Get Your Wheat Grass!

     Ahh the wonders of wheat grass! Welcome to my new backyard project at the moment. I figure I have a lawn full of not to useful grass, other than walking on. Why not put out a raised bed or two and grow something that is really good for the body, digestion, and energy levels. This can be grown indoor or in any space really. Using flats and a bit of good dirt and BAM! This thing will provide good nutrients as long as you tend and maintain it. A clipping here and there and a recycling of its soil should be all this needs.

     This is what we are after folks! A shot of all natural green goodness. Through those OTC vitamins in the trash! All that can be provided naturally with a little attention, care, and good work you get a artfully crafted master piece you yourself provided and are 100% sure of WHAT THE HELL ARE WE EATING???

    Wheat grass in the morning, Wheat grass in the evening, and even for supper time! When wheat grass is in your garden, you can drink wheat grass anytime! Oh yeah man!

     Here is the one I reticently purchased for under 20 bucks. 5 lbs of seeds in a water tight storage container. Here is a link to amazon if you would like one too. Click here to go to Amazon

Mobil Chicken Units!!

     I wanted to take a moment to link you all too Poly Face Farm in upstate New York. There chicken methods are a great introduction to what they do. There is loads more to check out tho. I will probably blog more about them in the near future.

    This moil chicken home method is a great example of how biodiversity is beneficial to a farm. These chickens are exposed to pasture (where other animals feed) and a variety of vegetation. They are happy as can be hunting for their favorite all natural goodies. While getting great nutrition they are also exposed to different bugs, parasites, and microbes Oh-My! At first thought, but with a little knowledge we begin to understand this creates an atmosphere where all sorts of great relationships are taking place. A check and balance in the natural order of things. This eliminates the huge infestation and disease problems that come from an isolated ideal environment for any one pest.

    This is my cheers to Poly Face Farm! A group I have been watching closely and hope to use some techniques Ive learned from them. Above are a few ideas I saw on the internet which seemed should be great moil designs as well. Thanks for reading! Until next time! Get dirty and grow!

Farming to save the world?

     Why organic, self sustaining, farm sources, modest scale farming? Your not going to get rich! You cant feed the world doing that! Rain forest would still fall! Oil and War would still be rampant. Would it?

     Believe it or not these are the most common answers and ideas I get when sharing philosophy here in my suburb just outside of Columbus, OH as well as in the city. I have also spent time with "conventional farmers" who also reflect alot of this, what I believe to be narrow minded lies. 

     When thinking into and hypothesizing on such topics we must emurse ourselves in the environment. This, we are talking about, is one where many more individuals than today take up this practice of living and farming in harmony with the earth and community. This promotes a life style that is very rich in many ways. Money and the amount you have dose not define how rich or happy you are. This is very provable.
     With this is mind we are talking about communities where life happens very differently. Things like priority and goals are different than we currently have. Stop and think. Ask yourself, would this be such a bad thing? How do I like how things are going in the world today?
     In this mindset I believe we begin to expose the lie that we all must remain a science experiment enacted by a faceless individual or group who claims they are feeding and making the world a better place. I must argue without this general consensus as it is often seen we would not have a dead-spot the size of a small country in the gulf, we would not be facing the side effects of tooling with nature, we would be stronger as a civilization with an even stronger ecosystem (the ultimate infrastructure), and we would be more than happy to remain here on Earth for eternity and not face a future of fear and science hysteria of a doomed future.
     Organic Farming and Self Sustainability is the revolution! Carving the path to Freedom, Independence, and The Rights of Man which include the naturalist place in this world.

      In realizing the dream that is this farm, I now see that together we got to where we are, so together we can get to where we need to be. Forcing my way thru things only makes them ten times harder and more painful. Organic farming, beneficial recycling, on farm or locally sourcing, community marketing and barter, Individual goals and project support, all contribute to a healthy community which breeds healthy options and activity.
     Its time we evolve past these lazy tactics of slavery and war. We can do better! This is why my ambition is to change the world through organic practices.

Ahh The Green House

     The very first mission once we set our feet on this property is to raise two very large green houses for winter production specifically. Though they will be year round production, during the summer we will be concentrating on the field crop as well. I like the look and feel of wood frames. Metal is another popular option. As seen in the basic design above the construction is a simple six sides connected to a base with horizontal trust's to keep everything in place. Of course from here we need a fan for fresh air and a heat source to get through the winter. The property dose have free gas as the two shale's on the property are tapped by Columbia Gas. Based on this we may use natural gas but I really liked the idea of a wood stove. Of course more maintenance but you produce a great resource which is wood ash and you are not dependent on the gas company. I will keep you updated on which we choose.

     The other option for design we have been looking into is a geodesic shape. Like the one pictured above. The advantages here seem to be in how heat and air circulate in such a shape. Efficiency one thing but I also like the look and working in a round space vs. a long square space.  I love the Eco-architecture options here, as far as blending this structure into the natural land scape in a very pleasing to the eye, harmonious to the environment kind of way.

     This is a very luxurious example, however, the idea of a pond in the greenhouse is very interesting and many benefits come to mind here. First of all, where you have water you could have fish. Tilapia is a fish that would do very well and is awesome to eat. Ive also herd of fresh water shrimp. I have yet to look into these tho. A post on both to come in the near future!
     Another advantage is plants love love love humidity. With the heat produced by the sun and green house combination I'm sure plenty of this too be had! Of course irrigation options come to mind as well.

     Now, when building on such a large scale being able to use your own materials or salvaged materials is a huge plus! We like habitat for humanity, Craigslist.org is a great way to seek out free or very cheep scrap wood, I also love the example above. The natural elements give it an amazing apeal and could further blend into the surrounding landscape.

