Grrrrrr....!!

Well, I have done absolutely NOTHING in the gardens for about 2 or 3 weeks now. I've been trying, but August is my super-busy dog boarding month, and I can't seem to escape the dogs for any time at all to get things done. I have garden beds that need cleaning out and replanting, I have trays and trays of plant starts that desperately need to get planted... two weeks ago! and I have compost to make, and compost to spread on the beds, and on and on and on. For the first time in months, I find myself just wanting to sit and vegetate in front of a TV. It's the first time I've even thought about TV in a loonnnggg time. I think I am burning out. I am also busy just trying to 'have a life'. I didn't realize how busy, until my friend came to visit several weeks ago, and almost every night, I had somewhere to go, or something to do. Monday's are flyball practice, Thursdays agility, Wed nites I take shares up to Nanaimo, and Tues nites I do local shares. I think I get Friday nites free.... Whew! No wonder I am tuckered out!!

I have been eating lots of groceries out of my gardens since my last post - and enjoying every single bite! Oh, garden stuff is so much better than store bought, there really is no comparison!

I have a bunch of dogs going home in the next day or two, then I'm gettin' down and dirty, and catching up on my gardening! I haven't even sprayed my EM or my plant tea extract for over 2 weeks! That's just BAD. I get all panicky, thinking WHEN am I going to have time to do everything???

Then, to top it off, I have my new chickens and turkeys arriving probably tomorrow - and of course, I'm not ready for them yet! I need to go get more chicken feed, and I don't know when I'll be able to get to the feed store.

Do you have the sense I am feeling a bit overwhelmed these days??? YEP! But, at least I am paying my bills for the moment, so I had better stop complaining, and just suck it up for a while;-)

Rain, rain, beautiful rain!

It's finally RAINING! A good, slow, soaking rain. It's just what I ordered! The gardens will be so happy, and I won't have to water for days or a week. I was so SICK of watering! It was an endless chore, but it was more the stress of always having to watch how much I was using. My well would run dry regularly. At first, I was watering 5 beds a morning, and 5 at night. Then it was down to 4, then 3. The last week or so, I was only able to water 1 or 2 beds at a time before the well would run out. It was quite discouraging. I was falling farther and farther behind, and the plants were getting just enough to survive, but not to thrive. Hopefully, it will rain like crazy, then be sunny and nice again, so everything will grow gangbusters.

Tomatoes

About three weeks ago now, I made a trip up to Lantzville to visit Nicole and Dirk on their farm. They have a 2 acre organic produce farm, on which they make their entire living. You may remember I went up there last fall to visit, too. Nicole spent a good 2 hours with me, taking me for a tour, answering all my questions, helping me all she could. I learned so much! They start planting their potatoes in February... mine didn't go in until April/May. I'd better get on it better next year! The other major thing I learned was to keep planting. All year long. They never stop planting seeds. So, when in doubt, plant some seeds. Want to earn more money? Plant some seeds. Feeling down because of the weather? Plant some seeds! I've taken this advice to heart, and over the last 3 weeks or so, I've planted about 2 or 3 thousand seeds. Maybe more. Most of them were planted in seed flats that I borrowed from a friend. This is a bit more time consuming, but the savings on water is astronomical. Many of what I planted just 3 weeks ago is already ready to go into the garden. Some of it already has gone into the garden. I've planted 2 types of kale, purple sprouting broccoli, mega mesculin, 4 or 5 kinds of lettuce, onions, winter cabbage, and I can't remember what else. Peas! About 6 beds of peas. This year, I think I planted them early enough that I should get a crop off of them. Last year I was about 2 weeks too late. Everything I plant is getting the mycroizzial fungi, and I am doing weekly dousings of the EM and the plant tea extract. I've had some amazing successes with these products. I had bought a sad little lemon tree in the spring, hoping to get some lemons at some point. The little tree had been shipped up from the States without even being rooted out, and was so stressed - it was literally on it's last legs. I had potted it up in hopes of it perking up, but immediately after, a dog ripped it out and tossed it 'round and 'round the yard. That poor lemon tree! I thought it was a goner for sure. I repotted it, used the plant tea, the EM and my compost tea on it weekly for the last 4 weeks or so. It's looking AMAZING! The leaves have all greened up (no more sickly yellow leaves), it has lush new growth, and is flowering like mad. I've been taking the flowers off for a while, so the little tree can continue to grow and get healthier before it starts to fruit.
Other successes: tomatoes have a ZILLION blooms and tomatoes forming. Some of my squash and watermelons and zucchini are looking fantastic (some of them never took... just wasn't meant to be, I guess). I just hope everything is looking good on time to get a decent harvest out of them. If not, there is always next year, I guess!

