Manure Brewer

How to ghetto-tastically make a manure brewer. (Say that 5 times fast!)

     The first step: Get your hands on a blue barrel. This is probably the hardest part, but they are out there if you really want them. There are many sources,  I ghetto-tastically just asked someone who wasn't using theirs.
     Then, using a saw, slice in half in the middle. This is the best time to clean the inside out really good.
     If it had a cap or plug on the top, take it off. Get a large piece of old screen to more than cover the cap area.
     In the base, drill a hole and install a spigot. This will need to be glued and caulked very well so there are no leakage problems.
 Then invert the top onto the bottom, so the top acts as a cup for the raw manure. It should be open to the air so rain can come in.

This one isn't so attractive. Yours can be better.

     Then fill the whole top with all the rabbit manure, waste hay, other manure, and small bits of kitchen waste, like eggshells. If you find any worms in your garden, add them as well.
     How to use the manure brewer:
Dump water in the open top
Open the spigot and drain manure water into your watering can or bucket.
Take the watering can or bucket to your hungry plants, water slowly so more nutrition is absorbed.

Combating Invasive Plants

     There are so many different views as to what constitutes an invasive plant. The state of Florida would say invasive plants are all non-native plant species that displace natural habitats. My mother would say that all vines are invasive plants that should be removed before the get "out of control." Perhaps she should stick to something that is easier to manage, like Confederate Jasmine.
     Then there are native invasives, like Dog Fennel in pastureland. Florida does not like to be turned into pasture, it likes to turn into scrub forests and swamps, and Dog Fennel is a succession plant that helps with that process. It quickly flowers and reseeds itself over an entire field, ruining it in just one season. (Maybe that's why Florida has no large land herbivores?)
     The agricultural state university 'round here is doing trial testing for releasing a beetle that eats Air Potato. While I'm all for getting rid of Air Potato, a member of the yam family from Africa that may or may not be edible, I'm unsure that the beetle is the way to go. UofF was also responsible for the Lovebugs being introduced here, and look how well that turned out! The Lovebug's only natural predator is... cars driven by humans.
     The extension service agents and the university website will both point out chemical controls for various plants, and how to properly apply them. This technique could be useful for a very small infestation of a particularly noxious plant, like Poison Ivy, but how would it work for an acre of forest covered by Air Potato or a field infested with Dog Fennel? On the other hand, proper land management techniques are generally cheap or free, excepting for time investment.
     Some techniques: controlled burns, agro-forestry, tilling and seeding, over-seeding, frequent rotational grazing, overgrazing and seeding, hand-scything, rotational grazing with multiple species, holistic management. Perhaps really rethinking how agriculture is done here might include something even more drastic, like small-scale, holistic, organic farms that raise key deer and rabbits instead of cattle.

Laundry Detergent Update

     Having made more laundry detergent from this recipe, using home made soap as the main ingredient is beyond compare. Just because people online say it's a good use of leftover bar soap, doesn't mean much until you actually try it, and I have. Home made soap is much better for laundry detergent, I would even put it up over fels-naptha. though fels has a better smell. Also, this last batch,I used more soap and borax than the recipe calls for (about 10% more) and feel it is well worth the additional cost. This batch was made with castille soap.

Harvesting the Cranberry Hibiscus

     Earlier this spring my mother found these young plants at a garage sale, and they must have been priced well because she picked up one for me. It turned out the bargain annual happened to be the interesting and beautiful Hibiscus sabdariffa mentioned on the Florida Survival Gardening blog by David. No doubt the original seeds were from ECHO, as my mother lives not too far from there.

     I had no idea this plant could be so beautiful, unusual, useful, pest free, maintenance free...

     Today I am going to harvest the fruit. According to David, the round green bits are not the delicious part, but are where the seeds are stored. It's the red wrappers (or calyx) around the  round green fruit that is used for cooking and eating. This year recouping seeds is a high priority, since this is the only plant that I can source, and likely the only cranberry hibiscus growing in my county. It would be amazing to grow about 10 of these next year, as they like full sun. They do visibly wilt if you neglect to ensure hydration, but bounce back very easily and quickly. (I must have wilted it at least 5 times during the hot part of the summer.) Never would a tomato be this resilient.


