Bird & Plant Shopping

Yesterday, Pat and I headed out to Homestead Heritage for the last time this spring. The seminar was on drip irrigation. We love the idea of watering our plants efficiently and consistently given the fact that we have had an excellent chance for rain for 3 days now and have barely registered a quarter inch. While there, we picked up a suet hanger and 4 suet bricks. If you’re ever at the General Store at the Homestead, buy your suet from them. They were only $1 each and the hanger was $2.75. That gives you an idea of how inexpensive these feeders can be.




Trap-perch bird feeder!

 After that, we headed into town to Wild Birds Unlimited. It is one of my favorite stores. Although I can often find feeders elsewhere cheaper, their bird feeders tend to be higher quality, and some of them come with warranties or lifetime guarantees. We purchased this steel-trap birdfeeder while there. I just love this style. I bought a similar feeder for mother for her birthday a few years back. She said Uncle Billy had one like this and it was quite squirrel proof. The perch is weighted so that if a bird lands on it, nothing happens.  When a squirrel lands, the perch clamps tight keeping the squirrel from the seed.  We’ll see. We have some mighty fat squirrels on our property---cunning ones, too!



Hummingbird feeder from Poteet, Texas



We also purchased a tiny hummingbird feeder brush to clean the feeder portals. That cost a whopping forty-nine cents, and well worth the price. WBU also has a card with Hummingbird Nectar Solution and care for feeders. I like to mix up nectar in 2 cup batches. That way I’m not wasting a lot of nectar between batches. They recommend cleaning the feeder every 2 to 4 days, especially in the hot summertime, and changing the nectar regularly. Other websites warn not to use red food coloring as that can cause fermentation. (That made Mr. Pat a little upset…he likes the red color.)  Below are the recipe and cleaning recommendations.

Hummingbird Nectar Solution

1 part sugar to 4 parts water (example: ½ sugar to 2 cups water)

1. Heat half of water
2. Dissolve all of sugar in hot water
3. Add second half of water as ice water

Cleaning Feeders & Birdbaths: 1 part bleach to 10 parts water



Caladium in birdbath



We finished the "shopping" part of the day at Lowes.  We bought bird feed there because it's much cheaper than at WBU.  We also bought 3 shade tolerant Hostas and 2 Caladiums.  I planned to put the Hostas and Caladiums in the bed that is next to the house.  It is a gardening goal of mine to find something that will grow well there besides Mondo Grass.  Well, Mr. Pat loves Caladiums, and he snatched one of them to put in a special spot.  I don't mind...it looks quite lovely there.  Plus, it gives me an excuse to buy another plus 10 more plants for him to take care of!  I've planted the Hostas, but I am waiting to snap pictures until we finish cleaning the bed out completely.  I also need to watch the sun patterns, because I think part of that bed does get some sunshine.

Finally, other weekend chorse included: 

• praying for rain (none so far),
• turning the compost bed--I think it's getting close to being finished!!
• planting new plants
• salivating over a tomato that is ripening
• bird watching

Nice.

Composting 101 Revisited

Pat and I attended a free seminar on Composting held Saturday at Homestead Heritage. We got some clarification and some redirection on our composting process.  Number one correction in our thinking is, if you use a pile to compost, it has to have enough mass to heat up.  That is why ours was staying cold.  It did get hot at one point, but I know I killed it by adding chlorinated water and having a small mass--see below.  Saturday, Pat re-worked our pile to hopefully bring it into balance so that it'll work for us. 

Newly reworked Compost Pile

The following is what we learned in order to build a compost pile.

1. The size of your pile should be at least 4x4x4.  It is necessary to have enough mass for the pile to get hot.  We were missing the volume.
2. The bottom layer should be made of good sized sticks to lift the pile off the ground.  This promotes air circulation.  We did not do this step previously.
3. Follow with brown matter--leaves, dried grass, etc.  They recommend 50/50 mix of brown and green matter. 
4. Top with green matter--mown grass (they say not Bermuda since it tends to seed.  The piles do not get hot enough to consume the seed.  Add at your own risk!  We will later this summer...we have no choice, as I said earlier finding green for us is tricky).  Add water.
5. The third layer should be topsoil or previously composted matter.  Sprinkle some on top of the green to accelerate the pile.
6. As you add each layer, add enough water so it is like a wet, wrung out sponge.  Not too much.  However, you'll want to add unchlorinated water as chlorine kills bacteria.  And you want your pile to have a lot of bacterial action.  However, because we did not have an in-line filter, we put regular garden-hose water on the pile anyway.  Surely, by the time the pile begins to work, the chlorine will evaporate.
7. Keep alternating brown with green until it is at least 4' high.  In our picture you can see that ours is about a foot short.  No matter, it has more mass than what I started out with, and it's better than nothing.
8. Prepare to cover your pile during heavy rains.  Too much water will drown the microbial action in your pile.

A few tips and recommendations are:

• It's okay to have the pile under a shade tree (I thought we needed the sun, but not so).
• Stick your hand in to see if it's getting hot.  Be careful, if it is hot you'll know it quickly.  It can get as hot as 180°!
• If adding manure, make sure the animals were not taking antibiotics---again, antibiotics kill bacteria and it will still be active in the manure.  Avoid horse manure as their digestive systems do not completely break down seeds.  The best animal manure is dairy cow as they are not allowed to have antibiotics on the milking line.  Chicken and goat poop are fine, just know where it comes from.  Commercial growers of chickens will inoculate often with antibiotic.  Chickens raised by individuals most likely will not. 
• Avoid cat and dog poop as they have lots of parasites which will not be killed in the composting process.

