfe_2O92ZdXo6j-UGYO_Ym12a3EDfnFsd1p4/s1600/DSC02076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgthFzx9duy_LzTjVD7f-uJB6huqIQrjrvzn_so-bHBr3Z0YNorR82VNsSkQFySDF5qZwkh1WmFX-pmh4N3SPon3UbUq-lxL-8IXJmbUgtHfe_2O92ZdXo6j-UGYO_Ym12a3EDfnFsd1p4/s400/DSC02076.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A lot of these plants with their three-sided pinched leaves and yellow flowers seem to turn up just off the banks of streams around here.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQkvRH0RhJy8Lftxbo8gAeK3tieDL0HIkYUfb1EV6qhgpuZf0gW8HKIJ7Pz3DodaKjnxWWBLUL-EOxcp2nZkk9DLdkxD0nlKj1atoll25OoOU6RNz5TMRkXsfHwMGOoDiKNA2Khuhnkfk/s1600/DSC02146.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQkvRH0RhJy8Lftxbo8gAeK3tieDL0HIkYUfb1EV6qhgpuZf0gW8HKIJ7Pz3DodaKjnxWWBLUL-EOxcp2nZkk9DLdkxD0nlKj1atoll25OoOU6RNz5TMRkXsfHwMGOoDiKNA2Khuhnkfk/s400/DSC02146.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A young bush on the bank of a stream, could be an edible berry or something like that.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6LRAXKazUOUKe2S8LIFOe4C5nSrtBMlZO8RMKg2DMfnkX818K70_DEPDTu1pbMnQ2qU85z1Lum9tE-2DjH4D3wRjN6Wg4SD7s423JT3Xwt8ALECb9b5NrBZKX9ZxHCmrX1iG0P5CQcV0/s1600/DSC02077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6LRAXKazUOUKe2S8LIFOe4C5nSrtBMlZO8RMKg2DMfnkX818K70_DEPDTu1pbMnQ2qU85z1Lum9tE-2DjH4D3wRjN6Wg4SD7s423JT3Xwt8ALECb9b5NrBZKX9ZxHCmrX1iG0P5CQcV0/s400/DSC02077.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I suspect that this <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Papaver+nudicaule">Arctic Poppy</a> may have been introduced as someone's ornamental plant, and has since begun to spread like wildfire over grass verges by roads and footpaths. I didn't notice any sign of this perennial until these big flower buds started appearing and opening in May. Sadly it doesn't appear to be very useful.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb89P55F6fQ345ZWKHaijNYImTsEW38xAkXyPIk-bI9jZXwW8ehEXOtcd0p8bDwJVVScUiXY1ni989D6UL4MmYuGuOYQGlCjUWeNeJV4l3stFtcjLyc4TAgPeAzlg3EG-jY18cuL_RWt8/s1600/DSC02074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb89P55F6fQ345ZWKHaijNYImTsEW38xAkXyPIk-bI9jZXwW8ehEXOtcd0p8bDwJVVScUiXY1ni989D6UL4MmYuGuOYQGlCjUWeNeJV4l3stFtcjLyc4TAgPeAzlg3EG-jY18cuL_RWt8/s400/DSC02074.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not very many of these turn up amongst the grass. No clue.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdZCb8r7U60NMmO8D3HjVkMuwN5Sp_CxAb5Q5hCqCfsj0pf2UTE3C3zjzOIRYmE3-4mWVEVYykTX2bmQmQYzMv4WbnRLVR0ztkzKMsjjuQcGAOttxZs3pgDNtRI5orugdWs2KUbbuyFjI/s1600/DSC02178.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdZCb8r7U60NMmO8D3HjVkMuwN5Sp_CxAb5Q5hCqCfsj0pf2UTE3C3zjzOIRYmE3-4mWVEVYykTX2bmQmQYzMv4WbnRLVR0ztkzKMsjjuQcGAOttxZs3pgDNtRI5orugdWs2KUbbuyFjI/s400/DSC02178.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The plants in the foreground with their tightly-bunched, slender, green ovate leaves, which start out with a slight purple tinge (as with the bottom-right shoot), I originally thought might be one of the green manure plants that I sowed a couple of months ago, when it first started springing up, since it seemed to be everywhere. Since noticing it often amongst the grass I have been told it is a type of Vetch, although I don't know which yet, and there are nearly 30 species of it listed on PFAF. At least I know it is a legume, so will probably be improving the soil of the swale mound, which it is growing out of a lot.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYN16wryezvbQL5Wd4FiFhcuqvlLWziWAa_hzR7XvBa3GBy1yl5yovhzHGTEiufFIOhVRXtdCeiYafaDARWg6TSHIu8Wo2r682KMWLCZkvpjoXl5rpK1RQ3qQUz7lUky7r_YJsGTAw8wA/s1600/DSC02190.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYN16wryezvbQL5Wd4FiFhcuqvlLWziWAa_hzR7XvBa3GBy1yl5yovhzHGTEiufFIOhVRXtdCeiYafaDARWg6TSHIu8Wo2r682KMWLCZkvpjoXl5rpK1RQ3qQUz7lUky7r_YJsGTAw8wA/s400/DSC02190.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What I originally thought might be related to clover due to its bunched flowers, is actually an orchid. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlEIDGTNA3WReGzVlh9AfnXzuDMllhRDwOhO9dqSEHbq3HeIvFa3EnTDI9eQ_EPYCwRewGejHMV8ILFJ1jE4A7hLAhXZ9dbxcosNgQ2_D_gj8YLkPE98CKq2jRRQa7OoyMP-ntjF78nfE/s1600/DSC02167.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlEIDGTNA3WReGzVlh9AfnXzuDMllhRDwOhO9dqSEHbq3HeIvFa3EnTDI9eQ_EPYCwRewGejHMV8ILFJ1jE4A7hLAhXZ9dbxcosNgQ2_D_gj8YLkPE98CKq2jRRQa7OoyMP-ntjF78nfE/s400/DSC02167.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This mystery turned out to be a volunteer potato, probably from a seed or bit of root that got into the compost I spread here.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfJEFCv1f-SEonQ-Mnv6HhsBnpxDNYc5IQz7I5ktlPw2KOFn_GkT3UpryJxzLfeVPbZaa8Hct9bscVW-JOxamoeKJ4Kxz_JGUQmmsCXDy3fbm1wkuYjKeY14tpfej-0A6Xe969IVwOkhY/s1600/DSC02166.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfJEFCv1f-SEonQ-Mnv6HhsBnpxDNYc5IQz7I5ktlPw2KOFn_GkT3UpryJxzLfeVPbZaa8Hct9bscVW-JOxamoeKJ4Kxz_JGUQmmsCXDy3fbm1wkuYjKeY14tpfej-0A6Xe969IVwOkhY/s400/DSC02166.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This other mystery popped up inches from that previous one, where I found part of my compost scraped away a couple of weeks ago, possibly disturbed by a mouse or rabbit. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-vneavUyq6pOdhRboOvLDJQVDenhrV93NtGiHrIVhC9C-l_HraCpZq8Y4Yfp4723abSgJKNSJ7K56ptF5khRJpfSv2YmytGgDTbhD-W-Z3-8mVCMUIIrcRoR1kF0gY52Hbu5LzLu_EJo/s1600/DSC02191.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-vneavUyq6pOdhRboOvLDJQVDenhrV93NtGiHrIVhC9C-l_HraCpZq8Y4Yfp4723abSgJKNSJ7K56ptF5khRJpfSv2YmytGgDTbhD-W-Z3-8mVCMUIIrcRoR1kF0gY52Hbu5LzLu_EJo/s400/DSC02191.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I think this could be carrot seedlings in the middle of the picture.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn7SVdndllZGoMqSg0aEYAVyRXcwuM-FDBv_3oTAZf3DuAetgRTViDHx3umHGCeMFMumU-hZJkPtBZ4exdJZ5J5agj6TrKhvvXg60S66nYg_3PrKrE47CmiA4Rm4MZN572nrsANKcHChg/s1600/DSC02172.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn7SVdndllZGoMqSg0aEYAVyRXcwuM-FDBv_3oTAZf3DuAetgRTViDHx3umHGCeMFMumU-hZJkPtBZ4exdJZ5J5agj6TrKhvvXg60S66nYg_3PrKrE47CmiA4Rm4MZN572nrsANKcHChg/s400/DSC02172.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The largest plants here from seed, which are growing strongly everywhere I sow them, I am now sure are <i>not</i> carrots but in fact the 'green manure' <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Phacelia+tanacetifolia">fiddleneck</a>. I wish I could get something edible to grow that well.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0q6mu1Q6VLJ-NxQF_LwYsug2wflx85VXj0Q8jBsqXDYjgu0_L-P-TgVHVk_4o9MBHs150PZohHipJkSP6YKHJdXcCo5bMUXQVxmUm0Tqluy8vGzv92cHDArfVROGm_7oscnIa5xaFIrs/s1600/DSC02184.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0q6mu1Q6VLJ-NxQF_LwYsug2wflx85VXj0Q8jBsqXDYjgu0_L-P-TgVHVk_4o9MBHs150PZohHipJkSP6YKHJdXcCo5bMUXQVxmUm0Tqluy8vGzv92cHDArfVROGm_7oscnIa5xaFIrs/s400/DSC02184.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bonus question: is it just me, or does it look like that shoot at the grafting point of this damson tree could be from the rootstock? If so, perhaps I could be able to propagate it in a pot and use it to grow more tough plum/prune trees. Also, that's the shoot of a garlic clove that I planted slowly creeping up to the bottom-left of the tree.</td></tr>
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<br />
As for fauna... while we have had some very hot and dry weather (for here at least) with no rain for the last week, I tried going out late at night with a watering can to help my recently-sown seeds and seedlings, since the constant sunlight during the day was drying out the compost to the point that it was cracking up. On my way round I started spotting slugs attacking various seedlings. They came in all different sizes and colours, some brown, cream, white, green, yellow and some even speckled with black spots. I didn't find any with distinct orange bellies, which I have come across lots of before towards the south end of this island.<br />
This seems to be a negative side-effect of putting solid objects down to mulch areas overgrown with grass, since the moist sheltered area underneath is a great place for slugs to breed.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTkJWbtTww4QnrN_GppY_gzN4ET6whvYya9vmSo69pl2dX9Xn5SdDf3Y0nCWHVVzNIZcnj9tV15XU_HQdb6YeMcEA75QaaKzIZVFflzfGh-76xDRUoHZv9BOkeve1Slthh3D3ktRlUxtU/s1600/DSC02037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTkJWbtTww4QnrN_GppY_gzN4ET6whvYya9vmSo69pl2dX9Xn5SdDf3Y0nCWHVVzNIZcnj9tV15XU_HQdb6YeMcEA75QaaKzIZVFflzfGh-76xDRUoHZv9BOkeve1Slthh3D3ktRlUxtU/s400/DSC02037.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This one was chowing down on one of the seedlings from the peas I planted along my swale wall. That annoyed me.</td></tr>
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After the satisfaction of hurling a few of them far over a fence wore off as I kept noticing more and more of them, realising what a huge plague of these slimy little buggers come out at night, I guessed that they may have been a main reason why a lot of the things I sowed straight outside and then left for a few weeks seemed to be missing in action, and that I'd need to do something quick if I wanted many of the things that I had more recently sown to survive.<br />
Its said that you can't have too many slugs, only too few ducks, and I had wanted to borrow my friend's ducks to range them around the planted area in late spring, but unfortunately they were all wiped out recently by some fox or badger that managed to claw its way into their decrepit old shelters and start <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surplus_killing">surplus killing</a>, so now there are no ducks or chickens left in the whole village and I haven't had enough time to build new hutches to protect more ducklings. Therefore I have had to look at quick solutions to my slug problem other than domesticated animals.<br />
<br />
The first idea that sprung to my mind was to try and get hold of some plain terracotta clay and compact it down in the wide section of the swale I dug, so that it might hold water and form a pond, which in turn could attract some of the wild ducks that fly around this region. I put that off for now on account of the time and effort involved, since I would likely have to try and establish some aquatic plants that are attractive to ducks while my own seedlings are getting munched.<br />
The next thing I came across online was a beer trap, a.k.a. 'slug pub' or 'slug inn'. This is where you leave out an open dish with some beer poured into it, the idea being that slugs love their beer for some reason, while they are quite incapable of processing the alcohol, and so get so intoxicated that they fall into the drink and drown blissfully. I could come up with a hundred euphemisms for that, but moving on, I had doubts about the trick until two family members assured me that it's a good one, so I tried it the next night.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Npg5z1uL9Y1o76PsKqUtm65HfxTyV_DTN5nLsb-mkdTQpD8OSUbqs8R6ooSoKJuF5NbsT3RmBtQg_6UxmuBNuT_8m-hIasHOk78SCVsXOyDqoc0ykqcy-n0ufLErEOYzZiMMer_eIGQ/s1600/DSC02065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Npg5z1uL9Y1o76PsKqUtm65HfxTyV_DTN5nLsb-mkdTQpD8OSUbqs8R6ooSoKJuF5NbsT3RmBtQg_6UxmuBNuT_8m-hIasHOk78SCVsXOyDqoc0ykqcy-n0ufLErEOYzZiMMer_eIGQ/s400/DSC02065.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Results of a dish and one can of crap lager after 24 hours.</td></tr>
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I was quite happy with the results, and the usual wisdom that I read was to toss out the contents out and refresh the tray each day, but I decided to try and see whether it would still attract many slugs the next night while going a bit stale. I also tried putting some lager in steep-sided mugs to see if that would make slugs fall in more easily, but my success seemed to depend more on how sheltered a location a given trap was in. The wide dish pictured was in a narrow part of the swale, while a mug near the top of the hill caught nothing and one in thick grass near the south-west fence was almost as successful as the dish.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjENtbjjF71CIZibn-gYu3x7cNHF9y8JuHq2WvW4xI87C33_NMFXF3r8pXnBJ1TlLlo0JivGk4KsQRb692l1W_BEVCRE9SNtB_DrwU0Y5cluWgmKUvDKzHbgRZQTvwIdcVHZzGdo82WuyY/s1600/DSC02087.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjENtbjjF71CIZibn-gYu3x7cNHF9y8JuHq2WvW4xI87C33_NMFXF3r8pXnBJ1TlLlo0JivGk4KsQRb692l1W_BEVCRE9SNtB_DrwU0Y5cluWgmKUvDKzHbgRZQTvwIdcVHZzGdo82WuyY/s400/DSC02087.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slug pub after 48 hours.</td></tr>
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From counting slugs by naked eye, I estimate the trap to be at least 50% effective in distracting slugs within a radius of maybe 5-15 feet, but I still found a few on important seedlings like my artichokes and this rhubarb:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO_q_EtVBZEDppQCOrZHc9WGYjJNX-OalFdpcAId1zIypTojX1aq_fEVL06XX871Kp1yzUQlnVAVDg35fdTREbzGLS2bJ881EhWNwJT7Dw8FsIDgnmDd5bCrHBDDAbAJ9JtM3QSoS61K8/s1600/DSC02088.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO_q_EtVBZEDppQCOrZHc9WGYjJNX-OalFdpcAId1zIypTojX1aq_fEVL06XX871Kp1yzUQlnVAVDg35fdTREbzGLS2bJ881EhWNwJT7Dw8FsIDgnmDd5bCrHBDDAbAJ9JtM3QSoS61K8/s400/DSC02088.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Though I dropped this slug in the drink, the rhubarb seedlings that I stuck outside were all eaten down to stumps overnight, evoking much of my wrath. At least the ones I kept inside are doing very well though.</td></tr>
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and finally:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPsRwuttAhCbVpugvhfhwfKEBipqiKy7SWlEDR4hA1D1IXiwPNksYfvQB731Q7MoXztl4a3EEP1qZjbfwXWS-uW3dRzFSpZWytvYsaO49X4dn9Po5fPO2XgxenhLl5pgjjGBupQO03A18/s1600/DSC02110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPsRwuttAhCbVpugvhfhwfKEBipqiKy7SWlEDR4hA1D1IXiwPNksYfvQB731Q7MoXztl4a3EEP1qZjbfwXWS-uW3dRzFSpZWytvYsaO49X4dn9Po5fPO2XgxenhLl5pgjjGBupQO03A18/s400/DSC02110.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slug pub after 36 hours. Muahahahaha.</td></tr>
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Those dead slugs are now on a compost heap since none of the birds around here seem to have noticed the feast sitting there. I guess the woodland system will have to become a lot more developed before it gets regular bird visits.4ndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675315515117082792noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-906217424699189688.post-25598487265084756322012-05-20T02:16:00.000+01:002012-08-11T00:04:24.860+01:00Sowing Perennials IndoorsProgress was slow over the last few weeks; I lost a lot of work time looking after a friend's hungry hair-generating quadruped for them while they were away (I'm getting a bit tired of the number of animals people feed with agricultural produce when this society won't even distribute it to all humans, can you tell?), but I have learned some more about what works in this region in the meantime.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-O6K5l30FSHrz5vQvTNDAxToBbMMqiIuvl74CnAF_xD7rO-Zi9-VrNlB-0ZhMS3O3TvPuQyt7Y2zYu4zqQGZFdYx4EjGNRn9jal29Os810untgiZD2lG4dIuVKg5Y1jN1QHmDnWXRxBc/s1600/DSC01774.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-O6K5l30FSHrz5vQvTNDAxToBbMMqiIuvl74CnAF_xD7rO-Zi9-VrNlB-0ZhMS3O3TvPuQyt7Y2zYu4zqQGZFdYx4EjGNRn9jal29Os810untgiZD2lG4dIuVKg5Y1jN1QHmDnWXRxBc/s400/DSC01774.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Most of the fruit trees have started blooming, this damson tree was the earliest.</td></tr>
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<br />
<a name='more'></a>I got hold of some tree seeds to see if I can grow <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Caragana+arborescens">Siberian Pea Tree</a> as a productive tree-legume, and a few other useful trees and shrubs such as <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Acer+saccharum">Sugar Maple</a>, <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Pinus+sylvestris">Scots Pine</a>, <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Arbutus+unedo">Strawberry Tree</a>, <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Morus+nigra">Black Mulberry</a>, <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Cytisus+scoparius">Broom</a>, <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Elaeagnus+angustifolia">Oleaster</a> and most importantly, <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Araucaria+araucana">Monkey Puzzle</a>. Monkey-Puzzle trees are a lifelong investment as they produce prolific amounts of large nuts in a temperate climate, but only after about 30-40 years of growth from seed, although Ken Fern of PFAF has reported some of his trees in Cornwall producing cones around 20 years old. A few of the large monkey-puzzle nuts each got their own pots after nearly two days of soaking in water.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4dUwol1Twi_E-IYqrfhbBck10e-qwlPNiwFs923thcl5dad0QAIPv8aUcKtygRM9ihZMRa9wLNLcU3DLZbJh20aIpkDFurVhF2jJz8TTyRGFYw-c_voxET1w_Sr-8BTI0lYauFHX63UY/s1600/DSC01782.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4dUwol1Twi_E-IYqrfhbBck10e-qwlPNiwFs923thcl5dad0QAIPv8aUcKtygRM9ihZMRa9wLNLcU3DLZbJh20aIpkDFurVhF2jJz8TTyRGFYw-c_voxET1w_Sr-8BTI0lYauFHX63UY/s400/DSC01782.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pre-soaking tree seeds to cold-stratify.</td></tr>
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Most of those seeds need to be cold-stratified to simulate over-wintering before they will germinate in what the seed thinks is springtime, so I soaked a bunch of each in water for just over a day in small jars, then drained the water out, labelled them for their recommended chilling times and put them at the back of a refrigerator. For some of the couple of leguminous seeds, pea tree and broom, which should be able to germinate without chilling, I spotted a fererro-rocher tray from a previous winter's gift that made an excellent propagator tray for germinating the seeds in. With a teaspoonful of wet potting mix in each slot, after piercing the inner tray for drainage, I planted a dozen pea-tree seeds, three broom seeds and a few of the others that looked like they might germinate easily just after their soak, then covered the tray over.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZtiZvCM8AKChGANiLYOlUpZDClJmf_xzqU2wK2dlMwkn-3lHdR_nH4heEq9Yg9r1ZSwlSuLDIrTpE8mFJuhvwtwf768uc1GTG4l4q-nCQfRXIqL1ntC0zx98qihob-czux_VlHGUzLCA/s1600/DSC01789.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZtiZvCM8AKChGANiLYOlUpZDClJmf_xzqU2wK2dlMwkn-3lHdR_nH4heEq9Yg9r1ZSwlSuLDIrTpE8mFJuhvwtwf768uc1GTG4l4q-nCQfRXIqL1ntC0zx98qihob-czux_VlHGUzLCA/s400/DSC01789.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's not chocolate in that pretentious yet thankfully re-usable acrylic packaging.</td></tr>
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One month after putting those seeds in soil, none of them have yet germinated, and a couple of the prized monkey-puzzle seeds appeared to have flecks of mould growing on the upper sides of them every time that I watered them in the last couple of weeks, which makes me worry whether they will germinate at all. I've scraped it off each time it appears, but it keeps coming back whenever there is some moisture in the pot.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlrX8b25WBRj_ILOD7Ik_2YjNRyKgVezQYKCGpNpZKgyi99zkVqSgetcEqYA9xuI_2xRDenACFQCbO1H3lXWuhn2D90SYqJ5W-vDu5EENlxoRw9mZEcTGmrXH5Avc1YeWM9LU9aZ5WwA0/s1600/DSC01891.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlrX8b25WBRj_ILOD7Ik_2YjNRyKgVezQYKCGpNpZKgyi99zkVqSgetcEqYA9xuI_2xRDenACFQCbO1H3lXWuhn2D90SYqJ5W-vDu5EENlxoRw9mZEcTGmrXH5Avc1YeWM9LU9aZ5WwA0/s400/DSC01891.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fluffy white (and in some places, green) mould growing around damp monkey-puzzle seeds. Is this a penicillum mould? Any tips would be appreciated.</td></tr>
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There are several perennial herbs that I want to try and grow in some of the sunniest spots on the hillside, most of which are usually more suited to a mediterranean climate. I want them both for delicious food and because they make great companions for nightshade plants, some of which (tomato, aubergine) are already very difficult to grow in the local climate without pest infestations. I sowed seeds for a few herbs (oregano, marjoram, rosemary, thyme, along with chamomile, fennel and a couple of artichoke and squash seeds) in an old seedling tray I found, and kept them indoors for a few weeks so that they could germinate in some shelter while there was still a bit of frost, which those herbs can be sentitive to when young, while giving me time to prepare a patch for them to grow on.<br />
The rosemary seems to have been the most stubborn to germinate out of the whole bunch, showing no sign of greenery after a full month (although I wonder whether the peaty potting mix I sowed them on was too acidic), while the chamomile seemed to spring up within a couple of days and the rest of the herbs did ok within a couple of weeks.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgin_tyCi2fKaFHqF0jb7rglQ11w0exrsjP2sVz7NmTP5EKAcTPXeHjIscbwVup-rfq_9TxB-sGMFk8tFUEh2CcF5ndi0Ck2Ky3NqssG3umPj-FBhhNEppZ4PG9IWAyBoZVJVCyh1ZXgpg/s1600/DSC01858.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgin_tyCi2fKaFHqF0jb7rglQ11w0exrsjP2sVz7NmTP5EKAcTPXeHjIscbwVup-rfq_9TxB-sGMFk8tFUEh2CcF5ndi0Ck2Ky3NqssG3umPj-FBhhNEppZ4PG9IWAyBoZVJVCyh1ZXgpg/s400/DSC01858.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seedling identification: Counting left-to-right from the top row (starting at blue marker) down, I sowed Rosemary in 1, 2 and 19, Oregano in 7 and 13, Thyme in 8, 14 and 20, 'Cinnamon' Basil in 3, 9, 15 and 21, Globe Artichoke in 4 and 24, Chamomile in 10 and 16, Luffa Gourds in 5 and 6, Spaghetti Squash in 11 and 12, Marjoram in 22 and 23, and Fennel in 17 and 18. All were sown at the same time and pictured here after 2 weeks.</td></tr>
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At the same time I dedicated some old margarine tubs to germinating seeds of a couple of my favourite edible temperate perennial shrubs, <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Asparagus+officinalis">asparagus</a> and <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Rheum+rhaponticum">rhubarb</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqZ8-6G3-mtcxZJIxksW1wu55tKuzoj7VMm_CzQkjqYFZPFOMQLWibeHQDHu44jut5W0QdsNiuqdtlrWzSUupO0rOnB3JC7FT70_7zGs_WldSpkQPUKwETLP62gZEuWyb0IsR_zSgpSBQ/s1600/DSC01802.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqZ8-6G3-mtcxZJIxksW1wu55tKuzoj7VMm_CzQkjqYFZPFOMQLWibeHQDHu44jut5W0QdsNiuqdtlrWzSUupO0rOnB3JC7FT70_7zGs_WldSpkQPUKwETLP62gZEuWyb0IsR_zSgpSBQ/s400/DSC01802.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rhubarb seedlings, 2 weeks from sowing. A three-leaved mutant seedling on the right of this picture didn't survive.</td></tr>
