Garden Improvements 2016

Rough plan view of garden and improvements, more or less to scale

We installed the garden in year two on the site, that would have been 2014.  Basically that involved designating a space, installing the five 4 foot by 8 foot raised beds, on contour, and filling those beds with topsoil.  The soil profile on the home-site is 2 inches of topsoil, atop five feet of clay, almost clean enough to throw pots with straight out of the ground, resting on sand, almost as fine as powdered sugar.  In short, it is not great soil as-is for a vegetable garden.  This year so far, we have added about 4 cu. ft. of compost to each of the raised beds; call that a wheel barrow full in each.  Now though, we are getting a bit more ambitious.

There are a few reasons why we are getting more ambitious, and why we are perhaps a little impatient in making our garden more productive.  First of all, our diet has changed pretty radically over the course of the past two years, for reasons I may go into in detail in a later post, but for now suffice it to say that it is for health-related reasons.  This past year we have got a better handle on what we put in our mouths, and we want to grow more of that food ourselves, organically.  Secondly, in partnership with a friend, we are going to raise a few meat chickens this summer and into fall; if allowed, chickens can be hell on a garden.

So, the two biggest improvements to the garden for 2016, are:

• bigger garden beds (cross-hatched areas in the sketch), not raised in the conventional sense, for the growing of root vegetables, squashes, and other produce I'm sure (Geri does the detail work regarding the plantings), and,
• fencing to exclude the chickens from the garden during growing season.

Other improvements are:

• two "herb spirals" (see circular crossed-hatched areas in the sketch), actually these are more like herb concentric circles; think of a round layered wedding cake with three layers, and,
• the addition of 8 cu. yd. of screened top soil.  Because of the heavy clay soils in situ, and our desire for a productive garden in the near term, I will till the cross-hatched areas, top-dress with the top soil, and re-till.  We will plant into that prepared soil this year, and then continue to build the soil organically.

Before picture, facing east; north is to your left

Yesterday was planning day, to include development of the layout pictured above, and preparing the garden for today's work.  Today is tilling, top-dressing, and re-tilling day.  Hopefully we will be planting late afternoon into early evening.  The next big undertaking will be the design and installation of the fence.  I will keep you posted.

Thanks for reading, and kind regards,
John

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Forest Products: Hard Maple Flooring

American hophornbeam for fencing

I have posted on more than one occasion, regarding the felling of trees, bucking and splitting to produce wood fuel, and chipping to produce mulch.  There is also American hophornbeam (aka ironwood, see under "Trees" on the Plants & Animals page) growing on the homestead, which makes great fence posts; I have perhaps 15 to 20 such posts air drying now.  Hophornbeam can also be used to make long bows and re-curve bows, which I intend to attempt in the future.  Of course maple syrup is another  forest product, and one we intend to expand our production of in the spring of 2015.  And the list goes on.

The first Sugar Maple felled with its intended

use as flooring.

The most ambitious forest products project yet started however, is to harvest sufficient Sugar Maple for the production of hardwood flooring for the house.  Geri and I looked at what I refer to as "manufactured hardwood flooring," because it consists basically of a thin hardwood veneer, which would allow the floor to be refinished once or twice, on an engineered wood substrate; these products ran from $5-$7 per square foot, plus installation.  We also looked at re-purposed barn wood, and again we found ourselves looking at $5-$7 per square foot before installation.
The home requires roughly 2,000 square feet of flooring, so before laying the product on the sub-floor we would be into the project for $10,000 to $14,000.  Beyond the numbers though, which I will admit resulted in sticker shock, it was simply the principle of the thing; buying wood flooring when I am living in 50 acres of old growth forest seemed to me to be inconsistent with the whole notion of homesteading.  Geri and I had a few conversations regarding the longer lead-time involved in doing it ourselves, though ultimately, the anticipated satisfaction of having done it ourselves, that pride of ownership, nay, the pride of actually crafted the flooring ourselves, won out.  And so, on 18 August, 2014, I felled the first Sugar Maple with the intention of using it for wood flooring.

