Category Archives: garden

farm, garden, projects

Building & Filling Raised Beds

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This garden area that I have is fantastic! There is a 32 foot square fenced in with a cute gate…. but it’s empty. Last year I tried a couple of different methods. I used an old raised bed that was there and that worked fine, but it wasn’t enough and wasn’t laid out how I wanted it.

Chicken feed bags was the another method that I tried out. This seemed appropriate to me since I have lots of bags and it was more of a mobile solution. I figured I could move the bags around as needed since there was not a clear plan for the garden.

There were a few challenges with the bags. One, they didn’t hold water like they needed too. It’s hot in Texas and the bags dried out too fast. Another challenge in Texas is the bright damaging sun. Those bags broke down pretty fast. By the end of the season they were brittle and flaking all over the place.

Those methods worked ok… I got some produce out of them. But, it was not that good.

This year I’m investing in making the garden more usable and productive. There are raised beds for the family and the kids that want them… they have their own. There is also a greenhouse going in. It’s small, but should be fine for seed propagation and over wintering the lemon tree.

Here is a snapshot of the raised beds:

New Raised Beds – Daddykirbs Garden Blog

Here is a video of the garden as it transitions from empty to useful.

It’s worth noting that I did plan on lining the bottom of the entire garden with carpet. My thoughts on that were that the carpet would be a weed block barrier. In my original thought process it made sense. I figured that the beds would be full of good dirt so it didn’t matter that they would be on carpet.  Well, after some exchange on the Google+ community, Hobby Farms: Growing Food & Families, that I moderate, I changed my mind. It was mentioned how dangerous it could be to have the chemicals breaking down and getting into my vegetables. This is called “leaching”… I’m not sure how much of it really happens and how BAD it really is, but I figured it’s better to err on the side of caution. I really do appreciate the warnings and comments that were made.

Here is a YouTube playlist that show my videos of my garden before this makeover:

Daddykirbs’ Gardening Playlist

Here are some advertised products for your gardening pleasure 🙂

Greenstalk Vertical Garden planted with vegetables next to a wooden fence.

Buy Greenstalk Vertical Gardens! http://lddy.no/25if 
(affiliate link - Daddykirbs Farm. Thank you.)
Coupon Code DADDYKIRBS to get up to $10 off!

farm, garden

Raised Beds – Trash to Treasure

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I love my garden. I don’t like spending money to have nice things.  Oh trust me we spend our share, but every once in a while it’s nice to get a break. One way that is cool to save money and materials from the landfill is to recycle.

I know I’m not the first to discuss the topic or share a nice story, but this story is mine 🙂

Behind my workplace is normally many pallets. These pallets are brittle and full of nails and staples. It’s difficult to find one that is usable. All the good ones get snatched up fast by the guys that drive around and collect pallets. They like the standard sized shipping pallets that make such nice things like compost bins and tables. Then one day…. I found this.

This is no where near standard size. This is big and heavy.  There are very few nails in it and not staples. This just has to be mine! Yep, I drove the truck the next day to work and loaded it up.

I wasn’t sure at first what I would use it for. Those nice 2×6 planks had so much potential.  They could be used for just about anything. Well, as I was building raised beds for my garden I decided to take this pallet apart to make a couple of smaller beds for the kids. It came apart nicely and went together even better.

Trash to Treasure Raised Bed – Daddykirbs Garden Blog

The kids are thrilled!  They can’t wait to start growing their own peas and spinach! Yay!

Kids Showing Off Raised Garden Beds – Daddykirbs Garden Blog
Kids Showing Off Raised Garden Beds – Daddykirbs Garden Blog
UPDATE! Here are the beds full of nice dirt and some plantings. So far there is lettuce, cabbage, tomato, arugula and chives.  They still want to plant seeds 🙂
Kid’s Planted Raised Garden Bed One – Daddykirbs Garden Blog

Kid’s Planted Raised Garden Bed Two – Daddykirbs Garden Blog
Here are some advertised raised beds you can buy if you can’t find palettes. 

