Summer Projects: Food Storage and Urban Farming

My parents have been really concerned with food storage lately, and feeling an urgency to get it in place.  As such, they are looking at ways to augment the food storage they already have in as many ways as possible.  The main method?  Self-sufficient urban farming.  

I've talked about urban farming before.  It's a process of growing and raising farm food in an urban environment while complying with city ordinances.  Now, most cities allow quite a lot of latitude, depending on the reaction of the neighbors.  So if you are not on good terms with your neighbors, you may want to warm them up to you.  

The first and easiest method of urban farming is growing a garden.  many people will plant whole sections of their yards in garden, others in selected areas.  I chose selected areas, because our yard isn't that big to begin with.  I have one small section in the back that has some eggplant, artichokes, corn, beans, pumpkin, peas, radishes, lettuce, cucumber and grapes growing.  It's small, so there isn't a lot growing in this location.  But the plants are well managed, allowing for good usage of the land.

This week I will be planting some watermelon in the front yard, in what is currently a garden plot covered with bark.  It will give the appearance of green in the plot while utilizing less water.  Why less water?  Because the bark and weed barrier will keep the weeds down, leaving more water for the melons.

But, because the food that is grown isn't going to be able to feed us all, or provide all the nutrients we need, more needs to be done.  Unfortunately, there isn't enough land in an urban environment to have livestock (nor is it zoned as such, generally).  So, what can one do to get their farm-fresh foods?

First, you can learn how to make cheese.  I've tried one recipe, and the cheese was pretty good.  Now, this summer my family and I will be making more cheeses by investing in some cultures, rennet, and probably building a cheese press.  Cheese was originally developed as a way to provide the benefits of milk and milk protein without worrying about it going sour in a short amount of time.

Next, there is preserved meats.  We plan on making jerky this summer, along with some bottled and preserved meats.  It requires some investment in a bath bottler (instead of just steam), but it's worth it in the end.  Along with that, my family has a killer recipe for sweet pickled beets, dill pickled green beans, and hot pickled carrots.  Perhaps this year I'll get to use my purple carrots I planted (assuming my son hasn't killed them all already).  

But once you have all this done, where do you store them?  A basement is great if it's rarely used.  Unfortunately, our basement is being used.  So what to do?  Well, you can build a root cellar.  Root cellars are great, because they can double as cheese caves.  They stay naturally cool in summer, and don't freeze in the winter.  Also, they don't have to be really large.  You can build a small pit that is covered (so no one falls in), and then cover it up with a decent covering.  As long as there is a drainage area for rain, you should be good to go.  

So, are we planning on the end of the world?  Is that why we are going nuts with this urban farming plan?  No, not really.  It's because we want to have good food, save some money on gas and buying at the store.  It's all about economics.  The fact that the food supply will still be useful and very viable in the case of a disaster is just icing on the cake.  

And the real great thing about these projects this time is my wife's support of it.  Before she thought I was just crazy, but now she understands the benefits of fresh vegetables and fruits that are just a short walk away.

Weekend Project 3: Final count and Hydroponics

This coming week I will be teaching my Mac OS 10.4 Server Essentials class, and therefore will most likely not post anything anytime soon. So, I thought I would post a quick update on my backyard project.

Currently, I have outlined the section where it will be located. I was going to even out the ground, but as we will be placing patio stones down around it, it makes more sense to wait until we start getting sand and gravel to lay the foundation on. Once that is gathered, we will have a level foundation to lay the patio and the greenhouse.

That being said, I found enough brick and other material for the foundation, so I don't need to purchase any additional material. Yay! This means that the project will be running as soon as I can get the fine gravel to level out. Then I just need to get some straw, and start building the cob!

The cob portion will only comprise one full wall, and then about 2 to 3 feet for the rest of the wall. The rest of the wall will be framed in with 2 by 4 boards and covered over with either heavy plastic, or corrigated plastic sheets. Either way, it should take roughly 2 to 3 months to complete the greenhouse. As I get each phase completed, I will post pictures.

Hydroponic Project has Begun!
The project window is moving along quickly, so I also started my hydroponics project. I set some perlite in an egg carton, and cut holes in the base of the carton. Then, I set some seeds in each one. 3 cups have pansies (for my wife), 3 have two types of pumpkin, 2 have cucumbers, and two more have artichokes. I started with the larger veggies because of the time it will take to get them started, and because they will most likely be planted in the ground anyway. The actual hydroponic project will be focused on greens, tomatoes, peppers, and herbs, all of which I can get later once the project is completed.

Once the seeds were set in, I added water, and set it in the window sill. Now, I'm just waiting for the plants to start sprouting. Once sprouted, I will be able to plant them elsewhere, or set them in the greenhouse. Then I can start with the greens. ^_^

So, that's where we sit now. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know!

The Weekend Garden Project

Hello everyone! I know I haven't posted a lot lately, but I have been preparing for my Search Engine Optimization class which has taken a lot of time. But, I wanted to let you know that the garden project has not been sacrificed, and I had some time to work on it this weekend.

