Rebecca's Bird Gardens - DIY Grapevine Bird Feeder

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DIY Upside Down Tomato

I recently did a presentation on vertical gardens as part of a series of gardening classes offered by my local Master Gardener chapter. While preparing for this class, I researched the history of vertical gardening from grapevines and espalier trees to modern day hydroponic and bio walls. In current day gardening - sustainability, self sufficiency and growing your own food are the top trends. However, there has also been a decreasing size of yards and garden plots. Growing up instead of out - just seems to make sense...

Advantages to vertical gardening:

• Saves space - A traditional horizontal garden has boundaries and limitations. In a vertical garden - the sky's the limit to potential gardening space! 
• Easier harvest - Usually at eye level instead of kneeling, bending, etc...
• Healthier plants / Bigger harvest - Many plants are susceptible to soil borne diseases. Bringing the vines or plants up off the ground, decreases the risk of disease and improves the air circulation which contributes to a healthier plant and a larger bounty.

There are a lot of new vertical systems on the market - walls, stackable containers, hydroponic planters, etc... but I am more interested in the DIY versions.

Growing tomatoes vertically usually refers to using a trellis, arbor, or similiar structure to train or support indeterminate or "vining" tomatoes. Another option in growing tomatoes vertically would be using containers to free up the ground space. A "bush" or determinate variety is a better choice for container tomatoes because of its compact size (3-4' height). Most of the advantages of growing tomatoes in containers have to do with the ability to control of the quality of the soil. - The majority of tomato diseases are derived from a fungus, virus or other contaminant in the existing garden soil. Using a high quality "soil-less" growing medium in the container, will decrease the chance of diseased plants.

The flip-side of a vertical container would be to literally grow the plant upside down! Topsy-Turvy upside down tomato planters have been around since 2005, but I wasn't really interested in trying this container. It just seems a little too small for even a compact tomato variety. I had seen larger versions of this concept using 5 gallon buckets - so that's the option I chose...

I started with a repurposed 5 gallon bucket (mine was a cleaned and rinsed empty liquid laundry container). Using a hole saw, I drilled a 3" hole in the bottom of the bucket. I also drilled additional "drainage" holes using a 1/2" drill bit.

Next I cut a circle out of landscape cloth to fit in the bottom of the bucket. - I cut an X in the cloth and pushed the young tomato plant through the bottom of the bucket's hole. I decided a "roma" tomato would be a good variety for the upside down container. - It's a determinate or compact plant with stronger stems.

I filled the bucket with a high quality "soil-less" growing medium and mixed in a slow release fertilizer. The top of the container was planted with a drought tolerant sedum (Sedum sarmentosum) to act as a living mulch.

The tomato started off great. - It looked healthy and was producing a lot of green fruit. Then around sometime in July - I forgot to water it for a few days and realized just how quickly the container would become completely dry. I thought the plant was beyond help, but with consistent watering it revived and I harvested tomatoes into September.

The upside of this type of vertical gardening:

• It worked (much to my surprise)...
• It's a great option for a limited space.
• If you have poor soil, you might have better luck at growing tomatoes in containers. My property is full of Walnut trees and it's impossible to grow tomatoes. - Black walnut trees produce a toxin, juglone, that is released into the soil and the tomato plants develop "walnut wilt" and die.

The downside:

• Requires frequent watering.
• Frequent watering depletes the nutrients in the soil.
• If you grow vegetables solely for a harvest, it's a great option. If you also want an aesthetically pleasing garden, a 5 gallon bucket container might not appeal to you...

If you like bird watching - as much as gardening - I invite you to follow my Facebook page and visit my Etsy shop!

Rebecca's Bird Gardens - Facebook  
Rebecca's Bird Gardens - Etsy

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Simple Saturdays

Community Chickens Post - Gardening with Chickens and Picket Fences

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DIY Vertical Pallet Garden

I recently did a presentation on vertical gardens as part of a series of gardening classes offered by my local Master Gardener chapter. While preparing for this class, I researched the history of vertical gardening from grapevines and espalier trees to modern day hydroponic and bio walls... In current day gardening - sustainability, self sufficiency and growing your own food are the top trends. However, there has also been a decreasing size of yards and garden plots. Growing up instead of out - just seems to make sense...

