May Updates!

Wow, where has my time gone? As soon as the weather peaked and the night became warm, rain was cool and plentiful, the plants have exploded to life, and I've been running, stumbling behind that train to catch up ever since.

I've been working in the gardens 3-4 hours a day during the week and 6-8 hours on the weekends. It's given me a new perspective on manual small scale farming and the labour it must have taken new Canadians settling in these lands over a century ago. Clearing fields of rocks and noxious weeds, clearing whole forest sections and stumps, making way for new crops. Most of all, I'm brought back to the thought of a long hard day's work, sweaty, coated in a layer of soil-dust, unable to take a running shower, use electrical appliances and carry a laptop to bed and watch netflix. With the Internet alone I can order seeds, and supplied at my fingertips. A friend of mine joked that, you can essentially stay on your property without having to leave as a productive farmer, sell your eggs, produce, meat and products, pay for a simple living and continue to produce. The process does seem so simple, I'm shocked that more institutions like rehabilitation centres, prisons, and schools can't at least feed themselves with this system. They're starting, and the wheels are in motion.

We as a society have pushed gardening to the fringes, the work of big machines, immigrant workers, hippies, and or hobbyists, non-academics. Micro-farming is so often coined "a movement" or a hobby, a project, and I agree, but it should be a true pursuit of health, and a common skill for all. I also hear "gardening and vegetable gardening is a hobby for retirees or the elderly", I'm 22 and many of the nation's up and coming movers and shakers on urban agriculture and food gardening are under 35. More and more often I feel like all of our societal issues can be resolved using interdisciplinary education, intergenerational mentoriship, community and a dash of gardening.

Enough ranting... you're here for the photos, and ideas, and to see what I'm growing! May has been bizarre, our harsh winter has proved how far it can stretch its long cold hands into the late summer, plants who survived many a winter before have perished and new unpredictable victors have emerged stronger than ever.

Juvenile robin perched on my table saw... Robins are my
number one strawberry eaters, I'll have to watch out for this little one.

The massive tomato project is well underway after a few big hurdles. I started the seeds at home in mid-April, I then brought the sprouts to a shared greenhouse where I work and volunteer part-time. Unfortunately the greenhouse was unventilated and super hot, even though we still had a bit of snow on the ground. All of my tomatoes were fried. A week or so later I brought them home and tried again under my limited grow-light space. I have since moved them outside and they're doing great! The other tricky part is that my homemade labels written in black sharpie have rubbed away and only a few written in blue are left. Next year I'm buying printable labels and growing more so I can sell more extras. Space for these 75 varieties continues to be an issue, I have started planting them between my perennials.

Starting over with my tomatoes (May 18th)
They'll be ready for planting starting in June.

My raised bed garden is bursting at the seems (I literally have to fix that) and full of fresh spring veggies. My new plastic DIY greenhouse went on, but strong winds sent it for a ride around the yard, so I didn't get much use out of it, hopefully it will still come in handy this fall.

The strawberry patch received some much needed fixing, and newly installed predator protection from birds, chipmunks and squirrels alike. In the past I used bird netting and I had to free a robin each day, and it did nothing against rodents. This year a finer hardware cloth barrier around the entire bed should do the trick. Later this year a second 4 x 4 bed is going in and I ordered some strawberry seeds from swallow-tail gardens, they all have pink and light pink blossoms. Although I did stop in at Walmart last week and saw a whole table of reduced 50% off blueberries. Possibilities continue to be endless.

The mineral bed at the end of the deck is planted, I made three pea tee pees for my heirloom yellow and purple peas, unfortunately the purple peas have shown a very poor germination rate and I'm at that point where I want to plant again... but there's still a chance they could come up. In sad news my striped japonica maize has also not come up. They're wasn't any animal diggings around the seeds, so I'm a bit baffled, other corns planted at the same time are coming up and still nothing from the ornamental corn. I don't want to waste much more time waiting for the corn to sprout, when I have so many other varieties to plant.

