Introduction: In an era marked by increasing environmental concerns and a desire for greater self-reliance, the concept of self-sufficiency has gained significant traction. "Self-Sufficient Backyard," authored by Ron and Johanna Melchiore, presents a comprehensive guide to embracing sustainable living, backyard farming, and the art of homesteading. In this article, we will delve into the invaluable insights offered by this empowering book and explore the journey towards self-sufficiency.
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While living off the grid here in Romania, I learned that there is a list of hand tools that are a must living off the grid.
Power tools both electric or on gas, are very efficient, but sometimes you may wake up that you need a simple basic hand tool that will do the job in any situation, in case that your power tools brake, including self defense. So here is my top 10 hand tools list, that are a must: 1- Axe/hatchet. Now this 2 come in handy plenty of time, since you can use it as hammers as well. They will help you chop down branches, trees, build and even defense in case that is needed.
2- Pitchfork. Now, a pitchfork is necessary since you will have to deal with grass, collecting, use it to carry some grass to store or feed the animals. Plus that the same like an axe or hatchet, can be used for self defense.
3- Handsaw. Most of the people are used with a chainsaw, electric saw, or other power tools to cut wood. But a handsaw is always needed, sometimes you need to cut something where you can't reach with a power tool, sometimes you need controlled cuts.
4- Scythe. Now, a lawnmower or any motorized type of grass cutting device, help a lot to save some time and less effort for the lazy. But a Scythe still remains the king of the grass cutting tools. Some even made competitions and the scythe won. In case you don't have gas or electricity for a motorized tool, then this will always come and handy, plus that gives a great full body workout. Can be used for self defense.
5- Rake. Same like with the fork, a rake is always handy for collecting grass, leaves, put your lazy kids to do something useful. Can be used for self defense.
6- Shovel. Very useful tool, especially that not everyone has a motorized digger. Great for soft soil, cleaning dumps from animals. Can be used for self defense.
7- Spade. Same like the shovel, can be used for digging even in harder types of soil. Either for work in garden, either to use after using it for self defense to get rid of the evidence.
8- H o e. This tool is used to work the land, collect the crops, clean at the animals, can be used for self defense.
9- Hammer. A hammer is always needed, and is the best friend for the fingers, can teach you self control, or new cursing words. Can be used for self defense.
10- Soil Auger. This tool is great for digging holes for poles, shallow wells, can be used for self defense.
Living off the grid is seen mostly own food, own electricity, own water, and heating. But, what about car fuel? Costs for machinery to work the fields, maintenance, paperwork... a total financial nightmare when comes to living off the grid. So what could be the best, eco-friendly solution? Get a horse. Some may jump, stop forcing horses, blah blah blah. Horses are actually extremely powerful and resistant, one healthy strong adult horse can pull a 3 tons of car as a workout. Did car break down? Hop up and ride the horse to the gas station. Here are 10 reasons why you should get a horse, or more 1- Horses are much more ecologically friendly than bicycles. You may think, how comes a bicycle is less ecological? Well, the factories that make them, make a lot of pollution, starting from the metal factories, rubber factories, plastics added... . While a horse, is natural 100%, not made, but born from a female horse that is 100% natural as well. Especially that does not require spare parts except horseshoes that are not expensive. 2- Horses are harder to steal than a bike. You can live your horse in the field or next to a shop and the chances for it to be stolen are slim to none. In the worst case and someone steals your horse, you will be able to find it easy, I mean is a big animal and probably the thief is a hipster who want to look cool or someone who wanna go to a country club. 3- They like weeds, same as you. So there is a thing most of the people are having in common with the horses, both like weeds. Can use it as a lawnmower. Easy to feed, just the same as with any herbivore, hay, corn, wheat, apples, vegetables to keep them strong and healthy. Don't forget that they need love and care, animals have a soul, have feelings and they will see you as their family. 4- They will save your life. In case that you drive a car and pass out, you will crash and probably die or just have a few broken bones. While a horse will take you home. I still remember when I was going to the countryside here in Romania and some hard-working people, extremely tired after a day of hard work in the pub, that would need to walk on 4 legs, simply climb in the chariot and the horse took them home. It kinda like an autopilot, but safer, at least they won't start to burn like a Tesla and neither will hit people due to malfunction. 5- Fertilizer. Horse poop is a great fertilizer for your crops, so why buy chemicals for your garden when you can get your own fertilizer. 6- Horses are very loyal if you take good care of them. Same like dogs, are very intelligent and ready to protect you in case of need. 7- Fieldwork. You can use a horse to work the field and will count as a workout for them. Of course, I am talking about working not abusing as some people do. But you would be surprised to find out that horses do enjoy hard work, because it makes them stronger, and won't get bored just by standing and doing nothing always. 8- Business idea. If you want, you can start a horse riding school, and get a good income out of it. 9- They like beer. Yep, horses enjoy a good beer during the summer. I don't say to get them drunk of course. They are horses, not humans. They do have some self-respect. Horses can drink 2-5 beers without any problem since their bodies are way bigger and the amount of alcohol in blood would be less, but they can drink alcohol-free beer as well, not necessarily enjoy it, I mean who enjoy beer without alcohol? So you get yourself a drinking partner. Just don't get the horse drunk. It's already hard to carry a drunk human friend, so a half a ton drunk horse would be way too much for you. 10- Emotional support. PTSD, Anxiety, depression, sadness... . Horses are friendly and there for you to lift your mood, and if they can't, they will stay by your side until you will feel much better. A horse, same like a dog, is a gift from gods.
