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Wednesday, July 7, 2010

The little mediterranean garden

A spot in our front yard is always dry, and the grass does not grow there well. It gets about 5 hours of sun, but that is mainly in the afternoon, when the sun is at its brightest, and most plants that are put there get baked. It drains very well, and is next to the concrete wall holds the lawn back from the sidewalk. Passers by are at just the right height to touch this spot as they move past it, so I figured that I would create a mediteranian garden there.

Now some of the herbs and plants from the mediteranian will not hold up to our cold Kansas winters, but a variety of them will, especially if the area is well drained. I planted thymes and lavenders to allow the passer bys to enjoy the wonderful aromas and textures that these plants produce.

Thyme is a plant known for its mimicry. While most people know of thyme as just the herb that is usually found dried and nearly tasteless in kitchens, in reality it is a group of plants known for their oils. Thyme oils have been used in everything from cooking, to perfume, even as an antiseptic.

The Thymes I have are spreading and cascading over the wall. Their small flowers hum with butterflies and bees in the summer, and the varieties provide a number of variations in the kitchen. First I have culinary or english thyme. This is the thyme that most people have smelled or tasted. I grows about 8 or 9 inches tall and spreads out. It is not a flat plant, but produces a wonderful savory scent. If I put straw over it in the winter to insulate it, I have found that it will provide fresh leave throughout the year. In the spring it is covered in pale purple flowers.

Next I have red creeping thyme, a variety of Mother of Thyme. Mother of Thyme is named that because it is the wild thyme that all others come from. This Thyme creeps along the ground, barely an inch or two high, and has red stems as well as red flowers. The flowers are born on spikes a little higher than the plant itself, and are some of the most pretty of Thyme flowers.

Then I have Lemon Thyme. Lemon Thyme grows fairly upright like English Thyme, but has the scent of lemon candy. When used in cooking, it infuses the lemon scent with the woody resinous flavors of thyme to create unique and interesting dishes. I find that it goes especially well with Chicken or Fish.

Next is Elfin Thyme, another low grower. This thyme is interesting because it is barely an inch tall, and spreads as a dense carpet of firmly packed leaves. The plant springs back when pushed against and has a wonderful texture. It is not as aromatic as other thymes are however. Another unique thing about Elfin Thyme is that it creates small mounds, the elf mounds, in which the elves and pixies hide and live in.

Some other Thymes that I am interested in including in my little area of thyme are orange, lime, and caraway thymes, all name for the aromas that they exude. There are a huge number of thymes out there, and a dry sunny spot is perfect for them. Be sure to read descriptions however, as some are more hardy than others, and all will appreciate a good mulch in the winter.

Behind the Thymes I have lavender plants. I prefer English lavender to Spanish lavender. Spanish Lavender has "bunny ears" or petals above the spikes of flowers. I find that the flowers smell much more resinous and less pleasent than English lavender. I have munstead, provence, and an unnamed variety growing currently. These lavenders provide purple flowers in the summer time, but also have the wonderful lavender arome throughout the whole plant.

If you have more mild winters, it would be possible to grow rosemary and sage as well.

This style of garden is ideal for dry spots, and allows a number of variations to create a wonderful garden of color, aroma, texture, and even flavor.

http://www.uncommonskills.com/

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

My little garden



The backyard at our house is not very big, and the majority of it is shaded by a large oak tree, so there is not a whole lot of space to create a vegetable garden. None the less, this year, we decided that we would grow vegetables and set about clearing a plot for them.



The plot is about 8 ft square. Not large by any means, but I found that I can grow an impressive number of vegetable varieites if I put my mind to it.



The garden plot itself is shaped like a large horseshoe. This allows me access to both sides of the plants to weed or water, but also helps to increase the growing space. In the south end of the U are mostly short plants while the taller plants are toward the north. I did this so that the large plants would not shade out the shorter plants, but now I realize that some of my shorter plants would do better with a little shade.

