Building a Pallet Compost Bin

I'm catching up on my posts here, so I actually build this before I sold the chickens.

My current composting situation was not cutting it. . .

Due to the Raccoons of NIMH getting in our trashcan as always and tearing open our trash bags, which was also during a period of high temperatures, which caused a million flies to get into our trash, which then caused our trash can to literally bubble over with maggots as I opened the trashcan to put a bag in which caused me to scream - said maggots found their way to the compost pile which became a nasty mess of flies which then got torn into by the armadillos that live next door which destroyed my compost pile as seen in the above picture.

Sigh.

We were in the middle of constructing the chicken palace, and so I did not want to buy anything more, so buying the compost bin I would like (or making one that looks like it) were out of the question.

C.E. Shepherd compost bin

So I thought -  what is free that I could use to make one that is a little more sturdy (at least until I can buy the one I want)? Pallets are free. Lemme try that.

So we scrounged up a few pallets from a local hardware store and a grocery store (the story that accompanies this process could be its own blog post) and brought them home.

I wanted to have a two bin system like I (kind of) had, so I figured I would need 7 pallets (2 for the back, 2 for the sides, one for the middle divider, and two to cover the front). Once I laid them all out (and killed a brown recluse spider living in one of them) I separated them into similar sizes and shapes. For some reason I had thought that pallets came in a standard size and shape. Nope.

So I removed my old arrangement and started to build it in place - those things are a lot heavier than you would think. . .

I screwed the side to the back piece with a 3 in deck screw (because that's what I had) towards the top of the pallet. That's all I did - it was sturdy enough.

I then added the other pieces in a similar way. The divider between the two sides was a little different - because of the way it was shaped, I was able to wedge it between the two back pieces and screw it in to both of them.

I then stood back and looked at my work. I thought it looked pretty darn good. But it was huge. And it actually kind of looked like a pen for a farm animal. And since I was still in covert chicken operation mode, I knew this simply would not work. It was very noticeable from the street, and I knew it would be a red flag for HOA enforcers, and I really didn't want to attract them to my property. So, I decided to disassemble it and go for a 1 bin setup for the time being.

I think it actually ended up looking pretty nice! It provides a perfect hiding place for snakes behind it, but other than that, it is fine for now. The front is simply propped up against the frame so that it can be easily removed for turning or whatever (I'm not really good about doing that. . .)

So for the cost of two screws, I have a pretty snazzy compost bin! Can't beat that!

End of the Chicken Ranch. . .at Least for Now. . .

So we sold the chickens.

After spending days constructing the frame for the chicken coop/run and laying the foundation.

WHY??!!!!

You know how sometimes you encounter (or maybe it's just me, I dunno. . .) situations where EVERY.SINGLE.THING is a battle, or a struggle, and the only thing keeping the whole thing from crashing and burning is your own stubborn will? That, for us, was the chickens. And that for me at least, is a sign that it is not meant to be.

That doesn't mean that we didn't want them, or don't want them in the future, because we did, and we do. However, right now I guess is not the right time. It was so ridiculous that our family couldn't even enjoy them anymore - and that totally defeated the purpose.

So I sold them to the guy I sold my other 3 to - and I know they will be loved and have a very good home - those people love their chickens!

We knew it was the right decision because once we were sure of it, it was like an immense weight was lifted off our shoulders. And then everything went smoothly from there - by that morning, the chickens were in their new home, and we had returned what supplies we could to Lowes. We were out some money, but recovered our sanity.

The wood that had already been used for the frame and stained (which took hours. . .) was disassembled and will be used to build the playhouse we have been wanting to build for our daughter. And I have to say, we have learned a lot about construction and about chickens.

So. . .one day we'll have our chickens. But right now I think my garden is enough. I'll leave you with a couple pictures I took the day before I sold them - they were starting to look crazy cute!

Merge of the Blogs

In order to simplify my blog world (at least the ones I write, not necessarily the ones I read. . .) I decided to merge two of my blogs.

