Homestead Happenings

 

Welcome back to Homestead Happenings,

where we share what's going on in our world.

The leaves are changing and creating

a colorful carpet all over the landscape.

The phenomenon never ceases to amaze me.

After living in Florida for most of my life,

(where things are mostly green year-round),

I truly appreciate the wonder of Mother Nature

at this time of the year.

The cover crop bed is filling in nicely.

This raised bed is a new one this year,

and I wanted to give it a jump start for spring.

The seeds in this mix will help to charge the soil

and ready it for planting next season.

The first broccoli head was spotted this week!

It's so exciting to watch this plant grow.

After the initial head is harvested,

we should get many shoots that will be equally delicious.

The leaves can also be added to salads or sauteed.

Lettuce and kale (not shown)

have been harvested regularly this week

to use in salads.

The chooks have been enjoying some of the

Red Russian kale we are growing

and follow me from bed to bed

until I relent and give them a treat.

Alliums were found on clearance,

so I picked up a few bags.

These bulbs were planted in various flower beds,

and under deciduous trees.

Come springtime, we should have a beautiful display

of purple and pink blooms.

Bulbs are one of the most economical ways to

add drama and life to the garden,

especially if you pick them up on sale!

Speaking of bulbs,

a few weeks ago, the garlic was planted

for a May/June harvest.

In a few places, I noticed that there were 2 plants emerging.

I dug them up to replant them elsewhere,

and couldn't believe the root system I found.

If you remember, this year the garlic was soaked

in a fish emulsion fertilizer before planting.

It seems to have made a difference,

wouldn't you say?

Some time was taken to tidy up the storage rack

that holds all of the pots that are used in the spring.

I'm hoping to make the transition to soil blocks,

so that I can recycle or give away most of this material.

This storage rack was recently acquired,

and it seems that it would make a great drying rack

for my herbs.

I'd need to add screening to the baskets,

as the holes are too large as is.

What would you repurpose this for?

It seems our wayward Matilda

has taught her friend Raven how to escape

from the chook run.

These two can be found most days

wandering the property and scratching

every leaf and blade of grass they find.

As time permits,

I head out into the woods behind our home

to work on creating a natural wall,

separating our property from our neighbors’.

This is being done to discourage the chooks

from wandering too far over onto their property.

They don't mind,

but it will be easier to keep them in sight

when we are in the house.

There are no shortage of sticks, twigs and branches,

so I look forward to working on this 

all winter long.

enjoying cornbread

As our spa room (off the bathroom) project is now complete,

we are trying to determine exactly what we want

to do with the space.

In the meantime, we reorganized the closet

that is in the master bathroom.

It's possible that some of this will end up in the new room,

as it will most likely be used for storage.

I'm hoping to find space to house my 

ever-growing collection of seeds.

Here are a few shots of the before and after of that spa room.

We called it that because the only thing in it

was the jacuzzi tub, which was never used,

except as a brooder last spring.

The vanity shown has been installed for a while,

but we hadn't ever added the backsplash.

It now looks finished,

and we are so grateful to have this extra space.

The light in this small room is fantastic,

as it faces east.

I'd love to hear your ideas about how you would use it.