Another Book for my Library.

Another book that I want to add to my library is this one:

found on Amazon

This book was written by a blogger that was on a tight budget and built all the furniture for her new home.

There is a lot of cool stuff on her blog Ana White - Homemaker and I've found a couple of more things that I would like to add to my list of projects I'd like to take on for the house.

Aloha a Hui Hou!

My Library - Books I have and those I plan on buying

Although I love a good book, I find that when we do go to a book store I am more likely to go to the How To section of the store.


Sometimes, like today, that store was Amazon.


Since we are preparing for our life as country folk, I am looking at books that will help us establish our ranch.


Growing up I helped my parents in the garden a bit and had a garden or two of my own over the years. My dad raised chickens and ducks, but that was long after I was out of the house.


Hubby has a bit more experience in that area. They had chickens and horses and a garden. His knowledge base is a bit bigger than mine.


But for both of us our knowledge is a bit dated and some new thoughts have made farm life a bit, and I say this tongue in cheek, easier.


I already talked the about our plans to try out an Aquaponics system and shared that book with you.


Today I discovered a couple of books that have made it to my wish list. 


The first one is called:

Free-Range Chicken Gardens: How to Create a Beautiful, Chicken-Friendly Yard

"Many gardeners fear chickens will peck away at their landscape, and chicken lovers often shy away from gardening for the same reason. But you can keep chickens and have a beautiful garden, too! Fresh eggs aren't the only benefit — chickens can actually help your garden grow and thrive, even as your garden does the same for your chickens."

Now here in Hawaii we have a lot of wild chickens running around and I see them scratching all over the place. I could see, if you had a nice yard that that might cause a bit of conflict. But I do believe that a good gardener could use the chickens natural instinct to scratch to their advantage and it is all described in this book.

The 2nd one is called:

Beautiful No-Mow Yards: 50 Amazing Lawn Alternatives

"What has your perfect green lawn done for you lately? Is it really worth the time, effort, and resources you lavish on it? Armed with encouragement, inspiration, and cutting-edge advice from award-winning author Evelyn Hadden, you can liberate yourself at last!

In this ultimate guide to rethinking your yard, Hadden showcases dozens of inspiring, eco-friendly alternatives to that demanding (and dare we say boring?) green turf. Trade your lawn for a lively prairie or replace it with a runoff-reducing rain garden. Swap it for an interactive adventure garden or convert it to a low-maintenance living carpet.

With Beautiful No-Mow Yards, you can transform your lawn into a livable garden and bring nature's beauty into your life!"

Hey! You had me at no mow! Seriously now, we're not getting any younger. My kids don't live anywhere near the ranch so we can't hope that they will come to help us tend the property - We'll take any help we can get.

The area that is designated as yard is pretty big and although we have the tractor I would love for it to be more interesting than just a green grassy nothing. Not to mention with this variety it might be the perfect buffet for the honey bees we would someday like to have.

I know, hold yer horses there young lady...all in due time, all in due time...

Aloha a Hui Hou!

PS: if you have either of these books or plan on getting them - please tell me what you think!

Aquaponics

Have you ever heard of Aquaponics? Well, it's a mix of hydroponics and raising fish.

It is a closed circuit system where your plants are planted in a float, that floats in a bed of water. The water that is supplied to this bed comes from a tank that contains fish. This water is enriched by the fish droppings - instant fertilizer! The over flow of the water goes back to the fish tank and what ever the plants give off is also good for the fish.

I don't quite recall how I heard about this, but this is one of the first videos I watched on the subject. Very interesting and very much worth watching.

We are seriously thinking of doing something like this when we get to the ranch. Plants in a green house and the fish in a pond with a little water fall so we get to enjoy the calming sound of a water fall.

I've signed up to a newsletter from Hawaiian based Aquaponics farm that offers classes where you can stay there, live with them and learn to farm the Aquaponics way. Here is a link to their web site:

Friendly Aquaponics

We've also purchased this book, the first book written on this subject:

Clicking the book will take you to the page on Amazon, where this book is sold.

Another thing we have done is taken part in a seminar the University of Hawaii was offering on Aquaponics. Didn't learn too much there, but did have the opportunity to look at a system for real. For a couple'a hundred bucks you could start a small Aquaponics garden.

When you consider what is in the store bought foods we eat, growing your own veggies and raising your own fish is definitely an alternative worth looking into.

Aloha Hui Hou!

How now brown cow

Roger is always teasing me, that considering how much milk I drink it might be worth while to get a cow. I tell him that as long as he takes care of it, he's welcome to it.

Now that we have the Ranch and I've had some time to think about it, it might not be a bad idea after all. Not only would we have a steady supply of milk, I could make my own cottage cheese, regular cheese, butter, sour cream....so many things I could make and bake and reach our goal of being somewhat self sufficient.

I've ordered a few books on making cheese and it's really interesting. Theses are the books I've chosen to start with:

Idiot's Guide - You knew that was coming, didn't you?

 

Now I can hardly wait!

On a side note, I LOVE stinky cheese. Naturally I didn't find a recipe in my books so I went hunting online. Poor, Poor Roger, not only will he have to care for the cow, he is going to have to put up with the stench of an endless supply of stinky cheese.

Aloha Hui Hou!