Indoor Worm Composting: Update!

I've had my Indoor Worm Composting system since February (see first post here) and over the summer I switched from the 5 gallon bucket system to the more common rubbermaid tote system. I found that the materials became dense in the bucket system and I found it difficult to regulate feeding. The tote system seems to have a better surface area ratio which makes the upkeep simpler. 

Once I made the switch to totes, my worm population really took off so I started a second bin (which is currently stacked in my kitchen!) I find it difficult to remove finished vermicompost from an active bin as the uneaten food, bedding, and finished compost is mixed together so I plan on only feeding the new bin. This should allow the worms in the first bin to eat through all available food making harvesting vermicompost easier.   

I have also started a more detailed record keeping system. Each bin has a sheet that details the Bin #, date started, and the initial worm count/type. This sheet also has a place to record the date and amount of vermicompost removed as well as the date and amount of worms removed. A second sheet tracks the inputs for each bin by recording the date, bin #, type and amount of food, as well as type and amount of bedding. I hope this record keeping system will improve my worm wrangling abilities! 

Review: Raising the Home Duck Flock

(Photo from Thriftbooks) 

Next in the 'Modern Guide' saga, is 'Raising the Home Duck Flock' (1978). This book offers a good overview of raising ducks and presents ducks as an viable and easy alternative for the homestead. Ducks seem to have an easy place within a permaculture design as ducks can forage for insects while simultaneously controlling insects in the garden. Ducks require less infrastructure than chickens and can even be raised without a permanent shelter (given the correct conditions). 

This resource presents ducks as an easy and low-maintenance homestead animal and because of this, it feels like this resource is lacking details - especially in the area of problem solving. This could be a deficit in the resource or perhaps - ducks really are a unproblematic homestead resource!

Raising Poultry the Modern Way

Raising Rabbits the Modern Way

Review: Raising Rabbits the Modern Way

Next on our series of 'Modern Way' resources, is the Raising Rabbits the Modern Way which was published in 1975.

(Photo from Thriftbooks)

Overall, this book is a decent resource that I am glad to have on my shelf but it is far from a comprehensive guide to raising rabbits. Some information is down right outdated and the author leads (although less so than in Raising Poultry the Modern Way) towards the adoption of industrial agriculture's mindsets and motivations. Additionally, information regarding pedigree/registered and specific breeds is entirely the author's personal opinion with very little neutral information presented. 

The information regarding choosing your first rabbits is helpful as well as the basic information presented regarding genetics. I also enjoyed the author's ideas regarding a side business making and selling rabbit cages and growing food in your garden for your rabbits. I also like the addition of rabbit recipes. 

   

Review: Raising Poultry the Modern Way

The modern series released by Storey has a good reputation. I grew up with several of the series in our house as well as our neighbour's house and many seem to be classic tomes of agricultural knowledge. With that in mind I ordered a few on thriftbooks.

(Photo from Thriftbooks.)

Sadly this publication from 1983 does not hold up to the reputation of the series. It is a product of its time with the focus on 'bigger is better' through the imitation and replication of industrial agricultural's methods, motivations, and practices. 

The following are some bits of advice that I would never follow: 

Broody behaviour in poultry is uniformly viewed as negative and should be 'broken'.  

To avoid feather picking and cannibalism, chicken combs are cut off with manicure scissors. 

Washing eggs before incubation is advised as a blanket procedure.   

All poultry houses are to have indoor lighting. 

Some of the scientific information on capons, egg hatching, and butchering was acceptable and basic enough to withstand the change in agricultural management. 

The chapter on water fowl was a tiny bit interesting to me as this was the first time I have done any research on water fowl - but I suspect that after a few more resources I will feel the same way about the water fowl chapter as I did the rest of the book. 

Resources: Homesteading Facebook Groups

Grow Your Own Cut Flowers: While this group is set up by a business, it is full of beautiful pictures of cut flowers and is overall a pleasant and helpful group. While advice posts occur, this group is primarily a place to share photos and to get arrangement ideas from others through photos posted.

Red Worm Composting and Vermicomposting - Worm Farming: Both of these groups are open, inviting, and willing to answer both basic and advanced worm composting questions in a friendly and accepting manner. Excellent resources for worm composting.

Market Gardening Success Group: While this group frequently discusses their mandate of being a place for 'professional' market gardening there is some good advice and conversation within this group. If you are new to market gardening or just growing a large garden for personal use I would suggest that you utilise the search function rather than posting for advice.

CSA Farmer Discussion: This group is a decently friendly group for folks running CSAs unfortunately you have to fill out a google form before admins let you join. There are some good discussions and advice regarding running a CSA in this group.

