Dearest readers, it’s been awhile. You may or may not have noticed that I have taken a hiatus from all things Wild Grit (as well as social media as a whole). Well - if you’re wondering where I’ve been, this video really explains most of it.

But to sum it up in one word: busy. I’ve been really, really busy.

Road building. Brush clearing. Tree cutting. Constructing sheds, chicken coops, and other structures. A greenhouse. A rainwater catchment system, solar power system, massive garden, and so much more. It turns out that moving off-grid comes with a whole lot of work!

We have had the property for almost a full year and we’re honestly amazed by how much it’s transformed. I’m particularly impressed with myself and the creation of my passion project - constructing a giant garden. It has been a truly all-consuming venture. An obsession. Drew and my parents are worried about my sanity even though I smile and say “I’m the happiest I’ve ever been” (followed by an involuntary eye twitch).

The greenhouse isn’t finished yet but it worked marvelously for starting all my little plant babies!

At this point I have planted several thousand seeds. Most of which have succumb to the slug infantry that is currently populating the property. With the arrival of summer heat they have finally become manageable, but they have already taken out 90% of everything I’ve planted. I wish I was exaggerating. Don’t worry though - I am now armed with Sluggo Maxx and I’m scheming up a counter attack - a battalion of indian runner ducks for the fall. The battle is just beginning.

Aside from the slugs, the garden has seen other difficulties as well. Most notably, irrigation has been a struggle. Most years there is practically zero rainfall July through September which means rainwater collection goes dry pretty quickly. For June, I was able to use the collected rainwater and hand water the entire garden using five gallon buckets. Let’s pause and discuss the difficulty of this task. A full bucket of water weighs about 45 pounds. I needed to use roughly 20 buckets of water EVERY DAY if I wanted to water the garden properly. So, as you can imagine - that didn’t happen. But I still tried my best by giving the garden half the recommended amount of water - 20 buckets, every other day. It was an exhausting and dreadful task. It would typically take an hour and a half and I’d achieve a full body workout by the end of it. “Jacked By Gardening” is what I’m calling my summer training program. I 100% do not recommend it even though it’s highly effective. Regardless, I needed a better solution quick.

The face of relief: No more bucket hauling

I attempted to figure out a legitimate water solution over the winter but it’s challenging due to water rights in Washington, and especially in our county. To play it safe and buy myself more time, I decided to assemble a temporary water collection system. A dual-axle trailer, two 275 gallon ICB totes, and my trusty 1996 Toyota Tacoma. There is a bulk water fill station not too far from the property that is primarily used by farmers for this same purpose -to fill up water trucks for irrigating fields! I drive down to the station, fill my tanks right to the legal towing limit, and cruise home. And it’s cheap too boot. It works seamlessly and it’s an easy chore that I take care of in the evenings, every four to five days.

With water on the property, the next step was to build an efficient way to deliver it into the fields. I landed on designing a drip irrigation system using a pulse watering method to be as efficient with water use as possible. I ordered a small 12v pump, drip tape, a timer, and lots of fittings and got to work setting it all up. It was easy and I got great customer support from Drip Depot who helped me choose exactly what I needed and do some troubleshooting when it came to the assembly. Once I have a bit more testing time, I’ll make a post of all the products I used. Right now, I have it automated to come on for seven minutes in four intervals through the day which amounts to 1” of rainfall per week - the ideal for most garden plants.

The garden is FINALLY receiving all the water it so desperately deserves! I can already see the plants reviving! I do fear that many of them will live out the rest of the season stunted but that’s the expense of not being prepared, I suppose. The lack of water could also be a contributing factor to the slug onslaught since they seem to prefer plants that are struggling. But in all honesty, there’s nothing I could’ve done to prevent this except for waiting on the garden altogether. Or perhaps just doing a very small bed. But that’s not my style. I’d rather go big and fail big so I can learn as quickly as possible.

I’m being a bit hard on myself though because this garden isn’t even close to a fail! Certain crops have proven incredibly resilient (and delicious)! I’ve gotten a few perfect broccoli crowns despite the slugs. My cabbages are thriving but not quite ready yet. The russet potatoes look glorious. The most unexpected success is typically the most challenging PNW crop - tomatoes. I started mine from seed in the early spring and they are thriving! I have about seventy plants, some in the field and some in my greenhouse and most are starting to set fruit! My snow peas have been the most productive crop so far, providing us with enough vegetables for roughly ten meals from a single packet of seeds. We even got to enjoy a small handful of blueberries and strawberries. And the season isn’t even close to over yet!

Thriving “Columbia” cabbage - should be ready soon!

I didn’t set out to start a blog or a farm, or to film about gardening or homesteading. I also didn’t think I’d be able to live out this dream until I was much older and able to afford property. Somehow I’ve been blessed with the fast track and I can finally sink my fingers deep into the soil, learn as much as I can, and share the journey.

I’m not exactly sure where I’m heading with all of this, all that I can say is that it feels really really good. Oh, and I just started 768 more seeds yesterday, so there’s definitely no end in sight. Maybe it will become a farm. Maybe a cut flower business. Maybe I’ll just be a voracious plant grower and collector. Right now the garden is my big blank canvas and laboratory and only time will tell where it’s headed.

Talk soon.

<3 Callie

Something new is growing…

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