Cleaning the Remains of the Snowball Bush
I started by cutting down the majority of the snowball bush, and then spent the rest of the time on Saturday disposing of the branches. The branches were all still very dry, as I cut them before the sap began to rise from the roots. Because of that, they burned quite easily. They also made a lot of ash, very hot coals, and a perfect opportunity to do some good old fashioned Dutch-oven cooking. The recipe that I used will be posted, so that you can try it as well.

I also talked the family into a barbecue, cooking bacon wrapped turkey bits. Add some mashed potatoes, veggies and greens, and it was a great celebration of St. Patrick's Day, even without the corned beef and cabbage.

The Meal
So, since there wasn't much else done other than cleaning up the back and burning the branches, let's look at the meal.

For Dutch-oven cooking, my parents brought up some frozen chicken. I placed these in the oven with some olive oil, salt, pepper, fresh rosemary, and some fresh lemon thyme. I then buried the oven in the coals from all the branches that were burned. After 40 minutes, the chicken was tender, moist, and amazingly tasty.

Now, the bacon-wrapped turkey was a little different matter. I didn't use the snowball bush limbs for this, because they were not the cleanest of branches. Sure, they are OK as coals surrounding a dutch oven, but I wouldn't want the filth left by flocks of birds on the bush. So, we used other wood available from previous cuttings that were clean and mostly dry.

The recipe is really simple. We took turkey breasts, cut them up into bite-sized pieces, and then wrapped each of the pieces in bacon. Then we pinned each with wooden tooth-picks, and placed them into a wire frame. Then placing the wire frame on the grill, they cooked up really quickly. Within 15 minutes, they were done (some a little more than done with really hot coals and very flammable bacon fat in the equation).

Together, it was perhaps the best meal I ever had for St. Patty's Day, and made me proud of my distant Irish ancestors. Perhaps I will cover that connection to the Fitzgeralds of Ulster in future postings.

Now, all that I need to do to finish my preparatory work on the garden is to move the current layout for the chessboard, and then dig the foundation for the cob project.

Changes to the Cob Project
Speaking of the cob project, I had intended to make a very solid, practically livable little house out of cob. Simple windows, a door, a small heater in the corner, and a wonderfully well-built cedar shingle roof. Well, as I have been going over the project again, I realized that there is a part of the project that I have overlooked, and that I definitely need to complete.

Namely, I need a greenhouse. I have thought about this for a while, and I just haven't been able to find another way around it. The greenhouse would allow me to grow vegetables all year round, as well as tropical fruits. It also would let me build the fish tank that I have been wanting to continue with. So, with water plants, vegetables, fruits, and a small aquarium for growing edible fish, I think it would be worth the change.

Of course, it's necessary to also allow for the change of materials. I can now use the bricks that I have in the back yard as the foundation (there should be enough), and use some redwood or cedar two by fours to frame in the rest, including the roof. Of course, One wall will remain fully cobbed in (the one facing the garage), which is where the heater (probably a rocket heater) will be going.

Well, that is where everything stands now. There will be some work done again this week, and I hope to have some pictures posted rather soon. Stay tuned!

Cultivating Life: New Show on KUEN

While I was playing with my son and waiting for my wife to come home from work, I started flipping through the channels. Normally I don't like to watch commercial television in the evenings, because nothing seems to keep my interest anymore. But tonight, at 9:00 PM on KUEN (Channel 9), I found a show that really interested me. It's called Cultivating Life, and appears to be a fairly new show on Public Television.

It started with images of ducks and geese walking on a lawn, gardens, beautiful pictures of rubarb plants and other excellent vegetables. Naturally, this piqued my interest. The show seemed to be something of a mix between Martha Stewart, Essence of Emeril, and This Old House. There wasn't a lot that seemed to be relevant to my projects, until they interviewed an urban farmer in the New York area. It was just a quick interview, but it was enough to get me to check out their website.

Once there, I only saw one gardening project that seemed really interesting. That is Vegetables in Containers. It basically takes a tomato plant, an eggplant, and several Basil plants to build up a nice little garden in a pot about the size of a whiskey barrel. The yield was rather good, and I love each of those plants.

Why did this interest me? Because square foot gardening is the best way to get a high yield of food within a small space. And with the loss of my greenhouse, I need as much space as I can get. Whiskey barrels are well suited for this type of gardening, and by seeing the project done elsewhere gives more of a sense of surety of investment in the overall project.

There are a lot of other projects that are there for the more "crafty" person, perfect for a craft night. The gardening projects are also interesting, and I think they can be easily duplicated using more natural materials (i.e., a-frame supports for tomatoes can be made with willow wicker, instead of metal fencing). Anyway, If you are interested in small-scale gardening projects, I recommend you check out the website or watch the show. It's really quite interesting, and the recipes they offer sound really good! ^_^