Cold Frame Using Old Window Building Part One

After pulling out my old window, replaced it with a much greener one, I wasn't sure what I was going to due with it. Kicked around the idea of a cold frame, I learned a friend on-line was in zone 4 and uses theirs through the winter for winter hardy crops. I explored the idea further and remember one of my old Mother Earth magazine had a article in it some years ago about cold framing.

I would really like some ideas on things to use inside to gather heat during the day and keep it warm during the night? Do you have/use a cold frame? I am in zone 5a, what crops would you use?

I Finished My Signature Tree of Life Today, Self Sufficient Skills

So I finished my siggie piece today, The Tree of Life, its headed down to the Gallery tomorrow. I am still considering price right now, so besides the folks in my shop, your are the first peeps to see it.

As I show pictures, I will explain more to you as there are different reasons for building this.



The four branches represents the ten year blocks of my life and its up/downs/struggles. As an artist my subject matter changes with the way I am feeling or what the purpose the item is. I am not going into great detail of the four branches and why they are shaped the way they are. All the info about this lamp is in a book that goes with the lamp and its new future owner.





The patina is my siggie patina and is completed to a highly desirable earth tone using liver of sulfur mixed with my secret other ingredient which the recipe will die with me as other well know Coppersmiths have done. There is little to no information on some artist patina formula.

One with Mother Earth brought the root system to life in this piece and with this piece, perhaps my last representation of the Art Nouveau transition to the Arts and Crafts style which is heavily represented like no other piece I have done to date.



When I design and make a piece, its a passion or love for what I am doing. So to get the best work possible in my siggie pieces I work on them when I want. I still have one that is laying covered in dirt and dust. When I feel the right time, I will complete it. Each of the four panels was hand filed to completion for detail taken from my sketch template. That template will go into my lifes work folder with my past/current/future works. This piece is signed/dated/numbered/embossed with my personal stamp given/designed by Jim. Its my registered trade mark with the Guilds of Master Craftsmen.
While in the middle of this piece I was inspired to complete yet another piece that I have been designing for 5 years now. The amount of detail and different materials will showcase some of my more skilled level of work. I expect the next piece to take almost a year to build from start to finish. Working for myself, being SS also means I can make a living while at the same time work and design some of my own signature pieces which is used for my personal income gain.

Food Shortage Across The World Discussion 1 Billion Without Food 2009

There are more and more alarming facts/things happening right around us. Let me open this discussion up by sending you to read an article that is as shocking to me as Food Inc. was. Please go to Mother Earth News and read this article, come back and lets discuss it more in depth.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Nature-Community/Tipping-Point-Planet-Civilization.aspx

I ask myself some serous questions about the most destructive creature that walks the earth, man. I wonder how we can be so smart yet so stupid? As natural habitats shrink, rain forest disappear how can we continue to survive yet allow the rest of what lives with us die? Why can't/don't we stop killing the earth?

Like air, destruction is all around me, even as I make my stand against it, the big companies, and the government, I ask myself what is it that I am getting that they don't? Perhaps they have known all along and the real truth is its all about the mighty dollar. Perhaps as well the earth is feeding a population the she can't really feed. I am the first person to step up and all for harvesting my own food from lakes/soil/land. But how much is too much?

Raised Beds, Bees Wax And Cheap Materials, Be Informed...

When we think about raised beds, we think about how long will they last?

Time and time again I see raised beds made from wood that was made to last, pressure treated or creosote treated railroad ties. In no way am I a expert and admit the info I am about to share is just keeping any/all chemicals out of my food.

I rub my wood for my raised beds with bees wax, as short lived as it is, it's better than getting cancer from chemicals in the food that I work so hard to raise.

The amount of folks making raised beds from used railroad ties and pressure treated lumber is alarming.

Its better to make your raised beds from wood that you need to replace every couple years, verses inviting cancer to be a pal... The chemicals used in these products also over time leech into the ground, perhaps into your well water.

A small list of items of types of treated materials are old rail road ties, old telephone poles, old pier pylons/boards, marine grade plywood and green/blue colored pressure treated lumber sold at tores across the nation.

I am sure there is even a better solution to my bees wax idea, please share.

Its Time To Get The Stuff Out, Get Comfy, And Start Writing Your Garden Plans

Today I can't tell you how important it is to sit down and plan your garden out. I just finished an article that covers importance of crop rotation in my Country Wisdom self sufficient guide. As I sat down with cup of blueberry acai tea and a couple slices of homemade bread and jam. I had all the things I was gong to need to make my plans.

