Rancher Ron 1, Blackberry Bush 0

It's been a while since I've blogged, but not because I haven't been busy.

We wanted to get one more big project before the rain starts, and that big project was a permanent fence along our stream. This jumped to the head of the list because of a program we are part of with the King County Conservation District. Since we attended their Farm Plan classes and then got a Farm Plan, we are eligible to get reimbursed by the County for certain projects. Things like our manure bins, animal containment areas, and wetland buffer fences are reimbursed up to set percentages.

The buffer fence is around 75%.

We had a project manager from the Conservation District come out to help draw out where the fence will go to qualify for a Wetlands Restoration Project. After we do our fence, the KCD will come out and restore as much of our stream buffer to native plants. They say they will also maintain it for three years. This is very good news for us.

The first step was clear out some of the blackberries that were right on the new fence line and get the post holes dug. I decided to hire The Brush Monster. It's a bit spendy ($160/hr) but I think it's money well spent. If you've ever taken out blackberry bushes by hand, check this machine out.

Rancher Ron 1 - Blackberry Bushes 0 from ron upshaw on Vimeo.

We decided that since this part of the pasture gets pretty wet in the winter, we'd go with 4x6 pressure treated posts, and 180lbs of cement in each hole. That's totally overkill, but I only want to do this thing once. Since we're getting reimbursed for some of the cost, I spent a few hundred dollars extra on bigger posts and more cement.

I'll get some pics of how things turned out...

From City Boy Starts Farmin'

Pickles 3 Ways...

So I had a bunch of onions out in the garden and didn't know what to do with them all. Did not seem like the best thing to give away... "Hey, you want some free onions?" - "Um, thanks?"

So I decided to try my hand at making pickles. Since I'd never done it before, I made pickles 3 ways. One was an English recipe, one was my own spicy creation, and one I got from Good Eats.

Pickles Three Ways from Upshaw Ron on Vimeo.

If you want the original from Alton Brown - here you go:

After a taste test - don't even bother with anything but the Good Eats recipe. They are awesome! The best pickles I've ever had. Went through my whole stash in a few days. It would even be worth it if you don't have a garden - just buy onions and pickle cucumbers.

Best. Pickles. Ever.

See you next time!

Rancher Ron

REVIEW: DIG Drip Irrigation System

I've heard a few people call it "Chore Efficiency" but I just call it lazy. Or maybe I am being efficient. I'm talking about watering the plants. We've spent $500 easy on new plants around the house, and watering is a pain. Plus we're going out of town for vacation, and don't want to come back to a bunch of dead plants.

My first try at doing the drip system was in my garden when I saw a kit on sale at Harbor Freight for $10. It didn't work too well for me. In fairness, I think I was asking too much of it. This kit would work great if you just need to water some planters or a small herb garden.


So I ended up getting a much beefier system at Home Depot. It's the DIG Micro Sprinkler Watering Kit. The basic kit at Home Depot was $26. I got one for the front of the house, and one for the garden. I also bought an extra 100 ft. of the half inch tubing. I think 150 ft is about the max for length, and I needed about 140 ft.

Here's a video of my install.

Review of the DIG Drip Irrigation System from Upshaw Ron on Vimeo.

Now that I've had it for a few days, I'm really happy that I got the battery powered timer.
If you're going to "automate" your watering, might as well do it all the way!

So overall, I'm really quite pleased with the micro sprinkler kit.

See you next time.

From City Boy Starts Farmin'

My DVD is on Amazon!

This is cool news. I just got a DVD I produced with my buddy Kenan on Amazon.com.

We did it a few years ago. It's called Hike Seattle.com. Great hikes close to home. It's basically a half hour video for the beginning hiker or for a hiker that's new to the Puget Sound area. We cover a bunch of really cool hikes, and cover what gear you'll need including the 10 essentials. If you're into hiking - check it out.



Thanks

From City Boy Starts Farmin'

Top 5 Farmer Father's Day Gifts

So Father's Day is right around the corner, but what do you give your dad if he's a country boy? NO SOCKS or BOXER SHORTS. Put some thought into it and get him something he'll actually like. Here's my top 5 list for this year.

