Our Bit of Dirt

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Free Tomatoes!

42 free all different types mostly Heirloom Tomatoes!

18 planted gently and perfectly in their own water wells on one side of the bean trellis.

The last 24 I will need to go back and dig better water wells around half of them!
As we dug all 42 in one day we were sore and burnt!

However 24 hours after planting and they all look fantastic!

The varieties are a bit of everything, cooking, slicing and cherry/grapes.

My husband saw a post stating that a lady across the valley was giving away a few hundred extra she'd grown and wanted them to go to the people in our Homesteading group.
Even though it was late when we saw the post we asked if they were still available,
a quick yes and off we drove!
She was FANTASTIC!
Even though we needed to use a flashlight to see, she still took the time to find me some really great and fun types!
Have I mentioned how much I love Homesteading people?
Great people!

My husband had all but given up hope on growing tomatoes this year.
My old post about planting our tomatoes ran into two massive snags.
Snow and freezing temps - TWICE after we planted them!

Here's a larger photo showing off this section of the garden.
Soon I need to do a video tour of our Urban Homestead and map it.
Two maps would be best - current and future plans.

Adding mapping and videoing to my to do list!

Monday, June 5, 2017

Homesteading, What, Why & How

Homesteading, Urban Homesteading & Smallholding

What is it exactly?

What started out a various land programs across the globe changed into a terminology of a group of people who share similar passions.

I couldn't find ONE photo that encompassed everything to me that Homesteading means.
My kitchen garden is as close as it gets!
The cinder blocks we got from a neighbor.
We bought in a load of composted dirt for the garden bed.
It shows companion planting - my dill and garlic.
Also shows that we are using what would have been wasted driveway space by creating a garden bed on top of it.
In the background is our new brick wall - the 570 free bricks we got last week.

Homestead blunt concrete def.

Homesteading/Urban Homesteading ect

Smallholding

How do you know that you are a Homesteader?

My journey into Homesteading isn't where you would think it might start,
mine started almost 13 years ago in the middle of a Walmart aisle.

My daughter was only a few months old and we were going camping with family and friends.
I'd gone to the store to get a few needed baby supplies along with bug repellent and sun screen.

Standing in the aisle starring at all the really strong sprays and chemicals that would "protect" my child. I couldn't get past watching my daughter rub her eyes, thinking how anything I put on her face or hands would end up in her eyes and mouth.

I couldn't do it.

Walking away empty handed was both freeing and terrifying!
I'd made a choice but now what?!
I still wanted something to keep mosquitoes from eating my baby!

Thankfully I found a simple mix of Clove Oil and water.
As my children grew I found more oils to add in.

Normal Homesteading mixes gardening & raising animals.
Each is area specific.
Many are like I am - chemical free.
No poisons, no pesticides, no antibiotics.
Homesteaders generally build rather than buy.
Free, Sale, Deal, Barter and Trade are happy key words.
Sewing, creating, crafting, cooking, preserving, wood working are fun things to do or learn.

Some Homesteaders focus on one area and everything revolves around it.
If they were pig farmers, they might raise crops, spaces and other animals that all go well with pigs.
Others (like me) branch out.
Homesteading you might start out simply trying to freeze and can a few things from your garden, next your making laundry soap and are looking into building a beehive, aquaponics, greenhouse or duck pond and you have no idea when that slippery slope started.
You dry herbs, milk goats and have fruit trees and look at every fence like a possibility of a new place to add grapes or berries of some sort.
Many Homesteaders go "green" or "off grid",
saving money and removing a dependency.
Saving seeds for the next year.

Homesteading no longer means you NEED to have a massive area of land.
Our small space has two small gardens on the driveway, three fruit trees, 5 grapes, 5 raspberries, 4 blackberries, 48 tomato plants, watermelons, zucchini, peas, beans, garlic, spinach, lettuce, carrots, onions, dill and mint.
Not to mention the rabbits & chickens and the large compost pile they help create.
We are also getting ready to add in a small duck pond, beehive and greenhouse.

