Backyard Farming the Natural Way

Archive for the ‘DIY Gardening Plans’ Category

After plowing up my new 1200 sq feet garden site, I discovered many buried ‘treasures’ that will need to be removed from the soil during my Spring cleanup. I decided to go with raised beds, and so I made this soil screener-sifter to remove all the trash, roots, sticks, and rocks etc. It is a time consuming process, but once it is done, it is DONE! SOoo…, I have filmed a video on the process of making and using this handy sifter.

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There are many plans and videos out there for building a hoop house or green house. However, I was looking for something rather portable for mainly getting an early start on the growing season. I will add that it also needed to be simple, fast, and inexpensive to make. In the following video, I detail a system which I made for under ten dollars!
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Perhaps the hardest part with doing anything new is the mental work of planning and decision. I know this is certainly true with the initial stages in laying out for vegetable and herb growing. Therefore, let me see if I can simplify some of the hardest parts of this for you – other details can be handled later.  So here are some questions which will easily help you sort it out and get started..

1. Take inventory of suitable spots on your property to grow your edibles. Consider the amount of sunlight, the orientation of the sun, the quality of the soil, the trees nearby (root intrusion), the proximity to pets and animals which could be detrimental etc. When you are done, decide how many square feet you have to work with (of course, containers can be considered as part of your equation) Read the rest of this entry »

For those who want to do a simple and cheap soil ph test, you can do the following and get a reasonable idea whether your soil is too acid or alkaline.

• Have on hand 4 jars or short glasses, vinegar, baking soda, and a tablespoon.
• Collect a few different soil samples from the area in question and mix these together. Place about two tablespoons each of the samples in two of the containers, and moisten slightly.
• Mix a tablespoon of baking soda with two tablespoons of distilled (or ph neutral) water. Pour this into one of the soil sample containers, and if it fizzes, the soil ph is low.
• Place a couple of tablespoons of vinegar into a container and then pour it into the other soil sample container. If it fizzes, the soil is probably alkaline – ph too high.

This will not be as accurate as a soil test, but it will serve to give you a quick snapshot of the ph of your soil. Have fun!

In this video, I demonstrate agitating and mixing compost with this tool, and show how simple it is to make. I used to use a long fireplace poker, but this works so much better and saves my back from all that turning with a pitchfork

In this video, I demonstrate a new aeration technique for making compost tea which does not involve suspending a filter bag of compost into the aeration container. This may be fine for using a very small amount of compost, but for larger amounts, I feel that there will be a dead zone (anaerobic) inside the suspended compost.  Read the rest of this entry »