acorn farms

2011-06-14T06:08:00.000-07:00

Tokyo (CNN) -- A farmer's farewell, etched in white chalk, is echoing menacingly through Japan's agricultural sector.

"Wish there was no nuclear power plant. My endurance has come to an end," the note says.

The farmer, in his 50s, then killed himself on the land he struggled to maintain since Japan's tsunami and nuclear crisis began.

The dairy farmer's suicide message was left on the wall of one of the man's barns, members of a local farming bureau said. The man also apologized to his family and friends in the note.

Hiroyuki Ebihara, a member of a local chapter of Japan Agricultural Cooperatives, said he knew the farmer personally and tried to check in with him after the March 11 disaster.

On June 11, Ebihara says, members of his group found the farmer's body.

"The situation here is depressing for everyone," says Ebihara. "We are all in the same situation. Our future with daily farming is unclear, especially since we don't know what the compensation will be. We want TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company) or the government to come out with a clear plan for compensation."

The man had fled Japan with his family to the Philippines after the earthquake and tsunami. He returned to the farm after 10 days to care for his cows. The farmer's family remained in the Philippines until this week when they returned for the man's funeral.

He leaves behind a wife and two children, Ebihara says.

The agricultural sector of Soma -- the farmer's region -- has been deeply impacted by the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

full article here

charlotte center for urban agriculture visioning workshop summary report

2011-02-22T09:52:00.001-08:00

Click here for an online version of the report

the march of the lettuce

2011-02-10T09:14:00.001-08:00

chicken tractor

2011-02-07T07:40:00.000-08:00

Building a chicken tractor. The short and sweet version.

Build a 2" X 4" base that is 12' long X 8' wide.

Cattle panels attach to one side (hammer on U-shaped fasteners) and then bend over and attach to the other side. There are three panels used in this design, each 4' wide.

The extra cattle panel pieces are used to fashion end walls.

One end wall gets an access door. The entire chicken tractor gets covered in poultry mesh and all the connections are fastened with wire.

A tarp is added for sun/rain protection. The nesting box is attached. A rod is added for roosting and feeder and waterer are hung near the door and under the tarp.

Add chickens (these get to regularly wander outside on nice days).

Production Stuff

2010-06-19T11:43:00.000-07:00

high tunnel low tunnel

2010-03-11T09:13:00.000-08:00

Bend your own hoops.

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-7707-quick-hoops-bender-6-diam.aspx

deer fencing

2010-03-04T07:19:00.000-08:00

The Elma C Lomax Incubator Farm uses a fairly simple method of fencing as the primary way of excluding deer from the farm. Cedar posts are in place at the start of the fence and at major corners. Here you can see the electric line coming from underground. It attaches to the fence through a switch.

The rope itself is made of nylon and it has continuous strands of metal woven into it. Fiberglass rods are used to keep it at the right height. The deer have trouble with it because of deep perception.

Here you can see the fence as it runs the Northeastern boundary of the property.

Starting Seeds

2010-02-18T13:11:00.000-08:00

A vacuum seeder is used to seed 288 cell flats very quickly. Note: this one was made by Brad who is operating it.

Float bed for transplant production. The flats float on top of the water.

Empty flat

The underside of a flat. The hole lets in water.

A seedling rack with germination chamber at the bottom.

A timer controls the florescent lights.

A thermostat controls the heat mat in the germination chamber.

Inside the germination chamber.

Watering in a small container.

Watering in a kiddie pool.

stinging nettle

2010-02-02T06:41:00.000-08:00

superglue and testicles

2010-01-20T02:48:00.001-08:00

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Mass Backwards

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Health Care Crisis

mixer images

2010-01-19T06:53:00.000-08:00

Electric Concrete Mixer

Using a Mixer in the Greenhouse to Mix Soil

Using a Mixer to Make Cobb

CSA 2010 and a change

2010-01-16T04:49:00.000-08:00

Succession Planting

2009-11-19T07:11:00.001-08:00

What You Can Do

2009-11-17T18:53:00.000-08:00

understory cover crop

2009-11-05T08:19:00.001-08:00

wire leaf bins or compost bins

2009-10-29T07:12:00.001-07:00

upright planting box

2009-10-22T07:29:00.000-07:00

seed row trays

2009-10-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

star warz

2009-09-24T03:49:00.000-07:00

2009-09-22T16:35:00.001-07:00

Protect Insurance Companies PSA from Will Ferrell

wall vents

2009-08-20T05:32:00.000-07:00

learning

2009-05-09T17:15:00.001-07:00

rain barrel images

2009-02-10T09:59:00.000-08:00

pergola images

2009-02-05T11:30:00.000-08:00

keyhole garden

2009-02-05T10:07:00.001-08:00

Here's the keyhole garden concept.

