I'm not going to wonder myself in circles as to why I stopped a fairly persistent streak blogging. That being said, maybe its spring fever, maybe I was just incensed about the things going on vis a vis the Dervaes trademark scandal.
Maybe its all the crap happening in wisconsin...
Maybe I'm in a better place...or at least have a better plan...
In any event, I was most successful in my efforts when I had a blog to keep me accountable for my progress.
So I guess this means I need to continue blogging if I want to resume the forward momentum I once had.
I think I may need to move the blog to a new layout to accommodate what I am really going after, but for the time being, I'll post here.
Sorry for the extended absence.
Kory
"Urban Homesteader" <-no TM necessary
Showing posts with label hairbrained ideas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hairbrained ideas. Show all posts
Friday, February 25, 2011
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
t-15 days
I put together a test presentation to see where I was at with time, I am supposed to be around 45 minutes. I ran and hour and a half...so I will need to cull quite a bit of material or talk faster...which is not a good idea for me.
In other news, our daughter brought home 2 shrub willow cuttings. It seems someone from SUNY ESF paid a visit to her school to talk about some of the projects they are doing, and handed out cuttings from their biomass project. You can read more about it here. I was a little put off by the dependence on herbicide early in the life cycle, but the need seems to disappear in subsequent years. I guess a little upfront for a perennial crop is better than constant application each year. I think I have good spot, and I am curious to see how these grow. I intend to put them in as a visual break in front of the area our dogs roam. That might obscure vision to the street and cut down some of the barking. I'd like to encourage a lot of vegetative growth, and as luck would have it, the spot happens to be adjacent to the compost pile. No doubt these will be able to recapture some of the nutrient runoff. Funny how things work out sometimes.
In other news, our daughter brought home 2 shrub willow cuttings. It seems someone from SUNY ESF paid a visit to her school to talk about some of the projects they are doing, and handed out cuttings from their biomass project. You can read more about it here. I was a little put off by the dependence on herbicide early in the life cycle, but the need seems to disappear in subsequent years. I guess a little upfront for a perennial crop is better than constant application each year. I think I have good spot, and I am curious to see how these grow. I intend to put them in as a visual break in front of the area our dogs roam. That might obscure vision to the street and cut down some of the barking. I'd like to encourage a lot of vegetative growth, and as luck would have it, the spot happens to be adjacent to the compost pile. No doubt these will be able to recapture some of the nutrient runoff. Funny how things work out sometimes.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Putting Practice into Practice
In keeping with last year's Theory and Practice series of posts I took what Jeavons had written and tried it in my particular spot of land. Results varied but I think the overall principles I learned are sound. I decided to once again document my plan for all the world to see, and lay out the results.
I tried to follow the sample layout as closely as possible, this time I have taken my favorites, added a few newbies and come up with a list, arranging them by companion guidelines at a spacing density as recommended in "How to grow..." The entire list does not exist in any one place, but in planning I came upon a theory of my own...or at least a method. Rob over at Onestraw described a great rotation system based on keeping plant families together using a six bed rotation model. I don't have the kind of space he does, so my beds have to be more diverse, but that doesn't mean it can't follow the same kind of orderly system.
As discussed in the previous post, nutrient cycling based on plant rotation is not much of a concern. Like a lot of people by now I dump compost on the bed wherever and whenever possible. I'm a firm believer. Crop rotation will be to satisfy disease avoidance. That being said I get considerably more freedom to plan and plant what I choose (within reason).
Therefore I've divided my plans into "Bed Modules," groups of plants with known complimentary properties and seasonal requirements. As it stands I believe I have four beds planned. Currently I have been alloted two officially, and two unofficially. Were I to have six I could put comfrey and other compost crops in rotation. Back to the modules. Each one has its own specific single year succession and place in the overall rotation.
Since I've already written quite a bit I'll just introduce one bed module. This one is probably the simplest as it goes pretty much unchanged throughout the season, until the middle zone gets replaced in the fall by something else. The onions (leeks actually) and carrots go in the ground first to get a head start. As things warm up, the tomatoes and peppers go in before the petunias which will try to take of the place if not kept in check. Note that orientation matters with north being at the top of the diagram.
So thats bed module #1
I tried to follow the sample layout as closely as possible, this time I have taken my favorites, added a few newbies and come up with a list, arranging them by companion guidelines at a spacing density as recommended in "How to grow..." The entire list does not exist in any one place, but in planning I came upon a theory of my own...or at least a method. Rob over at Onestraw described a great rotation system based on keeping plant families together using a six bed rotation model. I don't have the kind of space he does, so my beds have to be more diverse, but that doesn't mean it can't follow the same kind of orderly system.
As discussed in the previous post, nutrient cycling based on plant rotation is not much of a concern. Like a lot of people by now I dump compost on the bed wherever and whenever possible. I'm a firm believer. Crop rotation will be to satisfy disease avoidance. That being said I get considerably more freedom to plan and plant what I choose (within reason).
Therefore I've divided my plans into "Bed Modules," groups of plants with known complimentary properties and seasonal requirements. As it stands I believe I have four beds planned. Currently I have been alloted two officially, and two unofficially. Were I to have six I could put comfrey and other compost crops in rotation. Back to the modules. Each one has its own specific single year succession and place in the overall rotation.
