You should try one flat of your own this year...really, it isn't that difficult!

How To Easily Start Garden And Flower Seeds Indoors On The Cheap!

We start all of our ornamental pepper plants indoors. Here are our poinsettia peppers in mid summer bloom.

Our Sangria seedlings at the tender age of 4 weeks.  The low hanging lights allow them to grow steady and strong.

I think one of the most rewarding experiences for a home gardener is starting their own seeds indoors. For one, it’s an incredibly satisfying feeling to make a tiny seed grow into a beautiful plant for you and your family to enjoy. It also can be a tremendous cash saver – plants can be expensive when purchasing them all at your local greenhouse. Especially if you want to grow specialty or heirloom seeds that are hard to find.

We use a low-cost, simple set up to grow our seedlings indoors.  It has allowed us to expand our garden and landscape without breaking the bank.

Let’s start with a few, money saving tips of what you won’t need: Heating Mats and Specialty Lights.

It’s not that heating mats don’t work – they do. They help warm the soil and help to germinate seeds.  But unless you live in a 40 degree barn…normal room temperatures will work. It make a take a day or two longer to germinate than if you use heating mats – but the seeds will grow just fine.

There is also no need to waste big money on high-priced “grow lights” or bulbs with a special light spectrum for raising seedlings. They do have a place for certain types of special growing applications – but if your goal is to start and raise seeds indoors – a couple of good old-fashioned inexpensive flourescent “shop lights” work incredibly well. Most of us have a few already around the house.  If not, they can be had at your local hardware store for about $10 to $15, and can be used year after year. I am a big believer in the lights.  Yes, it’s true that you can use a sunny window of your house – but it’s hard to get seedlings to grow straight using natural winter sunlight from a window.  You need to turn them constantly – and the seedlings tend to grow thin and skinny trying to reach up for the light.

What you will need to start up to 4 flats of seeds indoors:

A couple of inexpensive double shop lights are more than enough to grow 4 whole flats of seedlings.

One (1) 32 quart bag of potting soil or seed starter mix.  We make our own from equal parts of our compost, sand and soil, but if your starting out, you can buy a good bag for around $10.  It will be more than enough to fill four flats and have some left over for next year.

Two (2) inexpensive dual-bulb 4′ flourescent shop lights. (4 bulbs total)  You can pick them up at your local hardware store for about $10 – $15 – and most all of them even come with little hooks and a chain for hanging over your plants.

Plants ready to head for the garden and landscape!

Four (4) empty flats with seed tray inserts.  (we like the 36 cell plant trays – the individual cells are big enough that you won’t need to transplant the seedling into anything else before they go into the ground)

A few blocks of scrap wood and two 5′ 2×4′s to hang your lights from.

Your seeds of choice.  Whatever seeds you use – make sure to label your flats with what you plant in them – it’s easy to get them mixed up as they grow into mature plants.  As for when to start your seeds – the back of each seed package will usually tell you the optimum time, however, a general rule of thumb is 6 to 8 weeks before planting outdoors.

The Process:

1. Fill your seed trays with soil mixture — pack lightly – you want the soil to be light and fluffy to allow room for root growth and water filtering through.   Moisten the soil –don’t drench.  You just want to have the soil wet to the touch – An empty spray bottle of water works great for the first few weeks of starting.

A young seedling emerges from the soil

2. Plant your seeds at a rate of 2 per space – preferably not on top of each other, but in slightly different areas towards the center. Each seed packet will tell you the depth that the seeds should be planted — most are about 1/8″ to 1/4″ inch deep. Planting two seeds ensures that you can get at least one seed to germinate in every space. Yes, you will have to thin later – but better to have too many than none at all! After planting your seeds, lightly moisten the soil again and then cover with a clear plastic sheet or lid and keep out of direct sunlight.

The seedling emerges with two full leaves – now is the time to thin

3. I know it sounds strange to put them out of direct sunlight – but covering them allows moisture to build up and helps to achieve optimum conditions for the seeds to sprout. You will most likely not have to water during this time — just make sure the soil remains moist.