We finally decided to grow goats and we managed to get two of them for the beginning.
This idea came to us since we got plenty of land for them and since we need to cut the grass always, why not get some help and benefits from it as well. We prefer goats over cows since goats are easier to handle and less dangerous. Plus that they are a source of milk, and we are vegetarians so this is a great thing. Goats are amazing, very intelligent, our goats even learned a few tricks. I recommend goats to everyone, including vegans. For vegans maybe male goats, as amazing intelligent pets, natural lawnmower, and great fertilizer. The poop from the goats helps develop champignon mushrooms in the grass, and this offers an extra source of food. Plus that their poop can be used in the garden to fertilize the soil very well. Growing goats and carrying about them: Goats are easy to be taken care of, if you have enough land to supply hay for them during the winter is a great thing since you won't need to buy hay. You will still need to get some salt blocks for them and offer them fresh water to drink. Depending on the breed, you may need to have some extra care against rain and cold. They require care for their hoves, there are special clippers for them, but if you don't want too much work with that, then do like us, place a few big stones so they can maintain their hoves by themselves. Goat's milk, called by Hippocrates "miraculous liquid and healing essence," has innumerable benefits and a composition similar to breast milk. The goat produces 8-20 times more milk than its own body weight. In addition, it has an exceptional prolificacy, 3-4 kids 2 times a year, and biological longevity of up to 10-12 years. From goat, you can capitalize on everything from milk, fur to poop. She is loving and loves to eat from your palm. A real treasure, unpretentious to eat, and easy to grow. Is he hungry and thirsty? It is a job that you can do in the morning and in the evening with feed in the gutters and water in the drinking troughs. If you're busy, you can go during the day, but in the morning and in the evening you have to be there. If you have a small plot of land and you like goats, find out that the investment is not big at all. In fact, you can start with a few heads and, given their prolificacy, in two years you can boast a small farm. The area required for the construction of a farm of 300 goats is about 2500 square meters. Reproduction in goats In goats, the rut (mating period) is seasonal, starting in autumn. The duration of the route is 36-48 hours, this being repeated every 17 (10-23) days. In a small proportion of animals, the route may appear earlier, in June-July, they must be identified, sown, grouped separately, because the trait is hereditary and goats can be used in organizing extra-early calving. The maximum intensity of the route is in October-November, and in freedom the natural mounting takes place throughout the period, being distributed according to the principle: one male to 30-40 females. Young goats, up to two years old, will perform only two mounts a day - morning and evening - to avoid physical and sexual exhaustion, obtaining non-viable products. The use of hornless goats for reproduction, regardless of the mounting system - natural or artificial - can be done after careful verification of reproduction skills, avoid the occurrence of sterility, hermaphrodites, non-reproducible, etc. Gestation Gestation in goats lasts, on average, 150 days, with variations between 145 and 158 days, depending on the precocity of the breed, the age of the mother and the date of first calving, the number and sex of products, the level of maintenance, etc. The state of gestation is known after the absence of the route and the gradual development and asymmetry, prominent on the right, of the abdomen. At least four weeks before calving, milking should be stopped for the preparation of the future lactation and the accumulation of nutrients necessary for the development of the fetus. If some goats show a gradual secretion of milk before calving, they should be milked to avoid mastitis. In case of abnormal positions of the fetus (dystocia) the intervention of the specialist is required. In the shelter, it is necessary to