Heating the Greenhouse in Winter

What follows is 15 years of tried and true serious greenhouse heating and growing. 

We live in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, the most hostile place that I know  for growing above ground vegetables. I have witnessed frost on my precious garden in July and complete ground snow cover in September. Most years our frost free days are between the end of May and the second week in October. But in all reality old timers have told me they have seen snow in every month of the year at one time or another. So to say the climate here is unpredictable could be a considerable understatement. We in Michigan's U.P. are at the mercy of the cold Canadian air catching a ride on earths jet stream deliberately gliding over the warmer water of Lake Superior. Together they form a dense cloud cover and enjoy a good laugh while they dump lots of lake effect snow on us. Absolute darkness comes at 4:30 in the afternoon starting in November and lasting until about the second week in February. I think depressing is the word you are looking for, eh?

I don't even try to grow anything between November and February, so when the warm February sunshine finally breaks through the cloud cover it gets my growing juices flowing.  I wake up the greenhouse by firing up an in ground wood stove that my husband built. Such a clever guy! We work really well together, I drew out a rough design and he put together my design out of materials we had around our homestead. But I can't take credit for this in-the-ground wood stove entirely, however. I found a greenhouse stove similar to what we built in a book called *Solviva* How to grow $5000,000 on one acre, written by Anna Edey published in 1998. On page 78, in the section on heating she describes her stove but no pictures. So we did the best that we could meshing her description with our knowledge of wood stove operations. 

Our greenhouse (16' X 20') is poly-carbonate double walled and definitely not air tight. Before the snow comes I take a 4 foot tall roll of plastic and walk it around the whole inside of the greenhouse at the floor level holding it in place with magnets on the supporting pipes.This is similar to what the Indians did inside their Tee Pees for winter insulation. This plastic is taken down in the spring and carefully rolled up for use again later.

Your green house will need to have a dirt floor for this to work. 

 

(To the left of the picture you will see one of our hens. Our chicken coop used to butt up next to the greenhouse, so when there was nothing growing in there one side became a chicken run. Our hens loved digging in the bed and left fertilizer in return. It was a win win.)

 Start with a metal 55 gallon barrel, both ends need to be still with the barrel. Cut the barrel in half long way. Dig a hole where you want your stove, slightly larger than the size of the barrel, and deep enough to allow about two inches of the barrel to stick up above the dirt line. Snuggle your half barrel carefully down in the hole and replace the dirt in the spaces around the barrel. Tramp lightly where you back filled, add more dirt if needed. Next Hubby placed metal pieces across the half barrel to help support the lid and anything that we set on the top plate. Then he added fireproof gasket around the rim of the half barrel to make an air tight seal with the top plate, to keep smoke from escaping and filing up the greenhouse.

Hubby had this 1/4" thick metal plate hanging around, slightly wider and longer that the half barrel. (Neither one of us can remember where that piece of metal came from) It was perfect! Next he measured 18" and cut a straight line across it and added two hinges. This now top plate has a door to load the wood. Now it needed a place for a chimney, so he cut a round hole in the metal plate at the opposite end to accept the chimney pipe. On our first try, the 4 inch diameter chimney was just too small. The small chimney pipe didn't allow for acquit air flow so the smoke didn't draw up the chimney like it should have. We tore that out and made the chimney hole bigger settling on a 6" hole and chimney pipe. The air flow draw was much better which allowed for a hot a fire for about 5 to 6 hours before needing more wood. With our knowledge of how wood stoves work, we determined that a larger than 6" diameter pipe may have let too much precious heat go up the chimney and heat the outdoors. Also, due to the 6" stove pipe and almost air tight design of this stove we needed to prop the door open for awhile when first starting the fire inside. After the fire gets going and there are a few coals in the bottom, the door can be closed all the way. There were days however, when the air was thick, heavy or raining outside or no breeze we left the loading door open a crack most of the day to allow for the smoke to draw out the chimney.

