Welcome to our “Back to Eden” gardening page!

The “Back to Eden” garden system is something that has been around for quite a while, but we just learned about it a few months back. Everything about it just seems to make good sense to us! After the initial work of placing the mulch, there is very little work that needs to be done! No more weeding, and very little watering.

If you’re not familiar with this growing system, you should check out the full documentary at this website: http://www.backtoedenfilm.com/

In the meantime, we hope you will enjoy checking out some of the ways we have used this system in our own yard. Enjoy!

Here we start our first Back to Eden project. In this video we are preparing our ground for growing corn. We start by laying several layers of newspaper and then topping it with 4-6 inches of wood chips. We were able to get our wood chips for free from our local township grounds department.

We we continue the project to actually begin planting the corn. We made trenches in the mulch to expose the ground beneath to plant the corn into. We then applied a layer of rock dust. This will re-mineralize the soil to make our crop healthier and more disease resistant. Next we applied some organic chicken manure based fertilizer. Finally, we topped everything off with a layer of worm castings. This should give our corn plants a good healthy start.

Once the corn reaches knee-high, we will rake the mulch back into the trenches. That will help to keep the weeds down, keep the soil moist, and help to keep the corn standing tall in strong winds.

Our next Back to Eden gardening project is a Berry Patch.

We have wanted a berry patch for a long time, so we decided to do this the same way we did our corn. Here, we are planting two blackberry bushes, two raspberry bushes, and three blueberry bushes.

The long cold winters in Ohio make it uncomfortable to work in my garage workshop.
Here is my solution for the problem! This solar heater should take the chill out of the air
while also being super cheap to operate.

Solar Heater 1

Beginning the project…

Beer and Soda Cans for Solar Heater

I started out by collecting about 160 cans. Pop cans, beer cans, anything goes!
The bottoms were drilled out,  tabs were removed, and everything was washed.

Box for Solar Heater

Next I built a box. My box is 77″ x 43″ x 7.5″
The size of this box was determined by the size of the glass being installed.
My glass was recycled from a neighbor that removed a sun room from his house.
I cut a “rabbit” around the box so the bottom and glass will be recessed.
All joints were glued and stapled. The corners were reinforced with steel angle joints.
After the build was complete, everything was sealed with silicone and then painted
with several coats of exterior latex paint.

Holes cut for duct-work for solar heater

Four-inch holes were cut out in the top and bottom sections of the box. These holes
will accommodate the air ducts.

Duct-work inserted into hole in the solar box

The air ducts are glued into place. Four-inch dryer ducts are used for this.

Snap disc thermostat for solar heater

A “Snap Disc” thermostat will be used for this build. This will automatically turn on the
system fan when the air inside of the heater reaches 115-degrees Fahrenheit and then turn it off again when the air drops below 109 degrees. This item was purchased on eBay.

The Snap Disc Thermostat is installed

The thermostat is mounted into the upper air duct. It will be wired in a later step.

Special Nails with clips for holding insulation in place

These items were used for attaching insulation to the box. It is basically a nail attached to a piece of tin. Several of these are glued to the sides and bottom of the box. The insulation is simply pressed into place onto the nails and the crimped piece is clamped onto the nail. (One of my neighbors gave me these! I’m not sure what they’re supposed to be used for!)

Beginning to install the insulation

Insulation is installed onto the sides of the box. I used “duct-board” insulation that I got from an HVAC contractor. It comes in large sheets that can easily be cut to size. It is a rigid foil-backed fiberglass insulation about 1-inch thick.

Wiring the snap disc thermostat

Before installing insulation onto the bottom of the box, I connected the thermostat wires. These are routed to the bottom air duct where the system fan will be located. These wires will be beneath the insulation for protection from the heat that will be generated.

The insulation installation is complete

Insulation is installed into the bottom of the box. All seams are then taped with foil duct tape.

Underside of the thermostat

Thermostat wiring protruding from duct

The box is now flipped over and the air ducts are sealed with silicone. Note the thermostat wires protruding from the air duct.

Beginning the solar manifold

Each air manifold is built by assembling two pieces of gutter that are cut to fit tightly between the sides of the insulated box. These two gutters are then glued together with silicone. Two of these are needed. One for the top and another for the bottom.

