“Come on Dad, grab a cuke. It’s fun!”

gideon having fun with hens

These were the words said to me this week by my son Gideon as the kids were having a blast feeding overripe cucumbers to the chickens.  We love the country life!  The kids wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.  They have so much fun playing with the farm animals.  So turn off the TV, get rid of those video games and have some downhome, wholesome country fun!  Enjoy the pictures below.

theo having fun with chickens

 

theo and mr rooster

roosting on emma

mr rooster likes cuke

hungry chickens

kids and chickens

double barrel cukes

cuke looks good

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Remembering Ruth Stout: A Guru of No-Work Gardening

my Ruth Stout No-Work Garden Book

One of the first books I read as the Lord rekindled my love of gardening was “The Ruth Stout No-Work Garden Book” by the late Ms. Ruth Stout and Mr. Richard Clemence, published by Rodale Press.  Ms. Stout was a pioneer, prolific writer and strong advocate in the no-work gardening methodology.  There is much written about her work and spirited life, and I enjoyed learning from her books and articles in the old—and much better in my opinion—“Organic Gardening and Farming” magazine.

Ms. Stout passed away on August 22, 1980.  This being August, I thought it would be fitting to remember Ms. Stout.

Ms. Stout believed in little disturbance of the soil and gardening with the least amount of work.   Her signature was piles high of hay mulch lying on the garden in which she would open up just enough to drop seeds on the soil.  She never liked to transplant.  The tools of her trade were a pitch fork and a trowel and of course lots of hay.  According to various written accounts, her garden was a thriving bed of vegetative life.

I’ve used Ms. Stout’s methods in various places in my garden and at different times with some very good success.  My biggest challenge was obtaining a continuous supply of enough mulch to have that very deep, permanent mulch layer.  Another of my problems, as I have noted in previous posts, was dealing with the hard clay soil, which continues to be a problem in many of my beds today.

I still plan to use Ms. Stout’s methods off and on and hopefully more in the future as my garden improves and I collect more mulch material.  Here is to remembering a classic in the organic gardening world.

Have you used the Ruth Stout method?  If so, how did it go for you?

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Cover Crop Experiment: Tillage Radish

This week I planted an experimental bed of Tillage Radish.  I have several beds with hard clay starting about eight to ten inches below the top soil.  Instead of using the double dig method on these bigger beds, I’m trying the Tillage Radish this year to see how it will work in breaking up this deep hard clay.

my tillage radish experimental beds

I learned about Tillage Radishes from the folks at Greene’s Country Store & Feed.  Planted in August, these radishes are to produce long, extended taproots that drill through hardpan, breaking it up and improving drainage and air movement deep in the soil.

During its growth phase, it takes up large amounts of nitrogen and other key soil nutrients.    While it grows, it acts as a cover crop producing dense foliage that blocks out winter annual weeds.

The radish grows rapidly until the beginning of winter, and then is killed off by several cold nights in the “teens.”   When it dies, it begins to decay leaving a void in the soil where the plant was, creating a partial “no-work” aeration system and increasing microbial activity.  Moreover, nitrogen stored in the plant is slow-released back into the soil as the plant decays.

These radishes can be planted among other types of cover crops such as clover, peas and oats providing additional soil building benefits.  I’m just going with the radish this year but will likely experiment with other combinations in the years ahead.

Sounds pretty good!  We’ll see how it goes, and I’ll report back later in the year.

Have you ever used radishes to improve your soil?  How did it work?  Are there any cover crops that you have used to break up hardpan?

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Saving Tomato Seeds

If you’ve been following the blog, you know how much we love tomatoes.  I like to keep improving the tomatoes we grow.  One good way to keep improving tomatoes in your garden from year to year–and save money as well–is to save seeds from your best tomatoes.  It’s easy to do and only takes a little bit of time.

Here’s a video that shows how I save tomato seeds.

Do you have any seed saving secrets you would like to share?  I’d love to hear from you.

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The Joys of a Bountiful Harvest

Theodore the Tomato Picker

The kids are a big help in managing the garden and growing our own healthy food. The work can be tough and hot at times, but there are those simple rewards of learning diligence and responsibility—not to mention the joys of a bountiful harvest.

What are some of your joyful times working with your kids?

 

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Nine Foot Tall Sweet Corn – Double Dug Bed

Sweet Corn 8-9 ft tall

Besides the tomatoes I’m keeping watered during this drought, I am also watering this one four foot by twenty foot bed of sweet corn.  The sweet corn is doing exceptionally well in this bed this year.

Here’s what I did to get these good results:

  • I let this wide-row bed lie fallow for two years, and I had a deep layer of mulch hay covering the bed during this time.
  • After removing the hay mulch and leaving about a one inch surface layer of rotted hay compost, I then ran the Troy Horse tiller over the surface to cultivate the top layer.
  • Next, I used the John Jeavons double dig (video below) method to deeply prepare the bed and additionally work in the hay compost.
  • Finally, to help preserve moisture during the drought, provide slow release nitrogen and block weed growth, I also put down several layers of newspaper between the rows and covered these with a thick layer of grass clippings.

It took some work, but the results have been tremendous.  This typically moderately tall corn is eight to nine feet tall, very dark green with thick, strong stalks and leaves.  The ears are starting to silk and grow hearty, well-formed ears.

Now the task will be to keep the raccoons out.  I’ll provide another update once he ears come to maturity.

What are some of your sweet corn growing secrets and tips?

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