Maple Tree Tapping

Here in New Hampshire Mid February to Mid April, dependant on weather, is Maple Tree tapping season. Carrying out New Traditions today by using some of the Maple Trees located at Little Lakeview Conservatory LLC to collect Sap to turn into Syrup this weekend. 

What you need:

• A Maple Tree
• 12-20 inches in Diameter for one tap
• 21-27 inches in Diameter for two taps
• 28 inches in Diameter or wider for three taps
• Stainless Steel Maple Syrup Taps 
• Hammer
• Measuring Tape
• Drill with 5/16 Drill bit
• 5/16" ID 7/16" OD Clear Vinyl Tubing FDA Approved Food Grade Multipurpose Tube
• Food Grade 5 Gallon Bucket with Lid

How To:

Identify your Maple Tree(s). Measure the size of the Tree you intend to use to verify that it is an adequate size. With the Drill and 5/16 bit Drill a 1.5" hole straight into the tree. Using the Hammer, hammer the Maple Syrup Tap into the hole in the Maple Tree. Push the 5/16 tubing onto the tap to seal, Drill a hole into the lid of the 5 Gallon Bucket to fit the hose into. The lid should prevent anything falling into your sap while you are collecting it. 

You will need to collect 40 Gallons of Sap to boil down to 1 Gallon of Syrup. This is a weekend project here. After the buckets fill they will need to be slowly boiled down to evaporate the water and make the Syrup sweeter. We will follow up this Post with another showing how we made our Syrup.

...https://www.littlelakeviewconservatory.com/2020/02/making-maple-syrup.html 

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Growing Roses

We have decided to try a couple of new traditions with our old after Valentine's Day traditions. We love to regrow our Valentine's Day Roses from the leftover stems as they wilt each year. Convinced by a friends suggestion, we gave three methods for growing your own roses from stems a try. Hopefully these will take, and in a few months we will be able to update with which methods worked best for us.

Method 1: Propagation in Water

What you will need:

Water

A vase or jar

Your Roses/Rose Stems with some foliage, preferably the top leaves

Scissors

We saved our petals to use in our Bath Teas and other projects later.

How to:

Cut the bottom of the stem at an angle below a node/bump on the stem.

Cut the rose flower off.

Cut all but the top leaves off.

Place in Water and Expose to light.

Wait for up to 1-3 mths for roots to form in the water. 

Plant the rose in Soil or your choice of growing method.

Water, Fertilize and Expose to light.

Method 2: Plant Stem directly in Dirt, Potted or Outside dependant on location seasonally. 

What you will need:

Dirt and a hand shovel

A vase/jar/space 

Rooting Hormone, such as Fast Root

Water and fertilizer

Your Roses/Rose Stems with some foliage, preferably the top leaves

Scissors

How to:

Have Dirt in vase/jar/space to plant your Rose Stem.

Cut the bottom of the stem at an angle below a node/bump on the stem.

Cut the rose flower off.

Cut all but the top leaves off.

Dip the tip of the bottom of the Rose Stem in a Rooting Hormone.

Place in Soil in vase/jar/space.

Water, Fertilize and Expose to light.

Wait for up to 1-3 mths for roots to form. 

You may use a clear cover to help contain the moisture for your plant while it's rooting. Using something that mimics a greenhouse effect will help ensure that your stems root properly, but monitor your plant to avoid mold or unwanted conditions. 

Method 3: Dip Rose Cuttings in Honey and Plant in a Potato, in Soil.

What you will need:

Soil and a hand shovel

A Potato and Something to poke a hole into it, We used a metal chopstick

Honey

A Bucket/Planter or you may plant it outside dependant on location, seasonally.

Water and fertilizer

Your Roses/Rose Stems with some foliage, preferably the top leaves

Scissors

How to:

Have Dirt in vase/jar/space to plant your Rose Stem.

Poke a hole into your Potato.

Cut the bottom of the stem at an angle below a node/bump on the stem.

Cut the rose flower off.

Cut all but the top leaves off.

Dip the tip of the bottom of the Rose stem in honey and place into the Potato.

Place in Soil in vase/jar/space.

Water, Fertilize and Expose to light.

Wait for up to 1-3 mths for roots to form. 