So, if you normally just read this one, surprise! There is now even more info on here mostly related to decorating, sewing, and general homemaking stuff.

If you normally read the other one and are now finding yourself lost in unfamiliar territory, no worries. There are now tabs found at the top of the blog that contain the blog posts that fall under each category. You can also use the search engine at the top right hand side of the blog.  All the posts from the old blog are still here, and there are new ones to explore, mainly ones related to gardening and homesteading.

One blog for all your home-creating needs!

Enjoy!  :)

A Phenomenon Called "Chicken Math"

Before I got my "Asiatic Ground Fowl", I had often heard of the term "chicken math". In case you are unaware of this phenomenon, I will present an example:

Susie goes to the store to buy 10 chickens. She comes home with 15. The next week she sees a breed she has been wanting to acquire for forever - she comes home with 5. Flock is now too big for her, so she sells 4 of them. But then she sees an ad on craigslist and can not resist and comes home with 8. Total = 24

Do you follow?

I thought this concept was utterly ridiculous until it happened to me. Let me explain. . .

So when we originally wanted to get chicks, I was going to drive up to Ideal Poultry (which is a major national hatchery that happens to be only a couple of hours away from where we live) and get 4 Silkies and 2 Easter Eggers (these are a type of mutt chicken that can lay blue, green, or even sometimes pink eggs and on top of this, they often times have a beard which puts it on the must have list for me.)

(Photo courtesy of backyardchickens.com)

(Example of their possible egg colors)

Anyways, I ended up deciding to get just Silkies from a local breeder instead of driving all the way over there. I planned to come home with no more than 6. I came home with 7. Then, last Friday I saw that a local feed store would be getting in a shipment of chicks that included my easter eggers (often incorrectly called Ameraucana), so I decided to reduce my Silkie flock and get 2 easter eggers. I sold 'Angry Bird' and two of the other Silkies and went to the feed store and got their last two easter eggers. So, to recap the chicken math: 7 - 3 + 2 = 6 which was the original number I wanted anyways - I just went a roundabout way of getting there. . .

So here are the new babies:

Baby #1: is a little darker in color than the other - it will be interesting to see what their feather color and pattern will be as they get older - with easter eggers, it's a surprise!

Baby #2: close up of the fuzzy beard

The two of them together and their slight difference in color:

Don't want to leave the silkies out! Here are pics from today of the ones I kept - two really seem unchanged, but the two biggest ones are entering the awkward teenage phase. . . you'll see what I mean. . .

The oldest ones are I think somewhere around 4 weeks old and their feathers are definitely coming in, while the other two may be closer to 3 weeks or runts. Only time will tell. All I know is no more chicken math. . .for now. . .

Guess What??

Chicken butt.

No, someone has not hijacked my blog - we actually got chickens. Really. They are upstairs in our spare bedroom.

We are going to try this. From this point forward, these are not chickens, but they are my exotic Asian ground fowl. That are my pets. That are normal household pets. . .

Township covenant states: "Only customary household pets are allowed on properties . . ." Whether chicken or Asian ground fowl, I think small pet birds are pretty customary, right? I mean, it's not like I have an emu out there or something. The only difference between these and a parrot is that these guys (I mean girls. . . please be girls. . .) make me breakfast. Although because they are Silkies, it is more of a when they feel like it sort of thing rather than an every day like clockwork sort of thing. Which makes them even more like a parrot. I rest my case.

So anyways, we adopted 7 Silkie chicks a week and a half ago. They were older chicks when I adopted them - somewhere between 2-3 weeks old. I've been going back and forth about whether or not we should keep them. I think I have finally decided to keep them and give it a try. I know that if I gave them away now, I would always wonder if it would have worked.

The major stress factor at the moment - we kind of haven't built the coop or run yet. But I think we're going to try to build it this weekend. But I guess that's what we said last weekend. . .

So here are the chicks, so far unnamed (with the exception of the tiny reddish brown one that I keep calling Rosita for some reason, and the yellowish one I have nicknamed 'Angry Bird') when I got them a week ago and now:

Chick #1: I love it's white eyebrows and chin. It's feathers are coming in all scraggly - I wonder if it has the frizzle gene.