     We are all too excited about how this project is coming along! It seems there are so many obstacle and challenges. For each you want just the right or perfect answer. Our hears are in the right place and our goals are in touch with the natural ebb and flow of the earth and natural positions humans should find themselves in when in balance. With this energy surrounding us we are like this little and carrying a leaf twice as big as himself over far distance. One foot after the other, the obstacles peal one by one, the end close, looking back with a smile how no tragity occurred, demotivateor, or obstacle remain uncrossed as though something was working for us, helping along this experience!
     Please if you have any comments, ideas for us, or questions. Please leave them. We would love to hear from and network with other like minded, or objective alike. Thank you all for reading!

Organic Pest Control!

     And now for organic pest control! Biodiversity is going to be one of our KEY factors in pest control on the farm. Biodiversity is maintaining a healthy habitat on the farm which will attract a number of animals and foliage alike which help to balance the ebb and flow of pests and predators.
     This entry will focus on a favorite method of mine which is to introduce a good amount of pest eaters who will make this their permanent home and become part of the ecosystem at the farm.

     This little guy is a Mantis. He hatches with thousands of other little mantis's who come out hungry as can be! To the lower foliage with these little ones as they hide out and begin feeding on aphids and other very small bugs. As they grow in size and become adults, like the one pictured above, They will begin feasting on any bugs they can find up to the size of a beetle. That includes any and all pest! Mosquitoes and Fleas LOOK OUT!

     This is how a typical egg sack looks. From what Ive read this will hatch for a period of weeks dispensing these very tiny mantis's in the thousands when it is done. I have placed mine in a home made terrarium so that I can watch as they hatch and see how long this really last! Careful, they do cannibalize if in confined areas. I plan to let them out little by little. I am going to experiment with trying to keep a few captive until large. I have heard of people handling them and they become quite tolerant of people. I will let you all know how that goes and how many times I am bit.
     The other method would be just set them on a branch and let nature handle this one. Either way they are a cheep, effective, organic pest control method. More on other methods to come! Stay posted at Hilltop Haven Farms Blog.
     If you would like to try your own eggs this year, here is where I obtained mine Amazon.com Matis Eggs 6$ for (2) .

Hilltop Haven Worms!!

The "Red Wiggler"

     Welcome to what we will rely upon at Hilltop Haven as an absolute stable in the health of our farm and soil! These little guys are called the Red Wiggler Worm. They are the most active composting worm and are very easily obtainable either in your own, already established, composting pile or through local garden shops and online retailers.

     We are looking to make a living and thrive on organic, no chemical, natural, self sustainable practices. Everything about what these little recyclers do will make that happen. We will break down scraps from the kitchen and spoils from our gardens and tomato operation. Additionally we promote the health of the 50 acres of woods on the property through collecting leaves and any other rotting or rotted organic material. This will free up the ground level of the wooded environment to diverse vegetative growth. This will attract animals, bugs, and microbes which add to the biodiversity of the farm as a whole. I will blog more on the importance of biodiversity soon!

      This is a great example of how to layer worms in a basic plastic bin which can be found second hand at most thrifts or from someone you know who has one in the garage collecting dust, or you can buy them locally which they are rather inexpensive. Dose the recycling of material make up for the oil waste it took to make my plastic bin? Not sure, but on we go at the moment. Holes at the bottom of the bin and angling the bin where it sits on a tilt allow you to as well harvest the juices which will flow through the compost thanks to decomposition, worm waste, and light watering. 

     There are multiple products worms provide that are very useful to a farmer who is looking to source what the farm needs in order to stay healthy, avoid degeneration of soil content, and THRIVE! The worms are composting so of course they produce solid waste. This is an excellent soil additive which helps both vegetative growth stage and bloom or flowering. They also produce a liquid secretion which is very rich in nutrients which then flows through the compost. You end up harvesting a combination of "Worm Juice" and "Compost Tea". This has no shelf life and can be stored for winter month uses as well. We will use this in the green house as well. On top of these great products for soil health you have also found a great way to turn trash or waste into treasure and your impact on the dependency of society has been less. These are the fundamental steps I believe we need to restore our country to that which respects the values and directions of independence and freedom!

    "Philosophy is just as important to a farm as the products you grow and sell to market"
    "Think independent, vote independent, be independent. An independent, free America reqires independent people!" - P.J. Creamer

Product to Market Focus:

"Organic Heirloom Tomatoes"

The product of choice at Hill Top Heaven, which we decided to focus our business plan on, is Organic Heirloom Tomatoes. We began by looking at different organic variety vegetables that we could offer at market. We discovered these fruits fetch the highest price and the yields are predictable. These varieties of tomatoes offer distinct qualities and taste variations often fancied by many consumers.

From the research Ive done pests and diseases are easily identified. We hope to ward off quite a bit of this with a diverse planting and a good planting plan. They call this "Companion Planting". I will blog quite a bit more on this is the near future sharing my own plans and the benefits of this. We are planning a no spray farm. We will operate greenhouses in the winter for year long production.

We are looking to manage circumstances by maintaining high fertility and soil health, multiple types of plants to attract pests and disease, and multiple plots throughout our 98 acre land which allows for separations and quarantine if needed. Multiple growing methods can be applied as well. We are focused on getting our final product as close to the consumer as possible. Brokers and Big outlets paying bottom line prices forces a farm into bad situations. Small farms are the best farms and make most sense when factoring money and lifestyle.

Welcome to the future, permaculture necessity has arrived!

Keep posted! More to come as the dream Hill Top Heaven - A 98 Acre organic farm nestled in Hocking Hills, Ohio Region develops right before your very eyes.

My goal is to share all the details, heart aches and happiness, with no boundaries to inspire and I'm sure receive some much needed help, advice, and positive vibes from this online community! Happy Trails!