So much going on right now at the farm. This is our second growing season here and it couldn’t be more different than last year. Instead of endless rain and cool temps, we have record breaking heat and are having to figure out solutions to keep all of the plants and animals adequately hydrated.
The garden [...]
We’ve heard about a new high tunnel initiative (we call them “grow tunnels” or “polytunnels”) to test their effectiveness. Finally took the time to do a Google search to pull in the proper links. For the Cliff’s Notes version, check out this write up on USA TODAY. For the nitty gritty, go the USDA press release.
The [...]
The last month of the farm has been one of our busiest. We managed to butcher all of our remaining turkeys prior to Thanksgiving, 8 chickens, 2 ducks, and fifteen rabbits. The only meat animal (aside from the two calves) left on the farm is our black sheep. He goes to the butcher on Sunday. [...]
A catch-up on the last few weeks here at Terrabyte Farm.
Sheep and Goats
They were all sheared and had their “mani-pedis”. We got some very lovely fleece, despite the fact that a freak rain storm drenched the animals right before the sheaer got here. Our female Angora goat Flora had been suffering from hoof rot for [...]
While we’re not done, we feel like we’ve made good progress on our polytunnel (aka high tunnel, grow tunnel, etc). The hardest part was driving the ground pipe (1.66 inch diameter galvanized steel) into the ground. The hoops are then attached to those ground pipe using self-tapping metal screws. There were 13 on each side [...]
I know I have said it many times before, but the reason we made the big leap to start our own homestead was to raise the absolute best food possible. That is because we both really love to cook and eat and so do our kids. As much as we have loved buying from many [...]
We were finally able to contain the cows. After a week in their electrified paddock, the cows were moved to their permanent summer home. Mike and Jackson put up electric fence running from the back corner of the paddock, around behind the bee hives, and then over to join our fence on the other side [...]
Things have been very busy here over the last month. So busy, that blogging has taken a massive back seat. I will try to catch-up on everything that’s going on:
Fauna
The chickens are doing well, laying eggs and getting big. I have finally butchered the last of our meat chickens. I ended up processing thirty of [...]
Having spent a significant portion of my graduate career performing statistical calculations, I can say with certainty that there is a strong negative correlation between the niceness of the weather and the frequency of my blog posts. Since this is my life, I can even go so far as to state with absolute certainty that [...]
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, [...]