 Chick #2: Has cute black markings on it's back and wings

 Chick #3: Will end up being partridge colored I am guessing??

Chick #4: I must admit this one is my favorite, though I am worried about it being a boy (all boys will be given away since we can't have crowing or other such nonsense in my suburban backyard). I love this one's coif - maybe part polish? (Did I mention these silkies are kind of mutts? :)

Chick #5: aka Rosita. I don't know why I started calling it Rosita - it is just so small and cute and gentle.

 Chick #6: In just one week this one has almost doubled in size and is sporting some very fancy foot feathers.

Chick #7: aka 'Angry Bird'. I mean, seriously - just look at it's face in the second picture. It is the most ornery bird and it absolutely hates me with a passion. When I am in the room with them, it is constantly eyeing me suspiciously as the others sleep. I kind of hope you are a rooster. :) This one has also doubled in size over the past week and is certainly at the top of the pecking order. I must say it is very protective of the other chicks (another reason I'm thinking roo?) We'll see. . .

That's all for now, but more will be coming soon as we build the coop and run (it's gonna have to happen soon at this point!)

Store Bought Corn vs. Home Grown Corn

I was interested to see if growing your own corn is actually worth it. They had corn for I think 8 for a dollar so I bought some. I was also able to harvest some of my own about the same time from my community garden plot.

Here's the two ears I harvested next to one store-bought:

Mine has a much prettier purple color to it :)  Now I imagine the store bought corn was grown in a massive corn field and sprayed with countless amounts of some sort of biological warfare. Mine was not. Soooo, I opened up the ears to reveal this:

Gross. And all the pre-munched mush/catepillar poop came crumbling out. But as you can see, they only got the very tip, so did I eat these? Yep. I just cut the tops off. (The rest of my corn from the second harvest was not so lucky - almost every ear of corn was a total loss.)

So here's the naked ears of corn next to each other:

Aside from the cut off tops, mine are a little smaller, but the kernels are a little bigger and a richer shade of yellow.

Now for the taste:

I had read that farmers will literally have a pot of water boiling and then will go out to the field and pick the corn and plop it in the pot. The reason is because as soon as an ear of corn is picked, the sugars start being converted into starches (for non-sciency people out there, this = not as sweet). Which now makes sense to me why these huge massive commercial growers are growing supersweet versions of corn - who know how long it takes for corn to get from the commercial enterprise to my grocery store, and then how long it sits there before ending up in my refrigerator, and then how long after that it sits in there until I feel like making corn. I bet if you ate this corn right from the field you would get a sugar high.

Anyways, I think my home-grown corn sat in the fridge for 2 or 3 days, but I figured that was still better than the possibly weeks (?) the store-bought corn had been sitting there, so I felt it was still a fair trial.

I tasted my corn first - it had a good, robust corn flavor. Then I took a bit of the store-bought corn. Eating that right after my home-grown corn made it taste like nothing! It was like drinking sugar water - I could tell it was sweet but it basically had no taste. Interestingly, as I continued to eat the store-bought corn, my tastebuds adapted and it just tasted like normal corn. But then I went back and took a bite of the home-grown one - it tasted like I had slathered it in butter or something - super flavorful!!! 

So the verdict: if you have the space, yes, grow your own corn because it tastes AMAZING compared to the crap sold in stores. Just watch out for the corn earworm guys!

Updated Harvest Totals and More Produce Pics!

So I said I would update this every week - I'm at about a week and a half so I'd say that's pretty good :)  My family is literally drowning in tomatoes. We are giving them to our family, our friends, our neighbors, and we still open the refrigerator and sigh! I don't know what I was expecting, but let's just say that raised beds and compost are awesome!

