Homesteader News

Maggie and Glenn Crawford homestead an 18 acre family farm in central NH, where they raise heritage breed chickens, turkeys, rabbits, sheep and pigs. Glenn’s family has lived off the land for generations, his grandfather was a master carpenter and Maggie has a strong background in science; between the two they’re always planning do-it-yourself projects around the farm. In an effort to create an environmentally friendly homestead, as well as use resources wisely and economically, the pair often salvages old odds and ends to construct new farmstead projects.

Contact info: maggiemaefarm@gmail.com

A Hose Chair

By Maggie Mae Crawford

Maggie Mae Farm

When a rubber hose from an air compressor or a garden hose develops cracks and leaks, very often they are simply discarded. Here’s a novel idea – use that old hose and make a comfy chair! It feels like sitting on rubber bands. The trick is to have a narrow enough spacing and a tight-enough weave so that your weight is evenly distributing across as many lengths of hose as possible, which will in turn evenly distribute the stress on the hose, preventing sagging and long-term deterioration.

Once you’ve found an appropriate hose, approximately 45 feet long, and the rest of your materials (some wood glue, screws, 4 threaded rods, washers and nuts) you’re ready to build the frame. The two L-shaped pieces that comprise the sides of the chair are made out of single piece of 3/4" plywood, cut from a 2' x 2' sheet. The specific dimensions are unimportant, as they can be changed to fit your tastes. The angle is obtuse, roughly 100 degrees (larger if you want a more reclining style of chair.) Ensure the pieces are at a minimum 4” at their narrowest point, to provide adequate strength.

Cut the leftover wood into four equal pieces to create the four legs. If you would like a taller chair just cut longer legs out of an additional piece of wood. For stability, both wood glue and screw the legs to the inside of the L-shaped pieces.

Next measure the diameter of the hose as well as its total length. A little fifth grade math is required to calculate the spacing of the holes for the hose based on how long the hose is, i.e. how many back-and-forths the hose can make before you run out. The more runs you have, the better your weight will be distributed. This increases the life of the chair as well as makes it more comfortable!

Mark your holes so that the edge of each is at least 3/8" below the edge of the plywood. Make the diameter of each hole 1/16" to 1/8" larger than the hose to allow for movement. When cutting, go partway through the wood from one side, then flip it over and drill the rest from the backside. This prevents the wood from chipping and making ragged, splintered holes.

Lay out four sets of holes for threaded stabilizing rods; one at each end of the "L", one at the crook of the "L", and one connecting the back legs near the bottom. For a more finished appearance, countersink the washers and nuts.

Before threading the hose, do any sanding, painting or staining to give the chair a custom look.

Pin the hose at one end with a screw and a washer. Then simply "sew" up the sides. It is critical to pull the hose as tight as possible. Over time the rubber will stretch and sag, so pulling tightly now will minimize any future droop. Once completely woven, pin the end with a screw and washer, just as you did at the beginning.

Finally - sit down and enjoy!

Building a Cold Frame

By Maggie Mae Crawford

Maggie Mae Farm

Cold frames are an essential tool for gardeners who live in climates with short growing seasons. They can give you an early jump on the spring garden, or extend the season by protecting tender plants from fall frost. A simple yet functional cold frame can be built using a few boards and an old window.

First thing to consider before building your cold frame is the location. Ideally it should be south facing to optimize warmth and sunlight. Since the frame is open bottomed and the plants are set directly into the ground, soil and drainage should also be taken into account.

Once you’ve found the right location, it is time to build. Find an old window frame with the glass intact. Any size window will do as you will build the frame to fit the dimensions of your window. A long narrow window is preferable for providing a large area for planting, but not so deep that you have to stretch to reach the back of the box.

Measure your window and create a simple four sided frame out of four pieces of lumber and woodscrews. The better the wood the longer your frame will last, but scrap pieces salvaged from other projects work well. Don’t use pressure treated or painted wood as the chemicals can leech into your soil and poison your plants! The back of your frame should be several inches taller than the front.

Once your frame is built, set your window on top. If you’ve done all your measuring correctly, the opening should be completely covered by the window. Attach the window to the high side of your frame using heavy duty hinges. These hinges will allow easy access to the plants, and by having a few wooden blocks on hand you can prop the window open on warm days to provide ventilation.

Finally prepare the soil as normal, providing plenty of compost. Set your cold frame over the prepared bed and start planting! The cold frame will supply, in many climates, greens all winter long. In temperate climates it will protect tender seedlings from spring frost and provide added shelter in the fall. All in all, it is a very simple and inexpensive way to extend the growing season!

Containerized Growing with the EarthTainer^TM

By Maggie Mae Crawford

Maggie Mae Farm

Once upon a time, unless you lived in the desert, water was considered an unlimited resource. Today, even in temperate regions, more and more people are recognizing that clean, potable water is a limited commodity and are finding ways to better utilize a finite resource.

