THE DOCTOR ORDERED A GREENHOUSE

I have struggles with extending our growing season both spring and fall and decided to try my hand at building our own greenhouse.  I used building materials that were left over from other projects as often as possible.  I did buy two cattle panels (50 in x 16 ft) and greenhouse plastic for the project.  The framework was made with red cedar lumber from a tree I cut down and the polycarbonate ends were left over from a carport roof.  The base frame was made from salvaged 5x6 red cedar set on salvaged concrete blocks.

I made the door from 1x3 red cedar and dual channel screen molding.  The inside groove holds a bug screen for summers and the outside groove holds greenhouse plastic for cold weather.  The door plastic can be removed for air circulation.  I added hinged vents at the top of each end for more air circulation.

The floor will have a double layer of landscape fabric with a layer of small stones to walk on and for drainage.   Planting will be in buckets so moving them around will be easy,  The buckets below are cabbage plants that will go in the greenhouse when frost is near.

DIY PLANS FOR CONTAINER GARDENING

As promised I have included plans of making gardening grow containers.  This post is specifically for making patio grow containers from plastic buckets.  Food grade buckets are available from many sources including bakeries, restaurants and second hand stores.  White buckets are best since they do not absorb heat like darker ones.  Food grade buckets are heavier grade so last better.  I can buy  them for $.50 - $1.00 each.  Firehouse subs sell their red buckets for $2.00 each.
I have outlined how I make my buckets in the page on the right column of this blog. 
 The plans are to cut the bottom off one bucket and insert it into the second.  You could just as easily drop the 1st bucket inside the second after the necessary holes are drilled in both.  Fill the bucket with a combination of good grade potting soil and compost.  Soybean meal and cottonseed meal are good natural fertilizer.

Many crops can be grown in these buckets including tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, squash that can be grown vertically.  In other words place the buckets against a fence or build trellises for them to grow on.  Use plant twine to tie them to the fence or trellis.  I use cattle panels to grow on.  They will last for years.
You can also grow any other vegetable you would want, including onions, carrots, radishes, even blueberries.

Water the crops when they need it.  There is a 4 inch reservoir in the bottom that will wick upward to help water when they need extra or you are gone for a day or two.  You will know when the bucket has enough water in it when water runs out the holes in the side of the bucket.

RAIN BARREL for FLOWER WATERING

I recently found a new idea for a homemade rain barrel diverter.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Rain-Barrel-and-Diverter/step2/Assemble-the-Diverter/

 This diverter works pretty well and looks good.  I built the stand from red cedar lumber,  Make sure your deck is strong since a full 55 gal barrel weighs 440 lbs.

I picked up the barrel at a garage sale for $5.00.  The red cedar lumber came from a cedar tree we cut down, that was damaged from an ice storm.

I did make a few changes from the above link but theirs should work well too.  I may need to add an overflow at the top of the barrel side.


My barrel is upside down.  The two bungs were sealed with silicon.  The barrel is made of thick food grade plastic so you can drill a hole for the faucet connection screw it in and seal it with silicon.  A hole in the top (actually the bottom) the size of a disposable plastic flower pot provides access for the diverter.  I added a screenwire and foam filter to the flower pot so the rainwater will stay fairly clean.

SPRING OF 2015 IS PERFECT

We are having a beautiful spring, here in the Ozarks, and everything is growing well (including weeds).  I am experimenting with some new ways of gardening which could be really great for those of you who don't have a lot of room.  It is container gardening (buckets, barrels and more).  No weed problems and few bug problems.  If and when we scale back a bit, container gardening could feed us well without a lot of work.  Place the buckets on a bench or concrete blocks and no bending over.
We have planted potatoes in the blue barrel which is a 55 gal barrel cut in half with drain holes

April 18, 2015

April 18, 2015

drilled in the bottom.  As the potatoes grow we will add growing soil and straw and when the plants grow over the top of the barrel we will add a wire fence ring and continue adding straw and soil.  Potatoes will grow all the way to the top of the wire fence or at least that is the plan.  I will update as they grow.

May 4, 2015

Picture at the left is two weeks later from last post on potato growing in containers.  I have added several layers of soil and straw so the soil straw layer is almost at the top of the barrels.  I will continue to add these layers to the top of the wire and then let them grow where they will.
Soil is a mix of good quality potting soil, composted cow manure, soybean meal(for nitrogen) and garden lime.  Water regularly.  We use stored rainwater saved from our barn roof.(See previous post)

May 23, 2015

The photo on the left is the latest image of the potatoes growing in th barrel.  The next photo will be when we harvest the potatoes. Right now they are just starting to bloom so it will be a few months till harvest.
The history of the planting and soil/straw addition is outlined above.
These are all red potatoes but as soon as we see how successful this method is, then we may try other varieties.

