Monthly Archives: October 2012

Building A Cool Mailbox From A Pallet – For Under $13!

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Our New Mailbox – built from a pallet and a few pieces of scrap lumber

We needed a mailbox for the farm – and wanted it to match the barn and surroundings.  After looking on-line and in stores over the past few months – we realized anything unique was well over $125 to $150.00.  We decided to continue the recycle, re-use and re-purpose theme and build one ourselves out of a few pieces of left over scrap lumber and a pallet.

Utilizing the scrap we had on hand – our total cost was under $13. But even if one had to purchase the couple of 2x boards needed for the project, you would still be under $25 to build.

How We Built It:

A single pallet is all you need!

Once I had cut the two ends from scrap lumber – I used a jigsaw to cut out the area for the mailbox to slide into

The front cutout after completing the cut with the jigsaw

The Mailbox Base Structure

After the frame was attached – we simply covered it with strips of pallet boards, and added a thin piece of pallet wood for trim around the edges. All cuts were made easily with the jigsaw.

Setting the post. Digging the hole for the post was actually the hardest part of the job!

Putting up the 2×4 supports

Next up – Attaching the mail house box to the post with 4 screws

Last step – we added angle boards at the bottom – cut off the back post supports and put the final coats of paint on the trim and roof.

Like most of our projects –  we started by cutting out all of the pieces and setting them out. (You can find a complete materials and tool list at the end of this post)

Beginning with a couple of scrap pieces of 2 x 10″ lumber left over from another building project – we made the base and two ends.  The base we cut at 22″ long to make  the rectangle needed for the mailbox to sit on.  We then cut two more pieces from the 2×10 stock  at 18″ high for the end pieces.  We drew a 45 degree angle line from the top of the end pieces – and used the jigsaw to cut the roof lines for each piece.  For the front of the mailbox – we took the mailbox we would be using and traced the outline of the door. We then cut that out with the jigsaw as well.

Next, we assembled the 2 ends with glue and a few screws to the 22″ long base.

Once the main base was assembled – we cut 6 of the pallet slat boards to 22″ long.  We used those to build the sides – gluing and nailing them to the two end pieces.

We then cut  four more slat boards at 26″ long for the roof top –  and again attached them with glue and nails – leaving each end with about a 2″ overhang.

At this point we decided to add some trim to the mailbox house to dress it up a little bit.  Using some more pallet boards – we cut  1″ wide trim strips with the jigsaw. and then cut them down as needed to trim out the corners and bottom of the mailbox. Using the pallet wood and wanting a rough look – the jigsaw was more than okay to use for the cuts.

A quick coat of paint and stain we had left over from the barn – and we were ready to install!

The hardest part of the project turned out to be digging the hole for the post at the road!  We have dug quite a few holes for a lot of different projects around the farm – and I can say without a doubt – the dirt near the road bed is the hardest anywhere on the farm!  After scraping and clawing with the post hole diggers for over an hour – we finally had the hole dug to the proper depth  (28″ for us).

Beyond the hole digging issues..putting it up was as simple as attaching two 40″ 2 x 4′s cut from the scrap to the post.  This created the stand for the mailbox to sit on. We then attached the mailbox house to the 2×4 ledge with four screws. We added an angle brace cut from scrap at 45 degrees to the bottom, attaching it from the post to the 2×4 ledge. All that was left was to slide in the metal mailbox – and we can get mail at the farm! :)

One final note: we ended up cutting off the back-end of the 2×4′s from the post. We had originally thought about attaching a sign to it – but decided we liked it better without. To receive our DIY and Gardening Tip Posts each Tuesday – sign up to follow the blog via email or hit the “Like” button on the Facebook tab on the left side of the page.

Materials List

10 ea.)  Slat wood pallet pieces (easily obtained from  1 pallet)

3 ea.)     Small pieces of scrap 2 x 10 lumber :  Lengths : 22″ 12″ and 12″ – a four-foot scrap board will work.

1 ea.)     4 x 6 x 6′ treated post – $9.75

2 ea.     2x4x8′s – we used scrap – (could purchase for $5)

1 ea.)    #80 bag of all-purpose concrete – $3.25

Wood Glue or Construction Adhesive

2″ nails or screws

Tools Used:

Jigsaw
Measuring Tape
Hammer and Nails

- Jim and Mary

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31 Years Later…A Dream Is Fulfilled.

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Growing up  - I can remember my dad mowing the property each week with an old second-hand farm tractor   It was older – and had a few dings and knicks – but even at my young age, I could tell my dad loved that tractor.   When he wasn’t mowing, he would often let me or one of his grandchildren up with him to “drive” it around, letting us steer while he worked the pedals.  I dreamed of the day I would be “big enough”  to drive it all by myself, just like dad.

