Mini Garden Update

This afternoon Mrs. Mccasland and Kristi Horn came and we worked in my garden. We planted Beets and thinned the Radishes. We made a Lasagna Garden for Tomatoes. It will rot and be perfect when we plant the Tomatoes. We put newspaper down for the weeds and then did layers of hay, leaves, peat moss, lime, horse manure (we get it free at a local stable), and alfalfa meal. After that I tilled a part of the field and we transplanted comfrey into it. We watered the entire garden. I will try to get Kelp Meal, Alfalfa Meal and Gypsum tomorrow to use as a fertilizer. I also need to get Buckwheat seeds to plant a cover crop on the part of my garden I'm not using now. I'm planning on tilling the covercrop in as I need more room for my garden. It will keep down the weeds and also add nitrogen to the soil when I till it under.

What Every Garden Should Have Part 1

Cold Frame

Last fall I built a Cold Frame out of blocks and two glass doors. I used my Cold Frame to grow Lettuce, Kale, and Swis Chard plants over the winter so that in the spring the plants would be ready to be transplanted. Once I moved the Kale and Swis Chard out of the Cold Frame I planted Tomatoes, Eggplant, Peppers, Lettuce, and Comfrey in it. Having a Cold Frame lets you start things earlier in the spring and later in the fall. If you use glass you can use build the sides out of blocks or wood. Try to stay away from using  Railroad ties if possible, they leach creosote into the soil. Another option is plastic railroad ties. If you don't have glass you can use PVC and a plastic covering to build a hoop house. I have not built one of these before but I planning on it this fall.              

Water System

Last year I got a water system that uses the rain water off my house's roof. We got Soy Lecithin tanks from a company for free and we bought the PVC pipes. The entire system can hold 2,000 gallons of water and is 100% gravity fed. My garden is about 1/8 a mile down a hill from my house. Even if your garden is not down a hill from your house and you can't have it gravity fed, you can still save rain water. I encourage you to create a water system and save the rain water off your roof. There is so many uses for it and you don't need to drain your well or pay for city water to water your garden. I'll write a detailed article about how to build one later.

Wood Chips

I believe every garden needs a wood chip pile. Last year I got a pile by seeing a group of workers clearing the power lines of branches along the road and asking them to dump their load at my house. When they were done they dumped the load the wood chips next to my garden. I have used the wood chips for so many things. It's best not to put it in the soil with your plants because it takes up the nitrogen while it's composting. But there are still many other uses for wood chips. I built a ramp for my mower and I fill in holes in the field with it. I put it in the walkways between my raised beds in my garden. (I will tell more about raise beds later)  

2009 - Early 2010 Summary

The 2009 gardening season has long been over, but I never told what the end of last year was like. I had a pretty good harvest for a first year. Late in the season the deer discovered my garden. They ate all my soybeans and some of my okra, sweet potatoes, and Red Eyed Beans. We got a few really large, sweet watermelon. I have never tasted a watermelon as sweet as that one was. I've heard that watermelons do well in unused soil and my garden area hasn't had a garden on it in 18 years. I believe that's why they were so good. Once I started school in the fall I had little time for gardening. I managed to find enough time to clean up the garden area and have someone come till it. His tiller broke in the middle of tilling it. (okra rapped around the tines and finally broke something in the tiller) When the leaves started falling we raked up all the leaves on our driveway and dumped them on the garden. Late in November I built a cold frame and Mrs. Mccasland helped me plant some things. She gave me Swis Chard and Kale plants and we planted lettuce from seed. I left the glass on the cold frame most of time through the cold winter. We had a extra cold winter this year with much more snow than normal. Early this year I cut up all the leaves on the garden with my mower so they would break down faster. My grandma gave me a tiller and I have bit by bit tilling part of the garden and making raised beds. I transplanted the Swis Chard, Kale and Lettuce out of the cold frame and into the garden.

