Gas stoves are so bland. Electric stoves (first introduced at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893) have no style. Out in the country, there are so many fresh ideas for cooking, I'm just all aflutter saving dollars so we can do away with Better Farm’s outdated 1980s-esque kitchen design.
Out here, it seems everybody has a wood-burning stove. Extremely energy efficient, wood ovens heat houses remarkably well; and the smell of them is second-to-none. But once you start looking at alternative cooking and heating styles, you realize the sky's the limit and restricting yourself to one type of oven is just foolhardy.
Cob ovens are easy and cheap to assemble, and will give you some of the best pizza of your life outside of New York City. I don't need to expound any more on the power of a sweet fire pit. And then there's the chiminea; which is sort of the darling of difficult-to-heat outdoor or rustic living spaces.
Mexicans have for hundreds if not thousands of years utilized the quirky chiminea stove for heating, cooking, and baking. The funky little structures—generally cast in clay or iron—keep rainfall from hitting the flames, hold heat exceptionally well, and do a lot with a just a few sticks.
The genius of chimineas is in the design: clay and cast iron are excellent radiators of heat; the tall chimney-like stacks take smoke out of the way of fire-revelers, and spark screens (found on most models today) mean you don't have to worry about errant embers spoiling all the fun.
Nowadays, you can track down chimineas that even sport cooking grids for grilling in old-world style. Suddenly, October in the North Country doesn't seem quite so cold.
Now that we’ve covered outdoor fire pits, fancy fire pits, and bonfires at length, it’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty.
Where to store all that wood?
A lot of people keep kindling and logs in a heap any old place. But if you don’t tear through wood like we do, then you’re looking at inevitable insect infestation and rot from rainfall and puddles.
When we cleared out the basement a few weeks ago, we found dozens of logs leftover from the days when Better Farm’s heat ran off of a furnace that utilized wood for half its heating. After lugging the logs outside, we proceeded to have night after night of beautiful bonfires. Even some heavy rainfall wasn’t enough to mess with the nice big logs, as they were only outside in a pile for a few days. Some people are more patient than us, however; and would be wise to invest in a firewood rack.
A log rack will save you uncountable man hours over time by keeping you inside and toasty warm instead of outside having to chop wood to replace the wet, rotting logs you scattered willy-nilly on the lawn. Or, if you don’t chop your own wood, a sturdy and weatherproof rack will save you hundreds of dollars by protecting store-bought wood.
The structures don’t have to be eyesores, either. Setting up a nice firewood rackwill de-clutter your property—and your brain. And who couldn't use a little of that?
The old saying goes, starting an intentional community is like starting a business and getting married all rolled into one. Living in such close contact with others, 24/7, can really test your comfort levels and bring triggers out into the open you never knew you had. So how do you create a life together with a base stable enough to withstand "Big Brother" style meltdowns?
The most important factors to forming a successful community is to create intimacy/trust within a group through common goals/ideas/worldviews, and to always follow a productive path that is adaptable to change. All the small systems (the people) need to operate smoothly within the larger system (the community) or else everything falls apart. This is not the time for dictatorship, but for "empowered leadership" where each person is acknowledged, encouraged, and included in major decision making meetings.
It may sound like coddling, but after taking a step back and seeing what each persons' taproot (strength) is, specific responsibilities can then be doled out in areas that will make those talents shine, thereby making the entire system run better. Not to mention the load this "leading from behind" will take off your back when you've got a million other things to do by end of day!
So not only do we want involved, happy little campers within the walls of the Better Farmhouse, but forming solid relationships with the outer sphere of Redwood, NY, will also be key, as their full support will be imperative in the success of our ecological adventure. With this strong base of common goals and evenly distributed responsibilities, a long-term commitment to be a more "nature working" community as a whole should run like a well-oiled machine.
The above info is a brief recap from a Permaculture class with
, an expert in regenerative culture, intentional communities and transition towns.
Image from
Center for Community Alternatives
.
Where to begin?
Fire is no elitist. She will burn brightly in any container, whether it be a metal ring, circle of stones, or half-moon of cinder blocks. You can light a match and throw it into a pile of junk, a pyramid of kindling, or a slick of oil, all with the same result. Fire lights where she will, and takes no prisoners. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have a sense of style.