       The leaves are edible, and I can tell you that the rabbits eat these leaves even before they eat their normal favorite weeds, Spanish Needle (Bidens alba). Although Hibiscus sabdariffa is tasty, none of the plants in the mallow family, or rose family, are particularly high in nitrogen (protein about 2 1/2%) - a consideration for overall rabbit dietary needs. I did eat a few of the leaves, which were very mild but did have a pretty tasty flavor, much better than Bidens, which is tart. These leaves would be good in a salad or on a sandwich (which is probably what I will be doing since the cold weather is here.)

     The seeds are higher in protein and very high in omega 6 fatty acids, and in quantity are valued as animal feed, particularly for chickens.

     This is the first and largest of probably two harvests from my one plant.

Tips for Making Yogurt at Home

 - Making yogurt at home is a great way to use up fresh milk that is about to expire or has just expired but has not yet developed a rancid odor.
 - Make sure the starter culture of yogurt has active cultures. Many store brands are pasteurized and contain no living bacteria. Plain or vanilla is the best choice.
 - Heating the milk to boiling or near-boiling ensures that the yogurt is creamy and thick.
 - Taking the lid off your pot when heating the milk lets some of the water evaporate, making the yogurt thicker.
 - While waiting for your milk to cool, move the pan off the hot burner. That may seem stupid and obvious, but can be easily forgotten if you get busy.
 - While waiting for your milk to cool, double check to make sure your jars are completely clean.
 - The milk is cool enough when you can put your fingers in it comfortably, however, I am lazy and don't want to contaminate the yogurt, so I just let it cool to room temperature.
 - The bacteria die at 120 degrees Fahrenheit. The optimum range is 90 to 110 Fahrenheit. Below 90, other kinds of bacteria may take over and spoil your batch.
 - If you are making a big batch in the oven, you will have to use a thermometer to be sure you are obtaining optimal temperatures. The standard "Warm" setting on most ovens is too hot for the bacteria, but it could easily be manually modulated to maintain the optimum range.

 - The easiest way to make small amounts is to use a yogurt maker, which is really a small kitchen appliance that keeps your milk and culture mixture at the optimum temperature. Other options include using camping coolers and hot water bottles to keep your yogurt at the desired temperatures. Any insulated container will work, including a solar oven in the shade (keep an eye on temperatures).
 - About 8 hours is the general rule, but I have found 7 hours works nicely, and the yogurt will finish fermenting in the refrigerator. However, the time is all relative, the yogurt is done when it develops a whey layer and tastes "tangy" as opposed to the sweetness of the original milk.
 - You can freeze extra yogurt, and the cultures will remain active when defrosted, if diminished somewhat.
 - The strange clear layer that forms is visual indication that your culture was active enough to make yogurt. It is called whey, and it contains active cultures also.
 - The whey can be drained off to make Greek-style yogurt. It is very high in protein (after all, it's what they make protein powder from), and can be added to soups, smoothies, ice cream, dog and cat food, and any number of other foods to add nutrition.
 - Homemade yogurt is really great for baking, frozen yogurt, and smoothies. A dash of sugar, jelly, or mixing with fresh fruit makes it great for a snack.
 - A big jar of fresh, homemade yogurt makes a great gift.

Rice WIne Recipes

Author Unknown Fast
Rice Wine Recipe

3 lbs white rice (not instant)
1 lg box white raisins (15 oz)
1 box dark raisins (15 0z)
2 tablespoons yeast
5 lb sugar
3 large peeled oranges or dates, quartered
6 qt water

     Thoroughly mix all the ingredients in a large 5 gallon bucket. Stir every day, keeping the lid on between stirrings. After about 20 days, rack to bottles. About 10 days later, after the yeast has settled, rack to clean bottles and serve.

