Raised bed update

Update on the 3 foot deep raised bed that was layered with soil, bunny poop, ground egg shells, phosphorus, wood ash, and green matter. San Marzano Tomato plants have really taken off growing to 16". In light of this I replaced the stakes with an over head trellis system that DH built out of scraps. Not pictured is a white plastic corrugated panel placed behind the bed to reflect light. So far no issues with insects of mildew.
Funny I didn't notice my tighty whities or DH work socks hanging on the line when I snapped the pic.

So far so good on this raised bed which was layered like the previous one picture but has had a year to compost (huge worm population). Along the white PVC trellis is San Marzano Tomatoes which also have shot up to 14", curious that it wasn't more since the growing medium should be more advanced in nutrients. In the middle is Brussels Sprouts almost 20" tall. Foreground is Celery almost a foot tall and as you can see bushy. Hard to see the Marigolds among everything. No problems with weeds since this bed is soo densely planted. No problems with insects or mildew.

Check out the plastic birdbath I scored curb shopping ... can you see the cracks ? Gotta love clear packing tape.

It haven't canned up a thing not even Strawberries. We have only been harvesting a small amount from under the Apple trees and one of the Peach trees but not enough to preserve. After almost 8 years my primary bed has called it quits. Can't really complain as the average life of a strawberry bed is 5 years. Differently got my money's worth from the original 4 plants I bought. After the Peach harvest I'll prep for a future Strawberry bed under the Peach tree closest to the greenhouse. In the mean time I have been transplanting new Strawberries seedlings as I find them to a bed out in the front yard. We still have about a dozen pints of Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam that I can up last year to help tide us over until next June.

Can't say the same about the stewed whole tomatoes that I canned last year (16 qts.) and the year before that. All total we ate 28 quarts. Having these on the pantry shelf is allot like having fresh eggs in the ice box. With both you can conjure up a good meal.

Haven't had a chance to take inventory of either the home canned goods or our commercial stock, but per my DS who was home from Houston we had only one can of purred pumpkin left after I made him two pies. DD #3 also mentioned that we were out of Green Tomato Mincemeat pie filling, her favorite. She left me a note on the school calendar to remind me to spare green toms and barter for raisins so we could can up a few quarts.

Update on UPC: Since the garden has been producing green salad fixings and we aren't as home bound now (cabin fever makes you eat!) we have been staying closer to my goal of $100 a month on groceries. It will become more diffacult as our stash of commerical goods dindle since the majority of that food was purcased in 2006 or before our current economic recession.

Why oh why didn't I buy 3 cases of pumpkin pie filling instead of 2?

~~ pelenaka ~~

pause

Last Sunday DH & I were alone as our daughters attended a church sponsored youth event at the Islamic Center in Rochester. So after having coffee & dessert in the fellowship hall (OMG do Presbyterian love to eat) we went browsing at a flea market in search of weather tight salt & pepper shakers for the patio/outdoor kitchen. Then we hit a yard sale on the way home where we were introduced to an alternative (read foolish) way of thinking.
There was a couple out on their front lawn having a hugely discounted sale . Items like televisions, a stereo, & two rifles which got DH's attention. Long story short the guy was talking about how he wasn't gonna part with the rifles in light of our country's past economic climate (raise eyebrow/rub chin/ponder thoughtfully, did I miss the newsflash?) but then reconsidered since things had picked up in the last 3 months. Then he muttered a punchline about not needing to protect his can goods which only he thought was very funny.
I asked him if he had ever been laid off.
No, he was in public service.
I kid you not those were the words that he used.
I glanced over at DH who was at the same time glancing back at me. Not really sure what I answered back to this. I mean this guy really gave me pause. I was busy thinking to myself of all the occupations that aren't prone to cutbacks. Brain surgeon most nursing positions. Still it happens except maybe to this guy (per him).
Then I remembered when I was 19 & got laid off. How it took me 5 weeks of job hunting before I finally got a job in one of the lowest paying nursing homes in Rochester. Then another 6 weeks of living on various friend's couch/living room floors with my DD#1 who was 18 mos. old until I could scrap together rent & deposit for a studio apartment.
So besides sparking a trip down memory lane this guy's remark got me to thinking about how hard it is to recover from a period of unemployment. Back in '82 I would have to say that it took me about six or eight mos. to recover. Back then I didn't own a car just a bus pass. Rent was $200 in the Maplewood section. My sitter cost me $30 & an apartment cleaning every week.
Now? I shutter to think about it. Yet doesn't this fear guides my thinking in everything I do?