An old photo of Dad taking one of his grandchildren for a ride on his old tractor.

My father passed away when I was 12 – and that old farm tractor was a little too dangerous for my mom to let me mow the property with.  So with that in mind – the tractor was sold and I spent the next 5 years before college mowing with those 10 acres with an 18 HP ranch King Garden Tractor.  I put a million hours and a million miles on that little garden tractor – and loved every minute of it.  But in the back of my mind…I still dreamed of having a big old farm tractor someday, just like my dad.

Since starting the farm – I think I have reminded Mary of that dream of an old tractor on a weekly if not daily basis.   Of course – many things needed to come first.  Like the garden – a driveway,  the chicken coop – and of course  a barn to store it in.  But every week as we drove around – we kept our eyes peeled looking for “the one”.   After purchasing the much-needed farm truck earlier this summer – we had all but let go of the tractor dream happening this year.  Then fate stepped in.

The Farms “New” Tractor! – A 1957 Ford 860

This past Monday – innocently enough –  a business client and friend of mine (Ray) happened to ask if we were still looking for that special old tractor for our farm.   He  knew of our little farm project and had heard me talk a time or two about the tractor dream.

It just so happened that Ray had his grandfather’s 1957 Ford 860 – with its own great history as well.  It was purchased new by my client’s grandfather back in the 1950′s – and used on their big family farm up near Powell, Ohio.  Much like myself,  Ray had grown up getting rides on the tractor and waiting for the day he could “drive” it himself.    As it was passed down to him through the years,  he had used it to mow and work on his own property, until recently deciding to purchase a new model that could handle bigger chores.  He told Mary and I that he really didn’t want to sell it to anyone – but needing to make room for his new one – he had thought of us and the farm – and knew it would be a great home for his grandfather’s old Ford.

Rear View Of The Ford 860

Although in great working condition – we will give her some extra TLC over the coming months and restore her even closer to her original glory.  She will definitely be a working tractor. We will use her to mow the grass with a good finish mower – and more importantly  - to give those all important “hay rides” when we have visitors to the farm.

As I stepped up on it for the first time to take it for a test drive with the old engine purring, I let go of the clutch, and 31 years later – I felt a feeling of euphoria that can’t be described.  Mary took her turn as well at the controls – and I think it was love at first drive for both of us.

I’ll never be able to thank Ray enough for making a dream finally come true.    The Farm finally has its old tractor!

Mary and Jim

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Homemade Caramel Corn Recipe – Peanuts and Chocolate optional :)

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It’s that time of year….Halloween and Harvest parties, Trick or Treat, and Tailgating bashes. We all crave that quick and unique snack to share with others. Homemade caramel corn is a great addition to any occasion throughout the Fall and Winter Seasons.  We seem to make this non-stop from October through December and the bowl always goes empty.  Jim even likes to add a little kick by sprinkling cayenne pepper powder over the finished product.  However you decide to make it make it, it is sure to be a hit!

Delicious Caramel Corn – 3 different versions: Regular, Chocolate, and Peanut
Which one is your favorite?

Caramel Corn Recipe

1 cup packed brown sugar
1 stick of unsalted butter
1/4 cup of light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3-4 quarts of Popcorn
Hint: I use one 6oz. bag of Popcorn with no hulls or kernels

**Optional versions:

Chocolate:
1/2 cup milk chocolate morsels
1 1/2 teaspoons shortening

Peanut:
Dry Roasted peanuts

Directions:

Ingredients on the stove top

1. Place popcorn (also add the peanuts here if you are using) in shallow baking pans (cookie sheets with an edge or jelly roll pans work great)
*Hint – line your baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease your pans prior to baking

2. Place brown sugar, butter and light corn syrup in a non-stick medium sauce pan.

3. Bring to a boil,  then stir constantly for 3 minutes at a low boil

4. Remove from heat

5. Stir in vanilla and baking soda

6. Pour over Popcorn, stir to coat.

Pour caramel mixture over the popcorn and mix

*** Hint — it will not coat every centimeter of your popcorn – so don’t worry it is designed to work this way.

7. Place in preheated oven at 250 degrees for 30 minutes, stir at 10 minute intervals while in the oven.

8. Remove from oven and place on wax paper to cool separating puffs into individual pieces.

Drizzle chocolate over the caramel corn for a special treat!

Chocolate Option:
After you take the popcorn out of the oven, place the chocolate and shortening in a microwave safe bowl. Heat for 90 seconds, stopping to stir one time at the 45 second point. Drizzle over cooling popcorn. Let cool completely

9. Once cool, place in air tight container to preserve freshness

You may want to make a double batch, because this won’t last long – it’s addicting!!!! Enjoy!