I have found that I can fit a huge amount of plants into the growing space if I did away with rows and planted small beds. I have leeks, shallots, and garlic in one area of the garden, allowing me to rotate the area next year if I need to. I planted these onion relatives because it doesn't take a whole lot to completely change a dish.

The next area is filled with rat's tail radishes. I always enjoyed radishes, but I found that usually, they were too woody or set seed by the time that I wanted to eat them. Rat's tail radishes solve this. So far, they have produced several crops of the edible seed pods that taste just like radishes. In addition, they have drawn the flea beetles away from the rest of my garden.

I then have the peppers. My wife loves sweet peppers, so I have 8 plants in staggered plantings. Two are of miniature green pepper varieties, while the others are sweet cherry peppers. As long as I keep them picked, the peppers keep wanting to produce more.

Next come the tomatoes. I love tomatoes and planted several different kinds that I had growing up, so I knew what they would be like. Mortgage lifter and Beefsteak are some of my favorite tomatoes for eating on sandwiches and for eating plain. I have roma tomatoes for sauce, as well as an heirloom called amish paste. I also have a few oxheart tomatoes to expirament with. So far, the only producer of Red tomatoes has been the patio but the tomatoes are a little bit watery for my taste.
Here are some Mortgage lifters still green.

I have two cucumber plants climbing up tomato cages, so far they have produced 3 Big cucumbers and have several more on the plants.

I attempted to grow a patty pan squash next to the cucumbers, but it seems to have died out.

Turning the bend in the U, I have Swiss Chard. The leaves are a fair substitute for cooked spinach, and they keep producing. I also have a salad burnett plant. For those of you unfamiliar with this plant, its young and tender leaves taste distinctly like cucumbers, and are great to add to a salad without watering the whole thing down in cucumber juice.

I then have several areas that I sowed with mesclun mix, and Spinach. Unfortunately, my plants went to seed almost immediately, so I dug them under and replanted. I planted mesclun mix, but spaced the seeds well and am keeping the bed well watered to hopefully prevent the plants going to seed. I have also planted bibb lettuce, and am treating it just like my mesclun.

The last part of the garden is devoted to herbs and flowers. I have Genovese and Lime basils, which are growing well as long as I remember to remove the flowers. I have a nasturtium plant in the corner of the garden which is wild with both leaves and flowers. It creates and attractive little plants, and is edible, though a bit spicy for my tastes. I have an oregano plant and French tarragon a little ways away, with sand dug into the soil to improve drainage. I have never used tarragon in cooking, but the flavor of the leaves is quite unique. Just be sure that you get French tarragon. Russian tarragon tastes like grass.

Last I have a lovage plant that is just starting to take off. Lovage adds celery flavors to just about any dish that you can think of. A wonderful thing to have on hand. It does get quite big though, so be careful where you place it.

As you can see, the tiny suny spot in the back yard will help us with fresh vegetables and herbs throughout the year.

It is amazing what you can do with just a little bit of ground.

Let me know what you think of my little garden, and tell me about yours.

http://www.uncommonskills.com/

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Free Resources for Homesteaders

It has been my experiance, that at least in the United States, the highest period of self sufficiency existed between the Civil War and the great depression. This was a time when Chemical fertilizers were being introduced, and mass-production/mass-transportation were being introduced as well. While these things were being used, they did not have the influence that they have in the modern world.

Now, thanks to other technologies, the knowledge of this time period is easily available through digitized books. These books cover a wide range of topics, and while some of the information in them is dated, (we may know better methods of curing animals, or building) much of the information is as good now as it was then.

This blog I will devote to buildings, and how they were built and used. These building plans were typically designed for those without electricity, but would be a great resource for homesteaders looking to make simple but efficient structures on their homestead.

These books can be found through the Internet Archive project. (http://www.archive.org/) A quick search will provide the books, and they may either be read online, or downloaded to a computer. The books are public domain, and therefore can be provided free of charge.