 

 

Using my notes that I have taken over the entire year, I begin to plan what is going to go where and which ones will grow together. I have always planted radishes with my squash plants to warn off pest. I decide that I would plant corn, limas and green beans up to the property that Paul Sr. allowed me to use last year.

With the blight of 1847 hitting last year, I have moved my maters to a different location this year.I plan to still put the crazy bean tree up as well as the cucumber ladder.

 

  

I have plans to put the cold frame in the back of the house plant chard/spinach in that and maybe some lettuce as well. I have a strawberry patch that is ready to be pulled out and replanted. With the 300 some plants now over in the big field, I will put a much larger  herb garden in as well as a new garlic patch.

I have some left over wood from the chicken coop build to build the cold frame from. I am going to rebuild the coop this summer as I didn't do a very good job the first time. Oh, its well built, but unpractical as a tractor coop. 

One of the disadvantages of doing something for the first time is the mistakes that are made along the way that are costly. I will not need to buy more materials, but I bought way to much and over killed building the coop.  That money came out of my SS fund and could of been put to use in much better ways. By the time I finished the coop, I was very pleased with the build until I tried to move it. That became a nightmare and so this spring, armed with a new design, I will build something more practical.

So What Is My Self Sufficient Fund?

Well years ago when I started my to live self sufficient (SS) I decided to start out with a fund of 1500.00 and see where that could get me and I would figure the rest out. Buying the 1954 harvester super C and 48 inch box tiller put a huge hit in that amount, and after purchase of more jars for canning, I have since stayed below the 1K mark but with sales of goods from canning, bartering and trading have kept that going.

The funds are to improve my garden and level of planting and producing food to consume or sale/barter with. The eggs are still being sold to friends and that money goes back into their food fund as well as my SS fund. I have raised my prices to just below what the super market are selling their organic eggs locally here. Their selling theirs for 3.69 a carton, so I am selling mine for 3.00 a carton.

Each improvement I make to my property/garden comes from my SS fund, and its doing okay, not as much as I expected. I didn't tap any trees as I was going too, I need to design a cooker to cook the sap down.

I Have Started Planning My Garden Here Is A Sample Layout

So I started planning my garden and you might have guessed which book I was going to grab first? If you said my Country Wisdom & Know-How book you are correct.
I could spend all day telling you how wonderful/useful this book is.
I scanned a picture from this book to use on my blog to show you this book is awesome!!! For as little as $6.96 this book retails for $19.99, it can be yours!!

So using this layout has given me a good start on how I am going to plant my garden, at least the bottom end of my garden. I already have a carrot box, so I am going to modify this for my own use. I will triple my spinach crop this year, I love spinach, but not mustard greens. Although I was fond of Gails greens that were made with smoked jowl and onions. I might have to come up with my own recipe.
Wondering about the flavor of Swiss Chard??? What does it taste like??

Also canned beets this year, recipes?

Cold Frame Using Old Window From Remodel

I have never built or used a cold frame before, being in zone 5a I think this is a wonderful idea for cold weather crops. This one I found on a post at http://www.theeasygarden.com/ and can see that I have most of the materials already to build one like this one.

Mine will be much larger and once I get a better understanding of how they work, I will be off to build my own. I already found a perfect location that gets sun through most of the day. 

Do you or have you ever used/built a cold frame?

I am interested in gathering more information that will assist me in build/using mine to live a more self sufficient life.

Planning Your Garden Out, Spring Is Coming Part Two, Recipe Ideas?

Well, mom might have been right and maybe none of us want to agree. One of the most important tools you can have is knowledge of the food and its nutritional value as part of your diet. This should be the reasons why planning your garden out is so important.

In my personal library I have several key books that I often suggest for many reason, but one main reason is easy/use/application whether your a experienced gardener or your just getting started jumping in both feet first. Grow Vegetables: Gardens - Yards - Balconies - Roof Terraces is a book that everyone can use, I bought this book when I was living in the city and needed to figure out planting spaces and which veggies grow with each other to ward off pest. Now that I live in the country on my farm/homestead this book is one of three I use every year to help me plan my gardens.

I have started this year to look more closely at the types of veggies I will be planting this year for their food value in my diet. Its important that you get your soil worked in really well, but if this is your first year, not to worry. You can still have a pretty decent harvest using some ready made organic fertilizers which can be purchased locally.
The second book I will strongly suggest is Country Wisdom & Know-How. This book, more than any other book has been my self sufficient guide from the start of my journey. As far as Self Sufficient living goes, this book goes into detail about all sorts that folks have to know. This book is filled with more than how to garden, it has recipes, crafts, elixirs, quilting, canning, soap making, lotions, home repairs, bee keeping, animal assistance/health, meat sectioning for small and large game, chicken/duck rearing and under ground storage. Hands down, mine is covered with dirt, torn pages, folded pages, and the cover is worn. I have notes scribbled for things I have tried or ideas.

