When I woke up on Wednesday morning to a hazy orange sky, I felt like I was back in Denver – where forest fire smoke is (unfortunately) a common occurrence. As the day progressed, the smoke surpassed any experience I’ve ever had – the thickness burned the lungs. I tried to power through but ended up completing just an hour’s worth of work in the garden before I had to transition to indoor work.
As a reminder, I organize my week’s accomplishments according to my ultimate goals for this homestead property. Here is what I worked on this week:
Food Production
There are many signs of progress in the garden – tiny flowers budding on the tomatoes and cucumbers, stringy tendrils stretching from the pole beans, and even the sweet potato vines are starting to reach into the pathway. Fewer weeds pop up each day, indicating that my semi-daily passes with the oscillating hoe have been a successful weed mitigation strategy.
I have begun to tie up the tomatoes using the Florida weave. My stakes are actually electric fence posts that I purchased at Tractor Supply for $2.99 each. So far, they have enough stability to support multiple plants and, thanks to their rebar construction, are sure to stand the test of time.
I did a garden audit to identify blank spots. I knew there was a possibility of poor germination because I used old seeds, and because I got a little overzealous with the oscillating hoe before some even had a chance to break ground. Seeds are theoretically good for decades if stored correctly, but since I moved frequently over the last ten years, my collection was sometimes exposed to substandard conditions. I found a few blank spots and replanted with cucumbers, zucchini, kale, and beans.
Since the plants had entirely died back, I harvested my second potato tower. It was much more successful than the first, which I had harvested prematurely out of an abundance of excitement. With a few more weeks, this one was quite a bit more successful, but there is still room for improvement. My next attempt will use more compost and fewer seed potatoes to give each plant the room it needs to grow. This will also help my seed potatoes go further; instead of using one bag to make one tower, I could use one bag to make three towers.
Resource Acquisition & Preparedness
I harvested another basket of herbs from my adopted mom’s garden to dehydrate. My goal is to do this once or twice a week so that I can achieve herb self sufficiency this year. Starting next week, I’ll probably be able to harvest my own herbs instead!
I brought in the first load of firewood of the summer. I’m very behind on this, but I suppose I’ve been focused on other things. This will be a big focus in the coming weeks.
Aesthetic Utility
My primary project for the week was the chicken run. I wrapped the wire around the posts, used 2x4s to frame the outside, and even built a dutch door! Not a single part of this structure is square, plumb, or level – but I built it myself, so I’m pretty proud. There’s just a bit left to do – the roof and some finishing touches. Next week the chickens will move into their new home!
Moving Forward
I’m very excited to get the chicks out of my extra bedroom. They are loud and they smell bad. That will be the most exciting development of the week. The completion of the chicken run project will open up some time for other projects – I’m thinking about building a wash sink in the garden using my old kitchen sink, and I think I better put together a little wood shed to store more firewood outside.
Talk soon,
KC