1. Before building your chicken tractor, Draw up a Design of how you envision the structure; you can look online to aid you in doing so.

* We chose a triangular design after browsing through images because it seemed to offer the most structural support as well as being relatively simple.

2 . Make measurements, Cut Pieces, and Build Frame

* The wood that we had to work with was limited, and for that reason the measurements that we used were relative to the cuts of wood that we had.

Quantity Size Cut Purpose

3 2"x4"x7' Both flat (90o) Corners of Triangle

3 1"x1"x4.5" Both ends at 45o angles outward Downward Supports

6 1"X1"x42" Both ends at 45o angles outward Top Supports

3 1"x1"x20" Both ends at 45o angles outward Middle Supports

2 1"x1"x40" Both ends at 45o angles outward Bottom Supports

4 1"x1"x3'5.5" Both flat (90o) Lenghtwise Supports

2 1"x1"x40" Both flat (90o) Very Bottom Supports

* We found it easier to attatch the 1"x1"x4.5" pieces to the 2"x4"x7' that was to be the top of our chicken tractor using 1.5" screws. We placed one flush with each end and one in the very middle. We then attatched all six 1"X1"x42" on either side of the 1"x1"x4.5" supports. Before attatching the 1"x1"x20" supports we screwed on the two 1"x1"x40" bottom supports; this just makes it easier to put the middle supports on.

* Perpendicular to the 1"x1"x4.5" downward supports we attatched 1"x1"x3'5.5" lengthwise supports. We placed these in a fashion that was flush with the 1"x1"x20" middle supports. It is to these pieces that we later staled the shade cloth to.

4. Attatch Wheels and Handles

* The wheels that we purchased are entirely galvanized steel and only cost $5.00 at the local hardware store. We attatched them to the corner of the bottom 2"x4"x7' corners of the triangle with two screws and to the very bottom 1"x1"x40" support with a third. A wheel was attatched to all four corners. To the front and back faces of the triangles, where the top 2"x4"x7' beam and the 1"x1"x4.5" supports meet, we attatched handles so as to push and pull the chicken tractor.

3. Attatch Shade Cloth, and Chicken Wire

* So as to provide the chickens with a source of shade we attatched cloth along the upper portion of the chicken tractor's frame. Pulling on the cloth while using a staple gun, we made sure it was as tight as possible. On the triangle fances we had to do some bunching to make it tight. We then cut the remaining fabric off.

* We obtained chicken wire for $1.00/1'x4' at the hardware store. We stapled the chicken wire over the fabric on all but the triangle face where the door was to be placed. Using wire cutters we removed the remaining chicken wire.

4. Build the Door

Quantity Size Cut Purpose

4 2"x4"x14" Both flat (90o) Vertical part of frame and door

1 1"x1"x14" One flat (90o) One 45o outward Next to frame; to staple wire to

2 2"x4"x20" Both flat (90o) Horizontal part of door

* To build the frame of the door turned out to be the most difficult part. We used 2 hinges which came in a pack together and cost $4.00 at the hardware store. We first built the frame using two 2"x4"x14" vertical pieces then built the door using the two remaining pieces as well as the two 2"x4"x20" horizontal pieces (For this it required 2.5" screws). We attatched the door to the frame using the hinges and then sandwhiched the hinges between one of the 2"x4"x14" vertical pieces from the frame and the 1"x1"x14" piece.

5. Finish off the Door Side Chicken Wire

* Staple chicken wire to the door and to all the parts of the chicken tractor's frame.

6. Let the chickens roam the yard without having to worry about your crops

We have again added bed space to the Energy Garden, this time in the shape of a mandala. Utilizing techniques from Gaia’s Garden by Toby Hemenway, we are slowly building the hardpan barren “lawn”, read: super invasive bermuda grass and clumps of dead sod, into nutrient rich humus. As double digging was near impossible, we are letting the worms to the work by creating a sheet mulch close to 18 inches thick.

First we created the design for the area and then marked the edges of the mandala on the earth. Next we began creating the bed. Otherwise known as lasagna gardening, we chopped away some of the clumps of grass and started with an inch layer of manure. We followed that with cardboard, then with an inch or two of organic vineyard compost from Grab and Grow in Sebastopol. According to the grab and grow website, it is “made from a simple blend of grape pumice, green waste and oyster shell flour, this compost has no manures or supplemental nitrogen fertilizers added to this high potassium mix.

