Heat.....

It is hot! Yes... I know I live the deep south. That tends to happen. In all honesty, it isn't as hot as it could be. It just feels that way. The humidity is ridiculous. I feel like I could swim across the yard when I step out the door. It feels like it is 105F every day, even when the temperature only gets in the low to mid 90's. I'm sure being over 39 weeks pregnant doesn't help me feel any cooler. Yes, I'm still waddling about. Baby Liam is in no hurry to get here, despite my doing everything I can think of to get things started. Brad says that it is further proof that I have good genes and that it is evolution in the works. It doesn't make me feel much better at the moment. In the meantime...

I got out my seed stash today. It is about time to start planting fall crops. While they were out I sorted things to figure out what seeds I need more of, and what I wanted to change up. I am definitely changing cucumber types. The ones I have used for the last 2 years have succumbed to some kind of wilt or mold too quickly to make it practical to keep planting them. I went ahead and picked out which seeds I am hoping to get, but haven't sent the order yet. I may go ahead and start some seeds inside later this evening. At the moment I am doing this in between working on finishing dinner. Mmmm Meatloaf, mac & cheese from scratch, and baked corn. I'm hungry!

Maybe I will manage to get some seeds planted in the garden in the next couple of days. The cucumbers are completely gone. The tomatoes will soon follow. They are looking worse every day, but are still ripening what tomatoes are left on the vines. Mostly egg yolks. The peppers have gone crazy! I am getting more jalapenos than I could possibly find something to do with. I have been doubling up on bell peppers in everything that I cook to try to use them up rather than freezing or canning them like I really need to be doing. Yes... I'm being lazy. Speaking of lazy, I have been letting the beans go. I really need to pick them but I may just let them go to seed. I have canned 2 batches of them. I think I got 9 pints in the last batch. Not a lot but something for the winter.

The pigs are doing well. They STILL haven't figured out how to work the waterer. Bless their little piggy hearts. Maybe at some point they will work out how to push the button.

I have just been keeping their wallow full and pushing the button myself to let the cup fill every time I am out there.

I let them out of the hog ring last night. They managed to make it until this afternoon before they escaped from the garden. The dogs were going crazy so I went out to check on things to find both piglets standing in the front yard. I called them and walked toward the garden and they followed me. After I unplugged the fence I grabbed a scoop of feed and the male pig immediately ran through the fence and started happily eating. The female was less willing to get near the fence. Luckily I already introduced them to the incredible edible egg.

They will do anything for eggs. She paced back and forth, squealing loudly, for a few minutes but once I raised the fence wire so she didn't have to step over it she ran through after some eggs I tossed on the other side of the fence. The fence is now functional again and they are on the right side of it. I sure hope they stay in now. It will be really bad if they get out while I am in the hospital and there is nobody here to realize it. If they don't learn to respect the fence they will have to go back in the ring. Brad is supposed to bushhog tomorrow so I can start putting their big fence up. They have just about cleared that section of garden and it won't be easy to keep them in when there are so many more tasty things to root around for on the other side of the fence. Maybe after my doctors appt tomorrow afternoon. We shall see. If only it isn't too hot...

Piglets!

The piglets arrived last night! They are so cute! I just love babies. We put them in the section of garden that Brad and I fenced off. They discovered the electric fence almost immediately. I felt so bad for them as they zapped themselves and then ran to the other side of the garden, where there was another fence to zap them again. They soon started rooting around in the center of their area. All was good until I tried to toss them an egg. First, let me explain that I learned last year that all you need to do to control a pig is feed them eggs. They will do anything you want them to after that point as long as they know that you

