March on the Homestead

Yes you can’t ask for anything better. Spring in East Texas is ”to die for’ even if it only lasts about a week. We tend to go from winter to summer with just the impression of a spring in between. Lol But I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

110º?! Ugh, thanks for reminding me why I left Albq area... though I DO have it tough, I reeeeally do... this morning it's 10º! =o)

But the sun is out, there's not a cloud in the sky... it's supposed to get into the 50's today. And nighttime lows in the 30's later in the week? Dare I believe them? I just want to scream at the sky "Would you make up your everlovin' MIND already? I'm trying to get some things done down here, you know!"

My earthbag retaining wall is once again under a snowbank, I'm running out of firewood, the truck is stuck down at the barn because of the mud, and now the snow. Let's not even talk about how I need to make new planting beds...

I suffer sooooo well, don't you think? LOL

podster, wintersowing is new to me... looks interesting, although all those little containers wouldn't work... just blow away. But direct seeding... will definitely read up on it. Thanks!

Here is my first try at WS. One of my maters has sprouted. I have a few more jugs to sow.

Neat!

Not a whole lt, I know, but it's a new thing I'm trying.

I enjoy trying new stuff... even when it doesn't work out, 'cause sometimes it does!

How's Glory and the chicks doing?

Way to go Cajun!

J, sorry to hear the weather turned bad again on you.

Glory is doing better. I weaned her off the pain med. She hasn't had any for the last 2 days and I haven't seen any difference in her. She is still eating well.

The chickens are good. Still getting 7-9 eggs most days. 2 days I got 10 eggs. I was stoked! LOL The chicks are good too. Growing like weeds and feathering out quick. They are starting to spar so I'll have to watch them close. I have 2 dozen big stock eggs in the bator. I have 2 bators now. I'm using the new one to incubate and the old one to hatch in. I put Jeffery, my Dominique roo, in with the girls yesterday. He is much smaller than Gumbo. I will leave him in for a month or so. It will be easier on the girls and when I set more eggs in a month, he will be the proud poppa.

What are you going to do with all these chickens and eggs! Oh my, you are fast becoming the chicken lady here.

Did you get your hog slaughtered yet?

We've been eating the chicken we went in on with my farrier... we bought the birds & the feed, he raised them and we had a nice neighborly gathering to make meat out of them. The first one we cooked nearly screwed up the recipe... there wasn't enough fat to baste the bird with... store-bought chicken has so much fat on it, and it's been a long time since I've raised my own chicken; I'd forgotten it's a lot leaner. Tastier, too. And I know it had a good healthy life before it ended up in my freezer!

Haven't had the pigs processed yet and they are getting huge. I'll be able to ride them to the slaughter house before long. LOL Spare Rib is close to 300lbs and Pork Chop is not far behind.

We plan to sell some of the chicks. All of the game chicks and some of the big stock. But I am also hatching some big stock to replace some of my hens next year.

Can't remember the last time I ate a home grown chicken. They do taste much better.

I don't think I've seen any sun in over a week and it's really starting to take a toll on my nerves.

I did get outside a couple of afternoons in the past week to do some work. A few days ago, I cut back the aspargus stems from last fall and a bunch of tall dead weeds. Hopefully, I can keep on top of the weeds this year. Yesterday, I dug up and transplanted four 5' Pussy Willow trees. Sure ache this morning, a reminder that there are muscles in there somewhere.

What should I do about my seedlings in the house? Break down and run an extention cord and heater to the greenhouse or leave them in the house? About 50 of the tomatoes are 12 -15" tall and about 2 dozen pepper plants 6-8" tall in 16 oz solo cups but they are all standing straight up and have pretty thick stems. They're sitting in front of south facing windows and I run an oscillationg fan on them 2-3 hours a day. They seem pretty healthy, but I'm wondering if the tomatoes need to be potted up to 1 gal pots. Our last avg frost date is April 10-15. I am fixing to order a roll of row cover and plan on planting some of these in the garden early April with row cover and if need be, a plastic sheet over that at night. Any thoughts?

