Tiny Farm Forum: Recent Posts

Tiny Farm Forum: Recent Posts http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ Tiny Farm Forum: Recent Posts en Sat, 17 May 2008 04:38:05 +0000 vlyons on "cost of fencing calculators" http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/topic.php?id=43#post-140 Thu, 15 May 2008 15:28:21 +0000 vlyons 140@http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ I've been scratching my head of selecting various types of fencing to keep out the deer and trying to estimate the costs. I came across a great site with lots of free online cost of fencing calculators and spreadsheets. Very helpful. Check out <a href="http://www.livestkfencing.com/resources.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.livestkfencing.com/resources.html</a> Mike (tfb) on "Grass Mulch" http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/topic.php?id=38#post-139 Thu, 15 May 2008 10:25:23 +0000 Mike (tfb) 139@http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ I was just loaned a 38" lawn sweeper. I've only done an experimental pass on some newly mowed grass (it hadn't fully dried out yet), but the initial impression is that it works GREAT! I don't particularly like having to make two passes with the mower, one to cut, one to sweep up, BUT, my mower doesn't use much gas, and the time saving seems to be incredible, an hour of hand raking and bagging becomes maybe 5 minutes of driving and dumping, and you end up with one big pile... Anyhow, more here and on the blog after I give it a full test! jroscho on "help a fellow farmer receive an education" http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/topic.php?id=41#post-136 Wed, 14 May 2008 14:39:19 +0000 jroscho 136@http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ please visit <a href="http://www.fullrideproject.com" rel="nofollow">www.fullrideproject.com</a> and vote for dennis underwood. his parents are former farmers that were forced to sell the farm and now cannot afford to send him to college. this is his chance! all help is appreciated and God bless! spread the word! fivesense1 on "local food" http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/topic.php?id=40#post-135 Tue, 13 May 2008 09:42:41 +0000 fivesense1 135@http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ Would like to share the website <a href="http://www.farmfoody.org/" rel="nofollow">http://www.farmfoody.org/</a> Still in its fledling stage but growing rapidly...great way to find local farms as well as vineyards, chefs, gardeners, customers etc...within your area and beyond. fivesense1 on "Bag worms" http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/topic.php?id=39#post-134 Tue, 13 May 2008 09:37:53 +0000 fivesense1 134@http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ I have had some unwanted spring visitors....Bag Worms....in the trees. I recently found out that if you spray them with dish soap and water, it will kill them but you still have to knock down the bag. Just thought I would pass along the information. cdevries on "Grass Mulch" http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/topic.php?id=38#post-133 Thu, 08 May 2008 15:16:38 +0000 cdevries 133@http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ Mike, Thanks for the info. I was thinking of trying the lawn mower and rake thing, but I did a bunch of it last year and it's a slow process. I found anything I DID do benefitted very much from the mulch. I mostly mulched my broccoli and brussel sprouts. The beds they were in last year are some of the nicest looking this spring. I was debating the lawn sweeper idea too. I don't know how well they work. I've had some people tell me they are so-so for picking up material on a bigger scale. The largest, heavy duty one at the farm store goes for $400 which seemed a bit steep for me given I don't know how well it will work. I'm on the lookout for someone selling one used. If you get one, let me know how it goes. Chris Mike (tfb) on "Grass Mulch" http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/topic.php?id=38#post-132 Wed, 07 May 2008 21:18:50 +0000 Mike (tfb) 132@http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ Well, I'm just working on refining the method here. We just cleared about a quarter acre of winter-killed oat straw, and that took two people about 2 hours, mowing through bagging (I should've timed it but it was done in a couple of parts). We also did the grass mulch (mostly grass plus a little alfalfa and clover) last fall that's on the blog. I'm using a small riding mower (old John Deere 13hp with a 38" deck). It has a cool deflector that creates little windrows instead of scattering the cut. I double mow, driving over the first windrow so that it's thrown together with a second cut into a bigger windrow. Then we rake into piles with leaf rakes, and bag into those jumbo clear