I am a daily listener to NPR but one of the most inspiring shows I ever heard was about Five Family Farms aired about a year ago. I was completely caught up with this story...so much that I would leave my Ultimate game early so I could listen to it each week.
I later found it online and listened to the entire show. Here is a link to the show. I hope that you are also inspired and touched by this story.
Small world story that goes along with this. I went to play Ultimate the next weekend and as I was telling the players about the radio show one of the players said, "my family is one of the families interviewed on the show!"
Check it out!!
Harvested today:
1) Two Zuchini ($2.00)
Total Harvested (Year-to-Date): $66.00
Expenses (Year-to-Date): $6.00
Monday, July 19, 2010
Days 17, 18 - Backyard beekeeping making the news
My summer morning ritual of listening to NPR (KRCB) had a nice story to include in Garden366 today. Backyard beekeeping is on the rise and the story is all about the increase of interest in this hobby. And what a great hobby it is!! You have to have a little nerve, but the payoff of great pollination and the treat of the annual harvest of honey just cannot be beat. To top it off, when you go on vacation, you do not have to have anybody come by to take care of your "pets".
The beauty of having a hive is that you do not need much space. We have two hives in your relatively small city lot and they are both thriving. I lifted the top "honey super" the other day to insert some more space and I could barely handle the weight. This means to me that we will have at least 5 gallons of honey from our two hives...still leaving plenty of honey for the bees to make it through the winter. There is good support in our area for supplies but if you live somewhere that there is not, you can always order supplies online.
So, how do you go about getting bees to get started? I was given my first hive by a fellow beekeeper/friend so I have started others in the same way. Every new beekeeper I get into the hobby I feel like I am doing my part in spreading the genetics of very successfull bee colonies. If you are interested, let me know...for I pick up swarms on an informal basis. People call me when they see them and I come by to pick them up and deliver them to your house. I picked up three swarms this spring.
Link to the NPR story
Harvested the past couple of days:
Day 17
1) Two Zuchinnis ($2.00)
2) Handfull of Strawberries and Cherry Tomatoes
Day 18
1) Two bunches of Chard ($6.00)
2) Handfull of Cherry Tomatoes
Total Harvested (Year-to-Date): $64.00
Expenses (Year-to-Date): $6.00
The beauty of having a hive is that you do not need much space. We have two hives in your relatively small city lot and they are both thriving. I lifted the top "honey super" the other day to insert some more space and I could barely handle the weight. This means to me that we will have at least 5 gallons of honey from our two hives...still leaving plenty of honey for the bees to make it through the winter. There is good support in our area for supplies but if you live somewhere that there is not, you can always order supplies online.
So, how do you go about getting bees to get started? I was given my first hive by a fellow beekeeper/friend so I have started others in the same way. Every new beekeeper I get into the hobby I feel like I am doing my part in spreading the genetics of very successfull bee colonies. If you are interested, let me know...for I pick up swarms on an informal basis. People call me when they see them and I come by to pick them up and deliver them to your house. I picked up three swarms this spring.
Link to the NPR story
Harvested the past couple of days:
Day 17
1) Two Zuchinnis ($2.00)
2) Handfull of Strawberries and Cherry Tomatoes
Day 18
1) Two bunches of Chard ($6.00)
2) Handfull of Cherry Tomatoes
Total Harvested (Year-to-Date): $64.00
Expenses (Year-to-Date): $6.00
Friday, July 16, 2010
Day 16 - Setbacks and Pitfalls - Chapter 2
The veggie garden is thriving. I will post some photos soon as to where the whole garden is right now...just have not had the time the past few mornings (the best time for photos).
Today's pitfall is "the bitter cucumber". I have fallen prey to this dreaded malody. A friend asked how I avoid this and I have figured it out...water!! Very simple fix to a problem of getting beautiful looking, awful tasting cukes. These are heat-loving plants...but they also do not like to be deprived of their live-giving water. If you try to be a water scrooge in the cucumber plot, you might as well not even plant them. Other plants can handle a drought and some might even thrive on it...but don't save your water with the cukes.
Harvested today:
1) one lone beet ($0.50)
2) our first peach ($1.00)
Total Harvested (Year-to-Date): $56.00
Expenses (Year-to-Date): $6.00
Today's pitfall is "the bitter cucumber". I have fallen prey to this dreaded malody. A friend asked how I avoid this and I have figured it out...water!! Very simple fix to a problem of getting beautiful looking, awful tasting cukes. These are heat-loving plants...but they also do not like to be deprived of their live-giving water. If you try to be a water scrooge in the cucumber plot, you might as well not even plant them. Other plants can handle a drought and some might even thrive on it...but don't save your water with the cukes.
Harvested today:
1) one lone beet ($0.50)
2) our first peach ($1.00)
Total Harvested (Year-to-Date): $56.00
Expenses (Year-to-Date): $6.00
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Day 15 - Expenses
It does cost money to do a garden. I have been including the benefits of what we harvest each day and some of you, the critical ones, are saying "you have to pay for all that you do". Yes, the garden does have some expense that goes along with it. I will be including recurring expenses and not one-time expenses. For example, I will not include the cost of each fruit tree in the yard, but if I buy some starts or seeds I will include them. I will also include the cost of water...about $10 per month.
So, up to now we have had one expense. I bought a bag of potting soil to start my seedlings for $6.00. I want to talk about how I start my seedings in a future post.