Longshen Rice Terraces, China

Jack Keller's Rice Wine Recipe

2 lbs long grain brown rice
2 lbs granulated sugar
1 lb chopped golden raisins
7-1/2 pts water
4 tsp acid blend
1 tsp pectic enzyme
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1/2 tsp tannin
1 crushed Campden tablet
Champagne or Sherry wine yeast

     Rinse the rice well, then put in glass bowl with just enough water to cover rice. Chop the raisins and add to rice, adding enough water to cover them, too (1 quart total). Soak overnight or 12 hours. Pour rice and raisins into a nylon straining bag, saving the soaking water. Put sugar in remaining water in large pot and put this on to boil. Bring to boil and remove from heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Put nylon straining bag in primary and pour in soaking water. Add acid blend, yeast nutrient and tannin. Pour sugar water over this and stir. Cover with clean cloth and set aside to coll. When at room temperature, add crushed Campden tablet and stir again. Recover primary and let set 24 hours. Add wine yeast and recover. Stir daily for two weeks. Remove bag and let it drip drain (do not squeeze) into primary. Recover primary and let wine settle overnight. Rack into secondary and fit airlock. Rack after 3 months, top up and refit airlock. Repeat 3 months later. When wine is clear, stabilize, wait 10 days and rack into bottles.

Crock Pot Bread Pudding

     Bread pudding is one of the easiest desserts to cook, and one of the best ways to use up bread that is stale or unappetizing. A good recipe to try if a batch of homemade bread came out a bit disappointing. A great way to get rid of leftover cornbread pancakes that the kids weren't about to eat, days later.
     This is another recipe that powdered or condensed milk can be substituted for fresh. I'll have to try homemade yogurt sometime. That means the only fresh ingredients you really need are eggs and butter.
Just throw everything but the bread in the slow cooker, then stir. Add the bread, re-stir. Cover and cook on low for three hours.

8 cups cubed bread, pancake, stale hot dog buns...
1 cup raisins, craisins, or other small, dehydrated fruit
2 cups milk
4 eggs
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg or clove
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon or cardamom

Knotty Pots Method for Making Pots

     I don't really recommend using heavy planters in hanging baskets. After all, this is Florida, and we are known for having high winds during the rainy season.
     However, I am all for using your own creativity to beautify your house and home. This is the tutorial from the original Knotty Pots book for making planters from molding plaster, which is probably plaster of paris. She has some recommendations for adding simple textures, painting, and sealing the planters.
     The third image has her advice for making beads from the same plaster.
     I have no personal experience with molding plaster planters, but there is a lot of information on the internet about molding hypertufa, which would be much lighter (and more fragile) for a hanging planter. Perhaps smaller, thicker plaster planters would be more sturdy.
     Make sure you read my disclaimer about these images before you start, here. These images are provided for informational purposes only, and I am not profiting from them in any way.

Knotting To It

      In order to learn to macrame, one must first master a few basic knots. Really though, if you can tie your shoes then you can do macrame. The basic granny knot is the most frequently used knot in macrame, as it is the first half of the square knot. The second half of the square knot is another granny knot, just reversed. Since square knots make up most macrame, learning that one mode will get you pretty far.
     From the left are a few more explanations of knots that might help you do some macrame,or it might drive you crazy from its complication. As with gardening, cooking, and any other pastime, you can make macrame as complicated or as simple as you wish. People have been making knots since they began working with textiles, so there are some great historical pieces of remarkable complexity out there.
     Please see my discussion on these images here. I am in no way making a profit by displaying these out-of-print images.

Vitamin C Tisane/Infusion Recipes

Dried Hibiscus Flowers 

     Be aware that boiling the plants for 20 minutes reduces available ascorbic acid by at least 20%. Perhaps making sun tea/solar tea or steeping overnight might be a better method.

High-C Tisane (Homemade Red Zinger Tea)

Dried hibiscus, lemongrass, orange peel, peppermint, and rose hips
Boiling water
1 . Steep herbs for ten minutes
2. Drink as a vitamin C boost.

Pine Needle tisane

Dried pine needles
Boiling water
1 . Steep herbs for ten minutes
2. Drink as a vitamin C boost.

Celestial Seasoning's Red Zinger

Mint tisane

Your choice of mint or balm
Boiling water
1 . Steep herbs for ten minutes
2. Drink as a vitamin C boost.

Fresh Flowers, Water. Let chill overnight. Enjoy!