 

We made the chimney pipe stick up in the air a good two feet, mostly to assure hot smoke or debris wouldn't damage the poly carbonate roof of our green house but also for catching a good breeze for smoke draw.

Because the chimney pipe can get quite warm a bigger hole is cut in the roof and metal was added to hold the chimney pipe secure. We chose to put the chimney close to the back corner. With the extra distance we helped support the chimney pipe with wire anchored around roof supports.

There is good news about a stove like this and there is bad news. The good news is that I just loved this in ground stove! The barrel usually lasted 3 full seasons before the need to be replaced. Once the stove had been in use for a few days, the ground in the greenhouse became warm. I could then sprout my seeds on the floor next to the wood stove in February and March. I was simply in awe of all my tiny sprouting vegetables at minus 5 degrees outdoor temperature! And keeping the ground damp allowed for good humidity in the growing sunshine and all night long. 

The bad news is that the fire burned itself out and cooled the greenhouse during the early morning hours. It didn't hold a hot fire all night. The stove needed refueling. One of us loaded the stove at about 10 or 11, before going to bed and either Hubby or I would have to go out at about 3 or 4 in the morning to add more wood. We kept a sheet of paper tacked to the back door to record the time we added wood to the stove in case we woke up at different times. The other would know he/she had put wood in the greenhouse stove. Our night temperatures in February and March can reach 20 below during the dark hours. However, the green house seemed do just fine as long as we didn't let the stove go out. If this were a survival situation, we had discussed, we could put a cot to sleep on out there in the winter to ensure that the fire never went out and our food supply would be safe from the freezing cold night time temperatures. 

Yes, we are eating salad fixin's from the green house in late March, zucchini in April. One year I was able to get a small crop of sweet potatoes, in the U.P.!

I hope this little bit of how-to gets your growing/survival juices flowing. If so, please like, share and subscribe. Comments and questions are always welcome.

Hunkering Down or Bugging Out, Keeping Your Ass Fat

                 

               

Imagine this;  A pandemic or crisis that has lasted far longer than anyone expected. People did hunker down best they could for the first couple of weeks. Life was at least tolerable, but then the power went out. That was about at least 5 weeks ago.

You are standing at the kitchen sink getting a drink of water when you look out the window and notice something move. It's an ordinary looking guy, lethargic, staggering and weak coming from the edge of the woods heading your way. You cautiously step out of the back door and make your way toward him, base ball bat in hand. You call out to the stranger and wait a couple of seconds to see what he is going to do. He motions for you to come to him and takes a few more steps and falls to the ground a few yards from you. With great anxiety you watch Mr. X as he lays there, trying to wake from his disoriented stupor.  He tells you as best he can his name. My name is Bob, can you help me? 

This guy is too weak to be of much danger so you go to see what you can do. He has no visible wounds or signs of fever or other illness. Bob explains that he has plenty of filtered water and he has not been attacked and says he was ready for the crisis and the power going out. It's not been much of a problem for him to adjust. He doesn't know why he is so weak and disoriented, and his vision is so fuzzy.

The two of you talk for a few minutes and decide he would be better off at his own cabin in the woods so you help get there. Once you get him settled in, you see that Bob wasn't kidding. He has about 20 years of stored freeze dried food and other provisions.  So what has happened to this mysterious Bob? 

                                            *************

You may remember from your high school history class the story of Lewis and Clark and their expedition into the north west territories. Shortly into the story we are introduced to a young Shoshone Indian girl, Sacajawea (roughly translated as a Little Bird). Sacajawea had been captured during a raid by a group of Waccamaw Siouan warriors, as a 10 year old. Over the next few years she was bought and sold several times as a slave ending up in what is now Washburn, North Dakota. By the time she was 14 she became the third and youngest wife of a French Fur trader Toussaint Charbonneau.

