Posts Tagged ‘Lettuce’

Build a Mini PVC Pipe Garden House

Saturday, March 7, 2015

For many years I had trouble with birds (and my own chickens) getting into the garden and eating tender vegetable plants as they emerged from the soil. And, in the colder months I wanted to extend the growing season and protect my crops from frost. I wanted to install a hoop house, the kind I’d seen in magazines or while driving back country roads, but they were too large for one person to manage and too expensive for my limited budget.

I wanted something lightweight, easy to move and something I could make myself with supplies I might already have on hand.

I looked around the farm to see what I could use and hoped that an idea would come to mind. Sure enough, it did. As I stared at my raised beds I thought of a mini greenhouse type structure that could be draped with bird netting in the growing season and float cloth or plastic to extend my plantings.

Here’s what I came up with:

A PVC frame that fits over my 4’x8’ raised beds and is held in place by “C” brackets screwed to the wooden vegetable bed frame. A 10’ piece of PVC runs the length of the uprights to keep the covering draped properly over the frame. At ground level it can be tacked to the wooden vegetable bed or covered with dirt or rocks to keep it from blowing off.

How I made it:

I cut 4 pieces of PVC pipe 2 feet long; two for the sides and two, half the width of the vegetable bed, to make the peaked top. This would be wide enough to reach across the bed and give good clearance for taller plants like lettuce, broccoli or tomatoes. I then assembled the greenhouse frame using 45 degree PVC pipe fittings (these were on hand, but 90 degree might work better on the legs). Once I tested the greenhouse, to see if it did what I thought it would, I glued all the pieces together. I made 3 frames for each 8’ bed.

To install my newly made mini-greenhouse, I screwed “C” brackets into the vegetable bed frame about 6-inches from each end and in the middle of the bed (about the 4’ mark), I then zip tied a 10’ piece of PVC pipe down the middle to keep the peaks upright and to keep any covering from falling in on the plants.

In less than an hour, using the supplies I had on hand, I made enough frames to cover four of my eight vegetable beds; protecting my crops from marauding chickens and scavenging birds.

The Power of a Dollar

Saturday, July 20, 2013

A Dollar

Every so often I go on a rampage of frugality. It’s more like a feeling of sickness, a sickness of spending money, sick of the cost of things, sick of pulling out my wallet everywhere I turn, sick of how a dollar doesn’t go as far as it use to. Just plain sick. This past week has been one of those times as the cost gas, water and food increasing almost on a daily basis fills my subconscious.

On the way home from work I swung by the library to peruse their daily used book sale to see if I could find any interesting title additions to my growing library. As I walked the stacks those money infused thoughts crept to the forefront. It drew me to think how and when and where money flitters away. It’s not a great amount, mind you. I’m already a fairly frugal, penny pinching saver, always trying to find new ways to spend less on what the farm and I need. As I drew my hand over the books looking for titles that would interest me it came to me…for a buck I could buy a book, a book that would educate me or entertain me. I stood there staring, thinking really, about how many things I have or could buy with a buck. It was amazing to me that in a short period of time I could list more that a dozen things I have bought that were only a buck.

There was the trip to my favorite ethnic market where the produce is plentiful and the prices reasonable and I could buy…

2 pounds of carrots

5 grapefruit

A string of garlic

3 heads of lettuce

4 pounds of onions

1 cantaloupe

¼ pound of Feta cheese

Or, 1-1/2 pounds of chicken quarters, for a buck.

Then there was the thrift store sale where I bought a new pair of shorts and a few more clay pots for vegetable or flower starts, for a buck.

During a trip to town running errands for work I bought an iced tea to stave off the heat…for a buck.

At a garage sale I bought a galvanized water trough, for a buck.

On Craigslist, I bought iris bulbs, for my ever expanding flower garden, two bags for a buck.

I can also buy two stamps, a fat-quarter of sale quilt fabric, salt licks for rabbits, a scoop of grit for chickens, and a few dog treats, for a buck.

At the library that day I bought a 4-part mini-series, for a buck.

And, of course…a book.

It was proof positive that the dollar has more buying power than I sometimes think. It was nice to sit and reflect on how many things can (or have) been purchased for a dollar. The more I reflected, the more my frugal rampage dissipated, until finally it disappeared all together. Funny how some worries retreat as fast as they come on.

 

What can you buy for a buck? It’s out there ya know. We only have to look.

Tips for a Quality Harvest

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

When harvest time begins we all want to gather the fruits of our labors at the right time to ensure the highest quality produce for our table.  When that time comes, keep these harvest tips in mind:

  • Pick cabbages when the heads are solid and before they begin to split. To prevent splitting, cut or break the roots on one side after a rain with a spade.
  • Pick sweet corn before it gets beyond the milk stage when the kernels are first filled out. Silks should be brown and dry with the tips of each ear filled tight.
  • Harvest cucumbers every day at season’s peak, while fruits are slender and dark green, before their color lightens.
  • Eggplants should be picked when half grown and before they become dull.
  • Muskmelons are ready to pick when stems slip from the fruit, leaving a clean scar.
  • Wait to harvest parsnips until after a sharp frost. The same holds true for rutabagas.
  • Root crops such as beets, radishes, carrots and turnips are best picked before they reach the largest size.
  • When the underside of a watermelon turns yellow or when thumping on the melon produces a dull muffled sound instead of a metallic ring, it’s time to harvest.

