Zen & The Art Of Lawn Maintenance

A basic guide on how to mow your lawn like a zen rock garden & why you would even want to. Quickly look out your window at your lawn. Is it boring? Why not transform what grass you have into an extension of the life within and without of your lawn? And while you are add it, why not add in some food or medicinal herbs? After taking time to make your lawn more than just some grass growing out there, you will feel a sense of accomplishment and peace.

The art of mowing your lawn like a zen garden is something I noticed while a young kid, mowing lawns around the neighborhood for small change. It was quite simple to just mow back & forth, in straight lines, but I noticed that the older gentlemen where rolling around in circles on their riding lawn-mowers. And then I saw the grass. It looked, well, like it was supposed to! A wonderful thought came to me... what if I added this around and around technique, even though I had a put mower, and could I not, because I had a push mower, add even more maneuverability, and thus more definition to this technique. And so I committed myself, and to this day, I cannot mow a single lawn without mowing in tune with not only the outer objects, but the objects within the lawn's boundaries themselves.

Just what to do?
So, as you start at , lets say where the corner of the lawn meets the walkway to your front door, start mowing the outer edge, moving around, tracing the outline of your yard. If you are using a gas or electric mower with an out chute, make sure you are pointing the scraps and cuttings chute away from the yard, not into it. If you encounter any trees, shrubs, or planting boxes, or lets say, your mailbox, add that to the tracing you are creating. Now, slowly spiral your way inward, one outline at a time. As you encounter new objects, treat them with the same respect as your mailbox, and add them into the entire groove of it all. Eventually, you will get to the point where there is no lawn left. At this point, either turn off the mower and wheel it out, or pick up the reel mower and carry it out of the yard. Now get a sweet tea, lemonade, beer, or whatever, sit back, and notice how great your yard looks!

So, next time you want to add some fun to the chore of mowing, try focusing on all the things within and without of your yard. Add more texture and life into your life!

Spring Sprung Sprang.....

   Our veggies in the garden are popping up everywhere! this is my favorite part of gardening...  seeing what makes it into newborns...  like babies, i want to tend them and watch them grow! I love the way the little sprouts push out of the soil and reach for the sun! We have a better organized garden this year, thanks to the Garden Party Extravaganza! I cannot wait to see wait this next week brings!

 So, efficiency aside, I started tilling the garden today by hand...  We cannot afford to gas up the tiller, so I figured I'd just do it the old fashioned way! A lot of work, let me tell ya'! Last year we had 3 other beds we did by hand too.  this year it wasn't so bad, as the soil is doing really good! A primer for those of you who don't know how to till by hand:
Stage 1:




 Step 1:
   Start by digging a shovel fully into the soil.










 
 
Step 2:
Flip the soil in the shovel over and back into the small hole you just dug up.




Step3:
stab the dirt clod first one way,






 

                     
then the other.

Stage 2:
We used a Weed Witch for this job. Just break it all up into a good bed!







I really love getting out and doing it, now that the weather is permitting and the ground has finally dried up enough to do so!

Upate...

Been a while since my last update blog, SORRY! Been busy with all the summer fun!
I have two tour vids up on YouTube (links : PART 1- PART2). Been busy having fun and "workin' hard in the yard"! Got two new rain barrels (55 gallon) to hook up into the system. Been weeding and what-not. The garden is going strong. We left the gate open the other night and ended up losing a bunch of lettuce to the bunnies! Darn them bunnies! LOL - but all-in-all, it's been a busy and fun summer so far here at The Little Red Homestead In The Woods!

Update...

Well,... the upper garden is planted, fenced, and gated! The lower garden is planted, but still need to get the fence and gate in. The Eyeball planter near the faerie sanctuary is planted with purple potatoes! The grapes are in the ground and thriving. We have two root-rot raspberry survivors in the berry patch. Pathways are taking shape! The pond is looking good! Will get an awesome deal on a 300 gallon, caged water tank for storage next week! Whew... out of breath and breaking a sweat!

a little father's day math...

Okay. Wow. I decided this morning, being Father's Day, I would do some math to feel good. I wanted to figure out just how much square footage of planting space we have and are going to plant. First, I started with just the two gardens. Then I realized we have lots and lots of raised beds and planting spaces. Plus the arbor. Plus the greenhouse. Plus the berry patch. Wow. After spending lots of time measuring, then some more time converting and adding, I came up with 135' x 228' of actual planting space. That's veggies and herbs and a few flowers (we don't have many of those! Most of our space is for herbs and veggies!). If I did the math right, that's 30,780 square footage of planting space available. Again, wow. I do feel blessed!

New Video Update From the Garden!

Updates and happenings around the homestead...

The garden is ready for fencing and planting! The row mounds are done!

And I have started digging the pond out! I will be lining it this weekend. The hill is made of the dirt pulled out for the pond. It will create a berm to separate the pond from the main activity of the backyard, so that any wildness will not be hampered by us!

Our grapes, while still in pots, are doing good!

Our green house is full of life, just waiting to be transplanted!

The strawberries are starting to bear fruits!

Even the peas are getting into it!