Broccoli

I finished making my own ginger beer the other day. Blueberry flavoured. It was fantastic! Didn't last long, though! I am busy making some more, and plan to keep it going so I always have a new batch coming up.

I also ordered 25 new meat birds and 10 new turkeys from a different hatchery. They will be here late August. I plan on stocking my freezer before winter sets in, so I will never have to worry about eating through the winter. My heritage turkeys and 4 little Dorking chicks I got a while ago are doing well - they are getting big! Now that it's rained, the ground should be soft enough to finish building them an outdoor run. Guess I'll have to get on that, too. So much to do. A friend gave me some fencing and a gate from an old dog kennel, which I am going to use for the run. FREEEEE! It's my favourite word;-) My other score this summer was the new garden center that opened up near by - they were giving away seeds. Lots and lots of seeds. I was a total pig and took LOTS of them each time I went. The seed savings for me should be good next year- I got all sorts of stuff. Carrots, broccoli, squash, zucchini, watermelon, onion, and so much more. Too much to list.

Beans

Water worries?

Well, same as last year.... it's gone from cool and wet, wet, wet to blazin' hot, and no rain in sight. This is exactly what happened last summer... and we didn't get ANY rain for 3 months. I am dreading that happening again. Especially with all the garden beds I've got going now! I am investing in some hay bales, and covering many of the gardens with it, to help keep the moisture in for longer. Whatever I can do!

Shares are going well. I harvested my first snap peas this last week. OMG, are they delicious! I made a stir fry with them and one of my home-grown chickens last night. Best stir fry EVER;-) Not sure why, but what you grow yourself is so much more satisfying than just buying it in the store. Seems like a bit of a cop-out these days!

It is almost 9:30 at night, and I've just come inside from working in the yard and gardens all day. Watering, planting more tomatoes and peppers. I've also just started my kale and kohlrabi seeds in 6 packs, for transplanting as soon as I get some more garden beds made. I fill them as fast as I make 'em, and I never have enough, it seems.

My meat birds ended up being a disaster. I had ordered Cornish Crosses, which are ready in 8-12 weeks, and had booked them into the processor at 10 weeks. The stupid hatchery sent me 'broilers' which are ready in 6 weeks. They really should have let me know. They started dying on me, they grow TOO fast, and their hearts give out... I tried to make an earlier appointment at the processor, and could only get them in 1 week earlier than planned. The end of the story is that out of 75 birds, I ended up with 21. I had presold 51, and am trying to figure out who gets what. It is so depressing, I am having a hard time dealing with the whole situation, so of course, I am procrastinating. True to form! Now I am trying to find a new, more reliable supplier.

Oh, and on the poultry note... I am getting more turkeys on Tuesday. DON'T ASK ME WHY! I hated the damn things! I have been promised by a friend that she will come over to help clip their wings, so I don't have to worry about them flying all over the neighbourhood this time. This is their last chance! I am not going to sell any... I am just growing them for my own freezer at this point.

Dog boarding is still bloomin' busy. This is by far the longest busy stretch I have had. I am exhausted. I am NOT going to complain... I am finally getting caught up on all my bills! I've also raised my mortgage amount by about $25 a week. Doesn't sound like much, but it will take over 2 full years off my term! Maybe I will be able to retire before I am old and doddering.

Better head to bed... up with the dawn these days!

Crazy Days of Spring!

