Livestock and Garden Report~ Round 2: week 2.5

first thing this week the girls and i headed down to the lower garden to plant potatoes. i feel as if I'm in a potato race, since i want to have potatoes to sell before the 4th of July. hence the rush.

Dave put the middle buster on the tiller for me, and i made several furrows. (48" apart)


it was still early for local seed potatoes, so i used some of my red Pontiac and kennebec from last year. the girls helped me put the potatoes in the furrow.

this week I'll be planting more potatoes: yukon gold, more red Pontiac, Superior and the blue ones. (still elusive, but getting closer to actually tracking them down!)




on Monday, Dave came home with a late Easter present for the girls:



a tiny wheelbarrow!




they both had fun helping to put it together, and even managed to NOT loose any of the nuts or screws!

they both promptly got to work hauling around stones and other random things.

bright and early on Wednesday morning we got a call from the US Government. (actually, it was really the Towanda postmaster)

our 100 Cornish cross cockerels were in, and i needed to come pick them up. i went to the back door of the post office and rang the bell. after giving him the secret password, he handed over my happy meal box of chickens. the brooder box was already prepared, and after a quick stop at the feed mill, i brought the chicks home and got them all settled in their new brooder box.

so far all is well; and I'm loving the new brooder box. although it takes up most of the mud room, I like how easy it is to take care of the chicks.

both girls often stop in and visit with the peeps. B asked me "when they get bigger, are we going to eat them?"

why yes, yes we are!

she's a true country girl at heart, and makes her daddy proud!

in many (and random) places, we have catnip growing. spooky sure is enjoying it! i plan on potting some of it up to sell in the produce stand this week. (the catnip, not the cat!)

several of the raised beds are planted, and the peas are making a timid showing. i had to water daily this week, as we didn't get rain until Friday night. the girls, of course, are glad to help.

Dave bought 50 black raspberry bushes, and had diligently (and fervently) worked to prepare their bed. we got them planted on Friday morning.

and wouldn'tchaknow, the hose is almost long enough to reach the raspberry bushes. all but the last 4, that is!

the peach trees in the orchard are blooming, and the plum will not be far behind. unfortunately, neither the cherries nor apples made it through the winter, so I'll be making a call about that this week.

Dave also ordered grapes, so it looks like we'll be having some fruit to add to our veggie sales some day!

the next priority was planting the 2 flats of broccoli and cauliflower. after laying the black plastic, Dave and i planted the 144 brassicas in an evening.

using the idea we found here, we modified it a bit and made row covers for both rows. (finishing this project is a priority for the beginning of this week) G helped cut the re-bar and the PVC. he also helped haul off the 3 wheelbarrow loads of rocks we collected.

interestingly enough, i had never even heard of the word agrarian until we discovered Herrick's blog!

and lastly, as Dave pointed out, even the migrant workers get a break! A and B are always happy (and ready) to help daddy eat his tasty cakes!

Livestock and Garden Report: Round 2~ let's just call this week 1

it's been a flurry of spring activity around here. the wonderfully warm weather this week has allowed us to be outside getting lots of our time-sensitive projects done. (as a matter of fact, the Things To Be Done As Soon As Possible List is nearly done! the only things remaining on that daunting list are find some turkey and duck eggs to hatch and start the strawberry beds. Dave is building the brooder box tomorrow.)

Dave plowed and disced the lower garden yesterday, so hopefully by Monday we'll be planting potatoes and maybe onions as well. I've been having trouble tracking down blue potatoes, but i haven't given up yet!

already in the upper garden i have red and white onions planted, as well as 1 row of beets. in a few weeks I'll plant more beets. I'm going to try to be more organized about succession planting this year. it's so easy to start off like gangbusters after the winter's hibernation, but harder still to manage everything efficiently for the long haul. we did hang up a black board in the mud room, and i have all my garden notes and reminders on that. i plan on also having a large calendar to write dates of plantings and projected harvests.




