Urban Farm Hub

I love this time of year when the days are getting longer and the weather goes from pouring rain to brilliant sunshine in a matter of a few minutes.

These pansies always make me think of spring.

The garlic is growing well.

Crocuses are up and blooming like mad.

Soon there will be rhubarb pie.

The chickens are laying again.

Imagine onions soon.

I love to harvest and saute the flower heads of kale.

Indian plum!

Raspberry

Our garden goddess

Just a few more!

I’m still top chicken, don’t even think about putting me in the pot.

“Yum!  Fresh eggs are here again!” said my daughter with joy.  When the hens start laying spring is just around the corner.

If you’ve ever thought of getting chickens now is a good time to get ready.  With a little preparation they are very easy to raise and the eggs and manure are great to have.  Starting with chicks from the feed store is a good way to go.

For chicken success you need:

• A dry place for them to perch, lay eggs and sleep
• An area for exercise and scratching
• Protection from predators.  I have lost quite a few chickens to racoons; they are very good at pulling up fences, digging and even going so far as to pull boards off of coops.  Hawks have carried off a few chicks.
• Access to clean water and food.  Food needs to be protected from rats or you can have a huge pest problem.
• A good source of calcium for shell development.  This can be in the food or as a supplement such as ground up shells.

New eggs!

Chicken manure mixed with wood chips needs to compost for at least six months.

Using a treadle feeder like this one cuts down on problems with rats as they aren’t heavy enough to trip it open.

Here’s another style treadle feeder for a bigger flock. This one is more robust.

There is a fenced outside run with bird netting on top mainly to keep out hawks.

Inside the former goat shed the girls have dry perches and boxes for laying.

Sometimes I use hay for bedding but often use cedar chips instead.

With good sun and soil grapes grow well here.

Many of you have probably read the book about growing the fifty dollar tomato but it doesn’t have to be that way.  There are many ways to save money when raising your city veggies.

Here are some suggestions…

Raised Bed Materials
- Craig’s List or Freecycle often have free or low-cost wood – make sure it’s not painted or treated as this can leach into your bed.
- If you’re building beds for a cause then hardware stores will often sell you wood at wholesale prices.  If you complete a donation form sometimes they will give you the wood. If you plan to go this route then do this early as it can take a while.
- You can also get creative with what you use to build the beds – old pieces of concrete and deconstructed pallets will all work. The goal is to hold the soil in and get it built up some so it’s easier to garden and will heat up a bit earlier than the surrounding ground level soil.

Soil
- If it’s for a cause and not for personal use you can write a donation letter to Cedar Grove and they will often donate compost. You need to pick it up so a good and sturdy truck that can handle a lot of weight will be needed.
- To build up your existing soil build a compost pile and add in grass clippings, dried leaves and non meat or dairy food scraps.  (Making good compost is a bit trickier than this so it’s good to check out some resources on how to do it right.)
- If you are planting in existing soil it’s a good idea to do a soil test first to make sure it’s safe. The cheapest place to do this is through the University of Massachusetts. You dig a bit up, ship it off and the analysis comes in a couple of weeks.

Seeds
- For a cause you can get free seeds early in the season from seed companies.  These are last year’s seeds but they usually sprout just fine.
- Doing a seed swap with friends and neighbors is also good as you usually don’t use all the seeds that come in a packet. There’s also an organization called Seed Savers Exchange that you can use.
- Saving your own seed from year to year. If you do this be sure to check and see if the seed you are saving will be true to the plant you want.  Many plants like beets and carrots will cross pollinate with less desirable species and the result is not what you anticipated. You will also need to save the seeds in a cool and dry place or they might not germinate very well.

Water
- This seems like it would be an easy one but the rain pretty much stops just when you need it in July. Unless you have a huge number of rain barrels it doesn’t really help. You drain the barrel then it doesn’t rain for a long time and you wind up using the hose. Rain coming off an asphalt roof also shouldn’t be used on food plants as it can be contaminated.
-  There are city approved grey water systems that clean the water going out into the yard and these can be used to recycle household waste water (usually from laundry or bathing – special soap is needed but it’s readily available).
- You can also conserve water by using drip irrigation and mulching with straw or other materials (sometimes the slugs go wild when you do this so watch your plants for damage).

For seeds to grow there needs to be the right combination of light, soil temperature, nutrients and moisture.  Here in our cool Northwest climate one of the main things is waiting until the soil is really warm enough for germination to occur. Spring crops need soil temperatures in the 50’s to 60’s while summer crops need temperatures in the high 60’s.  You can raise the soil temperature some by using cloches or other methods to trap heat and warm the soil.

Seasons can vary year to year but a rough guide to use is planting by the holidays:

• Peas by President’s Day
• Potatoes by St. Patrick’s Day, (this one is easy to remember)
• Corn and beans by Mother’s Day
• Tomatoes, squash and cucumbers by Frank Lloyd Wright’s birthday.  (Ok, this one is a bit esoteric – it’s June 8th.)

To get more detailed planting information a great resource is Seattle Tilth’s Maritime Northwest Garden Guide.