have eggs. Well... rather than get excited about having an egg they got spooked and took off. Right through the fence and off into the field. Brad chased after them and I ran and got Keegan, and a bunch more eggs. Brad likes the slow approach. He had us basically just stand in an area and if they walked toward the garden we took a few steps that direction so they wouldn't come back our way. They had a good time rooting around and eating and paying us no attention at all. Eventually I got frustrated and chased them down. Once they got near the garden I tossed eggs at them. Finally one of the piglets tasted an egg that landed near
them. Done and done. After that I just tossed an egg a few feet closer to the garden, gave them a minute to eat it, and then tossed another until they walked right back into their area. While I was doing this Brad and Keegan got the hog panels and constructed a ring around myself and the two piglets. I was over chasing pigs at that point, and was not willing to take the chance that they take off into the woods. If that happened we would never see them again. My property ends where the national forest begins, and there are many acres, and many many predators that would make sure of that. We tied insulators at intervals around the bottom of the hog ring and ran electric wire inside the ring. Not only will it keep them from rooting under and getting loose, but hopefully it will train them to the electric fence so we can let them out soon. It took them a while last night to get the idea that they shouldn't touch it, but they finally settled down. Once they get it in their minds that they need to stay away from the fence they will have a much larger section of the garden to root around in. After they get used to that they will have nearly an acre of pasture of wooded area to enjoy. We had no problems at all with the pigs last year. These don't seem quite as bright so far. They have yet to even figure out their waterer. I finally made them a wallow hole under it so they could have access of water to cool off in until they master sticking their little piggy noses against the button to fill the waterer up. Good thing they are so cute! Hopefully that will be the end of the excitement that they bring. If nothing else, chasing them down and getting them situated last night seems to have made my body realize that it needed to prepare for having a baby. No real contractions yet, but there is definitely something happening. I think that my having to crawl and scoot on my belly into the bottom level of the chicken coop to get a stubborn hen dislodged from under the ramp and into the coop this evening helped too. Maybe really soon. Brad and I got the car cleaned out and the car seat base installed this evening, just in case. I feel better knowing that is done, anyway. Now to get the 5 gallon bucket of beans, peppers, tomatoes, and butternut squash I picked this evening dealt with.

Goings On ... and Sunflowers!

 Today while I was in the garden tending to things and picking veggies Brad came out and took beautiful pictures of my sunflowers which have started blooming over the last couple of days. These are Titan sunflowers. The others didn't make it. Partially thanks to the armadillo that kept digging in that area, and partially simply because of poor soil I think. Even these didn't get as big as they should have before blooming. They sure are pretty though. Sunflowers are my FAVORITE! The bees seem to be enjoying them too!

 I had to straighten some of the sunflowers, along with some corn. Some of the peppers had to be tied up and the tomato row fence reinforced. It has been raining for the last couple of days, and will continue for the next week or so. The wind during storms, coupled with the water logged soil, has been causing plants to topple. The tomato row is simply getting too heavy. Next year I need to put more t-posts in spaced closer together to support the heavy plants and fruit. Also, next year I only need to plant a couple of egg yolk plants. They produce a ton of small tomatoes, but we don't use them as much and they take garden space away from the larger tomato producing plants. Next year will contain primarily Cherokee purple and Amish paste tomatoes. Maybe a couple new varieties.. just because I can't help myself when it comes to buying seeds. only a few will be aded to sample if that is the case though. I probably need to add another entire row of tomatoes so I will be more likely to have enough to can next year. I love the taste of Brandywine tomatoes but those plants seem to be the most susceptible to issues and either die or not produce fruit. Very few Brandywines survived long enough to make it to the garden, most of the ones that did died shortly after planting, all but a couple immediately started showing signs of blight, and those ones were the plants that I found nearly all of the caterpillars on causing destruction this year. Now, the caterpillars could be a coincidence, but I also wonder if they are perhaps more tasty or less caustic than the other plants? Regardless, I have harvested a single pink tomato this year, and while huge and delicious, it is not worth the massive amount of space taken up. This has happened every year I have planted them and I have to just decide that they don't do well in this area and move on. The Cherokee purples are delicious too, and much more productive and sturdy plants that I have had good luck with. I have already saved seed from a massive amish paste, and quite a few perfect egg yolk tomatoes for next year. I still need more amish paste when I get some more perfect specimens to collect seed from, and a lot from the cherokee purples. I keep getting overly excited and eating them all before I collect seed from them...

