the heat is ...um not going to be needed for a little while

Our energy bill nearly doubles in the winter. Summertime not so bad, we have central air, but only run it a couple times a year on the odd chance we have company over during a heat spell. New fridge and stove (one died the day after thanksgiving and left us with a ton of leftovers slowly warming, and the other shorted out one day while my brother was cooking and irreparably destroyed my favorite stoneware brownie pan) all of our non-dimmable lights are cfl's, generally our electric consumption is pretty low, and on a general downward trend.

The gas bill is another story. Our drier is fantstic, barely budges the needle, and in the summer it gets used less. Furnace? UGGH! We changed out the old manual mercury needle with a digital timer that automatically follows a preset series of temps for weekdays and weekends. Never above 64 degrees. In fact it spends more time in the dormant mode where actual indoor temps range from 55-60 degrees. But as I said, the gas bill doubles our monthly energy cost at what I consider to be moderate conservation (because of a having a baby in the house who was born at risk we really cant go much lower).

The furnace that came with the house was built with the house, making about 21 years old. I'm sure this is a huge part of it. But part of the home improvement vision is adding some manner of fireplace upstairs. Having visited a friend with a woodstove I witnessed firsthand how powerfull even a small one can be. A couple of sticks and the living room was toasty in about 20 minutes. I'd like a woodstove, I like the idea of renewable sunshine as opposed to tapping ancient sunshine we can't get back. I don't know too much about the wherefore's and why's of woodstoves, nor how much it will cost to put in. Any suggestions?

Chickens: its not a no

The other day we were driving to my wife's aunt's house. They live in a much more rural area and we happened to drive past a house that had a chicken coop in their yard. Inevitably I turned the discussion towards the keeping of chickens, originally believed by my wife to be illegal here in "sunny" syracuse. Actually, thanks to the citychickens site I already knew we could in fact keep them.

We back and forthed for a few minutes about the pros and cons, and I got an I don't know. I'll let it simmer. And I'll back off on the goat idea in the meantime.

In other news The seeds are sprouting, the herbs have adjusted well to the new window space, and hopefully the downpour today will melt the last of the snow in the yard so I can get the beds dug. Only two weeks till they have to be done.

And now I've joined a new urban homesteaders webring. Sponsored by the fine folks at Path to freedom, its full of other great sites and blogs in related matters. And now me too.



Urban Homesteaders

making room

since I have to clear out space on the grow table I have been moving some of the perennials I started too early, to my office window. My regular readers(s) are familiar with th adventures of the valerian and mint, but now added to the mix is hyssop st johns wort, chamomile, purple basile and wormwood.

I think the wormwood and valerian have gotten a bit leggysince the move. maybe not enough light?

first sprouts

its official, yesterday afternoon I came home to find a whole mess of things growing. Unsurprisingly the lettuce broccoli and cabbage led the way. However, amaranth was also peeking out in shades of purple...weird. (ok not rare but I have never seen anything sprout in purple.)

still waiting on the beets and bok choy, and of course the herbs, but those I know will take longer.

According to "How to Grow" In two days I am supposed to prick out the lettuce into new flats to give them space I guess, I am nervous about this, I dont want to snap the little buggers.

everything is related

or relative maybe. No Impact Man in his usual poingnancy brings the connection between social justice and environmentalism to light. Being a member of the "everything effects everything else" mindset I found it vastly enlightening, but don't take my word for it...read it for yourself.

weekend wrapup

cabin fever is in the air, and since the ground is still too frozen I figured I'd do something that didn't depend on a thaw. So I got out my trusty circular saw and power drill and tried to catch up on things I didn't get done last fall. It was a gorgeous day if a bit on the cold side. I did not notice any of the feathered regulars in the yard, but the neighbor's cat was out and about, which is kind of troubling, hopefully the two phenomena are not related. I have a couple more spots like the one above where the fence does not meet up tight to the shed or house, and then hopfully it should keep the cats out!

On another front, its official: we're getting a sunroom!

I love my wife

We had been discussion the direction of our abode recently, our family has grown beyond our original expectations when we bought the house, so its either make some significant alterations or move, ultimately deciding to grow where we are planted. Part of the plan was to add a front porch of sorts, and you can see my vision for it below. Hers was a bit more shall we say...encompasing. In her words an enclosed sunporch, an enclosed sunporch that connects to what will become the diningroom. In my words a passive solar space. I said, ya know hon, If we did that we could keep dwarf citrus trees in there, since it faces south and should get enough light. Her response, "How cool would that be"

How cool indeed.

my vision, note the feeblness:

my wife, the true visionary:

Theory and Practice: pt 2

growing times and seedling starting

Despite what some see as being too rigid (and for the advanced and intuitive gardener this is likely true.) Jeavons offers a wonderful schedule of seed starting and transplanting wherein you simply plug in your frost dates in the appropriate blanks and count backwards or forwards x number of weeks for each crop and task. Orderly and foolproof, exactly what I need, given my proclivities for disorderly foolishness.

