H. Bush, Rochester, New York

I have an addiction to stoves. Antique wood stoves to be exact. It was simple enough starting with my 1949 Hotpoint double oven ... just one hit ... don't inhale ...
Look where it has lead me.
First my 1900 laundry stove used for canning now this parlor stove possible circa 1850's. It's in awfully good shape with no holes or cracks. More than likely 1870's. Love the ridges.
Can't seem to find anything about a H. Bush Foundry in Rochester, New York online.
Stats; estimated weight is around 50 lbs. per DH, top is 11" wide x 20" long, stands 25",
flue is 4 1/2 ". The legs are removeable slide into brackets & are quite ornate.
To answer every one's question no my 1902 TOH has no remaining chimnies. All 3 - one in kitchen, front room/foyer, & up stairs bedroom were removed in the '30's replaced with radiator heating then with a forced air furnance.
But it does still have one of those bump outs that accommodate a stove pipe in that bedroom.
Or wouldn't a stove in the bathroom be the bomb on those cold Buffalo Winters?
I really should stay outta auction barns.
I may need an intervention.
Bring ladders & class B stove pipe. We'll do a Techno-Amish barn raising. I'll make New York style cheese cake & serve cordials.

~~ pelenaka ~~

Planting

The best laid plans of Mice & Men ... I was planning on growing Opalka paste tomatoes for canning this Summer but the few that did sprout up were weak. So in a moment of desperation after being told at local organic greenhouse they had sold out of Amish paste seedlings I went commercial and bought Roma paste. There is always next Summer, (wiping away a tear).
I plant my tomatoes on their side to promote root growth. Roots will pop out all along the stems if buried. I leave about 2" to 3" peaking out. Within a day what was horizontal will be vertical reaching for the Sun. In a week or so I will repeat the process until the seedling is directly underneath the PVC trellis to which it will be tied to with twine.
The white powder on the soil is finely ground organic egg shells that I saved all winter. Free form of calcium which promotes flowering.
The red plastic is a tablecloth bought at the $ store. I read that the color will increase harvest by 20% when used as ground cover. Wonder what other applications it can be used for?
Time will tell.
6 pack Roma's were $ 2.49, bought 4 = $9.56
So I'm - $9.56 in canned stewed tomatoes category. Gonna have to make up for it in both increasing the harvest in general and foraging.





~~ pelenaka ~~

Good Links

I found these two links while blog reading about wasted food @ http://wastedfood.com/.
The 1st is Love Food Hate Waste outta UK that has a great section on recipes where the search is based on what needs using up. There's a recipe called Bubble & Squeak that's worth a try for the unique factor alone. http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/recipes
Link to converting Metric to Standard (it's a UK website after all) http://www.worldwidemetric.com/metcal.htm
The second link from Wasted Food is the Society of St. Andrew, a Christian ministry dedicated to gleaning America’s fields and feeding America’s hungry.
Great opportunity to learn about gleaning - http://www.endhunger.org/index.htm


~~ pelenaka ~~

First Salad of Spring

Free Organic Baby Salad Greens grown in the cold frame. Seeds were a gift from a fellow urban homesteader. Not sure where she obtained them from no doubt a barter deal. This is a mix of non-iceberg lettuce the majority I can't i.d. without a seed catalog except for Red Oak. Wanna say the seed packet read salad mix from Johnny's seeds.

I sowed the lettuce much too close in the beginning of April half thinking it wouldn't be a problem since the seeds are 4 years old, more than likely not to grow. So now for the most part we'll just come out and kneel down next to the frame and attempt to pluck out every other lettuce plant. Make that pluck 3 leave 1.

Frugal aspect: from an earlier blog post about the cold frame http://thirtyfivebyninety.blogspot.com/2007/08/happenings-on-back-40-feet.html

Materials were free wood scraps, about $2 worth of black paint, and guess of $5 worth of upholstery plastic. Still need to do that upgrade to enable the original goal to be met - growing greens in Winter.

Current pricing on organic salad greens is $4.99 for 8 oz. Frame paid for itself last season so I'm curious how much of a savings it will generate this season.

Last night we ate about $6 worth for dinner.