The tomatoes and cucumbers are starting to produce well. I'm still not getting enough of either to can though. I'm ready to make pickles and relish! There are tons of little cucumbers on the vines, which are taking over my pathways, but I never seem to find many perfect sized fruits. A few of those and a few gigantic ones which the chickens and turkeys really enjoy as a treat when it gets hot. The jalapenos were really full of peppers today! All of the pepper plants are getting massive. Granted they are in raised beds (1-1.5 ft) but they are almost shoulder level with me and I am almost 5'10". I am excited to say that I have harvested 4 perfect zucchini! Those plants have grown to massive proportions too and haven't succumbed to vine borers yet. A basket of green beans have been coming in every other day too. I made green bean casserole last night (one of keegan's favorites). Next year I need to plant more so I can pressure can some for winter. We just aren't getting enough for a canner load. I may start doing a couple of quarts at a time though.

I have been more and more disappointed recently about the prospect of not having pigs this year. Aside from the very end when the pigs were really big and getting a bit aggressive (and I was miserable because of severe morning sickness and didn't have the strength to deal with them) having pigs was a joy! I love having pigs on the homestead. They are so full of spirit and it is nice to have something to eat all of the scraps (not just being picky like the poultry). I also love having such high quality pork in the freezer. My Father in-law asked my BIL to raise some this year instead of me since I am expecting soon. He was trying to make my life easier. I was surprisingly saddened by this, and became more and more disappointed as the time went on. I talked to my MIL yesterday and asked if my BIL had gotten the pigs yet. She said that they hadn't been picked up yet because the pig enclosure had not been prepared yet. I eagerly told her that I would take them again! All I need is a new fence charger, as Brad has been unable to fix ours. Putting up electric fencing is extremely easy, and I have a section of unplanted garden that can be sectioned off to train them to the fence while I fence off the rest of the pig area. She said she would let my FIL know. I may be raising the family pigs again this year! I even woke up excitedly making plans to prepare for them before I even opened my eyes. I am so excited! Hopefully I will still feel that way over the next month or two. Liam is due in 5 weeks. Keegan is also going back to school in around 3 weeks and Brad about a week and a half later so they won't be here to help as much. We shall see. I still can't help but to look forward to the prospect. Pigs really are such easy creatures to care for when they are on pasture.

Here's to 2014!

It has been a few months! Blogging has just been off of my radar for a while. I hope to remedy that and what better time to start than when I am starting to get spring fever? We shall see. I tend to stay more caught up with blogging when things are really busy around here, which it hasn't been recently.

That isn't to say that nothing has been going on or changing on Sunflower Hill.

The garden is closed down for the year, with the exception of some carrots still in the ground, but will be back up and going very soon! It is past time to start seedlings already!

The guineas free range full-time now. They bully the turkeys terribly so they had to be booted out of the turkey coop. They are still bullies when the turkeys are free ranging, but it helps the rest of the time. The guineas now sleep high up in a couple of trees that are located in a triangle between the turkey coop, chicken coop, and pig area. They are pretty safe there, especially guarded by the dogs all night. They also help protect the other birds. All are still accounted for and are healthy and LOUD! One thing is for sure... Nothing will enter our yard without the warning sirens going off.

The turkey population here at the homestead dropped by almost half right before Thanksgiving. A pair of black babies and a Bourbon hen found new homes. One turkey was sold for Thanksgiving dinner to a wonderful native american lady and her family who wanted to thank the spirit of the turkey before humanly processing it. Three others were processed here at the Homestead for Thanksgiving and Christmas. They were wonderful! We are blessed. We now have 6 turkeys. A Blue Slate trio (Yellow, Tallow, and Sari) and a Bourbon Red trio (Franklin, Tabby, and Terra). A new Bourbon tom, named Franklin, has joined the main flock. He is very curious (even by turkey standards), has to be in the middle of everything, and basically resembles a rambunctious teenage boy in every way. He is sweet and we are enjoying him. I am especially enjoying that I am not moving hoop tractors everyday anymore! I will soon forget how much work it was. I am already anxiously awaiting the arrival of our first turkey eggs of the year.

The tractors have been retired for the year but I expect to get them back out soon. Yes... despite being exhausted from working such long hours (tax season) and being sick lately, I have again been struck by chick fever! The incubator has been put back into action and is currently filled with two dozen Speckled Sussex chicken eggs. I have had roos of this breed in the past and loved them so I bought hatching eggs from a friend of mine. Unfortunately, the day after they were set the temperature here dropped and so did the incubator temperature without heat on in the house. It wasn't a huge drop. Just to 95F or so, and I don't think it was for very long but it was severe enough to have potentially killed the embryos. I am anxiously awaiting candling day!

