Permaculture and Hoop houses

Permaculture & Hoop houses

I thought I'd try a 5-section bed with a permaculture variation... clean out bed, lay down 4-6 thick layer of newspaper, add a layer of compost about 3" thick and a layer of wood chips about 3" thick. Then plant the seeds in the traditional way—digging a little trench and place the seeds apart following their preferred seed spacing...

First, I cleaned out the bed getting rid of lots of weeds. One of the reasons I want to try permaculture is it looks like it handles weeds a lot better than exposed soil does...Where I live there is an abundance of Bermuda grass which survives about as well as cockroaches. However, I did learn something recently about weeds. My neighbor in California, a lovely woman, told me a long time ago that every thing has a positive reason for being even if we don't know what it is yet. I learned that weeds are the first line of defense for soil preservation. After soil has been cleared of whatever it was growing, the first thing that appears to keep the soil in place, rather than it blow away, are weeds. Learning that gave me a new appreciation for them. They have a very important job; without them our topsoil would blow away and then we couldn't grow anything!

Second, I spread out the newspaper over the bare soil to not only hold moisture from rain and the drip irrigation system, but also to block weeds from coming through.

Third, I dug compost from my compost bin and laid some on top of the newspapers to not only hold the paper down, but also to see how much of my own compost I had versus how much I needed to go buy. I needed 2 bags of compost. The big box store didn't have mushroom compost, which I've used and liked in the past. I ended up with cotton burr compost. I've read that it is nutrient dense, so I'm giving it a try.

The Fourth step, is to add a layer of mulch. In many of the permaculture videos they recommend getting tree mulch from tree service folks or your city. There is a city park near where I live and they happen to have lots and lots of free mulch. Just provide your own containers and vehicle. I get a couple of containers at a time.

In this freshly prepared 5-section bed I planted: Kale, Elephant Garlic, Onion, Red and Yukon Gold Potatoes, Swiss Chard, and New Zealand Spinach.

Happy with the planting results...I went out to survey my work. I noticed that something had already sprouted! I don't think I've ever seen a sprout this big emerge within 24 hours...

Looking around, though, I still have some beds that need attention and reworking for the fall, plus I still have a few things I want to plant: shallots, ginger, broccoli, and beets.

The first two permaculture beds and growing like crazy. Today we enjoyed some of the greens in a nice sandwich at lunchtime... I especially enjoy the beet greens in the cooler months.

Meanwhile, up in Michigan, Dan has been busy bending hoops and getting them installed to make a 20' x 85' large size hoop house, which are also known as high tunnels. He wants to try his hand at extended season growing in the colder climes. Today, he put up the perlins which connect the hoops together providing strength and sturdiness to the overall structure. Tomorrow it's side boards that can be used to hook wiggle wire onto; the wiggle wire will hold the plastic on the hoop house. He bought professional grade plastic that is made to last at least 4 years. The plastic will contain heat and prevent the cold winds from damaging the plants inside.

That's the job for this week. All the trips going up and down on a ladder are not easy on the legs, knees, and back. The more I plunge into serious gardening/farming, the more I have respect for our fore bearers and for farmers everywhere. 

Hey... let's throw in a harvest picture... because based on feedback, I know you love to look at a successful harvest and its inherent deliciousness. Danny and I have been starting to pick food from the fall crop lately. We've had a delicious sandwich using the greens, and a nice side salad for dinner tonight. Danny also picked some herbs to add to the macaroni dish he whipped up. You really can't get healthier food that this: no pesticides, absolutely fresh, organic heirloom seed stock, nutrient dense, and grown with love and care. What could be better?!

Stay tuned and Bon Appetit!

It's a Dream of Farming, living, and enjoying a life lived

A Dream of Farming, Living, and Enjoying a Life Lived

This is a hoophouse we constructed over several weeks. It started in May of 2012 as a 35ft long by 20 foot wide structure. Now the length is 85 or so feet. It has 4ft sidewalls and the top has three purlins. The far end in this shot is a treated wood frame with all the plastic captured between the 5/4 by 6 pieces of wood.