Farm Buildings -W.A. Foster
www.archive.org/details/cu31924080031093
This book published in 1922 provides plans and advice for the construction of a wide variety of farm buildings, from dairy barns to the farm house itself. The book also provides ideas and designs for home built farm equipment.

Modern Farm Buildings - A Dudley Clarke
www.archive.org/details/modernfarmbuildi00clar
This book, publishid in 1899, provides advice similar to fosters book on farm buildings. Clarke however, provides more insight into how the homestead should be laid out and how to best arrange a farm.

Practical Farm Buildings, plans and suggestions - A.F. Hunter
www.archive.org/details/practicalfarmbui00huntrich
Published in 1905, this book explores ways to make farm buildings more efficient, such as creating a single chicken house with multiple runs, allowing the chickens to rotate from one area to another. At a small 40 pages, this book can provide ideas you may not have thought of.

The Book of Farm Buildings - Henry Stephens
www.archive.org/details/bookoffarmbuildi00stepiala
This book provides an in depth look at the construction of everything from farm gates, to investigating "useful apparatus for the farm" such as furnaces and cranes.

Farm Buildings - Sanders Publishing Co.
www.archive.org/details/cu31924015223765
This book covers a range of farm buildings from "general farm barns, cattle barns, all the way to feeding racks". The wide range of this book allows someone looking to add on to their homestead a way to do it while seeing how these buildings worked in real life.

Radford's practical Barn Plans - William A. Radford
www.archive.org/details/radfordspractica00radf
These plans show not only the basic layout of the barn, but also how the beams are arranged, where feeding boxes or other structures should go, and many other great things for erecting your first barn.

Modern Farm Buildings - Alfred Hopkins
www.archive.org/details/modernfarmbuild00hopkgoog
Hopkins looks at how to design farm buildings along not only efficient, but aesthetic lines, looking for beauty as well as function. In true homesteading fashion, art and work are mingled.

Cottage Residences - A.J. Downing
www.archive.org/details/cottageresidenc00down
It is difficult to discuss books on house construction from this time period without mentioning A.J. Downing once or twice. Downing wrote unsurpassed books on architecture and landscape, and if you want to design a home that is convenient, with a minimum of the modern trappings, Downing would be a good place to start.

The Architecture of Country Houses - A.J. Downing
www.archive.org/details/architecturecou00downgoog
In this book, Downing looks at country houses from around the world, and gives designs and recommendations on how to build similar houses in the United States.

Last but not least

Handy Farm Devices and How to make them - Ralph Colbeigh
www.archive.org/details/cu31924080109832
This book is not necessarily on farm buildings, but should be on every homesteader's radar. Colbeigh provides wonderful contraptions and devices that make life on the homestead easier, and often they are made from cast off materials!

I hope that you all enjoy the book list I have provided, and explore the internet archive to find your own favorite books.

Never Stop Learning

http://www.uncommonskills.com/

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Seed sources for gardens and farms

It is getting to be that time of year, when a young man's thoughts turn to growing things.

What did you think I was talking about?

Anyway, I have found more than a few good sources of seeds and plants that I would like to share with you all. One thing to note is that typically, you should pick a seed source that is close to you over one that is far away, mainly because it seems that plants and seeds do better when in similar climates over vastly different ones.

Here are a few of my favorite seed sources.

http://www.rareseeds.com/ - Baker Creek Heirloom seeds- Run by a 27 yr old with immense success, Baker Creek does indeed have rare seeds. I find that they are extremely useful for foriegn seeds or plants that you may not have seen before.

http://www.seedsofchange.com/ -This seed caralog provides access to a large amount of heirloom and organic vegetables, offering a bewildering variety of them all.

http://www.seedsavers.org/ - If you don't know about seed saver's, you should. This group has helped preserve more heirloom and heritage varieties than anyone else I know of, definately look into and support the seed saver's.

http://www.sustainableseedco.com/ - If you are looking for heirloom seeds or just about any other variety of seeds, this company will help you find them, with collections and educational programs too, sustainable seed company definately helps when it is time to lay out the garden.