The reason for the breed switch is because we no longer have most of our Buff Orpingtons. Our puppy, Luna, managed to take out all but 3 hens, including our head rooster, Jack. She is such a super sweet girl but she just couldn't manage to keep from playing with the chickens... to death. No harm appeared to be meant, but regardless, she was no longer able to be trusted with chickens. She was tied to a run line during the day and let loose at night to get her energy out for a while, but she soon learned how to free herself from the chain. She has since had to be rehomed. I really hate that, but living her life tied up was not fair to her and putting the lives of my birds in danger constantly wasn't fair to them. We sorely miss Luna, as well as Jack and his girls.

The other chickens are doing well, although not laying well at all. I think that some of them must be laying somewhere else but I have yet to find where. We are still way over our ratio of roos but I just don't know what to do with the 3 silkie roosters that we ended up with. The other rooster, Red, is one of the little ones I hatched out in the soup pot. He is so big, goofy, and sweet, that he has just managed to stick around so far. We shall see what happens later I guess. Hopefully the remaining hens will begin laying better soon.

Our pigs are no longer with us, but are rather, in my in-laws' deep freezers down the road along with a cow they had processed at the same time. One was processed right before Thanksgiving and the other two went to the butchers in early January. I had planned on processing them myself but my father in-law managed to convince me otherwise. The butcher shop is a very small family business and does a good job in a humane way. The pork is AMAZING! I never want to eat store bought pork again! I guess happy animals really do make much better finished products. I wasn't sure I could part with the pigs in the end and even though I was ready for a break, tears were shed when they left us. By me, at least. They didn't seem to care, being more interested in the feed and fresh eggs in the back of the trailer we used to haul them. It was made much easier by the sweet cutie baby pigs turning into giant monster pigs that tried to knock me over and bite my legs every time I got near them and were FOREVER ripping the hose off their waterer and flooding the pasture. I couldn't even get on their side of the fence most of the time without them running toward me full speed and threatening bodily harm. Especially when there was food involved. They fought with each other and anyone close to them was likely to get hurt. I know that most of the time they didn't mean to be mean, but those were some really big pigs and it wouldn't take much to hurt someone! I loved having pigs but pigs that size can be dangerous and I was not-so-secretly ready for them to go. I do look forward to having them again, though. We are already planning to get new babies in April, so we have them when the garden is in full production and canning is producing a lot of waste.

Here's to a brand new year! I hope it is as magical and blessed as the last! Things are not always sunshine and roses on a farmstead but it is an amazing life full of blessings, all the same. I'm looking forward to another beautiful year on Sunflower Hill!

Another Scorcher

 It has been HOT for the last week. In the upper 90's every day, with a heat index over 100 degrees. The piglets enjoyed frolicking in the sprinkler to cool off a bit. They trotted around through the water, grunting and squealing as they pranced back and forth.

 It should be a law that all pigs get to have sprinkler privileges! They are so happy!

 After play time it was time to root around for a bit.

 The are getting so big!

 Miss Luna was looking awfully cute too! She has been running around the yard all day being so very well behaved! She went into the chicken coop earlier to get a drink of water, much to the terror of the hens that were standing around the water cooler gossiping. They flapped about and squawked. It scared Luna and she ducked past them to the water instead of trying to catch them. If that isn't a good dog I dunno what is!

 Mr. Yellow and Ms. Tallow looking striking in their new plumage. It is amazing how fast they have healed after the dog attack!

Last but certainly not least, the newly pig-plowed garden. They did a great job turning all of the soil and getting rid of the weeds that were taking over. The planting started in the back and is working toward the front. Hopefully this will be filled with yummy green veggies soon!

No More Excuses!

I keep putting off writing a blog because I want to take pictures to post with it. I keeping thinking about writing, usually first thing in the morning before I have had a chance to take pictures, or last thing at night when it is too dark to take pictures and I realize that I had forgotten during the day. That, and my camera has been going downhill since the screen got busted a month after getting it. It was brought down by a drunk falling out of a pub in Galway (Ireland). And no, I wasn't the drunk. LOL It was another American tourist that apparently attempted to drink like an Irishman. Perhaps it was the attempt at walking after drinking like an Irishman that got him... and my camera. Anyway, I need to post with or without pictures because I'm getting behind!

