Potato patch

On the north side of our house there was a large area that used to be an herb garden.  It had become overgrown with english ivy and weeds.  Last year we removed all of the ivy and other plants in order to grass seed the area.  We never did get around to planting grass seed.  After a long winter of trying to decide what to do with the space, we decided to plant a potato patch.  Potatoes are known to be a good "cleaning" crop for a newly planted space.  They will grow very dense foliage, helping to keep weeds out and they require that the soil be worked three times.  Once at planting, again when mounding up around the foliage and again at harvest.  We planted five 10 foot rows of a basic russet type potato (actual seed potatoes, not grocery store types).  Each seed was planted 6" deep and 15" away from the next one.  The rows are about 30" apart. In between each row, an ample amount of straw was laid. This will help retain moisture and reduce weeds.  It will also be a beneficial agent for the soil.  Compaction prevention, soil builder, etc....  We would prefer hay over straw, but we could only source straw at the time.  Straw has seeds in it where hay does not.  However, we've used straw in the past with no ill effects.

We'll follow up on the potato patch as the season progresses.  There are no pictures posted right now as this is blog post as serving as a quick garden journal entry so we don't forget what we did.

2014 Garden - seed starting

Planted spinach, lettuce, purple beauty bell peppers and patio red marconi peppers on March 9, 2014.  12 of each were planted.  As of today, March 22, 2014 germination success is about 58%.

9 of 12 lettuce seedlings were a success.  75%

5 of 12 spinach popped up.  41%

6 of 12 red marconi peppers did their thing. 50%

8 of 12 purple beauties succeeded.  66%

Seeds were sown into ProMix ultimate organic seed starting mix and very lightly covered.  Perforated cell packs were placed into non perforated trays.  Water was poured into the non perforated trays and allowed to percolate into the cells from the bottom up.  The flat was placed on  a heat mat and fluorescent lighting was placed a few inches above the trays.  Spinach and lettuce are cool season crops and heat isn't a huge requirement so I'm perplexed why the lettuce did so well on the heat mat while the spinach didn't fair so well.

We started tomato seeds today, March 22, 2014.  24 Raspberry Lyana were planted.  12 Best Boy hybrids were planted.  6 Super Beefsteak and 6 Pink Brandywine were planted.  Lyana and Best Boy are determinate, bush type plants.  Lyana is heirloom and we intend to save seed from the best of these this year.  Since Best Boy is a hybrid, seed saving is not recommended.   Beefsteak and Brandywine are indeterminate varieties so they will need staked and pruned.  Brandywine is an heirloom and this years seed was a result of last years plants that were received from a friend.

These plants were sown into the ProMix ultimate organic seed starting mix and bottom watered for moisture.

The last frost day for our area is May 11.  Cool season plants like spinach and lettuce can go out a few weeks prior to that date.  Tomatoes will go out around that date and peppers will go in a few weeks after that date.

Farmhouse bed build

Several months ago my wife introduced me to Ana White's blog page.  She has hundreds of plans for furniture made from basic home store wood.  I love to tinker and build and many of the plans were right up my alley.  I first noticed that her version of a farmhouse bed was very popular and very easy to make.  I decided initially to just make a headboard, then attach it to the metal frame we already had.  After making the headboard and setting it place for a few days, I realized that I really wanted to build the entire bed.  Over the last few months I have worked on this king sized bed, and now it is finished.



The bed is made from construction grade lumber.  Mine came from Menards.  I used select grade 1x4's, 1x8's, and 1x2's along with standard 2x4, 2x6 and 4x4's for the posts.  All wood is UNtreated.

I used my compound miter saw to the cut most of the parts to length.  I had to use the circular saw and a guide to make the cuts on the 2x6 and 1x8.  The blade on the miter saw is too small to cut through these wider pieces.  Ana provides a cut list and sketchup pictures to aid in the construction.  However, in this case I had to change a few of the dimensions.  A king sized mattress measures 76" wide by 80" long.  Ana's plans were produced with the bed oriented the other way (80" wide by 76" long) because she likes the extra width of the bed.  A few simple calculations and I was in business.

