Processing Garlic

Our 2023 garlic crop started by planting 1,100 cloves in early October, 2022. 

They emerged from the ground by November and weathered through the winter snow. 

After removing the garlic scapes during May and June, harvesting began the first week of July.

A strip down the middle of the patch was harvested first to make room for a row of Delicata squash.

The rest of the garlic were dug and hung to dry in bunches of 25 inside the garage. Total weight of peeled garlic: around 100 pounds. Every week through November I delivered two pounds of peeled garlic to cooks at a local homeless shelter. In October I processed around ten pounds into powder and granules. And yesterday I began processing more.

To preserve garlic, we grind it in a food processor, dehydrate it and grind it again into powder and granules.

10.75 pounds of garlic mash was spread on 10 teflon sheets and dried for around ten hours at 135 degrees.

Teflon sheets were then peeled off and the now rigid garlic shingles were dried another seven hours to remove moisture trapped against the film.

The 4.85 pounds of garlic crackers were again ground in the food processor, having lost 55% in dehydration.

The teflon sheets were also dried overnight so stuck on bits of garlic could be scraped off.

After grinding, garlic powder was separated from granules by shaking in a strainer which was then dumped into a colander. Larger bits were then dumped back into the food processor.

The desired result was roughly equal amounts of garlic powder and granules. To change the ratio: simply alter the time larger pieces spend in the processor.

Dry garlic stores great in jars: the powder we use in sauces and marinades, granules we add in recipes that get cooked which softens them. It's way quicker and easier to add dried garlic than processing fresh garlic when cooking!

Batch Rocket Mass Heater for Greenhouse

For decades our 20 x 48 foot greenhouse sometimes freezes tender plants when outdoor temperatures go below zero. Inside we do have a few thousand gallons of water in tubes and tanks that heat up when the sun shines but often winter weeks go by without sunlight. In order to grow more than chard, onions and salad greens, we needed a way to add heat. 

Snow also blocks sunlight from entering.

Until we remove snow and upper regions slide down.

A section of glazing showing five layers and 

diagonal bracing to support snow loads.

The best reference for building rocket stoves and heaters.

The firebricks used in this project are held together with cob, a 

mixture of sand and clay, instead of a high temperature cement 

that cures hard. That way any rework only requires the dry glue 

to be moistened and it comes apart. The ratios of sand to clay 

above show that at above 5:1, the mixture, on drying, does not crack.

The completed heater with barrel riser surrounded by seven 

water tubes, an eleven foot heated bench and exhaust stack.

Inside the two black barrels, one on top of the other, is the ceramic

 fiber riser that powers complete combustion gasses of burning wood. 

The disc removed from one end of the lower barrel was suspended 

inside the upper barrel to prevent hottest exhaust from reaching the 

top. During firing, the color change indicates the region that typically 

reaches 700F charring the vegetable oil coating. The blue ring on top

 hides a foot of insulation that limits heat transfer to regions above.

Paint was burned off the barrels outdoors to prevent fouling indoor air.

This view of the upside down lower barrel shows the riser hole.  The more 

complex outlet hole for the hot exhaust gases to exit the riser stack 

and enter the horizontal tube inside the bench was made later. 

This illustrates the transition from the  barrel stack to the horizontal flue 

run inside the bench with this cob (mixture of clay, sand, silt and stones) 

also in good contact with the adjacent water tubes.

This view shows the bench with water tubes behind before two additional 

water tubes were added on each side of the barrel stack. Cement tile 

backer board contributes and hides thermal mass.

The bench frame consists of two instrumentation racks lying on 

their back, end to end. An 8 inch steel flue runs the length inside 

and was covered by a foot of clay/sand/stone slurry that has now 

dried in good contact with the flue. The volume above now stores 

more than a ton of  surplus bricks to maximize storing heat during 

firings. These are still readily available for future projects.

Another view of the bench with its sheet aluminum top 

left over from building large solar collectors.

This shows burning off the paint on one of two boxes with doors that 

make it easy to inspect the transition between the riser/barrels and 

horizontal flue and between the latter and the vertical stack.

This shows the detail of the bottom of the burn chamber with 

two stainless steel pipes that introduce fresh air to the base of the 

riser to enable complete combustion of exhaust. Under these is 

space for a stainless steel tray that catches ash and makes 

them easy to remove.