Count the tomato stakes.
One. Two. Three. Four ... twelve total. Ya, I know don't plant your seedlings that close (6")together. Well if i was gonna follow that rule then I'd also have t follow the rule about having @ least 6 hours of direct sunlight which is physically impossible due to a neighbors 100 y.o. Maple tree shading my backyard. So I settle for 3 hours & an almost 3' deep raised bed that has been layered with bunny poop, green matter, ground egg shells, wood ash, & top soil.
San Marzano seedlings were planted deep with only the top 2" showing on 6/1.
It's now the 8th & there almost 6 inches tall & very healthy.
If I had to rebuilt my raised beds again I would make them all 3 feet tall. Easy to weed.

I have extremely (unrealistically) high hopes for this bed. We built this bed last Summer along with a cold frame to the left and layered both in the same manner as the other one. This bed has had a full Autumn & Winter to breakdown into compost with the help of like a million worms. So far the 4 San Marzano tomato seedlings have grown 5", the 6 Brussels Sprouts (center) have shot up 4" & doubled in size, and the 12 celery seedlings (foreground) has also doubled in size to 8" tall. Other than sprinkling a pinch of phosphorus in each planting whole all I have done water (rain) on an almost daily basis. I need to plant in more marigolds before the bugs arrive.

If I selectively harvest the celery stalk by stalk will it continue to grow thereby giving me twice the harvest? Need to grow enough to dehydrate for Winter soup & provide for Summer eating.

~~ pelenaka ~~

piece a meal

This is my outdoor coffee table made by my DD#2 using a metal frame bought @ an antique shop in Leroy, New York (Orginal home of Jell-O) for 50¢, some lathe taken off the kitchen ceiling 9 years ago, screws from DH hell box, and black paint.

Viola, who needs a fancy store bought table to be urban chic? Thank you my daughter. Now to recover those cushions bought curb shopping ...

~~ pelenaka ~~

P.S. this patio set has been a few years in the making as the glider was an end of season clearence purchase, the chairs from a tag sale, & as a wrote the cushions bouhgt curb shopping. In the evening when DH comes home we take a few minutes to sit out under the peach trees & reconnect. The table also serves as a place to sort & fold clothes that have just come off the line.

MD 2009

Yeah, I know I'm a very blessed. This is what I got for Mother's Day.
The only other thang better than receiving a NIB wringer would have been a solar hot water heater. Bet you though I was gonna say a plow huh? Silly rabbit no place to park a plow or hitch one or really no need to use one on this urban homestead.
So here's the low down on my ever expanding nonelectric washing system.
DH was perusing Craig's list when he located this wringer out in Hamlin, New York for a steal.
The seller is raising funds to sponsor a soup kitchen. So a win win all the way around especially since the wringer only cost $10.
Originally this was bought from the Vermont Country Store price unknown as when I checked the website it wasn't listed. Lehman's carries a what appears to be the same make of wringer for $189.95.
One other item that I really want to try is a pants stretcher which both VCS & Lehman's carry (Lehman's is about $4 cheaper). According to the write in Lehman's catalog you insert the pants stretcher after washing into each leg then adjust it so it's snug & hang to dry. Suppose to give that just pressed creased down the legs look.
My Abulea always said that being poor & looking poor have nothing to do with each other - clean pressed clothes that have been well maintained will never give away the truth about your finances.

