General Update-091107

Today I built the first nest box for the fryer cages. I just duplicated the other nest boxes except they are 24" wide vice 12". I had to add another hinge to the roof due to the length but other than that, the same. I still need to add the screen to the bottom of it and mount it. Which reminds me, I need to add the mounting support for both upper and lower cages.

I just bought a book on raising rabbits and chickens on less. It is called oddly enough, "Keeping Poultry And Rabbits On Scraps" by Claude Goodchild and Alan Thompson. It is interesting because it was written in 1941 and references pre and post war issues and their solutions. Mr. Goodchild writes the first half and is an expert in poultry, and the rabbits portion is written by Mr. Thompson. Its a small book, an easy read and I can recommend it.

I will may not work on the rabbitry this weekend since this Saturday is our aquaponics workday, but when I continue I will mount the support scaffolding and continue to make nest boxes.

In the garden where the cabbage, garlic and acorn squash, everything is looking fairly well. I may have planted the cabbage too early since the cabbage worms have ravaged my green cabbage. The red cabbage must be a slower grower since it still doesn't have many leaves. On the other hand it is not being attacked by any worms which I find immensely interesting!

The garlic is sprouted, and the acorn squash is taking over my garden! I thought perhaps I wouldn't get much of a yield because of the recent cold weather, and lack of pollinators, and the flower hidden by the large green leaves, but I was wrong. I have many squash all from three plants which I think have been pollinated mostly by Bumble Bees.

I am still harvesting Cayenne, Bell, and Jalapeno peppers. Somehow I must remember to try planting all these late in the Summer and comparing the yield. The tomatoe plants are doing OK, not fabulous but seem healthy. I am concerned about the same pollination issue as the squash but will be patient. All are being watered as I write by Tropical Storm Ida. She was downgraded earlier from a Category 1 hurricane.

I think some of the plants slowness is the lack of fertilizer in the raised beds where the tomatoes live. I have used my own compost, as well as some "store bought" composted manure. All this is why they look fine but the lack of synthetic fertilizers are perhaps the reason they don't "look" like a picture from "Southern Living" magazine.

All the fruit trees are still in good shape. I have a dozen or so figs on my two Fig trees. I found some indoor plant food outside, left over from one of Gail's house plant fertilizing jaunts, and scattered it around all the plants. This rain will help disperse it, or wash it away!

Tony
Cantonment, 2009

General Update-090906

I think I must be the worst blogger in all bloggerdom. I should be taking pictures as I work on the farm so that I can show before and after but I simply find myself out working and not thinking about later when I blog. Something I need to work on for sure!

Yesterday I managed to plant two types of tomatoes, two types of cabbage (green and red), 4 acorn squash plants, and some garlic. As usual I bought too much garlic. One bulb breaks down into like 15-20 cloves, each one to be planted. I bought two packs each with three bulbs, enough to give Gilmore, CA a run for their money!

I went to Lowes earlier and bought two bags of topsoil and one bag of peat/humas for each of three raised beds. Thi8s adds bulk to the beds and adds nutrition. I had previously added a little triple 13 to each bed so I think that will last for a bit.

I also worked on the chicken yard, hanging wire- which was a pain! Wearing gloves helps but wearing gloves hinders holding the poultry nails. I will need at least one more large rold of 1" chicken wire to finish, possibly two since I am also doing the roof.

As far as the roof I had originally thought to run wires on a turnbuckle the length of the yard to support the netting but I found two warped 2"x4"s and thought I would use them instead. I still need to add a 1"x2"x8' and replace a 1"x2"x4' with one that's 6' long. These are the top and second from the top rungs of the ladder/perch respectively. I'm still thinking about adding another covered perch to the far end of the chicken yard. Also, I think I will need to add a board running along the length of the yard to give a surface to nail the bottom of the wire to and also to keep animals like raccoons from pushing underneath the wire.

I thought I could make the shelter big enough that it could be a perch but also a place for the chicken waterer and feeder to hang. I will reread my chicken book but it seems to me that the feeders and waters are also located IN the house. Also, I wondering about a door to the ramp. I mean if the animal can get through the 1" fencing of the yard it can get through the one inch fencing of the house I think.

Tomorrow I will either work on the pellet trays in which case I will need to get 4- 1"x2's and 2- 2"x2"s, or I will get some more chicken wire and see if I can finish the chicken yard.

I was also thinking that I will build a stand at the far end of the rabbitry and sit the wire cage I have. This can be for my experimental bunny I feed dehydrated veggies and hay to. If I built the stand correctly I could use the underside for storage. The wire cage is a commercial cage about 3'x3'x2' and has a galvanized metal tray beneath it.

Mark Ns family has a lemon tree that has giant lemons on it, seriously the size of green softballs. Perhaps I could get some clippings and try to grow some myself. I noted that Lowes is selling blueberries and blackberries again, and their stock of fruit trees is back up. I might get a few more bushes but I think I will wait on the Spring to purchase and plant anymore trees to avoid a cold weather kill. I would like to get a couple kumquats which I will prune to around 4' and keep them bushy.