Corn ready to be planted! Space is still an issue... 

So far the garden harvest has been greens, spinach, radish, herbs, and eggs as always. I'm clearing more garden space in weeks to come and planting more exciting things, can't wait to take more pictures and show you more updates. Happy Spring!

A rabbit for the garden...

Two weeks ago I attended the Mount Forrest Fur & Feather sale, my original intention was to pick up fertile chicken eggs and maybe some quail eggs, but right at the end I saw a little rabbit with blue eyes, and I knew he was the new "one". His name is Henry!

As far as I can tell, he's a Lion Head x Angora cross. Super fluffy, very docile and sweet. When I think about the suburban or urban "farmstead", the rabbit is a great multi-purpose animal, providing natural fertilizer, meat "potentially", fibres for knitting (from English Angora Rabbits), and they love to eat the  chewable kitchen scraps your chickens can't eat. The rabbit is a great starter if you want to keep animals, easy to care for and they give right back to the garden.

A small pet rabbit is cheap to feed and house, a gentle loving pet and gives just as much green pellet fertilizer as you feed it which is about 2-3 pounds from a small rabbit. You can litter train rabbits or keep them on small wire so the pellets fall into a pile below the hutch. Rabbit manure is one of the only form of manure you can directly amend into garden beds, or sprinkle around plants. You can also create a compost tea from rabbit droppings.

After a nice bath Henry has all settled in.

Obviously I took advantage of the fresh daffodils in this photo session!

That "Awe" moment in the blue-bells

So fluffy you can't even see his eyes from the front view. Such a sassy bunny.
Can't wait to be using Henry-Bunny Brand Fertilizer!

Key things to remember before you get your own rabbit! They can live between 6-12 years, dwarf rabbits living the longest and so forth. You should still take your rabbit to the vet which can be costly and getting them fixed is a great idea for smell, health and birth control. Be careful, if you have a boy and girl bunny, you know what they say! Breeding rabbits can be fun, but finding homes for all those babies can be the tricky part! Keep it simple and enjoy your rabbit(s)!

Inspiration & Resources: New Books for Spring 2014

On my birthday I took a much needed bookstore shopping spree so I could add some new resources to my personal library. Gardening books are especially wonderful because you can take them right out into the garden without a cord or batteries, sit out and picture yourself following the plans, implementing the designs and being inspired to grow-on.

I've read lots of books and scanned over many blogs. Since graduating university, I've thought a lot about how over 4 years you may only read two dozen or so books (maybe even less) and do a bit of thinking and earn a degree and become an expert of sorts. Keeping that attitude in mind, I think it's very important to read many books on farming, gardening, and homesteading in order to be a true master and be a successful edible gardener. I love finding new information, new designs, and tips on plant varieties, plant combinations and even recipes.

Groundbreaking Food Gardens
(73 Plans That Will Change the Way You Grow Your Garden)
by Niki Jabbour

Farm Anatomy
(The Curious Parts & Pieces of Country Life)
by Julia Rothman

40 Projects for Building Your Backyard Homestead
(A Hands-on, Step-By-Step Sustainable-Living Guide)
by David Toht

Updates from the Micro-Farmstead: April 2014

Spring seems to be here. Soon, the fresh green and new life will be back! Eggs are coming in more frequently after a long spotty period where I only got a few eggs a day, and they've been able to forage in the yard on the warmer days.

Maple syrup season is coming to a close, strong winds and low sap flow have knocked my sap bucket off the tree in the strong winds and crazy storm weather. Twice I had to run after it, rolling down the sidewalk or stumbling against the tree base. I got about 2 cups of syrup and a cup of maple sugar! Operation Urban-Tap a success!

I hatched my first batch of chicks over at Summer Girl Chicks! The hatching is well underway for the season and I excited to be adding a few breeds here on the micro-farm. I seem to be more drawn in by egg colour verses the breeds rarity or special looks. The new chicken run will be going up soon and the soil is nearly warm enough for the earliest plantings and direct sowing. I hope to be posting more on chicken keeping, it really is one of the easiest and most sensible homesteading acts one can achieve.

