Gardening Thread- Show me your gardens!

Sounds good, minus chick peas. I dont like the consistency. But i can eat hummus

 

Yes must be installed by a pro, but not so different from installing central AC unit. Split is an option as well

Baseboard can be expensive to run, but supplemented with central gas, not crazy. Electric resistance heating is efficient by Ohm's law, but not cheap.

BUT if you you just need AC then talk to 3-4 pros. I assume your gas heater is central, forced.

Either just add AC in your stack OR if your heater is old and near death, then get a new super efficient gas heater and heat pump (or just AC) - your choice. Shoulder seasons you will be using like zero gas with a heat pump. If you can stand the bill, the baseboard and gas can ramp the house in dead winter, something heat pumps suck at, but when warm, good at maintaining temp.

Need to price it all out, pros and cons.

Our heater was propane and shot, and no AC. Choice was expensive up front, but now we giggle. Propane tank was filled April 10. Here we are June 25 after a COLD spring. We have used less than 15 gallons, and that was mostly water heating I imagine. Plus our electric bill is nothing really.

 

Whatever she uses in her mixed hide any taste of chick peas. Everything she uses came from her garden.

I can't stand hummus.

 

I have a natural gas New Yorker boiler, 84% energy efficiency, base board throughout the whole house.

What are the pros and cons to a heat pump? Since you use one. I may go with a heat pump instead of central air. The whole attic is open so central air shouldn't be to hard to install. I don't know what is involve with a heat pump.

 

OH I see, I misunderstood. We just don't do boiler heat here.

84% doesn't sound great compared to the new forced air gas furnaces in the 98-99% range.

Pros = both heats and cools, but air to air only good down to 25-30°F IMHO, must have secondary fuel source for cold and for ramping heat. Cooling as good as AC, but unit per ton will be more expensive. Absolutely shines during spring and fall, Saves serious fuel use.

Con = Can be expensive. As mentioned, not great for REALLY cold outside temps, unless you have in ground expansion piping which costs more $.

If you don't have forced air handling - installing ducts and such will break the bank. Consider a split or mini-split system. No ducts required. Heat and cool just the rooms you need. Supplement with your boiler.

Lots of options. I'm just a clown on the internet. Talk to several pros, don't fall for their bullshit. Just pick their brains and get quotes. Those guys try to be your friend (hahaha) One clown was pissed that I didn't choose him. Even funnier the company I did choose for our work, the owner bought the property kitty corner from us. Super nice guy. hahahhahaha

 

The only reason for the 84% boiler is that, if it breaks parts are easy to get. High energy boiler break, can be up to 2 weeks for parts without heat. With the dinosaur boiler we had this new 84% boiler cuts the heating bill by 40%. A good improvement over the old boiler.

Can the heat pump handle 100 degrees weather? Winter, I'm not worried about with the baseboard heating.

What about the flex hose ductwork, any good?

My old neighbor installed A/C in his house. The installer used PVC on the outside of the house instead of metal ductwork.

 

Honestly don't know much about ducting options but flex does work.

Funny big ass insulated PVC 6-8" would be pretty good ducting for flow. Not sure about static build up though.

 

Just getting ideas. Nothing getting installed until the yard get back together.

By looking at the pipes, it's more like 3 to 4 inches in diameter, and not insulated. Kind of reminds me of a spider web. The way the pipes branches off in all direction, cooling 2 floors.

I think the owner mention something about a ground to prevent static build up.

I can't find a picture on Google to show you what they have on their house. I wonder if it's was a good idea to use PVC.

 

Proccessed 16 cups of the blacberries from yesterday. Have 12 cups left. Will pick more berries tomorrow for a double batch.
We sweeten to taste with unbleached cane sugar and use no-sugar pectin. This batch was 16 cups of berries to 2.83 cups of sugar. Maked 6 pints.

When we make fig jam, we will not add any sugar. Maybe, maybe 1/2 cup per 16 cups of fruit. Figs are very sweet naturally.



PS waiting for one lid to pop.

 

Is, all it takes to make jam is berries & sugar?

 

And pectin, to thicken. Sterilize clean jars, lids and bands, cook clean berries (I wash them with cold water and lemon juice), add sugar, lemon juice, bring up to temp, add butter if needed (to defoam), add pectin, mix and time it. Fill up the jars and hot water bath for 15 min. Pull jars out, leave them alone, do not touch till lids pop/seal. Store away from direct sunlight.
That's it.

 

Do you de-seed yours?

 

I did one year, when we jammed wild blackberries, berries were small and seed to juice ratio was too high.

I do not deseed thornless. Berries are huge, and seeds are packed with anti-oxidants.

 

My sister like doing this type of jarring, fruits for jam.

That's it. It seems like a full day work.

I like doing strawberries. Clean, cut, bowl, add sugar, maybe a little water, then fridge, done.

 

Takes about an hour to do 6 pints. I get low sugar jam, where I can taste the fruit and it does not mess with my blood sugar. Plus I get things that are not commercially available, like pear apple sauce, figgy-razzle jam, strawberry fig, apple butter. And I have food regardless of what's in stores.

Next week we will start canning home made spaggetti sauce and salsa.

 

Nothing is better than homemade applebutter

 

Got another 7 pints done tonight. Finishing up the water bath.

 

My sister used to make jam with artificial sugar. Mother was a diabetic. After awhile my mother couldn't take the fake sugar, so back to high sugar readings.

My sister used make all of this stuff, but when her mother-in-law passed away she stop.

Are you growing tomatoes for the sauce?

 

Don't forget the freshly made from scratch pancakes, with fresh fruits, along with the apple butter.