Starting at the far end you can see a sliding 4x3 foot window. It was taken out from behind where this picture was shot and moved to the end. In the winter it remains closed. Come the first of Feb or so this will have to be opened on the more sunny days as the temp inside could easily reach into the 90’s F.

The brush under the window is actually last fall’s tomato plants gone by. They gave good fruit, resisted disease and bugs, and when they finally got hit by the cold (in late Oct) they showed their final strength by exhibiting a massive root ball. I am planning to build an overhead frame of some sort to support the bearing part of the plant in the coming year.

At the middle right is the small child wading pools that I got for half price at the end of the summer. I believe there are five or maybe six.  I will use these in an aquaculture based system this year. Along with these pools I have some PVC eave troughs that will be mounted on the sidewall and then the pool water, holding fish, will be pumped up to the top of the eave and allowed to gravity feed back down through some plants and thus be filtered for the fish to use. 

The nutrients the fish put into the water will grow some wonderful plants, the return water will be clean enough to support the fish until it gets circulated again.

The clump of plants on the right hand side is a small type of broccoli. It is going to seed yet and theses seeds will be used to start another patch in the spring. They got hit a bit at the end of the season with a small mite sized insect and the last of the lady bugs seemed to get them under control. I would guess this susceptibility to being buggy is from the pH of the soil being too high.

The soil test we got last spring from the state Extension Service showed a level of about 7. This might be alright for humans and such but my veggies like it down around 6 or 6.5. Sulfur added to the soil will lower the 7 down a point or so. Follow the directions as to how much to apply per 1000 sq. ft. and it will be perfect. 

This picture is looking from the SSW and shows the woodwall, the small pile of woodchips, the sides for turning the little trailer into a small dump wagon, and the pallets farthest up is a three stall compost pile and on the far end of that my hoopbending table.

By the way-the satellite dish you see was put in when I first started to develop this place. It was about a quarter mile from this point to the road and we couldn’t get phone service for six months. I think at that time a good internet connection was like 56k download. So what I did was to move an old RV that I had onto the property.

Next I installed a satellite service, Hughes or something, and ran everything off my generator. The next order of business was to plants a small garden to test the soil. It was right under where the hh is now. We also bought a few hundred trees and put them in the same area and planted them out when time was available.

Plans were chosen for building the new house and I then built the little barn the same size as the house was to be. This gave one of the bosses in my life an opportunity to better visualize the inside spaces we would be working with in the main house. If I remember the dimensions it was about 32x36 or so. By leaving the ceiling off the inside of the barn, the inside of the house could be imagined as it would have a complete cathedral ceiling.

One day I was going into town and saw a crew chopping down some trees by the ditch up north. It was to run lines and equipment for a new high voltage power line through the county. We have over a hundred of the wind turbines on this side of the county now and we needed more distribution power-in and out. Well the loop is close but not that close and when I noticed they had shredded up a truck full of branches and leaves I stopped to inquire.  I wondered where they had to transport their cargo to. They said down the road about 35 miles to their shop.  I told them I would very much appreciate it if they could dump it at my house, which was only ¾ of a mile down the road. Well, he said he would check with his boss and let me know.

He drove into the lane a few hours later. The smile on my face was truly ear to ear! He wanted to know where to dump the load and not get tangled in the overhead power lines. We got it as close as we could to the hoophouse. The person next to the pile is my hired hand-or as I like to call her, Mom. She is one of the bosses in my life. The other one is currently finishing a stretch in Kansas, raising the last son of her remarkable family.

The distance and time of development are always difficult. However, many sacrifices are made no matter when you strike out to find your true path in life and we are working both places for our personal growth and development.

Many of the proceeding articles on this blog were written, pictured, and edited by my Kansas boss. She has talents in many areas of living; Mothering, growing, writing, photographing, nurturing and expressing a wonderful, spiritual nature that beams joy and peace.

