Scott Myers
East Central Illinois
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I am an avid historian and enjoy the outdoors. I own 28 acres in east central Illinois and am trying to mold it into a self sufficient farm for my own pleasure and food source. I am interested in anything done the way it used to be done. My plans include growing and storing my own food to use for winter in many different ways.
As a child I was forced to work the garden and the farm and found little enjoyment in it however, I now look forward to every minute I spend doing just this.
Working outside whether in the garden or the orchard is very important to me and allows me to relax.
USDA Zone:
Soil: black, healthy farm land
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I wanted a root cellar to store my canned goods and to have a storm shelter so here is what we came up with.
We cut the axles and jack from this 40 foot trailer and dug a hole 50 feet long 8 feet wide and 6 feet deep.
Scott Myers
East Central Illinois | black, healthy farm land | Zone
East Central Illinois | black, healthy farm land | Zone
After the hole was done and the trailer prepared, I slid it in the hole with the hoe. Not an easy job.
Scott Myers
Jul 28, 2011
After using some pyramid building ingenuity, I put 3 feet of dirt all around it and began bracing the inside.
I still have to brace the roof and cover it but the inside is already 70 degrees on a 100 degree day and I have a huge storm shelter for tornado weather.
Scott Myers
Jul 28, 2011
Best thing is that I get to plant stuff all over the root cellar.
I am thinking blackberries but they will be hard to pick on the steep sides.
Any ideas?
Scott Myers
Jul 28, 2011
By the way, I did this over the end of my sweet corn patch and asparagus without tearing up one plant. I was pretty proud of myself. And all of it was free with the exception of the fuel for the backhoe.
Scott Myers
Jul 28, 2011
Scott, this is freakin' awesome! Very impressive and smart use of a trailer! Show us pics of the inside once you start using it! As for what to plant... Not sure. Let me think about it.
Jade
Jul 28, 2011
I had probably finish the bracing. The sides are bowing in from the pressure of the dirt but it's like having my own personal tunnel. And it is huge inside.
Scott Myers
Jul 29, 2011
hey Scott, do you want edible plants to plant on top of it or decorative? you could plant some helpful plants like purple cone flower and bee balm. especially with your fruit trees. you will attract honey bees. they will polinate for you. have you thought about terrace planting? you could do blueberries if you irrigate. they love wet well drained soil. grapes would be cool too. just some thoughts.
JJONES
Jul 29, 2011
Bee's balm is an excellent idea and the terracing is too.
I like to plant edible things but dont want to water this area a lot because of the trailer underneath.
Scott Myers
Jul 29, 2011
Here is a zucchini that I am really proud of
Scott Myers
East Central Illinois | black, healthy farm land | Zone
East Central Illinois | black, healthy farm land | Zone
Check out this cucumber too
Scott Myers
Jul 21, 2011
Huge!
Jade
Jul 22, 2011
The garden is looking good, even after 2.7 inches of rain last night. I hate summer storms.
Scott Myers
East Central Illinois | black, healthy farm land | Zone
East Central Illinois | black, healthy farm land | Zone
One more look. I know the picture is crooked but it's the best way I could get it all to fit.
Scott Myers
Jul 20, 2011
Very nice! What are the balls in the first picture?
Looks like a lot of good eating in your future!
Jade
Jul 20, 2011
They are bowling balls to be painted as lady bugs. They are kind of a conversation piece. You would not believe the amount of people that ask me why I have bowling balls in my garden. LOL sometimes I put things out there just for the fun of it.
Scott Myers
Jul 20, 2011
That's so funny -- I've thought of doing the same thing. I think having "stuff" in your gardens is a good way to make them more interesting. I like it!
Jade
Jul 20, 2011
Me too
You never know what you will find in my garden.
Scott Myers
Jul 20, 2011
The zucchini are huge and the cucumbers are coming on strong. Egg plant and cantaloupe are beginning to grow also.
The garden is really going to produce a lot of good vegetables.
Don’t forget to plant your turnips. As dad would say “25th of July, wet or dry”
It has been a long couple of weeks but we have accomplished a lot in a short amount of time.
The garden is really going to produce a lot of good vegetables.
Don’t forget to plant your turnips. As dad would say “25th of July, wet or dry”
It has been a long couple of weeks but we have accomplished a lot in a short amount of time.
Scott Myers
East Central Illinois | black, healthy farm land | Zone
East Central Illinois | black, healthy farm land | Zone
I need to do just that! We bought turnips the other day, and I was marveling at what a great vegetable they are. Delicious, and you can eat the tops too! I like beets better, but they take longer to grow.
Jade
Jul 19, 2011
The rule (or Dads rule) has always been to plant the turnips on the 25th of July. I broke the rule this year and planted some early turnips so I could have some early and they turned out great. I hadn't thought about eating the tops. Thanks Jade
Scott Myers
Jul 20, 2011
Of course. Just make sure you cook them. They're not the best green, but not bad at all, and definitely worth trying.
