I finally put the finishing touches on the newest chicken tractors. As with all of the others, these are a definite improvement over the two that I built last year. One of last year's was super sturdy, but must weigh 300 lbs, and is very difficult to move. I've started just calling it "The Tank". It is our brooder tractor. The other was very large (20ft L x 14ft W x 7ft H) and very light for its size, but was not very sturdy (Hoop Coop). That one has been placed in a permanent spot and the turkeys live there now. The new hoop tractors are both sturdy enough to hold up to being moved AND are light enough to move around easily by myself! The main change I have made to these other than the size, as opposed to the turkey hoop coop, is that I added a wooden "spine" to it and thus had to place the doors to the side rather than in the middle. This adds so much more stability! The turkey hoop coop has a pvc "spine" and keeps trying to collapse like an accordion. I need to add a wooden one to it in the near future to stabilize it.
The new hoop tractors are also fairly large (10ft L x 6ft W). The main issue I have found thus far is that they are just a tiny bit shorter than I would like. I'm tall, and they are just high enough to make it impossible to walk in bent over so I have to bend and crouch, which results in more of a waddle than a walk. The chickens seem to be really enjoying them! I have separated the roosters into one and the hens (as well as the st. run silkies, and the 3 emergency brooder babies who are smaller than the rest, 2 of which are roosters) into the other. There are around 21 chickens in each one. They are not super predator proof, as I only used chicken wire on the bottom and deer netting on the top. I built the large hoop coop the same way. I keep them close to the house, though, and so far I haven't had a problem. The dogs do a pretty good job chasing most animals off, and alerting me to the rest. Honestly, other peoples' dogs have been my biggest problem and they can get through almost anything if they want to badly enough.
Moving the chicken tractor made easy with PVC
I move them at least once, by try for twice, a day. They are pretty light so moving them sideways is simple. I have attached a short rope to each end and just lift and slide one end over, and then do the same to the other. Moving them backward or forward is a bit more difficult when just dragging with the rope. Luckily, when moving "The Tank" around I figured out a trick. Watching all of those documentaries came in handy! Ancient peoples used logs to roll heavy stones to where they needed them. That is how the druids built Stonehenge and the ancient Egyptians built the pyramids. I use large width PVC instead of logs, but the idea is the same. Just pry the coop up, stick PVC under it in a few places, roll the coop, and when a piece pops out the back take it around and put it back in front. It was really difficult for Brad, Keegan, and myself, to move "The Tank" together by lifting or dragging, but I can move it by myself by rolling it! These coops just take a piece on either side, and only to make my life easier. I have dragged them from one end of the yard to the other by hand, but I didn't like the blisters the rope gave me.
The lil' ladies' new automatic waterer
Close-up of the automatic waterer fittings
The newest addition to the new chicken tractors are the automatic waterers. I built a wooden frame onto the top to hold the bucket securely when I am moving the coop. I put it in the front so that I can easily dump and clean the bowl. The bucket being on top allows gravity to provide the pressure for the water flow. I added a quick disconnect and shut off valve to allow me to easily remove the bucket and clean it. It really isn't needed though, as this type of waterer already has a quick disconnect which stops water flow, at the bowl. It is so much easier to fill the 5 gallon bucket once every day or two, than refilling waterers at least twice a day and then worrying about them being out of water. It has already been getting pretty hot and the summer's heat is really going to be dangerous. I like that I can add ice to the buckets to cool the water when it gets really hot, as well.
The tractors have been in service for about 2 weeks and the waterers for 2 days. I am very happy with them so far. Hopefully they will stand the test of time.
Things have been slowing down at the tax office that I work at, just in time to try to keep up with all of the things that are going on at the homestead. Notice, I said try. I am still falling behind! Coops need to be built, fences put up, and gardens tended to. None of the projects I needed to do over winter were accomplished. It seems that we either have the time or the money, but never both at once. Oh well. All in good time. I have still been busy!
The turkeys are doing great! Two of the Bourbon Red Toms are destined for the chopping block in a couple of days. There are just too many toms for my 3 poor hens, and they are fighting amongst themselves. Choosing which ones will go is difficult. Turkeys really are easy to get attached to, but this has been the plan for them since we got them as poults. I keep reminding myself that the life that they have had is turkey paradise and their death will be as painless and free of fear is death could possibly be. I refuse to give money to factories that raise birds any differently. I also don't want to put those unhealthy birds into my family's bodies.
