Week numbers are based on how many weeks between the Summer Solstice and Fall Equinox.
This post is a work in progress. Text, images, and videos will be added over time. This is currently what is happening on the farm.
Summer isn't feeling so summer on the farm. It has felt more like fall. The days are getting shorter and the temps are up and down.
Here are some of the things we hope to get done this week.
Sheep Barn Mama hen has a name, Dolly. I thought it was clever. She has hatched out six chicks! I moved her and the babes to the nursery for safe keeping.
Una is on her own. I think her mama went back to sitting too. Not a fan...
Easter Egger mama I hatched out last year has given up on her babies. There are four (the fab four) left of her seven. They are sweet and I would like to put them somewhere with Una.
Duck Mama, Mercury, and her six ducklings are now allowed to run free in the yard. I love seeing my little skittles out and about. The geese love them too.
Matilda, the sheep is getting close. A few other ewes are looking large too.
One goose is sitting. She has goose eggs, duck eggs and a chicken egg. I need to take the chicken egg and give it to a sitting mama hen.
Two hens are sitting in our original coop. I am not sure they have eggs or not.
I am getting about four eggs a day from 40 hens. I think they are hiding them, eating them and molting has slowed down production.
My young birds need a house to themselves. I want to protect them since we lost so many. I had 14 and now I have 2... The Novogens are growing fast. I have an old coop I need to move for them.
Current count, 3 toms and maybe 1 hen. She disappeared over a week ago. My guess is a nest in an unsafe spot... So she could show up with some poults or we have lost her.
I am really sad we have so few birds. We started the summer with 7 hens. Two were injured during mating and we lost them, the others had hidden nests and we never saw them again.
I am over our toms. They have been more and more aggressive with the dogs. We also have to lock them up when company comes. Tom and Dick were our first turkeys. They are ok but our young tom is a jerk. Which sucks extra because I hand raised him.
I think they will go in the freezer when we do the roosters.
I will be sad to be turkeyless. Maybe next year we will try again. I don't think I will let them be free range. I would love to build them a 1/2 acre run.
I am surprised how few mamas sat this year. I had two sharing a nest, I hate that, but they quit. I do have one sitting in the "big pond" doe house. She has goose eggs, duck eggs and a chicken egg. I need to take the chicken egg and give it to a sitting mama hen.
The geese would very much like to adopt the ducklings but they say no thank you by fleeing whenever a goose is in sight.
We are down to only a handful of ducks. We had lots of lady ducks go broody in unsafe places. So sad. The older ducks are being kind to the skittle ducklings. Its nice to see.
Current count is six. We kinda want to be done with pigs. Our St. Croix sheep winter so much better here. We have so much mud! I don't feel like I can keep them dry enough. We like them, it just doesn't seem fair to them. Our research had been that you can keep six Kune Kune on an acre and they don't tear it up. They do! They are pigs. I don't fault them that but the information is wrong. They also take 18 months to grow out. The sheep take a year and can do it on grass with some feed. The pigs need more feed The sheep can handle a bit of freedom, the pigs like to wander...
I would like to have one litter a year. Chris and I will have to do some thinking and talking.
The rabbits had a hard year. We currently have three does and three bucks. I have plans to move their houses around. I really want them to have a yard/garden. It would make me so happy! I have plans to give the does a safer place to have kits and expand our rabbits. Their poop is so helpful in the garden!
We have 12 St. Croix sheep. We are hoping all the ewes are pregnant and lambs should be on the way. Matilda should be first because she didnt have a live lamb this season. I am suprised some of them never lost their coats. They are hair sheep and blow their coats for summer.
Almost all the harvest has gone to the CSA members. We had started to see abundance, but it seems to have dried up. So disappointing.
87 out of 10,000 pounds have been donated!
Purple Basil, Lambsquarter, Potatoes, Radish Pods, Rainbow Chard, Red Russian Kale, Salad Mix, Summer Squash
The seed starting greenhouse is too hot. We need to put the shade cloth up but we aren’t sure where it is…
Normally we start brassicas, but Chris is trying to direct seed them in the field.
The onions are started for spring. And we have lettuce again! Huzzah!
Tomatoes are blushing!!!! Cucumbers are over it. Too hot in there for them. Summer squash is doing well but slowing down. Half are staked. Basil is looking good and peppers are drowning in weeds
Cucumbers are on their third leaf. Tomatoes need to be staked. Melons are vining and need a trellis. Purple basil will be ready this week. Peepers are happy.
Melons "Sarah’s choice" has blooms everywhere. Third wave of summer squash on the way.
Should have corn next week. Silk is browning. We have two bags left in freezer and are ready to have a new supply.
Harvested the garlic!!! Best we have ever had! Thanks to Our Neighbours' Farm & Homestead.
Trying out lots of beans. Pole beans are staring. Bush beans are being left to seed. Turtle beans have buds.
Dent corn looks good, four feet tall. We will have a whole field next year.
We have six CBD plants. One plant is going to be ready soon!
Onions are bulbing.
Cucumbers, market variety, will be ready. Open pollinated slicer that are resistant to virus mosaic. We have had a huge problem with mosaic virus this year.
Peas and corn experiment. Peas on corn stalks.
Flowers are shining.
Squash looks good. Butternut light. Howden pumpkins are sprawling.
Marvel peas are ready to harvest half.
See above.
Sheep are out there. Hay baled.
No apples in the cidar orchard but dwarf orchard does.
The tip of our property is ready to harvest hay. I think we are hoping for 30, 40 bales.
A little worried about our well. The neighbors seem to be low. How much water do we use? We need to figure it out.