Homesteading Workshop Day 2

Topics for Day 2 of the Homesteading Course were water management, thermal greenhouses, bokashi and biochar. 

Water management

First up was a visit to an urban farm to see their system of berms and basins to retain run off water. 

Probably hard to see in this picture but the water is diverted, from an area where it was pooling, into a slightly graded bed built over a basin filled with branches and compost. The point is to keep the water where you want it and allow for slow absorption.

Basins and Hugelkultur Bed

Thermal Greenhouse

Not much to see here either as I was so busy talking I forgot to take interior pictures.

All reused windows, locally milled fir lumber from a couple of trees taken down nearby, salvaged insulation and finishing materials. The design includes a partial green roof, water collection and storage for thermal mass, planting beds, composting beneath a seeding table, space for a future chicken roost. Having a water barrel for heat retention is the main factor in keeping the greenhouse warm after the sun goes down. Thermal mass heat storage.

Bokashi

Here we are making our own bokashi bran. We took two large bags home which basically sets us up for our own system. The only other thing needed is a 5lb bucket. Bokashi is an anaerobic composting system, using fermentation, to break down meat and dairy products. 

The science behind bokashi is complicated and to my mind a little vague. Our instructor recommends it as a good way to compost waste destined for the garbage. He also uses the bran in his regular compost for heat build up and speeding up the breakdown of materials.  He claims the results are dramatic. I'm about to rebuild my compost pile so I will add the bokashi bran and observe the results.

Bokashi info.

Biochar

My new pet project!

Everyone made their own biochar burner.

Biochar is a product made when organic solids are slow-burned in the absence of oxygen in a contained system. Biochar is made like charcoal, but is made sustainably from biowaste products (herbaceous or woody crop residues, non-salvageable timber, brush and animal manure), and is applied to soil for two benefits: long-term carbon storage and as a soil amendment. It is predicted that at least 50% of the carbon in any piece of waste turned into biochar becomes stable, locking away that carbon into the soil for possibly hundreds of years. 

terra preta showing small pieces of  charcoal

I find the history of biochar fascinating. It stems from ancient "Terra Preta" (dark earth) soils found in the Amazon. These pockets of soil are widely believed to have been amended or mulched with charcoal waste from pre-Columbian Indian hearths thousands of years ago. Research in the 1900s and early 2000s showed that Terra Preta soils have higher nutrient availability, higher cation exchange capacity, greater water retention, and greater porosity/aeration than the neighboring native soil, resulting in improved crop growth. (Information from Utah State University)

Find instructions for making your own burner here 

I can't stress enough how valuable I found this workshop. I will be putting into practise almost everything I learned (except eating the bunnies). When new workshops become available I will advertise them on this site. For out of towners I'm looking into providing accommodation at a reasonable rate.