Up and Up and Up it Goes

We started off with a grocery list of renovations, new construction and generally speaking, changes that needed to be made to the property in order to make it as tolerable as possible for my first winter.

Our list went a little something like this (in no particular order):

- Power - convert 700watt system to 2400watt system

- Water - rainwater catchment, gray water system, well, tap a spring

- Laundry - energy star washing machine

- Toilet - composting toilet; centralized system or self contained unit?

- Garden - flatten/develop enough garden space to provide veggies and fruits, build greenhouse for off-season growing

- Kitchen - stove, dishwasher, larger sink, larger fridge, freezer, cabinets

Almost two months after the creation of our original list, we have made some headway!

What I'm currently most proud of, we have completed our garden area. Remember these pictures:



These photos were snapped the day after we purchased the property for insurance purposes. The area we selected was a natural choice; it is on a south/south west facing slope directly in front of the "Road House" and a short distance from the "Lake House." The previous owner had attempted a garden here but was only living here six months a year so it was quickly over grown and enjoyed by the various wildlife in the area.

After choosing our location, the next big question was, "how are we going to develop this land into enough usable space for a garden that would provide both of us with enough fruits and vegetables during the summer months to avoid having to purchase any?" The answer: build a retaining rock wall, filling in the sloped area with a clay/top soil mixture.

And so we began hauling rocks from local, family owned property every Friday, Saturday, Sunday for about a month. We brought two trucks with us for each haul, an old flatbed Ford and a Toyota Tacoma, filling both to the top. (I'd estimate we probably hauled at least 20 full loads.)


Slowly but surely, we began to see a difference:

It wasn't until we had some visitors that we realized we were DONE! And man, it is pretty spectacular what we accomplished:

"I don't care how much power, brilliance or energy you have, if you don't harness it and focus it on a specific target, and hold it there you're never going to accomplish as much as your ability warrants." - Zig Ziglar

Look at it! I can't believe we did that!

Now that the retaining wall is completed, we are prepping the soil for a long, hard winter with the hopes of having beautiful "black gold" soil some spring. How are we doing this?

I already mentioned that we used a clay/top soil combo in flattening out the garden area. On top of this, we are adding a 2:1 mixture of top soil and compost that will be mixed as we add it to the garden. We will also add some peat moss and lime (as needed) then we will plant our cover crop. And then hopefully, by March, our soil will be wonderful and ready for planting some veggies!

But what does all of this do to the soil?

Peat Moss - is lighter, fluffier, more pulverise than regular soil. By adding this to your garden soil, you create a different structure in your soil, allowing for great air ventilation and more water retention.

Lime - makes soil more alkaline (less acidic) so in areas where you soil's pH level is less that 6.5, lime is added to reduce the acidity. Most plants enjoy growing in soil that is between 6.5 or 7.0 pH, but there are a few like very acidic soil. (For instance, we will be planting blueberries, which prefer to grow in 4.5 pH - 5.5 pH level.)

Cover Crop - is planted to retain the nutrients in the soil during the winter months. In the spring, this crop will be plowed down and we will plant our vegetables/fruits as normal.

For now, we are focusing on completing the garden and anticipate having the cover crop planted by Sunday. After that, it's on to another item on the list.

Stay tuned to learn how our Solar Power System is upgraded, installed and if it works or not!

Have a great weekend!

PEACE

Another One Bites the Dust

As I had feared, my posts are going to be a little sporadic. We are still in the process of getting our Internet set-up but as we have to use a satellite Internet provider, it is taking a little longer, costing a little more, and moving closer to the bottom of our "must have" list. However, we are hoping to have it set up within the next two weeks, after we finish digging out the back of the house to put an additional layer of sealant on.

Turns out our garage leaks...took a few days of heavy rain to figure that out but it's better to find out now, while it's still warm enough that we can dig the ground up and reseal everything, instead of the dead of winter or when the snow starts to melt. Certainly not something we planned on but in my brief experience as a home owner, most of the stuff you "plan on" doesn't really transpire as easily or as "cut and dry" as imagined.

At the moment we have a borrowed back-hoe out at the property so we are pushing to finish the rock wall and some other areas that we are going to flatten out (greenhouse, parking, 2 lean-to's, chicken coop/pig pen, dog run, and whatever unforeseen things pop up) as well as dig out the back of the house, reseal it with a water proof/water resistant sealant which we will then cover with a visqueen type material. We will then dig a ditch for the water to run into; this ditch will connect to our rainwater catchment system and allow as to have collect more water. And there's no such thing as too much water!

First level of Rock wall

The back-hoe has really allowed our progress with the rock wall to take off. The bottom terrace now stands about even with me (in height) and we are blasting through the second level. We also have cleared a pathway at the base of the garden area that will allow us to bring a wheel barrow from the top of the garden to the bottom, no problem. We've also cleared an area for a "common" lean-to where we will store firewood, snow mobile and a four wheeler.

Second level of the Rock wall

We are hoping to complete the rock wall within the next two weeks, plant rye grass, rototill, and then put down some manure, peat moss, wood ashes and compost.

We "fell" our first tree too! When we purchased the property, there were 2 dead trees that stood in between the two cabins, just northwest of the sauna. Well along with all the rain we've been getting, we've also been getting some really strong wind that's been whipping through the valley in front of our house. The other night we stood in the driveway, watching the trees sway back and forth and could literally, hear them cracking. So with the help of some experienced friends, we "fell" the tree this past weekend and chopped it up for fire wood.

That's all she wrote at the moment but I'll be back with some crazy pics of the creepy-crawlers that are taking over. The more trees that go down, the more we discover...

PEACE.