Both literally and metaphorically.
The vegetables are not going that great. The tomatoes and Bell Peppers are still nowhere near where they should be. Tomorrow (if the rain holds off a little) I plan on going and catching some fish to bury beneath the plants.
I got home today, a very windy day, and another 2 fence-posts had snapped. That would be the 4th & 5th posts in less than ONE FREAKING YEAR. I don't really know what to say - I am at a loss. Tomorrow I'll have to see what I can figure out.
Sigh...oh well, at least I'm off tomorrow and I can sleep in
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Neat!
When my fence fell over a while back, my neighbor could see into my back yard, and I told Katie "he probably thinks I am some crazed hippie...growing corn and beans and veggies and having rain barrels!"
Well wouldn't you know it, I saw him through the fence, and he has set up 2 raised beds!!!
Neat!
Well wouldn't you know it, I saw him through the fence, and he has set up 2 raised beds!!!
Neat!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Feathers will fly...
Before I dive into the feather pluckers, I need to show you all what my trellises look like from the last blog post.
Not too shabby huh!?
ALRIGHT, the main event. Let's talk about pulling feathers.
This would be nice to have, if you plan on de-feathering chickens.
Unfortunately, I don't have money growing the garden, though I tried, and now I'm short $14.
I did see a link to a much simpler, much cheaper version of the item above. So here is an in-depth how-to on how to build your own. Do they work? I assume so, but I'll have to update that in a few weeks.
Here are some parts I bought to make it
(This is a 2" PVC End Cap, a 3/8" bolt, 2 washers, a 3/8" nut, and lock washer)
I also bought 2 long rubber bungee-cords. To maximize the amount of rubber "fingers" I could cut, I created this design:
It's basically 2 "L's" that are inverted. You'll need extremely sharp and powerful shears - I used Sheet Metal shears.
So, I drilled a 3/8" hole (actually 25/64") hole in the top of the end-cap, in dead center.
I then drilled several 3/8" holes all around the outside of the end cap. I stuck the rubber fingers through the holes, so the "nub" is on the inside. This will keep the rubber fingers from flying out.
The finished product:
Well, that was great and all, but it wasn't enough for me :-D To be honest, it's fairly tiny. I needed it, yes, to get in the nooks & crannies of the chicken - the hard to reach feathers. But to use that for all the feathers would take a while. So I decided I would make a much larger one as well. This one will be used for removing a bulk amount of feathers quickly.
I drilled a pilot hole in the 6" PVC Drain Cap.
I built a wooden jig to keep it from moving around.
Other than that, the process is pretty much the same.
And now....for the best picture of them all....
You see, I couldn't just leave these as is. They were far too cool and dangerous (alright not really, I tested it on myself, haha) to just be left as is. They needed an awesome name.
I give you.....drumroll.......the Clucker Plucker 2000 and the Clucker Plucker 6000!
Not too shabby huh!?
ALRIGHT, the main event. Let's talk about pulling feathers.
This would be nice to have, if you plan on de-feathering chickens.
Unfortunately, I don't have money growing the garden, though I tried, and now I'm short $14.
I did see a link to a much simpler, much cheaper version of the item above. So here is an in-depth how-to on how to build your own. Do they work? I assume so, but I'll have to update that in a few weeks.
Here are some parts I bought to make it
(This is a 2" PVC End Cap, a 3/8" bolt, 2 washers, a 3/8" nut, and lock washer)
I also bought 2 long rubber bungee-cords. To maximize the amount of rubber "fingers" I could cut, I created this design:
It's basically 2 "L's" that are inverted. You'll need extremely sharp and powerful shears - I used Sheet Metal shears.
So, I drilled a 3/8" hole (actually 25/64") hole in the top of the end-cap, in dead center.
I then drilled several 3/8" holes all around the outside of the end cap. I stuck the rubber fingers through the holes, so the "nub" is on the inside. This will keep the rubber fingers from flying out.
The finished product:
Well, that was great and all, but it wasn't enough for me :-D To be honest, it's fairly tiny. I needed it, yes, to get in the nooks & crannies of the chicken - the hard to reach feathers. But to use that for all the feathers would take a while. So I decided I would make a much larger one as well. This one will be used for removing a bulk amount of feathers quickly.
I drilled a pilot hole in the 6" PVC Drain Cap.
