tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50000603370692387042012-02-26T11:15:52.760-05:00Labyrinth FarmWe are jumping on the sustainability band wagon and trying our hands at growing some of our own food. Neither of us has ever done much in the way of vegetable gardening, so this is a real experiment.
The name of this endeavor came from the <a href="http://mebanelabyrinth.blogspot.com/">meditation labyrinth</a> it shares space with.Kittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07529961044790691589noreply@blogger.comBlogger341100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5000060337069238704.post-77709567131669706732012-02-12T10:13:00.001-05:002012-02-12T10:13:24.472-05:00Trapping out beesI found an interesting blog post this morning. Don't know that we'll ever need this information, but I'm saving it here, just in case.
Trapping out bees in a cinder block wall.Kittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07529961044790691589noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5000060337069238704.post-25081523231328370322012-02-09T16:45:00.000-05:002012-02-26T10:51:05.678-05:00Hives 2.0This is in response to a request for more detailed photos of the features of the hives.
This is the feeder that came with it that is designed to be used inside the hive. Contemplating an outside feeder as well to cut down on disturbing the bees to change out the jars.
It comes with a screen bottom and removable bottom board that can be oiled up for mite counting.
This shows the chuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08680659616511968245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5000060337069238704.post-6577849195296035602012-02-06T15:41:00.000-05:002012-02-26T10:51:19.200-05:00HivesI drove to Julian, NC on Saturday and picked up our two top bar hives from Bill at The Garden Hive.
I had shopped around and liked the idea of buying from a local builder and we didn't have to pay shipping costs. I considered building my own, but my carpentry skills are quite limited, as are my tools.
We are in the minority in our area as far a preferring the top bar versus the chuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08680659616511968245noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5000060337069238704.post-15134535074307002602012-02-04T10:35:00.001-05:002012-02-04T10:35:17.580-05:00:-)
Free range eggs, chives and thyme from the pots on the porch and oyster mushrooms from the box!
The only part of breakfast that had to travel far was the coffee.Kittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07529961044790691589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5000060337069238704.post-82035898096374841402012-02-03T08:08:00.000-05:002012-02-03T08:08:05.496-05:00I think it's harvest time.
I've posted the pictures as much to remember how long it takes for them to develop as to show off.Kittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07529961044790691589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5000060337069238704.post-23545316478949302442012-02-01T07:55:00.003-05:002012-02-01T07:56:27.858-05:00
I may never get used to how fast mushrooms grow. They do nothing, nothing, nothing and then you can practically see them growing. This is the difference in 2 days!Kittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07529961044790691589noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5000060337069238704.post-83824006837841417532012-01-30T10:42:00.000-05:002012-01-30T10:47:52.936-05:00Mushrooms!One night in December, we found mushroom kits for sale at Weaver Street Market. For $20, it just wasn't possible for me not to get one.
This has been a very strange learning experience.
You cut a cross in the plastic bag and then soak the brick over night in a bucket of water. After that, you mist it a couple of times a day with a little spray bottle that is included in the box. It Kittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07529961044790691589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5000060337069238704.post-8327328861109896142012-01-29T09:00:00.000-05:002012-01-30T20:08:00.293-05:00BzzzzzzzzzzzzWe went to a workshop in Pittsboro, yesterday. It was about Natural Beekeeping.
After we got home, it seemed we were inundated by articles about pesticides and how they are compromising the immune systems of bees. Not killing them outright, just making it easier for other things to do the job.
First, this:
Bee Aware from Greg Stanley on Vimeo.
Then, these:
Bee Off in The Economist
Kittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07529961044790691589noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5000060337069238704.post-41353225158339645672012-01-15T19:24:00.000-05:002012-01-15T19:24:02.465-05:00broccoliYes, broccoli in January. I meant to post this picture a week ago right after I took it. There are more plants maturing as well. As usual our garden does not follow any conventional schedule. We have not harvested it yet. Hope for a bigger head before we eat it.
chuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08680659616511968245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5000060337069238704.post-38851522626390821462012-01-15T19:10:00.000-05:002012-01-15T19:10:42.149-05:00We have started Bee SchoolWe started bee school this past Tuesday and ordered 2 colonies on Wednesday. We have decided to go with Warré hives. We're taking a "natural beekeeping" workshop on Jan 28. We intend to do as little actual Keeping as possible. We just want to provide a good place for them to do their own thing, making sure that they are healthy, have water and enough food to get through the winter so that they Kittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07529961044790691589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5000060337069238704.post-39535768335052307032011-12-18T21:10:00.001-05:002011-12-18T21:15:36.766-05:00Honey Plants of the Triangle ChecklistTrees:
Red Maple
Prunus family ( apples, pears, plums, peaches, cherry, etc.)