Traditional in-ground planting and subsequent “broadcast” watering is both inefficient and wasteful. Water is lost to evaporation and weed competition. This means the garden needs more water to satisfy the plants as well as more labor intensive weed control and cultivation.

Ray Newstead, a home gardener of heirloom tomatoes in Campbell, California has designed an innovative self-contained vegetable growing eco-system that he calls the “EarthTainer^TM”. This container-based system combines the traditional soil-based growing cycle with elements of hydroponic moisture uptake to the plants for sustainable, organic gardening.

Unlike manual top watering the EarthTainer utilizes a bottom up watering approach based on the basic principle of capillary action. Water stored in the lower reservoir is wicked up into the soil; by providing a constant supply of water from the reservoir, the plant can achieve optimal growth and productivity by taking up what it needs when it needs it. In addition, a simple vapor barrier at the soil level minimizes moisture lost to evaporation.

Creating the EarthTainer is both easy and relatively inexpensive, the base materials, if purchased new, cost approximately $30.00 at your local hardware store. More than likely a thrifty person can come up with a respectable portion of the parts list lying around in the back shed or garage! Very simple, step-by-step instructions can be found for free here: http://earthtainer.tomatofest.com/pdfs/EarthTainer-Construction-Guide.pdf. (The author does make the simple request that if you do use these design plans to build your own EarthTainer, to make a voluntary contribution to the “Feed the Children” organization www.feedthechildren.org)

While Newstead designed the project for growing tomatoes, by omitting the support cages the system can easily be used to grow all sorts of vegetables and herbs. Container gardening is universally recognized as an excellent choice for backyard gardeners with space and time restrictions. Why not give the EarthTainer a try?

One Man’s Junk is Another’s Treasure

By Maggie Mae Crawford
Maggie Mae Farm

What looks like a pile of trash to one person, looks like raw materials to another. This fall we had a bunch of recycled cinderblocks and an over abundance of empty paper grain bags. While some thought a trip to the dump was in order, I was thrilled to see a disassembled strawberry bed.

Raised beds are a phenomenal way to garden – they reduce soil compaction and can be intensively planted to save precious garden space. If built properly, they have better drainage, warm the soil earlier and are easier to maintain and control soil conditions and weeds.

First we needed to decide how large the bed could be using the building blocks we had on hand. Frames can be built using cement blocks, timbers or other sturdy material. Timber framing is easy to use, but be careful not to use pressure treated lumber than can leach chemicals into your soil. Cinderblocks or bricks are sturdy and safe, but heavy and take more work to place. We built our frame two blocks high. The landscape contours a little and so do our walls. If you have the time and energy, you could grade the area you are using to make sure the frame is completely level.

Next we laid the empty grain bags down right over the lawn. The paper bags will help kill off the existing grass and will eventually break down and add organic material to the soil. Many people will use old cardboard or newspapers for the same purpose. Just avoid glossy magazines that can have heavy metals and chemicals that may contaminate your soil and anything you grow in it.

Finally it was time to fill the frame. Since we started this project in the fall, we designed it as a lasagna or sheet mulch bed. Using the right materials, this bed will be full of high quality, organic compost, and will be ready to plant the following spring. First we put down a layer of old straw. You can use mulch hay if that is what you have available as the heat from the compost should kill off any seed heads. However, straw is recommended so that viable weed seeds don’t slip through if the compost does not get hot enough.

Next we laid down a layer of dried leaves and fresh (pesticide free!) grass clippings. Some people chop their leaves prior to placing to help speed the process, but we left them whole. We ended up with mostly maple and ash leaves. If you live in an area where soil tends towards acidity, like we do in New England, try to avoid oak leaves or pine needles as these will lower the pH of your soil. In the spring, should it be too acidic, we’ll add wood ash from our woodstove to sweeten the soil.

Finally, we put down a generous helping of aged farm manure. We heaped it in a great mound; as the straw and leaves decompose the pile will shrink and settle in to fill the frame more levelly.

Since the manure came from our farm, we can be confident that there are no antibiotics or hormone traces in it. According to the Ohio State University Extension, Department of Horticulture and Crop Science the Nitrogen value of manure is highest in poultry at 27 lbs/ton. There is a decrease in value from sheep/goats (22.5 lb/ton), to hogs (14.2 lb/ton), and finally the value from cattle manure decreases 63% less than the average laying hen at only 10 lb/ton.

While it isn’t necessary to the decomposition process, we covered our bed for the winter with tarps to keep out rain and snow. We didn’t want moisture to pool in the holes in the cement blocks and then freeze and crack them. As soon as the snow is gone in the spring we’ll uncover the bed and let the sun warm the soil. The cement should hold the spring warmth and allow for an earlier planting.

Not bad for a bunch of recycled “junk” – while the neighbors are spending the morning driving to the dump, we’ll be eating fresh strawberries!