Category: Organic farming

Moving Forward in the Backyard and Beyond…

June 28, 2019 / cbaker11 / 0 Comments

Swiss chard growing in the garden.

It’s been an enlightening journey.

Initially, when I signed up for the ENG 304 class, I thought that I was going to blog about historical research. As I considered it though, I realized that my family was actually doing something that a majority of other residents in Saco are not. Perhaps it was worth blogging about! I also had numerous pictures and topics that I could share with readers.

I’ve learned numerous things.

While blogging and linking, I have read countless blogs to learn what others have to say about my topics. I have had to investigate a little deeper into subject matter and gain an improved understanding in order to clearly communicate issues to readers.

Red mulch sheeting for the tomatoes.

My enthusiasm for the backyard is re-energized.

I’m in the amazing city of Montreal, and all I want to do is be home with my family, working in the garden. I know the carrots and beets need thinning. I want to eat our fresh produce, feed our egg-layers, and see how much the broilers have grown.

By the time I get back, we’ll be placing red plastic mulch down on certain areas of the garden; especially for our tomatoes and peppers. The mulch absorbs sunlight and warms the soil and prevents weeds.

Since my last blog on compost, Joe has gotten inspired and we have purchased a compost rotator to improve the process. We are hoping that this tool will help us process the compost more evenly, quickly, and in larger quantities.

Thanks for sharing my journey.

We’ve discussed health benefits of a garden, how to regain an awareness or connection with our food, and soil testing. I’ve shared my burger recipe-I hope you will try it sometime! I’ve shown you that the backyard is an ongoing process of experimentation as we explore improved methods with our chickens, compost, and garden.

Now go interact with nature and grow something!

As Alena Hall states in her Huffington Post article, you really need to put down your cell phone now and walk outside. Step into an urban garden, plant some flowers in front of your house, or start some seedlings. Don’t forget to re-connect with nature! Mark Sisson, primal enthusiast, reminds us to get back to nature and Grok on!

Is Living Off the Grid Possible?

June 26, 2019 / cbaker11 / 0 Comments

Photo credits

Our family jokes about the zombie apocalypse quite often.

Perhaps Chrissy should stop watching Zombieland so much. However, we actually talk about what we would do if a natural disaster happened. If you had to survive through a natural disaster, how well would you hold up without modern conveniences? I think most people wouldn’t fare so well. Even in Maine, once word of a snowstorm hits, people are running to the store for milk and bread, as if they couldn’t sustain themselves for a day or two.

Our homesteading practices would help reduce the impact that certain disasters might present. We have a wood stove for heating and cooking purposes. The family works together to preserve our own produce for food storage. Our chickens lay eggs throughout the year.

How much further would it take to live off the grid?

These thoughts make me ponder if living totally off the grid, without reliance on any outside sources, could be possible. Imagine growing, storing, and preparing your own food. It would be a lot healthier than depending on the grocery store. Could you utilize a renewable energy source? It would be a huge amount of work-but would it be a fair trade to not run the typical “rat race” most Americans are running?

For the next few days, I’m in Montreal, Canada.

A view of Montreal from my hotel room.

So far, it looks a lot like a larger version of Portland, Maine, with taller buildings. I’ve been eating poutine and crepes. You would never think that a short distance away, people are living “off the grid”. As I Google search “live off the grid” in my hotel room, numerous articles pop up regarding how to live off the grid in Canada, why it isn’t possible for most Canadian citizens, and how to choose an alternate energy source if you’re really serious.

There are critics, but we may be forced to partially live off the grid anyway.

Many people are skeptical about the concept. Adam Ozimek, a Forbes contributor, argues that those that choose to live off the grid are hypocrites. He states that most benefited from society and have the economic means to now make a lifestyle change. He might be right. However, if society doesn’t find a way to make our population sustainable, we might have to live without the “necessities” as our resources are being depleted. Ed Essex, a contributor to Mother Earth News, talks about how living off the grid could achieve a happy medium.

What are your thoughts? Could you live off the grid?

Do you think this method of living could help combat climate change? Or is it just a pipe dream? I’d love to see what you think; please post below.

Backyard Progress Report

June 19, 2019 / cbaker11 / 0 Comments

In just four weeks, the backyard has transformed!

Garden on 5.26.19.

Garden on 6.19.19

Since my first post, spring has finally sprung (even though it is almost summer)! Our broiler chicks are almost five weeks old. The pitiful little patch of garden I showed you in my introduction video has been planted.

Joe built a new broiler chicken run.

The broiler chicks new run.

This year, we increased our typical flock of 10 chickens to 25, so our old chicken run was inadequate to accommodate the increased number of birds. Joe constructed the new run using a mixture of new and recycled materials. The broiler chickens do have a separate pen where they can run around, but the walls are not high enough to be secure. The new run will serve as a safe shelter for the remainder of their lifespan.

