Homestead Happenings

 

It's time for Homestead Happenings,

where we share what's been going on 

here on our Piedmont homestead.

More cut flowers this week included some gorgeous

multi petaled tulips in various shades.

This vessel was actually the milk pitcher

my mom transferred over from the milk bottles

that were delivered to our back porch when I was a wee one.

One of the few childhood treasures I ended up with.

We did it!

We expanded our family and picked up a few

Olive Egger chicks!

It's so exciting having young energy in the house.

They are the softest creatures I have ever felt.

What a blessing to be able to nurture new life.

The unused spa tub is being used as a brooder.

They are not too loud as they cheep and peep,

so they don't keep Big K up at night.

I was wondering if his snoring would keep them awake!

Our hummer feeders have been washed and scrubbed

and will be ready for the first day of April

to start taking care of our feathered friends.

A neighbor had given me the little cleaning kit,

which comes with tiny bottle brushes to clean the ports.

It also came with extra ports so they can be replaced as needed.

We are swimming in seedlings,

which I have to admit,

is a nice place to be.

I've never before had so much success with starting seeds.

Thanks to the winter sowing method.

there are plenty for us and more to give away!

red kale

speckled Amish butter lettuce

leeks

More of the winter sowing seedlings

were transplanted yesterday into larger cell packs.

The root system is absolutely fabulous,

and I'm hoping they continue to thrive in their new pots.

The soil recipe I'm using came from a good friend

and fellow Master Gardener.

She uses organic topsoil mixed with perlite

and vermiculite.

Peat moss is never used here,

as it is not a sustainable resource.

This combination seems to work well,

and we have a local supplier for the topsoil 

literally down the road.

tulips

On my daily walk,

it's hard not to notice the beautiful blooms.

One of our neighbors, and fellow veg gardener,

has an amazing display of phlox sprawling next to his driveway.

This is a favorite, and I have plans to plant it

along our slope, so that it cascades down to the street.

This candytuft fills in another neighbor's mailbox bed.

We have some of this growing in our pollinator bed,

but I plan to add more around the homestead.

It stayed green all winter,

and requires very little care.

Our wonderful next door neighbor's irises

were struttin' their stuff yesterday.

The blues are so intense,

and the contrast between the bloom and the green foliage

is certainly striking.

Life is good here on the homestead.

How's spring shaping up where you are?

A Twist on Gratitude

Every

Twinkling of starlight,

Scent of magnolia blooming,

Wondrous emerging bulb,

Song of nature,

Billowy breeze 

is

            a

                             gift…

Your turn.

Homestead Happenings

It's Friday and time to share what's going on 

around our Piedmont Homestead.

Spring has definitely arrived,

and we have color popping up all over!

These purple irises have never looked better.

Something I've wanted for a while now,

is a pulley system for drying clothes.

I had been using a whirly-gig type,

which worked fine,

but as I get older, I am looking to

streamline chores and make things easier on myself.

What a thrill it was to use it for the first time!

What can I say?  I find joy in the everyday.

These lovely blue pots had contained our blueberries.

They had been relocated to this area,

after a disappointing harvest a few years ago.

Unfortunately, the move didn't help.

I decided to again try growing in the ground,

in a different location.

When I pulled up the plants,

none of them had much root development.

No wonder we didn't get any fruit.

Back into the ground they go,

this time right on the outside of the new chicken run.

I placed wire cages around them,

because I noticed Betty eating the flowers off of the stems.

Ugh.

I'm hoping that the fertilizer from the chooks

will aid in healthier plants.

I also added tons of organic material

collected from the recent cleanup of our woods.

The pine needles and leaf mulch should benefit them.

Time will tell.

The strawberries have been replanted

in the round Birdie's bed,

after redesigning the garden layout.

It was promptly fertilized with 10-10-10.

I’ll need to come up with an idea

to keep the squirrels out of this container.

I'm thinking of adding more strawberries to another bed as well.

The potato cages were placed inside this silver metal bed.

This will be a flex-bed, changing out crops as needed.

The other silver bed was placed between the two tall Birdie beds.

The plan is to sow herbs here,

or maybe designate it as a tea garden.

As each bed is moved to its new location,

hardware cloth is added to the bottom,

to deter critters (read squirrels), from digging up from below.

Before the soil is added,

the irrigation needs to be fed up into the side of the bed,

to offer a more efficient watering system.

The bottoms of the taller beds will be filled with

logs, branches, twigs and a layer of shredded leaves

before the soil is added.

We have plenty of wood piles to clean up around the homestead.

This takes up some of the cavernous space in the bed,

and saves on soil costs.

These deep beds are great for root crops,

but the height actually makes it easier for harvesting at waist level.

These two are enjoying their time together.

Betty (left) and Queenie (right) have become best buds.

They spend their days (and nights) together,

and can often be found sitting side-by-side sunbathing.

In fact, I'd say that Betty's balance issues

have become almost non-existent due to Queenie.

Friendship can be a great healer.

And, believe it or not,

she has started laying eggs again.

It's been months since she's offered us anything,

but now she is laying quite regularly.

Just shows you what a little love and understanding will do for a body.

These leeks that were started from seed that a friend shared,

are jumping out of their winter sowing containers.

I've never had such good germination of leeks.

Just look at the root development!

These beauties were transplanted into pots

and left to grow on before placing in beds.

Up ahead-leek soup!

My French momma would be proud.

The front garden is coming along.

I've been working on this over the last year,

adding some much-needed evergreen interest here.

