Classes at the farm

Thinking of giving classes here at the farm to generate a little revenue. I found a great farm for sale in Penrose with ten acres and water, and we are going to look at it today, but coming up with that $1500 earnest money is a struggle. We have half and are waiting for our tax refund to show up in the bank, but what if we decide we really want this property? Maybe it's not the right time. We will go look first and then see.

Also the conservation man from the USDA is coming out today to do an assessment on our property and decide if we can get one of the high tunnels to grow in. Exciting. And we meet with another department of the USDA tomorrow to officially get the farm on the books and see what programs are available to us. I'm hoping a farm loan for a real farm. Wouldn't that be cool?

Anyway, wondering if anyone is interested in some gardening classes or maybe chicken basics that we could run on Sundays? Ideas for classes would be great too.

Still working on the earthbag barn. We decided to stucco the portion that is done, and continue with more bags to make the walls a couple of feet higher, but we have to get the bags out of the sun, so this weekend we will be mixing up the stucco and plastering the outside. If anyone wants to come out and help, you are sure welcome to, just give us a call.

Class ideas:
Chicken basics...from day old to laying, to retiring to the stew pot.
Seed starting
Garden prep
Composting
Cold Frames
Soil Science
Bio Intensive Gardening
Build a hoop house
Cheese making (when the milk comes in)
Build a chicken coop
How to make a recycled can tin man
Goats...care and housing
Fencing

If anyone is interested in any of these subjects, let us know and we can put together a class. Donations to the farm are always welcome and can be made through Pay Pal at the Green Desert Eco Farm site.

We are getting serious about farming now. Support the farm...ours, or any small, local, organic and natural farm. It is important that we change the food paradigm of America by not participating in Agribusiness.

Day 3...build a barn

Day three had a great turn out too! The weather was not so nice...a little cold and windy, but our participants stuck in there and we got eight levels of bags up when the day was done.

 

digging more dirt to fill the bags

hauling the dirt to the earthbag barn

six courses

Rolling out the barbed wire for the next course

seven courses

Eight courses done at the end of day 3

Thanks to everyone who participated! It was definitely a hands on learning experience for everyone. Now we have to research some kind of mud plaster to cover the bags to protect them from the UV rays. It will be slow going now with just the two of us...or one of us as the case may be, so anyone who still wants to come out and help, give us a call.

Day 2 of the Earthbag Building Blitz

Big turn out today. People went home tired and sore, I'm sure, and we appreciate everyone's help. The structure came a long way in a few hours with so many hands.

 

 

Three courses...looks solid

Tying the bag

The end of four courses

It was a long day. Everyone was a big help and everyone's little kids had great fun together. We are meeting so many people who share a common interest in learning more about alternative building. It's a wonderful thing--earth friendly structures built out of recycled materials. You can't get more grounded than that for housing options. This structure will remain cool in the hot summer heat, warmer in the cold winter and block out some of the wind we get here in our high desert. It sure seems to make more sense than the modular home we live in now. We need to go back to building with the land, and for the climates we live in, keeping in mind the climate changes that are occurring and will get worse over time. Which is more sustainable, a modular, stick built house or an earth house?

Day One of the Building Blitz

First day started off slow with only one participant. Kory came down from Denver to get some hands on experience, and he and Richard worked hard all day, finishing the trench, laying in gravel and putting down the first course of gravel bags. Good work guys!

Filling the trench with gravel

Gravel bags go in trench

Richard "sews" the bag closed with re bar wire

Kory fills buckets with gravel

walls and buttress ends

An excellent day for the Earthbag Barn. We are off to a great start. A few more people stopped by later in the day...Donia and Paula from the Canon Food Co-op, bearing pots and pans of food (thank you) and two ladies who might come back tomorrow when the building site should be hopping.

We made a new friend...Kory, who is as interested in Earth friendly structures as we are, and came bearing a stack of books to share on the subject. Can't wait to check them out when he returns tomorrow. Thanks for all of your help today Kory!

Getting ready for the Blitz!

We are working like mad, trying to get ready for this weekend when people from all over will descend upon our little farm to build a barn.

Last four cabinet doors painted and drying

I've been cleaning the house, while trying to get the cabinets finished. As the doors go up, some more clutter gets put away and things begin to get organized. It seems like everything we need to do to get ready will never get done.


Where will everyone park? We are trying to clear some space and make a parking area, and one of our neighbors (one who likes us) offered to park cars in his field, if the ground is dry.

Finished doors, finished cabinets

The cabinets look nice, I think, for recycled cabinets.

Re-used broken bricks

Also have some recycled bricks to deal with, so I thought we could use the broken ones to make water wells for some of our trees. I think they look nice too, although our neighbors might disagree. The hillside is eroding so badly on the east side of our property, we need to hold the soil there long enough to plant some ground covers. I don't suppose our neighbors would understand anything about that.

This is trash

I did however find something else over on this side of the property: trash! and it isn't mine...could it be one of the neighbors is a litterbug?

And we have been taking care of pallets by putting up more pallet fence. They gotta love that!

Tires hidden under mulch

The tires by the driveway, that will eventually be a low retaining wall next to the berm there, were covered with some of the enormous pile of wood mulch, taking care of two eyesores in one shot...maybe. Is it better? Who knows.

Planting the fort

Richard built a frame around the kids play fort in the yard to keep it from blowing over again. The horrendous wind keeps tipping this big toy over, and the slide has been ripped off, unfortunately. This is kind of cool because once the kids outgrow the fort, we can put a roof on this, put a bench or swing under it, and enjoy the view of Pikes Peak in the distance.

I suppose this looks "weird" too.

I've been thinking of running away...to NM or to Penrose, a farming friendly community. Colorado is a right to farm state. Do the covenants prevent us from having that right? Can they do that?

Richard went to the Town Hall to pick up a permit application and find out what the news is. We don't need the permit, and the clerk there was excited about our Earthbag barn, but he did say a few years back a man tried to build an addition out of tire bales and was struck down. The town wouldn't approve it. Can't build out of tires...he said. We were thinking of building a greenhouse out of tires, but Earthbags are much easier.

There were no complaints that came by him, he said, but we may have too many goats, according to county rules. Four hoofed animals is what we are allowed. The llamas have toes, and so do the goats, but all are considered hoofed. One animal per half acre. Who goes? My vote is for the bully goat girls, but that would still leave one too many. Would they notice? Probably.

Maybe we should start a community garden in our tiny town. The town clerk said they were trying to come up with ways to bring the community together. Maybe if we contributed to a good, green cause, people would see that we are not bringing mayhem to the land and call off their witch hunt.

In the meantime, we are looking for a friendly neighbor to house a couple of goats...

Found a piece of vacant property in Penrose. We could move the goats out there, put  up hoop houses, and farm to our hearts content, while trying to convince the county to let us build an earth house...Earthbags probably. The realtor has yet to call me back. I wonder what it takes to purchase land? Where do you get financing? How much do you have to put down? How does that work?


There's some cheap land down near Taos, sort of. Could we go back there? We could collect rainwater in NM. That's something. And NM is green builder friendly. Taos is a mecca for artistic and creative, eccentric and sustainable types of folks. I miss it. One of our guests this weekend is coming form Taos. She's planning on building an Earthbag house out in the wilds of Taos county and has started a blog Home Sweet Hive which will chronicle her story as she builds. Can't wait to read about the progress. Can't wait to meet her this weekend. Welcome Susan and family!

In fact, welcome to everyone who is coming to our little farm this weekend. Can't wait to meet everyone. It'll be great fun!