Easter Weekend

Watts has discovered money and candy are hidden in these eggs. We had to do a practice run before he went to do the real Easter egg hunt. 

It was Easter weekend and we got a ton done! My mom is finally back from her vacation which allows the hubster and I to work together to get projects completed.

My dad came over to help again and brought with him a 17' bamboo pole that he chopped down on his way here. He pulled into the driveway with it sticking out of his sunroof. I can't believe he drove around like that, but if you have ever met my dad you will clearly see that he is aloof when it comes to wacky looking things.

The bamboo pole was the perfect addition to the chicken coop roof. The hubster erected two beams and then laid the bamboo pole across the top to act like a roof ridge line. We then pulled chicken wire over it, and secured the edges to the sides.

With three people working on it, we completely covered the top in chicken wire and it only took 5 hours. Not bad. I can now go and get more baby chicks and actually watch them grow into ladies!

I also planted my peas into the new garden beds. However, I forgot to harden them off first. (to put them outside for the day, and bring them in at night to acclimate them to the weather) They will most likely die. I can just plant some more.

We also made it to nanny and pop-pops house in Reading, Pa for an Easter Egg Hunt. The weather blew chunks, but Watts and James had a blast.

James turned 8 months old yesterday, and with that he decided to climb all the way up the stairs on his own, looking back at me, as if to say... "really your going to let me do this?!" Watts decided that James was getting too much attention from me, so he brought some toys up the stairs and they played on the stairs for a while.

I also managed to teach a jumping class on Friday. It was so much fun. I rode a horse named Finn who is super fancy. I can't get him out of my mind. I would like to own him... only he is 17, and that is a bit old. I also worked with pony Raven. I jumped on her back and got her to walk, trot and canter. I gave the ok for her to do lead line classes, which is a big deal because she can now earn her own keep and will no longer be a useless pony sitting around eating and farting her day away.

It was a good weekend to say the least!

James and Watts getting ready for the Easter weekend. Watts is feeding James  a banana. 

James is 8 months now and proved it by climbing the stairs. Watts played with him on the stairs to pass the time. 

Our new Alcatraz chicken coop. We shortened the one side away from the trees where the hawks like to sit and wait. 

The 17' bamboo pole that my dad brought works as a great ridge line for my chicken wire. 

Rogue and Fluffy- best buddies! And now safe and sound.

Our vegetable gardens waiting patiently for plants. Notice my pea's? 

Doh! I forgot to harden it off first. Hopefully it will still thrive. Hardening off means to bring it outside for the day and bring it back in for the night till it has become used to the outdoor climate. 

Regina, Becky, and Martha behind two layers of fence. Safe and Sound, and hating me for coming empty handed. 

Finn and I cantering up to the next jump. Isn't he a handsome boy?! We get on marvelously. He's my new bestie! 

Finn and I jumping for the first time together. He over jumped it by about a foot. I don't mind. The higher the better!  He agrees with me because we share a brain. 

How to Compost

One of the first things I started when I moved to my new homestead was a compost heap. I was juicing and there was a ton of plant waste. I also have chickens and their poop is perfect for compost. It is full of Nitrogen. I also have almost 2 acres of land to mow, so much grass clippings, perfect for compost.
I also want to start a vegetable garden and all the books say to start a compost pile to make nutrient rick fertilizer for the plants. Everything was pointing to... COMPOST.

I'm lazy though... and I'm cheap. Back on the mainline our neighbor got one of those tumble barrels, and every morning I would see him go out and dump his scraps in there and work the barrel. It was all so clean and perfect, and he paid $300 for it. What a sucker. I was not going to pay for something that tumbled my garbage. Sorry. Not happening.

We had a blue barrel, and I started dumping our scraps in there, and then once a month I dumped chicken poo in there, and then we dumped some leaves in, and once a week the hubster gets the pleasure of taking a shovel and mixing it around. We let the rain water the compost. It rained so much that we had to puncture some holes at the bottom of the barrel to let some of it out.

It made excellent compost tea, it leaked all over our vegetable garden. Liquid gold....

Anyway, our barrel soon was overflowing, and so we needed something bigger. We had some big green ring feeders for livestock. (they came with the house) The hubster got the fun job of dumping the barrel of compost into the green ring. And then we ran... my god what a smell, and it was winter. Everything was frozen... but not our compost... it was hot... doing it's job of breaking down.

Anyway, composting is easy.

I cut the tops off our milk jugs and fill them with all my food scraps. I have a full gallon of scraps a day. We eat a ton of plants.

I give my chickens the carrot peels and dump the rest into my green ring.

I compost everything including my coffee grounds and egg shells.

Things I don't compost are: meat, black walnut tree leaves, weeds that have seeded, coal or charcoal ash, dairy products or eggs, diseased or insect ridden plants, cooking fats, fish bones, dog feces, pig feces, soiled cat litter, horse manure, and anything treated with pesticides.

What I do compost and
What you need:

Brown Organic Matter: dry, woody material like tree bark and branches, dead flowers, cornstalks, shredded paper,

Green Organic Matter: wet stuff, vegetable waste, coffee grounds, grass clippings, weeds, eggshells, overripe fruit,

Water

The brown and Green Matter should be equal.

Also add some earthworms. They are little machines that will do all the work for you.

To attract earthworms to your garden spread some fruit peels and vegetable peels on your garden bed before planting. They will gladly come to the surface to help you.

Also, if you want your compost to work fast, it is best to shred everything into very small pieces before dumping it. They suggest you blend up your food scraps or cut everything into very small pieces.

 I'm too lazy to do this. I think I dumped a whole pineapple in there the other day. I'm just curious to see what happens to it. If it doesn't break down I can take it out.

Check back with us. My compost is still brewing, and I will update you on our progress. It takes time for the matter to break down. I currently have no worms because they are deep in the earth sleeping the winter away.

This is my compost bucket. I cut the top off of a milk jug and fill it everyday with my plant based trash, if it gets too gross I can just recycle it and cut me up a new bucket.

Walking out to "the vegetable" garden. This was taken in February, the garden isn't ready for me yet. 

This is my compost heap. I just dump stuff in there and wait for it to work.


Happy Composting! 

Planting Seeds

We planted our seeds this weekend. Let's hope they grow. The hubster wet the soil in a bucket before we put them into our planting tray and then I took the seeds and dumped a few into each hole and covered it over. There is no way it could be this easy. I doubt they will grow. Let's wait and see.
The tray is sitting on my window sill on a heating pad covered by a plastic top to act like a green house.

I planted. Broccoli, Radish, Cabbage, Lettuce, Peppers and Onion. These are my "March" seeds.
I don't really want any of these in my garden but the first year is always a "tester" to see what grows and what doesn't. I also planted things that were supposed to go directly in the ground... like Onion, Lettuce and Cabbage. They are not supposed to be transplanted, but as usually I don't follow directions well, and most likely set myself up for failure. I also have peas... which I do want in my garden. These are supposed to be planted directly in the ground... but we are still having a frost, and I want to wait till mid march. I also havent put up any trellis yet. Oh man... I'm nervous about this. I'm not going to lie, I will be "ticked off" if this fails.


UPDATES:!
Feb, 27, 2013: Have a few shoots already! 4 radish, 1 cabbage, and 2 broccoli have started shoots. It's working! It's working!!! whoop whoop.  We are only 4 days in... I think I might have planted too soon.  Who knew my thumb was so green?!

Seeds were planted on Feb, 24, 2013. 

I got this for my birthday from the hubster... let's see if it works. Who knows... if I get a big yield maybe next year will be a real green house.