Before we get to the totals, there are a few pictures I would like to share:

Monster Cucumbers - I went to my community garden plot a few days ago, and hidden beneath the spiny vines were 7 ginormous cucumbers (I meant to go back and harvest them when they were smaller, but I forgot - whoops!). I have never seen cucumbers that big before in my life! We ate the first two mentioned in a previous post and they were quite tasty, but we haven't tried the big ones yet. I put a quarter in the picture for reference, but you can really tell how big they are in relation to my hand. And I have big hands.

And here's a few pictures of the produce I have been collecting over the past week and a half:

Here are the first Cherokee Purple heirloom tomatoes I collected. Not only are they very pretty, but they perform well in the taste category too!

Here's a picture of the stuff I just collected today (I have had multiple days of harvests like this - totally crazy!). This one is cool though because I was able to harvest at least one tomato from every variety I am growing.

 I also got my pumpkins (I harvested the smaller of the two yesterday and forgot to weigh it or take pictures of it before I cut it and scooped the seeds out.) You can see the claw marks from the suspected raccoon that tried to steal it when it was but a wee pumpkin. I won.

 I think. I picked up the pumpkin and a nasty grub had bored a whole through it. But the grub was still visible, so I don't think it got too far. So I fished it out and cut it in half with my scissors (which was gratifying, but it would have been more so if I got to feed it to chickens. . .one day. .  .) So anyways, I'll make like an old timey farmer, and cut out the bug part and eat the rest (I did that with my corn too - I guess beware eating at my house if that grosses you out :)

Ok, so let's get the produce totals so far!

Tomatoes:  total = 18.69 pounds!!!!!!!!!

Large Tomatoes:

- Beefmaster: 1.24 lbs (3 fruits)

- Better Boy: 2.75 lbs (6 fruits) 

- Celebrity: 2.47 lbs (5 fruits)

- Cherokee Purple: 3.35 lbs (7 fruits)

- Homestead 24: 1.61 lbs (4 fruits)

- Old German Heirloom: 2.49 lbs (13 fruits)

- Patio (in pot): 1.45 lbs (9 fruits)

- Sunny Boy: 2.54 lbs (6 fruits)

Small Tomatoes:

- Sweet 100 (in pot): 0.09 lbs (7 fruits)

- Yellow Pear: 0.70 lbs (40 fruits)

Peppers:

- Better Bell: 0.31 lbs

- Chocolate Bell: 0

- Golden California Wonder Bell: 0.25 lbs

- Jalapeno: 0.23 lbs

- Red Bell: 0.43 lbs

- Tabasco Hot: 0

Pumpkins:

- Pie: 2 (largest one at 3.24 lbs)

Tomatillos:

- Salsa Verde: 2.00 lbs (41 fruits)

Eggplants:

- Long Purple: 0

Cucumbers:

- Salad Slicer: 0

Summer Squash:

- Pic-n-Pic (in pots): 0

Community Garden Update and Harvest Totals Update!

I am actually starting to harvest stuff from my community garden plot! Before the solarization project I discussed here happens and nukes the garden.

I harvested one cucumber, and there will be a few more next week too! They were all hiding under the foliage and were a pleasant surprise as I watered yesterday!

I didn't realize that real homegrown cucumbers are wrinkly and spiny. Someone at the community gardens told me they are ready if you rub the spines and they fall off. I don't know if this is true, but they did, so I picked it and we'll try it tonight!

The corn is (I think) ready to be harvested - it seems that corn is one of those things that you have to learn when it's ready from experience. I am also curious to see if they are fully fleshed out or are missing kernels from improper pollination, being such a small plot. We shall see on Tuesday when I go to harvest them!

I was really proud of my homegrown corn until I saw it for 8 for a dollar at the grocery store! Oh well - I bought a few ears and I will compare mine with grocery store, and see if it's worth it :)

Home Garden Harvest Totals:

I decided to keep a running tally of the harvest totals from my home garden before I can't keep track of them anymore! I guess that is a good problem to have! We are up to our ears in tomatoes, and it will just continue - I have 1 plant that has 20 tomatoes on it right now waiting to ripen. I already gave some to the neighbors. And some of the tomatoes are the BEST I have ever eaten. Here's a picture of the latest group I picked (one of which is a Celebrity tomato weighing in at 0.76 lbs all by itself!!!)

