Saturday Farm Journal

hot peppers, pears, blueberries, peas

Brussels spouts, red cabbage, beans, tomatoes

onions, squash, beets, carrots

It seems like the warmer it gets outside the more work that needs to be done. A lot of weeding was accomplished last Sunday with a promise that this vacation week we'll get more done. It looks like the peas are done and I'll be picking and pulling those up this week. I feel so foolish that I forgot about them! I allowed them to get too big for eating raw, but I think they will be just as tastey cooked. 

We received several mystery ducklings. They are some sort of laying breed. A cambell-mallard-runner cross maybe, who knows? The broilers have about 5 more weeks of life before Jason harvests them. We are hoping to get them outside for a bit of free ranging before that happens. Today a duck house is being built so the big ducks can go live outside in the pond and the little ducks can get out of the barn because they are stinky and messy. We did learn from our mistakes and they are where we could hose them down as needed.

List two weeks ago:

• Keep an eye on the bugs
• Re-plant potato, cucumber (looks like they are actually up so we didn't do this)
• Fertilize onions, tomatoes, peppers
• Weed

This week(s) list:

• weed
• watch for bugs
• weed
• water when needed
• weed
• move layers to a tractor outside

Just a Bit Naughty

The bunny's cage is right next to the daycare fence. There is a box pulled up to the fence so that the kiddos can feed the bunny flowers, grass, and scraps from the house. None of the kiddos have ever tried really to open up the cage. Stomper, however is another matter. This series of photos were taken by Grandma after she told him: "Close the door, Stomper."

A Bit of Beauty

The gardens were here when we bought the place.

We are very thankful for their hard work, because the yard is always beautiful

Of course some flowers were placed by nature and birds, but we still enjoy them.

Saturday Journal

 

It's been a busy few weeks. First we were drenched with rain which halted everything in the garden and then the ducks and chicks needed to be moved so that took up all our time. Hopefully now that the rain has stopped and the weather man has said we will have a few days in a row of sunshine, things will get done in the garden.

The one very exciting thing, we ate a handful of pea pods! They were a bit bitter, but tasted sweet to us! 

Went to our green thumbed friend to ask a few questions about pesticide and bugs and he suggested Garden Dust from Bonide he claimed it was more natural than most pesticides, we'll give it a go and see how it goes. As it was by the time I got out there the bugs had chewed through every leaf (in a day). 

I'm not sure how the cabbages/Brussels Sprouts are going to do, they don't look well. I think it was too late in the season to plant them, or maybe it's the pine shavings? 

The potatoes aren't up. Dad dug up some of the potatoes and a few are rotten, some are growing, we are going to give it another week to see what happens.

Mom and Dad planted another garden to use some of the seeds before they went bad: carrots, squash, turnips and onions so now we have to gardens to watch. 

List from two weeks ago:

• Weed tomatoes
• Hoe between the rows
• Mulch Brussels Sprouts
• Thin the beans

What actually happened:

• Watched Brussels Sprouts, cabbages, and potatoes drown.
• Thinned beans
• Roto-tilled or hoed a couple of rows
• Trimmed tomato
• Strung peas
• Ate peas
• Planted more: carrots, blue hubbard squash, butternut squash, turnip, onions
• Weeded strawberries

This weeks list:

• Keep an eye on the bugs
• Re-plant potato, cucumber
• Fertilize onions, tomatoes, peppers

How is your garden growing?

Stomper (age 1.5) munching on pea pods

Chickens on the Move

First a bit of cuteness, well I think she's cute.

Where'd they go?

What's that in the garage?

Oh, there they are! Layers are on one side of the brood box, broilers on the other, and ducks on the other side of the fence. Everyone has room to move and grow.

Duck Moving Day

The ducks keep growing and making messes and unpleasant smells. We have been waiting and waiting for the weather to finally turn to summer so that we can kick them out of the barn and outside. Well, today was the day. Last night Dad announced that he was moving the ducks out of the barn. It took most of the morning and some small hands, but they are moved and happy! 

