• I think our seedlings are enjoying the warmer weather. They seem to really have taken off. #exciting!

• The ladies have started laying well again. Woop, woop!

• Our plum tree is blooming!

• The one good thing about being down to only one duck is that the fish in our ponds are out a lot more. They don’t have to stay in hiding anymore.

• We often have deer around. Lately, there have been 3 hanging around. They have nibbled on all the day lily leaves.

• The fodder. Oh, the fodder. I’m beginning to think the barley is just not good seed. 99.9% of it doesn’t sprout. This week’s experiment was putting rye grass on one side and barley on the other of the same container. This way I know they are getting the same exact attention. The rye grew great. The barley didn’t. I’m going to try the barley one more time before deeming the seed bad. My one change this time will be to initially soak it for less time. When I get home this evening I’ll set it in it’s tray and hope for the best.

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Over the next month or two I’m really hoping to get a lot done outside. This weekend is supposed to be nice. Hopefully, I can get a good start on a number of projects.

• We have rabbits around, but we rarely see them and I have never been able to get a photo of one. The other morning I finally got a photo. It’s a horrible photo, but it is my first one of a wild rabbit in our backyard.

• A couple swallows have returned. I love seeing them dart around.

• There are a ton of insects flying around, so there should be plenty of food for the swallows.

• Daffodils are blooming, the heather is in bloom, the flowering cherry tree is just starting to show off its beautiful pink flowers. This is why we all enjoy spring. The colors are marvelous.

• Seedlings are still spread about our house, garage, and greenhouse.

• The fodder, though, is still not my friend.

• I cleaned out the flower bed disguised as a meadow and sprinkled in a few seeds. I should get a wildflower mix and sprinkle those in, too.

• I have 2 cement paths I’m hoping to work on over the next few days since it’s supposed to be nice outside. One is finishing up the path through the bird village and connecting it to our newly poured patio. Woop, woop! I’ve been waiting nearly 7 years to finish that path. The other is using cement bricks and chunks to create a landing area in front of our chicken huts and chicken tractors.

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The majority of this week has been spent tending to germinating seeds and starting fodder.

• We’ve been using our dining room table as a germination station. Trays of soil blocks and peat pots set with seeds sit on the table enjoying the warmer temperatures than the garage or greenhouse.

• After germinating the plant moves out to the garage to sit under a metal halide light. This is a cool white light, stronger in blue than red in the light spectrum. This promotes compact, leafy plants as opposed to long, lanky or flowering plants.

• We haven’t moved any of the seedlings to the next stage, yet. But, we will soon. One of the grow beds in the aquaponics system has been cleaned out and is ready for new plants.

• Fodder has been on my list of things to try. We are finally getting around to giving it a whirl. We started a little over a pound of rye and a little over a pound of buckwheat. A couple days later we also started over 2 pounds of barley. Nothing has really started taking off yet, so we are waiting. I think we will most often use barley for our fodder, but I wanted to give other grains a try.

Seeds started over the past few weeks:

Herbs: Basil, Chamomile, Coriander, Cumin, Lavender, Lemon Balm, Marjoram, Oregano, Rosemary, Sage, Tarragon, Thyme

Fruits/Veggies: Bush Beans, Cucumbers, Kale, Romaine, Sweet Peppers, Tomatoes

Flowers: Alyssum, Impatiens, Lobelia, Nasturtium, Pansy, Petunia, Viola

Fodder: Barley, Buckwheat, Rye

The post 2016 Update – Week 9 appeared first on .

The months of January and February have been slow in the greenhouse. It’s not really a bad thing. It’s nice to have some down time. This also means we haven’t had any problems, which is great.

Outside the Greenhouse

We did get a hole in the greenhouse plastic. But a quick patch job fixed it, for now. When Farmer John built the greenhouse he knew this plastic wouldn’t last forever, but it’s what we had so it’s what he used. Soon it will be time to do something more permanent.

In the Grow Beds

Most of the plants in the grow beds are past their prime, so the last couple months we haven’t harvested much.

The kale is coming back nicely, though.

We planted seeds of a few items that will eventually end up in the grow beds.

Tilapia

The tilapia appear to be doing well.

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• Most of the herb seeds we started over two weeks ago haven’t germinated yet. Hmmm… I’m not too impressed. I am needing a bunch of good starts in less than 8 weeks.

• The Great Backyard Bird Count was going on this weekend, so I went on a number of bird watching walks.

• Farm Girl & I had gone for a bird walk and when we came back Farmer John & Farm Kid1 had Sven in the house tending to a wound. He had a pretty good slice on his leg. I ended up taking him to the vet to get stitches.

• To keep Sven’s stitched area from getting infected it was recommended that he not be out in the muck and the mud. So, we boarded up the Goat Hut (which started out as a Turkey Hut, then switched to a Chicken Hut and was once also a Pig Hut) to keep him cooped inside. Before boarding it up though, we layed cement pavers on the ground. It’s not our finest work, but it should keep things a little cleaner. I had been wanting to lay a cement pad for the goats anyway with the hopes of it doing a bit of hoof trimming work as they walk on it. So, this worked out perfectly. And, if one day we don’t want the cement in the hut we can just pull them out.

