From Data to Compost to Life

The pursuit of knowledge and insight is always worth the risk or even the raw materials to collect that insight. The many pre and post surveys that were administered here at Mezzacello during my summer camps in 2023 were collected and shredded. This shredded paper was then graciously returned to me where I could turn it from data to compost to life.

When Data Is Also Carbon

Firstly, I want to tank the VERY thoughtful anthropologists involved in this research to even think about returning this to me as a gift. Their support and insight is always welcome and invaluable. If you know an ethnographer or an anthropologist, give them some love: They are heroes.

Secondly, I love that these researchers learned (from me) that paper is just carbon and trace elements and that all ink is soy based and therefor nontoxic. So when they went around to shredding all of the sensitive data – after their analysis – they knew I could use the carbon. It will make an invaluable addition as both a brown in my carbon and a way to dope the compost with my Eden’s Ghost accelerant.

Why Use a Doping Layer for Accelerant?

There are multiple answers to this question. First, paper absorbs liquids much more efficiently than grass greens or shredded sry leaves. So the accelerant gets locked at the top of the compost, just below the greens and is this slower to release into the main compost body.

Second, there is a poetic justice that these survey data are from kids who helped me learn to synthesize 11 different soil and plant amendments during summer camps this year, I will be using their synthesized fertilizers to dope the shredded paper – and that is poetically sustainable.

Third, The gradual reuse of the paper and its pulp adds to the richness of the compost as it holds moisture in the compost very well. It’s not good to ONLY use paper as life REQUIRES diversity, but paper as a layer is a good idea. The more data and diversity, the better the compost.

What Is the Strangest Compost Additive You have Used?

I am definitely curious about how you lot build your compost. What’s the strangest compost additive you have ever added? I recently chatted with an acquaintance who was building compost for a VERY specific crop.

Now I am very curious about the rest of you! LOL! Share in the comments!

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This is a part of the City of Columbus Parks and Recreation Summer Grant Grant #1521-2023

BioEngineering Summer Camp 2023 Guest Blogs

I love teaching Applied STEM summer camps. It never ceases to amaze me what kids will dream up if you give them a problem, some tools and then get out of their way. These are two BioEngineering Summer Camp 2023 Guest Blogs that were shared with me today.

Children Own The Future By Embracing Today Their Way

It is remarkable to see your impact through the eyes of a kid. It’s very important for me that you understand I presented a problem and these two created solutions that were manageable, doable, and sustainable. Creativity and problem-solving is an innate superpower of youth.

Liam’s Outdoor Data Station

This was Liam’s design for the outdoor data station. The requirements were:

• The work surface had to be mounted and retractable
• The station had to be covered and shaded
• The monitors had to be free from the table surface
• The entire array had to run on Solar, Wind, or Battery Power

Liam worked with his team and a high school intern who was also attending the camp. They had to provide me with detailed list of outside materials that would be needed and a drawing of their design. Liam is a great engineer in training, but he isn’t fond of mapping things out.

This is what Liam and his team designed. It works very well and uses the dedicated 5G wireless router signal that the Bioreactor uses at Mezzacello. The system is stable and easily mountable and dismountable. Below is the text from Liam’s description.

What I Did

I built a deck, mounted a monitor stand, managed setting up two Windows 11 workstations, created a database in Airtable, setup the wifi relay, and managed the entire Computer array storage system, used a solar-powered power station to power the entire system, hung chairs, and made an old compressor work from. Reused 12V 30Ah battery and spare wire. (more on this later)

Things I Did Wrong And Fixed

We put the desk in, but not on the (wall) studs. So we had to (take it down and) move it over.

Sketch Something I Did

Editor’s Note: Frankly I am blown away that he drew this from MEMORY! That lesson resonated with him. The plan view is a stroke of genius!

Fun I Had

Holding Alice Cooper was fun because he’s really cute.

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Max’s Automated and Distributed Watering System

This was Max’s design for the distributed and automated watering system. The requirements were:

• The watering source had to be circles large enough to cover the entire area of the potager gardens
• The system had to make use of the existing steel trellis
• No hoses could be exposed
• The water had to come on and off automatically
• The system could not use more than 3 gallons of water total on any one day

This is what Max designed. It works very well and uses city water for now but there are plans to integrate a solar-powered pump from the Bioreactor water tower at Mezzacello. The system is stable and easily programmed and run. Below is the text from Max’s description.