I built a wooden jig to keep it from moving around.
Other than that, the process is pretty much the same.
And now....for the best picture of them all....
You see, I couldn't just leave these as is. They were far too cool and dangerous (alright not really, I tested it on myself, haha) to just be left as is. They needed an awesome name.
I give you.....drumroll.......the Clucker Plucker 2000 and the Clucker Plucker 6000!
Monday, April 19, 2010
Trellises up!
With help from my wife, I set up the trellises this evening. What a task! If you'd like to build your own, here's how I did it:
(this is for 2 trellises)
Buy 5 pieces of 1/2" electrical conduit. This comes in 10 ft. lengths.
Next, buy 4 of these suckers. You'll find it in the same aisle as the electrical conduit at Home Depot or Lowe's. It's a 90 degree connector.
Cut the 10 ft. lengths of conduit into four 7-foot lengths and two 5-foot lengths. The 7-footers will become the legs, and the 5-footers will be the top bar. Attach the right-angle connectors to make a large sideways "U."
Oh yea, you should know - this is all based on the "netting" you can buy (which for me was very hard to find). The typical size available is 8' by 5'. If all you can buy is an 8' x 4', then obviously make it a foot narrower.
To stake it in the ground, I looked at several different approaches, and none really looked good. What I ended up doing (and I'll study how this turns out this year) is buying four 1/2" x 4-foot lengths of rebar, and shoving these down into the ground. Then, I slipped the trellis over these bars. I'll probably take a couple extra preventative measures such as tying it down, but who knows...we'll see how it goes.
In 2 or 3 weeks, we should also be butchering our meat chickens. That will be interesting, to say the least :-p . Expect pictures, because, well if I have to do/learn it, you're going to learn it as well :-D
(this is for 2 trellises)
Buy 5 pieces of 1/2" electrical conduit. This comes in 10 ft. lengths.
Cut the 10 ft. lengths of conduit into four 7-foot lengths and two 5-foot lengths. The 7-footers will become the legs, and the 5-footers will be the top bar. Attach the right-angle connectors to make a large sideways "U."
Oh yea, you should know - this is all based on the "netting" you can buy (which for me was very hard to find). The typical size available is 8' by 5'. If all you can buy is an 8' x 4', then obviously make it a foot narrower.
To stake it in the ground, I looked at several different approaches, and none really looked good. What I ended up doing (and I'll study how this turns out this year) is buying four 1/2" x 4-foot lengths of rebar, and shoving these down into the ground. Then, I slipped the trellis over these bars. I'll probably take a couple extra preventative measures such as tying it down, but who knows...we'll see how it goes.
In 2 or 3 weeks, we should also be butchering our meat chickens. That will be interesting, to say the least :-p . Expect pictures, because, well if I have to do/learn it, you're going to learn it as well :-D
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Definition
green·horn
(gr
n
hôrn
)
n.
2. A newcomer, especially one who is unfamiliar with the ways of a place or group.
No doubt about it. I feel like the wind has been taken out of my sails over the last couple days. Nothing big, just a few small bubbles burst. Firstoff, for anyone who uses rain barrels, you need to know something immediately - you NEED to attach a filtering system if you want to water your vegetables (or drink) this water. With all the unseen pollution in the sky, the pollution comes down in rain, and is washed off of your roof, through the gutter, and into your rain barrel. Here is a helpful link.
Now, from here, I have 3 options:
Speaking of work, let's talk hoeing. Or, lack thereof. You see, I have weeds in my garden...I think. They look like corn. But it's not where I put the corn (The corn is growing really well by the way!). There's 10x as many, also. And when I pulled up the green weeds, low and behold, there was a seed at the bottom. So, is it a weed? Or is it some mysterious vegetable? Has my corn multiplied overnight, literally? Probably not. But I would hate to hoe all these suckers up, and as it turns out it was something useful.
What are these suckers in the middle?
Other than that, I am happy to report just a few buggy plants, and the rest seem to be growing well. We should be getting rain almost every day over the next week, so it'll be interesting to see how the plants respond (I hope well!).
Thanks for stopping by :)
Update!
With the help of a friend I think I figured out what the "grass blades" were. I'm fairly certain it's wheat! Kind of sucks, the reason I bought wheat straw to mulch was so it would not go to seed. Oh well, time to hoe!