As a general rule of thumb, pick all underground vegetables, like beets, carrots, onions, etc. in the morning. Above-ground crops like lettuce, tomatoes, cabbage and the like should be picked in the late afternoon or at twilight.

WHY? you may ask…because the sun’s energy runs from the foliage to the root at night, which is why you should pick root veggies early in the day; when the sun’s energy is still in the root. The sun’s energy is still in the foliage during later afternoon when above-ground crops should be picked.


Following these few easy tips will ensure your harvest is at the peak of its flavor for you and your family.

The Duck Diaries

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

The Ducklings are Here!!

Ducklings

The drive up north on Friday was long but uneventful, just the way I like it. With every trip, though, it seems like the road gets longer and longer. Over the hills from our little farm, to the freeway that takes us out of the county. Up the coast where the fog hangs like a sheet covering the morning sun then turn inland and the fog burns off, the sun comes out and the weather changes from cool coastal to warm and dry. Before you know it we’ve passed through towns and small cities before the road opens up into miles of rich green fields of farmland. This valley that is cased in morning fog and cooled in the evening by an ocean breeze is the salad bowl of California. The fields are a patchwork of lettuce, spinach, asparagus, cabbage and broccoli, dotted by colorful tractors and irrigation lines that seem to stretch into the horizon.

We arrived at Metzer Farms about 3:30 in the afternoon. Early enough that we wouldn’t have to rush to get to the show grounds before dark (an hour away). It was stormy, chilly and the wind was blowing briskly, which made it seem even colder. Ashley met us in the driveway and told us where to park so we would not be in the way.

Metzer Farms is a large waterfowl breeding operation. Pastures full of breeding females line the driveway leading to the brooding house and shipping barn. The pens are long and narrow with a duck house at the far end. I walked along the road looking at the huge flocks resting under the trees. We could hear the cacophony of babies through the open door of the brooder house.

I walked back to the truck and unpacked the temporary brooder we brought with us, lined it with a few layers of paper towels then proceeded into the office. As Ashley and I chatted about the breeds I bought and any special care instructions, she typed up my receipt. When we were finished I waited patiently, thinking that one of the workers would walk through the door with my new batch of ducklings, but no one came.

When Ashley asked if I needed anything else I sheepishly said, “the ducks”, at which point she looked over toward the side of her desk. When I walked around the corner there they were, snug and quiet and all twelve of them in the bottom of a paper grocery bag. Low tech packaging, perfect. Read the rest of the story »

Finding Buried Treasure

Thursday, May 26, 2011

I’ve been worried about my hens lately. Their egg production has been so sporadic that I knew something was wrong. Some days I would get 6 good sized eggs, other day’s one or two small ones and still other days I would go to the coop only to find empty nesting boxes. The water trough always had enough water, but just to be safe I added another one. The hanging feeder had plenty of mash. Every few days they would get a treat of lettuce, carrot or beet tops, old bread or even a bit of fruit past its prime.

Everything seemed fine, but still I couldn’t figure out what could be causing such erratic egg laying.

Not until this morning that is. While getting dressed a couple of black crows frolicking in the yard caught my eye. They weren’t doing anything special just pecking at the ground. As I stood there watching, they kept dipping their beaks towards the ground then raising the heads high into the air, like birds do when they drink.

Pecking around the ground for a few moments more suddenly one of the crows hopped over to the flowerbed and disappeared into the low growing branches of a sweet pea bush. When he emerged he had a brown egg clutched between his beaks.

That was it! One of the girls had found a new hiding place and made it into a nest. After I finished getting dressed I walked outside to the flowerbed where I had seen the thieving crow, climbing over the scabiosa and coreopsis I moved the branches of the sweet pea bush out of my way and there tucked in the underbrush of plants and weeds was a small nest with three more eggs. One of the banty’s must have decided she preferred the quiet of the garden to the chaos of the coop.

All told I lost 5 eggs today—2 to the crows and three to the compost pile. I couldn’t keep the eggs I found because hard telling how long they had been buried.

I guess the crows are the only one’s to enjoy the bounty of finding buried treasure this clear spring morning.

Understanding the Dates on Our Food

Monday, January 17, 2011

use-by

“Sell By”, “Use By”, “Best By”, “Expiration”, our food is labeled with multiple and sometimes confusing dates. But, what’s behind them? What do they mean? Simply put, they are the date which signals when a carton of milk, bag of lettuce or pack of chicken may be the best-tasting or safest to use. What it doesn’t do is concretely indicate that the item is past its prime or spoiled. Read the rest of the story »

Turkey Trots

Thursday, March 4, 2010

turkey

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.

raising turkeys

Books Links

http://web1.msue.msu.edu/poultry/poultry/e1259/e1259.pdf

http://extension.unh.edu/resources/representation/Resource000475_Rep497.pdf

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