Once your pile gets to cooking, it is necessary to turn it.  What Homestead suggests is moving the pile to another bin to do this.  Use the same method as before adding more brown and green.  Turn the outer corners of the pile first since the outside will decompose slower than the middle. 

Depending upon how hot or cold the pile is, compost will appear anywhere from one to six months.  Compost should be rich, dark brown like coffee grounds, and smell like earth.  Add the compost to your garden as soon as it is ready.  

Homestead adds theirs about 6 weeks prior to planting.  They layer the compost on top of the garden bed and put mulch over it.  This allows the soil time to "digest" the composted materials.  Mother used to turn it into the soil.  I'm thinking that's how we'll do it, but you never know.  That will be on a future post.

For now Pat and I are hoping to cook up some compost!

Starting Seeds



Soil, container, seeds, & directions!

 Yes, it's probably late to be starting seeds indoors now, however I have a good reason.  I do not know how to do this, and my first attempt didn't work out!  Pat told me to put the seeds in pots and put them on the windowsil.  A gardening expert, Dick Raymond, said, "Don't ever put seeds in pots, and don't ever put them on the windowsil!"  Okay.  So now I'm trying his method!! 

I've chosen to experiment with Cilantro seeds because it really doesn't matter when you plant them.  In fact, it probably isn't a bad idea to plant several plants in your garden at different dates in order to have fresh Cilantro until frost.  I purchased the seeds from Homestead Heritage, and they claim to be "slow" bolt which is even better. We tend to lose our Cilantro throughout the season due to the Texas heat and bolting.


 Here are the directions for starting seeds indoors:

• Start with good potting soil already moistened.  Have seeds, container, a tray, and a wood block for packing at hand.

 

Tamp dirt down before planting seeds



• I used a mushroom container for this project and poked holes in the bottom for drainage.  I also had another takeout tray I'm using for the saucer.  The key, according to Raymond, is to keep the seeds moist and warm.  He also says water from the bottom...so now I'm set.
 
• Add moistened dirt and tamp down.  Plant seeds.  Cover with dirt.  Tamp down again. 




Water well and cover with
a plastic bag.  Wait 10 to 14
days and there should be
sprouts!!

• Water well with a squirt bottle and put in a plastic bag.  Place the seedling on top of the refrigerator and check periodically for sprouting seeds. 



I started this project on March 13th so it will be a few more days before I see sprouts.  So far the soil is staying moist,  and I have had to add some water to the tray, so I'm hoping this is a good sign!!  I'll post an update when I see life!









Homestead Heritage & Organic Plus Haul!

Homestead Heritage Haul & Plants from Organic Plus

About a week ago, Pat noticed that Homestead Heritage was offering "free" seminars on gardening.  In case you are not familiar with Homestead Heritage, they are a self-sustaining, Christian community who farm and live off the land.  They have built quite an empire by making and selling a variety of homemade items from furniture to quilts to preserves to pottery and more. 

When we moved back to Waco in 1994, Homestead Heritage seemed to be just getting started. Taking a look at the website, their business plan is taking off greatly, as they now have the General Store, The Barn--where they sell their wares, and a deli on site.  On Labor Day weekend and Thanksgiving, you can visit this unique place and take a step back in time.  Other times during the year they offer self-guided walking tours, classes on how to be self-sustaining in your own corner of the world, organized tours for schools, and an opportunity to shop! The community is located in the Elm Mott area off FM 933. 

Back to the purpose of our Saturday trip--the free seminar.  The ad in the paper did not specify anything other than "Free Seminars--Saturdays--10:00 a.m."  The topics include:  Gardening, Poultry, Bees, and Rain Collection.  Since the information was a little scant, I asked Pat if we could just drive out there to check it out!  Well, the seminars actually start next weekend--February 26th, and I will provide a listing of full classes at the end of this post.  However, as you can see, the trip was not wasted.  We only went to the General Store this time and fell in love with all they have there.  The tools they sell are of the highest quality and high-priced, but worth it.  Buy a pitchfork there and you'll never have bent tines again--unless you try to bust rock!  I now have a lovely gardening hat and some suet for the songbirds.  I did find the copper fungicide I was talking about in the black spot post.  In addition, they have seeds, stone bakeware, fertilizer, feed, books on gardening and just about anything else of gardening interest. 

Homestead Heritage Gardening Full Classes for 2011--Run about $90 each. 
February 26th & March 19th:  Bees--Introduction
April 23rd & May 7th:  Bees--Advanced
April 16th & August 27th:  Backyard Gardening
April 16th & September 17th:  Growing Culinary Herbs
June 25th & September 3rd:   Raising Poultry

The free seminars follow almost the same schedule as above, and are offered most every weekend beginning next week.  Call 254-754-9663 for more information.

Organic Plus

After spending quite a lot of money at the General Store we went to another favorite place, Organic Plus.  They are located in Speegleville off of Highway 6 & 185 at 10568 N. River Crossing (254-848-2103).  They have herbs and native plants--but usually not a lot of those.  Their main focus is bulk compost, blended soil and mulch.  That is what we usually purchase from them, but today we settled in on some arugula, tomato plants, romaine lettuce, and a few other herbs.  If you are wanting to amend your gardening soil, a trip to Organic Plus will make your garden happy!!!