The second generation of turkey-heads are in the incubator! I set 18 turkey eggs on the 22nd and their hatch date is April 19th! I have not separated the breeds yet so they are going to be a mix of Bourbon Reds, Bourbon/ Slate crosses, and there may be a blue slate or two in the mix. That is doubtful though because my Self Blue tom, Yellow, isn't the alpha tom and despite how hard he tries, he usually doesn't get mating privileges. One of my next projects is to build two small hoop coops. One of them may be used to give Yellow and Miss Tallow the privacy they deserve and, hopefully, give me the Blue Slate eggs I so desperately want! I may increase the gene pool by buying eggs from a friend of mine who also raises them. Hopefully, most of the poults hatched from this batch will be sold and the next batch will be used to increase my breeding stock.
Scissorus
One of the three chicks hatched in my emergency incubator, named Scissorus (Keegan said he was Roman), had scissor beak. I tried to feed him and give him water, but he wasn't doing well and his beak got worse every day. He didn't make it. The other two (both roosters, BO/BO and Einey EE/Ruthie NH?) are doing wonderfully, and we had a wonderful surprise last week when another egg from the emergency batch hatched! They have a cute fluffy little brother or sister (EE Greta mom- BO Jack dad). The rest of the eggs were duds, but I am overjoyed to have saved this many of them!
Keegan, INSIDE the chicken tractor playing with the babies.
Coincidentally, this was shortly after he he told me that he
doesn't actually like chickens (I asked him to feed them). <3
The "Outside Babies" are doing well and are getting HUGE! They will be too big for that chicken tractor soon. The other hoop coop I am going to be building will be for most of them. A few will be going into the project after that: boxes that fit directly in my raised garden beds so they can scratch around, till and fertilize the soil, and get rid of any bugs or weeds that are in there. My garden beds should be ready to go soon! This morning when I was feeding them before work I noticed a single bloody-ish looking stool in the coop. I have noticed the silly things hopping on top of their waterer, even after I raised it off of the ground to keep it clean, and are pooing in the water. I'm worried that one may have coccidiosis, which means they all likely do or will, so I treated the whole flock with Sulmet. I will treat them again when I get home. They are on medicated feed but when they are this young I don't like to take any chances. I don't give medication for the sake of giving medication. Not to myself, my family, or my animals. That is why we have the super-bugs that we do now-a-days. None of my adult birds are on medication, but babies are much more prone to getting sick, regardless of how well they are taken care of. They are all taken off of medicated feed when they are 8-10 weeks old and their immune system is stronger. I tried giving the babies unmedicated feed last year and nearly lost my whole batch to cocci. I am a fanatic about keeping coops clean, but apparently sometimes that doesn't completely eliminated the risk. As icky as many people think it sounds, it is VERY important to keep an eye on your poultry poo! Sometimes that is the first, or only, sign that something is wrong. It also helps to catch things early enough to do something about it!
No matter how many egg baskets I get, this is how my eggs
usually get carried to the house. :)
The adult chickens are producing lots of eggs and they are selling really well! I have to make sure to keep some back for us! Our foster puppy, Chicago, has been fighting Pneumonia since we brought her home. We have had her for nearly two months and her improvement is amazing! She couldn't breath through her nose at all when we first got her, and would not eat. She was losing weight rather than gaining it like a puppy should. After changing her antibiotics, she showed a little improvement with her breathing, but not much with her eating and weight gain. I gave her wet food, dry food, NutriCal nutrient supplement gel... nothing seemed to work. I was really getting worried that she wouldn't make it, simply because she wouldn't eat! Finally, not knowing what else to do, I started giving her boiled eggs. Farm fresh pastured eggs are packed full of nutrients and protein. She ate them! She started gaining weight and getting her energy back immediately! She also got her appetite back and began eating like a horse! She goes through more dog food than I think she has room to put it in her bony little body, but she is increasing the space every day! She is on another round of antibiotics to try to get rid of that last pocket of fluid in her lungs, and her medicine is delivered twice a day, you guessed it, hidden in the middle of a boiled egg! All the antibiotics in the world wouldn't have helped her without her getting the nutrients that her body needed to give her strength to fight the infection. Ah, the power of eggs! She is going to be healthy enough to be spayed soon and then will be on her way to Maine to find her new forever family! I love happy endings!
From bottom to top: Elliot, Chicago, and Ari is hiding way in the back.
All of Sunflower Hill is covered in snow white dew berry
blooms! What could be better? The whole place
being covered in dew berries soon!