Crabapple
Redbud
Holly
Tulip poplar
Locust
Sourwood
Chaste tree
Shrubs:
Oregon grape
Flowering Quince
Trifoliate orange
Blueberry
Winter Honeysuckle
Abelia
Hydrangea
Butterfly bush
Caryopteris
Sumac
Perenniels:
Winter aconite
:amium family ( henbit, red)
Dead nettle
Blackberry
Raspberry
Joe Pye weed
Echinacea
SalviasKittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07529961044790691589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5000060337069238704.post-24083988096501676512011-12-03T16:07:00.000-05:002011-12-03T16:07:56.630-05:00Extended Season
The grand experiment with raised bed gardening continues. It's been a while since I posted. The summer veggies were a mixed bag. We had plentiful tomatoes, okra and cantaloupe, but the rest was slim. Put in Fall crop, arugula, three kinds of kale, spinach, red romaine, broccoli, cabbage and others. As usual for us they have been slow to mature, so I built cold frames for all the beds to seechuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08680659616511968245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5000060337069238704.post-63600786954710117552011-09-27T06:24:00.004-04:002011-09-27T10:03:15.568-04:00Also, we have an orchard.In addition to the four raised beds and one in-the-ground bed that we have for vegetables, we have an orchard. Of course, ours isn't a collection of trees in straight rows, but it is an orchard nonetheless. All it takes to be an orchard is 5 fruit trees.
A couple of years ago, I was driving past Southern States and their sign said "Fruit trees in stock now.". It seemed like my car turned in of Kittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07529961044790691589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5000060337069238704.post-37859354520163700702011-08-27T14:45:00.002-04:002011-08-27T14:45:54.398-04:00Affectionate carrotsKittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07529961044790691589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5000060337069238704.post-81136778416100894332011-07-24T11:58:00.000-04:002011-07-24T11:58:49.405-04:00production is happeningWe will have tomatoes if we have nothing else. The plant to the left, and yes it is a single plant, is the volunteer sweet 100 from last summer. It is one of our favorites. It has needed a cage and two stakes to hold it up. We have more of that variety in the bed below along with romas, which have been abundant, and some slicers that have been slow to mature, but are starting to produce in chuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08680659616511968245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5000060337069238704.post-83283739219206513312011-07-10T12:31:00.000-04:002011-07-10T12:31:00.702-04:00StrawberriesIt's curious to me that strawberries are no longer "in season" in NC, but they are still going gangbusters in our beds. There are buds, blossoms and ripening fruits all over the place.
Kittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07529961044790691589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5000060337069238704.post-58201229238340475052011-07-04T16:59:00.003-04:002011-07-04T17:02:51.405-04:00rare sightingI can't remember the last time I saw a praying mantis. This dude just showed up on my office window screen the other morning. Great natural pest control. Go forth and multiply!chuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08680659616511968245noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5000060337069238704.post-87803503169556109022011-06-09T07:40:00.000-04:002012-02-26T11:15:52.768-05:00Beeeeeeeeeeees!We are planning to start a bee hive next year.
Tonight, we go to our first meeting of the Orange County Beekeepers at 306 Revere Road in Hillsborough.
They meet the second Thursday of each month. Except next month. They are skipping July because they/we will all be at the state beekeepers meeting which, very conveniently, will be in Elon this year.
I'm pretty stoked.
When I was a kid, my Kittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07529961044790691589noreply@blogger.com0United States36.109276 -79.221039000000029.728026 -140.48065150000002 62.490526 -17.961426500000016tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5000060337069238704.post-59736671835450159712011-06-02T15:36:00.006-04:002011-06-02T16:03:27.734-04:00June 1st statusI said this was going to be a learning season, but there is still a slight twinge of disappointment with some of the plants so far. The lettuce & greens never did much and the Spring veggies, broc, cabbage & brussel sprouts, the same. I think a couple of things were involved with that. Don't think we got the early stuff in the ground as soon as we should have and I think that more watering waschuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08680659616511968245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5000060337069238704.post-51488165834390826002011-05-28T10:53:00.003-04:002011-05-28T10:57:00.889-04:00More fruit!Thursday night, we went out to admire the beds and move the sprinkler and realized that the cherries were ripe enough to pick and that the net bag had kept the birds off the fruit so there were actually fruit available to pick.
I got the tree two years ago in my fruit tree planting frenzy and this is the first time we've really gotten to taste the produce. They are sour cherries, which means Kittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07529961044790691589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5000060337069238704.post-22948332655159161922011-04-29T13:34:00.001-04:002011-04-29T13:40:11.522-04:00Thy-y-y-yme is on your side. Yes, it is! The Women's Resource Center in Burlington, NC has a fundraising Herb Festival every Spring.