Well, spring is proceeding with it's usual undecidedness. Warm and sunny one day, frost the next night, and pouring rain next. You never know what the weather will bring!
Things are progressing in the garden very well for the most part. Broad beans, peas, some lettuce, arugula and carrots are popping up. A few lettuce varieties I planted haven't shown up yet... not sure what is up with that. I'm going to wait until it warms a bit, then try replanting them. I need those early crops!
I am stoked to report I finished all 50 of my garden beds on March 26. It was 11 days later than my goal, but that's ok... I got it done, and am feeling quite proud of that fact. Most beds are planted now, but I've saved a few beds to plant assorted beans into later this month when it gets warmer. I've also been working on doing yet another business plan... I am applying to the government for a grant, to see if I can get further funding so I can put the rest of the garden beds in, as well as finish my orchard and berry patch. I also want to build a few new chicken coops, so I can rotate their pasture, and the chickens will always have fresh pasture to forage in. After this winter, the chicken runs look like giant mud patties. I can't imagine that it's the healthiest thing for chickens to walk around on.
A friend of a friend gave me 30 laying hens a few weeks ago. They are just the regular laying hens, which give you huge eggs, but I still love my Dorkings the best. The new layers just drop dead every once in a while... they are definitely not as hardy as the heritage breeds.
Here is a sample of the difference in the eggs:

Even though the Dorking eggs are smaller, the birds win the contest for overall hardiness and ease of keeping. I am keeping my fingers crossed right now.... 5 of my hens are broody, and I am hoping for some little Dorking chicks soon!

Here is a pic of my new layers. There were 30 of them, but Reckless ate 2, and 4 died spotaneously.

I am also taking part in a challenge- it's called the Nourished Kitchen. It's teaching people how to eat traditionally, like we did 100 years ago and more - BEFORE we had tooth decay, and everyone got chubby. It's the direction I've wanted to go anyway, but didn't really know how to start- alot of the things we used to do to eat have been lost in the mass of processed foods we eat these days. So, I am learning how to make my own sourdough bread (and pancakes!) at the moment. It's really interesting! Things I didn't know: sourdough bread is WAY healthier for you, plus it keeps your blood sugar levels even, and is especially good for diabetics. This is the link if you are thinking of doing the same thing: http://nourishedkitchen.com/
I am looking for a cow to buy shares in, so I can get ahold of raw milk, and learn to make my own butter and yogurt products. It's so exciting to try all this stuff! The best part since I've been eating these foods is this:
I AM NOT GETTING THE TREMENDOUS SUGAR CRAVINGS I NORMALLY HAVE. I have been a junk food junky all my life, and every time I've tried to 'eat healthy' in the past (low fat, blah, blah, blah) I've had sugar cravings that have almost killed me. This week, I bought a chocolate bar and put it into my fridge. For anyone who knows me, that bar would usually have been gone the day, no, the minute I bought it. It has been 4 days, and it is still in my fridge. I've had a couple of bites, but that little bit was all I needed. I am so excited to try some new traditional recipes, and see where it takes me...

The cherry blossoms are out and I just had to take a picture of my little Aaron cherry tree all dressed up. Can't wait for those cherries this summer!

I also have 2 new arrivals at the farm. Katrina, who owns the horse that boards with me got 2 little Shetland ponies- Babe and Lenny. They are so cute, and a joy to have at the farm!

I went to a meeting a couple of weeks ago for people who raise heritage turkeys. You know how much I hated those damn turkeys....
Well, I am going to try again. There was some really awesome people there, and one of the ladies is going to come over and help me clip the turkey wings, so I don't have escapes every 10 seconds. In theory, it should be a little less stressful this time around...
We are also getting a new food made for the turkeys and chickens, which mimics closer the feed we used to give these birds. We should get faster growth out of them... it will be interesting to try it, and see what the difference is!

Catching up

Well, the turkeys were YUMMY. They are super-lean, not really any fat on them to speak of, anyway. I do have to admit that I was quite disappointed in the size of them. For the length of time it took the bloody things to grow, and how annoying they were, I would've hoped for a bit more. The one tom I had, Tasty, turned out to be not a bad size. All the rest were females, and were barely the size of a chicken. I have decided to hold off on doing any more turkeys this year, and just concentrate on the chickens. I am going to to both heritage and hybrids, so people can have a choice, and the hybrids will bring in a bit faster cash. Maybe I'll try turkeys again next year...

I now have 10 new garden beds built, and will be able to do a bunch more over the next week or two. I got my first couple of deposit cheques from my CSA members, and am just chomping at the bit to get planting. It has been so MILD this year, it is tempting to just 'try' a few crops early, and see what happens. But I won't! I know as soon as I put a few seeds in the garden, there will be a cold snap. I am trying hard to be patient, but for those who know me well, will realize just how hard it is for me to do! Patience may be a virtue, but it's not one of my virtues;-)

I am starting to expand my orchard a bit. I got an Anjou pear, made a raised bed for it (which is a good thing, seeing as the water table is only about a foot under the soil line these days), planted it, then realized I put it in the wrong spot, so had to build another bed, and replant it where it was supposed to go. I am also hoping to get another apple and plum in this year as well. Then I will be 3/4 finished the orchard, and will hopefully be able to finish it by the end of the year. Yay! Fresh fruit! Love it!

