This Valhalla Project blog provides updates on the new 200-acre pilot property in the Ozark mountains with information on future construction, farming, and energy programs. Valhalla is currently establishing a very special working and recreational retreat for post-911 combat Soldiers and war zone civilian workers; see our "Valhalla Vision" page for an overview. Use the menu on the right to navigate.
Due to their thick walls and need to limit the number of windows on the north, east, and west walls, interior lighting inside straw bale buildings may be a challenge. Electric lighting should most certainly be minimized during daylight hours to conserve energy, so what are the options?
Traditional skylights are often used to let light into a structure, yet excessive use of skylights can sabotage efforts to effectively insulate the roof. That said, skylights that can be opened could be very useful in the bathrooms and laundry room since they would not only let in light, but also provide the means for releasing moisture and steam generated by hot showers and washing machines.
A better solution for bringing light into straw bale building would be to use strategically placed solar light tubes, which have a tiny footprint and are essentially metal tubes with mirror surfaces on the inside that first concentrate and then redirect sunlight into a building's interior. There are many companies manufacturing these simple yet highly effective devices, such as the Tru Light company in Colorado:
People in the third world has been using simple light tubes that they make themselves from plastic bottles, as shown in this video from Brazil:
While these ingenious homemade devices would be impractical for larger buildings constructed at Valhalla, they may be invaluable for providing light inside the mini-cabins, sheds, and other small buildings. As an example, here's a man who lights the interior of his chicken coop with bottles:
Note that while he added a little bleach to the water inside the bottle, it might be wise to add a quantity of rubbing alcohol instead to prevent freezing in the winter.
Agricultural activities at Valhalla will be characterized by what are known as intensive gardening techniques. These include but are not limited to the following: raised bed gardens, composting, worm farming, bee keeping, soil enhancement, and season-extending devices such as hoop houses and greenhouses.
The objective of combining these techniques is simple: produce the maximum quantity of high-quality vegetables, fruits, and herbs from the smallest space possible with minimum use of labor or machinery.
Intensive gardening is an old practice. Asian and European societies with severely limited land resources have used similar techniques for centuries. The modern American model of huge farms with concomitant demand on machinery, chemicals, and labor reflect the natural response of settlers to a seemingly limitless amount of available agricultural space.
While large-scale agriculture has proven highly productive, such practices are not the most useful or practical for a facility like Valhalla that focuses on productivity along with teaching skill sets that will most benefit the Soldier-residents in future endeavors.
We start with the premise that wherever we locate in the Ozarks we will have lousy soil. That's why you don't find mega-farms in the Ozarks. So what can we do to 1) improve the soil, 2) create sustainable production levels, and 3) teach skills that have universal applicability? The answer to all these challenges is intensive gardening. Let's look at them one by one.
Soil is going to be rocky and thin. We must literally create the bed in which plants will prosper. In order to do this we will build up, above the ground in raised beds approximately 12" to 16" high, confined by blocks, rocks, or wood frames. Each bed will be 4' wide so that a person can easily reach in from the side without having to walk on the soil. Once in place the soil will never be compressed by walking or machinery.
Some beds will be higher so that wheel-chair confined Soldier-residents can avail themselves of the pleasure and satisfaction of raising plants.
The soil itself - the most essential element in intensive gardening - will be added to and improved over time, while being monitored regularly by simple testing kits for pH (acidity vs alkalinity), nutritive content, and friability. Initial tests will determine what elements need to be added, but in essence a mixture of topsoil (that may have to be purchased and trucked in), lime, compost, and additives such as peat moss and green sand. Biochar, as we mentioned in another entry here, will be a key component to the mix.
Meanwhile composting will be initiated for all waste vegetation and animal manure produced. At the beginning we may need to beg or buy waste bedding from local horse stables or chicken farms to jump-start the effort. In time, with addition of livestock, we ought to be able to produce sufficient quantities to keep the garden happy.
Once we locate the beds, excavate up to a foot of soil and remove it and replace it with our own mixture, then planting will begin. Seedlings will be started indoors from seeds to reduce costs of purchasing plants and to make sure that we have healthy, disease-free seedlings. Use of plastic hoop houses to extend both sides of the growing season (about 180 days) will afford the opportunity to plant before final frost and harvest past first fall frost dates.
Some beds will be dedicated to long-lived species like asparagus and perennial herbs or to the garden "thugs" like horseradish and rhubarb that are invasive and take over weaker plants. Others will be planted on a rotational schedule, season to season, in order to take advantage of maximum growing capacity of the soil and reduce pest damage. Raised beds lend themselves well to use of trellis and vertical growing techniques, another way to get increased productivity from limited space.