Because this book was put together by the Editors of Storey books, you can be assured that for the $7.18 your paying for the book, you are getting a awesome bargain.

Be sure to stop back so we can talk about the books if you decide to purchase them. Once I got my head into them, I was learning all kinds of new skills as well as educating myself on living a more self sufficient lifestyle. I also have learned to make my soil better and how to get the best veggies from my garden.

So sitting in front of me is my sprout seeds, Catskill Brussels Sprouts, I know in my heart in life, sometimes you have to be brave.

Do you have a recipe for Brussels Sprouts??? I sure would like to find some ways to eat them!! As my memory reminds me, my Mom use to boil them, a little butter, and rolled them on my plate. Oh the memories are fresh now.....

Also ideas on Swiss Chard which is also new to me this year, I will try to grow this in my cold frame as well. So how do you eat Swiss Chard????

Now that I had my first taste of a Tomatillo sauce over a wonderful organic chicken burrito, I fell in love with them. I am looking for some sauce ideas I can can up for next winter as well as other ways to use them in my foods????

Planning Your Garden Out, Spring Is Coming Part One

In 17 days spring will be here!!! One of the most rewarding easy to do self sufficient ideas is to plant a garden. Though there is a complete science behind gardening, I want to explain to you why planing your garden out prior to purchasing seeds and getting the soil ready is important.

Prior to this year, I never really thought out planting my garden. Have you ever really thought out what your going to plant? Before this year I would plan out my garden, plant my seedlings or sow my seeds. I just planted the standard veggies and took great pride in raising a good crop.

Never before this year have I thought more in depth what I am going to grow. Our goal, at the end of the harvest season is to have good food to put into our bodies that aren't grown with harsh chemicals. Through the growing season we have worked hard to grow our food, and the rewards are great.

I wanted more from my garden this year because my body needs more nutrition than I was aware before. After watching Food Inc. I began to think more about why my freezer is 25% filled with corn instead of other veggies that have more nutrition and are better for me.

Have you ever grown a veggie that you didn't like? Was Mom right when she told us to eat our sprouts even though we didn't like them?

Recycling, New Bag, Garden Planning Early

I am a roadside trash digger looking for useful things, and I often look for bins/trash trailers to find things I KNOW I need, that was the key word (know). As far as roadside stuff, 4 ways, get out look around, grab something if I need it, and return the pile as it was or neater.

Most people/companies won't give permission to get into their dumpsters, but it never hurts to ask or if something is on top and you can pinch it real quick, still ask perhaps even an employee will get it for you.

I am wanting to build a small green house or cold frames on my property. So I am going to be seeking out window installers to get some free windows this spring. I also located an area on my property that I can put a small green house and several places for cold frames.

It wasn't until last night did I ever see one of these!!

I think this is fantastic idea, but I wonder how long it will take to rot? Also I wonder how many other chip companies will move forward with this idea. I wonder what other food/application we can use this idea for? It would be wonderful if this could replace all primary holding bags and leave a smaller carbon footprint.

Buy your seeds ASAP this year, my visit to both big box stores are already showing empty slots. I have saved some seed last year as well as received some seeds from my uncle/mark. In order to be more self sufficient I think its important to save as many seeds as you can from year to year. Also trading seeds with folks you know in real life and on line friends is a good way to expand the type of veggies you currently have.

I will doing my smoking video next weekend, I am excited about being able to share this great idea with you. Really makes for good eats as well. Fact that its a natural way to add smoke flavoring, no chemicals are used.

An Awesome Useful Book To Have.

I have in many post suggested buying Country Wisdom & Know-How as a tool to use to help you along in your journey of living as self sufficient as you choose to do. Here is a picture of mine, note how well used this book is.
This book is filled with more than how to garden, it has recipes, crafts, elixirs, quilting, canning, soap making, lotions, home repairs, animal assistance/health, meat sectioning for small and large game, chicken/duck rearing and under ground storage. To be honest it's just filled with information that will help the novice self sufficient person. Whether your just starting a self sufficient lifestyle or whatever level your at, this book is a must have.

At a small cost of $12.97 this book is worth its weight in gold. Instead of purchasing several dead tree books (paper books) and spending loads of money, purchase this book first. I have personally cooked several recipes from the book, yum yum pigs bum!!!

If you purchase this book, I look forward o getting some feedback from you here on my blog.