Garden – plans for this year of 2013

Chickens (Photo credit: Allie’s.Dad)

I am getting into backyard farming this year, out of necessity because my pay is not keeping up with inflation and the health care premiums are going up, leaving us short in our household budget.

So I am hoping to make up for it somewhat by growing at least 2-3% of my food this year, and hopefully 3-5% next year, after I expand the vegetable garden, and get the raised bed chicken tractor built.

I am designing the raised beds around 4 foot long planks cut from 2×4, 2×6, 2×8, 2×10, and 2×12 by 8 foot or 16 foot boards, and using 3.5 inch long deck screws to screw the beds into 4×4 foot squares.

I arrange the beds so there is just a little less than 2 feet of space between them for walkways, and I use 12 inch square pavers to line the walkways. This way the beds sit on top of the pavers for leveling and less contact with the soil. I treat the wood of the raised beds with linseed oil and let it absorb and dry completely, then line the raised bed with one or two layers of corrugated cardboard  and fill them with compost/soil mixture.

When I build the wooden frames, I also attach a piece of 2×2 on the inside corners, but offset so they stick out the bottom about one inch. This way I can stack multiple beds for extra depth for veggies such as carrots, as well as stacking the chicken tractor on top of the beds as well.

As the chickens clean up the bed(s) they have access to, by churning the soil and eating every last seed, bug, and plant until there is nothing but soil, I move their tractor house to the next bed, and their run as well, and let them continue to clean the newly accessible bed(s).

The raised bed I move the tractor house from, now is well composted, has nitrogen and nutrient rich soil, that I will plant heavy feeders into the first season, and then alternate with low demand plants, followed by fallow or cover-crop, and then several other crops before I run the chicken tractor over it again.

I have part of this system in place, but I still need to built the 4×4 chicken tractor and 4×4 chicken run that will go on top of two beds, and a connector between the two so the chickens can get to the run.

I will also build a few beds that will be either 4×6 or 4×10 foot and pull the walkway pavers they would straddle, and have some bigger beds to work with for such plants as garlic and cabbages, etc, where I either need lots of plants or lots of room for a small number of large to huge plants that will require a lot of growing space.

I know, this sounds quite ambitious, but that is what I have been working towards for the last three years since I have moved into this house.

I will try to keep blogging about my garden endeavors as I find time to record my efforts. Hopefully I can get some pictures added as well to add tot he documentation of what I accomplish this year.

 

Related articles

• Gardeners’ Dirt: Get more yield in less space (victoriaadvocate.com)
• Gardening with Laurie: Recreate nature’s soil (victoriaadvocate.com)
• Calvin Finch: Growing fruit (mysanantonio.com)
• Raised Garden Beds (modernhomesteaders.net)
• garden q&a: lush plant produces no tomatoes (triblive.com)
• How To Breathe Life This Spring Into Your Tired Garden Soil (frommichigantomontana.com)
• Fruit plants require TLC (mysanantonio.com)
• How do I use my compost? (ask.metafilter.com)

 

Horoscope – 2013.01.19

Bottled Water (Photo credit: EasyEcoBlog)

CANCER Jan, 19, 2013

If you’re having trouble figuring out how you will make it through a difficult situation, then just resolve to take it one day at a time. If that doesn’t seen doable, then take it one hour at a time. You are in a stressful phase right now, Moonchild, and you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. Even so, you need to realize that the light is there. You may be standing in the shadows and unable to see the light, but as soon as you get through a lesson the universe is now guiding you through, you will see the light in all its dazzling glory. Meanwhile, persevere.

This is more or less how I live my life, one day or one hour at a time, but I always keep the future in mind.

I hate living my life not preparing in any form or fashion for the future. I don’t prepare for disaster, because no one knows what kind of disasters will come your way, rather  I prepare so I can live in the near future the same way I live in the present. I stock up on some food and supplies, when something is on sale or I break something, I buy one or two extras of whatever I need, that way I have spares on hand, at least for some things, like flashlights, batteries, matches, tinder, etc.

