Post Ak1qyADlWOUWbGItkm by shonin@mastodon.world
(DIR) More posts by shonin@mastodon.world
(DIR) Post #Ak1qxFOmmkREMw1OW8 by shonin@mastodon.world
2023-03-20T18:44:36Z
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Thread.We had a #homesteading mindset from 1977, when we married, but not until 2009, when shonin retired, was it possible for us to expand the #gardens and #orchard to cover even half of our acre. These four images are from 2008, and represent some of our best effort from when we were still both working full time (in libraries). It was a much easier climate to #microfarm in, for sure. Broken Thread!! Part II: https://mastodon.world/@shonin/110068118976052132
(DIR) Post #Ak1qxHwBLYLAF5f5qi by shonin@mastodon.world
2023-03-20T20:14:09Z
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In 2008 all my tomato seedlings were nipped off in the pots on the front porch. Deer had arrived in the neighborhood. This led to a decade-long fencing campaign around the premises, which began with a six foot fence around each of the two front gardens. Yes, deer can easily leap such a fence; but we found them lazy enough that this worked.
(DIR) Post #Ak1qxKpuZK6hEVkczY by shonin@mastodon.world
2023-03-21T00:26:42Z
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We eventually arranged fences so that poultry surrounded the garden (and had winter access) and some predator protection, on the other side from the boundary/deer fence. This is called a #PoultryMoat
(DIR) Post #Ak1qxNXwUaW3deMots by shonin@mastodon.world
2023-09-18T18:35:54Z
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2023, new location, same idea, hoping for similar results.
(DIR) Post #Ak1qxNcCElv1qqMDWy by shonin@mastodon.world
2023-03-21T13:02:02Z
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In November of 2008, the economic world was looking pretty grim to our fam, and we agreed to try and see how much of our own food and we could produce. I would retire early (state employee, age 59), to provide much of the labor. I built up fourteen garden beds, most of them 3X50 feet, using cardboard as a base.
(DIR) Post #Ak1qxPpO0heqiKXmMq by shonin@mastodon.world
2023-03-21T13:09:22Z
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We bought very few tools. Nearly everything was hand-me-downs from relatives, much of it forties and fifties vintage.
(DIR) Post #Ak1qxRvqBg0dEvZxho by shonin@mastodon.world
2023-03-21T13:14:58Z
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In our area, as in many others, broad beans can be fall planted. As spring advances, they can supply early greens, and then later, early beans, shrinking what is traditionally known as "the hungry time."
(DIR) Post #Ak1qxUZGO4jRPm2TQm by shonin@mastodon.world
2023-03-21T13:21:34Z
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Though we preferred straw, hay was more available at the time and was liberally used in the expansion. We bought two round bales and spread them over all the beds. Grassy paths would later be covered with materials as available. Existing fruit trees were incorporated into beds to provide partial shade as needed.
(DIR) Post #Ak1qxWXZ3MYrX5G93o by shonin@mastodon.world
2023-03-21T13:25:17Z
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For the annual Easter egg hunt, we provided goose eggs dyed with food coloring.
(DIR) Post #Ak1qxYiGyWJcGsHj1s by shonin@mastodon.world
2023-03-21T13:31:37Z
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Although the Internet had become an important source of homesteading information, we still relied on treasures we had acquired from bargain book bins starting in the 1970s.
(DIR) Post #Ak1qxavoj8L19SdZQ0 by shonin@mastodon.world
2023-03-21T13:37:04Z
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The house was owner-built in 1949 and had many things wrong with it; by the time we made an offer in 1993, it was condemned and not included in the deed. That's why it was in our price range. Managing it was just a bit beyond our skill set, but it served us well over 30 years.
(DIR) Post #Ak1qxct3SNJhDTMOOG by shonin@mastodon.world
2023-03-21T13:55:59Z
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View in May, 2009, of the main garden. Broad beans have grown out. Transplanted grapes are growing. Ornamental poppies, which had been planted by birds conveniently in a bed, have opened. Brassicas are being planted out. Grass clippings are spread over cardboard in paths. The idea was to sheet compost in paths, then rake the resulting matter into the beds each winter.
(DIR) Post #Ak1qxer08yrXJgPmT2 by shonin@mastodon.world
2023-03-21T18:07:19Z
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In June, the climbing things began to climb. For garden architecture, we used poles from hazel, pussy willow, wild cherry, and even Oregon grape, sourced on site. Some of the willow poles sprouted over the summer and, replanted in the fall, are trees on the premises to this day.
(DIR) Post #Ak1qxhAvVrzOW3kino by shonin@mastodon.world
2023-03-21T18:11:43Z
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Broad beans and grapes, looking north. The grapes had been on the farm, in another location, for decades. We dug them out to bring closer to the house and replanted them, not certain this would work, due to their age. They did fine.