Holes are cut into the manifold

Another hole is cut in manifold

Holes are cut into the manifolds to accommodate the cans. A 4-inch hole is cut to accommodate the air ducts. Finally, the manifolds are painted with a high temperature, low gloss black to better attract the heat from the sun.

The solar manifolds are in place

Each manifold is glued into place and attached to the air duct.

Preparing and Stuffing Cans into downspout pipe

Downspout pipes are cut to fit between the two manifolds and then painted with the same black. (Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of that!) Downspout pipe comes in 10-foot lengths, so I was able to simply cut them in half and use the 5-foot lengths. I used silicone to glue one of the prepared cans into one end of each pipe, making sure that half of the can still protruded from the pipe (to fit into the manifold later). After this dried, I added more silicone insuring that this end of the pipe was completely sealed around the can.

Afterwards, the remaining prepared cans are inserted into the downspout pipes. By inserting cans into the pipes, all air passing through will be slowed down giving it more time to be heated. I cut slots into the sides of a few of the cans to allow more of the air to enter the pipes instead of just passing through the cans. Before placing the last can into each pipe, I insured there was enough room to slide it back and forth a couple inches. This allowed me to place the downspout pipe into position between the manifolds and then pull the can out to lock it into place. Also, to give this final can more stability, I squeezed another can inside of it to double up it’s side walls.

Downspout Pipes - Top Section

Downspout Pipe - Bottom Section

After all pipes are in place, silicone is generously applied to seal the final can into place within each of the downspout pipes. When this has dried completely, more silicone is added to completely seal the can into the manifolds. My goal was to make these seals as airtight as possible. This kind-of reminds me of the Lincoln Memorial!

Solar Heater installed and in place

The heater is mounted into place and the glass is installed. Prior to this, 4-inch holes were drilled through the aluminum siding on my house to accommodate the air ducts.

Power Switch and Air Intake

Solar Heated Air Exhaust

On the inside of the garage I installed a 35-watt dryer duct booster fan to pull air into the heater via the lower air duct. For the upper air duct, I simply installed a dryer exhaust vent. The light switch as installed so that I can simply disable the heater whenever desired.

Dual Probe Digital Thermometer

Finally, to monitor the heater, I installed a dual probe thermometer. This was purchased on eBay and installed into a Radio Shack project box. One of the probes was routed to monitor the input air temperature while the other probe will monitor the output temperature.

Solar Heater Working

11-6-2010 – Today the outside temperature was 39 degrees and a bit overcast. The air going into the heater was 48 degrees when this picture was taken. Output temperature is 169 degrees! 121 degrees difference! Success!

The Reverse Wichita
(This post is still in progress)

I loved the “Wichita Cabin Coop” that was posted by Baldessariclan on BackyardChickens.com. It looks great and appears to be a well thought-out chicken coop design. However, I needed to reverse the original design to provide better protection for the chickens from the prevailing winds in my area.

The original author also did an outstanding job of putting this design together and documenting the entire process with pictures. While building my version of this chicken coop, I decided to document some actual construction details, as well as a materials list and cost estimates.

Here are the details for putting together “The Reverse Wichita Cabin Coop” – Chicken Coop.

Base Construction

Materials List

(22) Concrete Solid Blocks (16in. x 8in. x 4in.) – $0.88 ea.  ($19.36)
(24) Stepping Stone, Gray (16in. x 8in. x 1-5/8in.)  -  $0.98 ea.   ($23.52)
(3) Bags 50 lb. All-Purpose Gravel – $3.10 ea.   ($9.30)
(4) Bags Play Sand – $2.78 ea.   ($11.12)
(20) 40 lb. Bags Top Soil – $1.19 ea.
-   -  (optional – for elevation for proper drainage)   ($23.80)

Total:  $87.19

I started out by burying the stepping stones on edge to create a stable outer edge base for the solid blocks. In addition, this should provide some protection from any predators that might attempt to dig underneath the shelter to get to our hens. I intentionally left the stones protruding several inches from the ground in order to elevate the shelter slightly due to draining problems I sometimes experience during the springtime. The pea gravel and sand was used to keep everything level and tightly in place. In addition to the sand and pea gravel, I also added some bricks as filler material on the lower side of the base to insure everything was solid and stable. When placing the solid blocks into place, I applied some construction adhesive where they came into contact with the pavers. This should insure that no predators can push them out of place.