May 4, 2015

May 4, 2015

5 gal buckets work well for raising most any garden produce.  Placing the buckets close to a fence, arbor or trellis allows you to grow vertically and in a smaller space.  These buckets have a raised inner bottom allowing for
a 3-4 inch water reservoir in the bottom.
Pinterest.com has several ideas for these buckets.  Just search for "bucket gardening".  We raised lots of tomatoes with several of these set against a 5 X 16 ft cattle panel as shown above right.  The photo above left shows the buckets lined up against a fence.  A few string ties will help the tomatoes and cucumbers grow up the fence

PATIO GARDENING

For those of you who would like to try their hand at growing some of their own food but don't have a lot of space here are some ideas.  Container gardening does not have to be just for flowers.  One fair size pot can raise quite a lot of fresh herbs.  Potatoes and sweet potatoes grow in pots quite well.

I have several Geo-Pots, a fabric pot that breathes and keeps the plants from becoming root bound and I have been very successful growing tomatoes and peppers in them.  After the season is over it is best to empty the pots, wash and dry them well and put them up for the winter.  With that care they will last for years. I usually put the used potting soil back in bags or a trash can and reuse it the next year.  I will add some fresh potting soil, compost and fertilizer to reconstitute the soil before refilling the pots.

Geopots at Dripworks.com

Planters at parkseed.com

Ebay.com/bhp/geo-pots

A good potting medium would be as follows:

1/3      Good quality potting soil or Peat 

1/3      Good quality compost or well composted cow manure or homemade compost

1/3      Vermiculite - Vermiculite is a mineral that absorbs and disseminates water so your watering lasts                    longer.

square-foot-gardening-method

Mix the above ingredients (In a tub or on a tarp) before adding to the pot.  Most potting soil has fertilizer so fertilization will not be necessary for a month or so.

Depending on what you are growing, i.e. tomatoes, you may need to add stakes or tomato cage or grow beside a fence.  As they grow just tie the plants to the fence and wait.  Oh, and be sure they get plenty of sun. Try mixing some epsom salts in the soil when you plant your tomatoes.

Dripworks.com has lots of information and supplies for building an automated drip system for all your plants.  You can also buy drip products at Lowes or Home Depot.

CURRENT INFORMATION ON FOOD QUALITY

New information about the quality of our grocery market food is more available as folks like us are becoming more concerned about what we are eating.  GMO  (Genetically Modified Organisms) foods seem to be a lot in the news recently so to learn more I have included several links that can update you better than I.
Non GMO Project.org/learn-more/   
Mother Earth News Genetically-Modified-Foods-
Non-GMO Shopping Guide
Food Revolution Network

The label at the right is considered to be the best guarantee of NON-GMO foods although the FDA Organic label supposedly guarantees 90% GMO free ingredients.

Another concern is the treatment of our food in the field and after it is harvested.  The following is an article from a Mother Earth Living blog concerning a study done on sprays found on produce in the supermarket.  I suspect if there are sprays on fresh foods, there are probably sprays in processed foods as well.
Apples-reported-highest-in-pesticide-contamination

I recently wrote all three of our Arkansas congressman asking for their support of Non-GMO labeling and controlling of GMO products in foods.  It was fairly obvious from their return comments that they had been brainwashed to believe that GMO foods are safe and more important to our ability to grow more food than food safety.  I encourage each of you to reach out to your elected officials and ask for their support in providing proper food labeling.

The Importance of Buying Safe Healthy Food

From our House

There are increasing concerns about the quality of our food supply that is available in the local grocery stores.  Is Organically grown food better than the standard grocery store offering?  We have been growing more and more of our own food and it is all organic, in that we do not spray or fertilize with toxic sprays or supplements.  I am careful about which soil additives I use.  If I can find manures that come from animals fed non-GMO grains I choose those first otherwise I have my own compost piles that are composed of kitchen leftovers and yard and garden leftovers.  There are no meat products in my compost piles.
The following link is from the Food Revolution Network.  These guys really know what is going on with our food supplies and are fighting tooth and toenail for better quality control and truthful labeling.  This is a good article on Organic Foods.

http://www.foodrevolution.org/blog/is-organic-better/