create and maintain a proper microclimate, with a temperature of 14-15 degrees C, without currents and humidity, with clean and well-dried bedding. After calving, at an interval of 1-1.5 hours, the animal is given warm water for drinking or boiling bran and is left to rest for 2-3 days. Good quality fodder is administered in small quantities: alfalfa hay or green meal, depending on the season, a mixture of concentrates, salt in the form of lumps or briquettes, and drinking water at a temperature of 10-15 degrees C. Goat food A biological and, implicitly, economic peculiarity of the species is represented by the superior capitalization of all categories of fodder: vegetables - green mass, flours, chaff, straw, silage, roots, leaves, concentrates, technical waste, etc .; industrial - bran, feed flour, microbiological residues, etc. The need for feed depends on milk production, followed by the state of maintenance or physiology of the animals and the quality of the feed. Goats are not pretentious, but greedy with a pronounced sense of preference for certain varieties of fodder and even parts of them and very capricious to the hygiene of feed. It prefers mountain pastures, with different shrubs, leaves, shoots, tree buds, aromatic plants. Also kitchen scraps, from vegetable gardens, fruit peels, melons, potatoes, cabbage, lettuce, legume paste, fallen fruit from trees. In extensive exploitation, in the wild, the consumption of herbs varies from 5 to 80 percent. Under conditions of permanent housing in the shelter, with directed feeding, goats are fed on the basis of rules and rations to intensify their production. Perfected breeds generally produce 20 times more milk than their own weight, and breeding is 155 percent higher.
When comes about food and natural medicine, I am the one who checks every single one of them that there is in order to make the perfect medicinal food.
I love fighting, and every single fighter now that in order to get better, you need to train more and more, but it takes time to recover, and this waiting time is what I hate. I did discovered a recipe that will reduce the recovering time more than 500% but is still not complete since I want to improve it more. But of course, I will not add it in this article, but I will add the main ingredient. In Western medicine, the leaves of leaves and green Lucerne shoots, rich in all nutrients necessary for the functioning of the human body, are considered an important ingredient for maintaining health and a valuable food due to the rich digestive protein content that can supplicate animal protein food. A special recommendation is made for the food of vegetarians and persons holding a day or lasting fast. The last decades have focused a lot of research conducted in the United States and Western Europe to elucidate the therapeutic value of the plant with the popular name "Alfalfa", a term derived from the Arab word "al-fal-fa" that means "father of all foods". Specialist Gillian MC. Keith called her "live health." Alfalfa is Lucerne, with the scientific name Medicago sativa L., cultivated throughout our country as a perennial fodder plant for horses and birds, less in the northwest area of Romania, as it does not support the excess moisture and soils too acidic. Originally from western Asia, where he was cultivated since antiquity, Lucerne was known in Babylon around 1300 BC. He was brought to Europe by Arabs, first in Greece and then in Rome, being described by Varro, Columella, and the old Plinius. Later, the Arabs began cultivating Lucerne in Spain. For therapeutic purposes, it was used in China, starting in the VI century, to treat various renal conditions. Around 1550, Spanish sailors took seeds in Central and South America where they currently occupy large areas, cultivated as a fodder plant, but also as a vegetal supplement and nutritional tonic in the human diet. In Romania, it is grown in the eighteenth century, with seeds brought from France, is known for the ability to develop a very profound root system that penetrates the land to 4-5 meters, even 20-30 meters, exploiting the water reserves and Minerals in the depth, which ensures good resistance in drought. It has flowers with 10-20 blue-violate petals and twisted fruit in 2-4 