Garden Update

Now that the garden has been in for a little while I thought I'd give you guys an update. So far just about everything is doing well. We actually have a few tomatoes  and more blooms are coming out everyday. The romaine lettuce is doing pretty well as you can see.

Here is a picture of one of the marigold flowers.

There are four raised beds that we have planted. We have one more that I think we are going to use to experiment with growing corn. The zucchini and bell peppers have started putting out flowers as well so hopefully we will see something developing there as well.

The potatoes are going crazy! They have popped up all over the place and growing by leaps and bounds. Before much longer I will have to add some dirt to them so they can keep going.

The Potato Bed

I planted some garlic about a week ago and it's coming up already. We have some more that can be planted by we may wait and do that as a fall crop. As the garden continues to grow I'll put up some new pics so you can see the progress. Hopefully our chicks will be here tomorrow. I'll post some pics of them soon so you can see how the little fuzz balls are doing!

TPH Episode 22

Welcome back Homesteaders! This is going to be the first of a 4 episode series centering around the elements and a mundane activity that may help us to develop our relationship with that element. Today's element is water and we will look at rain water harvesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGFDlkJOdaM

http://www.save-the-rain.com/world-bank/

Formula for finding amount of rainwater from a roof:

Multiply the square footage of roof space x 0.6 gallons per square foot per inch of rain.

Not So Creepy Critter

Ambush Bug

The Wonderful World of Poo!

And no, I'm not talking about Winnie the Pooh.

Before we ever moved here we had discussed getting a composting toilet. I had looked into the commercially available toilets and thought that was what we would end up getting. I liked the idea that the compost bin only needed to be emptied once or twice a year but I knew the cost would keep us from getting one for a while. Once we decided to move here, I knew that we had to come up with another solution that would be much more affordable since we wouldn't have running water for a while. That's when we started to seriously look at sawdust toilets.

For the last several months we have used a sawdust toilet but we had been placing a bag into the bucket and disposing of the bag. A few months ago I finally finished reading The Humanure Handbook and we were inspired to get to work on our humanure composting bin. Using some scavenged lumber, my husband has gotten one bin completed.

And yes, the posts on the left are taller on purpose. Eventually there will be three bins total. The next one to be built is the center bin which will have a roof over it. Hence the taller posts. This bin will store the hay and probably the sawdust as well. The hay is used to cover the humanure so there is no odor. The third bin won't be used for about a year. Deposits will be placed in the first bin for a year and then we will switch to the other bin. The first one will be left to age for a year and then we should have some rich compost that can be used in the garden.

 We also dug a hole in the bin and filled it with about 12-18 inches of hay. This forms a biosponge that will absorb liquid and help keep it from running off. We have only been using this for about a month but so far it is working very well. Our clothes line is pretty close to the bin and I have never smelled anything while back there.

The hole before we added the hay

Once there is a roof on the center bin, we will add some guttering that will lead to a rain barrel. This will collect rain water that can be used to clean the buckets every time they are emptied. Overall it is a pretty efficient system and not very hard to manage. We have decided that we will continue to use this system even after we finally get running water. Eventually, I want to build a nice box to encase the bucket so it looks a little prettier and not so obvious.

If you would like to see a well established system, check out this You Tube video. If you do a search I'm sure you will find more. I'm also providing the link to The Humanure Handbook website.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZTZTVv6kYs

http://humanurehandbook.com/














If you're thinking about a composting toilet don't discount a sawdust toilet. You may find it's your best choice after all!

TPH Episode 21

Today you will be treated to a topic that you won't hear on any other Pagan podcast. We're going to talk about humanure! That's right, we're going to talk about how to deal with our own waste safely and sustainably!

http://humanurehandbook.com/

The Humanure Handbook by Joseph Jenkins

News headlines

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/it%E2%80%99s-official-china-will-be-dumping-us-dollars

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-18/china-crops-in-short-supply-as-fewer-farms-spur-food-futures.html

http://www.businessinsider.com/24-signs-of-economic-decline-in-america-2011-4

http://www.cnbc.com/id/42704213 Killer Combo Gas, Food

http://www.cnbc.com/id/42703813 Weak Dollar

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/8466286/Buddhist-Economics-More-love-and-bikes.html

TPH Episode 20

Welcome to Episode 20! Today I am going to give you some spring cleaning recipes to help you make your home cleaner and healthier! Today's ancestral animal is the Rhode Island Red chicken and the usual Gardening by the Moon.

Song

Danbury Fair by Dave King

Main Topic

 

Ancestral Animals

The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, Box 477, Pittsboro, NC 27312, (919) 542-5704, albc@albc-usa.org,www.albc-usa.org

American Poultry Association, PO Box 306, Burgettstown, PA 15021, secretaryapa@yahoo.com, www.amerpoultryassn.com

Society for the Preservation of Poultry Antiquities, Dr. Charles R.H. Everett, Secretary, 122 Magnolia Lane, Lugoff, SC, 29078,  crheverett@bellsouth.net

http://paganpodkin.webs.com/

News Links

http://www.businessinsider.com/systemic-risk-banks-nyu-2011-4  Banks at risk

http://www.liveoilprices.co.uk/oil/oil_prices/04/2011/wti-oil-trading-over-111-imf-joins-the-peak-oilers-party.html   Oil prices and Peak Oil

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-09/u-s-stocks-drop-as-oil-s-jump-spurs-concern-economy-will-stall.html

http://www.alternet.org/economy/1504
/wall_st._stands_at_the_pinnacle_of_5,000_years_of_human_exploitation/

http://truthout.org/millions-without-power-after-japan-aftershock/1302238800

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110409003461.htm

http://www.cnbc.com/id/42455257

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-08/toyota-n-a-vehicle-plants-suspended-april-15-18-21-22-25.html

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/system-based-lies-why-would-you-believe-numbers

http://www.businessinsider.com/saudi-arabia-oil-consumption-trends-2011-4

http://www.businessinsider.com/oil-price-economy-2011-4

http://www.businessinsider.com/clsas-chris-wood-on-us-sovereign-debt-crisis-2011-4

http://www.businessinsider.com/water-use-of-foods-2011-4

http://www.cnbc.com/id/42479791  Toxic Dollar

http://www.thewhir.com/web-hosting-news/040811_Japan_Energy_Shortage_Could_Affect_Data_Center_Uptime_in_Summer