Get more tomatoes with Epsom Salts
Epsom Salts May help increase blossoms in tomatoes and pepper plants. Increase in blossoms means more tomatoes and peppers!Epsom salts contain magnesium sulfate, two important elements for plant growth.
Magnesium- can become depleted in soil usually later in the season. Magnesium helps strengthen plant cell walls, helping the plant to absorb nutrients.
Posted in Uncategorized
This is from Mike & Molly’s House blog about our Papercrete Workshop this Saturday at 10am at 747 Old Las Vegas Highway. What is papercrete? Why should I come? Read below and see the photos. Pretty great way to use recycled paper.
By MIKE
This Saturday, May 5th, we’re putting on a papercrete greenhouse building workshop In conjunction with Homegrown New Mexico. If you’re thinking paper whodiewaha? Check out these posts on papercrete where I go over what it is,how to make papercrete blocks and how to make your own papercrete mixer.
The greenhouse has been a work in progress for the past four years. Every year around plant starting time I’m kicking myself for not finishing it. I’ll bet we get a bunch done this weekend though. Hopefully the momentum will carry forward and the greenhouse will get finished this year.
At the workshop we’re going to cover how to mix papercrete and cast it into blocks. Then we’ll take some blocks that I made last year and use the same papercrete mixture to mortar the blocks together for the walls of the greenhouse. It’s going to be a lot of fun so if you’re in or near Santa Fe you should come on over on Saturday from 10-12:30.
I did a post on the greenhouse a year ago on my old blog- Stuff I Made This Year. I’m re-posting it so that y’all can get an idea of what we will be working on…
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The proposed greenhouse
Once upon a time there was a family that really wanted to build a greenhouse (pretty much just me). It was going to be about 15′ x 20′, made out of recycled windows and other scavenged building materials. I really wanted to have a place in the challenging New Mexico climate to nurture young plants and be able to expand the regular growing season. After debating the merits and disadvantages of various places in our yard we chose a site for the future greenhouse.
I spent a couple months of evenings and weekends flattening the site and digging a trench by hand. Next, I used a bunch of styrofoam forms (think giant legos) that Molly got from a concrete contractor to insulate and form the foundation walls that run from the footer to the top of the trench. We only got corner pieces (whadya expect? they were free) so I took the pile of corners, cut them up and fit them together to make the foundation walls. Molly helped me pour the foundation over the course of three weekends.
We created a ridiculously over sized foundation for the requirements of such a light structure. The concrete cost about $600 which used up our entire building budget for the year. The only visible result of all this labor and money was a rectangular perimeter of concrete at ground level.
That was Phase 1. Phase 1 was three years ago. As time passed other projects took precedent and the weeds took over their previous home again. In the winter we would dream about getting the greenhouse finished but there would be 3 feet of snow on the ground.
We had a milder winter this year and in January I decided that I was going to get my greenhouse. Instead of using the $600 foundation we had already I decided I was going to make an entirely different structure in an entirely different place. As Molly watched and bit her tongue I started making plans to put an addition on the south end of our house that I could put up over the course of a couple weekends.
My idea was that it would be faster to build (so it would actually happen) and it could help heat the house plus one wall was already built. We even had a garden bed there already. I spent a day transplanting the chives and swiss chard that were hanging on and taking out a fence and gate that enclosed the garden.
My day of prep taught me a valuable lesson. Even though the south facing garden got sun in the summer, in the winter the angle of the sun was low enough that the trees blocked any direct light on my proposed greenhouse.
So much for plan B. Back to Plan A! I pulled up the weeds and shoveled out the dirt that had accumulated on the foundation.
Starting to build
With only a vague idea of what the final shape of the building is going to be I put in posts at the corners and middles of each wall. I want a structure that is attractive to look at but also very energy efficient. Originally I was going to build a classic house made of windows but after reading a book on solar greenhouses from the library I decided that maximizing the solar gain by extending the south facing roof down lower than I had planned was the way to go.
The current greenhouse plan
I’m also insulating the north facing roof and all the walls except the southern one which will help significantly in retaining the heat gained during the day. I have 8′ poles sticking out of the ground right now but the south wall will end up to be about 3′ tall and the North wall 5′ or so.
The lower part of the north wall is made out of concrete block and has an integrated pond. I back-filled the block with rammed earth to add mass to help store heat.
The inside so far…
The bottoms of the rest of the walls are made with re-purposed plywood concrete forms I got from the Re-Store that were cut to fit and bolted to the columns to help stabilise them. They will get insulated with styrofoam insulation. The remainder of the north, east and west walls will be finshed with papercrete block. The south wall will be glazed with windows taken from an old fire lookout station.
From the outside so far…
I had my spurt of construction activity in January and then it snowed. By the time February arrived I needed to shift my focus to setting up an indoor seed starting station and getting planting beds built for the Spring. Once again the greenhouse sits… patiently waiting for Phase 3.
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Phase 3 came and went. We got the walls going over one weekend last summer. Here are a few pics from that spurt of productivity:
Getting ready to stack blocks
Making progress!