This was followed by a single “book” layer of wheat straw, then with another inch or two of mango mulch. “It doesn’t have any mangos in it, but it does have horse and cow manure to supply basic nutrients; grape and apple pumice which are high in beneficial bacteria and yeasts to aid with the breakdown of organic matter; rice hulls and straw for good soil tilth; soft rock phosphate and greensand to boost the phosphorous and potassium.” This was followed by a layer of alfalfa straw and wheat straw mixed together. We will plant by opening pockets in about a month.

Next we created the paths by laying burlap bags donated by Taylor Made Farms in Sebastopol. On top of the burlap we put down woodchips. The irrigation was then laid under the straw. We have also sheet mulched and prepared a new berry patch next to the sunflowers and driveway in the front of the house. In an epic battle with the Bermuda grass we have also sheet mulched all of the paths on the property with cardboard and woodchips. We hacked down most of it and hope it never comes back. It looks great right now.

Before...

After... let the worms do the digging!

For the past two and a half months I have been a part of the Post Carbon Institute's efforts to encourage relocalization and investigate strategies for a post carbon world. Starting with a residential backyard in Sebastopol California, we transformed a portion of lawn into twenty one 4x10' energy crop beds. As time progressed so did our ambitions; we extended into the front yard where we double dug ten 4x20' beds and in another section three 4x33' beds. The soil in which we are digging is of the Sebastopol sandy loam series and therefore provided rapid drainage and contained low quantities of organic matter. To each bed we added a couple wheel barrows worth of compost to improve the organic content of the soil as well as to encourage water retention in the A horizon. For the paths surrounding the beds we laid medium sized cedar wood chips to serve as aesthetic appeal and weed prevention.

As temperatures increase, the next phase of our project required laying irrigation for the 2168’ of fertile soil. We chose to use ½” pvc attached to ¾” drip line as it is the most resource conserving method of watering as well as very flexible in the methods of watering that it allows for. Installing an automatic timing system to govern four valves as well as manual shut off valves at each bed allows us complete control of the amount of water we use; with each line running at a half gallon per hour we will be able to utilize the system to calculate the amount of water input per biomass output.

Along with energy crops, we have planted a variety of vegetables and just recently an herb garden including both medicinal and culinary herbs. Due to the nonlinear placement of plants in these beds we will be laying a mist emitting line, running from the same automated system, in the near future.

To assist in jump starting the planting season we have built three cold frames in which we can safely keep flats of seedlings overnight without any risk to external conditions. Using a layer of manure beneath the flats we have employed exothermic bacterial decomposition as an overnight heat source.

We recently purchased four pullets: one Rhode Island Red, and 3 Sex-links. Out of recycled wood we have built for them a chicken coop equipped with a removable floor, an outward opening wall, and an egg harvesting panel. At night they are safely protected from predators as well a provided with comfortable roosting conditions; however, during the day they are allowed to roam free in the 150 sq. ft. pen that we have built.

To the grass we removed and other organic material, including food scraps from the kitchen, we are adding straw and dirt and promoting decomposition in three compost containers that we have constructed. The chickens are allowed access to two of these containers.

With the summer quickly approaching there are many exciting tasks ahead of us: flats to be planted, seedlings to be transplanted, and many more building projects (benches, pocket gardens, a living roof, etc.), not to mention the regular maitenance.

The Energy Garden in Sebastopol is consistently moving forward in developing a system that allows us pursue our goals of:

- To familiarize the public with energy crops and demonstrate their capabilities as local sources of fuel.

- To produce the maximum yield of food, fuel, fiber, fertilizer, and feedstock for the minimum input of resources by designing a dynamically balanced garden with compensating systems for maintenance.

- To provide instruction for the transformation of a suburban/urban yard into an ecologically conscious garden without any dependence upon petroleum.

- To consistently pursue improved methods of employing ecological services and replicating natural processes.

Most recently we have terraced the front yard and added a series of raised beds. With each pocket garden we are practicing the method of square foot gardening as prescribed by Mel Bartholomew.

We are currently culturing Shitake and Sonoma Brown Oyster mushrooms. We purchased starter kits from GOURMET MUSHROOMS and MUSHROOM PRODUCTS
and with the fruit that they have produced we have innoculated corrugated cardboard with the intention of itransfering mycelial growth to burlap sacks.

We have recently purchased a 5 gallon apple press and as well as collecting fallen apples from the trees on our property to ferment and distill into ethanol, we are collecting those from neighbors.

We have recently purchased three more Rhode Island Red pullets which aside from intial problems are now integrating into the our existing flock. We have also come upon free half-wine barrels and have planted them with runner beans that we hope will trellace the chicken wire of our pen and provide the chickens with nutrients.

