Welcome to The Yardstead
The Incredible Edible Lawn
Kathleen sent me this article today from Time.com about a man who has ripped up his lawn and planted a garden in its place. It is really a good idea and Kathleen has been trying to do the same thing for a long time now (or trying to get me to do it). We are firm believers in edible landscaping and have edible plants in our 'flowerbeds' and most of our trees bear fruit, but we still have several large patches of green lawn that we have not replaced with edibles....yet.As you can see from the picture above this gentlemans yard is no ordinary vegie patch. It's a rather 'artistic' arrangement that manges to produce enough vegetables for the homeowner as well as his neighbors. He is one of a few homeowners in the US participating in a project called 'Edible Estates'.
The gardening 'movement' is seeing growth right now at a rate compareable to the 1940's when the US Agriculture Secretary encouraged Americans to plant 'Victory Gardens'. According to the National Gardeners Association, 25 Million US households planted fruit or vegetable gardens in 2007.
Raising Catfish in a Barrel
The text and illustrations of this article are from
Organic Gardening and Farming October, 1973
Philip Mahan demonstrates how a fish is
transferred from the fry tank to the barrel.
A biological food chain in the back yard produces fresh fish
for the table and compost for the garden.
By Philip and Joyce Mahan
After some study and experimentation, we have set up a productive food chain-- table scraps to earthworms to catfish--in our back yard. The project is satisfactory in many respects, utilizing waste materials to produce fresh fish for food and at the same time yielding ample compost for a small garden. The material cost is minimal. The whole operation can be set up for less that $15.00. The equipment occupies only about 12 square feet of space, and the entire assembly can be easily moved if necessary.
The materials can be very simple: Two 55-gallon steel drums, three panes of glass 24 inches square, and a medium-sized aquarium air pump. One of the drums will serve as a tank for the fish, oxygen being supplied by the air pump; and the second drum should be cut in half to provide two bins for the worms. The panes of glass are used as covers for the worm bins and fish tank, and for ease and safety in handling can be framed with scrap lumber.
Preventing Powdery Mildew in Your Spring Garden
For the last 4 or 5 years we have at least one powdery mildew infection in our vegetable garden every season. Last year we lost all of our zucchini and squash plants to powdery mildew, and the year before that we lost all of our pumpkins to powdery mildew. The powdery mildew usually sets in after our plants are well established and fruiting. We have successfully treated vegetable plants in the past that made a full recovery, and we have also lost many plants when we failed to treat them quick enough. I expect this year will be no different, but I plan to be prepared to react at the first signs of the white powdery spots. We may also try some preventive measures this year and of course we will be sharing our results with you.
It is easy to recognize powdery mildew in your garden. It usually affects the leaves and shows up as white powdery spots on top of the leaves. If left untreated it will quickly spread to the surrounding vegetables. Although the powdery mildew does not usually attack the fruit itself, it can kill the plant or otherwise weaken and diminish fruit production. We have found in the past that fruit from plants that have recently become infected can be harvested with no problems, but once the powdery mildew is established new fruit production stops and the infected plant soon wilts and dies.
In my research into methods to prevent and treat powdery mildew, I have found several suggestions for powdery mildew prevention. The most common suggestions ..........