Green eggs from my "Greenie" hens. 

Easter Egger chick that will lay a blue egg.

Olive Egger and a "Greenie" chick

Its official, I'm done buying seeds for the season! Aside from maybe a lettuce or a greens mix "re-fill" in the near future, I have what I need for the season, more then I need really, but growing a little bit of everything can be so fun. Yard clean-up and seasonal prep continues, I always have new plans and ideas, I can't wait to share. It's going to be a great season, I can feel it! A busy one, but a great one.

On a sunny day this week, I'll be going around checking out the local "big" stores for those little garden centre gems and edible garden ideas. As much as I hate to perpetuate consumerism, I also understand that we have to make the best of what resources we have, and for many beginner or thrifty gardeners, buying supplies from a Canadian tire or the reduced section of a grocery store chain garden centre is a great way to change spending habits for the better. Companies sell what the people will buy... and as a trend that seems to be more and more edible plants!

So much to see and do, for a second there I thought winter had me.

Urban Tapping... Adventures in Syruping

This year I got bold, and "tapped that" on my front lawn. For the first time in over 4 years I had access to some maple trees during the "Maple Syrup Season" or sapping season. I took advantage, got myself some free supplies and decided to give it a try. I've got chickens and vegetables, wouldn't it be "sweet" to make syrup?

Sapping season usually begins mid-March when the sun starts to shine and daily temperatures start to rise and fall below freezing at night. At this time, the amazing happens, trees begin to pump super sweet sap, stored deep below, up from their roots and into the branches, signalling the creation of buds, blossoms and new life. Sapping season can last a few weeks into early April, or until the night time temperatures allow the freezable sap to say in the branches, and after the risk of damage has past. If the sap remained in the tree, it would split and snap as the freezing sap expands. Making syrup takes advantage of this process by syphoning sap from small drilled holes in which only a small amount of sap can be collected throughout the "run". This does not hurt the tree.

I have one traditional sap bucket, and a secondary tube tap also leading into the bucket.

Traditionally maple syrup is produced solely from Sugar Maples (Acer saccharum). They only grow along the eastern border of Canada and the US. Canadian Provinces such as Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia make over $145 million dollars in export profits from maple syrup. 27 million litres are produced annually, Quebec accounting for 75% of the total production. Sugar Maple xylem sap is about 2% sugar, which is much higher then other varieties of maple and trees.

Other trees that produce a sap that can be turned into syrup include; black and red maples. Birch trees can also be tapped, they have a sugar content of about 1.6%. Birch syrup can be sold at specialty stores and markets, directly from the producer. Unfortunately, there is only one tree on my property, and it's a Norway Maple (Acer plantanoides). Slightly discouraged I hunted the web for more information. Turns out, a small bit of research and chatter has been going on about making syrup from Norway Maples. Many hobbyists use a combination of maples in home production, they have written about how many Norways are actually better producers and have a sugar content of 1.9 or even higher.

View of the tube tap on the other side of the tree.
Larger trees can be tapped twice for my sap collection.

The Norway maple is actually perfect for the suburban experiment for a number of reasons. Given the little bits, here and there that I've read; Norway maples can exceed production expectations if the tree is "spoiled". In many cases, Norway maples are planted in urban landscapes for decoration and as such, have very little competition from other trees. They receive plenty of even sun exposure and are never crowded from water and nutrients, some get an extra boost from the heat and light reflected off buildings. The history of the Norway maple in urban areas is unique, known for it's many showy cultivars, the species was selected for use in suburbs because it could withstand the abuse of traffic, root compaction and other conditions created by suburban landscapes. Tough trees make for excellent producers. Noway maples are prolific, sending out hundreds of babies, making them an invasive species in some areas.

