Farm Updates

As has happened in the past and I vowed would not happen again, my garden has run amok.  Work and heat have kept me out of it and my children have promised help that has not materialised.  I am disheartened but I am not defeated in this grand project of mine.  I will rise from the ashes just to spontaneously combust again.  At least I'm consistent.

One of these days, probably when I am retired, I will have the time and the enregy to take care of my garden.  But, having had limited success in recent years, I cannot completely abandon the effort.  The promise of homegrown tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, watermelons, cantaloupes, corn, and ... is way too difficult to resist.
And so, even though it is hot outside and my house is filthy (another project with which no one seems willing to assist), I am determined to get my rear out to that garden this evening and do some clean up.  Hopefully something is salvageable.

On the chicken front, we have had a massacre.  The 28 chicks had finally reached a size and weight at which I felt they would be safe in the coop at the barn.  And they should have been.  Only some enterprising and clever varmint (I suspect coons) ripped the top screen of the coop door open and wholesale slaughter ensued.  Outside of the fiscal loss, I am not happy that I was unable to protect my chicks and feel like a failure for shoving them out the proverbial door before they were ready.  Maybe if they had been slightly bigger they would have been able to defend themselves better.
I am obstinate and again refuse to admit defeat.  I will persevere.  I will succeed in my endeavours.  I will rip that barn apart and put it back together better and stronger.  I will put that fence up and it will be the best and strongest fence ever built.  It does not matter that I have never built a barn or a fence before.  I will do this.  And then, I will purchase more chicks.  And they will live!
That's the update for the farm.

Finally Planted

Kentucky has had a weird season of weather in 2011.  First there was tons of snow, but thankfully no ice this year.  Then there was never ending rain and temperatures in the 50's all spring, well into May.  Then it went from wet and cold to super dry and super hot.  We had 90's in May!  Needless to say, the weather has been so jacked up, it's been difficult to get anything planted.  And after ordering all those heirloom veggies and fruits, I was determined to get something in the ground.

I started my tomatoes and peppers inside, but by the time it was dry enough in the garden to plant them, they weren't doing so well in their little peat pots.  So, I had to start some more.  I did manage to get the Greasy Grits Pole Beans, the Cherokee Trail of Tears Black Beans, and the cucumbers out.  I tried planting some tomatoes and peppers by seed straight into the garden.  It might have worked, but just hours after I planted the tiny little seeds, a deluge came and washed them out of their little holes.

Flooded rows

The beans have been planted

A cucumber!

Watering the garden after weeks of dry weather

And now, I have some bean vines growing up their poles.  I have a few cucumber plants and a couple of cream flesh Suika watermelons.  I have some peppers and tomatoes started in the seed trays.  I'll set them out in  a few days.  The Golden Bantam corn has been planted.  I was also able to save some of the seeds I had started in March.

 One of my saved jalapeno plants.

 Here's one of the Amish Paste tomatoes I found still living.











If only Kentucky weather would cooperate.  This weekend we're back to wet and slightly cool.  Can almost always use  the rain.  But enough is enough.

Updates

I have chicks!  They came in almost 3 weeks ago on the 1st.  This time I got 15 Araucana hens and 15 un-sexed Australorps.  I wanted to make sure that I had hens to lay the green and blue eggs so I paid the extra to sex the Araucanas.

The only request my daughter had, other than not getting chickens at all, was to not get any more aggressive Rhode Island Reds.  Since I didn't enjoy them last year, I decided to humor her and we did not get any Reds.  Those things were mean.  And, since I didn't get them sexed because I planned to cull the flock by using the cocks as meat birds, we ended up with only four hens out of 20 chickens.  The poor things were raped constantly by the males.  I just kept thinking it was going to be a repeat of the crazy rooster my dad had a few years ago.  I used to throw buckets and pitchforks and anything else handy at that thing.  It would attack anybody at any time.

 

Day Old Araucana

 According to the chicken pickin' guide, Australorps are supposed to be a mild bird.  And the Araucanas from last year seemed pretty tame.  Add that they're pretty birds, heritage breeds, and one kind lays colored eggs and I think we've picked some good ones.

It's now three weeks later.  We did not have the brooder pen ready for them when they arrived.  Imagine that!  I procrastinated!  But we had it within a week.  Until then, the chicks stayed in our bath tub.  Since then it has been scrubbed and bleached clean.

Michael Working on the Brooder Pen

The Brooding Pen 

 The pen still needs a little work, but for now it is functional.

The Araucana 19 Days Old

When will the rain end and the farming begin

Spring this 2011 in Kentucky has been wet, to say the least.  It usually is, but this time we have managed to exceed our record rainfall for April by over three inches.  Rain, in and of its self is not a bad thing.  But when you remember all the underground waterways (second most in the country - I think Alaska beats us) and the above ground waterways and the fact that wet ground does not yield well to tilling, it's not exactly a good thing.  Not for gardeners nor in fact anybody else - not this much.  My home is near the top of a ridge so unless there is a biblical style flood, I won't have to worry about my home being flooded.  But, since I am surrounded by a river and the multitudinous streams, creeks, runs, and gulleys that serve as the river's tributaries, I am at risk of becoming stranded.  Even worse, I could be cut off from the house while my children are stuck there.  Add to that, the falling off of roads leading to the house and neighbors who do live in flood prone areas and this much rain in Kentucky is not such a good thing.

The Kentucky River

So far this year we have been lucky.  No flash floods like last year in which a neighbor died.  The rain just won't stop.  We have been waiting for a good three or four days of sun to dry out the garden just so we can get the tilling done.  If we work quickly tomorrow morning, we may just have time before the next round of rain chances run through.  Garden-wise, it's extremely discouraging.  I purchased all my nice heirloom seeds this year and it's starting to look as though they will go to waste.  I am holding out hope however.  Technically, our last day of frost is supposed to be this weekend.  If I can just get that ground worked, I'll still be on schedule with some of my veggies.


One good thing about a wet spring in the Bluegrass is the flora that blooms.  I've managed to get some great pictures with my new camera.

A cold frame has been built

Well, the hubby man and I went to our local Lowes yesterday to pick up supplies to build me three raised beds/cold frames.  I had a very vague idea in my head and knew I needed wood and brackets and dirt.  That was the extent of my plans.  I think McGinnis was a bit flummoxed by my response when he asked if I had measured out what I needed.  As if!  You would think after almost four years of marriage he would know me better.  I told him I just needed my boards to be yea high (pantomime hands spread about half a foot) and they all needed to be the same length because they would be square shaped.  The befuzzlement spread across his expression was quite amusing.

But, in the end, it worked exactly as I had vaguely pictured it doing.  And voila!  Here is my first raised bed/cold frame:

I have one further modification to make in order to protect the seeds beneath the plastic a little better.  I will find some strips of wood as long as each side of the box, connect them, and staple the plastic to them.  That way, I can place and remove the plastic covering easily.
Inside this one I have planted some lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, beets, radishes, and romanesco.  The next one will be for my herbs and onions.  And the final one will be placed to the side of the yard as a bed for strawberries.  I've grown strawberries before, but the area in which I placed them was not the best as the mowers were always blowing grass into the bed and spreading weeds.  Hopefully the new spot and placing them in this box will forestall that problem.

Procrastination does not win the day

As all who know me are aware, I procrastinate.  I have always procrastinated.  And I most likely always will.  I think it's because I enjoy the adrenaline rush when things are getting down to the wire and I have only the wee hours of the evening to complete a project.  Well, maybe not since I procrastinate in everything I do whether there's a deadline or not.  Either way, when I complete a project that is not for work or for which I am not held accountable by another person, it is a major accomplishment for me.  One which I achieved last night when I finally finished a crocheted monkey I stated in December with plans to give it to one of my little nephews (as opposed to one of my big ones) for Christmas.  Needless to say, the monkey was not given for Christmas.  Or his birthday just a little over a month later.  But now!?!?  Now, it is done.  And I am pleased.  As far as crafts go, it is only the third that I have ever completed.

The next project will be the spider that was supposed to be for the other little nephew.  And then, if I have time after getting the fence for the chickens up, making my raised beds for lettuce and herbs and strawberries, and a little spring cleaning/repairs, I may drag out the bedspread/tablecloth I started almost sixteen years ago when my baby was a baby and finish it.  If I'm lucky, I'll have it finished in 10 years or so and can give it to her for a wedding present.

I have seedlings!

Yay!  My lettucae have decided to sprout.  And all with minimum effort.  That's the best kind of garden plant :).  Now if they'll just keep it up.

My broccoli and calabrese has also sprouted.  Just in time for the weather to get just a little warmer and be perfect for planting in my non-existent raised bed.  I guess that is the next weekend project that is nearing its procrastination deadline. 









The tomatoes haven't sprouted yet.  I didn't really expect them to just yet.  They usually take a little more warmth to start since they are a warm weather crop.  So, I purchased two heating pads on my way home tonight and have placed them under the trays holding the tomatoes.  The sun room is warmer than the rest of the house.  But with the sun not shining for the last couple of days, it just isn't warm enough.  There is a slight bit of condensation on the inside of the trays that I believe have more to do with the initial warmth of the water I put in them than any heat provided by the sun. We'll see in a couple of days how effective the heating pads end up being.

It's a Seed's Life

I finally started some of my seeds.  Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow is my motto.  But, it has reached the point where I can no longer put this off.  Not that I really wanted too.  In any case, the last frost date for my area is closer than it seems so it was time to at least get my tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, and lettuces started.  Especially those lettuces.  Lettucae? 

We have a room in the house that, other than the wood floors which can get water stained, is perfect for starting seeds.  It has windows all the way around three sides and french doors that open to the rest of the house.  It is almost always the warmest room.  So, rather than invest in a buttload (how much is that anyway?) of equipment like lights and numerous heating pads all at one time.  I decided to bring some shelves up from the basement and place them in our "sun room".  This has worked well in the past as long as I used seed trays with covers to maintain moisture.  The room is just doesn't get warm enough in early spring to create that much humidity. 

Tomatoes

 

 

 

 

I only managed to get three trays planted last night, though.  So, my work is not over.  Three more tray at least.  I have some more lettuce and cabbage that I did not see the first time through my seeds.  So, those will be next.  And my artichoke.  But not my melons yet!  For years I have started them at the same time as everything else.  I learned last night I had been doing it wrong all along!  Go figure.  Me?!  Not read a packet and storm through at full speed?  No!!!  Of course not!!

Purple Carrots

I'm starting to think that maybe the future is a hopeful one. Why? Because there are children out there excited about purple carrots. I knew my own were interested, but I raised them that way. I expect them to find the joy, excitement, and wonder in the different. I taught them to appreciate the quirks of nature. But it's not something I expect in other people's children. A welcome surprise, but not an expectation.
Now, my daughter has a friend that she invites over to the house for sleepovers. I love this girl. She spent one weekend helping is whitewash the barn in expectation of my chicks eventual move to adulthood. She was getting paid, but the offer had been made to many of J's other friends and they had declined. Somehow, I doubt they would have had as much fun as Big Al did.
So, when Big Al spent this last weekend with us, I pulled out the seeds I received from Baker Creek. I laid out my prides and joys. My purple cosmic carrots. My striped Chioggia beets. My strawberry popcorn. At best I thought I would get a "that's cool". But what I received was so much better. Big Al exclaimed "I want to come out and help in the garden. These are awesome".
So I believe, in the immortal words of one of my favorite song lines- the future's so bright, I gotta wear shades.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A crafty idea that will probably never happen

Actually, it will probably half happen and then be shoved into a box and placed in a corner as almost all of my projects are.  I have part of a tablecloth I began crocheting sixteen years ago.  Every now and then I think about it and wonder if I could finish it.  It's possible that the prolonged storage has damaged it as it has a cross stitch piece I began about twelve years ago.  It also, is languishing undone in the sun room.  One of these days, maybe when I have arthritis and can barely see and these projects seem like a perfect form of self flagellation, I will complete them.

The new project idea came to me after my husband commented on my Facebook profile pic.  I was so excited to receive my seed packets from Baker Creek that I laid them all out on the bed and took a picture of them.  After his comment, I realized that they did look like a seed quilt.  Which set me to thinking about how I would turn those seed packets, once I am done with them, into a quilt.  This is going to be interesting, if I ever find the time to figure out what to do.  Keep the seed packets as they are and find some type of covering that will protect the paper but still allow me to sew them.  Screen print them onto some fabric and quilt the blocks.  What to do - if my chronic procrastination will allow me to.

An exciting day!

That's right.  Exciting!  My seeds have arrived from Baker Creek!  I have laid them all out on the bed and shown them off like a proud parent.  I have taken them out of the envelope in which they were shipped and oohed and aah-ed over them.  I have stroked them and fondled them.  The anticipation is palpable.  I can taste spring on the wind and I can barely stand it.  I want to go out and turn the ground.  I want to build my fence for my chickens which I have yet to order.  My hands shake when I think about building some raised beds for strawberries and lettuce.  AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!  I can't stand it.

I did not grow up with these cold winters.  I grew up in Okinawa and Hawai'i and California.  Kentucky has made me appreciate spring in a way I never thought was possible.  But the winters are going to kill me.  I spent the first twenty years of my life moving every other year.  For the last fifteen, I have managed to stay in one state.  As a BRAT, I get the itch every now and then to just pull up stakes and move.  But it is never so strong as when winter is in full swing.  And it just gets worse as spring nears and I am teased by temperatures in the 50's and sunshine and the smell of rain on warm asphalt.  I know it is almost here.  I can feel it in my bones.  But it takes so damn long.  It's like long slow burn of an ache.  I need the sun!

Spring is coming and it's time to leave hibernation

I finally found a job in September and all farming was put on hold.  Especially since my dog took this new opportunity to eat all my chickens within two days of my return to work.  The little bleepity bleep knew I wasn't there to stop him, know it was him, I don't know.  He's a dog, so I don't pretend to know why he does anything.
I am determined to get things started right this spring so I can successfully part-time farm with a minimum of fuss.  So, as soon as the ground is thawed enough, I'll build a fence around a large enough area to comfortably hold my new chickens when I order them.  This year, I'll pay the extra to have them sexed.  I had so many roosters last time I was lucky I ever saw an egg.
I am ordering heirloom seeds this year too.  I love the variety.  So far, I've racked up a $114 wishlist.  But, I figure if I can learn to save the seeds, I will gain that back by not having to order as many seeds next year.  It also occurred to me that I probably spent close to that last year buying seeds and seedlings at the garden stores and didn't have nearly as much fun picking some interesting varieties.
 Now, I need to build some raised beds for strawberries and onions and artichokes and.... I need to prune the fruit trees before they start to wake up, gather netting, and find covers for the apples.  It's not going to be easy this year now that I'm back at work, but I think I can do it.  I just have to remind myself that 30 minutes in the garden after work will result in an awesome harvest.  And, a little work in the morning on the weekend before heading out for day off jaunts will pay back in multitudinous ways.  If only I can find the willpower to work before play.  Or learn to love the work as play.