~~ pelenaka ~~

1. P.S. Chore list 5/5/08 - future rain barrels didn't get painted due to a difference between my engineer (DH) & myself. He has an idea for a new design ...
2. New Patio design is 1/3 completed, waiting on the take down of my greenhouse which is waiting on the final threat of frost. Extreme difficulty foraging for cinder blocks, (must be the recession).
3. New Raised bed is started but also waiting on the removal of the greenhouse. Soil was relocated from a bed located in the driveway along with found compost material (lazy neighbor who doesn't rake). Wasn't able to collect pond scum or wood chips yet. Placed rabbit cages over this bed & another to direct collect poop. Bun's are enjoying the change of scenery. I'm enjoying NOT cleaning cage pans.
4. Rabbit tractor has been put on hold until I can find a suitable pasture. First attempt @ a local park attracted a dog & owner with way too many questions. The tractor design was my smallest cage placed on the open lawn.
5. Planted a very small bed of wild garlic from a plant trade with a coworker. Garlic should be planted in the Fall when possible. Hope to trade a lilac for a Hosta next week.

Chore list

Monday, Monday, time to get organized after my 3 12-hour shifts @ work. Quick check of the long range weather claims highs around mid 60's & more importantly lows around 40's. Chance of rain <>
So here's my list of outside homesteading chores to complete in the next 4 days.

• Paint 2, 55 gallon food grade plastic barrels black so DH can make me more rain barrels. We both have a feeling that this will be a drought Summer.
• Rework the patio - rearrange the pavers & put up a privacy trellis that will double as vertical growing space for green beans. Involves relocating pea gravel & using found materials.
• Install a new raised bed - HD is having a sale on landscape timbers @ $1.89 each. Our need for more growing space outweighs our usual lax time schedule of curb shopping for found materials to use in construction of raised beds such as cinder blocks & huge rocks. This will also free up old cinders to recreate a better hearth for my canning stove or make a new stove.
• Visit a local city park that has a fresh water filled quarry (licensed fishing only) to collect pond scum for composting. Forage for plants.
• Snag countless trash cans full of free wood chips for mulch (city dump) for the back 40'.
• Plant all those darn seeds we keep buying, collecting, trading, received as gifts.
• Make a rabbit tractor so buns can be free ranged to save on feed & give them some space.
• Survey my oldest DD's backyard to finalize plans for a satellite garden . She's rented a house in the same neighborhood so maintaining it will be convenient (yea, famous last words). Oh duh, add @ least two more rain barrels for that garden. Figure out a fencing system to deter her neighbor & their pets.

~~ pelenaka ~~

Urban Orchard Part 3

Our stretch of Summer like weather has come to a close with temps. expected to drop down to frost conditions on the night of 28Th, and wet snow on the night of the 29Th. My poor little Apple tree.

There are tiny little leaves sprouting up all over the branches. Good reinforcement as we I have never planted bare rot stock before.

Transplanted Strawberries from over the side yard that were growing under the Purple Cone flowers. Can never have enough Strawberries.

3 found galvanized plumbing pipe and some jute twine to contain the branches then a heavy duty large trash bag placed over worked very well for the first night of frost temperatures.




30 degrees tonight with rain (wet snow), then another night of below 38 degrees. After that low 40's for the rest of the week. Will have to set my alarm clock & walk out to brush the wet snow off the bag. DH says it will be a lost cause.



This is one of 2 Frost Variety Peach Trees that were my Wedding gift to DH a few years ago. Sorta a spontaneous purchase on morning after work when I stopped into a mega mart nursery store looking for onion sets. Apparently I have a weakness in Garden Centers. Very comical dragging these home buckled in my front seat of my subcompact car the tops hanging out the hatch. It's not a dwarf to say the least. Last year we got about a dozen peaches from the two. Very sweet & juicy.
The plan for tonight is to place as many stakes as I can find around the perimeter then drape that blue trap over the tree.
Maybe lite my supply of mason jar candles underneath. Sorta like they do in the citrus orchards during a cold spell with propane heaters.
Yeah, it's no wonder the Code man has his eye on me.






~~ pelenaka ~~