• Just yesterday somethin’ snagged our rooster that we referred to as The Hippie. There was a lot of commotion outside and after checking it out Farmer John found Hippie’s feathers. When a bobcat has gotten a chicken, it leaves a trail of feathers as it’s dragging the chicken off into the bushes. This time there was not a trail of feathers – and The Hippie was a fairly large rooster. So, I’m not sure what got it.

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• Farmer John made me a couple hundred soil blocks to start herb seeds. I have a project coming up in April I’m hoping to use the herbs in. We got a little later start on them than I was wanting, so my fingers are crossed that they germinate efficiently and grow to my desired size by then.

• There is a camellia blooming! Just one. But, that’s a good enough sign that spring is on its way.

• A couple weeks ago our car got stuck in the mud while trying to move Oliver and Lois. Unfortunately, that left two long horrible ruts. Fixing them is now on our to do list. Until then, though, the ducks get to enjoy the water that fills the ruts. They love it.

• After Olaf passed I knew we would need a new companion for Sven. An odd circumstance came about and brought us Vern, a 2 year old Nigerian Dwarf wether. Perfect! Sven is also a 2 year old wether. And, funny enough, Vern and Sven have the same coloring. Their markings are different, of course. But, they look very similar. In a week or two we should also be getting Vern’s mom, Pearl.

• We picked up our pork from the butcher. The bacon is amazing! The ham is good, too – probably would have been even better had I not slightly over cooked it.

• In April, I’m running a half marathon. I’m hoping to knock over 8 minutes off my best half time. I don’t know if it’s actually doable, but I’m going to go for it. I’ve upped my training schedule. I would also like to lose 12 pounds by then. Maybe if there isn’t quite so much of me to haul around, I will move quicker. I tend to lose weight very slowly, so 12 pounds may be a little optimistic. Even a 7 or 8 pound loss would be great. To lose the weight I’m trying to eat better. No crazy diet scheme. Just eat better. Less chips & salsa. Less fast food. Less soda. But… I want to eat food that is more exciting than a salad. I like salads, but I need a change. I tried two new recipes this week. They were both flops. I made California rolls. The first ones had crab, cucumber and cream cheese wrapped in nori and rice. Blech. I thought maybe it was the crab I didn’t like, so the next day I made the roll with tuna. Still, blech. Now, I think it is the nori. This was the first time I had bought it. I think I need to try a different brand. I also made hummus. I’ve been on a carrot and hummus kick. I get a garlic and oil flavor from the store that I love. I was hoping to recreate it. Nope. Mine was horrible. So horrible there’s no way I would eat it. I don’t even think Farmer John’s been eating it and he’s not too picky. My adventures in cooking this week didn’t work out. Darn it.

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Weather

Not much to say except that March was a very wet month.

The door on the Rhode Island Red coop got left open one day & the chickens, of course, got out. They didn’t care that it was pouring down rain. They were just happy to be free. They were soaked to the skin, but still spent the day scrathin’ & peckin’ in the great outdoors.

One particularly stormy day lightning was directly outside our house. That was a weird feeling. We don’t typically get much lightning & certainly not so close. Lucky for us, the only thing it seemed to ruin was one port on the router. This is/was the only port with cables going outside to the satellite dish.

We did have a few nice days, though, & the chickens enjoyed taking dust baths.

Flower Beds

Thanks to a local nursery sale & Costco, one day I came home with many new plants. The next weekend I went back to the nursery & grabbed more of the heather. I have the perfect place for it.

The thistles & blackberries are making an appearance. Damn it! We’ve lived here for 6 years & the Canadian Thistle is still my nemesis.

Gardening for Food

While I do most of the work in the flower beds, Farmer John does most of the food-type gardening. His favorite method for starting seeds is mixing his own soil & creating soil blocks. These little guys were started in a tiny soil block. Once germinated Farmer John moved them to a larger soil block.

The seeds I ordered arrived!
Farmer John ordered the seeds that will eventually turn into food in our pantry. Later, I ordered some fun stuff. I ordered a variety of flowers, including sunflowers, wildflower & rudbeckia. I also ordered 5 different types of pumpkins & gourds. They will mostly be used for autumn decorating, but also to feed the chickens. And, I ordered a bunch of herb seeds. The herbs will be used for cooking, and again, also for the chickens.

Chicken Keeping

Are you going to feed us or just stand there taking our picture?

Blue Copper Marans rooster & Black Copper Marans hen enjoying a nice day in their covered run.

The Littles from our February hatch were moved from the brooder to a raised sectioned-off area in one of the coops.

Another batch of eggs were set in the incubator on March 1st. Three weeks later, we had more chicks, including our first Marans of 2014.

March 27th, I placed yet more eggs in the incubator. This round, we have for the first time this year, Rhode Island Reds. I also added in our bluest Easter Egger eggs. I have hatched these eggs before, but at the same time as all the other EE’s, so I’m not sure which chicks have come from these eggs. I want to see specifically what these chicks look like.

