Upsy Daisy...

We have made a lot of progress over the past two weeks. The irrigation and SFG grids are in, most everything is planted, and next on the list is building upright supports for the tomato, pole beans, cucumbers, melons ans squash. It sounds a little strange to think of melons and squash growing upright, but that is one of the space saving strategies of a SFG. We'll see how it works. We do have to create some slings for the melons once they get big but other than that, training the vines to climb up is all there is too it.

We've had some hurdles with the irrigation system, and let's just say there are still some kinks to work out. It didn't work out like I imagined...an easy system of soaker hoses, perfectly timed, requiring only a leisurely hand watering here and there. NOPE! The yard slopes, causing flooding and the soakers don't get enough pressure to water even two boxes evenly. What we have now is one box on each system gets soaked and floods out the bottom, while the other is nearly dry. Seeing that a full irrigation tear out is not an option this year, it looks like we supplement by hand watering. The catch is that the garden isn't in our own backyard, this is going to require a bit of a commitment and some careful planning. Not ideal, but oh well.

So far most everything has been planted and is thriving. We already have had radishes, bush beans and squash sprout. This year I decided to start out with a few starter plants to get a rush on harvesting, since we sort of got a late start getting things in the ground. Hopefully this will give a few weeks staggered harvest, we'll see.

That is pretty much it for the garden update, but we have a few other things to share. We drove up to Penn Valley today to buy chickens from Brad and Alana Fowler at Fowler Family Farm http://fowlerfamilyfarm.com/3101.html. I can't even begin to tell you what nice people they were! They are a young family (3 daughters and now expecting TWINS!) who are not only incredibly knowledgeable, they really seem to care about what they do. We called up there today to find out if the chickens were available yet (the season is April - October), and they happen to be processing today, talk about fresh. So after visiting with them for an hour or so, exchanging stories and resources, we headed home with 20 chickens for our new freezer. Rick has promised Brad that he'll come up to help with the next processing day in 2 weeks so he should have some good stories to tell.

On another note, a new movie is coming out this June called Food,Inc. Here is some info about the movie that I found online and the link to watch the trailer. Should be very eye opening.

How much do we really know about the food we buy at our local supermarkets and serve to our families?

In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that's been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, insecticide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of e coli--the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.

Featuring interviews with such experts as Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma) along with forward thinking social entrepreneurs like Stonyfield Farm's Gary Hirshberg and Polyface Farms' Joel Salatin, Food, Inc. reveals surprising -- and often shocking truths -- about what we eat, how it's produced, who we have become as a nation and where we are going from here.

http://takepart.com/foodinc/

April showers ...

The garden is nearly ready to plant. The rain is a mixed blessing. While I can’t curse it, it certainly isn’t helping me get the boxes finished or any of the new trees planted. We initially planned to try the square foot gardening this year. Sally did some reading and we made a plan. The idea behind the SFG concept is that instead of spending time creating good soil you start with great soil. Sally and I sort of butted heads over the merit of the system (My arguments were clearly based on my years of gardening expertise).In the end we came to a compromise.

Here is the SFG for dummies. The idea is to build boxes on top of the existing soil. The book said the boxes don’t need to be any higher than six inches. The book’s theory is that the soil is so good that six inches by one square foot is enough. There was no way I was going any shorter than twelve inches. I figured roots need room to stretch and I'd dig down to the soil below.

Our original plan called for six or seven boxes totaling about 300 square feet. I know redwood is more rot resistant but is also close to the price of gold. I built the boxes out of construction grade Douglas Fir. Even if it rots in two years, I can replace it and probably still be up money.

The dirt is supposed to be an even split of compost, peat moss and vermiculite. Here is where the problem started. The compost was cheap -- $20 a yard. The peat moss and vermiculite looked to cost about $1500.00. So like any loving couple, we discussed our conundrum and came to a compromise. We’d do a couple of boxes in the SFG plan and the rest the way we’ve done the past two years; by amending the existing soil with compost and whatever else is lacking based on some soil testing. If the SFG plan turns out to be as great as it sounds, then we can gradually convert a few boxes each year in order to spread out the cost.

As a side note here, don’t let our cost of soil for the SFG scare you away … this is only because of the shear magnitude of our endeavor. Typically, according to the SFG plan, you need two 4x4 boxes (32 sq. ft.) per adult in a family. By planting things close together you use much less space, resulting in a much smaller amount of soil needed. Based on the calculations, our 300 sq ft should be enough to feed nine adults. But since our goal is to be self sustaining all year, any surplus will be frozen, canned, dehydrated or traded. For the “typical” family just starting a garden, SFG is supposedly the way to go. It takes up less space and really requires less work and know-how. If you are interested, check out Mel Bartholomew’s website http://www.squarefootgardening.com/ .

As for our garden expansion project, it is nearly complete. After filling the boxes with the compost, soil testing and amending, putting SFG grids in place, adding a rain barrel to the gutter downspout nearby, and a nice decomposed granite walkway for the landlords (we are forever grateful to Rich and Betty for the use of their yard!), we will be ready to plant. Experienced gardeners have told us that once the soil is warm enough to sit on, bare bottomed and not feel cold, you are good to go. I’m not sure who will be nominated to put this to the test but photos will be posted. Typically, planting falls right around tax day in our area. We’ll shoot for that.

Until harvest, we continue to support our local producers at the Tuesday Roseville Farmers Market at the Fountains on Galleria Boulevard and Saturday market out at Sunrise Mall. The latest arrivals include asparagus. Get it now locally while you can. It has a short season. Strawberries have made an appearance as well - this is one fruit that is extremely important to buy organic due to the absorbent nature of the fruit, so be sure to ask if they spray - just because it is at a farmer’s market does not mean it wasn’t conventionally grown. Always be sure to ask, our experience has been that most people are used to the question and happy to discuss their growing methods.

As for meat, we’ve been buying our beef and pork from Bob from Coffee Pot Ranch http://www.coffeepotranch.com/ at the Tuesday market. There is also local lamb and goat available from Flying Mule Farm http://www.flyingmulefarm.com/ . If you get a chance check out that site … they are using mule power for their farming - very cool and such a nice family. We have yet to find a Placer County Chicken producer, although I hear that Dan at Flying Mule Farm will have some soon - I think following similar methods to those of Joel Stalatin at Polyface farms, as described by Michael Pollan in Omnivore’s Dilemma. There is a chicken producer in Grass Valley called Fowler Farms, and until some is available in our area, we will be contacting the Fowler Family. I believe the time is now - so if you are interested they can be reached at 530-477-6878.

Check this out ... it is short and relevant to recent events in the food industry.

Spring is here

Well, we have been neglecting the blog a bit lately, but with the arrival of spring, there is much to discuss and we hope to keep things updated. Today was day one of the garden expansion project including construction of the new square foot garden. The boxes went together easily and when all is said and done we should have about 260 square feet of raised beds. We plan on following the ideas found in Mel Bartholomew's All New Square Foot Gardening. For more info check out his site http://www.squarefootgardening.com/, you can also find some demo videos on YouTube that are helpful.

Also I do have to share my new favorite website that I found via YouTube...http://www.gardengirltv.com/. Wow, this gal is my new hero! She really seems to have an incredible system in place and so much practical knowledge. When you have some time, take a look at her site, bookmark it, and check back frequently.

If you are a member of Facebook- find us at Eat Local Placer County- join the group, share you ideas and experiences.

I hope to have some photos and more details about our square foot garden in the next few days, so be sure to stay tuned.