Assembly calls for glue and brad nails on the headboard and footboard main panel.  To attach the legs to the headboard, I originally used six 5" lag screws driven into each side of the leg.  I hated the way it looked and didn't have the tools needed to counter sink the lag heads into the legs.  Because of this I changed my approach.  From the back of the panel, I used four 2.5" pocket hole screws per side, along with two 5" spax powerlags with a torx bit head.  I left the  heads on these exposed but the coloring and low profile do not bring too much attention.  The 2x4 and 2x6 headers were attached to the top using glue and trim screws.  The screws were countersunk and filled with wood putty to hide them.  For the rails of the bed I used standard 2x6 boards cut to length.  I initially decided on four pocket hole screws to hold each end of the rail to the post.  I didn't go this approach as I wanted to be able to break the bed down into pieces if we ever wanted to move it.  I bought some nice non mortise bed rail hardware from  Woodcraft.  The hardware was nice, but I needed to use a countersink bit to remove some material so that the #10 screws would lay flush with the surface.  If they stuck up at all, the hardware would not slide together.  This was easily done at the drill press with a #10 countersink bit.

The last step (besides finishing) was deciding on a slat system to support the box springs and mattress.  In the end, my desire to easily disassemble won out.  I  used 2x4 joist hangers to hold the 5 horizontal joists in place.  I cut a piece of scrap 2x4 and mounted in vertically to the center joist to create a center "leg".  This gives additional support to the very center of the bed, preventing any possible sagging.

After lots of grief and research on finishing pine, I decided to go with a very simple finish.  I sanded all parts of the bed with 60, 80, 120, and 220 grit sandpaper using a random orbital sander as well as by hand.  Pine does not take stain particularly well.  Instead of buying a pre-stain conditioner, I went with a suggestion by The Wood Whisperer to use Bullseye Sealcoat dewaxed shellac as a sealer before staining.  The shellac, when thinned out to a 1 pound cut and wiped on, would seal the pine as to stop blotching, but would allow some stain to get through.  I grabbed a gallon of the Sealcoat on sale at Lowe's for $26.  I could not figure out what color to stain the bed.  We have a few pieces that are a rich, red mahogany color but pine is almost impossible to make look that way.  As I pondered what to do, I started thinking back to our last vacation to the Wisconsin Dells.  We stayed in a cabin and most of the furniture was pine, along with the pine walls.  Everything was very light colored, with what appeared to just be a clear varnish.  Even though pine is a softwood and not prized by any means, I still enjoy seeing the woodgrain.  I had already wiped on a coat of shellac and it had given it a very light amber color and had popped the grain of the wood. I decided to just stick with the shellac.  I wiped on several more coats of the 2 lb cut dewaxed shellac and sanded with 220 between coats to smooth it out.  One really good thing about this is that it seals up any knots and sap from seeping out. The other is that it's virtually odorless once dry.  My test pieces of wipe on varnish stunk for many days.

In the end, this bed was fun for me to build.  As I slowly get into more woodworking projects, I find it very relaxing.  If your just getting started in woodworking, check out ana-white.com for some nice, simple projects.  If this whets your whistle, check out Marc Spagnuolo over at The Wood Whisperer.  Lots of good information given to you with some comedy and wit.

Thanks for taking the time to read about my bed building journey.  It was fun and now I'm off to work on some matching sidetables to match it!

Rain barrel

We have wanted a rain barrel for quite some time.  Recently, we ran across a blue industrial barrel from a friend who intended to make a rain barrel but had abandoned those plans.  She gave it to us for free.  After about $30 in parts we have a functioning barrel that will provide us with 55 gallons of free rainwater. Follow along for a run through of the process I used to create our barrel.

We started with a 55 gallon blue industrial barrel.  The barrel had a closed top with two screw in ports.  To begin, I purchased a 4" round plastic grate from the outdoor plumbing area at Lowes for $2.76.  I cut out one of the screw in ports and placed the grate in it's place. A hole saw or jig saw can be used for this.  This grate will keep filter out large items such as leaves and sticks that work their way through the guttering.

The next step was to install the spigot.  I purchased a 3/4" hose bibb ($5.56) along with a 3/4" washer ($1.96) and some gutter sealant ($4.28).  I used a hole saw to drill the appropriate sized hole for the bibb to screw into.  The plastic on the barrel is very thick and once the hole was drilled, it was pretty easy to thread the bibb into the plastic. I gooped up the threads and washer with gutter seal and screwed it into place.

Next, I needed to come up with an overflow tube.  I used a barbed fitting for hose with a 5/8" ID.  The fitting is brass and has 3/4" threads on one end and 5/8" barbed on the other.  I screwed this into the upper portion of the barrel in the same manner as the spigot. I used 5/8" clear vinyl tubing for the hose.  5 feet of it cost me $2.35.

