The use of car tyres as a building medium has been popularised by Michael Reynolds, the founder of earthship biotecture. Mike has used the tyres to create a new type of building known as Earthships (Earthships on Wikipedia); so named for their ability to form an almost completely self-contained human ecosystem. Earthships have active rainwater, greywater and black water collection/treatment systems, generate their own energy (though photovoltaics and wind generation), and are exceedingly well insulated due to the nature of their construction. And it is this final point that offers so much potential for the construction projects at TSH.

The major project that I am undertakng is building a cool storage room which will be underground for most of it’s wall height. This cellar needs to built strong, so as to withstand the weight of the soil pressing against it, and be well insulated. I think that the tyres meet both these requirements beautifully. In addition I think it is a great example of re-use rather then recycling. IE, the tyres re a waste resource that can be ground up and melted down to create all sorts of other products, however doing so requires addition of energy… lots of energy. But using the tyres for building like this doesn’t change them in any form and the only energy used is the human energy of packing them. I think I might be carrying sufficient energy for the task…

Basically the process is that the tyres are placed in-situ, and then filled with soil removed from the cut-out (spoil). This soil is then compacted into the tyre using a mallet and elbow grease. Finally another row of tyres is added in a stretcher bond format. There is no need for any reinforcing rods though when using then as a retaining wall a batter is definitely recommended. I’m using approx a 15-1 batter on this project which means for every 15 rows of tyres (in the vertical dimension) I am sloping them back into the soil by 1 width. Given the tyres very wide footprint I believe that this will be adequate.

It’s not exactly skilled work though it is physically demanding.

Below are a few photos of the beginning of the project, with more to come as the building progresses.

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpK5XGfAXV4

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The video below outlines the first steps on the road to creating a highly explosive and smelly gas. Male readers will understand…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sos8mg3r6Ro

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhMvn2G3Zuk

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfcGFis0uWQ

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Enjoy!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNVwqV9f2GY

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This video series will trace the aquaponics system over the next 10-12 weeks as I bring onboard a number of new elements such as new grow beds (including deep water culture) and improved fish tank designs. It will also demonstrate the amazing growth potential that aquaponics seems to be displaying no that the weather is warming up.

So without further ado, here is week ones installment.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9YmFK8S04g

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The brine mix that I made up was 12L of water, 1.2kg salt, 800g dark brown sugar, 2 tablespoons black peppercorns, 1 tablespoon piri piri and 1 tablespoon of whole cloves. The whole lot was brought to the boil, and held there for about 10mins, skimming the foam off the top. It is then left to cool, and then placed into the fridge to get it down to 4 degrees celcius.

A pork belly was then submerged into the mix (holding it in a non-reactive container) for 5 days. Frozen slightly, and then sliced. This is what is referred to as ‘Green Bacon’, not to be confused with Green Eggs and Ham, as it hasn’t been smoked. If you wanted to smoke you could certainly do it prior to slicing.

The net result of this process was some REALLY good bacon. It’s not salty to the taste but the subtle aroma of honey and spices permeates the meat beautifully.

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The biggest issue I have had with the system was an abundance of light making it’s way through the clear IBC’s leading to massive algal growth in the water. The water turned a bright green making it impossible to see the fish. This has been corrected by shading the sump tank, and painting the raft tank.

The ‘cost’ of destroying the algae, was that the dissolved oxygen (DO) of the system dropped rapidly leading to the death of a number of trout. As you might be aware, trout have a very high DO requirement and the rapid drop of DO due to decomposing algae was enough to cause some difficulties.There are still quite a few trout in the system, but approx 40ish were lost.

However, on the positive side, the bacteria in the system (which are the true work horses) have ‘cycled’ and are currently maintaining the ammonia and nitrite levels at very close to zero. Nitrate has been climbing, currently at approx 80ppm, though this isn’t too concerning at this stage. In fact, the plants have visibly grown in the past week demonstrating that they are enjoying the extra nutrient that is available. Today the beds were planted with some dwarf pea plants, and in the next few days another batch of lettuce will be planted into the raft tank.

I’ll keep updating you on the progress… both the highs & the lows.

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However there is a whole branch of preserving that I haven’t really ventured into, that of charcuterie or preserving of meats. Charcuterie originally referred to the production of pork products such as sausages, bacon & ham. However a more modern meaning is the production of meat products from any sort of animal.

Of course charcuterie isn’t just preserving, after all fresh pork sausages certainly qualify, however many of the products that are produced do in fact have a preserving effect… think hung salamis or legs of ham.

I decided to dip my toes into the water, so to speak, with producing my own bacon. Bacon was chosen as a starting point as it is one of those iconic meats imbued with so much flavor and memory. In fact, when I was a vegetarian (many moons ago) it was bacon that I truly missed not fillet steak. Also, bacon is a fairly easy meat to prepare requiring little specialized equipment or ingredients.

To make bacon all you need to do is coat pork (traditionally belly or loin) in a curing mixture allowing this mixture to draw out the excess moisture which could cause the meat to rot. This can then be sliced as it is, it’s called green bacon at this stage (Dr Seuss would be proud), or you can smoke it to add additional flavor.

The curing mix that I am using as 2kg pickling salt (don’t use table salt which has iodine added), 200g dark brown sugar, and ~1 tablespoon freshly cracked pepper. These are throughly mixed together and then handfuls are rubbed over the meat paying particular attention to cover the whole surface, including all the nooks and crannies. You can add saltpeter (Sodium Nitrate) into your curing mix, though I have chosen not to add this ingredient due to the link between heated nitrates, nitrosamines and cancer.

Once this is done, place the pork in a non-reactive container in a cool place. In 24hrs pour off any accumulated liquid, re-salt, and the replace. Basically you do this each day for between 5-14 days, depending on how salty you like your bacon.

Once the curing process is completed, then soak the pork in clean water for two hours. Discard the water and soak again for another hour in fresh water. Finally, hang the side somewhere cool for 1-2 days so that a pellicle can form. The pellicle is like a skin that’ll help preserve the meat for longer and allow an “attachment” point for smoke molecules, if you go down that path.

At this stage your bacon is good to eat as green bacon. Slice it, and enjoy!!!

Update: The very first streaky bacon side (made from pork belly) was tasted today. It has a very different taste to shop bought bacon and is quite salty. This isn’t terribly surpirsing as I salted it for 8 days, so the next belly will be done for 5-6 which should lessen the salt content. The one thing that you will notice with your home made bacon though is that it doesn’t shrivel away to nothing in the pan. Apparently this has to do with the copious quantities of water that is pumped into commercially produced bacon which is then released during cooking. In this case there isn’t any water to lose so it stays about the same size as the

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