- Thread starter
- #101
SustainableAg
Lovin' The Homestead
Okay, I completely broke my promise to not stay away so long next time. Whoops, sorry! I have been swamped with projects.
To begin, the birds are all outside in a mobile chicken coop. I started them over in a treeline for fear of aerial predators. They just graduated from the treeline over into our front pasture. They are all happy and healthy.
Our fruit plants are doing great. I actually picked our first 2 strawberries just 2 days ago! That is our first official produce on our homestead, which is a monumental achievement.
The biggest chore right now is mowing. One day per week I mow, weed wack, and pull weeds from the 3 gardens. Another day, I mow our fenced backyard. And one other day per week, I mow the grass around the house with our tractor. My hubby also pitches in on one of those days to mow the grass down by the road, and will mow the grass around the yard with the tractor if I don't get to it first.
I have been slightly disappointed at the prospect of not having a vegetable garden this year. The ground is too rocky to use a rototiller, and we don't have any other means of getting rid of the sod. I contemplated getting pigs to do the job, but we don't have the resources for that right now; and I still wouldn't be able to garden until next year.
We have finally settled into a routine, and have met a few neighbors in passing. I have been wanting to be neighborly, but we just haven't had the opportunity to introduce ourselves. Today, I finally carved out the time in the late afternoon to bake some cookies for the neighbors. We started at an elderly neighbors house, and ended up staying to chat for 3 1/2 hours! It was so wonderful to learn about their pasts, and glean some information about farming from them. Needless to say, we didn't get around to any of the other neighbors today. However, the neighbor kindly offered to plow a garden spot for us. I have electric netting around the area right now, so I will have to go out there early tomorrow morning to move 264' of fencing. It is such a blessing to have kind neighbors.
Not only did the neighbor offer to help us plow a garden plot, but he also offered to hay our fields for us. I told him that we would want to keep the hay, and would pay him whatever he felt was fair for the hay. Unfortunately, we don't have a barn to store the hay, and we would probably have around 300 bales to manage. However, we do have a storage container on the property. Has anyone ever stored hay in a conex box? I imagine it would be possible. A quick glance on Google points to yes. Would ventilation be a concern?
Speaking of kind neighbors, we also learned who to avoid in the area. I like to form my own opinions of people, but I certainly do appreciate the friendly warning about who to avoid.
Pictures to follow!
To begin, the birds are all outside in a mobile chicken coop. I started them over in a treeline for fear of aerial predators. They just graduated from the treeline over into our front pasture. They are all happy and healthy.
Our fruit plants are doing great. I actually picked our first 2 strawberries just 2 days ago! That is our first official produce on our homestead, which is a monumental achievement.
The biggest chore right now is mowing. One day per week I mow, weed wack, and pull weeds from the 3 gardens. Another day, I mow our fenced backyard. And one other day per week, I mow the grass around the house with our tractor. My hubby also pitches in on one of those days to mow the grass down by the road, and will mow the grass around the yard with the tractor if I don't get to it first.
I have been slightly disappointed at the prospect of not having a vegetable garden this year. The ground is too rocky to use a rototiller, and we don't have any other means of getting rid of the sod. I contemplated getting pigs to do the job, but we don't have the resources for that right now; and I still wouldn't be able to garden until next year.
We have finally settled into a routine, and have met a few neighbors in passing. I have been wanting to be neighborly, but we just haven't had the opportunity to introduce ourselves. Today, I finally carved out the time in the late afternoon to bake some cookies for the neighbors. We started at an elderly neighbors house, and ended up staying to chat for 3 1/2 hours! It was so wonderful to learn about their pasts, and glean some information about farming from them. Needless to say, we didn't get around to any of the other neighbors today. However, the neighbor kindly offered to plow a garden spot for us. I have electric netting around the area right now, so I will have to go out there early tomorrow morning to move 264' of fencing. It is such a blessing to have kind neighbors.
Not only did the neighbor offer to help us plow a garden plot, but he also offered to hay our fields for us. I told him that we would want to keep the hay, and would pay him whatever he felt was fair for the hay. Unfortunately, we don't have a barn to store the hay, and we would probably have around 300 bales to manage. However, we do have a storage container on the property. Has anyone ever stored hay in a conex box? I imagine it would be possible. A quick glance on Google points to yes. Would ventilation be a concern?
Speaking of kind neighbors, we also learned who to avoid in the area. I like to form my own opinions of people, but I certainly do appreciate the friendly warning about who to avoid.
Pictures to follow!
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