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I have seen rhubarb growing very well in large clumps here in all sorts of locations, from full-sun exposure on a south facing hill, to shaded spots around the side of buildings and even growing between a couple of rocks on a roadside.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyg9lRMfO11QDs8cG7diKPr-IiVG6raNZUcAjHMWytt7iHFNaTPmXB8pYyhVo-yF_u2nq3TAZmgVJyxq6stnQZDMwbkVQHYV3xekJIujeTLtsmcHzBQj4IjJ69HOkWw4q_CuBPNRsO2kE/s1600/DSC01779.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyg9lRMfO11QDs8cG7diKPr-IiVG6raNZUcAjHMWytt7iHFNaTPmXB8pYyhVo-yF_u2nq3TAZmgVJyxq6stnQZDMwbkVQHYV3xekJIujeTLtsmcHzBQj4IjJ69HOkWw4q_CuBPNRsO2kE/s400/DSC01779.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A healthy old local rhubarb patch, those leaves can get huge, as in 2-3 feet long not counting the stalk, so that you could fan yourself or a loved one with it on a hot day.</td></tr>
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<br />
Rhubarb makes a lovely spring/summer pie or jam, but asparagus, which can put lots of nutrition in some lovely savoury dishes, I have yet to spot growing anywhere nearby. The asparagus seeds that I potted took a few weeks to germinate, but then all sprung up at roughly the same time, making a nice surprise. The first thing to germinate in one of the pots was a mystery weed, which left me confused until the tiny asparagus heads appeared a few days later and I now think it might be a thistle, but I didn't pull it up since an asparagus shoot growing directly next to it ended up doing very well, so I guess it isn't doing much harm.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghNXQUGKFRq2IKVPjU46O6LpnLtglcxXjqMrHAavwLhyphenhyphenQysimwaLE4xMdABR5Ty-ZYQxm6gWCOYX9s5BvZoK3kM3xtG86bl_ttNh4sLvykRzuS28A5XzQntsvdMeAwl9PAg66DRof5G9Y/s1600/DSC01854.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghNXQUGKFRq2IKVPjU46O6LpnLtglcxXjqMrHAavwLhyphenhyphenQysimwaLE4xMdABR5Ty-ZYQxm6gWCOYX9s5BvZoK3kM3xtG86bl_ttNh4sLvykRzuS28A5XzQntsvdMeAwl9PAg66DRof5G9Y/s400/DSC01854.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of two asparagus trays, 25 days after sowing.</td></tr>
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To save a bit more time in creating vegetable and herb beds between the windbreak, and since I ran out of spare stuff to cover the ground with, I'm doing a little of something that I really want to minimise, which is tilling the topsoil. I've found that my attempt to smother some of the grass by a month of covering it with various opaque sheets followed by spreading compost on the top, has been a semi-success/failure depending on how you look at it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVqoqW5do4DBK_99E0NipIZOyUzh-_I2nUKT0tSagqTLGifNrw0-B2gUt9QOE3RSbkcLEYr7KbrvJALEYTo_7QDn8cOu0jk3hZJWeRnEz46Zm9Fq0mOj4xB5D9SibkSu-amFKUN0IvPcc/s1600/DSC01831.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVqoqW5do4DBK_99E0NipIZOyUzh-_I2nUKT0tSagqTLGifNrw0-B2gUt9QOE3RSbkcLEYr7KbrvJALEYTo_7QDn8cOu0jk3hZJWeRnEz46Zm9Fq0mOj4xB5D9SibkSu-amFKUN0IvPcc/s400/DSC01831.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grass and other well-established weeds busting through a thin layer of mulch.</td></tr>
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The grass is shooting up through the compost in a few locations, and one particularly lively clump simply lifted the compost on it right up after a few weeks of regrowth. <strike>Initially I thought this was a bigger problem than it actually is, since I mistook some of the chives and onions growing there for tufts of grass, until I plucked one up; it seems I missed the initial seedling stage that I mainly found pictures of online, where the black seed shells have been pushed above the surface</strike>. Disregard that, I just thoroughly inspected the area and practically all of them really are very slender grass shoots, so my onion and chive seeds don't seem to have germinated for unknown reasons, though the packet instructions said they could be sown straight outdoors.<br />
There are some other seedlings growing in the compost that I laid down, but their progress is slow, the 'green manure' plants haven't established much at all in the way of ground cover, and some of the things I sowed straight outside quite early, such as broccoli and artichokes, don't even appear to have germinated, although there are still a few seedlings or possible weeds that I haven't been able to identify, I'm thinking of dedicating a blog post to them since there are so many. I'm quite worried that the nasturtium seeds I planted out early in the year might have rotted before they could germinate, so I might have to plant some more.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilvBp7EIwB3U5GFtNKEgji8msEQLXT4bDHQZfTrfWAU_QMlKzfsbCdzQElvyA8cL463Vdh76pDMCsMj88C9fQjFYM2lyRL37pODfvacbtxIQT1-v-OQUudg2ORKWkxp6NsW8VW2gDSGYc/s1600/DSC01903.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilvBp7EIwB3U5GFtNKEgji8msEQLXT4bDHQZfTrfWAU_QMlKzfsbCdzQElvyA8cL463Vdh76pDMCsMj88C9fQjFYM2lyRL37pODfvacbtxIQT1-v-OQUudg2ORKWkxp6NsW8VW2gDSGYc/s400/DSC01903.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strike>Carrot</strike> fiddleneck seedling in the centre having already developed a couple of branches (updated). I think these probably do really well because they're unpalatable - see my next post for more about the slug problem.</td></tr>
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<br />
When a nearby ash tree needed to have a branch cut back that was getting in the way, I was able to take several cuttings that might root into new trees, so I used those to extend the treeline for windbreak around the north-east a bit, since some quite strong and very cold winds had been coming in unblocked from north europe/asia in previous weeks. Hopefully this layout can approach an ideal model that Mollison recommended for a temperate-zone windbreak in his permaculture designer's manual, which is roughly a horseshoe shape, where the thick bend of the horseshoe faces the nearest pole.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0eBr_omSl4dOkN9OEsecq-ILshK74jccn39oPanBR4s8zc0SPdQ3A8fooQZtNAS-orfr-O6_N2ox3fIvToJcFVqnoIdgJl89ysahmhgSZuKpqCYUScmS7tLyG4J_YAbVyT4_1qF1S-Bo/s1600/DSC01885.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0eBr_omSl4dOkN9OEsecq-ILshK74jccn39oPanBR4s8zc0SPdQ3A8fooQZtNAS-orfr-O6_N2ox3fIvToJcFVqnoIdgJl89ysahmhgSZuKpqCYUScmS7tLyG4J_YAbVyT4_1qF1S-Bo/s400/DSC01885.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here I put some of the cuttings into rows of holes made with a garden fork. Almost none of the buds had opened on the branch that I took cuttings from, while they had across most of the rest of the tree, so clearly it didn't need the extra bit that just made it more susceptible to wind.</td></tr>
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<br />
The areas where I wanted to lay out some more vegetable patches had too much rock at a shallow level for me to invert cubes of sod with a spade, not that I wanted to break up and expose soil at that depth anyway; ploughing soil up a foot deep often leaves a lot of earthworms out as a smörgåsbord for the birds (as I saw a couple of years ago in the documentary <a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2750012006939737230">A Farm for the Future</a> by Rebecca Hosking), which doesn't exactly help with soil fertility in the following years.<br />
To try and suppress the grass roots even faster here without ruining the soil too much, I first raked away as much of the dead grass as possible, which from the patch I started making around the plum tree was enough to loosely half-fill a compost bin that I had recently re-assembled after moving it from a previous home (that went to the top of the hill in the hope that nutrients would flow downhill from its base). Next I would try and push a garden fork as close to horizontal as possible under a patch of moss and grass roots, but trying to keep high up on top of the mud and rocks, before levering the fork up and flipping over the shallow sods that resulted.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxTn9VdYwx7Q6ePuOlCfggPDnt2Fl2IYMRklXg_K3nMEmpiC1OhurVamgiIN3kC2I_MA0QXLdLN1aqKNetEcgPhlin1n-BIz9N3kC5MOBP9VV_RskG2FLnCh5GvRlMJaxkuVb2PqwncoM/s1600/DSC01861.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxTn9VdYwx7Q6ePuOlCfggPDnt2Fl2IYMRklXg_K3nMEmpiC1OhurVamgiIN3kC2I_MA0QXLdLN1aqKNetEcgPhlin1n-BIz9N3kC5MOBP9VV_RskG2FLnCh5GvRlMJaxkuVb2PqwncoM/s400/DSC01861.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Example of the thickness of a sod in my improvised 'rake and flip' method, which only requires you and a garden fork. See how rocky the soil is there without going an inch past the main root mass.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Some of the grass roots that I pulled up by hand were amazingly thick,
showing the age of this well-established grass that was drawing up nutrients from deep into the rocks.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvu3Nn_5HWI-O4Elwzvz3uUrcFSJLsQNIq-3IP6e2f_QsCCZ7chR-ReAepML0nLQNoVM6ViQS-flD6TUah9vFHh2cJiObtrzE4vP4lx4Uix_g_VRHiQuHpZd3HBUI_kQ9iWNrOCteASHM/s1600/DSC01894.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvu3Nn_5HWI-O4Elwzvz3uUrcFSJLsQNIq-3IP6e2f_QsCCZ7chR-ReAepML0nLQNoVM6ViQS-flD6TUah9vFHh2cJiObtrzE4vP4lx4Uix_g_VRHiQuHpZd3HBUI_kQ9iWNrOCteASHM/s400/DSC01894.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This grass root was so thick that I would forgive anyone for mistaking it for a parsnip, which is even what it smelled like when torn apart.</td></tr>
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After emptying a few small compost heaps from around my friend's house, I put the partially decomposed food peelings etc. into the large reconstructed compost bin with the grass-hay, then spreading the small amount of good quality compost from the bottom over the turned patch of soil. The whole process from raking to spreading compost took a few hours of work to produce a patch about 10ft long by 4ft wide; a lot more toil than mulching the grass but a lot less waiting.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGsHoQbrfdO_Z-XrprjxLUgL5CfJQgi0gWdmfGNuVDIZnF_HS3y1DldpFak4Jh8gFMq2LaGoFUKGnksjFPLZ0GcPrjxo7TYOtX8u3ZCEUGFngektzC-fTWZAGhy3C1cgyYqalCw7AfGaU/s1600/DSC01897.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGsHoQbrfdO_Z-XrprjxLUgL5CfJQgi0gWdmfGNuVDIZnF_HS3y1DldpFak4Jh8gFMq2LaGoFUKGnksjFPLZ0GcPrjxo7TYOtX8u3ZCEUGFngektzC-fTWZAGhy3C1cgyYqalCw7AfGaU/s400/DSC01897.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A long flipped-grass vegetable bed leading up to the plum tree, almost finished.</td></tr>
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Near-disaster struck when my friend's pet knocked my tray of various seedlings off a window-sill, the very same day that I wanted to plant some of them out after waiting a month for some of them to establish, and I managed to rescue most of them, though I don't know how many will survive once they are planted outside. A couple of the rhubarb trays were merely knocked on their sides, and the soil was quite glued together at the time, so they kept growing fine, though one or two had injuries to leaves that were hanging over the tray edge.<br />
I stuck the artichokes out at the windward (WSW, front of picture) end of the large patch above as soon as it was ready, with some bird seed directly behind for tall grain plants like sunflower, chamomile around the edge since it can grow amongst grass like daisy, cauliflower and cabbage (hopefully sheltered) in the middle, followed by rows of squashes, lettuce, radishes and turnips towards the plum tree, with a few chives directly around it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFCYyfpslu8D7db4kXk5PWXQQ4XucA_aYPZhJwbMrTDaUS5zYkTXeWStwfaztp7hVYkc_D_ivE6SWnIT7tQdjLQqlMmpRNviDCZ_MdPxWd8HOCbIyUfq_ou9fA2Gmf_WiAlB7i9lb7bQE/s1600/DSC01872.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFCYyfpslu8D7db4kXk5PWXQQ4XucA_aYPZhJwbMrTDaUS5zYkTXeWStwfaztp7hVYkc_D_ivE6SWnIT7tQdjLQqlMmpRNviDCZ_MdPxWd8HOCbIyUfq_ou9fA2Gmf_WiAlB7i9lb7bQE/s400/DSC01872.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the artichoke seedlings, just left of centre, with a bunch of chamomile to the top-right.</td></tr>
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Further around on the south face of the hill I made a much smaller patch by the same method, sticking out the various herbs around the south edge along with some more seeds of the same generally all over the patch as companions for some tomatoes in the middle, with beans and squashes behind them that I intend to grow up some sticks like a trellis, if they will actually grow.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvblgSo-_H1iRybScdKmm48RGMILedSQl3PAf9BTKeau_RqX5vJkTzHa_CJFRN98Hm7xNP3Bopx-EXh3qsG5GImcW3Ef-IN8lR6Ru-zL-Ef0yMR6gaB6A1-HECyYyBudCcfFIaTEX1mBc/s1600/DSC01922.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvblgSo-_H1iRybScdKmm48RGMILedSQl3PAf9BTKeau_RqX5vJkTzHa_CJFRN98Hm7xNP3Bopx-EXh3qsG5GImcW3Ef-IN8lR6Ru-zL-Ef0yMR6gaB6A1-HECyYyBudCcfFIaTEX1mBc/s400/DSC01922.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tasty herbs, whether they can survive here only time will tell; I have seen oregano doing reasonably well in a raised-bed near here though.</td></tr>
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I divided up a tray of asparagus and planted it in two blocks by the west end of the patch backed by some more sunflowers and stuck a few marigold seeds around the edge as general companions for the rest.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh84maL5XlUhdTTL3aECcvwDVJlsAxqF3s96iFf7WctMEul6dk4hz5sHjkEjIjPYvrM53A9YWGWaZaFEjcNVqlj7rSWkU98_6IOZ53Gl_wy4YLz0e3zGPJvWT1jX5uh_WgvU5nqDfhBZWU/s1600/DSC01920.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh84maL5XlUhdTTL3aECcvwDVJlsAxqF3s96iFf7WctMEul6dk4hz5sHjkEjIjPYvrM53A9YWGWaZaFEjcNVqlj7rSWkU98_6IOZ53Gl_wy4YLz0e3zGPJvWT1jX5uh_WgvU5nqDfhBZWU/s400/DSC01920.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Half of an Asparagus seedling tray stuck out along with mystery weed. Maybe I should have thinned them out further, but any that survive shall inherit the earth.</td></tr>
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<br />
Since rhubarb seemed to do so well in slightly raised mounds that it could spread its large leaves out over, I figured it would make a great element to place on the large back wall at the widest part of the water-harvesting swale that I dug out, since its shelter might lower evaporation of any collected water when the sun is lower in spring & autumn, so that's where I stuck a tray of seedlings out.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD19nNemtRQ-2n1QaHrJzhIfETM5NQRFIf1EHF01NJNwLDoE54G-zaClFuPqZwwOVc7r-OHUCYA-mhhKcX1fFcGDvNJ9lLRJVemQr3PWJ5eyz3bzpHMaoCXSA9tcBbv6DYnroLaSdoq44/s1600/DSC01910.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD19nNemtRQ-2n1QaHrJzhIfETM5NQRFIf1EHF01NJNwLDoE54G-zaClFuPqZwwOVc7r-OHUCYA-mhhKcX1fFcGDvNJ9lLRJVemQr3PWJ5eyz3bzpHMaoCXSA9tcBbv6DYnroLaSdoq44/s400/DSC01910.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Several rhubarb seedlings from the larger tray planted out on the swale/pond wall. Some more peas were planted behind and anywhere else that I hadn't put any on the wall yet.</td></tr>
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While doing some backround reading I re-discovered, having forgotten, that fennel, much like walnut, is quite toxic to almost all plants around it, save perhaps dill (which I don't like very much anyway), so I stuck seedlings of that in one small bit of turned soil right next to the compost bin, on the slim chance that it might discourage plants from growing in the heap, and because by a compost bin should be a fine position for any plant, since it supplies all different nutrients to the roots while attracting a variety of insects.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN6kWFjOHEGntCBIhQnaosjMAzdryNSdYGR8JHtaK9Sx0wViA1Oi7Q8OHm0i3p8Zc_5GfJGRg1_TLcnWeUybq776b6-jkUkyFzg752TWW2kD56hPrfhvQqYsUzciGl3Pk6wi5Hnj23f_k/s1600/DSC01923.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN6kWFjOHEGntCBIhQnaosjMAzdryNSdYGR8JHtaK9Sx0wViA1Oi7Q8OHm0i3p8Zc_5GfJGRg1_TLcnWeUybq776b6-jkUkyFzg752TWW2kD56hPrfhvQqYsUzciGl3Pk6wi5Hnj23f_k/s400/DSC01923.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barely visible are 3 fennel seedlings from left to right across the middle of this picture. I might chuck some more seeds straight on the patch to see if they take, I'm not terribly worried about this plant.</td></tr>
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<br />
Tragically, the very next day after finishing that batch of working the soil and sowing seeds in sunny weather, an unexpected storm blew through that brought very harsh westerly winds for most of last weekend. While all the trees survived with minimal damage having rooted well now, most of the seedlings that I had just planted out were devastated.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0UilC7wfVg2Zi_qAQQD1q3B2KcLw82-mfmxhEdh19CbVQ5RyNOK74yCFOQnY6IfqsxuAP7jpZhac4LC8F2c0Um2y6o9hLQrTLTlVwE3lUj2zQYTIs5cerAFHCY_hqXuxmF2ga1Pf0vyc/s1600/DSC01924.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0UilC7wfVg2Zi_qAQQD1q3B2KcLw82-mfmxhEdh19CbVQ5RyNOK74yCFOQnY6IfqsxuAP7jpZhac4LC8F2c0Um2y6o9hLQrTLTlVwE3lUj2zQYTIs5cerAFHCY_hqXuxmF2ga1Pf0vyc/s400/DSC01924.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The skies fell, rivers ran with blood... well, not quite, but there was enough rainfall in less than 24 hours to half-fill the swale that I dug, from really not a huge area to run-off from. Taking this picture in what I thought would be a decent lull in the weather resulted in me getting soaked when the rain came back.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQkGTYknjUiep604Pul7xynW-oZj-0-NhK92S_4M_I6txVBrZ_EC5LQQxKftRSSUK59NwhDi_mTu6BSRz_dhObpTYrMPgxnqQk0hkqqsJm_48RY2qZ2tTvY_wMBq1W0u9T3zxlxv_oVbY/s1600/DSC01944.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQkGTYknjUiep604Pul7xynW-oZj-0-NhK92S_4M_I6txVBrZ_EC5LQQxKftRSSUK59NwhDi_mTu6BSRz_dhObpTYrMPgxnqQk0hkqqsJm_48RY2qZ2tTvY_wMBq1W0u9T3zxlxv_oVbY/s400/DSC01944.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The rhubarb was hit quite hard since the wind would have accellerated slightly over the swale wall with no plant life there yet to slow it.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAXYhKG3OkwNB7jEwKZ3UnxsLRv_SxuCeyu9UEtdJeTeao_wMALKMo3HW4TaUgl96U5rDe8GCyUOE-MO4d_Vjn2apMavqJb3aZaaWn-cXqkfBk8sGYj22NLeKQqPUY_NTfWSX43ETzyY0/s1600/DSC01950.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAXYhKG3OkwNB7jEwKZ3UnxsLRv_SxuCeyu9UEtdJeTeao_wMALKMo3HW4TaUgl96U5rDe8GCyUOE-MO4d_Vjn2apMavqJb3aZaaWn-cXqkfBk8sGYj22NLeKQqPUY_NTfWSX43ETzyY0/s400/DSC01950.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The asparagus seedlings had their top third simply snapped right over.</td></tr>
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This post could almost be re-named "How to do gardening wrong by experimentation and learn from it", but I've already learned in tactics to always keep something in reserve, while I realise that I have a better chance of something succeeding well if I try a little bit of everything, as goes the creative process. To that end I only planted out half of the rhubarb and asparagus seedlings that I grew, the other half I will try to very carefully split out into individual pots, to see if I can grow several single strong plants of each to then plant outside.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj84urQjtGembLetbLO-alzuzSqrb-uv4eKfQ2wfnpNjJ9Kk2jLkLNonkuRcpPGxeKQ0cKJext5H_SIlWFzHw7ljbGImp8NrAq7i4olkYFxvvLNZ7Gcmi2M8JnAaRz8CWVARBL9VbTAB5g/s1600/DSC01943.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj84urQjtGembLetbLO-alzuzSqrb-uv4eKfQ2wfnpNjJ9Kk2jLkLNonkuRcpPGxeKQ0cKJext5H_SIlWFzHw7ljbGImp8NrAq7i4olkYFxvvLNZ7Gcmi2M8JnAaRz8CWVARBL9VbTAB5g/s400/DSC01943.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reserve asparagus and rhubarb seedlings; if I can grow several strong plants from them, then I might even be able to give a few to friends.</td></tr>
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It wasn't until after planting out blackberry bramble cuttings earlier in the year that I read that the opposite to what I found with willow tree cuttings was true, that thicker chunks of bramble cane are better for vegetative propagation, and so on examining the ones that I stuck out, I found only this one alive and well.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPFLr0ZzKM2UCVen90PFDIlzqHYIqvFclN-lZ1nH5wvN35QzqIEHQ4JrWu4cglAdTbdL0HMZFJcISyK2jYItXakH7KQGeNlZex7HlDwufs1_uCFiIyl9IvNzf7r78ZkRn_A39xgII0YDs/s1600/DSC01986.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPFLr0ZzKM2UCVen90PFDIlzqHYIqvFclN-lZ1nH5wvN35QzqIEHQ4JrWu4cglAdTbdL0HMZFJcISyK2jYItXakH7KQGeNlZex7HlDwufs1_uCFiIyl9IvNzf7r78ZkRn_A39xgII0YDs/s400/DSC01986.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This spiky stick of awesome might one day grow into a hedge covered with delicious fruit.</td></tr>
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<br />
Also, with blueberry seedlings that similar online instructions said should be quite easy to germinate once they have been cold-stratified for a few weeks, I could only get one to germinate here by surface-sowing stratified seeds onto ericaceous potting mix.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFvExwDdw9NKlqqeRveLOMXOjp2yreCOLKKmyAkfno9lSxrG8E5b-eS6auLmswReCEV9tfUG9gMRahX1NyBbndOjRd3OkEoKoeQgUdulw-eS3l5IjU6JVEwqm5YPCftErO5ClMnW79K9o/s1600/DSC01936.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFvExwDdw9NKlqqeRveLOMXOjp2yreCOLKKmyAkfno9lSxrG8E5b-eS6auLmswReCEV9tfUG9gMRahX1NyBbndOjRd3OkEoKoeQgUdulw-eS3l5IjU6JVEwqm5YPCftErO5ClMnW79K9o/s400/DSC01936.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At first I wasn't sure if this was a weed or not, since it looked like others I had seen before and it doesn't help when a cannabis breeder names their unique strain 'blueberry', which then ends up being most of what shows up when I search for images online with the terms 'blueberry seedling'. I'm sure that cannabis strain is probably delicious, but could people please stop naming one curious plant after another? We have enough confusion with that already, what with 'strawberry trees', 'cinnamon basil', 'chocolate mint', etc. Rant aside, that's a grass shoot in the background, which was swiftly destroyed once I realised that.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>4ndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675315515117082792noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-906217424699189688.post-24327274446529828732012-04-08T12:08:00.001+01:002012-08-11T00:05:14.153+01:00Did you say shrubberies?As I mentioned a few days ago, the elaeagnus pungens shrub that I planted from a pot looked quite unhealthy, since most of its leaves were turning pale and some dropping off though it should be an evergreen plant. The hybrid <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?LatinName=Elaeagnus+x+ebbingei">Elaeagnus x Ebbingei</a> from a pot was doing very well by comparison:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpyzkgLcM8SRMU095jCSJeGRim5OChrsEzNqKcdnbJ8IRUFsY6nJbgFVgMLERQUeBLmBskdI7XQhJQO_jVSZw2nq1nGZwmwkPr2CJgNivZacpGV_qK8YJdE94iR27sw-CZCNhIpL8yPVc/s1600/DSC01648.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpyzkgLcM8SRMU095jCSJeGRim5OChrsEzNqKcdnbJ8IRUFsY6nJbgFVgMLERQUeBLmBskdI7XQhJQO_jVSZw2nq1nGZwmwkPr2CJgNivZacpGV_qK8YJdE94iR27sw-CZCNhIpL8yPVc/s400/DSC01648.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Although a few of the leaves were turning that same way.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOV3FHXRUqbi8IhxG2JF7BnOx2N9I68RPQL8Y2FQwpZfXwk1gi8KNbtS6BGh6DEk783I3mDD641tmCKC9RegLtwttugUZl2Siv5PLi0JmgqBsGJTjRoqoo9gHYs2g2k6VHz5loN0jHB9E/s1600/DSC01689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"></a><br />