(gr
nhôrn) n.
2. A newcomer, especially one who is unfamiliar with the ways of a place or group.
No doubt about it. I feel like the wind has been taken out of my sails over the last couple days. Nothing big, just a few small bubbles burst. Firstoff, for anyone who uses rain barrels, you need to know something immediately - you NEED to attach a filtering system if you want to water your vegetables (or drink) this water. With all the unseen pollution in the sky, the pollution comes down in rain, and is washed off of your roof, through the gutter, and into your rain barrel. Here is a helpful link.
Now, from here, I have 3 options:
- Ignore the warnings and put dangerous chemicals & E. Coli into the vegetable beds.
- Filter the water
- Remove the Rain Barrels altogether.
Speaking of work, let's talk hoeing. Or, lack thereof. You see, I have weeds in my garden...I think. They look like corn. But it's not where I put the corn (The corn is growing really well by the way!). There's 10x as many, also. And when I pulled up the green weeds, low and behold, there was a seed at the bottom. So, is it a weed? Or is it some mysterious vegetable? Has my corn multiplied overnight, literally? Probably not. But I would hate to hoe all these suckers up, and as it turns out it was something useful.
What are these suckers in the middle?
Other than that, I am happy to report just a few buggy plants, and the rest seem to be growing well. We should be getting rain almost every day over the next week, so it'll be interesting to see how the plants respond (I hope well!).
Thanks for stopping by :)
Update!
With the help of a friend I think I figured out what the "grass blades" were. I'm fairly certain it's wheat! Kind of sucks, the reason I bought wheat straw to mulch was so it would not go to seed. Oh well, time to hoe!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Ramblings and such
You can never have enough good quality garden hoses. All kinds, too.
Over the last few days, I have seen so many things that make me just look at the [insert media device] and roll my eyes, or scoff. We got an ad today in the mail that said, word for word, "You're just too busy to clean your own house - you deserve a maid." What the heck happened to being responsible and picking up after oneself?!?!?
Also, if you own a TV, no doubt you have seen one of the many commercials claiming you cannot function or live without a GPS. This just further separates us, socially, from others, and will end up causing people to become introverted robots. Heck, even in the "old days" (haha) we'd call someone up on our cell phones and ask them directions, but even that is now gone. Does anyone under the age of 20 even know what a MAPSCO is anymore?
Epiphany - crap, I just realized I'm the epitome of an old man complaining about the "newfangled generation and their fancy gadgets." Maybe they were right all along.
Alright, I'll get off my old man soapbox for now, even though I am not old, and I ran out of washing detergent yesterday. I'll leave you with this. I haven't read these books Mr. Kimball references, but I am eager to track them down in some bookstore. Our library does not carry them, unfortunately, but I trust what Herrick Kimball posts most of the time, so no doubt these books are great.
Have a pleasant Tuesday everyone. Thank goodness Monday is over...
Over the last few days, I have seen so many things that make me just look at the [insert media device] and roll my eyes, or scoff. We got an ad today in the mail that said, word for word, "You're just too busy to clean your own house - you deserve a maid." What the heck happened to being responsible and picking up after oneself?!?!?
Also, if you own a TV, no doubt you have seen one of the many commercials claiming you cannot function or live without a GPS. This just further separates us, socially, from others, and will end up causing people to become introverted robots. Heck, even in the "old days" (haha) we'd call someone up on our cell phones and ask them directions, but even that is now gone. Does anyone under the age of 20 even know what a MAPSCO is anymore?
Epiphany - crap, I just realized I'm the epitome of an old man complaining about the "newfangled generation and their fancy gadgets." Maybe they were right all along.
Alright, I'll get off my old man soapbox for now, even though I am not old, and I ran out of washing detergent yesterday. I'll leave you with this. I haven't read these books Mr. Kimball references, but I am eager to track them down in some bookstore. Our library does not carry them, unfortunately, but I trust what Herrick Kimball posts most of the time, so no doubt these books are great.
Have a pleasant Tuesday everyone. Thank goodness Monday is over...
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Woodlice, round 2
I have started watering the corn in the mornings, about 10-15 minutes, after removing the wheat straw. It is working extremely well. I already have most of the corn shoots up, and several bean shoots are there as well. I never could find the squash seed packets, so I just bought some plants and planted them.