The tap holds both the bucket and lid to keep out the rain.
The tap is about the size of a small pinky finger. 

When the sap is running well you can see a steady drip coming out of the taps.
Even when it freezes you can see it running. Here you can see the formation of a "sapcicle".

Starting the boil inside. It's important to do most of the boiling outside because the steam contains sugars that can destroy your ceilings. Traditionally sap is boiled off atop a wood fire in building known as "Sugar Shacks".

Sap collected on the first big run. About 3.2L.
The sap to syrup ratio is 40 to 1. I'll be needing much more sap.

I've slowly been collecting sap and even more slowly been "boiling it off", soon I'll have a decent amount of syrup to show off and pour on my local produce (and pancakes). Culturally as a Canadian it's been a great experience learning to make my own maple syrup. Next year I'm going to tap some trees off my back fence and have even more syrup to enjoy. Check back soon for updates on my maple syrup! The season continues for about one more week and I'll be finished boiling off!

St. Patrick's Day came early!

I came out the chicken coop this morning and I found a cute little green pullet egg! What a pleasant surprise! After a long 5 weeks with a sparse collection of eggs, it's nice to add another layer hen to the count. This egg came from a Easter-egger (with a secret mix), I can't wait to she what her sister might lay and what the future holds for their eggs. In the spirit of St. Patrick's day I was blessed with a wee green egg, my lucky little clover! They don't have names yet, so I guess given the date and upcoming holiday, they'll be named "Clover" and "Patty" naturally.

I have two sisters, very similar looking, but I know it was one of them who laid this little gem!

The green egg next to an Icelandic egg!

I can't wait for more eggs! Have a great weekend and an awesome St. Patrick's day, party safely!

Amazing Zea-mayz

Some people like to collect old cars, comic books, baseball cards or what-have-you, but my collection is alive, come to life in the summer. After several years of growing your basic "household name" vegetables, it's fun to start growing the crazy stuff, rare, colourful, heirloom and fun. In more recent seasons I've been attracted to growing lots of corn. Its fairly simple to grow, it thrives in the heat of the summer, drought tolerant and you can even grow it in small spaces; including containers.

Displayed below is an ornamental form of corn, looks great with the flowers and can be a great way to sneak some exciting colour into the edible landscape. Be warned though, when you grow multiple kinds of corn together, the seeds will not be viable as they will have been cross-bred by local pollinators.

Gorgeous Japonica Striped Maize, Bamboo, Zinnia,
Tiger Lilies and Ornamental grass.

Corn or Zea Mayz is one of those basic vegetable crops that you can have lots of fun with once you get good at growing it season after season. There is also something magical and special about the heritage of corn in North America. Native peoples from across the continent from Mexico to the St. Laurence river, including the Aztec people who grew corn up to 80,000 years ago.

In Canada, the Iroquois grew corn after becoming more sedentary and developing agricultural techniques instead of hunting, coining the companion planting method known as "The Tree Sisters". They believed that good weather to grow a good corn crop was a gift from the gods or mother-nature and was sacred in their culture. This strong culture link to corn was mirrored across the southwestern states, like Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, and down into Mexico. After centuries of growing corn, many striking varieties of colourful corn have stood the test of time and been passed down.

Iroquoian Corn Husk Doll

This winter I discovered an amazing not for profit seed bank based out of Arizona called Native Seeds. They're mission statement is as follows: Click here to see the mission statement.

I loved this site so much I ordered a few different crops from them this year, and I've got an even longer wishlist for next season. They also have other products and workshops. It's now certainly on my bucket list to attend one of these seed workshops and learn from the passion people down in Patagonia, AZ. From Native Seeds I bought a few types of corn;

Close up of Navajo Robin's Egg Corn, wow!

Mountain Pima Maiz Azul

Navajo Robin's Egg

Tarahumara Rosari

Maricopa

Before finding this site I had already purchased a few "more common" native corns and saved a big pile of "Earthtones Dent Corn" that I grew in the 2013 season.