As early as 25 June I was in conversation with a local sawmill, desiring to both understand the process and the cost of manufacturing our hardwood flooring, as fodder for our decision-making.  My notes from 30 June:

"Hi Chris,

details from our earlier phone conversations are below.  Please let me know if you agree.

$1,512.50 --  Mill 2,750 board feet of sugar maple @ $0.55/board ft (1 inch thick, 3-7 inches random widths)
   $151.25 -- 10% waste factor (Do I need this factor? I'm paying for the waste by paying to mill and dry 2,750 board feet and leaving with 2,475 board feet, it seems to me.  Help me understand.)
   $687.50 -- Kiln drying @ 0.25/board ft
$1,500.00 -- Planing (to 3/4 in thick, tongue & groove, no micro-chamfer, @ $50/hr, 30 hrs)
-----------
$3,851.25

Notes:
-- Calculate 20% loss from the log to floor (I should have about 200 sq ft left over)
-- Cut 16-26 inches diameter logs to between 4 ft and 8 ft 6 in long
-- Air dry, 3-5 wks (weather dependent)
-- 1100-1200 sq ft in the kiln, 3-4 wks, 2 batches
-- 1 wk for planing
-- 2 days milling
-- John would like to lend a hand in the process, if practical

Next Steps:
- John to research recommend max maple floor board width at the National Hardwood Flooring Assoc.
- John to get the logs cut and into position for milling
- John to measure moisture content of sub-floor"

The first logs, cut to the length of 8 ft. 6 in., ready for the mill

I am planning for the process to yield 2,200 square feet of 3/4 inch thick flooring, in random 3, 5, and 7 inch widths.  Assuming 20% waste, or loss, from log to floor, I need 2,750 board feet* of log on the ground; by my calculations I have about a fifth of that on the ground now.  I plan to participate in the milling, drying, and planing processes, as this type of work might provide a stream of income in the future.

*A "board foot" is 1 square foot, 1 inch thick, or 144 cu. in. of wood.  For example, a 3 in. wide (1/4 foot wide) floor board, 4 feet long, and 1 in. thick, is 1 board foot of wood.

At a high level, the process steps are as follows (estimated cumulative calendar weeks from start):

1) Mill the logs into boards of random 3, 5, and 7 inch widths, 1 inch thick, maximizing utilization (1 week)
2) Air dry the boards for 3 to 5 weeks, depending on the weather (4-6 weeks)
3) Kiln dry the logs in 2 batches, each requiring 3 to 4 weeks (10-14 weeks)
4) Plane the boards to 3/4 inch finished thickness, and add tongue and groove to long edges (11-15 weeks)

Per square foot, before finish and installation, the cost is estimated to be $3,851.25/2,200 sq ft = $1.75/sq ft.  And if in fact the "10% waste factor" is unnecessary, the total is $3,700/2,200 sq ft = $1.68/sq ft.  That amounts to 65-75% less than "retail."  Well worth the investment of my time, and of some money in additional equipment; a Peavy (Peavy Manufacturing) and a chainsaw-powered winch and accessories (Lewis Winch), both for moving/handling the logs, and felling wedges (Timber Tuff).  These tools will provide many years of service.

International 1/4 inch Log Rule [1]

