fresh from the garden
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Mason Bees are out!
Well after a six month long nap in the back of our fridge I took my mason bee cocoons out of cold storage and placed them in their new digs . The results were amazing . Last year I started off with 20 cocoons and ended up harvesting about 125. I thought that was pretty good Although I thought "just put these in the fridge still spring ,really?" but what the heck that's what they told me to do. Well yesterday morning while digging for some peanut butter (yes I keep my peanut butter in the fridge ,I like to break butter knives) I saw movement in the clear box the bees were sleeping in. A couple of bees were very slowly stumbling around .I guess they didn't want to oversleep. So out they came and before I could even get all of them into their mason bee house about 50 had hatched and were in various states of trying to wake up . Within 30 mins about 100 cocoons were empty and many new mason bees were out and about .Not bad for the first year . Throughout the day and at Dusk I saw quite a bit of activity so I guess some of the new generation will call this bee box home .And so the circle of life continues.
Saturday, May 10, 2014
WOw it's dusty around here!
After almost 2 and a half years we're going to give this thing another try. SO much going on that hopefully something will interest you and get you to come back for more. It's official, Suburban Artisan farm has it's own website www.suburbanartisan.farm (of course it's under construction and not ready for you to see just yet.) but it will be soon. Stay tuned as we show you some of the many new things going on around here. It's kind of funny to think of how one statement can change someones life . GROW FOOD NOT LAWNS. Seems simple enough right ? Got the bumper sticker, put it on the truck and there you go . I started to think about it and it made total sense to me (maybe it had something to do with the fact that I never could grow a really " Nice " lawn anyways) .Here are 5 very good reasons why it should make sense to you also.
1. Water usage. Maintaining a lawn in dry, arid regions requires regular watering to keep it green and lush. Really the only way to irrigate a lawn is with overhead sprinkler systems that generate a fair amount of water waste via over spray and wind. But even if 100% of the water intended for the lawn actually benefited the lawn, does it make sense to use precious water to grow lush grass that provides essentially no value. I understand that this is the norm – and mind you, I’ve lived in houses with grassy front lawns – but knowing what we know now, isn’t it time to reconsider whether this is a smart use of our water?
An edible garden in the front yard can be watered with a drip irrigation system or by hand, putting the water right where it needs to go, eliminating water waste.
2. Poisons. Because a lush green lawn is a sort of status symbol in many American neighborhoods (what is up with that?), people will go to great lengths to keep their grass glowing. Nurseries sell products that promise nutrition, boosting, and building. That sure sounds good, but what they don’t say is that many (if not most) of these products boost and build with chemical fertilizers. Products like “weed and feed” take it a step further as they build up the grass and kill the broadleaf weeds in the lawn. Double the chemicals, double the fun? People, these are poisons, plain and simple. If you’re growing a lawn in order for your kids to have a play space, please consider that those bare little feet are coming in direct contact with anything you put on the lawn. (If you must have a lawn, either for the kids’ use or due to residential requirements, please, please consider skipping the poisons!)
Of course, people can and do grow vegetable gardens with chemical fertilizers, too. But since the end product will end up in our bodies, I think people are a little more wary of dousing edible plants with poisons.
3. Emissions. If you succeed in growing a lush lawn, the next step is to chop it off. Silly, yes? Every time the grass grows a few inches, homeowners fire up the gas mower, chop off all of that lush growth, and emit noxious fumes that contribute to global climate change.
A vegetable garden does not need to be mowed.
4. GMO. Because it’s not hard enough already to eliminate genetically engineered crops from our lives, a “Roundup ready” bluegrass seed has recently been exempted from federal regulation. So guess what? If you’re installing a new lawn from seed or sod and it has bluegrass in the mix, there’s potential for genetically modified grass in your lawn. Because grass seed is typically sold as a blend with bluegrass as part of the mix, it will be very hard for consumers to avoid this genetically engineered plant. The only way to be sure that you’re getting GMO-free grass is to buy organic seed or sod, something that’s certainly not common in retail outlets at this stage of the game.
Organic vegetable seeds, on the other hand, are readily available, so consumers can be assured that their plants are not genetically engineered.
5. Economy. These days, it seems like everyone has a tight budget and a tight schedule. Why spend time and money maintaining a lawn when with the same effort, you could be generating food for your table?
The whole idea of a lawn comes from the middle ages , it was a status symbol for the kings "We've got so big of a kingdom that we don't even have to farm it all, we can just waste this perfectly good farmland ". Look down your street , think of how much food could be grown in the place of grass. Now think of how many fewer people would be hungry, how many fewer people would be sick (you know eating fresh veggies is much healthier for you). How much less oil would be used to get you your food (the average carrot travels 1500 miles to get to your table).How much money you could save . How much fun you could have . And if you really have to compete with the Joneses ,my tomatoes are bigger and tastier and look how long my cucumbers are!!!!!!!!!
