Permaculture
- Rainwater harvesting
- Chickens in the garden
- Humanure composting
- Food preservation and storage methods such as drying, fermenting, smoking and canning
- Bee keeping
- Wild plant identification, use, and preparation
- Candle making
- Woodworking
Still here... midsummer update
It’s been a month or so since my last post! I’ve only been on the internet once or twice a week with gobs to read and download during those times. Anyway, hows about a few updates?
Petunia continues to do very well. As you’d expect she’s getting bigger everyday and has had a good deal of space to stretch out her legs in the fenced chicken range for three or so weeks. She loves to run and play, especially on the cool days. She gets along swimmingly with her feathered neighbors.
Speaking of feathered neighbors… the chickens have been good and bad. First the bad: too many roosters doing what roosters do. We have five which is far too many for a flock of 23 hens. We’ve separated three out too a chicken tractor which has quieted the flock tremendously and the hens seem far more relaxed these days. The future eating of these roosters has caused quite a good deal of ruckus with the three children who, unfortunately see them as pets rather than livestock. Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem encouraging a relationship with the chickens. I talk to them and watch them everyday. But it is not practical to keep so many roosters. In any case, that has been an issue. 
Another issue is the flock size. I’d initially planned for 10 chickens and five guineas and I think that was a good plan. Twenty eight chickens, can cause a great deal of damage when they free range outside of the designated chicken forage (a good sized area of about 25 by 40 feet). We keep the fence closed but there are always 8-10 hens ranging around at any given moment. I can’t possibly fence off every plant or planted area and these girls seem to have a nack for finding MY plants. I think the planned flock size of 10 would have worked better because their range would be greener and they would be happier and more likely to stay inside the fence.
The other issue is eggs. When they all start laying we will have too many and not really enough to sell for any kind of profit really. Just enough to take up more time driving in for feed and to deliver eggs. I see it as a coordination nightmare. I’d rather just have 10 hens and enough eggs for me and family. I’d still get the benefit of better compost as well as a flock that could be more easily controlled in the garden. The whole experience certainly has me thinking more about chickens, gardens, “problems,” “solutions,” and permaculture design.
The garden is okay. No more rabbits which is great but the chickens have taken over there and done a bit of damage. Nothing terrible but damage nonetheless. The basil has been fantastic. I’ve harvested the garlic which was a pretty good crop. Been eating a good bit of lettuce as it recovers from the bunnies. The eggplants, while surviving, have not looked very good thanks primarily to constant flea beetle attack. The peppers, as always were very slow to get going but those that survived the insects and bunnies are starting to fruit.
The fruit trees are mostly doing well as is the comfrey. I’m pretty happy with the food forests generally. Will be ordering more pawpaw as well as June Berries fairly soon and those will go around the east and north side of my cabin with a few low growing fruits such as blueberry.
The building of Kerry and Greg’s cabin is delayed a bit but will probably get started before too long. All in all I’m pretty happy with the way the project is developing.
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Cabin, Chickens, Food, Food Forest, Food Production, Forest Gardening, Gardening, Homesteading, Living Simply, Orphan Deer, Permaculture, Self Reliance
Updates
Petunia (the fawn) seems to be doing very well. She’s eating 6 times a day now down from 7 times and around 32 ounces of formula. She be getting bumped down to 5 times a day soon and will then be getting more formula at each feeding. Her feeding schedule keeps me busy and close to home!
Last Friday I picked up 5 Guinea chicks and four of them are doing very well and growing up so quick! Sadly, one died a few hours after I brought them home. That was the second death in two weeks here on the homestead. Earlier in the week one of our Barred Rock hens was killed by one of the roosters. We’re pretty sure it was Junior as he has displayed far more aggression and violent behavior than Chip. More than likely he will become dinner before too long.
I’ve been 99% vegetarian since 1989 but have eaten a few (mostly freshly caught) fish in just the past few years. Now that I live 250 feet from a lake full of fish it seems sill to not use that very local and healthy source of protein. Along those same lines I’ve decided that I will also share in the occasional rooster since there is no way we can keep every rooster we end up with. We’re already at four out of 28.
