Dereck Downey

I currently have a 70's airstream set up on my property as my primary homesteading residence. It's really a 2.5 season setup because late in the fall temperatures get low enough to freeze everything so I close it up. I recently had a thought that I could erect a 30 x 30 poly greenhouse around the airstream to protect it from the winder elements. I also have a passive solar collector I've been working on to provide hot water, but I thought that if I could purpose it an grab a couple IBC totes, I could use that system to provide some thermal mass. Coupled with the temperature gain from the plastic, my thought is that it would provide enough warmth and thermal mass  to keep the Airstream above freezing during the winter. If I want to use the space I could supplement the heat inside the Airsstream with a propane heater.  In addition to the heat gains, it would provide a nice environment for starting plants in the spring as usually I can't put them out until June 1.

I've looked into the double walled poly tunnels, and it seems like the insulation value is great, the only issue I can think of is that I don't want to run a fan constantly to keep it inflated. Are there any alternatives to forcing air between the layers? I was thinking that maybe if I took some packing material ( those inflated bags they use to pack in boxes ) then perhaps I could string some of those bags in between the the layers at intervals which would keep the layers apart and provide a similar insulation factor.

Any thoughts on other things I could do? am I overlooking anything important?

I'm looking to create a 25 x 25 market garden this spring. It will be the first spring that I try an plant anything. Although I'm  not certain if deer will be an issue, it's a pretty reasonable assumption. I've read about the different methods of trying to keep dear away, electric fence, double deep fence, 8' high fence,  sprays, plantings etc. Right now I'm leaning toward the permanent solution being the deep fence with a gap, along with some plantings that deter them, but in the meantime I'm looking for the easiest solution. I was thinking of purchasing some bird / deer nettings, and draping them over low tunnel hoops. Does anyone have any recommendations on a temporary method of deterring deer, would the netting work, or is there a better material to potentially use.

I have an area of my property I would like to turn into a food forest of sorts. I'm looking for recommendations on fruit tree to plant, I'm in Zone 5a. I've found fruit and nut trees on the Arbor Day foundation website, but I believe they are seedlings. It would be nice to plant some trees that are a little bigger to get a head start and not have to wait 7 years to produce fruit.  So if anyone has not only tree recommendations, but also recommendations on where i can purchase trees ( I'm in Delaware County NY but also often downstate NY ). I'm also wondering what the possibility is of potting the trees first and planting them when they are a little bigger, or if that is considered a bad idea for seedlings.

Those videos are great, although the terminology confuses me a little bit ( the difference between a spring, seep and just the water table ). I nerded out a bit and looked into what creates seeps and springs and found some information on the soil formations in the area. this image illustrates the principle of how they form in my area.  I was able to attain a soil map showing where the different types of soil intersect Here is a synopsis of the three soils on my property in order of steep to flat.

VlD—Vly channery silt loam
6 Inches - brown channery silt loam
6 to 18 inches, dark reddish brown very channery silt loam
18 to 24 inches, dark reddish brown very channery silt loam
24 to 31 inches, dark reddish brown extremely channery silt loam
31 inches, reddish brown shale bedrock
Water table: below 6 feet
Permeability: moderate throughout the profile

OfB—Onteora and Ontusia silt loams
0 to 6 inches, dark brown channery silt loam  
6 to 13 inches, mixed reddish brown and yellowish red channery silt loam, with strong brown and light reddish brown mottles
13 to 33 inches (fragipan), dense, reddish brown, gravelly loam with brown and strong brown mottles
33 to 46 inches, reddish brown gravelly loam with reddish brown mottles Substratum:
46 to 72 inches, reddish brown gravelly loam
Water table: perched at 0.5 to 1.0 feet for both soils from mid fall to mid spring
Permeability: moderate in the surface and upper subsoil layers and slow or very slow in the lower subsoil (fragipan) and substratum for both soils

WmB—Willowemoc channery silt loam
S 0 to 6 inches, dark reddish brown channery silt loam
6 to 18 inches, reddish brown channery silt loam
18 to 22 inches, reddish brown channery loam with pinkish gray, light reddish brown and yellowish red mottles
22 to 72 inches (fragipan), dense, reddish brown channery loam with light reddish brown and yellowish red mottles
Water table: perched at 1.0 to 1.8 feet from late fall to early spring
Permeability: moderate in surface and upper subsoil layers, slow or very slow in the lower subsoil layer (fragipan)

Logic tells me that where the soil changes from VlD to OfB might be a good place to look for underground springs because the water table goes from 6 feet to 1 foot and there is fragpan ( relatively impermeable ) 13 - 30 inches below the surface in that soil. Anybody know any soil science to validate my a-mature assumptions? I do think it's exiting that pone can look all this stuff up.

Travis Johnson wrote:There are two types of springs, and you have described the first type that is concentrated by nature, and comes up in one spot. For the kind that you have, which is spread out, you simply gather the water into a concentrated area for it instead.

To do that takes inexpensive drain tile, which is a misnomer because it is actually just perforated plastic pipe,, about 4" in diameter, and costs $55 for 100 feet where I live.

What you want to do, is get enough pipe to branch out in a Y shape, or multiple y shapes like branches off a tree, and concentrate all that water to a central point that is down hill by at least 1/4 inch per foot of linear travel. That will gather up as much water from the wet area and concentrate that water to a single point. Here, you dig a hole as deep as you can go/want, lining it with well casing. This is 4 feet in diameter, concrete tiles. You want to bring your drain tile so that it terminates inside these tiles by drilling a hole through the side of one of them. Then at the bottom of the drain tile, put in several inches of screened gravel so that as the water runs in, it will be in a clean environment.

From there you can buy a manway cover that goes on top of the well casing, or build a wooden well cover like they did back in the old days. If the well is deeper than 4 feet, I would go with a cement cover only for liability purposes as wood structures rot leaving wells open to be walked into by kids and those unaware.

Interesting, so basically it is like a french drain setup where you channel the water into a V. I wonder if rather than using a 4' concrete tile, I could just use a basement sunp like this then I can pipe it down to where I need it. I've seen this type pf drain pipe before, i think it's made of HDPE which is not . as toxic a PVC. I've heard however that these collapse pretty easy, so I wonder if there is a way to mitigate that. From what I understand, this type of pipe is stronger, but it has foam beads around it which I think would be toxic. For the record I'm looking for bathing, washing, and watering water only. There is a registered spring up the road where I would get drinking water.

I'm looking to develop a spring on my property and looking for some pointers. All of the neighbors have been able to develop springs, and give that my property is similar topography I'm pretty sure I can find one but havent really been able to yet. Above the property is sloped property that extends up a a few hundred feet. My property is a the base of that where it flattens out to about a %3 grade or so. There is a road that cuts across the property about 80 feet from where the slope changes, there is a drainage ditch on the up hill side of the road that catches the groundwater runoff and routes it down. The ditch is always running after a rain and runs at a slow rate most of the year. In the spring, when the ground water level is higher, the water actually sometimes shoots out of the ground at certain spots a little lover down. There are also a few spots that damp all year around. I've read a bunch about spring development, but I have yet to find a place where the water seems to run all year around. From what I understand springs are supposed to form where the permeable layer meets an impermeable layer. The soil is mostly Loam, and probably clay if you dig deep enough. What is the best way to develop a spring? should I dig into the area where it starts to slope up hill? should I dig down into the areas that seem wet all year around? Is there any sure fired way to find where the permeable layer meets the impermeable layer ? I'm attaching some reference photos. In some of the arial photos you can even see where the little streams run from the ground in the spring time. i feel like the water table is never more than a few feet from the surface, even during the driest time of year. Also, If I'm just . digging down to the water table ( even though it's sloped ) is that not just a shallow well? not sure what the distinction is.

Video of the water seeping out of the ground in the spring



Map of the property

John C Daley wrote:This is an area of expertise for myself.
Basically if you study road building you will see what to do.

I recommend in Australia the following=
Geo fabric is great in a lot of cases but it not low priced
First layer of rock should be 40mm crushed rock, with no fines in it. Crushed rock with fines is called Crushed rock 40mm minus.
When its settled a bit , say 12 months add another layer of 20mm minus, crushed rock and out a roller or wackier over it.
This should be perfect.
A couple of extra tips;
Any decent truck driver should be able to spread the rock by fitting chains to the tailgate to limit how far the tail gate opens, then as he lifts the tipper and reverses backwards the rock will spread out and he has a solid surface to travel over.
If he lifts the load whilst sitting on sloppy mud, he may get bogged.

Also, if you are building  anything, I suggest you get the 40mm laid first, then have the builders drive over it to attend to the construction and they will help compact it, not get bogged on the site and they will love you.
Then when its finished spread the 20mm.

The bigger rock will settle into the mud and create a stable base for the 20mm minus.
If you apply the 20mm minus first the mud and water will come through it and become a boggy mess again.

I't a fairy small area, maybe 600 square feet in the top corner of the property where I park the car. As well as the entrance area where you pull the car in. The reverse dump may work, but it might clip some of the trees toward the entrance. it's also possible that I borrow someones tractor ( with a bucket ) and use that to spread the stone. All else fails can do it with a wheelbarrow. I'm also fascinated with this Geo Fabric but maybe that's overkill, would rather spend a little extra and do it right  . . .

My Property is getting super muddy, just got my van stuck. It periodically gets really muddy in the spring. I'm interested in stabilizing the soil a bit in the area around where I drive and park the cars. The soil is a very saturated loam / clay that just slides all around. I'm wondering if anyone has recommendations on the best way to do this. Wood chips, Crushed Stone, Geo textural fabric, Permeable Pavers?

When ever I have tried to plant a garden, I always loose track of when to start seeds, and as a result start seeds too late. this year I have a piece of land so I'm trying to get ahead of it. Below is a chart I was trying to create, but it occurred to me that if you start all your seeds at the same time, you get all the crops at the same time. What is the best way to stagger plantings so that the plant yields will also be staggered, or am I misunderstanding how that works. Lets say for instance that  seed a bunch or peppers at the same time. As a result I get a bumper crop all at once. What if instead I seeded them and staggered each seeding by a week. Would I then get a crop of matured Peppers ever few weeks ( I do know no all the peppers are ready at once ). is there a more efficient way to do this? Like seeding them all at once then staggering the transplant?


https://app.smartsheet.com/b/publish?EQBCT=6d2d82c3da674d868036aa2937b39882

I know that seeds are usually started around 6 weeks before the last frost ( if indeed you are starting them indoors ).  I was looking at the average frost times in my area fronttimes and it looks like June 1 is the last frost, which means that I would get my seeds started around the second week in April or so. I'm planning on using plastic mulch for the first year, just to get a head start since I'm going from grasses, and I don't want to till. I'm also planning on building low tunnels over the beds. I'm wondering, with dark plastic mulch, and 6 mil low tunnels, how long am I looking at extending my season by? does that mean I should start my seeds earlier?