So, one might ask oneself, how do you know how much flooring you have on the ground in the form of logs, or, how much flooring is in that tree over by 'der?  Needless to say perhaps, some smart folks have already figured that out for us.  There are many so-called "log scaling" rules, fortunately "only three, Doyle, Scribner,
and International, are widely recognized and in current use."[1]  Doyle is the simplest in terms of its formula, Board Feet Doyle = (D-4)2 x (L/16), where D is the diameter in inches, and L is the length in feet.  Unfortunately, since Doyle subtracts 4 inches from the diameter for "edgings and slabs," it dramatically underestimates the amount of wood in smaller logs.  I am taking down trees in or close to the specified range of 16-26 inches in diameter, and closer to the small end of that range.  At a log diameter of 16 in., the Doyle scale underestimates board feet by 20% compared to the scale regarded as the most accurate, the International 1/4 inch Log Rule.  "The International Rule was developed by Judson F. Clark in 1900 while working for the Province of Ontario. It is probably the most accurate of the current rules but has found little use. It is based on a very carefully researched analysis of the losses occurring during the conversion of sawlogs to lumber and is one of the few rules incorporating a basis for dealing with log taper. Based on studies of northeastern tree species, Clark made a conservative taper assumption of 1/2-inch change in diameter for every 4 feet of log length."[1]  Since I am not using the rule to establish price, rather only the quantity in board feet that I will deliver to the mill for processing, I intend to use the most accurate estimate available.  I have abbreviated the table; the full table can be retrieved as referenced.

My understanding of the terms "slab," "cant," and "edging" as they apply

to the milling of logs

I have felled three trees so far, yielding a total of nine 8 foot 6 inch logs.  For my purpose, to ensure that I put enough logs on the ground, I am rounding the length down to 8 feet, and the diameter down to the nearest inch.  The log diameters and board feet (from the table above) then are: 13/55, 14/65, 14/65, 15/75, 14/65, 13/55, 14/65, 14/65 and 13/55, for a total of 565 board feet.  Since I need to deliver 2,750 board feet to the mill, I have 20% of the total on the ground.  I am not taking trees for their size, rather I am taking the trees where I need to clear space for future buildings, including but not limited to, the sugar shack, outdoor wood boiler room, firewood shed, and workshop.  In those locations I have identified for felling some larger trees, so I hope I will need to put only 6-7 of the larger trees on the ground to reach the 2,750 board feet objective.  Which brings us to the question of scaling standing trees.

Again, there are numerous methods for determining the volume in board feet of standing trees (also known as "stumpage," in the vernacular).  For the sake of consistency, I will stick with what again is considered to be the most accurate method, and that is the International 1/4 inch Log Scale volume table, as adapted for Form Class 78.  To enter the table, the Diameter at Breast Height (DBH, 4-1/2 feet), the "merchantable height" (in 16 foot logs), and the "form class" (percentage ratio of the diameter inside the bark at the top of the first merchantable 16 foot log, to the DBH (outside bark)) are are required.

Gross Volume of Trees, International 1/4 inch Log Scale,

Form Class 78 [1]

"Form class can vary for a given species, age, diameter, and height. For the most accurate estimates, a separate form class should be determined for each diameter class and species tallied."[1]  Until I establish by measurement otherwise, I will use a volume table for the International Rule, based on Form Class 78, "the most commonly used class."[1]  I have abbreviated the table; the full table can be retrieved as referenced.

Simply stated, "merchantable height includes that portion of a tree from stump height to a point on the stem at which merchantability for saw timber is limited by branches, deformity, or minimum diameter."[1]

There is a long way yet to go on this project, and a great deal to learn along the way.  We are hopeful that we will have our sugar maple flooring installed by late spring, after the maple sugaring season ends would be convenient, though it is unlikely that the dates will line up to support our convenience, knowing Murphy as we do.

There is a new feature at the bottom of the page, where you can record your "reaction" to the post.  Thank you for reading and commenting on the blog.  Your comments and criticisms, your inputs and acknowledgements, are welcomed, and will help me to improve my posts.  I am learning, too.

 Please "follow" the blog by clicking on "g+ Follow," or by e-mail at  "Follow by Email."   Also, "Like" us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/swmichiganhomestead.

-- John, 23 October 2014
www.swmichiganhomestead.blogspot.com

[1] "Log and Tree Scaling Techniques," Purdue University, Forestry and Natural Resources, Web. Retrieved 22 October 2014.