Winter Sowing (Vegetable Gardening with Sheryl Mann) : While my first experiments with winter sowing were not successful, I find this group to be a welcoming introduction to winter sowing.

Tanning, Leather & Fur Crafting: I've been lurking in this group for a while but do not participate very often. It seems to be a fairly welcoming group and there is a plethora of information contained here. I'm a bit overwhelmed at the thought of tanning but it is something I want to get into.

I'm still searching for a good Angora rabbit group that focuses on wool production and a friendly chicken group.

Seed Swapping Basics

After last week's seed saving post, you might come to the realisation that saving seeds often results in a plethora of seeds of the same varietal. This is where the joys of seed swapping enter the equation!

I attended a local seed swap and while packaging seeds for the exchange, discovered that I was having trouble actually selecting seeds to swap. First off, I need back-ups! And then I need back-ups for my back-ups! But more than that I enjoy knowing where my little plant babies are going! I did manage to send a few seeds out into the world (and got a few back!)

#packed #seeds for #seedswap tomorrow #yellowknife #communitygardenAGM Anyone else have a hard time getting rid of seeds? I need a back-up and back-ups for my back-ups. I worked hard to save them! I want to know whose gunna grow my babies!

A post shared by Sarah (@sarahehoffman) on Apr 4, 2017 at 5:04pm PDT

One of the biggest things to know when attending a local seed swap is... Don't be afraid to take seeds! The folks that offered them up for swap want them to go to good gardens - where they will be used!

While I have been attending local seed swaps for many years, this is the first year that I have experimented with online seed swapping. It is fun to negotiate for the specific types of seeds you want but the postage is an added expense. Free Seed Swap is the facebook group I most frequently use.

Seed Saving Basics

Seed saving is the process of reserving and/or collecting plant seeds from the current year's crop to plant as next season's crops. Before the advent of corporate control and the widespread practice of purchasing seeds, seed saving was a vital and necessary part of the agricultural process.

#january is the month of #seed #saving #cleaning #flower #nasturtium

A post shared by Sarah (@sarahehoffman) on Jan 10, 2017 at 12:30pm PST

There are many reasons why seed saving remains an important practice. Seed saving reduces dependency on large corporations and creates agricultural systems which are low input. This is important for cultural independence and to create sustainable agricultural practices. The concept of saving seeds is firmly entrenched in the ideas surrounding food sovereignty, which is the right of people to define their own food systems. Seed saving promotes agricultural biodiversity because seed saving eventually creates strains of plants that are well-suited to your land's individual climate. Seed saving practices can help farmers find varieties of crops that grow better in different regions which becomes especially important when combating the effects of climate change. Seed saving is also an easy, fun, educational and experimental way of being personally connected to the larger seasonal growing cycles.

I managed to save seeds from Nasturtium flowers as well as plenty of bean seeds. These plants are easy as all you have to do is wait! When plants are dried and dead pick off the viable seeds and save in a cool dry place for the next season.

#beans #garden2016 #dried #seed #seedsaving

A post shared by Sarah (@sarahehoffman) on Sep 22, 2016 at 12:58pm PDT

Garbage Garden

I have become obsessed with planting literal garbage.

Sprouting garlic? Planted.
Sprouting onions? Planted!
Carrot tops? Hand me the soil!

While the seeds planted for the garden, get the benefit of grow lights this 'garbage garden' has to make due with the little natural sunlight that Yellowknife in March affords but, all things considered, they are doing pretty well.

I've taken to planting #garbage #onion #garlic #carrottops #spring #waiting

A post shared by Sarah (@sarahehoffman) on Mar 14, 2017 at 9:40am PDT

The end of my coffee table - the closest flat surface to the window - quickly became full of recycled milk containers and DIY newspaper pots filled with plants. I decided to double down on the 'garbage' in the 'garbage garden' and made a quick drip tray of reclaimed pallet wood lined with dog food bags!

My #garbage #garden got a #facelift by way of a #diy #recycled #dog #food #bag #drip #tray. #recycled #upcycle #stillgarbage #lolz

A post shared by Sarah (@sarahehoffman) on Mar 22, 2017 at 11:21am PDT

While not the most beautiful thing I've ever constructed, looking at my 'garbage garden' makes me very happy!

Why plant garbage?
I planted the garlic to eat garlic scapes.
I dream of collecting seeds from the onion bulbs.
The carrot tops make for a beautiful natural dye.

Almanac 84 Mini Zine

It's been about a year since we closed on our 84 acres of land in Manitoba. I have spent a lot of time over the last year developing skill-sets and researching with specific land projects in mind. I managed to put together a mini zine round-up of those skills along with a few short essays.