The garden is coming along. I’ve been a bit frustrated by the crazy amount of spring rain which was keeping me from planting and then drowning what I had planted. It’s dried up just a bit and my water logged tomatoes are recovering well. I also finally attached a foot high strip of chicken wire to the welded wire fence all the way around and so have (I think) made the garden area rabbit proof. If I had done that a month or two ago I’d have lots of nice lettuce and spinach to eat now. As it is I have a little that survived and just planted a good bit more. Live and learn.
Most of our fruit trees and bushes are doing well. The notable exception are some of our Apples, the Golden Delicious. Their leaves are covered in bright orange spots which is Cedar Apple Rust. From what I’ve read it does not actually infect the tree but stays on the leaves. We’ve got LOTS of Eastern Red Cedar in this area so there’s no getting rid of this. I’m not sure if we’ll be able to get fruit out of these trees or not and will have to do a bit more research. Some of the other apple varieties are resistant and show no signs of the rust.
On a positive fruit related note, the Currants and Gooseberries are all doing very well and even have a little fruit on them! I don’t expect a real harvest this year but I think this bodes well for next year! Our peach trees are also doing very well and already have peaches on. I suspect that I probably should have pinched them off to encourage growth of the trees but I didn’t and they are half grown peaches now so I’ll just let them go. I still need to get the blueberries and elderberries planted though they are doing great in their pots.
Last, we’ve nearly got the kids cabin finished. It has taken a bit longer as the past two weekends were slow in progress due to me having poison ivy all over my hands and a very sore back and also Greg had plenty of other work around here so he got a bit distracted. The inside is almost finished though and the remaining painting and then carpet laying will be happening today and tomorrow. I suspect that the interior will be 100% finished by Sunday and that a few items will be getting moved in this weekend. The exterior still needs trim, caulk, soffits, and paint. Kerry and I will likely be doing the painting with the kids sometime in the next week or two. Also in the next week or so we’ll be getting a load or two of river rock for the designated swim beach on the lake.
The next big project is building the largest of the cabins for Kerry and Greg. Greg cleared the area with the tractor and will be marking off the posts so we can drill holes and fill with concrete. I suspect we’ll have that done by the end of the month and that we’ll start construction of the cabin at the beginning of July. Our hope is to have the shell of it done by mid to late July and interior work done by mid to late August. We’ll see.
All in all I think we’ve made a good bit of progress in the past year. With each month the site looks more like the little eco-village we want it to be. Last but not least, I’m pretty happy with my level of involvement in town. I’ve mentioned before that I’ve been doing layout and writing a weekly permaculture article for the The Madison County Crier and I’ve also been helping out a bit as a board member of the Fredericktown Revitalization Initiative. I’m chair of the design committee of the FRI and there’s much more that I need to do on that but I knew that summer would be a time that I’d have to focus energy on homestead projects. I was also hoping to start a free workshop series on food forests, ecological gardening and permaculture to take place here at the homestead but so far have not had alot of interest. There are a couple people and it may at least warrant one or two meet-ups or an extended, informative tour around the homestead. We also had a no-till garden seminar back in April which went over pretty well.
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Garden a'growin
With the recent rain and now very warm weather the garden is really coming alive. The tomatoes have not looked very good due to the flooded soil but now that we’ve gotten a bit of a lull they are perking up and starting to look pretty good. I’ve got four different kinds of basil coming up as well as zinnias and cosmos. Squash and melons are now planted around the corn bed. Sweet potatoes are in as well. I still need to plant more squash and cukes as well but things are moving along. Oh, and I’ve got all of the comfreys from the initial planting out around the fruit trees.
New Cabin Progress!
We’ve started work on a new cabin which will serve as a place for the kids to sleep and play, especially during the next several months as we work on Kerry and Greg’s cabin. The original idea was to rebuild Emma’s playhouse but as we realized that the space would actually be more than a place to play but a needed sleeping and storage space. We ended up re-using wood for the floor but the rest is new lumber. 
The salvaged wood from the original playhouse which was built from wood pallets will be re-used again as a shed extension for storing the kids bikes as well as a variety of equipment. Nothing goes to waste! In fact, from a permaculture perspective there is no such thing as waste, just resources which are not being properly used.