By using clear plastic you can see when the plants  actually come up without taking off the cover and disturbing the plants and releasing the moisture.

Young seedling growing into a nice plant

4. Once you see 1-2 seedlings sprouting out of the soil, remove the lid and place onto a table or flat surface.   You can now set up your shop lights.  You want the lights to hover down about 1 to 2″ from the top of the plants.  We do this by putting blocks of wood at each end and running a 5′ 2×4 over all of the flats of seedlings.  We then simply screw a little hook into the 2×4′s and hang them with a little hook.  (usually included in the shop light kits)  When we need to raise the lights as the plants grow – we just add another block of wood to each end.  You will want to give your plants about 12 to 14 hours of light each day.  (For how to build a cool indoor seed rack stand on the cheap – check out our latest article here : Indoor Plant Rack Stand – On The Cheap)

Plants need to be “hardened” off to adjust to real light and temperatures before planting outdoors

You will also need to water more frequently now — most likely once a day – and as the plants grow in the coming weeks – you will continue to adjust those two lights to keep them at 1 to 2″ above the top of the plants. You want the soil to stay moist but not water logged.  This is also the time to start thinning to allow for one seed per container. If you have an empty cell, you can replant extra sprouts into the empty cells.  We just use a flat head screwdriver to lift out the extra seedling and plant into the empty cell.

The shop lights at such close range keep the seeds growing straight up and at a slower, stronger rate. One of the problems with using just direct sunlight is that the plants will get leggy as they reach to the light source. With the shop lights at such a close range..they grow nice and slow and develop strong roots and leaf structure.

After about 6 to 8 weeks – your plants will be ready to go. As the weather begins to warm – we will take our plants out onto the back porch to get some regular sun and start adjusting to the temperature and light. One thing to avoid is to take your plants directly from the shop lights and plant them in the yard – you want to give them time to adjust to sunlight and temperature – a process called hardening off. Usually by the end of March – we start to keep them on the porch longer and longer – and near the end – only bring them in or cover them if there is a threat of frost to get them ready for the great outdoors!

- Jim and Mary  

Everywhere I turn, someone is trying to get me to raise chickens...

8 Great Reasons You Should Raise Chickens In Your Backyard

Chickens are among the easiest of the “farm” animals to raise.

“I have always wanted to raise chickens!” – It’s a statement we hear at least once a week, and is usually followed quickly by: “is it difficult?”.

The truth of the matter is – chickens are one of the easiest “farm” animals to raise, and only need the basics to thrive : water, food, modest shelter and a little space to roam and scratch.  And don’t think you have to live on a farm to do it – chickens can thrive just as well on a small suburban or city lot as they do on a farm.

So if you are one of those that have been considering raising a few backyard chickens of your own and need just a little more encouragement – here are 8 great reasons to raise a few of your own.  But be fair warned – do it once and you will he hooked!

1.  The Obvious…Fresh Eggs!  On average – our chickens (we have Golden Comets) lay an egg six of the seven days each week.  And yes – they are so much better than store bought! They are larger, thicker shelled, and oh-so much tastier than store bought eggs.

The Chickens, are always a big hit with the kids!

2. Great Compost Material:   The chicken manure and straw that we clean from their coop is a main ingredient in our compost.  The high nitrogen level of their manure helps to heat up our piles quickly and provide tons of nutrients to our plants in the garden and landscape.

3. Organic Fertilizer: In addition to what goes in your compost pile – you can make an amazing liquid fertilizer simply by steeping some of that chicken manure or fresh compost in water.  It’s organic, works wonders, and is the best all-natural miracle grow solution you will ever use.   (See: Making Compost Tea)

4. Bug And Pest Control:  Chickens can devour countless insects such as aphids, ticks, cabbage worms and slugs – and can help keep damaging insect populations to a minimum. They also devour many of the larvae of insects that are laid in the top layesr of the soil – keeping year to year populations in check!

Nothing can beat the taste of a fresh egg!