We set up a small pool for the kiddos, and I am now searching the countryside for a free dis-used hot tub to add to the mix! I was given the 'Stylish Blogger Award' by Leigh from '5 Acres & A Dream' blog. accordingly, I have to pass it on to seven other blogs. Here are seven blogs I find enjoyable! Please visit them!

1. afloat the tributary of sentience - good musing and beautiful photography!
2. Forest Walk Art - good pictures. Enjoyable!
3. Living Our Way - homesteading and homeschooling...
4. Rainwalker Mesa - pictures and thoughts from up on the mesa.
5. Nine Bean Rows in a Bee-Loud Glade - new blog, but from a neighbor here in the Willamette Valley!
6. Wranglerstar - Off grid homestead building project
7. Whose Woods - running through the woods..

Been busy.....

After hand tilling the perimeter of both gardens.. and the fact that the rains have finally subsided... I borrowed Jack's tiller to get the brunt of the work done!

music: Devil Makes Three , "Ten Feet Tall"

Weekly Update: chicken herding, lopped limbs, and greenhouse jungle...

-Those rascally chickens! trying to keep them from going down the driveway to the road, or out of the front yard even, is turning out to be a fun challenge! Although they killed my miner's lettuce, they still seem to be a source of amusement every single day! I am so entertained by how intelligent they are, and by their individual personalities (naturally). Big Momma is still rooster her 1 egg. The babies are getting HUGE! some are as big as the layers now!

-Jack & I did some simple pruning around the yard today. Mostly around the arbor. Got to let that sun shine in!

-Some of our starts are going in the ground this week... And high time to do it! It is a practical jungle in there! Not to mention the untrimmed grass that is now at chest level - oops... never trimmed it when we put the greenhouse up, and now that the weed-eater is broke, it looks like I will have to pull it out by hand! I plan on laying some sort of ground cover in there when I am done...

-Helped Jack haul in his Hot Tub, and got to planning more of our hot tub adventure. Same place, but now that my shoulders lifted part of the 800lbs of his empty, figured I better start planning the footing structure and getting it done, because once it's in, it's in!

-Just found out that Glory Bee sells their second-hand 55 gallon food grade barrels, for $10 - That's $5 better than the other place I found, and I believe they are closer! So the rain harvesting system is on!

End of the week post

Started some major marketing/advertising today for our eggs. We have been posting 2 times a week on craigslist, and we have a sign at the mailbox on our road, but orders just weren't coming in fast enough. So I decided to push it a bit and see what happens! If we run out, then, oh well! But with our homestead and Jack & Joey's producing 17-18 average per day, the back order shouldn't last long! I am setting up a weekly delivery to Eugene on Wednesdays, and a weekly to Corvallis (still up in the air about what day.). I think this should be a good start to get word of mouth flowing and also some regular return customers!

Started hand turning the upper garden last week. BOY! What a chore! But, with perseverance and determination, our gardens should be going full without any gas powered help! YEA! I am just working the perimeter of the upper garden and then the lower garden first, and then plan to attack it in full force and in earnest!

Just started reading a wonderful book by Joel Salatin called “The Sheer Ecstasy Of Being A Lunatic Farmer”. It is about how his family's farm, Polyface Farm, which sits in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, is using a new (old!), and oft times shunned practice of farming with a solar-driven, pasture-based, locally-marketed, symbiotic, synergistic, relationally-oriented system. Eye-opening, and inspiring me to keep getting my fingers dirty, I am recommending this book to all!

As this week closes, I bid thank you to my visiting elders, who, lasting impressions aside, have brought us back, face-to-face, with what being the caretakers of a homestead, in a small community, really mean. Thank you!

So many chickens,... So little time.....

Just a quick update:
Now that we are getting on average 6 eggs a day, this next easter egg hunt coming up in a few days is going to be great! Between our eggs and Jack's 2 dozen a day, there are going to be soooooo many colored eggs! It's gonna take a bazillion hours to paint them all!
I emailed a company near here to get a few rain barrels for the water reclamation system, so I am starting to plan it in earnest now.
A found a used, small engine to convert for use in my first wind generator. Expect post on its construction, as well as its tests and usage.
Finally felt comfortable turning off the light in the pump house. Not too worried about freeze now, however, I am still lighting the stove sometimes to keep the girls warm.
Amanda has started a huge run of starts in the green house from seed, and just yesterday started the second run of seeds... If the weather keeps up good, I will be tilling the garden proper soon!
I been filming a lot with the new camcorder and am learning many new ways to get it to internet format. editing is still the biggest time loss...
Plan on getting a load of manure to turn into the firepit herb bed soon from a local company only five miles away! Yea for local animal poop!
Starting the ditch digging tomorrow for the Faerie Sanctuary entrance stream. I will have help via Shamus!
Will also be getting the firepit herb bed pre-compost till done tomorrow.

Video Tour 1

It has been a week since I posted anything, so I thought I would do something big... hopefully, you all will enjoy!

second labyrinth design sketch

So, this is the second sketch. the first was better, but the program went kaput on me, and I lost it! The original had dandelions as well as a maze-like one, but I decided to incorporate the goddess symbol into this one. What do you think? The top portion is just south of the apple trees, and the bottom portion is aside the Faery Sanctuary.