Monthly Archives: May 2012

OUR BIG “THANK YOU” GIVE AWAY CONTEST!

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What a fun first 6 months it has been for Old World Garden’s Blog and “The Farm”.    When we first started our little blog – we never imagined how much fun we would have with it, and how quickly it would grow! We truly love all the comments we get – and all of the new followers and visitors each week. It’s hard to believe we just celebrated our 500th follower!

As a Big Thank You to everyone for hitting number 500 – we thought we would host our very first giveaway  - and make it straight from the farm.

For every person who has signed up to follow the blog via email or twitter, or has liked our Old World Garden Farm site on Facebook, you are already entered once for each!  If not – get busy and hit that like and follow button to your left for your two chances to enter and win!  We will pull a name on Saturday, June 9th – and announce it on our Sunday morning post on June 10th.

For the giveaway – we have created an Old World Garden wooden crate from the reclaimed barn wood from our barn project.  We’ve filled it chock full of products from the farm – and even include a recipe sheet with each one so you can make them too this year! (except the hot pepper mustard – that’s a family secret :) )

Here’s what our winner gets:

1 quart of our homemade spaghetti sauce
1 pint of our pizza sauce
1 pint of our hot pepper mustard dipping sauce
1 pint of our spicy ketchup
1 pint of our pickled jalapeno peppers
1 pint of our pickled banana peppers
1 pint of our red pepper hot pepper grind
1 jar of our Habanero hot pepper grind
1 pint of our peach salsa
2 quarts of our tomato juice

Good Luck! – and once again – thank you to all of our followers – we can’t wait to announce our winner!

Jim and Mary

Poetic Justice. Build It – And It Will Rain

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Gutters being installed in the early morning.

So, with no rain here for almost the last two weeks – we were really getting tired of hauling water to the farm for the garden.  This morning, under some fairly oppressive heat for early May (low 90′s high humidity) – the gutters were installed on the barn, the rain diverter installed on the downspout – and finally, it was all connected to the rain collection totes.

So, what happened about 4 hours later?  One beautiful 30 to 45 minute pop up storm to get the whole system up and running!

The water diverter being installed to the tank – it collects all the water from the back half of the barn roof.

Just within that short time – the roof collected enough rain to put 130 to 140 gallons of water on reserve for our future watering needs.

This may sound strange, but watching all of that water pour into the totes was identical to that euphoric feeling we get when picking a big harvest from the garden.

I think at least 5 times I said out loud… “wow..it really works!”  You can plan and think things out forever – but nothing beats seeing it all work live!  And then came the final test of the retaining wall and drainage system  - running out into the heavy rain to see if all of the trenches and drain tile we installed were working as well.  What a great sight to stare down into the end of the trench and see water pouring out of the drain tile and away from the barn.

A nice 30 to 45 minute shower in the afternoon was enough to give us over 130 gallons of water!

Days like today make all of the work so worthwhile.  When things finally work – it just gives a great sense of accomplishment.  Don’t get me wrong…we have a few minor bugs to work out – adding a small cover to the water bin where the water comes in – a little bit of extra drain tile needs to be added in front to get water away from the front downspout – and a few tweaks here and there on the flashing to clip some runaway water.  But hey…it works!!!  and that’s good enough for today!

Water pours into the collection tote…about 3 to 4 gallons a minute for a good rain!

Even the frogs came out to play in the rain.

The barn sporting it’s new gutters! We still need to paint the fascia board black to match – but it’s starting to look finished.

Have Gutters…NEED RAIN!

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The hanging baskets we planted are doing well – but we need to keep them watered daily to stay alive!

June is almost here..and so is the heat!  It’s been a steady diet of no rain (going on our 12th dry day today) and ever-increasing temperatures here.   That means constant watering of the plants in the garden as well as the flowers and hanging baskets. Watering is quite a chore right now – as we have to tote every ounce of water out to the property from the house.  Because the plants are still on the younger side – we can get by with about 15 gallons each trip to get all the plants and chickens watered – but that amount will double if not triple as they all grow.

All the more reason to finally get the barn roof watering collection system functional.  We had hoped to have it up at the beginning of May – but it kept getting pushed back by  other more pressing farm chores.  So we spent today finally putting up the fascia boards on the eaves of the barn.

They have to be all up and at the least primed by the time the gutter crew comes on Monday morning to install.

