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Post by graynomad on Jun 6, 2015 21:07:00 GMT 10
...I'm curious though bud, what would you like from the 1800's? ...
Well I guess it's the perception of a simpler life, although I suppose it was just as complicated in it's own way. Also I think I'm looking at the total chain of events, for example. For a few weeks now we've cooked entirely on the slow-combustion stove (with occasional transgression for early-morning coffee before the stove gets hot), it's actually more complicated than modern cooking, I have to cut a tree down, cut it into rounds, split into fire wood and then stack it. The missus has to keep the fire at a reasonable temp and regulate the oven by adjusting various openings and/or opening the oven door. Whereas cooking in 2000 pretty much just involves turning a knob. But the end-to-end process is simple with the wood fire, it involves only materials I find right outside my door and although there are a lot of steps they are all simple and easily performed and understood. While the act of using a modern stove is simple in itself the end-to-end process is incredibly complex, involving 100s or even 1000s of people to do their job, and is totally out of your control. I'm pretty sure that in the 1800s most people (well rural people anyway) could do most things they needed to do with what they had to hand, that's no longer the case, not even close. My goal is to be able to exist in some comfort with little or no input from the outside world. I'm a million miles from that now, but closer than most people. So I dunno if that answers the question, I just think that many aspects of 1800s life are to be admired, but likewise for 2000s life. At present we can pick the eyes out of each. Not that I'm going to ditch my internet connection any time soon, but if it disappears one day hopefully I can just shrug and say "No matter".
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shinester
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Post by shinester on Jun 6, 2015 23:02:20 GMT 10
Yeah, makes sense. I rather enjoy the modern world, the plastics, the internet, the fuel, the ease the convenience. It left lots of time to learn, study, and try out things that in the 1800's I would never have had time for. I've probably got more breadth of knowledge than most in the 1800s because of those things, I built my career from books sure, but I learn far better from Audio/Videos to which I would have never be where I'm at, and so on. I get that the idea of a simpler life makes sense, at least in terms of 'being able' to look after oneself without too much of the outside, the romanticism related to freedom, aka independence. For me that's about all I would like from the 1800's, everything else, modern
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Frank
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Post by Frank on Jun 7, 2015 8:43:59 GMT 10
A lot of info there Shinster, thanks for posting it all up. I am a mere amateur when it comes to growing food, but enjoying the journey and every bit of info helps
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VegHead
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Post by VegHead on Jun 7, 2015 9:17:26 GMT 10
I'm with you Gray; our daily life revolves around our wood burning stove and all the connotations that go with running one Up early this morning to stoke her up, the hot water for our morning cuppas provided from a Thermos from last night's hot water, then on the stove-top goes the chook and pig's morning grains (we heat the chook food to keep them on the lay during winter). Next to the stove sits a glass plate that holds two frozen venison shanks defrosting for tonight's dinner; they'll go in the low oven for slow cooking later this afternoon. Then a big stock pot of water will sit on the cook top for most of the day and will provide our washing up water, and next to that there is always a kettle on the boil.. Also, there'll be a big pot next to it, being stirred and fussed over - this will be potato and leek soup which will be cooked and then ladled into jars for pressure canning later this evening. Of course, the heat source for the canning will be the wood stove. All praise the wood stove hahaha.
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shinester
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Post by shinester on Jun 7, 2015 23:17:49 GMT 10
An interesting life you have there Veghead. ---------------- Shared a brain dump of info with my brother in law, after he showed some interest and encouraged him to start with some seeds in a bucket of sand.
I worked out a planting schedule for the year.
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Post by graynomad on Jun 8, 2015 7:59:13 GMT 10
... All praise the wood stove hahaha. Yep, absolutely the best $2000 I ever spent.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2015 21:44:36 GMT 10
Just a quick note for those who mentioned entropy - recycling your own waste and legumes are the answer. Also, we will usually be surround by more land than we are working agriculturally. You can always "rob Peter to pay Paul" by moving organic matter from forested area into the garden. As an added bonus (or hinderance for the newbies) is that many native Australian plant species are masters of allelopathy ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allelopathy ) and when used as a slow mulch will also deter weeds.
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Post by graynomad on Jun 12, 2015 7:34:38 GMT 10
This is why it's better (in most ways) to have a group rather than go lone wolf, I am so busy doing other stuff I just don't have time to get up to speed on allelopathy and the 1000 other things I need to know about growing food. I can see a lot of baked beans in my future.
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shinester
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Post by shinester on Jun 13, 2015 1:23:24 GMT 10
Just a quick note for those who mentioned entropy - recycling your own waste and legumes are the answer. Also, we will usually be surround by more land than we are working agriculturally. You can always "rob Peter to pay Paul" by moving organic matter from forested area into the garden. As an added bonus (or hinderance for the newbies) is that many native Australian plant species are masters of allelopathy ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allelopathy ) and when used as a slow mulch will also deter weeds. Oh I agree and whilst I'm all about figures and proof, that's a pretty fair assumption based on history, aka what farmers have done for eons. Wood ash [Potassium] I would suggest is something you'd want to add to your nitrogen fixing legumes also. I'm working from a standpoint of hydroponics [with recycled nutrients] mostly because you can feed more people in less space but it's also not as easy as just sticking it in the ground which is more forgiving if you're absent of nutrients from the latest batch of your recycled nutrients. Ha. Indeed bud. The reason I have well over a years supply of food [and about to grow most of my veggies] is to account for the possibility that I make mistakes when it counts.
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