Tony
Cantonment

General Update-090904

Today when I got home I cleaned out the two 4'x8' raised beds in the front yard and the long raised bed on the West side of the house. I sprinkled some 13-13-13 on all the beds then turned the soil. I decided to pick up a couple of bags of top soil for each bed but when I got to WalMart they had no top soil so I will wait until tomorrow when I go to Lowes.

I found it interesting that in one of the beds was full of large very active earthworms. It was obvious that the worms liked the soil that was rich in organic material. The soil was full of un-rotted compost. By next Spring my compost should be ready and I will add it to the raised beds.

After I get the top soil I will plant the tomatoes and squash plants then move on to the rabbitry though I may also need a small drill bit. I might also get some 2"x4"s to put together some saw horses to help with the manure trays. Also I will spend a couple minutes on the chicken coop ladder and planning the other nest box. I will also spend some time putting up chicken wire on the chicken yard. I will need to saw off the end posts to the same length.

Tony
Cantonment

An Introduction To Intracyclic Dynamics

The idea of intracyclic dynamics is very old, ancient in fact. It involves creating sustainable cycles of food production, then finding ways to integrate the cycles into each other. Perhaps the best way to describe it is by using an example:

> A rabbitry is built. It house 2 breeding pairs of rabbits. The rabbits eat vegetables and hay and produce meat and fur, they excrete high nitrogen manure that is caught on trays positioned below the cages.
> At some interval the manure is collected and placed in a composte pile and a worm bed. The composte is ammended and amps up the nutrition value of the composte with nitrogen and trace minerals, and the worms in the worm bed eat the manure and produce a highly prized soil enricher.
> The composte can be used to suppliment the worm's diet, and it can be used to amend vegetable garden soil. It can be used to make "tea" and used to feed any other plants as a spray or from a watering can. The worm castings can also be used as a highly nutritious soil ammendment for plants.
> Some of the vegetables are harvested, used raw or dried, to feed the rabbits. The tops and unused leaves and stems can be fed into the composte pile, while the nutritious parts can feed the rabbits. The worms can be supplied to the garden to benefit the soils, as well as used in an aquaponics system to feed the fish.
> The fish are harvested and a small portion dried, ground and added to the rabbit food to increase the protien portion of the rabbits diet.
> The some of the rabbit offspring are harvested and their intrails are fed back in the composte pile.
> There might also be a water catchment system that both waters the rabbits, worm bin and garden, though not to much feedback applies to it.

As you can see the individual cycles are established then interlinked to support a more effective total outcome. The human, or steward, taps the cycles to feed and cloth himself. The more cycles you can establish the more you can possibly interlink to create a richer and healthier environment. As I stated before, to some extent our ancesters-maybe as close as our fathers, grad fathers or great grandfathers lived this way though I suspect they never had a need to write it, it was probably established in them from an early age. Spreading manure on the hay fields, harvesting the hay and feeding it to the cattle which make more manure is an early example.

Though enjoying its own philosophy and methodology Permaculture is very much like this- utilizing and combining natural processes (cycles) to effect a positive multiplying effect on the whole.

I beleive that with some preplanning and work an entire farm could be developed using this intracyclic dynamic. I will supply some diagrams at another posting.

Tony
Pensacola

General Update-090903

Today I was able to place one row of chicken wire down the back side of the chicken yard. It amazes me how difficult poultry nails can be to hammer in. Its never about a flat board on a hard surface. I had to bend over and hammer in the nail while stretching and placing the chicken. I think I may only need one more role of chicken wire, maybe two with the roof. I think I will use the turnbuckle and wire support for the roof.

I also bought 6 tomato plants, three Celebrity's and three... Sundowners, something like that, and four Acorn squash plants. I also have a packet of squash seeds I will put out too. I think I'll put the tomatoes in the front raised beds, and the squash in the raised bed on the side of the house. These will be easy to clean and plant, though I'll need to use some fertilizer. I hope the tomatoes will produce outside the normal bug life cycle.

This weekend I will try to get all the chicken wire I have up, and build the rabbit pellet trays. Maybe even jack-up and fix the roof. I need will need a couple straight 2"x4"x8' boards and some 3" exterior screws, and my jack. For the rabbit trays I will need to buy another gallon of tar though I think I have the needed wood.

A thing I learned recently is not to store boards standing up. I think it makes them warp. Store the flat; horizontal.

I was also thinking recently, after the success of my new gate made from 1"x2" s that I might make 8' sections of fence the same way... basically a 2"x4" on each end, a 2"x2" on the top and bottom and 1"x2" boards spaced out at around 4" running in between. I could eventually replace the interior wire fences and ugly green metal poles. Its something to think about, after I fix the things wrong on the house this Fall/Winter.

Tony
Cantonment

Beginning Summary

To Begin With:
I have less than half an acre but my plan is to raise chickens for eggs and meat, rabbits for meat, fish for meat, fruits and vegetables. This post will summarize where I'm at and what I have planned. Future posts will be updates as to my status and observations.

