3 Container Gardens to Spark Your Creativity

Post author By Erica Strauss
Post date January 13, 2014
No Comments on 3 Container Gardens to Spark Your Creativity

Fuse/Thinkstock

Sometimes your outdoor space doesn’t allow for an in-ground garden, and sometimes you just want to have a little fun. That’s where container gardens come in. Whimsical container-garden themes allow the gardener to play around with interests—from pizza to spa treatments—while benefiting from the practical collection of plantings.

For any themed container planting, make sure your containers are generously sized. The container gardens below call for multiple plants, some of which can get fairly large, and it’s important to give your plants enough room to thrive. Large pots can be expensive, so get creative and look for ways to repurpose and reuse containers that fit with your theme. Whatever container you use should have adequate drainage. Almost all plants will die in constantly water-logged soil, so carefully add some drainage holes if they’re not already present.

Container culture can be hard on plants—temperature swings are more extreme, soil moisture content can change rapidly, and roots eventually reach the edge of the container—so start your container garden off right with a soil or soilless mix designed for container planting. Soilless mixes are lighter weight and offer easier root penetration to plants.

Your plants count on you for appropriate feeding and watering. A slow-release organic fertilizer and a top dressing of organic compost as a moisture-retaining mulch will help keep them healthy and thriving.

Theme 1: Pizza Garden
What’s better than family pizza night? Getting the kids excited about gardening! A pizza-themed container garden is just the right scale for children, and it’s so fun and visual that it will keep their interest over the growing season.

A large, round container that’s reminiscent of a pizza tray, such as a galvanized tub, is a good choice for a pizza garden. Make sure your container is at least 16 inches deep so deep-rooted plants have plenty of growing space.

Consider planting:

Patio tomato: Extreme Bush tomatoes are a good choice because they’re dwarfed and produce tasty, mid-sized fruits.
Bell pepper: Try California Wonder peppers for a classic sweet bell, or one of the adorable baby sweet pepper varieties—kids love these.
Jalapeño: If you like a little heat on your pie, try Early Jalapeño.
Basil: No pizza is complete without sweet basil. Try full-flavored Genovese.
Oregano: An essential flavoring in pizza sauce, Greek oregano is robust and excellent for pizza.
Parsley: Italian flat-leaf varieties are the most flavorful.
Onion starts: Pick a sweet variety well-suited to your day length. Walla Walla is an excellent choice for long-day growers.

Divide the container visually into six wedges, like the slices of a pizza. Use the onion starts to line the edge of each “slice.” In the back wedge, plant the dwarf tomato. To each side of that, plant the bell pepper and the jalapeño. Fill in the front wedges with basil, parsley and oregano. Grow your pizza garden in full sun.

Theme 2: Cocktail Garden
The art of the mixed drink is back, and just as with food, the freshest ingredients will give you the best results. If you like playing bartender, grow your own cocktail components and get ready to mix the best drinks in town.

Get the planting party started with your container: An old, halved whisky or wine barrel is perfect for this theme and, who knows, maybe some residual whisky from the wood will keep your plants extra happy. Think about what you like to mix up and drink, and let that dictate your plantings.

Consider planting:

Dwarf lemon or lime tree: Most cocktails worth drinking include some kind of acidic component, and lemons and limes are the most versatile.
Mint: Mojito mint is the variety preferred for the Cuban drink of the same name, and southerners swear by Kentucky Colonel for their juleps.
Strawberries: I like Shuksans for their sweet but balanced flavor. Make strawberry daiquiris for a crowd or garnish a flute of champagne with one perfect berry.
Borage: With a light cucumber flavor, borage is a great addition to Bloody Marys or any gin-based cocktail. Even a classic gin and tonic is more elegant when garnished with borage’s cornflower-blue blossoms.
Golden Pineapple sage: A delicious herb that really does smell like pineapple, it’s the perfect addition to a fresh pineapple-infused vodka martini.
Cucumber: Grow Lemon cucumber for a juicy heirloom that you can muddle together with gin, lime and basil for a garden-fresh take on the gimlet.

Plant your citrus tree at the center of your container, with Pineapple sage and borage just in front. Tuck in mint behind the citrus tree (it won’t mind the shade so much), and let the strawberries and cucumber vines tumble over the edge of your container.