I had my busiest weekend EVER in the dog boarding side of things. It was insane. Luckily, almost all the dogs I had in I've had before, and they were all really well behaved, and everyone got along. I now know the limits of my little house... I had 14 dogs in on Friday nite, PLUS my own four. I truly could not have squeezed another dog in here if I had tried! I am now back down to a normal level- 6 dogs- and if I could hold steady at that, I would be really making a living, instead of just eeking out a living. It's very encouraging!!

Wind Storm Day

I got woken up at about 1:30 am this morning, just as the power was going out. The wind was blowing so hard, I thought my little house was going to blow away to Oz!
By the time morning had arrived, the weather was gorgeous... still no power, but at least it wasn't cold out.
This morning was doomsday for the turkeys. I was so terrified to catch the damn things, I called a friend over to help. Amanda and Tyler came over late last nite... it was amazing to watch! Amanda has no fear at all, and just went and grabbed those turkeys by the neck, and picked them up around their bodies. It took her and Tyler all of 15 minutes to get them all... even when 2 of them flew over the fence and escaped. We just herded them back in, and poof! They were caught. I pick them up tomorrow morning. Wonder what's on the menu tomorrow night? Oh! It must be TURKEY! I can't wait to taste one of these things- see if they are worth all the pain and trouble they have caused!

I spent most of the day outside with the dogs, gardening. I weeded a bunch of beds... getting ready for planting season! and noticed that my garlic is coming up already. Is garlic coming up in January a record? Just shows how mild this winter has been so far. I also spent alot of time picking up blown down branches, and putting them in the compost.

Will let you know how dinner tastes tomorrow...!!!

Frikin' Turkeys

Well, Christmas day has come and gone. My plan for the morning was to sleep in a tiny bit, exercise dogs, and then just laze around and do not much of anything on Christmas. Thanks to the frikin' turkeys, I barely got even that done. When I got up and let the first group of dogs out, they all ran to the neighbours fence and started barking and obsessing on something... it was one of my damn turkeys! It had flown all the way over the trees and the fence, and was squallering in my neighbours yard. Upset that he was separated from the rest of the flock. So, back inside with all the dogs, who needed a big run BAD. I got some food to entice turkey lurkey to the fence. That part worked. He came closer. I knew from experience that he wouldn't be smart enough just to fly back over the fence- for some reason, they always have to go under... I found a stick and propped up a bit of the fence, and put some feed in front of it, then stood back to give the turkey some room. Well, that dork walked up and down the fence for over an hour, squeaking and calling to his turkey brothers, almost going under the fence a thousand times. I was seriously ready to just go get one of my dogs to jump the turkey and put ME out of my misery! It was exhausting, trying to entice him back under that fence!
Meanwhile, the poor doggies are all locked inside, dying to get out for a pee and poo and a good run!

Finally, he scoots under the fence. I couldn't believe it after all that time! I was astounded that he figured it out! Then, of course, he flies into the nearest tree. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this... I was soooo close to just giving up! I decided to hide myself, so the turkey would feel more free to come near the coop. That worked quite well, and he leaped out of the tree and waddled to the coop, where I then came out of hiding and opened the door and herded the damn thing back in. All told... over 2 hours. No rest time for me that day! I finally got to let the poor dogs out, where they went nuts, venting all their energy. I have pretty much made the decision to get rid of these turkeys, ready or not. They are just too much trouble! I am going to call the processing place right after new years, and get them booked into the first appointment I can. I refuse to be herding escapees all winter long!

The next day, I lost one of my new laying hens. She escaped the coop (which is easy for them to do, they just usually don't, because of the dogs) and a dog got her. She was pretty mangled, but died very, very quickly. No pain for her! I unthinkingly buried her, but now that I think back, maybe I should have put her in the freezer... I am not used to this farming thing, and really, what a waste of a perfectly good chicken! Hopefully, I'll know better next time.