Natural Pest Control

Posted on June 30, 2011 · 1 Comment
A family of owls live in our neighbor’s owl box
If you grow and raise any food you likely have pests. Insects, while small, make up for it in sheer numbers. We deal with insect pests by create habitats around our garden that welcome beneficial insects that feed on the pests. These areas tend to not look very good but I’m fine with that because it helps us. I’d much rather have a disheveled area in my yard than have to resort to using pesticides – even organic ones.
Livestock bring another pest – rodents. Well, that’s not entirely fair. Urban areas in general bring rodents. They like our garbage. Have a compost bin? You’ve probably got some rats or mice living in or very close to it. Live near a restaurant or grocery store? Yeah, you’ve probably got a problem with rodents. You may not see them, but I can guarantee they are there.
If you have livestock you have to be very mindful about keeping their population down because they are drawn to the feed in particular. We keep all of our animal feed either stored inside or stored in metal trash cans with weighted lids. Plastic is only temporary in the eyes of a rodent. If they are determined enough they can chew right through it. Our chickens have a feeder that hangs well out of the reach of rodents – about 5′ in the air to be exact. Our chickens have to hop up a series of roosts to get to it.
We do use snap traps with some success as well. Heidi, at Itty Bitty Farm in the City, was another great non-toxic way to deal with rodents outlined by Esperanza (Pluck and Feather) here,but I haven’t tried it yet. If we get to a point where we have to do something drastic, I wouldn’t hesitate to use her method. So far, though we haven’t had to go that route, and I think I need to thank the owls for that.
Our neighbors told us that at one time our water tower was a dilapidated building on the brink of falling down. While humans wouldn’t venture to go in it, barn owls made it their home. Unfortunately, the horrible people that owned the house before us decided that they needed to rid the tower of owls and destroyed all the eggs by having contest on who could throw them the furthest from the top of the tower. The thought of their actions makes me sick to my stomach and makes me glad that they were foreclosed on.
Our neighbors were rightly appalled at their actions too. They immediately put up an owl box to try and bring the owls back to our neighborhood. The owl box stood empty for years and we wondered if they would ever return. But this year they came back! Not only did they come back, but now the chicks are fledging and we can hear they every night teaching them how to hunt.
They provide us with a way to keep pests down while also giving us a bit of entertainment – though at times it’s quite creepy. They like to sit in the trees surrounding our property and screech at us any time we go outside. Maybe they are telling us to stop scaring away their food? One night, while Jeanette was staying here she had the tower balcony door open. One of the owls perched itself on the balcony railing and screeched non-stop at Jeanette. I can laugh at that, but Jeanette was pretty creeped out. After all, in some Native American cultures they signify an approaching death.
They will always be welcome here. Now we just need to put up a bat box to take care of the insects….
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Filed Under: Chickens, Gardening, Growing Tips, Livestock, Pests & Diseases Tagged With:

Community

Posted on June 29, 2011 · 2 Comments

This is what it’s all about.

Someone told me once that rural commercial farmers are not all that forthcoming with advice or support. I am thrilled that the urban farming community is the exact opposite.

I have met some of the most awesome people in our urban farming community. Some of them have become great friends, you know who you are and I thank you for being in my life.

If you need help a hand is offered. If you need advice you can get it without fear of being judged. If you need support someone is willing to help give you strength and encouragement.

I want to thank all you for being so awesome and for creating the best community I’ve ever been a part of.

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Filed Under: Current Events

Flickr of Inspiration – Oyster Mushrooms

Posted on June 28, 2011 · 1 Comment

oyster mushrooms, originally uploaded by DCBits.

Last night at the East Bay Urban Agriculture Alliance meeting we got to meet this gentleman named Ray who had started his own mushroom business called Mushroom Maestros. He gave an informal presentation about his business which we found incredibly informative.

I now have mushrooms on the brain…

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Monday’s Guests – Building a Chicken Coop

Posted on June 27, 2011 · 1 Comment

Hi everyone! My name is Shannon, and today I’m going to share my chicken coop building experience. Last year, my husband and I purchased our first home in Vallejo (also where Dog Island Farm is located). Finally, we had backyard space where we could grow our own food! And raise chickens! After about 6 months of settling in, we decided to get our first laying flock (3 Plymouth Barred Rocks). I was on the hunt for a coop, but all of the pre-fabricated ones I saw at the feedstore and online were too small, and way expensive. Unfortunately, I’m not creative enough to design one on my own, so I started looking online and in books for ideas. l ended up at backyardchickens.com, which is a great resource for anyone with chickens. They have a section where folks upload photos of the coops they have built. Everything from old converted dog houses to brand new fancy ones. After looking at tons of photos, I finally stumbled upon one that I liked. They didn’t have any plans for it, but I really liked the design:

Luckily for me, my dad is a contractor. So, I sent him the link (along with some of my own minor changes) and he came up with some plans. A few weeks later, he came down from Yosemite to build it. Here are a few shots of the building:

And the finished product! (It’s bigger than I expected…we call it the chicken mansion)

Now, I realize that not everyone has a father who’s a contractor. However, I do think it’s important to keep in mind friends and/or family members that are handy and could help you build your own coop. We just paid for the materials, and made sure my dad had plenty of beer and pizza to keep him happy while he was building. Or perhaps you could barter with someone (fresh eggs for a month in exchange for some help?)

It was helpful for me to make a list of what features I wanted in a coop. I wanted mine to be tall so I could easily walk in and out of it. I also wanted a large door with access to the inside of the hen house so I could clean it out with ease. These might not be the same needs that you have, but in any case, make sure you have yours in mind when you choose the design of your coop. Remember, your coop should be functional for both you and your chickens. After all, you’ll be accessing it every day too!

A note about materials: we decided to use all new wood/hinges/roofing. We wanted the coop to be cohesive with our house because it’s essentially the focal point of our backyard now! If that wasn’t the case we would definitely have used reclaimed/recycled materials. There are many creative coops made out of recycled materials on backyardchickens.com. Be sure to check them out if you need some inspiration!

You can read more about me and my attempts at urban farming and crafting at whereisshannon.blogspot.com.

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Filed Under: Chickens, Guest Posts, Livestock Tagged With:

The Perfect Saltine Cracker

Posted on June 26, 2011 · 2 Comments

One of the things I’ve been missing while going a year without groceries is crunchy, salty snacks. I’ve made crackers before but have never really been happy with the recipes. So I decided to find something closer to a true saltine cracker. Unfortunately when searching for a “saltine cracker recipe” all the recipes that come up use saltine crackers. I couldn’t find any recipes that showed how to make those saltine crackers. No such luck. So I finally came up with one that can’t come much closer to the store bought ones (except they have more “meat” to them and are more satisfying).

4 c unbleached white flour
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 c coconut oil
1/3 c skim milk
1 c water
Oil or water and salt (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 deg. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Sift flour, salt and baking powder together. Mix in oil, milk and water until blended well. Knead dough on a surface until smooth.

Now I prefer to use a pasta machine to roll out my dough – usually ending on setting #3. The trick is to make sure the dough is rolled very thin. Otherwise you won’t get crispy crackers.

Cut crackers into squares (I like to use a pizza cutter) and put on parchment lined cookie sheet. Spray crackers with oil or water and sprinkle with salt.

Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.

This recipe will make a TON of crackers. If you want, divide the dough in half and freeze it for later use.

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Filed Under: Appetizers, Baking, Recipes

Soil Testing 101

Posted on June 25, 2011 · Leave a Comment
Soil testing is incredibly important when you’re planning to produce food from your yard. It tells you what you’ve got and what you need. Plants won’t give you their best if they don’t have the proper nutrients or proper pH levels. The three most common nutrients, referred to as macronutrients, that plants need are Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium usuallyreferred to as NPK. But NPK isn’t the only thing you need to know the levels of in your soil. Other important nutrients, or micronutrients, include magnesium, calcium (especially important for tomatoes, peppers and eggplants), manganese, and iron (especially important for citrus). You can also test to find out what contaminates you have in your soil, which is incredibly important if you live in an urban area and are growing food.
 It’s also important to know what your soil structure is and how much organic matter is in it. This affects your watering and plants’ ability to take up that water. High clay soils are more prone to run off and take longer for water to infiltrate, while sandy soils drain very fast and don’t hold enough water long enough for plants to access it.
So how does one go about finding out all this information? Well, you could buy one of those at-home soil tests, but I wouldn’t recommend it. I have found these dreadfully inaccurate. They also don’t give you all the information you need to determine what is in your soil. Instead you will need to find a soil lab that can do the testing for you. I use A&L Western
Agricultural Labs. You simply print out their form, fill a quart sized Ziploc bag with soil and ship it, the form and a check to them and they will email you the results.  I choose their SC3 Soils Analysis with recommendations. Here’s a soils report from them with the recommendations included:
You can also find a soils laboratory through your county extension or local university.
To determine the structure of your soil you can do a home test. All you need is water and a jar. Simply add 1 part soil to 2 parts water in the jar. Close lid and shake for 1 minute. Allow this mixture to settle.
This can take between a couple of hours to a couple of days depending on your soil’s structure. The first particles to settle will be the sand since they are larger and heavier. Silt is the second particle followed by clay, which are the smallest and lightest soil particles.
From this test it appears that our soil is equal parts of clay, silt and sand, but what does that mean? Well, take a look at this handy soil structure diagram to determine what structure the soil is:
As you can see, where the 30% lines of each side of the triangle meet to form a triangle we are dead center in the Clay Loam category. Loam is considered the best balanced soil structure because it offers both optimum water retention and water drainage. Clay loam will not drain as quickly, but it retains water well. The most common and concerning soil structure is clay soil. Clay soil can be very difficult on plants as it doesn’t drain well and makes it difficult for water to percolate in. It also contains a lot fewer air pockets with roots need. If you have clay soil, your best option is to dig in a lot of organic matter. An easier option, however, is to forgo using this soil and just build raised beds.
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Filed Under: Gardening, Growing Tips, Pests & Diseases