The new water distribution system.

Since the chickens drink massive amounts of water, Joe added another great feature. He installed a five gallon water distribution system, which took the chickens some time to get the hang of, but it is efficient.

The chickens transitioned into their new home.

Broiler chicks 5.30.19.

Broiler chicks 6.16.19.

If you remember some of my earlier pictures, we kept the chicks in a kiddie swimming pool in our back shed with a heating lamp. As it grew warmer and the chicks became bigger, we would bring them out once a day into the grass to roam and play. Once the new chicken run was built, we finally transitioned them fully outside.

Check out this blog post by Debra Ahrens, a poultry project leader for the Wisconsin, Kewaunee County 4-H organization. She discusses her techniques for raising boiler chicks, which mirror ours.

The seedlings have been transplanted to the garden.

This year, Joe is experimenting with a new technique, no till gardening. The concept is that tilling actually brings more grass seeds to the top, depletes nutrients, and lets precious carbon escape the soil. So this spring, besides having our egg layers break up the organic matter in the garden, we refrained from tilling. Kai Hoffman-Krull discusses how tilling is a contributor to global warming. In addition, implementing the no-till gardening technique is actually easier for the farmer: it’s a win-win!

Cara and Joe adding compost to the seedlings,

Prior to transplanting our seedlings, we lightly broke up the top garden soil, spread compost over it, measured our rows and used a pro-plugger tool to make holes in the earth. More compost was inserted to the soil, the plant was placed in the ground, and additional compost piled on the top.

Note: You will observe that there are no pictures of me working. I really do assist with the garden; at this point I was just busy taking the pictures!

Want to learn more? Here are some ideas to get you started:

Have you ever implemented new ideas in your garden?

I’d love to hear about them and if they were successful! Please share your experiences below-

Regain a Connection with Food

June 16, 2019 / cbaker11 / 0 Comments

Out of bananas for breakfast? Make a quick stop at the store.

It’s Wednesday and you realize you need to stop by the grocery store to pick up a few things. As soon as you walk through the automatic sliding doors you behold a wide expanse of a clean, modern store that boasts an abundance of ripe produce. Ok, well maybe the avocados or bananas are the exception; they’re usually green.

You may want to consider what you’re buying.

Have you ever wondered the process that the broccoli went through to be in the vegetable case? I know what you’re going to say…everyone knows there are huge industrialized farms in the U.S. that raise mass amount of vegetables or livestock. You’ve seen the videos: produce is picked by migrant workers, the livestock is confined, the fields are sprayed with pesticides. At some point, we have all been exposed to the truth regarding these horrible acts. Yet Americans still willingly visit the grocery store weekly. Why are we so quick to forget about how their food is sourced?

Maybe we just don’t want to think about it.

Ignorance is bliss. It’s tough to face the facts and realize that due to industrialized agriculture’s practices, we are poisoning ourselves, torturing animals and exploiting other human beings. How can consumers fight back against a toxic food industry that has been established for over 50 years?

We have to snap out of our oblivion and regain a connection with our food.

Cara eating okra from the garden.

There are many ways that we can start.

Visit your local farmer’s market– It’s the best way to witness farmers in your community growing their own food. I have asked many of them questions about their organic farming practices. All of the vendors I have encountered are passionate about their work, are open about their techniques, and want to educate others.
Support local farmers whenever possible– The more people purchase locally, the less the huge food retailers earn. It’s their massive gross income that creates a “monopsony”, where they can dictate the price they want to pay farmers. This stretches the farmers’ resources and reduces pay to laborers.
Grow your own food-I know we live in New England. There’s not a great growing season, but anything that we can produce that we don’t have to buy at the store counts.
Become more aware- There are amazing documentaries out there. Besides Food Inc, Unacceptable Levels, Food Chains, and Sustainable are eye-openers.

Here are some other great resources for you to check out:

Do you typically do most of your shopping at the grocery store?

How and where do you purchase your food? What are your reasons? I’d love to have you join the discussion!

Develop Your Own Greenhouse

June 8, 2019 / cbaker11 / 0 Comments

Maine’s climate doesn’t support a great growing season.

Just ask my long-haired chihuahua and she’ll tell you.

New Mexican chihuahua swimming in snow.

If we planted seeds directly in the ground once the soil was warm enough, we’d never get any produce. On the other hand, buying seedlings from a greenhouse or the farmer’s market is pricey. It is even harder to determine if they were grown from genetically engineered seeds.

Every late spring, we start planting our seeds inside.

The Baker girls planting seeds in 2008.