The fun begins 6 weeks before the last frost date (which I fudged slightly to better align with the phase of the moon, hey, couldn’t hurt) Job 1 happens March 19th. Not surprisingly it is starting seed of some of the cold weather crops in zone 3 (broccoli, beets, lettuce, etc.) So lets focus on zone 3 for a moment. Given the schedule outlined in terms of weeks, and when it is recommended to plant the next crop in succession, The first crop in zone 3 gets roughly 55 days in the ground. Seems a bit short but I managed to gather together everything I needed thanks to the wonder of heirloom seeds. I realize that the 55 days to maturity means from date of germination, so technically I could get longer maturing varieties, since I will be starting the seed long before it actually goes in the ground, but because of the aforementioned less than six month growing season, I am trying to “rush” the first succession in this zone to give plenty of time for the other two. Particularly the final succession of cold season produce to plant longer maturing varieties I chose for their reputation to do well into winter months or their reputation for “keeping.” More on that later. Based on my experience with this first year I may try longer maturing varieties in subsequent years.

Here’s what goes into flats on the 19th (I am omitting quantities, if you want those, buy the book, its worth it.)

Broccoli: Green Goliath (purchased from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange)
Cabbage toraziroh 45 day, blues Chinese (hyb) 52 days Both purchased from Fedco, toraziroh is a bok choy type and given its quick growth, I can stagger the plantings to stretch the harvest and still get them mature and out of the ground in time for the second succession. I tried to keep to non-hybrid seed, but the blues Chinese seemed like such a good fit, and it was hard to find a fast maturing head cabbage.
Beets dolce di Chioggia 52 days (SESE)
Lettuce tom thumb 46 days fedco, arugula 40 days (SESE) green leaf salad bowl 50 days (victory seed co)
Amaranth (love lies bleeding (fedco) this is technically not part of the 100 sq feed going into the bed, but since it contributes to the overall diversity of the local ecosystem I felt I should include it.

Next week’s job is easy ( I hope) prick out the lettuce seedlings into new flats. Not sure how necessary this is, but I’ll follow the directions anyway.

weekend progress

I managed to get the garden area staked out and got a real treat. I haven't seen a chickadee in ages, almost 10 years to be exact. But yesterday, I saw four of them, in addition to our resident pair of cardinals, at the feeder, the hedge and points in between.

and even though I know they're fine, I put the grape cuttings in potting soil anyway. Sometimes anxiety gets the best of me.

Friday: the weekend agenda

Well, right now the temps are in the 40's Is spring coming or is it another tease? Hopefully we've had enough moderate temps that the core of the compost defrosted. If not, I'm cracking it open and taking a wizz in it. Since wednesday is the first seed starting day...more on that in future posts, I might as well clear out the aerogarden. I've got to switch out trays for the 70 seedling tray (which disappointingly is styrofoam.) That means finding a home for the purple basil until it goes to the garden. The Mint and Valerian will likely get a friend on my office window, and my co-workers will likely start to wonder about me. Speaking of which, isn't the valerian looking great, starting to get a more upright habit, sprouting new "branches" all the time.

I've also got some survey work to do, need to mark out the garden position. The ground is still weeks from " workable" but I'll feel much better knowing I've at least got one step done. If I can find some suitable pots I'll put the grape cuttings in them, I get nervous about them, I know it will work out, but they don't have roots yet, how can they be ok!? I know I know they're dormant still, deep breath, ok.

The difference between theory and practice

As my regular readers (s) know, I am abandoning the “amateur” method of one spot, one crop whole season gardening for a more extensive succession based plan outlined in Jeavons’ How to grow more… book. The following series I shall dub “Theory and Practice,” will deal with my effort to mimic as exactly as possible the 100 sq ft garden Jevons offers as the introduction to the growbiointensive plan. Jeavons dictates that this plan should be adequate for areas with a 6 month growing season. Since I am not blessed with such the succession timings will be one of the items which will need to be accommodated. I will leave that subject for further installments.

First I intend to deal with the physical layout of the ideal as proposed in the book, and the modified plan I will require to accommodate the physical considerations of our small backyard space. Since copying the page from the book would be a bad thing from a legal perspective I will do my best to relay the gist of it.