Before the gutters can be installed – the fascia board needed to be put up on the eaves

Our hope is we can find some time tomorrow night to get them painted as well – and not have to worry about painting around the gutters after they are all up.

I have mixed feelings about having our gutters installed by someone else – it will be the first thing we haven’t built ourselves on the barn, but we wanted seamless gutters and in all honesty, our quote to have them purchased and installed was cheaper than we could buy them!

Once the gutters are installed on the barn – the roof water collection system will be complete.

The fascia board up and getting primed.

As we noted in a post a few weeks back  - the two 275 gallon tanks are in place and waiting for water. Now all we need is some rain to fill those gutters and fill those tanks!    We should be able to fill them each with a couple of good rains – and that should end our water carrying days from the house.  So stay tuned..hopefully Monday evening we can have some pictures of the complete system up…and waiting for rain!  The good news…rain is forecast for Tuesday!

Day Lillies in full bloom – even without the rain

Trenches, Gravel, Drains & Bob The Tool Guy

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The latest rental tool – the trencher

Over the last year – we have all but become best friends with Bob, the owner of our local tool rental shop. It seems like every other week there is some major tool that we need to complete a project at  ”The Farm”.  One day it’s a  front loader or scissor lift, then next a power auger or maybe a walk behind brush cutter.  And today, it was a big  trencher to help lay in the drain tile behind the barn.  Once again, Bob came through for us with a great piece of equipment.  I like Bob and his rental shop because he gives the kind of service that not many places do any more.   It’s nice to have someone who can help you select the right tools for the job – and takes the time to walk you through how to use them.

The trencher made quick work of digging for all of the drain tile to go in

So with the stone retaining wall now in place behind the barn – it was time to dig in all of the drain tile on the top and bottom of the hill. This is the final step before we can begin to lay the reclaimed brick for the pergola patio and build the base for the outdoor kitchen.

Laying drain tile is just not high on my list of “fun at the farm”activities. First of all – no one ever sees all of the hard work that goes into it because it all ends up buried. Secondly, I really hate spending money on items you never see!  But without it – we would end up with a river or a pond on the patio any time we had a hard rain – so the trenching begins!

Another pile of rock to spread out! 10 tons of # 8 gravel – for the drainage ditches and back patio area behind the barn

We ended up digging three separate trenches to catch the water. First we buried at the top of the hill in front of the first set of big rocks. It’s purpose is to catch as much as possible of the draining water from the big hill behind the barn. 2nd – we put a drain tile inside the bottom of the wall to catch draining water within the hillside wall. 3rd – we put the final tile buried in the gravel pathway at the bottom of the back of the barn to carry away any final water.

A maze of pipe

The trencher made easy work of the digging process. We ended up going down about 28″ – and then adding about 10″ of stone to the bottom of the trench before laying in the pipe and then covering with stone. All of our drain tile is slotted so it can let the draining water wick through the openings and then be carried down and away from the barn and patio.

Progress! About half of the pipe is laid and the gravel patio area is taking shape

The pergola area will be all bricked – but we have decided to keep the 10 x 32′ area in back of the barn in the decorative gravel.  That way water will drain easily through l to the drain tile – and it gives a big area to add some extra outdoor seating.

We should be able to finish up moving all of the gravel in place in the next few days – and then it’s onto the laying the patio! Some fun work that can actually be seen! :)

5 Easy Tips to Grow Great Tomatoes

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5 tips to grow great tomatoes

Tomatoes are a big part of our garden – and over the years, through both the glory of success – and the agony of failure – we’ve learned a lot of helpful hints – Here are our top 5:

Our little garden planting secret tool – the post hole digger

1.  Use the post hole digger trick:

We plant our entire garden with a post hole digger.  We lay out the spacing of all plants – and then dig every one of our holes with the it.  This is great for two reasons – it creates a much wider and deeper hole for the plants (easily getting to a depth of 8 to 12″) – and it’s easy on the back!  We then fill the bottom of the hole with a few inches of chopped straw and a few cups of great compost.  We will then mix in the dirt we removed from the hole with the compost and drop in the plant.  It gives the new plant plenty of loose, fertile soil to spread it’s roots and the straw at the bottom helps to hold moisture around the roots.

A couple of handfuls of compost or even potting soil are a great mulch for plants.

2.  Mulch your tomatoes:

Tomatoes thrive on good moist soil – and don’t like to become dried out.