(DIR) Post #Ak1qxjY2gtfTsKaD6u by shonin@mastodon.world
2023-03-21T18:30:45Z
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Broad beans were not a hit with the family, but I like them. I found that if I got to them right away after shelling, the skins did not need to be removed to make them palatable. Easily dried and saved for the following year, I kept them going for a decade. They don't cross with green beans or runner beans.
(DIR) Post #Ak1qxlOBqUyXaLzN20 by shonin@mastodon.world
2023-03-21T18:37:48Z
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Japanese knotweed came with the place. While it would be disastrous to let it spread, we found it does not sprout when used as a beanpole, provided it is cut well away from the root crown. Use before it goes to seed. Also good for spring salad (fresh shoots and stock feed and for kindling or soil treatment (well dried), and as bee hotels. I'm told the pollen makes very good honey. There are uses for the enormous root but I'm not that much into digging.
(DIR) Post #Ak1qxnkx2qN2vWeZmq by shonin@mastodon.world
2023-03-21T21:28:28Z
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In July we removed the broad beans from the beds (and composted them beneath the mulch, as with nearly everything) and rested the beds under grass clippings. Summer things came on apace.
(DIR) Post #Ak1qxq5EOPmU909nfs by shonin@mastodon.world
2023-03-21T21:45:55Z
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2009, like the 70s, 80s, and 90s, made us think we were good at this sort of thing, but looking back, we realize we never had conditions like those again. Spinach has been hard for us, but not that year! We built a solar dehydrator to help with preservation and made veggie powder. When dry canned, the powder can last several years.
(DIR) Post #Ak1qxsaV57yvuYnngu by shonin@mastodon.world
2023-03-22T01:44:14Z
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One thing that never worked for us was three sisters beds. You can see squash here among the corn, but peas and beans always seemed to do better elsewhere, as here. The cardboard/straw paths did all right with the weeds back then. A decade later, we discovered the horrors of bindweed.
(DIR) Post #Ak1qxuqsfCGyvwTuV6 by shonin@mastodon.world
2023-03-22T01:51:52Z
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You can get enough seed from one Red Russian kale to go into commercial farming, assuming you can find a market for that much Red Russian 😅 A colander will do for the threshing. We used seed from this one plant for the next 12 years, without noticing much diminshment in viability.
(DIR) Post #Ak1qxxR73SRYwtRsFk by shonin@mastodon.world
2023-03-22T02:44:53Z
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For summer crops, we went down the centers of beds, and for smaller things that like partial shade, we planted in their shadows.
(DIR) Post #Ak1qxzmoJkzKElcELo by shonin@mastodon.world
2023-03-22T02:51:04Z
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Himalaya blackberries are everywhere in our area. We picked many quarts annualy and froze most, to have with yogurt mostly. In the late 20th century, they ripened August-September. Since about 2011, it seems they prefer July-August. This is not necessarily a good development.
(DIR) Post #Ak1qy22TwSiDDwxm3U by shonin@mastodon.world
2023-03-22T03:16:40Z
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We found that dehydrating apple slices in our solar box resulted in overkill, so took to drying them on screens in the greenhouse/potting shed, which worked pretty well. Patience is required, to avoid mold in storage.
(DIR) Post #Ak1qy4FfiOS25R9KtM by shonin@mastodon.world
2023-03-22T03:21:45Z
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The north wall of the house sees sun only briefly and only for a month or so after solstice, but we found squash and runner beans did fine there.
(DIR) Post #Ak1qy6A4cBA40eXtRY by shonin@mastodon.world
2023-03-22T14:21:23Z
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Over time, we planted apples, pears, cherries, plums, peaches, apricots, figs, quince, persimmons, and medlars. Of apples we had Gravenstein, Jonathan, Jonagold, Gala, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Egremont Russet, and Cortland, shown.It's true what is said that the best time to plant trees is 20 years ago. We planted these in the 90s. Not until the teens did I discover that making apple butter (Gravenstein especially) was my favorite thing.
(DIR) Post #Ak1qy8HajCMaaY4vRI by shonin@mastodon.world
2023-03-22T15:23:33Z
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The greenhouse/potting shed was the focal point of the homestead in March through May. It was made and stocked almost entirely with found materials, including the bricks for the floor. Seedlings tend to get leggy and suffer from damping off when raised in a humid room behind glass, so we learned to rotate the flats out of doors on better days, in shade first, then partial sun. In recent years, even partial sun could sunburn them.
(DIR) Post #Ak1qyADlWOUWbGItkm by shonin@mastodon.world
2023-03-22T16:20:45Z
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Shonin learned professional baking from the Hutterites in the early 70s, as a result of which, going into homesteading, the only recipe she knew was for 55 loaves at a time. She had to adapt. Over time, she experimented with adding onions, nuts, seeds, spring greens etc. as came to hand. She does not admit to using coffee grounds.
(DIR) Post #Ak1qyC6OWlmeQys2Xg by shonin@mastodon.world
2023-03-31T00:32:35Z
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Broken thread. See https://mastodon.world/@shonin/110068118976052132 to continue!