Mary and Jim

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Shared on Little House In The Suburbs, Lovely Crafty Weekend

How To Make Super Soil From Summer’s Hanging Baskets and Planters

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If you want to keep your hanging and potted plants looking great year after year – you need to recharge that soil!

We are all guilty of it as some point. You walk out to your garage, back patio or porch in the middle of winter, and there they sit or hang. The brown, curled up remains of last year’s potted plants. The frost and freeze season is now upon us – and that means the end of the line for the hanging baskets and planters filled with Summer’s bounty of flowering annuals and vegetable plants. So instead of letting those sit around until next spring, or even worse, throwing them away – now is the time to recharge that dirt into super soil to reuse next year!

The soil in potted plants will lose most of its structure and nutrients throughout a growing season.

As plants start to fade – it’s time to think about making a potting soil compost pile!

Unlike garden soil, which can be recharged through cover crops and natural decaying plant matter – the soil in pots and hanging baskets have no chance at all to rebuild structure and vitality. So if you plan on reusing that soil in the same pot next year – plan on disappointing results.

So how do you recharge it? Make a potting soil compost pile!

Potting soil can be a big expense each spring – and by composting your old and tired dirt to re-energize it – you can reap huge savings next year. Each Spring, we make our own super soil potting mix using 4 parts of potted soil compost to 1 part new potting soil. Not only do we reduce our new potting soil purchases by 80% – the plants are healthier than ever!

Depending on your available space – you have several options to get a small compost pile built.

We also use our composted potting soil for starting our seedlings indoors in the early Spring – it gives plants a great start.

Good Potting Soil = Great Blooms!

You can add a lot of color to your landscape with potted plants – but make sure to re-energize that soil to get great results each year.

Create A Space In Your Garden:

If you have a little garden or flower bed area that becomes barren in the winter – start it right in the available space and make an over-winter pile.

The Garbage Can Method:

If space is limited – get yourself a big garbage can or two (depending on how many plants you have) – and make it right on your patio, garage or porch.
Start by gathering all of your pots and baskets – take a shovel or sharp tool to break and chop up the matted soil and spent plant material before adding to the pile or can.

Next – add what fall give us for free! Chopped leaves and fall grass clippings are a great addition – as are coffee grounds, apple peels, pumpkin rines and potato peels. Mix it all together and if your pile is dry – add a little water to make it moist.   You want to make sure to add those grass clipping or scraps along with the leaves – because they give back valuable nitrogen to the spent soil as they decay.

For the next month or so – keep adding those kitchen and garden scraps, making sure to mix it in as you go. The mixing process adds oxygen to the pile which helps to speed up the composting process. We usually stop adding to our “planter” compost pile near the end of November.  However, as weather permits – we will still turn the pile every few weeks or so to keep the compost process going. By late Spring – when we are ready to start potting up all of those planters and hanging baskets – we have a ready-made supply of super rich, super composted potting soil to use.

-Jim and Mary

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Fall Embraces The Farm

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Fall Skies At The Farm

The Poinsettia Peppers have finally lost their full color beauty with the hard freeze this past week.

Fall is in full swing and is changing the scenery at the farm.

Both the Sangria and Poinsettia Ornamental Pepper plants have finally succumbed to the hard freeze and frosts of mother nature in the past week.   We picked the largest of the pepper pods from each of the plants and saved them for next year’s seeds.  It’s an easy process that has worked well for us the past few years.  We let the peppers air dry for a few weeks after picking – and then cut  them open with a sharp knife to remove all of the seeds.  After that, it’s as easy as rolling them up in a paper towel, putting them in a zip lock bag - and storing them in a drawer until next January.  We grow all of our ornamental peppers from seed, and we have learned you have to start them early.  Last year, we started them in Mid-January and it worked out perfect – with nice large plants ready to hit the ground running the first of May.

The beginnings of a silo…the framework of the dome is finished!

The Silo framework pieces getting attached

The silo project has started!  After writing about it last week – I got even more excited about getting it up and started to put the building plan in action.  I have to admit that the most daunting part of building was figuring out how to create the round top that makes a silo a silo.  So, this past week was spent getting the top’s framework designed and built.  After playing around with some paper cutouts and cardboard samples for a few days,  and driving  Mary crazy trying to remember all of the fun math equations we had back in school – we had the design down on paper.

We made the dome out of one sheet of 3/4″ thick  4′ x 8′ OBS board.  I used the jigsaw to cut out three-foot arc’s and then attached them all together with screws.  It actually came together really easy (must be Mary’s sharp math skills! :) )  This week, hopefully we can  put on the metal roof and trim strips - and finish it off by building the tower next week.   I would like to have it up by the end of the month and start filling it with all of the leaves from this year’s haul.