<a name='more'></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOV3FHXRUqbi8IhxG2JF7BnOx2N9I68RPQL8Y2FQwpZfXwk1gi8KNbtS6BGh6DEk783I3mDD641tmCKC9RegLtwttugUZl2Siv5PLi0JmgqBsGJTjRoqoo9gHYs2g2k6VHz5loN0jHB9E/s1600/DSC01689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOV3FHXRUqbi8IhxG2JF7BnOx2N9I68RPQL8Y2FQwpZfXwk1gi8KNbtS6BGh6DEk783I3mDD641tmCKC9RegLtwttugUZl2Siv5PLi0JmgqBsGJTjRoqoo9gHYs2g2k6VHz5loN0jHB9E/s400/DSC01689.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Elaeagnus+pungens">Elaeagnus Pungens Maculata</a>, after covering the grass around it.</td></tr>
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Seeing the other plant in this state was a bit disheartening since it is one of my favourite plants there at least from its reported qualities, although I am glad that I took a few cuttings of each elaeagnus shrub, as all those still seem to be healthy at least by leaf colour, although they haven't grown any noticable shoots in their windowsill location. I'm not sure what caused this shrub to suffer so much, but I have a few things in mind. The first thing proposed by a neighbour was that perhaps the strong coastal wind was too much for this plant, although I have doubts about that since plants from the whole genus are supposed to make a very strong hedge near coasts, and the shrub is very close to ground-level where the wind is cut down heavily by the boundary layer effect.<br />
<br />
I was mildly suspicious about a bunch of caterpillars that I saw in a group several feet away by the fenceline; they most likely had recently crawled out from their little silk tents somewhere nearby, but at the size of them I was worried that they might have already chewed up the leaves of the shrub a bit, though I put that down as unlikely since only a couple looked at all mis-shapen or bitten. I first saw one of them on some grass near the swale back in March, and although it was the largest insect around at the time I didn't think much of it, just taking this picture of it so that I could identify it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6alWusV0jlT-Qt87em1pduW_vCwsSqzV4Ydxh8IZc7bG2U7nPGfG8olJxoqTXwSTsEUJlzGOGy6u_73HuoNTBwXHmo8VLxexQUmr3XeGJSggFzGkOUgEKopSxj-qPRTt1k5nWQGWbG38/s1600/DSC01570.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6alWusV0jlT-Qt87em1pduW_vCwsSqzV4Ydxh8IZc7bG2U7nPGfG8olJxoqTXwSTsEUJlzGOGy6u_73HuoNTBwXHmo8VLxexQUmr3XeGJSggFzGkOUgEKopSxj-qPRTt1k5nWQGWbG38/s400/DSC01570.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From <a href="http://www.uksafari.com/caterpillars.htm">this page</a> it looks as if it's either a Fox Moth or a Browntail.</td></tr>
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Next I thought that maybe this particular shrub hadn't done well because it got a bit less water than the other, being more on top of the hill and on the high-side of the swale, while it was larger and so perhaps thirstier, but with the frequency that it rains around here I guess that is also unlikely. Nevertheless I watered it a lot just in case water was a factor.<br />
I later found and read a more detailed page about the shrub on PFAF, '<a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/cmspage.aspx?pageid=61">Elaeagnus x Ebbingei, A Plant for all Reasons</a>', where it said that "<i>The plant is very tolerant of site conditions, the only situation that is a definite no-no is one that becomes waterlogged. It far prefers a well-drained soil, is capable of growing in very poor soils and, once established, is very drought resistant and will succeed in quite dry soils</i>." So I hope that I didn't make a situation worse by giving the plant some more water. I really ought to do a soil test, which I still haven't got around to yet, only knowing that it consists of a few-inches smear of mud over quite a lot of rocks, supporting mostly grass and very little <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Calluna+vulgaris">Heather</a> (which prefers acidic soil), but not knowing the clay/sand/peat fraction.<br />
<br />
Lastly, I wondered about root shock; upon examining every one of the trees planted, it seemed that they had all spread at least a couple of their buds into small leaves, with the exception of the <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Fraxinus+excelsior">Ash</a>, Plum tree and the largest <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Salix%20alba">Willow</a> cutting that I had taken, the latter two of which also happened to be the trees worst hit by the storm winds that came during the first time I was away since they were planted. I think that injury/damage to the plant roots might have something to do with the weakness of all these plants, however that doesn't explain why the elaeagnus cuttings that I planted straight outside were nowhere near as healthy as the ones inside (but water, soil quality and competition with nearby grass could explain that), the ash might just open its leaf buds quite late though.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRF5EC6KXN_ZxacrHGFZ1qHfuoumTl_GjxQ63NWqfwNzK_Ia9YbngHlvNjEuWGawtB20D6Vaf7vIbblMB_4r3ID-AayBkoElnRJGaG27j6X8EfA6eunvgj6nrCnCrbkp1ftDM0MJFRpOo/s1600/DSC01758.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRF5EC6KXN_ZxacrHGFZ1qHfuoumTl_GjxQ63NWqfwNzK_Ia9YbngHlvNjEuWGawtB20D6Vaf7vIbblMB_4r3ID-AayBkoElnRJGaG27j6X8EfA6eunvgj6nrCnCrbkp1ftDM0MJFRpOo/s400/DSC01758.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A couple of cuttings indoors.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwh6UfOdaghcy8gTa8l98p3D4-dqO_KKA_VBPbaZyBPsMFWjiSMuCIXBr35dSWaytn_9gwzgh7sLD5dB7y10ASOcaeyCN4WhyphenhyphenHmzoQN5pCtnEDINwpZsLTBaxi9q0qKG_x5T4gnLS1NOw/s1600/DSC01714.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwh6UfOdaghcy8gTa8l98p3D4-dqO_KKA_VBPbaZyBPsMFWjiSMuCIXBr35dSWaytn_9gwzgh7sLD5dB7y10ASOcaeyCN4WhyphenhyphenHmzoQN5pCtnEDINwpZsLTBaxi9q0qKG_x5T4gnLS1NOw/s400/DSC01714.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the two cuttings outside; they are both in similar shape.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Of course another possibility that I really hope isn't the case, since there would be little I can do about it, is that the shrub could have caught a disease here. If that were true, then it might spread in the soil and could even prevent me from successfully planting any of them in that area for years to come, and they might have to be kept only as pot-plants.<br />
I can still give native shrubs like <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Ulex%20europaeus">Gorse</a> and <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Cytisus+scoparius">Broom</a> a try as inter-planted perennial legumes to support the fruit trees, although they wouldn't be anywhere near as useful as elaeagnus x ebbingei with its food crop. I may still be able to get a deciduous fall-fruiting Elaeagnus species, <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Elaeagnus+angustifolia">Angustifolia (Oleaster / Russian Olive)</a>, to grow here, and I'm interested in whether I can get <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Caragana+arborescens">Siberian Pea Tree</a> to grow here.<br />
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Besides that, I've been slowly working my way around the patches that I intend to turn into a series of keyhole beds separating walkways, laying down what bits of cardboard, sacks, old tyres and rocks I have on hand to mulch down the soil for few weeks, before spreading some of the little home-made compost and rotted manure I have access to, on top of the then dead or dying grass, to plant seeds in.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-jqJW1kxMeauBwGpQ1t8-S3EAGbCAXvoSL1O3nzgitr0qVJeCQlImBzojEe8Or-oCbUScz-1rFuEPgOOD89zxte4sc219ba5les2G9YVQEoxeJgs5t1vXnrIs3soe_mXqpdOlKEaUmJU/s1600/DSC01741.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-jqJW1kxMeauBwGpQ1t8-S3EAGbCAXvoSL1O3nzgitr0qVJeCQlImBzojEe8Or-oCbUScz-1rFuEPgOOD89zxte4sc219ba5les2G9YVQEoxeJgs5t1vXnrIs3soe_mXqpdOlKEaUmJU/s400/DSC01741.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Using the leftover pegs from plotting out a contour to mark out where keyhole plant-beds will be, then mulching some of those spots down.</td></tr>
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The grass roots are quite stubborn and will try to re-grow through the compost if a gap is left for light (maybe there's a philosophical lesson in that), but I have scattered seeds of some so-called 'green manure' nitrogen-fixing ground-cover plants like <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Phacelia+tanacetifolia">Fiddleneck</a> and <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Trifolium+incarnatum">Crimson Clover</a>, to stop weeds from getting through.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW0sXsL_7pBb_wuCvQYwFC45I6b1M3D1xlOVenKDyPy34A_9MAinCu2zMW3kkvtgievLcORKQGAD4B4ELXJrJZcUFXAlSaZHrzp7Xrl46rtuKl03qKMC2XDs3Re1OrxRu-EojFxi0Dw30/s1600/DSC01704.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW0sXsL_7pBb_wuCvQYwFC45I6b1M3D1xlOVenKDyPy34A_9MAinCu2zMW3kkvtgievLcORKQGAD4B4ELXJrJZcUFXAlSaZHrzp7Xrl46rtuKl03qKMC2XDs3Re1OrxRu-EojFxi0Dw30/s400/DSC01704.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the first seeds I sowed back at the start of March are only just beginning to germinate.</td></tr>
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I've heard that people round here usually go with leaving rolls of old carpet across strips of grass that they want to grow some crops on, for several months before taking them off to plant annual crops in the ground where the grass has completely mulched down. I just hope that my accelerated method with compost on top will still allow plant roots to establish into the space where the grass is breaking down. I doubt that carrots or parsnips would ever be able to grow to a good quality in soil of this depth anyway, but I'm still going to try in the softer spots where I can get a pitchfork deeper in before hitting rocks.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis_vfGM_yKpuSgSiANLp_3SYYQ2ijdzQ_H3hor6unYvjMOMamwsMiZ2buHzxqVloX7aMmSnDrGuzts3-WOuyQoOCawow5v7oud265nH_UHCzA4qegdJhvCx8JE8AK-R10Xx8682UySgQE/s1600/DSC01759.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis_vfGM_yKpuSgSiANLp_3SYYQ2ijdzQ_H3hor6unYvjMOMamwsMiZ2buHzxqVloX7aMmSnDrGuzts3-WOuyQoOCawow5v7oud265nH_UHCzA4qegdJhvCx8JE8AK-R10Xx8682UySgQE/s400/DSC01759.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Filling the slots in the swale mound built from chunks of heavy soil.</td></tr>
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One of the things I just tried in the last day was to patch in the slots between some of the blocks of sod that I turned over for my swale using a loosely forked compost/manure mix to make mini-seed-beds, and planted peas 'n' carrots (apparently they go well together) on top of most of those patches, hoping that the softer groove would give the roots an easy run, making for better carrots and hopefully rejuvenating some of the soil where the peas are.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigCjFlVPF_AyvwDQnzpH6Axs3w80YidEgSOoQrPAOTuV2lIrLB7_CjGZVrOPUWyr9fxpnnbVVOn65PenHdpxH-6dCetqjWq4ePPsX6Fs9I1uMmWOJaU1HwHmCmC6styYicRef3CkrjY0I/s1600/DSC01664.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigCjFlVPF_AyvwDQnzpH6Axs3w80YidEgSOoQrPAOTuV2lIrLB7_CjGZVrOPUWyr9fxpnnbVVOn65PenHdpxH-6dCetqjWq4ePPsX6Fs9I1uMmWOJaU1HwHmCmC6styYicRef3CkrjY0I/s400/DSC01664.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Rowan tree opening spring leaves.</td></tr>
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Currently the <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Sorbus+aucuparia">Rowan</a> tree and the Katy <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Malus%20domestica">Apple</a> appear to be the healthiest trees, or at least have grown the most/earliest leaves, but time will tell which trees are strongest when they all present a bigger area for the wind to drag on. None of the brambles that I planted directly into the ground look very alive, but I don't know what's going on at the root level. On the beds of mulched ground I'm trying to roughly use the set of crop guilds that I sketched up <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7uOAbXmVpJ9HEjWdwu_Ok3TnVivt3k7uGJMeTd6ZZSYvHzEDxsw0zDGsQ1sfW4yetHP7sMVoN06XBw2HdIwdWNW30c3UvScuViN8iYC9mzipSa-RRRUjLD7RAaIMApwtRG5Npay8-SI0/s1600/DSC01561.JPG">here</a> from mixed free online sources, and will be sure to report on what is growing well where.4ndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675315515117082792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-906217424699189688.post-9593195873978068202012-04-03T15:52:00.000+01:002012-04-03T15:52:11.272+01:00A Brief UpdateI hate moving house.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlPWsP0WJRMsQyIeq1QSbE8zuhWwAT3Q1IC7xS8D3V1Dum1h7cp_Pfu-q-I_UPq0OVOn55UejkUDja1GgwHMgAjeYfMKgk8KSkOnnLy6rxckwV-tI1RrwoeA4qWBTGfkKu7L7lfBvU8Zk/s1600/DSC01647.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlPWsP0WJRMsQyIeq1QSbE8zuhWwAT3Q1IC7xS8D3V1Dum1h7cp_Pfu-q-I_UPq0OVOn55UejkUDja1GgwHMgAjeYfMKgk8KSkOnnLy6rxckwV-tI1RrwoeA4qWBTGfkKu7L7lfBvU8Zk/s400/DSC01647.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the elaeagnus shrubs are struggling here.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_xaPo42TWyIJDUwdnLUToo7BPVFIYyRGfJOdMxiTEy2oDv21ABSYwl6Jb03Enks2_tOAjUgugj-nJ0nemvxXK1ACSAF133EtRdY_PgXpkLWNwHc8usPZ31Czq7x6zM0Xq_LjP-P_hAYc/s1600/DSC01660.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_xaPo42TWyIJDUwdnLUToo7BPVFIYyRGfJOdMxiTEy2oDv21ABSYwl6Jb03Enks2_tOAjUgugj-nJ0nemvxXK1ACSAF133EtRdY_PgXpkLWNwHc8usPZ31Czq7x6zM0Xq_LjP-P_hAYc/s400/DSC01660.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snow in April.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>That is all.4ndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675315515117082792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-906217424699189688.post-51721667059198478362012-03-07T03:47:00.001+00:002012-08-11T00:07:26.850+01:00Supporting TreesRecently I noticed a quite old mini-documentary on forest gardening that I thought I had seen before, but hadn't as it turns out, having just seen a separate interview with one old fellow in it, the late <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Hart_%28horticulturist%29">Robert Hart</a>, who started a quite famous forest garden halfway down England in Shropshire. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXVnAMQRGbI">This documentary</a> was made up of a series of 3 interviews, which it turns out contain some great gems of knowledge on forest gardening in a temperate climate; the first being with Robert Hart about his 500m^2 labour of love, the second was with Ken Fern, who started and continues to maintain <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plants_for_a_Future">Plants For A Future</a>, a project in Cornwall that has trialled thousands of different plants for their suitability in temperate climates, creating a database with detailed information and ratings based on things like hardiness, edibility, potential poisons, and other uses (you can tell this was filmed in the 90's when he mentions how 'big' a disk you needed to store the database). The last was on the subject of some applied urban permaculture with Mike & Julia Guerra.<br />
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I had used <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/default.aspx">PFAF's website</a> before when first reading about permaculture a year or two ago, when there were a collection of very handy general info pages, for instance on why we should be tending to use perennial plants, and some information on the forest layering system on a helpful page about forest gardening. There were some links to useful perennial food crops such as chestnut, walnut, brambles, et cetera, but otherwise the information wasn't very easy to navigate.<br />
I noticed a while back when I looked it up again that the site was down for maintenance, and now that it is back up again, it's quite an amazing change. <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/default.aspx">You should really go check it out sometime (if I didn't already make that clear :)</a>, and I think they could do with some <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/cmspage.aspx?pageid=69">support</a> too, since it looks like they forked out a bit to have some people with a lot of talent fix their website up. Now there's a very effective <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/plantsearch.aspx">database search</a> function on the site that can let you search by any combination of your needs, such as plant uses, environmental conditions, or simply keywords.<br />
For example, one of the plants that Ken showcased in the aforementioned video was a member of the genus <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elaeagnus">Elaeagnus</a>, sometimes called Oleaster, which had some amazing properties I was looking for all in one plant, and some I wasn't even looking for. It's a nitrogen-fixing perennial shrub that resists a cold windy maritime climate well, so I could plant it up north between our trees to support their growth, just as Acacia is recommended in warmer climes. Not only does it grow quite fast, a great novelty feature of the species that it seems Ken had there, <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Elaeagnus+pungens">Elaeagnus Pungens</a>, is that it produces an edible fruit in springtime, usually around April, of which both the outer flesh and the oily seed (once hulled) make very useful foods.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxkcmAT_JYdtj4841W-CGVw6I2LV2rEIMfyuHttuxseEAeWKfMIQMDSzux0oRwRKKaojj8rwY8AEWNufS0AemLT8BgFx7sllGqAZlfcLlSAUBkrlO_ytNyip5eYoZYqLZMnzF1sAb7MAQ/s1600/DSC01508.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxkcmAT_JYdtj4841W-CGVw6I2LV2rEIMfyuHttuxseEAeWKfMIQMDSzux0oRwRKKaojj8rwY8AEWNufS0AemLT8BgFx7sllGqAZlfcLlSAUBkrlO_ytNyip5eYoZYqLZMnzF1sAb7MAQ/s400/DSC01508.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I managed to get hold of a couple of such species, and as Ken said, if you can tell me <i>any</i> other fruit that you can get out of your garden in April, I'd like to know about it.</td></tr>
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So while that's a great find, I really wanted to know what native shrub or tree species could be used as nitrogen-fixing legumes to support the regrowth of forests in harsh cold-temperate climates, so I popped a simple search into that new database interface, looking for perennials, trees, shrubs; nitrogen-fixing, wind-resistant and maritime-exposure tolerant in hardiness zones 4-7, and ended up with a short list on one page that included a few things I recognised. Notable natives included <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Cytisus%20scoparius">Broom</a>, a prolifically-growing weed that I've noticed growing wild while in fruit in Perthshire about a year and a half ago, which I could identify <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytisus_scoparius">through Wikipedia</a> back then when wanting to know if its pea pods were edible (they aren't), and another plant, which is a very common sight in Scotland, <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Ulex+europaeus">Gorse</a>.<br />
Now while I know that Gorse can grow a very strong windbreak hedge, and those who have tried it tell me that you can make a very tasty wine from its flowers, I am reluctant to plant any, both for its ability to grow out of control, and due to a grudge formed against the plant during section and platoon attack exercises over the countryside a few years ago, when I learned exactly how nice it is to wade through the stuff. If I can find another place that someone will allow me to start replanting trees, I may use it as a support species and a hedge to keep winds and sheep out then, but won't be letting it take over some common food-growing ground any time soon.<br />
On a related note, George Monbiot recently <a href="http://permaculture.org.au/2012/03/05/mythologists-of-the-glen/">posted a very good article to the Permaculture Research Institute</a>, on the problem of land mismanagement and deforestation that has been occuring in Scotland under careless wealthy landlords since the time of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highland_clearances">Highland Clearances</a>. It's my hope that we can get enough support in Scotland to start replanting the Caledonian Forest on a large scale, before any more biodiversity is lost.<br />
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As for my efforts to reverse the trend of vanishing boreal forest, I went back up north very briefly at the end of February to check on how the patch was doing and see what I could plant.<br />
The first thing I noticed, which I was expecting to some extent due to some stormy weather in the weeks while I was away, was that several of the trees were leaning away from the prevailing wind. It's a common sight to see the few very sparse trees on the north end of Sutherland doing this as a growth habit when they have been beaten by strong winds over their lifetime, but what's not so nice is when a young newly-planted tree has rotated not in its trunk, but at the roots when it wasn't very well anchored.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhekGx2ask-hX9iBkqy0dSPalJIsJG2B1UCDLn7gva4cP8aZRx1xCDCkgmnudw_KDf_4n-GkwK6FmJwYSqeh1iqc5zRNBMh0of_xk2wGhB_7R-2X8voQqSsC9JwSZOJA10cp0cwfhKBVEw/s1600/DSC01449a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhekGx2ask-hX9iBkqy0dSPalJIsJG2B1UCDLn7gva4cP8aZRx1xCDCkgmnudw_KDf_4n-GkwK6FmJwYSqeh1iqc5zRNBMh0of_xk2wGhB_7R-2X8voQqSsC9JwSZOJA10cp0cwfhKBVEw/s400/DSC01449a.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The very-leaning one on top-left is the plum.</td></tr>
