Free, Free, Free. Yay!

 

 

This interruption of fence post cutting and scraping is brought to you by free lumber for raised garden beds and BIG tires for garden beds.  Yay!

 

I was beginning to think we would not have our other beds ready once it was time to plant our seedlings.

 

 

 

We got several very thick boards that will work to create a twelve foot long by four foot wide garden bed.  And with the four big tires, that will give us four more smaller beds.  Even though it was getting dark by the time we got it all loaded and to the house, Mr Blacksmith was ready to get started on the long bed.

 

 

 

 

We got the two long sides completed, before it got too dark to work.  Tomorrow, we will complete the end caps and set it in place.

 

 

 

So glad the wood came up finally.  Even though it is still about 4 weeks before we really start planting, it will be nice to know we will not be running around like a chicken with its head cut off looking for material for beds.   I will post an update and show the bed completed along with the tires in place.  But for now,

 time to get ready for bed.

 

 

 



Posting for a Fellow Blogger, "5 Acres and A Dream"

A subscriber and fellow blogger that I have followed for a while has written a book about her and her husband's journey to be self-reliant and homesteaders.  She has now sold over 500 copies of her new book which I think is just great.   Lady Leigh is now holding a contest to give away a copy of her book and I am entering to win a copy so I have more information to fall back on in our journey to our own homestead and our own attempt at self-reliance.  So, for Lady Leigh here is the link to her posting and her blog:

     http://www.5acresandadream.com/2014/03/giveaway-celebrating-over-500-copies.html

 

 

Lady Leigh, here is to continued success for your book and your blog.

 

And if there is anyone else out there that finds my blog of any interest, please, feel free to subscribe.

 

It's free.

 

Thanks

 

Lady Hawke

Fence posts, How to Afford Them

 

We have had a little bit of a dilemma in trying to decide how to provide the fence post for a goat area.  When we priced them at the local feed and seed and Tractor Supply and Home Depot, we found that for the number of posts that we need, we just cannot afford them. 

 

So, we looked back on how the pioneers did their fence posts.  We want to be more self-reliant and not have to depend on the store for everything we need.  We looked around our land and saw that we have so many pine trees that are just the right diameter for fence posts.  Mr. Blacksmith and I both came to the same conclusion.  Why not use the wood we have?  We had already decided to clear an area behind the shed to plant our small orchard of fruit trees.  The pines had to go anyway, so why not? 

 

Well, we had the drawknife, we just need a log dog to hold the logs to strip the bark off.   We love to watch a Youtube video blogger called "Wranglerstar."   By learning from his tutorial, Mr Blacksmith learned to build our own log dog from scrap pallet wood.  So other than the screws to put it together it did not cost anything.

 

 

This was our first log to work on so we still needed to make some modifications.  The tall uprights had to be trimmed down a little.  But here are a few pictures of Mr. Blacksmith in action stripping the posts.

 

 

 

 

This is the area that we are going to clear for our fruit trees. 

Goodbye pine trees, hello fence posts, hello soon-to-plant fruit trees.

 

 

 

After they are stripped, we are going to coat them in a wood preservative of which  we are still researching.   One down, many more to go.

 

 

Shared with: Down Home Blog Hop~ Number 78 + Homemade Body Butter

 

Spring Fever, Getting Ready for Warm Weather.

 

 

As those of you who follow me know, we are starting our first garden this year.  Having been over the road truck drivers, time never allowed us to plant a garden, tend to it, and harvest anything that might have grown in it.

 

So, I am going to share with you my journey of trying to grow seedlings for transplanting in our garden.  If you see anything that I might try to do different that will work better, please, leave me a comment.  I will try my best to follow your advise.

 

I follow Jackie Clay of "Ask Jackie" of the Backwoods Home Magazine.  I noticed that she uses the Jiffy Peat Pots.  So, I thought if they are good enough for her, I will try them and see how it goes.  I went down to the local feed and seed store and got three trays.

 

My first set of seeds that I planted are 6 different kinds of tomatoes.  I followed all the directions on the packaging and this is the result.

 

 

Just about every seed that I planted came up.  Being, that so far I am having some success, I will show you what I did. 

 

First, you start with a tray of peat pots.  Now, just so you know, I do not receive any money for endorsing any products that appear in my blog.  At least, not yet.  And if and when I do, I will let you  know.  Now.

 

 

The directions say that if you want to hydrate the whole tray to add ten and a half cups of water to the tray.  This will cover the peat pots by about an inch and a half to two inches. 

 

 

 

After adding the water, you wait.  As you wait, you may see a few air bubbles come up out of the peat pots and see the water level go down.  But unless you like to watch paint dry, I would get some other chores done.  Give the tray about 30 minutes of sitting time and when you get back you will have this.

 

 

Now is when your fingers will get just a little dirty.  I found that you need some small tools for opening the peat and then, pushing the seeds down in the peat and then covering them up.  These are what I used. 

 

 

The fork, I used for picking up the netting on each pot to help open it up.  The fine point Sharpie, was used to mark what kind of seeds were being planted on each of the plastic plant markers.  The toothpicks were used to fluff the peat, push the seed down into the peat, and then firm up the peat on top of the seeds.  The plate has a special purpose, also, I will explain. 

 

Before opening each pot to plant the seeds, you have to be able to handle the seeds.  I use the paper plate for this.  Each pouch of seeds is poured out into the plate.  Then you can get to each seed.

 

 

After I was finished with each type of seed, I used a funnel placed in the neck of the pouch and poured the leftover seeds back in its proper pouch.  I made sure to only work with one type of seed at a time.

 

 

 

In each pot, I opened the netting that holds each peat pot.  I tried to place 3 seeds in each pot.  Using the toothpick I pushed each seed down into the peat.  I tried to just push it down far enough that I could not see it anymore, about one fourth of an inch.  Then, using the toothpick, I firmed up the peat and covered each seed.

 

 As I finished with each type of seed, I need to mark what each pot contained.  Each tray held 72 peat pots.  So, I used 12 pots per type of plant.  This tray contained 3 different kinds of cabbage, 1 type of broccoli, 1 type of cauliflower, and 1 type of brussel sprouts.  These are all part of the cabbage family.  With all the differences, I need to know what was in each pot.  I used an old plastic mini-blind that was no longer serviceable for a window.  Mr. Blacksmith took it apart for me and cut each slat into smaller useable pieces.  For every 12 pots, I made a marker.  Each one was about three and a half to 4 inches long.  I wrote on each one what kind of seed was planted in those pots.

 

 

 After this, I put the clear plastic lid on to create a greenhouse effect and put the entire tray in my guest bathroom which somehow is the warmest room in our home.  I put the tray on top of a heating pad that has a timer on it and set it to the next to the lowest setting so I would not cook my seeds.   Oh yeah, I made sure to leave the light on in there.  

 

After this is the waiting game.   Hopefully, if I have done everything right, I will have some cabbage family plants in a few days.  According to everything I have read, I can put these out in the garden bed approximately 3 weeks before our last average frost date.  If there is a threat of frost after that I will cover them up with blankets or plastic.  

 

Thanks for reading.  Hope that what I am doing will help someone else.  

Like I said before, this is our first garden.  Don't take what I do as gospel.  I am learning, too.  If you are more experienced and know something that will help, I am all ears.  Thanks for stopping by.

 

 

Shared with: Down Home Blog Hop~ Number 78 + Homemade Body Butter