YouTube Recap | Videos from December 2019

In case you are not subscribed to our YouTube Channel or you missed one, here are the videos we released in the month of December 2019! In total, a total of 5 vids were released, making for a total of 73 on the year. What a year this has been! Our channel has grown substantially. At the time of my typing, we've hit 312 subscribers. We'd like to thank you for joining us on our journey and stay tuned for next year. More videos are coming in the next year, so don't forget to subscribe!

Make your own Chicken Biscuits
"After making those delicious biscuits, I had to put some chicken in between them. Here's the recipe if you want to make some also!" -- Vinny

DIY Branded Wooden Tap Handle

At some point in time, you'll want a branded tap handle for your brews. Today I am making my own tap handle, without using a lathe. Let's see how this thing turns out.

Smoothie Repair - Fixing My 40 Year Old Waring Blender

I've been working my "vintage" Waring 11-298 blender hard for the past 3 years since I received it at a garage sale for free (I refused to make an offer, and the lady just said I could have it).
However, one day I was blending a smoothie and the blade assembly came loose from the base of the pitcher.  I noticed some unusual vibration, the blending action was not working like it should, and on top of that, the contents started leaking out the bottom.  It was time to give this blender some maintenance.

First, using all the socket extensions available, I unscrewed the blade.  Then, not pictured, unscrewing the bushing assembly with pliers.

The Computer Lab - Final Curtain Rod

When I built my loft bed, I placed it next to the window to have convenient natural lighting in the computer lab.  However, sometimes the light is overbearing and causes glare on my computer screen.  I wanted to have the option to block this out.
Where we last left off, I had completed the side curtains for the door.  I still had another set of curtains remaining, so it was time to build another curtain rod!

I found these eyelets at a garage sale.  The ones with the plastic inserts were in a package marked as "TV cable hangers".  I decided to use these, taking advantage of the plastic inserts to make my screw clearance tighter as illustrated below.

Making the Chicken Biscuit Great Again

The fried chicken sandwich craze has swept the nation! But what if you don't want to wait in line or risk getting stabbed for a chicken sandwich? Make your own of course! Keep reading and you will learn how to make your own Chicken Biscuits in the comfort of your own home.

YouTube Recap | Videos from November 2019

In case you are not subscribed to our YouTube Channel or you missed one, here are the videos we released in the month of November! In total, a total of 5 vids were released. This month had some excellent cooking, homebrewing, and machining videos! More videos are coming, so don't forget to subscribe!

BEST Maple Mead | Learn to make Mead
"That mead recipe from a few years ago was so good, I decided to make a video out of it!" -- Vinny

Pumpkin Spice Hard Apple Cider Recipe Video

The classic Pumpkin Cider I've made multiple times over the past 4 years now has its own video guide. Check it out!

For the full recipe write up and past brew days, visit one of the links below:

First Batch (5 Gallon)
Second Batch (1 Gallon)
Third Batch (5 Gallon)
Fourth Batch (5 Gallon)

Honey Butter Glazed Biscuits

You are absolutely going to love these biscuits....

I recently received a request to bake clone recipe of the Church's Chicken biscuits. Those ever popular honey butter glazed biscuits.....

Mounting a 4-Jaw Chuck On My Lathe (Video)

I had received a 4-Jaw chuck that was going to be scrapped a while ago, but suddenly became inspired to finally mount it on my lathe after watching this video.  Also the revelation that I actually had a right-angled screwdriver that could help me disassemble the original chuck mount made it possible.
I didn't really cover the process of building the adapter in the video so here are some more detailed photos:

I started with this scrap piece.  I had to use one of the lathes at school because mine couldn't hold this large of diameter.

Saving Sunflower Seeds

What do you do after your sunflowers have died? Save the seeds!

Cyclists Beware! Nylon Rim Liner Causing Flat Tires (Video)

I had this weird problem over the summer when I was mysteriously getting consecutive flats for a week straight in my rear wheel for no explained reason.  I first believed it to be defective tubes, but upon closer investigation, it turned out that the rim liners (which are supposed to prevent interior punctures) were actually causing the flats.