Raw Milk Debate

Milk: We Give It to Our Kids

     The raw milk debate continues to divide people that really believe in the same things and want the same goals from their foods. Who can say that they do not want the best nutrition for their children? Who can say that they want their children to eat unsafe foods? Who can say that the government always knows best?
     And is it right that WIC program encourages pregnant women and children to drink large amounts of cows milk in exception from other great sources of calcium and protein like almond milk or fortified orange juice?
     When my grandfather was a young man he and his wife moved out of the city to some acreage and started a dairy farm. For a self-taught farmer, they did very well, helping to pioneer a program to increase milk production during the war time. But one winter he was laid up in bed for weeks, maybe more than a month, due to Undulant Fever (Brucellosis).
     It is a disease that is almost unheard of now due to the rampant pasteurizing of all dairy products. Brucellosis is caused by a bacteria that is passed from infected cows to humans through milk. No amount of teat disinfection prevents this, the cow is actually carrying the bacteria inside of her. The United States government requires all dairy cows to be vaccinated, but we are not free of this pathogen as Canada claims to be. The infected milk looks exactly like regular milk, cows have no visible signs of the pathogen.
     People used to die from this disease in the days before antibiotics and vaccines. If we didn't have the bovine vaccine, we would probably be dealing with another antibiotic resistant superbug. Even with pasteurizing, people still can't be trusted to keep themselves from getting sick by avoiding "spoiled" milk products. Nationwide the leading cause of all food poisoning is unsanitary food preparation procedures in homes.

    If I can buy raw meat, which very likely contains E.coli and Salmonella, then why can't I buy raw milk, and be trusted to pasteurize it myself? I probably would not frequently buy raw milk, because of the inconvenience factor if the prices were similar. I find it apalling that all milk is homogenized and all the really healthy parts of the milk are removed, then sold back to me as very expensive butter and cheese. I might want to make my own butter! I can imagine a countertop butter making machine the size of a coffee maker looking great in my kitchen. Here's an industry idea for someone to invent and mass produce. Insert raw ingredients, let machine process, take out butter, then clean! Like an ice cream maker or a bead maker. But the first part is getting rid of the homogenization. Percentages don't need to be on kids food. In fact, if packages are too complicated then that food probably shouldn't be eaten at all (the easy way to tell if food is healthy or not).
     Another statistic that frequently goes unreported is the plain-old, everyday food poisoning that is caused by raw milk. Campylobacter, Salmonella, and E. coli are frequently found in raw milk, some with devastating consequences for children, including Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (kidney failure) in children. Read a bit more about it here.

Fats Villainized

     Fat, whether eaten or trimmed, frequently gets blamed for making Americans a country of large waist proportions.

     One potential cause of fat villainy is displaced anger against sugar. A study's highlights here show that sugar is just as damaging if not moreso than dietary fat intake, and that the brain gets pleasure from consuming sugar just as much as fat.

     Trimmed fat has many uses, not excluding soap making. A really interesting chemistry read of how fats become saponified can be found here. Soap made from animal and vegetable fats contains glycerine, a natural moisturizer, where commercial soaps lack this valuable by-product. The glycerine is removed via a chemical process, and sold to be used for , but since glycerol is a by-product of manufacturing biodiesel, it isn't worth as much as it used to be. The glycerin-devoid soap is milled, or ground down, and rebatched into what we call bar soap.


     There is quite a bit of research that shows that people can't survive without dietary fats. Most people are familiar with the concept of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids being good for us. Other fats are necessary as well, as this post I wrote a while back demonstrates. Indeed, too much protein with too little fat has been known to cause a dietary phenomenon called Rabbit Starvation, sometimes known as protein poisoning. It happens in the absence of carbohydrates and fat, as the name implies. The liver can't effectively metabolize the high amounts of protein, and the kidneys are inefficient when blood urea levels are that high. Death soon results. The prevention? Eat a wide variety of foods, including natural carbohydrates and fats.

     In summation, blaming carbon molecules for poor life choices is like blaming guns because psychopaths use them.

Turk's Cap Hibiscus, Malvaviscus penduliflorus, Sleepy Mallow, Mazapan

Uses: Edible, Xeriscaping, Forage, Medicinal. Native to: Mexico.
     This is another great plant that looks beautiful and blooms for most of the year. It's a great candidate for turf replacement, since it is very well-behaved once established. The bright red flowers attract pollinators including butterflies and hummingbirds.
     Perhaps one of the best things about Turk's Cap Hibiscus is that the leaves and flowers are edible, like all members of the mallow family. Wikipedia says, "Certain species of hibiscus are also beginning to be used more widely as a natural source of food coloring (E163), and replacement of Red #3 / E127." I have used it to color handmade soap, by making a tea for the water portion of my recipe, coloring the soap a pinkish hue.
     Have you ever had Celestial Seasonings Red Zinger tisane? According to their website, Hibiscus flower is their main ingredient. And after reading that list, doesn't it sounds pretty simple to make a version at home?

