Introduction to my Homestead

So in the process of my family going self reliant I want people to be able to see our progress.  You can see our small city lot, house, garage, and play set,  Currently we only grow in 6 small raised beds and can produce more tomatoes and cucumbers then my family could ever dream of using.  How do you turn those 6 small beds into revalving crops and all the produce you could ever need? Well next year hopefully I will have my property turned into a self reliant homestead!  From the photos below you can see we are not dealing with allot of land but the biggest fear I have is the amount of shade I have not the amount of property.  I have had no problem growing on the north west side of home but we will see if this grows into a issue as my gardens grow.  I am currently working on the plans and locations of raised beds, a small green house, fences and such so we can maximize our use of space.  I hope you are as excited as I am to see the progress!

A seed a day (Week 3)

Sprouting Plants

It is now week three of my seed a day project.  Things are growing well but I still probably have a couple weeks before anything can go into the ground or even a first harvest.  Same as last week any thing in the last weeks plantings that had not sprouted yet I replanted.  This week I planted 8 Regular crops and for the first week I planted 4 spice and herb plants.  I figure if I plan on trying to live off of what I can grow only I will need spices and herbs to help with cooking.

All Plants To Date

Herbs And Spice Seeds

Totals
4- Romaine Lettuce Planted 11/2/13
3- Iceberg Lettuce Planted 11/2/13
1- Cabbage Planted 11/9/13
1- Broccoli Planted 11/9/13
2- Iceberg lettuce Planted 11/9/13
4- Romaine Lettuce Planted 11/9/13
2- Iceberg lettuce Planted 11/16/13
2- Romaine Lettuce Planted 11/16/13
2- Broccoli Planted 11/16/13
2- Swiss Chard Planted 11/16/13
1- Lemon Mint Planted 11/16/13
1- Basil Planted 11/16/13
1- Cilantro Planted 11/16/13
1- Thyme Planted 11/16/13

A seed a day (Week 2)

Last Weeks Seedlings

Its time again to plant this weeks rotation of seeds. So far 3 of my Romaine lettuce seed sprouted and 2 of my Iceberg lettuce seeds sprouted.  The un sprouted seeds may sprout but at this point I re planted these and if needed thin out the extra plants.  This week I added a broccoli and cabbage plant to have some variety. Hopefully in the matter of months I will have enough fresh lettuce and other vegetables to meet my families needs.

Collection After 2 Weeks

Totals
4- Romaine Lettuce Planted 11/2/13
3- Iceberg Lettuce Planted 11/2/13
1- Cabbage Planted 11/9/13
1- Broccoli Planted 11/9/13
2- Iceberg lettuce Planted 11/9/13
4- Romaine Lettuce Planted 11/9/13

Labels With Names and Dates

Row cover can become kites

Unfortunately today one of my row covers became a kite and blew of the bed.  If the row covers can not make it a week I do not believe they will be lasting years to come.  The point on building these and testing them is to find a way we can do this every year and be able to re use frame and cover for as many years possible.  I have a plan for row covers that I think may be better that I will be trying this weekend.  I am still looking for the perfect way to secure plastic and be able to open them and get our harvest. You can not learn if you do not try!

Digging AX a must have tool

 A must have in your garden shed is a digging ax.  These are commonly used by fire fighters and landscapers.  With a traditional ax on one end and a mattock on the other this makes the perfect tool for removing small stumps and digging holes and trenches in soil with allot of roots.  Today I used mine to remove the roots of a large lilac bush.  Time to make room for a large green house!

Covering plants and planting celery

 So I have been putting it off but with temps going into the 20's tonight I figured no more dragging my feet I better at least get what I have planted covered.  Right now I have two of my beds almost full with extras I was not able to take up and get planted at my aunts land where I have a large garden.  In the two raised beds I have planted right now I have spinach, arugula, cabbage, fennel, celery, and some miscellaneous onions.  After building Fridays hoop I decided I needed to add cross supports to every hoop.  These supports make the whole structure that much more rigid and stops the frame work from bowing due to the tension of the hoops.  These cross supports only add approximately $4 to each 4x12 foot cover.  For tonight I just draped the thick clear plastic over the hoops and tucked it in until I decide how I want to fasten it.  I hope to come up with a good idea to have easy access to my winter harvest.

A seed a day (Week 1)

So a while back in all my crazy thinking I wondered if I planted a seed a day would that be enough food to support my family?  With wanting to have a constant food source this will insure something is always ready to harvest.  Well today is the day we will start and see what will happen and how much we can grow. Tonight I planted 4 Parris Island Romaine lettuce seeds and 3 Iceberg lettuce seeds.  I planted these seeds in a store bought organic seed starting mix that I am not 100% happy with because it has large organic pieces in it.  After planting the seeds I placed them near a window where they will get plenty of light and hopefully be ready to go in my new covered beds in a couple weeks.  I will continue planting approximately 7 seeds a week and will track my harvests.