 The piglets are getting huge! I brought all three home in 1 medium sized dog crate. I don't think I could fit 1 of them in that dog crate now. They moved out of the garden and onto pasture about a week ago. My garden went from resembling a jungle, to being clear of weeds and tilled without any backbreaking digging or tilling on my part. Pigs make wonderful plows. They are now working on clearing a large section of brush that has been growing up for about 10 years. My brother helped me finally get the fence up around a little over an acre of wooded brushy area with some pasture surrounding it. It is beside the garden so they just had to cross the fence from one side to the other. Moving them out of the garden took a lot of persuading... and about 3 dozen eggs. I unplugged the electric fence, moved the wires down so they could step over, and put eggs on the other side of the fence. Jimmy is very curious and always the first to come when I call. He crossed immediately with no problems. Dean came shortly after. Poor little Link was another story. He knew that fence wire was there and he didn't want any part of it. He paced back and forth, squealing his little piggy squeal for over 10 minutes while the other 2 ate all of the eggs. After reasoning and trying to chase him didn't work, I finally had to raise the wire so he didn't have to step over it before he would cross. I saved him some eggs as a reward when he finally got the courage to run over to the other side. They went from a 3 wire fence, to a single strand run around the pasture. They don't seem to be the least bit interested in crossing it. In fact, Keegan accidentally unplugged it the other day and it was off for at least 24 hours. The pigs didn't even test the fence. I'm amazed! They really are smart.

My brother, who is staying on the property with us for a few weeks, and I have been working on getting the garden planted now that that half is cleared and tilled. So far we have broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, swiss chard, and kale planted. We have been covering all of the planted areas with newspaper and mulching with hay to try to stop the weeds before they start getting out of control again. Hopefully it will do better than the summer garden did. It has stopped raining and I have actually had to start watering the plants and plants-to-be daily because it is so hot and dry! What a change! The pig waterer is taking the use of my long hose, so I have been lugging buckets of water to the garden to water the seedlings and plants. Today I got a new Gorilla Cart, and boy did it make that job much easier! My wheel barrow has been worked hard and has been overdue for a replacement for a while. I love this cart so far. I hope it stands up to the test of time. I am rough on things. Real work gets done around here, and cheap flimsy tools don't last long. I really need to invest in another hose.

Luna, our new farm puppy, is so playful and sweet! She is so full of energy, but that isn't great when there are skittish chickens roaming around. She hasn't hurt any of them but she has been chasing them periodically. I bought a remote controlled shock collar for her. I know, I know... It seems so cruel. I have always hated the thought of those things. I even admit to stealing them off of dogs when I was a teenager and throwing them away... yes I was that pain in the butt animal and environmental activist that would have freed the frogs from the biology lab had they not started using computer programs instead of the real thing. But getting a few zaps seems much better than taking her back to the pound. She is a pitbull, which means that she doesn't have great odds of a happy ending. Also, it doesn't seem much different than using the electric fence. I tried it out today and it is amazing! First a zapped myself. I figure that if I'm going to inflict something on anyone I should know what it feels like. Funnily enough, the shock doesn't seem to bother her at all! The vibration setting is what gets her attention. No pain at all, just a little vibration to get her attention. She is already much less interested in the chickens, even when they run right past her. I'm so happy! I was really worried that she wouldn't work out and I couldn't bear having to take her back to that place!

Tucker, the 2 girls (juvenile turkeys), and the guineas are going to be transitioned to the big hoop coop soon. They are getting big and I think they are ready to have more room. The other small hoop coop of turkeys are doing great and they are getting big too. Both small hoop tractors have been being moved every day and I think that all of the fresh grass and bugs really do them good.

The chickens have been laying like crazy! Yesterday I got 13 eggs and today I got 16! I have 20 hens and 5 roos right now. I really need to get back down to 2 roosters soon because they are making the ladies' lives rough. Now that Brad isn't working (back to school) and selling eggs at the office, I've been trying to find every way imaginable to use eggs. A couple of nights ago a scrambled over 2 dozen with onions and peppers, wrapped them in tortillas, and froze them so my guys have something easy to heat up for breakfast. Thankfully, Keegan has gone through them fast so I can make more soon. I hate wasting eggs! The pigs love whatever we don't use, so I guess it isn't a waste. It may seem strange, but I think a basket full of my green, blue, brown, pink, tan, and white eggs is such a beautiful sight! It makes me smile every time I walk by the kitchen table and see them sitting there. Simple pleasures. Life is good. :)

New Babies!