It's still a work in progress,

but I'm feeling very contented with our movement forward.

What a treat to once again have fresh picked flowers

to bring into the house.

No doubt there will be plenty more

throughout the growing season.

I'm not sure why,

but I'm feeling a renewed sense of stewardship 

that I've never really felt before.

Things are coming together in a most

extraordinary way,

and it's such a blessing.

What's happening at your homestead 

on this fine spring day?

Homestead Happenings

 

We’re expanding our flock this season.

When Omlet came out with this larger coop,

we knew we needed more living space for our girls.

The other thought was that it would mean

only one coop to clean for me.

How exciting it was to find these awaiting me 

when I arrived home one afternoon.

Omlet gives you everything you need!

Omlet coops come with great, easy-to-follow instructions,

and there are videos found online if needed.

Big K and I had this assembled in a couple of hours.

The improvements, like the new ramp,

should make life even better for the chooks.

There are so many wonderful features about this coop

that I really love,

like the new separated nesting boxes,

which allow hens more privacy,

the larger size, and the enhanced security doors.

It is worth the high price tag,

because we’ll never need to buy another coop.

I don't endorse many products, 

but I believe in Omlet products so much,

that I became an ambassador.

The second improvement we made for the chooks,

was replacing our janky fencing

with a new enclosed run.

Another diy project,

Big K and I tackled this job in steps.

The frame came with chicken wire,

but we wanted a sturdier material for the surrounding cage.

This 1x1 inch welded wire did the trick.

We also found stainless steel tie wraps 

to connect the wire to the frame.

It took us about 6 hours over a few days, as weather permitted,

to get the structure up.

We love the more streamlined look,

and the chooks are getting used to their new digs.

It makes me feel better

knowing that the hawks that live in our neighborhood,

will have to go elsewhere for their lunch.

The buffet is closed.

Remember I said that one of the reasons

I wanted a bigger coop was so that I would have 

only 1 to clean?

Well, that didn't really work out,

because Betty, our barred rock,

still has issues with her balance,

and I don't think she'd be able to use the ramp.

She is also mercilessly picked on by three of the girls,

so we have her and Queenie living in style

on the other side of the big run.

This will get some updates as well,

we just haven't gotten to them yet.

For now, they seem content in their Omlet Go.

Big K installed this automatic door to the run,

so that the chooks can free range at least once a day.

We have it set to open for an hour in the afternoon.

The bonus is that we now have a working camera out there,

so that we can check on them from inside the house.

Overall, we're happy with the added security,

and although we've only had one predator attack (a dog)

in the three years we've been chicken tending,

these additional measures should give this chicken momma

a lot of peace of mind.

What’s new on your homestead?

Homestead Happenings

Big changes are happening on our homestead,

as signs of spring emerge.

These sweet lil’ crocus blooms are a sure predictor

of the changes ahead.

The winter sowing continues to give us ample opportunity 

to celebrate the abundance in the garden.

These lettuce starts were ready for more space,

so they were transplanted into small (repurposed) pots.

The roots were fairly strong,

so they were planted in a light potting soil,

mixed with vermiculite and perlite.

As you can see, we have no shortage of transplants.

This batch includes chamomile, kale, 

leeks, and lettuces.

More starts will be transferred this weekend.

The sweet potato slips are starting

to take off.

A bit of light from this east facing window

and topping off the water in the can

is all that is required.

Several cans line the windowsill.

Two new Birdie beds are being added to the garden this season,

although their final placement is not yet secure.

They've been assembled, so they will soon be ready to grow.

These are the first tall beds I’m trying.

The bottom 2/3 will be filled with logs,

branches, twigs and leaves, before the soil is added.

The potatoes we planted in cages a few weeks ago

are finally sprouting.

We used some spuds from last fall's harvest.

We will be adding hardware cloth underneath the potato cages, 

as well as under beds and plantings, 

due to a recently discovered pesky problem.

I’m fairly certain these are vole holes.

They are covering most of the area around our drain field.

We’ve had a few holes from time to time,

but it looks like they are moving in!

Still researching organic ways to discourage them,

but we’re starting with garlic or coffee grounds in the holes.

The scent is supposed to repel them. 

We’ll see.

Last week, two elderberry trees got moved.

They had been on the northeast side of the property,

and were leaning to reach the sun.

Hopefully, they’ll enjoy their new spot.

We sowed alyssum seeds as a border

all along the front flower bed,

and I noticed yesterday that they are emerging.

Thank you rain!

Nasturtiums were also placed here.

The freshly harvested broccoli has been relished.

The side shoots are so tender and barely need steaming.

Daffodils are popping up all over the neighborhood,

including in our pollinator bed.

I also see tulips coming up,

and the candytuft just rocks on!

The other morning,

Big K noticed this squirrel on the back deck.

It is consuming a camellia flower.

Who knew?

A friend recently wanted to make room 

in her gorgeous garden for some new plants,

and asked me if I wanted her hydrangeas.

Uh...yeah!

They've been living in our landscape for

nearly a month now,

and the new growth has started!

I'm so excited, because when I lived in Florida,

I always envied folks who had these plants.

Further south, they don't grow well

because there is not enough cold through the winter.

What a blessing!

A batch of vanilla was put together.

It was overdo,

as I try to make it at the start of the new year.

It’s so simple,

and the bonus is that I was able to add the vanilla bean trimmings 

to the basket of my percolator.

It adds a mellow flavor to my morning Joe.

There are other new developments to report,

but I think those will have to wait for another post.

Wishing you peace and prosperity on your homestead.