I've been looking forward to the absurd abundance they provide to put a variety of thyme in the front of one of the vegetable beds. I passed up 3 that didn't have enough scent to convince me they'd be any good for cooking.
Left to right, they are Creeping Lemon, English, Foxley (which I"d gotten at the Kittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07529961044790691589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5000060337069238704.post-45295902099705825152011-04-24T15:13:00.002-04:002011-04-24T15:21:10.473-04:00Critter NettingInstalled critter netting today using standard 1" PVC pipe and netting found online specifically designed for farming purposes. The pipe will allow us to use clear plastic in the winter for greenhouse/cold frame growing. I need to get some tent stakes to help anchor it. The wind today is blowing it around a bit.chuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08680659616511968245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5000060337069238704.post-48761235474171870862011-04-23T18:01:00.001-04:002011-04-23T18:07:35.861-04:00Beds are fullFrom the house this is the back left bed. Full of tomatoes. Romas, Sweet 100s and some "heirloom slicing tomatoes" that Liane gave us when they had as many as they could use for Vimala's Curryblossom Café. I planted "French Double Dwarf Mixed Colors" marigold seeds in the holes on the outside edge.
This is the back right bed. Chuck started "Little Marvel" peas, "Red Burgundy" okra and Kittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07529961044790691589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5000060337069238704.post-80879256780515411092011-04-12T18:26:00.000-04:002011-04-12T18:27:40.071-04:00SproutingPeas sprouted yesterday, okra today.chuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08680659616511968245noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5000060337069238704.post-14149558459669206542011-04-11T07:32:00.001-04:002011-04-12T07:54:33.801-04:00We will NOT be mowing between the beds.
Also, rabbits found the strawberries Saturday night. Chuck is working on netting to keep the rabbits out and still let sun and rain in. They haven't gotten to the other stuff, yet.
We intend to stain the blocks to make them a little more attractive, too, if it will stop raining for a few days so they can get dry enough to to that little chore. It's hard to let myself wish for a little dry Kittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07529961044790691589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5000060337069238704.post-33979557005487955782011-04-08T07:38:00.003-04:002011-04-08T07:39:31.448-04:00First fruitKittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07529961044790691589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5000060337069238704.post-7039618061727463162011-04-03T18:22:00.000-04:002011-04-12T18:25:51.692-04:00Planting seedsToday I planted peas, okra, eggplant, basil and cilantro in the raised beds. I also planted cantaloupe seeds in a separate spot for my sweetie who loves the lope.chuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08680659616511968245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5000060337069238704.post-5480477727512009952011-03-21T21:52:00.000-04:002011-03-21T21:52:37.530-04:00Older adult gardeners report enhanced optimism, more physical activity, higher energy levels than nongardenersWant more zest for life? Consider gardening!
COLLEGE STATION, TX—Does gardening contribute to quality of life and increased wellness for older adults? Researchers from the Texas A&M and Texas State Universities asked these questions in a survey of people aged 50 and older. The survey revealed some compelling reasons for older adults to get themselves out in the garden.
Aime Sommerfeld, Jayne Kittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07529961044790691589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5000060337069238704.post-65569619650465146272011-03-20T11:28:00.001-04:002011-03-20T19:31:16.567-04:00The first 2 beds, planted with farmers' market starts
Leaf lettuce and one lonely romaine transplanted from last year's salad garden, Mottistone (red-and-green mottled) lettuce, Panisse (Boston-ish) lettuce, Akarenso spinach, Italian spinach, Winterbore (green) kale, Red Russian kale, Savoyed Leaf "Tyee F1" spinach, sweet basil in the back edge, chives in the corners, parsley in the middle on each side
Early Jersey Wakefield (green) cabbage,Kittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07529961044790691589noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5000060337069238704.post-53700951469117888512011-03-19T19:27:00.000-04:002011-03-19T19:27:28.244-04:00Next stepKittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07529961044790691589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5000060337069238704.post-73274450624918220142011-03-19T19:08:00.002-04:002011-03-20T21:28:56.275-04:00Easy newspaper seedling potsKittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07529961044790691589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5000060337069238704.post-66451080186578942122011-03-16T09:13:00.000-04:002011-03-16T09:16:10.028-04:00compost pile...now mostly in the bedschuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08680659616511968245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5000060337069238704.post-27409993773472669302011-03-13T16:26:00.001-04:002011-03-20T19:10:22.052-04:00Next step
Blocks all stacked, cardboard layer on the bottom, home grown compost scattered around, pine mulch layer spread and watered.
Kittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07529961044790691589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5000060337069238704.post-47801186173248341552011-03-12T17:42:00.001-05:002011-03-12T17:44:05.824-05:00Let the Wild Rumpus begin!!Kittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07529961044790691589noreply@blogger.com0