The reason this was only happening in the rear wheel was because the rim contour caused the liner to get stuck in this U-shaped position with the edges pointing up toward the tube.  After being on the bike for so long, being stretched, and all crusty from the heat, the rim liner was sharp enough to slice the tube.  The front rim was a double walled design, which allows the liner to sit flat with no edges pointing upwards.  I have since bought a new rear wheel which is double walled, so I shouldn't have this problem in the future.

Solution: get wider rim liner, don't use nylon rim liners or get double walled rims.

YouTube Recap | Videos from October 2019

In case you are not subscribed to our YouTube Channel or you missed one, here are the videos we released in the month of October! In total, a total of 6 vids were released. This month had some excellent cooking and machining videos! More videos are coming, so don't forget to subscribe!

Harvesting Grapes Grown in 5 Gallon Buckets | Container Vineyard Harvest 2019
"Another good year in the vineyard." -- Vinny

Best Chocolate Chip Muffins Recipe

Here's one of my favorite recipes that I know you will enjoy. Today you will learn how to bake Chocolate Chip Muffins.

State of the Container Garden October 2019

Hello readers of Greens and Machines, another season has come to a close, summer of 2019.

We are now into the depths of fall, and in my area, that means highs in the 70s to 80s for October, and lows in the 50s. That means all the winter crops are coming out. Chard, Kale, Arugula, Lettuce, and Bok Choy to name a few.

Pizzelles | Using the Ancestral Italian Family Recipe

About a month ago, I was gifted a pizzelle iron from my aunt. After a coworker brought in a box of some pizzelles, I knew it was time to try making my own. Using one of the ancestral recipes granted to me, I got to work.

How To Save Seeds from Arugula and other Cabbage family plants

Have you been growing Arugula and noticed a flower stalk growing out of the top? This means the plant has bolted and will start to produce seeds. In this article, you will learn how to save seeds from your arugula and similar plants.

How Many Grapes did I harvest this year? | Container Vineyard Harvest 2019 | Year 5

Another year of the container vineyard. After the several months of care, maintenance, and pest prevention measures, the grapes were ready to harvest. Let's see how many grapes I can harvest this year.

YouTube Recap | Videos from September 2019

In case you are not subscribed to our YouTube Channel or you missed one, here are the videos we released in the month of September! In total, a total of 6 vids were released. This month had some excellent cooking, gardening, and behind the scenes videos! More videos are coming, so don't forget to subscribe!

Gardener Reacts to the Farming Skill in RuneScape
"After all the RuneScape references we've made over the years, I decided it was time to make a RuneScape video." -- Vinny

Sunflowers at Full Bloom #sunflowerchallenge2019

It took me 3 months for this moment....

From starting my seeds....

To watering everyday....

To defending the container from an ant invasion!

and now finally, my sunflowers have bloomed!

These PRETZEL BAGELS are Making Me Thirsty!

In this article, we will be baking Pretzel Bagels.

Greens and Machines Soundtrack Volume 1

If you've been watching our YouTube videos, you have definitely heard the music in them. That music has been compiled by none other than Diecaster D. AKA DJ Petesake. Now on his Soundcloud is the first volume of instrumentals we've used in our videos. Have a look! Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube Channel!

Click here to Listen!

The First Sunflower Blooms | #sunflowerchallenge2019

The first of the 4 sunflowers I've got growing for #sunflowerchallenge2019 has bloomed! This is a variety called Mammoth Russian, but being confined to a container garden, they are not quite that size.

Gardener IRL reacts to Old School RuneScape Farming

If you haven't noticed from some of our blog posts and design inspirations, we played a lot of RuneScape in the past. Back in 2005 when we first played, Jagex revealed the farming skill. At first I was a bit put aback by it because who on earth would want to grow virtual vegetables when you can do it outside. Well, the skill was fairly popular, a little addicting, and a good moneymaker in RuneScape itself. And eventually after that, Farmville and Farming Simulator were created and released so that answers my question regarding the genre.