Advantages to vertical gardening:

• Saves space - A traditional horizontal garden has boundaries and limitations. In a vertical garden - the sky's the limit to potential gardening space! 
• Easier harvest - Usually at eye level instead of kneeling, bending, etc...
• Healthier plants / Bigger harvest - Many plants are susceptible to soil borne diseases. Bringing the vines or plants up off the ground, decreases the risk of disease and improves the air circulation which contributes to a healthier plant and a larger bounty.

There are a lot of new vertical systems on the market - walls, stackable containers, hydroponic planters, etc... but I am more interested in the DIY versions. If your search this topic on the internet, you're bound to come across a wooden pallet upcycled into a vertical planter. Prior to the class, I constructed a couple of these "pallet gardens" and thought I'd share the steps and my thoughts on this DIY project...

Choosing a Pallet:

If you're using the pallet for edibles, make sure the letters "HT" are included on the pallet's stamp. This stands for "heat treated" instead of using chemicals to preserve the wood. Also pallets come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Make sure the slats are positioned evenly with enough space between to allow for a planting area. The pallets are usually pine or oak. - The oak pallets are extremely heavy after the soil and plants are added. I would opt for a pine pallet for a edible garden, maybe oak for an decorative garden...

Craigslist:  Wooden pallets - pine, oak and plywood

Graded prices: $2 - $3 - $4 ($7 to $10 for larger ones) 

Supply List:

• Landscape cloth - I used Preen Landscape Fabric
• Staple gun and a lot of staples!
• High quality potting soil

In the larger pallet, I stapled a double thickness of landscape cloth to the inside of the pallet. I saw this demonstrated on Growing a Greener World. - This step makes it easier to add the soil to the pallet.

Next staple a double thickness of the landscape cloth to the outside back and bottom of the pallet - leaving the top open. 

Stand the pallet upright and position it where you want it to be as a finished garden. - It'll be very difficult to relocate it once the soil and plants are added.

Add moistened potting through the top opening of the pallet. I used a broom to help pack the soil down into all the areas of the pallet.

Lay the pallet down horizontal and cut rectangular slits in the openings between the slats. I planted a variety of cool crop seeds: lettuce, spinach, kale. My intention was to leave the pallet horizontal until I wanted to plant summer crops: tomatoes, peppers, etc... Then I could still harvest salad greens, but free up garden space for additional plants.

Leave the pallet horizontal for 2-4 weeks to allow the roots to become established.

After 3 weeks my seeds had formed plants and roots capable of keeping the soil in place when I brought the pallet into the upright position.

I also made a vertical pallet garden to display the variety of sedums and succulents that I use in the living roofs and vertical planters I sell at our local farmers' market. For this garden I used an oak pallet, but cut in down in size - because of the weight...  I prepared it in the same fashion as my edible pallet, but instead of adding landscape cloth to the inside of the pallet, I screwed a scrape piece of wood to the front of the pallet. - This allowed me to fill the pallet with soil from the top while it was in a vertical position. I also added a board to the bottom of the pallet to make it more of a solid structure. A temporary board screwed to the top of the pallet helped to keep the soil in place until the planter was upright.

After I planted the sedums, I kept the pallet horizontal for 2 weeks to allow the roots to become established. Once the pallet was vertical, I removed the temporary board from the top and added more sedums to this open portion.

I was surprisingly pleased at how well this project turned out. - It's a fast, easy and inexpensive way to make a unique and functional wall garden. I have found that it's somewhat difficult to water. The planter is too heavy and awkward in handling to lay it horizontal and a lot of the water runs off the pallet when watering it in the vertical position. Even with it's downfalls, I'm still in favor of this vertical garden and I'll probably be making more in the future...

