Start a Quick and Easy
also produce a year’s supply of several tasty herbs, which will attract droves of pollinators and other beneficial insects. If you’re new to food gardening, your biggest challenge may be planting crops at the right times. A food garden should be planted in phases, so that every crop gets the type of weather it prefers. The following season-byseason instructions for our easy food garden (see the plan on Page 158) show how seasonal planting sequences work. You’ll also find a few labor-saving tips, such as letting pole beans twine up tall sunflowers.
Food Garden This season-by-season planting plan for a no-dig, easy-care bag garden features 25 favorite crops.
I
f your yard has a space that’s at least 20 by 28 feet and gets full or almost full sun, you can grow enough vegetables to have fresh food all season with surprisingly little effort. Go ahead and dig beds if you’re lucky enough to have naturally fertile, welldrained soil, but don’t let soil flaws stop you from starting a food garden. Instead, use this quick and simple bag-gardening technique. This method is almost too easy to believe, but it absolutely works! Gardening in bags of topsoil lets you get a garden going today, and offers these additional benefits: • In the course of a season, the topsoil bags will smother the grass underneath them, so you won’t have to dig up and remove the grass sod. • The bags eliminate aggravation from seedling-killing cutworms, which are caterpillars
Early Spring
commonly found in soil where lawn grass has been growing. • Bag gardens have few (if any) weeds, because bagged soils and planting mixes are pasteurized to kill weed seeds. • You can eventually gather up the plastic bags and dig their contents into permanent beds, or just lay down a new batch of bags.
What Can I Grow? Whether you dig right in or start with bags, you can’t go wrong with the selection of 25 easy-to-grow crops on Page 158. In addition to plenty of fresh veggies to put on the table and to store, this garden plan will CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: WILLIAM HOWELL GOLSON; KEITH WARD/JOHN GRUEN; KEITH WARD
By Barbara Pleasant
1 Prepare your site. You can dig beds the traditional way, or you can plant most of your garden in bags. If you’re using bags, you’ll need about 25 40-pound bags to cover the five main beds. See Bed 3 on Page 158 for guidance on how to arrange the bags when starting your garden. Definitely dig the squash bed (Bed 7) and the circular bed (Bed 4), mixing in a 2-inch layer of good compost as you work. 2 Use a utility knife to cut out a large, rectangular window on the upper surface of each bag. Leave the sides and 2 inches of each top edge intact, resembling a picture frame (see illustration, above). Lightly dust the surface of the soil inside the bags with organic fertilizer and mix it in with a trowel. (Skip this if the bag’s label says fertilizer has been added.) Using a screwdriver or a big knife, stab each bag through at least a dozen times to create plenty of drainage holes in the bottom. Plant roots will use these holes to grow down into the soil below the bags.
Mid-Spring 1 Plant onions, beets, and early lettuce. About four weeks before your last frost, plant onion seedlings in Bed 1. (To find the average last spring frost for your location, go to www.motherearthnews. com/frost-dates.) Water well to settle the soil around the roots. Sow beet seeds half an inch deep and 2 inches apart. Sow some early lettuce in Bed 3.
Leave a 2-inch rim of plastic around the edges of each bag to keep the soil from spilling and to help retain moisture.
2 Plant potatoes and peas. Set potatoes 2 inches deep and 12 inches apart in Bed 2, flanked by double rows of bush snap or snow peas. These short, bushy varieties don’t need a trellis if grown closely together, although poking
a few sticks into the row between the plants will help keep them off the ground. 3 Plant greens and herbs. Plant lettuce, dill, cilantro, and chard seeds in Bed 6. Plant chard the same way you planted beets. Set out potted perennial herbs (oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme) in Beds 3 and 6. Make a second sowing of lettuce and cilantro one week before your last frost. 4 Mulch, mulch, mulch. About three weeks after you’ve planted your beds, thin seedlings to correct spacing (check seed packets) and hoe or pull weeds. Mulch the garden with grass clippings, hay, or shredded leaves.
Choosing the Right Bags of ‘Soil’
Garden centers typically sell a dizzying array of bagged soil mixes and soil amendments, so choosing one can be confusing. To make the task even more difficult, there are no strict standards that define what qualifies as “compost” or “shrub planting mix.” The best way to know what you’re getting is to look beyond the label and examine what’s inside the bag. Some garden centers set aside broken bags of topsoil so customers can examine their contents, or you can buy a sample bag to check out before you buy more. For most soil-building purposes, a mixture that looks and feels fluffy and has plenty of tidbits of decomposed leaves or wood chips offers more organic matter than a heavier mixture that includes mostly gritty soil. Light-textured composts are usually the best choice for digging into soil as a long-lasting source of organic matter, but for the fast bag beds in this garden plan, look for products that do include some gritty soil. Plant roots prefer a mixture of soil and organic matter to organic matter alone. A bag of such soil will feel heavier than one that’s mostly organic matter, assuming both are equally wet or dry. Ordinary bagged “topsoil” or inexpensive “tree and shrub planting mix” will do Topsoil and soil amendments are sold by weight quite nicely in any spot where or volume. For this garden plan, use 25 40-pound you want to set up a new bags, which will each cover a 2-by-3-foot space and vegetable bed quickly. provide ample room for the roots of most vegetables.
GARDEN TECHNIQUES & METHODS • www.MotherEarthNews.com 157
Getting Started With Goats Whether you’re looking for chevon, chèvre, or some of both, these tips for finding, choosing, and raising goats will stand you in good stead.
I
f food prices have you thinking about taking another step toward food independence, consider goats. But now what? How do you decide what kind of goat to buy? What is the difference between a milk goat and a meat goat? How about a milk and meat cross? Is there a difference among breeds? How much does it cost to buy and keep a goat? Do I really need a buck? And most importantly, how do I keep my goat from jumping on my car?!
The Big Decision First and foremost you must decide on your main purpose for buying a goat: milk, meat, or both. Milking goats are bred for maximum production of highquality milk. A really good milk goat can produce a gallon or more of milk per day for about 10 months. We recently butchered a 7-month-old Alpine (a popular Swiss dairy breed) buck; however, it yielded less than 15 pounds of meat. To be fair, the meat was high-quality, low-fat, 100-percent organic and delicious. A meat goat, in comparison, butchered at the same age would likely yield more than three times as much meat. You can milk a meat goat, too, but the milk yield will be substantially less. A milk/meat cross will give you both, but not as much of either as a purpose-bred milk or meat goat. It’s a tradeoff, so before you choose a breed, think carefully about how much
milk and meat you want, and select your animals accordingly.
Milking is Fun, Still a Chore If you are choosing to milk goats, you must accept that you will be required to milk them at least once per day and probably twice per day, every day for up to 10 months a year. Owning milking animals is a decision that will significantly impact your lifestyle. Unless they’re nursing or dried off, goats have to be milked 12 hours apart, at the same times every day. Failing to do this can cause resentful goats and health problems. If you work all day, this can make it difficult to run errands or go out after work. Also, you’ll want to plan trips well in advance, arranging for friends to milk your goats while you’re gone.
The Fat of the Matter Did you know that there is a wide variance of butterfat content in goats’ milk depending upon the breed? Butterfat content usually ranges from 2 to 6 percent, and starts low, increasing over the lactation period. High butterfat breeds are great if you want rich milk for cheese, butter, or ice cream. The quantity and quality of milk a goat gives will vary by breed, forage, and individual genetics. The fat globules in goat’s milk are much smaller than cow’s milk, which makes it easier to digest for those with milk sensitivities or digestive problems.
100 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING
The flip side, however, is that it is more difficult to separate the cream. Cow’s milk cream naturally rises to the top within a matter of hours, but goat’s milk cream rises very slowly. If you want a lot of cream, consider investing in a cream separator specifically designed for goats. Such equipment can be expensive, but consider how much you spend a year on storebought butter and ice cream; a cream separator will last for years and will pay for itself many times over.
Dairy Goat Breeds
FOTOLIA/TAMAS ZSEBOK
By Linda Heitman
There are three origins of milk goats: Swiss, African, and American. All of the Swiss breeds (Alpine, Oberhasli, Saanen, and Toggenburg) are very cold-hardy, producing high volumes of low-fat (2 to 4 percent butterfat on average) milk. The Saanen is often called the Holstein of dairy goats with production up to about 21⁄2 gallons per day. It’s a Toggenburg, however, that holds the Guinness World record for dairy goat
milk production with 1,140 gallons produced in one year, an average of well over 3 gallons per day! Toggenburgs have uniquely long lactations. Many will “milk through,” or continue to give milk for 18 to 20 months without rebreeding. If you want naturally low-fat milk, take a look at Alpines (my personal favorites). They are among the lowest breeds in terms of butterfat content with 3 to 31⁄2 percent on average (according to the American Dairy Goat Association) with
high production. Our Alpines give close to a gallon, and our highest production girls give nearly 11⁄2 gallons per day! Not record-breaking, but they are beautiful animals with gentle dispositions. Nubians and Nigerian Dwarfs are of African origin. As a result, they are the most heat-tolerant of all the breeds. Nubians are most recognizable because of their long ears and distinguished Roman noses. Both breeds are known for their highbutterfat (41⁄2 percent or higher—some FARM ANIMALS • www.MotherEarthNews.com 101
higher pressure allows it to completely fill the piping and collectors every time the system turns on. Then, when conditions dip below freezing, the solar fluid drains from the collector again.
You can easily incorporate solar into your existing residential structure and design. The fittings, pump, storage tank, and expansion tank for a small drainback system take up minimal space (left). Attractive solar PV and thermal collectors make use of otherwise wasted roof space (right).
Whenever the sun shines on the collectors in my closed-loop systems, it also activates a small photovoltaic (PV) panel that’s directly wired to a 12-volt, direct-current (DC) pump. That pump will circulate the solar fluid throughout the closed loop until the sun stops shining on the solar collector and PV panel. In part because of their simplicity, DCpowered systems are quickly becoming a popular closed-loop option on the market. As the solar fluid gets hot in-
side the collectors, it travels through the piping to the heat exchanger. The heat exchanger transfers the heat from the solar fluid to the water inside the solar storage tank, which stores the solar-heated water for your use at a later time. When the sun isn’t shining, the circulating pump simply turns off and the solar fluid stops circulating. Popular in moderate and hot climates, drainback systems are very similar to closed-loop systems. The big
Drainback Drainback tanks replace the expansion tank in closed-loop systems to protect solar fluid in warmer climates.
Solar thermal panel
Hot water load Heat exchanger
Drainback tank
Thermometer Check valve Tempering valve
Cold water supply
Boiler drain
Backup water heater
Solar storage tank
Temperature & pressure relief valve Flow meter Differential temperature control
30 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING
Pump Sensor
difference is that these systems have a drainback tank instead of an expansion tank. The solar fluid in these systems can be distilled water or a diluted water and nontoxic antifreeze solution. When the sun isn’t shining on drainback systems, the solar fluid is stored in the drainback tank, leaving the pipes and collectors empty. Like a closed-loop system, the pump comes on when the sun warms the collectors and circulates solar fluid throughout the system. A heat exchanger transfers the heat from the solar fluid into the solar storage tank in the same way as in the antifreeze system. Drainback systems are also attractive because they eliminate the expansion tank and therefore have fewer valves and gauges than closedloop antifreeze systems. While drainback systems’ direct plumbing is attractive, many installers bemoan their lack of flexibility. Collectors must be mounted above the drainback tank (see photo on left, above), limiting placement options, and piping installation must maintain at least a 10-degree slope from collector to tank for drainage. Finally, drainback systems always use a 120-volt AC controller and a high-pressure pump. This “high-head” pump differs from the closed-loop system’s circulation pump, because a drainback pump’s
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: BOB RAMLOW; JASON KALMBACH; A. OHL; GARY REYSA; MATTHEW STALLBAUMER
Step 4: Choose a Collector Collectors absorb the sun’s rays and convert them to heat energy. In an ICS system, a collector can be as simple as a water tank. However, high-efficiency and freeze-proof units incorporate two popular collector options: flat-plate and evacuatedtube collectors. Each technology has its pros and cons, including price differences, and there’s plenty of information and strong opinions on the subject. Once again, before making your final decision, get your local solar installation technicians’ advice for your roof,
System Summaries Advantages of ICS systems: • No solar fluid, pumps, or additional tanks • Simple designs • Cheapest option
Advantages of closed-loop antifreeze systems: • Extreme freeze protection • Flexible installation Advantages of drainback systems: • Moderate freeze protection • Long-lasting solar solution
your expected usage, and your region’s weather patterns. Flat-plate collectors use an absorber plate—usually copper painted black—to heat a series of pipes, which contain the solar-transfer fluid. The pipes and plate are contained within an insulated
DIY Solar Water Heaters
Contributing Editor Gary Reysa installed DIY drainback system on the side of his Montana home (bottom, left). Reysa uses a drainback tank to support his hot water and radiant flooring systems. For more information on this project, visit www.builditsolar.com. West Texas reader A. Ohl built an ICS batch heater to regularly supply 100 percent of household needs. For this simple design (bottom, right), Ohl plumbed the unit’s outflow pipe directly into the house hot water, and brought cold water directly to the intake. For the coldest months, Ohl installed a point-of-use electric hot water heater under the kitchen sink. Even that’s powered by the sun! (See PV panels in background.)
The DIY option is the perfect challenge for a creative builder with plumbing and wiring skills.
frame that’s mounted with a sheet of tempered glass that faces the sun. Flat-plate collectors are by far the most popular kind of collector because they work well in all climates. Furthermore, they’ve been around longest, are very efficient, and are the cheapest option. Because they lose some of their heat to the surrounding environment, welldesigned and well-maintained flatplate collectors rarely overheat, and during winter months they’ll melt any snow or ice buildup. Evacuated-tube technology appeared in the late 1970s and, despite some early missteps, has continued to develop. Like flat-plate collectors, evacuated-tube collectors place a series of tubes on an absorber plate. However, evacuated tubes are airless, which allows for a more efficient transfer of heat from plate to solar fluid. This added efficiency means that evacuated-tube collectors must be designed to handle higher internal temperatures than flat-plate collectors. Take particular care to never oversize the collectors or undersize the storage tank. Finally, while prices continue to fall, evacuated-tube collectors tend to cost more than flat-plate collectors for an equivalent heating capacity.
Choose Wisely, Choose Once Solar water heaters can last a lifetime when skilled technicians use high-quality materials to install the best system for a given climate, roof site, and particular demand. If you find a system that’s substantially cheaper than the rest, there’s probably a reason, such as lower-quality components. There’s a lot of information out there on solar thermal, and, frankly, the sheer volume of variables can dissuade people from making a significant financial and environmental choice. Before making any decisions, remember this advice: Reduce consumption; identify the appropriate size and site for your system; plan for freeze protection; choose your collector; and, above all, choose quality parts and labor. SELF-RELIANCE • www.MotherEarthNews.com 31
Growth Rate vs. Energy Potential of Tree Species Million Btu / Cord*
Years to Produce 1 Cord / Acre†
Million Btu / Acre / Year
Poplar
13.7
1 to 3
13.7 to 4.6
Red alder
14.8
3 to 4
4.9 to 3.7
20
9 to 11
2.2 to 1.8
22.7
25 to 40
0.9 to 0.6
Species
Paper birch American beech
* Btu figures are based on seasoned wood at 20 percent moisture content and 85 cubic feet of wood per 128-cubic-foot cord to account for airspace. † Estimates are based on data from a variety of eastern hardwood sites. Conditions such as soil fertility, growing zone, water availability, and genetics will all have significant effects on actual yields.
How Coppicing Stacks Up Because of this natural variation, it’s important to avoid broad generalizations regarding yield. However, despite the many variables, coppice systems offer two clear benefits over trees grown from seed. The first benefit is reduced establishment time, meaning that you won’t need to wait for a seed to germinate, establish itself, and develop a full root system. The second benefit is that because coppice trees form multiple stems as opposed to a single trunk, you’ll have the opportunity to grow significantly more wood. The following example illustrates how coppice firewood production stacks up against trees of seed origin. The two trees in this simple case study came from the same site to minimize variability. First, I cut down a 40-year-old American beech tree with a single trunk, likely established from seed. The tree
measured 8 inches in diameter at breast height (DBH) and yielded one face cord. I then harvested an 18-year-old, coppicegrown American beech tree that had four stems. The coppiced American beech also produced one face cord. In other words, coppicing encouraged equal wood production in less than half the time.
Trade-Off Between Time and Energy If you’re establishing a coppice woodlot for firewood production, you can expect an inverse relationship between the rate of growth and the energy potential of coppice species. If we were to rank four common species in terms of estimated growth rates and compare those growth rates to their energy potential, we’d see that, as a general rule, the wood from slower-growing trees contains more British thermal units (Btu) for the same volume
of wood. (See “Growth Rate vs. Energy Potential of Tree Species” at left.) Be aware of this time and energy tradeoff when you’re trying to decide which species to coppice, or when you’re purchasing firewood and are faced with the question of which species will yield the most heat per dollar.
Step-by-Step Guide to Coppicing Firewood Select trees with poor form that have little value as saw logs or other forest products to coppice. You can coppice at any time of year, but you’ll achieve the best results by coppicing trees when they’re dormant and leafless. Cut low stumps. A low stump encourages the establishment of new shoots at or below ground level. This promotes the development of roots and increases the tree’s stability. The ideal new coppice stool should be only 2 to 3 inches above the ground and should slope slightly to shed water (see the illustration, below). If you’re harvesting a previously coppiced stool, cut along the same angle as your previous cut, just above the point at which the stool splits into multiple stems. If you live in an area where animals are prone to browse, place branches around the stool as a deterrent. Another approach is to develop a coppice system that favors tree species that are less palatable to browsers. For example, animals are less likely to munch on beech and birch than on maple or oak. Within four to eight weeks, you’ll begin to see numerous sprouts emerging
from the stump, forming J-shaped leaders (see illustration, below left). After leaf fall, clip off the smaller, less vigorous sprouts. On average, I leave four to six sprouts per stool (see illustration, below right). The amount of time it will take you to produce your first firewood crop will vary depending on species, site, stool size, and desired firewood diameter. I tend to harvest most of my coppice firewood on an eight- to 12-year cycle. For my more productive trees, this will yield firewood that’s 3 to 4 inches in diameter—small enough to avoid splitting! The beauty of coppice firewood production is that coppiced trees maintained in a juvenile stage will never die of old age. The benefits of coppice systems also extend beyond simply providing firewood. The dense cluster of shoots around a stool provides vital habitat for birds and small mammals. And because coppice forests depend on healthy root systems, sound management of these forests also prevents erosion in the
Woodlot Lingo for the Coppice Forest
Btu: British thermal unit. A unit of energy equal to 1,055 joules. Commonly used to express the stored energy of firewood. Coppicing: A method of reproducing trees through dormant harvesting that encourages continual growth of multiple stems. Full cord: A stack of firewood measuring 8 feet long, 4 feet high, and 4 feet deep. Face cord: A stack of firewood measuring 8 feet long, 4 feet high, and 16 inches deep. In other words, 1⁄3 of a full cord. Stool: A living stump from which new coppice stems will grow. Rhizosphere: The narrow region of soil that is directly influenced by root secretions and soil microorganisms, including fungi.
surrounding landscape, thanks largely to the stability afforded by a healthy rhizosphere capable of developing into a well-anchored mat of latticed roots. As for other uses, you can consider coppicing for animal fodder, basket splints, stakes, bentwood furniture, tool handles, and more.
Roots in the Past
Coppicing as a management technique dates back to the Neolithic period, when people used coppice wood for a variety of purposes, ranging from beanpoles and lath to firewood and fence posts. Even into the 16th century, the economic importance of wood obtained through coppicing was so significant in England that King Henry VIII mandated the construction of fences around coppice forests throughout the country to protect them from browsing animals.
20 MOTHER EARTH NEWS COLLECTOR SERIES • MODERN HOMESTEADING
Cut the stump at a slight angle 2 to 3 inches above the ground. This will encourage root development and allow the stump to shed water.
You should notice numerous sprouts emerging from dormant buds on the living stump within four to eight weeks.
Remove the less vigorous sprouts after leaf fall, leaving four to six of the healthiest sprouts on each stool. SELF-RELIANCE • www.MotherEarthNews.com 21