Here are the main points of the video:

YouTube Recap | Videos from August 2019

In case you are not subscribed to our YouTube Channel or you missed one, here are the videos we released in the month of August! In total, a total of 6 vids were released. This month had some excellent cooking and gardening videos! More videos are coming, so don't forget to subscribe!

Best French Bread Dinner Rolls Recipe | Learn how to Bake
"I finally found a recipe for bread that I liked. A lot." -- Vinny

Rocket Arugula

Arugula (or Rocket) is a vegetable in the cabbage family known for its peppery tasting leaves. Great tasting in salads and on pizza. The plant bolts rapidly, so continuously sow it for a harvest all season. It is incredibly easy to save seeds from it too. (Article coming soon!)

How to make Chocolate Chip Cookies | Recipe

To break in the kitchen in my new place, I made some cookies. You can too if you follow this recipe and the directions outlined in the video above.

Bicycle Collision Repair

Oh no! My bike got smashed in a car crash.  I've never had this happen in 10 years of biking, and I didn't really know how to handle the whole situation.  What happened?  Well, check the poorly drawn diagram below. (not so poorly drawn, because one of those helped me win back $360 from the police in a court case once!)

I was cruising down the street at night, and somebody stopped at a stop sign ahead of me "didn't see me" (a pretty reasonable claim considering the ENTIRE ROW OF STREET LIGHTS that stretch of street happened to be off, though I still had my Niterider light on, so not a good enough excuse) and started turning left as I was within feet of passing in front of him.  As a result, I smashed into his left mirror completely destroying it, and was sent spiraling leftward into the street and- fortunately there was no traffic behind me- landing on my side with minor injuries to my ribs and foot. 
How did it feel?  It felt like I just got off a really good roller coaster.  Literally.  I walked away laughing.  I know things could've been worse, had I not been wearing a helmet, or if I was hit directly by the front of the car, or if there were traffic behind me to run me over, but I am thankful it wasn't that serious.
I wasn't really in the mood to call the police, I was in a bit of a hurry to get home to eat some cashews and figs after partying at the 80's bar (no I wasn't drinking), and didn't want to make things complicated.  The guy gave me $100 of hush money to "buy a new bike" and gave me a ride home.  Fortunately, I only needed $4 of those dollars to buy a new wheel from The Bicycle Tree (the tire and tube were completely unharmed).  At first I was panicking about needing a new fork, but it turned out to be undamaged as well.  Thank goodness for the shock absorbing power of steel rims!

Save $2000 a year by making your own Avocado Toast | The Millennial Path to Homeownership

Millennials, are you looking to buy a house in the neighborhood your parents grew up in? You've got to start saving some cash! Want to start saving an extra $7/day or $35 a week? Well keep reading because you'll learn how to cut out a huge daily expense hurting your wallet.

The Best French Bread Rolls Recipe

Recently, I embarked on a quest to find the perfect bread recipe. My initial attempts were met with some success. I found a good recipe which ended up tasting like Hawaiian sweet rolls. I liked how they turned out... except for one time where the dough collapsed on itself. Whoops. I tried out a second recipe I found online. After tasting the finished product from this recipe, I think I have found the best way to make dinner rolls and loaves. Here's how you can make them:

YouTube Recap | Videos from July 2019

In case you are not subscribed to our YouTube Channel or you missed one, here are the videos we released in the month of July! In total, a total of 7 vids were released. This month had some excellent metalworking and gardening videos! More videos are coming, so don't forget to subscribe!

I Made Wine from Golden Beets. Here's how it Tastes
"Did I end up liking this wine after making it?" -- Vinny

Khachapuri | The Next Avocado Toast?

I was recently introduced to this dish after browsing an online image board. After seeing how it looked and what was in it, I had to bake it. Some research later and I had already gone off to buy the cheese.

If you can identify as one of the following, I recommend closing your browser now and looking at a different web page:
Vegan
Gluten intolerant
Lactose intolerant

What you may see may offend you. I deeply apologize that you will not get to enjoy eating this wonderful creation. With that out of the way, let's talk about this dish. Or click here to skip ahead on how to make it.

