new tool idea

I am interested if anyone on this forum has experience with the GEK gassifier units or with gas co-generation in general. It is a well documented open source design and looks like it would be an excellent addition to our farm hack tool wikis. I think one of my next projects will be building a gas co-generation unit to create heat and power, and transform our abundant woodchips in this area to woodash for spreading on our fields.

I know there are lots of folks out there who have done the Allis G electric tractor and it is really well documented elsewhere. If there are farm hack members with experience with this conversion, or interested in building an open source "G like" tractor I would be really interested to jump in. Ben, you have the allis G sketchup files right? I think that together we could probably put together enough information for the start of a good tool wiki on the topic. We could then do some sub-tool wikis for G-type implements like the various tine weeding approaches etc.

I've obviously a little biased but would be remiss not to suggest adding Foodtree to the list of tools for farmers and food business owners; we've got a free web and mobile app for sharing your food with food lovers. It's a simple way to share "where to buy" and "where we source from" information with food consumers directly, on any mobile phone. We also built a free iPhone app specifically for sharing photos of food and tagging those photos with Where Found and Where From information.

Within the tools/apps wiki I think it'd make sense to make sure the group's aware of the Open Food Data movement. It was launched at South by Southwest in a collaboration lead by Foodtree, Food+Tech Connect, CleanPlates, WindowFarms, and the support of many others...it's a collective effort to open source food data standards so that app and tool builders don't have to reinvent the wheel.

One thing I have in mind for increasing the speed of moving the Low-cost mobile hoop house is a version of what used to be called a wagon jack. Basically I believe they were cam levers that would lift and hold the body of a wagon up so a wheel could be removed/repaired. Something along those lines would be ideal as you could operate the jack, attach a wheel assembly, drop the jack so the house is resting on the wheel, and move down the house to the next wheel location, easy peasy.

Identified Need - lower cost adjustable tine weeder tines

I was just reading Ben's post about building a belly mounted tine weeder for an Alis G, and looking at the economics of the tines from Lely or Kovar. I wonder if we might use the power of Farm Hack to develop a tine bending tool, so that we could get the cost per tine down to something well under the $15+ for the lely? This would also enable some customization and replacement when new ones are needed, or enable farms to try longer or shorter, stiffer, or softer tines based on their application.

Starting up on a shoestring budget, I couldn't afford the expensive drip irrigation system. Plus, once I read about them and found out that the emitters often get clogged up and need to be replaced, it didn't sound like a very sustainable solution to me. At the very least, I wanted a solution that wouldn't cost a lot up front, but also that wouldn't require lots of upkeep and/or continuing cost.

Farm Show Magazine showcases a range of build your own ideas each month which have mostly agricultural intended uses. You can view a video now of a solar powered chicken tractor, firewood hauler, hand pushed sickle bar mower (soon to be for sale) and a pedal powered John Deere B. You can also quickly glimpse past issues using their index. Most of the ideas have crossover potential for other applications. A DVD collection is available and might prove to be a valuable starting point for pinpointing replicable solutions. Design/Build Potential ???

I am looking for plans for barrel washer aka vegetable root washer. I've done an internet search with little luck. Does anyone know where plans can be found or does anyone have first hand experience constructing their own? Also I've heard that kits are available for purchase though I haven't come across those either. Any suggestions? Thanks, Aaron

Hello all! I just wanted to share a recent (and timely!) blog post from Johnny's Selected Seeds. There are a few pictures of some high tech fancy seed cleaners, as well as an antique bean sorting table, which it appears they still use. I just loved this bit of Maine bean growing history which touches upon our discussion of centralized seed cleaning: "In the 40's and 50's they had a "Bean shop" in China [Maine] which is the town south of Albion. Many women worked in this shop which cleaned and packaged beans for market.