     Hibiscus flowers are known to be medicinal. They contain vitamin C and other vitamins and minerals. A study in 2008 found that it can lower blood pressure in mild cases. The flowers contain anthocyanins, acting as natural ACE inhibitors. This study reveals hibiscus' strong link to lessening the effects of metabolic syndrome. With a bit of looking, much more research can be found regarding the downward blood cholesterol effects of hibiscus. Some people are convinced the properties mentioned above can help them to lose weight.

The Clone Bucket, Week 3 and Potting Out

The third week of the clone bucket, the week of promised clone finishing, had finally arrived. I opened up the bucket to hopefully find masses of white roots... only to find this...

    Need I say, I was a little bit disappointed. 

          I hadn't followed the directions. The operator is supposed to use rooting hormones in the water. Then it is recommended to use hydroponic nutrient solution for feeding the plants while they are rooting.

               And what is this? It can only be described as a bacterial slime mold.

     So, I have planted out the remaining living cuttings, one of which has three or four tiny roots on it, the rest have no visible roots but are not dead or sliming. If these 5 live, then that ratio of 5:8 survival rating is not too bad, considering there is nothing but water in the system.

The Clone Bucket. Week 2 Update

     For the second week of the clone bucket project, I was delighted to find that only one of the cuttings had seemed to fail, by turning brown at the bottom and getting a little bit slimy. I removed it from the others and tossed it into the compost pile. Then rinsed out the bucket with water, added fresh water,and started the pump again. Although there is not much visible difference in the leaves of the cuttings, I did notice the green hibiscus (turk's cap) had grown a little bit. None of the cuttings have visible roots at this point.

Clone Bucket Experiment, Setup and Results of Week 1

     I was so excited with the gift Santa brought for me, an "aeroponic" cloning bucket. I promise only to use my new-found cloning powers for evil. Or good? For its trial run, I have two different kinds of hibiscus cuttings (Hibiscus acetosella and  Malvaviscus penduliflorus) for a total of 8 cuttings. The bucket is on the windowsill of my kitchen, a very shady spot but good for keeping an eye on things. The directions recommend opening the bucket every week and cleaning out the water, which I have to admit was feeling a bit...slimy. It lacked odor.

     It's hard to say what's going on with these cuttings. They are not black and dead, nor are they water soaked and swollen. The leaves on the green hibiscus are larger than they were, a good sign. The purple hibiscus shows no change. Overall, I approve.

The Clone Bucket, Part 1.

     I may have mentioned my aspirations to be a mad hibiscus maven, someone who is willing to share freely information, preferably about something unusual, like hibiscus. They are members of the mallow/rose family, and make for a tasty addition to both human and rabbit palates.Other than the Chinese hibiscus, many members of the family grow very well here in west Florida, including one of my favorites, the Turk's Cap hibiscus.

     So I have asked Santa this year for a cloning bucket similar to this one from Garden Pool. I love their design, but after researching their plans, I discovered it would be cheaper to buy one prefabricated. Maybe it's because of where I live, my access to the supplies. Santa got exactly what I wanted, and it's a lot more compact than I thought it was going to be, perfect for my already overstuffed galley-style laboratory. It even fits on a windowsill.

     For the first test run, I have filtered water and no hormones/chemicals added, and have made no modifications to the cloning bucket. If this all works as advertised, I may actually acquire some rooting hormones and a finer misting nozzle from the aforementioned big box stores.

     While I was setting up the bucket, I happily noticed the plastic bucket itself was made in the US. Didn't expect that. Hooray for plant technology probably pioneered by pot. The system includes a pump, a riser, a spigot, the black bucket, the black lid with holes, the foam plant holders, and a bunch of sample chemicals I plan on tossing.

