Mother Clucker!

Only 3 eggs this morning...we're blaming Mother Clucker but it may have been any of the ladies who slacked off today. 

In other news, finding Tilapia for the aquaponics was turning out to be the hardest part of the setup - Nathan was thinking he was going to have to order them online and have them shipped for a pretty high cost. We were looking through the local newspaper the other day at lunch and just happened to look at the classifieds...and we spotted this! The only ad in the section:

He should be ready for the fish soon, maybe this weekend.

I planted some more bush beans, edamame and butternut squash today. Everything seems to be growing well (the weeds, too!).

Sniffly Chicks

Not too much to report today - it was pretty cold and rainy so we spent the morning doing some errands and then organizing the house. We've been here a week and we hadn't even unpacked our suitcases yet! The house is looking more organized now. 

Later in the afternoon we went out to bring the horses in and give them (and the cows) some hay. We went to check the greenhouse and it was nice and warm so we ended up staying in there for a bit and planting some lettuce (a mesclun mustard mix and romaine), arugula and shallot sets that we got today. We checked the weather and it shouldn't go down past 2 degrees tonight so we'll chance it and leave the tomatoes and other potted seedlings in there tonight. 

We got some garden bird netting ($8 for 12' x 12') to use for the top of the chicken runs - hopefully the weather will be better tomorrow so we can finish those and do the rest of the mulching in the orchard (we didn't put enough mulch down the first time...oops!).

The feed store had oxy-tetra (oxytetracycline hydrochloride) antibiotics in stock today for the chicks. About half of them are occasionally snuffly so I think it's better to be proactive before it gets any worse. We'll use if for 5 days or until the symptoms go away. We also got some apple cider vinegar to add to their water (supposed to have a variety of benefits for them). 

One of the little Rhode Island Reds...possibly the cause of all of this snuffling!

Zebra Head is HUGE. Look at her compared to lil' red!

Magpie (...I'm not naming them or anything) is still tiny and agile.

 She always goes up on the platform now. I don't even think the platform would support Zebra Head and the other meat birds...

Zebra Head taking a rest after eating...before eating some more. And then pooping. And then eating some more.

One of the Light Sussex chicks. This one always comes out and sits on my arm.

Brave lil' red.

Bathtub Hoarders

The seedlings spent their first night in the greenhouse (in pots on the ground) and all are good this morning! I think we'll leave them in pots until the danger of frost has passed, and then transplant them. It's actually warmer in the greenhouse though, even overnight, than it is in the front room where the seedlings were.

Starting some more seeds to use in the aquaponics system.

Yesterday we went to do some errands in the morning and stopped by a hatchery to take a look. Nathan asked if they had any extra tanks that they wanted to sell/give away and luckily they had a huge tank sitting in the back that they'll give us! It's about 6' x 6', so bigger than necessary, but it has a drain and it will be good to have. Later on we pulled over to look at a truck for sale and happened to find a free bathtub right there. We are either hoarders or the lucky new owners of an aquaponics set up...

Mop top. 

Her name is Meghan...and she's apparently getting a bull 'friend' in the next few days.

No trespassing or you'll get whacked. 

We spent an hour yesterday mulching the orchard. There are apples, plums, pears and blueberries.

We also continued to tackle the side yard. This is the mess that we started with. Maybe there were goats kept in here at one time? 

We tore down the entire lean-to and then carried the hutch/coop (from next to the house) into the yard. Carrying it was difficult but manageable until we got to the gate (you can see one of the posts in the photo above). Nathan instructed me to simply do a deep squat, grab the edge of the hutch/coop, then lift with a shoulder press and "we'll get it over the gate, no problem". 

Ha.ha....we had to get Jim (the horse and cow owner) to help us.

 The original location of the hutch/coop. We took this little yard apart. Apparently it used to house a neglected chicken.

A tiny (1") egg that Nathan found while weed whacking. Wonder what kind of bird it belongs to?

One of the chicks sounds congested today. Maybe it's just starting to make 'adult' sounds instead of peeping? I hope that's it, but I think it's too early for that. Some online advice is apple cider vinegar in the water, or a course of antibiotics. I'd like to avoid jumping straight to antibiotics, so I'll clean the brooder first to make sure it's nice and dry in there.

First Planting

We planted the first seeds today!

We started out by moving 4 wheelbarrows worth of compost from one of the paddocks into the greenhouse and out the back for our garden. When the landlord came by later he was surprised that we hadn't waited for him to help us with his tractor...

Then we watered the beds. Today Abby and Ryan finally realized that they could relax outside while we worked in the greenhouse and they lay down in the grass...for a few minutes. They are so used to "outside of the yard" meaning "run like crazy" that the farm freedom is taking some getting used to. They both ignore the horses and cows which is good.

Nathan built a trellis for the peas in the outdoor garden and then we planted (Nathan and I have a slight issue where he thinks in metric and I think in imperial. My american roots are making it very difficult to picture centimeters and meters! We each have our own tape measure...)

Peas (1 x 8' row)
White onions (sets, 2 x 4' row)
Red onions (sets, 2 x 4' row)
Green onions (seedlings - 8)
Manoa lettuce (half of one 4' row, will stagger planting)
Mizuna mustard greens (half of one 4' row, will stagger planting)
Spinach (1 x 4' row)
Mesclun salad blend (half of one 4' row, will stagger planting)
Arugula (seedlings - 9)
Broccoli (seedlings - 3)
Kale (seedlings - 3)
Carrots (2 x 4' rows)







Transplanting some kale.