People that purely put their faith into their God, hoping and praying he will provide for them just for believing in him are clueless and don’t know their own faith. You will be judged on your actions, not on your faith. I don’t care what religion you believe in, your actions are what you need to look out for, your God already knows your faith. And it may surprise some readers of my blog that I even went there, as I have stated before that I am not religious, more spiritual than anything.

Anyway, living your life you can really do in many intervals.

For general living and existing, the hour by hour way is best, especially at work, and you might actually live minute by minute to get your work projects done.

Next would be the day by day living, here you plan for the next few days, such as for upcoming doctors appointments and such, as well as planning family meals. You look at your supplies and figure out what you are short of, you may only one can of beans or corn to fix a meal, or maybe you have all the boxed or canned items, and just the need the fresh ones, like meat or fresh vegetables.

But while you are checking your boxed or canned items, you might discover you only have one can of something left. So you get one or two extra cans of the item on your shopping trip.

Next are the longer term preparations.

Weekly, where you look ahead two or three months, you should check to see if you need to order birthday presents online or through a catalog, to take inventory of such things as bottled water, extra propane tanks for your grill, if the spares are empty, you set them out so you see them every day, and when the extra funds are available to fill one or two, you do so.

You also check your garden and wee what all is about to ripen up, and plan meals around your harvest, you check for store sales and stock up on end-of-season items for next year. Maybe some more winter gloves or summer flip-flops while they are on sale.

Finally, for the Monthly, Quarterly, Yearly, and longer term cycles, you set goals, such as increasing your stored food and water reserves from a 3 day supply to a 7 or 30 day supply.

By planning for these increases in supplies you keep on hand, you are reducing your dependence on central authorities, and if you never need the supplies for yourself, you can use them to help others, maybe in your family or your neighborhood. Or, by not having to purchase groceries or propane this month, you can help someone financially or donate to your charity or buy that bigger birthday gift without upsetting your household status quo.

Related articles

• Horoscope – 2013.01.18 (rmolby.wordpress.com)
• Horoscope – 2013.01.15 (rmolby.wordpress.com)
• Horoscope – 2013.01.11 (rmolby.wordpress.com)
• Horoscope – 2013.01.12 (rmolby.wordpress.com)
• Horoscope – 2013.01.05 (rmolby.wordpress.com)
• Horoscope – 2013.01.13 (rmolby.wordpress.com)
• Horoscope – 2013.01.10 (rmolby.wordpress.com)
• Horoscope – 2013.01.14 (rmolby.wordpress.com)
• Horoscope – 2013.01.06 (rmolby.wordpress.com)
• Horoscope – 2013.01.17 (rmolby.wordpress.com)

 

Horoscope – 2013.01.12

English: RepRap v.2 ‘Mendel’ open-source FDM 3D printer (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

CANCER Jan, 12, 2013

Are you feeling lucky, Moonchild? Since you’ve suffered more than your fair share of difficulties lately, you may be feeling more unlucky than lucky, but events of the next few hours or days should change all that. The universe is working in your favor, and you must also have a guardian angel or two summoning up bright blessings for you, because your world is about to get so much better! Think in terms of greater prosperity, creative fulfillment, and even a bit of fame, perhaps. It may seem too good to be true – but it’s true!

Well, this plays on my previous horoscope. I really would like to get into 3D printing so I can make things for around the house, replace broken parts all over the house and maybe on my old 1988 Jeep, but most of all, making things for my garden experiments.

I have some ideas how I could improve the functioning of my vegetable garden to increase the productivity of the plants, giving me better harvests and more healthy, more naturally grown food to nourish my body.

And I suppose, if those gadgets could be mass produced, maybe I could make a living from the income?

 

Horoscope – 2013.01.10

ideas (Photo credit: Sean MacEntee)

CANCER Jan, 10, 2013

You are teetering on the edge of a new and exciting idea. You are hesitant to take the plunge and to make an attempt at turning the idea into a real opportunity. You fear you could make a mistake, or maybe you’re just afraid that no one will take you seriously or will think you’re thinking is faulty or even flaky. Then again, Moonchild, if you’re really onto something – and it’s likely that you are – this idea could transform some area of your life in a wonderful way. Think of terms of the possibilities this idea could ultimately bring – they include prosperity and fulfillment through a creative pursuit. It’s certainly worth looking into.