Day 15:
1) Three zuchinni ($3.00)
2) Basket of Strawberries ($2.00)
Total (Year-to-Date): $54.50
Expenses (Year-to-Date): $6.00
So, up to now we have had one expense. I bought a bag of potting soil to start my seedlings for $6.00. I want to talk about how I start my seedings in a future post.
Day 15:
1) Three zuchinni ($3.00)
2) Basket of Strawberries ($2.00)
Total (Year-to-Date): $54.50
Expenses (Year-to-Date): $6.00
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Days 12, 13, 14 - How much do you want?
Some of you might be saying, "You sure do not harvest very much each day." How much do you want each day? I have found that there is a real limit to how much a family can use daily. At times we do harvest an excess, but if we did this too much, the garden would become a chore as opposed to a joy.
As I had indicated in a previous post, I tried to plant fruit trees so that we have fruit much of the year. The veggie garden is a little easier, for ground plants grow much quicker and are easier to stagger each year. You surely do not want everything to get ripe all at once. Here is a good story to show what can hapen if not well planned out!!
I was a little behind in my postings:
Day 12: 1 basket of Strawberries ($2.00)
Day 13: Two Zuchinnis ($2.50)
Handfull of Cherry Tomatoes
Day 14: Bunch of Chard ($3.00)
Total (Year-to-Date): $49.50
As I had indicated in a previous post, I tried to plant fruit trees so that we have fruit much of the year. The veggie garden is a little easier, for ground plants grow much quicker and are easier to stagger each year. You surely do not want everything to get ripe all at once. Here is a good story to show what can hapen if not well planned out!!
I was a little behind in my postings:
Day 12: 1 basket of Strawberries ($2.00)
Day 13: Two Zuchinnis ($2.50)
Handfull of Cherry Tomatoes
Day 14: Bunch of Chard ($3.00)
Total (Year-to-Date): $49.50
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Day 11 - The Soil
We feel very fortunate that the soil in our neighborhood is deep and rich. Although there have been many people living in our property over the years, the story about the old Italian lady that grew HUGE onions sticks in my mind...that coming from my "Old Italian Guy" who lives directly behind me and grows an Italian garden each year.
Soils will deplete over time and I have tried to do some things to reverse that. I believe that the soil here in my garden plots have actually gotten better over the years. I do the following:
1) The first thing I did was a double dig from the John Jeavons book, "How to Grow More Vegetables: Than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land Than You Can Imagine". He is a Northern Californian and has a website.
2) I plant a cover crop in the winter. I have been using this Soil Builder Mix and have found to have improved the next years crops.
3) I have two worm bins that I started with the help of Rick of The Compost Club. I add compost from these into my garden on a regular basis as the bins fill up.
4) I do a little spot fertilizing with an organic mix that I buy at a local nursery.
This is what I do with my veggie boxes. I will discuss the fruit trees in a future post.
Harvested today:
1) Three Zuchinni ($1.50)
Totals (Year-to-Date): $42.00
Soils will deplete over time and I have tried to do some things to reverse that. I believe that the soil here in my garden plots have actually gotten better over the years. I do the following:
1) The first thing I did was a double dig from the John Jeavons book, "How to Grow More Vegetables: Than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land Than You Can Imagine". He is a Northern Californian and has a website.
2) I plant a cover crop in the winter. I have been using this Soil Builder Mix and have found to have improved the next years crops.
3) I have two worm bins that I started with the help of Rick of The Compost Club. I add compost from these into my garden on a regular basis as the bins fill up.
4) I do a little spot fertilizing with an organic mix that I buy at a local nursery.
This is what I do with my veggie boxes. I will discuss the fruit trees in a future post.
Harvested today:
1) Three Zuchinni ($1.50)
Totals (Year-to-Date): $42.00
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Day 10 - Kids and the Garden
So, I had said that it was the end of the Chard a few posts ago, but I decided to let the Chard march on, trimming back the old leaves to try to bring life back to the plants. All it took was a few days and we had another harvest for dinner. Chard is a kind of green that is easy to grow and does not bolt due to heat...at least not easily.
Why is the title, "Kids and the Garden"? Well, our kids would have never eaten Chard if it was not for the garden. I find that they go outside and pick Chard leaves and eat them raw!! When we prepare it with garlic and olive oil I have heard them call it their favorite veggie!! Chard no less... This goes for much of what we grow. The kids eat what is out there from the plants the first time and continue at the table. Our boy has at times gotten so "spoiled" with homegrown produce that he refuses to eat it if it was from the store. Hey, his dad will never eat another Orange from the store after growing with a tree in the back yard and now having an orange, Grapefruit, and two mandarin trees...so how can I blame him.
Harvested today:
1) Two bunches of Chard ($6.00)
2) Handfull of Strawberries
Total (Year-to-Date): $40.50
Why is the title, "Kids and the Garden"? Well, our kids would have never eaten Chard if it was not for the garden. I find that they go outside and pick Chard leaves and eat them raw!! When we prepare it with garlic and olive oil I have heard them call it their favorite veggie!! Chard no less... This goes for much of what we grow. The kids eat what is out there from the plants the first time and continue at the table. Our boy has at times gotten so "spoiled" with homegrown produce that he refuses to eat it if it was from the store. Hey, his dad will never eat another Orange from the store after growing with a tree in the back yard and now having an orange, Grapefruit, and two mandarin trees...so how can I blame him.
Harvested today:
1) Two bunches of Chard ($6.00)
2) Handfull of Strawberries
Total (Year-to-Date): $40.50
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