"Hopi Blue Corn" - The Hopi Indians are from the
Arizona desserts, this corn is bred to withstand drought. 

"Hopi Black" is a close relative to "Hopi Blue".

"Bloody Butcher Corn" - An American Heirloom from Virginia,  a cross-breed between
 local native corns and the settlers white corn.  

"Bloody Butcher" Cobs

"Oaxacan Green Dent Corn" - Grow by the  Zapotec Indians of southern Mexico,
 it was used to make green corn flour tamales.

In April I'll show you my fool-proof corn starting method, it always works. I'll also discuss now to deter pests and everything else you'll need to know about starting and growing your own corn.

It may surprise you but you can actually eat Indian corn. You can grind it into
 flours, or feed it to your chickens, specific corn varieties can be grown
for popping corn and fresh eating (sweet corns). Pictured above is "Seneca Red Walker",
"Hopi Blue", blue corn flour tortillas, and "Mountain Pima Maiz Azul"

"Oaxacan Green" kernels in macro, "Robin's Egg Corn" in a group and the pink cobbed "Hopi Greasy Head" 

Lastly we have "Double Red Sweet" a red sweet corn,
edible after a quick boil or BBQ

New LED Lights & Early Seed Starting

This post is mostly a late winter update on what I've been working on garden-wise. I got a new LED panel from Amazon and I've been doing some tests, and I've given myself the all-good to start some of the super early stuff, like peppers! Ive also been making my plans and organizing my epic tomato seed start.

All my tomatoes laid out, trying to see how many of each do I want, what am I going to start them in, etc.

For testing my LED lights and starting my peppers, I bought 4 mini greenhouses from Dollarama. I'm not a big fan of the peat pellets for early starters, as they can dry up super quick and the roots often outgrow the tiny pellet very quickly, but in terms of checking if my lights work ok, they'll do. * I will say that peat pellets (which can be purchased in organic form) are perfect for plants like beans, corn, peas and other quick to grow seedlings that you might want to organize nicely in a raised bed.

I think I'll use these again later with new pellets for  all my varieties
of corn, peas and sunflowers. I can make a big label for each small greenhouse.

 This year I added two seedling heat mats and so far I've been pleased with my propagation among the peppers using the mats, it seems to be helping, although, I've never not had good germination from my seeds in the past.

Hydro-Farm Seedling Heat Mat - Bought it on Amazon

Ou! So pretty, and boy does this thing throw light in the room.
I can't say its super powerful for seed starting but it seems to do the trick.

Ready to go!

Testing the light using some old seeds, they worked great!

My new pepper seedlings and my newly planted fish pepper seeds.

I took them out from under the LED light for further inspection,
yellowed seedling would indicate a lack of light.

The seedlings are now about 2 weeks old and doing great, the secondary leaves have come on and I run a fan every other day to keep them strong.

Handmade seedling labels!

Here's a neat tip; cut up your old yogurt containers into seedling labels. Why pay $5-$6 dollars for a package of one-time-use labels, when you can make your own for free. Make sure you tapper the end of each so they stick into the soil nicely, and then use a fine-point sharpie to write the name. 

Gardening Aside: Traditional Winter Camping in Algonquin Park

At the end of February I spend a full week traditional camping in the center of Algonquin Park. It had been a few years since I had gone as far as Algonquin to go winter camping, revisiting the park was refreshing and grounding. As a crafts-person, I made a traditional anorak for the trip and I hope to start making my own tent to share with friends. It was an amazing experience, and I can't wait to go again. I'll let the images tell the story.

Boil-up at Redfox Lake 

View of my moccasins 

Stoker point of view

On our way out of Algonquin

Morning circle before the haul out of the park 

Hauling across the lake

View of my sled

Hauling in the forest along the dog-sled trail

Prepping the snowshoes pre-trip 

A little water-colour I did one morning.
"Otter Pond - Algonquin Park"

Panorama of Otter Pond