Winter Plans Coming To Life!

I think the last we met I had mentioned warm hearth fires and Spring planning. The fires burned bright along with my imagination and creativity. With credit card in hand much purchasing ensued and now I'm paying the price with projects mounted up like hay stacks!

In those cold months we did accomplish plenty of pickling, sauerkraut making and a small batch of Mead.

Our sauerkraut featured at a friend's German dinner party.

We managed to stuff this crock full of cabbage added some whey creating a natural fermentation within. The kraut that went into that crock in November is now gone. Eaten or given away to friends and family it was enjoyed in so many ways by so many...but alas, the kraut is just a memory.

So much for looking backwards...let's be moving ahead to all those wonderful inspirations garnered in front of the fire!

Look at these strawberry growing ideas! Here on the west side of Washington State we get approximately 38 inches of rain annually and come springtime the slugs and snails emerge eating everything in their path. This is why I don't grow strawberries - the critters get 'em every time before they ripen enough to harvest! If the critters don't get them the soggy ground does. What I like about both of these structures is that they are space savers, growing up or overhead adding another dimension to your growing footage. I rather prefer the columnar one as the new runners can just crawl down into the planter below and plant themselves. Project 1.

We have decided to make beer this year...that only means one thing...we have to grow hops. So we ordered three varieties from our local homebrewing establishment, Mountain Homebrew in Kirkland, Wa. Fantastic people! 

Tettnang is used for flavor and aroma, Nugget is used for bittering with an herbal note and Golding the traditional English hop is smooth and sweet and is used for flavor, aroma, and bittering.

Hop rhizomes are planted in the Spring and take off growing 15 feet very quickly. Once their height is reached the upper stems send out laterals and these are what bear the hops. 

This leads us to Project 2. Building support for three varieties of hops. Chosen apparatus: Decorative vinyl arbors laced with twine in a pattern to accommodate fast, tall growing vines and have plenty of horizontal space for lateral growth. This project actually took Project 1's place as I have made plans for a documentary video of the UrbanTerra apiary project which happens this week. More on this in a future post. So, no strawberry columns made but three arbors built, holes dug, cement poured, and pier blocks being set as I write. Why am I sitting here writing you may ask? I had to take a break from lifting those 50lb blocks and bags! Oy Vey, my back!

Project 3: Get out of the shade! Not my shade but that cast by the tall trees on our southern property line. Plan of attack...take the neighbors some farm fresh eggs and have a conversation. Worked like a charm!

Plenty of those golden rays streaming through the southern border now. I'm happy, chickens are happy, bees are happy, hops are happy! Project 3: Complete (except for splitting the wood.)

I have wanted to plant fruit trees on this property since we moved in. Finding a place for them just wasn't happening until now. Introducing the mini-dwarf apple orchard.

I've planted three mini-dwarf apples and one columnar. These will only grow about 4' x 4' except for the columnar which will grow 8' x 2', and between them all produce a crop large enough to supply us with apples for the year. The varieties are Gala, Gravenstein, Zestar, and the columnar is Tangy Green Urban. The trees are planted but the "orchard" is not quite cleaned up the way it should be. Old blocks and ground covers will need to go, the soil tilled and amended. Since the trees are small and planted inside their composting pots it will be at least a year before their roots venture out into the surrounding soil. Thankfully that gives me time! Project 4 almost completed.

One more project has been hanging over my head for some time now. Years in fact. It's the north side-yard. You know, the side of the yard with the garbage cans. It's dark, wet, and the only reason people go there is if they can't get to the back yard through the sunny south side-yard. (grinning because we all have one). Well my north side-yard leads straight into the apiary and desperately needs something done. The project is all planned out I just can't bear the thought of moving 3 or 4 tons of flagstone again. So I think I'm going to hire some men to come and do the carrying for me and I'll do the bossing. I'm pretty particular about the pattern the rock creates. Plus, I want to do some rock sculpting so this project will be put off until this lady has more time on her hands. I'm hoping that means this summer.

Thanks for stopping in for another run down of creating an urban farm here at UrbanTerra. Keep in touch so you can see my new video and photos of all these projects completed!