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Not only were the trees not very well anchored in the ground since they were planted bare-root, but since they arrived after I left, my friend managed to put a couple of them in backward to the plan I sketched, which they also lost, so on the windward side of our damson (prune) tree with its very dwarfing rootstock, there's a slightly taller and weaker 'katy' eating apple tree. I guessed it would probably just do more damage to the root zone if I was to try and dig them up again to swap their positions, so I left them that way and hoped for the best, my next task being to give those trees some much-needed support.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMC_ye1cm8ZyontVCOd7F5zdYCR_maUgY9rrQxBeXdEuVp61WnYrVkQfpZp-sVsu8lkm4x5zzJZc5KazpkU412zweSu-rfR0SbwCCE5t3B3PitD_RzuiRulkTTHssVxOlMJs5yN3sfIHk/s1600/DSC01455.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMC_ye1cm8ZyontVCOd7F5zdYCR_maUgY9rrQxBeXdEuVp61WnYrVkQfpZp-sVsu8lkm4x5zzJZc5KazpkU412zweSu-rfR0SbwCCE5t3B3PitD_RzuiRulkTTHssVxOlMJs5yN3sfIHk/s400/DSC01455.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was easy enough to right that plum where it was slightly loose and tread the earth back down for a start.</td></tr>
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It seemed that the local potted trees, while taller, suffered a lot less in the winds due to already having some stronger-established roots and a sort of counterweight from the pot soil.<br />
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The little Katy eating-apple tree only seemed to be managing because it was propped up slightly by a nearby tyre, which my friend had helpfully used to weigh down the cardboard box that the bare-rooted trees came in, as simple mulch to rot the grass down underneath.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRvFkuqQ7Um63xONWZ7P8QNXYAGKjAEeBdoOg9nqOFmIJqkC9exU7FLt3anj3ebkp3RKeULCiCI1iL4bFfOLPCj3I_EUKA44TAGvutVSb3EDFuG8WHQX-eEpRqoShu1iDLrv39Vm0RYUc/s1600/DSC01461.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRvFkuqQ7Um63xONWZ7P8QNXYAGKjAEeBdoOg9nqOFmIJqkC9exU7FLt3anj3ebkp3RKeULCiCI1iL4bFfOLPCj3I_EUKA44TAGvutVSb3EDFuG8WHQX-eEpRqoShu1iDLrv39Vm0RYUc/s400/DSC01461.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I gave the tyre a gentle boot to set her upright again.</td></tr>
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The worst-hit seemed to be one of the Willow cuttings that I took the last time, which I hadn't pruned enough to stop it blowing over.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwxRI4a_MUhI32AW5hpdo4wSCG9W1Qdv1wmq8db-lXxyRpUJSb_M0ptqdC8qAJIXo8BOIcnGHM8cnAq4by1vu0rTvx9LG1OmVFGENyPOjYQ05JMxEqlcC17UwSNzR1KpTNM6BYRHaMQ84/s1600/DSC01465.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwxRI4a_MUhI32AW5hpdo4wSCG9W1Qdv1wmq8db-lXxyRpUJSb_M0ptqdC8qAJIXo8BOIcnGHM8cnAq4by1vu0rTvx9LG1OmVFGENyPOjYQ05JMxEqlcC17UwSNzR1KpTNM6BYRHaMQ84/s400/DSC01465.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">While this needed to be cut back, the other, smaller branches that I planted did just fine.</td></tr>
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Next to the bramble cuttings that I planted, which were doing fairly well, my friend had uncovered a couple of <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Crataegus+monogyna">hawthorn</a> bushes that were planted a couple of years ago and had grown quite slowly since then, probably because they were surrounded by grass and constantly wind-beaten. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqkWWsS3edWaryT-8tAfC_Dz-klZCg-_1qYnkn21D_CceyP3yQB4ECigR2llCBui49ly9dg6SzaAUZkcsgCMeusOoHj1Mtf-v-dsYUxLjTZ5EHl1bu69Futc6Md20eoGtTT9-2-T0CEPw/s1600/DSC01468.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqkWWsS3edWaryT-8tAfC_Dz-klZCg-_1qYnkn21D_CceyP3yQB4ECigR2llCBui49ly9dg6SzaAUZkcsgCMeusOoHj1Mtf-v-dsYUxLjTZ5EHl1bu69Futc6Md20eoGtTT9-2-T0CEPw/s400/DSC01468.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bramble cuttings in background near fencepost, Hawthorn in foreground.</td></tr>
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Also I found out the hairy-looking cutting I took before was a rose cutting, which is useful as rose bushes provide <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosehip">rosehips</a> that make a half decent jam, so keep an eye out for them in suburbs during autumn; I've even found them in retail-park car-parks before.<br />
Inspired by the antics of Bill Mollison in yet another <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofKTgmW_FAg">old permaculture documentary</a>, I shoved a few hazelnuts into the ground between the brambles, to see if I can add yet more variety to this windbreak.<br />
<br />
As for stopping the trees that didn't have tyres near them from blowing away, the bottom of the wider section of the mini swale that I dug gave me plenty of rocks to weigh the soil around their roots down with.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ootX2zhu6mSoD_9E2XrMg9oS7uu60pAinhzc3su04alxhLUoHNtSxaLNPFpzzHU6ceTazb0sAIT2Wu6dnLGUtk5mUnufqgk75rxMXGNswld7TZgKT3nw0RQfv8fd2kUI-30nW6Jvsns/s1600/DSC01473.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ootX2zhu6mSoD_9E2XrMg9oS7uu60pAinhzc3su04alxhLUoHNtSxaLNPFpzzHU6ceTazb0sAIT2Wu6dnLGUtk5mUnufqgk75rxMXGNswld7TZgKT3nw0RQfv8fd2kUI-30nW6Jvsns/s400/DSC01473.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hole from a big'un that I just pulled out.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikfcrIXv8sHPvX4i12VMhoX0vYvzyyyogwAZahtq80ZZJUof62U89bEbbzKXIj2FQF6tbok8_DRw7v5JRKnaXZkmONGl27A8GSSwOWdBJ_MiYehRPfgwZoWpcbiWFy3O_Wo-DUN6TXkgM/s1600/DSC01472.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikfcrIXv8sHPvX4i12VMhoX0vYvzyyyogwAZahtq80ZZJUof62U89bEbbzKXIj2FQF6tbok8_DRw7v5JRKnaXZkmONGl27A8GSSwOWdBJ_MiYehRPfgwZoWpcbiWFy3O_Wo-DUN6TXkgM/s400/DSC01472.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and that rock supporting a willow. </td></tr>
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Another thing that's obvious in the next pic, which I noticed as soon as I turned up, is that there are no pea shoots growing on the swale, nor peas left to germinate into them, as I was a little hasty in the way I sowed them with limited time on my last visit.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitlReVQFKEUloKwhGUDFb7f9y6FWTkgq3B3H3FQHLeRRKbFT6G4sTtRswv0REfEzGN-p9lW6YDSPZv3jaWFAq9_FXuIomRUrWpMbf0obA2bYKvlPEAdKaxSO-yx3rQurk3lsSzUQ6WC5w/s1600/DSC01474.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitlReVQFKEUloKwhGUDFb7f9y6FWTkgq3B3H3FQHLeRRKbFT6G4sTtRswv0REfEzGN-p9lW6YDSPZv3jaWFAq9_FXuIomRUrWpMbf0obA2bYKvlPEAdKaxSO-yx3rQurk3lsSzUQ6WC5w/s400/DSC01474.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Howgate Wonder' cooking apple tree with some rock support at the back.</td></tr>
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Following on from seeing Lawton and volunteers liberally tossing bacteria-inoculated peas from buckets onto a swale in the water-harvesting doc, I was silly and lazily applied the same method, when I was sowing onto cold rocky soil in pitch black while they had some quite large walls of soft soil to sow onto in autumn, forgetting that there were field mice hiding all around me, who probably had a feast on those peas over the last few weeks, not that I mind much with plenty of peas to spare for now, but it taught me a lesson to cover my seeds properly in future.<br />
<br />
After unpacking those Elaeagnus shrubs, I took cuttings from the top of each one the next day, so that I could propagate them a little bit and since being tall isn't a great advantage in these winds.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4vfSwJWWOLznWbOGLQ-XO2Nbv4CHiyMCAhGSxEFme2Jp-QfDPS6IIarL7qkWmQrX_H2GakY14Zb0rvtFWxRBPlYldgLla6k8V1uxeSwkxfhRGvLDjXiV6jv6in3lKZzfLoUw929MBVIs/s1600/DSC01524.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4vfSwJWWOLznWbOGLQ-XO2Nbv4CHiyMCAhGSxEFme2Jp-QfDPS6IIarL7qkWmQrX_H2GakY14Zb0rvtFWxRBPlYldgLla6k8V1uxeSwkxfhRGvLDjXiV6jv6in3lKZzfLoUw929MBVIs/s400/DSC01524.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spare shrub cuttings, easy drill by now; cut just below a leaf node, clip that leaf off and about half of what's left, including a top leaf, soak in a wee bit of honey (or rooting hormone if you can get it) then stick each in potting soil, or in a propagator tray (essentially overpriced egg packaging) if for small plants. The brambles that I treated this way are doing fine.</td></tr>
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Then I took the potted bushes out and planted them, plus a couple of extra cuttings that I didn't put in pots like the brambles, to see if they would take root outside while having potted ones as backups.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFQvoOv80AGBsWU6Jb8bIXfePtUJ-U9qMDiHdyqs53yKLRHyNlzfNxqCvpsJeROqJqDc5z5vBFTOzYmSf0hRxh56lNnooC3ptLRm3MG2k9qdFLIn9JXnIvyGZd1WAECeSuKmZ0pCIfrnw/s1600/DSC01526.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFQvoOv80AGBsWU6Jb8bIXfePtUJ-U9qMDiHdyqs53yKLRHyNlzfNxqCvpsJeROqJqDc5z5vBFTOzYmSf0hRxh56lNnooC3ptLRm3MG2k9qdFLIn9JXnIvyGZd1WAECeSuKmZ0pCIfrnw/s400/DSC01526.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My planting method was essentially the same as for trees, sticking them in a hole slightly deeper than the potted soil, only this time I lined the hole bottom with some home-made compost instead of duck manure, then put the sods back in upside down as before, mulching the top with raked grass and rocks.</td></tr>
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After sticking the rest of the cuttings down, I re-arranged some of the cardboard mulch and added some cupboard-backing fibreboard that I had previously salvaged from furniture dumped on the streets in Glasgow.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqeUn6JmUc_DWAahQWE4EMF4wYYMpUNahclHDFcW8fwgg9DOicm9BkqMIajyAnYlaoFL8456fj7KNnswej1hmSll0rTQdxhgRwjuZkVMNNXZaFadauRDAHgayCQ5390MREUn9ASZOMwjI/s1600/DSC01551.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqeUn6JmUc_DWAahQWE4EMF4wYYMpUNahclHDFcW8fwgg9DOicm9BkqMIajyAnYlaoFL8456fj7KNnswej1hmSll0rTQdxhgRwjuZkVMNNXZaFadauRDAHgayCQ5390MREUn9ASZOMwjI/s400/DSC01551.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Three or four weeks with cardboard on top didn't completely rot the grass there, but it made a big difference.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The remaining compost I spread over the cardboard, starting to prepare a bed for planting a few things. As light faded I went round every tree and planted a few <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Tropaeolum+majus">climbing Nasturtium</a> seeds, which should out-compete the grasses and protect the trees with their creeping nature, while making a tasty salad addition (the seeds also look funnily brain-shaped).<br />
<br />
The movement of cardboard for mulch was part of a plan I was forming while making up a new and more accurate sketch for the plot over those couple of days. It now also includes a rough plan to divide the ground up into a series of paths and keyhole beds, so as to maximise the surface area available for planting and harvesting crops, without having to tread over food to reach the middle of a patch, and a site to potentially test a turbine on a crest of the hill is marked.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgijBO6l8zHeqHWJv3RnH9uewikg6zT1at_tPYtDhnB3wnQd7edR6u6OFjGSuMAxTGXsndnE1JMUUFbnV1nBK-yz-e-nTlJu3JIOdNPJ0PkXOv3Wx0uTruwvgD-BIDTQYJG6WiXnCH29qQ/s1600/DSC01566.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgijBO6l8zHeqHWJv3RnH9uewikg6zT1at_tPYtDhnB3wnQd7edR6u6OFjGSuMAxTGXsndnE1JMUUFbnV1nBK-yz-e-nTlJu3JIOdNPJ0PkXOv3Wx0uTruwvgD-BIDTQYJG6WiXnCH29qQ/s400/DSC01566.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There may be a small spot of hypocrisy here, as I suspect I might have confused the two Elaeagnus species that I got and planted them the opposite way round to what I wrote in this updated map, not that it matters much.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After reading over information and diagrams on companion planting for a while to get a feel for common relations, I decided a good way to help work out large arrangements for planting lots of different crops could be to draw up a list of small guilds of a few plants that strongly benefited each other, suited to a cold temperate climate, and then try to arrange a mosaic of those small guilds based upon the features of the landscape.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7uOAbXmVpJ9HEjWdwu_Ok3TnVivt3k7uGJMeTd6ZZSYvHzEDxsw0zDGsQ1sfW4yetHP7sMVoN06XBw2HdIwdWNW30c3UvScuViN8iYC9mzipSa-RRRUjLD7RAaIMApwtRG5Npay8-SI0/s1600/DSC01561.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7uOAbXmVpJ9HEjWdwu_Ok3TnVivt3k7uGJMeTd6ZZSYvHzEDxsw0zDGsQ1sfW4yetHP7sMVoN06XBw2HdIwdWNW30c3UvScuViN8iYC9mzipSa-RRRUjLD7RAaIMApwtRG5Npay8-SI0/s400/DSC01561.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Rosemary' is a bit hard to read in the middle with the flash; but other pictures had some of the outside diagrams fuzzy, so I might just try and replace this photo with a scan.</td></tr>
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When I wanted to plant some vegetable and herb seeds on the last day I was there, I was unlucky that a quite constant 10-20mph breeze picked up for the whole day, plus intermittent gusts, which made sowing seeds a nightmare. I settled for just covering one small patch a couple of square metres in size with compost and some potting mix that had become waterlogged, though with the sun coming out to evaporate whatever was left of the previous day's rain, I worried slightly about that soil eroding in the wind once dry.<br />
For the crop arrangement I stuck a few globe artichoke seeds on the windward end of the patch, a few chives around the eating-apple tree to help that, followed by some onions to repel the pests of a row of carrots and sprouting broccoli beyond that, then a patch of lavender in the hardest-to-reach bit that ought to attract some predatory insects, with some more chives behind to help the rowan tree. Where I expected some of the seeds to need deep roots, I jabbed a set of holes through the half-layer of cardboard with a pitchfork and put loose compost into them before sowing seeds. Afterwards I spread some raked grass over the patch to try and keep the soil down under the sun and wind.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9kgWRXQEMqQa2hLYH-f4bQLuA_PzJ_L_pT0gRj79kcyvECEkIk3UU7IwOQ29AgwIwj1K7Ysr9pRMUP2k73mu1Y4op7BEp2FdJmGK3jD-HmB15Xiz4Jt3CStlCaCm9J_15CvxactBCwNc/s1600/DSC01571.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9kgWRXQEMqQa2hLYH-f4bQLuA_PzJ_L_pT0gRj79kcyvECEkIk3UU7IwOQ29AgwIwj1K7Ysr9pRMUP2k73mu1Y4op7BEp2FdJmGK3jD-HmB15Xiz4Jt3CStlCaCm9J_15CvxactBCwNc/s400/DSC01571.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I could only be bothered to stake down my little bottle-shelters on the most windward sowings of carrot and broccoli though, having not prepared a lot of stakes and finding them a bit small.</td></tr>
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Around the area and some of the swale I scattered a little bit of clover seed to fix nitrogen in the soil, though I might see about getting some comfrey later.<br />
As a little extra protection against the harsh wind and the nibbling rabbits that have plagued this land since the Romans brought them over, I then staked some spare chicken-wire around a few of the trees, which will also give an added benefit of catching wind-blown debris for mulch, while giving nasturtiums something to climb on.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE_RBbuRzh95xvZcFeVU3SP6ULl8AC4pNjR6ZnKtVzUDscUMyKl06Jb3CZPCIEjww6cMUQnavy41QZZp5NDDeka7OQimhLfB8bNX1RakXOyCss6HrEc-BaVU6eBoa_a1amTrn6rlaYP9k/s1600/DSC01578.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE_RBbuRzh95xvZcFeVU3SP6ULl8AC4pNjR6ZnKtVzUDscUMyKl06Jb3CZPCIEjww6cMUQnavy41QZZp5NDDeka7OQimhLfB8bNX1RakXOyCss6HrEc-BaVU6eBoa_a1amTrn6rlaYP9k/s400/DSC01578.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
When I ran out of chicken wire, I just used a bit of old string and piled up some grass cuttings into a mat.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicB4QeT7LfPxmWfzcuNkZu5IUtXu06CAIxUDimyVs02iWySnl3YbPKeTq52eKojUMmPmMhiNNhDmmYQzGV6Yeu_IFw4baFoC2AfUJNjYdMPRP00HdykBxfgke20k_yJ0SHwzAwTIjBql0/s1600/DSC01582.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicB4QeT7LfPxmWfzcuNkZu5IUtXu06CAIxUDimyVs02iWySnl3YbPKeTq52eKojUMmPmMhiNNhDmmYQzGV6Yeu_IFw4baFoC2AfUJNjYdMPRP00HdykBxfgke20k_yJ0SHwzAwTIjBql0/s400/DSC01582.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Let me know if I cut out too much detail or rambled on too much, it sure seemed like less work before I tried to write about it!4ndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675315515117082792noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-906217424699189688.post-57013407469948565022012-02-25T22:16:00.000+00:002012-08-11T00:07:54.923+01:00Replacing Small Parts by Rapid-Prototyping<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Since getting back to the city I've been on a small spree of trying to find little things that I could replace or redesign using 3D printing, whenever there was a moment to spare.<br />
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Firstly, for a long time I'd been meaning to make replacement parts for a very humble purpose, the male buckle clips on a couple of Highlander rucksacks I have that had mostly lost their teeth after many years of fatigue when packing and unpacking heavy luggage, while the rest of the nylon construction remains as functional as the day I got it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNlYAlNnkQ8G2FMtWk7xl1AM5wptldXjPSRXlVi9RtOpu_msNtur_3rCacJhpwHkiIi8k-cc0srP3DlmPlEK0vPPbLPRtCe0rrqyzm3hbhztjr8ktMJ1hxZeZpYxIPbcfcGS47nuZYHZE/s1600/DSC01442.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNlYAlNnkQ8G2FMtWk7xl1AM5wptldXjPSRXlVi9RtOpu_msNtur_3rCacJhpwHkiIi8k-cc0srP3DlmPlEK0vPPbLPRtCe0rrqyzm3hbhztjr8ktMJ1hxZeZpYxIPbcfcGS47nuZYHZE/s400/DSC01442.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The buckles used here, with 'Rock Lockster' imprinted along the T-shaped guide, lasted for probably a few thousand clip-unclip cycles over the course of several years before teeth started to break off all the clips. The replacement I made is shown clipped in.</td></tr>
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<br />
<a name='more'></a>A good set of calipers came in handy in this situation, to measure the fit of these clips to make a compatible replacement. At first I made the base of the clipping teeth a little too stiff for my liking, after making it thicker than the original with the intention of extending its life, but one redesign fixed that.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHrRoxKDd25WpQ2PX_cwsHrpyt0ld3Ne4fDztSGo247-E61CYMcUhfiXuTkE569Xe-H6upOI_bVxsLPJ6Bur1bWP1n1JmMJBiB7_XHnTOB-6ONMmKNBj3ovx2w6unN3S7-dIzTBTUVYLo/s1600/DSC01435.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHrRoxKDd25WpQ2PX_cwsHrpyt0ld3Ne4fDztSGo247-E61CYMcUhfiXuTkE569Xe-H6upOI_bVxsLPJ6Bur1bWP1n1JmMJBiB7_XHnTOB-6ONMmKNBj3ovx2w6unN3S7-dIzTBTUVYLo/s400/DSC01435.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My first and second versions respectively, in good quality save for the tiny blobs stuck to some sides as I hadn't tuned the extruder retraction quite perfectly.</td></tr>
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<br />
This turned out to be a pretty good example for me of how well my reprap could handle creating something small and functional with quite complicated geometry to a workable standard of accuracy.<br />
<br />
Later while trying to print out a Reprap Prusa-Mendel part that Adrian Bowyer modified, something sort-of cruicial broke on my own printer, making a slight mess of the part.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbRuANl9fFY1biEsukJNEmDRHNWQbXkADaLbosnaqP5wE3S5EtdPBApQZF9Rd18gqmUi49usWRL6NL0JcgxEq7-aTiGd8szONj-zwU20jGhrWKMEAgfPgcHQebh2FSO93sjR5Z3-yKNNk/s1600/DSC01438.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbRuANl9fFY1biEsukJNEmDRHNWQbXkADaLbosnaqP5wE3S5EtdPBApQZF9Rd18gqmUi49usWRL6NL0JcgxEq7-aTiGd8szONj-zwU20jGhrWKMEAgfPgcHQebh2FSO93sjR5Z3-yKNNk/s400/DSC01438.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See if you can spot what was going wrong before I fixed it. </td></tr>
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So it turned out that where the wires connected to the thermistor in the nozzle heating block, the use of a bootlace ferrule to crimp the tiny thermistor wire to the insulated wire meant that there was quite a sharp corner in the wire connection, and even though the set of wires going to the heating block didn't get tugged much at all during the x-carriage movement, the shaking about was still enough to eventually tear through that wire and break the connection.<br />
Annoyingly, when the temperature-measuring circuit was open, it reported temperatures to the firmware program that bounced between about -20 and -8 Celcius, and instead of stopping the printer when the temp was negative, it carried on while constantly inputting heat to the nozzle. The result was that the overheated nozzle started dribbling plastic everywhere on movements through the air, while creating lots of fumes that stank the room out.<br />
Thankfully I caught the problem before it was so bad as to ruin the print, and even saved it with a little bit of ingenuity; after switching the heater off for a while to let it cool back down to around a decent working temperature without the above effects, by observing how the open-circuit temperature was bouncing around I could see how to get it to self-regulate, so I set the target temperature to -12, thereby having it pulse the heat on-and-off again, managed to get it to finish the last bit of the print without any more trouble.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgryTO1UDRuihH7d4MTFg7W76qd_d7CAnqn8pcHyo50Pth27I9n9-5lXYNdBsAsOFVydV1Vll5R7tQNj9AQMAQUdsYIu_1KRObFg7DW0sLfrJQ0ygwnFIPg5cFaBWlcRgOB0ETDpTxDRqM/s1600/DSC01445.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgryTO1UDRuihH7d4MTFg7W76qd_d7CAnqn8pcHyo50Pth27I9n9-5lXYNdBsAsOFVydV1Vll5R7tQNj9AQMAQUdsYIu_1KRObFg7DW0sLfrJQ0ygwnFIPg5cFaBWlcRgOB0ETDpTxDRqM/s400/DSC01445.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bootlace ferrules and a little bit of heatshink, not good enough. In the background, you can see I had to take apart my x-carriage to get this extruder off, so have just printed new parts for it after I fixed this.</td></tr>