Mezzacello is a cool urban farm place that grows lots of stuff. I buried hoses in holes to make a sprinkler system for the garden. But I made the hole to big and deep. So I had to dig it again, smaller and closer. Then I had to fix some stuff.

Editor’s note: BioLab 4 is the shed on which Liam’s outdoor station station is mounted to.

Here is a plan view of the design.

There’s a lot of compost and animals and wind turbines, and solar panels and plants growing. And everyone is always working on something. I learned a lot there and I had a lot of fun too.

A Delight, A Privilege, and a Surprise

I pride myself on building and running programming that really captures the imagination and excitement of learning for kids. They need the opportunity to do things and fail and do them again. I am proud of these young people – all of them! – and I am delighted that they shared their journey with me in such a fun and unique way.

Applied STEM at Mezzacello is more than just science, technology, engineering and math. It is a true multi-sensory and disciplinary experience. I always strive to interweave lessons in leadership, cooperation, art, writing, and public speaking.

Those are the human skills that these young future leaders are going to need. They are tasked with changing the world in the face of Climate Reality. The very least we should be doing is allowing them to solve the problems on their terms and in their voices.

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A Shout Out To My Sponsors

I wanted to give a shout to Richard Riley for always supporting me, and Olivia Hickey for entrusting me with her sons and getting them to write these guest blogs. That was a delight! I love that I get to be part of the change I want to see in the world!

I also want to thank The PAST Foundation, Franklin Park Conservatory, Scotts Miracle Grow, The Columbus Foundation, Battelle, The Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation, Bronzeville Grower’s Market, and The City of Columbus Parks and Recreation for underwriting this particular grant.

I am grateful to all of them for getting the opportunity to help make a positive change in the world. I welcome all collaboration and partnership. Nature hates a vacuum and I am certain I can’t be the best or only force for positive change, so let’s work together!

A special shout out to Walker Evans at Columbus Underground for putting the idea of expanding collaboration at his inaugural #CivicSpeakeasy and the Columbus Metropolitan Club and the amazing Sophia Fifner for reminding us that ALL of us are better TOGETHER! Brava and thank you all.

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This is a part of the City of Columbus Parks and Recreation Summer Grant Grant #1521-2023

Let’s Start a Farm On Mars

Power, Water, Nutrients, and Food

Everything I do Mezzacello is geared towards learning, exploring, and growing food as efficiently as possible. A young friend calls my 21st Century Urban Farm the “Let’s Start a Farm On Mars” farm. I like that title.

Power

I start with power because it is essential. So many things for building a farm ANYWHERE need power to run tools, cook food or run pumps. Power is a critical component.

There are multiple ways to gain power. Wind turbines, solar panels, batteries, gravity batteries that use falling water, methane generators, and solar powered electrolysis systems that create hydrogen to fuel a system. Just to name a few.

I use all of these – methane and hydrogen electrolysis systems will come online this summer. They will both be integrated into the Biodome project. The project will create fresh water from waste water as well as collect dew from the atmosphere on its plastic sheathed dome.

The biodome 2.0 will also house a new methane generation system that will transform manure and kitchen scraps into methane gas. It will then store that gas under minimal pressure for use in a generator. The heat that was a disaster last year will be a benefit in version 2.0.

Water

Mezzacello recycles as much water is practical. Rainwater, and recycling waste water is done in new and novel ways. The biodome 2.0 will contain three water evaporation stills that will purify water. The outer dome will feature a dew collection system that uses vibrating actuators of the steel dome frame to shake dew off the outside skin of the biodome for collection.

All this water will be used in multiple ways. Some of it will be used to water animals, add to hydroponic growing systems, or mixed with minerals to make it drinkable. Water is a valuable resource anywhere, but especially at Mezzacello.

The ability to easily recycle and purify water makes the pond an even more useful feature. I always maintain that the addition of the pond into the ecosystems at Mezzacello makes us draught proof. I always have fresh liquid water even in the winter.

The pond at Mezzacello is 1.7m (5’8″) deep. This depth insures that fish and aquatic life can dive and avoid prey birds. This depth also insures that there is liquid water in the pond at all times.

This reservoir of water is also a useful feature of sustainability. Knowing there is a THIRD backup of water is a good idea. The more diversity, the better.

Nutrients

Nutrients at Mezzacello come from a variety of sources. The top three are from compost, manure, and the soil structures themselves. I need the nutrients to support the life I am trying to grow in terms of food.