Here you can see the hoops being erected. The far end is the north end of the hoophouse. It is opposite the windowed/wood framed end you see in the first picture.  The hoophouse sets tight to the little barn and I removed the window on the left and put a full 4x8 foot door as passage from one to the other.

The door is plenty big to transfer equipment, amendments, tools and pallets to the hoophouse. I also keep the heat in the hh and the cold out of the barn. Above the new door will be the whole house fan for controlling the temps during spring, summer and fall.

When I plowed in the spring of 2012 I made sure the ground was turned up all around the hh. This area will be planted in the spring with what I am calling outside crops; Cukes, squash, punkins, cabbage, asparagus, and a grand variety of fresh, good tasting fruits and veggies. Many of these are being planted out because of the room they require. I am going to try to plant according to pounds produced per 100 square feet.

We hope to continue this blog during the year. It should provide some guidance, hope, encouragement and laughter to all who care to read it.

Thanks to all my bosses and thanks also to all the readers of this blog.

Be well; peace…dan

Mayo and other foods made at home!

Mayonnaise... from scratch!

Mayonnaise, to me, has always been a weird condiment. What is this strange matter that people spread on sandwiches, use for making a dressing for coleslaw and potato salad, and often put too much on for my liking? I've heard of recipes claiming that you can make homemade mayonnaise, but I had never taken the time to really look at the ingredients of what goes into mayonnaise. I don't know why, but it always seemed like a strange food; sort of like a non-food. And then there's the Mayonnaise vs. Miracle Whip debate, which I won't go into here.

   Growing up in my family, my mother used Miracle Whip. I found it to be a bit too sweet for my tastes. Later in life, I decided to eat foods that hadn't been bastardized in some way, so I stuck to eating only mayonnaise and butter rather than any of there offshoots like Miracle Whip and margarine. I figured that the closer to its unprocessed, or natural, state it was, probably the better for humans. Only later did I find out that margarine is only one molecule away from being plastic and that margarine left unattended will not mold, mildew, attract bugs, or disintegrate. Glad I made that decision for myself early on in life.

   In this effort of learning to do more and more for myself and be less dependent on outside processing sources, I decided it was time to take a look at a mayonnaise recipe and do this for myself...

Mayonnaise Ingredients:

1 whole egg, at room temperature

1 egg yolk, at room temperature

1 teaspoon Dijon-type mustard

1 1/2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1 Tablespoon whey, optional

3/4—1 cup extra virgin olive oil or expeller-expressed sunflower oil or a combination

generous pinch of sea salt

I left the eggs out while I was out for the afternoon to get to room temperature. (They really only need about half an hour.) When I returned home I plunked the eggs in the blender first—one whole egg and one egg yolk separated from the white. Do you know how to separate the yolk from the white? I crack the egg shell in half and pour the yolk into one side of the shell letting the white run out of the shell. I pour the yolk back into the other half of the shell and more of the white will slide off the yolk. I do this back and forth a couple of times until the white has slid off the yolk into my container set below it to catch the white. (You can use the white in an omelette or other dish where you may need more whites like meringue, so you don't waste any.)

Then I added the Dijon-type mustard. I happened to have a little Spicy Brown mustard in my fridge so I used that.

For the lemon juice, I used concentrated lemon juice since I didn't have a fresh lemon laying around.

And the extra virgin olive oil. I used what I had on hand, but I forgot to take a snapshot of it. I'm pretty sure you've all seen extra virgin olive oil before though.

Here's my bag of sea salt that I purchased from the bulk food section of the health food store.

I processed the first four ingredients in my blender for about 30 seconds. The whey, which I didn't use, makes the mayonnaise keep longer (like up to 5 months). Without the whey, the mayonnaise will keep for two weeks in the fridge.