Greenstalk Vertical Garden planted with vegetables next to a wooden fence.

Buy Greenstalk Vertical Gardens! http://lddy.no/25if 
(affiliate link - Daddykirbs Farm. Thank you.)
Coupon Code DADDYKIRBS to get up to $10 off!

garden

Making Compost Happen

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For a long time I’ve wanted to compost and in small ways I have.  This year I have lots of ideas to make it happen on a larger scale. My goal is to have compost for the gardens whenever I want it.  Well, that means that it has to get started.

Right now I have my “Every Day Scraps” composter that is working pretty well for taking care of the kitchen scraps.  This compost barrel is pretty efficient, but doesn’t produce a lot of compost.  Inside is an active colony of Black Soldier Fly (BSF) larvae. They are amazing at reducing the scraps to just a brown goo. Because the BSF are there and it is a closed container I don’t mind throwing in small amounts of meats and fats.

What I really want is big pile of manure type compost for the garden.  This bin will be the start of making that happen. I have talked with the horse farmer down the road and we have a deal. I shovel the poo out of the stalls and take it as my payment. I will be looking for a good source of carbon as well to mix with the poo. For now I am picking up bags of leaves in the neighborhoods that are out for pickup. I am also considering talking to the local company that makes trusses and seeing about picking up the sawdust from the large saw.  I happen to know that they only use untreated wood.

Chicken Checking Out New Crate for Compost – Daddykirbs Garden Blog
The cool thing about this new compost bin is that it is a shipping crate that I didn’t have to pay for or construct. It was sitting behind my workplace just like you see it. I just put it on the pickup and brought it home. Once in place I put some cardboard in the bottom to start the first layer. You can see Helena the hen is very interested in whats going on here 🙂
I also have a compost pile that I add manure and leaves too. Here are the chickens enjoying tearing my pile up.

This is a short clip that shows me adding leaves to the big pile. Check out the steam!

There are many things that can be composted. I seem to have plenty of “greens” but don’t always have plenty of “browns”. I started tossing in my toilet paper rolls to help fluff up the mix and to add the important browns.
Here are some advertised products that may help you get along in your composting adventure:

Greenstalk Vertical Garden planted with vegetables next to a wooden fence.

Buy Greenstalk Vertical Gardens! http://lddy.no/25if 
(affiliate link - Daddykirbs Farm. Thank you.)
Coupon Code DADDYKIRBS to get up to $10 off!

farm, garden, projects

A Clean Garden Slate

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2013 is the year that I really make a difference in the garden. I got it all cleaned out and ready for it’s makeover. There are many thoughts running through my mind on just how to make it, but none have struck me as perfect.

I know that I want raised beds with irrigation, but how to configure it…. that is the question?

To keep the birds out I will be adding a netted room. My tomatoes and strawberries last year were pretty severely picked over by the Mocking Birds, Blue Jays and Cardinals.

Here is the garden in its blanks slate form.

Greenstalk Vertical Garden planted with vegetables next to a wooden fence.

Buy Greenstalk Vertical Gardens! http://lddy.no/25if 
(affiliate link - Daddykirbs Farm. Thank you.)
Coupon Code DADDYKIRBS to get up to $10 off!

garden, orchard, projects, video

Learning How To Prune Fruit Trees

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I am not an expert… Man! Am I NOT an expert. LOL

At the time of this blog post I have only pruned two fruit trees in my life. I pruned both of my pear trees in one day. Since I was a bit timid on my technique I made a video of the process and posted it on YouTube to share on Google+.  My goal was to get some feedback so I could learn better to do it in the future.

Here’s the video.

 Continue reading Learning How To Prune Fruit Trees →

Greenstalk Vertical Garden planted with vegetables next to a wooden fence.

Buy Greenstalk Vertical Gardens! http://lddy.no/25if 
(affiliate link - Daddykirbs Farm. Thank you.)
Coupon Code DADDYKIRBS to get up to $10 off!