leaf bags (I've saved them for a couple of years, we use a clean one for each greens harvest, mesclun, spinach, etc, so there are a lot saved...). The bags can hold up it seems for at least three collections, maybe a few more. Tears are fine, they let air circulate, as long as the opening edge doesn't get torn (that makes it hard to handle and fill). To hold the bags, I have wire bag holders, they're just X-shaped racks, around $15 at the hardware store (there are pics on the blog). I just found that using tiny bulldog clips (19mm-3/4") to clip the bag on four corners to the holder works great even in a stiff breeze, so loading is easy. This is pretty labor-intensive. An option I'm checking out is a leaf sweeper, that you drag along behind the mower to sweep up cuttings into a bag or bin (I haven't seen one yet, Bob suggested it). That should be fairly cheap, and sounds good even if it requires frequent unloading. A bagging system on the mower would also work, but that'd be more expensive. The picking up/bagging part is obviously what takes the most hand labor and time. I have a bigger 52" mower deck for the Kubota compact tractor, which I haven't used in a couple of seasons. For mulch collection, I think it's too powerful and effective at chopping and dispersing... The gas usage on the mower is really not a lot. On the machine here, the tank holds just under 8 liters, and mowing a quarter acre couldn't have used more than a liter (I'll check this next time, though), the tank level hardly dropped. With a sweeper, that'd just double. Four acres sounds like quite a bit for this approach, but if you do it in parts, something like this may work. I'm sure there are other creative approaches, but I can't imagine anything more cost-effective than a riding mower, except a scythe (which I am going to try, Lee Valley has one...). The verdict is still out on grass mulch, though it's looking good. It held up fine over winter on the garlic, but I still have to see how much is need to effectively suppress weeds. Once it's compressed by rain, it gets pretty flat, so gaps directly expose soil. So, yeah, the question is, how much do we need to put down? If it's a lot, then it could get too expensive (mainly in time)... But from small tests in previous years, I think it could work out. I haven't researched this, though I should, so you may find good info online. I've just charged in with the gear at hand (basically, the riding mower and...rakes). I'll post here if I find anything more, and of course, cover all the future action and results on the blog! ;) cdevries on "Grass Mulch" http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/topic.php?id=38#post-130 Wed, 07 May 2008 14:34:54 +0000 cdevries 130@http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ This is a question for Mike directly: What equipment do you use for your grass mulching? I have access to probably 4 acres of pasture that I would love to use some of for harvesting mulch. It seems like it would be too expensive to have someone bale it into small bales before it sets seed. I was considering using my lawn mower with a lawn sweeper, but I don't know how that setup would work. Chris OrganicCat on "Monsanto-watching..." http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/topic.php?id=35#post-129 Wed, 07 May 2008 13:06:48 +0000 OrganicCat 129@http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ Thank god for organic farming eh? I hope they don't try to bother small time organic farmers like yourself. pwiebe on "Introduction and looking for suggestions" http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/topic.php?id=37#post-128 Mon, 05 May 2008 14:21:57 +0000 pwiebe 128@http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ What I think would be fun to do with kitchen garden like this is to grow a lot of colorful foods. For example Chioggia Beets (red and white striped), Cosmic Purple Carrots, Purple Podded peas, etc. These are the kinds of foods we don't normally buy for ourselves, because we are looking for things to eat and not look at, but they would make for good conversation at a restaurant meal. Another good thing to do would be to become a member of the Seed Savers Exchange, and have a look at their very extensive listings. The special thing about the SSE is you get the names and usually phone numbers of all the offering members. They are mostly pretty nice people, and are usually open to a chatty phone call where they can tell you all about their plants and their suitability at a restaurant. You may find members near you who are happy to give you tours of their gardens, and offer advice. chefpat on "Introduction and looking for suggestions" http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/topic.php?id=37#post-127 Sun, 04 May 2008 14:42:46 +0000 chefpat 127@http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ I am