Water is life and whether you use city water, well water, rainwater or another water source water is a must have. In our Red Bay Farm demonstration project we elected to drive a well point and use a hand pump to lift the water for garden irrigation and aquaponics uses. In May 2008 we installed our well. The water comes from a shallow well on 1 1/4 pipe with a 60" well point hand driven to about 12' below the surface. We can fill a 5 gallon bucket in about 45 seconds...pumping by hand. If you want to drive your own well point take a look at this pamphlet for detailed information. Driving a well is hard work and will cost just over $200 for pipe, drive cap, drive couplers, a driving well point (pointed steel sieve that attach's to the pipe and of course a simple hand pump. I helped my neighbor install a successful well and It took him several days working a couple of hours a day. Difficulty will depend on soil type. We used a sledge hammer as the driver, you can also use a hand fence post driver or set up a more complex system like shown in the pamphlet linked above. If you don't want to or can't drive a well or drill a well then you can use municipal water (leave in an open container for 24 hours if the water will be used for fish). You can also Build rain barrels or a cistern or use a stream or pond as a water source. But in all cases water is essential if you want to raise food in your backyard. |
| An Aquaponics System What an intriguing idea. Raising fish which in turn produce fertilizer for plants which in turn cleanse the water for the fish. Actually this idea is very old and the Chinese were probably using these techniques long long ago. But this is an option that can produce results and has a relatively low entry cost. For our system we purchased 4 food quality plastic barrels.
barrel for a rain barrel, food storage or aquaponics.] We filled the barrels with water from our well and then with some ideas from a friend at treehugger.com we build a simple water circulation system which uses an aquarium pump to move the water. Watch this video to see the pump in action. These pumps are variously called airlift pumps, bubble pumps or maybe geyser pumps. For my pump I used 1/2" PVC water pipe, a small funnel, two air stones, a 4 watt aquarium air pump, electrical tape and some scrap wire/string. If you are interested in building your own backyard aquaponics system we recommend visiting the following sites.
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| Become an Urban Farmer! Every week the US loses an area of farmland roughly the size of Manhattan to development. Your Suburban lot was likely either farmland or productive forest land. Mel Bartholomew, of Square Foot gardening fame, says that a family of 4 only needs an area about 10 feet by 13 feet to grow vegetables for home use. So put some of that land back into agriculture for you and your family! Become an Urban Farmer. Start a vegetable garden this year! |
| Backyard Food Production ~growing food year round in your backyard~ A collection of essentials and optional items for growing food in your backyard |
Plant A Garden Everyone should have a vegetable garden! Whether you live in an apartment (using containers), in a suburban home or in the country plant a garden. Gardening is a relatively inexpensive hobby or can even become a part time job which can provide wholesome food for a family and maybe a bit of income. We don't use tillers or tractors in our garden. Only hand tools are required. All that is needed to start is a shovel, bucket and a garden trowel. Gardens can range from a simple container with a grow light in a basement to an extensive complex providing a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Vegetable gardens can be integrated into the landscape or can stand alone. There are so many ideas for gardening. Just do some Internet research to find the styles which fit into your life. Above are some pictures from our garden. We use raised bed techniques in our garden while using a mixture of styles that incorporate the raised beds. We don't use any synthetic fertilizer, insecticides or pesticides in our garden. We recommend using organic techniques which as you can see below produce good results. (here are some search word ideas: kitchen garden, raised bed garden, lasagna garden, no work garden...just to name a few. Here are a couple of our favorite reference links which may be of interest and provide information on some simple and inexpensive gardening methods. Constructing a Circular Vegetable Garden Square Foot Gardening Forum at the Garden Web |
| A Greenhouse A greenhouse or unheated cold frame provides the ability to extend the gardening season by about 60 days per year. If heated...the greenhouse can provide food all year round. Even though we have had ice inside the cover of our greenhouse. By placing our tropical plants (taro and avocado) next to our water tanks and covering the plants with plastic sheeting we have successfully prevented frost damage down to a temperature of 22 degrees Fahrenheit. For our demonstration project we have elected to construct what many might call a cold frame. We used these plans as a guide for building our greenhouse: A Small Greenhouse for the Home Gardener fraction of the cost of a prefabricated model of the same size. Our cost was less than $350. You can purchase a greenhouse of about this size (12' X 16') but it will cost considerably more. Even a hoop kit for a greenhouse this size will cost more. We would love to have some of the greenhouses advertised on this page but our budget is very modest. Here are some additional links which provide DIY greenhouse plans and ideas. |
A Worm Bin
Thanks for visiting Red Bay Farm. We hope you have found this page both useful and enjoyable. Comments? Please email jim@redbayfarm.com |
The pipe in the picture to the left is the pump. Air from an aquarium pump is pumped to the
bottom of the vertical pipe through two air stones. This forces the water up the pipe to the
horizontal pipe and then to the black barrel in the background.
The pump moves about a quart of water a minute. This is enough water flow to circulate the
water through the system about twice per day. The pump has a distinctive sound. The
thumping you hear is the pump.
bottom of the vertical pipe through two air stones. This forces the water up the pipe to the
horizontal pipe and then to the black barrel in the background.
The pump moves about a quart of water a minute. This is enough water flow to circulate the
water through the system about twice per day. The pump has a distinctive sound. The
thumping you hear is the pump.
Left to Right: Mesclun, India Mustard, Taro and
Avocado and the greenhouse (Winter 2008)
Avocado and the greenhouse (Winter 2008)
Left to Right: Square
foot gardens,
Eggplant/okra, various
produce (Summer 2008)
foot gardens,
Eggplant/okra, various
produce (Summer 2008)
| Need to start some seeds? Check out this Farmer's Almanac article with the tips necessary to get your seedlings off to a great start! |
Some Easy To Grow Vegetables for your first Garden Just as soon as you can work the soil.
Onion and Garlic sets (bulbs): Here in NC they are very easy to grow from sets. If you prefer to use onion seed give a little protection under plastic sheeting or cheese cloth. Give these vegetables some early spring protection with some cheese cloth or plastic sheeting. Sow the seed in the ground.
Plant a little and plant often for a continuous supply of tender lettuce. Radish: Plant a few and plant often for a continual supply of these tasty salad vegetables. Swiss chard: A great addition to a spring or fall garden. Tastes better, to me anyway, after a frost. Beets: A fantastic vegetable that brings a vibrant color and healthy addition to the dinner plate.
the roots can grow deeply. After all danger of frost has passed plant these vegetables. Save some money by starting your plants indoors in a sunny spot from seed. Green Beans: Try some Italian purple bush beans...purple when you pick them and green when they are cooked. Okra: An old Southern favorite which puts the gumbo (African for okra) in that famous Southern stew. Yellow Squash: For some reason nearly everyone craves yellow squash in the early summer. Superb sauteed with a bit of bacon and some green onions. Zuchinni Squash: Really prolific. Don't plant to much or your neighbors will be running away when they see you coming with more squash to give away! Sweet Pepper: Bell peppers...usually prolific, can be frozen. Stuffed peppers or for salad. You just can't miss. Cherry Tomatoes: These little tomatoes are very disease resistant and are productive. There are numerous types. |
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need to take some quizzes and send an SASE but you'll get 6 (they sent us 10 packs) free packs of heirloom seeds. Visit www.wintersown.org |
Production In the News! National Program Recently Instituted in the Philippines. Here is a link to the National Announcement. |
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| Tomato Varieties and their Disease Resistance...Check out this chart from Cornell University. |
seed. 10 from Wintersown and 5 from the dollar store. |
| A backyard Produced meal, new potatoes, beets, crawfish, peas and carrots. |
