And back in the greenhouse . . .

Posted on March 25, 2012 by
Greenhouse floor

Greenhouse floor

The solar project has been the big exciting project of recent weeks, but it’s not the only project underway. In another effort to defeat moles and rats, we’ve decided to install a cement block floor in the greenhouse. Over the last few weekends, we’ve been slowly working on the floor installation. Here you can see one of the sections that we’ve covered. Forty-eight tiles down, another 120+ to go!

Swiss chard in the greenhouse

Swiss chard in the greenhouse

Inside the greenhouse, the Swiss chard doing really well and it’s just plain pretty. This is a mix of ‘Bright Lights’ and another variety.

Cabbage moth?

Cabbage moth?

When I looked closer, I found this guy. It looks to me like a cabbage moth, but I’m not sure. Needless to say, it suffered a tragic (for the caterpillar) fate.

Chickens in the fenced in orchard

Chickens in the fenced in orchard

Outside the greenhouse, I thought I’d show a pic of our flock in the orchard. Last fall, Derek fenced in the orchard and these are the winter quarters for the chickens. As soon as the trees start blossoming and forming baby fruit, we’ll move the chickens to their summer place in the goat pasture. What fancy chickens, they have a winter home and a summer home.

Sandy

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Solar panel installation

Posted on March 25, 2012 by
Main panel installation

Main panel installation

It’s been an exciting week! The Puget Sound Solar crew arrived and installed all of our Silicon Energy panels. These panels are made in Washington state and qualify for the highest energy incentives. Above, you can see 33 of our 45 panel installation.

Second panel installation location

Second panel installation location

And here are the final 12 panels.

Solar panel inverters

Solar panel inverters

The installation obviously includes a lot of electrical components, including the two inverter boxes you see above. I’ll leave it to Derek to write a post detailing all the technical aspects of this system.

So, it’s all set and everything works, but the system needs to go through a final inspection and the power company needs to install a new meter before we can officially turn it on, which we hope to do this week. We’re super close now!

Sandy

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Final solar panel layout

Posted on March 18, 2012 by
Solar panel final layout

Solar panel final layout

After our final site inspection and some back and forth over a few different layout options, we settled on a 45-panel installation. The Puget Sound Solar installation crew arrives tomorrow. Yay!

Update: System has been installed! See the installed system overview and the solar production log.

Sandy

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Tomato seedlings

Posted on March 17, 2012 by
Tomato seedlings

Tomato seedlings

Unlike years past, my tomato seedlings are doing great this year! In the photo, you can see the tomato seedlings I just repotted. I lifted the lights up away from the plants just to take the photo. Normally, the lights are just a few inches above the tops of the plants. The plants in the photo look so short because I buried most of the stems in the soil. The stems will root, creating a stronger root base for the plant. This year I am growing five varieties. Two for sauce: Roma and San Marzano. Two slicers: Mandarin Cross and Cherokee Purple. And a cherry: Sun Gold. I won’t plant all 26 plants, so my local gardening friends will be offered the extras.

As for non-gardening news, our solar installation begins on Monday. Derek will blog updates on the installation process.

Sandy

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Goin’ solar

Posted on March 9, 2012 by
Home solar configuration

Home solar configuration

After years of talking about it, we’re finally going solar. Over the coming weeks, we will be working with Puget Sound Solar to install a 49 panel Silicon Energy system. The panels and transformers are made in Washington and qualify for the highest production incentive at $.54 kWh. This, along with the 30% federal tax credit, are the reasons why we are doing this now. We want to take advantage of the credits and incentives to reduce the payback time on the system, which is projected to be around nine years. We’ll document the installation and post additional information about the system and the choices we made with this installation in future posts. Right now, I just wanted to share the news because we’re both pretty dang excited about this!