Speaking of happy things, the seedlings I planted are still alive! Yes, I am thrilled about this! I love growing things, but starting seedlings inside has always been my downfall. They always start out strong and then wilt and die. The tomatoes are getting really big and the peppers are looking dark green and strong. All except for the jalapeno peppers, none of which came up at all! I'm probably going to have to replant those. Some of the eggplants failed to come up, as well. I am loving my new seedling shelf in the kitchen! I think that the space put aside just for them in a draft and bump free area, and the shop lamp hung over the trays, might just keep my seedlings from dying before they get planted! The strawberry plants have tiny green strawberries and flowers on them. Now I need to fence the strawberry patch off so the chickens don't get them all before I get any this year! The peas have sprouted, the brussel sprouts budding, and I got my first little bunch of broccoli the other day! I am counting down the days until I get some fresh dewberries!
All in all, everything here on the homestead is bustling and growing! That is what spring is all about! I am loving life, busy busy busy as it may be, up on Sunflower Hill!
My brother captured on the game cam while visiting.
So, I have been offline for a while. It is funny how life takes unexpected turns. I am a firm believer that all things happen for a reason and that everything always works out in the end, as long as you have faith. The grant that I had been counting on for my research assistant-ship at school fell through, and I will have no chance at another one for at least a year. That means no income coming in and no tuition waver, so lots of money going out. After much discussion, agonizing over what to do, and changing my mind 15 times a day, I decided to take some time off of school. Money got tight, really fast, so the first thing we did was disconnect the internet. I have found work and will be starting soon, but many of the plans I made a couple months ago have been put on hold. Rather, they are just happening a bit more slowly. I have been working the last few days to clear the land where the shed will be built. The animals have been keeping me busy. My brother and his family have moved down here for a while. I don't think he wants to stay a really long time, but I am enjoying having him here! He has been enjoying the homestead. I love finding pictures of him interacting with the animals when I check my game cam. He comes over often to visit, and always ends up helping me with chores.
Baby Quasi, one of my foster littles, visiting the turkeys.
So, an update on things on Sunflower Hill...
Randy (my poor chicken-eating foster puppy with the malformed neck) was adopted! He found a wonderful home where he is now called Trevor, and is spoiled daily by a little girl. We have since fostered two more puppies, Quasi and Vine, both of whom had kennel cough but after some love, and hard-core antibiotics, they both went on the transport up north and found great homes.
The hoop coop after the dog attack. Feathers everywhere!
We had another dog attack a few days before Thanksgiving. A neighbor's pet (didn't know that at the time) hopped its fence and found its way into our yard. Luckily it happened during the day when both Brad and I were home, otherwise it would have turned out much worse. The dog hopped on the hoop coop, pushing the pipes over enough to hop on top and collapsed it. He climbed in through the top and had the turkeys cornered. Our trusty guard dogs let us know and we ran out and dealt with it in time to save most of the turkeys. Two had escaped but came back. All of the turkeys were injured, some worse than others, and one was dead by the time we got there. We had to put some down. We are left with 8 turkeys. We have 6 Bourbon reds, 4 males and 2 females, and 2 Blue slates, 1 male and 1 female. We did have one of the toms that we had to put down for Thanksgiving. It was wonderful, but I cooked it longer than I needed to. The turkeys are now free ranging when ever I am home. The hoop coop has seen better days. It is falling apart every time I move it, so I try to just let them out so it needs to be moved less often. Hopefully soon they will be free ranging all of the time, like the chickens. As soon as we can teach them not to chase cars... My brother helped me throw together a roost to get weight off of the side of the coop, put a new tarp on, and I have braced it. Another turkey coop needs to be in the near future, but it works for now.
The chickens are doing well, and are still laying like crazy. I don't know what to do with all of the eggs! I kept giving them away, and nobody ever returns the egg cartons, so now I have nothing to give eggs away in, and so they are going to waste... I HATE that! The baby chickens are getting big! The two roosters have matured and are now fighting with each other and being really... REALLY hard on the girls. I have made chicken saddles for several of them, but need to make more. The roos are going to freezer camp really soon. Brad bought me the most wonderful hunting knife and scissors for Christmas! His dad (my enabler) is working on finding the parts for a chicken plucker. Both of these things mean that my life will be MUCH easier in the future! He is also looking into an incubator. Have I mentioned that he doesn't have chickens? LOL I don't know which of us enjoys my having chickens.... and turkeys... and growing a garden... and building stuff more, me or him! Brad doesn't find it nearly as amusing and we do... at least he pretends not to. :)
My winter garden is doing well, update on that coming soon.