I’m always amazed at how quickly we are able to get these buildings up. It’s true that they are small and that certainly makes things go much more quickly. We’ve still got several days work on this cabin. We have to finish the roof and then the inside finishing, probably about five to six more days. Our site is slowly starting to have the look of a little village with the various buildings, gardens, food forests and paths. Hard to believe that we’ve only been at this for a year!
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Cabin, Homesteading, Living Simply, Permaculture, Reusing, Self Reliance
Junior and Waffle
Meet the newest residents here at the homestead! Junior the rooster and Waffle the hen have landed and are now getting acquainted with the fellow chickens. Tomorrow I’ll be having two or three eggs for breakfast thanks to Waffle. Two very beautiful birds!!
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Food, Food Production, Homesteading, Living Simply, Permaculture, Self Reliance, Chickens
Garden in full swing
So much happening!! We’ve had gobs of rain these past couple months, so much that I’ve had trouble finding time between rain to plant. Just as we get a break and the soil begins to dry just enough to dig in it rains again and turns it all to mud. That said I’ve been able to sneak in 40 of my 80 tomatoes, five heirloom varieties. 12 of the 21 comfreys have been planted around four fruit trees. Basil, nasturtiums, zinnias and cosmos all planted with more many, many seeds of those still to go in other places. Many varieties of eggplant and pepper, about 60 plants are needing to be transplanted into pots from their seed trays. I’ve got mounds of soil waiting around the edges of the food forest for squashes and melons. Those will get planted in another week or so, when the soil warms just a tad bit more. Speaking of food forests all the trees and bushes are off to a good start. I’ve found what appear to be gooseberries growing wild around here and will be transplanting them and observing to confirm that they are indeed gooseberries. Much to done but much more to do!
The bees have settled in nicely. The queen is out and laying eggs and the others are all busy gathering pollen. The chickens are all growing up very fast. I’ve taken to calling them my clucking cuties.
In construction news, We’ve cleared the area where we will be building the kids cabin. This will be an 8x12 cabin with a very large loft and should be big enough for 2-3 kids to sleep in. When my sister and her family move down this will be a place for the kids' stuff as well as a playhouse and guest house. We’ve got lot’s of salvaged wood to build it so the cost should be minimal, mostly insulation and siding.
I hope to post a few photos soon.
Oh, and we had a crazy storm here last week. Winds of 80-100 mph which were sustained for 20 to 30 minutes. At the time I thought this is crazy, seems like a hurricane and sure enough, they are calling it an inland hurricane. Damn thing even had a defined eye. We had minimal damage because the tornado 3 years ago cleared out many of the biggest branches of the trees it did not destroy. In town though they’ve had major damage to homes and trees. Climate change in action.
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The Bees Have Landed
Yesterday morning at 6 am I got the call from the Fredericktown post office that the bees had arrived. Lickity split I got up and mixed up a spray bottle of sugar water and was on the way. I was back home by about 6:50 and quickly changed clothes and gathered up the few things I would need to introduce the bees to their new home. Luckily the sun was poking out through the clouds and rain seemed to be holding off. By 7:15 the bees were freed from their mailing package and buzzing in and around the new hive. I have to say that it was a totally enjoyable and fun five minutes! 
A year ago I was just starting to research bee keeping and was fairly certain we would give it a try though I knew we’d have to wait till this year to do it. Now that I’ve been living here for almost a year and have a good start on the kitchen garden and the food forest as well as the recently introduced chickens, I’m happy that we followed thru with the bees. All of the critters, plants, buildings, paths are increasingly connected and intertwined just as planned.
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Pesto with Hickory Nuts!
A couple weeks ago I wrote about using dandelion greens with basil for making pesto and today I have another variation on that. I’ve got gobs of kale coming up in the garden so I wanted to try mixing those in with the basil and dandelion but realized that I had no pine nuts. But I did have about 1/3 cup of hickory nuts that I de-shelled a couple weeks ago so I tried that and it tastes fine to me. So, no more need to buy pine nuts for pesto!