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Of course, I can't just leave it at that for long unpredictable prints starting from cold, so I got a hand patching it up with some solder. Had I soldered the connections originally instead of using the ferrules that mendel-parts.com supplied me with, it might have lasted a bit longer, but I still think that joint would have given way eventually.<br />
If <b>anyone</b> else is using an extruder that has a threaded heater block, with a 100KΩ thermistor that has teeny-tiny short and thin wires, <b>I'd like to know how</b> you connect it up, especially if you've found a way to protect the connection from being tugged while still easily being able to unscrew the heater block for maintenance. While terminal blocks can be good for quickly connecting/releasing a set of wires like that, the wires of my thermistor aren't long enough to fit one without it melting against the hot-end, not to mention that how thin they are would make it difficult to hold them in, so I'm a little bit stumped on this one.<br />
<br />
Some other things I was working on prototyping included a replacement shower-dial for a friend where their original injection-moulded ABS part was slipping off the single shaft used for combined water/heat control, and a 'sheila maid'-style <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:18056">laundry drying rack</a>. Not exactly spectacular or groundbreaking, but pretty useful at home.<br />
<br />
<br />
Incidentally I made an observation of an unexpected plant use recently, when I pulled out the last of a few leeks I had bought quite a while ago, the last one that had been lying around for a while was starting to dry out slightly and wrinkle up. My other half decided that the outer leaves were too thin and 'papery' for her liking, even though it was being chucked into soup. Fiddling with the discarded outer layers, their consistency while there was still some moisture in them reminded me of thin sheets of expanded/inflated <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_density_polyethylene">LDPE</a> that I've encountered as a first (inner) layer of the original packaging for a flatscreen monitor. A moist material can't be used to package electronics of course, and I wanted to know how they would turn out once dried, so left a couple of leaves (when cut straight up the tube they are usefully rectangular) to dry over the back of a chair near a radiator.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgJcpoNlOkmq8NXNKRZ6EdqkmONsA-P7I-IvmAh0Letg1q-TmZUsdcjwlEqK5aF9YCUXc4LLwyUGzL82QamKKChlMrt-zQKbK504pcrAk2oWC-MTec5VRsrA9AwT5_bG09nRMGC9Nx-Uw/s1600/DSC01446.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgJcpoNlOkmq8NXNKRZ6EdqkmONsA-P7I-IvmAh0Letg1q-TmZUsdcjwlEqK5aF9YCUXc4LLwyUGzL82QamKKChlMrt-zQKbK504pcrAk2oWC-MTec5VRsrA9AwT5_bG09nRMGC9Nx-Uw/s400/DSC01446.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scribbling on the rougher side of very 'papery' dried leek leaves with biro.</td></tr>
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<br />
After some messing about with the dried specimens, I've found that while one side is slightly ridged with the leaf veins, the opposite side is slightly smoother, and it makes a very good makeshift notepaper. A biro pen runs right over it with ease, although a 2H pencil that I had to hand quickly punctured it.<br />
If supply lines break down somewhere currently oil-dependent and you don't have access to a paper-mill, this could be quite useful as it requires next to no preparation compared to paper made from minced-up plant fibre <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Llyu3g2XEbU">such as hemp or nettle</a> - although I just chucked it over the back of a chair to dry, it might turn out less wrinkled if held taut in a frame. Of course with the natural veins, the material is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anisotropy#Material_science_and_engineering">anisotropic</a>, in that it's quite strong along the grain and easily torn into strips by pulling across the grain; that property could have some use, but I haven't thought of one yet.4ndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675315515117082792noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-906217424699189688.post-43626891469421534852012-02-07T22:46:00.002+00:002012-08-11T00:08:19.915+01:00Digging A Small SwaleTowards the end of last week I <a href="https://joindiaspora.com/posts/1250304">posed an open question</a> to the awesome folks on the open-source social network Diaspora*, asking if anyone could think of a good way to visualise the relationships of beneficial/detrimental interactions between various plants. If we can figure that out, it might make my job of deciding how to arrange the smaller shrubby plants a lot easier, and similarly make it easier for anyone in future.<br />
While I got a friendly response but didn't get any answers to the question itself that night, I updated my map in more detail, noting a few places where I thought various crops ought to be planted just as a draft, using freely-available information on companion planting available online, such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_companion_plants">Wikipedia's List of Companion Plants</a>, which unlike some of the other lists, is more likely to evolve over time.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu6nTlWF2hHOeiAYX9UVOkJCAtUmBDfsR9mJQg41CiVKkPSMjIp9Rw7AkmyTZ1VTU4OlMmFiiFr8aePTj3t3A-Ehr70FsUOhEfcnRuNU8yGVGrijmXXs8vhHuTvi_1KcJtyUfxXPNuaew/s1600/DSC01426.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu6nTlWF2hHOeiAYX9UVOkJCAtUmBDfsR9mJQg41CiVKkPSMjIp9Rw7AkmyTZ1VTU4OlMmFiiFr8aePTj3t3A-Ehr70FsUOhEfcnRuNU8yGVGrijmXXs8vhHuTvi_1KcJtyUfxXPNuaew/s400/DSC01426.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Extra zoomed section on the left has a key along its left border.</td></tr>
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<br />
<a name='more'></a>I've had some thoughts since then, that maybe we could write a cloud-computing puzzle game, where players have to arrange plants on the ground (perhaps on a grid such as in the cute 2D game "<i>Plants vs Zombies</i>", only without the graveyard zombies), so that they get the best yields and ecological stability, counting the time/energy expended on things like earthworks, and perhaps calculating a score from that at the end. I imagine it having a learning curve of complexity where you start with small flat-ground puzzles and add elements like sun/shade, slope, wind, rain, soil type, etc.<br />
The game could share results/scores like the Foldit cloud-computing program, over the web to server(s) hosting such highscores, using humanity's great capacity for lateral thinking to supply novel solutions to these problems to future permaculture designers. This is probably a tangent to be developed in conversation elsewhere though.<br />
<br />
Sadly, the next day those bare-root fruit trees didn't turn up in the mail, so the fedex service used by mail-order trees kinda let us down a bit. Not having the trees to plant did give me a chance to start digging a water-harvesting swale, although planting them wouldn't have taken very long anyway, since I already had the holes pre-dug and covered over. (Since I got back to Glasgow, my friend told me that the trees didn't arrive until Monday, so I'm a little concerned about their health now.)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl9w98VbRO1HW1hhNrhEY5zhG6C_LYjIDf-uPhyphenhyphen1J4nZ4hHhzQMKiRgJiYKlyiAt5u8q1fyRJuI95mXul6uY6wm-ul1iHYle9orAKPuOK3nj1TP-XgdHqymnDfb06mw3R2neLXBJqWezg/s1600/DSC01399.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl9w98VbRO1HW1hhNrhEY5zhG6C_LYjIDf-uPhyphenhyphen1J4nZ4hHhzQMKiRgJiYKlyiAt5u8q1fyRJuI95mXul6uY6wm-ul1iHYle9orAKPuOK3nj1TP-XgdHqymnDfb06mw3R2neLXBJqWezg/s400/DSC01399.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I brought something with me that I've learned should turn out useful after disturbing the soil.<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRcj6CAhe7s">Queue music.</a></td></tr>
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So, I set about digging a swale just below the contour line that we had measured out, to give a good supply of water to the fruit trees where they will be below the swale.<br />
Digging a water-harvesting swale is a fairly simple task once you have your line marked, where you have loose soil you can just shovel the earth up into a mound on the lower side, in this case where there were lots of tough grass roots, my approach was to repeatedly cut out blocks of sod in a long row, and flip them over to the lower side, on top of the grass to kill it down.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-14GNqlfBPZG4U1p5W91_XI9_dUgm2LAIxUGyutSAf6jcfz3hLH2zwJv0V6yUqUVFcR1w2s2kR_JgxyuojX7nqt7F2Xx_VYN54K65LxatWybtRedCHeEzcf0rn6xv1A0kMPEi5Oq_XS4/s1600/DSC01400.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-14GNqlfBPZG4U1p5W91_XI9_dUgm2LAIxUGyutSAf6jcfz3hLH2zwJv0V6yUqUVFcR1w2s2kR_JgxyuojX7nqt7F2Xx_VYN54K65LxatWybtRedCHeEzcf0rn6xv1A0kMPEi5Oq_XS4/s400/DSC01400.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I started in the middle and worked my way east. One block is a start.</td></tr>
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It was simple to start with anyway, but sometimes when digging in this highland soil, you find boulders...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBKNy448Ix-sMrRhsDhZbZOT21wIm3NYFm72OXQ1U4OF-n5KNrWzmb-OX6m9oJpdHWAs0Zvmr53IvLRnELZiJ5sPPcSzMgcAFxkw6Sm_obY-lk1OsuEp4E8JKJ-mmaHPPM0kEGskMjzNo/s1600/DSC01402.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBKNy448Ix-sMrRhsDhZbZOT21wIm3NYFm72OXQ1U4OF-n5KNrWzmb-OX6m9oJpdHWAs0Zvmr53IvLRnELZiJ5sPPcSzMgcAFxkw6Sm_obY-lk1OsuEp4E8JKJ-mmaHPPM0kEGskMjzNo/s400/DSC01402.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and they get <i>right</i> in the way of the fork & spade.</td></tr>
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<br />
I dug along some more, went for a brew, and came back to pick up where I left; thinking I'd had quite enough of boulders for one day, I came across another one even more awkward than the first.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCo5yqr1zDQxjMLgLaXl5B5DMXuYrXKCx4vW6yFbUyGZRkomgTuRkYd5qi3jcI4lQCa4a3wJ4meSi_-SCzzACU5hVQ5JGcyH46OU92DS_573J6-GiOwngxbiEoZm8t5f7wBGHkI-pCNYo/s1600/DSC01404.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCo5yqr1zDQxjMLgLaXl5B5DMXuYrXKCx4vW6yFbUyGZRkomgTuRkYd5qi3jcI4lQCa4a3wJ4meSi_-SCzzACU5hVQ5JGcyH46OU92DS_573J6-GiOwngxbiEoZm8t5f7wBGHkI-pCNYo/s400/DSC01404.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A wild boulder appeared!</td></tr>
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I ran the swale off to the east end of the contour that we measured, and then turned it back slightly towards the hill, so that there was a cut-off and water couldn't get out there.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgedOyxKDedympdHmfkpc-U8ir0mhxKfR4SUSxKyH10wJoMyPN4tDNWIdtKh4BlDZ-_CboMFjrUK9dhIZ8-TLyGTD2yl9yInxw_775fsHskxaUKROTbzxdWMW8NRHf-g-h-cGw-iS14asc/s1600/DSC01408.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgedOyxKDedympdHmfkpc-U8ir0mhxKfR4SUSxKyH10wJoMyPN4tDNWIdtKh4BlDZ-_CboMFjrUK9dhIZ8-TLyGTD2yl9yInxw_775fsHskxaUKROTbzxdWMW8NRHf-g-h-cGw-iS14asc/s400/DSC01408.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Extra soil mounded up to reinforce this point.</td></tr>
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I had a closer look at that boulder, and it looks to be quite a big problem, since it could restrict water from passing by it along the swale. I did my best to dig around it a bit, but it was just too big in exactly the location that I wanted to put my swale, so I just hope that any significant water that gets in there will slosh over it.<br />
<br />
I went back to where I started, just east of the bit I intended to be wide and slightly pond-like, and started to dig that out, heading north.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMMuNZodXCbEpucOYNAZM97OIEke7F0ChRll4cIc8VIDFeOdfatpuopH9MXdAGIhUJHUOLttBqe0H1kIaRUlbs_fgNPLWA6B-RwwvCulRNh82YUh801tMfTuXpAs5BpuKzeYwnuJExlx8/s1600/DSC01409.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMMuNZodXCbEpucOYNAZM97OIEke7F0ChRll4cIc8VIDFeOdfatpuopH9MXdAGIhUJHUOLttBqe0H1kIaRUlbs_fgNPLWA6B-RwwvCulRNh82YUh801tMfTuXpAs5BpuKzeYwnuJExlx8/s400/DSC01409.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's the pond half-- oh wait you can't see that can you? I could.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM1RHmDhHUFmDsTytJi6tmbKw8lhyqIwaxXwoCIfX9xpDdXgGFPsUO1ZdoB1sy4tiRp9pcrAPIeZdgOLm5mkduCcu1TG9_oEmxaz5QZG0gXUZOJ6LkPM3A2hC6yRa8L-ZqxJqQW09KVSo/s1600/DSC01410.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM1RHmDhHUFmDsTytJi6tmbKw8lhyqIwaxXwoCIfX9xpDdXgGFPsUO1ZdoB1sy4tiRp9pcrAPIeZdgOLm5mkduCcu1TG9_oEmxaz5QZG0gXUZOJ6LkPM3A2hC6yRa8L-ZqxJqQW09KVSo/s400/DSC01410.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Digging by moonlight (like a boss).</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBAI9e2S4XsQqp2wKv-V7EPT2lmM89bc9LaApZ_UqcSHcMaPVry3wh7JJUNE9jhXEJ9MwkIy61bIWWWllwQJbLna5SXnJAY3d3xnkUvowBgrJBHucj88CsS0Gzr4MFCwaG1wkTzY1dmN8/s1600/DSC01411.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBAI9e2S4XsQqp2wKv-V7EPT2lmM89bc9LaApZ_UqcSHcMaPVry3wh7JJUNE9jhXEJ9MwkIy61bIWWWllwQJbLna5SXnJAY3d3xnkUvowBgrJBHucj88CsS0Gzr4MFCwaG1wkTzY1dmN8/s400/DSC01411.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Again, with flash, the pond-like bit half-finished, with some more swale already dug further north.</td></tr>
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Now with only moonlight left, since my friend was away at work all day and digging by yourself can take a while, I mounded all the earth in the wide section into a double-thick wall on the lower side, and ran the swale off to the fenceline.<br />
Once there, I wanted to install a level-sill spillway so that if the swale was to fill up during a long rain event, any excess of water could be allowed to empty out passively by one side, without causing any soil erosion. Since I know that the fenceposts there are cast out of concrete with a big lump at the bottom as an anchor, I decided to bring the swale wall up against one of those posts, where the hard top of the concrete anchor would make a perfect run-off surface, even though I reckon that damn grass will survive almost any water thrown at it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNYnMAxlaLnEVVEmz0hJi-xT9XozmrNWss-ZJBTNFbUk8RVvt-1eq-UnX2o4tTBYpOMz3WLIV5Q-O3I3Ts24Lxo1Qm7eIeo4jrKKGCc2Z6cKfdcY85w7zQf_c6bSC7DfziklNklDy0DKI/s1600/DSC01419.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNYnMAxlaLnEVVEmz0hJi-xT9XozmrNWss-ZJBTNFbUk8RVvt-1eq-UnX2o4tTBYpOMz3WLIV5Q-O3I3Ts24Lxo1Qm7eIeo4jrKKGCc2Z6cKfdcY85w7zQf_c6bSC7DfziklNklDy0DKI/s400/DSC01419.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This part of the swale wall I piled up a little higher than normal and actually packed down tighter with my boot, so that it could withstand some water flowing past it.</td></tr>
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I don't expect monsoon-type rains any time soon, but it's better to be safe.<br />
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As for the contents of the mystery jar, that was a mix of manure, water and pigeon/gungo peas, to repair the soil that had just been worked, fix nitrogen into it by growing in symbiosis with some of the beneficial root bacteria that I mentioned in my last post, and act as a cover crop to some extent so that the grass shouldn't take over again right away. I emptied them out thinly along the swale wall, and with any luck they should germinate in the warmer weather in the coming week and fix the soil until I get back to plant more veg.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKyMgPxx4zrtegx1UCcFs9H0xhvU70N30sSSh2JwfOfCOPtmleBMxL6NX7ZhyphenhyphenmmAL9KXGmRdleWQ3Rw3XbvER4JTXijmUYm3m5nh1nEmEgWOo9CO22YjhPpcFX9N4X__8Lzoor1zGoscM/s1600/DSC01423.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKyMgPxx4zrtegx1UCcFs9H0xhvU70N30sSSh2JwfOfCOPtmleBMxL6NX7ZhyphenhyphenmmAL9KXGmRdleWQ3Rw3XbvER4JTXijmUYm3m5nh1nEmEgWOo9CO22YjhPpcFX9N4X__8Lzoor1zGoscM/s400/DSC01423.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gungo peas, aka pigeon peas, a useful soil-repair legume.</td></tr>
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I've had those peas from a big sackful for quite a while now, so I don't know if many will germinate, and then I don't know how long the warmer weather that came over as I was leaving will last for (this is probably better done in autumn), so any that do germinate might not last long, but something is better than nothing. I'll just have to wait a few weeks til I go back to sow seeds, to see the results of this bit of earth-surgery after the weather has affected it without my intervention.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikdsvBevb05O-E8bj9dbGaTS6_Mg6pryzvXsb2V7_Lue56da9Qik8ZUCnVlebeYafD55-HIgrTeJ4Z8-fRy9RQg9AKELM5xYUVoUJrV5qgQPDB7wGS_htOvOLH5ZRtQ6MjVGipQeR-pwQ/s1600/DSC01429.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikdsvBevb05O-E8bj9dbGaTS6_Mg6pryzvXsb2V7_Lue56da9Qik8ZUCnVlebeYafD55-HIgrTeJ4Z8-fRy9RQg9AKELM5xYUVoUJrV5qgQPDB7wGS_htOvOLH5ZRtQ6MjVGipQeR-pwQ/s400/DSC01429.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How the ditch looked the next morning as a small rainstorm was blowing over (least-shaky picture I took)</td></tr>
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I haven't measured it exactly yet, but from looking at the sketched contour, I guess the curve of the swale to be about 20-30m long, while the blocks I was taking out were for the most part 1-foot-cubes (30cm ^3) and a couple of points were wider, up to 4x that width, I estimate this swale is probably capable of holding something like 80-120 cubic feet of water while it drains into the landscape. Given the hilltop location and that the weather is usually quite steadily cold&wet but not often heavily rainy, there shouldn't ever be enough rainwater in one go to break the swale wall, but then that's partly why we want it there, to trap whatever bit of water falls on that hilltop. <br />
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If you'd like a good video tutorial on this sort of installation, check out "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrYziauGnGw"><i>Harvesting Water The Permaculture Way</i></a>" where Geoff Lawton took a bunch of permaculture students onto someone's land in Australia to install a rainwater-harvesting system about 10x the size of this one, including a dam. In that scenario they brought in the fancy surveying gear that I mentioned in my previous post, along with a backhoe excavator-tractor. I largely developed my methods from that video, scaling the example down to this situation appropriately. As was mentioned in that video, things don't always go exactly to plan once you start digging, and in this case the very rocky ground posed an interesting problem.<br />
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On a cheerful recycling sidenote, here's a little something I'll be testing soon when I sow spring crops, an alternate method to the early indoor sowing and later transplanting that is often advised in gardening. Some people might use 'cold frames' or big sheets of plastic to try and keep delicate plants warm while they get a little extra sunlight for an early crop, but this is my way of creating a temporary mini-greenhouse for them...<br />
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First, take a couple of empty soda-bottles:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBdbKq6qVGV-hPKeQKyBQBQMBwj1pkfc0eLHZjwoWw6QAYeds-l4fz65WHD4KUW5649_lj9pe_OckH7n5ayfkmKHHLFeBcVWkrraRfGtU7arsqBpIH1CwEP-9x9-eFmfOLFQe7UxaktaM/s1600/DSC01384.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBdbKq6qVGV-hPKeQKyBQBQMBwj1pkfc0eLHZjwoWw6QAYeds-l4fz65WHD4KUW5649_lj9pe_OckH7n5ayfkmKHHLFeBcVWkrraRfGtU7arsqBpIH1CwEP-9x9-eFmfOLFQe7UxaktaM/s400/DSC01384.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you had some nasty sugary stuff in them, wash them out first, and stop drinking that stuff.</td></tr>
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Next, remove the labels and slice each bottle in a hoop around its centreline.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIb2KzGiS0eawXZsnykKE18Cm5tcBLB5f-ky_hKJAFruKYKDkn8wvVDBa2GVDkwkZ_85nt9s5XX4PyiBp8wutmzx4IDQGifHE45p-U7OAJfVj8e7M2fmRJMFtFqRrCTHS9xXX6dF75Nlg/s1600/DSC01405.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIb2KzGiS0eawXZsnykKE18Cm5tcBLB5f-ky_hKJAFruKYKDkn8wvVDBa2GVDkwkZ_85nt9s5XX4PyiBp8wutmzx4IDQGifHE45p-U7OAJfVj8e7M2fmRJMFtFqRrCTHS9xXX6dF75Nlg/s400/DSC01405.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can use either end of the bottle for this, and sturdy tent-pegs; I just used twigs for quick demonstration purposes.</td></tr>
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Poke holes slightly back from the cut edge to push pegs through, you decide how many you want depending on how windy it is, and secure one of these over wherever you have sown seed for a vulnerable plant. You want the bottle that you use to be large enough to last until cold weather passes.4ndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675315515117082792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-906217424699189688.post-52931926720767880042012-02-02T03:42:00.000+00:002013-03-09T17:02:20.748+00:00Taking Cuttings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When you're trying to establish a stand of trees or bushes (or planting anything that germinates slowly, for that matter), a far cheaper and faster option than buying plants in can be to take <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutting_%28plant%29">cuttings</a> off some overgrown branches of a friend's plants with their permission, and get them to root and form new plants.Ideally, when taking cuttings you should try to start the end that you want to root around one of the points at which the parent plant branches, and trim the smaller branch of your cutting back to that point, as for botanical reasons that I haven't bothered to research yet, the cells around such a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Node_%28botany%29">node</a> seem to find it easier to change their growth pattern into a root. You can also improve your chances by treating the tip that you want to root with a solution of '<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_hormone#Auxins">rooting hormone</a>', usually particular synthetic auxins that instruct the cells there to grow root structures.<br />