I haven't ever had fresh chicken. We thought about butchering one bunch we had, when they turned out to be all roosters, but I decided I wasn't up to that yet. So much to learn in the way of homesteading.

Wow, did you get a jump on the season or what?! I use wallo waters to get my tomatoes out early, but 50 of 'em plus is a pretty expensive proposition. The row cover (what weight? is it a frost blanket or just an insect barrier?) and plastic might help, especially if you add jugs filled with water, stones, etc to absorb some heat during the day to release at night.

Definitely wouldn't put them all out, hold some back in case the frost hits you. Pot up, for sure.

Sounds like you may need to get the tomatoes and peppers into larger pots before they get leggy on you. Might also consider adjusting your timing so they’re ready to go in the ground by your last freeze date instead of a month early. Would be a shame for that hard work to go to waste.

I’m just the opposite by being late most of the time.lol

I never imagined they would grow this big, this soon. I think the row cover was suitable for both frost and insects. Have to find the link again. I have about 20 black painted gal milk jugs in the greenhouse now, with a few more that I could paint. I also have plenty of 1 gal pots full of last year's compost that I could pot the biggest ones in and just move those to the greenhouse. For the most part, our temps are safe to put them in the unheated greenhouse, except for a couple of nights in a week when lows are predicted at 30 and 28. For the last week our lows have been in the mid 40's and I've got an extra layer of plastic inside the greenhouse, in addition to a plastic tent in the center over a compost bin, which seems to holding temps well. On totally overcast days when outside temps are in the 40's, the tent temp is 70-80*. Guess I should go out and check it before daylight some morning.

Cajun, good to hear about Glory!

Lizards, I know, but I couldn't help myself. I'm doing my first CSA this year, and I got carried away starting seeds. My previous years seeding attempts have generally failed miserably, so thought I'd start a little earlier, so I had time to reseed if neccessary.

I think you may have gotten it right this time LOL.

Oh yeah... feast or famine.

LOL!

BTW, since my overzealousness is already apparrent, I did an experiment in January, and started three 72 call trays of broccoli in the greenhouse. Has done absolutely nothing until today. Looks like about half of them have germinated. Need I mention that I started 2 more trays 3 weeks ago and nothing was happening, so when I saw some 9 packs of plants that actually had 12 plants each, I bought 3 two days ago. I MIGHT get enough size difference between the two sets of seeded trays, plus these 4-6" plants to have succession plantings. But that sure is going be a lot of broccoli!

This message was edited Mar 17, 2010 4:20 PM

Hope you have a large freezer. (grin)

Large freezer or lots of CSA sales! Sounds like a promising season in the garden. One thing that will generate a bit of extra heat in the GH is buckets of hot (decomposing) manure. A friend covers the floor of his with chicken manure and it works all winter in this zone. Helps keep us riffraff out of it too. lol

I'm counting on having enough CSA members. :)

In January, I put a compost bin with no manure surrounded by 5 gal buckets in the greenhouse with a tent of plastic draped around it. The purpose of my experiments was to see what different vegetables did without auxillary heat. Next winter I'll try the buckets of just manure.

Did you notice any appreciable temp change in the GH with the compost added? I found to monitor the temp, I bought a cheap $10 thermometer with a remote sensor from WM. I put the remote in the GH and I can keep an eye on it day or night without leaving the house.

Podster, the greenhouse is too far from the house to use the remote sensor that we have. I need to get one with a longer range. I have a thermometer in the greenhouse and another one inside the tent, plus one in the compost bin which is inside the tent. I know the bin was too small. It's like 24" across the top and 24" deep. I also had additional sheet plastic draped loosely between the frame and outter covering to create an air pocket. Here's some temps from colder days:

Date..Time.. .OutsideTemp..inGHtemp..TentTemp..CompostTemp
11/20..6 am...32*..dawn.......40*...........70*............100*..............
11/26..7 am...30*..sunny......42*...........65*.............96*................
12/05..7 am...20*..sunny......32............60*.............70*................
1/04....3 pm...25*..sunny......50*...........70*.............60*................
1/18....9 am...31*..freezefog.40............64*.............70*................
2/14....4 pm...31...overcast..46*...........60*.............65*................
3/08....7am....41...sunny.......58............72..............65.................

