GardenFork – Eclectic DIY

Category: DIY TV

DIY Pizza Oven Tips and Tricks – GF Video

Using our easy brick pizza oven plan, learn these tips for building your wood fired pizza oven and how to cook pizza in it. After using our DIY pizza oven several times, I wanted to share with you all some things I have learned about firing the brick oven and cooking pizza in it. If you haven’t watched our how to build a portable brick pizza oven, check it out here.

Planning helps a lot to have a successful brick oven pizza night. I suggest you start assembling the oven 4 hours ahead of time, and starting the fire 3 hours ahead.

Build the pizza oven on a strong base. Don’t use flimsy sawhorses, they will break! Again, learn from my mistakes here…

Start your pizza dough at least 24 hours ahead of time, if possible. You can check out our pizza dough recipe videos here. If this is a spontaneous pizza night, go ahead and use the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day dough recipe. It all tastes good!

Don’t burn green wood. Learn from my mistakes! I grabbed a bunch of kindling that I did not realize was green, and had to rebuild the fire after it didn’t start well. Oak works best, I think.

Rake most of the coals to the back of the oven, and then throw another large log onto the coals, you need to keep the fire going for multiple pizzas.

Our homemade pizza peel works great with the brick pizza oven, watch the pizza peel video here. Use cornmeal on the pizza peel, it helps the pizza slide off the peel onto the oven floor.

Rotate the pizza halfway through the baking process, it helps to even out the cooking.

Don’t pile on the ingredients, less is better in this case. Vegetables should be sliced thin. Vegetables such as broccoli are best blanched first, so they cook along with the pizza. You can also add things after the pizza comes out of the oven.

Here is the how to build the brick pizza oven video:

Click here to see some of the pizza ovens people have built after watching our how-to vids, have you built one? Please send us pictures: [email protected]

November 20, 2013
Easy Hard Cider Recipe – GF Video

Hard Cider made easy with this hard cider recipe in our DIY video. All you need are a few items from a homebrew supply store, we like to use Midwest Homebrew, click here to visit their site. Watch our how to make hard cider video and then let us know your questions and suggestions below.

The key to making hard cider

When making all fermented beverages everything must be clean and sanitized. You can use a mild bleach solution or one of the commercial sanitizer products. I prefer B-Brite, but you can use any of them. Bleach can cause problems with your clothes if you splash the sanitizing solution on them. Keep a quart of sanitizer solution nearby as you make hard cider. Rinse your bottle or carboy in the solution and rinse, along with anything else that will come into contact with the cider.

Hard Cider in 5 gallon and 1/2 gallon batches

If you are going to use fresh cider from a mill or some that you made yourself – watch us make our own cider in this video here – you will need to kill off the wild yeasts and organisms in the cider before adding your cultivated yeast you bought from the homebrew store. We use campden tablets. Crush one tablet per gallon, toss in, mix well and let sit for 24 hours before pitching the cider yeast.

Read the instructions on the yeast package. Liquid yeasts with a burst pack need to be activated a few hours ahead of time. It can be tricky to burst the little pack that is inside the yeast package. The yeast package does not have to be bulging to pitch the yeast. Be sure to sanitize the scissors you open the pack with and the yeast package itself when pitching the yeast.

When fermenting small quanities of hard cider, use a jug that is twice the volume of the cider you are brewing for the initial fermentation that lasts a few days. This keeps the large foaming of the yeast from clogging the airlock. After the first few days of activity, siphon or rack the cider into an container sized for the amount of cider you are brewing. So for a half gallon of cider, you would start it in a one gallon jug, and then transfer it to a 1/2 gallon jug. Do your best to keep the sediment from the initial fermentation from moving to the second jug. The sediment can impart off-flavors, and its easier to pour from bottle with less stuff in the bottom of the bottles.

We will post a how to bottle cider and beer video soon. In the meantime, let us know your thoughts below:

November 13, 2013
Plywood Boat – Fail or Float? – GF Video
The Improved One Sheet Plywood Boat with fiberglass seams. How to build a plywood boat despite just about everything going wrong… The perfect DIY project!