Sandy

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Two steps backwards, one hobbled step forward

Posted on February 26, 2012 by
Late winter snow

Late winter snow

Many aspects of gardening involve adjusting for the unplanned and unexpected. Weather, of course, is a primary element to which gardeners have to adjust and readjust expectations and plans. Earlier in the week, I planned on using this weekend to start a garden clean up and pruning project. We awoke on Saturday, however, to snow. Not a lot of snow, but enough to make it too cold for me to want to go outside.

The snow didn’t matter, though, because I couldn’t have worked in the garden this weekend anyway. Earlier in the week, I injured my leg and am now on crutches.  The ER doctor told me it could take 2 – 3 months to recover. This, of course, had me thinking about how I’d still be able to get the garden started in time for the primary growing season. Luckily, I think the doctor’s prognosis was worse than reality. I’m already down to using just one crutch. Hopefully, I’ll be fully mended in a few weeks. In the interim, I’ll have to ask Derek to help out with the garden a bit more than usual.

Fresh eggs

Fresh eggs

While I hobble on my crutch, the garden goes on. The hens are waking up to the impending spring and their egg production has increased significantly  in the last month. We are now getting about six eggs daily, which is pretty good for nine hens, especially since a few of the hens are now getting long in the beak.

Inside, my tomato seedlings have sprung forth from the potting soil. The peppers should catch up soon. They always seem to take a few days longer than the tomatoes.

Oh, I also found out about a new program this week. We’ve been members of the Puget Sound Energy Green Power Program for some time. In addition to using electricity, we also use natural gas for heat and cooking. While natural gas is better than electricity, it does produce carbon. PSE now also has a Carbon Balance Program, which allows customers to buy carbon offsets to balance out natural gas usage. For a typical household, the offsets cost about $8/month. We’re now all signed up.

That’s it for now. I’ll taking it easy for the next week, hoping for the leg to perk up. By next week, though, I’m going to head into the garden, even if it is just to supervise as I ask others to help out.

Sandy

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Garden season 2012 commences

Posted on February 19, 2012 by
Garlic and pea beds

Garlic and pea beds

After a long blogging hiatus, I’m back! And I’m really late kicking off garden season 2012. Truth be told, I’ve been working on some other projects (not related to gardening and sustainability) that have monopolized my spare time over the last few months. Plus, the time has just gotten away from me. I can’t believe we’re already nearing the end of February!

To rectify matters, I officially kicked off my gardening season today. First, I cleaned out the bed for the peas and planted three varieties, which included two flat peas (Oregon Sugar Pod 2 and Taiwan Sugar) and one snap pea (Sugar Sprint). Gee, that’s a lot of “sugar” peas. In front of the pea bed, above, you can see the garlic has come through the winter just fine and is putting on new growth.

Rhubarb emerging

Rhubarb emerging

Also putting on new growth is the rhubarb. I’m hoping that my rhubarb plants will provide enough for a decent harvest this year. These are fairly young plants (just a few years old) and it does take a few years for them to become established and provide a decent harvest.

Cover crop in raised bed

Cover crop in raised bed

Last fall, I planted a cover crop in a few beds. It grew really well and I turned the cover crop in one of the beds today. I’ve never done a cover crop like this before so I’m not sure how long it will take to break down. Hopefully this bed will be ready for the summer crops I’ll need to plant out in May.

Peach blossoms in the greenhouse

Peach blossoms in the greenhouse

In the greenhouse, the mini dwarf peach and nectarine trees are about to bloom. Unlike last year, I did a much better job keeping these watered over the winter and the trees are looking great.