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In my case, to create a fast windbreak hedgerow, I have a couple of brilliant plants available for the job, where my friend and their neighbour have <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salix_alba">willow trees</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackberry">blackberry</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bramble">brambles</a>, which grow so vigorously that you can often just shove a stick in the ground and it will root. In fact, the former is so good at spreading by this method that it is <a href="http://www.hoadley.net/cremer/willows/docs/WillowInBiodiversity.pdf">considered an invasive weed</a> in Australia, and my friend tells me that one time they tried to make a fencepost out of a freshly cut beam of willow, it grew into another tree where it was placed.<br />
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Having all that in mind gives me a little more confidence when considering that this isn't such a great time of year to be trying to root some things; all the ground was frozen hard and frosty on top yesterday, and it was so cold out that I couldn't get much done before feeling like my fingers would fall off if I carried on. I've read other gardeners saying that late autumn is the best time to transplant brambles, giving them a little time to establish roots before becoming dormant over winter, but I've done my best to get some roots going anyway.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyhsmmBOhesgtFA6K7JJoDrdoxWX2Bm28c3G5tICcQNT01a7eq057-O6sg-Dnfj1v1rmoNe3aGXKdX2Nsds2DcWHcewNpxcbDjo3z34AvwcLlTwzb2QUXwmEsoWtUQSVeBh_sP94SQMdc/s1600/DSC01368.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyhsmmBOhesgtFA6K7JJoDrdoxWX2Bm28c3G5tICcQNT01a7eq057-O6sg-Dnfj1v1rmoNe3aGXKdX2Nsds2DcWHcewNpxcbDjo3z34AvwcLlTwzb2QUXwmEsoWtUQSVeBh_sP94SQMdc/s400/DSC01368.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One cutting from willow ready to be planted on right, trimmed at a join with a bit much bark stripped off but oh well, and another cutting on left showing where a branch would be cut before trimming it down.</td></tr>
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I started a couple of days ago by cutting off some bits of willow getting in the way of a path, and digging very small holes for them to grow in by the south-west fence line. I added a tiny bit of manure in the bottom of the hole to help the roots establish, but without the bulk of extra soil from planting potted trees, there was practically no mound above these branch cuttings.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsnlKrNMzrMy0VYOdkadhC7iZ4IkTwFahYGyN4NQzwCbAUustwfZKF45HkYqTiZ8HdN6u91gAuEnRWcqaNtI_FuVgh1OGRrTkeI9KJMeP-_HVe7v68A1_62qltqp2ltDlb76uzPDaxBAQ/s1600/DSC01370.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsnlKrNMzrMy0VYOdkadhC7iZ4IkTwFahYGyN4NQzwCbAUustwfZKF45HkYqTiZ8HdN6u91gAuEnRWcqaNtI_FuVgh1OGRrTkeI9KJMeP-_HVe7v68A1_62qltqp2ltDlb76uzPDaxBAQ/s400/DSC01370.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The previous cutting planted at top, the ground almost flat, with the next one trimmed down in the foreground, ready to be planted.</td></tr>
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I was also supplied with the cheapest tree available from that native plants nursery, a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downy_birch">Downy Birch</a>, which with its affinity for slightly wet and acidic soils, should do very well in its position near to these brambles.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4LQYBIsoEAWchE5BEJscTAEgg-DG4k8f0YvEWCg0Zu4_ucrnzCtl5zXzu1c4mIfRaqUknOyzb1ST2rZhfumDprlFZoSdsTdUlbdLgrES0-cAhZJcTSRX-LWxDPqnGYGjza0BONxPMN0k/s1600/DSC01373.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4LQYBIsoEAWchE5BEJscTAEgg-DG4k8f0YvEWCg0Zu4_ucrnzCtl5zXzu1c4mIfRaqUknOyzb1ST2rZhfumDprlFZoSdsTdUlbdLgrES0-cAhZJcTSRX-LWxDPqnGYGjza0BONxPMN0k/s400/DSC01373.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I found an impressively/annoyingly-sized rock in the hole that I was digging for it.</td></tr>
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Then I remembered to take pictures of the way I'm covering pre-dug squares of sod for the bare-root fruit trees, which should be here when I get up <strike>in the morning</strike>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuLXsPX6HlXauvURjytGBXCXswsw6Ep2bQynTZEeWq9A9bEEIL9I9t4-rPbDxVCTQSz0Im7gJh68v_H2bE-aQ1UdpL9u9o4E-dXw0fj5FA6VmNAjwMuwZOa4IufKfA_TYn2OImpUrad_8/s1600/DSC01375.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuLXsPX6HlXauvURjytGBXCXswsw6Ep2bQynTZEeWq9A9bEEIL9I9t4-rPbDxVCTQSz0Im7gJh68v_H2bE-aQ1UdpL9u9o4E-dXw0fj5FA6VmNAjwMuwZOa4IufKfA_TYn2OImpUrad_8/s400/DSC01375.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A section of some of the woven-appearance cupboard backing that I keep seeing more of these days, going a bit soggy and rotten, and held in place with bit of scrap bamboo, will act as mulch to suppress the grass roots in this patch.</td></tr>
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Keeping the grass down should make it a little easier to plant the bare-rooted fruit trees in each patch when they arrive. Also doing this helps me to remember where I planned to plant them. If I had more bits of cardboard to spare, I would cover a wider area to make it easier to plant legumes around the trees once they are in.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrV3PRVYRvsdkv4qOFBlIVRc5_EUkAuIoZqnikk4eZ0BuUd4cNDZhW2VgzBI3Ir0jUM3seh7SmLhWrbswKVR4A7zRNYuFlPNnXYVJwYeSuiliqO3yEow-oMlnr62Pat04JSJKA-4qRCIs/s1600/DSC01377.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrV3PRVYRvsdkv4qOFBlIVRc5_EUkAuIoZqnikk4eZ0BuUd4cNDZhW2VgzBI3Ir0jUM3seh7SmLhWrbswKVR4A7zRNYuFlPNnXYVJwYeSuiliqO3yEow-oMlnr62Pat04JSJKA-4qRCIs/s400/DSC01377.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you can see them, these baby trees are getting all ready to make an effective wind-break now. The downy birch is the one ready leaning slightly into the wind, tied to a bamboo stake taller than itself. That big rock is also weighing it down for extra storm-safety.</td></tr>
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Even if those willows try to overgrow and take over, they can easily be <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coppicing">coppiced</a> many times. A brilliant temperate pioneer plant, giving the benefits of a windbreak to other plants, while providing yields of useful timber and firewood, and even a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_aspirin#Early_history_of_salicylates">natural painkiller/fever remedy</a> (from which aspirin was derived).<br />
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The next day I took some cuttings of the nearby bramble bushes, trimming them in a similar way with some secateurs. To try and improve their chances in rooting and surviving, I used a budget trick learned from some nice pot-plant growers quite experienced in the art of plant cloning, by mixing up a little honey with some water and dipping the roots in it.<br />
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To make the process useful I did something I often do for an efficient brew, which was to pour water straight into an old honey jar that has had all but a thin film scraped out of it. Of course, in this case I used a little water left in a kettle after it had cooled down, so that it wouldn't <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey#Preservation">denature useful things</a> in the honey.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoNb8np0GmYHDWoAbaDwnIMY__jteK2vmxi1E7memfZdyXuoDc7zNk3origG-hIDysHY-6FF31RKcArB8X88ajaInoSHbEw1a8SvCkow_3sU6i5VAsGFgho7v5ejgt_qh2-NZ6GHWoBlM/s1600/DSC01378.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoNb8np0GmYHDWoAbaDwnIMY__jteK2vmxi1E7memfZdyXuoDc7zNk3origG-hIDysHY-6FF31RKcArB8X88ajaInoSHbEw1a8SvCkow_3sU6i5VAsGFgho7v5ejgt_qh2-NZ6GHWoBlM/s400/DSC01378.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of a non-thorny variety of bramble, some not, one bit of another healthy-looking bush I didn't quite recognise, but seemed very hairy.</td></tr>
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Once I had collected my cuttings and warmed back up a bit, I took them off to the patch to plant. I put the biggest cuttings into three separate stands along the fence, where I hope they will spread from.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrluBFvvQ8Se0OR4lX1vf5rdSLkYycU-rOKgztRHn1YpHGI096x1wFHcAaate_p6trdaHKRQGS-Y90-V6flWlskkryZkRLBm3X2e6MU_vjcrtB1SWBZl_empwuthietawPxyHdVV4jrEE/s1600/DSC01380.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrluBFvvQ8Se0OR4lX1vf5rdSLkYycU-rOKgztRHn1YpHGI096x1wFHcAaate_p6trdaHKRQGS-Y90-V6flWlskkryZkRLBm3X2e6MU_vjcrtB1SWBZl_empwuthietawPxyHdVV4jrEE/s400/DSC01380.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitc8amR4RiFCxZAfMjqeU-5U1t9LqqSQZEIuxOSSQfVtQldjETPOZCq0aprIut6ZbSm4Q-pnCSwuZqQy_fJ1S8YvzYZ9IEGbJ5g2Kc2rgs3ySj-jnQHQXX_HDoW2-X5zq23_kfqMG-0EQ/s1600/DSC01381.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitc8amR4RiFCxZAfMjqeU-5U1t9LqqSQZEIuxOSSQfVtQldjETPOZCq0aprIut6ZbSm4Q-pnCSwuZqQy_fJ1S8YvzYZ9IEGbJ5g2Kc2rgs3ySj-jnQHQXX_HDoW2-X5zq23_kfqMG-0EQ/s400/DSC01381.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My method for this was quite simple: kick the frozen grass aside, make a row of holes with one jab of a pitchfork, shove a cutting in each hole, water it a tiny bit and move on.</td></tr>
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I left a couple of the smallest cuttings aside to be potted, as is generally suggested to be the safest way to clone any plant cutting, so even if my cuttings outside don't survive the end of winter, I should have something to transplant out there in the spring.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHoBvy3RgblJRtyvCG1p9YZchk7oKf0dpkcNDtcmk76eEe1IaMPtX2x93XyUozkUB9LbbsTwgpsn7wBCBGrwaFScjzHXI58hTh2w0YZbba33b8Yfd_T_3ffXySO7uEn-pYt6GRWy_bRu0/s1600/DSC01382.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHoBvy3RgblJRtyvCG1p9YZchk7oKf0dpkcNDtcmk76eEe1IaMPtX2x93XyUozkUB9LbbsTwgpsn7wBCBGrwaFScjzHXI58hTh2w0YZbba33b8Yfd_T_3ffXySO7uEn-pYt6GRWy_bRu0/s400/DSC01382.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The leftovers, with crunchy grass in the background.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBUVpbb8c9QdVuz_JBgPmPrY7DfjTI4EJbCUYDtzYc8T2vTdNH7NAcKP1Rb5E-idwmj5ovABarpAuvFXEgJbqV1FzQzpdwYqizoika9f1xlbdfzZ6G3rXwLnMWFsBldT_1Z89UQBMQe88/s1600/DSC01383.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBUVpbb8c9QdVuz_JBgPmPrY7DfjTI4EJbCUYDtzYc8T2vTdNH7NAcKP1Rb5E-idwmj5ovABarpAuvFXEgJbqV1FzQzpdwYqizoika9f1xlbdfzZ6G3rXwLnMWFsBldT_1Z89UQBMQe88/s400/DSC01383.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These little ones seem quite happy in their soft warm potting soil.</td></tr>
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<br />
2013 Update:<br />
Something I didn't fully know when this was published was that one of the main reasons why willow is so amazing at rooting itself, is that the greenish resin in its bark and spring shoots contains chemicals which both aid rooting at the same time as acting as a painkiller in humans. While the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salicylic_acid">Salicylic Acid</a> present both cures headaches and activates a plant's immune system to help fight off fungal infections, there is also a hefty amount of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indolebutyric_acid">Indolebutyric Acid</a>, which is a root-growth-promoting auxin.<br />
Although solutions of honey, sugar or specially mixed electrolyte salts can keep cuttings alive for quite a while by providing necessary nutrients, and sometimes even allow them to form new roots, hence it's generally advised to treat cut flowers that way, if you make a tea out of willow bark or shoots and leave your cuttings in that overnight, it'll give them a much better kick-start to survive and thrive.4ndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675315515117082792noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-906217424699189688.post-79253892294731887412012-01-30T02:42:00.001+00:002012-08-11T00:10:09.868+01:00Permaculture DesignRecently a friend has given me a great opportunity to try out a new design science, <a href="http://www.permaculture.org.uk/">Permaculture</a>, by developing a self-sustainable miniature food forest on an allotment in the Scottish Highlands. Studying permaculture design and getting ready to move out of the city over the next couple of months, has of course meant that I haven't had much time to do 3D design and writing recently, however moving soon also means I will eventually have more time and opportunity to test out my own wind turbine designs and other tech.<br />
<br />
Having watched several hours of a wide variety of instructional videos and documentaries on various aspects of permaculture that can be found in many places online such as youtube, plus starting to read the first few chapters of Bill Mollison's brilliant "<i>Permaculture:</i><i> A Designer's Manual</i>", I had enough grasp of the basics to start hashing out my first ideas and designs, and learn more as I go along by testing. My approach could be seen as 'jumping in the deep end', and while I would like to spend more time learning before acting, possibly even take a course on the subject, a constraint of time means that if I don't start implementing at least a few changes to this land immediately, then I'd miss the important winter period when trees can be easily moved bare-rooted and planted, while a constraint of money means that I wouldn't be able to afford attendance fees at most courses anyway.<br />
Nonetheless, I agree somewhat with Mollison's thoughts in his manual that "Starting with a <i>nucleus</i> and expanding outwards is the most successful, morale-building and easily-achieved way to proceed." Where he and many others have advised that you can learn much by simply sitting back and observing nature, then testing any hypothesis of its workings, I hope that I can use nature as my university, as the ones with walls don't seem very conducive to learning.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1hOnFiTGHG8CFZ1TXknZeArIm7HXJ8jBgERaGKof08TgP7h09DiyoFWnPu42zVbS6ACyzCyBxRojUkna_dlfJMcrVPzUJOLLj5DzWmomwZTWL9bSKwpQy73m-7oxURGJuwQM1WRjVRtM/s1600/DSC01148.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1hOnFiTGHG8CFZ1TXknZeArIm7HXJ8jBgERaGKof08TgP7h09DiyoFWnPu42zVbS6ACyzCyBxRojUkna_dlfJMcrVPzUJOLLj5DzWmomwZTWL9bSKwpQy73m-7oxURGJuwQM1WRjVRtM/s400/DSC01148.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First area of interest fenced off in the centre of this picture, see all that overgrown grass? Guess which way the prevailing wind is from...</td></tr>
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My general plan is to take this small-medium hilltop allotment approximately 20m by 15m, within some larger common ground that is almost entirely smothered by grasses lying in their near-horizontal tufts under the strong prevailing wind, and sprout a small pioneer area of productive woodland, in a hope that it will produce enough <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulch">mulch</a> and attract enough wildlife to extend itself, producing a lot more food and other resources with some gentle guidance, but without the use of external energy (besides sunlight) or fertiliser. The target to remove dependence on outside energy sources is a main aim in most permaculture design approaches, and without large-scale renewable energy infrastructure, is quite crucial to sustainability.<br />
This land used to be <a href="https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Caledonian_Forest">covered in forests</a> for the last few thousand years until the increasing thoughtless high-energy industrialisation in the cultural detritus of the roman empire led to them being cleared for timber, fuel and to dedicate most of the land to sheep herding.<br />
While it is clearly possible to have lively forest growing here, the afforestation that occurred after the last ice age would have taken a long time to move up through the land, as the current barren landscape can make it difficult for many plants to grow in the cold and strong winds, a bit of thoughtful help is needed to improve on nature's ability to colonise and stabilise harsh environments. Such brilliant examples of permaculture in action as the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gPvsl9ni-4">Greening the Desert</a> project show what difference a bit of thought can make to nature's ability to increase the fertility of a region.<br />
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One good tool of planning, besides listing and considering the interactions of components (takes a long time to write down, not going to stick that in here) and the ever-important observation, is to create a map.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfNWhBmEiJRdDVuOxQhIPT48bxeQA8cevogGyy_DC9nAsksZCsNB3-zZfHJU8XivxxNfKWmfA8tPls__s0sWf9dUiVkdJgDVetmHKqL5LcgsHR9FAlx-GPzl-rDjlz7uLv_YyFGrzx4Zg/s1600/DSC01348.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfNWhBmEiJRdDVuOxQhIPT48bxeQA8cevogGyy_DC9nAsksZCsNB3-zZfHJU8XivxxNfKWmfA8tPls__s0sWf9dUiVkdJgDVetmHKqL5LcgsHR9FAlx-GPzl-rDjlz7uLv_YyFGrzx4Zg/s400/DSC01348.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Partial elevation map of the patch and surrounding area; perimeter traced from satellite images and details added from direct observation.</td></tr>
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The details on this map above were sketched simply from depth perception while moving around a small area, and the following photo shows some of the area that it covers:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ01UhTjzqJcn3UXuc2rZ0B9cvLhgyYGilqDlSves5iPRBu8qfZXEDb-_x1HxYO9LDljZQo_tMHavKQCa8ek4qczmS7DO3KRMRtdwqhgS3uJnnYDNWfIaSKO758I8uTCkGIb90qpBkFS8/s1600/DSC01282.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ01UhTjzqJcn3UXuc2rZ0B9cvLhgyYGilqDlSves5iPRBu8qfZXEDb-_x1HxYO9LDljZQo_tMHavKQCa8ek4qczmS7DO3KRMRtdwqhgS3uJnnYDNWfIaSKO758I8uTCkGIb90qpBkFS8/s400/DSC01282.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Once I had some intentions set down, was able to access the land to see the lay of it, and began to gather some information about what types of plants grow well in this specific cold-temperate climate and how they affect each other, I was able to start sketching up a map of the area of operation, what was currently there in terms of topography (landscape) and outside energies (wind and sun). Since exact contour lines are very difficult to judge in a shallow-sloped sea of grass, I invented little V-shapes for my diagrams to mark slopes (points uphill, larger ones indicate a steeper slope), a bit like embankment marks on ordnance survey maps... except backwards.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCSQLxTOVmKyFrgds9l04RKpdlMD3sC_2aQSXG0brN5mtRTNHnz9K2eSu3KSGTDAyDEGPDbeo8cUK5EvAjPp-hvi7IrNEfuZFL22wQOiTUBiZh4plplVnY-MXOZnctgSaqGs4wfx8zHlw/s1600/DSC01344.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCSQLxTOVmKyFrgds9l04RKpdlMD3sC_2aQSXG0brN5mtRTNHnz9K2eSu3KSGTDAyDEGPDbeo8cUK5EvAjPp-hvi7IrNEfuZFL22wQOiTUBiZh4plplVnY-MXOZnctgSaqGs4wfx8zHlw/s400/DSC01344.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't mind the scribbles on the left from uni, I like to re-use notebook pages.</td></tr>
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My first main concerns were with the aforementioned two energies. Sunlight is in short supply in the Highlands, so I figured that trees ought to be initially towards the northern end of the patch so that they don't cast too much shade over any shorter sun-loving annual crops or shrubs that might be grown in places. Since there can be very harsh winds prevailing from the south-west, and some very cold ones when it turns to come from the north, I decided that putting some fast-growing pioneer trees to the south-west and north-west of any more cherished fruit and nut trees would be a good idea.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtENqNZExhNKeVwBU4dehIJntET4nSUsXNTs6rrhu-LVWRY_ysBGllZbDaziGAFCNMASy7alD49jXDE_9OaS8rzImyRAX0rtxzmeqKUbWPGcWkRQ7vxfgUu58X0JFRhjudeymHv93Crf4/s1600/DSC01297.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtENqNZExhNKeVwBU4dehIJntET4nSUsXNTs6rrhu-LVWRY_ysBGllZbDaziGAFCNMASy7alD49jXDE_9OaS8rzImyRAX0rtxzmeqKUbWPGcWkRQ7vxfgUu58X0JFRhjudeymHv93Crf4/s400/DSC01297.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The locals had previously planted a bunch of pines as pioneer trees, I was considering doing the same until I examined these and found that the stormy winds had completely stripped the needles off the windward side of these evergreen trees.</td></tr>
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I don't initially want to block wind to the entire fenced-off patch though, since its energy could be put to productive use while some of the baby trees are growing if I were to mount a wind turbine near the middle peak, even just to test one that could later get a better location. For this reason, and due to the current monetary expense of nursery trees, most of the south-west fence won't have trees along it for now. However, by planting blackberry brambles there, we should be able to reduce the wind slightly at ground-level, while their tendency to creep around and overgrow when untended, along with the presence of sheep to browse anything that grows through the fence, should allow them to form something like a hedgerow.<br />
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Using what I knew about the ground elevation, and after finding out what trees were available, I took another step in development of the design by laying out the trees in order of height and hardiness, and by designing in one of the most important elements to take control of when establishing a food forest, the collection/infiltration/runoff of rainwater.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJgoBcjfqKbbshZbZ47NvzsNhPytslu4UiaDvettJcp9v8_y5HBHYWThldjS3LPsqCJN2GCxdB5QvdC2uv2XH0B0twfiXN0Cf3fOzWdD76nF3oyAMKVVGlJz5BYQHcwgQccv6PYqiGx4I/s1600/DSC01347.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJgoBcjfqKbbshZbZ47NvzsNhPytslu4UiaDvettJcp9v8_y5HBHYWThldjS3LPsqCJN2GCxdB5QvdC2uv2XH0B0twfiXN0Cf3fOzWdD76nF3oyAMKVVGlJz5BYQHcwgQccv6PYqiGx4I/s400/DSC01347.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shorter-growing trees are on the sunnier side, while some fast-growing and hardy native trees are placed so as to block incoming winds. A potential location for a water-harvesting swale, pond and level-sill spillway are marked.</td></tr>
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A swale dug on contour before the southwest fence on this part of the hill would be very useful, since the ground starts to drop away quite quickly beyond that fence into a sheep pasture field, and so catching it before it runs off the overgrown grasses, pacifying its motion and allowing it to soak into the soil, should allow local pioneer species and fruit trees to grow more productively with a reliably moist soil to draw nutrients from. I remembered from many observations of brambles while foraging through them, that they will grow vigorously right up to the edge of river banks, onto the very wet zone where reeds will then start to grow, so I know they must be a water-loving plant and will appreciate the extra fixed water under the south-west edge.<br />
