water features

Most permaculture experts recommend 15% of land mass be in water features. Given we have 15 acres of mountain terrain we will never be able to accomplish this, but we have been  consciously increasing  water features over the last couple years. In the few permaculture classes I have taken, the instructors say it does not matter how big or small the features are as they all enhance the biodiversity and any increase in  biodiversity is beneficial.   

A couple years ago when we scrapped the trailer I used the sink, tub, and toilet as  container gardens. All homes need rearranging from time to time so  the last couple  weeks we have turned the sink and tub into water features around the gardens.

The sink is  a bird  bath. As soon as we move more rocks  around the property I will surround it  and cover up some of the plastic ugly.

 This is down in the bowl  area where there is quite a bit of run off when it rains heavy so we made an overflow down to  a swale that is also on a slope. Once  the flowers grow this summer it should  all look quite nice.   I will continue to expand the garden there and we will likely work toward a few more swales and  possibly another small water feature.

tinman scarecrows

Stumbling around the  internet one day,  the manthing ran across  a tinman scarecrow. Knowing we had a pile of empty coffee cans and bored one day, he set about building  Spinnegan. 

We thought he was so cute that as soon as we had a stash of cans again he set about to building Rainbow Rosie. Since we didn't have  enough cans to give Rosie  arms or legs we decided to  clothe her and stuff  her.  Not only are they  kinda cute and serve a purpose, their heads are  also functional planters. Rosie still needs a bit more stuffing to even out her lumps n bumps.

No instructions  were  used  when making them. He just laid out the shape using different size cans, made holes in the bottoms, and strung them together using wire. 

remember that ol trailer?

Probably not  as it has been so long...

Well anyway,  years ago we had a fifth wheel camper and it slowly rotted away. So we tore it down, sorted it and recycled what we  could for projects around here and there it sat for a couple years while we pondered what to do with the frame.  We always thought it would look neat dropped  down off the axles with  a gazebo on the platform and raised beds in the actual frame. Finally,  early this spring we  actually got around to accomplishing it, or most of it.

First we manhandled the frame to where we kind of needed it, dropped the wheels off then  hooked a  tow rope to it and got it into position. We layered cardboard in
the bottom, filled with leaves, then added compost.

 Since it is in a semi-shaded spot we decided that it would do well  growing our cabbage this spring with a few flowers and herbs mixed in. In another week or three we will  put corn in between them to help provide a bit more shade  later in the spring. 

The gazebo, ahhh well another couple years and we may have that done too. In the mean time it makes a handy place to sit containers and plantlings.  

pallet garden

While puttering about today we made our first, pallet-garden. Wait, let me rephrase that. Manthing made the pallet bed and I placed the pallet in the general area of where I wanted it to go. Not that it was difficult by any means, a 7 year old could make it with supervision but round here, someone has to man the camera so that blog posts can be made about our projects. :)

Being frugal or cheap as we are the biggest challenge was figuring out what to make a weed barrier from and what could hold the growing medium in. After approximately 43 seconds of thought, the chicken feed bags came to mind as the perfect choice. ( Dear DuMor, for all the uses I promote for your feed bags, I think you should provide me free chicken feed for ever more.) Since most of the growing medium was not going to be soil and knowing full well that a garden made from a pallet would not last forever, there really was no cheaper solution.
Manthing cut the bags into two sections and then stapled them to the side we decided would be the bottom and then over the sides of the pallet thereby making the bed. We then stuffed it full of old mulch hay we had and then used some of the soil we made in the experimental hugulkultur bed (post forthcoming but I was sick of seeing hugulkultur posts and assumed everyone else was too) to fill it up.
I think it turned out quite nicely considering the cost and time it took to make. The cost was indeed only our time since we made the soil, the feed bags were here, and the pallet is a work freebie. Total time making it was about three hours but we were just piddling about rather than working. It could probably be done in just a few minutes if store bought soil was purchased and all that needed to be done was to staple the bags on and fill. On one side I am planning on adding a trellis to be able to grow vertical. Though it is not planted as yet, I am thinking this is going to be a salsa garden.

around the homestead-the cistern saga continues

Ahhh, we should have known better than to think the cistern project was going to go well the first time around.
After coating the cistern with the sealant, the weather took a turn for the worse. It continued to rain for an entire week and nothing was drying out even with a fan and a heater running in the room. The biggest issue, however, was the seepage from the blocks themselves. It is amazing how much water a cinder block will hold. The water seeping from the blocks made the sealant slide down and puddle and we were again left with bare cinder walls. There were also a couple spots that we decided could use a bit of hydraulic cement too, just in case.Those minor patches were made and then it became a waiting game. MothEr always wins so after a couple of days we realized that time was the only cure for the mess we had created. We decided it was best to just shut the door and forget it.