His diagram outlines a 5x20 ft area with what are not named as such but I will call succession zones. The first zone, contains for the most part either long season or indeterminate producers like pumpkins, tomatoes, cucurbits, peppers, etc. As indicated in the planting schedule, this zone is not immediately planted, as many of the crops require warmer soil temperatures, and when combined with the expected days to maturity, the result is no time left for subsequent planting in theory. Given my previous experience with peppers and tomatoes, I see no reason why this sector will not be productive well into fall. By and large this is the only zone of the garden I have familiarity with.

The second succession zone is composed of two separate crops, first potatoes planted in spring and harvested at roughly 65 days, and second a main crop of corn to make the most use of the warmer longer days. I call this succession zone 2 (as in two crops).

The third zone seems to be a yo-yo of sorts, and the most interesting in my opinion. Starting with cold hardy salad vegetables and greens (if you have never had fresh peas in a salad you are missing out) and going to an early crop of corn immediately after, then returning back to greens, legumes, brassicas in the fall. This will be Zone 3 (as in 3 plantings)

As indicated before all this lies in a single 5x20 raised bed, certainly the most flexible layout but unfortunately not suited for my case. In planning I quickly found that I could not evenly divide the zones into two beds without splitting the crops and interfering with what I believe was an attempt by the author to ensure that even the border crops in each of the zones are somewhat complementary. Unfortunately the size constraint mandates that I make do with what I have been allotted, and therefore the first zone (long season, will be split into two identical segments, each having half the allotted number of plants. The original plans do not indicate equal size of the zones, so I will make the 3 zones of size equal to the largest zone, in this case zone 2 (the tomato -> corn zone). Since that means extra space in the other zone I will make the plantings larger rather than add additional types. Where appropriate I will try to estimate what the harvest totals would be using the original sized plantings. If you are curious click on the image of the backyard to see the two roughly trapezoidal bed areas, each of roughly 60 feet so as to allow for equal size in each zone.

In the next part I'll go over the schedule and variety of plantings.

1's and 0's part 2

I forgot to take a before shot, but this is the point I'm aiming for, the back deck, shed, garden wall, gazebo are already built, the rest is for the future.

great, whats next!?

The media generally shy's away from exposing the sorry state of earth affairs unless it will cause panic. Which is why I'm sure they listed the number of pharma's present in municipal water this morning. Hartman was right, water (in this case clean water) will become the next great scarecity, even in non-arid areas. The necessary changes in laws and use regulations will no doubt be decried by some as big government interference, but when the alternative is drought and death, or in this case the unknown effect on the vulnerable that drinking this medicated water will bring.

Anyone who tells you that everything is fine is either living in denial out of fear, or somehow making money from a cover up.

what exactly did I save on daylight?

I'm still amazed things that grow. I started these plants (mint and valerian for those joining us late in the game) on Christmas, hard to believe they were once tiny seeds. I'm not impressed by the taste of the mint, when they say it does not come true from seed they arent kidding. If I can find a branch I like to make a cutting from I may look elsewhere for mint. If it looks like spring is coming to my neck of the woods, you'd be misinformed. The temps ourside are in the low 30's and windy. No snow per se, just dead cold. Got to chat with a friend yesterday while picking up some baby clothes. Given pest problems they are going to have to fence in their garden. A shame but unfortunately a necessity. Makes me want to get out and garden all the more, except for the bitter cold.

On the hydroponic front I'm trying to coax the last of the seedlings to transplantable size before the 19th when I have to swap out trays to start the vegetables....YEAH!

If you have a moment and haven't been there already, please check out Onestraw, He had a mini epiphany of sorts (minpiphany?). Like most people involved in sustainable living, permaculture, gardening, etc, he made it know of his desire for more space. But recently he came to realize exactly how much he had accomplished right where he was. Kudos, if we all had that attitude (greenies and non-greenies alike) we might not be swinging from the death spiral of more more more.

Friday at the movies

Ok not really, at the movies. But I thought I'd bring a lighter touch than my usual self indulgence. Scream to be Green found these, so I cant take credit, but I will repost them here.

There is another video by free range studios, the fine folks who brought you "The story of Stuff" which is a fantastic mini movie. Go to Scream to be Green and check out the FARM WARS video, utterly hysterical. And if you have a few minutes,go check out story of stuff, watch it with your family, it will really get the ball rolling if you or they have never really considered how wasteful we are as a society.

Dotting the I's

Yesterday evening I submitted my order to Fedco for the last of the remaining seeds I needed. 5 pounds, carib potatoes, 5 pounds yukon gold spuds, and 1 lb of stuttgarter onion sets. Moose tubers (a fedco division) is adamant that they do not ship until early april. According to my planting chart (Jeavon's chart with my dates plugged in) I should be chitting these April 2. Seems a tad close but there are few places that even have the spuds I need at a reasonable price. Start looking earlier next year if these end up a little late, thats the lesson.