Here's a raised bed version.

Here's a short video about building a keyhole garden in Lesotho.

time lapse snow pictures

2009-02-05T07:29:00.001-08:00

9am

10am

11am

12pm

1pm

2pm

3pm

4pm

5pm

6pm

7pm

8pm

7am

8am

9am

salem

2009-01-18T04:00:00.000-08:00

pumpkins

2009-01-16T13:06:00.001-08:00

sumac tea

2008-10-17T14:12:00.000-07:00

xtracycle

2008-10-14T17:38:00.001-07:00

by th

sisters

2008-10-13T12:00:00.000-07:00

i'm not going to try to explain.

2008-10-12T16:48:00.000-07:00

building rain barrels

2008-10-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

koda

2008-10-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

the slide

2008-10-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

at the party, keaton rules the sandbox

2008-10-07T05:00:00.000-07:00

berry baby

2008-10-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

stripping old bikes for parts

2008-10-05T05:12:00.000-07:00

mt. pleasant victory garden

2008-04-10T08:41:00.000-07:00

This is a guest post by a good friend in Mt. Pleasant SC, just over the Cooper River Bridge from Charleston. I love the gate detail.

Here's a few pics of my garden from a week or so ago. We've been getting killer sun then swamping rains, then sun again...

The lettuce box has been producing way more than we can eat for over a month now. The idea was to make a living salad bar, so you don't have to bend over while picking for dinner.

An unexpected benefit was the extreme lack of pests. No slugs, dirt...nothing has chewed on a single leaf. The little anole lizard is in charge of that crop. He hangs out in there all day.

The rain barrel, was full after two rain storms, and has stayed that way ever since.

Hard to believe that every household does not have such amenities. I spent $9 on half a year's salads.

when hawks attack

2008-03-27T10:01:00.001-07:00

While I was home helping to get Salem settled into our lives and us into hers, a hawk killed one of the chickens. I looked out of my front window to see the raptor eating one of my girls at the edge of my neighbor's yard. I shot a few pictures and then ran the bird off. The other hens were already huddled inside their hawk proof pen. They stayed safely under cover for a few days and will not be outside without me keeping watch until a little later in the spring. Hopefully by then there will be plenty of other critters for hawks to eat.

salem reynolds beatrix newton

2008-03-18T18:18:00.001-07:00

Born March 6 2008

Keaton turned two a few days later.

rough cut

2008-02-27T09:51:00.000-08:00

Here's the rough cut of the video that shows our home being insulated. Many thanks to the talented Charles Heilig for editing this puppy.

just some pics

2008-01-25T08:47:00.000-08:00

keaton phoenix

eggs for breakfast?

they're coming in different colours

store bought on the left - backyard on the right

before the slide

keaton's first cycle

ouch!

insulating a house built in 1930

2007-12-12T18:01:00.001-08:00

I could post many more photos and not do justice to the transformation of our home. We are now insulated from, or really just more effective at delaying the effects of, the second law of thermodynamics. It was also messy. And very worth it.

video coming up.

finally cooling off

2007-11-18T16:46:00.001-08:00

Xander sleeps while the leaves fall.

I you forget to harvest garlic it'll show up sooner or later.

Hay ride at the farm.

Extra pots for next year.

Keaton is finally coming around to hats.

2009 pineapple crop.

keaton at night

2007-11-14T18:09:00.001-08:00

the back up

2007-11-11T16:24:00.001-08:00

On Friday I stopped and bought this used bike for $40. It had a 23"Cro Moly frame, a U-Lock, a bottle holder, an on-board computer, an emergency tire kit, and a small seat bag. A complete back up bike almost ready to ride for $40.

ninja vs rooster

2007-11-07T05:14:00.001-08:00

place your bets...

questions concerning autumn 2007

2007-11-02T12:40:00.000-07:00

People often ask, "If you raise chicks in the city, what do you do with the roosters?" Well since a rooster is too loud for my neighbors, I do what any reasonable urban homesteader might do. I put said rooster in a cat carrier, strap it to my bicycle and pedal him out into the country to a farm who has room for him.

C-Rex the rooster

What was Keaton for Halloween?

A pumpkin.

Where were you last weekend?

The Community Solutions 4th Annual Peak Oil Conference of course.

When do you bake bread?