Finally, on Saturday the cistern was dry and we could fix the messes and give it another good coat of sealant. With warmer temperatures we were sure it would dry before the next round of rains came in. It did, so we gave it one more coat for good measure. By Monday morning everything was dry so the gutters were hooked back in. By last evening the cistern was full and we could turn the water back on to the shack.
We would like to think the cistern project is now a done deal but we can't be entirely sure of it.

around the homestead-refurbishing the cistern

For the last few weeks we had been noticing puddling water around the cistern room but because we have also had decent amounts of rain it was hard to tell if something was amiss. On Wednesday manthing had to go into the cistern room and he decided to look at how much water was in there and we only had 2 blocks of 7. With just the two of us here and knowing how much rain had recently fallen we knew the cistern had sprung a leak. After looking around we believe we found the source but then a decision had to be made. Would we simply patch the hole and be done or would we finish emptying it, clean it out, scrape it down, make any repairs, and reseal the entire thing.
We decided that since the cistern was well over 20 years old and had never had any maintenance that it would be wise to completely go through it and hopefully be done with it until we are too old to be doing such things. We also had a fairly decent window to get the work done before the weather turned, a big bonus in January. The bad part was that our window was a fairly small one for the work that needed to be done so it meant bustin our butts a little bit to getter done.
We had to start by finishing emptying the cistern, so we brought the 325 gallon tank up and filled it. We knew we would be without any water for at least four days and perhaps more depending on the weather. This left about 3 inches of water and a big layer of nastiness that had collected on the bottom for twenty odd years. The only way to get it out was by climbing in and bailing the water out by the bucket full, lifting it over the edge and having the second person hauling it out to dump. It then had to be completely dried and scraped down to remove the old sealant and expose as much block as possible. After getting as much out as we could , it was decided the kitty litter soaker upper stuff would work best to dry it then we could scoop it out.
Once it was all dry we made any repairs that needed to be done and could then begin applying the sealant. After applying each coat of sealant it needed to dry for several hours before the next layer could be done. Last night, we were able to get the second coating on and decided that the rain was not going to come in until late this evening so we would do a third and final coat this morning We also neglected to pull the gutters from the pipe going into the cistern since there was only a 10% chance of rain. At 3:30 this morning we had a middle of the night trip to pull the gutters out and protect our masterpiece.
The final coat went on this morning and we are now hoping that the heavy rains that are forecast do not come until tomorrow so that we can put the gutters back in, fill the cistern and see how the pretty cement pond works.

the BIG table

We now have a super BIG work table in the project/living room. It measures about 4 foot wide by 8 foot long and is about 4 foot in height. This will give me plenty of room to sort seeds for saving, plenty of room for making stuff, and a great place for collecting clutter. It also fits in quite well with our other decor and was very budget friendly to build.

Manthing ran across a couple of large things (wall sections perhaps) at the warehouse that were being tossed out. We do not know exactly what they originally were but when he saw them he saw tabletops. He also snagged up a few wood pallets that were being tossed out as he saw legs! Yes, yes, our table is completely made of someone elses garbage and cost nothing but a couple hours of time, mostly spent rearranging the room, and moving the pieces and parts in since it had to be assembled inside. The only monetary cost was for the screws and nails holding it together and to make hangers on one side for pots and pans. To assemble, all he did was cut a few inches off of each of the pallets so that it wouldn't be quite so tall then attached a piece of plywood on the underside of the table top where the 2x8's stuck out to make hidey holes on the underside. We then brought it all in, stood the pallets up and slid the top over the pallet tops and attached. He then added a couple braces for support.

There is plenty of storage area underneath the table and the legs (between pallet slats) can hold small things like cookie sheets. A few hooks will be added to hang pans from and chop blocks will be set atop for butchering and such. It will be sooooo much nicer than the teeny tiny 3x2 foot table that I have had to work on!

around the homestead-earth bag goat shed

Finally did the video on the building of the goat shed.

pallet bench

Manthing was stumbling around the internet last week and ran across this upcycled pallet bench. We both thought it was a cute idea and that we could replicate it even though it did not have any destructions to go along with the photos. Since he is having a slack work week and he needed a project, I suggested he work on it today while I worked on a school paper. It turned out to be another one of those "it's as simple as that" type projects that although it looks quite simple, it aint.

He started with two pallets that were not identical in size which caused the first little stumbling block. This meant the pallets could not just interlock and be portable. This meant that he had to come up with a plan b which was fine as we don't need it to be stored away.