Smoothing the mortar
Come on down to the Mini-Farm this weekend and get your hands into some papercrete muck! You can tell your friends you helped build a papercrete greenhouse! Not everyone can say that.
Reprinted from the SFMGA Website: This year’s fair is moving entirely indoors. The Plant Sale, focusing on plants selected for the Santa Fe area, will be grouped into categories such as rabbit-resistant and cutting garden. The Garden Shed will have a selection of donated, gently used, garden tools, flowerpots and books; there will also be new items such as gloves and tools.
This year’s featured speaker will be David Salman of Santa Fe Greenhouses who will give a talk on “Ornamental Grasses and Companion Perennials: Creating Beautiful Low Care Landscapes with Grasses “(see schedule below). Additional speakers will be Jim Brooks on water harvesting and Tracy Neal on the impact of climate change on site design.
There will be a number of demonstrations. Doug Pushard from Harvest H2o will demonstrate how to make at water barrel. Our own Master Gardeners will be talking to fair-goers about constructing drip systems, composting, worm composting, and how to create backyard meadows, xeric and herb gardens. Over 20 exhibitors, vendors, and local non-profit garden-related organizations will be on site. There will be three different food vendors and a place to sit down and eat.
Posted in Uncategorized
Saturday, April 21
10am-11:30am
Milagro Community Garden
Rodeo Road & Legacy (behind Church of the Servant and in front of Kingston)
Suggested $5 donation to the community garden
Come learn about the types of plants that attract honeybees and other pollinators to your garden. Loretta McGrath will discuss how pollinators benefit annual vegetables, address native pollinators, their habitats and plant preferences and provide an introduction to backyard top-bar beekeeping.
She will also provide information on beekeeping classes and meetings and steps you can take to support pollinators of all kinds-from planting to policy action.
Loretta McGrath directs the Pollinator Partners Project at Farm to Table and teaches sustainability studies at Santa Fe Community College.
Posted in Uncategorized
Home Grown New Mexico is working with two locations in Tierra Contenta to have two new community gardens open next month. We have added a monthly junto to discuss gardening and community homesteading. Hope you can join us this month to take a tour of the Plaza Contenta Community Garden space.
Jardin Junto
Wednesday, April 18th at 5:30pm
Plaza Contenta is on Jaguar and Paseo del Sol
Home Grown New Mexico also holds monthly potlucks to discuss community homesteading.
The goal of our juntos is to bring individuals together and organically create an environment of education between the different levels of experience. Come if you are a novice, an expert, or anything in between in the topics of gardening, beekeeping, backyard chicken coops and urban farming.
Bring a dish to share with the group. We want this to be a zero waste event so please bring a plate, silverware and a cup. You could even bring your dish or drink in a reusable container.
Home Grown New Mexico hopes to continue to communicate these events and add more speakers and activities to our calendar. For more information on the juntos, email homegrownnewmexico@gmail.com or call 473-1403.
Posted in Juntos
We have an entry from the local blog Mike & Molly’s House. They have a mini-farm outside of Santa Fe and write about money-saving ideas, gardening, chickens, recycled paper greenhouse production and much more. You can follow them at mikeandmollyshouse.com and come to their classes in April and May.
After last years disasterous chicken farming season I was almost ready to give up. With the bees gone I’m not feeling like a very successful mini-farmer. So as an unsuccessful mini-farmer I’m going to follow my typical impulse and try, try again; I’ve decided to raise 200 chickens this year. I ordered them to arrive in batches of 50 last week. They will be coming every 3-6 weeks over the next 6 months.
1 week old Cornish XRock chicks
Part of the problem last year:
1. It’s recommended to keep the chicks in a *brooder from day 1- week 3. I left them in the brooder one week too long. They had plenty of space but because they are already stressed in the high altitude I’m pretty sure it didn’t help. Controlling the dust and keeping things clean becomes real difficult past week 3 in our brooder.
2. I’m raising fast growing Cornish XCross chickens (AKA broilers). It is a breed that is not recommended to raise when you are living over 6,000 ft in altitude…we are over 7,000 ft. They grow so quickly and are so much better tasting that I ‘m going to keep adjusting my growing techniques to allow these chickens to thrive.
3. Last year we had a batch in with the baby ducks. Hindsight is everything. What I didn’t know is ducks get their water everywhere. These chicks are delicate. I believe that the moisture in the air and in the bedding might have led respiratory illness.
Changes this year:
A few things you may have not known:
Although you can eat any type of chicken CornishXCross are by far the most popular. If you buy poultry in the store this is the kind of chicken you are getting. Even though there are some 9 billion chickens consumed in the US. The word on the street is that only 4 hatcheries in the US that hatch CornishXCross. I ordered them from a hatchery in Eastern NM but they get them from Iowa.
Raising our own chickens to eat means we can assure they were raised in sunlight and fresh air (which help to control diseases), they are killed quickly and processed cleanly without using harsh chemicals.
Cornish XCross’s are not very attractive nor do they have endearing personalities. I’m just sayin’ it makes butcher day a little easier.
*A brooder is an enclosed area that keeps the chicks warm and away from any drafts. There’s many variations on the theme. We made our walls out of plexi-glass to allow as much natural light in as possible. Some issues with a brooder is ventilation. It’s tough to ventilate when you don’t want to expose them to drafts. To help this we’ve attached a small outside run to the brooder. We start letting them go outside when they are about 10 days old.
Moving upward and onward…
So with my chin up and the brooder cleaned out I will try once again to be the best chicken farmer I can be. On the bright side I don’t have to do much to do better than last year!
Posted in Raising
Do you want a more environmentally sustainable seed starting method that does not use plastic and provides more oxygen to the roots for healthier plant growth and less transplant shock? Soil Blocks may be your answer. Plants are grown 
in compressed blocks of soil that are pressed from a metal tool. They are an ancient method of growing starts that the Aztecs developed. Europe has been using this method for more than 100 years and refined the tools that create the blocks. It is an easy process to learn and the Milagro Community Garden produced 1,200 starts in three hours with a handful of gardeners that were using the soil block tools for the first time.
The soil mix includes sand, compost and other elements that help the blocks stay together. There is a 2”x2” tool to start seeds and then a larger block that the 2”x2” fits inside to reduce shock to the young roots.
It is an investment to purchase the soil block tools, but the garden hopes to use these for all future years of seed starts. The other tools needed were a large “bowl” to mix the seed starting mix. Milagro Community Garden used a children’s swimming pool. The trays used did not have any perforation so that watering can happen in the tray. It wicks into the soil block in a few hours. The starts are in a hoop house with a plastic cover directly over them to maintain temperature during the New Mexico spring with 65-degree days and 
freezing nights. You can contact the garden at MilagroGarden@yahoo.com with questions about their experience.
If you would like to learn more about the soil blocking system and soil starting mix, visit the potting blocks website.
It feels like gardening season has arrived in Santa Fe! If you are looking for seeds and ideas for your vegetable garden, come to the Santa Fe Seed Exchange next Wednesday, March 21 from 4pm-7pm in Frenchy’s Barn on Agua Fria and Osage Ave. The City Parks Division and Earth Care are hosting this event for all community gardens, school gardens and home gardeners. There are plenty of seeds available so come even if you do not have any to share.
Whole Foods is sponsoring the event and will have drinks and snacks available. Home Grown New Mexico is also an event sponsor.
Please share this announcement with your friends, family, neighbors and coworkers. We have PDF flyers available as well.
If you have questions, please contact Amy Hetager at amy@earthcarenm.org or at 473-1403.
We hope to see you next week.
Posted in Uncategorized
Here is an announcement from the Railyard Stewards on an opportunity to help keep the park beautiful and learn about the landscape.
We’ve Been Working on the Railyard
Discover how one day of your time, 24 hours over the year, will help the Railyard Stewards keep the Railyard Park on track. Orientation for the new Railyard Yardmasters volunteer gardeners is Saturday, March 24 at the Railyard Community Room, 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Local experts will discuss the history, design, and gardens of Santa Fe’s favorite outdoor public space. To register, or for more information contact Alanna of the Railyard Stewards at 505-316-3596 or alanna@railyardpark.org and visit www.railyardpark.org.
Railyard Yardmasters garden together to keep Santa Fe’s favorite public space vibrant and beautiful while learning about life in the high desert. No prior experience or knowledge is necessary! There are many incentives to being a Yardmaster including free training and workshops, the intangible reward of enriching the visitor’s experience of the Railyard Park, and dedication awards.
Did you know that the Santa Fe Railyard Park was created through one of the largest community park planning projects in the country and has won numerous awards? The Railyard Park is an innovative 10-acre outdoor space with community food gardens, unique recreation areas, xeriscaped gardens, and meadows of native grass and wildflower. Along with coordinating the Yardmasters and service learning opportunities at the Park, the Railyard Stewards fill the park with positive, engaging community activities. The more we bring this care and programming to the park, the safer and more vibrant it becomes.
Posted in Community Gardens
Tagged Garden, New Mexico, Railyard, Railyard Park, Railyard Stewards
The Community Farm has new leadership this year and are excited to start planting their fields and providing education to Santa Fe. Home Grown New Mexico will hold one volunteer day and one class each month and you can join us on Sunday, March 11 from 10am-2pm. No experience is necessary. You can also contact them and volunteer at on other days. We will be planting the fields, working in the new greenhouse, helping with compost and other farm activities. They also have a Spring Break Farm Camp for 1st through 6th graders. See the message below from Linda Marple.
From Community Farm
Hello, farm fans and supporters! I’d like to give you all the latest news from the Community Farm! You’ll find attached the flyer announcing our first Spring Break Farm Camp March 14-16. We’re really excited about this project, brainchild of one of our volunteers, Andrew Rodke. I invite you to join us if you have an interest in being around 1st through 6th graders for three days! We are working on the program and will soon have a functional registration page on our website. Feel free to pass the word along to friends and family.
Linda Marple
