Roy Hinkley

Pests are a problem so I mostly grow cherry tomatoes and I like peak sweetness. A gentle pull on the tomato to see if it comes off easily, if not then a gentle rocking to see if the stem is ready to separate. If some stem breaks off with the tomato it wasn't quite ready and if the tomato splits it was a bit too late.

I try to use it in place of salt in cooking because the sodium in miso doesn't seem to contribute to hypertension the way salt alone does.
https://nutritionfacts.org/2020/04/14/what-about-the-sodium-in-miso/

Japanese researchers decided to put it to the test.

For four years, they followed men and women in their 60s, who, at the start of the study, had normal blood pressure, to see who was more likely to be diagnosed with hypertension in that time: those who had two or more bowls of miso soup a day or those who had one or less. Two bowls a day may add a half teaspoon of salt to one’s daily diet, yet those who had two or more bowls of miso soup every day appeared to have five times lower risk of becoming hypertensive. So, maybe the anti-hypertensive effects of the soy in the miso exceed the hypertensive effects of the salt.

@ Eric

I can't quite discern from your posts, but can your trimmer take standard brush clearing blades?

I thought this was a standard brush clearing blade?

I've had a 56 volt Ego string trimmer for a couple of years now and I've never found it lacking in power. My only complaint was that string doesn't do a very good job of cutting stiff stemmed weeds and forget cutting small trees or branches.
I modified it for a bush blade and am quite happy with it after a year of use and testing.
https://permies.com/t/100046/Brush-blade-Ego-string-trimmer

Best thing for grease is undiluted dishsoap.  Put on your hands and coat evenly and let sit a while. Damp sponge after that. If its really bad you can use TSP (tri-sodium phosphate) but you want to keep that off your skin.

I would make sure mint is deader than dead before letting it near any garden.  

Certainly rainwater is very soft and the best thing for washing clothes and showers. A simple gravity fed Berkey type filter would make rainwater potable for drinking although the OP doesn't list that as one of the intended uses.

Thanks. I have a 2 foot maple tree showing the same leaf cuts and was wondering what it was.

Yes plant in the soil and then mulch on top. Seeds like a constant level of moisture. In general I don't direct seed in the ground unless I already have the mulch ready, otherwise the soil dries out too fast and hampers germination. The seeds never have a problem pushing through a few inches of mulch. I like finer stuff like ground leaves or dry grass clippings at first and wood chips later when the first round has decomposed into the soil.

To do it right you'll have to look for a place you can make a large duct from basement to top floor. Perhaps through a closet or sacrifice the corner of a room. Bigger the better.
Close to the center of the house if you can.  Just guessing 12 x 24 minimum. Mount the fan in the basement pushing cold air up.