Use a couple of cups of compost or potting soil around the base of the plants as a mulch to keep the plants from drying out.  The  nutrients from the compost and potting soil leach through to the plant each and every time you  water – and it helps retain the water when you do.

We make slight well out of the compost mulch to help funnel the water directly to the plant- this way the water has a chance to soak down through and not run off.

Remove the spray tip from a sprayer and use to water your plants easily at the soil level.

3. Practice Good water habits:

Tomatoes need water!

Especially early on when they are becoming established.  Water often (at least every other day), especially during hot days when they are young.  Also make sure to water early in the day or in the evening, and try to water the roots – not the foliage –  so the water on the leaves doesn’t burn the plants from the sun.

We use a 2 gallon sprayer – remove the spraying attachment – and water directly to the plant’s base to conserve water and not touch the leaves.

As a general rule of thumb – tomatoes need at least 1″ of water a week.  When you do water – water deep enough that the roots are thoroughly soaked – allowing them to grow deeper in the soil and not stay near the surface where they will dry out quicker.

A mulch of compost or potting soil around the plants allows the water to hold near the plant, slowly sink in, and keeps the roots from drying out.

4. Fertilize your plants:

There are plenty of organic and natural fertilizers available to use safely on your plants.  You can even make a compost tea from soaking water in fresh compost.  But tomatoes can really benefit from a boost or two of fertilizer early on in their growth.  Not too much though – too much fertilizer can result in a whole lot of leaf growth – and very few tomatoes.

Give your tomatoes good support – it helps keep them disease free and helps them to ripen more better on the vine.

5.  Support them:

No – this isn’t about providing a room for them after college :)  Tomatoes and their vines need great support – so whether you use a cage or a stake – keep them tied up and off the ground – it keeps the air flowing through the plants – which keeps black rot and other diseases at bay, and also helps to promote growth and ripen the fruit quicker.

So good luck with your garden and your tomatoes this year -and we hope that these tips help your tomatoes reach new heights! Let us know if you have any great tips or hints that you have found to work in your garden! You can see our post on building your own inexpensive stake a cage supports here :   Make Your Own Tomato Supports

- Mary and Jim

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Retaining Wall Work – Will It Ever Be Finished?

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The back hill in the early spring right after transplanting the grasses

In general – I am a very happy person – but everyone has their moments – and for me – nothing  can make me grumpier  than slow progress  - and this wall project has been SLOW MOVING!!!

The need for the wall : the ground erosion from spring rains around the new transplants

It’s not from a lack of effort mind you – we’ve been at it off and on all spring – but the rainy early spring and the sheer task of moving all of the rock has been quite the ordeal.  So what once was a dirt hill created by leveling out the space for the barn – is now turning ever so slowly into a landscaped back hill area.  There is still so much to do – but it’s nice to at least see it starting to take shape.

Back hill with bottom leveled out and first row of rock in – drain tile not in yet – so still muddy from the rains

It’s such an important part of the overall barn project – because when it rains – the water run-off erodes the hill and then pools behind the barn, right where half of the patio will be.  Hopefully, of course – after this project is finished – that will be just a memory.

So – the last few days in between that pesky “day job” work thing we all must do :)  - we have managed to get more of the rock in place, and the top portion of the hill mulched.

Progress to this point – upper stone in, and upper plants mulched - next up – install drain tile behind bottom rock and lower level.

This weekend  - in between a slew of baseball and softball games – we hope to get the drain tile laid in.  We are going to put 3 different sets of tile at 3 levels to insure proper drainage of the water – putting a four-inch drain tile at the top of the hill to catch initial water, another laid in behind the bottom rock to catch the runoff, and then a third buried on the bottom pad to quickly take off any left over.

After that – we can plant the remaining grass transplants that are in the holding bed in the garden – and then finally time to install the patio!  ….and i can be happy again :)

Plant a Salsa Garden In One Hour!

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So you want a little garden – but you don’t have a rototiller, much space or a lot of time?  No problem – just get yourself a bale of straw and a few bags of topsoil – and get into gardening now!

click to enlarge

So many people want to start a little garden – but are a little daunted by the task of putting it into motion.  Here is an easy to follow recipe for a salsa garden that can be planted in about an hour – using a space only 18″ wide by 8 feet long! No rototiller needed – and no backbreaking work!   It’s just a no-fuss, easy to maintain space that will provide fresh eats for you, friends and family! This little garden should grow enough ingredients to keep you in a steady supply of fresh tomatoes, peppers and salsa from mid summer to fall – and get you started on your way to great gardening!