Compost is a primary nutrient resource. I create it from collecting greens and browns from all around Mezzacello. I accelerate the compost with a combination of water, beer, soda, and ammonia.

This accelerant not only makes compost in a speedy 45 days, it also produces a pre-biotic fluid. This fluid is an excellent fertilizer! I can also use this fertilizer in combination with algae from my pond and make an even healthier fertilizer.

I can then use the compost anywhere I am growing food or even plants. It improves the soil and the water drainage. It encourages micro biotic life to come up to the surface.

I also collect manure and waste materials from five species of animals and insects at Mezzacello. All of these sources of nutrient materials arrive in different ways and require differing treatment. For example chicken and duck manures are acidic and dangerous to plants fresh, whereas rabbit and algae are fine fresh.

Regardless, all manures get recycled here at Mezzacello. Either directly in the soil structures, in the compost, or as a base for liquid fertilizer, nothing goes to waste. No pun intended.

In the livestock coops and warrens, a system of underground pipes channel chicken and duck wastes to a holding tank where they naturally lose their acidity over time. The fish wastes are collected in the biofilter for drying and reuse. The rabbit, worm, and cricket wastes are immediately recycled.

Food

All of these resources are leading us to food. Food production at Mezzacello is the primary focus of all of the above resources. From power to water, to nutrients, all of it can be traced back to food in some way.

There are six primary avenues of food production on site. These include:

1. fruits and vegetables
2. herbs and flowers
3. meat production
4. egg production
5. food-grade insects
6. imported grains, and dairy

All serve some purpose at the farm and are part of the sustainability network. And what is eaten is largely recycled back into systems that provide feedstock to compost, insects, or to the animals directly. Regardless, food is a precious resource here.

The power systems provide energy for grow lights for the hydroponics systems and energy for the bioreactor which creates compost and waters the garden beds. Power also keeps animals safe and warm, and keeps water liquid in winter. Power also automatically pulls water from the rain barrels to the central bioreactor water tank.

The water helps us obviously to grow food and produce nutrients for food. Water also provides us resources for and from the animals, fish, and insects. These in turn provide nutrients which -you guessed it! Help us grow food!

Well now I am hungry. I think I’ll go down and harvest some spinach, open a can of canned tomatoes, grab some fresh herbs and make an egg omelette. Enjoy your day and thanks for reading this!

BioDome 2 Power Systems Integration

Progress on the Biodome 2.0 is progressing. I have the superstructure done and the airlock/vestibule prepared. Now we need to start developing the BioDome 2 Power Systems Integration.

This semester I have a high school intern named Sudman who is helping me to assemble the modular power structures for the biodome 2.0. We are 3D printing the new VAWT (Vertical Axis Wind Turbine) based on a design we found from Christopher’s Factory.

Next Steps

Once we gat the dome painted and covered, we will begin integrating the wind turbine, homemade solar array and battery and inverter kit. Then we will begin creating the water evaporators and water recovery systems. We are shooting for a late April deadline for this.

Sudman is only available a few hours a week because of High School. I am trying to integrate him as much as possible on this build as it is part of his capstone research. So taking our time on this.

Lesson: Vital Signs and Ecologies

In this lesson: vital signs and ecologies we explore the ways that ecosystems express health and vitality. It’s actually very close to the way people express health and happiness. We need to just reframe a smile in terms of time and colorful life!

The Four Elements

In the ancient world, the prominent idea of life was encapsulated in the four elements: Air, Fire, Earth, Water. This is true in many cultures around the world. It’s true because it’s useful.

A quick introduction to the organic way in which all of these elements blend into each other. They are unique, but they also factor into each other. They are like us, more than the sum of their whole.

Air:

Does the ecosystem have access to enough fresh air and sunlight? Too much? Is the life burning, or in too much shade? Are the animals and plants thriving in their environment?

Air is the atmosphere, the sunlight, the moisture, and heat in that atmosphere. It is a part of all of the elements, but it is unique in that it is the medium life grows UP and into. Think of it as the space above.

Fire:

Is there a proper amount of energy in this ecology? Is there life in the ground? Are the other animals living in harmony with this ecology?

People think fire means burning, but it actually references the amount of energy going into and out of a system. The fire is the sign of life. Growing plants with strong color, flowers, and roots and a variety of animals living in and amongst the ecology.