With one pallet he removed the pieces and parts to make it look like the picture below.
On the second pallet he removed a slat so that the first pallet could slide through.
Next he slid the first pallet through the second to form the bench
Because our bench is not going to be stored away and will be sitting out in the elements he added pressure treated 4x4 blocks under the back legs. He then added a 1x4 to hide the 4x4's and to hold things in place.Next, he cut the front legs so that it would sit level and added a piece of 1x6 to keep the front legs off the ground. Then he screwed the two pallets together where they connected and added in a couple small blocks of wood for extra bracing. To fill the gaps in the pallets he used slats from the pallet that he removed most of them from. To finish it up he sanded it lightly to get any splinters off to protect our butts and where our legs will hang over.
All in all, it is quite comfortable and is plenty big for two people to sit comfortably. Cost was free but for the few screws. The whole process took about 4 hours including a bit of pondering time to figure out how it was going to be done.

outdoor kitchen renovations and eating pine bark

Ahhh, gotta love those jobs that seemingly start out small and simple and turn into a big and difficult one! Measa decided to roof the kitchen at the cabin with a more permanent covering than a tarp. Unfortunately, once he got to working on it, he found out that the old frame was in need of not just repair but complete replacement. Since manthing was off today they set about cutting logs to put up a new one. This means peeling the bark off a few trees they had cut down and it meant that we could finally try eating pine bark. Yes, I mean actual pine bark not some gourmet treat. Here is our little adventure of making our pine bark appetizers this evening. It was not half bad and is definitely edible if in need. Just remember to carve a tooth pick for the inevitable fibrous ones that get all tangled in your fangz!

hillbilly lounge chair

We had seen a video for making these simple chairs a while back. After our store bought chair crapped out the other day, manthing decided he needed to make one. It is really simple to make and slap together and is very comfortable.

To make it all you need is four sticks. Three of which need to be about your height. The fourth needs to be long enough to fit your butt and lay across the tripod that is made from the three longer ones. Tie the three long ones in a simple tripod and then add the fabric seat.The video we saw used material or a burlap bag to make the cushion but manthing is a tall feller so a bag would not quite cut it. Instead he used an old tarp that he cut down to the width needed and then folded it in half over the butt rest stick. and then tied it at the top. That is it, you are finished and you have a very comfy camp chair without having to lug a chair through the woods. Instead all you take with you is the piece of fabric or tarp.

For the little stool he just cut three short sticks and tied into a tripod and added a round of wood.

fastest grain mill east of the mississippi

Today the fellers took the motor off the broken down tiller and hooked it to the grain mill. I now have one speedy grinding apparatus. All they did was detach the motor from the tiller, hook it up to a board, and add a tension pulley doohickey. I was told the hardest part of the entire job was attaching the motor to the board it sits on. It works great! We do have to have the motor idled down as far as it can go without it dying out and the tension thingmajig will take a bit of tweaking and getting used to but it will do the job we need it to do with no trouble. We left the mill attached to one board and the motor to another for ease in storage and mobility but will have attachments on the table for it to mount sturdily enough to grind grains a time or two a week.

The first tweak we are likely to make is adding another pulley to slow the rotation down a bit although the grinder parts were not warm nor was the grain when we did the test run.

monday's mountain musings

My hands are rather sore from pulling wires through woven bags and metal lath for the last few days so just a quick update from the weekend. It did not go as planned but do they ever? We did, however, get a fair bit accomplished and with another couple days we can get the goat shed completed. I will do a much bigger write up on it all but not tonight since I am absolutely starved and pretty tired. I love kids but dang they wear this ol gal out and I am always glad to see them go home n have my quiet, dramatic free life back. Be warned, every structure we have ever built looks incredibly crooked in pictures. I don't know if its illusion or perhaps I always have the camera at a slight angle and though things may be a tad out of square, they are not nearly as bad as the pictures look.

SIP- sub irrigation planters

We have come into a nice supply of pails. This is the first project we have done with them since we no longer feel bad about sacrificing ever handy buckets. I am hoping they work well so I can get some dwarf citrus and keep them in moveable planters.

the 2 hour strawberry bed remodel

The old strawberry beds were in pretty rough condition and we needed to expand them a bit to make room for more. There were three 4x4 squares made from various recycled materials several years ago. We had some trees on the bank that needed to come down to allow more sun through as well as for preventive maintenance. We had a beautiful afternoon and needed something to fill a couple hours after piddling about this morning a bit.
I dug the strawberries out of the old beds so that I could dismantle them while the manthing took the trees down, measured everything out and did the needed trimming to build the bed, I moved soil around and began gathering fallen leaves and cardboard boxes to use as filler material. The new bed is a fair bit longer than the old beds were in total but they are a little bit less wide. Extra soil is hard to come by around here so we tend to fill beds with what we have on hand and will compost down to make a decent growing bed. Today cardboard and leaves were the filler

After wrestling the logs over to where we needed them and after some fighting with them, we got them into place. Manthing worked on cleaning up the majority of the mess we made while I worked on filling the bed back up. Hopefully, with the trees we took down today and several others we have harvested the area will produce better than it has for the last couple years.
I don't quite have it all filled in but will finish it tomorrow and replant all the strawberries with some feed sack weed barriers and mulch. Because they are not very deep beds and because we are composting as it grows, the bed will be quick to dry out come summer.
We were able to salvage much of the material that the old beds were made of. While it aint pretty and cannot be used for many things, there are still things and stuff we can reuse the already recycled materials for.