So as I was saying GROW FOOD NOT LAWNS!!!!!
1. Water usage. Maintaining a lawn in dry, arid regions requires regular watering to keep it green and lush. Really the only way to irrigate a lawn is with overhead sprinkler systems that generate a fair amount of water waste via over spray and wind. But even if 100% of the water intended for the lawn actually benefited the lawn, does it make sense to use precious water to grow lush grass that provides essentially no value. I understand that this is the norm – and mind you, I’ve lived in houses with grassy front lawns – but knowing what we know now, isn’t it time to reconsider whether this is a smart use of our water?
An edible garden in the front yard can be watered with a drip irrigation system or by hand, putting the water right where it needs to go, eliminating water waste.
2. Poisons. Because a lush green lawn is a sort of status symbol in many American neighborhoods (what is up with that?), people will go to great lengths to keep their grass glowing. Nurseries sell products that promise nutrition, boosting, and building. That sure sounds good, but what they don’t say is that many (if not most) of these products boost and build with chemical fertilizers. Products like “weed and feed” take it a step further as they build up the grass and kill the broadleaf weeds in the lawn. Double the chemicals, double the fun? People, these are poisons, plain and simple. If you’re growing a lawn in order for your kids to have a play space, please consider that those bare little feet are coming in direct contact with anything you put on the lawn. (If you must have a lawn, either for the kids’ use or due to residential requirements, please, please consider skipping the poisons!)
Of course, people can and do grow vegetable gardens with chemical fertilizers, too. But since the end product will end up in our bodies, I think people are a little more wary of dousing edible plants with poisons.
3. Emissions. If you succeed in growing a lush lawn, the next step is to chop it off. Silly, yes? Every time the grass grows a few inches, homeowners fire up the gas mower, chop off all of that lush growth, and emit noxious fumes that contribute to global climate change.
A vegetable garden does not need to be mowed.
4. GMO. Because it’s not hard enough already to eliminate genetically engineered crops from our lives, a “Roundup ready” bluegrass seed has recently been exempted from federal regulation. So guess what? If you’re installing a new lawn from seed or sod and it has bluegrass in the mix, there’s potential for genetically modified grass in your lawn. Because grass seed is typically sold as a blend with bluegrass as part of the mix, it will be very hard for consumers to avoid this genetically engineered plant. The only way to be sure that you’re getting GMO-free grass is to buy organic seed or sod, something that’s certainly not common in retail outlets at this stage of the game.
Organic vegetable seeds, on the other hand, are readily available, so consumers can be assured that their plants are not genetically engineered.
5. Economy. These days, it seems like everyone has a tight budget and a tight schedule. Why spend time and money maintaining a lawn when with the same effort, you could be generating food for your table?
The whole idea of a lawn comes from the middle ages , it was a status symbol for the kings "We've got so big of a kingdom that we don't even have to farm it all, we can just waste this perfectly good farmland ". Look down your street , think of how much food could be grown in the place of grass. Now think of how many fewer people would be hungry, how many fewer people would be sick (you know eating fresh veggies is much healthier for you). How much less oil would be used to get you your food (the average carrot travels 1500 miles to get to your table).How much money you could save . How much fun you could have . And if you really have to compete with the Joneses ,my tomatoes are bigger and tastier and look how long my cucumbers are!!!!!!!!!
So as I was saying GROW FOOD NOT LAWNS!!!!!
Friday, February 24, 2012
Thursday, September 15, 2011
More volunteers than peace corps
One of the more interesting developments in this years garden has been the arrival of the volunteers. There have been at least one hundred of these popping up in some of the most unusual places . Most farms are very happy to have volunteers show up as this makes their job easier . Unfortunately not the case here .You see the type of volunteers I'm referring to are not people but unplanted vegetable plants. I must have had a lot of squash and tomatoes last summer because everywhere i put compost this year we are overrun with (you guessed it) squash and tomatoes. I guess I could have pulled them up when they started but with the tornado and all we didn't have much else growing so i figured they were better than nothing. they are going to reward our leniency with a few bushels of beautiful winter squash and some assorted tomato varieties. it will be interesting to see if we get any more lingerers next year.
We're in process of planting the winter crops and hopefully will have the new greenhouse up before it gets really cold. Hopefully the rabbits and chipmunks won't get to them first. Did I mention how big that squash was?
We're in process of planting the winter crops and hopefully will have the new greenhouse up before it gets really cold. Hopefully the rabbits and chipmunks won't get to them first. Did I mention how big that squash was?