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/ - While they do have a wide range of seeds and plants, I find Johnny's seeds most useful for their tools and for their farm plants, such as grains and cover crops, as well as their mistures for pasturage.

http://www.nicholsgardennursery.com/ - Nichols has been in business for over 50 years and provides a large amount of plant varieties for anyone interested.

http://www.parkseed.com/ - Park seed offers many of the vegetable varieties that others do but I enjoy their flowers the most, after all, what is a garden without a little beauty in it.

http://www.territorialseed.com/ - One of the first and still one of the best for promoting heirloom seeds, territorial will help you find the seeds that you won't find other places.

http://www.cooksgarden.com/ - A seed company that aims for cooks rather than for gardeners, the cook's garden provides interesting items for all you foodies out there.

http://www.gourmetseed.com/ - Another company for the foodie in all of us, providing rare and useful herbs and vegetables for the kitchen.

For medicinal and culinary herbs, and for those rare herbs that are hard to find, I recommend these two sites,

http://www.richters.com/ - Providing herb seeds as well as roots and extracts, Richter's gives access to many herbs that are hard to find but are useful, either in the kitchen, or for health products.

http://www.sandmountainherbs.com/ - Sand mountain herbs was my first experiance with the huge varieties of herbs that can be presented. If you know that most garden stores won't carry it, Sand Mountain Herbs is likely to.

For trees and fruit, I recommend these three sites

http://www.treesofantiquity.com/ - While they have a wide variety of trees, I find that Trees of Antiquity focuses on apples and does a great job of having a huge selection of heirloom apples.

http://www.raintreenursery.com/ - If you are looking for a rare or unusual fruit tree, from honeyberries, to elderberries, to paw paws, it is likely that Rain Tree has it.

http://www.starkbros.com/ - Stark Brothers provides fruits of all types, from trees to shrubs to plants, and also has a great selection of ornamentals.

And last but not least, heirloom flowers

http://www.selectseeds.com/ - with plants and flowers organized by beauty or fragrance, you know that you are on to something special.

http://www.oldhousegardens.com/ - Old house gardens provides heirloom flowers by planting time, and lists the date of the variety if known, so this is a great way to bring the history of homes to life.

I hope that you all enjoy the sites that I have suggested and let me know if you know of some that I have missed. I hope that you don't get overwhelmed and enjoy the growing season that is coming up.

Get out there and grow something


and don't forget
http://www.uncommonskills.com/

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Welcome to the Uncommonskills blog

Welcome everyone to the uncommonskills blog.

This blog is desgined to explore the wide range of skills historic and new that are uncommon but are necessary for life as we know it. These skills range from growing food, to playing music, to weaving cloth. All of these skills were necessary for society to function, before the industrialization of the economy and these skills were sent out to specialists or machines.

The purpose of the uncommonskills blog and website (www.uncommonskills.com) is to help return these skills to those who desire them.

I believe that the debt economy that we live in has asked the common person to live in a higher standard of living not by becoming producers (which they easily could) but by becoming consumers who help to fill other peoples pockets, while emptying their own. A person with the knowledge to brew beer for instance, could buy beer if he or she decided it was worth it in terms of conveniance and money. However they also have the skills to evaltuate beer, and the skills to make a beer to their personal liking.

This creates an economy based upon individuals and communities. The economy as a whole would benefit because the vast swings that national economies are heir to (surges and recessions) would be partially leveled out by the small local economies. In addition, with the knowledge and ability to grow food, provide shelter, entertainment, etc., the swings in the economy would affect the common person much less.

I believe that the common person could benefit from learning these skills and I hope to help teach people not only to be able to perform these skills, but also to enjoy what they have more. A shirt or a meal is so much more enjoyable when it was designed and planned by a person for themselves or their family and friends.


Thanks for reading

Never stop learning

www.uncommonskills.com