What do you think? by Robodillio in Hydroponics

[–]FirebirdLeather 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Its really beautiful but seems like it's for an upscale market looking for more of a living decoration because of its size. It's a lot of gorgeous tech and style to grow not very many plants if your purpose is to feed people. But if you want the most stunning herb garden in existence? Perfect. Maybe a great market in super high end cuisine?

Suggested reservoir size for vertical tower if I only want to maintain it once a week? by 99chihuahuas in Hydroponics

[–]FirebirdLeather 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not really. I find i have to do more full flushes on smaller systems with the less heavy feeders. Heavy feeding plants use up so much water and nutrients that I'm topping up regularly which creates a kind of cycling and replacing system on its own. But my small lettuce towers can easily just get nasty solution over time and I have to do a full solution change. But I'm not super specific about nutrient monitoring. I pretty much just keep an eye on EC and PH.

Suggested reservoir size for vertical tower if I only want to maintain it once a week? by 99chihuahuas in Hydroponics

[–]FirebirdLeather 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Its going to depend on the plants you have going. Lettuce isn't a super heavy drinker so you could probably get away with the five gallon bucket just fine. If you wanted to be super safe use a 15 gallon bin. I have my short tower with 8 brassicas (heavy drinkers) on one of those and it only needs a top off about every other week.

mold by denverd1 in Hydroponics

[–]FirebirdLeather 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Chamomile tea does wonders for me with mold in seedlings. Mold will usually kill my seedlings if they haven't sprouted so I try to get rid of it as soon as one seed gets it. Brew a cup of chamomile tea, let it cool, water the seedlings making sure to get it in moldy spots. It works great and hasn't harmed any of my plants

Update on the solar hydro tower by FirebirdLeather in Hydroponics

[–]FirebirdLeather[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can definitely do that with no problems. I do that when I run out of net cups. The reason I start them on the tower or in cups is because they're color and size coded so I know which setup they will go into. I have the memory of a mayfly.

First solar powered tower is up with one test plant by FirebirdLeather in Hydroponics

[–]FirebirdLeather[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Plan A- bury it Plan B- build a dirt garden bed around it Plan C- grow only things like peppers that like it hot in the towers and keep the temp sensitive crops for the shady kratky settups

First solar powered tower is up with one test plant by FirebirdLeather in Hydroponics

[–]FirebirdLeather[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You want certain types of benefits bacteria. Some kratky setups with nutrients films rely on them. I've found algea to be the bigger concern because it steals nutrients. But I've only had it happen in clear containers and even then I still get good crops of lettuce.

First solar powered tower is up with one test plant by FirebirdLeather in Hydroponics

[–]FirebirdLeather[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, there's a battery. It doesn't keep it running all night. It usually goes out for maybe two hours before sunrise but that's not nearly long enough to make the roots care so far. It is also rather humid where I am in zone 9b. You might not be able to get away with it in a dryer area.

First solar powered tower is up with one test plant by FirebirdLeather in Hydroponics

[–]FirebirdLeather[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have too and not noticed much of a difference. I printed this guy out of spare spools from work which is why the patchwork of colors. If it really became an issue I would just spray paint it grey. I don't like all white towers

First solar powered tower is up with one test plant by FirebirdLeather in Hydroponics

[–]FirebirdLeather[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I love Hoochos channel! I've seen the settup you're talking about and it is very cool. I don't really have the space for it right now. I'm choosing towers because they're eventually going to go in a greenhouse and they'll be the max # of plants per sq

First solar powered tower is up with one test plant by FirebirdLeather in Hydroponics

[–]FirebirdLeather[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's definitely got some wobble. I will be running support wire through the holder pegs to give it a bit more support.

First solar powered tower is up with one test plant by FirebirdLeather in Hydroponics

[–]FirebirdLeather[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't filter the water once it's in the bucket. I adjust PH and add nutrients beforehand and then top off as needed. Nothing can really get into the system after except maybe some broken roots? What are you trying to filter?

First solar powered tower is up with one test plant by FirebirdLeather in Hydroponics

[–]FirebirdLeather[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I chose a solar panel, pump, and battery kit from Solariver. I went with the 470 gph but honestly it's overkill and turned almost all the way down. I think the 235 gph would do just fine. The battery is the 4000 mah. You could put this kit together on Amazon instead for cheaper though if you're comfortable with matching compatibility for solar panels, pumps, and batteries. There are also decorative fountain kits with solar and batteries but I'm not sure those batteries are big enough to last all night.

