Tag Archives: reuse

The Right Tool for the Job

August 5, 2016 squash and awe Leave a comment

Farming and gardening are tool driven activities. But how much is enough, and how much is too much. Since I run a zero-waste farm, I also encourage others to source used tools. Used tools are often better tools. Why? Well, the quality of materials has made a sharp decline in the last 10 years, but a drastic drop in quality in the past five years. I enjoy going to resale shops in search of things made of metal and wood. On one such scavenger mission, the lady checking me out said, “hmmm a bunch of junk.” I smiled and said in return, that “metal junk is better than plastic junk.” and she agreed. For $5 I picked up some hand tools, and an adjustable spray nozzle. They did look rough, agreed, but they were made of metal and will far outlast their contemporary counterparts that you find in big box stores.

I decided that I didn’t need “pretty tools” but I do need durable ones. Not to mention giving them one last use is always on my mind. The spray nozzle is hard to find now, as many have been replaced with bright colored plastic that does not do well with all the things garden tools need to handle, like heavy usage, and sun. Same goes for the tools, some of the metals that are used for lower end tools for both the garden and garage are flimsy. The metal has bent in my hands. I would choose rusty over new any day. Check and see if the tool can be repaired. Can a good solid head for a hoe be put on a new handle? Granted a new handle can cost the same as a new hoe, but some of the new heads on hoes and shovels are almost a throw away from the start.

The pruners in the image are a junky new ones, that are not fantastic, unlike the quality (and cost) of the high end European ones. With some oil and care, they can be put to use again. The scrub brush on the other hand is a new brush made of palm fiber. They are brought into Hawaii from Japan. I like them, because I dislike plastic scrub brushes. This one is cheap, natural, breaks down in the compost (leaving only a piece of wire behind) and it dries fast in the hot sun, which is important for sanitation.

So take a look around next time you are at a resale shop or tag sale. Don’t be afraid of a little surface rust. They will serve you well, and if you get a rainy day, you can look up online or in a library how to care for them, or even refurbish them. My $5 shoebox of tools would have cost over $100 new, and I have avoided a lot of cheap plastic and cheap quality metal. It just makes sense in so many ways. Ask yourself, “does it need to be new?”

Agriculture, Farming, Hawaii, Uncategorized

Picture Perfect Pumpkins

March 3, 2016 squash and awe Leave a comment

I frequently reference putting a small block of untreated lumber under your pumpkins and Winter Squash. Many people note that they do not have the time to do so, but also note that wet weather and bugs caused their squash to rot in the field. I recommend making the time to protect your pumpkins with a little extra care. The way I look at it, by increasing your yield through the reduction of waste, you are saving time. I took these photos (below) to give people an idea of what squash that have remained in contact with the ground all season can look like, especially here in Hawaii. Keep in mind that in Hawaii, many of the Winter squash and kabocha that do well here take more than 110 days. Often more than 120 days until harvest. Somewhere in there, as the fruit sets, try to make time to “block” your fruits by lifting them off the ground with a scrap piece of wood. The scrap wood only needs to be 4″x 4″ or so. Once you have the wood blocks, you can use them over and over for years. I keep them in small stacks near the edge of the patch. It does take some getting used to, but it helps to safeguard from rot that can occur due to surface moisture as well as insects that can damage the surface of your squash.

The above featured squash shows what damage can occur. Luckily, the harvest occurred before it caused the pumpkin to degrade on the inside. Since I caught this while it was simply a surface issue, I happily made it into my beloved squash curry for myself. This could have easily gone deeper into the pumpkin and caused the entire fruit to be lost.

With the way I farm, there is no true “loss” because the damaged squash can become nutritious pet food, chicken food, and rich soil building materials. But when you farm small, you need to think smart and safeguard what you grow. Some squash simply drop from the vine, and others may only half develop due to incomplete pollination by bees at flowering. These things happen, and it is just simply part of the natural cycle of things. What you can do, is give a little extra tlc to the fruits, and you will be rewarded with picture perfect produce that inspire chefs to put them on display before heading into the kitchen. One chef that I will not name, has been seen giving a slight hug to the squash as they enter his kitchen domain. Huggable produce is good produce.

This extra step in protecting the skin of your squash will probably add an overall awareness by creating an intimacy with your farm as well. You can tell a lot from how your squash are flowering and fruiting. A watchful farmer can see signs of insects, powdery mildew, the need for some fish fertilizer, pruning, and more, by stepping carefully into the vines. These preventative observations can really make the difference in having a successful season. So while you are inspecting your fruits, give them a boost. You will be rewarded at harvest time.

Uncategorized

Creating a U Pick Tomato Garden for the Poultry

August 22, 2015 squash and awe 2 Comments

Tired of the poultry eyeing the tomatoes? How about designing a garden with them in mind. They like a diverse selection of healthy foods, just like us, so why not let them collect the low hanging fruit. Let me explain…

These now aged shipping pallet beds were created in the chicken area, which could be a recipe for disaster, unless you think of all parties in your design. Wild chickens are all around in Hawaii, so everyone thinks about how to keep them out, but few think in terms of working with them in the garden. The pallet garden was the perfect place to plant a sprawling wild type cherry tomato. Dime sized and quite acidic, they make a great cooking tomato, tossed by the handful into curries, stir fry, sauce. They are easy to grow and resist mildews. Prolific enough to share with the barnyard.

The pallets are 4′ tall, so that leaves that entire length of a drop for tomato, and in this case, Mexican Oregano plants also drape the sides of the pallets. This creates a shaded, edible environment, that also gives some protection from the heavy rains that flooded the area just a few days ago. In the photo above, Indigo surveys the area for ripe tomatoes that are at “chicken level.” The ones at the top, are harvested for human consumption, and the ones near the ground become a U pick for the pig and the chickens. The bonus is that they are constantly looking for tomatoes, and in the process, they find all of the snails and slugs and get them too.

Here Red walks the “tomato zone” to see if she missed any. She is just coming through a long molt, so she is happy to be out of the coop and strutting her stuff with the others.

Indigo, the neighborhood rooster enjoys showing the hens the fallen tomatoes after the storm. Everyone wins, everyone gets a share.

Uncategorized

Small Steps to Save Water on the Farm

March 29, 2015 squash and awe Leave a comment

Drought comes and goes, so what better way to get your farm or garden ready, then by taking some small steps now. You will already have a water saving style in play if and when you have a dry season, year, or series of years. Being a zero-waste farm is a great way to think of ways to give things a second chance, be it containers, or water, the main reuse featured here. Thinking in terms of water reuse will become natural when you think of water every time you turn on the hose.

Here is a quick and efficient way to make fruit fly traps. For those of you in areas like Hawaii, fruit fly trap making is a critical part of most farms. It is a great way to reuse plastic cups and bottles as well as reuse soapy water from the drain of the hand wash sink. I use Dr Bronner’s Pure Castile Bar Soaps at the farm and at home. Each bar goes a long way and there is a scent for everyone. Peppermint is a really great one for scrubbing up after stinky jobs like composting fish. The pure soap make for a great soap water base that is used in the bottom of your fruit fly trap.

Simply catch the soap water as it comes out of the modified drain pipe, then pour into your homemade fly traps, and insert the appropriate fly bait. Soapy water is used to keep the flies from climbing back out of the trap. The middle and last images are house/bottle fly traps used to control fly numbers near the compost/fish emulsion station. All are made using items that were free and needed a new use.

Hot dry weather means flies of all kinds are in peak numbers at the farm. The flies drown quickly in the soapy water, and are then composted. Your fly numbers will be kept in check.

Rinse water is used to rinse many buckets in a “bucket to bucket” reuse before it is reused to make a diluted fertilizer as in my video above, or water seedlings and for rooting cuttings. Plain non-soapy rinse water can also be poured into shallow trays for the birds, bees, toads, and lizards that patrol the farm and help in so many ways.

I challenge you to fill a few buckets as if you are in preparation for the water to be turned off, then see in one day how many ways you can use those few gallons. You may be surprised how far it will go. We will all thank you for it.

Uncategorized

The one year transition to an organic no-till farm

Gallery June 7, 2014 squash and awe 2 Comments

The upcycled blocks of basalt and coconut coir from a neighbor farm ring the irrigation circle.

The local brewery (1 mile away) was happy to donate their hops for the soil. The stable trimmings complete with manure came from the next door stables.

recycled sprinkler irrigation and tabletops are in place

three sisters method of beans, corn, and squash, surrounded by reclaimed cardboard. Soil building and moisture holding cardboard also minimizes weeds

reused table tops create vertical climbing space for beans.

three sisters method of companion planting combines with reclaimed cardboard and upcycled geo textile salvaged from the landfill

Salvaged geo textile becomes a ground cover to minimize weeds, hold water, and add heat for the heat loving squash plants

Coral sand, horse manure, mulch, ironwood needles, fish, and coconut coir make the addition.

intensive plantings of summer

The image says it all. The additions have changed the soil dramatically.

These Upcycled growing blocks from a neighbor hydroponics farm were saved from their future in the landfill. Holding moisture is key in a drought worn farm area. Blocks also contain basalt to add as a nutrient. Other blocks are made of coconut coir

The mini-farm at 10 months old

The vines are ready for spring pruning to promote health and growth.

Farming, gardening, Hawaii, Zero waste

Fruit Fly Warfare

January 11, 2014 squash and awe Leave a comment

It isn’t my nature, but I have been slinking around like a true guerilla with my sites on the fruit fly population. I wrote a 4 page essay on my findings, that I will spare you for now. I will unleash it on my readers soon enough. As some of you bundle up, and pour through your seed catalogs in hopes of Spring, perhaps dreaming about lands where there there is no true Winter, let me remind you, here in Hawaii we have the same brutal Agricultural pests as the Congo. I wish I were joking. One soon learns why 90% of our veggies are shipped in from Fruit fly free localities. Here in Hawaii we are in the heart of yet another fruit fly “bloom” (they can have 8 to 9 cycles within the Calendar year. ) I refuse to be defeated. Who knows, maybe outsmarting tropical pests will be my legacy. It isn’t glamorous, but it is true. OK back to the war…

Three waves of determined effort are necessary, and well, a continuous parts of your growing practice here in Alohaland.

Clean crop practice: I bag the stung squash in reused metallic coffee bags that my Starbuck’s Grounds for your Garden come in. I then place them in the sun for a couple hours before they are dropped into a sealed bucket where they will die and decompose in the weeks again.

Lures: The men are targeted and lured by the use of the right scent for the right fly ( sorry guys.) Though Oriental Fruit fly does not attack squash, they are on the property in large numbers, so I am taking them out for the benefit of someone’s crops. They may be feeding on a neighbor farm. The mean, but gorgeous Melon fly is my leopard spotted enemy. Cure lure is their bait. See reused cup trap image in prior post for the general idea. Homemade traps have cleared hundreds of males from the two varieties, with the bulk being Oriental Fruit Fly.

Bag…no double bag ’em: I have used my fledgling Blue Hubbard as a case study plant, trying out all kinds of strategies. So far, my vote is for a quick, but meaningful hand pollination followed by a parafin wax baggie, topped with a brown paper lunch bag. Driven by scent, this seems to be a good solution so far.

Agriculture, Farming, gardening, permaculture, Zero waste

Fish composting and fish emulsion

November 22, 2013 squash and awe Leave a comment

This week feels like two. It is a hot week here in Hawaii. What better time to be carting about my body weight in fish heads? Yes, you heard me. Alright, so it isn’t an ideal time to be working with raw fish, but opportunity knocked, and I answered. The theme of the week is to make use of even more restaurant waste. What better place to make the most of the discarded fish bits from our beloved Ahi and Mahi Mahi? The Chefs have set me up with enough fish heads to enrich the new farm addition. I am getting my composting game in overdrive with the gloves pulled up high for this messy week….but I am ready and grateful for the challenge. And it should also be noted that I say a small prayer of gratitude for each fish that is added to the soil building project.

Fish composting and fish elulsion making are on the adjenda.

Soil, Zero waste

Farm Fact: Reuse

September 26, 2013 squash and awe Leave a comment

Farm Fact: Reuse is the core of our farming practice. The raised beds are made from raw materials reclaimed from our community. Think creatively when planning your farm or garden. What is in your community? A brewery (for hops/yeast)? A saw mill, or woodworkers business (sawdust)? Tree trimmers (wood chips)? Big box stores (for cardboard)? Think about what normally goes in the dump and see what you can use. Scheduling a pick up time with local businesses lets them stay on task, and allows you to be a help rather than a hindrance.