I noticed more holes in the potato leaves, so I tried my yeast trick again. Boil 2 packets of yeast in some water, and then pour it into tin cups which are submerged in the ground, with the lip at ground level. The woodlice are attracted to it, go over, fall in, and die. Well, I put those out, and my curiosity got the best of me last night at about 10:15 pm. I took a flashlight, went and looked, and noticed 1 potato plant COVERED in woodlice, from top to bottom. I managed to grab a lot of them off, and knock the rest off. Those little pests. So, it appears those are the major problem.
I went to Tara's house and got to see the meat chickens! That was very cool, and after hearing how virtually silent they were, I wonder if anyone would really notice if I had them next year, if I kept them out of view of neighbors. They might be able to smell them, though. Hm...something to think about for the next 8 months or so.
I also started "restoring" the old window-panes I got at a flea market. They'll be used late this year and early next year for cold frames. They're looking pretty neat :-)
Other than that, not too much news.
I noticed more holes in the potato leaves, so I tried my yeast trick again. Boil 2 packets of yeast in some water, and then pour it into tin cups which are submerged in the ground, with the lip at ground level. The woodlice are attracted to it, go over, fall in, and die. Well, I put those out, and my curiosity got the best of me last night at about 10:15 pm. I took a flashlight, went and looked, and noticed 1 potato plant COVERED in woodlice, from top to bottom. I managed to grab a lot of them off, and knock the rest off. Those little pests. So, it appears those are the major problem.
I went to Tara's house and got to see the meat chickens! That was very cool, and after hearing how virtually silent they were, I wonder if anyone would really notice if I had them next year, if I kept them out of view of neighbors. They might be able to smell them, though. Hm...something to think about for the next 8 months or so.
I also started "restoring" the old window-panes I got at a flea market. They'll be used late this year and early next year for cold frames. They're looking pretty neat :-)
Other than that, not too much news.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Invasion
Now is when it gets interesting...
After inspecting the plants today (I really should have been paying more attention over the last few days), I have a myriad of problems. Several plants have holes eaten through the leaves - the potatoes and cowpeas are the worst off. I'm not really sure what to do, but I had heard I can spray with a detergent/water combination. Dang pests.
The lettuce is looking good still....well, one lettuce plant anyways. I'm not sure what caused the drastic difference in production between all of them, but I know one of the causes was the sun/shade.
The tomatoes are still wilting, though I watered them quite a bit last night and this morning. It's not even that hot!? I'll keep giving them lots of water in the mornings before work to help them start perking back up, but so far it's not looking great.
The cucumbers and green beans are starting to sprout really well. The nasturtiums are about 2-3" tall. Everything else is doing pretty well, also.
Hopefully I can still save some of this :-\
| Days in the ground | |
| Plant | # Days |
| Lettuce | 66 |
| Potatoes | 39 |
| Carrots | 39 |
| Onions | 39 |
| Peas | 25 |
| Nasturtiums | 25 |
| Tomatoes | 8 |
| Bell Peppers | 8 |
| Rosemary | 8 |
| Green Beans | 8 |
| Cucumbers | 8 |
| Corn | 4 |
| Beans | 4 |
| Strawberries | 4 |
| Squash | 0 |
After inspecting the plants today (I really should have been paying more attention over the last few days), I have a myriad of problems. Several plants have holes eaten through the leaves - the potatoes and cowpeas are the worst off. I'm not really sure what to do, but I had heard I can spray with a detergent/water combination. Dang pests.
The lettuce is looking good still....well, one lettuce plant anyways. I'm not sure what caused the drastic difference in production between all of them, but I know one of the causes was the sun/shade.
The tomatoes are still wilting, though I watered them quite a bit last night and this morning. It's not even that hot!? I'll keep giving them lots of water in the mornings before work to help them start perking back up, but so far it's not looking great.
The cucumbers and green beans are starting to sprout really well. The nasturtiums are about 2-3" tall. Everything else is doing pretty well, also.
Hopefully I can still save some of this :-\
Friday, April 2, 2010
Planting Day(s)
Like I said in the last post, I have been incredibly busy in the last week. Heck, I'm incredibly busy right now (as I'm furiously typing this before heading off to church for Good Friday).