Rabbits and Summer are Not Friends

Posted on June 24, 2011 · 1 Comment

This week we had a heat wave so it’s fitting to discuss rabbits and summertime before things really get into full swing. The summer is when you really have to keep an eye on your rabbits. They do great in cold temperatures. After all, they are covered completely with a nice thick coat – even the bottoms of their feet. This causes a problem, however, when temperatures get over 85 deg F.

If you have air conditioning and space inside, that’s the best place to keep rabbits. We don’t have either. Our house can get hotter than the outside temps so the best place for us to keep our rabbits is under the big oak tree in our backyard. Being on the north side of the tree allows them to have shade all day long. But this is definitely not enough on those really hot days.

One thing I’ve realized is that I pay a lot more attention to the weather forecast in the summer now. If the weather is expected to get over 80 deg F we start taking the necessary steps to insure the rabbits are comfortable. I keep an outdoor thermometer inside the hutch to help determine the temperatures we’re dealing with and whether it’s cool enough.

Our first line of defense is our misting system and fan. This can lower the ambient temperature by 15 degrees. You can sometimes find these systems at hardware stores, but I’ve had the best luck getting them online. When installing the misters you want to make sure the nozzles are pointed down, but away from your rabbits. The fan shouldn’t be on the rabbits directly but set up in a way that it doesn’t get wet and that it circulates the cooler air around the rabbits. You want them to cool the air without getting the rabbits wet. That thick fur can get waterlogged and when it’s warm it can make them a target for flystrike (warning: graphic). If we know the weather is going to be hot, we turn the system on first thing in the morning. It makes it easier to keep the temperatures down if you start early rather than coming in when it’s already hot and trying to cool the area down.

Our second line of defense are frozen 2L or 1/2 gallon water bottles. We had to make room in our freezer for them, which wasn’t easy. The rabbits like to lean on these and to lick them when it gets really hot. It’s important to use larger bottles because the smaller ones don’t stay frozen long enough. Also, it’s key to plan ahead as these can take a couple of days to freeze solid.

Rabbits can go into heat stroke quickly so it’s important to monitor them on those really hot days. If your rabbit is laying with it’s head thrown back, panting and flaring it’s nostrils it’s in the first stage of heat stroke and must be cooled down as soon as possible.  If there is moisture around it’s nose and mouth with the above signs, it’s gone into the second stage of heat stroke. If the moisture has run down the front of the rabbit, this is the third stage and you only have a 50% chance of saving the animal. If it’s gone into convulsions it’s in the final stage of heat stroke and should be humanely euthanized.

The best way to cool a rabbit (or any animal) that has heat stroke is to get that animal wet. Keep a bucket of water by your hutch. You want the water to be ambient temperature as cold water can throw the animal into shock. Dunk the rabbit making sure to get it’s ears wet, but not it’s muzzle. This gets the water down to their skin to help cool it faster. Be careful of using a hose because if it’s been in the sun all day it can come out extremely hot. In an extreme emergency, such as heat stroke, flystrike is the least of your worries so go ahead and get your rabbit wet. It’s when the animal is wet for long periods of time that you have to worry the most.

Of course an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure – so make sure you have the proper system to keep your rabbits cool.

