Homestead Happenings

 

allium 

It's nearing the month of May,

and there's been a lot of activity in the garden, and beyond!

Here's some of what we've been up to.

Yukon Gold potatoes were planted in two different spots,

both in the ground.

Using grow bags is my preferred method for growing spuds,

but there were none available,

so I found a couple of bare spots.

They popped up about a week later.

The wire seen on this crop (and others),

is to deter chooks from scratching up plants,

and to keep squirrels out of my food source!

The Seminole pumpkin seeds germinated quicker

than I thought they might.

This was a new-to-me crop last year,

and I was quite impressed with it.

No pest issues to speak of, which is very rare

for squash of any kind.

The loofah sprouted up in mere days,

so it was transferred to its resting place

underneath the gazebo frame.

This will provide the chooks with some 

much needed shade come summertime.

The bonus is that I hope to have many loofahs to give away!

The first harvest of salad greens took place

yesterday, and it looks like we'll have ample lettuce

for the coming weeks.

There are also seedlings that will be 

transplanted into another bed in a week or two.

Gotta keep the greens comin'!

Although we have five blueberry bushes,

this is the only one that is loaded with berries.

I sure hope I get some before the squirrels 

try to take them all.

I will continue to work on improving our harvests each year.

The strawberries are ripening,

and care was taken to surround the circular bed

with welded wire to keep the squirrels out.

New plants may be acquired next season,

as they have to be replaced every few years.

A recent trick I learned to deal with pill bugs,

is to slice medallions of white potatoes

and place them in the beds.

The theory is that the little pests 

go for the spuds and leave the other crops alone.

So far, so good.

The potato slices need to be replaced every so often,

but it beats using pesticides!

ajuga

A tray of both food and flowers was sown

using the soil block method.

This process is still very new to me,

and it takes some practice to get the consistency of the soil

just right so that it stays in the metal form.

I'll keep working on it,

as I'd like to do away completely with using plastic.

Our flower beds are really starting to fill in,

with familiar favorites and a few new plants.

There is still room for additions,

and I'm sure I won't have any trouble finding just the right ones.

All of these plants must be drought tolerant,

as there is no irrigation in this bed.

What a pleasant surprise to see this pink yarrow blooming!

There are many areas in which we have the white variety,

and I had pretty much forgotten that this beauty had been added

just last year.

The baptisia seed was sown a couple of years ago,

and this is the first time it has bloomed.

It's so exciting to see new things popping up!

A few projects were finished over the last two weeks.

I was able to get five 5-gallon buckets of compost

sifted and put in containers.

This process is done once in the spring and in the fall,

and it gives me compost to add to the beds

each time something new goes in,

or to top off the raised beds.

I think it has improved over the last few years,

as the chooks scratching it up and adding manure to the pile helps.

The compost/storage area was tidied a bit.

I call myself "chronically organized", 

because I just don't do well when things are a mess.

Why waste time looking for things 

when keeping things organized is so easy?

A big project that has begun is that we have added

a 6 foot wire fence attached to the chook run.

We have three escapees who refuse to be confined,

and they simply climb or jump over the fabric netting we currently have up.

This new system is at least 3 feet taller, so we are  hoping

it will keep them inside.

The fencing is kept in place using conduit.

It's not a fancy or super sturdy fence,

but it's what I can do myself, can afford and it will

also allow us to put bird netting over the top,

to keep flying predators away.

We still have a larger area to fence in this way,

and we hope to finish that before the hot weather ensues.

It's probably not clear in this picture,

but we have a mole problem.

The center part of this photo shows the ground

raised up and disturbed.

The vole issue we were having in the runs

seems to have been improved by the vibrating spikes

we installed a few weeks ago.

That, and I also add cayenne to the chooks' feed

and select areas in the run where we see holes.

The girls don't taste the cayenne, but the voles do.

Ah well, we have to learn to live together.

The three amigas

Isn't springtime just magical?

So many gorgeous things showing off

and the signs of new life all around.

We had a family of wrens in our porch birdhouse,

and the babies just fledged this week.

So exciting and joyful.

I'll take the joy where I can get it.

How's spring coming along where you are?

Homestead Happenings

 

Welcome to our Friday feature,

Homestead Happenings,

where we share what's going on 

here on our Piedmont homestead.

It's been a rough couple of months,

and I am working toward resolution

to so many things.

Among other things,

I've been dealing with some surprising health issues,

and without the ability to get outside due to the weather,

it has taken its toll on my spirit.

Oftentimes, just being outside hearing the birds

or seeing that glorious blue sky

is enough to bring me back to a good place.

I'm working on it.

Believe it or not,

although we've had a long lasting cold spell,

with lows sometimes in the teens,

spring is beginning to pop up.

These irises aren't afraid to peek out of their cozy nest

in order to start the awakening that will continue for months.

