Posts Tagged ‘Garden Soil’
Growing Sweet Potatoes in a Tub
The traditional way of growing any kind of potato, whether it be baking, sweet or yam, is to plant slips in long parallel rows, giving the tubers plenty of room to grow. But, on a suburban homestead where the size of your lot dictates your growing space this is not always possible.
With more crops than space to grow them in we must resort to more and more creative growing methods to produce the food our family wants. Permanent beds of veggies like artichokes, asparagus and potatoes take up valuable space that could be used for root crops, beans, peas or salad greens. On our suburban homestead we have resolved the challenge by growing potatoes in large black tubs. Actually, the tubs use to hold cattle supplements; a mixture of molasses, vitamins and other nutrients used by cattlemen to keep their stock healthy (as seen in this image).
My friend and cattleman, Bill uses about a dozen of these supplement tubs each year and this is the basis of my “potted” potato patch. When the potatoes are harvested, the tubs are cleaned and stored away over the winter, leaving plenty of garden space for other crops.
A few years ago Bill gave me about 10 of these tubs, which measure 24” in diameter and are about 2 feet deep. To make them useable as a planter I drilled drain holes around the bottom every few inches using my 1-inch flat drill bit. When I’m ready to plant my spuds I fill the tub with a mix of good garden soil, well rotted compost and potting soil. Potatoes like a loamy, well-drained soil that is not too rich, which causes the plant to grow more foliage than spuds. As I stir up the mixture I remove any rocks or hard lumpy soil that can damage the growing potatoes. Read the rest of the story »
9 Garden Items You Can Make Yourself or Scavenge For Free
Mankind has been growing their own food for thousands of years without all the fancy, expensive gadgets that we see on the market today. Why waste your money when you can make your own garden supplies with materials you probably already have on hand or can scavenge locally.
Our 9 homemade garden goodies will get you growing without dwindling your pocketbook. Read the rest of the story »
Changes From Within
We are a small suburban homestead here—a few cloven hooves, a few mixed breed chickens, a rabbit, a garden with fruit trees and berry canes, and two wandering dogs.
The posts that hold the arbor fences also hold the laundry line. The lamb I roast for Sunday dinner is also the lamb that is chopped and sprinkled over kibble. The shells from the eggs I crack into omelets end up in the compost, and scraps of fresh salad greens and veggies are feasts for our feathered ones. So what was once waste, to be thrown into the trash, is now feed for future eggs or chicken salad or turned into garden soil. The system we have is simple, but it serves us well.
There is work yet to be done though; I’d like to have a greenhouse to extend our growing season, a pond with geese and Thanksgiving turkeys. But, for now there is a garden to turn and meat chicks to raise. There are the chores of switching from one season to another, lamb to sell, firewood to lie in and workshops to attend. Without really knowing how, it all seems to fall into place. It all, somehow, gets done.
As I think back on all we have accomplished, I realize that the real work of this farm is not the food we’ve grown or the skills we’ve learned: it’s us. I say this will all sincerity.
When you build a place into your life purpose it changes you; changes how you understand yourself. It humbles you, but not at the mercy of the main intention. There’s no room for ego when there’s a barn full of shit waiting to be shoveled. When I think back over how we have slowly turned an overgrown suburban lot into what we want it to be, I see confidence in who we are, strength in who Brianne will become, but also worries. I never used to think about Brianne going off on her own, wanting to make her own way. I know she wants her own place one day, but I think about how and where and when. I worry about tasks that are beyond my strength, being alone and having time to myself. Certain things subside over time, but some stay raw and exposed.
Maybe that’s just the growing part. Or, maybe this place is teaching me to mind my priorities and let logic win over emotion. I’m not quite sure. I do know one thing I’m happy in this life, feel at home on our little farm with the animals and home cooked meals. I can close my eyes, click my heels three times and settle in.
Perhaps we never really settle down into our lives. Maybe we just have to give our lives time to settle into us.
Turkey Trots
That sunny day I was wishing for turned out to be just a pipe dream. I woke up yesterday morning to rain. Not a huge storm, mind you, but enough to throw me off my outdoor schedule and dampen my spirits. It was a slap in the face. A wake up call that winter, even in California, is not over yet. Welcome to March!
I was outside assessing the storm damage (thankfully none) and checking on the chickens when I got a call from my friend and fellow 4-H leader. One of our club members had ordered their batch of turkey pullets for our county fair in August. The family didn’t want all 25 birds and was polling other club members to see if we could take some off their hands. While Sandy and I chatted for a while I could see, in my minds eye, turkey tracks across freshly tilled garden soil, a parade of them as they scoured the garden for grubs and bugs and treats of spent lettuce. I was surprised how nostalgic it made me for raising turkeys, something I never thought I’d miss. But, raising poultry here on the farm and seeing them through to dinner tables or holiday gatherings is one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had as a small suburban farmer.
I haven’t raised turkeys in a while, but I want a small flock of them again. I think Midget Whites this time. Or maybe even the Broad-Breasted White raised up to 12 or 15 pounds. If my family won’t dine on them there are plenty of folks around looking for a naturally raised, free-range bird come holiday time. It’s something to think about for small suburban farmers. Compact, easy to care for, with manageable space requirements. Unlike sheep or gardens, birds don’t need the capital and fences up front like a flock of ewes would. Ten turkeys could be raised for the price of one registered sheep and the cash from selling the birds at Thanksgiving could be put toward improvements or other homestead operations. It’s time to start planning for the future, folks; of a working homestead and not just a personal supermarket.
To read more about raising turkeys on your suburban homestead check out these helpful resources.
Books Links
http://web1.msue.msu.edu/poultry/poultry/e1259/e1259.pdf
http://extension.unh.edu/resources/representation/Resource000475_Rep497.pdf
photo credit: bgblogging
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