Australorp, Backyard, boots, Buff Orpington, carrots, chicken, eggs, fava, garden, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, planting, sustainability

Mini Farm Coming Along

OK, so I was going to take a before pic but honestly I was too ashamed at the state of my garden and horrified that my neighbors back door opened up to it and has had to look at it. It’s the only place where we do not have privacy fencing since there was already a fence there. But so far, I cleaned out the beds, used my Garden Weasel to turn the soil, added 6 cubic feet of peat moss and some organic fertilizer then turned the soil some more to mix it all up and then watered thoroughly.

I know it’s a mess! Wish me luck!

 I planted some Fava Windsor Broad Beans a couple of weeks ago and waiting for them to pop up and this weekend I´m planting some Organic Carrot Seeds Carnival Blend, some beets, some peas, lettuce and other cold hardy plants.

A couple of years ago I put down some weed cloth and put mulch over it. This looked great and was an awesome idea until my cats and the neighborhood cats thought that this would be the ideal place to poop. Yeah, eeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwww. I kept stepping in it. I got to the point where I didn’t want to go into my garden area. That, plus the heat and the bugs just caused me to quit all together. My garden became a mess and my harvest was lost since I wasn’t keeping up with it. Now I have vines and weeds growing through the cloth. What do farmers do then (this is an Icelandic saying when there is a problem)? I´m going to clean out as much as I can put down even more mulch and then put down pavers for stepping on. This means that I need to go to my city’s free mulch site and pick up LOTS of mulch.

Mathilda the s/he bird
Owl, Buff and Mathilda getting lost in the weeds.

OK so the chickens are growing FAST! I know one of my Easter Eggers is a rooster so his name is Dinner. I live in the city so keeping a rooster is not being very neighborly. I’m still waiting to see if Mathilda is really a girl. I go back and fourth on if she is a he or a she so right now she is a s/he. LOL. I have just started letting them free range in the backyard. They are funny to watch and much easier to keep then I thought. Don’t know why I didn’t do this a LONG time ago. If you are on the fence on this one just jump in! If this is not the hobby for you then you can sell them and people will for sure buy laying hens and your coop.
Just make sure to read books on keeping chickens so you know the basics and have a library to reference to if you start having any problems and check with your local ordinands to see if you can legally keep chickens in your city. The entertainment value alone is worth keeping these birds. I could sit around and watch them all day. In June they should start laying if what I am reading about them starting around 18-22 weeks of age. I can’t wait! I’m still waiting on my Icelandics (lay white to pink eggs) and on a Maran (lays chocolate brown eggs) and Cream Legbar (lays blue eggs). It will be so much fun keeping these fun colors in my frig and giving them to the neighbors and friends.
Waiting for my boots to arrive from Amazon. Have to have proper attire for taking care of my mini farm.

What are you doing this spring? Trying anything new? New plants, animals, hobbies?

Baby, coconut, cup, decluttering, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, planting, Right now, tea, tea forte, teething

::right now::

Look at those teeth!

Doing a in the moment post that I learned from Amanda Soule. Living in the moment and being present.

Right now I am……

::finding my home too quiet and empty this morning while my big boys are off at their grandparents for the week.
:: thankful for the amazing in laws that are so kind and loving towards my children.
:: enjoying the sun peeking out from  behind the clouds lifting my spirits and warming my home.
:: feeling for a friend of mine that just found out her man has cancer and wishing I could fly to go see her and sit with her over tea for a while. Not saying much but just being present.
:: thinking about my to do list that I have for the spring. Getting ready for my boys to come home to plant some seeds to start indoors.
:: enjoying that I will be keeping bees this spring, taking one more step towards self sufficiency.
:: knowing that the local honey will both help with my allergies and is a disinfectant helping heal from illnesses.
:: tired from a fussy night with baby Alex as he cut his 2nd tooth.
:: thankful that that second tooth has cut through and hoping that the next teeth don´t show for a few more months.
:: wondering why I have this overwhelming feeling that I need to get on a plane and go somewhere. Leaving Oklahoma is a feeling I have that is so strong but will not be fulfilled in the near future.
:: dreaming about the vegetables that we will grow this year. Loving that my big boys will be old enough to help and that my own bees will be pollinating my garden and that nectar from my own veggies will turn into the honey that we will get.
:: proud that I did some decluttering this morning while Alex slept. Baby steps I know.
:: enjoying some Om music with my Chi in my new Tea Forte Kati Cup which I LOVE and some Lindt coconut chocolate