Jade
Jul 20, 2011
Had to move a bunch of rocks to prepare for the raised beds but I had a big tractor to help with the work. Only downfall was that I got poison ivy while working but it will go away. Hard to believe that this is only about a fifth of the rocks I have removed from the garden.
Scott Myers
East Central Illinois | black, healthy farm land | Zone
East Central Illinois | black, healthy farm land | Zone
The raised beds turned out great this weekend. I put one in for the rhubarb and asparagus that I plan to keep in the same spot for a long time. Now I just have to go to the woods to get more plants.
Scott Myers
Jun 28, 2011
I got the project done just in time to beat an inch and a half of rain that night. I now see the benefit to the drainage of the beds.
Scott Myers
Jun 28, 2011
Very nice, Scott. That's a crazy amount of rain, and it looks like the beds are going to make a big difference. Those rocks look huge -- lucky you have that trackor around! Keep posting photos as things grow.
How long are the beds?
Is this amount of rain typical this time of year around where you live?
Jade
Jun 28, 2011
Unfortunately, we have had an excess of rain this year forcing me to trench the rows to let the water off the ground as quickly as possible. I have found that if I keep the garden tilled very deep and level the garden to avoid sitting water, it has little effect. Earlier in the year, the tomatoes turned yellow on the bottom. The good thing is that I have not had to water at all.
Scott Myers
Jun 29, 2011
The two beds that i put in are 30 feet long and 4 feet wide. They are three standard railroad ties on each side and filled half way up with dirt and the other half with chipping debris from a local tree trimmer.
While riding through town a week ago Monday I came across these guys cutting trees and chipping the limbs. I stopped to ask if they had a place to put the debris and they told me no. I then offered for them to dump at my farm and the agreed giving me three dump truck loads of mulch and leaf chippings for free. Within 6 days the debris had started to compost and collect heat so I put it over areas that needed more nutrients and would not burn.
I like the free stuff. The railroad ties were free also.
Scott Myers
Jun 29, 2011
Here is an example of what just a couple days drainage around the raised beds looks like. I took this picture this morning before work.
Scott Myers
Jun 29, 2011
Wow, looks great.
Do you have to worry about the railroad ties being pressure treated? They look great and it's a nice solution, but curious if that's a concern.
Jade
Jul 01, 2011
creasote is what i would worry about. i have used RR ties for years. some say that it leaches into the soil and can cause cancer.
JJONES
Jul 15, 2011
Dawson and I picked our first batch of radishes from the garden night before last. He was so in to it that he ate them with the dirt on them. I did not figure him being into the garden so much but I am now very happy that I started it.
Scott Myers
East Central Illinois | black, healthy farm land | Zone
East Central Illinois | black, healthy farm land | Zone
How old is Dawson? I've been surprised how much my almost six year old daughter has enjoyed the garden. She loves to show off things to new visitors and is so excited especially with harvesting. She also is quite willing to kill slugs, a valuable skill here in the northwest!
Jade
Jun 22, 2011
Dawson is 12, almost 13. I have been trying to find things to do with him on the farm that are similar to the things I did while growing up. As a child I was fortunate to be raised by parents that had a garden and large farm with animals.
We have remodeled a house, planted a garden and put in an orchard this year as well as 50 other trees in the yard and plan to dig two wells in the near future.
At first all of these things did not interest Dawson but as time goes on he is really enjoying the accomplishments and is looking forward to our future plans to build a root cellar, put raised beds in the garden and mulch all the trees.
Scott Myers
Jun 22, 2011
Dawson is 12, almost 13. I have been trying to find things to do with him on the farm that are similar to the things I did while growing up. As a child I was fortunate to be raised by parents that had a garden and large farm with animals.
We have remodeled a house, planted a garden and put in an orchard this year as well as 50 other trees in the yard and plan to dig two wells in the near future.
At first all of these things did not interest Dawson but as time goes on he is really enjoying the accomplishments and is looking forward to our future plans to build a root cellar, put raised beds in the garden and mulch all the trees.
Scott Myers
Jun 22, 2011
Working on the garden and getting ready to put in raised beds for some of my stationary plants. Blackberries are getting ripe and almost ready to pick.
Scott Myers
East Central Illinois | black, healthy farm land | Zone
East Central Illinois | black, healthy farm land | Zone
Welcome to plantworking! I'm looking forward to hearing about your garden and farm, and hearing about your experiments with self-sufficiency. Glad to have you here!
Jade
Jun 22, 2011
Thank you Jade. This is a very nice site and I am excited to be part of it.
I will plan to take some pictures of the projects we have in process to post.
Scott Myers
Jun 22, 2011
©2012 Email Jade
I can't seem to figure out why they are doing this.
East Central Illinois | black, healthy farm land | Zone
i think you have vine wilt, and there is no cure. best defense against vine wilt is get the beetles that carry it before they get to your vines. seven dust early and often.
JJONES
Aug 03, 2011
I think you are right JJ
Scott Myers
Aug 03, 2011
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