Wow, okay, in previous horoscopes I was told some “wonderful, happy future” is imminent, and now today’s horoscope. Too wild.

Let’s look at the above though; the statement that I’m really into something… well, I really am into gardening, of the food variety kind. I love to nurture food plants in my backyard garden. I would love to have more time to dedicate to it, so I could grow more things, and hence eat more from my garden.

Then the second thing that struck me is the “creative pursuit” statement. For the last 15 years or so, I have worked in the computer support and centralized IT world, and as part of my knowledge I have learned about 3D printing using machines like MakerBot and RepRap. I have been imagining printing 3D contraption or inventions that will help me further my gardening efforts.

I am not ready to reveal my ideas for the 3D printed parts, yet, but maybe this is my creative part I need to discover?

Related articles

• What’s Your Sign? (lorensworld.com)
• More Followers, Horoscopes & Fears (yasminezikry.wordpress.com)

 

Horoscope – 2012.12.06

Lone Pine Peak (Photo credit: Dawn Endico)

CANCER Dec, 06, 2012

Were you in a certain group when you were in high school, Moonchild? Were you a “jock” – a sought-after athlete? Maybe you were the creative type – someone who others thought would be famous one day. Or perhaps you hung with the popular crowd – you knew everyone and everyone knew you. It’s also possible that you were a loner. Many Crabs are. That’s because your creative way of thinking isn’t always understood, and your shy personality is often mistaken for conceit. No matter which group you belonged to, you probably felt like a loner. You may still feel that way. But events of the coming weekend will show you just how much you are loved and admired.

I do feel like a loner many days. Not so much being alone or lonely, but a loner in a world that doesn’t seem to understand the big picture, a civilization on the brink of change that is right in the face, but they don’t see it.

I feel alone in a sea of people that seem to be ignorant to repeating history. I see loved ones and friends go through life not realizing they can help themselves to live a better future by studying history and avoiding the mistakes people have made in the past.

I know I have loved ones all around me that love me and support me, but many of them don’t see the future either.

It is very frustrating some days…

Related articles

• Horoscope “Nonsense” (sitdownatatypewriterandbleed.wordpress.com)
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Health – Chicken Bone Broth

Preparing of chicken broth (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Today I want to talk a little about health issues, or rather, how to keep some of those health issues at bay.

Today’s topic is bone broth, specifically chicken carcass bone broth, because I had saved up a lot of chicken bones from thighs and drums over the last few weeks, and a fresh chicken carcass from a rotisserie chicken we got from (gasp, yes!) WalMart.

The miscellaneous bones I accumulated at work for the most part and placed into a Ziploc bag or container, along with surplus chicken skin, put them in the freezer and saved them up until I had enough to fill my stock pot, which was today.

In addition, I am also taking advantage of the fact that it is currently about 105F (41C) degrees outside, so I’m boiling the bones on the side burner of my grill. This way I’m keeping the heat out of the house and it takes less energy to heat up the pot since it is already so hot outside. The only two drawbacks are that I have to stand out in the heat when checking on it, and the wonderful aroma of it isn’t in the house… but the end result will be so worth it. Which brings me to the actual topic, the health benefits of bone broth.

We all know mom’s recipe for when we didn’t feel good when we were kids, chicken soup is pretty much always the good ol’ standby to get the finicky eater to get some nourishment into them. However, even though today’s salt laden chicken soup does still have some benefit, it is the bone broth of real chicken soup that really provides the immune system boosting properties.

I will not list all the benefits, but the broth is rich in numerous vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants as explained really well in this blog post by The Paleo Mom. You really should go read this blog post, it is fairly short and to the point, go read it now and then come back here.