Theme 3: Spa Garden
If you think the only thing more relaxing than an afternoon in the garden is an afternoon at the spa, combine your interests by growing a spa garden. A vintage clawfoot tub, no longer serviceable for baths, can be repurposed as the ultimate spa garden planter. Plants should be selected for their health and beauty properties and appealing, relaxing fragrance.

Consider planting:

English lavender: Well-known in aromatherapy for its calming properties, the oils from lavender are also gentle and beneficial for inflamed skin.
Damask rose: Commonly used in perfume and rosewater manufacturing, Rosa damascena is a high-fragrance, old-fashioned rose perfect for incorporating into your spa day. A few petals strewn into a hot bath are the ultimate DIY luxury.
Lemon verbena: With a clean, pure citrus scent, lemon verbena is uplifting and cleansing.
Rosemary: Rosemary makes an excellent astringent for tired skin or rinse for oily hair.
Peppermint: Invigorating and refreshing, use mint as a toner or infuse in olive oil for the ultimate foot-rub oil. Mint is too strong to use on more delicate skin, however, so don’t use this oil on your face or sensitive areas of the body.
Chamomile: A strong infusion of chamomile added to bathwater, with a hot cup of chamomile tea alongside, will both relax you and help to smooth skin and clear up any blemishes on your body. (Note: Use with caution if allergic to ragweed, chamomile’s notorious cousin.)

Plant the rose at the back center of your container, with the rosemary, lavender and lemon verbena forming a semicircle around. The peppermint and chamomile should be planted at the front as a ground-cover. A spa garden can provide a hard-working gardener with the ultimate reward: peace and relaxation at the end of a long day of weeding or planting.

Check out more container-gardening articles:

11 Herbs for Indoor Container Gardening
10 Ingredients to Make Your Own Potting Soil
Container Garden Obscurity
Self-watering Container Blueprints
Ornamental Container Designs [VIDEO]

About the Author: Erica Strauss writes Northwest Edible Life, a blog about gardening, food preservation, urban homesteading and living a homemade life in the Pacific Northwest.

Tags container garden, container gardens, container plants, Lists

Animals Poultry

Chickens in Diapers: Keep House Chickens Without the Mess

Post author By Dani Yokhna
Post date January 13, 2014
2 Comments on Chickens in Diapers: Keep House Chickens Without the Mess

Have you ever wanted a fancy house bird, like a parrot or cockatoo, but you don’t have enough money to buy one? Then think chickens—house chickens! You can bring a feathered friend or two into your home.

Years ago my Mom wrote a book called Hobby Farms Chickens: Tending a Small-Scale Flock for Pleasure and Profit. While she was writing it she joined a fun and active YahooGroup called “housechickens,” where she met loads of folks who keep pet chickens in their homes. As one participant told Mom, “What the difference between a parrot and a chicken besides $3,000?” Makes sense to Uzzi and me!

You’re probably thinking, what about all that poop? Not to fear! It’s not as though chickens make poop the size of a cow pie, and you can diaper your chickens to avoid the mess.

Scores of inventive entrepreneurs offer a huge array of custom-made chicken diapers just for you and your birds. Visit your favorite search engine, enter “chicken diapers” and you’ll see. Or make your own chicken diapers using any of several patterns you can find online.

The queen of chicken diapers is a lady who Mom met through “housechickens” forum. She is Ruth Halderman, of Hot Springs, Ark., an analytical chemist and founder of ChickenDiapers.com. Ruth began making chicken diapers in 2002 when she moved to the country and adopted a pair of orphaned chicks. She quickly realized that un-diapered chickens running amok through the house was not a sanitary situation, so she whipped up some roomy cloth diapers with disposable liners and her business was born.

Any kind of chicken with a tail knob and stiff tail feathers can wear a diaper (rumpless breeds, like purebred Araucanas and Manx Rumpys, can’t). Low-slung chickens like Japanese bantams require special low-rider diapers that Ruth sells. Even chicks can wear diapers when they begin growing stiff tail feathers at roughly 4 weeks of age. Ruth crafts stretchy, adjustable diapers for chicks, but a typical chick grows through at least three different sizes before it reaches its full size.

