We had a glorious weekend. After 5 days of noise and dust, the patio is finished. I’ll take a picture of it once the coming rains have washed it clean. The challenge now is to level the surrounding soil and clear it of stones, stones, stones, and to grow grass and plantings around it. I …
Author Archives: kaat
Rain Catchment System
Part of our plans for the front garden – the flower garden – is a pond system at the bottom of the hill that will catch the runoff from the hill and from our roof. The pond will be a wildlife pond, its overflow a wetland. The pond will not be for watering our garden …
All I Got Done Was…
1. Topped off the large new bed. 2. Sowed 60 peas (5 kinds) in it (along its entire length next to the fence). 3. Didn’t forget to inoculate them. 4. But forgot to chit them. I figure if I keep the bed wet till germination we’ll be okay. (Okay, this is cheating.) 5. Built frame …
Real Food Challenge: Soil and Bread
A neighbor was walking by when I was digging and filling the new garden bed (our side-yard veg garden is fully visible from the street) and he came up the hill to tell me: “You’re hard at work again! And always with a smile!” I smiled but refrained from telling him what I was thinking …
Mushroom Spawn Order
The mushroom growing in one of the veg beds in the hoop house is yet more proof that we have a fungal (as against bacterial) soil. We also have wild patches, which we call “the woods,” with plenty of room for edible mushrooms of our own choosing. From Field and Forest Products, for growing on …
Wild Is Old (Owls)
The other night my birdwatching neighbor came over to tell me there are is Barred Owl (Strix Varia) nesting in the trees behind our property and that I should listen for its calls. That evening, there it was, that typical “Who Cooks For You” call. By the time we got the mike out there, the …
Hoop House 3.0: Modular, Still Movable
{UPDATE} look here for the finished product! Like I said in an earlier post, I would not recommend our present hoop house design to anyone who has gust of wind and lots of snow. It has served the purpose of getting us going, of experimentation, and we are still hoping for a Winter Harvest (I’ll …
Cost of Beginning Beekeeping
“When I grow up I’m going to be a beekeeper because i really like the hat” I brought home the hive yesterday. Amie is so excited about it; it is finally becoming real, as in, not just Mama talking. She’s going to help me paint it, though she’s not happy about it having to be …
Garden Work
I did a lot of work in the garden today, another glorious Spring day. I filled up almost the entire new bed against the fence (4 x 16 feet). I am using the soil from the potato towers, which after sitting still for a good 7 months is showing its true nature: it’s full of …
Spring
I organized the shed – it gets to be a dump, over winter – and in a moment of defiance put the snow shovels away. Do you think I jinxed it?