this week Dave and G finished the 2nd pig tractor, and none too soon! 4 pigs slamming around in one small space is very crowded. not to mention messy. and muddy. we've been getting plenty of slops from the local restaurant that is the favorite hangout of the gas workers, so that's why we decided to get 2 more pigs.


i didn't take any pictures of the pigs. i guess we've been raising pigs so long now that i figure if you've seen one pig, you've pretty much seen them all! red. hairy. smelly. curly tail. big. sound familiar yet?




the big push this week was hauling the dirt from our farmer friend, Jay. G and Dave built 12 raised beds, and we filled them all with a combination of our bottom land soil, the dirt from the cow pasture and vermiculite. if you've seen or read the book Square Foot Gardening, you'll have an idea of the general direction we're headed.





the best part of hauling the dirt was borrowing the farm truck from our other farmer friend, Doug. G got a kick out of the truck, too, and could be observed on more than one occasion with a big grin on his face as he drove it around to unload dirt.



oi vey! the stories i could tell! suffice it to say that it was a driving experience that will give me some colorful stories to tell my grandchildren someday~ the highlights of which would include wearing a garbage bag skirt to keep me dry while driving the truck in the rain. and the absolutely best part: using a fire hose to fill a gas tank that would prefer an eyedropper. the gas guys standing in line for their lunch time hoagie won't soon forget that.






the high tunnel is doing well, and has some lettuce and spinach ready to harvest. the cold frames are full, too, and hopefully we'll have continuous harvests of lettuce, spinach and radishes until the hot weather.

G and i finished raking the vermiculite into all the raised beds, and i have 4 beds planted with peas and carrots. i can honestly say that even after only one day of gardening in raised beds, I'm a huge fan! the dirt is wonderful, it's easy to pick out stones and plant the seeds, and since the beds are so small it does not feel overwhelming. (like the long rows in the lower garden often do)

we're doing a buffet of gardening techniques this year: raised beds, square foot gardening, traditional garden, small scale farming and wide rows. we're still experimenting to find the best combination of what works well for us, and what will help us to be both productive on a large scale and efficient.

we have 25 buff orpington eggs in the incubator, and they are all due to start hatching out the evening of April 21. this clutch is just a trial run, since we've never used this incubator before. (i can vouch for the convenience of the automatic turner, however, and can't imagine remembering to turn the eggs 2-3 times a day!) i plan on filling all 42 slots in the incubator to hatch out my new laying flock later this spring.

on Wednesday our first batch of 100 Cornish cross roosters are due to arrive, via the United States Postal Service.

so if we think we're busy now, just wait until then!

p.s. ~ i finally finished the post about the drywalling in the girls' room. so if you've been anxiously awaiting news about that project, be sure to read the previous post!

Thursday's Livestock and Garden report~ Week 4

another busy week has sped by, and there is lots of stuff to tell (and show) you. I'm glad for all my readers- those of you who have followed my blog from its very boring beginning, as well as those of you who have become recent followers. thanks to all of you who take the time out of your own busy days to see what we're doing here on our little homestead in northern PA.

Dave decided that this was a weekend for planting potatoes, so that's what we did! i went crazy buying seed potatoes, so we're sure to have lots of fresh potatoes to eat, as well as plenty to share and sell.

we planted 40 lbs. of the Yukon gold here in the upper garden. these potatoes are not keepers, so they will be nice and handy for me to go out and dig for easy summer meals.

A was intrigued, and was of course more than willing to help her daddy plant the potatoes. i cut them up, and we'll readily admit, the chunks are bigger than normal. they are also planted a tad bit close, but we have so many...

(remember, i bought 150 lbs. of seed potatoes! there are 50 lbs. each of Yukon gold, kennebec and red Pontiac)

before we were even done, A was happy to help water the newly planted potatoes. she has a watering can, and is able to get water out of the frog puddle all by herself. and with those trusty yellow rain boots, this is a job that any 2 year old would love!



this is not technically the garden, and obviously there are no animals either. however, this is the completed walkway that G and i did this week. I'm really very pleased with how it turned out. last night before the rain, i transplanted some of my abundant day lillies, and now the walkway looks like it was done by a professional landscaper! with the completion of this path, you can now get into our house by both doors without tracking through the mud. i will fill out both of these garden areas with more flowers as the season goes on. but for now, it's off to a really good start!




on Friday, we had a pleasant and welcome surprise when a friend from church stopped by with a trailer load of farm machinery that he had bought at an auction. we were very pleased to buy both a plow and disc!