So, if you have a little plot of green yard somewhere that’s around 18″ wide and 8′ long – try it out! For about $20 and a few minutes of watering through the summer – you can have a great little garden.

WHAT YOU NEED :

1 bale of straw – $3.50
4 to 6 bags of topsoil – $1.50/ bg – $9.00
3 pack of Roma Tomato plants – $1.50
1 bag of onion sets – $1.50
1 Cajun Belle Pepper plant – $1.50 (we like this variety because of its sweetness and it’s heat – but feel free to substitute a hot or mild pepper to suit your taste)
1 package of cilantro seeds  $1.50
1 Green Pepper plant 1.50

click to enlarge

HOW TO DO IT :

A shovel is the only tool you will need

Start by finding the sunniest location possible in your yard. If your limited to spaces with a lot of morning or afternoon sun – choose the afternoon. Tomatoes and peppers like it hot and sunny – and that afternoon sun is the perfect choice.

Mark out a strip about 18″ wide and 8′ long. Shovel and spade the soil and turn it over. No need to get crazy here and remove all of the grass or weeds – or rake out anything….just a quick spade and a few chops of the soil to uproot the soil is all you need.

Next – Take 3/4 of the straw bale and loosely make a row about 12 to 14″” wide and about 12 to 18″ high of the scattered straw for the entire length of the 8′ row. Loosen it as much as you can.

Once you have your straw in a row – simply open up your bags of top soil and pour over the straw in an even layer – you should be able to have at least a good 3 to 4 inches of topsoil over the straw.

A simple bale of straw is all you need to get started

Now mark out your places for your plants using the above chart spacing – spread the topsoil aside and plant the small plants directly into the straw – if you need to add a little topsoil into the hole that’s fine – but it’s okay to plant right into the loose soils and straw mix. Fill in around the entire plant with the topsoil.  For the seed portion of the bed – plant right into the topsoil that is above the straw.  Just use your finger to make a small row in the topsoil and spread the seeds according to the package,  and cover up with topsoil.   All thats left is to mulch the bed lightly with the remaining straw – water – and your done!

The straw and topsoil acts as a great moisture retainer for the plant’s roots, and allows them to spread and grow quickly. As the roots grow into the straw – they will go even deeper in to the loosened soil and give great results!

HELPFUL HINTS

Staking allows for good growth and easy picking and weeding

Don’t step in your raised straw rows – ever! By allowing the straw and dirt to be untouched and untrampled – you truly get amazing root growth – which leads to amazing top growth! I am always amazed each year when we pull the plants from the garden how big the roots grow in the undisturbed and loose straw / topsoil rounded beds we use. We never ever have to step in our rows – in fact in our garden we straw the paths as well to keep out weeds and can walk the rows and let the raised mounds of dirt untouched.

We use the mounded beds with straw base for our whole garden

As your tomatoes start to grow – find an inexpensive stake and tie them up to keep them strong and growing – you can also use an inexpensive tomato cage too – just use something to keep the tomatoes off the ground.

By mounding the beds and strawing between plants – you REALLY cut down on weeds!

Spend a few minutes a week to keep your raised bed free of weeds. Weeds compete for nutrients – so get rid of them. It only takes a few minutes a week to keep the beds free of weeds. Its even easier because of the loose topsoil and straw mixture.

Water. This system of growing really helps the plants retain moisture – but make sure they get a good dose of water every few days in the hot summer months – especially when they first get started. Water at the base – slowly to let the water sink in – and to avoid the plants getting their leaves burnt by watering the whole plant in the sun.

Once you have all those garden goodies – make sure you check out the picante-salsa recipe here : http://oldworldgardenfarms.wordpress.com/2012/05/11/picante-salsa-recipe-great-fresh-or-canned/

A Perfect Mother’s Day Family Day

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The bricks get loaded one by one down the line

Yesterday was a great day for the family. Each and every year – my four sisters, brother, spouses, nieces, nephews and even great grand children gather up at my moms to have a work day as a mother’s day present  to our mom.  Weeds get pulled, the yard gets spruced up, the flowerbeds edged and mulched, a small garden gets planted – and more importantly -everyone has a blast!