a chef in chicago with access to a small plot of land in Southwest, Michigan (family friend). I have enlisted a number of cooks, sous chefs, friends and family to help plant and maintain a "kitchen garden". We have not actually planted as of yet, but will be in the next couple of weeks. The dirt was just turned and it's been very wet in that neck of the woods with the tractor getting stuck in the mud a couple of times. Why would I want to plant a garden? it's a question that I've been asking myself the past few years-but more so-why not? My grandparents maintained a 1/4 acre garden for close to 50 years and it's something I miss living and working in city. I know a large part of me misses them and that's some of the connection. I also looked at it as an opportunity to give my cooks a better understanding and respect for where the ingredients come from and what it takes to grow them. During the summer months there is so much bounty at the local farmers' markets, but at times the ingredients become repetitive from grower to grower because of demand. I have made a deliberate effort to not grow anything that we can get from our network of farmers, but stuff that was more obscure as well as would not need daily maintenance-according the seed sources. We'll be working the farm 3-4 times per week, approximately every other day based on current commitments-we'll see what actually happens. I've just started learning; looking through this forum as well as talking to colleagues in the industry that have already taken the plunge. In reality, I know I have no clue what I'm walking into, but I am looking forward to the journey. Here's what we're planting: Carrots Turnips beets (lots of beets) potatoes (white sweet) onions as well as a selection of squashes There are 21 different varieties among the major groups with crazy names. Any suggestions for pest control, weed control, etc. planting whatever is appreciated. I will update as I can and include some pictures. pwiebe on "Seed starting under lights" http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/topic.php?id=25#post-126 Thu, 01 May 2008 16:22:56 +0000 pwiebe 126@http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ I use a sodium vapour growlight for my seedlings. While I can understand some people might be reluctant to use it because of it's association with growing illegal drugs indoors, it really does work well. I use a 400w bulb, and because of the higher efficiency, this is the same as about 800w of fluorescent bulbs. The initial costs are only a little more than the equivalent fluorescent bulb setup, about 5 years ago it cost me the equivalent to US$100 for the bulb, fixture, balast, timer, relay and wiring. One of the nice things about it is it's small, and not too heavy. It can easily be packed away into a small box, and stored on a shelf in a closet. The fixture assembly is very light, and can easily be strung up from the ceiling. I use a piece of plant tie wire, and adjust it as needed so the light covers the plants. There's no need for growing tables unless you need to make use of vertical space, as the plants can just go on the floor. For the downside, the light is very bright and since it comes from a single source it can be difficult to reflect it efficiently, so you lose some of the gains from the higher efficiency bulb. In my case it's so bright, I have to be careful not to disturb the neighbors with it. The bulb is also expensive, about half the total cost, and it does need to be replaced sometimes (every few years). Also, because you are working with a 400w bulb, if you only have a few plants it can be a little wasteful. For me the good things outweigh the bad! pwiebe on "Monsanto-watching..." http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/topic.php?id=35#post-125 Thu, 01 May 2008 15:56:00 +0000 pwiebe 125@http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ There's a new article in Vanity Fair about the strong arm tactics Monsanto uses to intimidate farmers and seedsmen into paying licensing fees for it's seeds: <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/05/monsanto200805" rel="nofollow">http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/05/monsanto200805</a> I say new, but of course this issue has been around for some time now. winnipegmarilyn on "purple leaves" http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/topic.php?id=36#post-124 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 23:35:40 +0000 winnipegmarilyn 124@http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ Thanks, I'm suspecting a nitrogen deficiency, because the leaves are lightening to quite a lime green on the tomatoes. It's also been cold here at night, and the greenhouse is quite hot in the daytime, so I've been wondering about temperature extremes. Winnipeg weather is pretty unpredictable at this time of year, and the