Long Weekend Report

May long weekend is always a mixed bag as far as weather goes, and this weekend was a good example. Saturday and Monday were beautiful, warm and sunny. Sunday rained but that's okay because if anyone was planting it got a good watering. We had a fantastic weekend. Got to hang out with a new friend of ours and also got some projects done around the farm. Not as many as I'd like but still, it's looking a lot tidier. Steve spent all day Monday doing fencing only to have them jump the fence into the garden. So today I'll have to go out and figure where they're shorting the electric fence and getting over. Next week is planting time so I need to figure it out quickly.The chickens usually free range but if we want to get seedlings out of the ground we need to contain them so I'm tasked with building new pens and tractors for them. I'm going to sort out the various flocks and give them their own summer palaces. The chores are never ending so I should get up and get going. Though I'd prefer to stay in bed. I'll take some pics of the place for you to see what's going on with us and then I've got to set up the cabin for our first wwoofer who is arriving earlier than expected. My list of chores is massive though so extra help is always good. I have willows, poplar and 48 rugosa roses to plant along the side of the property. And once the garden is tilled and animals contained we've got a heck of a lot of planting to do. Time to get up. Ooo I'm suddenly craving Ribena!

Feels like Summer ... But it's not

I notice that with the long weekend here people are eager to be getting out and planting in their gardens. The garden centres are open at every store and flowers and veggies are all out on the racks. With the temperatures in the high teens every afternoon it's easy to feel like the long Winter is finally over and to get out there, but the reality is that if you're awake with me right now at 5am you'll see that we've a really heavy frost for the second day in a row. It might be 4 degrees in the Valley and on the shore, but here it's hovering right around freezing. Brrr! It's warm in the house, my lovely little thermometer says it's 15 degrees indoors and 9.6 in the greenhouse. Of course that's on the floor of the turkey pen inside the greenhouse. It's not terribly warm but it's 10 degrees warmer than outside! Here's the view at 5am this morning from my south facing bedroom window into the lean-to greenhouse. You can see the plants up on the shelf and the red glow from the turkeys heat lamp. The shelf provides some shading from the direct heat of the sun during the day so the turkeys don't get too hot and the heat from them keeps the plants happy at night. You can't see it but there are lots of tomato seedlings on the left hand side of the shelf just out of the frame and a shelf set against the house and under the window with some tubs on and I use it for storing tools and turkey feed.

Inside the Humblebee Farm Greenhouse at 5am May 15th

When I got home yesterday from meeting a friend I rinsed out the duck swamp aka. the recycled sand box, and re-filled it with fresh water. The ducks will go for a swim sometimes and it muddies the water terribly. I can't wait to get them a pond of their very own.  Here's a pic of the ducks. Mojo is looking to see if it's filled up yet.

Mojo: "Is it filled up yet mum?"

Well I've been awake since 3am and now it's a little after 6am and I'm finally feeling sleepy. The sun is coming up over the hill behind me because I can see the golden glow on the trees opposite. The kids are stirring, maybe I can get an hour of sleep before I have to get up and drive my friend to her ultrasound appointment. Wish me luck!

I've got lots of planting and potting to do today, I'll try and take some pics. But there's still so much clean-up after this past Winter. It seems never ending.

Growing in the Greenhouse

Happy Mothers Day to you all! Here's what I got for gifts: a back massage, breakfast in bed, an arbour started (construction is ongoing) and a trench full of power and water. No, I'm not kidding about the trench. It's my usual practical gift from Steve. We're running the water and power underground from the house to the cabin we've got because that's what the building inspector would prefer and because it's less annoying then a line and cable overhead above the garden. Now I don't have to watch out every time I'm swinging a tall pole in there for the beans. I just have to finish the ceiling, repair the roof and put in a smoke alarm and the cabin is ready for wwoofers again this year. I also want to get some shelves out there but for now it'll be fine. We just have a single guy coming so it's not a big deal to get the bunk beds together as the queen size bed is there. 


