Homestead Happenings

 

Welcome to Homestead Happenings.

I'm hopeful that your week has been a good one,

allowing you to feel the wonderment of this place we call home.

Summer has bid us farewell,

and we are experiencing cooler temperatures

and the miraculous changes in the natural world.

Big K and I got out yesterday to participate in early voting.

We usually fill out an absentee ballot,

but I felt strongly that I needed to see my vote

register on the machine.

What a privilege it is to have a say in the future of our democracy.

Despite the hurricane affecting their business,

Sow True Seed sent out our garlic for planting this week.

I can't say enough about this company,

and especially their customer service.

Great quality seeds provided by folks who care.

With our final two rectangular Birdie's beds constructed,

we managed to go ahead and fill them with topsoil,

compost and a layer of shredded leaves.

The plan is to grow a cover crop in them this season,

and have them ready for spring planting.

Raven and Scout

Our chooks are keeping us entertained,

that's for sure.

They have taken to climbing up this trellis

to get at the hyacinth bean flowers on the vine

above their run.

They can sometimes be found on the top of the run itself,

where they enjoying munching away on these sweet morsels.

Matilda, who has been our most friendly chook,

has now discovered that she can fly over the fencing at will,

and so we often find her wandering wherever her little heart desires.

I have no way to corral her until a proper fence can be built,

so I just pray that she stays safe.

These black bean sweet potato burgers were made for supper

one night.  I'm happy with the ease of preparation,

but I think I'll add a bit more seasoning to them next time.

The recipe was acquired on Detoxinista,

where many gluten-free, dairy-free goodies can be found.

Check out her autumn/Halloween treats.

We put up a small autumn display.

The Lego head was originally made for

one of C's Halloween costumes.

It was easy to put this together,

with old clothes and straw we had for the chooks.

I hope it brings a smile to neighbors passing by.

The aftermath of Hurricane Helene has truly been

horrific for our neighbors to the west.

At the time of this writing,

there are still 81 people unaccounted for,

three weeks after the storm.

Please keep all of these folks in your heart,

as well as the amazing people who are here to help,

including government workers, linemen and volunteers.

May you be blessed with those you love around you.

Homestead Happenings

Hello there!

Welcome to Homestead Happenings,

where we share what's going on here on our

Piedmont homestead.

The weather here has been beautiful and quite conducive

to working outdoors.

Unless you count the six inches of rain

we've gotten in the past week.

Oh, it's been a wet, soggy mess,

but the garden is soaking it all in.

The rain is about the only thing

that could keep me inside,

as our temperatures have been oh, so mild.

Our handy neighbor Joe,

who has helped us with several projects,

put together this shelving for me.

I told him how I like things tidy,

even outside, and he whipped up these two beauties.

The one pictured here is near the garden and 

corrals all of my pots and bins.

He also created shelving under our deck,

so that I can keep all of my trellises, conduit,

and the like well off the ground.

Another request fulfilled was a frame for my soil blocks.

I'm working my way toward using less plastic,

and soil blocks are a great way to get plants started.

We have the best neighbors.

It's been a wonderful spring for meeting other gardeners,

while having the opportunity to share my extra starts.

Everyone who comes to collect something

has been so kind and gracious,

even offering up seeds or plants in exchange.

Gardeners are a generous lot.

Our dahlias have started to open up,

and what a treat they are to gaze upon.

The bonus is that the pollinators love 'em!

The asparagus is still giving us a few stalks a week,

but it has mostly gone to seed.

I didn't think I would tire of eating it,

but for the last little while,

I've been giving it to neighbors.

I tried an experiment with these seedlings.

The pots were put in with the chooks,

which they quickly and thoroughly devoured.

This is what they looked like after a week.

One regrew and the other did not,

but it was cool to see one rebound.

The two new Birdie beds have been filled 

and are ready to grow some food!

Big K helped me place a cattle panel arch

between the two beds.

Seminole pumpkin and Cushaw squash/melon

have been planted alongside it.

This is the view of the garden from our "spa" room.

I'm pleased with the layout so far.

There will surely be some tweaking,

but I like the more condensed, streamlined look.

The babies have been outside fulltime for a few weeks now.

They seem to be adapting well to all the sights and sounds

around them.

Once they become similar in size to the other hens,

they will be integrated into the flock.

The decision has been made that Gandalf will

live the bachelor life in this coop, out on the grass.  

He will still be able to have free ranging time,

but he will be separated from the girls.

As we have not been able to find a suitable home for him elsewhere,

this is the best we can do for him.

lamb's ear blooms

I'd love to hear about what's happening 

on your homestead!

Do tell!

Homestead Happenings

Hey there!

Welcome back to Homestead Happenings,

where we share what's going on 

here on our Piedmont homestead.

It's been a busy couple of weeks.

Our first rudbeckia of the season has bloomed!

One of the bigger projects this week,

was to get our tall Birdie's beds filled for planting.

As with the hugelkultur method,

logs, branches and twigs are added to the bed,

to reduce the amount of soil needed to fill it.

Everything added will decompose over time.

Shredded leaves from our autumn collecting

makes up the next layer of the bed.

These deep beds take a lot of material,

and it's great having everything on hand.

 

Woodchips make up the last layer before soil.

It fills up any gaps in the bed,

and will break down over time

to enrich the planting medium.

A variety of beets, kale, leeks, 

lettuce and onions fill this bed.