I never did go out in the predawn hours to check temps, nor the mornings when it was below 20*. It's obvious the tented compost helped considerably. I didn't add any maure till February, but it never did heat up properly. I did lose the tomato seedlings in the buckets around the compost bin in early December when we had 4-5 days in row 20* or lower. I think there's a lot of potential here, just have to work out some details. Like get the compost working right, maybe putting plastic and cardboard down under the compost bin and buckets. If you have any ideas, feel free to throw them out here. I just have a hard time spending the money to heat the greenhouse.

That is interesting to see the temp readings. I understand on spending money on heating it. I used a wood burning box heater (wood is plentiful here) but the temp swings were varied as I am not here to tend to it full time. Kept it above freezing and nothing suffered. Seedlings would not have sprouted or survived tho. I will be interested in following your ideas and progress.

I had read all of Elliot Coleman's books last fall, paying close attention to his method of winter harvesting. One thing he said was for every layer between outside and inside amounts to 1 1/2 zones difference. So I was testing that theory, to see if there is anything besides greens and root crops that can survive winters in an unheated greenhouse. I'll get my fall crops started much sooner and see how long I can carry them this next winter in the greenhouse. If my little compost bin consistantly holds 65-75*, I think if I had a tomato in one and a cucumber in another under the tent, they might last longer than my little tomato seedlings did in buckets next to the compost bin this year. They won't grow over the winter, but may hold fruits well, as plants come to a standstill during the shorter days of winter.

Jay, you read these books, too, didn't you? I remember you made reference to his winter harvesting.

Well, I didn't get my potatoes planted today, but I got a 20' bed with 4 rows planted with onions. One step at a time....

Ok, my sometimers must be acting up again. What is “CSA”?

Robin, what did you use to make your compost? I notice the temp stayed up for you for quite some time, and that's what I've been having a problem with. My temp spikes and then drops over about 3 weeks. I'm looking for the magic recipe to keep my stock tanks thawed over the winter...

I have read Coleman's books, but didn't get anything done in the way of winter gardening this last year. I decided I wanted a season off. And I've got to get another rain water collection system or two set up before things get much farther along... my well water is so high in calcium it leaves a white crust on the soil after a month of watering. Ugh.

I seeded some stuff in Feb. in the high tunnel, but things are slow in coming up out there. I've been noting the order of succession, though.... lettuce first, then chard, onions, spinach, finally the mache which Coleman swears by, now carrots and the first kale is finally poking its head up. I've been putting doubled insect barrier over at night, but we've had such a grey spring, the soil has been slow in heating up, I think.

Well. I had illusions of getting an early start! At 9 it was 48 and sunny. Went out and opened the greenhouse for ventilation. Then went to get the garden tractor out, so I could hook up the wagon to haul some stuff around and it was out of gas. So had to run up the road to fill the gas can. Guess I ought to be grateful I got it back in the shed before it ran out of gas.

I was pretty pleased with the consistant compost temps. I put in several layers of 2-3" of partially dried cut grass (which is actually hay) with an inch or two of garden soil on top, then added a medium size bowl of vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and tea bags once a week, stirred it in and watered ocassionally. I read that if the pile isn't heating up, it needs to be stirred, or more water or greens added. None of which made much difference. I added both a couple of shovefuls of reasonably fresh cow manure and some small clumps of green weeds with soil attached last month, stirred it in, added more water, and still very little change. Maybe my bin was just too small.

My GH is too small to plant anything in the ground, so I used some dishpans with drain holes to start carrots, beets, lettuce, radishes and green oinions back in November. They initially came up to about 1", but when it turned cold (and shorter days?), they just quit growing. They are growing now, though.

According to Coleman, these need to be started in late July and early August, so that come winter, you are just harvesting. They'll take the frost and look really bad first thing in the morning, but a few hours later will look fresh as can be. Must know what he's talking about, because his biggest selling seasons are early winter and early spring. But, of course, I had to find out for myself. LOL!