Can I just say how cool it is that I have a Shagbark Hickory tree growing ten feet from my cabin? I get plenty cool summer shade and buckets of hickory nuts in the fall. For those that may not know, hickory nuts look and taste very similar to walnuts. My only complaint is the amount of work to get the nut meat out of the shell. Yeah. That takes a good bit of time. Which reminds me that it seems a few permaculture folk have a notion that nuts can be a more important, more substantial part of the human diet, possibly even replacing cereal grains. While I certainly like the idea I’m not sure it is practical given the work involved in getting the nut from the shell. Perhaps there is a technique or some inexpensive equipment but from a quick search on the Google I don’t think so. In fact, I’d like to plant a few more nuts in our food forest and need to investigate the nutritional content and ease of processing of those that will grow well here.
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Dandelion, Food, Food Forest, Food Production, Foraging, Forest Gardening, Herbs, Living Simply, Hickory Nuts, Pesto
Busy Birds and Bees
As I sit waiting for my evening coffee to brew I’m reading through a variety of news feeds and listening to the frogs and birds outside. A Carolina Wren just landed on the corner of the front porch and is carrying on about something important. It has been a rainy couple of days so not much done other than letting chickens in and out of their coop to the newly fenced in chicken range. I’ve also set up the bee hive with cardboard and mulch and removed a few small cedar trees that were growing in the area.
It’s been a whole week since my last post?? Wowza time flies. Lots of little happenings around the permaculture homestead last week and weekend. I got the second hardy kiwi arbor set-up in the food forest, complete with a nicely mulched seating area. Kerry and I got the nasturtiums, dill and chives planted around the base of half of the fruit trees. We also transplanted a few plants from her woodland garden to our gardens down here: columbine, wood poppy, purple coneflower, hosta and a few others. I planted zinnias and cosmos along the outside of the garden fence. I also planted New Zealand spinach and a few other greens in the keyhole beds near the cabin. I moved gobs of rock that had previously been out in front of my cabin up to the greenhouse to provide better drainage and a bit of a heat sink. Of course before I could put the rock in I had to dig a good bit of soil which was used to form growing beds inside and just outside the greenhouse. About half a day of work and 75% finished. Greg got the first four rain barrels which all had food/drink ingredient residues, nothing too bad. I’ve cleaned them and moved them to the back of the cabin.
This week or weekend, when it stops raining and dries a bit I’ll start getting seeds in the ground: squash, melons, cukes, herbs will be in the first round. Then corn, beans and another round of salad greens. Last will be tomato, pepper and comfrey transplants which are all looking fantastically healthy after a bit of a rough start. I’ll also need to get the holes dug for posts of the rain barrel stand. Oh, and I picked up a Heritage Raspberry which will need to go into the ground probably up along the fence of the chicken range so they can share in the fruit. Three elderberries ordered from Edible Landscaping so those will get planted in the food forest sometime next week. Lots to do.
Last but not least, a bit of community news. Friday night is the first of many weekends of Pickin on the Square: free bluegrass music every Friday night on the town square of Fredericktown. I can’t wait. I’ve got the new website for the Fredericktown Revitalization Initiative up, have a look. We still need to tidy up the pages and add more content but it’s a good start I think.
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Food Forest and Garden Update
I’ve got seedlings everywhere: 70 tomatoes of 5 varieties, 40 peppers of 5 varieties, 70 eggplant of 5 varieties and 22 comfrey. The remaining cabbage, broccoli and kohlrabi, about 40 plants total, will be getting transplanted into the garden tomorrow. The peas and fava beans are all up as are lettuce, radish, spinach, kale and a few others. The garden expansion is all fenced in and about 80% mulched with cardboard and straw. I’ll finish it off as soon as I get more cardboard. Thanks to Karen and David we have something like 25 straw bales for the rest of the mulching and for use in the chicken coop.
The four Hardy Kiwi vines are planted though two will be getting moved this week as I put them too close together. Two will remain at the arbor at the entrance of the kitchen garden and the other two will go into the food forest, planted on a trellis between the established sycamore trees. I also picked up 6 blueberries but they are not all that healthy as they were not watered in the store. I’ve put them in pots and if they do survive they’ll be going into the food forest.
I also put up a small, 2 foot high fence around the keyhole beds near my cabin to keep the rabbits from snacking every night. I’d rather not have fences everywhere but the rabbits are many and they are apparently very hungry. Last, the lake front area has been cleaned up a good bit. We’d cut the tornado trees all up last fall and I’ve cleared out all the small branches and twigs and have created a bit of lakeside lawn. If it is up to me that is the only lawn we’ll have in any of the common areas!