During this time Lewis and Clark's *Corp of Discovery* as the government had labeled the expedition, were making their way deep into the uncharted territories of various tribes of Indians. Clark thought it a good idea to take a translator with them on the next leg of their journey. They had met up with the French fur trader who also spoke many dialects and made him an offer. Young Sacajawea, 16 now, seemed a better plan because warring tribes saw a woman traveling with a group of men as a sign of peacefulness and not a threat. So Clark persuaded Charbonneau to let Sacajawea guide the band of explorers into the wilderness, as he noted she had the ability to establish cultural contacts with native populations more easily than the fur trader. The French fur trader had often been seen as a shyster and made a big fuss about the girl getting such a position with the exposition.  Charbonneau was handsomely compensated $$$ for his wife's contribution.

 As the weeks melted into months Sacajawea endeared herself to the men of this historic adventure, often being called “little sister or Janey." She patched their jackets and tanned hides making many pairs of moccasins to protect their feet. She cooked delicious meals and treated their wounds with herbs and earth. There always seemed to be plenty of plants, antelope and mountain goats in this uncharted wilderness to fill their bellies. However, antelope and goats are particularly lean.

It was during one particular meet and greet at an Indian village along the river that the expedition picked up an old Indian grandfather. Grandfather Indian was curious about the mission and the men welcomed him to travel along. Several days of traveling with his new found friends, Grandfather Indian noticed many of the men becoming weak and faltering to keep up with evening chores. One night in particular the men refused to eat their super wishing instead to just go to bed down for the night. 

In the morning the troop and now even Sacajawea didn't wish to move out of their bedrolls and refused to eat any breakfast. Grandfather Indian recognized this groups problem as a depleted nutritional condition the wise old Indian had seen before. He had been with them long enough to become aware of the limited diet this group had been eating for a long time, he knew exactly what to do. The old man quickly gathered up all the troops buffalo and bear tallow candles. Ones they had made before setting out on this long, arduous journey. Slowly he melted the tallow candles in the cooks iron pot. When the tallow had completely melted he scooped out a warm cupful for each person and instructed them to drink it down quickly. One by one, each drank down their portion. Not one of them gagged or choked on the greasy beverage due to the fact the body knew what it needed to survive. By the next morning everyone was again eager and ready to hit the trail.

So why tell you all this and what about Bob? If you haven't guessed by now the moral of the story is that something as gross as fat is required for many bodily functions. Your body cannot make certain fatty acids and needs to get it from outside sources. If dietary fats are not supplemented in a grid down crisis the body cannot process vitamins A,D,E, and K, creating a host of health problems. Also, fat is so very important for proper brain functions and are crucial for maintaining good eye health. The best part is that fat adds a lot of flavor to food and is satisfying. Fat is a ready source of energy contributing 4,000 calories per pound. It's other job is that it provides a blanket around vital organs thus shielding them from trauma and cold and are the third main class of macro-nutrients needed in human nutrition. These can also be burned by the body to make energy. Think keto!

Before the SHTF

You can stockpile beans, rice, pasta and oatmeal for the really hard times, but the more important fat products are seldom thought of. Why? Because Americans have been lead to believe that we need a cupboard full of non-fat processed garbage. And of course, fats and oils have a short shelf life because they go rancid easily at room temperature. So fat free is actually beneficial only to the manufacturer. 

Store purchased lard and beef tallow can be frozen for up to 6 months. Packaged well, I have had lard in my freezer for two years. Although, it may seem a little darker and frosty, it still cooked up well and didn't have any nasty flavors. 

Coconut oil, that semi-solid white stuff sitting next to popcorn in most grocery stores, can be frozen up to 6 months–Although, I have had some in the freezer for 3 years and it is still good if kept in a tightly sealed plastic jar.

Butter can be frozen up to a year+. Some industrious folks have learned how to can butter, but that craft has escaped me. I may give it a try at some later date. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW-uvaegwUI

Cold water fish are quite fatty, providing the body with many needed nutrients. Cod liver oil will keep in the refrigerator for several months and is an excellent source of vitamin D.

Oh, by-the-way, organic chicken fat makes awesomely, delicious sugar cookies! What this all boils down to is the more you know the less you need in any situation.