temperatures really swing (up to plus 20, down to minus 10 ... celcius that is). MaineDad on "purple leaves" http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/topic.php?id=36#post-123 Tue, 22 Apr 2008 19:04:17 +0000 MaineDad 123@http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ Purple leaves on the lower surfaces can be seen with a Nitrogen deficiency & leaf curl downward is seen with a Sulfur deficiency. Leaves curled under are seen with a Nitrogen excess. Slow growth can be due to Nitrogen, Phosphorous, Potassium, & Sulfur. winnipegmarilyn on "purple leaves" http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/topic.php?id=36#post-122 Mon, 21 Apr 2008 23:50:12 +0000 winnipegmarilyn 122@http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ Hi All, I have some tomatoes and cabbage started, and the undersides of the leaves are quite purple. They are in the same starter soil as the peppers and eggplant, which are all fine with green leaves. Any idea if this is normal, or if my tomatoes and cabbage have something wrong with them? Thanks, Marilyn krubba on "seedlings look like first 1/2" of root out of soil" http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/topic.php?id=34#post-121 Tue, 15 Apr 2008 23:37:53 +0000 krubba 121@http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ Too little light could be the ticket. They are/were all growing in my basement under fluorescents, but I transplanted a bunch of kohl rabi, swiss chard, beets, turnips and carrots to the garden a few days ago. They seem to be surviving the move fairly well. I've got all sorts of weird stuff going on under my lights in the basement. If you recall, i started most everything way too early. So now I've got a half dozen wax beans in full bloom, spinach bolting and squash with 6-8" leaves and starting to flower. Guess I'll be practicing my manual polination sooner than I thought!! I did notice a fly buzzing around down there, wonder if he'll be any help... blockguru on "Soil Blockers for seed propagation" http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/topic.php?id=10#post-120 Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:38:10 +0000 blockguru 120@http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ Speaking of thoughts, there really is more thoughts on the subjuct of soil blocks. I can say, after making close to one million blocks in six years and traveling to the birthplace of soil block making, Mexico City, that I am the potting block guru. So, alanRobertsRoost, you say "but you really need to keep an eye on them or they dry out.", but did you try making half peat and half coco peat, adding glacial rock dust, or try Zeba Quench in your mix? For the Do-it-yourselfer, did you mix in vegetable based compost, turf compost, or worm castings made from veges? Or, for the gardening on the cheap, try building a water trough for them to sit in? Line your heat mat with plastic and create a little wood border? Or, for the lazy, adding a timer with misters overhead to go off every hour? I have solved every soil block question because we ship thousands of transplants in soil blocks to every state in the lower 48! Please direct questions to <a href="http://www.pottingblocks.com" rel="nofollow">http://www.pottingblocks.com</a> Mike (tfb) on "seedlings look like first 1/2" of root out of soil" http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/topic.php?id=34#post-119 Sun, 13 Apr 2008 13:33:21 +0000 Mike (tfb) 119@http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ It sounds like too little light, although the lying down part is a little odd, unless they're at least around 4 weeks old and starting to fill out and get top-heavy. Are these guys planted in pots indoors, or in the ground in the garden? If it's outdoors, that's quite weird, unless there's little light where they are. Just about everything started indoors under fluorescent or window light develops quite a bit of stem, even when the same veggies seem to be more or less stemless when started in the field. You can try more light, plus motion treatment, blowing 'em with a fan, or brushing them with the edge of a piece of paper or even your hand to encourage stockier growth. But once they've stretched and flopped, it's too late for that. Too shallow I'm not sure of. Most of the time, most veggie seeds seem to burrow down fine, although once in a while, I'll have a just emerged seedling that germinated right on the surface and is growing kinda on the surface then turning up, with a bit of the root exposed. I'll either pull them, or bury them deeper. From annoying experience, I've transplanted my share of stretched seedlings: if they're healthy, most veggies will grow OK, the stems will just fill out and bend up to support the rest. You can also bury some of the stem, that generally doesn't hurt 'em, although it's only tomatoes (of the