An adult hen’s diaper usually needs changing every two to three hours, but disposable plastic liners mean you needn’t change the whole thing. Some people keep house chickens in comfy indoor cages at night and when they’re away from home, so diapering is a part-time thing.

Keeping in mind that the bigger the chicken, the more poop it generates, most house chickens tend to be smaller breeds, especially bantams, such as Silkies, Nankins and teensy Seramas, but most chickens of any size can wear chicken diapers.

Be sure to check local zoning laws before adopting house chickens and read the fine print. In some places, you can legally keep chickens outdoors but not in your home. And many zoning statutes say no roosters.

Adult chickens raised with other chickens are easily tamed and can make good pets; many house chickens move indoors as ill or injured members of backyard flocks and stay. However, starting with a baby chick or two usually works best. You can buy small numbers of chicks from breeders and at farm-store chick days, but an ideal place to purchase two or three healthy peeps, particularly of rare and heritage breeds, is My Pet Chicken, where you can also order everything, including diapers and poultry panties (diapers have disposable liners, panties don’t), you’ll need to raise and keep them.

Once you have your future house chicks, take them out of the brooder often and spend time holding them and stroking their heads and chests. When they get older, feed them tidbits and gently stroke their wattles; this is a surefire way to a pet chicken’s heart.

House chickens aren’t for everyone, but if you think you’d like some, join the “housechickens” Yahoo Group to see what it’s all about. Then try it! You’re sure to fall in love with a smart, cuddly house chicken, and your chicken is sure to fall in love with you.

Ask Martok!
Do you have a livestock or wildlife question you want me to answer? Send me your question!
Please keep in mind that I receive a lot of questions, so I won’t always be able to answer each one immediately. In the case of an animal emergency, it’s important to reach out to your veterinarian or extension agent first.

« More Mondays with Martok »

Tags bantam chickens, bantams, chicken diapers, house chickens, pet chickens, Silkies, tail feathers

Homesteading

5 Uses for Maple Syrup Beyond Breakfast

Post author By Brian Landrum
Post date January 10, 2014
No Comments on 5 Uses for Maple Syrup Beyond Breakfast

If you were lucky enough to harvest your own maple syrup, you might be wondering how many pancakes it’s going to take to make a dent in the supply of jars stacked in the pantry. Although syrup is the naturally perfect garnish for nearly any grain-based griddle dish, its possibilities in the kitchen and home are only limited by the syrup maker’s imagination. Yes, you have an abundance of all-natural sweetener on your hands, but if that syrup has ever seeped over to your eggs or bacon, you’ve likely discovered the magic it works to amplify the savory and salty sides of life, as well.

Let that syrup-sticky breakfast plate be your inspiration to experiment with maple syrup in your cooking, baking and household activities. To help get your mind rolling, here are five simple but maybe less-traditional places to add a good glug of maple sweetness.

1. Snow
That’s right. If you’re blessed enough to enjoy a foot or two of snow each year, bring some inside. Pack a cake pan, pie pan or another like-sized container with clean, fresh snow. Using a candy thermometer, bring 1/2 cup maple syrup to 235 degrees F (the “soft ball” stage of candy). Turn off the heat, let the syrup cool for a minute, then carefully drizzle it over the pan full of snow. The snow will turn into a lovely taffy candy wherever the syrup hits, a chewy little winter treat. Eat it all, or eat a little—if it melts down, you’ll simply be left with maple syrup to reuse.

2. Cured Meats
If, like me, you sometimes stay up at night drooling over pictures of deli sandwiches, you might try a drizzle of syrup over any choice of your favorite salty slices of lunchmeat. I don’t know the chemistry behind the union, but maple syrup and lunchmeat, or any cured meat, in my experience, absolutely love one another. It doesn’t take much—don’t over-sweeten—but a light drizzle of syrup along with the usual toppings will leave a smile on your face. Bologna is a great example, here. I know, I know—just try it, especially grilled with some cheese. Trust me.