5. Companionship:  Chickens really do bring their own friendly and fun attitude to the landscape.  As crazy as it sounds – they do develop their own personalities, and quite honestly – our little farm wouldn’t be the same without them!

6.  Ease of Ownership:  Chickens are extremely easy to care for! We spend on average 5 minutes a day to fill up the feeder – re-supply the water, and collect the day’s eggs.  In addition – about once a month – we will take and extra 15 minutes to clean out the straw in the coop and add to the compost bin – that’s it!

7. You Don’t Need A Rooster:  Contrary to popular myth – you do not have to have a rooster to have eggs.  Which also means you and your neighbors don’t have to be woken up at the crack of dawn by loud noises  .  Not that raising a rooster isn’t fun in its own right – but for those that live in the city and worry about noise – you can have a flock of happy hens without worry!

Our chickens are also a huge benefit to our garden through compost and organic fertilizer

8. Weed Control: Chickens are an incredible natural weed suppressor.  As they scratch and claw about – they are also taking in and eating thousands of weed seeds that have blown into the soil.  Gobbling them up keeps the following year’s weeds in check – and the garden nice and tidy.

So there you have it!  8 great reasons to keep a few chickens of your own in your backyard!  Beyond those great tasting eggs – you will be amazed at how much fun it can be!

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All from rain water...

Creating A Simple And Inexpensive Rain Water Collection System

100% of our watering needs are met using collected rainwater

Our barn’s metal roof is our supply of water for the entire farm

Visitors to the farm are usually surprised to learn that we water the entire garden and landscape with reclaimed rain water. Our system, which collects and stores rainwater from our barn’s metal roof, provides 100% of our annual watering needs. The best part, it was extremely easy to install, and can be inexpensively adapted to almost any home, shed or roof with a gutter.

We spent the past week hooking our tanks back up from winter storage – and within 24 hours  - we had just over 150 gallons stored from a single rain.  It’s been over a year now since we first completed the rain collection system – and I honestly don’t know how we survived without it.

It gives us access to free water, and with our two plastic tote tanks, can collect as much as 550 gallons from a single downpour.  And that’s only using rain from the back portion of the roof!  This spring, we will add a third tank fed by the front gutter – increasing our storage to just shy of 900 total gallons – enough to handle our watering needs for nearly two months of complete drought.

How it works:

Our system starts with the rain coming into simple gutters and downspouts

Through a simple in-line diverter – the rainwater is carried to our main capture tank

The water then empties into our main storage tank

We quickly filled almost 150 gallons from a single rain last week, the day after we hooked the totes back up.

A second tank sits above the garden for watering all of the plants with simple gravity and a hose

We connect a standard garden hose to the tanks with a simple threaded adapter

The system collects rain water from a simple adapter made to fit our existing barn’s gutter. The barn has a standard gabled metal roof measuring 13 wide’  x 32′ long on each side.  A  32′ section of guttering runs along the bottom of each side of the metal roof, slanted slightly to carry all of the water to the eastern side of the barn.   From there, both sides empty into standard downspouts.

The front downspout (not used currently), runs down and out to the field for normal drainage. On the back downspout however, we installed a simple 2-way in-line diverter (See Picture). When the metal lever is slid to the left, rain water is diverted into a 275 gallon storage tank located below the downspout. When all tanks are full, the switch can be slid back for normal drainage.

From the main storage tank, we pump and fill a second 275 gallon tank installed above our garden. With that, we can water all of our plants quickly, using gravity and a standard garden hose connected to the tank.

To increase capacity and mobility, we are adding a second diverter to the front gutter this year.  That will fill a 3rd tank mounted on wheels – giving us the ability to pull water anywhere it’s needed with our tractor.  That will be a huge time saver when it comes time to water the newly planted grapevines and fruit trees on the hill this year.