And Bob? Bob was suffering from the same nutritional deficiency as the Corp of Discovery group had suffered. He had plenty of food none of which had fat. The deer and rabbits he hunted were also very lean and offered no fat. He lived thanks to the person that recused him. That family had thought to store lots of fat products and knew which animals had a higher body fat content for hunting.

Bob was lucky in this case but he should have understood that most freeze dried food is devoid of usable fat content. Adding fat shortens the life span of the product and can make the whole bag of whatever, go rancid. Having said that you can purchase #10 cans of powdered butter and peanut butter, I can't guarantee the fat content on those products. You will need to do some research on the brand. Now is the time to learn about fats, before the crisis.

For further study;

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-super-healthy-high-fat-foods#section7 

Learn more about collecting and using fat for your survival prep

https://www.youtube.com/watch? Rendering fat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeZHrcI2BNU Schmaltz chicken fat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q75AkXgVpFo Goose fat for bush craft maintenance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-fN2XjC6Qc How to collect fatwood

But Then Came New Inventions

"The two most important days in your life were the day you were born and the day you find out why." Mark Twain

https://virus.stanford.edu/uda/   Spanish Flu and WWI--1914-1919

      Covid-19   October, 2019 continuing through 2022 Most Likely

          But then came new inventions. . . . .  Domestic Diva's                                                                       Rejoice

  

     "It is almost impossible to realize what a changed and wonderful world we live in today."     
                             Opal Amsler, Indiana   Circa 1921

                         (WWI-- July 28, 1914 to Nov. 11, 1918)

   

Eleanor Arnold writes "Tremendous changes had occurred in the mechanics of housekeeping. In the past, almost all housework was done through sheer muscle power. 

Water was pumped from wells, lifted and carried in the house, used and carried out again. Each piece of laundry was handled four or five times in the process of scrubbing, rinsing, wringing and hanging out.
Food was available only in unprocessed form. It had to be grown, stored, peeled, cooked and served for every meal of the year. The modern housewife of the late 1800's almost never left the house.

Clothing was a bolt of yard goods and a treadle sewing machine, if you could afford such a luxury. Sometimes even the fabric had been spun and woven. Socks and scarves often had a short journey from sheep to homemaker's needles to the wearer.

Cooling was by running water or an icebox, lighting by kerosene lamps, heating by wood stoves, and plumbing was unavailable.
With the coming of electricity, all that changed. Those long stretches of wire running down lonely roads and into farmhouse lanes brought light, water and labor-saving appliances to hard working homemakers."  Voices of American Homemakers- Eleanor Arnold, Editor 1988

The above quote was gleaned from an oral history project of the National Extension Homemakers Council, on the occasion of their fiftieth anniversary. This chronicle is an unusual collaboration of interviews in 37 states and processed over 200 oral histories of women who devoted their lives to the unglamourous but elemental task of raising families and managing households. Here we learn what life was like from the late 1800's to the late 1980's when the book was published. 

      "We never worried about calories. Calories is something new--you know, since Home Economics Class. (Laughs)
We worked, we didn't have to worry about calories. Everybody worked, from the oldest clear down to the littlest one. As soon as they could understand, they had their chores." 
                              Edna Winter, 84, Indiana 

            "To get to school on time, we got up at four o'clock in the mornings. We children helped Mother prepare breakfast, which was a huge meal consisting of meat, gravy, oats, apple butter, biscuits, milk and coffee. My sister and I washed the dishes while my mother prepared our lunches, which we carried to school in small buckets."  
                                  Violet Davis, 79, Indiana

I remember my own dear mother telling me of her one room schoolhouse when as a youngster, as I visualize the ambient warmth radiating from the cast-iron, potbelly wood stove in the middle of the classroom. She tells, "at about an hour before lunch the teacher collected our lunch pails and placed them on the wood stove to heat. At lunch time we all had warm meals for our lunch." 
                 Bette Whiteman, circa 1939, Nova Scotia, Canada

 America is on the precipice of monster change, what if the economy fails from this coronavirus and it's societal mandates? The world's economy and businesses may come back on-line but only for a short time. Worker shortages are having a huge effect on businesses and I have also heard rumors of the Apple Corporation pulling a two year old design out of mothballs to revamp. They will sell this new design with no new technology because they make these things in China, and China is still offline, so to speak.  At this stage of this game, anything is possible. Will humanity friendly technology follow this crisis? Can we compare this present day crisis to that of our grandmothers?