This small zine is available as freebie if you order Plot 13. 

Or contact me (wingedsnail99@hotmail.ca) if you would like to trade! 

DIY Flower Press

I have been kind of obsessed with flowers lately (Exhibit A) so I decided to spend the afternoon making a flower press. I had one as a kid and always loved the idea behind them - preserving a bit of summer's beauty into the white winter.

Flower presses are nothing more than a bit of wood, a few bolts, and few pieces of cardboard so it did not take me long to finish this project. I enjoy every second of using my manual hand drill so a small project that required me to use boring drill bits was a bit of extra pleasure. I did use my electric sander to do the bulk of the sanding but found the noise distracting so I finished the project by hand sanding it. A project this small would not take very long to sand entirely by hand anyways so in the future I will forgo the use of the electric sander for small projects.  

#manualdrill #handdrill #woodworking #making #diy #fun #afternoonproject #thingstodo #done

A post shared by Sarah (@sarahehoffman) on Mar 7, 2017 at 4:39pm PST

The completion of this project reminds me how quickly farm related skills develop. Just a few months ago the construction of a bench was arduous and overwhelming but now I can complete a simple project in a few short hours and be relatively stress free while doing it!

And now to we wait until flowers bloom.

Growing and Using Nasturtiums

I've been reading gardening books for as long as I can remember (the fact that 2016 was my first actual garden is irrelevant) and whenever I came across  a profile of Nasturtiums and the often stated "Nasturtium seeds can be pickled and used as caper substitute." I would make a mental note... make sure you experience that someday Sarah!

This winter, researching for my second ever garden, whenever I come across a profile of Nasturtiums I think... those sure are tasty. Make sure to do that again this summer!

I enjoy knowing plants in this way - this way that is specific to growing them. I watched those Nasturtiums grow from the very first day. I watched them bloom. I watched how the seed pods formed. I watched how the ones I did not pickle dry into the seeds for next year's garden. That visceral sense of knowing  - that comes with a sense of ownership - is unique to gardening.

Nasturtium Capers

(This recipe works well but I'll be playing with seasonings in the upcoming season!) 

2 tablespoons salt

1 cup water

1/2 cup green Nasturtium seedpods

several cloves of garlic

Boil salt and water. Pour over seedpods and garlic cloves. Let sit at room temperature for three days. Drain. 

3/4 cup white vinegar

2 teaspoons sugar

1 tablespoons coriander seeds

2 cloves garlic

Combine ingredients and bring to a boil. Pour boiling vinegar over the seeds and let cool. Refrigerate. 

These nastium seed faux capers are gunna be awesome! Going down to the plot to pick more right now! #nasturium #seed #capers! #garden #harvest #garden2016 #whatveganseat #communitygardenplot

A post shared by Sarah (@sarahehoffman) on Aug 20, 2016 at 1:19pm PDT

Review: Garden Design by Alice Recknagel Ireys

This is not something I would normally have picked up as I do not intend to have detailed, manicured garden beds that would include something as high-fluting as a 'garden design' but I found this slim book for 50 cents at my local thrift store and you simply can't bet a price like that!

I enjoyed reading through this book and several of the garden designs caught my eye. For example, "A Garden of Annual Everlastings" offered some inspiration as far as seasonal cut flowers as well as dried flower for winter bouquets. I also enjoyed "A Salad Garden by the Kitchen Door" for its practical inspiration. Several of the solid-colour bed designs intrigued me as well.

Overall this book offered a very approachable viewpoint toward garden design. The information presented in the book is enough for a beginner gardener to make a passable attempt at any of the designs but I would do fair amount of additional research on each plant mentioned before I felt ready to actually put together one of the designs. I like the information presented for each design as a graphed layout is included as well as a chart showing details of the plants included. I think this book is best used by beginners by following a design accurately. There are several general design principles included in the book but they are not detailed enough to allow a beginner to deviate much from the proscribed plan.

Overall, I'm glad I took the risk and spent the 50 cents on this book!

Indoor Worm Composting

Indoor worm composting has long been on my to-do list as I think it is a wonderful way to compost in small indoor spaces. Worries about escaping worms and smells kept me from starting a indoor worm composting system for many years but I found a DIY system using 5 gallon buckets and a local place giving out free starter worms so I decided that with low financial inputs I could give it a try! I was also excited to have my first 'livestock'!

Benefits of the bucket worm composting method: 

• Stacking five gallon buckets took up a lot less floor space than the traditional plastic tote. 
• Holes drilled in the bottom of the buckets allow for easy worm migration which means no messy separation of worm casting and worms. 
• Affordable system that can be reused if worm composting doesn't wind up working out. 