Aquaponics

The aquaponics system is slowly, but surely getting set up. All the tanks are in place.

And, the plastic is covering the greenhouse.

Goats

The big, unexpected news of the month is that we got 2 Nigerian Dwarf Goats. They are super cute, full of personality & have been keeping us busy.

Random Pics of Good Ol’ Country Living

Mr. Quail all fluffed up & ticked off that I’m disturbing him & his lady. He really is a grouchy little thing.

The post Around the Farm and Garden – March 2014 appeared first on .

Weather & Flowerbeds

Except for the freezing weather at the beginning of December, we’ve had a very mild winter unlike much of the U.S. It hasn’t even rained as much as usual.

Many mornings we wake to a bit of frost and ice in the pond, but that’s about it for our chilly days.

Even with the mild weather, I still haven’t found much time to get out & do winter maintenance on the flowerbeds. Darn it! And, my spring bulbs are already starting to poke through.

I did move a rotting log out of one of the flowerbeds and found a pile of slug eggs. Slugs have a job to do, but they eat way too many flowers, plants & veggies for me to be a fan of them.

Chicken Keeping

Unfortunately, we had a chicken get nabbed in broad daylight by a bobcat.

Our newest chicken.
He’s in quarantine for a couple weeks to make sure he doesn’t have any diseases that might spread to the rest of our flock.

Brad Pitt, our RIR rooster died this month. We’re not sure why. As luck would have it, though, a kid in town needed to get rid of his 10 month old cockerel. So, we took him & now have a new blood line for our RIR babies. I’m thinking the new guy’s name should be Brad Pitt 2.

We sold the last of our Blue Marans that hatched last spring.

One of the coops needed a little repair work.

Farm Kid2 helped Farmer John clean the coop with his 4-H chickens.

We rearranged many of the chickens, changing which coop they are in & sometimes which rooster they are with.

The ladies have been on such a weird laying pattern. Or really, it’s a lack of pattern. Some weeks they are laying well & some weeks not as well.

The ducks took a laying break for a few months, but now they’re back at it.

We put our first batch of eggs this year in the incubator. I’m only expecting about half of these to start developing, but maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised. Some of the eggs got quite cold & some are from chickens that just started laying. So, we will have to wait & see.

Growing Food

Farmer John’s trying out a new method of starting seeds – a heated germination pad.

The greenhouse is finally being built!!!

Farmer John brought home 3 275 gallon food grade totes. We will use them for our new aquaponics system. I can’t wait to try it!

Good Ol’ Country Living

This is my favorite photo from this month. It says so much about our family.

It’s been an uneventful, yet busy first month of the year. I’m excited to see which direction our chicken raising business goes & to try out all our new ways to grow food.

The post Around the Farm and Garden – January 2014 appeared first on .

Since we are learning about the Oregon Trail, I thought it would be fun to check out The End of the Oregon Trail in Oregon City. Historically, this is an important spot. Pioneers traveling along the Oregon Trail ended their journey here – well kind of. Back in the days of the Oregon Trail the whole area would be full of covered wagons. From here travelers spread out finding their perfect home throughout the Willamette Valley.

This official End of the Oregon Trail has an Interpretive Center, Visitor Center & Heritage Garden. The garden is tended by Master Gardeners and has many of the plants pioneers grew.

VISITOR CENTER

We spent awhile exploring the Visitor Center playing old games & trying on pioneer clothes.

Top: Merchant’s counter that was used in the 1860’s

Bottom Left: This was the first time I had heard about button dolls. They’re practical. The arms & legs are made of buttons, so when you lost a button along the trail you took a button from a little girl’s button doll.

Middle Right: This was a game called Three Men’s Morris, an early version of tic tac toe.

INTERPRETIVE CENTER

The Interpretive Center was closed when we visited, which was a bummer. But, I peeked through a window and it seemed to have typical items found along the Oregon Trail. We’ll have to go back another day to check it out.

CEDAR PLANK BUILDINGS

Near the garden were buildings built from cedar planks.

HERITAGE GARDEN

The garden was small, but had many interesting plants.

I do have this one suggestion. Don’t plant sunflowers right in front of your sign. I gently pulled the sunflowers back to read the sign.

Left: Bloody Butcher Corn

Top Right: There were little signs like this around the garden describing plants.

Bottom Right: The squash is Boston Marrow.

Top Left: Kent Golding Hops

Bottom Right: Scarlet Runner Beans

Top Left: Purple Mountain Orach. I’ve never seen this. The plant is tall & kinda leggy, but I loved the burgundy flowers.

Bottom Left: My fun loving, but maybe slightly odd, son was collecting seeds from the ground to add to his garden. When we got home he was even nice enough to share some with me. He collects seeds at home, too. So, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that he would do it here. They did have small seed packets to purchase in the visitor center. When I went they had 4 different types of seeds – 2 veggies & 2 flowers. I bought 5 packets and am seriously thinking about sending the master gardeners an email to see if they will send me more varieties. I’d love to have good heritage plants to add to my gardens.

We’ll have to go back when the Interpretive Center is open & also check out the garden again.

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