While the actual garden is getting up and running, we will add beneficial synergistic critters such as worms (useful in breaking down manure and rough soil into humus), fowl, and bees. Honeybees have been hit hard recently and many wild hives wiped out. By maintaining our own hives we will boost pollination by as much as 30% and have supplies of honey, wax, and comb to boot.
Chickens patroling for insects just outside the
wire of a protected raised bed vegetable garden.
Photo credit: the Garden of Eating blog
Once plants are up and growing we will use natural insect and slug control agents - chickens, ducks, and geese - to conduct daily foot patrols throughout the garden and eliminate (with extreme prejudice) invasive insect pests and new weeds. Judicious use of these multiple techniques - good soil, strong seedlings, and natural pest control - ought to reduce the need (and expense) of constant additives of insecticides and chemical enhancements. We are not organic gardening co-religionists, but will happily take the best of the techniques and use them to produce the highest nutritional value, best tasting produce possible.
One positive aspect of the Arkansas Ozark region is that annual precipitation levels are at 40" - 45" with a lot of natural water sources, meaning that when combined with our rainwater harvesting practices we ought not have to worry about the brief summer drought periods.
We plan to start small, with raised beds placed in fences, protected spaces to discourage natural animal pests like deer, raccoon, possum, and rabbits. In time we expect to convert larger areas to boost productivity (necessary to support an expanding population and to have enough to store for winter use). We will still use the raised bed techniques, but the area will be larger and will accommodate movable greenhouses that will provide exponential growth and harvest potential.
When we combine intensive gardening, rainwater harvesting, and the synergy of livestock and composting, we will be training Soldier-residents on some excellent skills that they can use themselves or utilize as landscape-garden-small farm consultants. We also have a lot of appeal to potential donors who stress sustainable living, environmentally friendly, and light-footprint in their corporate or foundation missions.
The exciting thing about these techniques is that they are all out there, tried-and-tested, and have proven extremely valuable. No wheel-inventing is needed to make this work. I began experimenting with intensive gardening in Northern Virginia when I was at the Pentagon and State, and picked it up again on a larger scale when I had my alpaca/llama farm in the Catskills. The potential is huge.
Garden produce will be larger in volume and quality than with other methods and residents will learn useful skills. A win-win outcome for all concerned.
If you want to read more about these ideas I suggest "Square Foot Gardening," by Mel Bartholomew and "Cubed Foot Gardening," by Christopher Bird (a retired USAF LTC living in the Shenandoah who has grown stuff all over the world including west Texas that he describes as "gardening in Hell").
The mere idea of eventually acquiring an excessively oversized (100+ plus pounds) of slobbering, slovenly, aloof canine breed of this kind that doesn't even have a basic sense of humor, tends to drool, constantly sheds large quantities of fur all over the place, and then undoubtedly eats huge quantities of food on top of it all completely turned me off. Gordon still insisted that I take a closer look because "Valhalla needs a Great Pyrenees to protect the sheep and other animals on the property. It's not about what we want. It's about what Valhalla needs."
Well, generally speaking, I really like dogs. Love dogs, in fact! But not that kind, not a drooling dog that's going to cost a fortune to feed, that undoubtedly leaves gigantic steaming piles of excreetment that would have to be picked up with shovels and sent to a hazardous waste dump somewhere far, far away.
But Gordon is probably right. It doesn't matter what anybody wants, it's all about what Valhalla needs to operate efficiently. After watching these two videos, the Great Pyrenees clearly has a important talent to offer and doesn't look overly disgusting after all:
Some specifics on the breed:
"The Great Pyrenees is a capable and imposing guardian, devoted to its family, and somewhat wary of strangers - human or canine. They are often used to guard livestock. When not provoked, it is calm, well- mannered, and somewhat serious. Courageous, very loyal and obedient. Gentle and affectionate with those he loves. Devoted to family even if self-sacrifice is required. It is very gentle with its family and children. It does best with children when it is raised with them from puppyhood, and if they are not being used as working flock guards be sure to socialize them well with people, place and noises.
"It has an independent nature, and may try to dominate a less secure or meek owner, and/or an owner who treats the dog as if he is human, becoming stubborn or territorial. Owners need to be firm, but calm, confident and consistent with the dog. Setting rules the dog must follow and sticking to them. A serious worker, but very independent.