The garlic is up and through the ground…a little better than we would like this early!

The lettuce is one of the few crops left in the garden.

The garden is almost entirely at rest now – with 22 of the 26 rows fully engulfed in their cover crops.   The fall garlic and onion crops we planted a few weeks ago have actually grown a little too well.  You want to plant garlic in the fall to get it to sprout a little and get some bottom growth – but this year, with the late warm weather – it has really taken off a little more than we like.  We applied some straw mulch to it last week to help it weather through the winter better – but we will see how it turns out for next year’s crop.  Same goes for the fall planting of the onions.

The only “picking” crops we have left in the garden are the sugar snap peas and lettuce – and both are doing well.  The lettuce is just about to be harvested this week for a couple of good final fresh salads – and the sugar snap peas need about another week or two to get to maturity for picking.

The front entrance is ready for spring planting!

The weather was nice enough this past week to get the last of the stone retaining wall put in place at the front entrance.  Now  - it’s a waiting game until late winter / early spring when we can start to divide more of our ornamental grasses and perennials to fill the whole area in with landscaping.  I can’t wait to finally have it all come together!

Thanks For Featuring Us Gnowfglins!

Finally, we also want to send a big thank you out to Gnowfglins for featuring our farm on their Down Home Farm Tours this past week.   http://gnowfglins.com/2012/10/15/old-world-garden-farms/# They have a great website and blog full of all kinds of useful information on growing, canning and cooking – and we were honored to have them feature us.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Jim and Mary

Shared On Barn Hop, Savvy Southern Style, Rural Thursday

Silo Framework

The Great Pumpkin Roll Recipe Charlie Brown…Made From Scratch

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Pie pumpkins are much smaller than your average carving pumpkin.

It’s that time of year…the pumpkin patches are in full swing.  Now that our kids are older – they would be mortified at the thought of “The Parents’ taking them to pick out a pumpkin.  Since we no longer bring the camera to take pictures of the kids petting the goats – or after a messy crawl through the hay and corn maze – it’s time to switch gears as parents and take a new perspective of what else a pumpkin patch has to offer.

Perhaps we should look at the pumpkin patch as on fresh fall grocery store!  Like picking up a fresh batch of honey made from the on-site  bee hives – or even better – picking out the best pie pumpkins we can find.  The kids might not want to be seen with us at the pumpkin patch now, but rest assure they aren’t shy about eating what is made as a result of our trip there.

A lot of people are hesitant to use pie pumpkins- mainly because they are unsure of how to make the pumpkin puree  found in cans at the grocery store.  Let me tell you — it’s MUCH easier than you think.  If you have a microwave, stove, or an oven – you can make your own pumpkin puree – and the taste is as fresh as it can get!

I used the stove top method, mainly just out of personal preference to make the puree for the Pumpkin Roll.

How to Make Pumpkin Puree from a Pie Pumpkin

Using a serrated knife to cut the exterior of the pumpkin is the easier and safest way to cut a pumpkin, besides an electric knife.

1. Make sure you purchase a PIE pumpkin. The pumpkins you carve are not made for eating…only decorating. Pie pumpkins are much smaller and are perfect for making puree.

2. Cut your pumpkin into quarters – This might be a little difficult to cut — I have found that it is easiest (and safest) to using a serrated knife to start your cut, and then switch to a standard butcher knife to finish cutting through the pumpkin.

Pumpkin quarters in the double boiler steamer ready to be cooked down

Pumpkin being pureed with a hand blender

3. Place your pumpkin pieces into a double broiler/steamer. Make sure the water doesn’t reach the bottom of your pumpkin. Place a lid on it and steam it for 15-20 minutes.
4. Carefully remove the hot pumpkin quarters, one at a time, onto a large cutting board with the skin side down.

5. Use a large spoon to scoop out the pumpkin away from the rind and place it in a medium-sized bowl. This should separate easily – if not, return it to the steamer for an additional 5 minutes.

6. Use a hand blender to puree your pumpkin mixture.

7. Let cool – this can be frozen for later use.

Now, what to do with that pumpkin puree?  Of course, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin bread, etc…. but one of the special treats this time of year at our house is the Pumpkin Roll.  This is a great housewarming or holiday treat over the holidays as well.  I guarantee the kids will be glad that Jim and I went to the pumpkin patch!

The Perfect Pumpkin Roll

Put wax paper onto a baking sheet and grease well

After flipping the cake onto a tea towel sprinkled with powdered sugar, carefully remove the wax paper

Roll your cake into a tea towel, set aside and let cool

Roll the cake with the icing — let cool and enjoy!