Alternative Method for Making Lye, Part 4

     After working hard experimenting with the recipe in Part 3, I have discovered that recipe lacks water, or heat, or some vital process that makes it possible for completion. After some discovery on the internet, I was able to find a recipe for the reaction that seems to work out much better. The recipe comes from an interesting website that promotes the use of knowledge and technology to improve the lives of people worldwide, a noble challenge. They also have some great information about small and large livestock and crafts like candle and soap making.

      This is the mixture of hydrated lime and washing soda, after it has been boiled and is cooked and cooling. This pan is stainless steel, found at a rummage sale for $4, because I wasn't willing to risk one of my other pans to the process. Below is the first pan I tried making lye in, and it is hard to see from the picture, but the teflon is actually bubbled up off of the metal. Who would have thought? Teflon and calfalon are not of my favorite substances on the planet, after all the bad press they've received among the psittacine-phile communities for the deaths of hundreds of indoor pet birds. Apparently when teflon and its derivatives are heated above 200 degrees F, (which is every time you use it, right?) then toxic gases can be released which have been found to harm pet birds and newborns. That being said, don't make lye in a small enclosed room. Duh.
     I have still have to test the pH of the lye water that is produced from this process.

Alternative Method for Making Lye, Part 3

Barefootboy's Recipe and Method for making lye from washing soda and hydrated lime, originally found here. Edited by Tentance.

• Put 4 ounces of distilled water into two, 2-cup measuring cups (or containers).
• Slowly add 1/2 oz of the Sodium Carbonate to the water in the first cup and stir. It will clunk up, so you'll need to stir gently but well with each 1/2 oz you add. NOTE There will be some very minor but noticeable heat given off. This is normal. 
• Add 1/2 oz to the water until you reach 2 ounces. Stir until the mix is clear. There may be a tiny amount that will not mix. This is NOT a problem.
• Slowly add 1/2 oz of lime to the water of the second cup, stirring with each 1/2 added to mix as much as possible. Continue until you reach 2 oz. The mix will look like a grey white milk shake and there will be some gritty residue especially if you use garden lime. This also is not a problem.
• Carefully pour the first cup with the 4 oz of clear liquid into the first large container, leaving any non liquid behind.
• Now pour the second cup carefully into the first large container.
• The mix will now become an even thicker gray white mix. Allow to separate into a clear liquid and a white/grey solid. This can take 2 hours or more. General rule, if you can let it sit for 24 hrs, do so.
• Set up your funnel with filter on top of you second container.
• When the mix has settled, carefully pour off the clear liquid into the funnel.
• The first 3 to 3 1/2 ounces should filter off rather easily, the last 1/2 ounce will take a bit longer. You can either let the mix sit and separate over time, or put the white semi-solid in the filter and let sit until as much of the liquid as possible filters out. What will be left on the filter paper will be Calcium Carbonate (raw chalk) with lye residue. Dispose of this very carefully.

You should now have 4 oz more or less of at least 50% lye solution. Every batch has had the strength verified by the pH test and has turned out 13 on the scale.
As listed above 2 oz of Soda ash (Sodium Carbonate) to 4 oz of water and 2 oz of hydrated lime to 4 oz of water = 4 oz more or less of 50% lye solution.

 
Editor's Note: To calculate the amount of homemade lye to use in your soaps with your choice of oils, head over to the SoapCalc website. In field 1, choose NaOH (sodium hydroxide). In field 3, choose Lye Concentration 50%. Adjust your superfat and oil percentages and calculate as usual.
When in doubt, do a small test batch. You can always add more water and "cook" the soap for a longer amount of time in the crock pot or on your survival fire until you obtain the desired consistency. This homemade sodium hydroxide might lend itself more to the hot process method until you become more familiar with it.

Previous method discussion

Alternative Method for Making Lye, Part 2

This is an explanation of how to make common lye, sodium hydroxide, from readily available ingredients.
Explained very well by Barefootboy, from the Homesteading Today forum. Edited by Tentance.

