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.
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→
My orchard will be 18 trees when it’s finished. This will take three years to accomplish. Last year I planted six trees and just this week I have prepared for six more. Next winter I will finish it off with the last six.
I added irrigation to make watering all those trees a bit easier.
Here is a video describing how I prepared the next six planting sites.
The meat chickens are very thirsty birds. I could not keep up with watering them with the small water containers I had so I made some 5 gallon bucket drinkers on an adjustable chain. The chain allows me to move the bucket higher as the chickens get older and taller. At the end of the video you can see how we encouraged the young chicks to find the water.
… and here’s a short video showing all of the birds well adapted to using the buckets.
In the title I say “among the trees” because this was originally supposed to be a tree house. The plan got bigger and bigger which made me re-evaluate the tree. Yep, my tree is not stout enough to hold the current plan.
Providing a playhouse for the kids is part of Growing Families 🙂 My girl has a great time hanging out in here. I catch her singing as she is rearranging her “furniture” 🙂
These plans available on this PDF aren’t super detailed, but it could help you along in your project if you are building a cute little playhouse! 🙂
Click Image to download PDF
Playhouse Among the Trees
I didn’t take enough early pics of the process, but here it is before all the siding is on. There are pics of it painted at the bottom of this post.
Before the playhouse was finished we used an old palette for a ladder.
Cedar fence boards were used as siding.
A small square window was placed on each side for visibility and light from every side.
The trees “hide” the playhouse nicely. It’s like an enchanted forest.
And here with a little more progress.
The ladder is built and the playhouse continues to take shape.
The windows and doors are framed up.
We finally got this painted! Thanks big brother!
The creative yellow and green color scheme was used to keep it whimsical.
In place of a door we just used a curtain for “privacy”.
The shingles were reclaimed from a pile that would have been thrown in the dumpster. They were left behind our barn from when the house was built.
Ready for years of making memories and imaginary friends!
Thank you for hanging out with me here to read about the Playhouse Among the Trees.
Hi! I'm Blake. Online I go by "Daddykirbs". My farm and blog is a place to learn about my journey with Permaculture, Homesteading, Gardening and more. Thanks for visiting!