spirals. For therapeutic purposes, Herba is harvested at the beginning of flowering, and seeds at full maturity. The chemical composition of the plant was detailed through numerous laboratory research, which highlighted the presence of 300 bioactive, phytotherapeutic and nutritional substances: - carbohydrates, lipids, slightly assimilable proteins, phytosterols (vegetable hormones); - eight essential amino acids (lysine, tryptophan, alanine, arginine, cysteine, proline, methionine, tyrosine); - Alkaloids, tannins, saponins, pectins, purines, coumarin; - antioxidants, flavones and flavonoids, digestive enzymes, chlorophyll; - carotenoids (beta-carotene, xanthophyll, vioxanthine, zeaxanthin, lutein); - vitamins: C (4 times more than citrus), B6, B9, B12, A, D, E, K; - organic acids: citric, malic, fumaric, succinic; - Minerals and trace elements: Ca, Fe, Mg, K, Mn, Zn, SE, with. This complex "pharmacy" with healing substances explains that Lucerne is among the "therapeutic secrets of 1,000 properties" (Frank Bouer), and through nutrient elements, "green food of the Millennium" was declared. The healing effects in Naturist medicine The therapeutic properties are multiple, explained by the biochemical components: Anti-anemic, invigorating, remineralizing, vitaminizing, antiscorbutic, depurative, detoxifying, alkalinizing, antidiabetic, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, anti-infectives, anti-infective, laxatives, diuretics, galactagogue. Lucerne leaves and flowers have proven very effective by multiple curative actions: - Strengthening the immune system in children, sick and elderly, due to the high content in carotene and chlorophyll. - Combating anemia, rachitism, and scurvy. Stimulating liver functions and eliminating liver and blood toxins by intake of fibers, carrying and eliminating intestinal residues, improving colon contractions, reducing balloons and gas, and avoiding constipation. - Digestive enzymes contribute to stimulating appetite, assimilation of nutrients in food, and combat indigestion and stomach burns. - Combat gastroduodenal gastritis and ulcers by the presence of vitamin U and act in the regeneration of the mucosa injured in the stomach and digestive tract, including after infestation with the bacteria Helicobacter pylori. - neutralizes excess gastric acidity in the stomach and blood through the alkalinizing effect; - Prevents the formation and deposition of cholesterol and fats on the inner walls of the arteries, avoiding coronary atherosclerosis and some cardiovascular disease, including strokes. By intake of vitamin K, Lucerne's strengthening of blood vessels facilitates blood clotting and prevents digestive bleeding and abundant bleeding (hypermenorrhea, metrophos, ulcerations, hard healing wounds). - Fortify the bones and teeth, avoiding the installation of osteoporosis after menopause, combat dental caries and hypocalcemia in children through the mineral complex, trace elements, and vitamins (D, E, B6). - combat renal lithalsas, urinary infections, bladder inflammation, and prostate adenoma by high zinc and vitamins (A, C, E) and chlorophyll. Having diuretic properties eliminates water retention in tissues in cases of edema, ascites, cellulite, and obesity, and excess uric acid with great benefits for gout patients. - At the level of the respiratory, it occurs in the fight against cough, bronchitis, pneumonia, and bronchial asthma. - By strong antioxidant properties, it prevents oxidative stress, combats free radicals, increases the body's resistance to prolonged physical and mental efforts, reduces fatigue and depressive states, and slows the early aging process. Forms of use In internal use, use the green powder of dried leaves in the shade and at the temperature below 380c (one teaspoon in water, juice, or yogurt, three times a day for two to three weeks), possibly compacted in tablets. Extracts in alcohol 25%, infusions, decoctions, and, very often, leaves and green shoots that consume 30 minutes before the main meals, 3-4 weeks. For external use, freshly crushed cataplasms are prepared on open wounds, burns, psoriasis, insects, and inflammation of the lower limbs, or hot baths with it for joint pain, pulmonary inflammation, and excessive hair loss.
