I’m still in a little bit of an unmotivated mood like I was on Sunday. So here’s my post. Meet Bear, our 125 pound baby. You’ve seen enough pictures of his little blond sister. We call him Eeyore because that is exactly who he acts like. Brian already had Bear when we met. Bear and I had some issues to work through back then. Brian went away for the weekend and Bear wouldn’t get off the couch. I mean really, he refused. I pulled on him, he curled his lip. Then I got smart and pulled the cushion out from under him. Still, he wouldn’t move. I finally put the cushion on the floor next to the couch and coaxed him on to it. Then, I slid the cushion across the wood floor to the doorway. Picture the big lug on an iceberg, that’s what it looked like. In fact, he still will hardly touch the floor. He’s scared to death of it. Too slippery I guess. He actually walks on his tiptoes to get to the couch. As I type, he sleeps next to me, curled up on his couch cushion. Since we got the new (used) furniture awhile
Continue readingMonth: April 2009
Growing Challenge Check In
Here’s what I’m growing so far: Seedlings under light:Amish Paste TomatoesGreen Zebra TomatoesWaltham 29 BroccoliPing Tung EggplantLong Purple Eggplant In the garden:Red pioneer potatoes- 10# – plantedRed onions – 2-3″ tallDwarf GreySugar Peas (hybrid) – 1 20′ row – just upAsparagus – up and growingBlack seeded simpson lettuce – 1 20′ row – some upBlack seeded simpson lettuce – 1 20′ row planted 4/27Sugar Ann snap pea – 1 20′ row planted 4/27Victoria Rhubarb – approx. 25 seeds planted 4/27 Around the farm:Heritage Raspberry – 4 canes planted 4/26Strawberry – nice and greenGooseberry and Currants – 2 of each – planted last year – doing great!2 Red Haven Peach trees – planted1 Harrow pear tree – planted1 Bartlett pear tree – planted1 Montmorency Cherry tree – planted1 Gala apple tree – planted1 Golden Delicious apple tree – planted4 blueberry bushes – planted last year – still alive
Continue readingSunday Stroll… Sort of
I just really didn’t feel like doing much today. Yesterday Brian cut up our old rabbit cage so I could have 2 pieces of plywood for our new farm sign. I painted them this morning. Then we went to breakfast with Brian’s Grandpa. I’m pretty sure he turned 93 this year! After breakfast I put on a second coat of paint. We watched King Corn. I was really disappointed! I guess it might make a bigger impact on people who don’t farm but it really didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know. I was hoping the film would help Brian to see why corn in everything is a bad thing, but it wasn’t too convincing. After the movie Brian worked out in the shop for awhile. It was pretty rainy and cold today so I didn’t go out. I’ve been working on our website like crazy and it is almost done!! Get ready, I’m going to want everyone’s opinions of it once it is done! 🙂 Then I worked on tracing our logo on to the farm sign. I’ve got one piece almost done, then I can paint it. Anyway, since I’d really like to get back in to
Continue readingThis is WAR!
I am so sick of dog tracks in my freshly planted garden… of dog poop all over the garden (I thought I’d spare you a picture) when I’m trying to dig in it… and now… now I’m really, REALLY mad. This… is damage to my garlic. My precious, vigorous, first-time-for-me garlic. The same garlic that is the only thing actually growing in the garden so far. Except asparagus. Anyway… THIS… is the solution to all my doggie garden problems, or at least I hope so. The garden just happens to be next to the electric pasture fence and I just happen to have some push in posts and extra wire. I love animals, but I’ll be watching tomorrow morning as they bound out to the garden for their morning business. And I’ll be doing a victory dance as they get they get the shock of their lives. After all, this is war, and I’m hoping to win!