We have started a food scrap collection with the local cooperative housing community, Two Acre Wood. The kitchen scraps from their community meals are put into a steel trash can which we collect each week and feed to our chickens and add to our compost piles.

Aside from recent projects the garden is growing in itself. Our corn is now shoulder height, as are our sunflowers and Jerusalem Artichokes. We have tomatoes, apples, salad greens, kale, chard, peas, peppers, and strawberries that are ready for harvest, with many more plants on their way.

This past Saturday, May 31, 2008, the first gallons of recycled water entered the Sebatopol Energy Garden water system that before then had only circulated captured rain water. The recylced water, also called grey water was not plumbed from the house at 327 Murphy Avenue due to pending permission, however we were able to divert the drainage of our outdoor spray table and hand washing sink without violating any legal limitations.

The system was designed such that the drainage of the sink first falls directly into a gravel filled tank (30 gallons) planted with unicorn juncus, pennywort, and water parsley. This tank funtions as a filter and primary treatment for any debris From there, that water which isnt retained within the system flows into a second larger tank (150 gallons) which houses a larger community of wetland plants. The reason for using a second is to provide a longer retention time and thus a longer phytoremediation period for the recylced grey water. When more water is added to the first tank, the water that it contains will overflow into the second tank and all overflow is then plumbed at a 2% drop in grade to the previously existing  water treatment system.

To help in the installation of the system was Heather Shepherd who led along with myself a hands on grey water workshop. The day began with an explanation of the steps involved in designing a site specific grey water system, and followed with an analysis of the process that had gone into designing and constructing the system at the Sebastopol Energy Garden. We had the class go under the house to look at the piping and explained the legal requirements to plumb from the house's outward pipes into a grey water system and leach field.

For the later part of the day we were busy putting tanks in, filling them with gravel and plants, and plumbing them into the system. Whereas most courses offer the theoretical process of installing a grey water system, we had the rare oppurtunity to actually lead a group through the installation process kinestetically.

I would like to thank everyone that came, especially Heather. It was a warm day and within 6 hours we were able to install the two tanks, trench all the pipes, and connect the system. It is running now as I write this and I will no longer have to worry about the system going dry or having to fill it from the hose, because all vegetable washing and hand washing water will flow into the system to keep it full of water and provide nutrients for the plants growing within the tanks. 

An Energy Crop is any crop grown specifically for its energy value. In general there are two approaches to energy crops: growing plants specifically for energy use, or using the residues from plants that are grown primarily for another purpose.

Energy Crops entail either short rotation woody crops, which are fast growing hardwood trees ready for harvest 5-8 years after planting, or herbaceous crops, including both annuals and perennials. Short rotation trees exhibit the potential to be grown as energy crops if they produce large amounts of biomass quickly and can continue to grow after being cut off close to the ground, a feature called "coppicing." Herbaceous energy crops are typically grown for either carbohydrates or cellulose, both of which can be burned and converted to ethanol, but some annuals are grown to produce oil which can also be used to make fuels.

Traditionally capturing energy from biomass required burning the biomass; however, a number of non-combustion methods are available for converting biomass to energy. These processes convert raw biomass into a variety of gaseous, liquid, or solid fuels that can then be used directly for energy generation. The carbohydrates and cellulose in biomass can be broken down into a variety of chemicals, some of which are useful fuels. This conversion can be done in three ways:

• Thermochemical: When plant matter is heated to approximately 55°C in thermophilic digestion systems, (the process typically lasting 12-14 days), it breaks down into various gases, liquids, and solids. These products can then be further processed and refined into useful fuels such as methane and ethanol. Biomass gasifiers capture methane released from the plants and burn it in a gas turbine to produce electricity. This method offers higher methane production, faster throughput, better pathogen and virus ‘kill’, but requires more expensive technology, greater energy input and a higher degree of operation and monitoring.

• Biochemical: Bacteria, yeasts, and enzymes also break down carbohydrates and cellulose. Fermentation, the process used to make wine, changes biomass liquids into ethanol, a combustible fuel. When bacteria break down biomass, methane and carbon dioxide are produced; this methane can be captured and burned for heat and power; while the CO2, and instead of releasing carbon into the air that has been stored for millions of years, does not increase the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere. The digestion process takes place in a warmed, sealed airless container which provides the oxygen-free conditions required for the bacteria to ferment the organic material. The container is heated to 30-35°C and the feedstock remains in the digester typically for 15-30 days. Gas production is less, larger digestion tanks are required but the process tends to be more robust and tolerant

• Chemical: Biomass oils can be chemically converted into a liquid fuel similar to diesel fuel, and into gasoline additives. Oil can be extracted mechanically with an oil press, an expeller, or even with a wooden mortar and pestle. Presses range from small, hand-driven models that an individual can build to power-driven commercial presses. Expellers have a rotating screw inside a horizontal cylinder that is capped at one end. The screw forces the seeds or nuts through the cylinder, gradually increasing the pressure. The oil escapes from the cylinder through small holes or slots, and the press cake emerges from the end of the cylinder, once the cap is removed. Crude oils are easy to produce and, in principles, they can be used in engines but, to be employed, they require engines with a pre-combustion chamber or ad-hoc designed engines.

