Dyeing fiber: all types, all kinds

While the false spring was here, I did spend time clearing the area behind the garage. I think it'll become my potato patch. I checked out the sun angles. In spring and summer, it'll get morning and afternoon sun. Parts will have full sun. There is room between the hazelnuts to put an old bench that a neighbor discarded. I can give it a coat of linseed oil or polyurethane. Then it can hold about 5 potato grow bags. I have in mind to make a makeshift bed with wood boards, rebar and cinder blocks. The steps to the attic of the garage can hold four more containers of potatoes and the wire mesh corner bench can hold 6 more grow bags of potatoes. That's 21 potato plants.

Potatoes are one of the first plants I start outside in March. It also means that it is the first area I need to have ready to go. The weeds have been pulled and grass has been sickled. The compost pile has grown significantly. It's also located right there. I need to turn the pile regularly as soon as temperatures get above freezing. I have a tarp to put up there to flip the pile. The ground will get covered with cardboard and woodchips. The bench has got to be hauled up there too. That'll be the hard part.

Rock wall on the bottom of the picture. From the 2022 incident:


The branches from the fallen Siberian Elm have been removed. I also was given a set of RV steps out of treated wood. I plan to use those on the rock wall. When the Elm fell, the rock wall kind of scattered and needs to be rebuilt. It was a 100 year old tree. It had three major trunks. Two fell at various times on my poor garage. Last year my neighbor took the rest of the tree out entirely. The area has sun now.

2022




The building is the garage. North is up. The curve is the rock wall. The H is a hellabore. The (P) persimmons and currant bush never got planted. One persimmon graft died and we don't know if the base stock survived. Persimmons need two to bear fruit. We could not obtain a second. The company read the original zone wrong and had it listed as zone 6 but it was actually a 9. I'm in zone 6. They refuse to sell me a zone 9 plant. If it died in the drought, I will replace the existing tree with a willow, currently growing in a pot. The three tiered wire rack will go where the currant bush was planned.

By removing the branches and portable steps, the ground hog hole has been exposed. The neighbor did leave mothballs there to deter the skunks. The mothballs offended some critter. It left me two huge piles of poop. It looks like small pellets. but the piles are large. Raccoon, ground hog or skunk, maybe even deer? I didn't notice any tracks when it snowed.

I've been watching the Back-to-Eden video as well as Ruth Stout on how she grows potatoes. My wooden boards will define an area for me to try a Ruth Stout garden. I need the compost to create ground on top of the cardboard. The boards are 6 ft long. Cinderblocks will be the end caps. Those are 18" wide. That will be the new potato bed, holding 6 plants, covered in straw.

I'm back inside because we've had snow flurries all day. I've sharpened my pencil and I am planning out what to plant and when. Some seed packets are old and may not germinate. I am doing a trial batch of onions. The seed is from 2024. In two weeks, if it doesn't sprout, I will start over with a different pack of seeds. I also have onion bulb sets coming later in spring. I have more garden plan sketching to do. I've outlined 17 crops that I want in the garden. I have in mind to grow 400 pounds of food. I have tons of flower seed packets too.

On that note, as the temperature drops again, I need to bring in my cabbage plant and a pot of herbs. They were on the front porch getting some vague sunshine. Hopefully this makes sense. I have a hard time articulating the pictures in my head.

It started with a batch of Kefir gone wrong. I wasn't about to throw it out, not at today's prices of milk. Muffins were the answer. Banana Nut Muffins, Cranberry Orange muffins and Date Nut Bread (muffins). Except by the time I got to baking the date nut, I had to half the recipe but I accidentally put the full amount of sugar in. Oops! They are caramelized. The freezer is full and breakfast is a no brainer.