Last year I designed and built a hoop house for around $650 in materials. I didn’t want to waste money heating the thing, so the plan was to keep it passive. Since I never worked with an unheated greenhouse before, I spent the year running experiments with the main goal of extending our growing season. I recorded the temperatures in the hoop house, and tried growing a variety of cold weather crops. The greenhouse significantly extended our growing season, but what surprised me most was how much better plants grow in there.
Category Archives: Hobbies
How to Get Started Hunting Mushrooms
I love hiking in the woods, racing to the top of a mountain to take in a satisfying view. Lately however, I’m less interested in flying up rocks and roots to see the world from afar. I’ve found an even stronger compulsion to explore. Bitten by the mushroom bug, I now meander back and forth, on and off trails, my eyes perpetually scanning the small universe underfoot. Constantly hunting the edible, medicinal, psychedelic, and sometimes just beautiful fungi.
Reflecting on Two Years of Early Retirement
For years, I spent my days waking up early and rushing to wash, dress, and sit in traffic only to sit in a cube waiting to rush home. All that time, I was propped up by dreams of a freer life. It’s been two years since I quit my job. In some ways it’s the life I spent years dreaming of, and in some ways, it’s been very different.
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How Late Stage Lyme Disease Caught Me Off Guard
Health, wealth, and time are our most valuable resources, and I like being in control of them. But sometimes circumstances arise that we don’t foresee. Over the past few months my health went out of my control as I developed late stage Lyme disease. It left me mentally and physically incapacitated for some time, and I’m still recovering from it.
Surfing in New England
Surfing is probably my favorite new hobby/addiction. Over the last couple of years, I’ve been learning to bomb some tasty waves in Puerto Rico and Costa Rica – locations known for their sun and surf. However, we do live close to the ocean here in CT, and while the east coast doesn’t get much press for our waves, they do exist. In fact, we get some pretty big surf, you just have to be a bit more diligent about finding it.
DIY Hoop House Greenhouse Design and Build
As a kid, I tried to make my own solar ovens. I fashioned old windows together, and put pans of water inside to heat. They usually sucked, but these experiments spurred my fascination with greenhouses. Like my grandfather, I love growing things, and would imagine creating an endless summer indoors where I could grow exotic plants. Last year, my childhood fixation was revived when we visited the earth-ships in Taos, New Mexico. This summer, I finally decided to design and build my own greenhouse.
Grow a Ton of Food Urban Farming in Your Neighborhood
I used to think I needed over an acre of land to have a decent farm, and our retirement ideas included starting a homestead. In the meantime, I began with a small garden on our 1/4 acre plot. A few years later, we also started raising chickens. We now grow more vegetables than we can eat, and get fresh eggs everyday from our little urban farm. It turns out that I didn’t need acres of land, I just needed to sharpen my skills and get creative.
Cheap Hobbies: Growing Fig Trees
If you’ve never had a fresh fig, then you’ve never really tasted fig. Trying to compare fig newtons to fresh figs is like trying to compare grapes to raisin bran. The processed version has nothing to do with the fresh juicy fruit. They are rarely found in grocery stores because they don’t keep long enough to reach the shelves. The best way to get them is picked straight from a tree. While they don’t grow naturally in freezing climates, so long as you have a nice sunny spot, you can grow them in pots almost anywhere.