What started out as our EPIC Plywood Boat video featuring the Ford F150 Limited that Ford loaned us for the weekend instead became a story of perseverance despite record low temperatures, huge thunderstorms, and really cheap duct tape.

Plywood Boat with fiberglass: A Lesson

The idea here was to improve upon our original plywood boat, which has been a very popular video on our site and YouTube. The original boat used strips of wood and caulk for the seams, which added weight and wasn’t always exactly waterproof. I also wanted to use a new thinner plywood I found at the store that is sustainably harvested. Thinner plywood and lighter seams would mean a lighter boat.

I have a good friend who uses fiberglass a lot, and he gave me some fiberglass tape, which was perfect for the boat seams. I had read online about how to dryfit a plywood boat using duct tape to hold it all together while you added fiberglass to the seams.

This all sounded great in theory, in practice is was another story. Things I’ve learned about working with fiberglass:
- It smells real bad, use a high quality vapor mask, don’t cheap out on this.
- It does not work well in cold temperatures
- It sticks to itself and your gloves.
- Its not easy to use from the get go.
- You need someone to help when applying fiberglass
- Don’t buy cheap duct tape.
Despite applying the fiberglass in the garage with the doors open, the smell was quite strong, get a good mask. And if the temperature plunges, consider choosing another day to start this project. Also pick up some good quality nitrile gloves, you will use quite a few of them.

We all make mistakes

What this video is more about is to plan and persevere. What can go wrong will, and it was a weekend of everything going south quickly. In the end we triumphed. How do you push through to get stuff done? Let us know below.

A big thank you to Mike Levine and Scotty Monty of Ford Motor for the truck!

Original boat design based on Deek Diedricksen’s boat.
October 28, 2013
DIY Cider Press Video – GF Video

Homemade cider press built by my neighbors Gene and Priscilla. A hydraulic cider press that uses found materials from a log splitter and a tree chipper, Gene built this from parts he had. Use this video and the photos here as a basis for your own cider press plans. This is really cool to use, and it would be a blast to build as well.

Build your own cider press

You can do this! It will take some time, but its do-able. Its helpful to have some metal skills or ask a neighbor who does to help. You’ll want a bunch of people around anyway to help with the cider press, its a lot of work to process all the apples, apple mash, and bottle the cider.

This cider press uses a chipper, much like those that are in electric wood chippers, to mash up the apples. I love the use of a traffic cone to direct the apple mash in the right place. The racks that hold the mash are custom built, be sure the racks have slots to allow the cider to drip out. The cloth is muslin.

The apples are first washed in a mild bleach solution and then rinsed in two buckets of water. A 5 gallon bucket with holes drilled in it works well for this. Any bruises or blemishes are cut out of the apples.

After the apples are pressed, the cider is filtered and pumped through a UV sterilizer. UV light kills bad bugs in the cider, its a simple way, i think to have good cider and not have to pasteurize it to sell. Your local rules might not allow this, so check first.

You can freeze cider to be able to enjoy it all year. Leave enough space in the containers for some expansion as the cider freezes.

We’ve made hard cider from Priscilla’s press, you can check out our how to make hard cider videos here

October 16, 2013
Rainwater Collection With Recycled Materials – GF Video

Build a Rainwater Collection system using recycled materials from your yard and the town dump! This rainwater harvesting setup uses recycled rain gutters and recycled water tanks to collect rainwater for your garden. Super simple to put together, this rig is on our friend Priscilla’s small farm. To do this, they used some found materials, rain gutters, and they had some old water tanks nearby. So they put together this easy rainwater collection system to catch the rainwater off their barn roof.

This rainwater collection system is powered by gravity. The barn and the tanks sit higher than most of the farm, and at the base of the tank is a regular garden hose valve where they connect a hose to water their garden. This is not a system for collecting potable drinking water, OK? This system works great for watering plants.

Rainwater Collection: Use What You Got

In the true spirit of Use What You Got™, Priscilla and her husband put this together by themselves. With a few ladders they attached the rain gutter to the edge of the barn roof, and then wired the second piece of recycled rain gutter to channel the rainwater to the water tank. Simple, and it works great, as you can see in the video.