A Jackie Clay-Atkinson Homesteading Seminar, Summer 2014

Earlier this year, I had decided to give my wife for her birthday, the gift of attending a Jackie Clay-Atkinson seminar.  For those of you who might not know of Jackie, I submit the following from the Backwoods Home Magazine entry on Wikipedia, "Jackie Clay-Atkinson, an independent off-grid homesteader in northern Minnesota, writes articles on all aspects of self-sufficient living, from growing herbs to butchering elk. In addition, her "Ask Jackie" column answers questions from readers on many topics, with emphasis on home skills like safely preserving foods. She brings similar topics to her Backwoods Home blog."  To find a list of Jackie's articles at Backwoods Home Magazine, click on this link.  At first I had not planned to attend the 3-day seminar, but as time passed, and the date approached, I finally decided to see if there was room left in the seminar for me.  Fortunately there was, and in a effort to make it more than a purely educational endeavor, I decided to rent an RV and make a vacation of it.  Geri loved the idea of the RV, and on Thursday the 5th of June we headed for the far north of Minnesota, and the homestead of Jackie and her husband Will, just 90 miles from the Canadian border.

The trip was 12 hours more or less, with occasional stops for rest and to refuel.  On the drive, we listened to the audio-book Second Nature: A Gardener's Education, by Michael Pollan.  Audio-books, and podcasts, are both good ways of putting your daily commute, or a long drive, to productive or entertaining use; this book by Pollan was both entertaining and educational.  Pollan has written several other books, the most well know of which might be, The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals; you can check out Michael's author's page on Amazon at this link.  If you are in need of a laugh, listen to A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, by Bill Bryson, though you will be laughing so hard you may not want to be operating heavy equipment at the time!

Geri had researched nearby campgrounds ("nearby" is a relative term in the expanse that is northern Minnesota), and we decided to stay the nights in McCarthy Beach State Park.  We arrived in the area Thursday night, and set up camp, which did not require a whole lot more that parking the RV and plugging it in, and that was about all we were up for after the long drive.  The mosquito population was impressive to say the least, both at the park and on Jackie and Will's homestead, the worst they had seen in years.  We regularly slathered on Deep Woods Off, and did not have too much trouble.

On arrival at the homestead Friday morning, we were greeted warmly by Jackie, and were made to feel like long lost friends.  Aside from Geri and me, there were only five other seminar participants, Troy, Margie, Jessi, and Richard and Patty, which made for a great learning environment, and fostered friendships we hope to enjoy for years to come.  Included in the seminar agenda were:

• Using carpentry tools and  chainsaws safely
• Basic homestead building skills
• Slip-form concrete work
• Growing more challenging garden vegetables; getting more out of your garden
• Veterinary care for homestead animals and poultry
• Raising baby animals and poultry
• Grafting fruit trees and fruit tree varieties for your orchard, and
• Self-reliant living on a shoestring

Jackie showing us one of her Victoria rhubarb plants.  In the background on
the left is the structure of one of their hoop houses.  The green cone shapes
in the left of the frame are "Walls-O-Water" around tomato plants, these allow

planting up to six weeks earlier than otherwise.

The first day included a guided tour of the homestead by Will and Jackie.  This was of course more than just a tour, as we students were also asking questions throughout, and listening intently to the answers.  I took copious notes.

I definitely learned new things, and things I already knew were reinforced, chief among them that I can succumb to making things a lot more involved than they need to be.  Sometimes it is more productive to just "go," be done with the planning, "just do it," and learn by the doing.  For example, I was struck by how close Jackie and Will were to satisfying all of their electric power needs with only a small (400W as I recall) wind generator, and an even smaller (about 200W if memory serves) photovoltaic array.  This system was a prime example of "self-reliant living on a shoestring."  Is the system perfect?  No, and as has often been said, "perfect is the enemy of good enough."  Jackie and Will are learning by experimenting, while most others are still thinking about it.  They were running a generator for a couple of hours a day, though with a little more "green" energy generation and storage, they will leave behind the need for regular use of the gasoline-powered generator.

