Ancient refrigerators By 400 BC, Persian engineers had mastered the technique of storing ice in the middle of summer in the desert. The ice was brought in during the winters from nearby mountains in bulk amounts, and stored in a Yakhchal,or ice-pit. These ancient refrigerators were used primarily to store ice for use in the summer, as well as for food storage, in the hot, dry desert climate of Iran. The ice was also used to chill treats for royalty during hot summer days and to make faloodeh, the traditional Persian frozen dessert.Above ground, the structure is comprised of a large mud brick dome, often rising as tall as 60 feet tall. Below are large underground spaces, up to 5000m³, with a deep storage space. The space often had access to a Qanat, or wind catch and often contained a system of wind catchers that could easily bring temperatures inside the space down to frigid levels in summer days.Yakhchal have thick mud brick walls that are up to two meters thick at the base, made out of a special mortar called sārooj, composed of sand, clay, egg whites, lime, goat hair, and ash in specific proportions, and which was resistant to heat transfer. This mixture was thought to be completely water impenetrable.The massive insulation and the continuous cooling waters that spiral down its side keep the ice stored there in winter frozen throughout the summer. These ice houses used in desert towns from antiquity have a trench at the bottom to catch what water does melt from the ice and allow it to refreeze during the cold desert nights. The ice is broken up and moved to caverns deep in the ground. As more water runs into the trench the process is repeated.
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Ancient refrigerators By 400 BC, Persian engineers had mastered the technique of storing ice in the middle of summer in the desert. The ice was brought in during the winters from nearby mountains in bulk amounts, and stored in a Yakhchal,or ice-pit. These ancient refrigerators were used primarily to store ice for use in the summer, as well as for food storage, in the hot, dry desert climate of Iran. The ice was also used to chill treats for royalty during hot summer days and to make faloodeh, the traditional Persian frozen dessert.Above ground, the structure is comprised of a large mud brick dome, often rising as tall as 60 feet tall. Below are large underground spaces, up to 5000m³, with a deep storage space. The space often had access to a Qanat, or wind catch and often contained a system of wind catchers that could easily bring temperatures inside the space down to frigid levels in summer days.Yakhchal have thick mud brick walls that are up to two meters thick at the base, made out of a special mortar called sārooj, composed of sand, clay, egg whites, lime, goat hair, and ash in specific proportions, and which was resistant to heat transfer. This mixture was thought to be completely water impenetrable.The massive insulation and the continuous cooling waters that spiral down its side keep the ice stored there in winter frozen throughout the summer. These ice houses used in desert towns from antiquity have a trench at the bottom to catch what water does melt from the ice and allow it to refreeze during the cold desert nights. The ice is broken up and moved to caverns deep in the ground. As more water runs into the trench the process is repeated.
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Bountiful sunshine makes our gardens grow, but all living things need a little shade sometimes — especially people. These step-by-step plans will show you how to build a pergola to create your own backyard shade. The finished product will add stylish definition and shape to your yard and garden. http://goo.gl/xRGqS Self-Seeding Crops You’ll Never Need to Replant Mother Earth News Magazine A continuous, sustainable supply of garden seeds — no harvesting, storing or replanting required? Oh yes, we’re for real.Some crops produce seeds so readily that as long as you give them time to flower, mature and set seed, you’ll always have free plants growing in your garden! Check out 34 easy, self-seeding herbs, veggies and flowers and how to manage them: http://goo.gl/r05s6. 34 Easy Self-SeedersHerbs: basil, chamomile, cilantro, cutting celery, dill, parsley Vegetables: amaranth, arugula, beets, broccoli raab, carrots, collards, kale, lettuce, orach, mustards, New Zealand spinach, parsnips, pumpkin, radish, rutabaga, tomatillo, tomato, turnips, winter squash Flowers: bachelor button, calendula, celosia, cosmos, nasturtiums, poppies, sunflowers, sweet alyssum, viola Managing Self-Seeders
shared Mother Earth News Magazine If you’re deep into gardening and self-sufficiency, sooner or later you’ll want to try growing wheat (which can thrive across most of the United States). Here, get the basics on planting, harvesting and storing wheat — including threshing, winnowing and curing the grain — and before you know it, you could be baking bread with grain from your very own backyard: http://goo.gl/Py0osE. Crisco Candle
for emergency situations. Simply put a piece of string in a tub of shortening, I use a chop stick ,tie a knot in the bottom and push it down, and it will burn for up to 45 days…. who knew? Why AQUAPONICS?
– 1 square metre of growbed is equivalent to 10 square metres of garden. – Your fish fertilise your plants until you eat them, while you are growing more fish to replace them. – You only use the water your plants use and dont have the waste of water soaking into the garden and growing weeds. – A small pump can be run by small solar panel setup. Warning No Tilapia Fish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I did a story on them, very bad for your health!“Also, farmed tilapia contains a less healthful mix of fatty acids because the fish are fed corn and soy instead of lake plants and algae, the diet of wild tilapia. “It may look like fish and taste like fish but does not have the benefits — it may be detrimental,” said Dr. Floyd Chilton, a professor of physiology and pharmacology at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center who specializes in fish lipids. Environmentalists argue that intensive and unregulated tilapia farming is damaging ecosystems in poor countries with practices generally prohibited in the United States — like breeding huge numbers of fish in cages in natural lakes, where fish waste pollutes the water. ” Ahhh Reminds me of My ranch’s old Root cellar house! Little Running Deer
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