Pumpkin Roll Recipe

1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup flour
2/3 cup pie pumpkin puree (or canned pure pumpkin – NOT pie filling)
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Filling
8 oz. cream cheese
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp. soft butter
Mix well

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Mix above ingredients together until blended well.  On a standard cookie sheet or jelly roll pan, place wax paper over the entire cookie sheet.   Grease the wax paper on the bottom and the sides, making sure to grease the whole surface area.

Pour the mixture into the pan and spread evenly. Bake 15 min. or until golden brown.

In the mean time, mix ingredients for the filling and set aside.  Sprinkle powdered sugar onto an opened tea towel.

Once you have removed the cake from the oven, flip cookie sheet on top of the tea towel, so that the cake is now laying with the wax paper facing upward.  Carefully remove the wax paper.   Roll the cake into tea-towel starting at the short end.

Let cool for 15-20 minutes.  Unroll & spread the filling to about an inch from the edge of the cake.  Carefully re-roll the cake and filling mixture to make your pumpkin roll.  Let cool before eating.

Enjoy!!

Mary and Jim

**Just in case you are wondering what a tea towel is…..

A tea towel is a small piece of linen which is often used for drying dishes or cutlery. The cloth is made of a simple weave, not looped terry. Historically it is used to spread over a tea tray to absorb any spills or catch crumbs. Others use it as a blanket over warm scones or a hot tea pot, so it insulates the heat and keeps it at the right temperature over the course of a meal. You can find them at your standard home goods store.

Shared on Gnowfglins, Transformation Thursdays,  Savvy Southern Style, Frugally Sustainable, Little House In The Suburbs, Too Many Jars in My Kitchen, Fresh Foods Wednesday, Six Sisters , Funky Junk Scrumptious Sunday, The Barn Hop, Hearth and Soul Blog Hop, Down Home Blog Hop, Wednesday Extravaganza, Rural Thursday, Feathered Nest Friday

6 Must Have Tools for The DIY Re-Purposer

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With the right tools – you can build anything you can imagine. We made this wine rack from a piece of old barn wood and a simple stainless wine rack that was headed for the trash pile.

With the ever-increasing popularity of turning old into new again, re-purposing and upcycling have become great ways to redecorate and furnish on a budget – all while keeping our landfills and junkyards from filling up.

Traditional carpentry methods and tools are not always the solution when working with old materials such as barn wood, pallets and metal roofing. Although a table saw and a circular saw are great in traditional workshops –  it can be a bit more more difficult to use them to cut a nail infused piece of  barn wood.  So for this week’s DIY post – we thought we would highlight 6 tools we utilize that have really made our life easier while working on our re-purposing projects at the farm. I think it’s important to understand that you don’t have to have a $50,000 work shop like Norm from This Old House to make quality re-purposed items. In fact, the six items listed below could all be purchased together for less than $500.

So here you go… If you don’t  have these in your tool arsenal already – you will want them soon enough!

Swanson Speed Square

The Swanson Speed Square

The Speed Square makes a breeze out of squaring boards and cuts

It’s such a simple tool.  It’s rugged and tough, and best of all, it’s under $10.00 at your hardware store.

Although called a square – the Swanson speed square is a triangular-shaped measuring tool.  Originally designed for carpenters and framers to help figure out angles for rafters and steps – we’ve found 1,000 other uses for it.  Other than maybe the tape measure – it’s one of the most used tools in the tool box.

It makes quick work of creating mark lines for cutting lumber or to square off old pieces of jagged barn boards in seconds. It also makes an amazing cutting guide for my circular or jig saw when placed beside the cutting surface.  We also use it to check for squareness on tables and furniture that we make – and its the perfect squaring guide when we mark off our pergola ends.  Oh, and yes – it does work great for the rafter angles – we used it to make all of our rafters for the barn :)

Pressure Washer

A good power washing was all it took to clean up the floor board that we made into these barn doors.  It- saved hours of sanding to clean off the dirt and grime.

This one may throw you – but yes, a pressure washer makes our top 6 list when working with old wood.  We would be lost without it.   It makes quick work when you are trying to take layer upon layer of grime and paint off of old lumber and salvaged pieces.   Instead of taking hours to sand off years of  wear –  a quick power washing with plain old water can clean up wood beautifully.   The trick is to get a nice even spray tip and work gently down the piece  - it leaves old wood looking great without damaging the surface.  It’s a relatively inexpensive way to get great results.  A lot better than spending a fortune in sandpaper and hour upon hour sanding – or trying to run through expensive wood planers that seem to struggle handling old, dense surfaces.