A few things to keep in mind when building a rain water collection system, don’t use any tanks that may have held hazardous materials. If you don’t know what was in a tank or barrel originally, don’t repurpose it for watering your garden. I have seen gravity fed soaker hose systems for sale on the web, stay tuned for more videos on rainwater harvesting. In our garden we have a soaker hose drip irrigation system setup, and it is powered by a pump. Fedco Seeds Organic Growers Supply has drip irrigation parts for sale. Check out the links below for our soaker hose drip irrigation videos:

Click Here To Watch GF Drip Irrigation Videos

October 9, 2013
Tell Us Your Show Ideas! GF Video

What do you want to see on GardenFork.TV? Let us know in the comments below!

September 10, 2013
Cut Down A Tree With A Chain Saw : GF Video

How do you cut down a tree with a chain saw? Watch this GardenFork video. Watch us cut down a tree with a chainsaw safely. Be very careful when using a chainsaw or tree felling, if you don’t know what you are doing, hire a professional.

Tree felling like this is pretty straightforward, there were no houses nearby, and the tree was already leaning the way we wanted it to drop. The wedge cut was fairly shallow, and the back cut was a bit off, it should have been a more straight cut just above the wedge cut.

Going forward, we will be using more plastic wedges, which are driven into the back cut as the cut goes deeper into the tree. The wedges keep the tree from binding the saw, and help to push it in the direction you want it to drop. Do not use metal wedges. The metal wedges can damage the chain of your chain saw if they come into contact with each other.

And again, safety is paramount here, watch all our how to chainsaw safely videos here. Chain saw chaps are a must, I recently saved my leg from a nasty cut from the chainsaw because I had chainsaw chaps on. The chaps have a material in them that will bind the saw if the saw tears open the chaps, which are protecting your legs.

I use an all in one helmet that has a face shield and ear protection, plus i wear steel toed boots, long sleeves, and gloves. Be Careful OK?

Click here to watch all our chainsaw vids and related posts here

Let me know any questions or comments below:

July 19, 2013
Broken Lawnmower Wheel Repair : GF Video

Fix a broken lawnmower wheel: watch our lawn mower repair how to video and get back to mowing you grass. The tire on our mower broke, here’s how to fix it.

When the lawnmower broke, the camera operator, who happens to love mowing the lawn, thought we needed to buy a new mower! No, for about $10, we fixed our grass cutting machine, and the camera operator is now out cutting the grass before dinner. Not a bad deal for me…

The lawnmower wheel repair was not difficult. All you need is a metric or standard wrench, depending on the make of the machine. An adjustable wrench will work as well, but the correct size wrench is better. Pay attention to how the tire is attached to the mower, remove the nut holding it to the threaded axle, along with any washers that may be with it. Take a picture with your cell phone as you disassemble the nut and tire unit, it will help with putting the whole thing back together.

Take the tire to your local hardware store to match it to a replacement. Our wheel was an 8″ diameter, which seems pretty standard for push mowers.

Bring back the new one and slide it on. There may be a metal or plastic bushing inside the wheel so the tire can fit on different diameter axles. Secret tip: use some anti-seize paste on the axle threads before attaching the wheel. If you ever have to remove the wheel again, this will make the job much easier.

Get a neat set of wrenches here. (Affiliate link)

And there you go. Job done, now how to convince your significant other that mowing the lawn is exercise?

We have a how-to video on how to tune up a lawmower here, and And a how-to video on how to sharpen the blades of a lawn mower .

July 4, 2013
Filling an Unwanted Swimming Pool

Here is Rick’s pool being filled in:

April 26, 2013
Repair Of Our Hoop House Cold Frame : GF Video

Setting up our simple cheap hoop house greenhouse for seed starting. This PVC hoop house cold frame works well for us and it was easy to build, here is the video of us building our the hoop house. The hoop house greenhouse allows you to get a head start on planting vegetables and seed starting. We started this in February to start warming the soil. This can be made for free if you find some scrap leftover lumber and PVC pipe. This plan uses short lengths of PVC pipe, which you may find laying around your yard, or your neighbor’s yard.

