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.

Homestead Happenings

 

It's time for Homestead Happenings,

where we share what's been going on 

here on our Piedmont homestead.

More cut flowers this week included some gorgeous

multi petaled tulips in various shades.

This vessel was actually the milk pitcher

my mom transferred over from the milk bottles

that were delivered to our back porch when I was a wee one.

One of the few childhood treasures I ended up with.

We did it!

We expanded our family and picked up a few

Olive Egger chicks!

It's so exciting having young energy in the house.

They are the softest creatures I have ever felt.

What a blessing to be able to nurture new life.

The unused spa tub is being used as a brooder.

They are not too loud as they cheep and peep,

so they don't keep Big K up at night.

I was wondering if his snoring would keep them awake!

Our hummer feeders have been washed and scrubbed

and will be ready for the first day of April

to start taking care of our feathered friends.

A neighbor had given me the little cleaning kit,

which comes with tiny bottle brushes to clean the ports.

It also came with extra ports so they can be replaced as needed.

We are swimming in seedlings,

which I have to admit,

is a nice place to be.

I've never before had so much success with starting seeds.

Thanks to the winter sowing method.

there are plenty for us and more to give away!

red kale

speckled Amish butter lettuce

leeks

More of the winter sowing seedlings

were transplanted yesterday into larger cell packs.

The root system is absolutely fabulous,

and I'm hoping they continue to thrive in their new pots.

The soil recipe I'm using came from a good friend

and fellow Master Gardener.

She uses organic topsoil mixed with perlite

and vermiculite.

Peat moss is never used here,

as it is not a sustainable resource.

This combination seems to work well,

and we have a local supplier for the topsoil 

literally down the road.

tulips

On my daily walk,

it's hard not to notice the beautiful blooms.

One of our neighbors, and fellow veg gardener,

has an amazing display of phlox sprawling next to his driveway.

This is a favorite, and I have plans to plant it

along our slope, so that it cascades down to the street.

This candytuft fills in another neighbor's mailbox bed.

We have some of this growing in our pollinator bed,

but I plan to add more around the homestead.

It stayed green all winter,

and requires very little care.

Our wonderful next door neighbor's irises

were struttin' their stuff yesterday.

The blues are so intense,

and the contrast between the bloom and the green foliage

is certainly striking.

Life is good here on the homestead.

How's spring shaping up where you are?