You may use a clear cover to help contain the moisture for your plant while it's rooting. Using something that mimics a greenhouse effect will help ensure that your stems root properly, but monitor your plant to avoid mold or unwanted conditions. 

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Pine Vinegar

Pine Vinegar

With all the things we use orange peels, lemon peels and lavender vs. all the cleaning that is to be done we have turned to other sustainable ingredients to make our cleaning vinegar. 

Foraging outside we picked up Pine to make a Pine variation of our favorite cleaner. 


https://www.littlelakeviewconservatory.com/p/orange-vinegar.html

Vinegar Cleaning Solution is great for all purpose cleaning. You should test it on the material you intend to clean first. Some varnishes may be taken off by these mixtures. You may add water as desired to dilute your solution to meet your cleaning needs. 

Here is a great link for vinegar cleaning uses: https://www.today.com/home/28-ways-use-vinegar-around-your-house-t72276

Ingredients:

Pine Needles (that may have dropped from your backyard trees).

White Vinegar

A jar to contain your mixture

How to:

Place Pine Needles in jar, fill with vinegar and seal for 3-6 weeks. To make the mixture faster, heat the vinegar before adding it in your jar. 

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All DIY projects shown on LittleLakeviewConservatory.com are purely "at your own risk". As with any DIY project, unfamiliarity with the tools and process can be dangerous. Posts should be construed as theoretical advice only. 

If you are at all uncomfortable or inexperienced working on these projects (expecially but not limited to electronics and mechanical), please reconsider doing the job yourself. It is very possible on any DIY project to damage your cottage, void your property insurance, create a hazardous condition or harm or even kill yourself or others.

Little Lakeview Conservatory LLC will not be held responsible for any injury due to any featured DIY project.

Little Lakeview Conservatory, LLC

Please feel free to contact us at LittleLakeviewConservatory@gmail.com be added to our email list or with any questions, requests and comments.

Little Lakeview Conservatory, LLC * Grow a little!

Sustainable Scraps

Sustainable Scraps

Some foods, such as celery, can be regrown from the produce you would normally toss. Instead of tossing our Celery scraps into our compost, we have decided to regrow our Celery. This is a great family project to do with kids or for anyone's own self sustaining household.

Celery from Scraps:

What you will need:

Celery Stalk Cutting
A Cup/or Dish
Water
Sunlight/Plant Light

A method for transplanting the Celery once it is restarted:

• Dirt indoors in a planter or outdoors in your garden.
• Hydroponic planting system
• Aquaponic planting system. 

How to:

Once you have finished using your Celery, you will be left with a cut Celery Stalk. 

Take the Celery Stalk Cutting and place in a Cup or Dish with water covering the bottom of the Celery and leaving the top exposed to air. Place the Cup or Dish in a window for sunlight or under a Plant light if you have one. 

Change the water out with fresh water daily. After about a week or two you should see some growth in roots in the water, and leaves appearing on top.

Once there is regrowth, you can transplant your Celery to Dirt in a planter or outside depending on the season in your area. Celery is a harder plant to grow outside.

We have gone with an indoor small Hydroponic System to replant our Starters. 

What we used:

• Organic Clay Pebbles for a Media
• A Net Cup Pot
• A 32 oz Wide Mouth Mason Jar
• A water soluble Fertilizer to feed our Celery.

 

Little Lakeview Conservatory, LLC

Little Lakeview Conservatory, LLC was est. in 2019 to provide sustainable plants in NH and to share information to help people create self sustainability in their own homes.

Please feel free to contact us at LittleLakeviewConservatory@gmail.com be added to our email list or with any questions, requests and comments.

Little Lakeview Conservatory, LLC * Grow a little!™

Soil Sanitizing:

When recycling used soil from old planters or elsewhere, it's a good idea to sanitize your soil to remove possible pathogens. However, once your soil is "Sanitized" it will actually be dirt. You may need to add amendments, microbes, to bring your soil situation back to a living growing environment again. 

What you will need:

A Large container for your Mixture

A garden trowel/hand shovel to mix with

Soil 

Baking dishes

An oven

How to:

Preheat oven to 200

Place dirt in 5 gallon bucket.

Mix with garden trowel/hand shovel. Take out any unwanted matter. 

Place dirt in baking dishes.

Place baking dishes in oven for at least a half hour. 