Here is a look at the system’s components and cost:

Totes: $40 each  We found ours for $40 each after searching on Craigslist.  You can also check with local food plants that may receive their raw materials in them.  One word of caution – make sure you know what was originally in your tanks and that it is safe.  Our tanks were used to hold maple syrup and molasses – simple food products that can be cleaned out and re-used.  You will want to avoid using tanks that held harsh chemicals. Most tanks come with a 6″ threaded cap on top, and a 2″ threaded outlet valve at the bottom.  You can convert the bottom 2″ valve to accept a standard garden hose with a few adapters found at your local hardware store.

Diverter Switch :  $15  You can find standard gutter diverters at your local home improvement store for about $15 – they install in minutes with rivets or screws.

Threaded Valve and Hose Adapter: $15 Your local plumbing or hardware store can hook you up with a simple threaded connection valve to convert the 2″ drain at the bottom of your tank to handle a regular garden hose.  We also installed a ball valve ($10) on our tank for an extra shut off point.

A couple of final notes on collecting and using rainwater:

Keep It Dark:  You will want to keep the water from getting direct sunlight to keep algae from growing in the stagnant water. Algae can only grow if there is light.  If your tank is translucent like ours, you will want to cover it.  We use a black covering like a grill cover to cover them up once the sun and algae become a problem. Not only does it dress it up, but it keeps the water and the flow line crystal clear.  For the pictures here, we have the covers off to show the tanks.

Keep It Covered: No matter what system you use to store your water, you will want to keep closed.  Water that sits is an open invitation to mosquito larvae .  Our totes came with 6″ caps and lids on the top.  We simply cut out the hole for the downspout, and then sealed the edge with some inexpensive foam.

Know What To Use The Water For:  We only use our reclaimed water for watering plants or washing off equipment ,etc.  Since we do not treat it in any way, we do not use it for drinking.

Check to make sure your allowed to collect rain water.  Although it sounds crazy, in some states out west you are not allowed to collect rain water, as the water rights still belong to the state.  So to be on the safe side, check with your local or state government to make sure it’s legal where you live.

Happy Gardening!! - Jim and Mary

Have to remember this for next year's garden...

Chili Powder and Chili Seasoning Recipe – Make Your Own In Minutes

Chili made with homemade chili powder and chili seasoning.

Are you still buying those individual packets of chili seasoning?  Or do you know how long that bottle of chili powder has been sitting in your spice cabinet?  Don’t worry – we used to buy those packets and to be quite honest, I am sure that bottle of chili powder has been in our pantry for at least 2 years. Scary when you think about it….

Chili powder made in minutes from dried peppers from the garden.

We all know that you can’t beat the use of fresh ingredients in anything you cook.  But not many people think of making their own chili seasonings.  Fall is the perfect time to gather those last few peppers in your garden and make a spice that you can use throughout the fall and winter.  It is actually quite easy and takes less than 15 minutes.  You can even personalize it and make a couple of versions to adjust the heat level based on your target audience.

For this year’s chili cook off out at the farm, we have made our own chili powder and homemade chili seasoning that is way better than any store-bought version, and of course, much healthier.  After tasting it in a fresh batch of chili, it is guaranteed to be a crowd favorite!

*As always, use caution when handling peppers – wear gloves and process in a well ventilated area.

Chili Powder Recipe

Dried cayenne peppers add a nice kick to chili powder

Ingredients:
 9-12 dried peppers – stemmed and seeded

Chinese lanterns have an excellent flavor perfect for chili

*This is where strict following recipe lovers get frustrated.  I don’t put specific peppers here because it will depend on what you have available in your geographical area.  Most standard recipes call for 3 ancho peppers (dried poblano peppers), 3 cascabel chiles – also known as the little bell, and 3 arbol chiles (or substitute cayenne peppers).  

We use whatever we have in our garden that year but you can also buy a variety of dried chile peppers at a local or international market.  The key is to have a variety of peppers that produce a variety of flavors and heat. 

       Our mixture this year consists of these peppers from our garden that we dried:

3 hot banana peppers
3 mini belle peppers
2 super cayenne peppers
3 chinese lantern peppers
1 chipotle pepper

Whole cumin seeds are easy to find wherever you buy spices.