I have two white 80-90 gal tubs of water in the corners of my GH. They did have a few inches of ice on top for a couple of weeks. (Two identical tubs outside were mostly frozen solid) The 1 gal water filled milk jugs that I painted black lining the south wall I don't think ever froze. If they did, they thawed out quickly, before I got out there.

We've not had any stock over the winter yet, to be concerned about keeping their water thawed. Hope you can get some ideas from my trials to figure out a way.

So you mixed your compost periodically? Or did you just make it up in November and it maintained the 65-70 temps all winter with no stirring?

Time to get out the mousetraps... something tiny ate some of my bokchoy.

Got a couple of self-watering buckets made for my friend today... put broccoli in 'em. And the corned beef is in the slow cooker... I know, I know, St. Paddy's day was yesterday, but I went into Santa Fe in the afternoon. Close counts, doesn't it? =0)


This message was edited Mar 18, 2010 11:35 AM

Yep, close counts. ;)

I didn't stir it thoroughly Nov thru mid Jan. I pulled back several inches of the top grass clippings, made a depression with the trowel, dumped my stuff in and stirred a little right in the center just to spread the new stuff out, then laid the top layer back down. Forgot to say we also had lots of egg shells that went out in the bowl, too.

I stirred it well several times since mid to late January just because I knew it should be hotter. I though the stuff I was adding should have helped heat it up.

Lizard, I forgot to answer your question. CSA stands for community supported agriculture. Members pay up front for a box of fresh produce that will be delivered to a central location once a week for a set number of weeks.

Thanks. Knew I had heard it before, just couldn't remember what it meant.

Our manure pile at the old barn stayed hot. We never stirred it, just kept adding to the top. It always had smoke coming from it. It was just sawdust and manure. That's what I added to my beds last year and year before. Grows stuff like crazy and as black as can be. That's what I'm using this year because I brought it with me in feed sacks. LOL

I wonder if just putting it in a 55 gal plastic drum in the center of the greenhouse would put out enough heat?

Wish I could help but I only have experience with "the pile". LOL

Just something to think about “O” Compost Warriors but you may want to rethink the compost poop in an airtight space. Once you start adding poop to the mix you may start generating some methane gas. I know pig poop puts off a lot of it and there have been several incidents where people were over come with the gas and died. It’s also very explosive so a build up in a tight green house could result in a big boom or an ill-timed death.

I may not know what I’m talking about here either but thought I would pass the idea along just in case it is something to worry about.

Hmmm,...well, that thought never occurred to me. Guess it's a good thing I never took the little kerosene lantern out there to see if it would help keep the temps up a bit, like I kept thinking about doing. Back to the drawing board.

My tunnel is far from air tight in any case... LOL
It would be interesting to know how much methane horse manure produces... my nose tells me not much.

My manure pile doesn't stay hot... probably because it tends to just dry out. I'd have to keep it watered... oh, but the manure pile in the bin didn't stay hot for me last year. Remember that experiment?

But yes, it does make loverly compost, cold or hot. My veggie garden is proof of that! =0)

You might want to look into it before you scrap the idea. Like I said, I don’t know that much about it but thought it worth passing along just in case.

Jayryunen ~ just researching one of my seed books and found it has a section on vegetable seed starting and on the Allium family it said

Woke up to sunshine and 36* this morning. But it's suppose to be 65-70* today, so should get lots more done outside.

Yesterday I moved 3 Forsythia bushes that were too close to the garden pond and still have the Butterfly Bush to move today. They are still dormant, so they should survive. Also, finally filled in my tire tracks from getting stuck over the winter....a constant reminder of my stupidity. :(

Today, I'm planning on doing what little cleanup needs to be done in the perrenial garden, then planting the rest of the potatoes and onions in some empty rows. I had planned 8 blocks in the new garden space for potatoes and onions, but the neighbor farmer hasn't done the second pass through yet. Expect he'll be here this afternoon, but it'll take me at least a week to get the wide rows marked off and just the 8 blocks prepared.

Hope everyone has a great day!