Building the Dacha
Not only is our dacha, a Russian expression for a home in the country, a getaway, a garden, and a farm, it is also a concept project for us. We bought this land in southwestern Iowa in April of 2006 and have been busy building on it and developing the farmland for organic crops. We are serious about our motto of "reduce, reuse, recycle" in all that we do here. Very little electricity or water is used. Plumbing is by gravity and hoses rather than pumps and pipes. We compost everything we can, including "humanure". For heat, we burn wood gathered from downed trees on the land. We use low energy, eco-friendly flourescent light bulbs. Also, the entire farm is certified as organic by the state of Iowa. Check back once or twice a month for new progress notes.
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Click on each of the pictures below to see many more!
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Dacha Progess 27 Work begins in earnest, which means recruiting labor! The wonderful neighbor children weeded, helped fertilize, tilled, mulched, and planted eggplant, onions, raspberries, grapes, strawberries, onions, carrots, radishes, and beets. Liz also planted some of her tomato, basil, and pepper seedlings along with ten kinds of potatoes! Garlic and onions which were planted last fall are all coming up beautifully! The early crops of spinach, radishes, turnips, and herbs are making an appearance. Also in this group, you'll see the damage southwest Iowa winds can do, our neighbor doing the last of the dirt work, the thermometer in the heat of the day, a wheelbarrow full of our organic 10-10-10 fertilizer, and some shots of the newly planted fruit and veggies. |
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| Dacha Progess 26 Early spring has arrived at the farm, here you can see the beginnings of the gardens, some great moments of watching geese, turkeys, and a great blue heron, and the first seedlings of the year! |
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| Dacha Progess 25 Spring has finally arrived in Southwest Iowa! Gosh, it was a long time coming this year. But before we get to the seedlings (I know you're dying to see them!), Liz enjoyed a weekend at the Organic Farming Conference in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. What a difference a year makes! After a year of learning-on-the-job farming, Liz was able not only to understand the farming and organic industries past and present, but also to participate in them and even use the vocabulary...N-P-K numbers and more! She learned more about hoop houses, CSA's (which she is doing full-fledged this year), urban gardening on the gardening side and cover crops, no-till roller crimping and new rotations on the farming side. It was well worth the six-hour trip. Ok. now you can look at the seedlings! |
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Dacha Progess 24 In the latest news, Andre got a nice deer and made loads of jerky with our new dehydrator. If you enlarge the blue-ish pictures, you'll see the deer we enjoyed watching, not hunting, one lovely warm winter morning. We watched for about half an hour before dawn and counted almost 20 deer! Next, you'll see the building of the workshop. We left it finished, except for its main door, two weeks ago. We returned last weekend to the horror of the next few pictures, the ones after the picture of the cat on the snow. If you look at the picture of the interior, you can see the floor diagonal of the concrete slab -- where the shop is supposed to be. It got wind-blown off the slab on one end and the small door was crunched on the other end. With the help of our wise, old neighbor, Marlin, we got it back in place and then Andre and I finished the construction of the big door. The only evidence left of the catastrophe is at the top of the small door in one of the final pictures on the page. So, what seemed at first like a total loss turned out to be an extra day of repairs to our new workshop. Lesson learned: most things are fixable! |
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| Dacha Progess 23 Winter leaves time for inventions. With the promise of a workshop in the near future, Andre has converted an old, unused smoker into a used-oil-burning heater! In other items, the kittens are on the verge of becoming cats; the winter ice is threatening the winter wheat but we're hoping for the best; and the beavers have two dams on the creek. The cold of late is turning into the "January Thaw", fortunately! Liz is building a growlight center for her seedlings and is already eyeing catalogs for spring planting. |
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| Dacha Progess 22 Harvest is done and before planting our winter wheat we took soil samples. There was also time for a little hunting with the "big girls" and the kittens have turned into cats with the warmth of the summer giving way to warm winter coats on all three of them. Thanksgiving saw one of Liz's little miracles -- all the family together at the farm! And, with a little profit from the corn, we are finally building the workshop. |
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| Dacha Progess 21 It's harvest time!!! The photos show the process of combining the corn and filling the grain carts and semi truck for delivery. We did better than break even, so we're pleased. We can go on to farm another year! |
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Dacha Progess 20 What's new this month? Well, a canopy for the "little" tractor to help keep the rain out of the gas tank...some beautiful views on the farm and on the way home to Omaha from the farm one fall evening...a 17-pound watermelon from the garden...Amelia's state competition in band...(I know, not farm-related, but important)...the kitties, of course, the mulched garlic field (400 cloves planted!)...planting some baby pine trees...Maya and half the 120-potato harvest...the day Amelia and Wes visited...some lovely shots of the Hunters' Full Moon...Andre clearing a new field for wheat...some more artsy shots at the end of a beautiful fall in southwestern Iowa!
