Coleman writes “My idea of paradise is a place where I can eat garden-fresh food year-round. I enjoy good food, and I know the vegetables from my home garden taste better and are more nutritious than anything I can buy…To my delight, I discovered that a four-season harvest is simplicity itself.” From the first chapter when Coleman introduces the four-season harvest he continues with chapters on compost, planning, preparing, planting, cultivating, cold frames, garden covers, root cellars, indoor havesting, plants and pests, and growing tips. All in all this is an excellent book for anyone interested in growing their own garden.
Interim property
Our plan has been fairly direct. Pay off remaining debts, purchase a property, and save until we can afford to build our house. It’s the last part that’ll take longest. We plan to do the majority of the work ourselves but it is stil going to be expensive. Plus we wanted to have enough money saved so that we don’t have to worry about a new job immediately. We’ve planned for five years, but it may take longer. Because of that we’ve been thinking about adjusting the plan. If we purchase a home near here then we can be building equity and developing our homesteading skills while we save. It’d be a much better option than renting for the next 5+ years. Of course we have awhile before our debts are paid but once that’s done we’ll look for a place nearby.
The Owner-Built Homestead
This book was put out in 1977 but the information is still valuable for anyone interested in alternative farming techniques. The Kerns are advocates of a no-till approach to crops and give substantial background on soil and the impact of tilling. The book also covers raising animals, ponds, greenhouses, and fences. It isn’t the book to consult for information on becoming certified organic, generating power, or running a CSA.
EarthBoxes look interesting.
I came across EarthBoxes while reading the Path to Freedom site. An EarthBox is more than a simple flower pot container. It has an integrated watering, fertilizing system. They claim that it’s a nearly fool-proof method of growing plants. I think it’s interesting looking at the Path site because you can see them actually putting the containers to use. They seem to be very productive. I’ve thought about creating either an indoor or outdoor winter garden to try one out. I’m not sure if we will or not. If I don’t do it now I’ll probably try in Spring.
Created our new journal section
This morning I setup our new journal section. This will be a place to post our thoughts, experiences, etc. Right now there isn’t much content but it’ll grow with time.
I want to add more features to the blog, such as a rotating logo. Currently I’ve put up a picture from Ferry County which is where we eventually plan to move to. Other features I’d like to add: integrated weather history, other sorts of data collection. We’ll see what I come up with.
