Michael Littlejohn

Thanks Kathryn I'll check it out much appreciated...Mike

Good thought but the panels are collectively very heavy and any discount on the panels I feel would be eaten up by the shipping costs. Direct pickup would be best, and a small truck like an S10 ranger or whatnot would fit them all.

I am very much in a horsetrading mood if somebody would like to have these cheaply, i would consider a partial barter, I need all sorts of things.

Best, Mike

Hi to all,

Too many projects going at the moment and I am interested in selling off 10 x 100 watt solar panels, never used, 4 by Weize
and 6 by Newpowa. They are located in Dublin Virginia on Bob White Blvd, and in storage presently. If you meet me down there on or around 2/18  or 2/19 I will make you a sweet deal on them. All of them would be big enough to haul in a small truck like a Chevy S10 Toyota etc. They are brand new but id take a 33 % loss on them.

Thanks for reading! Mike

Hi to all

I am working the bugs out of a theoretical primitive site for long term wilderness camping and presently considering how to upscale or enlarge a zeer or pot in pot type refrigeration system.  Could two steel drums one inside the other with the interspace filled with water work the same? Granted steel is not permeable like a clay pot but steel does sweat.  How about a 75 gallon steel drum inside a 100 gallon for a larger summer refrigeration type unit rechargable with catchment rainwater?

Failing that design, what about a 3 to four foot deep mini pond with the steel drum submerged , a few inches sticking above the water line?  Removing some weight (like a couple of logs or beams could raise it to the surface like a dumbwaiter then sink it again. Animals kept out with the lid secured tightly. Any of these ideas have potential to keep perishables chilly for the Summer months?

Many thanks for any design suggestions...Mike

Hi to all,

Mike here. Great to be living in times of opportunities and creative thinking about communities, or so I believe.

I am recently retired and presently located in a northern county in West Virginia and I think that WV has great places to live, liberal livestock laws, less than usual beaurocracy, lots of trees and mountains, (yet not without its problems so theres no need to have stars in your eyes about it but overall Id say that this place is green, wet, full of deer and other wildlife, with lots of nooks and crannies for your alternate energy, poop and housing projects and overall has great potential. I have lived in several other states and I think that this is the cat's meow....

I have a 28 foot travel trailer that I am presently rehabbing and I am looking for a place to live as of March 1st. My personal goals are to try to get a few acres at a tax sale somewhere in the state (May and Oct) are the best months for that....but I need a place to live and soon. I have solar power and I can develop my other utilities fairly quickly so I could do okay on some primitive camping site or backcountry with a decent road of course.

Do you have a P-culture project locally that you would like to get off the ground? Can you rent a piece of land to me? I have a modest but steady income and in addition I can be eyes on your property if you are an absentee landlord. I also presently have 400 assorted fruit tree and blackberry starts looking for a home. Need an instant food forest? Host me for a year and let me get to planting....

I also dont make such a bad neighbor too. I want YOUR project to be successful. I know rabbits and some other animal husbandry, aquaculture, some woodcraft and joinery, I know a bit about self sufficiency.

Many thanks for reading. Best, Mike L in Calhoun County, West Virginia

Hi Scott thanks for the likes, Ive had to delay buying land for a year opting for the trailer home this year which I can move onto a suitable property next year but I have to do my little agriculture wherever I can. I was thinking about the weight of these planters when full, Im also presently thinking of  2/3 vermiculite or wood chips and 1/3 good soil.  Also keeping a pair of goldfish and feeding the fruiting plants like tomatos and cucumbers with fish poop water. Any thoughts on any other soil amendments not too heavy?

Thanks for everybodys feedback, you know I love the ideas of using gutters, I am going to look more into that, PVC pipe is implicated with gassing out carcinogens when exposed to higher temperatures, Im hoping the gutters are either steel or ABS plastic which does not have those characteristics.

Yes a rooftop water diversion setup seems the way to go.

Somebody asked if deer really do constitute a problem--there are hundreds of deer tracks in the soft mud around the camper site, I estimate 20 individual animals on a particular morning.....we have a healthy local whitetail population.

I also searched for some deer resistant vegitable varieties for my trailer garden it looks like these are the lead contenders:

Basil
Carrots
Chives
Cucumbers
Dill
Fennel
Garlic
Mint
Onions
Parsley
Peppers
Rosemary
Sage
Tarragon
Thyme
Tomatoes

Thanks again!

Mike

Here it is. Im presently thinking of externally mounting some septic type pvc pipe with precut openings just under my windows. Deer will stand on their hind legs but maybe I could scare them with some noisemaker? Perhaps plantings heavy with garlic and onions which are so useful anyway would help deter and protect my greens too. Maybe...

Hi to all,,

Here is a new project, I recently bought a 26 foot pull trailer and I'm in a trailer park which is otherwise in a very rural area. Hordes of whitetail deer descend on the place (tracks are evidence). Id like to use every trick in the book to modify this trailer home for food production, emphasis on nutritious greens, tomatos peppers and culinary herbs. Any great ideas for this?  Remember they will need protection from deer. PS I am not as agile as I was in former days, the roof will no doubt house my solar array when I can get it together but Im not up for any rooftop agriculture.  Additional parameter, should feed 2 people or at least shoot for that goal.

Many thanks..M

For Trade:

A  .49 acre lot in the City Limits of Hinton, West Virginia. Taxes  current.  Will trade for:

RV, box truck, shed kit or a structure that might be used as the basis for a house build.

Moose me for details. Many thanks...


Mike L