Waterlogged

After about seven inches of rain in the past few days we are all feeling a bit water logged here. Part of the garden is underwater. I wonder if the potatoes will emerge or rot in the ground. I performed an experiment when I was out taking some photos. I put shavings around half of the Brussels spouts and cabbages to soak up some water and keep the roots cool. Later if they start to grow we will know what worked and what didn't!

Later in the evening I went out again and attempted to make little waterways for the water to flow. I was able to get some of the veggies drained out. Found out that the water run right under one of the Brussels sprouts. I was talking to my Mom and I told her that I thought part of the problem was how Jason and I planted. She echoed my thoughts: "It's all a learning process."

I had one companion while I was out there. And found a little bit of beauty in the water drenched plants.

Learning Curve

What a few weeks it has been. We have learned a lot in the past few weeks and, so we don't forget, I'm writing it all down.

• Ducks are messy and smelly. What this means for the porch: the porch will be wet and smell funny if they are out there. Why they are messy and smelly: Ducks poop, a lot, all over the place. Ducks spread water, a lot, all over the place. Wet poop smells bad. Spread water drips out of dog kennel and on to porch making the porch wet on stocking feet. What to do next time: put ducks someplace where smell and wetness will not be a problem. Current solution: ducks live in barn basement.
• Ducks grow fast. What this means: They will not last long in any enclosure. What to do next time: don't bother trying to house ducks and chicks together in current brood box. Current solution: ducks live in barn basement.
• Ducks will be stupid with their food and water. What this means: They will get it wet and will lay in it. They will poop in it. Current solution: keep food far away from water. 

• Broilers and Layers should not be house together. Why is this a problem? Layers jump, flutter, and perch, but broilers should never do these things. Hard lesson learned: I believe a broiler died due to jumping (but it could have been another ailment?) Current solution: broilers now live in the barn basement.
• Broilers get big fast. Really, really, fast. They weigh quite a lot, a lot more than the layers
• Layers can "fly". They can "fly" out of their brood box and perch on the edge. 
• Chickens get shavings into their water. What this means: the waterer will fill up with shavings and they won't be able to drink anymore. What to do next time: get the hanging waterer in there ASAP
• Chickens huddle for warmth and will squish each other to death. Hard lesson learned: chicks pig-piled and one got smothered. What to do next time: put something in corners so that no one gets stuck and make sure brood box temp is checked more often.
• Chickens are distracting. What this means: chicken loving people may get "stuck" out on porch watching chickens a lot. Current solution: none, I enjoy it quite a lot!

This is the broilers and ducks new home. Actually, right now the fence is going in the other direction due to the torrential amount of rain we've had the past few days. The basement flooded much to the delight of the ducks and the dismay of the chickens. 

Saturday Journal

I cannot believe how the garden has changed in a week. Last week I had nothing to photograph, this week not true. The beans, some of the zucchini and summer squash, and the sunflowers are all up. The peas are growing fast and the other plants are looking great.


The chickens are changing almost daily. The broilers definitely weigh more than the layers. I think I have narrowed down the mystery chick to a bantam (Fluffernutter), it is still quite tiny and if I am right she* will only be about 2lbs fully grown. The deformed chick, Twig is doing great, it will be interesting to see if she will be able to get up to nesting boxes and roost, time will tell. Piglet is our smallest, not sure why she is so little, but it doesn't appear that she's being pushed out of the way to eat so I think she is just bitty. The men are hoping to get the ducks moved into the basement of the barn, boy are they messy!


We are mulching with the pine shavings used in the chicken brood box and in the ducks. I'm not sure if it's a good idea or not. Anybody know for sure? From what I understand the shavings are high in acid which means that we will need to add more lime next spring. Everything is trial and error, like with the ducks who are on house number 3 or is it 4?


Last weeks list

• Weed the peas
• Mulch the strawberries
• Plant pumpkins, squashes, cucumbers, potatoes, watermelon, turnip

This weeks list

• Weed tomatoes
• Hoe between the rows
• Mulch Brussels Sprouts
• Thin the beans

*I am of course, assuming that most of our chicks are female. We were told they are 90% female so hopefully we'll only have a couple of roosters