Busy Days again

This is the first slow day I've had in weeks on the farm, and it is pouring rain out, so I've decided to take a break while I can... you never know when you may get another slow day again! Besides the dog boarding, I've been busy in the gardens, planting tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, melons, potatoes, etc. I made enough money this month to get another load of soil in, so I can really get going again. I am quite often out there at 9 pm, weeding, and killing slugs, and hoping everything will grow on time for my CSA shares. Which start next week.... my first lettuce planting got decimated by the slugs, and I am a bit worried about having enough ready for my CSA members. Thankfully I didn't sell a million shares! I'm glad I only did a few for my first year... gives me a much better idea of what I am doing. I have also sold 5 egg shares for this year... something I didn't expect! I have 29 more laying hens coming up, so maybe I will be able to sell a few more shares as time goes on. Anyway, my first few shares will be a bit skimpy. I talked to one of my members, and she said the shares she got last year from elsewhere was the same, so maybe I'll be all right. Won't be long until other things come along... my peas are starting to bloom, and the fava beans are also blooming, and I've replanted the lettuce and mesculin, and have a lovely crop of radishes coming along. Keep your fingers crossed for me! I am starting to build more garden beds, so I can plant more of everything, and also get started on a fall crop in June/July.

I had one of my favourite dog boarding clients tell me about Ruth Stout. She was a lady who gardened into her nineties, and never really worked in the garden. She just planted, and laid mulch around everything. She hadn't watered or hoed or dug the garden in 14 years. So, I am trying it out to an extent. I really like the idea of not having to water.... that would be a huge pressure relief in itself for the summer. Really, water is my biggest worry. Besides the slugs. I've got about 8 or so beds planted, and put hay and mulch around everything. Should keep everything toasty warm, and moist for the summer. I'll let you know how it goes!

RIP Frankie

I'm not certain what happened after my last post, but my dog boarding business exploded. I have been so busy, working 16 hour days, that I haven't even had time to update my blog!

A few weeks ago, Frankie the goat got ill. We are pretty certain he had a twisted gut, and there is nothing you can do about it. We gave him vegetable oil and baking soda, just in case it was just some sort of obstruction, hoping to pass whatever it was through, but nothing did any good. The naughtiest goat in the world passed away.
Katrina, who owns the horse and the ponies, came over several times to help me with him, to shoot stuff down his throat, in the hopes he would magically recover. When he died, she came over to help me bury him. Thus started a comedy of errors...

First, I think Katrina had a hard time accepting Frankie was dead. When I found him in the morning, he was in rigormortis. Stiff as a board. He was still in when she came to help me dig a big hole. She leaned over him, and poked him a bit. Looking up at me, she said " I think he's dead". Then, she poked some more. "Ya, I'm pretty sure he's dead". Then she grabbed a leg, and plopped him over. He was completely and totally STIFF. " I guess he's really dead". Meanwhile, even though I was super sad, I started laughing my head off. Katrina was in some serious denial.

Next, we tried to tie the goat to the horse, and have Review move him over to the hole. Frankie was a big goat, and quite heavy. At the time, it seemed like a good, sensible thing to do.
Review had other ideas.
Once we got Frankie hooked up, and Review felt the weight of him, he went ballistic. Bucking, and snorting and generally having a spaz. Katrina got knocked into the mud - she had mud from one end to another. I just ran away... I didn't want to get caught under those hooves! Fat lot of good I was! Katrina got Review under control, and I apologized to him, and we unhooked him, then worked together to drag him to the hole. We buried him under the trees, and said a few words. Frankie was way too young to die, and I really miss having him on the farm. He was quite the character, and amused me every day.

RIP Frankie

Anniversary

Wow! Yesterday was my one year anniversary of being in business! The year has passed at record speed, there have been ups, there have been downs, but all in all, it's been an awesome, amazing year. The dog boarding biz is doing well, and I have many, many regular customers coming in. The market gardens and chickens are being launched this year, and so far, so good! As long as I can keep on top of that slug situation, I should be able to get some crops coming up in a few weeks. I have learned sooooo much about dogs, gardening, and farming this last year. I know I still have a long way to go in that area, though! I've started teaching dog training classes, and am surprisingly enjoying those, too. Who would have thought I would be teaching even just a year ago?! Boggles the mind!

It amazes me to think where my life has gone and how much it has changed in the last year or two. All in a good, positive direction. I am living my dream, and am getting closer and closer to making my entire living from my little farm.