2 tablespoons of whole cumin seeds
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon oregano
1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Instructions:

1. Remove the stems of the peppers and most of the seeds.

Toast cumin seeds with the dried peppers for approximately 4-5 minutes.

2. Place all of the peppers and the cumin into a medium nonstick pan and place over medium-high heat. Cook, moving the pan around constantly, until you begin to smell the cumin toasting, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Set aside and cool completely.

Process cooled peppers and ingredients in a food processor until it develops a fine powder.

3. Once cool, place the peppers and cumin into a small food processor or blender. Add the garlic powder, oregano, and paprika. Process until a fine powder is formed.

*Allow the powder to settle for at least a minute before removing your lid.

Store in an airtight container for up to 6 months. – makes approximately 3/4 cup.

Chili Seasoning Mix

Ingredients:

Add chili seasoning ingredients into a bowl and mix with a fork.

*Equals one packet of chili seasoning

1 tbsp flour
2 tbsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp chili powder (recipe above)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin

Homemade chili seasoning ‘packet’ ready to be added to the chili

Instructions:

1. Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix with a fork

2. Store in an air tight container for up to 6 months. (yes, it’s that easy!)

Enjoy!

The garden may be finished for the year but that doesn't mean we have to be through canning....this is SIMPLE!

Simple Homemade Chicken or Vegetable Stock Recipe – Can or Freeze

Homemade chicken stock cooling and ready for storage in the canning pantry

SNOW???? In October???  Yes, it is hard to believe that Jim and I were out in the garden this past weekend picking our last green and sweet bell peppers and 3 days later it is was snowing on the morning drive to work!  I guess it isn’t that surprising – we do live in Ohio. Like the old saying goes, if you don’t like the weather here, stick around a day or two, it will change.

The stock simmering in the pot

This week’s cold weather got me in the mood to make old-fashioned comfort food. Chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes, rustic chicken noodle soup, potato soup….you get the point.  As the temperature decreases, the need for stock increases. That doesn’t mean go to the grocery and open a box or can and pour it in.  I am talking about pure homemade broth made from the leftovers in your kitchen.  It is one of the easiest canning recipes that you can make!

Save those vegetable scraps in your freezer until you are ready to make the stock.

This week was a perfect time to pull out those lonely celery stalks, scraps of onions and carrots, and even the garlic scapes that have been taking up room in the kitchen freezer for the last month.  Use as many vegetables as you want to make a vegetable stalk, or if you have leftover chicken bones, throw those in for traditional chicken broth. Although you can freeze stock – today I wanted to use my pressure cooker one more time – a sort of send off to the canning season - and also save valuable room in our freezer!  Can’t wait to bring it back out in the spring!!!!

Homemade Chicken ( or Vegetable) Stock Recipe

Makes approximately 4 quarts

Ingredients:

Vegetable scraps – celery, onion, carrots, etc…
Chicken bones/parts (omit if making vegetable stock)
Salt
Pepper
Parsley

**amounts not specified because it depends on what you have on hand, and how your like your stock.  Ours never turns out the same but it is always delicious and flavorful!

Instructions:

Making stock is a great time to use up all of those leftover veggy scraps!

1. Place all ingredients into a large stock pot and cover with water

***Option – Place all ingredients in a crock pot and cover with water

2. Bring to a boil and simmer for at least 4 hours

***Option – Place crock pot on low and let heat through overnight (10-12 hours)

Straining the chicken stock

3. Strain liquid in another large pot and bring back to a boil.

4. Place liquid in heated and sterilized canning jars – add a heated lid and ring and place in pressure canner.

5. Follow your instructions for your pressure canner and process quart jars for 25 minutes at 10 lbs of pressure (altitudes less than 1,000 feet), and pint jars for 20 minutes.

***Option – if you don’t have a pressure canner don’t worry – you can still freeze your broth — Just place cooled broth in a freezer safe container.  Check out how we froze ours here.

Enjoy!