Potato Tower Wrap-up - Out with a Whimper

Lucky the Roo, surveying his domain.

I ended up harvesting the last of the potatoes within two weeks of the initial harvest. I never got around to writing about it, as the yield was okay, but nothing to write home about (although others have had better results). That said, I like the compact growing method of the tower, and will try again next year. Definitely want to try growing sweet potatoes, and I think our weather here will support the process. In the towers themselves, will probably try a 50/50 compost/soil mixture next time, with a bit of organic phosphorus added, instead of using pure compost. Some day I'll test the compost we make here on the property, but I imagine it's fairly high in nitrogen due to the large amounts of wood shavings and chicken poo from cleaning out the coop.

Another thing I learned: if you want fresh potatoes to last for more than a few days, you need to cure them. Whodathunkit? Not I, and I was hoppin' mad at myself for letting the spuds go to waste like that. Tsk!

Project: Entry-Level Rainwater Collection

I've been jonesing for a massive rainwater collection system. I dream of freedom from the 40-pound salt bags, and no more heavy mineral smells. I long for squeaky-clean shiny dishes, clothes that line-dry soft, and hair that doesn't need a weekly vinegar soaking to be rid of mineral buildup. I've promised Spouse, however, that we'll get his the garage-slash-pottery studio built first. It's been a slow process saving up the money for the build, but I'd much rather build as we can afford than to take out a loan in this economy.

Anyhow: rainwater collection. Right. There's a bit more involved than one would think at first glance. Our neighbors down the road have a wonderful system, and they've graciously pointed out some of the issues and pitfalls we need to know. But in the meantime, I've decided to ease that rainwater collection jones a bit by doing something much smaller in scale, and out of my own discretionary funds: fitting our chicken coop with a miniature rainwater collection system.

Our chicken coop is a 10'x10' modified big-box hardware store pre-fab shed. The measly 100 square foot roof could potentially collect 1500 gallons of water a year (with below-average 25" annual rainfall) according to Tank Depot's online calculator. The roof is made of corrugated metal, which is a good medium for rainwater collection but has its issues like any other roofing material. Some are of the opinion that to be absolutely safe for drinking (potable), metal roofing should get an approved protective coating of paint to guard against oxidized runoff, but for the chicken coop, I might hold off until/if we decide to get our house roof covered. If an emergency comes up, we can always use a commercial filter like a Brita to get any possible metals filtered, and then for pathogen deterrence either do solar pasteurization in our Sun Oven or use a bit of chlorine bleach.

Some of the bare bones of initially gathering the rainwater: gutters, debris filter (to filter out leaves and such), and "first flush" diverters (which divert the "first flush" of roof-caught rainwater away from storage in the rain barrels. The first flush usually has dust, pollen, bird poo and the like that has collected on the roof since the last rain). Our hardware store has the gutters, no problem. The debris filter and "first flush" diverter I would have to either make on my own, or purchase online. I've opted for the latter, and have ordered
Rain Harvesting Pty 3" First Flush (model WDDS99) and the Rain Harvesting Pty Original Leaf Eater Downspout Filter (model RHLE99). There's a couple of all-in-one filter and first flush models, but am thinking I'd like to get to know the basics before getting fancy. Once the filter and diverter are received, I'll purchase the gutters and start installing on the coop. Of course, I'll have to get rain barrels acquired and set up as well. More on this project to come...

photo: metal chicken sculpture getting soaked during a rare Summer 2011 rain.

Texas Fires

Just a quick note to let folks know we're okay here, but we're keeping a close watch. All it takes is an unattended BBQ/smoker or a carelessly tossed cigarette butt to potentially start another fire, so please be careful, no matter where you are! Here's a rundown of links that will help you stay up-to-date on the latest:

• A map showing all the current fires in Texas: http://www.wunderground.com/ [...]
• A blog page from local NPR affiliate KUT Radio: http://www.kutnews.org/ [...]
• A Google News link that puts together all current headlines on the Texas fires: http://news.google.com/ [...]

For constant information deluge, go to Twitter #centraltxfires 

Pic: Molly's brave little chicks exploring the front porch.

Too Danged Hot: New Chicks & Link Edition

It's been too danged hot. The animals fur & feather colors have all been bleaching out due to the sun. Black has bleached to brown, brown to tan, tan to blonde, and blonde to white. If Maggie or the white chickens aren't careful, they'll just fade into "clear"...

The recent experiment with ordering fertile Penedesenca eggs (with Welsummer egg bonus) was a bit of a wash. It may simply have been too hot: the broody hens would nest hop, and then forget their original clutch. Eventually, two eggs DID hatch: both Welsummers. Molly the Jersey Giant hatched one, and Cinnamon the Cubalaya hatched one. I had to transfer Cinnamon's chick to Molly, as Cinnamon wasn't "getting" that the new chick was hers to care for. She kept pecking the heck out of it, and the chick was starting to limp. Molly accepted the new chick, and she's being an excellent mother to both (pic on right). Cinnamon continued to be broody for almost two weeks after the hatching.

In the meantime, just so you know the blog is still alive, here's some link love until we all recover from the heat:

Make your own nose pore strips: youtube video. I haven't used pore strips in years, but this looks super easy to make. Might have to try it again!

A frugal dinner meal plan from Green, Blue, Brown. Thinking about trying this as well. Makes fantastic use of a whole chicken and rotating ingredients.

A quick guide on how to make herbal tinctures with both fresh and dry plant matter. I've the beginnings of a medicinal herb garden, and will definitely use this technique. Never been one much for herbal teas - just give me a few drops of tincture, thank you very much.

A tool to blow out eggs, so you can use the intact empty eggshells for crafts.  The tool also lets you blow out the egg with only one hole, so there's more continuous shell to paint. I've done everything from using a bicycle pump to lung power, and let me tell you, none have worked all that great. Goose eggs are big, strong, and great for crafts, sometimes going for $2.00 an egg. Nice way to re-purpose shells for those eggs that are past their freshness prime.

Potato Tower Update - July

I've been helping out at the Bountiful Sprout co-op this month, filling in for the gracious Cindy while she takes a well-deserved vacation. I noticed that several of the farmers were selling fresh potatoes, and it got me to wondering, are mine finally ready for harvest?

The tops have taken a beating with the sudden & continued onslaught of heat this season, but keep re-greening. Despite the remaining green, figured I'd go ahead and check out at least one tower. If the contents looked good, I'd harvest the rest.

The growing medium - nothing but pure compost - has done some settling, like a box of cereal or bag of chips. It was easy to dig through with my bare hands (like I'd take the time to find gloves anyways, right?). Besides, using hands to harvest the tubers would be much gentler on the potatoes - much less chance of nicking or gouging the tender 'tater - than if I used a garden spade.

The harvest itself? Kinda disappointing. Two large and one small seed potato yielded slightly less than two pounds of potatoes, of which most were very small. Looks like I should have left this tower alone for a few more weeks yet. I'm also wondering if I should have blended some topsoil into the compost. Potatoes can be heavy feeders, but too much nitrogen and not enough phosphorous might have affected tuber development, and I really don't know what the balance is/was in that particular batch of compost. Ah well, two more towers of 'taters await in the wings, and we'll see what the harvest is like for those in a few more weeks.

An enterprising chicken, digging through the remains.