It is Here...

Well in case you don't read Lacey's blog we have become the stewards of twenty three and half acres in Liberty, NC. Which for us has become a dream come true. The hardest part of farming is acquiring the land, once that is accomplished the rest is just all work. The property is basically a long rectangle, that is about four hundred feet wide and about a half mile long. In the front is a five acre field  and then back from that is an older forest. It seems that at some point it was probably selectively logged but there are some real old big trees still remaining. We hung a swing in one of them, so the girls could have something fun to do out there.

Already the farm life is becoming an eye opening experience. We don't have a place to live out there yet, we don't have water, and we don't have electricity. Which causes some limitations but overall has been a real neat experience. So we drive from our house which is only about thirty minutes away and just spend hours out there when we can. When you are out there it really helps you to appreciate what it must have been like to have just come upon a piece of land and started a life. All the little things that we take for granted in city life. So to put it plainly we are starting from scratch, which is extremely exciting.

We have learned that just like when we bought our house and gutted it, that we need a room or place of sanctuary. So we have put all grandiose plans aside and are focusing on a shelter something small like a picnic shelter that will allow us to get out of the elements and relax. On one of the sides of the shelter i want to build one of these. Its an all in one smoker, grill, and oven.

Also in the works we are learning about driveways, we want to put something simple in so that when you pull off the road you don't have to drive through the ditch. When i went into the research of this project i planned on just laying a pipe down and then dropping some gravel down on top of it and that would be done. Have you heard of number 3 gravel? how about number 57? crush and run? base rock? drive rock? these are all various rocks that have to be put down in a certain order and depth to get a proper drive. The good news is after about three days of rock research, i was told i should try talking to the DOT and they apparently will add a drive for you for free. In fact as we speak that DOT engineer is looking at our drive to get the appropriate work order.


Lastly we are working on a garden area, the soil there is real sandy which is strange because as long as i have been in NC all i have seen is the good old Carolina clay. So i am going to send off a soil test and learn a little bit about what this kind of dirt needs.


The neighbors say that there is a real issue with deer there so we are going to construct a woven fence around the garden that will hopefully keep them out. Below is some pictures of the start of that. We are using all the sticks/trees that we cut down in the front of the woods to thin them out.

                               

                                
We will keep you updated as more happens and as we get some of these projects closer to completion.

Nobody Got Stung

When you get new bees there are mainly two new ways to get them. One is called a "nuc" which is short for nucleolus, the other is a package, which is about 3lbs of bees and a queen. I have always gone for the nucs because they seem easier to install and bees are more established. But in an effort to mix things up we went in a package this time. We got them from a local apiary called Busy Bee Apiaries in the chapel hill area. You know that place on 40 where you can see all the hives from the highway? thats the place.

Naomi carrying the queens, one queen for each package of bees. They come in their own little protective case with some "nurse" bees, so that when you introduce them to the hive the bees wont kill them. See the side with the white stuff? that is the candy side, when we put them in the hive we will poke a little hole in that side, so the bees can smell the new queen while they eat the candy. by the time they get to the queen they will be used to her, hopefully.

Leviah giving the queen a whatfor

Six pounds of bees getting ready to go in the back of the subaru. its times like this that you hope you do get rear ended.

Getting the two new hive boxes ready. They will each get a new empty hive to start their happy home in.

once you are ready, you take the lid off and then shake the bees. well before you shake them if you spray them with sugar water, they are so busy eating the sugar water off each other that they don't mind the shaking.

Naomi giving a few of the bees a scooch so they don't get smooshed. Then you put the feeder on which is filled with sugar water to help them get started and you are all done.

Here is a video of naomi putting in the rest of the sugar water and getting the lid on.

the chicken tractor

After a few weeks of working out all the unexpected I have officially finished the chicken tractor. Lacey and Naomi still have to paint it but all the functional stuff is done.

The last coop I built on a wheelbarrow stand thinking that if you can move 80 pounds of concrete around why not a few chickens and some eggs. What I didn't think about was the run. Every time I wanted to move the coop I had to remove the run, then move the chickens and then connect the run back. This While process took about 30 mins, which is just way to long plus the chickens would get out and run the backyard until dark. The old coop also had a roost which was good enough for them before the got big and fat now only two of them can fit on it. The ventilation was also pretty poor which made for a super stinky coop.

So the things that I wanted for this coop was as follows; more room, a roost that fit them all, better ventilation, a better way for my egg collector to collect eggs and easy mobility.

My idea was to basically make a run for them about the same size as the old one and then put the coop part on top of it. to keep things simple I also moved away from the A frame design and just went with right angles which was a lot easier for me.

I have moved the chickens three times already, once a day pretty much since they have been in there and it is super easy now that I have the wheels on the back too.

Here are some pictures.

Side View

Wheels on the back

Ladder on a hinge so I can pull it up when i move the coop

Egg doors

Inside shot of nesting box

Ventilation and a little window to see the birds

I made a little stand for the bucket that feeds the chicken nipple

New Coop Coming & more

Chickens: With our first coop we were thinking easy, mobile & simple. It has worked great & we've liked many things about it--namely being built on a wheel barrow base for easy transport.

old.