One of the major projects last year was getting a watering system in. We got 8 free Soy Lecithin containers plastic shipping containers from the company that my dad works for. We bought PVC pipes and hooked them up to get the water draining off the roof. We ran 1 inch PVC to another pipe that goes to the garden and  now I can use all the water I want, for free. Because our house is one a hill there is a lot of water pressure at the garden.

My Corn harvest along with Lettuce seeds. I saved my own lettuce seed last year and they grew this year.

Random Pictures from Last Year:

Picture 4.28.09

I should have put these pictures up earlier but here they are:

These are the raised beds I built in my field because the land was too low and wet.

This is Growbox #1. The last time it was tilled and planted was over 16 years ago. Most of it was vines and bushes that we had to clear out before we could plant.

My carrots. I can't believe how small they were back then. They have grown very fast.

This is Growbox #2. Aunt B and I built it this year. It has been my Winter / Spring garden.

These are my sweet potatoes, my potatoes and Growbox #2.

Thanks,

Ellis Richards

Garden Update

It's been a very long time since the last complete garden update. It's amazing how fast time and weeds can get away from you. Today Aunt B and I went and got about 24 bags of leaves. We put some on most everything. We did some weeding and I transplanted my beans to fill in the first set. We picked a lot of beets and a few radishes. We cooked the beets and I tried them for lunch. They were okay for being grown in the ground and having no added sugar. (or high fructose cornsyrup)

Plant Status: (6.4.09)

Beets: They are about a foot tall and I have been harvesting a lot of them.  There are 5 short rows but they are disappearing fast because they need to be picked.  

Cabbage: The two of the Cabbages that were planted in Growbox 1 are doing good. They are at least 2 1/2 feetin diameter. The other two that were in the low growbox but I transplanted to the large growbox are not doing too good. They are much smaller than the others. They are maybe 1 foot across, maybe smaller. All four of them are being eaten up completely be cabbage worms. I haven't been in the right store yet to buy the organic insectidial I want.  

Carrots: They are over a foot tall and looking healthy.  

Chard (Swis): I have harvested tons of Swis Chard this year. All of them are still growing and they are looking healthy. 

Corn: After two trys with Heirloom corn we ran out of seed. Aunt B gave me some hybid Peaches and Cream Corn so I planted 3 20 foot rows of it.  

Cucumbers: I transplanted 8 plants outside too quickly and killed them all. I gave 4 to Aunt B and they all died. I have 12 more plants that are about 3 to 8 inches long. I will be more careful with them. I believe that two of the plants I got from the flea market are pumkins, Aunt B says they are a different kind of cucumber. 

Eggplant: They are still on the deck. They are green but not growing at all. They are about 1 inch tall. I replanted four of them in good potting soil. I hope that works.  

Garlic: They are about 7 inchs tall and doing great. 

Kale: I have harvested tons of Kale and they have gotten up to 4 feet tall.  End of Season 

Lettuce: The green lettuce Aunt B gave me bolted already. My red romaine is being eaten by some animal. Aunt B planted me two other kinds of Lettuce. They have not come up yet. 

Melons: I have about 4 to 6 still alive in the field. Because not many of them made it I got some more at the flea market. I have many different kinds and they are all about 5 inches long. (They grow along the ground, not up) 

Okra: The first time I planted not many of them came up because it was too cool. Then I planted some in potting soil on the deck. I will move it down to the field so that it will warm up. 

Onions: About 4 of my onions survived. They are about 4 inches tall. The onion sets Aunt B gave me are doing great. They are almost 2 feet tal. 

Peppers: The are on the deck and they are growing very very slowly. I got some more at the flea market but I don't think I'm giving them enough sunlight. I will move them to the field. 

Potatoes (Irish): The tires are about 4-5 tires high. I filled them up will dirt as they grew and only one has come through the top yet. 

Potatoes (Sweet): They are doing great! Mrs. Stucky gave me a bunch and they have taken off and they are about 8 inches tall. 