My hoop house plans for this mini greenhouse are simple. Some 2x4s, some PVC pipe, and a piece of plywood. The thermal actuated vent keeps the hoop house from overheating. Link to buy the thermal greenhouse vents

I use 3 mil clear plastic from the hardware store, it lasts a few years with care. I hang our mini greenhouse on the back of a shed when i am not using it. To attach the plastic to it, I fold the plastic over on itself and use lots of staples. You could also use a piece of lath or thin wood to hold the plastic to the wood. For the ends, I staple the plastic to the plywood end with the thermal vent and then cut off the excess plastic. For the other end of the cold frame hoop house, I simply bunch up the plastic and staple it to the 2×4.

After a few days on your vegetable bed, this portable greenhouse will start warming the soil. Its amazing how warm it is inside the hoop house compared to the outside temperature. We have a video showing how a hoop house greenhouse can defrost your garden soil coming soon.

In the video, the plywood I used for the end of the greenhouse, OSB, is not the best kind of plywood for outdoor uses. Use a better piece of plywood and paint it with a few coats of latex paint, it will last much longer if its painted.

Click here to watch our How To Build a Hoop House Cold Frame Video

Click here to watch How to build a cold frame video.

Learn how to grow food year round, read Eliot Coleman’s Four Season Harvest book and Nikki Jabour’s Year Round Vegetable Gardener.

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Do you use a hoop house greenhouse? let us know comments or questions below:

April 2, 2013
Install a Washing Machine : GF Video

Learn how to install a washing machine in this GardenFork how to video. Eric shows how to remove your old washer machine, and how to put in the new clothes washer. The washing machine used in this video is a front loading clothes washer, but the install process is the same for a top loading clothes washer.

The plumbing on a washing machine is pretty simple, you have the water supply lines and a drain line. The water supply lines are just like garden hose connections. I suggest you buy new water supply hoses with your new washing machine. Some new washers include the hoses in the box, check before buying new ones. Check the washer drain line to see if it needs to be replaced. If it is cracked or stiff, its time for a new one. Again, a new drain hose may be included in the washer box.

Two important things when installing a new washing machine:

• be sure to plug the washer into a GFCI outlet. That’s the kind that is used in bathrooms and laundry rooms.

• make sure the washing machine is level. If its not level, it will vibrate across the room.

After hooking up the new water lines and drain line, plug in the washing machine and set it to do a rinse and spin cycle, not a complete wash. This will test if the machine is level, as the spin cycle is when the clothes drum is spinning the fastest. If the washing machine starts to vibrate, turn it off and check the levelness of the washer. Adjust the feet of the washer and then lock off the feet, each foot has a lock nut.

After using the washer, keep the door or lid open to allow the clothes drum to dry out. If you don’t do this, mold can start to grow in the washer. Many new front loading machines have a lint filter, its important to clean this out.

I’ve also found out the hard way to remove all the coins from your pocket, the coins can get caught in the water pump.

Here is a how to video we did on replacing the water pump on a washing machine.

Have you put in a washing machine? let us know your thoughts and suggestions below:

March 5, 2013
Electric Clock Repair GF Video

Electric clock repair video I made with my sister. She bought an Empire style electric clock that needed to be rewired, so we made a how-to video on rewiring an electric clock. Make sure the clock is unplugged while you work on it!

When repairing an electric clock, pay attention to whether the old plug is polarized. Polarized plugs have one power lug larger than the other. If so, be sure that the wire from the polarized lug on the new plug attaches to the same place in the clock that the old polarized plug wire did. Its important to pay attention to this detail, it can reduce the risk of shock.

Push Connectors for Electric Clock Repair

We use push connectors to fix this electric clock. I like push connectors because they make stripping the wire insulation unnecessary. All you do is push the ends of the old wire and the new wire into the push connector and press the metal blade down through the wires to make the connection, then close the plastic tab to seal the deal.

This same technique could be used for other electric appliances that need rewiring or new wires. However, make sure these old appliances are OK to use, and are not a fire hazard.