Now that spring finally decided to come and stay, is time for us to replenish our energy and to detox the bodies from all the stagnation and not-so-fresh food. So therefore I decided to make an article about a delicious salad that we use for detoxification of the body, gaining a boost of energy, and strengthen the immune system with an amazing taste like salted fish. For this salad you will need:
Now, we never calculate in grams, cups... the food, we simply add based on our desire how much of each we want to eat. Simply chop all the ingredients, mix them all together with 2 lids of vinegar and some oil. This delicious and healthy salad will boost your immune system, feed you, plus that you can even conserve it in jars to have them in the wintertime as well. Regardless of whether it is now spring in the schedule, the sun is pausing and the snow would appear to not like to leave us yet. Nonetheless, we should as of now plan the work in the garden, for example, - planting, care, preparation, air circulation, scarification, water system and cutting the grass, pruning, weeding and tying the vines, pruning and care of fruit trees. LawnLawn care, despite the fact that it appears to be a genuinely basic activity from the start, however, it requires information on a specific strategy. It is vital that the lawn has ordinary support, and in this way, you will actually want to appreciate a wonderful and consistently green yard. Lawn seeds can be planted from March to October. Obviously, it is ideal that this activity isn't performed during times of warmth, yet additionally during times of hefty downpour. Lawn seeds planted in late winter will become rapidly and you will actually want to appreciate the magnificence of green strings in an exceptionally brief timeframe. Regardless of whether you use lawn seeds for development or on the off chance that you utilize business lawn rollers, you should set up the ground prior to planting. It should be cleaned of weeds, burrowed to a profundity of 20-30 cm, and should be leveled quite well. In the event that you use lawn rollers, the dirt should be blended in with sand, this guarantees the evenness of the spot prior to mounting them. Grapevines Grapevines pruning is perhaps the main exercise that should be begun in the spring as ahead of schedule as could really be expected. This work will impact both the number of grapes and their quality… yet additionally, the flavor of the wine got. This work, which wipes out up to 80 - 90% of the all-out yearly development on the stem, intends to keep up the shape given to the stem by cuttings in the primary years subsequent to planting, guaranteeing the important fruit components to guarantee grape creation in the current year, just as and fruitwood for the following year's gather. Prior to cutting, it is important to play out the burrowing (on the off chance that the assurance of the logs was guaranteed preposterous by covering), or the deburring (if there should be an occurrence of the semi-insurance of the logs by tunneling). fruit treesPruning of fruit trees is done in spring, towards the finish of the vegetative rest, when the temperature - including during the evening - surpasses 5 degrees Celsius. The motivation behind the cuttings is to adjust the vegetation between the base and the top, to allow the light to enter into the profundity of the crown. Hence, the energy of the tree will be coordinated to the youthful branches, and the tree will be assisted with creating solid branches and keeping up its vegetative limits. Tree preparing is done yearly and can be of a few kinds: development, recovery, or fruiting. Maybe sometimes you may have noticed trees with a rusty old nail in them and thought that someone may use it to hang up something or simply did not had what else to do, but you would actually be surprised to find out that this is a trick that is beneficial for the trees and us. My grandparents used to insert a nail in every fruit tree they had in the garden and this method is used in Romania for many generations. Behind this trick is pure science, this actually solves the problem with the lack of enough iron in the trees. Once a fruit tree reaches a certain age, it starts to have problems with making plenty of fruits, and this is due to iron insufficiency. So you are actually helping the tree to gain more iron so therefore you help it become more healthy and to produce more fruits as well. When you get a rusty old nail and want to do this trick, you must know that you must beat only half of it in the tree, so this way it won't injure the tree and will allow the external weather to help the nail to rust. Of course, if there are very big old trees, you can add even two nails. Before you insert the nails in the tree, make sure to sterilize them, this way you will prevent any infections to form on the tree. If you use 2 nails, make sure you keep a few cm distance between them. There are other methods as well instead of hitting a nail in the tree. One of them is to place in a bucket with water rusted nails and screws, then to use that for watering the trees periodically. Another method is to place in the grown a nail at the roots when you plant a new tree. The rusted nail will help the trees to stay healthy and strong, but in small quantities only. That's why it preferred to hit a nail in a tree, rather than water them with iron water. Rust is an iron oxide of red color and this helps the plants to be strong and healthy. This trick should help you a lot in your off-grid property, or in any other garden. Aquaponics is the globally acknowledged name used to characterize the harmonious interaction of developing amphibian plants and animals in a recycling framework. More people moving off grid, including Romania as well, use the aquaponics system in order to grow their own food so that they become more self sufficient. "Aquaponics" was made to address this cycle as intriguingly as conceivable by joining the words "aquaculture" and "aqua-farming". The initiation of this term is ascribed to Ron Parkhurst of Hanalei Nursery. Well before this