The wash tub is a holdover from my canning equipment. Before I bought my huge canning pot that holds 15 quarts I used this over an open fire resting on a couple of oven racks that I bought curb shopping. The fire pit was constructed with cinder blocks. A thin piece of plywood covered with aluminum foil cut to fit as a cover (tends to fall off). Add a found cabinet handle & you have a covered huge canning pot for really the cost of the wash tub. Better yet take your homemade lid to the hardware store & ask to have a piece of aluminum flashing cut to fit the underside of your lid with an extra 3 ". Fold over the edges crimping the fold with pliers. Wear work gloves flashing cuts! Screw on with tiny stainless steel screws (won't rust) on the top of the lid 3 screws on each side. The screws & flashing shouldn't run more than $10. You can go as fancy as you want with the lid but do consider painting the top part that won't have flashing on it with something durable. This will make the lid easier to clean.
For the canning rack that fits inside your wash tub pot it can be anything from old bath towels on the bottom & in between quart jars to forming a rack from canning rings using picture hanging wire/stripped wire bread ties. Picture those plastic loops that hold a six pack of soda together. That is what your aiming for.
Definitely prefer the wood stove but in a pinch when you need to get the job done an old wash tub over an open flame in the cool of an August evening is a nice alternative. Add in free firewood & you have lowered the cost of putting food on the table considerable.
A round wash tub fits 15 qt. & 1 pint jar which is needed for spacing. Square tub should be in the same neighborhood give or take a qt. jar. I used a round tub that was already in the cellar as my square tub has a load of wash soaking in the morning Sun.
Addendum 5/18/09 - To prevent soot from the fire adhering to the surface of a pot wipe down with dish soap. Then afterwards just wash off the soot.
~~ pelenaka ~~

P.S. Thank you my husband, I can't wait until Father's Day!

Sabbatical busy

It has been the family joke lately that I need to go back to work since I'm too busy being on sabbatical. Between just doing simple homesteading chores like nonelectric housekeeping to my duties being a Deacon & belonging to two committees @ church I don't see any opportunities to stray. Add in the girls softball & end of the year school activities. Also on my plate is one daughter's upcoming confirmation. Ideally, I'd like to have F & F over for a big breakfast before service but that would entail them actually entering my house.
My house that was suppose to be rehabbed ah like over 8 years ago. If you have ever lived with buckets of drywall mud stacked up in your bathroom only to become a nifty spot to place reading material on then you know what I mean.
Not even my BBGF has ever been in my house.
So that being said If I don't blog for days & days it's because I'm demolishing our only bathroom & as usual stripping woodwork, (now would be a good time to insert a sound clip of the Burma Shave song - & yes if you got that joke then your as old as I am)!

This is as far as we'll be going with the greenhouse until October. For the most part the main body is together but the corrugated panels haven't been caulked @ the seems nor the holes from the last time it was assembled. Try as we did we couldn't match up the previous holes in both the panels & the frame so we made allot of new ones. The girls & I finished spray painting the metal frame black to promote solar heat gain. Now all that is needed is for my ever tolerate handyman to put up a back end wall with a few vertical windows that can open & reinstall the front wall & door.

Between all of us we got some cheapo dog eared fence panels, painted them white & jury rigged them in place. Not only keeps prying eyes from looking but also reflects light back into the space. This pic was taken around 5 p.m. so as you can see between the shadows & the setting sun this greenhouse needs all the help it can get.

I already have the Giant Chinchillas set up in the back portion & my plant shelf along with some potted seedlings. By the front is one of those small tabletop greenhouses set up with more seedlings waiting to be potted.

Wood chips are courtesy of a neighbor who had a tree removed.

Working on an idea of laying some plastic trellis that I scored @ a tag sale along the one side & half of the top portion of the greenhouse to grow peas on. TBWOS (two birds with one stone theory) providing shade for buns & food for us.

My cold frame is producing salad greens abundantly well. Really haven't had to close the lid much these past few weeks but I know the minute DH removes the lid it will snow.

Nice not having to buy fancy greens like Butter crunch.

Peach trees are flowering which is great since that bare 'ss tree you see looming just behind the fence is a Black Walnut tree. When they grow little else will except Lilac. The dark green foliage just past the fence line is Lilac shrubs about 15' high. There are 7 of them in colors ranging from White to dark Purple. Our own Lilac Festival gifted by a now vacant lot.

This is DH's cold frame. As you can see he experiments on different design styles for cold frames but I'll let him tell you about that on his own blog since he is fond of saying that I don't give him space (as in his own spot in the garden).

Tomatoes are Bloody Butcher's (his) a salad 'mater & Cherokee Purple, the best ever eating tom. In the center are San Marzano an Italian paste tom that I'm gonna use for canning both whole & sauce. There are also about 10 potted Turban squash plants, a scavenged Rhubarb plant replotted, & clips from various house plants that I'm trying to grow.