Rebecca's Bird Gardens - DIY living Roof Birdhouse

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Rebecca's Bird Gardens ♥ DIY Heart Bird-Feeders ♥

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Rebecca's Bird Gardens ♥ A bottle of red...

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Rebecca's Bird Gardens ♥ DIY Giant Sugar Pinecone Suet Feeder

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DIY Fruit and Hummingbird Feeders

Earlier this year I conducted a class for the Master Gardener chapter that I'm a member of on making bird-feeders utilizing natural sources, recycled materials and re-purposed items. Of course the best bird-feeder is what nature provides: nuts, seeds and fruit from native trees, shrubs and wildflowers (and native insects)... Here's my hand-out for my "bird" talk I give:  Creating a Bird Garden

Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird - Butterfly Bush

I love watching the hummingbirds eat from their favorite flowers around my property: Trumpet Vine, Cardinal Flower, Columbine...  But to get the up-close views of a hummer, nothing beats a strategically placed feeder. - And this one costs only about $5.00! :)

Supplies:

• Copper wire - 6 or 8 gauge. Available at Home Depot for less than a $1.00 per foot. 8 gauge is easier to bend, but I prefer the look of 6 gauge. - About 2 feet.
• Glass bottle. A wine bottle is too large - it won't hold the seal of the feeder adapter. Opt for a smaller glass water or beer bottle.
• Bling or emlishments. Something red will attract and entice the hummers. Small gauge wire -available at craft stores to attach the pendent, decoration, etc...
• Hummingbird feeder tubes. You can occasionally find these at pet stores or I sell them in my Etsy shop 2 for $4.00. Here's the link: Rebecca's Bird Gardens (Etsy Shop)  
• Wire cutters, needle-nosed pliers.

Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird

How to:

Using the pliers (and a towel placed around the end of the wire to keep from scratching the copper), clamp the wire and bend a loop on one end. This gives you something to hold onto...  Start at the neck of the bottle and twist the wire around the bottle. Add another loop in the wire at the top of the bottle for hanging.

Add the embellishment and fill the bottle with a hummingbird nectar solution (1 part sugar dissolved in 4 parts water) - then add the feeder tube. Be sure to fill the bottle to the top with the solution - this creates a tight seal...

Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird

DIY Fruit Feeders

• Spiral Fruit Feeder:  Copper Wire: 8 gauge wrapped around a rolling pin to create a "fruit cage" to hold oranges, apples, etc...
• S Hook Fruit Feeder: Small stick with a hole drilled in the center. Wrap 8 gauge copper wire through the drilled hole creating an "S" shape for hanging.
• Sheppard's Hook Fruit Feeder: Small stick with a hole drilled in the center. Push the drilled portion of the stick through the hook then simply add assorted fruit...

Immature Male Summer Tanager

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Rebecca's Bird Gardens (Facebook)

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DIY Summer Wreath Bird-Feeder

Earlier this year I conducted a class for the Master Gardener chapter that I'm a member of on making bird-feeders utilizing natural sources, recycled materials and re-purposed items. Of course the best bird-feeder is what nature provides: nuts, seeds and fruit from native trees, shrubs and wildflowers (and native insects)... Here's my hand-out for my "bird" talk I give:  Creating a Bird Garden

Blue Jay

In the class, I demonstrated a winter version of this feeder utilizing cuttings from shrubs and trees (cedar, holly, winterberry, chokecherry). Now that the sunflowers and wildflowers are going to seed, I thought that I would put together a summer feeder in the same fashion. 

For the complete DIY instructions, click here: DIY Winter Wreath Bird-Feeder

Supplies:

• Grapevine wreath - $2.50 (Wal-Mart)
• Splatter guard - $1.00 (Dollar Store)
• Jute (minimal cost)
• Cuttings from sunflowers, wildflowers, native grasses

How to:

Cut three pieces of jute about 50" in length. Divide the splatter guard into thirds. Make three small holes through the screen and connect the splatter guard to the wreath with the jute (the screen will hold birdseed in the finished feeder). I did end up spray painting the edge of the splatter guard brown because the shiny silver was annoyingly obvious. 