   Through the cap top that I removed, I poured the 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil into the blender—a bit at a time—while running the processor. It emulsified nicely; which reminds me of a vinegrette that I make using olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, and spicy mustard. I added a generous pinch of sea salt, which I just happened to have in my spice section.

and then tasted it... yum! I mean... really yum! It was soooo good. I could use it as a vegetable dip all by itself without having to add anything else to it! Why didn't I know how good homemade mayonnaise tasted before?! Why hadn't any of my friends ever made homemade mayonnaise? Oh yeah, because in this culture, people hardly cook anymore let alone make their condiments from scratch. For example, when I go to a potluck, my American friends typically show up with bottled dressing for their salads; however, my Persian friends still make their dressing from scratch, fresh each time and the taste difference is significant. Personally, I've long ago converted to eating fresh dressing on my salads. Now, I'll consider making fresh mayonnaise when I need it because 1) it's so easy to do, and 2) the taste is phenomenal. So... give it a try. You won't regret it; and who knows, you may never go back!

I put the date on my homemade label so I don't get confused by my busyness and forget that it expires in two weeks if I haven't devoured it in the first week. When I make something new like this, I take the opportunity to allow those around me take a taste and decide if they want to introduce a new food into their life too. It's a beautiful opportunity.

Bon appetit!

Machines only a woman can love...

Outward Bound 101...or how to get a handle on a treed lot

Every day is a new adventure on the land. Buying land with no amenities gives us all an opportunity to learn through each stage of the process. First order of business—surveying the land. If we know where the four corners of the property are, then we can begin to figure out where the various buildings go.

It was a cold, rainy day, but the surveyors came out and figured out the four corners...

Dan rented a brush hog to clear out some of the brush and start making a pathway where we could begin to work. 

After that I was introduced to a skid steer made by Bobcat. They make a small job of getting rid of smaller sized trees.

Before I knew it, I was getting skid steer driving lessons: pedals to manage the bucket, handles to push and pull for forward and backward, how to turn it—handles in opposite directions, and when in doubt you can always turn the key off!

So far so good! My son and his girlfriend came over last weekend and were super excited about learning to drive it, so off we went for nighttime skid steer lessons. Erin was a champ and was driving up a tree learning to fell it with the Bobcat. David went next and snagged his very own tree himself too! That was a fun evening. It made us all re-evaluate what we're currently doing for a living!

Dan picked up a couple of culverts to help with drainage at the place where we are making a driveway entrance.

We ordered a load of gravelly sand to lay over the culverts to start to make a driveway and allow for drainage in the little ditch that is under what will be the driveway.

Seems pretty loose and squishy. I think we should get something to pack it down with. I'm thinking it looks too loose and we could easily get stuck... What if we bought some plywood and placed it on top of the sand for a while while we drive on it to pack it down...

Moving the RV there... well, let's just say we're still working on that! Those boards might have been a good idea...

Onto selective felling of trees. We like that there are trees, but to put up the work structures some of the trees will need to be felled to make room for the buildings. Dan knows what he's doing when it comes to cutting down trees, but how about the rest of us?!

When I rented the chain saw with the skid steer, it was $55 a day. It wouldn't take too many days of renting one to cover the cost of buying one. Off to the local farm supply store we go. It's getting to be my new best friend. After doing some comparison shopping at the local big box store, we learned the farm supply store is competitively priced on this item. We ended up with the 455 series chainsaw by Husquavarna. It's supposed to be a better brand than some of the others and we didn't want an 'e-series' one—short for economy (read cheap). We have a lot of trees to be felled and cut; we need a machine that will do the job.

Danny had the task of reading the Getting Started Instructions out loud, while Dan got it started for the first time, putting in fuel and oil and then pumping the bulb a number of times to purge the air out of the engine. He had to pull the starter rope quite a few times before the engine engaged, but we met with success.

Ready for the first lesson... basic chain saw cutting... Don't sway the chainsaw back and forth; let the saw cut through the tree—like cutting soft butter—it can do it easily.

Then log cutting... Make each log only about 12-14" long so it'll fit into a fireplace or fire pit easily.