The rough dimension of the chicken coop base is slightly larger than 10 ft. x 5 ft. keeping in mind the size of the blocks that will be placed upon this base, along with the desired wooden frame that will be exactly 10 ft. x 5 ft. Note that I did have to cut a couple of the stepping stones to get the right size.

After completing the base, I added some top soil to elevate the area and make the ground level with the blocks. This should also provide for better drainage. I applied some mulch on top of this to keep things from getting muddy whenever it rains. When I place the chickens into the coop, I will cover the mulch with sand for easier cleaning.

Initial Frame Construction

Materials List

(3) 2” x 6” x 10’ pressure treated pine lumber – $5.97 ea.   ($17.91)
(17) 2” x 4” x 8’ pressure treated lumber – $1.97 ea.   ($33.49)
(2) 2” x 4” x 12’ pressure treated lumber – $4.57 ea.   ($9.14)
(1) 2” x 4” x 10’ pressure treated lumber – $3.97 ea.   ($3.97)
(4) 1 lbs. boxes – 2 ½” Deck Screws – $7.62 ea.  ($30.48)

Total:  $94.99

Notice the rubber chicken? It appeared one weekend while we were out of town one weekend! It gave us such a laugh that I decided to leave it in place and work around it for the rest of the project. Now if we could only convince him to lay some eggs for us…..!

Frame Construction – Continued

Materials List

(29) 2” x 4” x 8’ pressure treated lumber – $1.97 ea.  ($57.13)
Scraps from previously cut 2” x 4” lumber

I wanted to add some additional support for the entire chicken coop so I added cross-member braces between all of the vertical support boards. These were added 38” up from the base frame. Note that I didn’t place these in the area of the nesting box or door frame areas.

I noticed that as the pressure treated lumber began drying in the sun, some of the roof stringers were beginning to warp. To minimize this, I placed cross-member braces between these boards near the center points where most of the warping was noticed.

On the left side of the frame, trim and attach 2” x 4” lumber to form the outline for the floor of the actual coop. Attach four “stringer” boards at evenly spaced intervals to form the rest of the floor support. The outer two stringers will contact the outer floor frame boards. The top of these floor boards should sit at approximately 24” from the ground. I lowered the forward-most side of the floor by about a quarter-inch to allow for good drainage during cleaning of the coop.

Attach a short board, centered between the two left side corner posts to provide additional support beneath the floor structure.

Attach a board centered on the right side of the floor structure to attach it to the roof structure.

Attach two boards on the left side of the floor structure to attach it to the roof structure. These boards are placed 14” to each side of the center of the floor structure. Between these boards, place a board 1-½” up from the floor. From this point, measure up 16” and place another board. These boards will form the top and bottom of the nesting box area.

Frame Construction – Continued

Materials List

Watersealer – 2 Gallons  -  $15.00 ea.  ($30.00)
48” x 25’ Hardware Cloth Screening – ½”  -  $46.00
36” x 25’ Hardware Cloth Screening – ½”  -  $26.49  (Lowes)

Total: $102.90

I’ve heard horror stories from other chicken farmers about losing their flock to dogs, foxes, or coyotes. It’s my understanding that any of these animals can rip right through regular chicken wiring. Since we have all of these animals in our area, I decided to spend the extra money to purchase hardware cloth screening instead. While it’s much more expensive than traditional chicken wire screening, it offers much more protection.

Before applying the hardware cloth screening, I coated all of the surfaces with a clear water sealer. This added a little bit of color to the coop and should keep the pressure treated lumber from turning gray so quickly.

I attached the hardware cloth screening with ½” staples. The staples will only provide minimal support for the screening. Additional support will be added in the next step when all screening edges are sandwiched between the 2” x 4” lumber.

Note: I cut the hardware cloth with a pair of tin snips. Wear gloves and be careful since this stuff gets extremely sharp when cut. Also, I would highly recommend wearing a pair of safety glasses whenever handling this type of screening. Since it comes in a rolled form, it has a tendency to spring towards your face if it slips from yours hands.