Dave immediately drove down to the lower garden to try out the disc, and of course it worked just fine.


then on Saturday, before he headed off to work, he taught me how to plow. it's not that hard, and it was a very satisfying job to do. i was done in no time at all, and was thankful that we have a tractor, and not horses...




A and B were thrilled to be outside with us, and collected lots of worms from the freshly plowed ground to feed to the chickens.


another task that i finished this week was the "final" plan of the lower garden. my two favorite books this year are Carrots love Tomatoes and The Joy of Gardening. as i mentioned last week, i am gleaning advice from both these books to plant wide rows, with companion planting to help deter critters from devouring all my hard work!

i spent time making a *color coded* diagram that i was hoping to share with you, but my computer is being stupid and won't let me. if i get it figured out, I'll upload it later.

the end of last week we worked hard to get all our fruit trees in the ground. Dave dug most of the holes, but N helped with the holes for the plum and cherry trees. A was glad to supervise.




B watched over her daddy while he planted the cherry tree, all while she was munching on an apple.




A helped with the apple and peach trees. as he was digging the holes, Dave took out the heavy bottom layer of clay soil. when he planted the trees, he used only the top soil and some rich, black soil that he dug from the old barn foundation. the trees should do very well, and we hope to have fruit of our own in just a few years.








the meat birds were moved outside to their hoop home. they will remain in this hoop house until their unfortunate demise on June 17. however, they are right by the garden for now, as the oats and clover are not up yet.

A loves to help me feed the chickens, and insists on having feed in her own little bucket. they are eating so much now that i need to feed them 3 times a day!

A made sure that they are all settled in. it's still a bit chilly here at night, so their hoop is covered with another tarp, and they have a light bulb inside to help keep them warm.

we've had lots of rain this week to help our onions, potatoes and day lillies get a good start. hopefully next week we''ll be able to get more of our garden in. until then, i hope you have the chance to get outside yourself and marvel at the wonder of God's creation, all fresh and new for spring.

Thursday's Livestock and Garden report~ Week 3

it's been a busy week around our little homestead, with barely enough time to do the laundry, cook dinner and correct tests, never mind keep all you faithful readers up-to-date!

but as promised, here is much of this weeks happenings, in no particular order!

B loves to drive the tractor! even though it's Dave's tractor (a mere technicality) i drive it more often than he does. whenever it's time to move the pigs, stones or mulch, baby B is sure to ask me for a ride.

the doors are on the high tunnel, and Dave has it tilled, furrowed and ready to plant. i hope to get that done in the next week or so. we still need to cover the ground with black plastic, and with the temperature consistently hanging around 80 degrees during the day, the tomato plants are sure to do well. we have 3 flats of tomatoes, and though they are a bit on the small side, i think that we may plant them anyway.


this is a little triangle of land between our little run-off stream and the road. the layer hens are in their chicken tractor just to the left of this picture. here Dave (and A) are tilling under the winter rye, which we planted last fall as a cover crop. in the distance, N and B are picking rocks. (G was helping, too, you just can't see him in this picture) after Dave had tilled under the rye, we all picked rocks. i can't even tell you how many wheelbarrow loads we hauled out of this little plot! but, many hands make light work. after we picked *most* of the rocks, Dave broadcast oats and clover. after it's fairly well established, we'll put the Cornish X meat birds in this triangle. they also will be in chicken tractors, and if we're faithful about moving them daily, this planting of oats and clover should last for several years.


A was happy to help her daddy with the tilling. that handle is just at the right height for her to hold onto and walk right along behind.