Alternative Method for Making Lye 

     Due to the restrictions being placed on lye sold in stores because of the criminal use of it, I'd like to bring up an alternative method of making lye that does not require wood ashes.
     Get hydrated lime at a hardware store (as builder's lime) or garden supply store, it is used in gardening and I found it under the Hoffman brand. The next ingredient is a little trickier, you need to find some basic washing soap powder. It should be straight Sodium Carbonate with NO additives or perfumes. Arm and Hammer (Washing Soda) does sell it in the old blue box some of us remember for childhood, but most big box stores don't carry it. Try discount or dollar stores. I found 100% Sodium Carbonate being sold as a pool chemical inexpensively, called "Pool Time pH UP". Or, you could try heating regular baking soda (NOT baking powder) then use it as the soda ash. I'm not sure how long to heat it, as I have not tried that method, but chemically it's correct.
     If you do get these two, simply make an equal mix of each in filtered or distilled water and carefully combine. I suggest starting out with a cup of each to get used to the steps. This will create a white solid (Calcium Carbonate = chalk) and a liquid (Sodium Hydroxide = Lye). Using a funnel and a coffee filter, filter out the white solid.
     I mixed 1 tsp of the Sodium Carbonate with 3 oz of distilled water, and 1 tsp of the lime with 3 oz of distilled water. I poured them together and waited 5 minutes for the solid and liquid (lye) to separate, then filtered the mix through a coffee filter in a funnel. The result shows all signs of being Lye.
     This process does NOT require heating at any stage of it. It is simply dissolving two powders in enough water so they can mix and separate, and then filtering off the liquid. If you use 1 ( oz, cup etc) of each chemical (lime and carbonate) and 1 (oz, cup, etc) of water in theory you'll end up with 1 (oz, cup) of the solid and 2 (oz, cups) of the liquid which will be 50% strength lye (which may need to be further diluted with water to be used with a lye calculator).
     BUT as they said in MASH "this is meatball surgery" this is meatball chemistry, so you will not get the exactness you'd get under controlled lab or industrial conditions.
     On the other hand, it will work, and has signs of being economical (yield/cost) and IS an alternative to getting hassled whenever you want to make a batch of soap.
     I found that I had to use 2 cups of water to each cup of lime/carbonate (4 cups of water). I am filtering the mix now, and it's looking like I'll recover 2 cups of lye solution, so the 50% strength still looks viable. At the max I'll get 2.5 cups of lye solution, so that's still somewhere between 35 to 40%.

The fancy term for this is a "double displacement reaction" [Editor's Note: Double displacement reaction - aqueous metathesis (precipitation)]. The Sodium Carbonate swaps with the Calcium Hydroxide (slaked lime) to create Sodium Hydroxide (lye/liquid) and Calcium Carbonate (chalk/powder).

     Read more for a better recipe and breakdown of the method. Check out this post for confirmation of the validity of this method from a chemistry and soaping text.

     From PlicketyCat:

     You can grind limestone or seashells (calcium carbonate) and then heat it in a kiln/bonfire (1200F) until it calcinates and forms quicklime (calcium oxide), then soak the quicklime in water to create slaked lime (calcium hydroxide).
     You can also burn kelp/seaweed to create soda ash (sodium carbonate) instead of heating baking soda. Soak your soda ash with water and filter to leach out the carbonates, and mix that solution with our calcium hydroxide water solution to form Sodium Hydroxide (and dry calcium carbonate again).
     Or burn wood to create potash (potassium carbonate) and a small amount of soda ash (sodium carbonate). Soak the ashes with water and filter to leach out the carbonates, and mix that solution with your calcium hydroxide water solution to form Potassium Hydroxide (and dry calcium carbonate again).

Alternative Method for Making Lye, Part 1

     This is an excerpt from a chemistry text, written in 1856, called "A Treatise on Chemistry Applied to the Manufacture of Soap and Candles: Being a Thorough Exposition, in All Their Minutiae, of the Principles and Practice of the Trade, Based Upon the Most Recent Discoveries in Science and Art."
     I have taken enough college chemistry classes to realize that I never could seem to find the useful parts of the chemistry books. Perhaps because they didn't come with those chapters. But here is a small bit of a nifty chemistry which can be done at home to work-around the lack of available lye sources for home soaping.
     I love antique cookbooks and now, chemistry books. They provide a new perspective that is absent in our modern age.
     Read more for a more practical method breakdown. Do home chemistry at your own risk. Never throw salt in your eyes.
     What is soda ash? What is hydrated lime?