A topping of shredded leaves allows for

moisture retention and weed supression.

It's so gratifying to see veg out there,

knowing it will feed me well.

Succession seedlings await their turn.

We are still harvesting asparagus once or twice a week.

The lettuce that I've been eating off of for the last few months

is starting to bolt, so the new starts will be stepping in.

Since they are still small,

I'll enjoy some baby greens in my salads for a while.

The succession planting idea keeps food coming in

throughout the season.

The irrigation was completed this week,

so the veg garden can be put on a timer

and water itself.

There is still some work needed on our southmost beds,

which contain pollinator plants and garlic.

The flower beds will also get a thorough testing,

to make sure that the drip is working well.

Might as well do everything now,

while the weather is still cool.

The update on the skunk

is that s/he seems to have found somewhere else 

to look for food.

Since adding the hardware cloth around the perimeter

of both runs, there haven't been any signs of digging under.

I did find this lil' guy when I was spreading woodchips.

I added a couple of impromptu fences to areas of the garden.

This area next to our A/C unit has what looks like

cover crops that have come up.

It's been so long, I'm not sure what I planted there!

I like the kind of wild, carefree way it's growing,

but I wanted to keep it off of the pathway in front of the bed,

so I added this brick we had laying around.

Then, next to the two chook runs,

there is a strip of canna lilies coming up.

For some reason, our naughty girls like to eat the leaves.

I decided to add another length of hardware cloth

bordered by more of that brick.

Let's hope they make it!

Speaking of chooks,

our little girls seem to be doing fine.

Here they are enjoying some supervised outdoor time,

getting used to grass, the sunshine

and the strange noises all around them.

They are 4 weeks old this week.

If the weather stays warm,

they should be heading out into their own coop

in about 2 or 3 weeks.

After their size matches the gals we have,

they will be introduced to the flock.

The rest of the birdhouses were hung on trees

instead of using the conduit as in past years.

Another job that will make it easier for me in the future.

Our next-door neighbor's holly 

is loaded with berries!

No doubt the birds will have a feast,

and I'll have some beautiful branches to bring inside.

The loofah has been planted at the base of the gazebo frame.

This will add some shade to the chook run,

as well as provide loofah for anyone who would like some.

Once harvested, it is offered up on a local trading site for free.

Loofah support

The canna lilies are starting to shoot up 

in the front porch bed.

The flower beds are really starting to fill in.

This week, I noticed how the daisies, coneflowers,

rudbeckia and this rue have taken off.

Rue is one of the host plants for the

black swallowtail caterpillars,

so we hope to have many visitors.

Let me know if you want seeds.

With the irrigation project under control,

it's nice to be able to focus on adding to the flowerbeds,

seed sowing and enjoying our flock.

What's going on at your place?

Garden Friday

 

Welcome to Garden Friday!

This week's cold snap (17 degrees),

sure made it feel like winter,

but the calendar says differently.

We are still enjoying some color on the trees which keep their leaves.

Oh yeah.  It's leaf time around here!

It seems the trees have not yet completed their autumn shed.

We still have so many leaves to mulch

and I'm not complaining one bit.

All of these leaves are added to our leaf mulch pile

and then used in garden beds to fortify the soil.

Leaves are one of the best things that can be added

to improve soil.

The bonus is that they suppress weeds and insulate the soil as well,

which allows for earlier planting in the spring.

I reworked the sprouting screen for the chook run,

this time adding a few slats of pallet wood

to raise it off of the ground.

This should make it easier for the seeds to germinate

while keeping the scratching chooks at bay.

It's just another way to provide food for them

and give them another actiivity in the run during the colder months.

Picking autumn/winter bouquets from what's growing

in our yard is a wonderful way to get outside

and enjoy the milder days.

Unbelievably, this rudebekia bloomed,

even after we have had very little rain

and freezing temperatures.

What a bright spot in my day.

Thankfully, we still have some greens growing,

despite the several freezing overnight temperatures we've had.

Here, a bed of Romaine is holding its own.

The brassicas haven't missed a beat.

These beds are nestled under a light covering,

and it seems to do the trick.

There remain plenty of lettuce seedlings,

ready to transplant as the season progresses.

Buttercrunch lettuce is one of my favorite varieties.

On a recent thrifting trip,

I picked up this enamelware vessel

to house our kitchen scraps 

before they go either to the chooks or the compost heap.

It's just the right size, and enamelware speaks to my inner pioneer.

At some point this winter season,

I plan to add two new Birdies' beds to the garden landscape.

The company had a Black Friday sale,

so I was able to get a good deal on two of their beds.

I've been pleased with the round Birdies' bed,

and I'm happy to support a company who does things well.

Read more about the Birdies' difference here.

Another treasure found at the same shop

is this sweet concrete hen.

She even came pre-dusted from a dirt bath!

I don't buy much these days,

but these rehomed items just make my heart feel good.

Fresh greens from the garden are still available to the chooks,

and Queenie is happy to partake.

She seems to have fully recovered from whatever was bothering her

a few weeks ago, 

but she is showing her age.

She is still keeping Betty company on the east end of the run,

and they seem to get along fine.

Neither of them lay anymore,

they are just living out their lives in the best way we can provide.

I'll be happy to have them for as long as they care to stick around.

What a blessing they are to our lives.

Hope this December first is going just the way you like it!