Terrabyte Farm

On Friday we were able to get all of our transplants that we purchased from a few local nurseries in the ground.  We planted a 50 ft row of peppers and eggplants, tomatoes (2 rows), and herbs and brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, etc).  There are a few more plants we would like to get; some basil, a few more eggplants, maybe some tomatillos.  Then, all we have left to plant are the seeds for beans, squash, corn, cucumbers, and melons.  The garden is taking shape, hopefully things will continue to grow well.

Saturday morning we drove to Marlborough to get our two packages of bees.  The man we got them from drives down to Savanna, Georgia three times per year to bring back packages of bees that people have purchased.  He must have had between 500-1000 packages, each containing 5,000-10,000 bees.  It was really amazing to be with that many living creatures in such a small space.  We got our bees home and very successfully placed them in their hives.  Jackson was lucky enough to drive the little lawn tractor out to the site with the hives, he is very good at steering.  I was also really amazed how comfortable he felt around the bees, he was not scared at all.  He has never been stung, but at the same time, he knows that bees DO sting.  One of the packages went in with no problems, and almost no dead bees.  The other package was not quite so “smart” and a number of the bees, maybe a few hundred died on the outside.  Their numbers will decrease by up to 10-20% in the next month before they starting maintaining their colony, which is expected.  We will not have any honey for ourselves this year, the main goal is to establish the colony and next year we should be able to get 50-100 lbs of honey per hive.

This morning we took the pigs to the butcher.  Loading them in was very easy, we had been feeding them in the trailer the last few days.  The trip there was very uneventful, we took all back roads as to avoid the highway and we got to have a really glorious drive through some beautiful New England farm areas.  Hardly anyone was out on the roads so we had an easy time.  Unloading went just as smoothly as loading.  The pigs will be butchered within 24 hours, then hung until Friday when we will go to meet with the butcher while he butchers the pigs into their respective cuts.  We also picked up a few goodies as they run an amazing deli where they do most of their own meat.  Even though it was only 9:30 am we got a large Italian sub that was superb.

Next we drove about another 45 minutes west to East Haddam and Cold Goats Farm.  We met the farmers at the CT Sheep and Wool Festival last month.  We bought a 1 year old whether angora goat (another name for a neutered male) named Clematis and his 2 year old half-sister named Foxglove.  We drove them home in the back of the Blazer and they were lovely company as they were quiet and smell quite nicely of lanolin.  Once we got back home and had them unloaded, they bounded straight for our field and began munching on the prickers.  PERFECT!  That is exactly what we want them to do, that and produce their lovely soft fleece for us to shear twice a year.

Chicks should be here tomorrow or Tuesday.  We still have not had any calves and the two cows look massive, so hopefully soon.

Enjoy your day and if possible, we highly encourage you to seek out some local honey.  For those with seasonal allergies, eating local honey can really help control the symptoms.

As always, check our flickr.com page for lots more pics, link to the right.