Chickens:
I have built a 4'x8' chicken house made almost exclusively from chicken and welded wire. My theory is that in North West Florida the heat is the predominant factor so the floor is 1/4" welded wire supported by 10 gauge wire connected to turnbuckles so it can be tightened as needed. I have chosen to raise bantam (small) chickens so I built the nest box 10"x10"x8', a 8' long ladder made from 1"x2"s allows entrance as well as acts as perches. I am not comfortable with letting the chickens roam around the yard so a 4'x16' chicken yard will be built to allow the chickens to move around while being protected by animals. I still need to figure out the the placement of feeders and waterers.
I hope to select hens that are both good layers and brooders. The laying attribute is obvious but because of my limited time I need the hens to raise their own young. I will research the best overall breed prior to ordering. I would like to get a rooster, and have cleared it with my closest neighbor, but wonder how long we will need to get use to it's incessant vocalizations! On the other hand I can then have the possibility of new chicks. I hope to install the new chickens by the Fall of 2009.

Rabbits:
I have constructed four 2'x2'x8' cage frames. They are all use 2"x2" lumber covered with 1/2" welded wire. Two of the frames are divided into two cages each making four cages total. These are the breeder cages. And two of the cage frames are divided into 3 cages each making a total of 6 cages I will be using for "fryer" cages- a place to fatten the young rabbits.
The cage frames are stacked in twos between buried 4"x4" posts with a isle running between the two stacks. Each stack is roofed with leftover roofing shingles. I have a slight bow in the roofs due to a miscalculation as to the weight of the shingles but I will be correcting this. Trays are mounted below each cage to collect the feces for composting.
The cages are competed and only need to be furnished with nest boxes, feeders and water bottles.
I want to order something other than New Zealands, or Floridians (white rabbits). I will try to get my breeders installed in the Fall of 2009. I intend to have two breeding pairs.

Catfish:
I have been working on an Aquaponics project with another group called Sustainable Missions (see their FaceBook/MySpace accounts) so I plan to duplicate a smaller version of this system on my microfarm. I have a small aquaponics model on my front porch that has been supporting several goldfish for a few months. I grew jalapeno peppers in the grow bin with no extra effort from me.
I have a 400 gal poly tank and will need to build some grow bins as well as a sump prior to installing the fish and planting the bins.

Fruit Trees:
I planted two grapefruit trees this year in 2008 and will probably not produce anything for a couple years. I also planted two Santa Rosa plum trees that may bear something next year, as the figs might do since they have already produced several figs already. I have determined that I will top these trees when they get around 12' so they will not become a problem for storms and hurricanes.
I also planted 6 blueberry bushes of three types. A local blueberry grower told me to pull the blossoms from the bushes for the next couple of years so the growth will go into the bush.
I hope to add a couple more citrus trees (lemon and Satsuma), then either peaches or apples. I may also plant some strawberries in some unusable areas like fence rows.

Vegetables:
This year I dug and tilled several long rows about three foot wide. I purposefully left the grass between the rows which in the end caused trouble by allowing weeds to invade the rows. Since I have limited time to pull weeds, and my family is not 100% on board with the microfarm, I will need to develop and better system. I will be building formal raised beds using 2"x10" lumber and weed-block fabric on the bottom. I will also integrate a PVC watering system into the new plan.
Once the beds are built the tops can be built; plastic for early season plants (green house), insect screens, or shade. The beds will be filled with a fertile mix of my own compost and purchased soil amendments. Other than the weeds I neglected soil preparation this year and had limited success in the new beds. This should not be a problem once I begin composting the animal manure.
As far as crops I will be sticking to the old standards, but I will plant some root crops to begin experimenting with drying and feeding them to the rabbits. Also, experiments on cutting and storing bean hay.

What Is Left:
I have several things the need to be completed prior to installing the chickens and rabbits.

• Chicken yard established
• I need to consider further sheltering for the chickens, not just nest box
• Ramp for chicken house
  
• Two rabbit pellet trays built and installed
• 4 rabbit nest boxes built
• Rabbit feeders and bottles purchased and installed

As far as the fish...

• Build & mount grow bins
• Build sump (ferro-cement); overflow drain
  
• Plumb poly tank; drain and supply lines
  
• Configure system; set things where they go
• Plumb system; supply and drain
  
• Purchase, install and test pump
• Acquire fish of some kind to prime system.
  

At some point I will also need to complete some home repairs. Things needing done since Ivan! I would also like to redesign my compost bins. And level/back-fill some areas of my yard.

Future:
My wife, Gail, has also suggested that we also get some pygmy goats to raise and milk. If we do thin we will need to bring in food since there is no way I could raise enough food for them. The good news is that there is a farmer at the end of the road who might sell me some hay and straw. However, the goats are certainly further into the future.
I am also reading up on bee keeping. I would only need one hive and I'm thinking of it in the context of honey for medical purposes, not just to eat.
I also have a dream, and the beginnings of a plan, to build a little (14'x10'x10') domed ferro-cement farm house for one. It will be my office and part of the experiment using a water catchment system, saw dust toilet, PV-DC electric system and other sustainable low-tech features.

Stay tuned for other posts!

ADF
Cantonment- 090825