Since I've already written quite a bit I'll just introduce one bed module. This one is probably the simplest as it goes pretty much unchanged throughout the season, until the middle zone gets replaced in the fall by something else. The onions (leeks actually) and carrots go in the ground first to get a head start. As things warm up, the tomatoes and peppers go in before the petunias which will try to take of the place if not kept in check. Note that orientation matters with north being at the top of the diagram.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Tempting frost
According to Cornell's map (which is great if you live in NY like me) Our final expected frost date is somewhere between april 10 and 30th (we live on the boarder between two areas). Last year the spring crops went in the ground on the 21st. Though I had a bit of a frost scare, everything pulled through. One of the problems I found with the time table I used last year was that some seedlings were a bit small, and some which I know are cold tolerant tended to take a long time to mature and were holding up the succession plan.
Since I have a new bed I will be working with I am going to try an experiment. I am still determined to grow corn, but I know I have to get it in the ground long before july 7th which is when it went in last year. I figure between 70-80 days should be enough to get a decent yeild from a pea variety rated at 65 days. Cornell rates mid may as optimum planting time in accordance with IPM. This means the peas would have to go in mid march. On more than one occasion I have heard people suggest planting peas on st. patrick's day, which is of course mid march. The problem is, I don't remember a st. patty's day in syracuse where I have not sputtered some inappropriate metaphor about the cold. What the heck! lets do it! Its so crazy it might work, and I have seen fall planted pea vines shrug of frost and even a dusting of snow. My concern is germination. I'm thinking a floating row cover or makeshift cold frame to protect the seedlings, but will they germinate without outside help? do I put some peas in flats for a week, and then pop them in the ground once they sprout?
I'd like to do a similar think with the potatoes though not as radical. Last season I followed the potatoes with bush beans and I'd like to do so again, but the beans had just started producing when they were frost killed. A week or two sooner (say Aug 1) to get the potatoes out and the beans in would probably give me a full crop. Since last year I dug the first new potatoes on the 29th of July and the last full sized Aug 13, it seems feasible if memory serves that so long as they get to me in time, It should be warm enough and safe to plant by April 15th or so, roughly two weeks earlier.
Since I have a new bed I will be working with I am going to try an experiment. I am still determined to grow corn, but I know I have to get it in the ground long before july 7th which is when it went in last year. I figure between 70-80 days should be enough to get a decent yeild from a pea variety rated at 65 days. Cornell rates mid may as optimum planting time in accordance with IPM. This means the peas would have to go in mid march. On more than one occasion I have heard people suggest planting peas on st. patrick's day, which is of course mid march. The problem is, I don't remember a st. patty's day in syracuse where I have not sputtered some inappropriate metaphor about the cold. What the heck! lets do it! Its so crazy it might work, and I have seen fall planted pea vines shrug of frost and even a dusting of snow. My concern is germination. I'm thinking a floating row cover or makeshift cold frame to protect the seedlings, but will they germinate without outside help? do I put some peas in flats for a week, and then pop them in the ground once they sprout?
I'd like to do a similar think with the potatoes though not as radical. Last season I followed the potatoes with bush beans and I'd like to do so again, but the beans had just started producing when they were frost killed. A week or two sooner (say Aug 1) to get the potatoes out and the beans in would probably give me a full crop. Since last year I dug the first new potatoes on the 29th of July and the last full sized Aug 13, it seems feasible if memory serves that so long as they get to me in time, It should be warm enough and safe to plant by April 15th or so, roughly two weeks earlier.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Inspiration on two fronts
I've been doing some word of mouth advertising for my gardening class in the spring, trying to get the interest up, and so far I probably have about 5 out of 70 possible definite attendees. And then it hit me...
Why talk about doing this when we can actually set up a rooftop garden at work!? We're a non-profit org, and one of the divisions is responsible for community assistance, why not set up an employee run garden and donate the produce to our food banks? I have been lamenting the fact that downtown Syracuse is full of flat roofed skyscrapers but no one has done anything about it, why not set one up on our "lowscraper" and get some media attention on this.
I don't know how our building and grounds and risk management dept might react, but this just seems too perfect an idea.
A few things impede me at this point.
1.) I have never organized anything...not just anything like this, but anything...period.
2.) I hardly consider myself an expert gardener, am I really the one to lead this?
3.) I have no experience with rooftop gardening. What problems do pigeons present? We have an abundance of them.
And in other news, my wife brought up the idea of splitting a CSA share while we were having dinner with friends. Totally unprompted, out of the blue. Wow. She does that sometimes. She rolls her eyes and smirks then shakes her head when I bring up turning under the entire front lawn, but then out of the blue comes up with things like the greenhouse...er sunroom, and now this!? She is crunchy, she just keeps a lid on it. muahahaha.
Why talk about doing this when we can actually set up a rooftop garden at work!? We're a non-profit org, and one of the divisions is responsible for community assistance, why not set up an employee run garden and donate the produce to our food banks? I have been lamenting the fact that downtown Syracuse is full of flat roofed skyscrapers but no one has done anything about it, why not set one up on our "lowscraper" and get some media attention on this.
I don't know how our building and grounds and risk management dept might react, but this just seems too perfect an idea.
A few things impede me at this point.
1.) I have never organized anything...not just anything like this, but anything...period.
2.) I hardly consider myself an expert gardener, am I really the one to lead this?
3.) I have no experience with rooftop gardening. What problems do pigeons present? We have an abundance of them.
And in other news, my wife brought up the idea of splitting a CSA share while we were having dinner with friends. Totally unprompted, out of the blue. Wow. She does that sometimes. She rolls her eyes and smirks then shakes her head when I bring up turning under the entire front lawn, but then out of the blue comes up with things like the greenhouse...er sunroom, and now this!? She is crunchy, she just keeps a lid on it. muahahaha.
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