So now we turn from winter to summer... from snow and 30F, to sun and 80F. It's nice that the 'big boss' gives us transition zones like spring and fall, but I guess the boss was asleep this time... no spring! But wait, tomorrow it gets down to 60F and rain... so maybe we'll have spring in July this time. And then 80F again... need I say it? (global weirding).
Each morning starts around 6am with the wonderful task of walking the garden and doing some useless water spritzing.... note to self: put those drip systems in. For the first time in 6 years, I am back to where I started with plucking sweet strawberries for breakfast - is there anything sweeter? Especially since i saw that they are #3 on the most pesticide laden fruit we buy. So now I have my 100+ strawberry plants in the raised beds, protected from deer and squirrel (called cat)... and breakfast nutrition is renewed.
I love all the work here, it's the life of a farmer - no the life of a human connected to the soul of the soil. I am starting to enjoy this place more - rather than working on projects. Thankfully the BIG projects are over with, like the 1,000 sf deck 20ft up in the air and the courtyard - I get tired just thinking about doing that last year. Now, if I can only start my daily deep forest + creek walks again... oh come-on, there's work to be done... not?
It's cool to see the rebirth of small farms with a younger generation and with their permaculture twists - I hope is reaches a tipping point. Lately I'm listening to the permies podcasts with Paul Wheaton - very cool. I also saw where France just had an e-coli breakout (and organic sprouts again?). Our food supply chain is awfully broken. So much the better for my goal of 80% self-raised uber-biodynamic garden. I don't even trust the local farmers markets anymore... except for a couple farms I know.
My three new raised beds are producing more delicious salad stuff than I can dream of. My new soil mixture of wood ash, biochar, Berkeley marina groung mussel shells, deep forest peat moss, etc. AND plenty of pitchfork soil turning without any soil compaction; have resulted in the most productive vegie growth I've ever done. Maybe the 100% rainwater has something to do with it also.
I've abandoned two lower raised beds to replenish their soil and fix some nitrogen - and ya know what - the poppies and blue cone flowers just took off! Native seeds I had thrown out this past winter - boy they really don't like water! It's a gorgeous site. That sets up my long term plans to always rotate multiple raised beds and let the native wilds do their Nitro fixing. Permi principle #1 at work.
Technical stuff
I always like April to October because I can squander electricity like there's no tomorrow. Although running the ice maker for 4+ hours does take a toll on the day's energy budget. I figure I have at least 1800 watts of 'free' power each day, and probably use less than 500 watts (wifi, movie, lites...) each day without the icemaker or juicer going. After October though I really crank back and start charging the batteries for the long winter - who knows what November to April will be like. This past year those months were some of the most vicious/stormy months since I've been here ('86). Thankfully the wind generator was in place.
My solar PV system has been without a controller for over 6 months now. And guess what - my system is more charged up than ever before - go figure! Ever since I noticed I was losing wattage during a sunny day, and tried to recalibrate my Xantrex C35 controller only to find it non-working; I shorted out the PV to Battery wire and you know what? it is charging the batteries WAY more than last year. Never again a Xantrex controller! I've noticed over the last few months that outside temperature has so much to do with battery voltage and charge state. At 40F or below and with 8+ hrs of sunlight I get about 12.3vdc or less. At 70F or above and with 10+ hrs of sunlight I get about 12.7vdc or more. Interesting. I think an MPVV type controller - probably Morningstar will be my next choice - they are just damn expensive.
The solar hot water (SHW) system is in transition. Let's see, at last count I've got about four options. And I'm using the simple ICS (batch) SHW heater... two valve turns I had (sometimes scalding) hot water. I've had to be careful to schedule long rainwater showers before the sun overheats the ICS. I'm still on the fence about the big drainback system after the stupid fire last year: Dreams of my spa were dashed by one last brazing task. I'll probably redo that system, but more urgent projects call.
Greenhouse + Courtyard update
The greenhouse is getting a major do over. In April I started clearing it out only to be faced with weeks of rain. So now, that I've cleared it out - guess what? - rain predicted for tomorrow... we'll see. I built an extra cedar shelf above the worm bin, repotted several big plants, more concrete pours and tilings later - the greenhouse is starting to feel like the most magical space I could have ever imagined. The willow tree is wonderfully minding its biz and along with the vines + grapes starting to provide needed summer shade. The ivy is starting to curl up the back posts, and the knock-out roses provide plenty of red color. I'm not much into maintenance - so all this stone and concrete work is mainly to just wash it down to keep it clean without inviting mold and little critters inside (again, note to self to thank the cat :-).
The water feature will get tested tomorrow = the inaugural for: deep basin + pump, large river rock pond and 6' terraced water fall. It'll be fun getting that all balanced out.
As for the courtyard: I am just letting it go, except for lawn clipping. It was so much work last year getting 1000's of herringbone bricks in place, the tiny lawn area and sitting alcoves for the big grand opening... I am still mentally not ready to dive in again. I really enjoy all the fruits of that labor with the colorful bursts of vines, lilies, sedums, wildflowers, magnolia + fig tree, and that ONE magical red rose yesterday that stopped me in my tracks. I can't remember the last time I smelled such an authentic old-fashioned rose fragrance.
More work later this year will be with the help of friends during the open house to relocate the big firepit, put in a rocket mass heater with connected pizza oven.... but that's another story.
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Parting note: I get tired just writing and thinking about all these projects, but they are all labors of love. There is nothing urgent or required - so it's all voluntary 'busy-work'. I'd rather be doing these projects directly myself than sitting in an office and paying someone else to do them. But then, I designed my lifestyle this way years ago... ok, now for that forest walk.
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