The new bed is 18 foot long and a planting area 32 inches wide. The entire project to this point took right at two hours with the two of us working on it.

doggy bag 2.7

Manthing decided he needed to improve upon his doggy bag design this morning. It apparently was in need of compartments and a pocket. So, out came the leftover pieces of bag, from when he built the first ones, and the duct tape and in went a handy dandy divider and an outside pocket. I fully expect his next upgrade to add velcro closures so that nothing can escape. I reckon, at this pace, in a year or so we could have ourselves a marketable product. :)

doggie bag

In the past, manthing and I have seen the upcycled tote bags  and thought what a neat idea, and at one point we had good intentions of making them. Unfortunately, it is one of those things, that although we say we will get around to it, we never do.  When he started  the new job, he needed a tote  to haul all his small tools for work but he didn't feel  like going to town to buy an overpriced piece of crap made in China that would last a month and break.

Because he is 1/3 hillbilly,  he decided to  be resourceful and make his own bag. Being 1/3 hippie, he did not want to make handles  and sew them on, and because of the 1/3 white trash in him, he does love his duck tape.  This is his doggie bag that he made and I must say, it works quite well. So well in fact, that I think  he I might just make me 10 or 12 and begin using them for our grocery bags from now on. It isn't like we will stop feeding the dogs anytime soon, so we will always have a supply of them  and the duck tape is only a few bucks a roll, so theoretically, he I could make  a few dozen  for a couple bucks.  We could get all fancy  and get the red or blue tape and make it match the doggie bag too. Hey, I wonder if we could get the dog food company to push this  and get a life time supply of dog food for nothing because of our  manthing's brilliance.

 Anywho, this is the bag and I think it is self explanatory how he made it. Just in case though, all he did is cut it off at the height he wanted. He then took a razor knife and cut his handle holes in. The last step was to  tape off all the cut areas and wallah, a doggie bag .

hillbilly air conditioner

Although we live in Georgia,we have no central air conditioner or even a room air conditioner. Most of the time our single fan keeps us cool enough to be comfortable but  over the last few weeks we have been having quite a heat wave. Temperatures have been in the mid nineties with high humidity so the heat index has been  at 100 or more  for several days now and is something we are not all that accustomed to.  If we were employed perhaps we would just go out and buy an air conditioner but were aren't so we have to make do with what we have on hand in order to try and cool ourselves down a bit. In our internet travels over the last couple years we have run across the hillbilly or redneck air conditioners that folks have made so we decided to give it a whirl and see how they work.

This is not green or exactly eco friendly, but it is using what we had on hand, recycling it  and making the appliances that we have already sucking juice work a bit more  to earn their keep. This is also not anything like an air conditioner and will not cool your home down like an air conditioner, but it will bring the temps down to a more tolerable level.

Rather than make a whole new tutorial on this, I will refer you to the tutorial that we used for our project. We  mostly followed this, but we used an old water cooler instead of a foam one and we used an  inline diaphragm  pump from the old trailer we scrapped instead of the one like they use in the tutorial. We  made the copper tubing able to be untied from the fan so that we can move the fan  and use it as  needed. Lastly, we hooked the pump up to a battery rather than electricity because we could.

This cost us zero dollars to make and took about an hour of time when it was all said and done.  The other day after setting it all up we managed to cool the room by five degrees in about a half hour. The one down side that we have seen to it is that the ice melts rather quickly  and because of the style of pump we used we can only run it for short periods at a time. No matter,  it has served its purpose and it has been fun to experiment with.

We made ours with a box fan complete with dust, but we have seen them  on all types of grated fans.

We then took a coil of copper, already coiled even and attached it to the front of the fan. Most people use zip ties to do this but we wanted to be able to use the fan as a fan so we used yarn to attach it. Most tutorials we have seen use copper for the coil. It keeps the cold better than other tubing would although we think that most any tubing could work in a pinch.

We drilled holes through the top of our water cooler so that we could  set the pump on top and run the tubing through for the water intake and out put. Most folks use a submersible pump  that  actually goes in the  cooler itself.

Because of the the pump that  we used, we put  an old piece of carpet on top of the cooler  so that when running it would cut the noise level and so the pump wouldn't rattle itself off the top of the cooler. Next simply put water and ice in  and put a towel or something under the fan  for any condensation and  chill out.