Radishes: My second planting is doing pretty good. The three ones I left there to go to seed are huge. They are about 3 feet tall and they branch out almost 3 feet. 

Spinach: The ones in Growbox 2 failed so I dug them up. I don't know what went wrong. The ones in growbox 1 came up and they are done great. They are starting to go to seed now I believe. 

Squash: The Butternut squash is doing good. They are a few inches tall.  

Sunflowers: They are doing good and they are about 6 inches tall. 

Tomatoes: The are looking wonderful. I planted them in a layered rasied bed with leaves peatmoss and straw. I got some tomatoes from Charlie and from Mr. Campbell. 

Wheat: Maybe I should try Rice, I don't know 

-Ellis Richards

CEO of ER Farms and Gardening

Garden Mini Update

I planted tomaoes and squash. I have planted beans and I transplanted some eggplant and melons. I got a lot of plants at the Flea Market. I got 4 healthy Pumpkins for one dollar. Then I got tons of other plants for only 5 dollars. The guy was giving them away for a donation! (does that make sence?) I have them all out on the deck. I wanted to get a lot done on my garden but it rained all day. So I hope to get a lot done tomorrow. I will walk down there at 4:30. I can't turn the van around down there because it rained all day and I would get it stuck like I did Friday. I need to get some string up above my corn to keep the Crows from eating the seeds. I need to weed so I will do that when I walk down. 

Ellis Richards

Pictures

Garden

After school today I got a lot done on the garden. 

I moved the 7 bags of grass over to the shed.

Pugged a hole in growbox 1 that soil of washing out of.

I weeded my growboxes.

I fixed the mower battery. (where it had come loose)

I brought in two bags of leaves from the woods.

I turned my compost pile.

I downloaded the seminar powerpoint.

Ellis Richards

Bountiful Blessings Farm Seminar

Today Aunt B took me to an gardening Seminar. I learned so much. I am downloading the powerpoint that the speaker gave so I can review it. After the seminar the speaker came to my garden to give me some advise. He told me to splt my large garden in half and only plant the upper half. I will devide it up into 20 foot long by 30 inchs wide plant beds. I will also do one or two of them in the lower part of the garden. I will just do them as a lasagna garden. I am so happy for his advise.

Ellis Richards

New Fertilizer 4.18.09

Aunt B and I mixed up some of this new fertilizer tonight . We put one cup of weat, a cup of rice, a cup of barley, and a cup of millet. 

I hope it works well. 

Garden Update

It's been a little awhile since I have written an update on the garden. 

Yesterday (4.17.09) Aunt B (Barbara McCasland) and I worked in the field and garden. I mowed the lower part of the field around the creek while she dug in the large garden. When I was almost through mowing Aunt B starting bagging the hay. We will use it for compost and for our Lasagna garden. I mowed the grass on the other side of the creek into a long pile. Then after taking the mower back up the hill and helped Aunt B bag the grass. We got seven forty gallon bags full of grass. We had a little more than that but Aunt B put a bag on the current compost pile. 

Aunt B tran planted some on my beets and radishes into neat spaced out rows. 

Plant Status: (4.18.09)

Beets: They are about 1 inch tall and looking healthy. I planted them about the first of march. Aunt B thinned them out and transplaned the extras into empty spots in the rows. 

Cabbage: I got 4 of these plants from school around the end of March. We transplanted two of them over to Grow Box two in between the Kale and Swis Chard.

Carrots: I planted these about the first of march like the Beets. They are about 1 inch tall and spreading out. 

Chard (Swis): These plants are ones that Aunt B gave me from her cold frame. They are healthy and I have already started eating some. They are ranging from about 3 inches tall to 5 inches tall. 

Corn: Has yet to be planted.

Cucumbers: I transplanted 8 plants outside too quickly and killed them all. I gave 4 to Aunt B and they all died. I have 12 more plants that are about 3 to 8 inches long. I will be more careful with them. 