Other recent tidbits:

  • My annual order from Raintree Nursery arrived. I think this will need to be my last annual order for a few years as I’ve basically run out of space. Last fall, we removed our big leaf maple tree. We did this to create more sunny, plantable space. Of course, this prompted the Raintree order. Delivered, and planted, were two more cherry trees, a crab apple, and a plum.
  •  We’ve noticed that our energy bills over the winter have been noticeably lower than they were last year, in fact, about 20% less. We believe this is the direct result of the insulation project we did last fall. We significantly increased the insulation in the attic as well as under the floor. Looks like it worked!
  • Also on the energy front, we’ve received our first solar assessment and bid. The proposed solar system would supply about 30% of our electricity needs (more if we can reduce our electricity usage further which is definitely possible) with a payback of about seven years. I think we’ll pull the trigger on this in the next couple of years as we continue to work on bringing our usage down.
  • We have a new plan for our car situation. We recently decided that Derek would get a Jetta TDI wagon. This is the diesel version that gets 40+ MPG. We’ll use this as the main family car and for road trips. Then, once my Volvo (current family car) hits 100,000 miles, I am going to get an all-electric vehicle. Since I am currently at 86K with this car, it will probably be a few years before I go electric.

That’s it for now. I hope everyone had a great winter and that you are well ahead of me with your gardening 2012 tasks.

Sandy

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Dear Big Leaf Maple

Posted on October 30, 2011 by
Big Leaf Maple

Big Leaf Maple

Dear Big Leaf Maple,

Although I’ve tried for a number of years to be friends, it’s just not working out. Not to be rude or anything, but you are in the way. You see, I have plans. Big plans. And I just can’t do them with you around. I know it’s harsh. You are probably shocked I came right out and just said it. I could have spared your feelings, but it would have been disingenuous. With some relationships, the only ending is a bad ending. This is one of them.

Without you around, my days will be much sunnier. You simply cast too large of a shadow. It gets me down. Plus, I have other friends just like you and they are not in the way. They know their place.

Yes, we did have some good times. You were great to have around on a hot sunny day. But you see, those days are few and far between here. You just don’t fit in. So, my decision has been made. It’s over. I’m sorry you only lived to be thirty-five. But good-bye.

Sandy

P.S. I’m sure you’ll find some great new friends who like you much better as fire wood.

P.P.S. I’m SORRY! :-(

R.I.P. Big Leaf Maple

R.I.P. Big Leaf Maple

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Posted in Homesteading | Tagged | 5 Comments

Squash

Posted on October 20, 2011 by
Blue Hubbard Squash

Blue Hubbard Squash

This wasn’t the best year for squash, but we did get five sugar pumpkins, three delicata squash, and this nice blue Hubbard squash. Isn’t it pretty? That’s all for today. I just wanted to share the picture of this nice squash.

Sandy

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Apples

Posted on September 25, 2011 by
Gravenstein and Chehalis apples

Gravenstein and Chehalis apples

Walking through the orchard last weekend, I noticed a few apples had dropped from a couple of trees. I picked the apples that looked reasonably good off the ground and then checked the trees for ripe fruit still hanging on limbs. I picked just some of the fruit that was ready because I wasn’t prepared that day to do a full picking. This did, however, give me a great opportunity to see how well the nylon socks worked to protect the fruit from pests and disease.

Bagged and unbagged Chehalis apples

Bagged and unbagged Chehalis apples

The above two apples grew on the same Chehalis apple tree.

Exterior comparison of bagged and unbagged Chehalis apples

Exterior comparison of bagged and unbagged Chehalis apples

After unbagging the apple protected by the nylon sock, it is clear the protected apple looks much better. The flesh of the unprotected apple is bumpy and covered in little dots.

Interior comparison of bagged and unbagged Chehalis apples

Interior comparison of bagged and unbagged Chehalis apples

After cutting open the apples, the difference was even more noticeable. The apple on the left looks perfect. The apple on the right has blotchy brown coloring on the interior. Now I need to do a bit of research to figure out what this is. I’m thinking some sort of fungal problem, but am not sure which one exactly. Any suggestions?

So, the good news is that the nylon covers help. Even though it is a pain to put the nylon socks on, it does seem worth the effort. I will change one thing about how I put the nylons on next year. This year I used small orthodontic rubber bands to secure the bags on the small apples. Unfortunately, these bands did not stand up to the weather and sun and completely broke off within a month or so. I’m going to have to find another solution for next year.

Sandy

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