3. Candles
Burn an inexpensive, unscented votive candle until there’s a pool of melted wax around the wick. Add a few drops of syrup to the pool, and in minutes, the room will smell like a syrup factory. This is a great way to call friends or children to the table, especially when a warm bottle of syrup sits in the center, waiting to be used.

4. The Frying Pan
When frying meats or vegetables, one often dredges the item to be fried in an egg-milk mixture before the final dry coating of choice. Add some syrup to the egg-milk wash for a nice distinctive hint of maple. Try this with whatever you like to fry, from chicken to okra. Baby Bella mushroom caps are my favorite: Dredge in an egg/milk/syrup bath, coat with a nicely seasoned cornmeal, and fry away. You’ll soon wonder where all the fried goodness went.

5. The Slow Cooker
Just about any meat- or root vegetable-based dish, cooked slowly in its own juices or over an open fire, will gain a smoky sweetness from a small amount of maple syrup (the darker, the better). Have a roast and veggies in the slow cooker? Add 1/2 cup syrup, and you’ll never want carrots and potatoes without it again. Firing up the grill? Use the syrup as a glaze, brushed on like barbecue sauce, for a sweet, crispy change of pace. For a more subtle effect, add a few glugs to your favorite marinade.

These are just a few ideas I’ve tried, none of them new or brilliant, but they might be some new ways to put that syrup you love so much to good use. The possibilities for maple syrup are only as limited as the user. Whether you put one of these methods to use, try your own ideas or just keep the syrup on lockdown for serious pancakes and waffles, be sure to share, use and enjoy it well, however you like.

Tags Lists, pancakes, slow cooker, waffles

Homesteading

Winter is Temporary

No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. —Hal Borland (HobbyFarms.com)

Let’s just be honest: It was cold this week. Temperatures plummeted to nigh-unbearable levels across the U.S., thanks to the much-discussed polar vortex that moved through over a two-day span, shattering record-low temperatures nationwide and plummeting wind chills into the negative double digits.

Here in Lexington, Ky., where the HF editorial office is located, we didn’t get the worst of the vortex’s chilly wrath, but my phone did clock the temperature at -3 degrees F with a wind chill of -26 degrees F Tuesday morning?definitely not what we’re used to in the Bluegrass State. It’s not even what I’m used to as a Yankee transplant, despite growing up in northeastern Ohio and going to college in Cleveland’s Lake Erie Snowbelt.

As I headed out to my car Monday morning, head ducked against the wind, coffee mug trembling in my shivering, gloved hand, the realization that I had to scrape a thick layer of ice and snow off of my windshield in the subzero wind chill was extraordinarily unwelcome. (As was the imminent discovery that my car’s driver’s side door was frozen solid—it finally thawed Thursday morning, making for some interesting car entries in the early part of the week.) I begrudgingly scraped my car out of the ice and climbed in through the passenger door, envious all the while of my Floridian relatives, who I imagined to be relaxing on the beach, sipping homemade soda and throwing back their heads in laughter.

Every time I climbed into my car in some new creative way, dropped my keys because my hands were shaking from the cold, or added another layer of clothing to my daily outfit, I thought of Hal Borland’s quote above: This winter may be intense, but it won’t stick around forever. Eventually, the ice, snow and chill will all recede, and the mild temperatures and widespread green of spring will approach and take its place. Spring will give way to summer, which will blossom into autumn and eventually return to winter. (We just won’t think about that distant part of the cycle right now.)

This positive thinking might not have warmed my frozen toes or made my car door usable again, but it did offer a mental reprieve from the frightful weather outside. (As did the giant pot of chili I made Monday night; my mother always said there was no better food in winter than a steaming bowl of soup.) Lo and behold, the polar vortex eventually gave way to “normal” January temperatures across the country—Lexington is enjoying a positively balmy 36-degree day as I write this.

So, as wintry weather continues over the next few months, and you find yourself despairing while you muck out the chicken coop, just remember: Winter is going to have to eventually give up the ghost and spring will be right on its heels. As for immediate winter-weather comfort and relief, I’d recommend an extra pair of mittens as you do farm chores, a roaring fire when you come in from the cold and as much soup as your stomach can hold.

« More Farm Inspiration »

Tags farm inspiration, freeze, freezing, polar vortex, quote, snow, winter

Homesteading