The Edible Garden: A Morning on the Farm

What time is it?

I thought today I'd give you are little taste of my mornings. Of course everyday is different but this should give you an idea.

Alarm set for 4:30. I got up at 5: 15.

Good Morning Giotto

(I have no clue what the issue is with these pics. They are all right side up on my computer but coming in sideways to blogger.)

Time for tea and Facebook ;-)

Front yard garden

OK, time to get dressed and get going. Nice and cool and cloudy this morning.

The barn

That wooden box in front of the barn is 4 pallets wired together with more board screwed over the gaps. It's growing luffa, Jack Be Little pumpkins and Black Tail Mountain watermelons. I filled it with shredded paper and chicken manure over the winter. This was an experiment to try and grow vines to help shade the big tin barn without the pigs (javalina) getting into them.

scooping up fermented feed

I ferment the chickens feed because they don't waste as much of it, wild birds aren't as attracted to eating it, it is full of probiotics to promote good health, it pre-digests the feed so the birds can absorb more of the nutrition from it. I've been doing this for about 5 years now and will probably never go back to feeding plain dry food.

The bucket garden

The bucket garden looks good, tomatoes, potatoes and eggplants all growing in 5 gallon buckets.

fresh water and feed for duckies

Good morning duckies!

Good Morning Silkies

Smokeyson and Precious

Miss Bianca

Giotto, what are you barking at? (it was a javalina in the brush)

Good Morning Chickens! A quick trip through the barn so you can see them before I dish up breakfast and check waterers.

empty feed buckets

So 3 empty feed buckets back to the store room. Mix up more feed to feed the chicks this afternoon and the grownups tomorrow.

add water and feed until...

its as thick as oatmeal

Now just set in a warm place. It will fizz and bubble when you stir it up and smell a bit strange. Not quite sour dough or working beer smell. Not quite sour milk smell. As long as it doesn't smell like mold, we're good. Some people cover the feed with water and strain it to feed. I just really didn't like it that way and this way seems to be working OK.

Giotto's breakfast

Time for Giotto's breakfast, raw hamburger and a meaty bone. Although it's been so hot he barely eats anything.

paper and cardboard to recycle

Now time to go to my house and work in the gardens. But first, load up the box of newspaper and cardboard.

And some feed sacks of manure.

feed sacks 1/3 full of manure

I don't fill the bags very full, maybe about 1/3 of the way. Just easier to handle them that way.

Now lets get going. Off to my house. I am letting it all hang out today but you will see why I don't usually do distance shots, way too much junk laying around!

Big locust tree out front

That is a big honey locust out front, at least 50 feet tall and probably 70+ years old. I just hate the 4 inch thorns on it. I"m looking for the thorn less variety to plant around back.

front steps

lets take a walk around the property

falling down sheds out back

Yes I am a pot hoarder

pallet fence potted tomatoes

creek side garden

big tomato garden

looking up to the chicken pens

The chickens are all over at Mom's house right now. There is one old duck who is hard to catch and just goes crazy when you do, so I've just left him here, don't want to stress him out too much.

red neck electric fence

The pigs (javalina) were getting into my little trees and things up by the chicken pens so I ran some electric fencing. I was in a hurry and short of money so I just used any old piece of metal, rebar, water pipe, gas pipe, angle iron, other junk laying around, that I could pound into the ground. Then I slipped a piece of PVC pipe over the metal and wound the wire around that. It works fairly well.

hoop house with pig damage

Of course they still find ways to get in. It looks like a smallish one managed to get in the fence, pushed the chicken wire up on the hoop house and snacked on some squash leaves. Also tore up the baby sunflowers that were at the bottom of the wall. Sigh. I've planted sunflowers there 3 times now.

hot wires tangled

Ah there's the culprit. I imagine the javalina just walked right into the fence, which tangled the wires together as they aren't very tight. There's another spot on the other side. I pushed the lower wires down a bit, but there's a lot of slope so I may have to add a wire in on that spot.

compost happens

OK, now that the fence is fixed, unload the manure and dump on the compost pile.

Unload the newspaper and go mulch a few tomato plants.

tomatoes in caliche

paper down

compost on top of paper

I put down a thick layer of junk mail, cardboard and newspaper, right over the soaker hose, with just enough compost on top to keep the wind from blowing the paper too much.

beans are coming

cucumbers are doing really well

Hello Kitties!

Lil' Bit

Tink

Our new kitty Tink is settling in well. She's a bit skittish but seems content and is getting along OK with Lil' Bit

June planted potatoes

a bed of rainbow beets

golden beet

rainbow carrots

back garden, squash running for the roof

sweet potatoes in pots

little hoop house

(I swear these pics are right side up on my computer!) Little hoop house has some tomatoes and chard, along with some little pots of things like my baby fig trees.

Spanish lavender

mmm. I think this lavender needs some mulch. My favorite mulch is compost or rotted manure.

getting mulch

ah, that's better

live oaks, cherry bushes, herbs

6x6 chain link panel

Time to tie some wire. I'm taking down an old rabbit/duck pen. Covering the 6'x6' chain link panels with chicken wire. I'll be highlighting the project on a separate page later on.

wet rag for the heat

It's getting hot, time to get a wet rag.

moving the panel on my back

The easiest way to move the panel is on my back. Wire all done.

compost & mobile coop

I'll be adding it to the enclosure around the mobile coop and compost pile.

under the squash vines

Canna lilies

volunteer potato in a pot

messy patio

The sunshade broke under a wet snow last winter and the javalina came in and knocked over a bunch of pots and made a mess. Just haven't had time to clean up out here.