I have been a complete blog slacker recently! In my defense, I have been busy keeping up after everything here. Current count is 25 chickens, 10 guineas, 3 adult turkeys, 9 turkey poults, 3 juvenile turkeys, 2 dogs, and a partridge in a pear tree! Wait... scratch that last part. As of this year I do have the pear trees though! Along with the normal suspects that roam my property, we have 3 new additions! Well... new-ish. Yes, again I admit that I have been a slacker. The evening I was bitten by the snake I had just gotten them home and situated, so they have been here for a little while.

Meet Link, Jimmy, and Dean!!! I'm loving our new little piglets! Link is the red and black spotted one. Jimmy and Dean are both white, but they have small black spots in different areas so we can tell them apart. I made the executive decision to name them after sausage. I don't want to forget why they are here, but they are still being spoiled until then! They are such curious and energetic little guys! All 3 are boys and they have all been "fixed".

The boys started out in a hog ring, which was moved daily to give them a clean area to burrow in. Let me tell you, they are destructive little buggers! They can tear up everything in the ring within about 20 minutes of being moved. By the next day it looks like a waste-land. They have a little heavy-duty plastic waterer that is hooked up to a hose. When they push a lever with their nose water fills the little tray. I was worried that they wouldn't know how to work it and get dehydrated, but they took to it immediately. Now they push the button just to let it run all over the ground so they can wallow in the mud!

The 3 little pigs are now happily rooting up the overgrown and unused section of my garden. It looked like a jungle when I put them in there a couple days ago, and now it is almost cleared! I ran electric fence from one side to the other to keep them away from what is left of the sad garden that I am still trying to keep alive. They learned not to touch the fence within about 10 minutes. I'm considering only running 1 strand around the area that I am going to move them to because they are already doing so well with the fence. I'm worried that now that they are in the garden and know the fence is there, I won't be able to get them to come out to go into their new area! Luckily, they will do almost anything for eggs! I think I might be able to bribe them.




The piglets are so happy and I love to watch them rooting around, wagging their little tails and grunting their little piggy grunts all the while. No matter where they are, all I have to do it call "PIG PIG PIG" and all three come running over. Brad says that they get excited because they think that "the food lady" is going to give them something awesome to eat. I prefer to think it is because they love me... but yeah, he's probably right. LOL I can't believe I didn't get piggies before now! I'm enjoying them so much!

Still looking for pigs

Nope... I haven't gotten any yet. I'm getting frustrated. I have not gotten their fencing up yet, but I am planning on having them in the pig panel hoop for a few weeks first. I would like for them to root around in the area that my new garden is going to be next year. I still would prefer an above ground bed, because erosion is going to be an issue. The problem is that I'm not comfortable cutting down standing trees on my own (to supply logs to make beds). I may end up doing it anyway, though, if I can't get anyone to help me with it. We'll see how that goes later. Regardless, pigs would be good to get the grass up, move around the soil, and fertilize things. I was reading the other evening, that pigs can be the best tool a small farmer has. They can clear just about any shrubby plants off of land, leaving trees. I really need that for some areas of the yard and they will be put to work once they get bigger! Bulldozers aren't easy to come by and the brush here is too thick for the bush hog (wonder if that's where the name came from?) The book also said that to clear trees, goats are a huge help. Anyway, I have been waiting to hear from some people that said they knew where to get pigs locally. I really preferred that because the ones I found were over an hour away. I'm just going to have to take things into my own hands and find them myself. Another moment, when I get frustrated with people for not holding up their end of a deal, and then I realize that it is my fault for expecting them to in the beginning! It is my project and I need to take control of it! Problem solved. Now I've gotta go find pigs and figure out how I'm going to get them home. 