Continue readingAsparagus The Movie
This one really hits home for me and I hope you will feel the same. The movie focuses on the asparagus industry of Western Michigan and how it may be negatively affected by U.S. foreign policy. You can watch a trailer for it here and find out more about the movie here. The best part is that it supposed to be broadcast free on PBS on April 29th at 8 PM. I couldn’t find that listing on tvguide.com or the movie’s website but it was advertised in the latest Michigan Farm News so I’m hoping it is true. Also check out The Beginning Farmer’s latest post for a couple more good movie ideas. I’m really excited about the Food Inc. movie and it looks like it will be available through Netflix eventually. Enjoy!
Continue readingBuilding An Eggmobile: Part 1
This weekend we began building our eggmobile. The intention is to use it for our laying flock during the warmer months, in conjunction with an electric poultry net. I told Brian to pretend it was a fun project. He was not convinced! 😉 I bought the trailer from my Dad for $40. It is made from the bed of an old S-10 pickup. The deck measures approx. 5′ x 8′. First, a little planning… 5×8= 40 sq. ft.Approx 1 sq. ft. per bird = 40 bird maximum1 nest box per 4 hens = 10 nest boxes minimumI also calculated perch requirements but don’t have the figures in front of me… We wanted a single sloping roof to make construction easier. I didn’t want to lose floor space so we added a 1′ overhang to the floor on one of the long sides, thus making a nice spot for the nest boxes. First we put on a base made of 2×4’s. Brian drilled in to the metal frame and bolted the boards right to it. We salvaged the 2x4s from pieces that didn’t burn on our shed, so they didn’t cost us anything. That means I spent most of my time
Continue readingFruit Trees!
My order from the Conservation District came in on Friday. I took advantage of the 70 degree temps (!!!) yesterday and planted them. I put them on our sideyard near the one pear tree I planted last year. Now we have 1 pear, 1 peach, 1 cherry, and 2 apple trees there. I still need to add another pear and another peach. I also got in touch with a neighbor who graciously came and showed me how to prune our older trees. We take care of the empty house across the road and there are a few apple trees in the yard. I picked a lot of apple from the trees last year and wanted to prune them back nicely. I didn’t do a lot because it is quite late for pruning but at least now I have a better idea on how to do it. My nice neighbor gave me a recipe for tree spray and recommended I use it repeatedly throughout the season. He insists that he tried organic methods with his and was not happy with the results. What are you thoughts on this? I hate the idea of spraying them but it did make for a
Continue readingSuggestions?
Lately I’m all about keeping things simply and easy to manage. If you read here regularly then you already know that. Despite my normally crafty ways, I am at a loss when it comes to how to store spices. The pic above shows my growing collection. I never had much trouble keeping salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Now that I’m cooking more “real” food I’ve added all kind of things… paprika, celery salt, nutmeg, etc. Right now a lot of them are the inexpensive brand from the grocery. I like it that they come in glass jars (still with plastic tops). Ideally I will move away from store boughts and start to make a lot of my own seasonings. The rest I can buy in baggies at the farmer’s market. So, here’s the question: where do I put them? People joke about spice racks but should I get one? What do you do with yours? In the cupboard I can’t see what they are. On the shelf they still get hidden plus 3 fall off for every 1 I grab. As you can see in the pic I’ve got over a dozen different ones to store. I don’t want to
Continue readingA Few Turkeys!
Last year at this time I brought home some chicks from the feed store so I could gain experience with egg layers. After having them all year I felt confident enough to order some heritage chicks that will arrive next month. I think that someday I would like to offer turkeys to our customers, especially around the holidays. Of course I want to raise a heritage breed but they are very expense and usually have minimum order requirements. I’ve heard turkeys are much more fragile than chickens but have never raised them myself. So…today I brought home 3 Bronze White turkey poults from the feed store. They’ll be good to practice with and maybe we’ll even have our own turkey dinner next winter! In the meantime I’m just going to enjoy how cute they are and pray that the cat does not break in and eat them since they are currently living in our basement. I’ll keep you posted on how this project goes! Any turkey advice to share?
Continue readingA New Forum…
Just in case you haven’t heard, there is a new forum in town. Nature’s Harmony Farmer’s Forum has just been created and I’m already addicted. Check it out! Respond! Share! Enjoy!
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