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Filed Under: Livestock, Rabbit Health, Rabbits Tagged With:

Reader Questions – Baking Soda and Vinegar vs. Greywater

Posted on June 23, 2011 · 2 Comments

Once a month I’ll be answering your questions! Ask them in an email (if you want to be anonymous just say so) or just leave a comment – I’ll find them and answer them the best I can.

So here is one I found in our comments that I haven’t had a chance to answer…until now.

From Pamina:
…we are trying to do the bathtub to garden water thing, so have been leary of the baking soda & vinegar shampoo. It seems like that wouldn’t be good for the garden, no? Right now we use the oasis bio compatible soaps, but would love to switch to something more simple. 

I would think baking soda and vinegar would be fine in the garden. Did you ever do that experiment in elementary school with the volcano? You mixed vinegar and baking soda together and it bubbled out like lava. This reaction between vinegar and baking soda  creates CO2 (the bubbles), pure water, and a very dilute solution of sodium acetate. Since you’re already using a diluted amount of both baking soda and vinegar in relation to the amount of water you’re using in the shower the amount of sodium acetate would be negligible.

I did find this information regarding an alternative deicer that utilizes Sodium acetate:

The environmental impacts of Ice Shear™, an alternative highway deicer, have been evaluated using standard laboratory tests; biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) tests, chemical oxygen demand (COD) tests, acute rainbow trout bioassays, and phytotoxicity tests were used. Ice Shear consists of equimolar sodium acetate and sodium formate. The organic matter of the deicer can be readily degraded microbiologically in the natural environment with a slow rate of degradation at lower temperatures but an increased rate at higher temperatures. At elevated temperatures, highway runoffs of the deicer may reduce the level of dissolved oxygen in the receiving waters to cause an adverse impact. However, the apparent activation energy calculated for the BOD rate of Ice Shear is low (8.78 kcal mole−1), indicating that the temperature variation may not significantly influence the biodegradation of the deicer compound. Ice Shear appears relatively harmless to aquatic animals, showing a high 96-h LC50 value (16.1 g/L) derived for rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Ice Shear causes minimal toxicity to representative roadside vegetation; herbaceous (e.g., sunflowers, beans, and lettuce) and woody (e.g., pine seedlings) plants. Rather, the deicer at low concentrations (less than 2 g/kg soil) seems to work as a fertilizer, promoting the yield of biomass. The test results indicate that Ice Shear poses minimal environmental disturbance in both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.

So, in my opinion, the baking soda and vinegar should be a-ok for using.

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Filed Under: Gardening, Green Tips, Growing Tips, Pests & Diseases, Reader Questions

Growing Your Own Livestock Feed

Posted on June 22, 2011 · 5 Comments
Alfalfa and Orchard Grass

When you live in an urban environment it can be pretty much impossible to grow everything you need. I wish I had enough space to grow all the grains we need and all the animal feed as well. But we can’t – there just isn’t enough room.

But just because you can’t grow all of it, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t at least try to grow some of it. We have a fairly large area of fallow ground in our backyard. The reason we don’t plant it with crops is because it’s in between and behind our fruit trees.

This no-man’s land is perfectly suited for weeds, and boy, do they let me know. This year, however, we decided to seed it with various plants, including some forage for our livestock. I purchased some alfalfa and orchard grass seed from Peaceful Valley and spread it out last winter. Most of it was beat down by the weeds, but we did get some to pop up. Since both plants are perennials they will hopefully be back next year. I’m allowing them to go to seed so that they will spread.

Some other plants I’m working on bringing to the weed patch are mustard, oats, and wheat.

The alfalfa I seeded with was a semi-dormant type that was coated with mycorrhizae and calcium carbonate to help speed germination. You can plant it shallowly from fall, in mild climates, through to spring in colder regions. It will need summer irrigation if you live in a Mediterranean climate.

Because alfalfa is a legume (related to peas and beans) it fixes nitrogen – up to 200lbs of nitrogen per acre. It also offers habitat to beneficial insects and bees love it. While not shown here, ours just began flowering these beautiful purple flowers on spikes above the foliage. They have very deep roots so it works very well as a cover crop, bringing nutrients deep in the soil to the surface when turned in.

My hope is that eventually the wanted “weeds” will push out the noxious weeds that we can’t give to our livestock as forage. It may take a few years, but as long as I keep at it, good things will come.

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Filed Under: Gardening, Growing Tips

Flickr of Inspiration – Happy Solstice!

Posted on June 21, 2011 · Leave a Comment

sunflower, originally uploaded by mertcem.

I hope everyone gets to enjoy the Summer Solstice!

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