I imagine the heavy blanket of leaves is keeping them

well insulated.

One of the tasks I usually have done by now

is the mulching of the fall leaves.

It just hasn't happened yet.

The blueberry bushes are budding out already,

and I'm hoping that this year our harvest 

will be an improvement from years past.

This will be the second season they have spent

in this same location next to the chook run.

Blueberries are one of my favorite fruits,

and oh-so good for you.

 

Something seems to be overwintering on this leaf.

It's fascinating to see things in nature

that often are hidden because of the abundance of leaves.

When the bushes and trees are bare,

it's so much easier to notice things.

Raven

The chooks have fared well through these frigid weeks.

With ample feathers to keep themselves warm,

they stay active scratching leaves and pecking the ground.

They are also given cracked corn to help them keep warm

during the coldest days and nights.

Straw has been used over the coldest part of the season,

and it's done a great job of keeping them toasty.

Yesterday, I decided to swap it out for shredded paper,

from our end-of-the-year file cabinet purge.

It should work similarly to the straw,

and it can be composted when it is no longer needed.

The bonus is that it keeps the coops cleaner.

Going through difficult periods in life

is certainly not easy.

I'm comforted by knowing that it won't be like this forever.

Things will get better and I am in God's hands.

It helps to remember to count each and every blessing

in the day-to-day.

This jar of sprouts on my kitchen windowsill

helps me keep in mind that my life is abundant.

Even though it's 14 degrees outside,

these seeds have decided to grow and give me food.

What a miracle.

May peace and comfort fill your heart.

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 experiencing a true (for us) winter

here in the Piedmont of North Carolina, 

minus the snow.

We've been living here for just over 7 years,

and this is the coldest temperature we have had thus far.

Thankfully, the extreme chilliness only lasted for a few days,

and our averages are again ranging in the 40's to 60's.

So grateful for our toasty fireplace!

Most of the brassicas did well with an extra layer of protection.

The additional row cover saved most of the broccoli,

kale, and even lettuce plants.

The cauliflower was not so fortunate.

The leaves can still be shared with the chooks.

A few of the broccoli heads were harvested before the coldest weather,

even though they were not full-sized.

Oh, my, they didn't disappoint.

It was the tastiest broccoli I think I've ever eaten.

The remaining crops will offer side shoots for future picking.

Winter sowing has begun!

Time spent indoors allowed me to work on

the crops I want to grow for this spring.

The focus for this season is on crops I eat regularly.

The basics are carrots, kale, onions, potatoes,

and a handful of herbs.

Several containers were sown using the winter sowing method.

You can read about that here.

The bins remain outside placed in the asparagus bed,

and will be watered only when necessary.

Fortunately, we've had a long stretch of rain visit the garden,

so these should be quite content.

As the weather allows, more seeds will be started.

Betty actually spent some time inside.

We used our closet-sized room 

off the master bathroom to nurse her.

She has been limping for a while,

although I can find no sign of problems with her feet or legs.

She stayed warm, dry and bully-free for a week.

She's walking better and is back outside.

Several of the mailboxes in our cul-de-sac have been destroyed.

For some reason, over the course of a week,

someone found it necessary to

knock them over, run into them or

somehow make them unusable.

We ended up replacing the post with a metal one

and replaced the box on top.

These were originally purchased at the library bookshop.

I am looking for a local "free library",

(the kind where folks can give and take books)

so that they can be donated.

With the book banning going on these days,

it makes it a bit more difficult to find the right spot.

Hopefully, others will get to enjoy these.

The blueberries are waking up!

I spied buds on the branches about a week ago,

and despite the neglect over the summer,

(I didn't water them much),

and their poor placement in the garden,

they still keep working toward a harvest.

A few of the blueberry crops were stretching to reach the sun,

so the pots have been moved to the outside of the chook run.

I'm hoping they will get a better distribution of sunshine here.

The plan was to put them in the ground this year

and hope for the best.  I have thus far not had a great harvest from the plants,

but I am still tweaking the soil to get the right balance of acidity.

Maybe the proximity to the chooks and their fertilizer will help.

The cold is part of winter,

and we are so glad to be living with the seasons.

It does require me to alter my day-to-day a bit.

One thing I enjoy doing in the heat of summer

and in the cold of winter is jigsaw puzzles.

Almost done with this beauty!

I usually go for a 1-mile walk through the neighborhood

at least four days a week.

With the rain and cold, that's not possible,

so I have found a great resource for walking inside.

It's called "Walk at Home", and it can be found on YouTube.

Each day I can pick from a number of videos to complete my walk for the day.

In fact, I've been enjoying them so much,

that I have increased my walk inside to 2 miles.

If you need an alternative or just want to get started

taking better care of yourself,

this is an easy way to do something for you.

Even better, have family or friends join in!

Here's the link.

What's happening on your homestead?