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Dacha Progess 19 Even though the main farming is practically done for the season, we're learning that there are always things to do on the farm. The garden is spilling out over its summer borders. In the photos, you can see the new field we've plowed for everbearing strawberries (which are planted in the fall), perennial herbs, and asparagus in the spring. In the field next to the fall potatoes, which are doing well, we are planting many kinds of garlic, onions, and shallots. In addition to the garden expansion, we are enjoying teaching the little girls all about horsemanship and riding. Some friends came out and spent a beautiful day and the menfolk enjoyed some target practice. The awning is in its latest incarnation and may just work for next year. (With the cooler temps, we don't really need it anymore for this year.) Harvesting these days includes German beer radishes, green beans, sunflower seeds (the little girls are great workers on these!), and a few carrots, some watermelon, and plenty of herbs. (I already have 9 or 10 containers of pesto made and in the freezer!). In other projects, we have built a new little wood holder near the house for stoking our new, larger wood stove. We've added a freezer to our utility loft, as well as a guest bed. Even some fall landscaping is underway!
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| Dacha Progess 18 Have a look at our growing kittens, a couple of pictures from the county fair, some goldenrod, a water lily, a campfire, our winter beer radishes, the beans, and the full August moon. Design #4 of the patio awning didn't hold...of course. It hasn't been able to stand up to the 60-mph winds of late. We're building character through the failure. We've moved on to Design #5 by putting two more 4"x4" posts in (we had to dig into the existing patio to do it.) In better news, our Certificate of Organic Operation graced our mailbox last week! Click on the certification to see a larger, more impressive version of it! |
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Dacha Progess 17 Sweet corn was harvested and enjoyed by friends and family. Frog capturing and releasing is a favorite activity. The county fair was very sweet. (The neighbors' boy has a couple of projects going to the Iowa State Fair!) Design #3 on the patio awning didn't make it, but Design #4 is bound to! (Stay tuned.) The pumpkins, the beans, the cucumbers, and the cats are all growing.
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Dacha Progess 16 Our sweet corn (with its new, electric fence), our booming field corn, the local Fourth of July parade, the first fruits of the garden, the inherited cat family, a new post-and-chain entrance, and the first "real" farmers' market all signal the latest happenings from Double K Farms.
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| Dacha Progess 15 We seem to have inherited a mama cat and her two, adorable kittens. Maddie has claimed one and Maya the other. They live in the house when we are there. Otherwise, they live behind the wood bin. This past weekend, we built a garden shed. The sweet corn is starting to form ears. The farm corn is doing well also. Some artistic shots also included here! |
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| Dacha Progess 14 Check out all the wildlife this spring. The patio is completed and a joy to behold and use! The photo to the right is of Liz taking soil samples (all good readings so far). The sweet corn is already knee-high and the 32 acres of farm corn is just up. Next time, we'll have a photo of our wonderful lawn! |
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| Dacha Progess 13 The neighbor's cat, Sweetiebear (I love her name!) had her litter of kittens -- five of them! Their eyes are not yet open, but, so far, she is a great mother. Besides the miracle of birth, we've enjoyed the planting of the garden, the disking of the fields, and the making of the patio (for which, Liz learned how to drive the old tractor!). |
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Dacha Progess 12 Spring comes to our little corner of the world. Seedlings are emerging for the organic garden. Tractors and implements have been purchased and are in use...when it's not raining! After the patio and garden are underway, we may have time to build the art house! See Liz's art site for more information on art.