"Be patient when training the Great Pyrenees, as it may be slightly difficult. If left alone inside the home without the proper amount of exercise and or leadership they can become destructive. The Great Pyrenees is good with non-canine animals, and usually loves cats. These dogs do not reach maturity until they are about 2 years old. Some are not good off the leash and may wander away. Needs an owner who understands and practices natural dogmanship. The Great Pyrenees tend to bark a lot and some tend to drool and slobber..." Read more about the Great Pyrenees on the dogbreedinfo.com website here.
Terrain: Combination of hilly to mountain, primarily uncut mixed forest (or uncut for minimum 10 years) with some cleared, flatter areas suitable for grazing, crops, or building sites.
Zoning: Must be free of excessive zoning requirements: Mixed use permitted including multiple dwellings, animals, reasonable outdoor activities.
Features: Must include annual flowing streams. Desirable: springs, ponds, natural lakes, river frontage.
Roads: Paved access to property desirable, but nearby high-speed, highly trafficked road not desirable.
Gordon and I always thought geothermal energy had something to do with volcanos or superhot natural hot springs. We were absolutely wrong. It turns out that people are using geothermal heating and cooling systems at all corners of the world, including extremely cold locations like Canada. And unlike solar based systems, geothermal systems work around the clock.
We've also learned that there are many, many geothermal companies and services in Northwest Arkansas, indicating that it would be a practical heating and cooling alternative for Valhalla.
This first video introduces a typical geothermal system using a "loop field":
However, loop fields -- which can be installed either horizontally or vertically -- require an awful lot of digging, and a considerable amount of electricity to keep water flowing through the loop field pipes.
Luckily there's at least one company that's cracked the code in a geothermal system that uses only a small amount of electricity to run a special fluid through just a few copper pipes, with minimal digging needed for installation:
You'll notice that this specific company apparently offers their services only in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. Do other companies offer similar technologies in Arkansas? We have no idea. Can Valhalla afford the initial installation costs? We don't know that yet either.
However, we have time to continue research into geothermal possibilities, and hope to rely on future members of the Valhalla Building Advisory Committee to investigate and report on their findings. The Valhalla Finance Advisory Committee would then consider the financial costs and options before submitting their recommendations to the Board.
The following videos really spun my head around about solar heating possibilities for Valhalla. Naturally it would be necessary to suppliment these kinds of heating devices with alternative systems at night (i.e., when the sun is down), yet the energy savings could save Valhalla thousands of dollars each year so it's worth serious consideration.
This video by a man named Rich Allen (only one of hundreds of people who have written about or posted videos on this subject) shows one of his early heater models back when he thought it necessary to cut up his cans:
Achieving a temperature of 210 degrees in one hour blew me away! But then, Rich got even better at building heaters when he discovered it isn't even necessary to cut up the tops of the cans:
Finally he figured out that he didn't even need to use a glass panel to cover his heater, that an ordinary (and much lighter) black garbage bag worked just fine:
If we ever use pop can heaters around Valhalla I'd prefer to avoid using garbage bags since they'd look too sloppy.
But then I found what I think is the ultimate solution: a big black "cardboard" front panel that would further boost heating capacity. Take a look at this 17 minute video showing how one couple used cardboard to superheat air (if you get aggrevated with their presentation style then just hang in there, the information they provide is potentially very valuable for us):
Incidently, the plastic version of cardboard that he was referring to is called "Coroplast" and it can be ordered in black, thereby eliminating the need to paint anything black. It's easy to find, for example at http://www.coroplast.com/
Can we really make functional and efficient wall heaters at Valhalla using beer cans, plastic cardboard, and downspouts? We won't know until we try, and we probably won't get things perfectly right the first time, but I believe it will be worth the effort!
Straw bale cabins and houses can be designed to look like traditional homes that one would typically see in any ordinary neighborhood. On the other hand, unlike building with conventional materials, straw bale structures often feature curved walls that are much easier on the eye and very comfortable to live in.
The following videos are intended to serve as a basic introduction to straw bale buildings. Watch out for the eco-groovies while watching some of these clips! They're often in there, although we're more attuned to cost savings, simplicity, and the possibility of teaching soldiers and vets how they could get a few of their buddies together and build their own affordable homes after learning how to do it at Valhalla.
With proper oversight, straw bale building methods can accommodate participation by those who have little or no construction experience (please keep in mind that for liability and other reasons, anyone under the age of 18 will not be allowed at Valhalla; this video is included for informational purposes only):
Straw bale buildings range from simple to elaborate, primative to fancy, and everything in between:
Debunking some common myths (six minutes, although only the first four and a half minutes are useful):
We intend to visit various straw bale homes that are listed in the International Straw Bale Registry's USA entries, which provides contact information for homeowners who built their own homes and invite visitors to view their work. Gordon and I intend to do just that while driving around the country on our Warrior Police book tour starting in September 2011. You might consider arranging to visit a straw bale house yourself in your own state, if and when time permits.