Even though money has been tighter than I ever remember it being, times have been tough and we are doing without many things, and the stress level has been pretty high around here at times, I am so incredibly thankful for being as blessed as we are. I have such a wonderful family. I missed going out of town to spend the holidays with my parents and grandparents, but how lucky it is that the one year we couldn't go see them they came down in late October to see me? Every time things got really tough and we weren't sure how we were going to make it, something happened, sometimes explainable things, like checks going through when there was no money in the bank account, and things always worked out. It goes to show you that if you keep trying even when things seem bleak, always give of yourself to others that are in need, even when you don't have much yourself, and have faith that God knows best and will get you where you need to be, even when it seems like things are all going wrong, life will always be beautiful. Things get tough, but stress doesn't solve anything. Looking at all the things in life that I am thankful for always makes it a much happier place. Sometimes I need to be reminded of all of these things. I am thankful for that reminder and thankful that we have had such an exciting and beautiful year. Looking forward to another one!
We at Sunflower Hill Homestead hope that your holidays have been blessed and that you have a wonderful start to the brand new year!
I can feel Autumn in the air! I LOVE it! Yesterday was the first official day of Fall. The evenings are cooler, but the days are still pretty warm. It has been in the mid 80's. Enough for me to break a sweat earlier. Brad, Keegan, and I picked up some hog panels, a pig feeder, waterer, t-posts, and electric fencing supplies from Brad's father (my enabler). The pigs can live in the hog panel ring, which can be moved around to new grass, for the first few weeks. At least, until we can get the electric fence up. This will give me time to train them to respect the fence before I rely on it, solely, to keep them restrained. It is getting close! I'm getting even more excited! I have been getting lists together, of supplies that we need to buy, so we can get started on the shop, green house, and chicken tractor. Things have been pretty productive, all things considering. I hate that we are losing daylight hours. It will soon be dark before I get home every day and productivity will drop significantly. I, personally, think that the time should be left the way it is during the summer, rather than having it fall back in the winter, and being left with even fewer hours of daylight than we are already getting. In my mind, that makes absolutely no sense, but then that is just me. I'm sure there is logic there somewhere or the rule wouldn't have been put in place. Anyway...
The turkeys are getting so big! I let them out today, for the first time since the hawk attack, to free range. It was about an hour before dusk, so I was hoping that they wouldn't roam far, and I stayed out there to keep an eye on them. They make the most wonderful noises when they are happy or curious, which is almost ALL of the time! They, almost immediately, found the chicken feed. Einstein shared with them. I think he was relieved that they weren't chasing him off, like Jack does. They ended up doing it anyway, after a few minutes. Einstein put up a fight though! He fended off the whole flock of turkeys and didn't back down. I was so proud and would have taken pictures had I not been trying to catch and rescue
him from the huge turkeys, but Einy was having none of it thank-you-very-much! He fluffed his neck up like an umbrella and flew at them like a crazed lunatic! Normally, he is a lover, not a fighter.... well he's not much of a lover either because Jack doesn't like to share his harem of beauties, but my little Einy is such a sweet, goofy, little guy. I was very impressed. Finally, I fought the turkeys back, and Einy marched off, too proud to admit that he would have pee'd himself, if chickens pee'd. The turkeys puffed up and strutted around the yard like they owned the place, paying the ball of growling dogs that are usually rolling around the yard, no mind at
all. They can't lay still like normal dogs, they are constantly wresting and playing, and more closely resemble an highly energized, and very loud, ball of chaos, that rolls around the yard leaving a trail of dust wafting behind them, than actual, civilized, dogs. I shouldn't be surprised, though. All of my animals are heathens. I love them though! Luckily, at least the feathered heathens, are trained with sunflower seeds! That comes in very handy, like when trying to convince 13 turkeys to return to their coop before it gets dark (except when receiving mail is concerned, apparently).
I made a video of the turkeys strutting their stuff and making their wonderful happy noises, along with Jack crowing in the back ground, and it wouldn't surprise me if the dogs growling could be heard too. The chickens are doing wonderfully, as well! I have gotten as many as 9 eggs in one day, but then they usually drop to 4 or 5 the next day. It isn't constant, but it is perfect, as far as I am concerned. Beautiful shades of brown, blue, green, and even someone who is laying a white egg. I haven't figured out who that is yet.