This is my 3rd year @ being serious about growing food from seeds instead of relying on purchased (expensive) seedlings. So far I'm batting 500. A good majority of the seeds sprouted & are growing except the Swiss Chard. It's a learning experience.

I have high hopes for this raised bed. Last Summer Cabbage grew here, then in the fall I add anything compostable along with found worms, covered it with black plastic sheeting for the Winter. Last week when I lifted the plastic there were worms galore but this week what with the warmer temps most have burrowed down. Either Green Bell Peppers or Eggplant for this year's crop.

I was reading a post on HT asking if anyone knows if Kudzu can be ground into flour. Since that invasive weed doesn't grow in New York I don't personally have any first hand knowledge but it got me to thinking about other possibilities.

Update on the UPC - well it still ain't happening. I didn't post the total tally for April as I misplaced store receipts but it's in the hood of being $40 over the mark. Will post that a.s.a.p. May should be worse since I neglected to can/store extra food items for daughter's conformation party not to mention Mother's day (dish to pass something special but what?). This is getting to be embarrassing ...

UWM

What does doing laundry on my patio with my Urban Washing Machine have to do with Earth Day 2009 ?

For one it's hand powered so very very energy efficient.

Two, this urban homestead washing machine was made with recycled materials.

Three, it uses homemade laundry soap.

Four, unless excessively abused this system will last a lifetime (landfill issues).

Five, this system harnesses the power of Nature's elements to dry the clothing.

Six, it's cost effective ( let's see Madison Ave. sell this for a jacked up price).

Seven, it's lightweight & portable - little to no carbon emissions spent on transporting.

Eight, it has built in security. No washing machine jacking happening here.

Nine, it allows the operator to multi task incorporating both clothes washing and an upper body work out at the same time thus saving $ that would be spent buying a gym membership. Not to mention the gas to drive to one.

Ten, this further enhances a very valuable life's lesson (conservation) that you can pass on to your children which is if you dirty it you plunge it.

K, seriously here's the low down.

My front loader that cost more than my 1st through 4th cars broke a few weeks ago. Well not actually broke but instead of spinning like a Lear jet it now starts knocking like the S.W.A.T. come a calling on a drug house when ever it hits the spin cycle. It has 3 spin cycles.

Got tired of thinking that my local drug task force mistaken my veggie seedlings growing under grow lights for asparagus (code for illegal vegetation).

Now that I'm on sabbatical (unemployed) I'm really not willing to call out a service guy.

DH took a quick look under the hood but due to a hectic work schedule & other more pressing homesteading tasks like building a raised bed he & a daughter haven't really looked under the hood. Plus I'd have to hide my canning stove & a few other activities we engage in that tip toe close to the line of illegal when the Maytag Man comes a knocking.

So in less than five minutes DH drilled me a hole in the lid of a 5 gallon pail then added a screw to keep the head of a plunger on the stick. I cut 4 slits vertically on the top of the rubber portion to increase the agitation effect. Kinda like my own personality huh?

An upgrade would be to snag an old broom or mop handle to replace the handle on the plunger. This would make for a better leverage.

Use: place a bit of laundry soap in bucket along with water followed by clothing. If it's socks & unders then 6 to 10. T-shirts two or three. Secure lid with plunger in the bucket, handle sticking out thru the hole in lid. Plunge like your churning butter for two minutes.

Wring clothing out, place in the next bucket which has water & a few tablespoons of white vinegar in. This is your rinse cycle. Agitate with hands a few times then wring out.

Place clothing on line or the back of a chair to dry.

Better to do outside as then dripping water isn't an issue.

Bath tub works well also.

Optional - add a second bucket with a tablespoon of fabric softener to water for a finally rinse cycle.

Not wringing the clothes out completely only added 6 extra hours of drying time. So until DH can rehab that old antique clothes wringer we bought I'm not gonna stress about it.

This has been a great way to extend the family budget. We are only needing to visit the neighborhood Laundromat once a week doing only 3 loads - jeans, heavy articles like hoodies, blankets, & towels.

~~ pelenaka ~~

5/28/2009 Update - heavy blankets & comforters are the only items that have been laundered @ the laundromat. Seems as time goes by my stamina for plunging increases so washing blue jeans & hoodies aren't an issue. Wool blankets however are a bit over the top for me ... now.