Bring the three strings up and tie into a loop. Braid the remaining string and tie another loop (which will hold the birdseed ♥).

Tuck cuttings from sunflowers and native wildflowers into the wreath. In addition to sunflower heads, I used Ashy Sunflowers, False Sunflowers, Coneflowers and Black-eyed Susans.

Tufted Titmouse

Carolina Chickadee

Tufted Titmouse ~ Carolina Chickadee

I also added a birdseed heart in the center of the feeder. - Here's the recipe: DIY Birdseed Wreaths
Add birdseed to the center of the feeder (on top of the splatter guard).

It seems to be a hit with my feathered visitors! ~ I'll have to come up with a fall version next. :)

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Community Chickens Post! ~ Community DIY: Making a Dresser into a Brooder

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Community Chickens Post! ~ Community DIY: Bag Collar Feeder

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DIY Oriole Feeder

I recently conducted a class for the Master Gardener chapter that I'm a member of on making bird-feeders utilizing natural sources, recycled materials and re-purposed items. Of course the best bird-feeder is what nature provides: nuts, seeds and fruit from native trees, shrubs and wildflowers (and native insects)... Here's my hand-out for my "bird" talk I give: 
Creating a Bird Garden

But - this class was all about creating bird-feeders and I came up with a few originals and I experimented with several I found on the Internet. I've never actually attracted Orioles to my property (until this year!), but I came up with a DIY Oriole feeder that utilizes a chick feeder as the base. This spring I caught a glimpse of the Baltimore Orioles passing through my Southwest Missouri property and I had an opportunity to give the feeder a test. I filled the feeder base with a mixture of local organic grape jelly and water (makes a thick syrup) and the Orioles sipped on the sweet juice for a week before they migrated to their summer location...

I have to admit these feeders look a little like a spaceship...  

My DIY feeder basically consists of a chick feeder (found at any farm supply store - $3.00) and a small jelly jar. To make a hanging version I drilled a hole in the jar using a 1/4" diamond drill bit and used a long 1/4" eye bolt. If you want to add a plate, just drill another hole in the plate using the same drill bit then add nuts and rubber washers to hold everything in place (a little bit of thread lock helps to make it secure). 

Click on this link for the steps in learning the skill of drilling holes in glass jars and plates: 
DIY Wine Bottle Bird-Feeders. 

Male Baltimore Oriole

Male Baltimore Oriole

Female Baltimore Oriole

Here's a few tips to attract this colorful bird from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:
Baltimore Orioles seek out ripe fruit. Cut oranges in half and hang them from trees to invite orioles into your yard. Special oriole feeders filled with sugar water supplement the flower nectar that Baltimore Orioles gather. You can even put out small amounts of jelly to attract these nectar-eaters (just don't put out so much that it risks soiling their feathers). Planting bright fruits and nectar-bearing flowers, such as raspberries, crab apples, and trumpet vines, can attract Baltimore Orioles year after year.

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Community Chickens Post! ~ DIY Raising Mealworms: Update + a GIVEAWAY

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Community Chickens Post! ~ DIY Botanical Easter Eggs

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DIY Burlap Thistle Sock

Pine Siskins ~ Cardinal watching the action!