Birdproofing my Grapes | Year 5 | July 2019 Vineyard Progress

How do I keep my vineyard safe from birds? By using an ancient technique learned last year. Paper bags. Watch the video to learn more.

Something Attacked my Grapevines.... | Mid July Garden Update

This week's garden update is in video format, so watch and see how it is doing!

See the previous garden update

The Foundry - First Attempted Production Run with The Molding Press - Casting Soap Dishes with The Foundry (Video)

In this video, I fire up the foundry to attempt to cast a lot of aluminum soap dishes. I put the soap dish mold and molding press to the test to see how they stand up to a full production run. Leave a comment in the video if you are interested in buying an soap dish.

Back to episode 14: Building a Permanent Molding Press

Back to The Foundry page

Sunflower Challenge 2019 #sunflowerchallenge2019

For the past two years my brother has entered Emma's Spareroom Toolmaking Competition which he's built some amazing creations. This year I found out about the sunflower challenge hosted by Nick's Allotment Diary so I decided I too would participate in a YouTube creator challenge for my area of expertise. Nick's challenge runs until October of this year, so even though I've been way behind on my gardening, I still have plenty of time to catch up thanks to the climate of my area. Let's get my seeds started for #sunflowerchallenge2019.

Moving the Garden to the other side of the yard | Garden Update Week of July 1

Welcome to summer! Some interesting changes have happened to the garden since last month, namely it is now in a new location due to some landscaping by my landlord. Now it's getting a lot of afternoon sun instead of the usual morning sun. Will my plants get cooked???

Golden Beet Wine Taste Test

After spending two weeks sitting in my bathtub and with no more noticable airlock activity, it came time to process this golden beet wine forward. The beets have been suspended in solution of wine, so my first step is to get the liquid decanted from the "fruit".

YouTube Recap | Videos from June 2019

In case you are not subscribed to our YouTube Channel or you missed one, here are the videos we released in the month of June! In total, a total of 7 vids were released. This month having some excellent machining videos! More videos are coming, so don't forget to subscribe!

Making Wine from Golden Beets
"I wanted to see how wine from beets would taste so I decided to make some." -- Vinny

June 2019 Vineyard Progress Year 5

See how far along the container vineyard has come from the previous month and sees how many grapevines are actually flowering.

Which Grape Varietals grow best in your Location | Learning the AVA system

If you are starting your own vineyard in your backyard or in containers, and you want to make wine using your homegrown grapes, the quick and dirty method to knowing what varietals will grow best in your area is to see if there are any vineyards in your area and to plant the same grapes they are growing.

The Foundry - Building a Permanent Molding Press (Video)

The long awaited upgrade to the soap dish mold is complete!  When I last (and first) casted the soap dish, we had incredible difficulty getting the casting out of the mold.  I decided to build this molding press to make the process easier, and it worked!  This was also my entry to the 2019 toolmaking competition hosted by Emma's Spareroom on Youtube, which was a great incentive to get this project done at last.

Back to episode 13: Melting a Honda Engine Head
Go to Episode 15: First Attempted Production Run with the Molding Press

Back to The Foundry page

The First Harvest | Container Garden Update Week of June 9, 2019

Now that all the younguns are out of school, peak heat has arrived. Does my garden like it?

Golden Beet Wine the Amish Way

Back when I hypothesized making mead and after making wine from grape juice concentrate, I wanted to try making wine from beets for some reason. Seemed like an obvious choice for how filled with sugar beets are. Some discussion with coworkers regarding beets made me remember this idea, so at the farmer's market last weekend, I bought some Golden Beets.

YouTube Recap | Videos from May 2019

In case you are not subscribed to our YouTube Channel or you missed one, here are the videos we released in the month of May! In total, a total of 8 vids were released. This month having a lot more than typical as the garden is being restored! More videos are coming, so don't forget to subscribe!