I got some brush cleared this evening. Brad doesn't like me using a chainsaw because he worries that I'm not strong enough to keep it under control. His rule is, if I can start it, I can use it. Well... basically, I can't use it. So, I went and bought my own. I was debating on purchasing a battery powered saw, an electric saw, or going with a small gas powered one. I think electric would be useless, since I couldn't go farther than my power cord will reach. I went with the battery powered saw because small engines can be a pain to deal with. It is very small, but handles small stuff easily and it is light. The problem is that it doesn't hold a charge for very long, so I can't get a lot done at once.I had to go get my hedge clippers to finish up what I was doing. They are stout and can tackle pretty large saplings. I am still debating on whether to keep the saw, or to take it back and get a small gas powered engine. I need to get some more
brush cleared and make my decision before the time
runs out that I can take it back.
Fairy Tale Pumpkins
I got my seed order... or at least it is in town. My mail lady has issues with delivering my mail sometimes, so I have to find a way to make it to the post office to pick the package up during business hours. I think she is afraid of the mass of marauding chickens wandering around my yard, that think that every "people" has sunflower seeds to feed them! The poor girl is probably traumatized by being surrounded when she set foot out of her truck. I'm looking forward to getting to look through my seeds and plant my fall garden. I need to re-chicken-proof the back garden, first. I also put in another order with the same seed company. I ordered fairy tale pumpkins. They are supposed to be wonderful for pies, but I want them as decoration. They are beautiful! I am getting married in October of next year and plan to use an Autumn harvest theme. I ordered a mix of winter squash in the last order, and this time I also ordered a mixed variety of large sized gourds, mixed sunflowers, and maya sunflowers (which are excellent cut according to the description). My main flower will be sunflowers( my favorite!) but I also want to use mums. I plan to have pumpkins, and arrangements of squash, gourds, and flowers, as the main decorations. I figured that going with the season would be the most economical and green way to do it! Hopefully my harvest next year will fulfill my needs! I'm looking forward to the whole process, from seed til "I do"!
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!
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!
My new garden (2011) I had forgotten how sad, dead, and desolate it looked just last year! I have worked a lot on cleaning the tree line up and getting the grass to grow in the yard, as well as on the garden itself. It is AMAZING what a year can do!
The small garden and the new faucet I installed near the garden. THEN (2011)
and NOW (2012)
Along with the chickens, turkeys, and blueberries that I have been busy with, I also have a veggie garden (among my other gardens). I started out with a typical garden. The soil was tilled and seeds were planted directly into the ground. Unfortunately, nothing grew very well like that. The soil got compacted quickly because people were walking on it while tending to the plants. The soil, itself, was poor, and consisted mainly of red clay. The topsoil had been bulldozed off along with the trees that were standing there shortly before we moved onto the property. Hence, it was sitting in large piles along with the remnants of the trees. It is really difficult to amend a whole large garden's worth of soil! When the garden was watered, the water just puddled up in some placed, creating large bogs, and ran down the hill in others, creating huge ruts. Something had to give... One of the large piles of trees and soil that had been bulldozed where still in good condition, and were stacked neatly on top of each other. I measured 6 foot sections of the logs(except for two- 11ft and two-8 ft logs for the tomato garden), Brad cut them (as, while he lets me do most things, he won't let me use the chainsaw... pout), and we hauled them up the hill. My son, Keegan, and I measured 4 foot walk ways and laid the 6 foot logs into squares. Once the logs were placed into 8 perfect squares with pretty little walk ways running between each, and one 11ft by 8ft rectangle, I began putting the topsoil to use. I filled the beds by hand (this took a couple weeks of steady work as the topsoil mound was at the bottom of the hill and I had to transport it using a wheel barrow and a shovel) and made sure not to pat the soil down. The beds were then, officially, "No Walk Zones". The soil never has to be tilled or turned over if it is never compacted to begin with. Several inches of cow manure mixed with hay were placed in each bed and allowed to age and compost was added. Even with all of this work, last year's garden was not wonderful. This year it is amazing, though! At the end of growing season I put hay and chicken manure onto the garden, as I clean out the coop, and allow it to age and decompose over the winter. In the spring, when I plant my seeds, I add compost and then cover the garden beds with clean hay, leaving only the small area where I plant each seed slightly exposed. The hay is thick and keeps weeds from growing, as well as keeping moisture in. This spring I added an irrigation system. It still needs a bit of work, but has cut down the time I spend watering the garden drastically. I cut two 50ft drip hoses into fourths. Trenches were dug between each bed and pvc was laid. Reducers were placed on each end and attached to a drip hose with a metal clamp and pvc cement. The drip hoses were run around each bed and the pvc was buried. The two rows (each row has 4 beds) were connected via a hose splitter, and a main hose is connected to the faucet. All I have to do now is turn the water on and all 8 veggie bed water themselves while I water the tomatoes, strawberry patch, blueberry bushes, flower beds, and herb pots by hand with separate hoses.