Sawzall

A sawzall is invaluable to a DIY repurposer to cut all kinds of hard to get at materials

We have talked about this tool in other posts before –  but I can’t begin to tell you how valuable a sawzall is to a DIY’er who works with reclaimed materials.  We use them to disassemble pallets – cut nails, screws and bolts from almost anything, and to easily cut thorough old barn beams and metal pipes.   It gets in tight spaces and fits through slim openings.  There isn’t much a sawzall can’t cut through – and when you combine it with a 12″ construction demolition blade – you can tear apart just about anything.

Jigsaw – (Orbital)

A good jigsaw is a must for making curves and cuts in all sorts of materials

If you want to be able to cut curves in metal, wood or almost any material you can think of  - then the Orbital Jigsaw is a must.   We use our jigsaw non-stop. For all of the cuts, notches and curves in our pergolas we build, the jigsaw handles the job.  We’ve used it on hundreds of re-purposing projects – including cutting the metal roofing for our barn and cutting out the barn wood letters for our fresh egg sign.

Impact Driver / Drill

Once you use an impact driver/drill to set a screw – you won’t want to ever use your regular drill to put in a screw again.

Tired of bending and stripping out screws?  Get an impact driver/drill.  After using my first impact driver – I knew I would never use another drill again to drive a screw.  It has power – it handles all of the tough old barn wood with ease, and makes self tapping screws  go through metal quickly.  In short – it is perfection when it comes to attaching screws into anything.  We used to break and bend a lot of screws before getting one –  not so anymore.  It also requires far less strain on the user when applying pressure to drive the fasteners into the wood.   It is a must have as far as I am concerned.

I can power through any type of wood and recess any screw I am driving.  One of the Trestle Tables we just finished was  a breeze to assemble because of  the impact drill – driving through the hard old wood like butter.  It’s a little louder than your standard drill – but so worth it!    On the topic of “worth it”  - if you look around – you can pick up a cordless impact driver, sawzall and jigsaw together in some of the combo tool kits the big stores offer.  They can be a huge savings when purchased as a bundle.   One extra note of advice - spend the extra money to invest in the new lithium battery technology – and get at least an 18 volt kit.  They last longer – have more power – and life for the DIY’er without a cord is good!

Star Bits and Star Screws

Star Bit and Star Screws

So although not technically a “tool” – these need to go in your tool box.

Have you ever been frustrated by those #2 Phillips screws and bits that seem to strip out in seconds?

About 6 months ago – I purchased a big 20 pack of standard Phillips # 2 screwdriver bits for my drill.  Within a week…yes – a week – I had destroyed almost every one of them.  They seem to strip out under the slightest pressure – sometimes just completely breaking off in my drill.   So one day, in the hardware store, I bought a package of star screws on a whim.   After using them, I literally have no idea why Phillips screwdriver bits and screws even exist anymore.

Use star bits and screws and trust  -  you’ll never again use a Phillips head screw.  The screws don’t strip out – and they don’t slip or bend –  and best of all – the bits last forever.  When you combine the impact drill with star bits, your building projects get completed faster and stronger than ever.

There you have it…our six must have tools.  Here are a couple of the projects we have completed below using them:

Shared on The Barn Hop, Frugally Sustainable, Shabby Creek Cottage, Gnowfglins, Little House In The Suburbs Funky Junky Six Sisters 

Your building a What for your farm???

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Pictures like this have always made us want to have a silo for our farm

Corn Crib Silos. We found this metal corn crib on our drive. I still want to find one of these some day to convert into an outdoor garden structure on the farm.

A silo is one of those things that makes a farm…a farm.  Take a short drive through the countryside and you can see them dotting the landscape everywhere.  I have always loved the sight of silo’s, and always wanted to find a way to incorporate one into our little farm.

Now it’s true,  we don’t have cattle to feed - and a silo may be a bit large to hold just the chicken feed for our small flock. But I think we may have come up with a way, just like the “big farms”, to make a silo become one of the most useful structures on our farm.

A few weeks back – we did a post on collecting fall leaves and making compost.  Although we have our 6′ two-bin compost system up above the garden – they fill quickly in the fall with the garden clean up material. For our big batch of fall leaf compost, we have then always made a temporary corral fence right in the garden. It’s a good system, but we are limited to how much compost we can make and store before we need our garden space back in the spring. And that is where the silo enters the picture. Why not combine the wish of having a farm silo…with the need to collect and create more leaf compost to use throughout the whole summer!

Hence…The Compost Silo Project

The Plan For Our Farm’s Compost Silo.

It’s the perfect aesthetic solution to holding tons of shredded leaf compost and gives me an argument to why we should have one without Mary thinking I have finally lost my mind. :) .  Actually – she’s on board with me in thinking our farm needs a silo too.

With that established…where to get a silo on the cheap?