usual garden veggies) that you can really bury and the stems will develop roots. That's what I've got... Hope it helps!! Mike (tfb) on "Monsanto-watching..." http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/topic.php?id=35#post-118 Sun, 13 Apr 2008 13:17:37 +0000 Mike (tfb) 118@http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ An outbreak of horrified Monsanto-watching began in comments, sparked by a documentary available online: <blockquote>willing hands organic farm said, April 10, 2008 @ 5:21 pm Mike, Have you seen the french documentary on Monsanto? I thought they were satan, now this leaves no doubt. No doubt this will disappear so watch while it is still up. <a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=842180934463681887&hl=en" rel="nofollow">http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=842180934463681887&hl=en</a> broken link, corrected below Mike (tfb) said, April 10, 2008 @ 10:05 pm willing hands organic farm: I saw your comment only a couple of hours after you posted it and tried the link, but it was already not available. Monsanto is a fascinating company, their entire history is one essentially bad thing after another, all big-time and money-making and…not good. I spent a lot of my first two winters of tiny farming on Wikipedia, working on all sorts of agriculture-related articles. It was kinda like my farming night school, as I learned about stiff I’d fill in basic info in articles there. Anyhow, I made lots of additions to the Monsanto article, so I was pretty familiar with their history. It’s fascinating how they invariably manage to find big, nasty technology. They started with saccharin, and were sued by the US government over its safety near the beginning of the 20th century (they won). Agent Orange, first genetically modify plant cells, PCBs, Terminator seed (producing sterile crops), bovine growth hormone… Wow. And all with tons of aggressive litigation and legal defense. There are other big companies doing similar stuff, but Monsanto manages to stay in front for weird and disturbing products. I try not to pay too much attention to this stuff as a matter of course these days, unless someone lets me know about something interesting, as you did. I’ll try to find the doc! Deborah said, April 11, 2008 @ 3:37 am I’ve found the video here <a href="http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2008/04/01/the-world-according-to-monsanto-a-documentary-that-americans-wont-ever-see-full-video/">video link</a> Just watching it. and direct off Google here <a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-842180934463681887&hl=en" rel="nofollow">http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-842180934463681887&hl=en</a> which looks like the one above, but I got to it off the dandelionsalad page, so it is still there willing hands organic farm said, April 11, 2008 @ 8:02 am sorry there is a typo in my link, Deborah has the correct one. This is absolutely riveting, almost 2 hours. I did not know Monsanto’s history and it is chilling. They are absolutely evil! I fear for future farmers, and our global food system in general. </blockquote> krubba on "seedlings look like first 1/2" of root out of soil" http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/topic.php?id=34#post-117 Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:00:37 +0000 krubba 117@http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ I planted some beets, turnips, carrots, chard, spinach, etc. and they all seem to look like this. There's about a 1/2 to 3/4 inch 'stem' coming out of the soil before the leaves branch off. It usually result in this stem lying down before the upward growth of the leaves. The plants seem healthy enough, but is this normal? Did I plant the seeds to shallow? Should I transplant them deeper so i can cover this part with dirt? Thanks in advance for any advice... Mike (tfb) on "Best small farming books" http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/topic.php?id=16#post-116 Tue, 08 Apr 2008 03:07:10 +0000 Mike (tfb) 116@http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ Solviva sounds great. I read some reviews at Amazon.com, a kinda polarized, love it or not like it much reaction: for a tiny farming book, always a good sign...! I'm gonna get it. I got The Complete Vegetable and Herb Gardener, recommended earlier in this thread, a few weeks ago. I'll post a comment when I've used it more. alanRobertsRoost on "Best small farming books" http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/topic.php?id=16#post-115 Mon, 07 Apr 2008 20:37:00 +0000 alanRobertsRoost 115@http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ I'm a big fan of the Albrecht Papers (you can get them through Acres. and if you don't get their magazine you should!!) If you want to include animals on the farm i would start with Small-Scale