Home improvement, gardening, upcycling, arts and crafts: proving a streetcar-suburb homestead in the lungs of Seattle.
This is rarely a "How-to" blog and more of an "I did" journal, a record of the ideas, innovations, and renovations that go into my DIY-lifestyle.
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Almost ready for launch! All that is left is a few coats of varnish. Thanks everyone for all of your help!
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kiyo:
174 GRAND, BROOKLYN NEW YORK
The green roof has approximately eight inches of soil and absorbs rainwater runoff. (via Peek Inside 8...
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“I am inspired by vintage or used objects: records, books, furniture, anything that has a history.” —Mike Stilkey
Artist Mike Stilkey, whose...
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Suave Mediterranean Revival by jadalles1533 on Flickr.
738 North Tuxedo Avenue - DeLand - Florida
Architecture by Medwin Peek - 1926
This... -
Interesting bathroom…
via thestyleaddict
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Now that we finished planking the bow, we’ve decided that it would be fun to put another gaping hole in the boat. New shiny transom on the way.
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More pallet porn: Wine racks made from pallet wood.
Adding to our repurposed-pallet Pinterest board.
(photo via MyBrothersBarn on Etsy)
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How we eventually won the battle against slugs #happyherbsThis “summer” I learned the hard way that slugs and snails absolutely love basil and... -
I swear that I can’t go a day without putting another hole in the boat.
The brown paper pots were an excellent idea, but not very useful. In just two weeks, basically all of the bottoms of the pots have decomposed without a trace. I’m looking into getting plastic pots for the next round.
Also, I think some of my seedlings aren’t getting enough water. Maybe I should start over-watering and trust that the drainage is good.
Four tomato seedlings after their first spell outside (about three hours in the walls o’ water this afternoon). These are Taxi, Black Prince, Sun Gold, and Indigo Rose varieties.
To-Do List
I’m going out of town for a few weeks starting on Saturday evening, so here’s what I hope to accomplish by then:
Monday/Tuesday
Clean out hen houseMake outdoor potting soilTransplant Tophat blueberry into large blue ceramic potTransplant other three blueberries into large nursery pots (temporary)Plant new six shrub roses in hedge lineHarden off handful of tomato seedlings in Wall O’Water cones- Water downstairs seedling trays
Plant lettuce, carrots, and more radishes outsideMove remaining potted strawberries to back yard around huckleberriesRe-pot raspberries whose pots have disintegrated
Wednesday/Thursday/Friday
Plant first tomato seedlings
We’ll see how it all goes.
Set up the Wall O’ Water season extenders today, to start warming up the ground for tomatoes. I’ll start hardening the first batch off Monday, and hopefully drop them in the ground on Thursday.
I found a local article from a guy in Seattle who puts his tomatoes out in Walls O’ Water on April 1 every year, so here goes hoping that mine do a well as his. If not, though, I have more seedlings to take the place of any that fail.
“Angel Wings” miniature roses planted April 11, in origami newspaper pots. They have a lower germination temperature than the vegetable seeds, so I have them in the dining room.
I planted all 24 seeds in the packet, so hopefully I’ll get at least 12 plants from this batch. They’ll all stay in pots and containers, some on the homestead, some for gifts, and some for work.
We removed 250 ccs of icky greenish fluid from Western Explorer’s abdomen, and she immediately perked up. She’s standing more normally, her breathing is less labored, and she’s more enthusiastic about food. We’ll see how she does long-term, but she’s doing way better already.
Western Explorer is acting sick, displaying the same symptoms that Samurai did before we lost her a year ago: her abdomen is swollen, she’s getting listless, and she’s waddling with her feet turned in. I gave her a bath to clean up her butt, gave her some baby spinach as a treat, and turned to Google.
A search for “chicken swollen abdomen” led me to a condition called “ascites,” which according to my paramedic husband is a general condition of fluid in the abdomen, which can be treated by draining the fluid out with a syringe. I found good forum threads on it here and here, so after lunch we’re going to try it.
Wish us luck!
Arts and crafts at work today; it was rainy and I needed to come up with a design for a knot work keychain that I can teach to others. This is a monkey’s fist tied around a marble, with a diamond knot loop.
I transplanted one tray of the Round I tomato seedlings to larger containers this evening. This tray contained Sun Gold, Taxi, Black Prince, and Indigo Rose varieties. All are very vigorous, and I’m loving the very dark green/purple leaves on the Indigo Rose plants. If the tomatoes are as lovely as the leaves, they’ll be amazing!
All are planted in 4”x4” origami pots made out of chicken feed bags. A few are planted in leftover homemade seed starting soil (equal parts worm castings, perlite, sifted compost, and coco coir), but most are planted in a homemade secondary soil (equal parts worm castings, sifted compost, and coco coir).
Most seedlings had three sets of true leaves. I stripped the lower set off and buried the plant in dirt up to half an inch or so below the middle pair, then mulched the top with my go-to Soil-Building Compost that I use as mulch. Then I watered them thoroughly.
The roots are very well-developed: some seedlings had to be pried apart from their neighbors. I probably should have transplanted them a week or two ago. Also, I noticed that even though I’d soaked the top thoroughly, the lower dirt of many seedlings were dry. Needs moar water!
Now, to note this and several other garden events in my paper 2013 garden calendar, which I’ve gotten behind in updating…
After four years, I’ve finally decided what to plant along the northern property line: roses! These are two one-year-old Rosa rugosa plants, one red/purple variety and one white one.
I’d originally planned to plant wild roses in this area, but the helpful folks at Walt’s Organic Fertilizer made me realize that Rosa rugosa is what I think of as a wild rose: fragrant, hardy, and attractive to bees and humans alike.
I’ll probably plant a few more along this area to make a proper short hedge that doubles as a pollination border. I’ll probably also keep letting strawberries take over the area as a ground cover; they’re vibrant and attractive, so why fight them!
Reseeding a quarter of the back yard. This is the area I spent a bunch of time sifting and leveling out last fall, and it’s just sat all winter. Today I broke up the soil, raked and tamped it out level, and planted an EnviroLawn mix that supposedly I won’t have to water and will only have to mow a few times a year. Since I just want the back yard to not be a dirt pile, I think it will work well.
Now, you might be wondering about my choice of planting a lawn on my urban farm. I’ve indeed thought about a lot of different options for this area, but I want the yard to be functional again for hanging out in, for drying clothes, and for not looking horrible. I have not given up my long-term plans for a raingarden-patio-pond paradise in the back yard, but this will at least make it a pleasant place to spend time in while I work on that goal.
I spent yesterday away from the house and away from the garden, on the 127’ schooner Zodiac. She’s been in Seattle for almost a month for the last leg of her winter maintenance, and I hopped aboard to help bring her north to Bellingham.
It was a lovely voyage, despite not being the promised 65 degrees and sunny. We didn’t do any sailing, but we did get the stays’l bent on its boom, and generally had a lovely cruise. Coincidentally, we cruised through the eastern San Juan Islands the same day that they were officially declared a national monument. An auspicious day all around.
Taking advantage of a vacant bedroom to dry sweaters. The one in the top left is brand new and is so far looking great!