Left: Will describing the design and build of the hoop houses; dimensional treated lumber, "1 in. S40 Rigid PVC Conduit Max 90 deg C Sunlight Resistant," and greenhouse plastic, are its primary constituents.  Just at Will's right shoulder, in
the background, is one of their Boer/Nubian-cross goats for milk production.  Right:  Will demonstrates the use of a Oscar 121 wood mill, as Troy looks on.  The base for the mill makes use of a re-purposed mobile home base-frame.

The orchard was another opportunity to ask myself the question, "what on earth am I waiting for?"  No doubt we have all experienced it; we are stopped by fear of the unknown, or fear of failure, when having finally made the move, if ever, we find that it was not close to as bad as we thought it might be.  In the orchard I am specifically referring to the process of grafting.  First of all, it had never occurred to me to graft onto the 20 or 25 crab apple trees that are already established and thriving on our homestead.  Maybe I should take another step back; at first I did not know that grafting was required!

One of the trees in the orchard.  See the trunk

protector.  What appears to be hay around the

base of the tree is in fact hay mixed with

manure.  The orchard is protected from deer

by 2 in. by 4 in. mesh, 6 ft high fencing, on

8 ft. posts that were placed 15 ft. apart.

 Most apples that you buy at the store, I dare say all, will not grow "true" from seed.  That is to say, if you save the seeds from a Pink Lady apple, one of my favorites, and plant it, it will not grow to produce Pink Lady fruit.  The way to grow Pink Lady apples, is to get scion from a tree that is yielding Pink Lady apples, and graft that into the stock of another tree, which has been selected for its hardy root stock.  According to Merriam-Webster, a scion is "a detached living portion of a plant (as a bud or shoot) joined to a stock in grafting."  Grafting is "the technique most commonly used in asexual propagation of commercially grown plants for the horticultural and agricultural trades."  Grafting onto our crab apple trees is high on my list for the spring of 2015.

The group asked many questions during the tour, and we had a lot of conversation about many of the productive plants growing on the homestead, including asparagus, onions, cherries, tomatoes, apples, and so on.  Invariably the following phrase was heard when on the subject of creating fertile soil, "mo' pooh pooh."  We heard this so often that I believe it can be said to have become the class motto!

On Saturday we learned about canning, cheese-making, dehydrating, seed saving, and chicken-keeping, among other things.  At the end of the day, I wrote the following in my notebook:
          "Day 2 take-aways

Jackie in the canning process, Patty in the

background.  Note the All American 921 on

the front left burner.

          - canning is not rocket science, go do it
          - canning meat is no big deal
          - dehydration, no problem..."

Does that sound familiar?  Of course it is a big deal, to the uninitiated, as was the grafting we had learned about on Friday.   It became much less intimidating after working with Jackie in the kitchen.  I was especially interested in the process of canning meats, like chicken for example.  You can read all about canning in Jackie's books on the subject, which you can find on my references page; look under the "Gardening / Food Preservation / Cooking" heading.  And, this is also the day that Jackie bailed me out, because one of other gifts I had given Geri on her birthday was an All American 921 21-1/2-Quart Pressure Cooker/Canner.  When I gave her the canner, Gina and Peter agreed that the only thing less appropriate that I could possibly have given would have been the proverbial vacuum cleaner!  From my point of view, as an engineer, this piece of equipment is a masterpiece of engineering, a simple yet elegant solution, beautiful to look upon, and functional, not to mention bulletproof; it will literally last a lifetime, and more.  Seeing Jackie in action with her own 921 was thankfully enough to redeem Geri's respect for my gift-giving abilities.

Jackie adding milk to the pot in the making of

lemon cheese.  She's working on a propane-
fired range, check out the old wood burning
stove to the left of the frame.

Jackie separating the whey

from the lemon cheese curds

using the old t-shirt.