Dave and i both got a little bit impatient waiting for a 2 plow, so he started preparing this lower garden with the rotor tiller. much of the sod was already broken up from the pigs, so the job was not nearly as hard as we thought it would be. the tilling was done not any too soon, so G and i planted our onions from Gurney's on Good Friday afternoon. shortly after we were done, the gentle spring rain began, watering the onions and giving them a good start.


i am nearly done planning out the layout of this lower garden. I've been reading several different books, and I'm looking forward to trying out a combination of wide rows and companion planting. this week we got back our soil sample test results from Penn State, and with the exception of magnesium, our soil is pretty crappy needs some attention. we'll be addressing that issue in the next few days.

but first, G needs to back fill the rather long, large and deep trench that he and his brother dug for their paint ball wars. the trench filled with water, and with me planning on spending so much time down in the lower garden, it was obvious that it would not be safe for the little girls to be around. yesterday i helped by bulldozing as much of the dirt back into the trench as i could, but there was only so much that i could do. this job is high on the list of things for G to complete, and now that the trench is draining, it's made the garden too wet to till or plow.



on the left you can see the pig tractor and Dave's my tractor. both pigs went to the butcher on Monday morning, and I'm pleased to say that it was an uneventful trip. Dave and G had built a pig crate, and since the pigs were used to it, each of them went right in when it was time, making the transport quick and easy. we're expecting the call from the butcher in a few weeks, when all the meat will be ready.


we have just a few days down time between pigs, as our new feeder pigs will be ready for pick up early in the week. we're getting them from the same friendly farmer as we did last fall, and I'm grateful that he had 2 pigs for us. it is difficult to get feeder pigs around here, especially at this time of year. we are considering raising feeder pigs ourselves, since there is obviously a market for them. more on that topic in another L & G report.



the Cornish X chicks are growing rapidly, and are well into their second 100 pound bag of food. we've moved them outside into the "teenage" chicken pen, and with their new 3 gallon waterer and 3 feed troughs, i only have to feed them 2 times a day. they are nearly all feathered out now, and soon they will go into their more permanent housing. at 4 weeks old today, they are already 1/3 of the way to butchering day!



the buffs are 3 weeks old, and are also feathering out nicely. they are still in the mud room in a giant box, and will likely stay there for another week or so. now that the buffs are older, we are turning off the light for them at night, since it is stressful for them to have light 24 hours a day.



the mini greenhouse is full again, as i just started a bunch of seeds last night. we're onto round two with the cauliflower and broccoli, and hopefully it will do much better this time. I'm thinking that the reason that they got so leggy was because it was TOO warm in the greenhouse? i also started my daisies- both Shasta and gloriosa. there is also some sedum, for ground cover between our rock paths. i started lots of basil, as fresh pesto with tomatoes and pasta is one of my very favorite meals. i usually make tons of pesto with the fresh basil when i have it, and then freeze it to enjoy the rest of the year. cilantro is another favorite of mine, and I've been collecting salsa recipes that I'm eager to try out. tonight i will start several flats of marigolds, and that should be it for a few weeks...



we've also tilled under the winter rye in the upper garden, and plan on spending some family time tonight after dinner out there picking rocks. you would not believe the amount of rocks that are in the soil- and not just tiny little rocks, either. big honking rocks- and plenty of them! we've treated the soil up here with lime, and will also add some fertilizer and phosphate. we plan on planting 50 pounds of Yukon gold up here, with the remaining 100 pounds of red potato and kennebec in the lower garden.

our trees arrived this week, and we'll have pictures of the "orchard" to show you in the next L & G report. the cold frames are doing well, with lettuce and radish up. however, i need to manage them better. with so many other things going on, it's easy to forget to tend to the little plants in there.



that wraps up this edition of our Livestock and Garden report. now i must go and finish dinner (chili and cornbread) and tend to those things that I've been ignoring while I'm typing all this out!

last week in review... in no particular order

last week was exceptionally busy, much more than usual it seemed. here's a brief re-cap of the highlights, and an overview of all the things that we got done.

