Self Sufficient Questions And Answers Volume 1

Welcome to the first round of Self Sufficient Questions and Answers. Hopefully this will be a weekly Wednesday feature so don’t forget to leave your question for next week in the comments section after the post.

You can also ask your question via Twitter.

Simply Forties asked:

I’m curious about the apparatus that converts the power from the solar panels into usable power for your home. How does that actually work?

Hi Simply Forties, the power that is collected by Solar Panels is DC, the same as that stored in a Battery. The Solar Panels are connected to Deep Cycle Batteries which can hold the energy collected for a much longer time and hold a lot more energy, than a normal Car Battery, or similar.

These Deep Cycle Batteries are wired to what is called an Inverter. Inverters come in all different sizes and costs. They all have a maximum capacity as to how much power you can use in your Home. For example, our Inverter is an 1100 Watt Inverter. This means we can only use appliances in the Home at one time that draw up to that number of Watts.

The main function of the Inverter is to convert DC power stored in the Batteries to AC power much as we all use to power our Homes. It does this instantly and automatically whenever you use anything Electrical.

This simply works by running a wire from the Inverter to the main Fuse Box in the House where all the switches, plug sockets etc originate. You can see examples of various Inverters here. As a side note, if you do install such a system, always make sure to use a pure Sinewave Inverter. This means there will never be any fluctuations in the AC current and will ensure the safety of delicate equipment like Laptops.

Feralchick asked:

Compost: if ya don’t turn it, how do you keep from accumulating an ever-higher pile of stuff? Should one have many, many small piles with advancing expiration dates?

My current technique is bigger and bigger pile until I get tired of it, and then I hack it apart and scoop out whatever looks good. This strikes me as inefficient.

This may well be in regard to my post on turning Compost. Feralchick, how would turning it make a difference? You will still have the large pile. It is not really an advantage to have many small piles.  Compost heaps work more efficiently if they are quite sizable. The natural processes will work a lot better with a large heap and will heat up much more quickly.

What is recommended is to give yourself a time limit for how long to add to the Compost Heap and then cap it off. Let’s say you decide on six months. Keep adding to the Compost Heap for six months than cover the top and start on a new Compost Heap. You could then leave the original Heap for roughly three to six months to complete the Composting process and then you would begin to use it.

Of course there are lots of variations on this cycle but I would think about not using a Compost Heap you have just finished adding to for about three months. I hope this answers your question, if not let me know.

Notfromaway asked via Twitter:

Have you found that one season is too long to leave chickens in one spot to use it for veggies the following season?

Hi Notfromaway, this is a very good question. Although we don’t do this ourselves it is a very good method. Our Chicken Manure goes on the Compost Heap and from there on to the Vegetable plots.

What you are refering to, I believe, is the practise of letting the Chickens run in an enclosed area that you will then grow the Vegetables on. This is a very efficient practise. It will clear that area completely of weeds, the Chickens will create a fine tilth of the soil and Manure it at the same time.

Chicken Manure can be quite acidic when fresh so it is always advised to not plant where the Chickens have been fertilising the ground for roughly three months or so. It is difficult to answer your question exactly because it really depends on the number of Chickens in the area you are talking about.

However, as a rough guide, I think it would be perfect if you had say four Chickens in a 2 metre by 2 metre area for a Season. They will greatly improve the land. If they are in a larger space then they will still do a world of good. Too much smaller than that though, and the land may be a little over rich. I hope this helps.

Well now I shall pass over to Mrs. Dirty Boots for the final 2 Self Sufficient questions.

Preservationist asked via Twitter:

What is the definition of “organic” soil? What is the definition of “organic worm castings”? Thanks!

That’s a tough one!  ‘Organic’ is simply ‘of nature’ (anything alive or once alive) but we tend to think of ‘organic’ in the commercial context of what is officially classified as ‘organic’.  For us ‘organic’ soil and worm castings means putting no chemicals into the soil or worm feed.  So here we put no chemicals on the land or compost heap.

But we’re not ‘technically organic’.  For example our hens do not eat organic only food (too expensive and flown all over the place so I would see it as negative to our ideal way of life).  So commercially their manure isn’t organic and we’re putting that on our land and in our compost heap.   But we feel organic as we’re using a natural product; manure, rather than any  chemicals.

To keep commercial soil organic there are different guidelines.  According to the Soil Association non-organic manures must be stacked for six months or composted for three, before they may be used on a soil association certified organic farm.  Pig and poultry manures must be kept for double this time and the manure from intensively reared set-ups such as battery egg production are not permitted at all.

So really it depends if you’re a business or not.  For us organic is simply no artificial fertilisers or chemical agents.

Leisa asked:

Is there anything I can use as a dishwasher powder/tablet substitute? I’ve heard about using vinegar to use as rinse aid, however is there anything I can use instead of the expensive powders and tablets?

Hi Leisa,  you can put bicarbonate of soda / soda crystals / baking soda in the dishwasher instead of your traditional powder / tablet.  Or you can reduce the quantity of powder and make the amount up with bicarb.  I have also heard of people simply sprinking bicarb onto the contents of the dishwasher and putting in half a lemon in to freshen things up and make the glassware sparkle.  I would start by reducing the amount of commercial powder you use as often we don’t need to use nearly as much as we habitually do!

Don’t forget to leave your Questions for next week in the comments section or ask me direct via Twitter.

For a more self sufficient future