<br />
Once I had a workable plan, and we got hold of some potted native trees from a fairly local tree nursery in Scourie, while waiting for bare-root fruit trees to be posted in from elsewhere in the UK we planted those pioneer trees while there was good weather, to let their roots establish for a bit so that they should make effective wind-breaks into spring. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDIzJ-VtHuckgGC5NS_J4lD9LyU8Nmr6thMJ_vP7HsmVu4LqZkbFXCXRr0uLb7dTxnXmRU4RZ0BU5HDQ_cIw0YpvZjI3RrNCZt-ZzybkvbFdUodajhe1vKjURdfHdE6u7nkG-CLz1jKI4/s1600/DSC01349.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDIzJ-VtHuckgGC5NS_J4lD9LyU8Nmr6thMJ_vP7HsmVu4LqZkbFXCXRr0uLb7dTxnXmRU4RZ0BU5HDQ_cIw0YpvZjI3RrNCZt-ZzybkvbFdUodajhe1vKjURdfHdE6u7nkG-CLz1jKI4/s400/DSC01349.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Things needed for tree planting.</td></tr>
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The way we planted the trees is easily do-able with one person, but a friend makes the work go faster and easier: <br />
<ul>
<li>First we raked back some of the grass on a patch where we wanted to plant one, to make digging easier and to give some mulching material to lay down afterwards. </li>
<li>Next we cut out blocks of sod with a fork and spade and laid them down to one side, taking care to gently pick out any loose earthworms that might otherwise get chopped up in the process.</li>
<li>After scraping out lower soil to an appropriate depth, checked by dropping the tree in, we dropped a small amount of old manure into the bottom of the hole, so that beneficial <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhizobacteria">bacteria</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycorrhiza">fungus</a> could aid in each tree's growth.</li>
<li>We removed the thin pot and dropped the tree into the hole, then packed the sod back in around it upside-down where it would fit, so that any grass left would decay at the bottom and become earthworm food.</li>
</ul>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdcSIHrmrwv7SyJB03R9Jg1frVfYEzBs1EViJhgBQUBHE92exokYyo6vR_LfND-LY2Wl0-K9Kv-ruvKXDsBJBqlDlcJJJuMhb_b3ESCN5IKYcbDzpeGfPvnq41HysEuUBbG9TFse5Rg3Y/s1600/DSC01353.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdcSIHrmrwv7SyJB03R9Jg1frVfYEzBs1EViJhgBQUBHE92exokYyo6vR_LfND-LY2Wl0-K9Kv-ruvKXDsBJBqlDlcJJJuMhb_b3ESCN5IKYcbDzpeGfPvnq41HysEuUBbG9TFse5Rg3Y/s400/DSC01353.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Option 1: Cover loose soil with cuttings on top to smother weeds.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyrVTosvSYRlYmRYCIlBvVPOFwThMlmdaHey2g-9ggz_xUb5Z3C1YZaaaswz4Cs12PsJf6rZLlEsfYfVGn-xxeCLXFH3xeCkFK9c3xFGRpcuxm0gglB_geePV2nVFr1R80fvI-P7xd1zY/s1600/DSC01354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyrVTosvSYRlYmRYCIlBvVPOFwThMlmdaHey2g-9ggz_xUb5Z3C1YZaaaswz4Cs12PsJf6rZLlEsfYfVGn-xxeCLXFH3xeCkFK9c3xFGRpcuxm0gglB_geePV2nVFr1R80fvI-P7xd1zY/s400/DSC01354.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Option 2: Loose soil on top to keep cuttings in place as they break down.</td></tr>
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<ul>
<li> The pile was covered at the end with the leftover loose soil and grass cuttings, then watered.</li>
<ul>
<li>On a couple of trees we put the cuttings on after the soil, and on another we did it the other way around. I suspect the cuttings may blow away in the wind, and/or the compost-on-top version of this might get weeds trying to grow in it sooner, but I will wait and see the results.</li>
</ul>
<li>A sort-of-final and important step to this process will be planting some <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen_fixation">nitrogen-fixing</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legume">legumes</a> in and around the site that we planted the tree, to out-compete the grasses for light, which would otherwise compete for nutrients in part of the trees' root zone.</li>
<ul>
<li>A couple of the edible <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Companion_planting">companion plants</a> that I read are supposed to benefit tree establishment/growth, which should grow well in this area, are the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artichoke">artichoke</a> (a type of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thistle">thistle</a>), and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropaeolum">nasturtiums</a>. I don't yet know which, if any, native trees function as legumes (though I know acacia serves that function, it is native to the southern hemisphere and not easy to get hold of here), so I may have to find that out by future observations of which trees do well next to others.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<br />
The next job that we took care of was to survey the ground for a water feature on contour. When digging a water-harvesting swale, it is a good idea to peg out a contour line on the hillside where you would like to dig it in. Normally you might use a surveyor's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dumpy_level">Dumpy Level</a>, or a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_level">Laser Level</a> to find points on the ground at the same elevation as a starting point, but such equipment is expensive for us to get hold of, so we developed a cheap-and-easy method that does a good job on such a small-scale project:<br />
The materials you need are as many pegs as want to clearly show the curve of your contour, two poles that can either be stuck in the ground or stood on it in a way such that they reliably have their base at the same height (on or under the ground) with repeated movements, some string and a spirit level.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpaGU7xUaK5YPNRGHcr8-05Algi9aHLZ_Z6HMrdE7uHAFonHqMn2c137BjqSCmpdX72MX4XHWRdpcUiKEc6oSdQeFi4qzA_-ecLJ9j6ojatJEAzGhjUmH6GMMxatb41-t1zr3DGxKpRP0/s1600/DSC01356.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpaGU7xUaK5YPNRGHcr8-05Algi9aHLZ_Z6HMrdE7uHAFonHqMn2c137BjqSCmpdX72MX4XHWRdpcUiKEc6oSdQeFi4qzA_-ecLJ9j6ojatJEAzGhjUmH6GMMxatb41-t1zr3DGxKpRP0/s400/DSC01356.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
For the two poles, we used a couple of electric-fence posts that each have a spike on the bottom for driving into the ground, with a little foothold jutting out sideways at the top of that spike, making it easy to shove them in the same distance (so long as rocks don't get in the way, as they frequently did).<br />
<br />
The method is pretty simple, but would probably be quite difficult to do on your own, unless you grow some extra arms to hold all the gear or find some kind of pole that stands upright steadily on its own:<br />
<ul>
<li>Put your poles side-by-side, bases at the same height, and tie each end of your string tightly at the same height on each pole, such that it won't slip up or down with a bit of tugging about</li>
<ul>
<li>We used just over a meter of string to prevent it sagging too much, but if it's too short then you can introduce significant errors from the larger number of measurements.</li>
</ul>
<li>Place one of the poles on your starting point, preferrably with someone there to hold it, to make sure it stays as upright as possible with some tension on the string.</li>
<li>Move the second pole around the first in the general direction you think is level, put it down with the string pulled taut, and lay the spirit level on top of the string to check whether you are too high or low.</li>
<li>Adjust the second pole's position if necessary.</li>
<li>Remove the previously stationary pole and shove or hammer a peg into its position.</li>
<ul>
<li>We had a mix of scrap bamboo sticks and electric fence posts, so we alternated them to make the contour stand out with the bright-blue plastic posts.</li>
</ul>
<li>The pole that was moving is now the stationary pole, so pivot the other one around it to find another point on your contour.</li>
<li>Repeat until you run out of pegs.</li>
</ul>
The result we achieved was even better than expected with this idea: <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUxVy9uFpx2Cf4Fox-4E_OKGx3WRjphNJAYOHhL9A9tJ3SiugvedCQcW-uh9I-Av2EnTv6jtQfjhIm5ilnJrAL8wo8ccCLDyKj2nykoJMDuAARLpnB_Ri2Qw3qp2tH9HkcQwLOr7CfU7s/s1600/DSC01358.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUxVy9uFpx2Cf4Fox-4E_OKGx3WRjphNJAYOHhL9A9tJ3SiugvedCQcW-uh9I-Av2EnTv6jtQfjhIm5ilnJrAL8wo8ccCLDyKj2nykoJMDuAARLpnB_Ri2Qw3qp2tH9HkcQwLOr7CfU7s/s400/DSC01358.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2QaTZDwfsAXmvmIjDs4oTUfraZqR_-mBh4J25soWgavC69U-2kkeylk4MwyW_CaNMfio8ARkYM4tuxr35Xba7k5488BXDb9hw4WCR2hBn2lJx8wUkggMErCeMu_bGia2qFwNg6lJI1yc/s1600/DSC01359.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2QaTZDwfsAXmvmIjDs4oTUfraZqR_-mBh4J25soWgavC69U-2kkeylk4MwyW_CaNMfio8ARkYM4tuxr35Xba7k5488BXDb9hw4WCR2hBn2lJx8wUkggMErCeMu_bGia2qFwNg6lJI1yc/s400/DSC01359.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Given how rocky the soil here is, we probably won't be able to dig a pond for a permanent water store unless we can bring in some clay or concrete to seal the bottom of it.<br />
The next jobs will be to dig in the swale, plant the fruit trees and plant some legumes as the weather warms up. I may have arrived here too late to plant a cover crop before planting the trees, but I'll still give it a go and see how they fare with an early spring planting. My next post might go back to something more mechanical depending how much work I do on each area.4ndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675315515117082792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-906217424699189688.post-87868676745697056022011-12-05T04:06:00.000+00:002012-08-11T00:10:35.451+01:00Salvaging an Inkjet Printer (and other broken hardware)This was interesting enough that I thought it deserved its own post (and even more picturific than the last one).<br />
Like on many occasions while living in the city, I recently found some old broken electronics chucked out of someone's flat before a day when the city council sends round workers to pick up bulky rubbish like broken appliances and furniture (it seems almost nobody knows how to repair things anymore, or they are too busy watching TV to do it).<br />
<br />
First I picked up another halogen heater that broke at the base and was produced of even more plastic than the previous one I found, this time made by Hyundai (yes I'm naming names, you wasteful b*stards) yielded another synchronous motor that I could use in a <a href="http://engineeringourfreedom.blogspot.com/2011/05/do-cartwheels-feed-people.html">rotary hydroponics</a> prototype.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY0e-lQX8ZVBUvxtz1atJBhmES8lGYlkbDHDPUWfJ6MAcndVPJabNbN2CDBIDuI8D4339teC8fqmmxzf49CBALV4fZDFIldDSw6ePanXXFdSex8TMWNq8wXi5uH-_BAxCnx-qPcZPt7Z4/s1600/DSC01112.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY0e-lQX8ZVBUvxtz1atJBhmES8lGYlkbDHDPUWfJ6MAcndVPJabNbN2CDBIDuI8D4339teC8fqmmxzf49CBALV4fZDFIldDSw6ePanXXFdSex8TMWNq8wXi5uH-_BAxCnx-qPcZPt7Z4/s400/DSC01112.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Were your amazing cars selling so poorly that you had to move into another market of things that break down quickly? The power supply on the left was torn out of something else...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Even better, I found a not-very-old inkjet printer that had clearly stopped working in some way, as a previous owner had booted in the side of it, so there was not much point attempting a repair.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibtfcpyPQMhysAZDR9nUQxG3IMfgBCcE5wBH5w1GRJ2pAVpsSWj8sF1Svdvu5mHS3W8Nvl6jW_57S3LxU0gSoeIwysMRzE3I06ZjP8dxyDYlCf0FXg3HVYiiCmBUB3c1tnL_EKo0lQqXI/s1600/DSC01110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibtfcpyPQMhysAZDR9nUQxG3IMfgBCcE5wBH5w1GRJ2pAVpsSWj8sF1Svdvu5mHS3W8Nvl6jW_57S3LxU0gSoeIwysMRzE3I06ZjP8dxyDYlCf0FXg3HVYiiCmBUB3c1tnL_EKo0lQqXI/s400/DSC01110.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Perhaps I should have taken this photo <i>before</i> stripping it apart, but curiosity got the better of me.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
My suspicions were confirmed when I found some components showing a lot of wear, that this thing had probably gone well past its warranty, if it ever had one.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuZ9txsVbVQbEnffJgl9BrlP_7hHMeD7bJoAGJ10j_WJunM5RkzDIqnLCuiAvQO9MoKO8yNiXuSIV-OUEvNCczvcw5MNfTmbXZBgDYyAP4AalgNol9AGe2gpdWySewM2Q03uZ5a-lrfUg/s1600/DSC01109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuZ9txsVbVQbEnffJgl9BrlP_7hHMeD7bJoAGJ10j_WJunM5RkzDIqnLCuiAvQO9MoKO8yNiXuSIV-OUEvNCczvcw5MNfTmbXZBgDYyAP4AalgNol9AGe2gpdWySewM2Q03uZ5a-lrfUg/s400/DSC01109.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cheap synthetic rubber cracking up?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There was something I remembered hearing a long time ago at one point in an interesting documentary about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_obsolescence">planned obsolescence</a>, called <a href="http://dotsub.com/view/aed3b8b2-1889-4df5-ae63-ad85f5572f27"><i>Pyramids of Waste</i></a>; that was how a printer had been designed to return an error after a certain amount of printing, on the basis that some sponge under the carriage, which was there to eject ink into in order to clear the nozzle, would have become clogged up with wasted ink. I didn't believe at the time that many printers would have such a wasteful feature, let alone a killswitch based around it at the firmware level, but lo and behold, at the bottom of this printer was a big felt pad soaked in copious amounts of wasted ink.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnjVgMucYZ2-m8zvqdMwGWWBpvaxlVG_vmeU3rG3nVimoK7Hgf-_8mngIalXiOcWY_wGcJoQ2PbSytFwGREnsIgZLp0Jq8ghsngrSQOB0xA4a70JK1Elad5zKTPd1ix42_s6HzryDrZsM/s1600/DSC01091.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnjVgMucYZ2-m8zvqdMwGWWBpvaxlVG_vmeU3rG3nVimoK7Hgf-_8mngIalXiOcWY_wGcJoQ2PbSytFwGREnsIgZLp0Jq8ghsngrSQOB0xA4a70JK1Elad5zKTPd1ix42_s6HzryDrZsM/s400/DSC01091.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Anyway, as I took apart the very complicated structure of the printer piece by piece, I came across a wide assortment of different parts, some of which are shown strewn across the floor here in a filing system known only to Heisenberg:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEippsOy60PysHwLacASFAY9HvKV3gmCp_b2MonVHelwmXM3pm2Fg6sQeGvJJMypmDpm7MCHxQKGVM34SUQCbkThi8yDio6EGU29rjxpUXJlH_Ug_t88qP99CEsc6miJuN6-EvG_pj-zl_c/s1600/DSC01089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEippsOy60PysHwLacASFAY9HvKV3gmCp_b2MonVHelwmXM3pm2Fg6sQeGvJJMypmDpm7MCHxQKGVM34SUQCbkThi8yDio6EGU29rjxpUXJlH_Ug_t88qP99CEsc6miJuN6-EvG_pj-zl_c/s400/DSC01089.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Most importantly, I found some springs of different sizes, which will have all sorts of uses.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSDl_RuKkmk6eO7YhaORhgc7kd_NCaAcbFB0EWRtCU2ACIv8jLP0g-wYDAU4U-VSRvVlSge0QvAOoMOKE5EgmrvT5FiLwFqDt5-hvjwjgbO36U6zy7iqWFVtsRxkdFee2qMf6KXkRXUjA/s1600/DSC01092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSDl_RuKkmk6eO7YhaORhgc7kd_NCaAcbFB0EWRtCU2ACIv8jLP0g-wYDAU4U-VSRvVlSge0QvAOoMOKE5EgmrvT5FiLwFqDt5-hvjwjgbO36U6zy7iqWFVtsRxkdFee2qMf6KXkRXUjA/s400/DSC01092.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
A variety of switches, including mechanical and optical ones; useful to robotics projects.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYrpXKHJc7o8NtT2g4Ez6Atu1axJD8Dr7A2N43d3DoC4sHFuAemnw3i8MGJcCG_LPrHIeRr3Hlm7BT29wyHyPZvhAbR1uCY2UrW2TsLgZEjF-cl7HiwWocD-1Aje0GoivqKdyp9CM2efE/s1600/DSC01095.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYrpXKHJc7o8NtT2g4Ez6Atu1axJD8Dr7A2N43d3DoC4sHFuAemnw3i8MGJcCG_LPrHIeRr3Hlm7BT29wyHyPZvhAbR1uCY2UrW2TsLgZEjF-cl7HiwWocD-1Aje0GoivqKdyp9CM2efE/s400/DSC01095.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
There were a couple of fine-toothed timing belts:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ncdIiBeyIIaOL3o7lMSze-Wgdkil5twZuZqbpOGrqqNOHKmYPwrDhIZkiYMz3hVLuqQ-C7wruUVClkmvoBPlKsPSiynN5z8jVXkWmT4nt_XqrZTIGTcMZ1eavSozJqDNvcRn9I-EIgk/s1600/DSC01102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ncdIiBeyIIaOL3o7lMSze-Wgdkil5twZuZqbpOGrqqNOHKmYPwrDhIZkiYMz3hVLuqQ-C7wruUVClkmvoBPlKsPSiynN5z8jVXkWmT4nt_XqrZTIGTcMZ1eavSozJqDNvcRn9I-EIgk/s400/DSC01102.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
...and that thick bar was ridiculously greasy to make up for the rubbish bushing that was formed into the print-cartridge carriage:<br />
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<br />
Naturally in a printer, there were a few DC motors, but these aren't the more expensive, robust, and controllable stepper motors that you use in CNC machines...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPWHRZ5kgVTY-MpkZp_t8d1TGtTzXdIX_ovZIMjTcumpOSADavzXBDALtWjNokbyPjI9uwIrr8O7-8U9uoRsuK5v4HMaVmVVZwP5bkUMhRpG1DCxLGrVC1HzADEr42Qv6YWUuUCohwFao/s1600/DSC01097.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPWHRZ5kgVTY-MpkZp_t8d1TGtTzXdIX_ovZIMjTcumpOSADavzXBDALtWjNokbyPjI9uwIrr8O7-8U9uoRsuK5v4HMaVmVVZwP5bkUMhRpG1DCxLGrVC1HzADEr42Qv6YWUuUCohwFao/s400/DSC01097.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Four in total, two of them attached to side brackets here.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY__RKS-uKUGdm_LnsqAEVGlbo3PnFC40hZvmpzOn4sm461zvZ5ux2tzMB0hrTwKTlFpSaXON8M6Fy2b6srnn9StzbuOF0qpsFQyh5vMpfyiifAdpMLOrUZpc4W1M588T7fyAnrD3HVfE/s1600/DSC01100.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY__RKS-uKUGdm_LnsqAEVGlbo3PnFC40hZvmpzOn4sm461zvZ5ux2tzMB0hrTwKTlFpSaXON8M6Fy2b6srnn9StzbuOF0qpsFQyh5vMpfyiifAdpMLOrUZpc4W1M588T7fyAnrD3HVfE/s400/DSC01100.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If anyone can identify what spec. these motors are, that would be cool. The power supply quite strangely output 24V and 36V DC lines if I remember correctly. The markings on the motors however divulge nothing about electrical input or torque output.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I did my best to get this next picture in focus, a difficult task with my tiny-lensed phone camera; what you can barely see if you open the full image here is what that grey line around the transparent disk is. It's actually a series of very narrow evenly-spaced black stripes packed so close that there are a few in every millimetre of circumference. It is one cheap example of an optical <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotary_encoder">rotary encoder</a>, in this case not giving absolute position but only displacement to the printer controller, by counting how many lines go past the optical sensor on the left.<br />
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I also found a few different sizes of smooth bars by the end:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5ki2Ihtf8aJk9L3EPeZG4SRAg1_vbyi76LYwrymnDhAxgdLqxJLVLyxhCg9yL-vA8j2Rb0PSVcrEvZJiTP825WV5Q9xKOjuzkG0aHD_AglITNzjBGq5iH1vQX1JJJZ-zZ0TijsVTbIFg/s1600/DSC01140.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5ki2Ihtf8aJk9L3EPeZG4SRAg1_vbyi76LYwrymnDhAxgdLqxJLVLyxhCg9yL-vA8j2Rb0PSVcrEvZJiTP825WV5Q9xKOjuzkG0aHD_AglITNzjBGq5iH1vQX1JJJZ-zZ0TijsVTbIFg/s400/DSC01140.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The grey marks on the lower bars are from where I pulled off spongy rubber rollers similar to the ones on the top bar, using a pair of pliers.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Oh look, even more springs came out!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG0WVNos7wirEsxOWZhSMW8rGb7-a6IOIDENyRrkBDgg9_mF0o0440_UnsoHo4FnxS9RtZFGifzFYCk_vki1om010Qqw-LKk92uLzKJ5pEgNbJUzNvJt1WIZBv-F4gtLF9iRi03pRy4Tc/s1600/DSC01139.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG0WVNos7wirEsxOWZhSMW8rGb7-a6IOIDENyRrkBDgg9_mF0o0440_UnsoHo4FnxS9RtZFGifzFYCk_vki1om010Qqw-LKk92uLzKJ5pEgNbJUzNvJt1WIZBv-F4gtLF9iRi03pRy4Tc/s400/DSC01139.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Now in their own wee baggie for spare springs, which previously contained some of the smaller parts that built my reprap.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
All this goes without mentioning the pile of assorted screws holding these things together that you can always get just from taking them apart, whether you use the rest or not... oh, and lots of odd gears, most of which aren't at all useful due to their weird mountings.<br />
At the end of this particular salvage operation, I looked slightly like I'd just raided an ATM, but it was lots of fun.<br />
<br />
<br />
On a related note, the only power tool of my own that I've been using up to now broke the other week around the same time; that was my cordless rotary tool from Dremel.<br />
The blue switch-dial in the picture below no longer 'clicks' as it moves on/off from the zero mark, and consequently no power gets to the motor. I don't know what about the switch has caused it to break, although there is a peculiar hole in the side of it, that almost looks like something might have fit in there, yet there were no parts rattling around when I opened it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwLAn-_dwoJRySJeNoLksB4bHiSdjY8mxjntwp2DDcsGonjGDdvT0M6fCd28uL-M89uQ-LaTOPJ6J2eSBEQyxxLszw2sKiVvHJjiD9lsl3kMheIJfdWRsHz8xCfOx7eIO7wwYllmjSYlQ/s1600/DSC01142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwLAn-_dwoJRySJeNoLksB4bHiSdjY8mxjntwp2DDcsGonjGDdvT0M6fCd28uL-M89uQ-LaTOPJ6J2eSBEQyxxLszw2sKiVvHJjiD9lsl3kMheIJfdWRsHz8xCfOx7eIO7wwYllmjSYlQ/s400/DSC01142.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Worked fine until 6 months after the warranty expired. Who could have guessed...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
If anyone can figure out what might be wrong with that switch, what component it could be replaced with, or another way to hack a compact variable-voltage supply from the battery, I would be really grateful. Otherwise I might just replace the whole control circuit with a simple on/off switch and have it do two speeds; stationary and ridiculously fast.<br />
Either way, take this as a firm <i>anti-recommendation</i> of Dremel's products.4ndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675315515117082792noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-906217424699189688.post-73497399527025601342011-12-04T05:36:00.002+00:002011-12-04T15:50:26.599+00:00While Sod's Law=True; Something Breaks; Fix It; EndWhileThe last few weeks have been eventful, apart from turmoil in personal life, I've made a few changes with my reprap, and taken bloody ages to get round to finally blogging this. There is still more to come afterwards too, so stay tuned.<br />
<br />
