Some of the best homestead tools and devices around
aren’t for sale in any store. They’re the ones conceived
and tested on farms — and in back yards — around
the world. Many are homemade varieties of commercially
available implements … others are personal answers to
particular how-to-do-it problems. Whatever, they all have
one thing in common: A large part of the pleasure that
comes from their use derives from the knowledge that
they’re self-made.
And so it is with the following four projects,
selected from a helpful new book put out by the folks at
Rodale Press. We’ve chosen items particularly well suited
for summertime use, but Build It Better Yourself
offers construction plans for over 200 more … a great
number of which could surely benefit you!
A Varmint Fence
When Lesley and Marion Blanchard moved to their eight-acre homestead near Sedona, Arizona, they found that, although their heavily mulched garden produced prodigiously ail summer, they were able to harvest only a scant amount. The problem was predators: “Deer, porcupines, rock squirrels, chipmunks, trade rats, skunks, gray foxes, jackrabbits, range cattle, and birds,” Mrs. Blanchard relates. “You name it, we have it.”
The Blanchards live in “open range” country, which means that it’s legally up to the homeowner to fence in his property against cattle, not up to the cattleman to keep his roaming herd within bounds. The cattle, porcupines, and squirrels were particularly destructive.
Refusing to surrender, the Blanchards designed a colossal cage 20 feet wide by 100 feet long to keep out the marauders. In this space Les planted sixteen dwarf fruit trees — peaches, pears, apples, apricots, plums, cherries, and prunes — all of which would mature at less than the 8-foot height of the cage. The trees were planted 10 feet apart, with vegetables occupying the rows between the trees.
Within two years, the apricot, peach, and apple trees were bearing heavily. Thanks to the cage, the fruit now belongs exclusively to the Blanchards, who no longer need battle the beasts and the birds for their tree-ripened harvest.
Materials:
- Measure the garden perimeter (keeping width 10 feet),
mark the corners with stakes, and stretch a string between
the stakes. - Stretch a string lengthwise down the center.
- Space the outer posts 12 to 15 feet apart.
- Use the center string to mark the position of the
center posts. They should be in line with the outer posts. - At each mark and the corners dig a hole about 12 inches
deep. - Between holes dig a narrow trench about 6 inches deep.
- Cut four pieces of 2 1/2-inch angle iron 9 feet long
for corner posts. - Mix cement. Place the 9-foot corner posts in corner
holes and cement in place. Posts can be tied in vertical
position until cement sets. - Assemble as many side uprights as needed, using
9-foot-long 2-inch steel posts. Place in holes and fill
with dirt, tamping down well. - Set steel fenceposts 10 feet long for center uprights
in holes and fill with dirt, tamping down well. Then brace
with dirt packed to a height of 12 inches around base of
posts. - After corners are set, brace each corner with two
2 1/4-inch angle irons set in concrete. Fasten the braces
to the uprights with 1-inch by 1/4-inch bolts. - Overhead crosspieces are of 1/2 inch galvanized pipe
cut 10 1/2 feet long and bent to arch over taller center
uprights. - End crosspieces are 10-foot sections of 1/2-inch
galvanized pipe. The end crosspieces are not bent. - To fasten the crosspieces to the center posts to keep
them from moving, run a length of 10-gauge galvanized wire
down the center of the plot from one end to the other. - Starting at the center of the top, unroll 1-inch wire
netting the length of the plot. Work your way down to the
sides wiring each new row together. - Before beginning sides, decide where you want the
gate. The best spot is next to an upright. Measure 3 feet
from an upright and dig a 12-inch hole. Sink a 7-foot
length of fencepost into hole and fill with dirt. The
6-inch trench which runs between these posts (under the
gate) should be filled with concrete. - Continue covering sides with 1-inch wire netting, but
leave the gate opening uncovered. - The gate can be as plain or fancy as you like. Its
purpose is to keep the varmints out.
Hot Box
The hot box is a homemade device with which you can make
casserole and soup-type dishes with a fraction of the
energy you would use in traditional stove-top or
oven-cooking techniques. The box works on this principle:
food is brought to boiling, 212 degrees Fahrenheit and above, and
quickly placed in the insulated box. Its own heat is
retained and finishes the cooking.
You should have a reliable kitchen thermometer to use with
the hot box. Experience with the hot box in Rodale Press’s
Fitness House kitchen showed that after four or five hours
in the hot box, the temperature of food dropped to between
140 and 160 degrees, depending on the ingredients and
how full the pot was.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the danger
with slow-cooking methods is when the warming time to high
temperatures, the 200 degrees-plus range, is long. This allows
bacteria to multiply before they are killed, leaving behind
toxins that can make you just as sick as the live bacteria.