In the greenhouse the baby turkeys are growing nicely. We haven't lost any I don't think, though trying to count them when they're running all over the place can be decidedly tricky. But it works well to have them under the shelf with the plants. They get a warmer and safer environment while they're growing up a bit, and their heat lamp provides a little extra warmth at night to the plants on the shelf above. Part of Permaculture is having things compliment and work together, in fact many different trends in gardening advocate symbiosis and it's a good and practical way of doing anything. It's essentially taking the waste from one thing and using it to benefit something else or being the most economical or efficient. Some gardening gurus almost preach it like it's a new concept but of course, like everything else that works well, it's ancient wisdom. Just as the Aztecs planted corn, beans and squash together in their 3 sisters method, and companion planting helped lessen pests while promoting growth, I recommend that you take the time to see if there's a way of increasing the efficiency in your garden. Then it becomes wisdom that is both personal to your garden and practical.

I'm trying to decide the best place to plant some blackberry bushes I picked up the other evening. I need to decide and get them planted today. On our way home from buing them the sunset was quite pretty so Meghan and I took a few pictures. The valley never looks as good in a photograph as it does in real life though. Of all my photos I like this one the best, it's Me taking a photo of Meghan taking a photo of the sunset while driving past our neighbours cows. Love the reflection in the mirror also :)

Reflections of a Spring Evening near Greenwood, NS

Skunked!

It's hard to believe that just 6 hours ago I was outside admiring the cosmos and how bright the moon was. This idyllic moment of time seems short lived as I woke up at dawn to a horrid stench. Yes, the dog has had her first encounter with a skunk. And it must have happened somewhere near the wwoofers cabin because the whole garden and back of the house stinks to high heaven. Maybe it was trying to break into the greenhouse again.

The dog for her part seems unscathed, just wet. I assume she went zipping over into the swamp for a good roll around before trotting off to visit the neighbours. Obviously we had to get her back which she wasn't impressed about but my goodness the whole yard now stinks. I'm going to have to re-wash all the laundry out on the line, wash down the cabin and of course the dog needs a good scrub too. I think the best thing to do is get to her ASAP and give her a good lather in de-stinking shampoo. Obviously she's tied up outside right now while I wait for the store to open and get the proper amount of peroxide. But I may mix up a quarter of a batch to use while we wait.

Yuck.

Not how I planned my morning to go.

In case this ever happens to you, this is the recipe for anti-stink shampoo. It breaks down the oils and sulphur compounds but you'll have to wear gloves and old clothes while using it and avoid getting in the dogs eyes. You'll need to lather, wait a few mins, rinse, repeat a few times so outdoors is recommended. And don't worry if your dogs coat gets a little lighter in colour, it's temporary.

What You Need:

• 1 quart (32 fl oz, nearly 1 liter) Hydrogen Peroxide 3% (U.S.P)
• 1/4 cup baking soda (Sodium Bicarbonate) NOT baking powder or washing powder
• 1 to 2 teaspoons liquid soap (any dish or hand soap will work)
• 1 quart lukewarm water (only needed for very large dogs)
• A clean plastic bucket, bowl or other mixing container (do not cover)
• Clean plastic utensils for mixing
• Protective eye ointment or mineral oil (for your dog's eyes)
• Latex or rubber gloves
• A protective apron and eye goggles if possible
• Plenty of towels if you're doing this indoors

**UPDATE**  The dog is washed down and tied up to a tree drying. In a couple of hours we'll shampoo her a couple more times and leave her outside a bit longer. It's a nice sunny, warm and breezy day. Perfect for drying a black dog.

Planning For Spring Planting

Given the fact the all of Nova Scotia is currently snowed under it might seem odd that we're thinking about planting in April and May. But we don't want to grow just the typical vegetable starter plants, we have some specialty ones we want to grow. So we grow most of our own plants from seed for several reasons. Firstly it's much cheaper, and second we can source organic seeds of varieties that grow well here or some exotic strains that we want to trial.And the snow is finally melting so I have a renewed sense of purpose now. Regardless of what's on the ground right now, in 6 or 8 weeks it'll be very different and we'll be planting in a hurry. So for me starting some of my seeds now is both a way to get a jump on the season and also a way to spread the work over a few extra weeks before wwoofers come to help out. I'm also making a plan of what gets planted where depending on my crop rotations, amount of shade and companion planting. It's more involved than you'd think.

My new Mantis tiller is ordered. While we still believe that a no till system can work, I'm going to use it to get the beds and rows all set up and also to start new flower beds around the front of the property to give us a little more colour and privacy. Picture sunflower and sweetpea hedges. The animals will be confined to the back 4 acres of pasture although we'll see if that really works or not, some chickens are wily.

