Spore Lore

20121213 Barn Owl Neighborly Box 1 of 6

1- Residential Habitats -- Critters and Their Homes No Responses »

Dec 172012

Today’s video shows Tony McGuigan, author of Habitat It and They Will Come, laying the prep work to installing a barn owl box on a pole along his driveway. Today’s footage shows the plans, the box, and the planned location of the pole. Part 1 of 6 videos.

Barn Owl Neighborly Box 1 of 6 (video):

From Tony’s project last year, Barn Owl Skypad (pic):

Barn Owl Box. Front panel opens for annual cleaning.

From the web (pic):

Barn Owl

Go to Designing & Building Barn Owl Nest Boxes for some great info on creating a successful barn owl box AND habitat. From the .pdf “Build A Barn Owl Box” on that site:

Simmons’ Barn Owl box has many advantages. It provides optimized protection from predators such as Great Horned Owls and raccoons. This is achieved by use of an ellipse-based entrance hole of unique shape and size and by an interior divider that separates the box into two compartments. The divider, visible via a transparent front in the drawing provides a safe living area away from the entrance. Should a predator gain access to the entrance hole, it is unlikely that it will fit completely through the hole, and the divider further prevents the predator from reaching around the divider to access the occupants.

Happy barn owl habitat making. See you tomorrow.

Tony

20121212 Hugelkultur 4 of 4

1- Residential Habitats -- Critters and Their Homes, 2- Food Forest Gardening No Responses »

Dec 142012

Heavy limbs weighing down the lighter sticks on Food Ridge West.

Today is my fourth posting of rebuilding hugelkultur Food Ridge West.

Go to Hugelkultur to see a description of this European garden art.

Today’s video shows the final stages of building the base of the hugelkultur. Its “keyhole garden” shape is discussed.

Hugelkultur 4 of 4 (video):

From Tony’s project (pics):

Heavy limbs weighing down the lighter sticks on Food Ridge West. This woody mesh of twigs, sticks, and limbs makes a good base for organic debris layers to come. Note all the nooks and crannies that will be available to garden critters. HABITAT!!!

Entrance to the keyhole garden hugelkultur, Food Ridge West.

Close-up view of entrance to the keyhole garden hugelkultur, Food Ridge West. The added layers of organic debris will rise over the vertical log (left, inside the keyhole garden bed), only to settle back down again next year. Each year’s added layers mean better soil for crops.

Some images of hugelkultur.

For a detailed discussion,

clear graphics, and lots of pics of hugelkultur,

see Paul Weaton’s blog at:

Happy hugelkultur habitat making. See you tomorrow.

Tony

20121211 Hugelkultur 3 of 4

1- Residential Habitats -- Critters and Their Homes, 2- Food Forest Gardening No Responses »

Dec 142012

Added lighter twigs, then heavier sticks and limbs to the hugelkultur.

Today is my third posting of rebuilding hugelkultur Food Ridge West.

Go to Hugelkultur to see a description of this European garden art.

Today’s video shows working lighter sticks first, then heavier sticks on top. Hugelkultur Building 101!

Hugelkultur 3 of 4 (video):

From Tony’s project (pics):

Adding lighter twigs, then heavier sticks and limbs to the hugelkultur. The heavier limbs will help compress the organic debris pile.

Some images of hugelkultur.

For a detailed discussion,

clear graphics, and lots of pics of hugelkultur,

see Paul Weaton’s blog at:

Happy hugelkultur habitat making. See you tomorrow.

Tony

20121210 Hugelkultur 2 of 4

1- Residential Habitats -- Critters and Their Homes, 2- Food Forest Gardening No Responses »

Dec 142012

Today is my second posting of rebuilding hugelkultur Food Ridge West — all animal habitats get a name!

Go to Hugelkultur to see a description of this European garden art.

Today’s video starts with pulling apart an old firewood pile and some critters found in that habitat. One critter is relocated to the hugelkultur Food Ridge West.

Hugelkultur 2 of 4 (video):

From Tony’s project (pics):

A centipede on Tony’s patio; pic taken during another project day. Note the long tail antennae (bottom), how each body segment has one pair of legs (millipedes have 2 pairs of legs per body segment), and how shiny red the body is (a defensive “I look like venom” strategy).

Some images of hugelkultur.

For a detailed discussion,

clear graphics, and lots of pics of hugelkultur,

see Paul Weaton’s blog at:

Happy hugelkultur habitat making. See you tomorrow.

Tony

20121209 Hugelkultur 1 of 4

1- Residential Habitats -- Critters and Their Homes, 2- Food Forest Gardening No Responses »

Dec 142012

Hugelkultur is the piling up of organic matter, like wood stumps and prunings, to make a raised mound on which crops are grown.

Go to Hugelkultur to see more description of this European garden art.

Today’s video introduces Tony’s project — a hugelkultur on top of a previous hugelkultur. The original pile of prunings and soil has decomposed and settled and is now ready for another round of rounds (pun intended!).

Hugelkultur 1 of 4 (video):

From Tony’s project (pics):

The yard debris pile that we have converted to a hugelkultur (by adding soil on top) stands nearly waste high to Anita.