Remove dirt and let cool before mixing with soil enhancers.

  

All DIY projects shown on LittleLakeviewConservatory.com are purely "at your own risk". As with any DIY project, unfamiliarity with the tools and process can be dangerous. Posts should be construed as theoretical advice only. 

If you are at all uncomfortable or inexperienced working on these projects (especially but not limited to electronics and mechanical), please reconsider doing the job yourself. It is very possible on any DIY project to damage your cottage, void your property insurance, create a hazardous condition or harm or even kill yourself or others.

Little Lakeview Conservatory LLC will not be held responsible for any injury due to any featured DIY project.

Little Lakeview Conservatory, LLC

Additional resources:

https://www.almanac.com/organic-soil-amendments-explained

https://cedarcirclefarm.org/tips/entry/the-living-soil-microorganisms

Choose a large container to mix your sanitized dirt with amendments, bringing it back to healthy Soil again.

Little Lakeview Conservatory, LLC was est. in 2019 to provide sustainable plants in NH and to share information to help people create self sustainability in their own homes.

Please feel free to contact us at LittleLakeviewConservatory@gmail.com be added to our email list or with any questions, requests and comments.

Little Lakeview Conservatory, LLC * Grow a little!™

Fertilizer

Fertilizer:

Plant Food:

Just like Humans, Plants need water and nutrients to live and grow.

Plant fertilizers are labeled in a NPK format. N=Nitrogen, P=Phosphorus and K=Potassium/Potash(Plant Ashes).

http://www.ncagr.gov/cyber/kidswrld/plant/label.htm is a great link for better understanding the fertilizer label. They also have other educational links for Children and Families. Information explaining plant nutrients: http://www.ncagr.gov/cyber/kidswrld/plant/nutrient.htm

The ratio or Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium in a mixture of fertilizer will serve different plants differently. Below is a chart explaining the three and their roles in plant growth, with information from Better Homes and Gardens: https://www.bhg.com/gardening/yard/garden-care/what-do-nitrogen-phosphorus-and-potassium-do/

There are many different types of Fertilizers that can be applied in different ways. Finding the right fertilizer depends on how you are caring for your plants, the envioronment in which they are stored and which type of plants you are fertilizing.

Types of Fertilizer:

• Straight
• Mixed
• Complete 
• Incomplete
• Organic
• Inorganic
• Soluable
• Nonsoluable

Some plants, such as Air plants, don't have roots in soil. They would get their nutrients best through misting a liquid fertilizer on them, or when they are scheduley soaked. Plants that are able to be grown in Hydroponic Gardens will need a fertilizer that is water soluble. An Aquaponic Garden should fertilize itself. If you're growing in an indoor garden or with houseplants, most likely you won't want a harsh smell associated with your home. Each plant has its own needs for best fertilizing them. Always research the needs for a plant's care based on the type of plant and where you are growing it.

This link has a reference chart with a list of Organic Fertilizers and their average NPK ratios:
https://www.americantreeinc.com/healthy-soil-healthy-plants/ 

  

Where Plant care meets Selfcare:

Some teas that do double duty for human and plant care:

Black Tea:

Black Tea is high in Potassium and Phosphorus.

Green Tea:

Green Tea has Nitrogen in it, and is less acidic than Black Tea. Different Plants require more or less acidity to thrive best. 

Chamomile Tea:

Seasonally we use our own Chamomile, grown here at Little Lakeview Conservatory, LLC. Chamomile Teas can be used as a calcium fertilizer. 

This link has a recipe for Chamomile Fertilizer:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/calcium-fertilizer.htm

Banana Peel Tea:

A fantastic Potassium source can be found in Banana Peel Tea. Whether made for a fertilizer source or for drinking yourself, Banana Peel Tea is easy to make. It is a great way to reuse your discarded fruit peel.

Banana Peel Tea Recipe: https://www.littlelakeviewconservatory.com/2019/12/banana-peel-tea.html

Always use plain, cooled, unsweetened tea for plants.

Always check with your Doctor or Medical Professional to best serve your own dietary needs.

All DIY projects shown on LittleLakeviewConservatory.com are purely "at your own risk". As with any DIY project, unfamiliarity with the tools and process can be dangerous. Posts should be construed as theoretical advice only. 