Here is a good book I like if you want to learn basic home wiring:
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Have a question or suggestion or story? Let us know below:

December 26, 2012
How To Install A Dishwasher – GF Video

Learn how to install a dishwasher with this video I made for you. Installing a dishwasher is not hard, nor is it rocket science. If you have to remove an old dishwashwer, see my video on dishwasher removal. The hardest part might be buying a new dishwasher and then reading the installation instructions.

How to install a dishwasher, the GardenFork way

To remove the old dishwasher, you’ll need a screwdriver, a pliers, and an adjustable wrench. Be sure to turn off the water supply and make sure the power to the dishwasher is turned off or disconnected. Most new dishwashers plug into a wall outlet under the sink, older models may be hard wired.

Hard wired means there is that metal cable attached to the dishwasher or it may be what is called Romex, the vinyl covered electrical wiring. Either way, turn off the circuit breaker that the dishwasher power wire is connected to, then disconnect the power wire. Put wire nuts on the bare wires. If the machine is plugged into a wall outlet, usually under the sink, just unplug it. Simple!

One thing to keep in mind: Have a bowl handy, as when removing the hoses, they may need to be drained. You don’t want dishwasher water draining all over the floor.

If the floor has been tiled after the cabinets and original washer was installed, you may have problems getting the old washer out. The new tile floor is higher than the original floor, so the dishwasher can’t slide out.

Make sure the insulation wrapped around the new machine is intact and goes in neatly, this is key to reducing the noise of the washer.

A common misconception I see is people using teflon tape or pipe sealant on the compression fitting from the water supply line. You should not use tape on that joint. You will need to use teflon tape on the right angle fitting that comes out of the dishwasher. See the photo below for how to hook up the water supply line. Make sure the right angle fitting points toward the back of the dishwasher. Remember that the dishwasher is hooked up to the hot water supply.

It helps to have a friend help when figuring out how to install a dishwasher, and remember, if all else fails, read directions.

December 18, 2012
Garden Hose Repair Video GF TV

Broken Garden Hose? Learn how to fix your leaking garden hose in this Fix a broken hose video. We’ve run over the garden hose with a lawnmower a few times, and instead of throwing out the hose, we fix the leak in the hose, or the cut off end of the hose with a few repair parts from the hardware store. A few things to keep in mind with garden hose repair, don’t buy cheap repair parts or hose washers, you get what you pay for in most of the world , and this applies in the garden hose fix it department too.

Rubber or flexible washers go between your hose and the spray attachments, and keep the water from leaking out the hose. You might try buying a few different kinds of hose washers, as i’ve found some garden hose attachments don’t work with the thicker hose washers. And buy a bunch of them, you’ll save yourself time later when you need them. Hang them near the hose storage hooks or on the wall of your workshop so you can find them quickly. Put them in a drawer and they are lost.

I’ve found a number of hoses in the neighbor’s trash that were easily fixed with a garden hose repair kit, and I saved a bunch of money and kept a fine watering hose out of the landfill.

What do you do to repair your hoses? let us know below:

October 22, 2012
DIY Grow Light PDQ
We don’t have a lot of space at Casa Cairn, so we have to make a lot of stuff do double duty. And why not? Most of our stuff is really used very infrequently. I’ll bet it’s pretty much the same at your house.

Today we’ll take a two bulb florescent light from the garage and press it into it’s twice a year role as a grow light. Note that you don’t have to buy special –and expensive– grow bulbs, but your light should have two florescent bulbs, one in the Daylight or Cool spectrum (toward blue around 6,000 K) and one in the Warm end of the spectrum (toward red, around 2,500 K). Many door growers are using red and blue LED lamps, but those are expensive (although cheaper to run than fluorescents) for a home project.

