Welcome to LifeProjects & Plans
Projects and Plans
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A FEW DAYS MAKE...
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The picture of the withered squash and zucchini is a lesson learned... DON'T PLANT THEM IN A HOOP HOUSE! Pollinators have trouble doing their thing!
The picture of the greenhouse doors shows the entrance for the rabbit that tasted the OKRA...
only ate one of two leaves and crapped all over the place !!!
No other plants sampled were found.
The picture of the greenhouse doors shows the entrance for the rabbit that tasted the OKRA...
only ate one of two leaves and crapped all over the place !!!
No other plants sampled were found.
The latest happenings....
Spring sprang forth with the covering of our greenhouse and high tunnel;
and brassicas loving the extended cool weather, which brings us to
Spring sprang forth with the covering of our greenhouse and high tunnel;
and brassicas loving the extended cool weather, which brings us to
A TRIP THRU KITTY'S GARDEN
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IS NEVER QUICK
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AND THE GREENHOUSE & HOOP HOUSE
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What looks like boardwalks are vermiculture areas for worm casting production.
Some of our unusual crops are Asian greens, Swiss Chard, Malabar Spinach, and Beet Leaf Spinach. Been having some problems with germination rates so we are beginning to sprout seeds before planting.
Some of our unusual crops are Asian greens, Swiss Chard, Malabar Spinach, and Beet Leaf Spinach. Been having some problems with germination rates so we are beginning to sprout seeds before planting.
Mother Nature shows us how to do it!
EARLIER POSTS
We are transitioning from wooden frames and dirt walkways to metal frames and gravel walkways as in the slideshow, above, in what used to be our vegetable garden, now flowers & herbs, included.
And, now we're: building a 30 X 50 greenhouse and a 30 X 60 high tunnel; initiating permaculture methods in another garden plot; re-designing a plot used for temporary plant storage into fruit production, and setting up a 30ft camper for (hopefully) temporary workers' quarters.
This is beyond projects already undertaken: preliminary ginseng, black cohosh, and goldenseal plantings as possible agroforestry crops; wood shop building addition for drying lumber and herbs; building a Wirtz pump to fill an empty pond; constructing a portable chicken facility, and completing a Forest Stewardship Plan; besides numerous small projects around the house area.
This is beyond projects already undertaken: preliminary ginseng, black cohosh, and goldenseal plantings as possible agroforestry crops; wood shop building addition for drying lumber and herbs; building a Wirtz pump to fill an empty pond; constructing a portable chicken facility, and completing a Forest Stewardship Plan; besides numerous small projects around the house area.
We thought adjusting to a new micro-climate would be a challenge. (10 years ago)
It has been marginally successful.
The weather patterns these days are a toss of the coin. But, wait: that'll change!
And, so we must change our habits if we're going to create an enterprise to keep ourselves self-sufficient.
And, that especially applies to people we need to help us along our paths; the good and not-so-good: skill-wise, maturity, ability to adapt, etc.
We are all teachers and we're all students (whether we know it or not); most times at the same time.
So, this page is to allow interested parties to see where we would like to go. But, wait: that'll change!
As we reveal our goals, know that we know they will follow the warp and weave of our environment.
Things we endeavor to incorporate into our lives, which may be subject to study:
Integrity is the sense of possessing and adhering to high moral principles and performance standards.
Acceptance is embedded in a sense of wholeness, of being incorporated into the design of our entire environment, and simultaneously being able to plan and work to change that environment.
Anticipation of new knowledge, new insights; knowing we are changing a lifetime of experience.
Experience is in passing knowledge to another by doing the work, and experience is the constant unfolding of our lives; simultaneously complete and ever-changing.
The weather patterns these days are a toss of the coin. But, wait: that'll change!
And, so we must change our habits if we're going to create an enterprise to keep ourselves self-sufficient.
And, that especially applies to people we need to help us along our paths; the good and not-so-good: skill-wise, maturity, ability to adapt, etc.
We are all teachers and we're all students (whether we know it or not); most times at the same time.
So, this page is to allow interested parties to see where we would like to go. But, wait: that'll change!
As we reveal our goals, know that we know they will follow the warp and weave of our environment.
Things we endeavor to incorporate into our lives, which may be subject to study:
Integrity is the sense of possessing and adhering to high moral principles and performance standards.
Acceptance is embedded in a sense of wholeness, of being incorporated into the design of our entire environment, and simultaneously being able to plan and work to change that environment.
Anticipation of new knowledge, new insights; knowing we are changing a lifetime of experience.
Experience is in passing knowledge to another by doing the work, and experience is the constant unfolding of our lives; simultaneously complete and ever-changing.
Here's a quick tour around the lower elevations of our property taken about 2020.
If you look closely, you'll glimpse our house in the trees!
If you look closely, you'll glimpse our house in the trees!
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This is the direction we're taking right now. The first of two growing spaces being erected.
Finished setting the arches/rafters on the 30ft X 50ft greenhouse. It is now ready to have a top cover and double swinging doors to make it usable. Roll-up sides can wait for warmer weather. The scaffold was too tall to use in the hoop house. Used step ladders on the truck bed, instead.
Workers dedicated to completing jobs are apparently hard to come by these days. Since beginning this project in November 2021, we have had about five people at various times helping us. We now have all the metal framing done on both the greenhouse and the hoop house. Using the lifting device, Kitty and I set about 90% of the arches/rafters in both structures without help. But, we surely are grateful for those busy hours those folks put in to get us to this point.
A piece of a bush-hog deck, the tongue from an antique combine, wheels from an ancient farm wagon, a 9ft long 4in heavy wall pipe, the shaft from a lift pole (three-point hitch removed), and an antique wood-saw mandrel mounted in roller bearings are the repurposed components of "Roy's Crane". Add a couple of pulleys kept from who-knows-where, some scraps of angle, flat steel, and the heat of a welding machine, and here it is! Two 2500 lb winches, a deep cycle battery (from my boat), and some control cables mounted on a broken hoe handle make the device quite adequate for the task performed.
We have the site graded and graveled, and all the components for setting up this 30ft camper. We're hoping to attract workers interested in food production methods, agroforestry, herbalism, permaculture, fruit production, life skills, self-sufficiency, cooperative efforts, or just living in the country. Everything now is temporary!Click on the images below to view a larger display.
PHOTOS AS OF 1/27/2023
Had I known that laborers would be practically non-existent since August 2022, I would have covered the greenhouse....
just to have a protected work area.
just to have a protected work area.
Progress thru May 2023. Had to contact a covering crew due to the lack of workers around here. Hopefully by August!