Eggplant: They are still inside. The are about 1/2 inch tall and still looking healthy. 

Garlic: Aunt B gave me these and they are abotu 7 inchs tall and doing great. 

Kale: I have not had good luck with Kale. I have three kinds that only one of them is any good. They are small and growing very slowly even though I have harvested more Kale than anythign else. 

Lettuce: Aunt B gave me these plants from her cold frame. They are growing fast and they look healthy. They are not quite big enough yet to eat off of. 

Melons: I have lost many of these in the indoor "greenhouse" I have about 7 left and they are looking stronger by the day. Some of them might still die. They are about 3-4 inches tall. 

Okra: Has not been planted.

Onions: Most of mine that I transplanted outside died. Aunt B gave me some Onion sets so I hope those do good. 

Peppers: They are growing slowly in my room. They are less than a inch tall. 

Potatoes (Irish): They are coming up in the tires. I hope to plant some more next year. The ones we planted in the field were lost. It was just too wet. They rotted. 

Potatoes (Sweet): Has not been planted.

Radishes: They are less than a inch tall but looking very healty. They are planted in growbox 1. I planted them when I planted my beets and Spinach. 

Spinach: The ones in growbox 2 look a little yellow but I hope they will recover. Only some of the ones in growbox 1 came up. They are less than a inch tall. 

Squash: Has not been planted. 

Sunflowers: Has not been planted. 

Tomatoes: Has not been planted. I will get some Charlie about halfway through May. He said he would give me 8 Cluster tomato plants. I can't wait. I first need to buy or make some tomaoe cages. 

Wheat: haha. Not this year! 

-Ellis Richards

CEO of ER Farms and Gardening

Pictures

This is the tire marks I left after I got the van stuck in the field. I went up and got my dad and then he set it up so Aunt B could pull it out with her truck. I was relieved when it didn't take as long as I thought it would.





















Aunt B and I transplanted 8 cucumber plants on Sunday. (4.12.09) We tired to shade them with pine branches. They went into bad shock after being transplanted and then going through bad thunderstorms. I pray they make it through.




















Here is my pear tree. I pruned it much eariler this year and it's doing great. It was a miracle that the blossoms made it through the frost.

This is a picture of my grow box #2. The date is 4.12.09

Gardening in Layers

Here is something interesting I found on Gardening in Layers.

Creating a Lasagna Garden

 

This method of gardening requires lugging bags of organic material to the bed.

 

But there is no tilling, and weeding will minimal after the bed is established.

 

Here’s how to do it:

 

Pick a site. Lay wet newspapers at least 1 inch thick over the site. Do not use the slick inserts.

 

Begin layering organic materials on top, such as peat moss, grass clippings, chopped leaves, bagged topsoil or compost and composted animal manure.

 

If you use pine needles, which are acidic, sprinkle a little lime on top. Wood ashes should be used sparingly.

 

Build the layers up to 24 inches deep if you are going to wait until the next season to plant. Build about 10 to 14 inches deep if planting immediately or in a few weeks.

 

Add a layer of pine bark or hardwood mulch to hold the layers in place.

 

When planting, put the root ball in the layers piled on top of the newspaper. Water in well.

 

Continue to add chopped leaves, grass clippings and compost seasonally to the beds as needed.

 

– Christine Arpe Gang

The Beginning Of ER Farms' Blog

To start this record I will name the people that have been a great help in starting this project and I will name the positions of the people working in on the project.

This project owes a lot to:

Barbara Mccasland

Floyd Mccasland

Evonne Richards 

Vern Lemon

Ruth Richards

Seed Savers INC.

Positions:

Ellis Richards, CEO

Barbara Mccasland, Vice CEO

In this blog I will include information about ER Farms, gardening, and more. (and Pictures)

Thanks for reading,

Ellis Richards, CEO