Livestock Farming by Carol Ekarius. Eventually, you will need more info, but it is a good place to start for chickens, goats, sheep, cows, etc. I'd also throw the Apple Grower - A Guide for the Organic Orchardist. A great read with lots of ideas beyond orcharding. I'd also add Anna Eddy's Solviva just to push the edge of what can be done. alanRobertsRoost on "How to get crops to market early?" http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/topic.php?id=28#post-114 Mon, 07 Apr 2008 20:25:22 +0000 alanRobertsRoost 114@http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ Elliot Coleman's Four Season Harvest has a lot about pushing the edge of the seasons. That's where I would start (that's where I start every time I start over in a new spot.) Anna Eddy's book Solviva has a lot of brilliant ideas about how to make passive greenhouses that really work. I'd read those two and go from there. alanRobertsRoost on "Soil Blockers for seed propagation" http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/topic.php?id=10#post-113 Mon, 07 Apr 2008 20:20:27 +0000 alanRobertsRoost 113@http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ I posted some picts and thoughts about soil blocks on my blog if your want to look. <a href="http://www.robertsroostecofarm.com/2008/04/planting-inside-and-out.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.robertsroostecofarm.com/2008/04/planting-inside-and-out.html</a> I really like them. alanRobertsRoost on "Soil Blockers for seed propagation" http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/topic.php?id=10#post-112 Sat, 05 Apr 2008 10:00:28 +0000 alanRobertsRoost 112@http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ I've used soilblocks many times. They are great. I especially like the large single blocker for 'potting' up tomatoes. I've added a block about 1/2 inch thick to the bottom of the insert on the big blocker to give me a deeper hole. That lets me get a bit more stem under the soil and produces really nice sturdy tomatoes that just take off when you put them in the ground. I don't use the mini blocker as much. It is very useful when you don't have a lot of heated space for germinating, but you really need to keep an eye on them or they dry out. They also have to be 'potted' up fairly soon. I do use them on things that I want a lot of but have a low germination rate. Saves space and materials for things with a higher success rate. After they germinate you only put additional effort and resources into the growing ones. blockguru on "Soil Blockers for seed propagation" http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/topic.php?id=10#post-111 Sat, 05 Apr 2008 09:49:33 +0000 blockguru 111@http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ Here's a great website with history, techniques, recipes, and FAQ's: <a href="http://www.pottingblocks.com/">PottingBlocks.com</a> I think it's the most comprehensive site on the web, you guys? alanRobertsRoost on "Tiny farming: why stay small?" http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/topic.php?id=32#post-110 Fri, 04 Apr 2008 19:49:16 +0000 alanRobertsRoost 110@http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ I think staying small is tied to the same source as my desire to live locally, trying to find the food, water, and energy I need to live from local sources. All the other living things around me seem to be able to thrive while living that way and they never overrun each other. There is a link there I'll be exploring. Mike (tfb) on "Moldy growth in seedling pots" http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/topic.php?id=33#post-109 Thu, 03 Apr 2008 12:44:39 +0000 Mike (tfb) 109@http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ In general, I've found that stuff growing on the surface of your seedling cells or pots (I get a fair bit of green moss) results from keeping everything too moist and/or not having enough air circulation to gently dry off the surface. For the most part, I don't think this stuff is harmful (I've never had a problem with anything that's grown here), it's like a form of...weeds, but you still probably don't want it. I use a homemade mix of perlite-vermiculite-peat moss as a starter, so, no real soil to introduce other fungal type growth (and helps avoid damping off, another soil-borne problem). If you're not using lights, depending on how much natural light is available, it'll probably take longer for some veggies to germinate (less heat), which increases the time you have to keep the soil surface quite moist. Things to try are no-soil starter mix, maybe germinate in a warmer spot and loosely cover with clear plastic (like sandwich wrap; increases heat and holds in moisture so you don't have to rewet all the time) to speed things up, then move to the window, and make sure your surface dries out quite well (watering from