In the greenhouse we planted:

Herbs:

Basil (9 seedlings)
Cilantro (3 bunches of seedlings)
Parsley (6 ish seedlings)
Dill (1 x 4' row)
Oregano (3 bunches of seedlings)

Broccoli (seedlings - 6)
Kale (seedlings - 3)
Red onions (sets, 3 x 3' rows)
Bush beans (2 x 3' rows)
Eggplant (1 x 4' rows)
Carrots (2 x 4' rows)
Zucchini (1 x 4' row - 2 plants hopefully)

There is supposed to be one more frost so we might have to try and cover the stuff in the greenhouse to protect it. It's hard to know if we have to worry about it - the greenhouse is so hot during the day (10 degrees outside and 30 degrees in the greenhouse - and for some reason temperature is Celcius in my head) that it's hard to imagine it freezing in there at night.

Nathan levelling a path between the two beds.

He also levelled the section on the other side of the greenhouse where he'll set up aquaponics. 

Before:

 After:

This morning I turned Ryan's crate into a chick mega mansion. As far as I know none of them have gone up to the second level yet. 

You can see the two new little red chicks fitting right in.

Recycled Pots

I started some more seeds on the 21st - eggplant, cucumber, gold nugget tomatoes, parsley, peppermint, sage and thyme. This time I made my own pots since the fancy little seedling tray is all full. I used some egg cartons for the herbs and then toilet paper rolls cut in half with the bottom folded up like box flaps. Oh, and a chobani container (raspberry chocolate dessert yoghurt..yum...) and a cream cheese container. I poked some holes in the bottoms and right now they're sitting on an old baking tray on top of a heating blanket on very low heat. Hopefully they germinate as well as the last batch did!

We'll direct sow the bush beans, zucchini, butternut squash (or might start indoors later), snap peas, carrots, brussels sprouts  and various lettuces. 

I started the melons way too early....they're going to have to be transplated into bigger pots before the greenhouse is warm enough for them, I think. Oh well, if they don't like being moved we'll have to start some more later on. Trial and error!

Two Weeks to GO!

The furniture essentials are all bought and ready to go, the uhaul is rented (luckily there was a one way deal being offered or we would have been on 3 ferries in one day...), the chicks are ordered and the seeds have all sprouted! Oh, and all of our friends now know the big news (or they will soon enough with the speed of gossip). 

I've already learned a lesson that you don't need to sow as many seeds as the packet recommends. Maybe these seeds just did especially well but they pretty much all germinated and I had to do a lot of thinning. I ate most of the seedlings that I thinned so that they weren't wasted :D Baby arugula is already delicious!

Sappy

I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to feel sad when I thin out the seedlings, but I do...good luck to me when it's time for the chickens to become dinner!

Speaking of which, six chicks have been ordered! They hatch on March 28th and they're a 'heavy cross' that the woman at the heritage hatchery says will be good for growing fast but also good for free ranging (still not sure about whether we'll have the chickens free ranging or in one of the fenced in areas). We also reserved 4 laying hens (Isa Browns - a cross between Rhode Island Reds and Rhode Island Whites) that are a year old to pick up mid April so that we don't have to wait 5-6 months to have fresh eggs.

Lights On

Who knew growing seeds could be so exciting?? This blog will soon become very boring with seedling updates, but until we actually move to the farm that's about all it will be.

I got some $15 craigslist fluorescent lights/fixtures. I didn't realize that they were miniature from the ad but it turns out they're the perfect size for my seed tray (we'll see if they produce enough light...apparently the seedlings will get really tall and 'leggy' instead of leafy if they aren't getting enough light). The basil and cantaloupe are sprouting now, too!

Lil' Rocket

Look at the arugula go! It already sprouted yesterday - maybe that's why it's called rocket? The kale has just sprouted and so has the broccoli! Better go get those lights...

Plant a Seed

There's still a month to go before move in day but I have itchy feet! Nope....wrong expression...and google is not helping me. Let's just go with antsy - I am antsy to get going! 

I'm researching like crazy (current tabs include "raising chickens on pasture", "succession gardening" and "top 10 signs that you might be batsh*t crazy") but reading and learning is only helping to cure part of the restlessness. Since I've basically never grown anything, what better way to give myself a nice easy introduction than to, as they say in France, go COUILLES PROFONDES! 

 We have an 85' x 8' section of greenhouse to plant in. If I were a smart little newbie, I would buy seedlings at the beginning of April to transplant...but since I really want to get going *now*, I decided to try starting some seeds indoors to see what happens. I figure I can buy seedlings later if this fails.

The greenhouse all covered up for winter.

I bought a seed starting tray, some seed starter mix and, of course, seeds. I forgot labels so I made a little chart so that I know what's planted where. I moistened the seed mix in the bowl and filled the cells of the tray, and then poked little holes with the chopstick, planted 2-3 seeds per cell and covered them with a bit of soil (according to each packet - and the super handy West Coast Seeds catalogue). 

My seed sowing station.

I planted bell peppers, chilli peppers, broccoli, basil, oregano, cilantro, tomatoes and then some kale and arugula, just 'cause. I figure that the kale and arugula do well in colder weather so they can go in the greenhouse right off the bat in April with a head start - they could probably go in as seeds now, I think, if I were already living there (this is all assuming the seedlings grow...the green-ness of my thumb will be determined shortly). 

The tray came with a plastic dome cover so I covered it up and put it on the best warm spot I could find - the floor of the broom closet in the kitchen. I have to figure out a grow light setup in the next few days.

Seeds all planted...the whole things looks so cute to me!

The best thing about being new to all of this is how exciting everything is! I hope that doesn't fade too quickly.