Our first thought was to find an unused or abandoned one that we could recycle onto our property. So – a few weeks back we set out on a Saturday morning for a long drive through the countryside.  It was a beautiful drive, and we saw some incredible farms and silos as well.  And with each and every single stop we checked out – it became pretty apparent that we were biting off way more than we could chew.

You know…silo’s are so much bigger in person than I ever realized!!! Even the “small” ones we found are a bit big for our farm’s scale.  So, as we drove home that day – I began to think about finding and using recycled material to build our own smaller scale silo that fits the need of our farm.

The solution – design a “smaller scale” silo – using as many reclaimed materials as we can to build it on the cheap.  We still have decent quantities of salvaged metal stored to use to make the roof -and plenty of  lumber left over to build the bones of the structure.

The silo will help us compost and store 6 times the amount we could before – and by the look of the leaves on our drive home..there are plenty available to fill it!

For now it’s all worked out on paper – we hope to have a 6 foot diameter silo – that will stretch up to 12′ at the apex of its curved roof. It will have a top door for loading up material – and a bottom door for getting out fresh loads of compost. We will locate it at the top of the garden and put it beside the existing 2 bin compost system and water tank to overlook the farm and garden.  And yes, we are even going to add the farm’s  logo across the mid section to make it look like the “big farm” silos :)  When completed, it should be able to hold just over 275 cubic feet of composted leaves – which will be almost 6 times what we have ever been able to make before.  And of course – the ultimate goal will be achieved…our little farm will have it’s silo.

We will keep you updated in the coming weeks on it’s progress.

Shared on The Barn Hop, Little House In The Suburbs

Making Your Own Chipotle Peppers From Jalapeno’s

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Red Jalapenos picked from the garden.

This week we had our first true freeze of the fall season.  Fortunately, we were able to pick the last of the peppers before nature turned down the thermostat. That left us with a plethora of peppers to try to can, freeze, and dry. A great way to preserve your red jalapenos is to make your own Chipotle Peppers.  It does take some patience, so plan to do this on a day when you have a full day to be ‘on call’.

Chipotle peppers ground down to make powder – Great to add to soups, stews and pasta dishes.

A Chipotle pepper is a dry, smoked jalapeno pepper.  They are most commonly made from red jalapenos.   They are added to any dish that needs a smoky flavor with a little kick.    Most of the natural ‘heat’ of the jalapeno is retained in the drying and smoking process.Typically it is about 5,000 to 10,000 Scoville Units. This is considered a “medium” heat in comparison to other chilies.  Of course, you can take out the seeds and ribs of the jalapeno to make a milder version of the chipotle pepper. Typically the Chipotle is used to flavor soups, salsas, stews, sauces, and even an occasional dessert.

Make sure to soak your wood chips in water for at least an hour to prevent burning in the smoker.

After a few hours, the red jalapenos are beginning to dry

To make your own Chipotles, start with thoroughly washed Jalapeños, without bruises or surface cuts. They shouldn’t be too soft. Remove the stems and place them on the rack in your smoker or grill in a single layer.

Add pre-soaked wood for the smoke in small amounts. Fruit woods are best to use such as apple wood, however hickory, oak, and pecan (the Mexican traditional wood) works well also. Just keep the airflow low so that the fire doesn’t get too hot and then continue smoking until the peppers are complete dried. Some people use a dehydrator, which works, but your dehydrator will smell smoky for weeks.

So what do you do with all of your chipotle peppers?  There are countless ways to use them, but here are some of our favorites…..

You can see the jalapenos have now begun to turn into chipotle peppers. Only a couple more hours to go.

Chipotle Powder 
A few spice companies offer a chipotle powder. This is simply the dried whole chili,

ground up into a fine powder. Use as you would any chili powder for a spicy, smoky flavor.

Chipotle in Adobo Sauce 
Normally canned with a sauce made of spices, vinegar, tomato sauce and sometimes other chilies. You can use the chilies, the sauce, or both in common recipes.

Chipotle Chili Salt
The salt is a combination of chipotle chili powder and table salt. Use on meats or vegetables for a light smoky flavor.

Chipotle Dip 
Chilies are dehydrated and blended into a paste. Use the dip for chicken fingers, wraps and on veggies or chips.

Chipolte Peppers ready to come out of the smoker.

We will get into more specific recipes on how to use your dried chipotle peppers in future posts.  But as for now, concentrate on getting those leftover jalapenos put to use before they go bad.

Jim and Mary

Shared On Little House In The Suburbs, Six Sisters, Funky Junk SNS, The Barn Hop, Frugally Sustainable, Gnowfglins, Shabby Creek Cottage

DIY – Building A Floating Ledge Shelf From Pallets

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The floating ledge shelf made from pallet wood.