I finally had a chance to pick up my seed order last Tuesday. I have, since, received my second seed order for the wedding  (pumpkins, sunflowers, and gourds). I have been working in the morning before school and in the evening when I get home before dark, to get some of the beds turned over and replanted. I was really looking forward to getting the rest of it done this weekend, along with a few other things, but it has been, and will continue, raining the whole weekend, so those plans go out the window. Somehow, despite not having been walked on at all, some of the beds became very compacted. I suspect that it was because the soil in those beds had too high of a clay content. I added compost (which I am very low on) and some sandy soil to it so hopefully it will keep the soil loose. I have planted, so far, half a bed of beets, half a bed of carrots (same bed as the beets), a bed of rutabagas (replanted because Randy decided it looked like prime hole digging territory. I hated to even fuss at him because he looked so proud of himself. "Look ma! I'm digging in the garden just like you!), a bed of kale (three types in the same bed), a bed of brussel sprouts, and half a bed of lettuce (I will plant the other half in 3 weeks). I still have three beds left to plant, but the plants in them are still hanging on and I really hate to tear them up. Especially the jalapenos and eggplant, which don't appear to be producing fruit, but are still flowering like crazy. I also have a large portion of the large bed to plant. There are some late tomatoes already in there, as well as, some basil that is still green, but will be dying soon. The soil there isn't very good, though. It needs some serious compost added, but I'm not sure I have enough to supply. 

I still need to plant garlic (which will be arriving this week), cabbage, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, and perhaps a little bit of swiss chard. More left to plant than beds to plant it in. I think I will try growing some cabbage and cauliflower in planters and see how they do. Regardless, anything that needs to be planted needs to be planted soon so I need to figure out where to put it! 

Projects

The homestead is a work in progress. There are many things that we have accomplished since moving here 3 years ago, but many more that we have plans for, and even more than that still in the dream stages. This autumn and winter there are quite a few projects that I hope to complete. I think that the best way for me to keep track of them, and be accountable for them, is to post them here.

1) Put up electric fence- I am planning on getting pigs before this time next month. I want to get dairy goats, as well, but they many need to wait until spring. Regardless, the fence need to be put up. I decided on electric fencing, which I have read much about recently. It doesn't cost as much, and will hopefully deter the goats and piggies from escaping. Goat and pigs are master escape artists. Pigs dig under and goats climb over. Hopefully it won't take them long to respect the fence and we can all live happily together. I have already purchased about half of the supplies that I need to erect the fence, and hope that it will go smoothly (or as much so as possible for a first-timer). Side note- anyone local, or that visits regularly, that would like to purchase a half or whole pig raised on pasture please let me know! I would like to know how many to get. A pig weighs between 200-300 lbs once it is processed and I will be selling it for $3.00 a pound (cheaper than you can get the factory produced products at the store). They should be ready about 6 months from the time that I get them.

2) Build shelter for the piggies and goats- Probably just lean-to type structures. More than likely made from pallets. It shouldn't be difficult.

3) Build a new, larger, compost pile to enable me to complete the next project...

4) New above ground garden beds in the 75' x 25' area I have laid out in the front yard. These need to be fenced in to keep the chickens from destroying them like they did to my beautiful beds this year! Ugh!

5) Build a shop- I have the plans for a 12' x 16' shop that needs to be completed this winter. Brad needs a home for all of his radio equipment, first and foremost. I also need a place to put a chest deep freezer, which is necessary for pork, chicken, turkey, and any fruit/veggies/berries that don't get canned immediately. Honestly, I could use more than one, but we have to start somewhere. I hope to have shelves lining one wall for canning jars (both empty and full), my water bath and pressure canners, dehydrators, and all the other equipment I use. I want a few troughs at the bottom with hinged lids to put potatoes, onions, squash, and other things that need to be stored in cool, dark, areas. It will also be nice to have a place to put our bicycles.

6) Green house- honestly, this will probably be a pretty fast and easy project. I am really looking forward to it though! It needs to be completed by January so that I can start my plants. It will be built in a similar fashion to my hoop coop. Probably smaller, and of course, it will have plastic rather than chicken wire, which will make it MUCH cheaper (chicken wire is ridiculously expensive!).