So, a good bit of progress even with all the rain and cold. A week of warmth and I imagine everything will start to pop into action.
Chicken Coop Greenhouse
We’ve nearly finished the chicken coop greenhouse! The Coop is pretty much finished and the 23 chicks will be coming down this weekend. We still have to put the light in and finish up the chicken run on the east side. At some point we’ll be installing my 2 small solar panels on the roof which will run the light and ventilation fan from the greenhouse. In the picture below you can see all the nest boxes on the left and a feeder waiting for chicks.
The greenhouse still needs the door added on the west side but that’s pretty much it. Oh, we’ll be adding a gutter to direct rainwater to 2 rain barrels which will be added to the interior of the greenhouse. I’ve already moved in a table, pots, soil and other goodies. The tomato plants are very happy. I’m looking forward to getting all the little seedlings off my kitchen table and in a warmer brighter environment! I’m also looking forward to eating lettuce, spinach and other greens next winter!!
We spent around $400 for the greenhouse which is not too bad. All of the glass was salvaged (thanks to Greg’s friend Jamie for a couple of those!) which really cut the costs down. I think 8x8 greenhouse kits often sell for $2,000 or more so I’m super happy to have this.
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Spring Garden Updates
Lots of progress this past week. The tomatoes have all come up and will be transplanted into a variety of re-used plastic containers tonight. The broccoli and cabbage have all been planted out to the garden. A row of sugar snap peas is planted along the garden fence with another row going in this week. More cardboard and straw has been put down into the new garden expansion.
The chicken coop is 95% finished. We’ve got the walls and roof finished and the laying boxes built in. Left to do is to put in the east facing door and a chicken wire wall on the inside to separate the chickens from a small area for feed storage. Last is to paint it and move the chickens in! Hopefully we’ll get the greenhouse started the next time Greg comes down.
Upcoming tasks: Move the compost fifteen feet just outside the garden area; finish cardboard/straw mulching in the new garden area; plant potatoes; start peppers, basil, comfrey and a few other things in seed flats; mulch in a few new paths around the garden and food forest.
Reclaimed Wood Chicken Coop Greenhouse and Other News
We made a good bit of progress on the chicken coop greenhouse this past weekend. As it stands today the only money spent was for nails and electricity for the tools. The base is an old porch and all of the lumber was taken from an old cabin on our property. The strutcture was abandoned many years ago and there’s a good bit of damage but much of the interior lumber is very useable. We spend the morning gathering wood and by evening we had most of the shell built. The door is also reclaimed and the window is one of four that were being given away due to flood damage. Actually, they were new windows that had never been used and the damage is very minimal… mostly they are just dirty!
The next step is to put on siding and roofing which will cost some money but not too much. Then we’ll use the other two windows as well as 2 sliding glass doors (just the glass, no door) also saved from a landfill to build the attached greenhouse. We’ll be buying some treated lumber for that as well as some roofing but it also is mostly free from recycled materials. My guess is that we can have both structures pretty much done with about three days work. 
Last will come a few finishing touches like installing the 30 watts of solar panel to the roof and wiring in a light and fan for circulating air from the greenhouse which will, in theory help warm the chickens in the winter. We’ll also be harvesting the rainwater from these roofs into 4-5 rain barrels which will be used for plants and chickens. The barrels be painted black and placed on the back wall of the greenhouse where they should heat up a good bit for passive solar heat during the winter.
I’ll post more when it is finished but I’m very happy to be taking the next big step in the permaculture design.
In other news, I’ve now got at least six loads of wood mulch, each load the size of a small car… that’s alot of organic matter!!! All of it local, the product of utility tree trimming. Thanks to all that mulch and a huge load of cardboard I’ll be putting in new paths through our food forest as well as new layers to last years mulch. I planted fava beans around the fruit trees Saturday and came across many earthworms in the greatly improved soil. It is absolutely amazing what 6 months to a year of cardboard and straw mulching can do to for the soil. Lastly, I planted gobs of onions and transplanted the kohlrabi seedlings to the garden. I’ve got 60 seeds of 5 varieties of tomatoes planted in flats.