OK, so I am slowly migrating my diet to the Paleo diet, which is not a weight-LOSS diet, but a healthy living lifestyle, and bone broth is a key ingredient in this diet.

Back to the bone broth making, here is another blog entry at a different blog detailing three different ways to make bone broth.

My bone broth making today ended up being moved into the kitchen since it got really windy and the flame kept blowing out on the grill’s side burner. I got 6 half-pint jars and a quart jar of broth, and oh did it smell good. Nom nom.

Finally, here is another good blog post / article. There are links from these articles to further your reading. All I have left to say is, I have used bone broth for months now, and every time I run out of it, I can feel my body getting worst over about a weeks time, and then I start hurting, and dragging from low energy, I get migraines and headaches, and my body feels achy.

So long for now, hope this helps you improve your health, and as the Vulcans from Star Trek would say:

Live long and Proper.

Related articles

• Is Making Bone Broth Easy? (liberationwellnessblog.com)
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• Chicken Bone Broth (ohsnapletseat.wordpress.com)

 

Riparian Buffer Nations

Riparian strip, Putnam County, Ohio, Lake Erie tributary. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Alright, I’m returning to a subject I am very interested in, and I have covered in a previous post.

Riparian buffers are a protective area along water features such as rivers, lakes and ponds that provide protection of the water habitat from off-site pollution, as well as providing habitat for plants and animals that require clean sources of water and food.

In the previous post I talked about acquiring property along riparian zones, and finding people to live on, and manage those riparian buffer lands.

Maybe we need to take this one step further, maybe those of us that believe in such an endeavor should form a union, gather as a folk, or nation, write a constitution, and take possession of riparian buffer lands through legal means, including using angel investors that believe in protecting the environment for future generations.

I could envision contiguous buffer zone lands to become small tribal areas, with multiple families assisting each other with the protection management of the riparian buffers they own and control, and these tribes could then cooperate in each bio-regional area to become riparian buffer nations comprising that area, yet all the bio-regional buffer zone nations could also be members of a continental and/or global Riparian Buffer Nation (RBN) that transcend nationalities and all cooperate for the common good of the planet.

I envision the tribes to conduct their business a lot like Native American Indians conduct their tribal business. Since these Indian tribes are very connected to their land(s), they already have very well established ways to manage and protect the land and a life style that is connected to the land, and water, and biota on the land, and we can learn a lot from them how to conduct ourselves.

So I propose to write a constitution that will focus on protecting the land that provides to us our own life in the form of clean water and uncontaminated food grown in a biota protecting manner so future generations are not stripped of their means of supporting their own and their children.

I would venture to say that a few, if not many Native American Indian tribes would welcome such a project, and help us new tribes by teaching us what it means to live in harmony with nature, and maybe become members of the greater Riparian Buffer Nation.

Being that I currently live in the USA, but was born in Germany, I have two diverse lifestyles I have lived. Both societies have their good and bad, and it is difficult not the be biased, but I can say the founders of the USA thought far ahead when they wrote the Constitution of the United States of America, so I will make an attempt at writing the first few article of constitution for the Riparian Buffer Nation (RBN) using the US Constitution as my model.

So, in future posts I will write up each article of constitution, and if anyone, especially lawyers would like to chime in and make suggestions and/or corrections, I will welcome comments to those posts and if I deem the comments valuable I will incorporate it into the applicable article.

Well, it is time to move on and get back to real life here in working land and time

Related articles

• Alabama landowners partner to keep water unpolluted (al.com)
• New paper: Predicting novel riparian ecosystems in a changing climate (janecatford.wordpress.com)
• Federal Funding in Green Infrastructure Making A Difference (earthtechling.com)
• MillerCoors and River Network Announce Winning Organizations to Receive $50,000 For Watershed Protection Programs (prweb.com)
• A Clear Answer to Clean Water (clarksvilleonline.com)
• What is ecosystem restoration? (dvidshub.net)
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Hidatsa Shield Beans

Beans (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hidatsa Shield Beans – Sustainable Seed Co.

