I’ve been at Oakhaven for one month. It’s been wild. A lot of schoolwork to wrap up, three family crises, and the worst cold I’ve had in some time were front and center in my life, but I’ve also made some progress getting the household set up and have jumped into working with Rachel’s CSA. That involves two remote sites plus 4500 square feet here.
We have basically four main growing areas onsite that amount to about a third of an acre that’s actually been cultivated at this point. (That’s in addition to smaller, personal gardens on the Ridge and in the Lower Forty, which is near the house, in an opening among the trees.)
We have had to build some pretty elaborate fencing because there’s considerable pressure from deer, groundhogs, and rabbits. That’s expensive and time-consuming, but we’ve managed to find second-hand fence posts and lots of robust bamboo poles.
A cold, wet May delayed planting our summer crops until this weekend, so overgrown tomatoes, peppers, squash, cukes, and melons are going in the ground now. There’s still a lot to do. We’re focusing most of our attention on Rachel’s CSA, but the rest of us will be putting things in the ground this week as well. I’m trying to keep my ambitions for the summer modest and keep my attention focused on fall planting.
My proudest achievement is an in-house biodigester that is set up to handle humanure via vermicompost. I’m hoping it is efficient enough to be kept inside all year, but won’t know for a while. A certain amount of household wastewater is going in there as well. Urine is handled separately, and goes into a 3 gallon bucket prepared with layers of pulverized oak leaves and clay (which I think helps capture nitrogen that might otherwise escape, as well as stink) and that mixture goes into the garden compost as soon as the bucket is full/ sloshy/ stinky — whichever comes first. The vermicomposted humanure will probably sit outside under cover for a good six months or so after the worms are done with it, for insurance against anything unwholesome. (I need to go back and re-read that section of the handbook.)
I’ve also, just today, learned something wonderful that should have been obvious to me. I can make my own SIPS (structural insulated panels)! I don’t have to spend thousands of dollars to have them fabricated and shipped to me! This will make building the pod (my small, warm, protected winter space) much more affordable.