Last year’s hugelkultur topped off with straw before final soil layer. The hugelkultur was a good place to get rid of, “use”, some on-hand adobe soil. Ultimately, the layers of organic matter below and above the adobe soil will enrich that soil.

Last year’s hugelkultur, Food Ridge West, produced a garlic crop. Notice how much the soil-covered debris pile has settled – the vertical log that was buried is now poking through the central walk path.

The BEFORE to this year’s Food Ridge West hugelkultur project. The soil level has settled even more. The hugelkultur’s inner debris pile has broken down further – note the vertical log sticks out yet further than from last spring’s garlic crop pic, above. Piles of black oak branches and limbs are ready to add to the hugelkultur.

For a detailed discussion,

clear graphics, and lots of pics of hugelkultur,

see Paul Weaton’s blog at:

Some images of hugelkultur.

Happy hugelkultur habitat making. See you tomorrow.

Tony

20121208 Harvesting Hachiya Persimmon 2 of 2

1- Residential Habitats -- Critters and Their Homes, 2- Food Forest Gardening No Responses »

Dec 132012

Early morning sun on Hachiya persimmon leaves.

First a video re “Harvesting Persimmon 2 of 2”, then some pics of the project (below the video):

Harvesting Persimmon 2 of 2 (video):

From the project (pics):

The bounty of Hachiya persimmon from this year’s harvest. These picnic boxes and more!

Early morning sun on Hachiya persimmon leaves. These leaves have changed color (fall foliage) from their usual lush greens and are about to drop.

Our young persimmon tree grows alongside an established pine tree. Someday, we will climb the pine to harvest persimmon.

Happy persimmon harvesting and drying. See you tomorrow.

Tony

20121207 Harvesting Hachiya Persimmon 1 of 2

1- Residential Habitats -- Critters and Their Homes, 2- Food Forest Gardening No Responses »

Dec 102012

Close-up of harvested Hachiya persimmons.

First a video re “Harvesting Persimmon 1 of 2”, then some pics of the project (below the video):

Harvesting Persimmon 1 of 2 (video):

From the project (pics):

Our neighbor’s Hachiya persimmon tree, with its lower branches picked clean. What a treat to have fruit ripen so late in the year, on this December day.

Hachiya persimmon harvested on a frosty day. The green-before-turning leaves take on beautiful colors before the fruit ripens and are easy to press – perhaps placemats for your dried persimmon treats!

Close-up of harvested Hachiya persimmons. These almost ripe persimmons, with firm flesh, will soften to a near jelly state if left to ripen by a window.

Pic and caption from Tony’s new book, Habitat It and They will Come :

Appendix 1, Habitat Match: C) My sugary fruit makes a nice meal on cold winter days when cousin fruit trees are empty.

Happy persimmon harvesting and drying. See you tomorrow.

Tony

20121206 Bucket Watering Can DIY 4 of 4

1- Residential Habitats -- Critters and Their Homes, 2- Food Forest Gardening No Responses »

Dec 072012

First a video re “Bucket Watering Can DIY 4 of 4”, then some pics of the project (below the video):

Bucket Watering Can DIY 4 of 4 (video):

From the project (pics):

New and Improved watering can (model 000000000000000002) has smaller holes. A smaller spout stream helps distribute the water more evenly and is less harsh on bare soil and fragile seedlings.

A look inside the watering can ready for application. Note the floating food particles that would clog up the spout to an ordinary watering can. THIS is no ordinary watering can!

Watering with finer spout holes. Mission accomplished – the new watering streams are less sloppy than the larger-holed watering can.

Happy DIY projects for your Habitat Food Forest. See you tomorrow.

Tony

20121205 Bucket Watering Can DIY 3 of 4

1- Residential Habitats -- Critters and Their Homes, 2- Food Forest Gardening No Responses »

Dec 072012

Watering the garden with our new watering can.

First a video re “Bucket Watering Can DIY 3 of 4”, then some pics of the project (below the video):

Bucket Watering Can DIY 3 of 4 (video):

From the project (pics):

Filling the watering can with dishwater (blackwater). Check out that water! It’s a mix of soapy water, food particles from our dishes, and pasta drain-off water. Here microbes, come and get it!

Diluting the dishwater with fresh water. We’ll get more coverage in the garden by adding fresh water to the nutrient “concentration”.

Watering the garden with our new watering can. Note the use of the fill hole as handle grip. It works! And, easy to clean.

Happy DIY projects for your Habitat Food Forest. See you tomorrow.

Tony

20121204 Bucket Watering Can DIY 2 of 4

1- Residential Habitats -- Critters and Their Homes, 2- Food Forest Gardening No Responses »

Dec 072012

Cutting a fill hole in the bucket’s lid.

First a video re “Bucket Watering Can DIY 2of 4”, then some pics of the project (below the video):

Bucket Watering Can DIY 2 of 4 (video):

From the project (pics):

Cutting a fill hole in the bucket’s lid. The large hole allows filling the watering can easily AND can be used as a non-moving grip while watering garden.

Finding center opposite the watering can’s grip (the fill hole). The bucket was then flipped 180 degrees to locate the center of the holes to be drilled.

Spout holes are drilled to both the right and left of the center mark hole. The more holes, the wider the watering row-of-streams will be.

Happy DIY projects for your Habitat Food Forest. See you tomorrow.

Tony

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