I have ordered these beans from Seed Savers but have not tried to sow them yet, maybe next year, but I want to record the description from Sustainable Seed Co. since it describes the Three Sisters planting method really well.

From the above linked site:

Seed package contains 1 oz. or about 50 beans.

Deep in the Missouri River Valley of North Dakota the Hidatsa Indians grew this pole type drying bean in their corn fields.  The Indians were masters of growing plants that were helpful to each other such as the “Three Sisters”.

How the Three Sisters work…Beans/Corn/Squash
The Indians planted the corn first, once it was a few inches in height, they planted the hidatsa beans at the base of each corn stalks.  Normally 3-4 hidatsa seeds per corn stalk.  Then they planted squash.

This is how that works out…the corn gives the beans something to grow on.  Thehidatsa beans fix nitrogen at the base of the corn, helping this hungry veggie grow.  And last but not least the large squash leaves take over the ground crowding out the weeds and shading the ground as well saving precious moisture.

Hidatsa beans are very prolific and make a great crop of dried beans to put away for the winter.  You need to figure on planting a number of them if you want pounds put away for your pantry.  Try the Three Sisters method in the corn patch!

TIP  Let your beans dry on the vine unless weather threatens, then pull and hang the entire plant upside down in the barn/garage to dry.  Now take a clean garbage can or burlap bag and put your hidatsa beans in it.  Now, the fun part.  Beat he heck out of the beans.  If you are using a burlap bag you can beat it on the floor or stomp on it.  The idea is to get all the hidatsa beans free of their shells.  Now take this combination of beans and shells to winnow.  That means, by either using a fan or the wind let the shells blow away.  I use two big rubbermaid containers.  One empty on the ground and the other full of beans I slowly dump into the empty one letting the chaff blow out (fan or wind).  That is it!  Now you have your own 100% organic dry beans ready to feed your family anytime you want!  Not to mention all the money you will save.

Related articles

• Corn and Bean Price Explosion; More to Come? (hoosieragtoday.com)
• Three sisters follow up (alderandash.wordpress.com)
• Three sisters (well, almost) (alderandash.wordpress.com)
• Why are beans considered a meat and vegetable? (goldenrule.com)

 

Sustainable Seed Co.

Wheat, rye and triticale, montage of pictures from the USDA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Alright, the first website I bookmarked from my podcast show notes is for the Sustainable Seed Company.

The actual link I followed is to the quinoa page. This link is in relation to some seed varieties mentioned on the podcast. So when I decided to read the rest of the site’s seed varieties, I discovered several useful pieces of information, about the seed varieties as well as discovering additional valuable information.

Wit this post I will be chronicling my discoveries.

Moving back on the site by one level, took me to the Heirloom Grains page. The page lists Amaranth, Barley, Bread Poppy, Buckwheat, Flax, Millet, Oat, Quinoa, Rye, Sorghum, Spelt, Triticale, and Wheat. Many of the categories list almost extinct varieties, and I plan on ordering a few of them since this seed grower is in souther California which has similar harsh climate as I do here at my urban home stead.

After reading about the grains a bit, I moved on to the vegetables. They carry Artichoke, Asparagus, among others. On the asparagus page I noticed an old seed catalog page thumbnail was used to enhance the page content. This intrigued me, but it was too small to make out much useful information. I moved on to the Bean page, which also showed a thumbnail image. Moving on to the Beet page the thumbnail was of an old, old seed packets of beet seed. It was by a seed company called Maule, the seed packet said Maule’s Blood Turnip Beet, so I reached via Google for Maule’s seed, and I get a hit with the Internet Archive for a PDF of a 1946 catalog, which I promptly downloaded.

This spurred me on to continue to look at all the categories on the site to find more references to old catalogs. I moved on to the Broccoli pagem and the thumbnail there showed Johnson E. Stokes Garden and Farm Manuals, and one of the Google search results points me to the USDA’s NAL Image Collection of old catalogs. This page mentions that all the images are from the Henry G. Gilbert Nursery and Seed Trade Catalog Collection. This second page lists 4 PDFs of old seed catalogs.