We also learned about
cheese-making, in perhaps one of its simplest incarnations, so-called lemon cheese.  This cheese takes no more than a large pot, a spoon, a thermometer, milk (in this case raw milk provided by Troy), lemon juice, and a cheese cloth, or, when living on a shoe string, an old t-shirt.  The result is a ricotta-like cheese of very mild flavor.  There are also all sorts of uses for the whey, so that by-product of the process can be saved.

Throughout the weekend, our food needs were well met by two of Jackie's close friends, Jeri, not to be confused with my Geri, and Linda.  As Jackie had assured me in an email leading up to the workshop, "We provide a huge country-style meal around noon each day...nobody ever leaves the table hungry!!"  Jeri and Linda delivered on that promise.  These two were just a hoot, and being homesteaders themselves, brought a lot to the seminar aside from the delicious meals.  We were all impressed when Linda pulled out her homemade electric spinning wheel and began to spin wool yarn from washed fleece.  It is truly humbling to see how things were done by so many just a few short decades ago, and are still being done by a few today.  I think we all had fun watching, and listening to Linda describe the process.

Linda spinning wool and teaching, while Geri
listens and learns.

On Sunday we got some training in administering meds to animals or humans by injection, and to suturing.  Jackie has years of experience in caring for animals, and it was great be able to pick up even a little of what she has learned.

We split up later on Sunday, I and a few others went with Will to learn about slip form concrete work.  Will is building a barn, and is including a concrete and stone knee-wall on the perimeter.  One or more slip-forms is built, and then used as a form into which the concrete is poured.  When a section has been poured and set, the form is then removed and re-positioned to create the next section of the wall.  It is customary to coat the form with some sort of releasing agent, such as used motor oil, to make it easier to remove the form from the wall after it has set.  Several of us worked with Will to pour two sections of the wall.  Will had already poured the footing and put the slip forms in place, so we selected stones and positioned them in the form, and then mixed and poured the concrete.

Looking down into a slip form, the footing

is visible; reinforcing bar (re-bar) strength-

ens the structure.  Also, note the twisted wire,

which prevents the sides of the form from

bowing out when the form is filled with 

concrete.

Stones positioned in the form

Will showed us how to mix the concrete, using cement, sand and gravel from their property, and water.  The mixer was powered by a portable generator.  This was our last "class" of the weekend, and gave us a chance to get our hands dirty and actually help, if only a little.

During the seminar I had collected the email addresses of the participants, and promised to share those after we returned home.  It is hard to describe how good we felt then, so I will simply quote from my email to Jackie and Will, and our fellow seminar-goers:  "There were some wet eyes as we departed Jackie and Will's homestead.  We learned so much, and it was so comfortable to be among kindred spirits.  We felt like we were leaving old friends.  I have not even begun to review and take action on all the notes I made during the seminar.  So, to Jackie and Will, our heartfelt thanks, for both a great education, and a great time, on your homestead.  I miss the conversations the most.  And please extend our thanks to Jeri and Linda; the food was simply amazing, and they also introduced us to a number of other skills."

Will and Troy preparing the concrete

Perhaps we will have a chance to repeat the experience in the future, or maybe even to host our own seminar.  It would be almost impossible to match either the homesteading experiences, or the hospitality, that we enjoyed at the hands of our hosts, Jackie and Will.

Thank you for reading and commenting on the blog.  Your comments and criticisms, your inputs and acknowledgements, are welcomed, and will help me to improve my posts.

 Please "follow" the blog by clicking on "g+ Follow," or by e-mail at  "Follow by Email."   Also, "Like" us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/swmichiganhomestead.

-- John, 11 August 2014
www.swmichiganhomestead.blogspot.com

Jackie Clay-Atkinson and Will Atkinson's Homesteading Class of June 2014
L-R: Jessi, John, Geri, Jackie, Troy, Will, Margie
Not Pictured: Richard, Patty