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Beeeeees and other updates
Yes indeedy. The hive and various bits of equipment arrived yesterday. I’ll get that set-up and painted in the next week or two. The bees will arrive sometime mid April. Sweet!!
I’ve started flats of broccoli, cabbage, kohlrabi, lettuce, and kale. I’ve ordered four hardy kiwi vines which will arrive sometime in mid March to be planted at the base of the arbor which will be built on the west side of the food forest. Thanks to Roger who works for the local utility I’ll also be getting several loads of mulch delivered in the next few weeks, probably 3-5 loads which will be more than we can use.
My first experiment with fermentation went well! I successfully fermented a head of cabbage into sauerkraut which I’ve already eaten! I started eating it after about nine days. I’ll start another batch next week and will be using two heads instead of one. I was not sure how it would turn out or what I would even eat with it. What I discovered was that since it was pretty salty it was a great addition to vegetable soup. I just put a big spoonful on top of each bowl and stirred it in a bit but did not cook it as that would destroy some or all the good live bacteria culture. I could probably let it go longer since my cabin stays cooler the fermentation is slower. I imagine if I’d left it go another week before starting to eat the end of it would have been a bit more sour.
Oh. I almost forgot the chicken update. In addition to the five chicks Jake hatched two weeks ago they (Jake and Greg) bought another 10 chicks of different varieties. But it doesn’t stop there. Oh no. Another ten were ordered. Yes, they have lost their minds. So, we’ll have a larger flock of chickens than I expected but Greg and Jake are confident we can handle it. WE being the keyword there. If need be we could always sell a few as there always folks looking to buy a few hens. We’ll see how it goes.
Lots of little steps all adding up to a good bit of progress I think!
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Buddy and the Girls
A little video of the five chicks being born, nothing fancy. Jake asked me to name the new rooster so I’ve called him Buddy. Such adorable little critters.
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Food, Food Production, Global Depression, Great Depression, Homesteading, Living Simply, Natural Resources, Self Reliance
A Boy and his Chickens
My 13 year old nephew is home from school today. He’s not sick, he’s observing his first batch of chicks as the hatch from their eggs. Actually the first one hatched late last night. The remaining four will probably hatch today. I adore my nephew. I mean, how do you not love a kid that not only has the most amazing and crazy blond hair, but one who defies the norm so naturally and with no effort. He just is. He is a gentle soul that not only loves animals but is truly curious about them and investigates to understand what’s going on. The animals that he takes under his care really do get cared for and get close attention many times a day.
The story about the chickens began 11 months ago and I’m happy to say it was actually my idea. While visiting a local farm supply store for bird food and clover seed I was, as expected, drawn to the cheerful chirpings of the spring chicks being sold. I called my sister up and asked her why the hell they did not have chickens. A week or so later they had chicks. It was so obvious that I think sooner or later they would have done it anyway. The entire family cared for the chicks as they matured into beautiful and entertaining hen laying chickens. One of the hens, ironically named Chip, turned out to be a rooster. The fun and adventure of raising chickens got even better in the late fall when, as expected, they started laying eggs.
As winter rolled on I began talking of getting my own coop and chickens set up here on at the permaculture homestead and before long Jake started talking about getting an incubator so that he could grow any new chicks we needed. To be honest I wasn’t sure it would happen but then they found an incubator on Craig’s List and within a week or so he’d done his research and had the eggs on the incubator. Twenty one days later and last night the first chick broke free.
Chickens are one of the easiest and most productive additions to any garden in any setting. Country, suburban, urban, having hens is usually legal. Only a small space is needed though of course a larger space is nicer and the greater diversity of forage food probably results in optimal health. But really, practically anyone with any kind of backyard can have chickens. For gardeners they will add manure while they till the ground looking for insects to eat which lessens the amount of store bought food needed. Not only will they eat your kitchen scraps but you can grow much of their food right in your garden. They’ll eat any damaged or rotting fruit or veggies in your garden as well. If you’re in a setting where your garden is very small you could supplement their food by asking neighbors for their kitchen wastes in exchange for a few eggs now and then.
Given the arrival of peak oil and economic depression I have little doubt that keeping chickens will become much more common place. Ask Jake and he’ll happily talk your ear off about just how much fun they are and just how well they integrate into any family.