Worm Care:

Feed worms vegetable scraps but avoid meat, oil, and breads. 

Bucket should contain 'browns' which include newspaper, cardboard, and/or egg cartons.

Troubleshooting:

The food is mouldy! I sometimes over-fed my worms and some of the food gets a bit mouldy. When this happens I simply add more newspaper or cardboard and reduce food for a while. This seems to quickly resolve the problem. 

What should it smell like? I love the smell of my worm bucket! It smells like warm, damp, earth!  

Seed Purchases

It is easy to overspend on seeds as each package is only a few dollars and you have to purchase a certain amount to justify the shipping costs. Here are a few ways I keep my seed spending under control.

1. Limit the number of seed catalogues. If you do not like the selection of seeds, the business practices, the customer service or the germination rate from one company stop getting that seed catalogue. It will reduce temptation and help you spend your seed money wisely.

2. Save seeds. While seed saving from some plants are more difficult there are plenty of easy seeds to save. Seed saving will eventually result in plants that are ideal for your micro climate, save you money, and you will be able to trade with others for different varietals.

3. Make a plan. Before I even crack into a seed catalogue I have a list of the seeds I saved and have left from the previous year as well as a plan regarding new varietals and new plants I want to try for the upcoming year. This plan includes broad garden goals such as 'some plants for dye' and 'some plants that are unique and catch my eye'. This ensures that I purchase required seeds and limits my need to make just one more seed order and simultaneously allows for spontaneous experimental purchases.

4. Order from a set number of companies. I always make a large purchase from Heritage Harvest because it is a small Manitoba company that I love supporting. Limiting the number of orders I make ensures that I plan my purchases and minimises the cost of shipping small lots.

Off-Grid Laundry

Washing Machine: 

(Photo from Lehman's) 

I purchased this off-grid, home washing machine in January 2015 and have been doing the majority of my laundry by hand since. I use the coin operated machines in the apartment building for sheets, blankets, and towels as well as anytime I am sick or have an injury. This machine was a sort of litmus test to see if we'd be truly able to go 'off-grid' in the future and thankfully I really enjoy doing laundry this way. I've found that it actually has encouraged me to wear those articles of clothing that are a bit more unusual than my regular t-shirts and jeans. For example, I used to avoid wearing a specific coloured shirt because it would get dingy if I washed it with unlike colours but I did not have enough similar coloured clothing to warrant a complete laundry cycle but with a small machine such as this I can easily wash and wear! The Wonder Wash has a few design problems but the basic barrel works well. I took the suction cups off the bottom of the stand and never use the drain spout. 

I have found that off-grid laundry is easier if you do small batches on a regular basis rather than accumulate dirty laundry that results in a long and tiring laundry day. I do 2 or 3 loads twice a week.  

Soap:

(Photo from Well.ca)

I've been using soap nuts for several years for laundry. They are a naturally occurring tree product but is imported. I like that the this is a natural product but the imported nature bothers me. There are several 'soap' replacements that can be grown in North America which I will look into in the future. This is the best choice for me in the meantime. 

Brewing Ginger Beer

Brewing has been on the to-list for a few years now. We purchased a bunch of equipment when I still lived in Toronto and it's been through a few moves now. I did attempt a few batches of all-grain but they never really worked out - my husband insists that the fact that I winged my own recipe has something to do with this failure. That can't possibly be true as all the books say 'if you can make lasagna, you can make beer!' 

Those failed beer attempts really zapped my enthusiasm for brewing so we decided to start slowly with a non-alcoholic extract ginger beer kit. This was meant to test our sanitation process and to boost brewing related skills.

It was a success! We have 5 gallons of bubbly, clean tasting, ginger beer in our fridge at the moment. 

Now to order in some supplies for an all grain beer recipe! Onwards and Upwards! 

Natural Dye: Black Beans

I have been doing research and development for an upcoming on-farm project entitled Foraged Fibre. I have big plans for this project but I started with learning how to dye 100% wool with natural dyes.

I followed this Mother Earth News article to mordant a hank of 100% wool.

The dye liquid was made out of the water usually thrown away after soaking black beans. I put 750 grams of black beans into a cooking pot and covered with an inch of water. This soaked for 24 hours and was drained and used as the dye liquid. (The beans were cooked and consumed.) The pre-mordanted wool was placed into the dye liquid and brought to a slow simmer for 1 hour. Once the wool and dye liquid returned to room temperature the wool was rinsed until the liquid ran clear.

The dye liquid was saved and used to dye a second mordanted hank of wool and resulted in a lighter version of the original colour. (Not pictured)

(Cowl dyed with black beans)