Inner City Farmer

Why do I feel the need to flee the city and lose myself in the outdoors at least once every month? Beyond helping me relax in a way that I simply can’t when surrounded by cars and buildings, nature has a way of infusing me with helpful ideas. When I returned from Enchanted Rock last weekend, I tackled the problem of what to do about all the water that pools in front of the exterior of the Man Cave every time it rains.

Water, of course, is the bane of all home construction. Ensuring that it runs away from and not into your house is vital to your home’s health and longevity, especially if one of your exterior walls is made out of cob. To solve my problem I looked to my visit to Enchanted Rock for answers. As you can see from the black lines in the picture, water will always choose the fastest way down; like everything else, it’s a slave to gravity. With that in mind I started digging a hole in the ground outside the Man Cave that will, hopefully, draw water away from the walls down into a hole that I will be filling with mulch. I believe they call this a swale in permaculture. Basically, I am hoping that the water that used to pool on the driveway will instead flow into this hole. I hope to use this catchment area to water a large bush. If it all works as planned, I will rarely have to water this plant and I will no longer have to worry about water sneaking inside the Man Cave. Win win.

I had a tough choice to make this weekend: attend Dick Pierce’s Organic Gardening class or Tempe Sikora’s Earthen Plaster workshop. As much as my garden needs tending—actually, “resuscitation” is probably a better word—the timing of Tempe’s class was just too perfect. Having already gutted the inside of the future Man Cave, I’ve been eager to start working on its interior. The fact that I have yet to fully plaster all the cob projects I’ve done also speaks to the urgency of my learning this craft.

So what did I learn in Tempe’s class? Well, this whole time I’ve been struggling with lime plaster when earthen plaster would probably have been a better choice. The biggest difference between the two is that with earthen plaster you get to use your hands just like with cob. Having to use a trowel to apply lime plaster really slows me down. Don’t get me wrong. I still want to work with lime plaster. It’s better at resisting the eroding forces of water, making it the more lasting option. I just think right now earthen plaster is probably a better option for me.

Here’s what the wall in the picture above looked like after we applied a base coat of earthen plaster to it:

So much better, right? And that only took a couple hours. After the next coat or two, it will look even better.

One of the more exciting things I learned was how to make a natural paint that can be applied directly to drywall. Here’s what that looks like:

Notice the texture it gives the wall (Okay, you can’t really see it, but, trust me, it does.). Because it’s got more body you can use it to create all sorts of interesting elements to the interior walls of your house. Here are some examples of what’s possible:

All in all, it was great day. I learned a ton and met some great people. I can’t wait to start using all that I learned!

I just heard about and signed up for an Earthen Plaster workshop hosted by the good folks at Design Build Live. It’s such great timing for me because I am eager to start plastering the inside of the new room I made using cob, but my plastering skills are a little rough. I’m looking forward to learning more about the art from Tempe Sikora, who specializes in natural plaster as well as custom European faux finishing. There is still room in the workshop, which is being held Saturday August 23 from 9-5 in a house in East Austin. For more information, contact Gayle Borst at gayle@designbuildlive.org.

Who knows from one day to the next what project I’ll be working on? It all depends upon factors out of my control. Now that it’s so freaking hot I find myself doing far more inside activities. With the kitchen window complete, I’m now preparing to work on the interior of the new Garage Room, aka the Man Cave.

I had envisioned using cob to make my interior walls, but was set straight during a conversation with Tony Beurskens, an itinerant cobbing guru and natural building artist I met at the Natural Building Colloquium. He suggested I attach lathe to the exposed studs and use cellulose or denim as insulation behind it. On top of the lathe I could smear an earthen plaster just like stucco. This immediately made so much sense to me. It will provide the same look and feel as cob with less work and waste of interior space. I can still build in niches and it will be healthy and affordable.

Meanwhile I dream of building soil and planting shrubs and trees. As much as I want vegetation that I can eat, I also wish to be surrounded by plants that lift my spirit. I am particularly looking for bushes that flower during this time of year when the oppressive heat is trying to drain your will to live. Texas Sage is a native shrub that really comes to life during the summer. This one, at the intersection of Nelray and Chesterfield, is going off right now. It makes me want to plant a row of them on my front lawn….

It’s hard to see ourselves for who we truly are. It must be some biological thing. When we sing in the shower, we think we sound great. When we have b.o., we never seem to think we smell as bad as we really do. I am no different. I think my house looks like the coolest place ever. I mean, I’ve got an arch for an entrance and I just increased the square footage of my house by like 30 percent, using mostly natural materials and doing all the work myself.

But then there are those days where I see the mess I’ve made and have yet to clean up–just look at all that sand! I see the junk I’ve stacked up along the side of my house, waiting for a use that will keep it out of the landfill. I smell the stink emanating from the sand pile in front of my house because my cats think it’s a giant litter box. These thoughts, this doubt, were racing through my mind as I went to introduce myself to Chris and Megan, who just moved in two doors down from me. “They must think I’m a real freak,” I was thinking as I said hello.

But instead of scorn or judgment this is what came out of Megan’s mouth instead: “Do you think you could teach me to do that sometime?” She was pointing at the front porch I made out of cob. You’ve got to love it when that happens.

“Sure,” I said. “I can teach you as soon as I start building a cob tool shed in my backyard.”

Now that I have have some help I am more excited than ever to start that project, but first I need to finish plastering the exterior of the wall of the room that was a garage and is now called The Man Cave. I put a second coat on today, this one sandier, smoother, less prone to cracking. It’s looks pretty damn good, but that opinion is based on my own vision and could be slightly prejudiced.