Method

We figured out that the best method for filling the dirt bags was to have one person hold the bag and the other person fill. It takes a 5 gallon bucket of dirt to fill 1 dirt bag. Normally we would have to take some of the dirt out of the buckets with out hands and then we were able to pour the rest of the bucket right into the dirt bags. We also experimented with using some water to help pack the dirt in the bags and it seemed to work really well. We had no exact measurement on the water. We did try to put enough water in to keep the dirt moist throughout the bag.

For actually building the wall we were able to tamp the bags with a couple of bricks we found. We did out best to stagger them so that they will make a sturdy wall. We put down barbed wire in between the rows in order to lock the bags into place with each other. on the sides we started tapering the wall so that it will be in a downward slope.

Dirt Bag Extravaganza!

Thanks to all of our wonderful volunteers we had a huge turn out for our Green House raising!

We were able to finish digging the hole which ended up being about 4 ft deep and also build up!

The walls are about three rows high with dirt bags. This gives us about a foot and a half to two feet. I also think we have enough dirt bags filled to build another row on top of that. One more volunteer day like this and we should have a running underground greenhouse!

Here is a picture of all the extra dirt bags filled that we still need to build with.

Before and After

This is the hole. At it's deepest point it is about 4 foot deep. It is not fully dug out yet but it is very close. The front corner will not be dug as deep so it serves as a step to get in.

Digging what we have so far took around 9 hours with 2 people. It will probably take another 2 to 3 hours or so to dig with a single person.

Our big event is Tomorrow!!!

Hopefully we will be able to put up at least one of the walls.

Dirt Bag Extravaganza August 18th!

The Dirtbag Brigade is attempting to build our first prototype Chinese Green house. The goal of the Green House is to help grow wholesome food for cheap during the frigid winter months of Michigan. The event will be 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM at the SVSU Greenhouses. Come help fill dirtbags and give this great project some life! There will be free food and tee-shirts for anybody who comes to help out. Stop by for part of the time or the whole time!
Be there at 3:00 on Wednesday August 18th! It's sort of like a barn raising, except with dirt bags!

Rest in Peace Basil 10

When I went to post for this week, I realized I skipped a week. So I will start with week 4.
Last week watering took about 25 minutes. Basil bucket number 10 is the most unhealthy looking bucket. I thought about thinning out the plants. I didn’t because most of the plants were growing really well and there are only two weeks left to grow. I made note of the buckets that had plants that looked a bit on the weak side. The number of healthy basil plants outweighed the unhealthy ones 70:15. I left the unhealthy ones to see if there was any hope.
The spinach plants do not look very healthy. Aside from spinach bucket number 7, most of the basil plants are small and beginning to wither. My only thoughts about spinach bucket number 7’s success is it is placed in an area that receives a smaller amount of sunlight. Even so, other spinach plants in the same area do not share 7’s health.
This week is pretty much the same story as last week; some plants are looking extremely fruitful, while others have died all together. Luckily there are definitely more healthy plants than dead ones. Basil bucket number 10 is completely dead. Basil bucket number 1 though is looking excellent. This week I pulled 16 basil plants because they were completely withered or just entirely too small to be worth harvesting next week.
The spinach is the same as last week. The spinach harvest will be very minimal. The plants for the most part are small and some are browning at the ends. The spinach is taking about half the amount of water as the basil.
The plastic bags covering spinach bucket number 9 and 10 came off. I was thinking about replacing them, but decided against it seeing that I will be harvesting early next week. The purpose of the bag is to prevent weed growth and I am not too concerned with weeds commandeering the buckets in a week.
Watering this week took longer, obviously because the plants needed more water because they are bigger. I spent about 35 minutes watering compared to the 20-30 minutes I have spent in previous weeks. No complaints though, 35 minutes a week to raise roughly 100 plants, not too bad.
Finally I made some tomato basil soup with my dad this week. It was incredibly delicious. If you have lots of tomatoes I can give you a taste bud exploding recipe. If you need the basil, you know where to find it: the SVSU greenhouse where basil flows like worm tea. Hold off until I can measure the harvest though.

Uh Oh

Houston we have a problem....................

Our old dirt bags are ripping. I think this is because they are not made to be sandbags but we where hoping to use them and cut costs. The bags we built the test wall with where old feed bags. The problem with them now is that they are ripping. We believe that this could be the due to the fact that they do not have "sun screen". Most of the bags that are used for sandbags are coated with some kind of spray that helps protect them from the sun. With out it the bags dry out and become brittle. I found this out when i was building the foundation of the green house with the bags from the test wall. I would pick them up and they would rip. I hope the new bags hold out to the sun.

Testing the Test wall

I would say the test wall is a success! I am about 225 lbs and i could not knock down the wall by simply running into it. This is without the barbed wire and without sealing the bags. I'm sure once we are able to build a foundation

(Which i am working on now) the walls will be much stronger.

This is how it went down.........