Author: Richard

fungi – growing mushrooms

My woodland has so many naturally occurring mushrooms that I am again inspired to grow my own mushrooms. I say again because when I first purchased the woodland it had no access road and I had to cut down a number of trees including oak trees to gain access to the interior where my tractor building now stands. At the time, I cut the trunk of one of the oak trees into 3ft logs and drilled and inserted shiitake mushroom plug spawn and placed the logs in a valley on the north side of a rise where it Read more [...]

not always clear sailing

It is good, I suppose, to be reminded occasionally of how fallible we are. I have, or I should say "had", a pair of Speckled Sussex hens - acquired with the other 3 different pairs as youngsters and, at the time of writing, less than a year old.  For the past few weeks the Speckled Sussex had been acting out of sorts, not running up to the fence to greet me (in the expectation of handouts) as the others did, and preferring to huddle down next to each other.  I thought this was a temporary malaise, Read more [...]

it’s off to work we go

So its off to work we go now the night long roost is done and the fledgling sun brings cheer and early crow we hear the padlock click the stay bolt undone we gather at the coop door and here's our keeper Rick he points out the way a 50 yard jog across a field and up a hill its the fruit trees turn today he is deep into organics no sprays at all munchies abounding for us his soil mechanics he wants the bad bugs gone we're happy to oblige we eat them all both good and Read more [...]

fungi

The recent heavy rains and at times warm weather have transformed the appearance of the woodland - the trunks of the trees have assumed a variegated green appearance. On closer examination these are lichen -  a symbiotic alliance between photosynthesizing green alga and fungi.   Other growths are more intricate. And there are the long reaching arms. And finally some regular mushroom growths at work decomposing the end of a tree trunk.         Read more [...]

chicken synergies

The chicken are still doing well.  Six hens from my former neighbor (4 hybrids, 1 Ameraucana, 1 ISA brown) and 8 youngsters ( 2 Buff Orpingtons (1 of which is a rooster called "Buffy"), 2 Golden Comets, 2 New Jersey Giants and 2 Speckled Sussex).  No casualties, though one of the hybrids walks with a noticeable limp and is now called "Gimpy".  The two dominant hens are the Ameraucana and the ISA brown, which curiously are also among the smallest.  The two largest hens, the New Jersey Giants, Read more [...]

cold frame building (2)

In a previous post I mentioned  building my first cold frame using bargain priced windows from the local thrift, cement blocks and lumber.  The seedlings in this cold frame are growing well and when it is cold (say 18 F outside temperature) the temperature in the cold frame is approximately 10 F higher.  During the day the differential increases.  And it keeps out the frost.  So I am hoping to grow decent sized vegetables. One cold frame was not enough because I had 10 windows remaining and Read more [...]

soil test

Eight years ago when I was working full time and all my growing activities took place in an Atlanta subdivision, I convinced myself I had to buy a soil test kit.  I splurged and bought a LaMotte model STH-4 (sounds like a revved up sports car) which is described as a "professional soil testing outfit"  and, in addition to pH, can test for nitrate nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.  Needless to say, after a cursory test with meaningless results, I packed the model STH away and it has now resurfaced, Read more [...]

cold frame building

On a recent visit to the thrift store, where there are often solid wood furniture and country painting bargains, I noticed about 50 double insulated small windows each 2 ft wide and  31" high.  Available for $1 each.  I bought 22.  And have spent a lot of time figuring how to use them effectively in a cold frame. My greens are growing very well under an Agripon row cover - it allows air and rain through, protects against frost, keeps the temperature higher inside than out and allows some Read more [...]

some winter tasks

Vegetable growing in winter I know it is still early days and we may yet have blizzards and really low temperatures, but I am much encouraged with the growth of my greens (lettuce, spinach, kale, collards) and the protection provided by my row covers, so I have been growing more vegetables for transplanting in a few weeks. I googled winter hardy vegetables and bought Rapini Broccoli Raab seeds and Mache Corn Salad seeds - very reasonably priced and very quick delivery from Hirt's Gardens.  They Read more [...]

propagation

Winter is a good time to turn my thoughts to propagating plants.  Although I live in the south (Georgia) some days are really miserably cold, windy and rainy.  What better time to learn up on new propagation techniques. Oaks Oaks do not transplant easily.  Even young oaks seem to have interminably long tap roots.  And it is difficult to tell a small sapling young oak from a 5 or 10 year old sapling old oak since oaks are content to bide their time in the shade of larger trees until the Read more [...]