underneath by putting your pots and plug sheets in a tray of water for a while is good). You could also use a fan to provide a breeze for at least an hour or two a day, which besides improving air circulation, will toughen up the seedlings and help promote stockier growth in many veggies. And once the seedlings have emerged, you can shallowly cultivate the surface with something small and kinda point, gently breaking up whatever's growing there, which is good in conjunction with making sure the soil surface gets to dry out. That's what I've got. Hope it helps! Matthias on "Tiny farming: why stay small?" http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/topic.php?id=32#post-108 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 22:03:51 +0000 Matthias 108@http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ I too feel the pull to 'expand', although we have some way to grow yet before we are working at our capacity. There is probably something to be said for using a small garden tractor for cultivating between rows (I have a Farmall 140) but as you both have mentioned the place where labor is really needed is with harvesting, washing and distributing the produce. Finding good people is the key to that conundrum, and keeping them on year after year means paying a decent wage, which in turn means the farm must sell more in order to pay the additional salary etc. etc. Small scale harvesting equipment for certain crops is expensive, but Johnny's has developed a new toy this year that should help with my least favorite harvesting chore, mesclun. I decided to pick one up and see just how much time it could save, I'll let you know how the experiment turns out! Really efficient, tiny scale equipment that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, along with standardized bed widths and a garden planned for maximum efficiency during harvest/processing, is probably the best bet for keeping it tiny successfully. At least thats what I keep telling myself :) winnipegmarilyn on "How to get crops to market early?" http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/topic.php?id=28#post-107 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 19:26:50 +0000 winnipegmarilyn 107@http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ I've heard that in areas where it freezes for the winter (not frost and thaw), you can plant hardy crops in the fall, protect them well, and they will sprout in the spring. I have planted carrots, swiss chard, and spinach as an experiment here in Winnipeg, so I'll let you know what comes up in the spring ( no, it's still not spring here :-) ). Apparently you have to overseed, as not all the seeds will sprout, but if you have left over seeds, why not give it a try. homemoma on "Moldy growth in seedling pots" http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/topic.php?id=33#post-106 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 15:38:37 +0000 homemoma 106@http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ i have put some basil and paprika seeds into biodegradable pots and as advised i try to keep them moist but that resulted in gray moldy stuff all over the pots. should i replant seedlings or water them with something? pics are here <ul> <a href="http://homemoma.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">http://homemoma.blogspot.com/</a></ul> i am using real soil mix that i brought from gardening store. we dont have sil free potting mixes unfortunately Mike (tfb) on "Tiny farming: why stay small?" http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/topic.php?id=32#post-105 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 22:51:06 +0000 Mike (tfb) 105@http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ This discussion started in the comments for the <a href="http://tinyfarmblog.com/2008/03/27/new-gardener/">New Gardener</a> post on Tiny Farm Blog. Mike (tfb): I'm very much into the "keep it tiny" thing, and a (slightly unrealistic, perhaps) part of that is being able to keep things going myself if I had to, with just spot help. You know: one farmer, one field. From all of my reading and talking to people, it seems to take about 2 full-time people per acre for really highly efficient, intensive, organic market gardening (that's including fieldwork, sales, everything). That may sound like a lot, but I can already see from what I've done (and not done) how much you can get from a small plot, if you're good with the timing and have a solid feel for your crops and soil. Last year, with Conall full-time (and mostly living on the farm, IOW, REALLY here, 5-6 days a week), we got a lot done, and there was still lots more that could've been done. So there's a pull both ways for me, to stay small and really self-reliant, and to expand by counting on others to help fully work the 2.5 acres... Alan Roberts: I have the same debate