After screening was in place, I attached 2” x 4” lumber to cover all edges of the screening. By sandwiching the screening, it will add extra structural support for the frame while also making the screening more secure.

15 2x4s – $1.97 ea.  ($29.55)
1 box 2 ½” screws $7.62

Total: $37.17

The roof goes on

Materials List

3 sheets OSB $5.97ea.  ($17.91)
6 pieces Drip Edge $3.25ea.  ($19.50)
Nails for OSB $3.89
2 box 1” nails for Roofing $2.98ea.  ($5.96)
3 bundles Shingles – $40   (I bought these on Craigslist from someone that had left-overs)

Total: $87.26

Adding the Nesting Box frame

This was made up with a couple 2” x 4”s.

It seemed that it would be easier to construct this in the garage and then attach it later, so that’s exactly what I did.

Starting to enclose the shelter area

(20) 1” x 6” x 10’ pressure treated pine lumber – $4.89
(4) 2” x 4” x 10’ pressure treated pine lumber – $3.49
(3) 2” x 2” x 8’ pressure treated pine lumber – $xx.xx

The floor and walls start going up. If doing this again, I would use regular pine lumber here instead of the pressure treated stuff. It seems that the pressure treated lumber shrinks terribly after drying for a day or two out in the open air. All of the gaps between the boards were nice and tight immediately after installing. However, after a couple days, some of the joints had gaps nearly a half inch in size. To remedy this, I waited a week or so for the wood to dry completely and then I removed all of the boards and remounted them to close up the gaps. Twice the work!

To prepare the boards as siding material, I first cut them to size and then I ran all of the long edges thru my router table using a beveling bit. I know this sounds like more work, but it was much cheaper than buying pre-made lap siding boards, panels, or tongue and groove boards. To mount the boards to the frame, I first installed 2” x 2” boards onto the corners and then used 1-1/2” finishing nails applied with an airgun.

The door for the coop was made with 2” x 4” boards forming a frame. Next, I attached boards in the same fashion as the siding boards. I made my window 11” x 11”.

Next I added a glass window to the shelter door. This will allow us to close up the coop in the winter time to help hold in some of the heat while still allowing light for our birds.

The screen door is framed with 2” x 4” boards, then hardware cloth screening is added and sandwiched to the door frame with additional 2” x 4”s. Other wood could be used for the sandwiching process, but since 2” x 4” were still on sale, I used those.

I added a sliding door inside of the main shelter area to allow the chickens to come and go as they please. This door can be opened or closed from outside of the coop with a rope.

Two roosting bars were added into the interior of the chicken shelter area. For this, I used standard closet rod dowels supported by closet rod hooks. I placed adhesive non-skid strips onto these to help the hens to get a good grip onto the rods.

A ramp was built for the chickens to climb to enter into the raised shelter area. The ramp is 10-inches wide and the steps are spaced three inches apart. The ramp is attached to the chicken entry door with hook and eye hardware.

I added a couple closet rod hooks in the chicken run area. These will be used to hang a feed bucket and water bucket from.

The nesting box was enclosed on the outside with the same “siding” fashion as the rest of the shelter area. A hinged lid was added so that eggs can be collected without needing to enter into the coop. A waterproof top for the hinged lid was created by applying vinyl siding over plywood.

The nesting box was framed, again in the same fashion as the siding. I attached a removable board where the nesting box meets the coop interior. This board will help to hold the bedding material in place within the nesting boxes and can easily be removed when cleaning them out.

Back inside the chicken shelter, I divided the nesting box area into three nest areas. Each of these are 12-inches wide by 15-inches deep.

In front of the nesting boxes, I installed a board that will hold the nesting material in place for the chickens, but can easily be removed for cleaning out the nests. Compare the two pictures above to see this board in place and then removed.

I made the nesting box divider boards so that they can also be removed for easy cleaning. Notice here the divider boards separating the middle and right-hand nests have been removed.

I added a large glass window above the nesting box. This was built in the same fashion as the front door window. This can be latched closed during cold weather, propped open in the spring and fall, or completely removed during the summer.

The finished chicken coop!
The Reverse Wichita

——–

An Update Video – March 2012

(This post is still in progress)