Moving on to the remaining main pages of the site I am researching all thumbnails and see if I can find any more PDFs of the catalogs and will list them below.

Lastly, I noticed some useful information regarding techniques or seed information I didn’t know, and will document in separate posts.

Related articles

• Heirloom, Organic & Hybrid. Knowing the Difference (farmfoodieandfitness.com)
• More seed-vending machines for city (thehindu.com)
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• Starting Seeds and Transplanting: A Beginning Farmer/Gardener Guide to Growing Healthy, Organic Plants from the Kerr Center (slideshare.net)

 

Fructose metabolism

High Fructose Corn Syrup (Photo credit: Food Thinkers)

This post is part of my health research on my own weight and health problems. Part of fixing my health issues is learning how the human body processes or digests food and food-like substances; there is a single word describing this process: metabolism.

Anyway, in relation to the previous post, the first thing I was interested in is how the human metabolism deals with simple carbohydrates, like high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), honey, and sugar, etc/.

So the way I understand it, when we digest plain sugars, such as sucrose (white table sugar) or honey, they pass through the stomach almost unchanged and go into the small intestine where the enzyme sucrase splits the sugar into its glucose and fructose component.

HFCS on the other hand, being a man-made product, doesn’t have strong bonds between the glucose and fructose molecules, and can be broken down easily in the small intestine.

The now available glucose is absorbed by the intestine, and transported directly to the blood as energy source, and all excess glucose is sent to the liver to be processed into glycogen. At the same time that glucose level rise, so do insulin levels, when a certain threshold of glucose is reached the hormone ghrelin drops off, signaling to the brain to stop consuming carbohydrates.

Fructose on the other hand is also absorbed by the small intestine, but to a lesser extend and using a slightly different process, and very few tissues in the human body are able to utilize fructose. What fructose is not absorbed by the small intestine is sent on to the large intestine to be fermented there into hydrogen and carbon dioxide.

What fructose is absorbed by the small intestine is transported directly to the liver to be processed by fructokinase, using phosphate, and is further metabolized into different compounds.

The metabolism of fructose at this point can lead to glycogen synthesis as well as fatty acid and triglyceride synthesis. Glycogen is the first compound that is produced, once the liver has a sufficient level of glycogen, it will begin to produce triglycerides, and finally, fatty acids.

Hence, when we consume anything that contains fructose, whether it be honey, sugar or HFCS, our triglyceride and fatty acid levels rise.

The triglycerides are then incorporated into very low density lipoproteins (VLDL, the “bad” cholesterol), which are released from the liver for storage in both fat and muscle cells.

During the entire process of metabolizing fructose, the hormone ghrelin never goes down in level or intensity, so the brain does not get any indication to stop consuming carbohydrates, causing us to continue to consume carbs, which gives us more fructose, which causes more triglyceride and fatty acid, still not dropping ghrelin, and cycle continues.

So there we go, fructose makes us fat, and it doesn’t matter if it comes from HFCS, honey or sugar. So the generalization we hear, sugar is sugar appears to be reasonable after all. The only difference is that HFCS absorbs into the intestine faster than sugar or honey, because it does not have to be broken down into glucose and fructose by the enzymatic process.

Related articles

• Sugar Dumbs Down and Fattens Up Children, Research Says (smartypantsvitamins.com)
• Worse for Your Liver Than Alcohol? (lewrockwell.com)
• Ask Dr. K: High levels of fructose can damage liver (goerie.com)
• Drinking high-fructose corn syrup really does make you stupid (federaljack.com)
• Human Metabolism Negatively Impacted by High-Fructose Corn Syrup (naturalsociety.com)
• Attacks Your Liver Like Alcohol – Is This What’s Making You Flabby and Sick? (articles.mercola.com)
• SUGAR – isn’t it natural? (barbsfitublog.wordpress.com)
• A brief history of high-fructose corn syrup (earthsky.org)
• High Fructose Corn Syrup Makes You Stupid (friendseat.com)
• High fructose corn syrup (forthesakeofscience.com)