I’ve been gathering supplies and forming a plan on a electric smoker build. This will be 2.0 for me. My former unit was a double wall oven then I used a pid controller on to get accurate temperatures. It was very useful but limited in size. This newer unit will have a larger smoking chamber. I can share photos as I go.
What are you working on this weekend or have built recently?
James_the_sparky
Currently in gardening mode, so less making and more planting seeds for the spring season. I made a spreadsheet, though–this is the first spreadsheet I’ve ever made and really used regularly.
@Rossi.Bossi that’s great…I was just looking at planting schedules too. I started to relocate my greenhouse last fall and need to finish that project too. Maybe that should be my priority this weekend instead.
What types of things are you planning to plant? A favorite at my house are kentucky blue beans we usually get them as seedlings from horrocks.
We’ve got everything from pimento peppers, tomatoes, squash, etc, to pollinator plants like milkweed and coreopsis. Last summer we didn’t really manage to get our garden established the way we’d hoped, so this year we’re working on filling the space. The spreadsheet is really pretty epic, but I’ve been lucky enough to get lots of free seeds from various friends.
I need to take measurements and map out the garden a bit, too. for planning purposes.
@Rossi.Bossi I appreciate your approach. We had a lot on the ground last year but need to apply fresh compost and do a better job keeping the weeds at bay.
I need fresh compost, too. We bought a house with a lot of English ivy that depleted the soil. I did a lot of leaf mulching over the winter, but a thick layer of compost would help immensely.
I used hammond farms in the past. I don’t know if that’s the best place price wise at the moment though. I also have the chicken manure but my gardens are pretty big.
We were thinking we’d try Hammond farms, too–they’re a better price than buying it at ACE, which is what we’ve done in the past. Our only worry is we need about 4 yards of soil, and the thought of them dumping a 12 foot mound of compost into the driveway we share with neighbors seems not great, so we’d need to figure out how to space out the deliveries.
I’ve been making maple syrup for the past week. Sap collection is in blue bags made for that purpose and zip tied to holders that I made from 2" PVC pipe. There is a groove under the zip tie that helps to make these strong enough to hold multiple gallons of sap. The top is, of course, 3D printed from food safe PETG.
Awesome. I have a friend that just bought himself an evaporator. I’d love to to that some time.
I tapped our maples for the first time and will be boiling some down to syrup this week. 
And besides depositing cans for the LMN drive, I’ll be doing garden starters soon. A friend showed me MSU’s Home Gardneing site which has lots of tips for growing vegetables native to Michigan.
After seeing some custom wooden game boxes that Jody and my spouse showed me, I’m also wishing I had a laser cutter and more time to take that up as (yet another) hobby! 
Here is another great garden information site:
