Homesteading – Pine Cove Water District

Archive for Homesteading

Green Housing Construction

Posted by admin on September 25, 2024

When building or modifying a home keep sound environmental practices in mind. Green construction improves energy efficiency, resource conservation, indoor air quality, and protects the health of your family. In addition to helping the environment, a “green” house can save you money and provide you with a healthier, quieter, and more comfortable home.

Generally building greener involves one or more of the following:

Planning to preserve the natural envrionment
Site development which reduces erosion, minimizes paves surfaces, and protects vegetation
Water conservation indoors and outdoors
Energy efficiency
Using recyclable materials and air conditioning costs

Permeable Surfaces
Permeable surfaces such as decomposed (crushed) granite, broken concrete, gravel, mulch and grass or other plants allow water to pass through and soak into the soil beneath, as opposed to running off your yard and contributing to stormwater pollution and flooding.

What You Can Do:

Use bricks, stones, broken concrete, crushed granite or gravel for driveways, paths, and patios.
Use a contractor who knows and follows regulations concerning construction runoff. Even a small remodel can contribute a large amount of gravel, dirt, and hazardous materials to the storm drain system.
Investigate the installation of a ‘gray water’ system – to collect your household’s washing water for re-use in the landscape or for flushing toilets – with your local building department officials to determine if they allow residential use of reclaimed water.

What You Can Do (to increase sustainability in your home):

Add insulation to your home.
Use innovative, engineered wood products
Use recycled – content building materials whenever possible and ask your contractor to recycle their demolition waste.
Use adhesives, paints, and cleaners with low volatile organic compounds (VOC) to reduce indoor air pollution.
Use light colored roofing to reduce home heat absorption, or consider new “green roofs.”
Use double-glazed windows to save on heating and air conditioning costs.
When building a house use the sun. Orient your house and plan your landscaping to take advantage of winter sun and summer shade.
Use ceiling fans, whole house fans, and attic ventilation to affordably keep your home comfortable.

Choose a smart sprinkler controller for your home

A smart sprinkler controller automatically adjusts irrigation schedules in response to changing weather conditions.
They are also called “weather-based irrigation controllers.”
Smart controllers are a new technology and can be difficult to find.
For more information log onto www.bewaterwise.com for a listing of manufacturers & websites.

Posted in: Around the District, Community, Conservation, Customer Infomation, From the Office, Homesteading, Pine Cove Water District, Recycling, Uncategorized

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Prepare your Garden for Summer Heat Waves

Posted by admin on July 9, 2024

Think About Resilience From the Outset

If you have not yet established your vegetable plot, I recommend thinking about resilience from the outset. Think about weather conditions which may be experienced in our area. Plant for as much biodiversity as possible and make a climate-resilient garden through the plants you choose, and the ways in which you think about soil, water, and other factors.

Remember, growing in rows in a traditional vegetable garden is not the only option. Perennial planting schemes like forest gardens can make your garden far more resilient, whatever extreme weather conditions climate change will bring.

Provide Plants With Shade During the Hottest Part of the Day

If you already have a vegetable plot and have been caught out by a heat wave, I suggest thinking about shade. Shade can reduce temperatures considerably. It can stop certain plants from bolting prematurely.

And, of course, shade can reduce water use. Typically, vegetable plots in temperate climate zones are positioned in full sun, or close to full sun. But when there is extreme heat, these spots can become scorching. So adding shade during the hottest periods could help.

Shade cloth is one simple option. But remember, you can use reclaimed, natural fabrics for a more eco-friendly solution.

Shading with other plants can also be beneficial. Think about using trees, shrubs, or even taller annual plants to provide shade for those other plants which need it. You might also place a trellis or other support structure with climbing plants that provide some shade. A good layout in a vegetable garden can make a big difference. In the northern hemisphere, remember that shade plants should be positioned to the south or west of other plants to provide shade during the hottest part of the day.

Avoid Bare Soil

I advise making sure the soil is covered, either with mulch or living plants, to reduce water loss from the soil and reduce local soil temperatures. Remember, protecting your garden during a heat wave includes taking care of the soil and its complex web of life, not just your plants. And an area of bare soil will emit far more heat than a vegetated area.

Improve Irrigation or Watering Systems

The best time to think about irrigation and watering is obviously before extreme weather arrives. But you can still beat the heat in your garden if you think about these things once the hot weather arrives.

Obviously, during hot weather, watering needs will increase. So manual watering can be more of a challenge. If you do not already have sustainable watering systems such as drip irrigation, or clay pot, or water globe irrigation for a smaller space, now could be a good time to get them in place.

Consider adding automation to make it easier to make sure you meet the water needs of your plants. Though of course, you should also make sure you have a sustainable supply. And set up rainwater harvesting systems.

Add Thermal Mass

Choosing the right bed edging could also help you beat the heat. Materials with high thermal mass catch and store the sun’s heat energy during the day and release it slowly when temperatures fall. So they can help keep temperatures more stable in an area.

While particularly beneficial in a greenhouse or other undercover growing area, adding thermal mass may also be beneficial in other areas of your garden. Choose materials like stone, clay, earth, etc., and consider carefully how these can be used within your garden design. They can help beat the heat in summer and help with the cold temperatures in winter too.

Beat the Heat in Outdoor Living Areas

While growing food and other resources in your garden is important, you might also like to consider how you can continue to enjoy outdoor living areas during a heat wave.

To make your garden a more pleasant place to spend time in summer, you might like to consider making sure that you have shaded seating areas—below trees, arbors, pergolas, or other structures clad with climbing plants, for example.

In high temperatures, making sure your garden has water available for wildlife is even more crucial than usual. And when you attract plenty of wildlife, your garden can be an even more pleasing place to spend some time.

In some gardens, taking a dip could be the perfect way to cool off on a hot day. A natural swimming pond or natural swimming pool could be the ideal eco-friendly solution.

And finally, when enjoying your garden, think about ways to make the most of your home-grown produce. For example, create some cooling cordials, smoothies, ice-creams, or ice lollies using the fruits and berries (and even vegetables and/or herbs) that you grow.

Posted in: Around the District, Community, Compost, Conservation, Customer Infomation, Drought, Edible Landscaping, Freebies, From the Office, Garden, gardening, Homesteading, Mulch, Pine Cove Water District, The Garden, Uncategorized, Weather

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Free Wood Chips!

Posted by admin on March 26, 2024

Spring cleaning and gardening season is here or for others right around the corner. Thinking of getting in the gardening spirit here soon?

PCWD offers free wood chips to our customers. If you are interested in wood chips just come on by the Dutch Flats location anytime. It is great for gardening, holding in moisture of soil and makes a nice added touch to spruce up your yard or potted plants.

You must bring your own materials to gather or shovel and haul the mulch or wood chips away. If you are planning on gathering a large amount on your own, please let us know in the office as we want to be sure there is enough for everyone.

Check out this great video of a brief overview of our Dutch Flats location.

Making Dutch Flats Healthy on Vimeo

Also, if you need a larger load of wood chips, call the office and we can deliver a dump truck load for $125 delivery charge.

Posted in: Around the District, Community, Company News, Compost, Customer Infomation, Freebies, From the Office, Garden, gardening, Homesteading, Mulch, Pine Cove Water District, Re-purposing, The Garden, Upcoming Events, Wood chips

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Growing Season!

Posted by admin on March 14, 2024

It is almost time to shake off those winter blues and dive headfirst into the glorious era of spring gardening. March is the perfect time to begin sowing seeds and planting all sorts of greenery.

March is prime time for getting your vegetable garden off to a roaring start. Roll out the green carpet for veggies such as lettuce, kale, and spinach. As it gets warmer sow crops like tomatoes, peppers and squash indoors, and your taste buds will be doing a happy dance at harvest time.

We know spring is about flowers, and March is the perfect month to plant those eye-popping beauties. Start sowing annual seeds like marigolds, sunflowers, and zinnias, or plant bulbs for dazzling dahlias. Also, consider cold-hardy grasses or dramatic perennials like coneflowers for visual impact.

In March, it is also a great time to begin sowing for aromatic herbs like basil, parsley, cilantro, and chives. Your culinary creations will be the talk of the town (or at least at the family dinner.)

While your at it, why not turn your garden into a fruit filled paradise? March also a perfect time to plant fruit trees like apricots, peaches, and plums, or berry bushes like raspberries and blackberries. You’ll be basking in the sweet, juicy rewards of your labor.

Give your garden a local touch by planting native California plants. March is an ideal time to start sowing seeds for drought tolerant beauties like poppies, lupines, and sagebrush. Not only will you create a stunning low-maintenance landscape, but also provide habitat for local wildlife!

March is the perfect month to begin a fantastic growing season. With a mix of veggies, herbs, flowers, fruits, and foliage, you’ll create a stunningly diverse landscape that is pleasing to the eye and palate. So embrace your inner gardener, have fun, and let the March planting madness begin!

https://idyllwildgardenclub.com/event/empower-your-food-production/

Posted in: Around the District, Community, Company News, Customer Infomation, From the Office, Garden, gardening, Homesteading, Pine Cove Water District, The Garden, Weekend

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Today’s Decisions Affect Tomorrow’s Reality

Posted by admin on January 24, 2024

The world that we live in today is a world where an ever-increasing population places larger demands on the earth’s finite resources. The manner in which we use these resources, determines the kind of world we leave to our children and future generations.

Water is a precious commodity in southern California. More than 70% of California’s total precipitation falls in the northern half of the state, however, 80% of California’s water demand is in the southern portion of the state. Southern California largely depends on water imported from northern California and from the Colorado River. Both local and imported water sources can be severely affected by drought, and imported water supplies have become increasingly uncertain as a result of demands by other regions. Currently, all mountain communities are facing water shortages that make water conservation increasingly important! Over demands have caused many residents to realize that preservation of our mountain environment and quality of life depends substantially on how we manage our limited water resources.

Conservation must become a way of life!

The situation today is crucial. The quickest, most certain way to begin to save water immediately is to conserve water at home. Less than half the water you use is used inside your home. The rest is used outdoors, mainly watering home landscaping. Most families can reduce water use by simply changing and learning to reduce water waste inside and outside our homes.

Outdoors:

Scale back and limit landscaping
Water your lawn only when it needs it (in the morning or late afternoon)
Reduce or replace lawn areas with spaces like patios and walkways
Review, repair, and retrofit irrigation systems so they are water efficient and deliver only water that is needed
Re-landscape with plants that use less water and retrofit or install appropriate irrigation to match
Pick up wood chips here at Pine Cove Water District; Adding a layer of mulch around trees and plants will help reduce evaporation and keep the soil cool
Instead of a water hose, use a broom to clean driveways and sidewalks

Indoors:

Limit your showers. Also, fill the bathtub halfway or less
Turn off the faucet when you brush your teeth
Install low-flow shower heads in the bathroom
Install a water-efficient toilet
When it’s time to replace appliances, choose a water-efficient dishwasher and washing machine
Run ONLY full loads in the dishwasher and washing machine
Fix leaky faucets and toilets as quickly as possible

Posted in: Around the District, Community, Company News, Compost, Conservation, Customer Infomation, Drought, Freebies, From the Office, Garden, Homesteading, Leaks, Mulch, Pine Cove Water District, Rain, Rain Water Harvesting, Re-purposing, The Garden, Uncategorized, Water Conservation, Wood chips

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Frugal Friday

Posted by admin on April 25, 2014

Time for another Frugal Friday tip. I have talked a lot about raised bed and container gardens. But there is one other way to grow a few veggies or some flowers. Window boxes. Window boxes are a great way to grow cherry tomatoes, lettuces and other small or mini varieties of vegetables. They are also perfect for flowers and ivy and add a charm to your home that not much else can. They are also excellent for making an herb garden. What could be better than the smell of mint or basil or rosemary wafting through your kitchen window from a window box full of herbs. Plus your cooking will improve as you will be able to just walk outside and snip fresh herbs to add to your dishes.

Window boxes are very easy to make and you can use scrap wood you have laying around or can find cheaply. Old fence boards, plywood and other things like dresser drawers, can all be used to make window boxes. They can be as plain or as fancy as you like. Add trim or appliques for a shabby chic look or leave them plain for a more rustic approach. You can even buy them pre-made and just hang them. There are as many styles as there are budgets. Let your imagination run wild and just remember to design them so that they will co-ordinate with your home’s décor. Here are a few examples:

This example is from the blog My Shabby Streamside Studio and was made from scrap wood. An applique was added and then the whole thing was painted shabby chic white. Plastic window boxes tucked down inside the wooden box, hold a variety of plants and can be changed out from season to season.

Here is an example of a rustic wooden window box that was hung on brackets.

Adorable cottage style window boxes on a shed give it charm.

How’s this for creativity? Old dresser drawers make perfect window boxes!

I am sure if you do a quick search online, you can come up with many more ideas, especially on sites like Pinterest. So why not go out and rummage around in your garage or at the local thrift store and see what scrap wood you can come up with to create some lovely and useful window boxes for your cabin, cottage or castle and then get planting!

Tags: cabin, castle, cottage, flowers, herbs, rustic, shabby chic, vegetables, window boxes

Posted in: Customer Infomation, From the Office, Garden, Homesteading, Raised Bed Gardens, Re-purposing, Recycling

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More Space Saving Ideas

Posted by admin on March 5, 2014

Here on the hill, gardening is challenging for many reasons. A short growing season, water restrictions and poor soil, micro climates and shade are just some of the issues we contend with. As gardeners, we are forced to come up with clever ways to overcome these challenges. Each gardener is different and has different wants and needs for his or her garden, so each person must customize solutions to fit their particular gardening needs.

One challenge many gardeners everywhere face, is space. Or lack thereof. This is why container gardening and raised bed gardens are so wonderful. They allow us to garden without acres of land to till or to fit a garden into a spot that would be unsuitable for a traditional garden. Everything from flowers to fruits and veggies to herbs, can be grown in containers or raised beds.

But now you want to branch out, literally, and grow some fruit trees. A typical 1/4 acre lot can only hold so many trees and if your property is like mine, putting in a bunch of fruit trees would eliminate most of the usable space in my yard. However, if the thought of walking outside and picking the perfect apples for a pie or a big, juicy peach is something you covet, then why not think about espalier?

Beautiful! So neat and tidy.

Espalier is the art of pruning and training trees and their branches to be on one plane. It is usually done against a fence or a wall, however, by installing posts and wires, you can espalier a fruit tree just about anywhere in your yard or garden. It is an excellent way to add fruit trees to your garden or homestead without taking up valuable real estate.

Posts and wires for espalier trees.

Plus the fruit is extremely easy to pick as compared to normal fruit trees. If you have ever attempted to pick the apples from the top of a tall apple tree, you will know what I mean and will appreciate being able to pick fruit easily and without a ladder, from an espaliered tree.

Much easier to pick apples from trees that are espaliered. Give it a try. I will be doing this in my garden!

Tags: espalier, fruit trees, gardening, raised bed gardens, small space gardening

Posted in: Around the District, Community, Customer Infomation, Edible Landscaping, From the Office, gardening, Homesteading, The Garden

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Raised Bed Gardening

Posted by admin on February 25, 2014

In a previous post, I talked about container gardening. Containers are a great way to grow flowers, vegetables and herbs. But perhaps you want something bigger or more permanent. While you could buy a rototiller and start digging up your yard, a much better solution would be to install a raised bed garden.

What is a raised bed garden? Well it is very simple. It is a garden bed where the soil level is higher than that on the paths and yard around them. They can be any size, shape or height that you desire and can even be built in a way that makes them wheelchair accessible. They can be built with a wide variety of materials and can be as spartan or as decorative as you wish. You are only limited by your imagination. Here are some great examples to get you thinking about what you could do in your own garden.

Raised beds made out of beautiful stone.

Raised bed garden on top of a chicken coop! This is a great idea.

An enchanting raised bed garden.

A colorful raised bed garden! Kids would love to help you garden here.

Fitting a raised bed garden in along a fence line.

A raised bed garden with different sizes and heights.

A rustic raised bed garden that would eliminate stooping!

A round raised bed garden made out of landscaping stones. Check out the rain barrel as well!

Custom shaped raised beds.

key hole raised bed garden A keyhole style raised bed with a trellis. Great for a small space.

As you can see, there are endless ways to incorporate raised beds into your landscape, but just what exactly are the benefits of raised bed gardening you may be asking? Well, there are several.

First of all, and probably the most importing reason, is the soil. Since you will be filling the raised bed yourself, it becomes an opportunity to get high quality soil and a custom blend of fertilizer and amendments for your specific growing needs. This is especially important if you live in an area with poor or rocky soil which would make digging up a garden difficult. With a raised bed garden, there will be no digging,no rototilling or any other back breaking labor. While the initial filling will involve a little work, once your bed is filled, it will only require once a year amending with a good compost.

The second advantage to a raised bed garden is the ability to tailor it to your specific needs. If you have a problem with critters digging from underground, you can put hardware cloth under your raised bed to thwart their activities. A raised bed garden enables you to screen it in to protect it from birds, squirrels and other critters that would love to eat what you grow. You can also extend your growing season with a raised bed garden by installing row covers or even adding a cold frame on top of your raised bed. All of these things are easier to do with a raised bed garden. Here are some examples.

Lining your raised bed with hardware cloth to prevent critters from digging in from underneath.

Wire frame to set over the raised bed garden to keep critters and birds out.

Fenced in raised bed to keep animals out.

A totally enclosed raised bed garden.

Raised bed garden with screened A frame. Would be easy to throw plastic over this as well.

Plastic covered frames for raised bed garden act as a greenhouse.

Hoop covers made from PVC pipe for raised beds.

Enclosed raised bed garden.

PVC pipe frame over a raised bed ready for plastic to be added.

So I think this gives you enough to think about for one post! Next time I will discuss the drainage and yield aspects of raised bed gardens. Stay tuned!

Tags: cold frame, gardening, raised beds, soil

Posted in: Customer Infomation, From the Office, Homesteading, Raised Bed Gardens, The Garden

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