Відео

Last fall, we put our raised beds to bed for the winter by covering them with a blanket of chopped leaves. It is always a thrill, come April, to welcome the worms back, and offer them a feast of their favorite food chopped leaves. Critics will, no doubt, accuse me of worm abuse, and of destroying soil structure, by committing this heinous act. I will, once again, try to explain why it is necess...

It sure feels good to vent the waste heat from our electric dryer into the house in the winter. I never tried to do this, because I feared that lint particles would permeate our home. It was only after watching Jeff, of Missouri Wind and Solar, that I learned about this slick way to vent lint-free, warm, humid air into our house in the winter. What a wonderful time we live in, when good folks s...

We grow herbs and greens throughout the winter under our Happy Leaf LED grow lights. Besides the need for artificial lighting, we also must provide our plants with supplemental nutrition, in the form of hydroponic solution. Our bottom-watering planters, with an external watering cup, allow for proper watering, along with aeration of the roots. Growing basil, cilantro, parsley or lettuce all win...

Every fall we chop up and sweep up the leaves that cover our yard. These leaves become next season's garden fertility, as the resident earthworms consume them in our raised beds. In my book, "Worms in our Beds", I explain how and why we do raised bed gardening in living soil, as well as how we build our raised beds. www.amazon.com/dp/B09SVLH2CT/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2HNC4VSD3I65&keywords=worms in our...

My original Ripple canoe was built from planks, ripped from red cedar 2x4s. But could I build one from just 4mm marine plywood? How about using just 2 sheets? Over the summer I did just that. Ripple II is built over the same frames as the original. One inch wide strips of plywood are then scarf-joined, and bent around the forms, to create the sides. The bottom is just 1 sheet of plywood. Both t...

I turned one of our canoes into a sailing canoe a few years back, but it would not sail to windward. So, I decided to move the leeboard nearly 3 feet forward, and that did the trick. Now, I can sail to windward like the best of them, feeling plenty secure in winds under 10 mph. With this rig I can convert our canoe into a capable daysailer, and easily remove the rigging to revert back to a regu...

One of the features that keeps my canoe design simple is to forego a rounded bilge, and opt instead for a hard chine between the sides and the bottom. This video shows how I trim the sides, in preparation for the bottom panels. That's another simplifying feature to easily cover the bottom with panels, rather than continuing the bottom using strips.

Ripple II will be a plywood version of my original Ripple canoe design. The old method involved ripping planks from 16' 2x4s, and then running each 1/4" thick strip through a planer. It was not for everyone, and I knew there had to be a way to make it simpler, lighter, and quicker to build. Why not strip- out the sides using 1" wide strips of 4mm marine plywood, and use plywood panels for the b...

Anyone who is itching to tackle a stand up paddleboard construction project may find my design of interest. I wanted a SUP that was under 10 feet long, so it would not require registration in Minnesota. But, I also wanted one that was stable enough to fish from. It also needed to be sturdy, reasonably lightweight, and decent to look at. It took 2 builds, but I nailed it with this design. The mi...

Self-watering, or bottom-watering, planters are a slick way to grow crops right on the patio. But the "self-watering" part is a bit misleading. Anyone who has grown robust tomato plants in them knows that they can easily consume 4 gallons of water in a day. That means daily tending, and no getting away for the weekend. That does not appeal to us, so we devised a way to automate the watering of ...

Our raised beds run on chopped leaves. The leaves feed the earthworms, which then create the perfect soil for growing our crops. But direct seeding in leaf litter has its challenges. We have devised a method to direct-seed easily, using a product available at the local building supply store. Learn more about growing "Beyond Organic" in my book "Worms in our Beds-Raised Bed Gardening in Living S...

We generally turn our chopped leaves into the soil in April. But not this year. It was May before the ground thawed enough to work the soil. We are generally no till, no dig, regenerative-type gardeners who rely on a thriving worm population to grow our crops for us in our raised beds. It's the easiest, most productive way to garden, as far as we're concerned. It's all in the book, "Worms in ou...

Raised beds have many virtues, but being bottomless is perhaps their greatest one. We looked to our forest for tips on how to make our raised beds amazingly productive, as well as very low maintenance.. We entice earthworms into our beds by making for them a happy home, and they re-pay us by creating rich humus, and basically grow our plants for us. In my latest book, "Worms in our Beds", I exp...

I wanted a Stand-Up Paddleboard under 10 feet long, so I would not have to register it in Minnesota. But it also needed to be stable, inexpensive, durable, simple to build, and decent to look at. I built 2 prototypes, so I could learn enough from the first one to write a book on how to build the second one. This is a good first project for anyone interested in a solid, last-a-lifetime paddleboa...

A Foamboard & Plywood SUP

My $3 Seat Post Bike Trailer Hitch

My New Paddleboard and Bike Trailer

Raised Bed Hoops Revisited

Direct Seeding in Chopped Leaves

Our Gutter Transplant System

No Brooder Needed (usually)

How Build a HOOP COVER for Raised Beds

Raised Bed Caps

Our Favorite Meal from the Central African Republic

Raised Beds, Chopped Leaves and Worms

Our Raised Beds Run on Chopped Leaves

Organic Flour Tortillas-4 Ingredients

Easy Plywood Circles Using a Bandsaw

Swedish Potato Sausage Unstuffed