If anyone has any advice for chitting, I am all ears.

In other news, it looks like the Tulip poplar in our yard (that sappy horrific mess of a tree) has began budding. Tulips and Daffodils at our daughter's daycare appear to be sprouting too. Understandable since it has been in the fourties the last couple days. Like Today:



Why is this a problem? Cause it is supposed to drop to the 30's tonight and snow for 3 days. What a tease! Oh well, it ought to be enough of a thaw to loosen up the soil so I can dig the beds soon.

One last thing, I got an email from the folks over at the waterHOG rainbarrel company. A bit pricey for my budget right now. Not to say that I wont ever get them as expansion tanks but right now I am leaning toward an agricultural sprayer tank from TSC to use as a horizontal barrel for under the deck. I'd like to hear from anyone out there who has a rainbarrel and has stored it low in elevation how effective it will be without some kind of pump, to pressurize the stream. I'd be perfectly happy with a low pressure level, so long as it is enough to work one of those fan type wand attachments for the garden hose. I am going to mount the outlet at the bottom of the tank to let gravity do ...well in this case all the work which should be sufficient when it is nearly full at ~50 gallons, but will it be enough when it gets low?

Golden Opportunities

I guess I never put two and two together before. Nature does not create waste. All organism find ways to use the byproducts of the others. Manure is an obvious one, but not something my family would find palatable were I to start using my own poo in the compost heap, nor would they be particularly welcoming of a sawdust bucket sitting next to our standard issue water waster.

Then I came across a few drops of info that made me think...
But what about pee? Diluted 10:1 it has been proven an effective fertilizer. In africa it is finding widespread use. Do I dare keep a jar in the shed to fill for times when fertilizer application is called for? And in between on the compost heap to replenish nitrogen. (we usually end up with a lot of browns from the sunflowers, vines, leaves, etc, but very few greens from the smallish lawn. Might a quick shot of recycled refreshment every morn keep an otherwise slow pile moving?

I'm mischevious by nature, and normally I would giggle at the thought of people dining on my peepee powered vegetables, not because it is unsanitary, but their initial shock. Being a family man though, I do feel a certain need to warn them. After all, isn't part of this whole change in the way we get our food a matter of taking control of exactly what goes into our bodies as much as possible? Who am I to deny them that choice.

A possible solution

we have a smallish 10x10 gazebo in our backyard. There are shelves on each of the legs for potted plants and each year we attempt in vain to put some kind of potted flower on each. The problem is that as soon as the season gets hotter we can't keep up with the watering, either by virtue of forgetfulness on our part to include it in the morning routine, or the heat, or the plants using it fast. Bigger pots are out of the question, the thin metal supports and shelves of the gazebo wont bear the weight. My possible solution below may remedy it.





capillary watering is nothing new, the wick medium (probably braided felt) will travel up a pvc pipe to prevent drying the wick out. The question then becomes, can I run that long of a wick and still have it be effective?

If this is proven reliable, what is next? Well since I plan to put some manner of water storage under the deck anyway, why not mount planter boxes on the edges of the deck and wick water from the rainwater tanks below? Given enough tank capacity and rain to fill it, could deck planters become completely automated without complicated and expensive drip soaker hoses? Seems to simple and easy to be true. I wonder.

Ping Pong and puzzles

ping pong of course being the weather, 20 one day, 40 the next. The mint and valerian are doing well if you cant see the phone photo clearly.

the puzzle is lemon balm. Seems that the seed stock I have is succeptable to damping off. I have started it twice in the aerogarden and both times it has turned belly up a few days after sprouting. This to me makes little sense. I thought damping off was a soil born infection, wouldn't hydroponics by definition not allow for such a thing. Second, the aerogarden uses a single water reservoir for all the growing pods, so everyone shares the same water. But I have started a half dozen other seedlings during the same time, and none exibited any signs of damping off. No batch had any of the same species of seedlings, to avoid the possibility that perhaps something was antagonizing it. Even stranger still, chamomile was in the mix this time around. Chamomile tea is supposed to be a preventative for damping off, so I figured on a whim it might have some kind of positive effect. Nuthin, nada, zip. After a few days (I am still amazed with how quickly perennials germinate in this thing.) I see green baby leaves emerge, then die, then another seed germinates, wilts and dies and so on. I have started a couple seeds in sterile mix to test, but if those go belly up too then I am thinking that the seed itself is the culprit. If so I'm sure the company will give me a refund, but I'd rather have a Lemon Balm seedling. Oh well, a friend has offered a cutting if it doesn't work out.