Well, Drew got it in his head to switch things up & there's never a way for me to convince him that what's working is working. So, he came up with a plan & used me only for re-thinking measurements & such.

He started on Friday & it's almost done. We'll save the big reveal for after she's painted, but it's pretty exciting to see a new home for the birds...I think they'll approve.

sneak peak.

Bees: We've found a gentleman who is willing to let the bees sit on his property while we're in transition. Some folks are terrified of bees & the thought someone might now buy our house because they're out back has crossed our minds, so they'll be visiting a friend for a while...

Also, Drew is reading this book (per my request). He's read much of it outloud to me (it is, afterall, a grouping of speeches). Rudolf Steiner is the founder of Waldorf style education, what we're loosely basing our Homeschooling on. He's an extreme naturalist & his vision of bees is fascinating. It has really opened our minds ideas outside modern science, which leaves a lot of holes in bee-understanding that Steiner is filling. If you're a beekeeper you should take a peek. Even if you're not, Steiner's theories are real mind benders.

Bees

On the garden front: things are really coming along. Asparagus is shooting out like crazy, peas are making their grand entrance & other seeds--namely spinach & lettuce, have been planted & are beginning to sprout. As for the seedlings, well. Not much great to say there, but I think we've learned that our issue was having our light too high, it sounds like 2 inches would be a better height, and possibly a system that can be raised as they grow. Thinking...

I (lacey) have not given up. I intend to try some heirloom variety tomato seedlings. Drew is going with the farmer's market plants. I think this is how it goes down every year.

We got some great mulch from this local mulch yard for the pathways & our front landscaping. Things are looking fresh & bright & we're enjoying it until the battle of the weeds begins. Soon we'll mow & that will REALLY put us in summer-mode.

On the home-front: We're still looking. We took a major hit a week or so ago. We suddenly were hopeful that we'd be able to purchase this property. Well, as soon as we called & started discussing details it was under contract. Huge disappointment, but we're trying to push forward. We have the distraction of Passover this week & are really trying to take advantage of the cleaning-out spirit to keep the house in a sellable state. We will list it via MLS this week.

Here it Comes

I know it is still early to say finally spring is here, I have to remind myself that our worst snow storms are usually in march. But man it sure does feel good to get out side and work the garden. We have been working on quite a few projects since the last post.

1. Snow Peas planted

2.Kale planted

3.Carrots planted

4.Potatoes sprouting

5.feeding bees

6.chicken waterer project

We planted two varieties. The one kind is the normal hybrid that you get from lowes and the other is the "asian" variety also from lowes. I tired English snow peas last year and the yield was very poor, so this year we are going with the hybrids. We planted them the day before the last snow that we got so I am hoping that the snow didnt zap them. They are called SNOW peas though so they should be fine.

Kale and Carrots we planted last weekend. I am giving up one of my 5x5 beds to Naomi so she can start learning the way of the gardener. She chose carrots from the store and chose one of the traditionally long varieties which grow funny around here because they cant push through the clay. So it should be fun to see what we get with them.

Snow peas in the bright sunny dirt

I have really been wanting to try some colored potatoes so I found a place online that sells all the good colors and got a few of each from a place called the Potato Garden. Shipping was quick and they let you pick when you want them shipped which was nice. if you need potatoes give them a looksy. From what I have read the best this to do is let the little spuds sprout a little before you put them in the ground. So we have them sitting under the grow lights, this week and then next weekend its off to the dirt for them. how do you know when to plant your potatoes? ( when the grass starts to turn green.)

Interesting fact that I learned is that you can grow potatoes in a bale of hay. Has anyone ever tried this?

Our Purple and gold potatoes

Winter has been rough on the bees. Out of the three hives that I had in the fall one has passed away. I have been working really hard to make sure the other two survive. All that you can really do is make sure that they have all the sugar water that they can eat and force pollen on them. Although things are already blooming now so they are not really interested in my pollen. Which is good, because now that they have pollen the hive population will start to rise now. hopefully this year will be a good nectar year too( which means not to wet that it washes all the nectar out of the flowers, and not to dry that it withers all the flowers) We have two more packages of bees on order and we will hopefully be moving the hives soon. So stay tuned for those fun adventures.

Bees bringing in the pollen, see the little yellow sacs on their legs.

Unlike bees, chickens are the dumbest animals in the world. I would put them a step under goldfish. Give them a bowl of water and they will take a drink out of it, then stand on the edge of it until it tips over, and then terd into it. It has been a constant battle between the chickens and I to keep them with fresh unfecaled water. I have been searching for some time for some sort of solution that would solve the problem once and for all, and I found it. The Chicken Nipple. I got a piece of tubing from lowes and a few fittings and made a five gallon waterer that they will never knock over. So that solves my issues with them for now...

The Chickens peck the end and a drip of water comes out, its gravity fed from a
bucket on top of the coop.

Lastly the seedlings, I must confess and struggling. When we went to lowes on sunday if Lacey hadn't been there I would have come home with some store bought seedlings. We are going to keep going for it with the seedlings but I just don't know what the deal is. They have grown and are sprouting secondary leaves but, they are scrawny and now standing up on their own. They are nothing like what you see at the farmers market. Some day I am going to figure this out. Do any of you grow seedlings successfully? how?

Secondary leaves starting to emerge