Water:

Is there enough water in this ecology? Are the leaves of the trees and the plants green? Is the soil moist, is the air dry?

Water is EVERYWHERE. It is the universal solvent. But as a solvent, just like when there is not enough water, there can be too much!

The microbes, and arthropods that live in the ecology can wither and dry and drown in the presence of water. Water will also pull the air into the soil so the roots can breathe. It can also jumpstart the chemical processes of life that converts wastes to nitrogen and allows roots to breathe and make sugars.

Earth

Just as the air has all the elements within it, so does earth. Earth is the matrix that is the life below the air and infused with fire and water. The Earth element has active fire/chemistry and water elements as well as air!

The air belongs in the soil of a healthy ecology of the Earth. It’s also true that there is Earth in the air! That’s what causes rain, and then the particulates can also cause lightening.

Dust, dirt, life, water, chemistry all unite to create soil. The Earth that provides the base sustenance for all of the other elements of the healthy ecology is the key indicator. It starts with the earth and then grows up and through the other elements.

Why Voting Matters Here

“My vote can’t possibly matter, I’m just one person.” What if every leaf on a tree would think like this? Vote, it matters and it’s why voting matters here.

This is not a reality. Think about atoms or Walmarts. They all deal with small or bargain, low priced items, and yet they are HUGE in their mass effect.

When you focus on the individual, then of course you cannot advocate. But atoms and Walmarts do not focus on the individual, they leverage it for the larger whole.

Get Over Yourself

This issue is bigger than you. It’s bigger than all of us, in fact. But voting is NOT really relevant if it isn’t all of us.

If you will only vote if you get to be the hero, then you will never be the hero. Back to the leaf and tree metaphor: What’s more important? The leaf or the trunk?

If you can’t answer that with confidence then rethink why your vote doesn’t matter. Voting is the glorious canopy of the tree of democracy. The tree will die and wither if we don’t show up to convert life to energy and positive change.

How We Build a Society

Think about the leaf and the tree again. If none of us are leaves, we cannot even imagine having a tree. That tree is our society.

I wrote this blog after a young man from India asked me what kids could do to make lasting change in the world? We were discussing the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals video link, Presentation Link, and specifically Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. I advised Siddarth to urge the adults to vote, and demand the change we need to see.

How can we convince people who don’t see this relationship on politics, society, and relationships. They only see the bad, but not the power of that tree — and it’s shade.

If we can love, or respect, or hope, then we should be willing to vote. It is work, yes, but it is the only way this tree will grow. This is a garden of democracy.

We grow, maintain, sustain, and explain this garden. We must do this if we want peace, justice, and a society worth living in. But just like any garden, it must be tended and cared for.

Please vote.

Energy and Sustainability

Energy and Sustainability is a must on an urban farm in a downtown metropolis. It is NOT sustainable to rely on a city grid for power. Power outages and usage fees would put that at risk quite quickly.

Clean and safe energy is UN Sustainable Development Goals number 7. It goes right in hand with access to water. We need access to energy to begin improving the world from the local to the global level.

But there is a cost to creating energy from nothing. Like a pump, it requires initial work to get the flow started. Once it is running it quickly pays for itself, especially in colder climates.

The Basics

Clean affordable energy starts with solar arrays. These capture energy from the sun and release no pollutants, but they do require a LOT of extra pieces and parts to make them work. So be prepared!

The solar arrays are going to need a charge controller to protect your solar panels and your batteries. The batteries are next most expensive component of a sustainable energy system. Any 12 volt or higher battery will do, but the best are Lithium or Lithium Iron (LiFe) batteries.

The solar arrays and the batteries are going to need wiring – LOTS of wiring. You have to connect the arrays together, then you have to connect the arrays to the charge controller, and from the charge controller to the batteries. It’s more wire than you think you’ll need!

Understanding Wires

Most wires we will find in the world today will be copper or aluminum. To remain sustainable in terms of producing energy, you must understand heat, electricity and wire thicknesses. If a wire is transmitting too much energy, it will get hot and catch fire.

Burning your system down is the opposite of sustainability. Thus you need to understand how much voltage and amperage (also known as load) a wire can take before it melts due to heat and pressure. The thicker the wire, the bigger the load it can transmit.

A curious thing about wire is called “gauge”. That means the diameter of the wire. The curious thing is, the smaller the gauge number, the thicker the wire.