Dave celebrated his birthday on Saturday. not quite a milestone, but nearly so. the girls helped me make his cake and the icing- chocolate cake with peanut butter icing. and of course, they were more than happy to help blow out the candles.

besides the 9 (nine) cases of mountain dew he received,and 2 magazine subscriptions, i made him this wall hanging. in case you can't read what it says: "hands to work ~ heart to God"

G and i worked on the pathway from where we park to the back porch (mud room) door. some of the rocks were very large and heavy, so we were glad to have the tractor to help with that part of the job.

A and B came out to help after their nap. there are still a few more rocks that I'd like to place, but that will have to wait a few more days. next we'll be working on the pathway from the parking area to the front door. we have an old barn foundation that we can get some more really cool rocks from.

i just love cool rocks, and sometimes i wonder why i didn't grow up to be a geologist!

right where the tractor is parked is where the 2 evergreen trees were until just a few weeks ago. this is where we plan on putting the orchard. we also laid out where we are going to put the apple and peach trees, and G started digging the holes.

Dave and both boys worked hard this week clearing this portion of the hillside. it was formerly covered with dried weeds, brush and wood, as well as a trash pile. (which G and i burned 2 weeks ago.) this hillside will come up all in naturalized (orange) day lillies, so the pressure was on to get it cleaned off in time for the new spring growth, which you can see has already begun.

they also continued the cleanup well to the left of this picture. the plan is to pasture the new pigs in that area. I'll keep you posted on that.

although this is not the greatest picture (it's actually a picture of a photocopy of a picture) this is what our house looked like in 1930. if you look closely, you can see in the lower left hand corner some stems of day lillies getting ready to bloom. while we are not deluding ourselves that we can afford to restore this wonderful old house to its former glory, we are hoping for a reasonable compromise!

i already told you about the cold frames that G built for me. I'm very pleased with them, and already have them filled with pig manure and dirt. i have been excitedly monitoring the temperature inside, and was thrilled to observe that so far, it's been warming up to 84 degrees, and holding a mild temperature of 50 degrees inside at night. we'll see how it continues to do as some of the nights can still get quite chilly. the high tunnel is now over part of the garden, and filled with a wonderful mixture of hay and manure that i hauled over from a farmer friend. Dave will soon cover it with plastic. after the high tunnel has a chance to warm up, and its been tilled, we'll be able to plant our tomatoes in there!

both the broccoli and cauliflower are up. I'm thinking that this will be a gigantic amount of both, so I've started collecting recipes that i think my family will eat. of course we'll freeze alot, and i hope to have some to sell. i also plan on plating a second crop of broccoli and cauliflower, either in July, or later in the high tunnel when the tomatoes are done. these crops will go in the lower garden, and even though I'll be planting either side of the rows with marigolds, there is no guarantee that i will actually harvest any of these plants!

we also bought another greenhouse. (it was the last one that Lowe's had!) there are still many seeds to plant, and it was obvious that we didn't have enough room. the second greenhouse has grow lights, but the "heater" is just a 100 watt bulb on the bottom shelf.

the pigs are getting ginormous, and in fact are not long for this world. while they are certainly not wild or mean, they are very large and aggressive. i was a little hesitant to jump in there with them to measure their girth and length to see how much they might weigh. maybe later this week i can bribe G to do that for me...

meanwhile, i plan on moving them twice a day, instead of just once as we have been doing. that's because i don't have anything better to do than pull my pigs all over the field with the tractor. *ahem* actually, i would like to have them root up as much of that lower garden as they can before we haul them off the the butchers on April 13th.

after such a busy week, i had promised the kids that we would have a campfire on Sunday afternoon. so after naps were over, G and i bundled up A and B, loaded up the wagon with our supplies and headed down to the campfire ring.

N had a nice fire going, and we enjoyed a relaxing time, filled with hot dogs, smoke, lots of chocolate, graham crackers and copious amounts of marshmallows.

now we feel relaxed and refreshed, and ready for another busy week!