On Friday mornings with Keaton.

october 2007

2007-10-22T18:15:00.001-07:00

glut sauce and a pumpkin

shadow of next year's shower

matt's luffaattack of the luffas

david pimentel

2 of the three 'girls'

C-Rex and GG

the new chicken tractor

keaton goes to the fair

2007-10-03T06:41:00.000-07:00

I know this has turned into a photo album for Keaton. Please humor a proud father.

the cooper river bridge

2007-09-05T05:55:00.000-07:00

On the spur of the moment we visited friends in Charleston, SC this past weekend. On Monday morning Keaton and I rode from Mt. Pleasant over the new Cooper River bridge into downtown Charleston. This first photo shows where the following photos were taken.

little road warrior

2007-08-22T06:09:00.000-07:00

pensive

smiley

my old ride

my new ride

jon's garden follow up

2007-08-04T10:25:00.000-07:00

Perhaps you remember my brother's attempt to turn a small grass area at his rented home into a garden...

before

after

potatoes

a young watermelon

yellow wax beans

another melon

In a few months he's gone from only consuming his food to producing some of it as well. And at a rental.

saturday august 4 2007

2007-08-04T10:24:00.001-07:00

my lunch today: my wife's sourdough bread with home grown tomato and basil and some store bought cheese. she won't let me have goats. ;-) it was excellent.

later i saw this and was happy to remember that we don't have a TV. can you imagine how early and how often the television ads are going to arrive?!?!

local lunch on the lake

2007-07-31T09:44:00.000-07:00

my new office came with a lake.

from the garden for lunch: tomatoes, 2 different cukes, green beans and mashed potatoes.

mantis vs. cicada

2007-07-29T05:17:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I investigated the buzzing of a Cicada in a peach tree only to find it had been caught by a Praying Mantis. It's hard to see in this photo but the Mantis is hanging down and has the brown Cicada in its grip. The video below might show the battle better. Glad to have a growing population of Praying Mantis in the garden.

a possum in the hen house

2007-07-27T06:34:00.000-07:00

This possum killed four young chickens including a friendly frizzle I had taken a liking to. The fault lies not with this animal, who was doing what comes naturally to him, but with my security setup for my urban flock. The possum was dropped off miles from our home and security issues were addressed. Just because we don't have coyotes in town doesn't mean we don't have predators.

sunlight in summer

2007-07-17T17:43:00.000-07:00

pixie dust brushes off

thank you matt

already in the wake

cloudy at the ocean

shhh

never...

2007-07-11T17:43:00.000-07:00

trust a baby with a carrot.

perhaps you'd like to see her in action?

summer afternoon

2007-07-02T12:30:00.000-07:00

summer bouquet

golden amaranth

cooking potatoes in the solar oven

hot chicks

dill in bloom

more flowers

back from holiday

2007-06-21T08:47:00.001-07:00

volunteer sunflowers always bloom first

more community growing space

this year's first ripe tomato!

beans need mulching

more chard

baby chickens

jon's garden

2007-05-31T08:22:00.000-07:00

My brother has moved out of our home and is now renting half of a duplex several blocks away. Of course after moving in the next logical step was to create a garden space. Here are the before pictures. Perhaps I'll post a story over at Groovy Green about how this space turns out by season's end. The idea is to see how successful a renter can be at growing food in a somewhat temporary living situation. This is garden space number four now under our combined cultivation in the neighborhood.

more from the garden

2007-05-30T11:27:00.000-07:00

borage, nasturtium, sedum, carrots, lettuce, beets

cauliflower

another offering from the broccoli plants

what the heck do i do with kohlrabi?

many, many salads later the lettuce finally goes to seed

another tub pic

mixed spring vegetables

2007-05-29T06:25:00.001-07:00

red chard

mibuna, kohlrabi, lettuce, tomato, chamomile, amaranth

lettuce, tomato, chard, potato, squash

onion and kale

hugelkultur

keaton in a tub of water under a red maple tree

attack of the phoenix

2007-05-24T07:49:00.000-07:00

150 bags of out-o-season leaves makes one helluva compost pile.

keaton's kitty

2007-05-08T06:36:00.001-07:00

sprung

2007-04-22T11:53:00.000-07:00

keaton and a radish

nasturtiums

potatoes breaking ground

compost tea sample

here comes the nitrogen

after the freeze

2007-04-09T17:11:00.000-07:00

cardoon recipe anyone?

eggs and phlox

bronze arrow lettuce

crimson cover clover blooming

canary tongue lettuce

lenton rose

mid march

2007-03-14T17:35:00.000-07:00

the peach blooms

dandy greens

3 leafs

instrument of change

tigger guards the last of the dried chicken corn. cars, the kilns of the future.

slow peas please

welcome

2007-03-06T11:20:00.000-08:00

daffodil against oak tree

volunteer carrot (mother nature, the best seed starter)

worm bin waking up

rosemary blooming (time to cut for rooting new plants)

crocus

lettuce (and chickweed)