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?

Homestead Happenings

It's time for Homestead Happenings,

where we share what's going on 

around our Piedmont  homestead.

We are wrapping up some of the bigger projects

before we jumpstart the spring garden season.

The baby chicks are getting so big,

and are flying/jumping out of the tub

at every chance.

It will soon be warming up 

and they may be getting their first outdoor experience this weekend,

when temperatures will be in the 80's.

We will take them out briefly to acclimate them to the great outdoors.

It should be fun.

We are new to chick raising,

so any advice from you seasoned chicken folks is welcome.

columbine

columbine too!

The irises surrounding the chook run are starting to bloom.

The bonus is that since the renovation of the run,

the plants are no longer within reach of the chooks.

No more dining on iris foliage!

The garlic in the grow bags is doing marvelously!

This is the first time I've grown garlic this way,

and I have to say, that it seems to suit.

One thing that made it easier is the fact that

we've had ample rain, and so there has been no need to water.

The main garlic bed is coming along nicely.

The bed was deconstructed,

and will remain more of a raised row.

There is a scattering of lettuce and I noticed last week

that a couple of potato plants from the fall are coming up.

More spuds!

Although winter is officially over,

several crops and flowers were sown using

the winter sowing method.

I've never grown flowers this way,

so it'll be interesting to see if the germination rate

is as successful as it has been for our veg.

Betty is a wonderful supervisor.

Determined to get some strawberries this year,

drastic measures have been taken to keep the squirrels away from the booty.

I used some hardware cloth to form a ring around this Birdie's round bed,

and cut a piece to lay across the top.

All of our new beds will have hardware cloth

on the bottom as well.

To add insult to injury,

I covered the whole kit-and-kaboodle with row cover.

Take that, you pesky varmints!

Fingers crossed.

The final project before beds are planted,

is to revise the irrigation system.

Some of the beds will be moved,

and I figured out an easier way to 

get the water to the beds.

I took inventory of what materials I had on hand,

and was pleased to see that I needed only to purchase

a few things.

I use mostly products from 

Mister Landscaper because they are 

made in the USA!

One handy hint when running irrigation 

is to lay out your poly and drip lines 

to warm in the sun before beginning.  

It makes it easier to insert connective parts.

Another option is to place the end of the poly 

in a bucket of hot water to make it more pliable.

I was able to lay out most of the irrigation lines,

and will connect everything once the needed parts are purchased.

Everything will be buried under the soil

and wood chips will complete the task.

The design I'm using this time will make for an easy set up,

as there are fewer elbows and tees needed.

We've been skunked!

Big K spotted a skunk INSIDE the smaller chook run

the other morning (4:30 am).

This was the entry hole that was found the next day

at the entry door to the larger run.

So, the stinker (pun intended) succeeded in 

getting into both runs. 

Thankfully, our Omlet coops kept them all safe.

Hardware cloth has been added to the perimeter of each run,

with long boards on top of that.

Hopefully, this critter will look elsewhere for a meal.

This cabbage looks deceiving.

Picture worthy, indeed,

but the heads have not formed.

Without a lot of experience with this crop,

it's a mystery.

It was promptly harvested and given to the chooks.

The time has come to ready the garden for spring crops.

The weather has been drop dead gorgeous,

as my beloved farmer Lynn likes to say.

With another dose of solid rain this week,

hand watering has been unnecessary.

What a luxury.

I hope you are savoring the magic of spring.

May you be surrounded by peace.