The Trials of being a Farmer....

I've had a hard, hard week on the farm. For whatever reason, my meat birds, which had been doing just fine, suddenly got cold. Within an hour, I had 16 dead.... that's quite a loss. It was depressing. I still have enough to fill all my orders, but I can't afford to lose anymore at this point. Then, one of my laying hens died for no reason. That seems to happen regularly. I have no idea why. I think they just lay eggs that are too big, and it stresses them out so much, and they bleed out. It's so sad. THEN, to top it off, a Dorking flew the coop, and of course Reckless saw it immediately, and killed it. GRRRRRRR.
I am still battling slugs, and hoping everything grows fast enough to fill my first CSA orders. I replanted all the lettuce, and am planning on getting more arugula seeds so I can replant those, too, soon.
I guess I have to expect losses on occasion, but it's hard to swallow when it does happen!

ATTACK of the slugs!

HELP!
Yesterday morning, I was walking the gardens, checking everything over, making sure all was ok. I was so pleased by what I saw for the most part. Little lettuces, all green and growing, little carrots and peas and cabbages, all looking fantastic. I had a brief moment of pride there.... then it ended. My gorgeous arugula, which was looking fabulous the day before had disappeared. Gone. Vanished in the night. Was it birds? Was it slugs? Was it deer? I was looking forward to my first harvest in just a few weeks. I checked the beer slug traps. In them were hundreds and hundreds of little dead slug bodies. So, I thought Great! My little traps are doing their job, and I guess I'll just replant the arugula.

Then it started to rain. Crap! Within minutes, THOUSANDS of slugs were all over the place. I was madly hand picking them, and dropping them into a deep bucket of water with dish soap in it to drown them. I was out there for over 2 hours, until it got too dark to see the little bastards. I'm pretty certain trap or no trap, slugs were what got my arugula. It was an invasion! You've seriously never seen so many slugs in one place in your life.

This morning, I went to the liquor store, and bought a bunch more beer. I made a ton more traps, and set them up. I emptied the old ones of all the dead little bodies and refilled the beer. I am on a MISSION, folks. I refuse to let the beasties eat all my profits before I even get a crop. I'm all for sharing, but this is ridiculous! I plan on going out tonite to hand pick what the traps don't get. My only long term hope is that once all the grass and weeds between the beds are killed, the slugs won't have as much to eat, and maybe they will think my garden is just to far to go for a meal. Luckily, the weatherman says it will get hot and sunny for the next week, so hopefully I will have a chance to replant and get my little lettuces and arugulas going again before the next invasion.

Here's to hoping.

Another Spring Day

Even though it is an absolutely gorgeous day out there today, I am trying to do a few more 'indoor' jobs. For the last week, there has been something wrong with my left foot- the heel is all swollen and painful. I have been hobbling around the whole time, just trying to suck it up, thinking it will go away. It hasn't. It's been getting worse. I guess the only thing I can do it try to get off of it for a bit. It KILLS me to stay still, though. There is so much I need to do! I really don't need a bum foot slowing me down. Even so, I still mowed most of the lawn today, and did just a few other necessary chores. With farming, even if you are dying, things still need to get done. Chickens to feed and water, doggy beds to wash, kitchen to clean, it's endless...

I decide a week or so ago that I wasn't getting enough done around the farm, so I reluctantly cancelled my TV service. It was really, really hard to pick up the phone to call, but the funny thing is, I'm not missing it at all... I think I will just keep it during the darkest days of winter, and otherwise let it go. I am getting more done without it, although there are still not enough days in the week, or hours in the day....!

I got my first order of meat birds in last week. I feel like I have succumbed to the pressures of society with those. Grow quick, get paid quick, get them out quick. I guess you just have to do what you need to do to pay the damn mortgage. Regardless of that, I will still continue to raise my Dorkings for meat as well as eggs. Hopefully I will be able to get more people behind them as time goes on. Here is a picture of the meat birds.

There are 74 birds... I ordered 75, got 78, but 4 died. That's normal.

 I have had a strange couple of months in the dog boarding side of thing. It's truly feast or famine out there. March was so slow, I was certain I was going to starve to death. The first 2 weeks of April was so busy, I couldn't breath or even go out anywhere. I just hope things even out as time goes on. Managing the budget is hard when it's so up and down like that! Can't wait for my gardens to start making some money!

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!