DIY PVC Seed Starting Rack Speedbuild

"Time to get my garden restarted at my new residence. This was the best thing to bring back to help with organization." -- Vinny

My Seedlings Nearly Died to Hail | Garden Update Week of 5/26/2019

What a crazy week of weather! For June just around the corner, we've been having cool weather and lots of rain and even hail! I had to dash outside to grab my seedlings so they didn't get destroyed! Crazy!

Portable Hydroponic Market Gardening? | 72 Plant NFT Vertical Hydroponic Build DIY

Can this hydroponic garden build be used as a portable market garden?

Although I've moved and haven't reestablished my hydroponic garden yet, I still have some practical ideas of how to use this design commercially. I've even tried selling the whole garden too, but after thinking up what I'm about to share in this blog post, I will keep it unless I'm convinced otherwise. I've had several ideas about how using the NFT I built last year could be used for market gardening. This all stems from a business model Curtis Stone of Green City Acres has proven and from a concept seen in this YouTube video.

The Best and Worst Vegetables and Herbs to Buy from a Nursery

My gardening philosophy is to start all my plants from seeds. But there have been times when I'm far behind on the season and I need a plant to help get my garden established, or the plant I want to grow is a pain to start from seed. In this article, you will learn which vegetable starts are worth buying from a nursery, and which ones you are better off starting from seed.

This Grapevine is growing out of control! May 2019 Vineyard Progress Year 5

Watch the video above to see how my vineyard is currently doing.

Progress is being made | Container Garden Update Week Ending May 11

After the first week of planting, let's see the progress in the garden. There was not too much going on, so there won't be a garden update video this week. Please let me know if you like seeing my garden updates in video format. You can watch last week's video by clicking this link.

Best Vegetables to grow in 2 gallon container gardens

As mentioned in my other article, 7 Vegetables that can grow well in 1 gallon containers, it is best to use the biggest sized container to grow your plants. One of the standard sized containers at my local nursery supply store is a 2 gallon container. There are other sources of these sized containers, such as pastry filling buckets if you plan to recycle. A few advantages of these containers is that they do not take up much more space than the 1 gallon containers and having twice the soil capacity also increases the options of vegetables you are able to successfully grow in your container garden. Here is a list of my 7 favorite vegetables that grow well in two gallon containers.

Back to my Roots | Starting a New Container Garden

Although I'm off to a late start, it's time to put my new garden space to work. This season, I'm able to plant a few containers with some plants. What are the best plants and methods to take advantage of this limited space though? I know all the answers to this question as I'm no stranger to this style of gardening.

Anaheim Pepper

Anaheim Peppers are my favorite non-spicy pepper. These peppers grow somewhat long and are easy to harvest and spot because of that. Very easy to grow these and you can probably fit them easily in small container gardens.

Reassembling the Seed Starting Shelf | Speed Build | Video

Around this time two years ago, I built an indoor shelf out of PVC to help get my seeds started. I had it disassembled in the individual PVC pieces as it stored nicely when I was not using it. After having it in pieces for several months and several moves, I decided it would actually help with the organization with my new container garden setup as things had started to get a little messy.

Checking in on my New Years' Resolutions and Store Announcement | Vinny

2019 is flying by pretty fast, wouldn't you say? 1/3rd of the way down and 8 months left to go. Let's see how I'm holding up against the resolutions I made back in January, what to expect coming in the summer months, and an important announcement at the end of this post.

Resolution #1: Weekly blog posts

I had promised at least 1 post per week in my resolution, as I count now, excluding the video recap posts and individual posts for the Trader Joe's Beers, I'm up to 15 posts, which you can count to check my math by clicking here. Considering that 18 weeks have already passed, I'm a little behind schedule. Oops. The good news is that I have a lot of new ideas for blog posts and videos coming up. With summer approaching and my living circumstances now different, you can look ahead to a fresh new garden. I'm really excited about being able to grow again.

YouTube Recap | Videos from April 2019

In case you are not subscribed to our YouTube Channel or you missed one, here are the videos we released in the month of April. In total, a total of 6 vids were released. More videos are coming, so don't forget to subscribe!

I Tasted these Honey Bunches of Oats Flavors so you don't have to

"I was baited by an instagram ad so I had to try these cereals for the novelty. They tasted exactly how I thought they would." -- Vinny

How many grapevines do you need to grow to make a bottle of wine?