This past week, I was able to do a last till of Bed #3, and subsequently plant corn and beans. I figured out I did not buy enough beans about halfway through...whoops. I was also supposed to plant the squash in Bed #3, but I cannot find my packet of seeds, so that will be postponed until I can find them.
I also finished planting tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, green beans, rosemary, and marigolds in the Raised Bed boxes. It's looking great so far!
Last, I went over to Bed #4, where I have a few potatoes. I opened my bag of strawberry plants that I bought a while back. Crap. Maybe I should have opened the bag back then, and not now. The "bulbs" were rubber-banded together, and they didn't look great. I thought it would be seeds inside the bag, not actual bulbs in dirt. Heck, I haven't watered them or anything. I'm not sure how that is going to turn out.
In addition to all that, I drilled a hole in my perfectly good rain barrel and installed a PVC pipe and spigot, so I could run water to the gardens. The good news is, it will run water to the gardens. The bad news is that it leaks. I have it drying out right now so I can caulk it with some silicone later, but that probably won't do much. Unfortunately that was my last good "tub," so I'll have to either get another one later, or just buy a bigger and better barrel.
Mulching:
Mulching is awesome, and extremely underrated. That is all.
The land thing:
I figure I should go ahead and fill you all in on the land (that I acquired) situation. I went to see my new baby cousin last Sunday, and while there I saw my grandpa - didn't know he was in town, but neat! So he and grandma pull me aside and basically say "we are giving you and 2 of your cousins co-ownership of our land." I stopped them; "but you don't even own that land, you're renting that from someone..." To which they replied, "no, no, our other land, down the road."
I sat there for a second, slightly dumbfounded. What were they talking about? Well, as it turns out, my grandpa owns 11 acres down the road from his current property. I don't ever recall him talking about it, but we talked about it A LOT on Sunday. This 11 acres has an Easement for a road, and a lake. It used to have 7.5 cleared acres of farmland (wow, that is massive), but now it's all woods. It might be a heck of an adventure, but I think I'm going to try and bring the property back to life. At the very least, it will be fun to spend time in a place my grandfather spent many, many years ago.
That's all I can think of, for now. So glad that Spring is finally here, but I underestimated how busy I would be.
This past week, I was able to do a last till of Bed #3, and subsequently plant corn and beans. I figured out I did not buy enough beans about halfway through...whoops. I was also supposed to plant the squash in Bed #3, but I cannot find my packet of seeds, so that will be postponed until I can find them.
I also finished planting tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, green beans, rosemary, and marigolds in the Raised Bed boxes. It's looking great so far!
Last, I went over to Bed #4, where I have a few potatoes. I opened my bag of strawberry plants that I bought a while back. Crap. Maybe I should have opened the bag back then, and not now. The "bulbs" were rubber-banded together, and they didn't look great. I thought it would be seeds inside the bag, not actual bulbs in dirt. Heck, I haven't watered them or anything. I'm not sure how that is going to turn out.
In addition to all that, I drilled a hole in my perfectly good rain barrel and installed a PVC pipe and spigot, so I could run water to the gardens. The good news is, it will run water to the gardens. The bad news is that it leaks. I have it drying out right now so I can caulk it with some silicone later, but that probably won't do much. Unfortunately that was my last good "tub," so I'll have to either get another one later, or just buy a bigger and better barrel.
Mulching:
Mulching is awesome, and extremely underrated. That is all.
The land thing:
I figure I should go ahead and fill you all in on the land (that I acquired) situation. I went to see my new baby cousin last Sunday, and while there I saw my grandpa - didn't know he was in town, but neat! So he and grandma pull me aside and basically say "we are giving you and 2 of your cousins co-ownership of our land." I stopped them; "but you don't even own that land, you're renting that from someone..." To which they replied, "no, no, our other land, down the road."
I sat there for a second, slightly dumbfounded. What were they talking about? Well, as it turns out, my grandpa owns 11 acres down the road from his current property. I don't ever recall him talking about it, but we talked about it A LOT on Sunday. This 11 acres has an Easement for a road, and a lake. It used to have 7.5 cleared acres of farmland (wow, that is massive), but now it's all woods. It might be a heck of an adventure, but I think I'm going to try and bring the property back to life. At the very least, it will be fun to spend time in a place my grandfather spent many, many years ago.
That's all I can think of, for now. So glad that Spring is finally here, but I underestimated how busy I would be.
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