Here's a video of our new tiller, well one like ours since ours is in the mail. Looking forward to being able to incorporate lime and compost easily and weed between rows if needed. We got the wider model so that 2 passes will result in a 30" wide bed. That's a good size for our use. Although many different options for attachments exist I'm just excited to see how the basic tiller works before committing to paying more money.



The other exciting thing happening is that Steve and Jordan are framing up a lean-to greenhouse for me at the  moment so I'll have somewhere to put my seeds and also some extra heat in the end bedroom of the mobile. I'll let you know when it's done and get some photos.

We're still working on our wood supply for heat and so far so good. We'll have burned just under 5 cords this Winter when all is said and done I think because we're still keeping the fire lit in the mornings. The plan is to cut 2 years worth of wood this Spring and dry it over the summer then store it in a wood shed. Every year we'll cut more, but use the wood stored the previous year so we never run out and so it's seasoned properly. Having a supply of good dry wood is essential to having a comfortable home for us. And it's like having insurance to have extra wood stored.

It's April... And Still Snowing

There's not really been a lot to write about because nothing is happening. It's April and not only do we still have 120+ cm of snow on the ground, it snowed another 10cm this morning. It seems like it's just two steps forward (it warms up and melts) and one step back (it snows again). It's been a little colder than usual too so there has been no chance to get plastic up on the greenhouses and we have nowhere to plant anything. It's so frustrating to be in April and still buying all our greens from the store. We have some plants indoors but not enough to really get a start on the garden. The predictions are that we'll have snow on the ground until May 14th but it will depend on how much more snow and rain we get between then.

It's hard on farmers because we're all running low or are out of hay, and we're still having to keep our animals fed despite there being no Spring grass for them. Another frustration caused by such a long Winter. I'm so looking forward to Springs warmer weather and gentle breezes.

It's been a  good lesson for us though to know a harsh Winter. We know that in the mobile we can get through with 5 cords of firewood, less once we get some more insulation done and if our wood is good and dry. But I still can't wait to get a house built that will hold the heat better and give us more space. As for power, the bills have been crazy so we really need to get rid of any electric heat. Now that Chris and Will aren't living out in the other buildings they aren't running heaters all the time which will save us a bundle. But having a comfortable passive solar house will for sure save us energy and money. If it costs us $40,000 to build a basic house that then saves us $3000 per year in power to heat our home and water, then the house will pay for itself in 14 years. Which is a very reasonable time frame I think. Plus it will be a comfortable home for our family.

We've done several designs for our future home but haven't yet settled on a finished plan. We know some of the conveniences we'd like such as a garage, mud room, library and a nice kitchen. But it's equally important that our home is passive solar, has some kind of solar power and solar hot water heating, uses wood heat and is affordable for us. We have no savings yet and are thinking of ways to have an income even after retirement. It's a lot of planning but we think that if we're smart about it now it'll be good for us in the future.

Snowpocalypse continues

It's Winter in Canada so you'd think we'd be used to it, but really, I'd love to have an early Spring. Groundhog Day is tomorrow so according to tradition we'll know if we should experience a early Spring or have an extra 6 weeks of Winter. We've had several large dumps of snow in the last week and we're forecast to get a bunch more this week. I think tomorrow and Tuesday we are expecting upto 40 cm of snow and 40 mm of rain, ice pellet and freezing rain. The weatherman may change his mind depending on how the system tracks overnight but the kids are hoping for another day off school. It's exam week and they already had 2 days off school last week. Jordan's liking the extra study time though for sure and has one final exam to write tomorrow, if there's school.

So what's happening at the farm you might ask? There's not a lot to do in this sort of weather except hope the sheep wait for nicer weather to give birth but they always seem to pick a howling gale and blizzard. I guess that naturally there would be fewer predators out and able to track in bad weather. But I always feel bad for the lambs who are born wet and steaming in the cold air. If they get the colostrum from their mothers right away they are usually fine, they're pretty hardy little things.

We have seeds to start too and some barley to sprout for the sheep. I'll start tomorrow and take daily pics for you.

Stay warm my friends.

Elizabeth