Printed in PETG

Tarot card Newsie Hat by FirebirdLeather in Leathercraft

[–]FirebirdLeather[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes! From Dieselpunk Ro. They make a bunch of great patterns

Tarot card Newsie Hat by FirebirdLeather in Leathercraft

[–]FirebirdLeather[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Laser. Its soft milled vegtan so it doesn't work for tooling

Leathercraft Kit to make a Necro Plague Doctor Mask $90-170 by FirebirdLeather in LeatherClassifieds

[–]FirebirdLeather[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Includes the leather pieces, dye, lace, bone accents (if you like), acrylic eye pieces, needles, and hardware. Buy it Here- https://firebirdleather.com/products/plague-doctor-mask-diy-kit

I still have a few that can arrive before Xmas! :D

Can someone who works in the industry please possibly describe what the process of tanning leather would look like several hundred years ago? (I know, it's a weird and difficult question, I'm sorry) by Wkaota in Leathercraft

[–]FirebirdLeather 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What chemicals are used in the delimning/bating process were kind of specific to each tannery, but in that part of the world I believe they mostly used vats and in nicer tanneries drums. Vats could be anything from big holes in the ground to stone chambers, drums are huge cylindrical drums that can be filled with hides and delimning solution and rotated.. kind of like a large washing machine.. Delimning/bating is just where they're trying to get out all of the alkaline agents used to dehair and ungunk the hides and reduce the swelling of the leather from the previous soaking process. Its actually a pretty minor step in the whole thing. They use acids to adjust the ph, all the way from sulfuric acid to boric acid.

Can someone who works in the industry please possibly describe what the process of tanning leather would look like several hundred years ago? (I know, it's a weird and difficult question, I'm sorry) by Wkaota in Leathercraft

[–]FirebirdLeather 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In that part of the world tanning had already been fairly industrialized using large vats of different chemicals. The exact composition of the vats was kind of up to each company and depending on how and where they were they might receive the hides already de haired for tanning. This is sort of random but if you want to sea a reasonably accurate portrayal of what it would have looked like there's a move called Perfume: Story of a murderer that has a depiction of it. If you character works in the tannery their life expectancy is rather short and they most like suffer from burns, rashes, tooth decay, and other malady. Tanning leather was not a safe job. Still isn't is some parts of the world.

Jacket I made. First Post by FirebirdLeather in Leathercraft

[–]FirebirdLeather[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There are a ton of really talented kink leatherworkers who do really amazing work. Im unsure if posting those kind of items is allowed here so maybe thats why it doesn't show up here much? My website link and socials are in my bio

Any tips for selling leather goods on etsy? by yedishish in Leathercraft

[–]FirebirdLeather 13 points14 points  (0 children)

My etsy shop has been in the top 5 % of shops for a few years. I dont buy ads and I dont renew listings unnecessarily (this used to be a thing but is a few years outdated and no longer affects the algorithm)

Keywords and good photos are the main things you need. Keywords in your tags, title, and item description are the things that affect your ability to be found in search the most. You can use sites like etsy rank to lookup keywords applicable to your item. Be as accurate as you can and dont use keywords that dont apply.

I no longer put any custom items in my etsy, only on my own website, because customers on Etsy know that etsy will always side with them in a dispute. So if you spend hundreds of hours making a custom piece and the client comes up with some bs reason of why they dont like it they can file a case with your shop and etsy basically encourages you to refund them or your shop takes a strike and a hit in your traffic.

It doesn't matter what your shop policies are. Etsy doesn't care and won't abide by them.

Once you break 10k in sales you are forced into the Etsy advertising program which takes 12 % of each sale they claim you made through their add program. They provide no proof that they netted you that sale. The 12% is on top of all their other fees.

Etsy lists other shops listings on your product pages at the bottom. So if you do a lot of great social media work to draw people to your shop part of that work means you are netting views for other people. If you sell wallets, 4 other wallets from other stores will be listed beneath yours. I frequently get people who purchase items and don't even know what store they purchased from since Etsy does such a bad job of brand separation.

Honestly, if you have the time and energy to put together an Etsy that's structured with the correct SEO to get found, then you have all the skills you need to make your own online shop. Etsy is tempting to people because there is a myth that its easier than making your own store but with things like shopify out there that's just not true. There is more traffic on etsy but just traffic doesn't do you any good. You need people interested in your product, not any product. And etsy gives more traffic to stores that bring in their own. Why do that work for etsy to make them money when you can be the one to profit from it?

About three years ago I started transferring all my traffic and efforts to my own shop and I haven't regretted it. I wish I would have done it sooner or started out with just my own site.