5) A Weather Station. This one is the La Crosse Wireless Station. Dad's love things that are wireless, and love checking the weather. Mark my words, you'll start to hear things at the dinner table like, "We had a max wind speed today of 17 miles per hour." Or, "Guess how much rain fell last night." Believe me, Dad will love this one. $70



4) A Weed Puller. May I present to you the Yard Butler Rocket. It really works and saves your back. Sit and get a chuckle as you watch dad wander around the yard just looking for a weed to pull. $38



3) Skidding Tongs. Trust me on this one. I just got a pair of skidding tongs, and I couldn't wait to hook em' up to the tractor and start dragging some stumps around. If your Dad has a chain saw, then he needs a pair of Skidding Tongs! I know you have no idea what this is, but Dad will love it. You use these tongs to pick up or drag stumps. A major plus when it's time to cut firewood. Bonus: dad gets to pretend he's a real life lumberjack! $54



2) A Metal Detector. I know what you're thinking - that's the dorkiest gift ever. But every dad would love to have one of these but it's one of those things you just don't buy for yourself. Believe me, Dad will be happy he got this one, and I bet you he finds some strange piece of metal on the property within a week! $60



1) A Nail Gun. This is the one that I have, and I use it all the time on the ranch. One prerequisite: make sure Dad already has a compressor. If not, then buy the cordless nail gun - a bit more expensive, but there will be an ear to ear grin on Dad's face when he opens this up. Trust me. $209



Good luck! And treat your Farmer Dad right this year!

From City Boy Starts Farmin'

Top 5 Things for a Lazy Gardener.

Well, it's my second year of gardening. I must admit I went a bit overboard last year. I think that's probably pretty standard. You can use the search box at the top of my blog to find the plans for my raised beds if you want to see the stuff from last year.

But here's my list of things I learned to be a lazy gardener.

1) Seeds suck. Don't buy them till you have a few years experience and find that you LOVE gardening. I went crazy last year buying seeds, and because I'm a beginner, it's a total waste of time and money. I don't know how to start things inside - I don't have growing lights - and I don't really have the time.

2) Buy The Starters. For several reasons. Less work for you - that's the most important. And second, because you'll know what the plant looks like. Last year, when I planted seeds, I couldn't tell the plants I wanted from the weeds. Finally, you get to eat stuff quicker. In the end, it was only a few dollars more that the mountain of seeds I bought last year.

3) Less Is More. Mistake #2 from last year is that I tried to do too much. Start small and you'll realize that unless you cook a gourmet meal every night, that it's actually quite hard to keep up with the yield of even a moderate sized garden.

4) Raised Beds Rule. This is the one area that I give myself credit in. I knew going in that I did not want to be down on my hands and knees fooling around with these plants. The raised beds that I made bring everything right up where I can get to them. I did make the boxes deeper this year, and that helped out immensely.

5) Automatic Watering. This is the next project on my list. For around $30, you can set up a system that will water automatically. Just turn the little timer, and away it goes. A must have for the lazy gardener.

So here's some video of stuff this year:

Ron's Raised Garden from R. Upshaw on Vimeo.

See You Next Time

From City Boy Starts Farmin'

Good Bye Dwarf Spruce Trees...

A word about Craigslist. It can be the best thing ever (see: Total Gym for $25) and it can be the worst thing ever. I speak of the "Free" section. I don't know what it is that is encoded in the DNA of the people who love the free section of Craigslist, but there seems to be a few nucleotides missing. I put an ad up for free Dwarf Spruce Trees.

I figured that someone who needed some trees could transplant them and save a lot of money. Who am I kidding? I also wanted some free yard work. I needed to clear them via orders from the Cowgirl, and thought I could kill two birds with one stone. Lets just say to call these people flaky isn't fair to a biscuit. But after several start/stops, I managed to get the area cleaned out.

I wasn't totally convinced we needed to do it. I kinda like the dwarf spruce trees, especially in the winter when there's some snow on them - seems like a row of Christmas trees, but I must admit that I like the new bed much better.

Good Bye Spruce Trees from ron upshaw on Vimeo.

Next up, I need to install an automatic watering system for these flower beds. I'm tired of watering already! Funny how one project creates another.

See you next time

From City Boy Starts Farmin'