7) Chicken tractor(s)- Yes ANOTHER ONE! The hoop coop is currently full of turkeys (and honestly I need to build at least one more of those so I can separate breeds during mating season) and the brooder tractor I built is a TANK! I think it must weigh 200-300 lbs and is very awkward to move. I wanted to make sure it was strong enough to withstand constant moving... yeah...It was the prototype before the hoop coop, which is light, but very big and not very sturdy. I have devised a way to move both (like the ancient Egyptians built the pyramids and the druids moved the huge stones for 100's of miles to make stone henge. Not very original by why argue with something that obviously works well?!) I use a shovel to pry the side up, place several wide pieces of pvc under each side, spaced out, and then drag it. Once a piece slides out the back, I stick it back under the front end, and drag some more. Although, it is always faster with help, I can mange to move both coops alone. Enough rambling. I want to build 1 or 2 new chicken tractors out of metal conduit. This will make it more sturdy than pvc, and lighter than wood. It is also cheap. The meat chickens destroyed every plant in the yard and GARDENS(except for the weeds and grass that I wanted them to eat, of course! UGH!!!)this year, and next year they will remain contained at all times. I still want them to have clean forage every day. Perfect solution.

8) Make an incubator- I want to hatch turkey and chicken eggs this spring. I would rather make my own rather than buy one if possible.

Yes... I have a LOT of projects, but I am determined. Let's see how far my determination can get me. I will keep you updated as I accomplish things.Wish me luck!

Adding More to Sunflower Hill Homestead!

It has been decided. We are getting PIGS AND GOATS! I'm SOOO excited! The more I learn about factory farming and big business agriculture, the less I can handle eating the stuff that they produce. We already rarely eat produce from the grocery store. We never buy hamburger or beef from the grocery store, although we do still splurge occasionally on hamburgers from a fast food place. We also never buy pork, chicken, or eggs. Our downfall has been wheat products, ground turkey, milk, and cheese. My soon-to-be father-in-law raises grass fed cows and I am hoping that he is going to have a cow put into the freezer soon. That will end our ground turkey purchases. He is also looking into growing wheat. Milk and cheese are the only real things holding us back at that point. That is why we are getting a dairy goat!

From what I have read, goats are more efficient on the feed/grass to milk conversion ratio. I LOVE goat cheese anyway. It is the creamiest cheese I know of. I have never tried goat milk, but I have also read that it is easier for human stomachs to handle than cow's milk. At least processed cow's milk. Raw milk is supposed to be much easier to digest. Goat's milk is supposed to be even easier to digest than raw cow's milk and has saved the lives of babies who are lactose intolerant. I, personally, don't like milk. I am a cheesoholic. Brad and Keegan both drink milk like its going out of style. I don't think they could drink enough milk to warrant having a cow, though. I also want to start making goat milk soap and lotion. My mom brought me some goat milk soap a couple of years ago and got me addicted. Keeping dairy goats is going to be a lot of work. They need to be milked twice a day. The evening milking won't be an issue, but I already have a difficult time getting everything around here done in the morning, get ready myself, and getting all of us to school on time. I'm not a morning person. Perhaps I will get a momma goat with a kid and let it have the morning milk? Hmmm... still some things to think about.

We don't eat a lot of pork products as it is. It will be nice, however, to add variety to our diet during the less productive parts of the year. Being on a local diet means that when things are not growing, or in season, you can't have them! It won't help us this winter, but the sooner we start, the sooner we won't have to worry about it. A big reason that I want pigs is to till up and fertilize the new 75' x 25' area where I am planning on adding my new garden next spring. I also hope that they will help clear an area, along with the goats, that is covered in brush and I want to use for other projects. They will also eat all of the scraps from our meals and produce preserving prep, like tomato guts and skin from canning or bell pepper guts and tops from freezing or dehydrating (along with the chickens and turkeys who LOVE them) , as well as any milk or whey that we do not use from the goats. They will be on pasture and have plenty of grassy space to live on and forage from. My next project is to figure out cost efficient fencing to keep them in. Pigs and goats are both notorious for escaping, and fencing in EXPENSIVE! I have to figure out how to do this on a budget.

It is going to be a lot to keep up with, along with graduate school, my research assistant-ship, working part time cleaning, and being a mom. Luckily, Keegan is a HUGE help most of the time. I refuse to pay big business agriculture for the atrocities that they are responsible for and feed my family sub-par and potentially dangerous food because I am too lazy to produce it myself. We will see how it goes!