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 – 2013.01.20

Moonchild (Photo credit: 35mm Caliber)

CANCER Jan, 20, 2013

You may be tempted to make your love life your priority right now, Moonchild, but it would be wiser to attend to other important relationships. There may be a family member – such as a parent, sibling, or other close relative – who really needs your attention. There may have been a rift between the two of you recently, and you really need to take the steps to begin mending it. This individual, who was extremely important in your past, is also a huge part of your present and your future. Dedicate some time to nurturing this bond.

I have no idea who from my past would be so extremely important other than my father. There has never been a rift between us, but there has always been a lot of physical distance between us that has prevented us from interacting as much as we would love to.

My dad has always been important to me, and I supposed if we would be closer, distance wise, we could do so many things together that would help both of us to be much more productive.

Just spending time together when we can is always a pleasure. We are much alike and different in other way, but we always seem to get along and have much to talk and debate when we spent time together.

I really should try to spend more online time with my dad!

Related articles

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

 

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)
• Soups – Tips and tricks to making the best soup you ever had! (homesteadhacker.wordpress.com)
• Chicken Bone Broth (ohsnapletseat.wordpress.com)

 

Dad knows stuff

I saw this really awesome picture on G+ today, just had to post it!!!

Dad knows (every/no)thing(s)

My wife’s 16 year old is going through the “I know everything, my parents know NOTHING” phase, and there are days I just want to beat him around the head with a titanium baseball bat!

So, anyway, I’m in my 40′s and I am totally lined up with this myself.

I am fortunate to have my dad available at 68+ and I ask my dad for advice at times when I feel like I don’t have the right answer, and I cannot seem to find enough information out there.

Well, I have to get back to work.

Enjoy!

Related articles

• My Dad: Finally updating (ayattmusid.wordpress.com)
• 3 Greatest Tools For 1st Time Dads at 47 (1sttimedadat47.wordpress.com)
• Father’s Day Gift Ideas for First Time Dads (redenvelope.com)

 

Chicken Coop & Raised Beds

Image via Wikipedia

Well, I used cereal box cardboard and newspaper to cover up all the major openings to my chicken coop, and that seems to keep the majority of the heat from the electric heater inside to at least keep the water dish from freezing.

I really need to get a portable chicken coop built that fits right on top of my raised bed frames. What this will allow me to do is to house my chicks in a much more wind and cold proof envelope, and the chickens will churn up and mix in their poop from the roost with the bedding material that is below in the raised bed frame.

I will have a trap door on all four sides of the coop so I can connect a chicken wire cage to any of the four sides of the coop to allow the chickens to also work a raised bed next to them that I have pulled out of production or is a brand new bed that needs to be weeded.

For the bedding material I will use a mixture of leaves, shredded newspaper and brown cardboard, as well as small sticks and branches on the very bottom.

I had this exact setup at my previous place, and it worked quite well. The resulting mix of chicken poop, paper, cardboard and some kitchen scraps all churned together by the chickens was a nice, fluffy, humus with a trace of topsoil and rough bits of wood chips. It had a nice earthy smell and was super rich and friable, perfect to side dress existing plants or plant heavy feeder plants right into it.

So, this will be my first project for the spring.

Related Articles

• Chicken Manure in the Garden: Mother Earth News excerpts Gene Logsdon’s Holy Shit (chelseagreen.com)
• Chickens In The Backyard (tinychoices.com)

 

No work today…

Well, I called in to work, and they told me I could take the rest of the day off… so I called my manager and told him I’d be taking leave the rest of the day because I still don’t feel so hot.

Related Articles

• ME/CFS & Fibromyalgia Doesn’t Stop for Life (fightingfatigue.org)

 

Meetings, telecons, ugh…

This morning’s meeting and telecon at work were really busy and filled with info… my mind is spinning… so much to do and so little time to do it… ROFL

I think I will use this blog to just flush my mind, and hopefully, over time, I will contribute more usefule information… or maybe I will start a new blog… I really would like to discuss issues related to my (what I call) personal and family economy (also called a budget).

This would include what I plan on doing to help our stretched-to-the-limit personal economy by planting a garden and other projects that will reduce the food budget and other things I can do to reduce our expenditures.

Anyway, back to work… :-O

Related Articles

• Student researches how texting culture has evolved (physorg.com)
• Cybertrolls’ attacks on Web add to mourners’ pain (chron.com)