Everyone - including the kids even get into the act of helping load

I don’t think there is a single person that views it as “work” – in fact – I think we all look forward to it!  It’s a chance to help and spend time with mom – work together – talk a lot – and of course – eat a lot of great food.

We got an extra bonus today,  because in addition to all of the yard work – everyone pitched in and took up the old brick floor of mom and dad’s barn we had torn down last summer.

And all the hard work pays off- a lot of great reclaimed brick waiting to make the barns new floor at the farm

We loaded up over 2000 bricks to haul to the far.  The reclaimed bricks will soon become the “new” floor for our barn. Everyone formed a big line and went at it – pulling up bricks one by one - passing them down the line and onto the truck – making a pretty tough job seem fun.

A beautiful sight at the end of the day…The truck empty of all brick!

Even the little kids got into the act – helping bring a single brick to the truck to have it loaded – and then playing in what became a giant sandbox of sand once the bricks were taken up!

So – at the end of the day today – it’s one more great memory for all of us – and once again making me so thankful to have such a great mom that created such a  great family.  Now…we just have to figure out how to get them all suckered into coming to the farm soon to help lay the floor! :) :)

Happy Mothers Day!

The Garden In Pictures – 1st Week of May

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Well – as we told you last Sunday – the garden is in!  Now begins the fun of watering and maintaining – and waiting for those days of the first big harvest!  We thought we would do a series of photos every few weeks or so to show the progress of the garden and farm as we go along. Here it is in the first week of May.

Radishes poking through the ground

Fresh radishes pulled from the garden

Rows and rows of peppers and tomatoes – ready to grow!

Cucumbers ready to climb

Spring Onions ready to be plucked and eaten

Summer Crisp lettuce – we’ve harvested enough already for a couple of big salads!

Cayenne Peppers in and watered!

The new variety of Roma we are trying out this year – The Big Mama Roma

The newly landscape front of the chicken coop with a few of the split and transplanted grasses coming up nicely

Chuckie the Groundhog watching us work while having a snack of clover…he has promised us he will not touch our garden…

Goldie takes a dust bath in some clover

The view from up on the hill overlooking the garden

A view from the very top of “The Farm”.

Picante Salsa Recipe – Great Fresh or Canned!

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Our Home Made Picante Salsa – A Summer Harvest In Every Jar

We eat a ton of salsa and picante in our household.   Now let me first start by saying you can find a million explanations on the web for the difference between salsa and picante – but in a nutshell, salsa is simply the chunkier version of that great chip dip made up of a base of  tomatoes, onion, peppers – while picante is the smoother blended version of the same ingredients.  Picante is usually regarded to be a hotter version – but I have eaten both mild and hot versions of both – so that explanation always confused me.

Picante is a great way to utilize all those fresh tomatoes from the garden!

The simple fact is  -  we love them both! In fact – everyone in the house loves them both – and we go through a lot of it!  Although nothing beats that fresh “made from the garden salsa” – we have always been a little disappointed in what happens to that great fresh taste once it’s canned. So last summer, we began to experiment with different recipes to see what we could create that would taste the same fresh or canned – and came up with this picante recipe.

I noticed yesterday as I reached for a jar that we only have 7 on the canning shelf left –  so I think will be increasing the picante canning a little more this summer!

Here is both the simple fresh recipe – and our canning recipe for our version of picante salsa

The Ingredients :

8 peeled medium tomatoes.  A paste variety is the best – (roma, etc.)

2 Green Peppers  ( we also use a few of the cajun belle peppers in ours to add extra flavor)

1 to 2 jalapeno’s with seeds (if you want mild – skip the jalapeno’s)

1 large Vidalia onion

1/4 cup of chopped cilantro

1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon of pepper

1/8 cup of lime juice

1 ½ teaspoons of garlic salt

3 garlic cloves

Fresh: Simple place all of your ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth in texture and then refrigerate.  Garnish with a little bit of finely chopped cilantro and onion for an added extra  Fresh picante will keep for around a week or so in the refrigerator.

To Can: The above recipe will make around 2 to 3 half pint jars  - so we usually just multiply the ingredients x4 to can a dozen at a time.  Simply process the ingredients the same way and add to a large pot.  Bring to  a very slow boil and let simmer for an hour.  Then simply jar up and stick in your pressure canner for 15 minutes – or water bath for 40 minutes – and you have access to home-made year round picante salsa!