Overflow fitting with tubing

Landscape fabric staple holding tubing in place

 Since the water is under no pressure, it is sufficient to just push the tubing over the barbed end of the fitting.  No clamp is necessary.  I positioned the tubing where I wanted it on the ground and used some landscaping fabric staples to  hold it in place.  When the barrel reaches capacity, the water will flow from the overflow tube and away from the foundation of the garage.







The final step in the process was cutting the existing downspout to length and adding a flexible extension onto the end.  I also used a regular aluminum elbow in order to get the downspout to sit directly over the grate on the barrel.  Now as the rain flows from the roof, it will be directed right into the barrel.  The spigot I selected is threaded to accept a garden hose.  We intend to connect a hose to our barrel for purposes of watering our vegetable garden.  Please remember that rainwater captured from a roof is not good for drinking.  Not pictured here is the pantyhose material that is stretched over the grate.  This will prevent mosquitoes from breeding in the water.  For winter I will empty the barrel of water and store it in the garage.  I saved the cut off section of downspout and I will attach it to the flex fitting so that any winter snow can melt and run away from the foundation.

Kitchen staircase progress

I jump around from project to project, as you might be able to see.  Ask my wife, she'll agree.

The kitchen staircase is showing some progress.  I've removed 1/4" plywood "risers" that covered up the original white paint.  I have begun stripping the maroon floor paint from the treads and sanding off the old dark (almost opaque black) stain/varnish, down to the original wood.  I have put down a test area of stain.  I had some Minwax dark walnut on hand so I rubbed a small area.  I let that dry for 24 hours then put one coat of oil based poly on top.  I wanted to see how dark it would be with that combo.  In the picture below you can see the small stain swatch on the top tread, front right corner.

Bare wood treads and stain test patch

My goal is for all of the stairs to have the same stained treads and white risers.  It's fun uncovering the old coverings.  I didn't get a picture, but when I was pulling off the quarter round molding under the tread lip, I found some vinyl woodgrain flooring that someone in the past applied to the stair RISERS.  Pretty 70's I think.  Here is another shot of the the stairs as they stand now.

Lastly, here is my proof that the stair risers were painted white from inception.

In this pic, the white is the original white paint.  Above it is a small area of bare, unfinished wood where quarter round was mounted under the tread nose.  I've pulled the moulding and it's being stripped via chemicals in the garage.  It was too small to use the sander.

I'll post again soon with more progress on these projects.

Discovering old wood flooring

I've always wondered what was underneath the 1/4" painted plywood on the attic landing.  I ripped it up a few weeks ago and discovered original hardwood tounge and groove flooring.  The wood appears to be of less quality than the rest of the house, probably since this was on the attic staircase.  It was pretty dirty and had the original stain on it.  Here is a shot of it after doing some sanding.

The floor appears to be oak and the nosing (painted in picture still) appears to be fir or pine.  I used a random orbit sander and 60 grit paper to sand the floor and nosing to bare wood.  I set all old nails and drove some new nails.  After everything was cleaned, I proceeded to lay down my coats of poly.  I used Varethane semigloss oil based poly.  It gives the wood an amber finish.  Here is a shot of half of the floor bare and half with one coat of poly. All of the stairs in the house had been painted with a porch and floor paint in a maroon color. Another ongoing project of mine is taking the main staircase back to the wood treads and white risers (also original).  Lucky for me, the prior owners decided to lay plywood over this floor and painted it.

I love the rustic look of the floor and can only hope that this will last another century.  Our house is built as a colonial revival/arts and crafts style. Most of the woodwork is painted (as it was since it's inception) but the floors are all oak strip.  I really enjoy bringing back original features to the house.

The grass is greener on the other side...

Updates on the fall grass seed planting are in.  About a month after seeding, the grass is much taller and appears very healthy.  It's weed free for the most part.  Fall planting is great b/c the annual weeds are beginning to die off and are not producing new growth.  The dandelions, clover, creeping charlie and other perennial weeds are also slowing, giving the grass opportunity to thicken up.  Here are a few photos I took this morning.  Overall I'm very happy with the results. 

This was previously all lambs ear and periwinkle groundcover

This had a mix of several groundcovers and shrubs.  I added the rock border.

A worms eye view.