Now it's my turn to practice cutting logs...

Ok, I've got it... Danny.... your turn to learn how to cut logs...

Looks like he'll be able to cut logs from now on...

Now that we each know how to cut logs, let's have a real lesson in felling trees! I learned that first you figure out which direction the tree grows naturally—that's the direction that it will want to fall. If the top of the tree is reaching to the east, then you'll need to cut a wedge, or a notch, into the east side of the tree. I started with a horizontal cut about a third of the way into the tree. 

Then cut straight down to the notch making a notch. The bigger the notch, the easier it is to turn the tree the direction you want for felling. Here's a close up of Danny making his front notch...

Once the front notch is cut, then make a horizontal cut on the back side of the tree at least 1 inch above the bottom cut of the front notch. 

Be very aware at this stage of the tree felling process because if you need to retreat quickly go about 45 degrees back from the direction of the fall—not directly back and certainly not in the front of the tree. This mistake could cost you your life. Here's where you truly need to be careful because what you are doing is certainly taking risk!

With the tree down, the next thing is to cut the small branches from the trunk... of course, Dan made it look more like cutting butter again!

Then he started cutting logs...

We're back to full circle now because we already had the logging lesson...

Oh, time to take Danny to his piano lesson. I'll be back afterwards. Be careful Dan...

Here's a snap of the twig pile and the wood pile Danny and I worked on while Dan was cutting and logging in another area of the woods.

When I got back we had some strategic product placement... That Husquvarna gets the job done!

Look at the size of that tree...!

Today, we decided it was a good day to construct a fire pit/cook stove. We gathered 14 blocks and 6 of the little flat ones... They cost about $18.00 at the big box store, but I had 8 from home. Purchasing 6 of each type.

We placed the six flat ones three wide and two deep encasing them with six blocks and then stacking up from there...

Last week at the farm supply store we purchased a little rack ($12) to use on the cookstove. I placed it on top of what we had so far and with a few minor tweaks, we were good to go. For $30 we have a fire pit/cook stove that can work well for a long time to come. Living frugally gets the job done and can be fun!

Next up, let's gather some dead wood and get something easy to start the fire with. The box for the chain saw could be used as starter fuel and then we'll see if we can get the wood to light. I happen to have some lighters in my car... Having lighters was no accident. Stocking up on lighters when you're making fires frequently seems like a pretty logical thing to do.

I retrieved a newspaper from the car too. It helped get the fire started because it's easier than cardboard. Note to self: Keep some newspaper in the car for starting fires.

When getting a fire started, it's one thing to get the kindling to start... but will the big logs catch fire is the real question.

With the big log lit, it's time to bring in some campfire furniture...

In high school, that would have been a fellow football player he was carrying. With a bit of seasoning, he's directed that strength to carry wood blocks...

With a couple of these in place, we sat by the fire and watched the birds... we saw robins, bluebirds, cardinals, a meadowlark, sparrows, and geese. It was comforting to see and hear so many birds flying and flitting and singing their songs. At my house, I don't see so many birds. It concerns me because I wonder how many are left and how many have died off because of the toxins killing off so many species.

At the end of the day, it's good to practice fire safety and put out the fire. We happened to have a jug of water nearby... off when the fire!

We stacked a few more logs on the pile... not bad for a first effort... there's enough wood stacked to get us by for six months...

Meanwhile back at home this morning... inside the hoop house the temperature was 51 degrees and the veggies and greens where growing strong...

I picked three grocery bags full of greens and veggies this morning...

Check out these organic multi-colored carrots... growing away when most days hover around freezing...

Check out the harvest... kale, spinach, cilantro, carrots, onions, lettuce, swiss chard, arugula...

I made a fine lunch of fresh salad with a balsamic vinegrette dressing with pinto bean hummus, deviled eggs, tortilla chips, and sweet and sour pickles from the summer.

Bon appetit! at Chez Kansas... : )