The pallet shelf up beside the canning cabinet.

We wanted a small display shelf for between our canning cabinet and buffet hutch in our dining room.  So – staying with the pallet theme used to build those two pieces - we used pallets once again to build a floating ledge shelf.

Floating ledge shelves are great because they allow you to change pictures, candles and decorations without the need to remove nails, screws or hangers each time.  Big pictures, small pictures and everything in between will fit on them without ever worrying about more holes going into your walls.  The best part – this shelf can be made in less than an hour with just 3 ordinary pallet boards,  8 screws and a little wood glue.

A few weeks back – we had a short tutorial on how to quickly disassemble a pallet to get a nice stash of ready-to-use boards.  (http://oldworldgardenfarms.com/2012/09/18/building-with-pallets-how-to-disassemble-a-pallet-with-ease-for-great-wood/)  With that wood close at hand – we were ready to get building.

3 pieces of pallet wood, 8 screws and a little wood glue are all you need.

This is actually a very simple piece, consisting  of just 3 pieces of wood.  A main center shelf (3 1/2″ wide by 36″ long), a front ledge (1 1/2″ wide x 34″ long), and a back ledge (2 1/2″ long x 36″ long)

We used about 1/4 of the wood from one pallet – so depending on the size of the shelf you wanted – you can make several from a single pallet.  You could also just as easily use old barn wood or pine boards to build.

The How To:

*    At the end of this post, you will find a quick pictorial to take you through our building process step by step.

Main Shelf Board:
Using one of the three wider boards taken from the back of the pallet – we cut the board down to 3 1/2″ wide with a quick run through the table saw.  The boards were already 36″ long, so the length was good to go.    To add a little dimension to the piece – we tapered the front edge of the board 1″ on each side and cut off with a jigsaw.

Front Ledge Board:

Taking one of the smaller slat boards from the top portion of the pallet – we once again ran it through the table saw to get the desired width of 1 1/2 inches.  I then used the jig saw to trim off 2″ to make this piece 34″ long (allowing for the angled front taper).  Next – I used a drill to pre-drill 4 small pilot holes in the lower half of the slat board – one at each end, and 2 more spaced evenly towards the middle.

Back Ledge Board:

Taking another one of the smaller slat boards – we make the back ledger board.  We trim it down to 2 1/2 wide with a quick run through the table saw  - and kept it at the existing 36″ length.  I repeat the same pilot hole process at the bottom of the board that we did with the front ledge board.  With that – it’s ready to assemble!

Assembly:

Starting with the front ledge board and the main shelf board – apply a small bead of wood glue or construction adhesive to the front edge of the  main shelf board.   Line up your front slat board until it’s even, and using the pre-drilled holes – assemble by drilling the screws in from the front side.  You can use any wood screw you like – but I find it  easy to use basic 1-3/4″ coarse black drywall screws.  They go in easy, are inexpensive and hold great.

With your front shelf ledge board attached – now its time to assemble the back board. Repeat the same steps as before.  Apply a thin bead of glue or construction adhesive to the back edge, and screw the back slat into the back edge of the main shelf board- screwing from the rear side towards the front.

At this point  you can either leave your shelf rustic, or apply a coat or two of stain or paint to the wood.  (One quick tip – if you want to leave rustic – it is amazing what a little pressure washing can do to old wood to make it look great again – no sanding needed!

After it’s all dry  - your ready to hang.

Hanging is a snap.  I use a stud finder to locate a couple of studs in the wall – and then drill out two holes in the front top portion of the back ledger board.  Place the shelf up against the wall and using the 2 pre-drilled holes,  attach with 3″ coarse black drywall screws or wood screws into the studs.

That’s it!  In less than an hour – we have our shelf cut, assembled and hung!

Shared on Savvy Southern Style, Frugally Sustainable, The Chicken Chick, Gnowfglins Simple Lives, Shabby Creek Transformation Thursday, Six Sisters, Funky Junk SNS, Little House In The Suburbs

PICTORIAL

We used the table saw to rip down the large board to a width of 3 1/2″.

Next – we taper in the corners of the main shelf board 1″ towards the front end and make a mark to cut

The angled cut line for the main shelf board

We then cut the tapered lines on each side of the main shelf board

Then pre-drill four small holes along the lower portion of the front ledger board. Space the holes out evenly – one on each end and the other two in between.

Place a thin strip of wood glue or construction adhesive on the side of the main shelf board.

Next – screw in the back ledger board flush with the edge of the main shelf board.

Repeat the same step for the front ledger piece – glueing and then securing with screws flush to the bottom of the main shelf  edge.

Pallet wood shelves we made and painted black