PVC to Row cover Garden through the winter

Finished Frame Work

Wanting to grow all year round in a zone 6 requires some creative solutions.  I decided this year we would build some row covers for our raised beds in our yard.  This will not allow me to grow the tomatoes and cucumbers I wish I could grow year round but will hopefully provide me with enough carrots, lettuce, spinach and such to have fresh garden salads all winter.

Must have ratcheting Cutters

I went down to the local big box home improvement store and picked up a ton of 1/2"x10' pieces of PVC along with this I got some bulk packs of 90s and Ts.  This is a affordable project because PVC is inexpensive at under $2 per piece you can build a sizable structure for not that much money.  I am guessing the 4'x12' bed in my picture has about $25 in materials to build the frame at under 10 pieces of PVC and 16 fittings.

Pile of Parts

I had a mental vision of what I would be building so I drew up a little sketch and decided to cover my 4'x12' beds. I would build a frame around the perimeter and just hoop full pipes over the beds. I believe 3 foot spacing on the hoops should be enough as long as I help with removal of snow.  I cut my pipe with a ratcheting PVC cutter and it is worth every penny so much quicker then a hack saw. I chose to glue my joints although many people say just push them together I did not want it coming apart while I bumped it.  I am guessing these will stay in place year round and possibly be used as a trellis in the summer time.  I was not pleased with the excess bowing in the middle so I added just a single cross support to help relieve the tension. I will be working on the other beds this weekend and adding the plastic covering.  I may possibly trying out some other designs for the other beds.

Bow in pipe before adding support

Added support 

Rotating crops and keeping a constant food source

Radishes Harvested Fall of 2013

When you grow food for a hobby you take what you get and you are so proud of what ever you can produce.  You find friends, family, and neighbors to give you extra produce to and everyone is happy to share with you.  My goal in the next year is to have a consistent harvest trough out the year.  Where I am located at I will not be able to grow things year round (I am in zone 6) but I should be able to extend my growing season trough the whole year.  With little things like covering beds to keep the ground just above freezing you can grow year round.  Lettuce, kale, radishes, and carrots do not mind the cold weather they just need the ground not to freeze.  I will start a process planting 7-10 seeds a week in trays and transferring to the raised covered beds when large enough.  By constantly planting you should have a constant harvest preventing the 20lbs of radishes I harvested this fall and gave away.  I will be calculating and adjusting planting as I need to for our demand.  Watch for more updates on my trip to a constant supply of fresh vegetables.

Meyer Lemons and Bearss Seedless Lime

Mini Lemon

Lemon Buds

Lemon Blooms

Lime Tree

 I have been very interested in getting a Meyer lemon tree ever since I heard about them. Then I needed to have one after I saw my first one in the store.  A mini bush only 2 foot tall with countless numbers of little fruit on it!  How cool is that?  A tiny bush that can produce a large number of fruit I had to have it.  I put off buying one of these and on a trip into the local big box home store there it was on a clearance rack for $9 how could pass that up.  Next to the Meyer lemon tree was a Bearss seedless lime tree I figured why not try it out too.

Lemon Tree

I loaded these trees in my truck and now it was time to find a place and research how to take care of them.  From what I can read both are pretty easy to take care of but need to be in a warm well lit area.  I have mine on a dinette in our dining room they get plenty of light and I can not forget to care for them.  After having them for about a week I noticed a bloom. Was it possible that my plant will be producing lemons already?  Yes it was!  The Meyer Lemon tree will produce fruit year round. Unfortunately the Bearss seedless lime tree will only produce spring into summer by what I under stand.  

Great Deal was $24.98 Clearance $9.00

I will keep posting about these trees so you can follow their progress.  My hope is in the future to move these plants into a climate controlled green house in the back yard.  With the hope of growing most of our food here in our yard and living in a climate where we get snow I can not imagine not having some fruit in the winter time.  I do believe these to citrus plants will be a great addition to our collection.

$35 EarthWay 1001-B Great Craigslist Find!

EarthWay 1001-B Found on Craigslist for $35

So we have had allot of luck on Craigslist this year and I just ran into yet another great buy!  I have been dragging my feet on buying a seeder but with the growing gardens I believe even at full retail it was going to be worth it.  For what ever strange reason I decided to type seeder into Craigslist and wow there she was a EarthWay 1001-B for only $35.  Well I called the gentleman and drove straight to his house.  I have done allot of research and this is the tool to lay seed quick as long as you have loose soil.  It is all aluminum and plastic so very long lasting the only part i can see on this that can wear is the rubber belt that takes power from the front wheel and transfers it to the seed hopper.  I am so excited and believe this is a lucky find since retail is any where from $90-$150 new.  I will do a full review in the early spring as soon as the ground is workable enough to lay some radishes, beets, and carrots.