By the time we got to so much as walk our pasture this year after moving in, the grass was knee high. A couple months later it had finished seeding out and begun to flop over in places susceptible to winds. Every now and then one of us would march out the weed-eater to keep the hot-wired fenceContinue reading “Making Hay the Old Fashioned Way; A Scythe”
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A rough start to the new year
Sigh. Josh and Gwen have been busy since the New Year. We’ve been quiet because for a few weeks there wasn’t much to report, and then all of a sudden too much, and we were too crabby to talk about it. This happens to be the coldest winter since we’ve lived in Washington, with mostContinue reading “A rough start to the new year”
The Dirty (Two) Dozen
For 4 days and 3 cool nights our friendliest chicken, the petite Rhode Island Red with black tail feathers, was missing. She stopped returning to the coop in the evening. We both leave for work in the dark and come home in the dark, so we looked around the property with a flashlight everywhere weContinue reading “The Dirty (Two) Dozen”
101 Uses for Pallets on the Homestead: #1-3
When purchasing the farm 7 months ago, we inherited a lot of stuff. From outbuildings to questionable lumber, from electric fencing to old roofing, from drainage problems to really smelly compost. Now, Paul Wheaton says, “If it stinks, you are doing it wrong.” And my experience says that is true. I spent summers growing up in theContinue reading “101 Uses for Pallets on the Homestead: #1-3”
Raising meat chickens: the nitty gritty
I wouldn’t deliberately choose to process chickens in a cyclone. It’s just that when you raise meat chickens, you’re working on a timeline. There’s a lot to line up: you have to consider the day the chickens were hatched, and calculate 7-8 weeks to determine the butchering window. And when you’re a part-time farmer, weekendsContinue reading “Raising meat chickens: the nitty gritty”
The Yellow Submarine: Salatin Style Pastured Poultry
The inaugural launch of our (Joel) Salatin style pastured poultry pontoon occurred in mid-August of this year. Typically, broilers are done in the Spring when the grass is growing fast and the temps are warming nicely. But, since we didn’t move onto the homestead until May and were busy setting up 4 pastured pigs andContinue reading “The Yellow Submarine: Salatin Style Pastured Poultry”
It’s the rainy season.
As the summer ended, we felt that we knew the homestead pretty well. We knew where the pasture was thick and healthy, and we knew where it transitioned into sedge–an indicator of a low area. We had a mental map of the labyrinth of electric fence wire in the pastures, and how to direct currentContinue reading “It’s the rainy season.”
Turning apples to gold
Josh turned 41 last week. What do you get for the guy who loves growing stuff, but already has 10 apple trees, 3 pear trees, 3 cherry trees, and more plum trees than we can count? More fruit trees, of course. We’re continuing to get to know our property and all of the things thatContinue reading “Turning apples to gold”
The Hopeful Tomato
Last January, while still residing at our 1/8th acre urban lot, a cameoing sun struck the soggy ground and I was bitten by the gardening bug. We had a couple bags of potting soil lying about and my very first batch of homemade compost was looking dark and loamy, so I mixed it all upContinue reading “The Hopeful Tomato”
A Dirt Farmer’s Success(ion)
I’ll go ahead and call it what it is…a mid-life crisis. Some dudes get the hotrod, maybe take up skydiving, cross-fit, or some other exhilaratingly risky hobby. Myself, I’ve purchased way too much land and plan to farm it with almost no experience whatsoever. Crazy? Probably. Now, you should know that I can operate aContinue reading “A Dirt Farmer’s Success(ion)”
Bellfern Homestead 