The USDA says that between 140 and 165 degrees, bacteria
growth is prevented, but live bacteria may
survive. The key, therefore, is to bring the food to the
boiling temperature to kill these bacteria first.
The simple hot box shown here uses 2-inch-thick Styrofoam
and is lined with aluminum foil. The box itself is made
from 1/4-inch plywood. You’ll have to know what size pot
you’ll be using, because the box must be built to fit it.
Materials:
- 1 4-by-4-foot sheet. 1/4 inch interior plywood cut to fit your pot
- 1 X 2 stock cut in 4 pcs. to form sides of lid
- 3/4 inch brads
- Wood glue
- White glue
- 2 1 inch butt hinges w/screws
- 1 hasp and staple
- 2 inch-by-2 foot-by-9 foot Styrofoam cut to fit inside of box
- Aluminum foil
Construction:
- Construct a square box 4 inches larger than the outside
diameter of your pot. It should be 2 inches taller than the
pot with its lid in place. Use 3/4-inch brads and wood glue
to assemble the box. - To make the lid, start with a square of plywood with
dimensions 1 1/2 inches greater than the outside dimensions
of the box. Cut 1-by-2 stock to fit the edges, and nail and
glue the pieces in place to make a tight fit. - Before you cut your Styrofoam sheet, cover it with
aluminum foil, shiny side up. Use white glue to fasten it.
After it has dried, cut the Styrofoam to fit first the
bottom, then the sides, and — finally — inside the
lid of the box. Again, use glue to hold it in place. - Use two 1 inch butt hinges to attach the lid. Install a
light hasp to the front edge of the lid and a staple to the
front of the box.
Tool Cleaner
A good way to keep your garden tools both clean and rust
free is to build an oiling/cleaning pit. All you need do is
dig a hole near the entrance to your toolshed, build a wood
or metal framework inside the hole, and fill it with sand.
Next time you change the oil in your car, tractor, or
mower, just pour the old oil into the sand and mix it up.
You can get old oil from gas stations if you don’t have any
around. Try to maintain a sandy texture without too much
oil; if you put your hand in, it should just pick up a
trace of oil, not be dripping wet. With the oil and sand
mixed, just work your tools in the mix for a few seconds,
and they should be clean, oiled, and ready to be put away.
Cut four 12-inch-long pieces of 1-by-12. Using a simple butt
joint and 8d nails, fasten the pieces together into a
square frame. Dig a hole large enough to accommodate the
frame so that it will project about 2 inches above the
ground. Fill the frame with builder’s sand, then backfill
with soil around the outside of the frame. Pour that old
oil in with the sand and work it with a shovel.
If you’re a bit fussy, you could fashion a lid for the tool cleaning pit. Cut an 11 1/4-inch-square piece of 3/4-inch exterior plywood. To one side fasten a common door pull handle. To the other fasten two 10 1/2-inch cleats with brads to help keep the lid in place.
For the sake of longevity, it would be good to use the well-known rot-resistant materials or wood treated with a wood preservative.
Materials:
- 1 pc.1-by-12-by-6 foot or Walls: 4 pcs. 1-by-12-by-12 inch
- Lid: 1 pc. 1-by-12-by-11 1/4 inch (or 1 11 1/4 inch square sheet 3/4 inch ext. plywood)
- 1 pc. 1-by-1-by-2 foot or Cleats: 2 pcs. 1-by-1-by-10 1/2 inch
- 8d nails
- 1 1/4 inch brads
- 1 door pull
- Wood preservative
Soil Sifter
A simple sifter for compost or potting soil can be made by
nailing a piece of 1/4-inch hardware cloth to the bottom of
a 12-inch by 18-inch frame.
Materials:
- 1 pc. 1-by-4-by-4 foot or Sides: 2 pcs. 1-by-4-by-18 inch
- 1 pc. 1-by-6-by-2 foot or Ends: 2-by-6-by-10 1/2 inch
- 6d nails
- 1 pc. 12-by-18 inch hardware cloth
- 1/4 inch mesh
- 3/4 inch staples
Construction:
- Cut two 18-inch lengths of 1-by-4 and two 10 1/2-inch
lengths of 1-by-6. - Taper the ends and cut handholds into them. From a
corner at each end of the boards, measure and mark 2 inches
along the butt end and 3-1/4 inches along the edge. Draw a
line connecting the two points and cut along the line. Then
mark a 1-inch by 3 1/2-inch rectangle in the upper middle
of each end board, as shown. Cut out the rectangle with a
keyhole or coping saw. - Butt the sides against the ends and nail the sifter
frame together, using 6d nails. - Staple a 12-inch by 18-inch piece of 1/4-inch hardware
cloth to the bottom.
From Build It Better Yourself by the editors of Organic Gardening and Farming ® , copyright ©1977 by Rodale Press, Inc., Emmaus, Pa. Reprinted with the permission of the publisher.