I was recently tipped off to California Outdoor Concepts, an outdoor furniture and fire pit company based out of—you guessed it—Trustin, Calif. These guys hand-craft each high-end piece the company sells. But the coolest feature has got to be the interchangeable table centers. You can make your fire pit rise out of Glo-Fire gas logs, a stainless steel grill, or S/B Arctic Flame Glass. Or you can forget all that and throw an umbrella hole in the middle for hot days when you don’t need a fire. Or—get this—just insert the compatible ice bucket into the middle and start cutting up limes for your Tecates and Modelos.
California Outdoor Concepts also thought to include a counter-sized ring around them so you can lean your elbows on something while roasting ‘mallows or heating up some steamers.
Admittedly, the price tags are a little intimidating. Fire pits range from $1,000 to more than $5,000—significantly more than what we paid for our semi-circle of cement. But California Outdoor Concepts offers other guarantees, such as year-long warranties and rustproof materials. And you can also get away with hosting Gatsby-style backyard parties that will make you the envy of your suburban enclave.
If this all sounds like a touch too much, let these fancy flame enclosures be your muse. Free online instruction abounds on how to create your own miniature tabletop fire pit, full-size and decadent outdoor fire ring, or fancy-schmancy fire pit for your yard. There is no longer any excuse to keep that inner pyro hidden.
I've underserved our readers in the last few months by not profiling the eclectic bunch we have holed up at Better Farm. Since May, we've seen an engineering intern, biologist, bartender studying to be a nutrition expert, fresh Iowan transplant, 20-year-old vet recently back from repairing helicopters in Japan, and a truck driver pass through this house.I'm a pretty big fan of barbecues, so summertime at Better Farm is basically rife with grilling activity. If you've got it, we'll throw it down and cook the hell out of it.
It was a sad day when the Babcocks moved out last month and took their grill with them. Our quick solution was to look into buying a new one; but those plans were put on hold when we found an old, defunct grill in one of the sheds across the street and made a few minor repairs to get that baby up and running as good as new. One less big hunk of metal for the landfill, and we've extended our grilling season well into fall.
Then I felt the inevitable pang of regret the second I stumbled upon the gem pictured here, called the Big Green Egg. This ridiculous piece of grilling technology is a smoker barbecue, grill, and oven that comes in four sizes to suit any living situation ...or commune.
In fact, people are so stoked over the Big Green Egg that there's an annual festival dedicated to the thing.
Eggtoberfest draws Big Green Egg enthusiasts from all over for a cookout that'll have your taste buds clicked into high gear, maybe permanently.
So, next spring is another season that'll have Better Farm abuzz with activity from renters and a budding workshop itinerary. Will our repaired grill be enough? Here's to hoping not. See you eggheads in a few months.
The basement is the central nervous system of any home. You've got your blood and guts (pipes, wires, and tubes carrying water, sewage, hot air, and electricity), skeleton (foundation), organs (hot water heater, furnace, sump pump), and brain (control box).
At a big farmhouse destined for summer concerts, workshops, parties, and rousing matches of croquet and horseshoes, it makes sense to have a self-standing outdoor structure for dining, dancing, and rocking in hammocks and swings.
Wood ash—that leftover pile of soot in your fireplace—has a myriad of uses you might want to consider before sweeping it up and throwing it in the garbage. One cord of firewood leaves behind up to 50 pounds of ashes, which can be used for everything from repelling slugs and snails from your flowers and produce to de-icing driveways and backyards without damaging cement or dirt underneath.
Here at Better Farm, we’re suckers for bonfires. Any excuse we can dream up to build a blaze, we will—and do. The ash we produce gets mixed in with our compost, and will help give our tomato plantings a boost in the spring. But with the seasons changing every-so-rapidly, we’ve started thinking more about creative and sensible ways to have an outdoor fire pit without the hassle of making our way across the street to our ragtag circle of cinder blocks every time.
Outdoor fire pits may hold the key to year-round blazes of glory for us—and for any of you who don’t have the luxury of starting huge fires willy-nilly on your property. In addition to providing you with plenty of ash for making soap and shining silver, outdoor fire pits offer year-round outdoor cooking options, an alternative to watching television, and a really nice accent for your property. If you decide to buy one new instead of cobbing one together, make sure it’s constructed of a material that is undoubtedly going to stand the test of time, such as wrought iron. As for all that wood ash you’ll be creating—store it in a fireproof container with a strong, airtight seal so you can keep coming back to it.