This view shows the ash section of the wood stove that is the sole 

source of heat in our home. Many years ago I replaced its cast iron 

grate that burned through with stainless steel pipes and they've 

performed wonderfully. The ash bin below also works very well, 

requiring us to empty it only once per week. 

Illustrates the first row of wall fire bricks and include those 

that define the port width. Forcing the exhaust through a 

narrow channel creates two vortices just above the far end of the 

secondary air pipes and creates the "roar" as it travels up the 

riser, making the noise that gives "rocket" heaters their name.

Firebox and riser base now complete and also showing the open 

box door of the barrel/horizontal transition through which any ash 

buildup can be removed.

Firebox now with a calcium silicate fiber roof, one inch of 

ceramic fiber insulation and sheet aluminum to limit 

infiltration. The ash tray is also in place.

Four each four inch high calcium silicate rings were stacked on 

top of the firebrick riser base before insulating the assembly with 

ceramic wool batting. The barrel clamp ring fastens the lower barrel 

to its lid that has a hole for the riser and flue exit.

This shows the one meter tall ceramic fiberboard riser portion.

The open area of the hexagonal riser and other items that carry 

exhaust gasses are larger or the same as an eight inch circle

 to prevent restricting flow.

The hexagonal riser now covered by two inches of ceramic fiber 

blanket, a sheet of aluminum and also showing the barrel lid 

with the flue gas exit transition hole. Two vertical steel 

angles were added to insure the riser inside stays put.

The door assembly includes a ceramic glass window and an air 

inlet door that admits the proper amount of primary and secondary

 oxygen for optimal combustion. The latter is opened only during the 

hour or two per day that there is need for additional heat. If the 

sun comes out for even a few hours, typically no additional heat 

is needed even when nighttime temperatures approach zero. 

Xena, our greenhouse cat, supervised everything!

Moisture in burning wood exits as steam when it's freezing.

When it's above freezing, there is no visible exhaust. The rocket mass 

heater did keep the greenhouse above freezing during a -20 F very windy

 period but it did require the fire burn for quite a few hours. Even with 

nights in the teens, this week in February we haven't needed fires because 

of sunny days! When the fire is out, I now block the bottom of the 18 foot 

tall stack to prevent the very buoyant warm gasses inside from sucking 

heat out of the thermal mass (the vacuum is strong enough to hold up 

a thin aluminum sheet). This draw does make starting fires very easy 

since it takes less than a minute to ignite a wad of newsprint

that is placed under a few twigs to make the burner roar!

The little flap on the heater door now has its white paint burned off 

where it covers the round air intake hole. I only open it a half inch 

during burns to limit the rate. The broken tiles on the bench behind 

are some of 74/88 that arrived broken. They are sending replacements 

so I can finish tiling the heater apron. The low profile ash bin is a bit 

small and has to be emptied every three or four burning days. 

A Skin-on-Frame Adirondack Guide Boat

 Cape Falcon Kayak described making Adirondack guide boats and reminded me of time I spent in the Adirondacks, hiking as a teenager and later canoeing there through a chain of lakes.

Skin-on-frame guide boats made by 

Brian Schulz at Cape Falcon Kayak

Before roads, wood planked versions of these boats were "pickup trucks" of the Adirondack region.

Fifty years ago I paddled a robust aluminum canoe many miles in both New York state and British Columbia, Canada. Though rugged and functional, this kind of canoe is awkward, loud and heavy. Searching for a lighter, quieter craft and that I could make myself, skin-on-frame canoes stood out. But rowing is more efficient and promotes fishing. Guide boats are essentially canoes that you row (or paddle). 

Building one involves making a bottom board, two stems and two gunwales with ribs between them to establish shape. Stringers on each side then support the nylon fabric stretched over the frame that is then coated to make the boat float. Tiny decks are added to the bow and stern for hand holds or for sitting on when launching and landing. Installing seats and making oars complete construction.

Dimensions in this 14 foot boat scaled the 16 foot 

data published in The Adirondack Guide-Boat 

by Kenneth and Helen Durant.

 Discarded redwood paneling (3/4x8 inches x 8 feet), 

painted white on one side provided the wood for 

the bottom, stems, ribs, gunwales, stringers and 

decks. Redwood is lightweight, rot resistant but 

not able to take very high forces.