A lot of people have been asking me how much wine I've been able to make from my container vineyard. The harsh truth is... not that much.

How did the Hail Storm Beer turn out? | Altbier bottling

So after an eventful brew day and a week of fermentation later, I needed to bottle out the Altbier.

D.I.Y. Toilet Paper

Okay, I was hoping it wouldn't have to come down to this, but I ran out of toilet paper, and the nearest store only had paper towels.  They just so happened to be these environmentally friendly recycled ones from Seventh Generation, but nonetheless, they'll do the job.

Grapevine Acquisitions and Vineyard Update Year 5 April 2019

Now that all the grapevines are out of dormancy, it's time to take a look at them and predict how the season will go.

We Brewed in a Hailstorm -- Hail Storm Surprise Altbier Brew Day

The last brew day at my little condo was quite extreme. It also happened to be the latest in the day I've started brewing.

This brew my buddy from the Dunkelweissen brew day came to join me going half-in on this batch. We initially discussed making some kind of amber ale, but those plans got slightly.... altered. From my Trader Joe's Beer Reviews, I really liked the flavor of the Alternate Dimension Altbier enough to try a brew of that style. Here is the recipe we came across for that style:

Top 6 $1 beers from Trader Joe's

If you are a frequent shopper at Trader Joe's and visit the alcohol for some fine $3 wine or other beverages, you may have seen their house brand beers. Believe it or not, even though they cost $1 each before any taxes or CRVs, these are an incredible value. Let's review my 6 favorite $1 beers they have for sale.

Trader Joe's Beer Review: Alternate Dimension Altbier Ale

Tasting notes:

Trader Joe's Beer Review: Josephsbrau Hefeweissen

Tasting notes:

Trader Joe's Beer Review: Josephsbrau Spring Prost Maibock

Tasting notes:

Trader Joe's Beer Review: Josephsbrau PLNZR

Tasting notes:

Trader Joe's Beer Review: Black Toad Distinctive Dark Ale

Tasting notes:

Trader Joe's Beer Review: Stockyard Oatmeal Stout

Tasting notes:
Very dark, good roasted character and good mouthfeel from the roasted oats.
Probably my favorite of the $1 Trader Joe's beers is Stockyard Oatmeal Stout.

Stockyard Oatmeal Stout
ABV: 5.2%
Flavor Profile: Roasted; caramel, malty
My rating: 8.5/10

Timestamped video review and tasting:

View the other Reviews

YouTube Recap | Videos from March 2019

In case you are not subscribed to our YouTube Channel or you missed one, here are the videos we released in the month of March. In total, a total of 5 vids were released. More videos are coming, so don't forget to subscribe!

Gemüseeintopf 2 | How to make Vegetable Stew: Beach BBQ Style

@diecaster_d makes the dish which a classic German rap video is based off of... at the beach!

Completing The Computer Lab - Curtain Rod

The final structural addition to the loft bed computer lab was to add the curtains.  I had some curtains left over from my old apartment which my mom made for me, but unfortunately, we accidentally donated the curtain rods.  Thankfully, the Law of Scrap Alchemy saved the day when I found this extended mop/squeegee handle in the trash that happened to be the perfect length to span the entrance to the computer lab!

Let There Be Light! - Computer Lab Lighting

I initially bought these LED light bulbs to replace the ones in the chandelier at my house.  The only problem was, the threaded parts weren't long enough to screw all the way down into the light socket and complete the circuit (perhaps this is why they were on clearance at the grocery store). What's even more embarrassing was while trying to switch out the light bulbs, I broke one of the glass panels in the chandelier!
Having had to admit defeat, I had these light bulbs still, and needing some lighting for the computer lab under my loft bed, I bought a couple light fixtures to use them.  Not surprisingly, I had the same problem of the light bulbs bottoming out before reaching the bottom contacts.  This time, however, I was able to take matters into my own hands and put the sockets into the lathe and turn down some of the plastic.  Bingo! They worked!