about growth quite often. There are so many things one could do. In my area the opportunities seem endless, especially if you are willing to drive a bit. Finding reliable help is a big limitation. Quality of life is another, at least for us. I've gone the hard route in other places, growing because the demand was there. I'm with you 100% on keeping it local and keeping it small enough that you can do it yourself. It's not easy though! For me it's the dairy. The local demand is there, the pasture is easy to come by, and most of the equipment available is sized for larger scale production. However, I know I can run a seasonal goat dairy with up to 12 does and do it all my self. I can do it and still have a life. But the temptation is there. With goat milk bringing $16 per gallon retail, and natural food stores within 70 miles of me screaming for suppliers, it is really tempting to float a loan and get bigger. I fight it every day. The same opportunities exist in the gardens. In fact, my latest inner battle has been about a tractor. My friend and fellow farmer up the road from us has a collection of Farmall Cubs with a wide variety of attachments. He keeps telling me that I should buy one and put more of my 5 acres into gardens. Having the horsepower and the tillage equipment would make it simple. Getting things watered, weeded, harvested, packaged, and sold would definitely require more help. I'm tempted anyway, it would be nice to be able to mow some hay when the pastures get ahead of the goats, but ... lauralemay on "Baby squash rotting: inadequate pollination?" http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/topic.php?id=30#post-104 Fri, 21 Mar 2008 12:29:37 +0000 lauralemay 104@http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ Hi. I grow a lot of squash and pumpkins in my big garden, and the baby squashes-rotting-and-falling-off problem really sounds like a pollination issue to me. Squash need a lot of pollinizers (bees or other insects) to get correct pollination, and in my experience butternuts seem to be exceptionally picky about it. You have a bunch of strategies you can try: <ul> <li>Attract bees and other pollinizers. Plant flowers and other things that will attract insects. Sometimes vegetables aren't enough to get the bees to show up, but a row of sunflowers and whoa baby! there they are! </li> <li> Keep bees. I kept a hive of for a few years and had NO problems with my squash. Or my apples, or my strawberries. And I had five gallons of honey a year to work with. Unfortunately then I developed an sting allergy and that was the end of that. You can also get orchard mason bees, which are stingless and honeyless -- they are also good pollenziers. They live in a little wooden block with holes in it that you can nail up on a tree in your harden. </li> <li>Pollenate your squash by hand. Male flowers are on longer stems than the female flowers. You can just harvest the male flowers, pull off the petals, and then swirl them around inside the female flowers. Younger plants usually get the male flowers first, so be paitent, it may take some time before you have both males and females at the same time. And you can cross-pollinate between squash plants, the fruit will bear true (but the seeds won't grow true next year). </li> </ul> Good luck! Mike (tfb) on "Small-farming / micro-farming wiki" http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/topic.php?id=31#post-103 Wed, 19 Mar 2008 21:14:54 +0000 Mike (tfb) 103@http://tinyfarmblog.com/forum/ <a href="http://tinyfarmwiki.com/">Tiny Farm Wiki</a> is set up and ready to go. It is wiki software, the same program used by Wikipedia. It allows anyone to add to and edit any page on the site. After giving this some thought, and looking around at what's available in the way of micro-farming info on the Web, it seemed that a well-used, well-maintained wiki site would fill a big gap. Properly used, a wiki is probably THE best way to gather useful, practical info from and for anyone and everyone involved in small farming and local food production. TFW is under an <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ca/">open content license</a> that allows all content to be freely copied, distributed, transmitted and edited, as long as any resulting use is made available under the same license. Whatever is contributed is truly free for all to use. The main drawback of a wiki is that content can easily get disorganized and jumbled if it is not well-maintained. I will maintain it through the start-up, which means, editing and keeping things in order. ANYONE else can also do the same maintenance, which is a major strength of wiki software: real collaboration. Hopefully, first, the site gets used, and then, if it gets busy, others will help out by sharing the maintenance task. If you have questions about wikis, please let me know! This COULD be great!