A 24'x18' straw bale lodge

[Drew]

Oh, great!  I can see it now.

"Yeah, this place used to be Drew's until he was killed."

"He was killed?  That's terrible!  I heard he was such a great guy.  A true Mensch.  How did he die?"

"Deer attack."

"Excuse me?  It sounded like you said 'Deer attack'."

"I did.  Drew was killed by a deer."

"Do you mean to tell me that the paragon of humanity that President Obama endowed a national holiday after was b**** slapped to death by Bambi?"

"It was a big deer."

"Oh, that's it.  The truth comes out.  I can't believe it!  I am totally putting my Drew commemorative plates and coin set on eBay!  What a total lamer!"

"Can I have your Drew bobble-head?"

[Drew]

I like the BB gun idea, though.  Maybe Dave can be my spotter while I try to land a pellet in a rump at 300 yards.  Hooah!

[gandalfthegrey]

Poor Drew he should have been in a tree stand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWxIYX-CHFQ

[MikeOnBike]

I was talking to my cousin that lives in western Montana last weekend and she related a couple of methods she and her neighbors have used with some success to keep deer and elk out of their gardens.  All these worked in varying degrees for her neighbors.  They were trying to avoid building the expensive 8' tall deer fences that the elk will just lean on until they are knocked down.

Elk: 

Since they are soft footed you can lay small animal fencing down on the ground and they don't like stepping on the wire mesh.

Deer:

FishNGame developed a mesh fence that has larger openings at the bottom and smaller at the top. Supposedly it creates an optical illusion and the deer aren't sure how tall the fence is and don't like to jump it.

String several strands of 20-30lb fishing line at deer head level.  They will walk into it without seeing it and spook.

Lay down plastic sheeting, not ground cloth, the deer don't like the crackle sound and will spook.

[Redoverfarm]

Mike sort of sounds like a cattle guard arraignment. Might work.

[MikeOnBike]

Yeah, I don't know what we are going to do on our place.  We have a lot of deer and we want to plant some fruit trees along the creek.  All of the solutions seem to be either expensive or visually obstructive or both.

[Redoverfarm]

Mike depending on how many trees you are planting but you could use inexpensive chicken wire and three post per tree.  Form a triangle around each.  The key is finding something inexpensive for post.  My dad did exactly that.

[Squirl]

I second red.  Deer are a big problem in every state around here.  Every person that plants fruit trees uses chicken wire until they are medium sized.

[MikeOnBike]

Thanks!  I have quite a few small to medium junipers to cut down so that should work for posts.  We have year round water in desert country so we get a lot of animal traffic.

[glenn kangiser]

There is the deer netting - black plastic 1"x1" squares- 7' high but there are 2 types - the heavy one is the only one that's any good and it's not super great but works pretty good -- just went through where it climbed to get a cucumber vine growing on the fence.  About $70 for 7' x 100'

[Drew]

Hey folks,

I hope all is going well with you.  We had a week of good rain over here.  While it blew away a portable greenhouse, the bracing and sheeting on the straw bale is doing it's job.  We'll be able to start laying in bales in May or so.

Meanwhile we've been putting that irrigation system to work (It will stop raining one day.  This is California.).  We have 15 fruit trees split between two sites now, plus the stand alone avocado.  The Old Man wanted it, and while I have to run a separate irrigation line, I think it will be a good tree to have. Anyway they are showing new growth after a few weeks in the ground, in spite of what is turning out to be less than optimal drainage.  No standing water, but enough clay to start my own pre-industrial civilization.



The CCOF inspector is coming out on Thursday.  If things go well, our farm will be certified organic this spring or early summer.  Since this is our "freshman" growing year we won't have much produce for sale.  The point is to do the certification while I had the time and before I put in things that might have been inconsistent with the organic program.  Like all of us, I like to make my mistakes on the cheap whenever possible!

We got potatoes in the ground yesterday but that's about all so far since the ground is still too wet for other things.  Once the straw bale is done it will go on the Operating System Plan for crop storage.  Casa Guacamole, too.

We have a new puppy, too.  His name is Jim. 



He's part German Shorthair Pointer and French Bulldog.  He looks like a Labrador puppy and is pretty smart.  He gets along with the cat, which I am hoping is a good sign for discrimination between animals he can work with and those that are not welcome.  We took him to the farm yesterday and he just about popped.  I've never had a hunting breed before.  Getting a puppy now works out great since I have the time to spend with him due to my, ahem, underemployment situation.

Anyway, it's time to let Jim go out and "smell the flowers".

[glenn kangiser]

Nice puppy, and nice to hear from you Drew.

...and the clay, Drew -- your discovery of it is just in time.  We are now officially post industrial society - the unthinking majority... next stop - stone age.  ..

[Drew]

Why do you think we ...

Aw, we're in the same the choir, pal.  At least we're not singing solo! 

[Jens]

So, I confess that I haven't read your whole thread, and this info may be in there but, where in CA are you?  Wife is from STockton, I am from Santa Cruz, have family in both as well as Sacto, and up in Orland is my mom.  Just curious.

Also, are you gonna be able to use your bales as load bearing walls, or are they requiring you to have a superstructure?  Do you have to use the extra special, highly compressed, Japanese bales, or just regular ones?

[Drew]

Hey Jens,

The farm is in Palermo, which is near Oroville.  Our house is in Pacifica.  My wife's mom is down in Felton, which is near Santa Cruz, so we go down there a lot.  My niece and nephew are in Manteca, which covers the Stocton end.  Maybe I ride behind you on the freeway, right?   

The structure is a bale-wrap.  We put up a 4x4 frame and will place the bales outside the frame on a base of PT 2x4s.  The bales are not load bearing (aka Nebraska style), so it's the frame holding up the roof.  It's more expensive in terms of materials, but a little easier to design and build.  Since this is our second building (our first was a 10'x12' gable roof shed), we thought it was the best choice for our skills.

These are going to be regular old 2-string rice straw bales.  They are baled by the farmer for construction so they have a regular shape, are bound tighter, and have a moisture reading of less than 12%.  Even in rice country they are not easy to find and transport...

[Jens]

How much are the bales costing you?  Are they from the Corning area (lots of rice fields there).  Never heard of Palermo, used to go to Manteca waterslides a lot though.  Thats one heck of a commute from Pacifica!  I think I would call Oroville the north valley, don't ya think? 

We lived in Bonny Doon for a year, worked and shopped in Felton.  Lived in Ben Lomond another year, all beautiful little mountain towns.  I don't think you'd be behind me on the freeway any time soon, we are in east Tennessee now!  I broke down in my convertable Plymouth Valient in Pacifica one night, had a bad alternator, battery ran out of juice.  2 AM, going down the hill at the north end of town without lights or engine...at least it wasn't power steering or brakes!

[Bishopknight]

Hey Drew,

I love the orchard plans, especially the Avocado tree, love the pictures, keep em com'n

[Drew]

Last fall they were $4.  They were in Colusa, which is about an hour from Palermo.  He'd drive them out to my place for $200, but fuel was $ a gallon then.  I get to call him up again in April or May.  He said he'd have some stored.  I'm not looking forward to it.  The only other rice bale guy I know of there doesn't have the right size.  I guess I could deal with a farmer before he cuts and get him to make them a particular size if this guy wants to recoup some losses with me.  Maybe I'm borrowing trouble...

If you went down the hill I think you're talking about, my house is just off the top of it.  Yeah, you would have had one heck of a ride if you had power brakes you couldn't use going down Manor!

[Drew]

Hi Bishopknight.  Thanks for the good word!  Here's a picture of us planting the citrus (I'm the one behind the camera).  That's in what we call Orchard 1.  Orchard 2 has our stone fruits, apples, and cherry.  We have to separate our orchard names for the inspectors.  Uh huh. 

[Jens]

It's awesome to see the homestead getting started with planting, I am definitely one who would have a hard time with that, and just want to get the house built...then the shop...then, you get the idea!  It even says in the Bible, to plant your fields, and see to your livestock, then build your house.  I'm still trying to convince my builder's brain that it is the correct way to do it.  They make you separate the trees in your orchard?  Do they charge you taxes per fruit too

[Drew]

Hehehe...  I separated the trees because I did the drainage test, passed it (barely), planted half the trees, then found standing water in some other holes.  I then dug new test holes on a slope and those passed.  Twice.  FOrtunately the trees seem to be doing okay.

I'm not sure your house/field/livestock orer is wrong, Jens.  In the winter I get to drive 3 hours, work, and go to my Dad's place in Colusa (an hour away), to the Motel 6 in Oroville ($50), or home.  I tried camping out in below freezing weather before.  Here's the thing:  I can work in the field, or I can freeze my bod all night.  I will not do both.  Well, not yet at least.   

In the Good News Department the CCOF (California Certified Organic Farm) inspectors were out today and passed us!  We should get our letter in a month!  W00t!  We won't have much to sell this year, but getting through the red tape early is a big plus for me.

[Jens]

CCOF?  Sweet!  I stayed in the Bates motel, Motel 6 in Colusa for a few days once for work...what a dump!  Supposed to have a tent, canvas one, with a nice wood stove.  Bed is straw bales and a sleeping bag.  Could even set up straw walls on north and east sides.  Oh yeah...start in the springtime too, get planted, build barn, this you sleep in through the first winter, animals help keep you warm.  Then, the next spring all of the logs you cut and peeled are dry enough to build the cabin. 

That's the scenario I dream up at least.  The four kids, and the baking wife help keep the tent warm as well.

[mldrenen]

drew-

keep the updates coming.  i love logging in here and seeing what you guys are up to.  the land is beautiful, the vision more so, and your progress so far is impressive.  i can't wait to see the finished product.

-matt

[glenn kangiser]

the baking wife help keep the tent warm as well.

Better stick a tender timer in 'er, Jens --- don't want to overcook 'er.

[glenn kangiser]

Great on the CCOF, Drew.