If you are at all uncomfortable or inexperienced working on these projects (especially but not limited to electronics and mechanical), please reconsider doing the job yourself. It is very possible on any DIY project to damage your cottage, void your property insurance, create a hazardous condition or harm or even kill yourself or others.

Little Lakeview Conservatory LLC will not be held responsible for any injury due to any featured DIY project.

Little Lakeview Conservatory, LLC

Little Lakeview Conservatory, LLC was est. in 2019 to provide sustainable plants in NH and to share information to help people create self sustainability in their own homes.

Please feel free to contact us at LittleLakeviewConservatory@gmail.com be added to our email list or with any questions, requests and comments.

Little Lakeview Conservatory, LLC * Grow a little!

Self-Sufficient

"Self-sufficiency is the greatest of all wealth" Epicurus.

Self-sufficiency, the ability to take care of oneself, is an all encompassing ideal. Sustainable Living isn't an impossible goal. Life skills are skills we have acquired, whether through formal education or life experience, that enable us to effectively handle issues and the problems that we encounter in daily life. Applying learned life skills to how we function can help us become more self-sufficient.

Self-sufficiency, like self care, is relative to the individual and circumstances. Time, Energy, Costs, Available Resources, Geographical Circumstances, Weather and Knowledge are all factors that affect how we are able to function in our environment. Learning, Adapting, Persisting and Growing are choices that can help achieve a more self-sufficient lifestyle. Do the best you can. As Maya Angelou said...

"Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better do better." Maya Angelou.

Why take steps to a more Self-sustainable lifestyle?

• Money
• Self empowerment
• Food Security
• Improved nutrition
• Becoming more in touch with nature
• A better understanding and respect for our resources
• Positive affect on the environment, positive affect on climate change.
• Independance
• Sense of control

Some Steps to take to become more self-reliant: 

• Start growing. Grow herbs in the kitchen, indoor house plants, and/or adding new plants to your yard.
• Make the most of what you have. Choose plants that grow best in the environment that you are able to provide them. 
• Get creative. Try new ways to grow. Vertical Hydroponic gardens are an easy way to grow more in a smaller space, and faster. Upcycling your recycling into planters or finding fun new ideas from sources such as https://www.pinterest.com/.
• Immerse yourself in your community. Find the community gardens and farm shares in your area. Many cities have community gardens and farm shares because many people that live in larger cities have less space available to garden. 
• Talk, talk, talk. Check out your local farmers markets. Ask local farmers for tips from their experience with gardening in your area. http://nfmd.org 
  
• Collect rain water (if it's legal in your area) and/or look into a grey water system. https://greywateraction.org/greywater-reuse/
• Raise your own Chickens. Chickens provide eggs and eat insects like ticks.
• Forage. Foraging for local resources is a great way to save money and better learn about your surroundings. 
• Learn to fish or hunt. And how to clean, store and prepare your catches.
• Raise meat rabbits or dairy animals. Goat milk is naturally homogenized.
• Tan your hides. Waste not want not. Make the most of what you caught hunting or even raised yourself. 
• Hang your clothes to dry when possible. Save money and energy.
• Learn how to mend or make your own clothing or blankets. Learn to sew, quilt, knit and/or crochet.  
• Make your own cleaners. Placing your orange peels in a jar with vinegar for two weeks makes a powerful cleaner. There are endless recipes online to make a variety of cleaners that are natural, non-toxic and sometimes upcycling from what would've been tossed out, like orange peels.
• Beekeeping. Raise your own Bees.
• Learn to make candles and start a fire.
• Learn how to preserve your food. Research food preservation and choose the best methods to accomodate your lifestyle. 
• Learn how to ferment food. Try new recipes you find for items that you already have.
• Research the uses for plants or products you have.
• Tap your trees. Identify and tap your maple trees if you have them.
• Do what you do, better. Make small changes to your own routines, without changing what you love doing.

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Little Lakeview Conservatory, LLC

Little Lakeview Conservatory, LLC was est. in 2019 to provide sustainable plants in NH and to share information to help people create self sustainability in their own homes.

Please feel free to contact us at LittleLakeviewConservatory@gmail.com be added to our email list or with any questions, requests and comments.

Little Lakeview Conservatory, LLC * Grow a little!