Moving Over

While we may return to this space in the future, for now we're keeping up with our gardening/urban homesteading at our family blog: www.LifeasaSchoolhouse.com

We've handed the the reigns of the land over to Drew's folks and they have lots of big plans for what we call 'the land'--officially 'Plan Bee'. You can follow their progress here: www.WildThingsInaBox.blogspot.com

We appreciate your feedback on all our endeavors! 

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.

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.

the journey begins here

We don't yet have a farm but if we did it would be RoundHouse Farms (tagline: "interactive agriculture"). Here's the journey that has led us to where we are with our urban farm life. Follow along as we get closer to some acreage!

In our second year of marriage we lived in Asheville, NC--800 square feet & a porch & a container garden.We grew some (nasty pear)tomatoes & dill & a few other tasty herbs that we tossed in every meal--at the dismay of our palletes. We learned what worked. Inspired by the 'Ashvillian Culture & Cuisine' we knew we had to have a less portable garden. We moved to Greensboro. Up & coming & with lower prices on real estate it seemed the perfect spot to persue the imagined utopia. First we rented a small townhome with a little (bit bigger & with some sunshine) concrete deck--our pots felt right at home.

The fall garden consisted of sweet peas in a window box with strands of old yarn nailed into the privacy fence, they climbed & were delicious. Fresh peas right off the vine consistently reinforce our craving to share homegrown goodness. 1 month in our first farmhand was born. 6 months in we moved. On an income under 20k a year we were fortunate to be looking at the peak of the housing market boom. Basing half our decision on the yard & it's exposure to sun, we found the perfect fixer-upper for us. In a long list of necessary renovations, garden beds were #2. It all started as a 10'x10' bed & the overgrown bush we were told was an apple tree. Our urban farm began. This back yard garden has taken on a life of its' own & is our "Harley Dr. Homestead". A trial that has created addicts.

Today in the same yard after 5 years of play & exploration, of garden trials & tribulations we have maxed out what this yard/farm can give us. We have 5 chickens in a chicken tractor, three beehives, and raised bed gardens.

We have 375sqft of garden that supply most of our vegetables for the spring through early fall. we also have blackberry bushes, blueberry bushes, asparagus, a strawberry patch, & an apple tree. In good years we get fruit from every one; in bad years, not so much.

The chickens are the latest addition, giving us an average of about 4 eggs/day & hours of both entertainment and frustration. We knew chickens were dumb-- give them a bowl of water and within a few minutes they have pooped in it and knocked it over. Their feeder is useful as a perch from which to poop in fresh feed. For awhile they were allowed to roam/ destroy the yard. From a greeting at the bathroom window every morningorning--both creepy and entertaining; 5 hens peering with their sideways glances while you relieve yourself first thing in the morning is a little unsettling. Over all I have to say that they have been good fun and produce eggs that make it hard to eat anything but fresh & integrity raised. Everyone should have a few backyard birds.

We started with two beehives 2 years ago. There really is not too much to bees, mainly learning to relax or go with the flow (no pun intended). Bees want to make honey with no interruption. As a new beekeeper I would open the hive weekly the first year--I ended up with a lot of stings. Our garden & apple tree were a bounty of produce our first year with the bees; record numbers of apples--so many that the tree split, & we got about five gallons of honey. We were so excited to share that we gave away about 4.5 gallons (now those folks are hooked!). That winter one hive died and needed to be restocked in the spring. This past summer we got another 5 gallons of honey & we're up to 3 hives going into spring '10 as we split one hive this fall. Bees are rewarding, even before their pollination and honey services; they are simple, natural, semi-unpredictable, & something any yard could benefit from.

last year's expansion.

So, with all of this going on in our urban farm we are ready to give something a little bigger a try. Goats to be exact--lacey's dream from our time in Asheville. We want to raise them for both meat and dairy, along with eventually sheep for wool, and cows for both milk and meat, more chickens, turkeys, ducks if we have a pond...we want crafts, gatherings, potlucks, big bonfires, dancing, music, community.

Our entitlement to "family" land is non-existent--we feel like we're on our own version of the Oregon Trail--pioneering our way through small cash reserves & a troubled real estate market to find a place we can build Round House Farms. We don't have trust funds or 401k's to cash out, just hope & a dream, exactly what we had when we bought what has become our urban homestead. It may not be a fast journey--but we have embarked. Faith & optimism. Faith & optimism. Faith & optimism...

Oh, & books like "You Can Farm", and movies like Food, Inc. make us feel our quest justified. RoundHouse Farm's blog is going to chronicle the events, the failures, and the eventual sucess that will bring us to our farm. We envision this blog to be both motivation for those on a similar journey & a means of accountability for us in continuing on until our goal is reached--no matter what discouragement we face. We hope that you'll join in this "community" & maybe one day we'll together sing Kumbaya around the firepit on Round House Farm.

Please join us as we continue to blog away toward our ever nearing farm (& plan to join us there, too!).