            I have great encouragement and hopefulness!

Hubby and I have been craft show and farmers market type business people for many years. Back about a decade ago, we were selling preparedness gear and freeze dried food. However, after Y2K, there was very little  incentive to prepare, so our business really never took off. The public as a whole, just wasn't interested. Y2K was a bust, nothing could persuade them to open their minds to the idea that something else in the world could change. I was of the mind set we were just too early to that party. At vendor or craft markets, people would take a free sample of prepared freeze dried food we offered, thank us, then just keep on walking.

One older lady with conviction in her voice, demanded,  "What good is that freeze dried stuff you're selling if the power is out? You can't cook it on an electric stove?"

It had been a long grueling day at the lawn and garden trade show. Hubby, being the snarky bastard that he can be, looks her in square the eye and with a straight face says, "Well, that's when you grab the kitchen chairs and take them out to the backyard and bust them up. Put them in a pie in the backyard and set 'em on fire. There, now you can cook."  

With a totally exasperated look on her face, she let out a discussed grunt, turns on her heel and stomps away. 

Last year, hubby and I became members of our local farmers and artisans market. We gave up freeze dried food shortly after the lawn and garden fiasco. My heart has always been with plants. So, I followed my heart and began selling veggie and herb plants, seeds, herbal products and handmade crafts. It was the most fun I had ever had. I learned more about people than I could have ever imagined. The atmosphere at Farmers Markets are so friendly and people love to ask questions and I can be a bit loquacious when talking about herbs and remedies. Just ask me, I'll tell ya'. 

I was most impressed, however,with the many young women (and men) with children that stopped by my booth! The glass ceiling having been pretty much breached, women are returning to the family structure. We are coming full circle and I couldn't be happier. The young women were interested in feeding healthy, nutritious food for their brood. We often discussed growing your own kitchen garden, kids health, herbal remedies and so much more!

When this coronavirus stay-at-home order went into effect in so many states, I became worried about how we as a civilization could/would get through it.  Those in power began tightening the societal noose. More laws and rules for you to live by while they sit in their Ivory towers of affluence. It's how it has always worked throughout history. Create a crisis, tighten up and make more laws and rules, offer a solution, then hammer down any loose ends. Funnel the sheep through the choke hold. 

If I was a gambling guy, however, I'd place my money on some of the younger people I met at the Farmers Markets. These folks are becoming aware and don't mind getting their hands dirty playing in the dirt with their children. Many didn't want their children exposed to technology too soon and they fed themselves and their offspring organic food when possible and they knew the value of herbal remedies. I was so impressed! Most noticeably, they were very guarded about their lifestyle and political opinions. It wasn't like they were being secretive, it was that they just didn't bring unwanted attention to it. After taking the time to get to know this population, I believe this is where new inventions will come from for our changing world. Not just the young people of America, either, but the young folks from all around the world who see this as an opportunity to contribute, to change the world for the better. This is not a time to live in fear, but to embrace an opportunity to shape the next phase of human history. We were born for this! 

So, to answer the question of survival of the next phase of the great American undoing. Yes, people survived the Spanish flu during and after WWI, they made it through WWII and the great depression. I am optimistic that we have a fighting chance but not like you think. It will be different for us because of the technology we are used to. We may end up living like our great-grandmothers day for awhile. https://peninsulapeasant.blogspot.com/2017/11/hide-behinds-and-silent-winters-night.html  So get ready to play in the dirt and share what you know. Any way you fry it, we human are going to have to get through some really agonizing situations first, just as they did. I am looking forward to the new things theses young people will invent for a kinder, gentler world.

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