Joe has purchased seeds from expensive online seed distributors, small hardware stores, or big-box stores. The seeds seem to have similar quality results. However, he only chooses organic, non-GMO seeds.

We have experimented with different starter planting options, such as peat soil pellets and small planters. We found out the difficult way that the peat soil pellets are definitely the best method. After planting the seeds in the soil pellets, we place the plastic top on the tray and set them in our living room by the big picture window.

Once they sprout, we bring the trays to grow in our little greenhouse.

Seedlings to be placed in the greenhouse.

Our greenhouse has evolved over the years.

We don’t have a large space to store one inside our house, so we set it up in our unheated backroom/shed. The greenhouse is always a project to build. Each year Joe tries to improve upon its function and structure.

This is what it looked like in 2008:

Humble origins.

Originally the greenhouse was built upon wooden crates with two sets of dual fluorescent lights acting as a large grow light. Joe had constructed a wooden frame and wrapped it in plastic on the sides. This structure was designed so that it could be lifted easily to water the plants. A space heater sat inside to keep the seedlings warm.

Fast forward to 2019.

New and improved structure!

Joe wrapped the inside of the frame with reflective Mylar sheeting and obtained a professional T5 grow light. The structure is lifted by a pulley system to gain access to the plants without disturbing the light.

An electric thermostat placed inside controls a space heater to keep the temperature uniform. The lights are controlled by a timer to ensure that the seedlings are exposed to 16 hours of light every day.

Seedlings in late April 2019.

We love the results!

There’s a sense of accomplishment in achieving this task by ourselves. Our seedlings grow quickly and once we get them in our garden, there’s no stopping them!

Want to get started on your own unique greenhouse?

Here are some great articles with some amazing ideas . It doesn’t matter where you live or what your budget is:

https://balconygardenweb.com/easy-diy-mini-greenhouse-ideas-creative-homemade-greenhouses/

https://www.shelterness.com/diy-indoor-greenhouses/

https://www.littlehouseliving.com/how-to-build-a-mini-greenhouse-for-free.html

Do you currently have a greenhouse?

I’d love to hear from anyone that has a greenhouse, has suggestions, or could offer any tricks of the trade. Post below and join the conversation!

Avoid This Epic Garden Fail-

June 1, 2019 / cbaker11 / 0 Comments

It has taken us years to develop our organic gardening method.

Chrissy doesn’t seem to mind the overabundance of leaves.

Our family has found that we are constantly learning new processes that work for us…and we are still making mistakes! For instance, a few years ago my husband put raw leaves in the garden to break down over the fall and winter. Sounds okay, right? Well, the following spring we planted our seedlings and nothing grew. By dumping the carbon based leaves directly on the soil, they absorbed all of the nitrogen in the garden to break down, so our plants were nitrogen-deficient.

Your soil could be lacking nutrients.

Don’t be complacent and guess which fertilizers you might use: you’ll have a no show crop. There is an inexpensive and informative way to discover how you can maintain balance.

Opt for a testing service.

Our garden in spring of 2012.

We have found the best deal for the money is a service run by the University of Maine in Orono. A test will cost about $20. If possible, send your soil sample in the fall and you will find yourself prepared to add nutrients in the spring. You will need to specify if you are growing a regular or organic garden. A student will test the sample, and in a few weeks you’ll receive this handy report:

Review the deficiencies and correct them.

Our soil sample report from Spring 2017.

The report clearly presents what major and micro nutrients you need to add (or perhaps minimize) in your garden soil. The instructions tell you exactly what products you will need to supplement your soil to maintain an optimum balance. We have been sending a sample in every year and has helped us create the best possible results.

More information:

I highly encourage you to check out these resources to avoid common garden mistakes:

https://www.farmersalmanac.com/gardening-mistakes-34501

https://www.ourheritageofhealth.com/beginner-gardening-mistakes-avoid/

https://www.naturallivingideas.com/15-common-gardening-mistakes-everyone-makes/

Have you run into any garden obstacles?

I’d love to hear what you think about our garden fail story. Do you have experiences to share? Please post below!

The Great Chicken Debate-

May 30, 2019 / cbaker11 / 0 Comments

I was stunned when my husband suggested we raise chickens:

My reaction: “If you think I’m cleaning the coop, you’re crazy!”

My daughters’ reaction: “Finally…we get to own pets!”

Our broiler chicks on 5.30.19

Despite the cuteness factor (they don’t stay cute for long by the way), I started compiling a list in my head as to why we should not embark on this journey:

- Limited space- we only own 1/3 of an acre
- They’re dirty and smelly
- Cost considerations- coops and feed
- Protecting them from predators

This all happened about six years ago. Diligently ignoring my concerns (why is my family so good at that?), my husband Joe, and daughters Chrissy and Cara loaded up in the truck and went to the local feed store, Long Horn, and returned with eight egg layer chickens. To my dismay, the girls had immediately named the flock and to this day they swear they know who’s who.

