Wednesday Work 9/25/19

Spaghetti squash on the compost pile. 

Clearing brush for the fence

Hoping the last post didn’t hit a rock. Cutting back the mesquite means a little fire wood for next year. 

Now to just finish up getting the wire on and this section will be done. 

Waking up to holes like this means either a raccoon or a skunk. Traps are set. 

Glad to see the fungi!  Fungi are very necessary for proper nutrient cycling in the garden. I also understand some fungi eat the root feeding nematodes so the more the merrier!

And Shazam!! Just like that it was fall. Some rain and cooler temps have been a blessing. 

The new Lancinato kale are almost big enough to pick. I swapped their shade cloth for bird net. 

A couple days ago I cleared out this bed when I realized it had root knot nematodes. 

The nematodes are why the squash plants were sickly and most died this year. 

It’s on a slope and it’s retaining boards were leaning. So I shoveled out the dirt, reset the boards and carried on. I sprayed an organic nematocide and watered it in. I put on some fresh compost, planted various seeds, stole the shade cloth from the bed next door. Fingers crossed my new plan of attack alleviates the nematodes. 

Farmer Friday 9/20/19

Clearing brush, building a wall, driving fence posts. Of course there’s a rock every hole

Spaghetti squash on the compost pile

Dwarf Grey Sugar peas are blooming. Aren’t they pretty. 

Flowers for market. The sunflowers are pretty much gone. The zinnias are busting out all over. The dahlias are starting to perk up. 

The zucchini in this bed haven’t done much this year. What the rabbits and squirrels didn’t eat were killed by root knot nematodes. I need to clear the bed out, spray it for the nematodes and fix those support boards. 

Working on the slope above the new fence area. Running shallow swales level on contour ( more or less any way!). The idea being these shallow trenches will catch and hold water and sink it into the soil. When it cools off and we’re expecting a good rain I’ll add some seeds of dry land grasses and clovers that will grow over the winter and help hold the soil. 

I sat watching chickens for a bit this morning. This is the oldest set I hatched. All of the olive egger cockerels will go to freezer camp in a couple of weeks. The Buff Orpington and Black Copper Marans cockerels will hang out to grow a little longer, unless they have really bad flaws. In that case off to the freezer with them too. The girls will be next years layer flock. 

Fencing and more

I got this run of fence along the creek wired up. 

I got the big beam out of the bushes the other day along with an old bunk bed spring frame. The rest of the junk is too tangled up to pull out. Besides it’s not in the way. 

I know my mind is in the right place when I find a heart rock. 

Got the posts set on this side of the crossing. 

Working on clearing brush by the hoop coops. This turned into several jobs at once. Lowering the slope where the fence will run, adding to the rock wall and working on water catchment. 

A few eggs, white peaches and tomatoes. 

I was asked to judge the vegetables at the county fair. 

This little silkie is the only one from spring hatches. She is in the house for today as the bigger birds were picking on her. 

Spaghetti squash on the compost pile. 

The coyotes are still hanging around. There’s a pack behind me and one down the canyon. Trying hard to get the fence finished so I can turn the dog out. Coyotes are after an easy meal and won’t usually come across the fence with the dog barking at them. They will try to entice the dog out so the pack can kill it. 

There’s also a pair of hawks in the afternoon and just about the time I’m trying to sleep the owl and it’s baby start in. 

Farmer Friday 9/13/19

I just like this picture 😁

Pack rats and squirrels are sooo destructive!  Another plant is just a bare stump. 

I’ve lost about 10 hens to a big hawk and pack of coyotes. This morning there was evidence of a skunk or a coon hanging around. 

I’m putting up fence as fast as I can. 

The sunflowers are almost done but the zinnias are taking off. 

The little back garden needed some attention this morning. 

This bed of dwarf grey sugar peas did not do well. I don’t think it got enough water. I’ll be replanting the bare spots. 

Running twine around the dwarf peas to keep them contained. 


A big ful moon.   The weather has cooled slightly. Hopefully things will start growing better. 

This Crazy Life. Coyotes and more

I lost several hens last week that were accidentally free ranging. No tracks or bodies so I thought a hawk or possibly a bobcat since I seldom see tracks from them when the ground is dry. 

This morning I got 1.1” in about an hour. I had to go to work just as it started letting up. 

When I got home the gate to the hill pen was open and the birds were all out. There were several new feather explosions. And then I found this pair of tracks. Probably coyotes. At least one adult and one pup. At dark I rounded them all up and put them in a more secure pen. Several are injured across their backs.  Hopefully the coyotes will move on somewhere else. 

I’m working on fence as fast as I can but it’s slow going by myself. 

There was a pretty rainbow when I got to work tho. In other news there is still a mouse eating seedlings. My PC is having mouse issues also: the wireless mouse croaked and I can’t get the newer one to work. So I don’t know what the issue is. 

The broody’s bunch have been doing good until today when I found a chick a little sluggish and cold. I warmed it up and put it back but it was dead later. It might have had an internal issue or it might have gotten chilled with the rain this morning. I don’t know. Stuff happens. 

Been a long dry summer

I’ve neglected this page I see. A few highlights from a hot dry summer. This is a native fruit, holly leaf  barberry. They are sweet and a little tart when soft ripe, more tart if less ripe. They have little flesh and a lot of tiny little seeds but they are addictive once you start eating them. Maybe next year I’ll have time to pick more. I would love to juice them.  They ripen in June. 

There was a huge wild fire not that far away from me. 

I hatched some Black Copper Marans along with a few others. 

The wild life is driving me crazy. 

The sunflowers have done well. 

There was a nice crop of summer apples. 

I redid the steps to the hill pen. 

There have only been a few squash and peppers. 

The 3 years old peach (from seed!) had 4 huge peaches. They were cling stone but sweet and juicy. 

I am still battling root knot nematodes in a couple of areas. 

The Lofthouse sunroots are about 8 feet high and blooming. A buttercup squash grows on the compost pile. 

Four years of neglect in the greenhouse. Full of weed trees. 

A couple hours work. More to do as I have time. 

And while it rains all around me I’ve had only about an inch of rain since February.