Podcast 265 – Updates from the lab part 3 – Tools, volunteers, and homestead butchery

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Credit: Kevin Murphy and Marianne Cooper

Paul discusses seed balls, planting of perennials, berms and hugelkultur beds planned for winter. The solar electric sawmill is doing well; electric chainsaws working well; cordless saw is nimble; little Mikita is very handy but in the shop. Paul’s electric Remmington died. Motors in the electric saws seem to burn out quickly and cordless saws do not have enough power. Paul thinks the electric saws are safer. Gas saws are more dangerous to start along with the noxious fumes.

A review of the volunteers and how they are working at different speeds came next. Some people make great progress but others not so much. People that listened to the podcasts are far more successful on the farm. Some people learn and then wander off into the woods. Food has been delicious with three organic meals a day, which is expensive. Paul is thinking about changing the format to more of a workshop to address the work ethic issues and the 3 day minimum will be revisited; getting people ramped up takes time. The Kitchen Commander position is open again.

EV Vehicles was next on Paul’s list. The three electrical vehicles are all down. Polaris is down. Bad boy buggy has as much power as Polaris but seems better built. Polaris is like a cheap imitation compared to bb buggy. The Polaris is not meant to be used in a dusty environment is what Paul was told. A discussion on the boiling of batteries was also reviewed. Some people said batteries should never boil. Someone else said it is ok to boil a little.

A review of the Farmstead Meatsmith workshop on homestead butchery was next. Emily reviewed all the steps to process the pigs. Some of the parts that are thrown out during factory processing were used to make more delicious food. Paul reviews the knife sharpening at the meatsmith workshop. The sharpening of the knife with the green slime bothered Paul. He wants to come up with a better system.

People have been working really hard so there was a three day mandatory shutdown, since the fun factor is coming down and things seem more like chores. Cold is effecting the batteries on lots of the tools. With so many projects going there seems to be some that get done quickly and completed and others seem to drag on. Staying focused can be a problem when you wanna add something cool to a project.  Pacing the projects needs to be done in the future. No more “Hey ya know what would be cool.”

In the past few weeks RMH technology has advanced and lots has been accomplished. Next spring workshops will be a way to gage workers and to vett them. Lots of infrastructure has been put in place. Paul agrees that larger properties require more people and those people need housing.  Housing needs to come first.

Tool distribution seemed to take time to ramp up. Where to find a tool or who to report to if you need a certain tool takes time. People were messing with the power cart. Don’t touch the buttons!!

Paul considers doing some DVD reviews. These are easy and relaxing for him.

Paul wants to do more podcasts.

Paul’s goal is to spread the word thru many sources besides podcasts. Forums were also discussed. Podcasts are not money makers but the jetpack came from the podcasts.

You can discuss this podcast on this thread at Permies.