My Adrian's Geared Extruder got jammed (again) so I took apart that old extruder to replace it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXYXI2ocmGytIhp8BuPH4QmIqrhKQCHv26Y1r49wd7pRRDm4K6O7OygufJtNKk-c7l6jSlvBbtjWO5aBeK8HO_rHMW8aYMJcpW8aGDmkez6n-tWuy4kZESH6axG9QrpvmWdNpcGq-7Jn8/s1600/DSC01053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXYXI2ocmGytIhp8BuPH4QmIqrhKQCHv26Y1r49wd7pRRDm4K6O7OygufJtNKk-c7l6jSlvBbtjWO5aBeK8HO_rHMW8aYMJcpW8aGDmkez6n-tWuy4kZESH6axG9QrpvmWdNpcGq-7Jn8/s400/DSC01053.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">White ABS quite stained from heat and fumes. <a href="http://hydraraptor.blogspot.com/2010/07/meltdown.html">I've seen this before somewhere</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The filament drive was quite clogged, and after later cleaning it out with a brass brush I found that it wasn't just that grip had been lost and clogged it, the notches on that brass M4 insert really had started to wear out and dent flat in line with the filament path.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-kKRj-EL-oIaiZReQaliO8BhEugldeLNTfbEfJx9_2_W6-KIvnBV2onAFtKgzlSMhqis34CkCVpZsoSf7MOkyLsqTk2bD-f3wjuCAq40Egt4S10KaHpV_U2HQ8jkDAUtvOiOfLi659Sw/s1600/DSC01055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-kKRj-EL-oIaiZReQaliO8BhEugldeLNTfbEfJx9_2_W6-KIvnBV2onAFtKgzlSMhqis34CkCVpZsoSf7MOkyLsqTk2bD-f3wjuCAq40Egt4S10KaHpV_U2HQ8jkDAUtvOiOfLi659Sw/s400/DSC01055.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>That part having been squashing and grinding at the plastic as usual, this came out:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN1bSkqkw3OBC4JXdur6rMqh9C_1tocIQ8aPHxdq6faPBu3xJni96qXH7t1NVjksBUoJVA5ApoRradvCGgfQqjh8EwME2wmTkueGlWdUCAFGACb6lekBSa9fGC8d8yE-b9uMkujAyBpvY/s1600/DSC01060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN1bSkqkw3OBC4JXdur6rMqh9C_1tocIQ8aPHxdq6faPBu3xJni96qXH7t1NVjksBUoJVA5ApoRradvCGgfQqjh8EwME2wmTkueGlWdUCAFGACb6lekBSa9fGC8d8yE-b9uMkujAyBpvY/s400/DSC01060.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
So, with a bracket that I customised for shorter bolts from another design someone sent me, I hobbed an M8 bolt and constructed a Hinged Accessible Wade's Extruder to <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:8252">GregFrost's design</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYmoifA7ns08_bM-TvbRvRMAIHkWq0yBJFNtLZouJbGIdDU116ukZckQLe5-Eg8oU2OgTm1NgnA94ywxpgn1WzTV8BSaGzdhUShvooJpWB_ELANYsHaKQ2kn1Gi8rmpOx5hHhq6zlKnCA/s1600/DSC01086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYmoifA7ns08_bM-TvbRvRMAIHkWq0yBJFNtLZouJbGIdDU116ukZckQLe5-Eg8oU2OgTm1NgnA94ywxpgn1WzTV8BSaGzdhUShvooJpWB_ELANYsHaKQ2kn1Gi8rmpOx5hHhq6zlKnCA/s400/DSC01086.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My first attempt, not too bad (moved along slightly at one point when I found a slim washer that would allow me to cut at a better distance along the bolt), though I did another one later that was better.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I found that the hole for the PTFE insulation was too small, and after beginning to try and carve it bigger, thought 'screw this' and plugged the hole with a piece of bottle cork with a hole drilled through. :)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVT3bNtYNAvxht3FovvcvGxONzywVf8iILUkYidTubip95obbPNl41USaaa9GknzYtB017CdDjQLSQoocArOFy6-YYMzA5FEZF5smU9_M_Vief4RE-tjb0MRPB9bJdGxHXtl19TUHHXxw/s1600/DSC01062.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVT3bNtYNAvxht3FovvcvGxONzywVf8iILUkYidTubip95obbPNl41USaaa9GknzYtB017CdDjQLSQoocArOFy6-YYMzA5FEZF5smU9_M_Vief4RE-tjb0MRPB9bJdGxHXtl19TUHHXxw/s400/DSC01062.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The oversized cork later got squashed very slightly as it took up the compression from the hot-end fixing bolts.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I found that this extruder actually wouldn't fit on the regular x-axis carriage due to the PEEK block orientation; I earlier thought it would be OK when looking at how the bolts would sit in relation to the carriage insides, but didn't realise that on installing the extruder, the top of the PEEK block would be higher than the bottom of the x-carriage, so it couldn't fit in there. :(<br />
For a temporary X-axis I used Prusa's standard one for PLA bushings, since I had a spare one sitting in a box that looked ugly due to previous problems with backlash.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZJp1LBC6yBo0hBm-cDASnq4cH4n_IazszDDzlFAa2lGnKQBmKf_ZhknGPXJswC2If7W7RtKAInOGDzpWIaYAAAhb0pY2GaJhrrC2H_zrKjYamqElMxBBReL0CK64N5SNv1mbIwSGye-U/s1600/DSC01064.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZJp1LBC6yBo0hBm-cDASnq4cH4n_IazszDDzlFAa2lGnKQBmKf_ZhknGPXJswC2If7W7RtKAInOGDzpWIaYAAAhb0pY2GaJhrrC2H_zrKjYamqElMxBBReL0CK64N5SNv1mbIwSGye-U/s400/DSC01064.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So far so good...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I started trying to print the final version of a clip that I had been designing for a while to go on top of the accessible extruder and stop the filament coming in from being bent too far to the side out of the hobbed bolt's grip (since there is no filament guide to enable easier cleaning, hence the name <i>accessible</i> extruder.<br />
Annoyingly, the extruder started to jam when I was trying to print with PLA, and a few other things that I tried to print did similarly.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5PJQb3mVyUdmIPeXv7rMko1TAUY0AAffNUZDdHzpgpi2stIGqi_GIis-PHPDVjJzl6Tuw8uO14EIXUGmcFr2fHw80pbUo3rLBmq8Qr0GWPy3iSIjkd_XcXwvvRtzXKG_8Gt9UwROvwYc/s1600/DSC01045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5PJQb3mVyUdmIPeXv7rMko1TAUY0AAffNUZDdHzpgpi2stIGqi_GIis-PHPDVjJzl6Tuw8uO14EIXUGmcFr2fHw80pbUo3rLBmq8Qr0GWPy3iSIjkd_XcXwvvRtzXKG_8Gt9UwROvwYc/s400/DSC01045.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An earlier design for the clip that didn't work well due to the axis it was printed in (the bottom print surface is on top in the picture, and the bolt clip snapped off by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adhesive#Failure_of_the_adhesive_joint">delamination/peel stress</a>).</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Unusual about the picture above; the extruder seems to be designed to use M3 bolts to push the idler in, but I couldn't find any long enough, so I cut the captive nut holes out to M4 size and used the bolts pictured above. The spring was the stiffest small spring that I had on hand at the time (before I took apart the old extruder).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhieLEAEDOCx8Q3qXQ9vg_INym-m6XAOvMoNQSoAENbYXo_4SF8nKHys-5H0vBPA_dd6ZXJrEXLDeVyIxLjvRcoB3VizW9dOwt7DKjGiixgO5tObr3gTlpK6rT467tjxMArV6WRVkhH_lc/s1600/DSC01075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhieLEAEDOCx8Q3qXQ9vg_INym-m6XAOvMoNQSoAENbYXo_4SF8nKHys-5H0vBPA_dd6ZXJrEXLDeVyIxLjvRcoB3VizW9dOwt7DKjGiixgO5tObr3gTlpK6rT467tjxMArV6WRVkhH_lc/s400/DSC01075.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bases of a pulley that I wanted for my x-axis idler, and the filament guide, on the left and right respectively.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>When I went to the reprap IRC channel for troubleshooting suggestions I was advised to thoroughly clean out the extruder nozzle using acetone to help, since it seemed to take a lot of force to push filament through it by hand while hot, though I couldn't accurately remember whether it had always needed that much manual force.<br />
I soaked the nozzle in acetone for about 3 days while very busy with other things and when I got round to taking it out, I found that there was still a significant amount of undissolved plastic stuck in there, which was mostly easy to remove with hand-applied torque on successive sizes of drill bit.<br />
The nozzle outlet, which is 0.5mm in diameter, was a pain to clear out as I couldn't find a pin or needle that thin anywhere, let alone a drill bit, so I eventually used a short length of copper wire from a bag of scrap wire insulation that I'm hoping to find a sensible way to dispose of. <br />
Very frustratingly though, upon trying to put the hot-end back together, I found that the threaded end of the PTFE insulation no longer fit the thread inside the brass nozzle, and was starting to strip the tread when I tried to put it in. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzl6Ux-qfaKkgu9UUBOOUgtLC6Fr5FHhftZhV4TXum4ZGqL734i3AKovO77YIzExEcuOKrP1rLXKULYh8v_3upCwfPTNJfEUHENYUqw9r5BKRlAnvftS4GP_fA7vg3W6BoYjTO4qK6FjU/s1600/DSC01115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzl6Ux-qfaKkgu9UUBOOUgtLC6Fr5FHhftZhV4TXum4ZGqL734i3AKovO77YIzExEcuOKrP1rLXKULYh8v_3upCwfPTNJfEUHENYUqw9r5BKRlAnvftS4GP_fA7vg3W6BoYjTO4qK6FjU/s400/DSC01115.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">PTFE? Warping? Oh right, yes that does happen sometimes. -_-</td></tr>
</tbody></table>It looks like I ought to get another insulation block as spare, but anyway after much messing about trying to find the correct thread size to re-cut it (needed an M8x1.25 die if I remember right, thanks again pete) so that it would fit properly, I got the extruder back together to try again.<br />
While trying to run a print again, I wasn't happy with how much friction the PLA bushings add to the sliding of the x-carriage, and how loosely they held onto the smooth rods, so I decided to design a <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:13730">new x-carriage</a> with the combination of properties that I need.<br />
<br />
When I came round to trying to print parts for my new x-carriage in ABS, I was faced with a couple more extruder failures, so I tried successively reducing the distance that filament retracted during moves from about 1.2mm down to 0.8 then 0.5 without it helping much, also increasing the target printing temperature from 240 to 245C. Sadly, this didn't help, and I was unconvinced that the clogged nozzle was my main problem, as on trying to manually push filament through the hot-end again, it seemed to be just as difficult (though easier at slightly higher temperature, hence trying that).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSqYTLYCoPeMVBEfH6bXDyoun3rRQUkQLJZB3yXtICjWnDhEuuaub8so4Ztq6V3gzBubtPQov5yjoeB9sd9qJvYoc31T9z8kEpFogzp_in-XV1i_ZNPGFQWir-BPtBs9HslZwOgU1pBIM/s1600/DSC01117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSqYTLYCoPeMVBEfH6bXDyoun3rRQUkQLJZB3yXtICjWnDhEuuaub8so4Ztq6V3gzBubtPQov5yjoeB9sd9qJvYoc31T9z8kEpFogzp_in-XV1i_ZNPGFQWir-BPtBs9HslZwOgU1pBIM/s400/DSC01117.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The filament drive definitely wasn't gripping evenly; sometimes extruding, sometimes not. That made it difficult to calibrate...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Eventually I tried a combination of reducing the retraction distance hugely to 0.2mm, the print speed to 30mm/s, and replacing the small extruder idler spring that I was using, with one of the 4 larger ones that originally held the idler on my old extruder, as I had a hunch that maybe the spring I was using wasn't applying enough pressure, against the advice I had to the contrary. This solved the problem of the extruder jamming just nicely, albeit producing quite a few loose threads of ABS in the print.<br />
However, a short while into the print I noticed a couple of other problems; with the spring now making the filament drive tight enough, too much plastic was being extruded, making the extruder bump against layers of plastic in . I ended up sitting by the printer alternately using one hand to hold the carriage onto the rails, and the other to draft this post, for nearly 2 hours. That's not something I want to do again in a hurry.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk0hq8vol8DNI7HA1o7tBGbrgSDYj7mH8X_nfGGlzOWHxHIjRPDw7j57oZgO16DA6Ub-m97o0fZ2NO8B6HxiQS0UrgJCs6Jq4aeWbzdCOycnJMfoUC5W-rhr9ywGu28dd6JTQckuhJ-rU/s1600/DSC01124.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk0hq8vol8DNI7HA1o7tBGbrgSDYj7mH8X_nfGGlzOWHxHIjRPDw7j57oZgO16DA6Ub-m97o0fZ2NO8B6HxiQS0UrgJCs6Jq4aeWbzdCOycnJMfoUC5W-rhr9ywGu28dd6JTQckuhJ-rU/s400/DSC01124.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When we talk about repetitive labour...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Part of the way through I even innovated something to make the job slightly less tedious (though still very tedious), as the way I was mounting my cooling fan before (too small for the holes on the carriage which were for a 40mm fan), was allowing it to drop down too low, cooling the hot end too much when I wanted to keep the filament drive and motor cool. So I did this:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiak7d5qQRxf2B4PgCTgOhwwImbjR2Mi7FrpJKZrEx7ipu8nuE8mG7Eg_ThIDC49Rx5wsZwfCWGV_ZXNSYw0IilVLotUk8QwKgmr1VFuuQmx3bl9EV-R20nNZfJDLR_MHMSiM793yx7BvU/s1600/DSC01127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiak7d5qQRxf2B4PgCTgOhwwImbjR2Mi7FrpJKZrEx7ipu8nuE8mG7Eg_ThIDC49Rx5wsZwfCWGV_ZXNSYw0IilVLotUk8QwKgmr1VFuuQmx3bl9EV-R20nNZfJDLR_MHMSiM793yx7BvU/s400/DSC01127.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wire twist - easily installed with one hand (obviously I took this picture afterwards)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Here I show the dodgy carriage and express my thoughts on the situation:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/33095333?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="400"></iframe></div><br />
Eventually I got this result:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz4vwGBSGfIEUl_gntdmZ-4z_2c8crkK5UrEhAVeLL0BZLmFFiQRuGiDbFdlXQhdJ9g4fRz1pc_-QMK7go1CVimmg-SqGfMBR9mfAYTMSGWkhbiD3xZDFCjIldsovHcCh6jxqtdCOVlTk/s1600/DSC01128.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz4vwGBSGfIEUl_gntdmZ-4z_2c8crkK5UrEhAVeLL0BZLmFFiQRuGiDbFdlXQhdJ9g4fRz1pc_-QMK7go1CVimmg-SqGfMBR9mfAYTMSGWkhbiD3xZDFCjIldsovHcCh6jxqtdCOVlTk/s400/DSC01128.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fugly and stringy (until I cleaned it up, then just fugly... but usable)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I put my new x-carriage top together with the old bottom part, and on trying to fit the extruder was reminded of why I was using the Prusa carriage in the first place. While I had made plenty of room in the top part to turn the extruder around, the old bottom part didn't have room for the diagonal alignment of the PEEK block on the hot-end, so not to be set back anymore, I had a go at the part with my pen knife.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLwcsThP9OuWFDfOh4AEmfWVCK1CpfZRIWnwYUegXKi-eTDGHlAzjCEWBCiwjShSvZOQqsIVO8cY5UWJ4A1FUjHBwBm8sIf32iisOcqAHkXJfhrx9B8J_sREQZbXfpOlj_n28bmg1qpKY/s1600/DSC01133.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLwcsThP9OuWFDfOh4AEmfWVCK1CpfZRIWnwYUegXKi-eTDGHlAzjCEWBCiwjShSvZOQqsIVO8cY5UWJ4A1FUjHBwBm8sIf32iisOcqAHkXJfhrx9B8J_sREQZbXfpOlj_n28bmg1qpKY/s400/DSC01133.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It works... what more do you want?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Finally, order has returned to the system (for now) and it's working better than before, since my re-designed x-carriage allows the timing belt to be tightened on-the-fly using a neat trick that I've seen used on a couple of other designs now; an M3 nut and bolt embedded in the belt-clamp:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO7-rNhvwCZAdu6emXrj6ZX6D_ACTdzyh0Vt9lR9EQzN2SoBF_z1sqPXIumqUDsdgbrqXMgiDYxg1Ava_BC3M42gepNguHp7qXDk1UIS0B-vRb6YpueI9iOmd3hehLid5kNuMWPu4Wkig/s1600/DSC01135.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO7-rNhvwCZAdu6emXrj6ZX6D_ACTdzyh0Vt9lR9EQzN2SoBF_z1sqPXIumqUDsdgbrqXMgiDYxg1Ava_BC3M42gepNguHp7qXDk1UIS0B-vRb6YpueI9iOmd3hehLid5kNuMWPu4Wkig/s400/DSC01135.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The new carriage has mounting holes for both this tiny 32mm fan, or a 40mm one :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Since testing by printing a few standard Prusa structural parts, with the filament retraction returned to normal, it seems that spring pressure was the main issue here.<br />
<br />
Good news on a design front though... I've finally got round to starting to do some CAD on printable parts for a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_lens">cowled wind turbine</a>, having only had ideas for it stuck in my head and a few scrawled sketches so far, while a group in Michigan Tech Uni have made what sounds like a better attempt at a relatively cheap <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:12948">plastic recycler/extruder</a>, for which I hadn't thought of a good way to drive filament through yet, after mentioning the work of <a href="http://reprapdelft.wordpress.com/">Delft Uni</a> students before. So if their system works well and is easy to source parts for, I might not have to worry about <a href="http://engineeringourfreedom.blogspot.com/2011/04/on-small-scale-plastic-recycling.html">that</a> anymore. :)<br />
I've also recently met someone else through TZM who seems interested in coordinating a project to start prototyping DIY <a href="http://engineeringourfreedom.blogspot.com/2011/05/do-cartwheels-feed-people.html">rotary-hydroponics</a> solutions into something we know works and is easy to build, which we hope can get the assistance of <a href="http://thespaceadvocate.blogspot.com/">Douglas Mallette</a>, as I hear he's also interested in developing that.4ndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675315515117082792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-906217424699189688.post-73721594645835322362011-10-16T00:02:00.000+01:002012-08-11T00:10:53.814+01:00The First Part to Break on my Reprap MendelWhen I started a print today I was confused to see the first layer of plastic getting squashed down very flat, so that it was noticeably thinner at one end in the Y-axis. When I stopped this and checked what was happening with the extruder movement, it seemed as though the bed had lifted up at one end, which was confusing since there was no way for the sprung bolts supporting the bed to have unfastened with nylock nuts on them.<br />
However, upon investigating a strange rattling noise that I was hearing on the opposite side of the printer, I found this:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjltINsdj0OIn7wpZtiA11WkV7XwckQJoZqBSiwHrfWtGGStQV7zG4UDw6KD26zcutwmnXp2ib2mt9RmemtfdgK-6xTYaNn-zcMOTnp4f4nB3EPi7MoIORP_RwbPqXjojzn7UH1usVxXdA/s1600/DSC01036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjltINsdj0OIn7wpZtiA11WkV7XwckQJoZqBSiwHrfWtGGStQV7zG4UDw6KD26zcutwmnXp2ib2mt9RmemtfdgK-6xTYaNn-zcMOTnp4f4nB3EPi7MoIORP_RwbPqXjojzn7UH1usVxXdA/s400/DSC01036.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/Mendel_parts_more_info">y-bearing-180-outer-right</a> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<a name='more'></a>It seems the torsion exerted on that square projected section holding the bolt that supports the bed was too much for the plastic, after the fatigue left by printing a few kilograms of plastic over 6 months, especially with the heavy 5x230x230mm aluminium plate being supported by the corner bolts.<br />
It's an uncommon failure mode - many FFF 3D-printed things can break if they are subject to a stress that tends to peel layers apart. Normally they should be fine with a reasonable stress acting in the X-Y plane that the object was printed, but here the sharp corner at the bottom of the bolt support has probably caused the stress to concentrate there.<br />
<br />
It looks like I'll have to glue the part back together and print a new one, since funnily enough with all the parts I've been printing for the Prusa Mendel, I haven't made spares for such structural parts on my own printer, not knowing that this part would break so soon, having forgotten any worries I had about the part when first assembling the Y-axis.4ndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675315515117082792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-906217424699189688.post-64021683719728604732011-10-12T18:51:00.001+01:002012-08-11T00:11:22.330+01:00X-Axis Improvement UpdateHaving printed a few Prusa Mendel parts since modifying my x-axis, without changing any settings, I have now seen a very slight improvement in accuracy:<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJiadJ_bdnIti7e3DjgjlihlMYhzHp4W84F3eczLdB7Mj0CLT7jdJ2JEfdIS5GmD5bxFtimjdtIeAV_6UKytdZQh96Cas5Qt-lVuNfb5d-SmW6M8QK_FJwgXyFfAjTL9V0umVBWeRzev4/s1600/DSC01030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJiadJ_bdnIti7e3DjgjlihlMYhzHp4W84F3eczLdB7Mj0CLT7jdJ2JEfdIS5GmD5bxFtimjdtIeAV_6UKytdZQh96Cas5Qt-lVuNfb5d-SmW6M8QK_FJwgXyFfAjTL9V0umVBWeRzev4/s400/DSC01030.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left: Greg's Hinged Wade's Extruder Idler turned out the best I've printed yet, where the top-most section forming the hinge can sometimes be troublesome as it is such a small area, Right: Z-Motor Brackets have a slight blemish on the inner surface, but no layers going significantly out of line </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiM3M8G9KTxhwTW2_niD-S69i8up6VnGZfNfH74163dQ39bNtyvnLsGrYDbHNTZ_fRIaNvzLZDvr9kO5g7VXX0bI0C-Ir56z54ZRy89JirZFLSyoYqSUcnnbJqFbMMPq1t6d0ZfkXPZyc/s1600/DSC01027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiM3M8G9KTxhwTW2_niD-S69i8up6VnGZfNfH74163dQ39bNtyvnLsGrYDbHNTZ_fRIaNvzLZDvr9kO5g7VXX0bI0C-Ir56z54ZRy89JirZFLSyoYqSUcnnbJqFbMMPq1t6d0ZfkXPZyc/s400/DSC01027.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top: Prusa X-Motor Bracket is as straight as ever on tall flat sides, not much more bumpy than the squashed layers of plastic inevitably produce, Left: Complex geometry on Greg's Hinged Extruder Body with overhangs turned out ok, Right: Extruder Driven Gear printed fine, as close to a perfect circle as I've had yet.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
No strings attached to any of the parts needing to be cleaned off, due to having already tuned the retraction settings to balance clean prints without jamming the extruder.<br />
<br />
Still a way off the greatest example I've seen yet though: <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ycqIjWBGV1376EDBCDgn94uz-gcFp3n19sNXC-vgtz587r7bjDe0TeQcV1mzMnY8M0bqyjGNz-fwgdktKp-lg63fb-8o1kqC1a8mx4IndLjPG8DidcYlOvsagFI2s5nT05hK6nhYd58/s1600/RepRap+Prusa+Vs+Stratasys+uPrint.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ycqIjWBGV1376EDBCDgn94uz-gcFp3n19sNXC-vgtz587r7bjDe0TeQcV1mzMnY8M0bqyjGNz-fwgdktKp-lg63fb-8o1kqC1a8mx4IndLjPG8DidcYlOvsagFI2s5nT05hK6nhYd58/s400/RepRap+Prusa+Vs+Stratasys+uPrint.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looks like the the left (tony buser's labour of love) uses a finer filament, probably 1.75mm feedstock. Story behind this <a href="http://blog.reprap.org/2011/09/tipping-point-of-print-quality-open.html">here</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>4ndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675315515117082792noreply@blogger.com0