What is hydrated lime, really?

     Hydrated lime is a builder's concrete additive and a soil amendment. The high calcium, low magnesium (non-dolomitic) type can also be used for making a home-made version of sodium hydroxide by following the methods outlined here.
     The pure form of the chemical is known as calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)₂) or slaked lime. It's pH is a high 12.4. Aglime and hydrated lime are frequently confused, but are chemically completely different. Aglime is crushed limestone (calcium carbonate).

     As a soil amendment, it is a cheap way to raise the pH of large amounts of overly acidic soil. In aquaponics and hydroponics, it can be used to safely raise adjust pH and add calcium to the closed systems, though some people would just add seashells to their system. There are several grades of hydrated lime for the garden, a high calcium grade, a medium calcium grade, and a dolomitic grade. These three are all varying degrees of magnesium added, with the high calcium having the least, and the dolomitic having the most.

    For the soap lye synthesis plan, I have found the highest calcium grade hydrated lime for the best price at the Sears website, of all places. Five pounds of 95% calcium for $13.63, free shipping. That's even cheaper than Amazon!

What is Soda Ash, really?

     Soda ash has been very popular in the do-it-yourself community. It is a household chemical that is considered to be very safe, and is chemically closely related to its cousin baking soda, though harder to find and slightly more expensive. It is used in laundry detergents, soaping, making glass, water softening, pool care, and for adding dye to clothing.
     Sodium carbonate (Na₂CO₃₎ is commercially made from common salt and limestone. It's pH is a high 11.6, compared to the more mild sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) of 8.4. The high pH and cheap production is what makes it valuable to water softening and pool care. It's unique chemical properties make it useful for laundry - "It competes with the magnesium and calcium ions in hard water and prevents them from bonding with the detergent being used" (Wikipedia). I have a nice recipe for the home-made laundry detergent here for your perusal.
     When used for home dye projects, it can help to mordant fiber-reactive dyes to vegetable fabrics. That
translates to binds certain synthetic dyes to fabric like cotton, hemp, or bamboo. It's usually used as a pre-mordant.
     When used in baking, it can replace baking powder/baking soda in order to leaven breads.
     When used to make glass, it is added to the mixture of salts and silica before the melt process is started. It hardens and makes the glass less permeable to water.
     For home swimming pools, it can be added to increase the water's pH which lessens the corrosive effects of chlorine. Indeed, finding sodium carbonate in the pool supply section of the local multi-mart can be the most cost effective way to purchase washing soda, with five pounds selling for under $15. 
     Historically, soda ash was made from leeching the ashes of certain seaweeds in a similar manner to potassium hydroxide production from wood ashes (read our post about it here). Before you ask, the common historically used plants were glassworts, saltworts, barilla, and seaweeds of the Fucus family (Wikipedia). Very little research has been done to investigate plant sources in the New World (maybe a survival project for another day?). It is mostly mined nowadays, but can be lab created in a similar manner as sodium hydroxide. 

Crock Pot Irish Soda Bread

      I had no idea that bread could be cooked in a crock pot. All the recipe books always said that bread needs to go into a preheated oven at the very least, 350 degrees F. So when I read about this technique at another website, I had to try it out for myself.

   It's simple - the crock pot is set on the highest setting with a grapefruit-sized dough ball (one pound of dough) for at least an hour. Any type of bread will work, but the crusts will be less crunchy than if they were cooked in a hot oven. I now no longer want to get a convection oven, and I can make small batches of bread without wasting all that electricity of using the oven.
     For this first experiment I used a modified Irish Soda Bread because I was so excited to try it out with the crockpot, and I certainly wasn't disappointed. I won't bore you with the details of the recipe, since I modified it anyway with semolina flour, oatmeal, and yogurt, but if you are interested in trying out a good and easy recipe, then I recommend the Best Beer Bread Recipe Ever. Just be sure to divide the dough in half so you don't overload the crockpot, which makes cooking time much longer. It lets you have another fresh loaf another day without doing any work.

     Put the dough ball on a large piece of parchment paper, and lower into the crockpot. Cover and bake or at least an hour on high. The crust will be soft when the bread is fully cooked, when its internal temperature reaches 190 degrees F. That's an hour and a half in my crockpot.