Saturday, September 10, 2011
I' m BACK !!!!! V 2.0
Well,
Here I am again, figuring I'd like to start posting again since there are so many new and exciting things going on here on the farm that I just have to share them with all of you millions of readers out there . Ok all 383 of you . Had a great maple season this year. Unfortunately didn't get a shack built this year so the rains we had really cut into my production .Already setting myself up for this upcoming season. We sent 50 chickens to freezer camp in July ,it's been really nice to enjoy all organic chicken that we raised ourselves .One exciting development actually came about completely by accident . I raised the chickens at a somewhat local farm. Started off with 51 birds I was told one had died so that left me with 50 (seems pretty simple 51-1=50) so when the day came for us to bring the birds for "the long trip " to freezer camp we counted fifty birds ,looked around ,the pen was empty ."we've got 'em all and away we go. Three days later we are breaking down the pen I had made for them and to our surprise out pops a chicken . First of all see the math above and there are fifty birds in the freezer . There were no birds left in the pen when we went to freezer camp . Things that make you go hmmm! after three days of no food or water she seemed quite healthy. Anyways we now had a new pet chicken that we aptly named Lucky. Lucky happily joined us in the burbs (only about fifty feet from her brothers and sisters in the freezer). Well I didn't want her to be lonely so now she has four sisters . My little flock has just started laying eggs . We got six last week and two so far this week . They really are very interesting animals ,more to follow soon I promise. Did I mention that chickens can move pretty quick if they want to?
Here I am again, figuring I'd like to start posting again since there are so many new and exciting things going on here on the farm that I just have to share them with all of you millions of readers out there . Ok all 383 of you . Had a great maple season this year. Unfortunately didn't get a shack built this year so the rains we had really cut into my production .Already setting myself up for this upcoming season. We sent 50 chickens to freezer camp in July ,it's been really nice to enjoy all organic chicken that we raised ourselves .One exciting development actually came about completely by accident . I raised the chickens at a somewhat local farm. Started off with 51 birds I was told one had died so that left me with 50 (seems pretty simple 51-1=50) so when the day came for us to bring the birds for "the long trip " to freezer camp we counted fifty birds ,looked around ,the pen was empty ."we've got 'em all and away we go. Three days later we are breaking down the pen I had made for them and to our surprise out pops a chicken . First of all see the math above and there are fifty birds in the freezer . There were no birds left in the pen when we went to freezer camp . Things that make you go hmmm! after three days of no food or water she seemed quite healthy. Anyways we now had a new pet chicken that we aptly named Lucky. Lucky happily joined us in the burbs (only about fifty feet from her brothers and sisters in the freezer). Well I didn't want her to be lonely so now she has four sisters . My little flock has just started laying eggs . We got six last week and two so far this week . They really are very interesting animals ,more to follow soon I promise. Did I mention that chickens can move pretty quick if they want to?
Sunday, February 20, 2011
false alarm
Arghhhh!!. Last week I checked the weather and it looked pretty good for the next few weeks so I started tapping trees. Things started like gangbusters eight taps and almost twenty gallons of sap in about thirty six hours. My mind started to calculate an ocean of syrup that would gently bathe my sweet tooth for the entire year and then some( smack!!!, reality check)the temp dropped and haven't seen another drop of sap in two days and now we're looking at snow and cold most of next week .Oh well if it was easy everyone would do it. Luckily I got most of the parts for my first aquaponics system so we'll be working on that till the temps go up. Did I mention it's cold outside?
Thursday, February 17, 2011
And they're off
What a difference a week makes .The Arctic weather we've been dealing with has finally loosened it icy grip and it's almost fifty today. After this post I am actually going out to tap the first trees of the season as it looks like warmer weather will be here for a bit. It's one of the advantages of being new to all of this I don't know any better (ignorance is bliss). We'll see ,as we can't do worse than last year (FINGERS CROSSED).The sun is reflecting so brightly I might even get some color and a good dose of vitamin D.
Another endeavor is starting to come together as my inside aquaponics system should be up in the next week or so. It would have been nice to have started it last fall so we'd have veggies all winter but such is life.At last we'll have them really early if all goes well. it should be interesting to see if I can juggle all of this and still keep what little of my sanity I cling to. Stay tuned for more riveting commentary .Did I mention it's really sunny?
Another endeavor is starting to come together as my inside aquaponics system should be up in the next week or so. It would have been nice to have started it last fall so we'd have veggies all winter but such is life.At last we'll have them really early if all goes well. it should be interesting to see if I can juggle all of this and still keep what little of my sanity I cling to. Stay tuned for more riveting commentary .Did I mention it's really sunny?
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