Here’s your materials list:
- 16 ft of 2″ x 2″ lumber. The longest piece needs to be about 4’6″ long (about 3 inches longer than your fluorescent fixture). The uprights need to be equal length, around 3 foot long or so. The feet should be at least 1 foot long. As I note in the video, the controlling issue for the uprights is usually your ceiling fan.
- 4 – plywood triangles, about 8″ on each side. Cut up some scrap.
- 2 – screw in hooks to hold the light
- A fist full of wood screws, about 1″ long.
- 2 – cleats or some way to secure the light and keep it from crashing down on your seedlings
- 1 – 24-hr timer. You light should be on for 18 hours off for 6 hours. If plants don’t get rest, they can’t generate the hormones and enzymes they need to grow.
- a length of line so that you can raise and lower the light. Note: the closer you put your light to the plants, the less “leggy” they will grow.
This video was edited, including voiceover, on my iPad. Not quite as smooth a job editing as I’d like, but power was out for much of the project.
August 21, 2012
Well Water Pump Repair! GF TV video

The electric pump that pumps water to our drip irrigation system broke down, so its time for some electric motor repair. This pump supplies water to our drip irrigation system for our vegetable garden. We use soaker hose watering system for the garden, you can watch our how to make a DIY drip irrigation system video here

But the pump broke. I think it got flooded with the heavy rains we had. GF Radio co-host Mike suggested replacing the capacitor, so we ordered one and we’ll see what happens in the video here.

What we’ve learned about drip irrigation:

Most vegetables and flowers do not have to be watered everyday. I found myself over-watering the plants when I first turned on the plant watering system. I know have the water timer set to turn on the water every 3 days and it runs for an hour. The plan is to water the soil well and then let it dry out between waterings. You don’t want wet soil all the time. If you notice moss growing in your vegetable beds, you are over watering your plants.

Several beds have plastic mulch over the soil, we put the soaker hoses under the plastic and it all works fine. Check out the links below for more drip irrigation videos and posts

Soaker Hose Drip Irrigation How-to Video

Rooftop Container Garden Watering System Video

Flower Garden Watering system

July 11, 2012
Chainsaw Wont Start – Chain Saw Repair : GF Video

Chainsaw wont start? Wondering how to fix a chainsaw and the chainsaw to start? Watch our how to fix a chainsaw video and you will be on your way. Chainsaw repair is not hard, and if you’re ready to go out in the yard and cut down some trees, your chainsaw has probably been sitting in the shop all winter. Follow these simple chainsaw tune up steps, and you will have your chainsaw running in a few minutes.

We have to talk about chainsaw safety here as well. Chainsaws are the most dangerous tool a homeowner can own without a license. I have a few friends with scars from using chainsaws improperly. Chainsaw chaps, a helmet, face shield, eye protection, steel toed boots are all mush-haves for safety.

Sharp chainsaw chains is key in cutting up trees and cutting firewood, you can sharpen your own chainsaw chains, but I suggest you have them done at your local small engine repair shop, they have the right equipment to set the correct cutting angle, a hand file can’t do that.

There’s more tree felling in my future, we have a few white pines on our property that need to come down, lest they come down on our house or garage, one of them is already splitting down the trunk, so we need to deal with that one soon.

Watch all our how to cut down a tree chainsaw videos here

June 12, 2012
Build a simple ledge nest birdhouse GF.TV video

Here’s simple bird house you can build that is perfect for a parent – child project using simple tools. This kind of birdhouse is used for ledge nesters, these birds are looking for a protected flat surface where they can build nest.

You can watch our other how to build a birdhouse video here

You can use scrap lumber for this project; its a great way to declutter your workshop and do a good deed at the same time.

We need to build birdhouses to provide birds with nesting sites as their habitat is changed by humans. The bird house plan in this how-to video is a ledge nest style birdhouse for birds who would normally nest on an outcropping or a tree limb. The other style of birdhouse commonly built is a cavity nest, its you typical birdhouse, a box with a hole drilled into it.

Not all birds will use a cavity nest, so we build ledge nests too. I put the ledge nest birdhouses under the eaves of our outbuildings, so the bird nest has protection from rain.

Ledge nest is best located under the eave of a roof

These houses need to be put up high, 10 feet high if possible, the birds do not like to be disturbed. We have several near a dusk to dawn outdoor light, and the birds are attracted to the moths that fly around the light, free food right there.

Do you build birdhouses or go birdwatching? let us know below:

April 23, 2012