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| Dacha Progress 11 A few photos of the wonder of winter on the farm. You will also see Maya with an as yet unidentified fruit, the result of the beavers' work, and th venison chili made from the first successful hunting experience! |
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| Dacha Progress 10 The main cabin has been stained, caulked, and trimmed. Marlin, our neighbor, is completing the dirt work around the compound so that the water drains where it should. Andre has chopped enough wood to keep us warm through the winter and Liz has built a wood bin to put it all in. We've come a long way! Now we can go there and enjoy it instead of only working on it! We're looking forward to a quiet family time over the Thanksgiving holiday. |
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| Dacha Progress 9 The latest pictures show Andre trenching to put in the electrical cable to the house, wiring the house inside, the addition of windows, a little warm spot for the kittens when they visit, our first crop of potatoes and garlic which was planted in mid-August, the new wood-burning stove and its chimney, the one finished loft, the bathroom, the library and the master bedroom. It's all coming along very nicely! |
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Dacha Progress 8 The larger cabin is now done enough to live it! In addition, Andre picked up a wood-burning stove in Des Moines to get through the upcoming cool months. We may get another one to make the sauna. The small ones are enjoying the land, visiting Marlin's kittens, taking a ride on J.T. Next up, wiring the house and building water tanks.
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| Dacha Progress 7 The larger cabin is virtually done! The rapidity of the work over the Labor Day weekend is thanks to many people, namely, Dave, Sarah, Kim, Rick, Amelia, Dec, Michelle, Maddie and Maya! Next weekend, we'll put the red roof and gutters on and then Marlin, our wonderful neighbor will do his "dirt work" to grade around the foundation. (You can see Marlin in the pictures this time. He's the one in the overalls!) |
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| Dacha Progress 6 The rafters of the larger cabin are up and a few trees are planted. Here are a few nature shots, too! |
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| Dacha Progress 5 Electricity is about to be added to the compound. Andre fashioned the box and wired an outdoor plug for it. He also spent the weekend getting to know the dirt around the house and moving it to be level. The floor was finished and covered with plastic. Our neighbor, Marlin, will mow the encroaching weeds this week and we will all take a small break from "dacha-building" as children go back to school and off to college. Maybe I will even paint something! |
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Dacha Progress 4 The foundation is finished after three rows of concrete block and a skeleton of runner beams. Rural water was added this week in mid-July. Hallelujah!
If you'd like to come and visit us but don't want to rough it so much as we do, our neighbors have a beautiful and affordable bed and breakfast. Check them out! |
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| Dacha Progress 3 Storms blew through one evening, but they didn't stop us. We finished the slab for the workshop and began the foundation for the main cabin. We also put together a small pier for the raft on the pond which is teeming with life and stocked now with White Amur (a type of algae-eating carp) and Bluegill. The raft is made completely of reclaimed pieces of wood and the art house will be as well. Special thanks go out to the Huerters for donating many pieces which will go into the making of the art house. |
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| Dacha Progress 2 The completion of the first cabin took place in late June. It measures 10 feet by 12 feet and is our home away from home until the larger cabin is finished. |
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Dacha Progress 1 In the beginning was the clearing of a plot of land for two cabins and a workshop. Here is the first, smaller cabin being built. It will house the sauna and shower. In the background, one can see the compost bin. Also seen in this group is our eldest, Julie, and her friend, riding the neighbors' horses.
We bought two cabin kits from the good folks at Deer Run Cabins. Check out their site! |
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