A dead ash tree milled by volunteers from the Northeast 

Woodworkers Association provided wood for 

the seat frames and other high stress parts.

Joining then milling to half inch thickness, two 

redwood boards scarfed together make the 

bottom. Perpendicular grooves establish the 

27 rib locations.   

Plastic templates were made for the stem, above, 

and the ribs, then reproduced in redwood.

Eight thin slices of redwood were laminated 

together to make a double rib, that was split 

in half to make front and rear ribs.

There are ten different rib patterns. 

Each 3/4 inch wide rib was split in two to 

populate front and back halves of the boat.

The central nine ribs are identical: from five double 

ribs cut in half. To prevent the ribs from delaminating

 when bumping into rocks, they were wrapped with 

50 pound braided fishing line and then varnished.

Too thin for screws, lashing and adhesive 

connect ribs to the bottom board. 

`

Most of the ribs in place.

Three sets of two eight foot boards were scarfed together 

to make gunwales, the long pieces that top the ribs and 

establish the shape. This process also made an extra set 

for another boat (to insure the assembly stays straight).

The fourteen foot gunwales needed a six inch 

chord to establish the proper curve.

Waiting for the glue to cure.

The actual chord dimension and also showing 

the three layers that make up the gunwales.

Length of three laminated boards, good for four gunwales.

Lashing a gunwale to ribs.

Both gunwales in place. Extra lengths 

of ribs were trimmed off.

Stringers that support the fabric were scarfed, glued, 

sanded and varnished before lashing them to the ribs 

evenly spaced between the gunwales and bottom board.

Showing a stringer connection to a stem, 

the curved boards at each end of the boat.

The completed frame.

To this point, work was done with the frame upright. 

In order to attach the skin, the frame needed 

to be upside down.

Nylon fabric was stretched both end to end and gunwale

 to gunwale.The 14 foot long edges were first stapled 

on each side, then sandwiched between redwood 

gunwale and an added ash outwale (for strength 

for bumping docks and to support oarlocks).

Hand stitching each end a bit to the side insured 

that the hem didn't interfere with the brass 

rub strip added after coating the fabric.

The wrinkly fabric was then soaked with hot water 

and drying stretched out the wrinkles.

A dark color acid dye was applied to make 

the boat a more appropriate color but it 

left splotches and streaks.

A different dark dye was mixed with four coats 

of two part polyurethane resin to hide stains 

of the previous effort.

At this point the boat weighs 34 pounds! 

Adding decks, oarlocks, brass rub strips

 and seats added six pounds.

On the day before our pond froze in December, 

we made sure the boat didn't leak!

But we had to paddle because there were 

no seats, oarlocks or oars yet!

Durants' book above has plans for each 

seat that include holes for caning.

Seat frames were made out of ash but without caning holes.

Woven continuous strips of wet rawhide 

populate frames instead of caning.

It takes only an hour to cut rawhide into 

strips, soak one and then weave it around 

each seat frame.

There are identical decks at each end that provide 

handholds to pick up and carry the boat.

Deck support structures are made from ash to 

withstand the forces involved in sitting 

on a deck or carrying a loaded boat.

Redwood planks finish the decks. This photo also shows an end 

of the brass rub strip that runs from around the bow stem, 

along the ash keel on the bottom and around the stern stem.

Outwales are trapezoidal in section so that oarlocks rotate 

perpendicular to the water. Since screws in the redwood

 gunwales to attach oarlocks would probably work loose

 over time, I used bolts with a backing plate against

 an ash wedge to present a parallel face.

The first set of oars were made 

from a dead white pine tree.

Oar shape and dimensions were from Durants' book.

A second oar copied the first.

Now complete with three seats mounted, 

two oars and two sets of oarlocks.

I plan to make a second guide boat that should be easier and take much less time (and I already have the gunwales!). It will have half the number of ribs, keeping them 3/4 of an inch wide so screws through the gunwales, stringers and bottom board will hold well. Rib and stem laminations will include ash to make them stronger without having to wrap them with fishing line. Nylon fabric will be extra heavy to make it more rugged. Stringers will be larger to better support the fabric between ribs that will be twice the distance apart. Weight will probably be under 50 pounds.