There are advantages associated with producing energy from perennial biomass yielding crops. Perennials reduce soil erosion as well as the release of soil carbon, both of which are disadvantages related to annual tillage. They achieve this by removing CO₂ from the atmosphere and incorporating it into their plant tissue, especially below the ground in their roots, by what is known as carbon sequestration. Exposure to wind and water erosion occurs primarily during establishment of annual crops and is minimized with perennials. Perennials possess deep root systems that enable them to access more soil moisture and survive frequent droughts that decimate annual crops thereby significantly reducing water requirements Perennials can provide N fixation and provide windbreaks.

PROPERTY ZONING:

The Sebastopol Energy Garden is partitioned into three specific zones of use, with the lowest numbered zone representing the area of highest traffic and crop yield (Zone 1), and the highest numbered zone being that which requires only periodic care and offers reduced yields (Zone 3). That zone which falls between Zone 1 and 3 (Zone 2) represents an overlap of the two. By viewing the garden as three separate zones with individual characteristics, we can plan the layout of selected cropsmuch more strategically.

ZONES 1-2: BACKYARD

ZONE 1 is the portion of the garden in closest proximity to zone zero of the property, the house. The crops grown in this area are primarily consumed by humans. Crops in this zone fall within the categories of nutrition, and root calorie crops. Water remediation occurs in the zone of the garden as well as the growing systems.

ZONES 1-2: FRONTYARD

ZONE 2 is the portion of the garden beyond zone one that is still used for annual crops. Crops grown in this area are primarily calorie and carbon crops. This is the part of the garden allocated towards testing and demonstration, and is where there is opportunity to profile those crops that we see fit. Compost production, egg production, tool storage, and processing and harvesting occur in this part of the garden.

ZONE 3: BACKYARD

ZONE 3 is the portion of the garden farthest from the house. Crops grown in this part of the garden are primarily perennials that provide nutrition and calories, attract and repel insects, fix nitrogen, accumulate nutrients, or increase the health of the garden ecosystem. This portion of the garden is independent from irrigation and is self managing.

Winter is almost over, and with it the time for introspection also draws to a close. The heavy rains and shorter days have given us time to create a sign system that illustrates our priorities in the garden. In the coming year some focuses like crop selection and soil building will stay the same, and this season they will be enhanced by a winter of planning that we did not have last year.

Education is also a key priority as we enter the 2008 growing season, and one of the primary tools that we developed this winter is our garden didactic system. This collection consists of 23 concept signs and 30 profile crop signs. They will be scattered throughout the garden to greatly enhance its accessibility.

This project was beneficial to the Energy Garden initiative because in the process compiling the content, we were able to summarize our work to date. In addition, the signs helped us to identify the focal points of the garden and the methods that influence its development.

The concept signs consist of:

· Goals of the Sebastopol Energy Garden

· Community Compost Collection

· The Sebastopol Energy Garden Growth Collage

· Square Foot Gardening Method

· Natural Farming – The “Do Nothing” Method

· Cover Crops

· The Water Catchment System

· Drip Irrigation

· Culinary Herb Spiral

· Mandala Garden: The Sheet Mulch Technique

· Methods of Season Extension: Towards a “Four Season Harvest”

· Appropriate Technologies

· Processing and Harvesting Techniques

· Tree Guilds: Edible Forest Gardening

· Garden Cycle Tracking

· Ethanol Production

· The Fractional Still

· Recycling and Compost: Designing “From Cradle to Cradle”

· Chickens

· Biointensive Concepts

· Permaculture Principles

Each sign corresponds to something that is happening in the garden or that has influenced its progression. There are also 30 profile crops that we have chosen because of their ability to help us adapt to Peak Oil. Instead of a lawn, we are selecting a great range of crops to benefit humans and the environment. Please see http://www.energyfarms.net/node/1495 for a list of these crops.

These signs will enable people with a wide range of understanding of sustainability to experience a transformed suburban lawn. When people visit this year, during our second growing season, they will be introduced to a diversity of crops with a large variety of functions. In addition, they will be exposed to techniques and technologies that are easy to learn and have the potential to make a big difference in their lives.