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Want hands on experience with ecological gardening and permaculture?
Are you interested in learning the skills needed to live a more self-sufficient and sustainable life? Concerned about climate change and peak energy? Ready to get your hands dirty?
Come for a visit to our permaculture homestead amongst the woodlands of mid-Missouri. We’re looking for energetic folks interested in a cooperative, hands-on learning experience.
You’ll learn about ecological gardening while you help us expand and maintain our food forest. As we implement the various elements of our permaculture design you’ll also learn about:
Other activities that we hope to explore and are still learning about ourselves include:
Perhaps you have a skill to teach? We’re always looking for new self sufficiency skills!
Our project is less than a year old so our accommodations are a bit rough at the moment. While we can provide a beautiful campsite in the woods or near our lake you will need to provide your own tent and other camping gear. You’ll also have easy access to our well for water and solar showers. We also have an outhouse.
While you will have access to produce from the gardens and surrounding woodland we cannot provide other meals. We can provide you with a weekly ride into town for food shopping as well as a lake full of fish.
While we hope and expect to work hard we also take plenty of time off for rest and relaxation. With over one hundred acres we have more than enough land for a long walk or nestle in the shaded nook of a cedar tree and read a good book or nap!
We currently have three openings for stays of 2 to 6 weeks, possibly longer. If you are interested in learning more or would like to sign-up please get in touch: geekinthegarden at gmail
You can also download a pdf of the fancy flier I conjured up!
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Quiet days
Still here. Enjoying the still days of early winter. The wood stove is now burning every day. The lake is beginning to freeze over in places. The full moon shown through before the clouds rolled in last night and it was beautiful. There is nothing better than the calm of the woods in the winter.
Last week I hauled up a bunch of moss covered rocks to border the mulched pathway in front of the cabin. I’ve got two Paw Paw trees to plant in the forest garden. It’s supposed to warm up to 50 or so on Sunday so I’ll plant them then. I’ve also got 5 or 6 basil plants going in a pot in the south facing window. Nice.
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Cabin, Homesteading, Living Simply
Homesteading Self-reliance
Thanks to the folks at Irreguar Times for their mention of our permaculture project. Something I wanted to respond to was this excellent point:
Most of us will choose not to move to the woods like Denny (and given the size of our population, most of us can’t), but we can try to apply his lessons wherever we are in the world and in our life course as we brace for the human impact of a looming economic catastrophe. I encourage you to read his account and ask yourself what you can do.
For those that will not or cannot move into a rural area there is plenty they can do in an urban or suburban setting. In fact, most of what we are doing is on less than an acre. The main limitation for those on a smaller bit of land would be the number of fruit trees but even a few of those can be planted.
Back in 1998 I helped co-found the deCleyre Co-op in Memphis, TN and the intent was almost identical. We wanted to create an example of, and resource for, those interested in living sustainably and cooperatively in an urban setting. We dug up our front yard and planted a vegetable garden, raspberries, and blueberries. We also put in two small ponds and many native plants for habitat. We typically housed 6-9 folks who participated in a weekly house meeting and several shared meals a week. We also sponsored monthly community potlucks, workshops, study groups, and more. Living in a co-op lowers monthly living costs dramatically and provides a sense of connection, comfort, and security. I would not hesitate to recommend this kind of living, especially in the greater depression we are now entering. The importance of pooled resources, skills, and the comfort of community cannot be overstated in times such as these.
Even if you choose to live in a more traditional setting, practically any home or apartment provides the opportunity to grow food. Any south facing area with full sun or light shade, even an apartment with a balcony, can be place to grow food. With good design using both horizontal and vertical space it is often possible to grow more food than you may realize.
Another aspect of simple and efficient living is the wise use of money. Don’t waste it dining out!! During spring and summer months it is often possible to buy fresh produce at farmers markets for much less than grocery store prices. If you come upon a good deal buy extra and learn how to can it for later use. Many foods can also be easily dehydrated using a home made solar dehydrator made for less than $10. For many just learning how to cook at home is the starting point. Very healthy meals are easy to make and will save you both time and money. A meal for 2-4 people can be made for $2-4 and often takes less than 30 minutes. Compare that to a fast-food or regular restaurant meal that will cost $5-30 and requires time to drive to and wait for the meal which will likely be less healthy than what you make at home.