cycle was classified "aquaponic" it was utilized in antiquated China, the Aztecs, and old Egypt. With the distribution of exploration directed at the New Alchemy Institute in the United States (1971-1991), this cycle is back stylish and is taken over by numerous scientists and specialists around the planet. Aquaponics is an innovation gotten from traditional aquaculture because examination led to lessening reliance on soil, water, and resources. Traditionally, aquaculture is polished in ponds, little ponds, or enormous extraordinary ponds. To build profitability and decrease reliance on soil and water source, recycling aquaculture frameworks (RAS) have been made, which can grow up to 90 kg of fish for each m3 of water, acquiring a decrease of a few times the involved land region and the volume of water required, contrasted with traditional aquaculture. The weakness of the great thickness of fish is the huge measure of manure that aggregates day by day in the separate basins. To kill it, a ton of productive and useful kinds of mechanical and biological treatment gear, oxygenation and sterilization of water, and so forth were imagined and figured out. The high estimation of the expenses of contributing and working these frameworks has driven examination in the field of RAS to discover answers for decrease these expenses. Consequently started the investigations that meant to decide the proficiency with which oceanic plants devour nutrients from water polluted with fish manure, to utilize them to treat it. The examination was subsequently reached out to earthbound plants, and the outcomes showed that water in aquaculture contains the nutrients required for plant development and that plants retain those substances at a rate that in fact permits their utilization as a biological channel for water treatment. with the goal that it very well may be reused in aquaculture tanks by distribution. These outcomes have prompted the formation of a wide assortment of useful frameworks that interface in a shut pressure-driven circuit the basins for raising fish with various aqua-farming society frameworks. These frameworks can be utilized as a pastime or as a resource. When all is said in done, aqua-farming yields are made on a strong substrate (rock, grain and dirt, and so forth) Their development is basic, and the venture cost changes somewhere in the range of 100 and 500 dollars. For these frameworks we consider as a delegate: The framework made by Ronald D. Zweig from a barrel made of straightforward fiberglass, with a distance across and tallness of 1.5 m, with a valuable volume of 2300 l, loaded up with water in which fish and amphibian plants are presented and on the outside of the water glides a polystyrene plate in which round openings and spiral channels were penetrated for the arrangement of seedlings, as in the following figure. Three little air stones are put in the pool to oxygenate the water. A module can create around 140 lettuce heads and 50kg of fish (Tilapia species) in a 6-month fish cultivating cycle. The framework made by Travis W. Hughey from three barrels recuperated of 200 l each, by the change of which he made the framework in the following figure. One barrel is the aquaculture bowl, another barrel was separated longitudinally in two parts that were loaded up with waterway rock and comprise the beds of aqua-farming society, and the third barrel was segmented transitionally, at 1/3 of its stature, in two segments of which the "short" segment is utilized for tank-farming society on the profluent layer and the "long" area, as a support tank for the inventory with the gushing of the aqua-farming beds loaded up with rock. From the fish barrel, the water is siphoned persistently in the "short" area from which the support tank moves through a flood, and from here it is disseminated through two lines in the two rock beds from where it streams once more into the fish barrel. The water is treated in two phases: in the part for aquaculture culture on the profluent layer and, accordingly, through the rock layer. With such a module a creation of approx. 100 lettuce heads and 7 kg of fish (Tilapia species) for a 6-month fish cultivating cycle. The framework sold by CropKing, Inc. from the USA as a total package that can be amassed by the purchaser, as indicated by the figure beneath. If you wish to learn more about aquaponics and how to make your own system, click on the add bellow.
Now is the time to plant more seedlings so that you can have prepared what to plant later in the garden. But plenty of people think that you may need either a lot of space in the house, either a big greenhouse outside. Well, you will be surprised that you actually don't need too much space or worries in order to make a small but efficient place outside where you can grow your seedlings. (The picture is to give an idea how it will look. Glass only on the lid on the top) What do you need
Now, depending on how much space you have and want to use, make some calculations for building a simple frame that is about 50 cm tall on the South side and 70cm on the North side, wide and long how you may. This size is needed to maintain the heat better inside. Place the box straight on the ground where you want to keep it. Remember, the taller side towards the North. Now make a simple frame for the glass or plastic and connect it with the hinges to the main frame. Lift with soil around the frame until about the top sides until enough space to lift up the window frame. You should make sure that you have a small hill of soil around the frame that is at least 50 cm wide as well. Now place a layer with fertile soil in the frame, about 20/30 cm should be enough. Once all this steps are done, simply plant the seeds and close the lid. If starts to snow again, make sure you clean the snow in the mornings so that the sun may heat up. During the night, you ca leave the snow, since it will help to keep the warm temperature inside. This type of small greenhouse should be efficient up to -10 degrees centigrade.
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