Fresh eggs ready to be used.

Fast forward to the present: As a family, we all cooperate to take care of the chickens. We have plenty of fresh eggs. Besides the egg layers, we raise broiler chickens (otherwise known as meat birds) every year. My list of excuses proved correct: the chickens do take up space, they’re definitely dirty and smelly, predators have snagged a few, and raising chickens has not been beneficial to our pocket book.

So you might be surprised when I say that looking back over the past few years, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I encourage others to raise chickens. This is why it matters:

Respect: I never thought that I would be writing about respecting chickens, but evidently it is a new day. Like a majority of families in Maine, we eat meat. Regardless of our carnivore lifestyle, we do respect chickens as living things that deserve a high quality of life. Buying chicken breast at the grocery store may seem easier or the more humane option, but a majority of the food industry’s methods of manufacturing and harvesting chickens are atrocious. If more people raised their own birds for food consumption they could provide chickens a healthy diet, ensure that they are not cramped in crates, and let them truly free-range on the property as much as possible.

Egg layer chickens in front of their coop.

Chrissy comparing a double yolked egg with a regular sized egg both produced from our chickens.

Quality of meat and eggs: As I mentioned, when we feed our chickens we ensure that they are fed quality food and scraps, encourage them to wander in the garden to eat bugs, and don’t use any antibiotics during their lifespan. Therefore, the meat and eggs produced are already at a better standard than those offered in the mainstream market.

Benefits to the garden and lawn: My husband uses a corral system to change the areas where the chickens may roam. In the early spring, he sets up an impermanent fence in the garden where they can naturally till the soil, eat unwanted larvae, and consume seeds that were not broken down in the compost pile. These actions reduce plant diseases, insect infestation, and the amount of weeding later in the growing season. In the late spring throughout the summer, he corrals them outside the garden, where they can eat bugs and ticks on the lawn. Once the garden has been harvested, the chickens are again re-introduced, where they break up plant matter.

Want to get started?

Here are a few great resources:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/

https://www.marksdailyapple.com/a-beginners-guide-to-backyard-chickens/

https://homesteadersofamerica.com/basics-raising-chickens/

What is your stance on the debate?

Would you raise chickens in the suburbs? Why or why not? Share your thoughts by posting below!

May 26, 2019 / cbaker11 / 0 Comments

Earlier this month I noticed that it was National Garden Meditation Day…

Okay, I know what you are thinking- is this one of those silly insignificant holidays, such as National Tater Tot Day? Absolutely not; this day is definitely one holiday we should pay attention to!

National Garden Meditation Day’s concept is that spending time in a garden has significant stress reduction and health benefits. However on May 3rd, in Maine, hanging out in a lush green garden was only wishful thinking. Spring had not yet sprung.

Therefore, on this glorious Memorial Day weekend, I’m earmarking some time away from this blog assignment to work and breathe in our family’s organic vegetable garden. I figure that belated reverence to the holiday is better than letting it slip by unnoticed.

Even if I don’t have time to start weeding, I’ll take a walk around the yard and observe the growth progress of all the plants.

I will be honest though…I suppose the “lush green garden” idea is still wishful thinking. As you can see, our garden doesn’t look like much. The weather hasn’t cooperated, as it is still too cold to put our tomato and pepper seedlings in. But I won’t let that stop me. I am still going to make the most of it.

In the technological world we live in, society’s important connection with the physical earth is easily forgotten. We ignore our circadian rhythms. Who hasn’t been binge watching Netflix or catching up on GOT? We can’t escape work without ogling our laptop screens like zombies for at least 7 hours a day. Or mindlessly soaking in blue light as we stare at our cell phones? Does this look familiar?

Image result for digital zombies

One of the best ways to balance our awful habits is to unplug all devices and step outside.

Take some time working or just exploring in a garden, preferably barefoot. A few years ago, I would never have been caught without boots in the garden, but over time my opinion has changed. There is something powerful about the sensation of the soil linking you to the energy of the earth. It reminds us to take a deep breath and enjoy being part of nature. I challenge you to try it!

Don’t have a garden you say? No problem!

Here are a few ways that you can enjoy the same effect:

Create your own garden by planting some flowers or seedlings outside in pots or raised beds.
Walk barefoot on your lawn, breathe deeply, and reflect on your natural surroundings.
Check out a community garden near you!

As a busy individual of the UNE community, do you connect with the earth by gardening or interacting with nature?

Post a quick note to let others know how you would celebrate National Garden Meditation Day!