My suggestion is to stock up on 4-6 months (more if you are able) worth of canned goods and learn how to use them. With times as they are food prices are going up constantly so a nice supply of food bought today at $500 will likely cost $600 just a couple months from now. The same food purchased six months later may have gone up to $700, possibly much more. Given the state of the economy and the growing possibility of a dollar collapse investing in non-perishable food with a shelf life of 2-4 years may be the best investment you can make. If the economy stabilizes (it won’t) then you have not wasted a penny because the food is there ready to cook.
Here’s a sample of what I have stocked (1 person):
Mixed Veggies 50 cans
Corn 30 cans
Green beans 30 cans
Peaches 15 cans
Pinto beans 20 cans
Garbonzo beans 20 cans
Crushed tomatoes 20 cans (28 oz)
Diced tomatoes 20 cans (28 oz)
4-6 boxes macaroni (48 oz)
6-8 boxes spaghetti (48 oz)
1-2 5 lb bag bread flour
1-2 5 lb bag whole wheat flour
5-8 48 oz tub of rolled oats
5-10 lbs of brown rice
10-15 lbs of various beans, dry: black, black-eye pea, garbonzo, etc.
several pounds sugar and brown sugar
several tubs of salt
1-2 gallons canola oil
LOTS of onions and garlic
10 lbs of regular and sweet potatoes
5-10 lbs of apples
I only have to go shopping once, maybe twice a month to replace used stock rotating the old to the front. I buy as much as I can afford each trip to limit my time in the store which is a place I prefer not to be. Now that the garden is better established I’m hoping to can much more of my food supply in the future.
The above list can fairly easily be cooked, often with little to no prep time. Breakfast of rolled oats with sugar and cinnamon can be made in 1-2 minutes three to four times a week. I alternate that with eggs and fried potatoes which takes 30 minutes or so. A tub of rolled oats is $2.75 to $3 so a big bowl of that with sugar and cinnamon is a pretty cheap breakfast at about twenty cents. Pancakes with a bit of fruit topping are also pretty cheap and healthy if you mix in a bit of whole wheat flour, maybe some nuts too.
For other meals I usually make soup, beans and rice, or pasta. Red sauce is easy. Start with a sautéed onion and garlic then add a large can of crushed tomatoes, 2-3 tablespoons of sugar, salt to taste, basil and oregano and you have a yummy red sauce. In the summer months sautéed yellow squash, zucchini, or eggplant with your onions for added nutrition and yumminess. Soup is very easy to make using a can or two of mixed veggies, potatoes, onion, garlic mixed in with crushed tomatoes and macaroni. Use whatever cheap veggies you can get at the farmers market to supplement the canned veggies. A nice fall variation of the above tomato-based soup uses pumpkin instead of tomato. Cut up and cube a pumpkin and boil for 30 minutes. Blend the cooked cubes and use that as a base rather than the tomato. Add in coconut milk, cinnamon, salt, curry and cayenne pepper for a super tasty and spicy soup. One medium pumpkin makes a pretty large pot of soup. You can bake the seeds on a cookie sheet or low heat on a covered frying pan with a bit of oil and season salt for a snack.
Soup, pasta, beans and rice… all these are fairly easy dishes to experiment with. Try different seasonings and mixtures or get recipes… I generally prefer to make up my own.
My favorite sites for learning the skills necessary for homesteading and self-reliance:
Sharon Astyk
Homegrown Evolution
Rachel’s Tiny Farm
Red State Green
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Living with a wood burning stove
Now that it has gotten colder I’ve started to use the wood burning stove a bit. My general rule of thumb is to only use it when I must which means nights at or below 40 followed by days with a high of 55 or less. If I can I’d rather not use it and just bundle up with extra layers thus saving the wood for another day and minimizing my carbon output. But, on the days that I do use it I have to say that it is a real pleasure! There’s nothing like the blended smell of a wood burning stove and coffee or fried potatoes or home made bread. In such a small space (my cabin is 192 square feet) the aroma of cooking food blends perfectly with that of burning wood. There is also the great benefit of having a warm surface to warm up left over food or coffee without using the propane.
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