I recently conducted a class for the Master Gardener chapter that I'm a member of on making bird-feeders utilizing natural sources, recycled materials and re-purposed items. Of course the best bird-feeder is what nature provides: nuts, seeds and fruit from native trees, shrubs and wildflowers (and native insects)... Here's my hand-out for my "bird" talk I give:  Creating a Bird Garden

But - this class was all about creating bird-feeders and I came up with a few originals and I experimented with several I found on the Internet. As far as I know this DIY is an original, but I've came to the conclusion that there really isn't a novel idea anymore. Even if you think that you thought of something first - you probably didn't... Really the best thistle feeder is a purchased tube feeder that is specifically designed to hold this small seed and prevent waste. When I tried to come up with a DIY way to offer thistle, a sock feeder seemed like the logical option. The examples that I found didn't seem that durable and were rather unattractive, such as a DIY thistle sock made out of recycled or repurposed pantyhose... Another tutorial used the mesh lining out of old running shorts. Neither of these examples sounded as if they would hold up very long or actually work. I decided to construct my own version of a thistle sock using burlap because - it's cheap, the weave is small enough that the seed won't fall out and it's more attractive than watching the birds eat from an old pantyhose :) I'm not sure how long this sock will last... So far it's been re-filled three times and hasn't shown any signs of damage. And - at less than 50 cents a feeder, I think it's a pretty cheap way to offer thistle to my backyard birds - if only the thistle or Nyjer seed wasn't so expensive! 

Supplies:
1/4 yard burlap (about $1.00 and will make 3 socks)
jute
sewing machine, scissors, pins...

Cut out a rectangle about 8 x 15"
An easy trick to cut a straight line in burlap is to pull a string out. - This makes a line to follow when cutting...

Fold the rectangle in half lengthwise and sew the sides and one end using a 5/8" seam allowance. Double stitch the seam by sewing another seam 1/4" from the edge. In my first version, I noticed that the birds found the seeds easiest to pick from the seam - double stitching the seam will definitely increase the durability of the sock!

Turn under the top edge of the sock (right sides together) 3/4" and stitch 1/4" from the edge.

Turn the sock right side out.

Using a safety pin attached to 1 yard of jute, make a small hole in the folded edge and thread the jute through the fold.

I added a couple of wooden beads to the ends of the jute and secured them with a knot above and below the bead.

Add thistle to the sock (a funnel works well), pull the jute tight and tie. Make the jute strands into a slip knot to hang.

Watch the action!

Pine Siskins and American Goldfinches

Male Red-bellied Woodpecker
Not at all interested in thistle... Just a resting spot!

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DIY Suet Wreath

Male and Female Downy Woodpeckers
Tufted Titmouse

I recently conducted a class for the Master Gardener chapter that I'm a member of on making bird-feeders utilizing natural sources, recycled materials and re-purposed items. Of course the best bird-feeder is what nature provides: nuts, seeds and fruit from native trees, shrubs and wildflowers (and native insects)... Here's my hand-out for my "bird" talk I give:  Creating a Bird Garden

But - this class was all about creating bird-feeders and I came up with a few originals and I experimented with several I found on the Internet. For this DIY suet wreath, here the link to one of the best tutorials I found: Create a Suet Bird Seed Wreath

I've been making my own suet for years and I am sure the birds prefer my homemade version over a purchased suet cake... In fact, I've never had a bluebird visit a suet feeder at my property unless it contained my homemade recipe! In addition to coating pine-cones with my suet mixture, I've been experimenting with some other options to offer this food supplement. Here's my recipe and the link to what I've came up with so far... DIY Suet Feeders

Suet Recipe
1 cup lard  ~ You can render your own suet from beef fat (it's an all day process), but I prefer purchasing lard, which is pork fat.
1 cup chunky peanut butter
Melt the lard and peanut butter together, then add:
3 cups cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
4 cups birdseed

For the suet wreath, I added the following to the basic suet recipe:
1 package unflavored Knox gelatin dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water

Add the prepared suet mixture to a greased Bundt pan. I also picked up a helpful tip from the tutorial above and added a wire ring insert. - Place half of the suet mixture into the pan, add the wire ring, then the remaining suet. Pack the mixture down thoroughly into the pan with the back of a metal spoon. Refrigerate overnight. Allow the wreath the return to room temperature and it should be easy to remove from the pan. I added braided strips of burlap to use as a hanger. This wreath holds up much longer than you would expect and the wire ring insert helps to keep it from falling apart.

Carolina Chickadee

Tufted Titmouse

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