A learning process...

Creating a garden suitable for real use is a huge learning experience, rather than a simple matter of planting a few trees.

The dry weather recently, combined with lack of water tanks and the cost (time and money) of watering by hand means that several of my trees have been suffering - primarily the non-natives that are not drought-hardy. Or trees that I've only just planted. Or seedlings that need to be planted (although I have been hand watering those). Then there is the question of - do I bother trying to grow a grain crop? I have barley seeds sitting there to be sown, don't have wheat, but will time and effort will be needed for them be worth it?

A little research goes a long way...

I've been reading up on sorghum - drought hardy, needs less water than other grains, can be put to a wide variety of uses. Moringa is a tree that will even handle arid areas, has many uses. Even something I had thought of mostly as decorative, Xanthorrhoea, has resin that can be put to industrial use if you know it's there.

My plan for long term survival scenarios is centred on learning what is around that I can put to use when there's nothing left to be bought on the shelves...

The work you can do per unit time.

Recently, I came across details about Nickel-Iron batteries. Compared with Gel Batteries, they are more expensive, a bit heavier, not easily available...

Why are they so interesting? Well, Gel (and Lead-Acid) batteries have lifetimes measured in the hundreds of charges. Nickel Iron (Ni-Fe) have lifetimes measured in the decades. Lead based batteries have their lifespans drastically cut short by overcharging, discharging too deeply, or higher than optimum temperatures; Ni-Fe don't suffer from those problems. Nickel-Iron can also be home made, which is nice, although there are a few people offering them - one large but international, one more local to me. If it concerns you, they are also not made from toxic or extremely hazardous materials

They are more expensive than ordinary Lead batteries, but have none of the disposal problems. If you want them to last, Lead based batteries don't like having more than about a quarter of their capacity drawn out of them before they are recharged. So, if you can draw three-quarters of the capacity out of a battery, the price balances out. Then take the fact that lead batteries have a maximum life of about a decade, when Ni-Fe are rated for 30-50 years... I think I know which I'd prefer to work with.

Having said that, I have a large lead battery not doing anything, and no budget at the moment for a big bank of Ni-Fe ones yet... Admittedly, I wouldn't say "No" to reviewing some, if they were offered.

What good is producing power if you can't store it?

And if you can store power, all that energy can be made to do work later.

An Annoyance.

Ezekiel 16:49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.




Here endeth the lesson.