Other essential resources for learning more about straw bale construction
Strawbale.com with Andrew Morrison, a professional contractor who has produced dozens of articles, videos, and an online e-course covering almost every aspect of straw bale building construction. He also offers seven day straw bale construction workshops at different locations around the country.
Building with Straw Bales walks through the construction of a single house but is still very informative.
Building with Awareness website offers articles and other resources in addition to selling a full-color comprehensive straw bale building guide with companion DVD. We've already bought the excellent guide and DVD (the book is almost too tiny to read, unfortunately) so let us know if you'd like to borrow them.
Update: if you have a Netflix account you can simply rent the "Building With Awareness" DVD, which shows a straw bale house being built from the blueprints to the completed structure. It includes nearly three hours of detailed instruction on preparing the foundation, installing heated floors, rainwater cisterns, and electrical systems, shaping and plastering walls, installing a roof, and much more. It's absolutely worthwhile to rent and watch that movie! If you don't have your own Netflix account then just let us know and we'll rent it for you.
Of all things, biochar turned out to be the long-lost Secret of El Dorado. If you have 50 minutes to spare please watch this fascinating documentary:
If you don't have that kind of time here's 10 minute introduction entitled "The Promise of BioChar":
If it sounds complicated than take heart with this short (two and a half minute) video of a chicken farmer who's a big biochar advocate:
Specifically, how can we make biochar on a smaller, more manageable scale without any fancy equipment? Watch this simple tutorial:
Finally, as with anything else, we always need to be aware of pros and cons. At least one researcher has some serious concerns about biochar, although note that his experiment used an excessive amount -- 25% -- of biochar in his soil:
Too much of a good thing isn't good, but used in moderation, biochar looks like a real option for Valhalla gardens and farming.
Soil enhancement
production of high-quality manure for vegetable garden applications
Guard Duty
chasing away coyotes, wild dogs, and other predators;
random dismounted patrols; protection of smaller farm animals
TEMPORARY DUTY (TDY) ASSIGNMENTS
Packing and Carrying Assistance
Assisting with moving straw bales, garden soil, groceries, visitor luggage,
and other essentials. May require competence with the use of small wheeled
carts or specially designed backpacks
Specialty Therapist
Occasionally responsible for carrying out special Soldier mental health
and welfare projects, on a case-by-case basis as required
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Two obviously hungry donkeys chowing down in Zormat, Afghanistan (Spring 2010)
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"Donkeys, or burros, have gained popularity among ranchers and farmers for protection of sheep and goats. This practice capitalizes on the herding instincts as well as natural dislike and aggressiveness of some donkeys toward dogs and coyotes. With proper management practices, guard donkeys can be a great asset for protecting sheep and goats." -- Texas Department of Agriculture (click here for more).
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Donkeys are extremely hard to intimidate, and even much larger animals will often run away rather than challenge a determined burro:
Generally speaking, while donkeys can be very gentle with children and the disabled, their natural instinct will be to attack canines:
Some people try very hard to help donkeys and dogs to become friends, yet on Valhalla we will want our donkeys to instantly defend the other farm animals from wild dogs and coyotes - without hesitating. It would be unreasonable to expect the donkeys to sort out the differences between friendly from invading canines. Finally, even "successful" attempts to train donkeys to overcome their very strong natural instincts are rather dubious in the end anyway, as very shown in this video:
With friends like that, who needs enemies? For this reason, the Valhalla farm dogs and donkeys should work seperately - very much away from each other - at all times.
------------------------------ What can a donkey possibly teach a combat Soldier
or anyone else who might feel abandoned or betrayed in any way?
Remember this classic story...
One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.
He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed shovels and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement, he quieted down.
A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.
As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off.
While touring around 13 different States in the summer and fall of 2010 we saw hundreds and hundreds of long-ago abandoned barns and other buildings, many in Arkansas. These abandoned, fallen down structures represent significant fire hazards and potential liabilities to their owners, many of whom simply can't afford the costs of demolition and removal. Based on Gordon's experiences with very old structures in upstate New York, and after pricing new lumber for sale, we became very aware of the possiblities of using at least some salvaged lumber for use at Valhalla.
Consider this video by a private land owner offering to salvage wood from their old barns and buildings (undoubtedly for a fee, whereas we'd be more interested in doing the deconstruction part with help from Valhalla volunteers):
Here's a company selling salvaged wood that we might be able to get by making our own arrangements with private property owners:
