Natural Building Techniques

After a ferocious storm swept through Orlando on Sunday dumping 3 inches of rain, hail, and bringing 50+ mph winds; today at Econ Farm the weather was perfectly sunny and cool. Today we continued learning about natural building techniques and spent the day building a water tight roof made of palm fronds tied to a bamboo frame. Once complete, we hoisted the roof onto 4 bamboo posts. The lean-to structure will provide cover for firewood and is located next to the fire pit. The wood ash from the fire pit, incidentally, also feeds the compost. This is me tying palm fronds:

It was Spring Break for my 3 year old son, so he came along today and helped out.

Will took great pleasure in feeding the chickens lettuce leaves and collecting eggs.

Here is our completed structure.

Since beginning this externship, my own yard continues to transform. We put in one rain catcher just in time for the storm and filled the 50 gallon tank in less than an hour! It inspires me to invest in more. I continue to work on my compost pile, adding my kitchen scraps by making a hole in the center and covering with "green" layers. I've noticed since incorporating more "greens" my the compost process has improved. I've also turned a rotting wood pile on another side of my yard into a working pile by burying kitchen scraps and topping with lots of leaves. A quick peak under the layers reveals a lot of activity...it's alive! My two raised beds continue to deliver beautiful lettuce and arugula. My three tomato plants are thriving, though two clearly have a bug eating away at the leaves. I was relieved upon closer look to see several lady bugs on the leaves, so whatever is eating my leaves will soon be eaten by the ladybugs....am thinking aphids. I'm not going into pest control mode just yet, we'll see how the ladybugs do. My zinnia and morning glories are sprouting, as are my seminole squash seeds that produce a pumpkin shaped squash. I planted a watermelon plant and a cucumber plant in my beds that are doing well and Terry, my sponsor, gave me a well established Lacinto Kale and Collard plant, along with two small Red Russian Kale plants. In the front of my house my direct seed lavender and lime basil aren't doing well, but a planted grape vine and blueberry bush show signs of fruiting!