Our Blueberries are Loaded

When we started our blueberries we didn't have much success because they always looked sickly and didn't produce.  We found that digging decomposed pine needles into the ground around the plants help them by raising the acidic level.  Every time we go hiking or camping we bring back three or four plastic shopping bags of the dirt from around the base of pine and fir trees.  Sulfur will work also but we like using the pine needles.  And the blueberries have been doing very well.

One of our blueberry bushes

There is a big difference in fertilizers.

We inadvertently performed a little test on which fertilizers are better; chemical fertilizer, a little horse manure, or a lot of horse manure.
Our adult son works at a fertilizer co-op that supplies the potato farmers around here with chemical fertilizer, and he put it on two rows of his corn.
We planted some corn with 4 inches of manure tilled in.  And our 11 year old son planted his corn on what was a pile of manure tilled in.
Our 11 year old's grew the tallest.  The corn we planted in 4 inches was the next tallest.  And the corn that was fertilized with chemical fertilizer was half as tall.

Corn in the garden

Corn near the grapes

Brick Heat-Sink Greenhouse Walkway

Down the center of the greenhouse floor is a walkway of bricks.  We were able to get the bricks at no cost, so we used 12” bricks.  But, any type of material that will absorb heat from sunlight and serve as a walkway will work.  The walkway is set in sand and is insulated on the sides and underneath with a layer of plastic sheet.  The walkway is intended as a heat sink which absorbs heat during the day, and releases heat into the greenhouse at night.  This helps to keep the temperature inside just above freezing.  This brick heat sink makes a big difference in plant survival when the outside night time temperature gets very cold.  The plastic sheeting is a barrier underneath, which insulates the bricks from the ground in order to reduce the heat absorbed by the bricks from bleeding into the ground, instead of radiating into the interior.  Between the walkway and the front (South) wall and back (North) wall, are the planting beds.
The picture in the picture shows the brick walkway.  The procedure for putting in the walkway is as follows.  Two 2 x 4s are leveled with a bubble level on the sides of the walkway area.  Then a leveling board shown at the top of the picture rides on the 2 x 4 s, and levels the sand in between them, which the bricks will sit on.  But, first the plastic is laid down on top of the sand and the bricks sit on top of the plastic barrier.

Before the brick is started, a design for the walkway should be decided.  This walkway is just a simple alternating brick design.  The first bricks in the first, third, and fifth rows should be cut in half, so that the rows have alternating seams.  A circular saw with an abrasive blade, or diamond impregnated blade can easily be used to cut the bricks.  The brick walk is stopped two feet from the opposite wall, which will leave enough space at the end of the walkway for planting.
 
To extend the growing season as much as possible, we grow many things in our greenhouses and are able to get more crop rotations every year.  We are also able to start the vegetables for the garden earlier and plant the seedlings when they are older, which helps the garden vegetables reach maturity before the growing season is over.  By using the greenhouses to extend the growing season, so that it starts earlier and ends later, we can eat fresh vegetables over a much longer period of time.  This greatly reduces the amount of food that we have to preserve in order to have it throughout the rest of the year.

Brick Walkway for Greenhouses

Keeping Mice and Voles Out of the Greenhouse

      Rodents can cause serious problems if they can get inside a greenhouse.  In the spring it is fun to watch as tender shoots start to stick up through the ground in the greenhouse.  It is no fun to walk in to see how big they are getting, and discover that they have all been eaten.
      Rodents such as voles and mice are able to get into the greenhouses by digging under the walls and eating the vegetables unless there is some way to seal off the interior.
Our solution to this problem was to construct a barrier around the inside perimeter of the greenhouses below the ground surface.
      Along the interior perimeter 60 feet of 10 inch wide sheet metal construction flashing is buried, and screwed onto the ground-level pressure-treated wood 2” x 4”s or plate, which are at the bottom of every wall.
This is illustrated in the picture below.  Putting in this underground barrier helps prevent the mice and voles from digging under the walls and eating the plants.  It is important to make sure that the metal touches the wood.  If there is a wrinkle in the metal that allows a gap of even ¼ of an inch wide, it will need to be closed so that the voles won’t squeeze through the opening.  And, if all else fails use mouse traps.
This is an excerpt from our e-book 'Greenhouse Growing and Construction: How We Do It' which can be purchased and includes all of the details of how we construct them and how we use them to grow all of our vegetables.  http://selfsufficiencyhowwedoit.com

Sheet Metal Barrier

Self Sufficiency: Cutting Firewood

We cut our own firewood to heat with, even though we have propane heat if we need it.  Every year July 1st we stop by the forestry office and pick up firewood cutting permits.  We use about 7 cords of wood through the winter, give or take.  This year because we have a couple of cords left we are cutting 6 cords.  We try to get up into the mountains as soon after July 1st as possible, so we can get our cutting done before the downed or dead trees are taken, which are closest to the sides of the roads.  Many times we are the only people cutting their wood, because most people wait until the last few weeks of cutting season to start.  We cut our first cord today.  Below, Nick limbs some of the wood, and stacks some in the truck.  Becky is blocking wood with a chainsaw.

How we plant in our greenhouses.

Around January, it is necessary to make plans for what is going to be planted in the greenhouses and approximately when it will be planted (we also use a calendar).  Otherwise, plantings won’t be planted on time and then the rest of the vegetable rotations will be thrown off as a result.  What we do is make a map of the vegetables that will be planted as illustrated in the two figures below.  Some of the plantings in the greenhouses will be permanent such as the grapes, asparagus, and a Pix-Zee Peach, but some vegetables will be planted in the spring, and then in the same spot others will be planted in the fall.  We also plant some Marigolds in the greenhouses in order to attract bees to the inside so they will pollinate the vegetable blossoms.  Some of this is an excerpt taken from our e-book 'Greenhouse Growing and Construction: How We Do It.'  http://selfsufficiencyhowwedoit.com  We also map out our outdoor garden.

Planting Map Greenhouse #2

Planting Map Greenhouse #3

Orchard, Grapes, and Greenhouses

It is amazing the contrast between winter and summer here.  We have a very short growing season so everything (including weeds) seems to explode into green, in a very short amount of time, in order to make the most of it.  So, all of a sudden we are very busy.

Below is our house in the winter, our house this morning, and our orchard looking toward the house and greenhouses.

http://selfsufficiencyhowwedoit.com