This is a matter of money. More wire is more expensive (and thicker) but the number will be lower. It’s crazy, but it is a real issue.

Another real issue is heat. The hotter a wire gets, the more it will be impacted by being thin. The thinner wire melts faster at higher amperage.

Other Forms Of Energy

Solar and batteries are great! But that isn’t the only form of energy that is available to use. Just remember, rotation of movement in general almost always produces energy.

This means that any wheel that turns with copper wire and magnets will produce energy. So think about what a wheel is; something that turns. This opens up an entire line of sustainable options!

Bicycle wheels can produce power to store in batteries. A wind turbine spinning in the wind can produce power to store in batteries. A rain gutter can pour water over a spinning wheel and turn an axle that turns a motor to produce power to – you guessed it, store in batteries.

Energy and Culture on an Urban Farm

Today I emptied the chicken coops (mostly) of straw and manure and placed the straw and manure in the existing compost beds at Mezzacello. But I also need to work a full time job. so this is a reflection on energy and culture 101.

It took me three hours to muck the coop today. I was alone and I had to keep the animals happy as well. It’s not just moving stuff from one place to another, it’s also about placing it in the right area.

Read Your Notes

I have notes from last years harvest that I need to reference and adapt this year’s manure and compost to. What beds were fallow or infected? Where am I growing onions or peas?

It’s an easy thing to go to the grocery to buy what you need. It takes planning, effort and energy to make that food happen in real life. Last year I had a sever nematode infection that I would have died from; nothing could grow in half my beds.

Live requires diversity and adaptation. In such a small space as I have to optimize life, I really need to pay attention to what, where, when I am planting. I have help; the animals love to turn the beds for me, and it is really beneficial.

St. Patrick’s Day

This is the culture part. I have to get my day job done. I have friends that want me to come play.

Surely you can take a few hours off?

Anonymous

I have a dear friend whose show is opening tonight and I really want to see it, I have another friend who wants me to come to St Patrick’s Day Party tonight. I want to help my parents with their chores today. Yet another friend has invited us to a chorus show and lunch tomorrow.

When am I to get all of this time sensitive work done? It needs a month to rot down and draw life up into it. I have to get this done.

Time Sensitive

I know it sounds like I am humble-bragging. So many fun things to do. But the work also needs to get done.

In the 19th Century and even in the early 20th Century, people would have starved. This is important work that I need to do, or all the work on my proof of concept is for naught. Reflect on that: starve or be wrong.

Do The Work

I choose to think both ways. My mission is Grow, maintain, sustain, explain. I can’t commit to that – and pretend that half of my time is not committed to life, can I?

Cheating mother nature is a bad call. It’s the tale as old as time, and it is still as true as it can be,

Lesson: Creating an Ecosystem

This lesson: Creating an ecosystem is designed to introduce students to the basic definition of what an ecosystem is. It models the enclosed ecosystems of Mezzacello as a map and is designed to determine if a system is in fact an ecosystem.

At Mezzacello, the various ecosystems always need tending. When we know that a garden bed will need to sit fallow for a season because we either don’t have time or money to get it done, I will intentionally plant nitrogen-fixing crops like clover or hairy vetch to promote nitrogen and moisture in the soil. The parterre gardens were finally ready to be planted. All of that clover, hairy vetch, dead leaves and twigs needed to be collected. Call it guerrilla composting if you will. But it’s a great way to amass one cubic meter of biomass quickly.

To all exterior perspectives, this seems preplanned. What the general public doesn’t know is that this strategy started because Rick is too lazy to haul all of his waste to the compost bins on the western edge of the gardens. So I just started collecting wastes in the right balance. I intentionally placed and distribute the dead leaves and twigs in the bed with an approximation of the amount of greenery that I am most likely to harvest and commensurate brown materials and manure waiting to be mixed in. I needed to balance out the greens with browns. It’s not the prettiest way to do this, but it really works well in a pinch. All my neighbors and friends know that we are building Mezzacello as we go. I have systems. I document those systems and modify them as I go along to maximize learning from failure and success. I have found this pop up compost to be really useful.

All I have to do is collect it, mix it, and move it back to the compost bins and it’s ready to go. If I harvest it in the right season, I’ll mix in some more manure, mulch, added greens, and peat moss and voila! Instant lasagna garden! Of course Rick bought 64 boxwoods for the parterre do the lasagna garden isn’t happening this summer, but there is another garden ecosystem that can use this bounty.