Starting at far left and proceeding clockwise: Sunny Boy Tomato, Celebrity Tomato, two smaller Old German Heirloom Tomatoes, one tiny Yellow Pear Tomato, and the very first Better Boy Tomato.

Here are the totals so far:

Tomatoes:  total = 6.23 lbs in 6 days!!!!

- Beefmaster: 0

- Better Boy: 0.55 lbs 

- Celebrity: 1.25 lbs

- Cherokee Purple: 0

- Homestead 24: 0.64 lbs

- Old German Heirloom: 0.95 lbs

- Patio (in pot): 0.61 lbs

- Sunny Boy: 2.20 lbs

- Sweet 100 (in pot): 0

- Yellow Pear: 0.03 lbs

Peppers:

- Better Bell: 0.31 lbs

- Chocolate Bell: 0

- Golden California Wonder Bell: 0.25 lbs

- Jalapeno: 0.18 lbs

- Red Bell: 0.43 lbs

- Tabasco Hot: 0

Pumpkins:

- Pie: 0

Tomatillos:

- Salsa Verde: 0

Eggplants:

- Long Purple: 0

Cucumbers:

- Salad Slicer: 0

Summer Squash:

- Pic-n-Pic (in pots): 0

I plan to update this weekly (at least while there is a lot of produce coming in). Stay tuned!!

Home Garden Update and Harvest Totals!

So it has been about a month, so I figured it is about time to post an update! :)  Here's the garden right now (tomato forest is more like it. . .):

The sunflowers are in full bloom, the tomato plants are completely unruly, and I am finally getting to taste the first fruits of my labor!

Remember when it looked like this?

It wasn't all unicorns and rainbows, however. . .

I lost two very large Beefsteak tomatoes to stupid fruitworms I had been battling all spring:

And just about every tomato bush (except the Celebrity tomato) has a disease of some sort. But rather than treat it, I am taking a passive approach and it seems to be working for now - the plant is setting and producing fruit faster than the disease kills the plant. .  ah, the lazy woman's kind of disease management :)

Here's some of the good:

-Sunflowers in bloom: the plants are well over 7 feet tall!

Dragonflies in the garden: 

- Pumpkins!! I have two growing. The bigger one growing (of course) outside the raised bed on the grass looks like some animal with claws attempted to haul it away last night. Hopefully the scratches aren't too deep to damage the pumpkin - I have heard when squash are small you can carve your name in the skin so that it remains there as it grows but these scratches are pretty deep so we'll see - I don't care if Mr. Raccoon carved his initials in it, the pumpkin is MINE!!

Pictures of the largest of the two pumpkins two weeks ago:

And today:

- Pepper harvest (and a few beans too)!!: I harvested the bell peppers green, but only one of them is a true green pepper (the one in the middle). The largest on the left is a red bell pepper and the one on the far right is a yellow bell. I wanted to harvest these in hopes that the plants would set more peppers (which they still haven't done yet). Jalapenos are growing well and there are plenty more still on the plant!

 About a pound of fresh bell peppers from the garden!!

-And the tomato harvest!!

The Sunny Boy tomatoes right before picking. . .

How many tomatoes can you spot on this one section of a Better Boy tomato plant?  :) 

The first ripe tomato on the Celebrity plant. . .

These two tomatoes were my first tomatoes to be harvested this season! They are Old German Heirloom tomatoes and were quite tasty! Together they weighed about 0.59 lb, which in current grocery store prices of $4.99/lb for heirloom tomatoes, I would say these beauties are worth $2.50! (Their true cost is probably WAY more than that considering all the startup costs, compost costs, labor, etc that went into producing them. . .ever read the book The $64 Dollar Tomato  by William Alexander? I probably should.)

 Harvest today of Sunny Boy and Celebrity tomatoes! Total weight: 2.11 lbs!!

 And I'll leave you with my attempt at an artistic picture often seen on blogs that people actually read. . .

Happy gardening!  :)