The rains will soon stop, and spring will bring a time of action. We will sow seeds of diversity in the garden and hopefully, inspiration in the community. The Energy Garden is always open to visitors and we look forward to helping more people experience the resilience of the Earth.

Due to the apple press' limited ability, we constructed a much more sophisticated tool to aid in our goal of fermenting fallen apples as a means of producing ethanol.

It functions as both a grinder and a press and we were able to construct it out of basic hardware, including parts from the previous apple press (all lumber used was recylced).

The grinding mechanism was built using 3/4" steel nipples attatched to a 5" in diameter cut of fir. Screws were then distributed around the circumfrance of the wood to act as the teeth of the grinder.

The grinder was mounted by drilling 1 1/2" holes through the diagonal support beams that connect the leg posts and a handle was added for easy torque. We then added a funnel to hold the apples to be ground and added horizontally placed 2x4s to support the press.

The construction of the press was more demanding because it required that the platform be waterproof and that we provided a faucet of some sort to dirrect the pressed liquid. The platform that we made was first caulked with silicone to avoid any leaks and then coated with a sheet of galvanized steel. The faucet was made from PVC parts left over from the drip irrigation system and was installed just as the grinder was, by drilling a 1 1/2" hole within which it rested. Silicon was also used to make sure no liquid escaped around the sides of the faucet.

We are able to easily remove the press and fill/empty the contents because rather than permanently attatching its parts, they are simply clamped down before and after each pressing.

With one person opperating the machine, we are able to produce 4 gallons of liquid per hour; this includes collecting the apples, grinding them, and pressing them.

After producing eigh gallons of wort, measurements of the temperature, the sugar content, and the pH were taken.

A pH of 3.5 was measured at 78 degrees farenheit with a sugar content of 12% prior to bringing the wort to a boil.

The wort was then poured into a stainless steel kettle, and brought to a boil so as to kill any bacteria that might compete with the yeast we would soon add. By doing so we were also boiling out water, hence increasing the sugar content as well as neutralizing the pH.

After boiling the wort and allowing it to cool, yeast nutrients were added and measurements were once again taken. As the temperature of the wort cooled, the hydrometer's reading of the sugar content became more accurate. I was able to boil out enough water to bring the sugar content to 20% and the pH to 4.5. The sugar content could have even been higher and this has been noted for the next batch.

Once a temperature of 80 degrees farenheit was reached, the yeast was added, the lid was put on the bucket and the bucket was placed in a cool place to ferment for the next three days.

This past winter we began converting the three largest beds at the Sebastopol Energy Garden into a broad acre demonstration plot. The initial steps of converting the beds into a 528 ft² field entailed building up the soil with compost that was produced on-site, and broadcasting alfalfa and white clover seed onto the plot. We planted the two legumes separately so as to compare their performance as living mulch. Both can sustain a mowing, and both will grow perennially in this climate but we also want to see how they compete with weeds and the amount of water that they require. We allowed the legumes to grow into the spring and just recently scythed them down and dug the pockets into which Quinoa was planted.

The method that we followed in planning this system of growing is described in The One-Straw Revolution, written by Masanobu Fukuota. It is a method that he refers to as the “Do Nothing Method” or “Natural Farming” which is outlined in four principles: No Cultivation, No Chemical Fertilizer or Prepared Compost, No Weeding by Tillage or Herbicides, and No Dependence upon Chemicals. By this method, pockets of annual grains are inter-planted among an under story of perennial legumes, in our case White Clover and Alfalfa. The legumes fix nitrogen and carbon and compete with weeds, in addition to retaining water, while the annual grains, in our case Quinoa, provide calorie rich seeds for consumption and biomass for soil sustainability. This technique uses a no till approach, and minimal human interference. The seed florets are removed from the annual grains by hand; the stalks are scythed and left in place to decompose and return carbon to the soil. By leaving the biomass in place we promote nutrient cycling without the laborious task of hauling material back and forth from compost piles.

Living mulch can offer a number of benefits that straw mulch cannot. Bare soil resulting from intensive tillage can lead to soil erosion, nutrient losses, and offsite movement of pesticides. In addition, weeds can germinate and grow without competition. Living mulches can reduce water runoff, reduces erosion, and protect waterways from pollution. Living mulches have also been shown to increase the population of organisms which are natural enemies of some crop pests.

As atmospheric CO2 levels rise and the effects of increased greenhouse gases result in higher global temperatures, the application of living mulches for carbon fixation also becomes more appealing.