The best part of joining the Homesteading movement toward self sufficiency is it doesn't matter if you're a young mom in grocery store taking her first step, or if you have 20 acres and all the farm animals, garden & eco friendly devices on the planet both are Homesteaders.
So far I've found the Homesteading world to be filled with amazing people!
Sharing people - knowledge, plants, & know how.

Did I cover everything?
Not even close!
Homesteading is so big and encompassing it can seem daunting but the best part is everyone starts the same way - one small step, one small choice and the rest is history!

Sunday, June 4, 2017

Using the Fence

I'm not at a full Potager Garden and very much doubt my space will ever be that tidy.
However it does utilize every bit of space - like using fences.
Currently we are trying to use 3 of our fences and once we've replaced the front we will work on putting the new front fence to good use.
This middle yard fence separates the common yard around the house from our back upper garden.
Our back side garden fence has raspberries and grapes started along it.
The chicken fencing we just planted new seedless Concorde Grapes so it will be a while until they really start to fill the space.
Hence no photos of them to brag about yet.

However when we moved in there was 1 established old grape vine in a very sad state. Three years ago to improve its health we did a cut back.
That's where you cut the grape all the way back to its main root and allow it to send out new healthy shoots.
As you can see from the photos that grape is now going strong.

Grapes on the left (of the top photo),
growing up and over the arch.
Soon we will be adding a roof over the rabbit play yard,

at which time we will continue to vine them up and over.

Grapes from the other side of the fence growing up the trellis.

On the right side are my lovely blackberry bushes.

This is only their second year and only 4 plants already they
are roughly 4 feet tall, bushy, and full of blackberries!

Each year we add something more, something permanent, something lasting.
I may have a small space but for the moment I feel like we are trying to use every tiny bit!
What we aren't currently using, we are planning to use!
Can't wait to get started on some of our larger summer projects!

Saturday, June 3, 2017

Garden Spring Issues

Blackberries!

Love that I already have a load of blackberries starting to grow!

Note the pale color of the leaves with the dark veins
The pale color is most likely because our soil is too alkaline.
The dark streaks are from my grandmothers treatment
(proven 100% effective)
of pouring coffee & coffee grinds on them.

With in a day the bottom of the plants were back to the beautiful dark green,

while the top parts have the strange streaks occurring.
Thankfully (for my plants)
I'm a coffee addict!
Soon the whole plant will be back to its dark green lush self!

Also my lovely Stanley Plum that we just planted started to come in with curled leaves.
Which is a sure sign of aphid infection.
Sad to say this plant most likely came infected from the store I bought it.
So we bought and night released 1500 Ladybugs onto the Plum, surrounding trees, berry plants and my mint garden.
I want as many of the lovely darling to take up residence in my yard full time as possible.

This fall we will treat the leaves with an insecticide soap.
If new leaves continue to grow in curled we will need to move up the treatments - soaps, neem oil ect.

However, I'm really praying my ladybugs are hungry and solve the problem.

Note: all currently curled leaves will not magically uncurl.
Thankfully my tree is small and half its leaves are healthy and beautiful

we just want to nip this in the bud (gardening pun)

as quickly as we can.

So the Ladybugs ate and ate and ate, then only two were left after 48 hours.
There were still bugs and larva on my Plum.
Phase two yesterday morning involved soaping my tree's.
Recipe link HERE

This really worked but will need to be reapplied OFTEN.
I also soaped my other two tree's to keep the aphid infection from spreading.
Will keep you posted on how new leaves form when they arrive on my plum.

Also due to this crazy wet springtime the mosquitoes are taking over the world!

Okay, maybe not the world, but definitely the Salt Lake Valley!
Its so bad that in the 20 minutes it took us to release the Ladybugs

I got 7 bites and my husband 5!
Its getting hard to garden in the morning or evening due to the mosquitoes!

We are even thinking of building and putting in a bat house!

Long live hungry bats!

Eat the mosquitoes!