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| Apple Blossoms beside the road. |
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| Cherry at the Dep't of Transportation |
We had a dream, like so many others before us, to live a simple and sustainable life on our own organic farm... so we drove from Vancouver Island, British Columbia to the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia, and we've been here nearly 6 years. We love life, learning, and sharing with others. Follow our adventures as we build a vibrant small family farm and work towards self-sufficiency using a combination of traditional methods, permaculture and original ideas.
Friday, May 29, 2015
The Greens Garden
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Popcorn Popping on the Apple Trees
Today is going to be warm so we'll be out int he greenhouse and in the garden while it's still cool and get some more re-potting done and also see about getting some main crops into the ground. Peas, potatoes and salad greens along with radishes are the order of the day. Plus of course the prerequisite bug repellent. Oh my goodness the black fly are horrible! Everyone is saying it's the worst year they can remember. I think maybe it's just because the flies all hatched at once instead of being spread out over the past few weeks. Either way I can't wait for their season to be over and for the mozzies which are much easier to repel.
The next 3 weeks will see the majority of our crops started. Getting everything planted takes time but then the daily maintenance is what you really have to keep up on. Weeding, hoeing, hilling up potatoes. If you don't do those then your crops have a harder time because they're competing with them for moisture and nutrients. So as important as planting is, keeping it up is just as important.I still haven't had tome to get my planting plan all done but I'm closer. It'll be finished today. Hopefully along with the turkey tractor and the arbour int he garden. I really need some of the perennials out of the greenhouse and into the garden right now. Tomatoes still need the warmth so they're fine to stay. The weather is supposed to be hot today, pushing 30. I'm gonna die! Then tomorrow is wet and stormy again. It's not bad weather to get crops in the ground.
Time to get up and at 'em!
Monday, May 25, 2015
And Something Went BUMP In The Night
Sitting here this evening I heard the bugs flitting outside the window against the screen and I thought about the moths which I don't like and how grateful I am for window screens. When all of a sudden something much heavier bounced off the screen with a definite 'twang!' Say it isn't so! The June bugs are back! GROAN
June bugs are not my friend. And I'll let you in on a secret. I have an irrational fear of flying insects. I'm okay with butterflies but moths just do me in. I know I know, they can't hurt me. I KNOW that, inside my head. But when they're being all floppy and dive bombing my face I freak out. I gradually have lessened my fear as I've progressed on this Earth, 40 years of living in moth country. And then along came the ultimate nemesis ... the June Bug or June Beetle as it's also known.
These rather large members of the scarab beetle family can fly but are exceedingly clumsy and are attracted to light so you'll hear them hit the wall, screen and light fixtures on the outside of you house with a wet sounding thwack every evening for several weeks. The worst part of June bugs is that they have lumpy legs that act sort of like velcro and so if they land on your clothing or heaven forbid, in your hair, they're very difficult to get out again. It's not like a quick swipe and they just fly off. Oh no! They stick on so you have to actually touch them and peel them out of your hair like a giant burr. <> Just thinking about is giving me a serious case of the creeps.
There's not a lot you can really do but wait for June bug season to end in a few weeks. In the meantime you can bait them by leaving a light source on outside away from doors and windows, and keep the curtains closed so there's less light to be attracted to. I remember last year being so grossed out because there must have been close to a hundred June bugs all over the screen door one evening that I actually found a can of Raid and sprayed them all. It seemed like a great idea...until I tried to leave the house the following morning and had to crunch and squish my way across all their little beetle bodies.
I can hear the ducks making some of their hunting noises so I'm wondering if despite it being 10:30 at night, if they're out sloshing down some bugs for a night cap. If they are then they're suddenly my new best friends. I really don't like June bugs. I've been out fishing as the sun set and heard them coming across the lake towards me. Honestly the sound is like a drone coming to terrify me so I always pack up my rods and gear and go home.
Probably my nastiest experience with a June bug was in Chris' Grade 11 year at West Kings High School. I was driving the vehicle along Glebe Rd near Greenwood and had the music turned up and the windows open enjoying the evening air. I think I was driving him to one of the last rugby games of the season. When all of a sudden a nice fat juicy beetle hit the vertical window frame beside the windshield and my open window and exploded into a mass of green beetle juice and bright pink guts. This concoction then splattered one whole side of my face and glasses. Being chivalrous as he is, Christopher did hand me a kleenex after he stopped clutching his sides with laughter. How kind of him. So that is my ultimate horror story of June bugs so far. Needless to say, it did nothing to lessen my dread of these cursed beetles. YUCK!!
June bugs are not my friend. And I'll let you in on a secret. I have an irrational fear of flying insects. I'm okay with butterflies but moths just do me in. I know I know, they can't hurt me. I KNOW that, inside my head. But when they're being all floppy and dive bombing my face I freak out. I gradually have lessened my fear as I've progressed on this Earth, 40 years of living in moth country. And then along came the ultimate nemesis ... the June Bug or June Beetle as it's also known.
There's not a lot you can really do but wait for June bug season to end in a few weeks. In the meantime you can bait them by leaving a light source on outside away from doors and windows, and keep the curtains closed so there's less light to be attracted to. I remember last year being so grossed out because there must have been close to a hundred June bugs all over the screen door one evening that I actually found a can of Raid and sprayed them all. It seemed like a great idea...until I tried to leave the house the following morning and had to crunch and squish my way across all their little beetle bodies.
I can hear the ducks making some of their hunting noises so I'm wondering if despite it being 10:30 at night, if they're out sloshing down some bugs for a night cap. If they are then they're suddenly my new best friends. I really don't like June bugs. I've been out fishing as the sun set and heard them coming across the lake towards me. Honestly the sound is like a drone coming to terrify me so I always pack up my rods and gear and go home.
Probably my nastiest experience with a June bug was in Chris' Grade 11 year at West Kings High School. I was driving the vehicle along Glebe Rd near Greenwood and had the music turned up and the windows open enjoying the evening air. I think I was driving him to one of the last rugby games of the season. When all of a sudden a nice fat juicy beetle hit the vertical window frame beside the windshield and my open window and exploded into a mass of green beetle juice and bright pink guts. This concoction then splattered one whole side of my face and glasses. Being chivalrous as he is, Christopher did hand me a kleenex after he stopped clutching his sides with laughter. How kind of him. So that is my ultimate horror story of June bugs so far. Needless to say, it did nothing to lessen my dread of these cursed beetles. YUCK!!
Planting Begins Outside - Potatoes
I'm not quite finished my planting plan yet but it should be all finished today. Which is good because we're starting with our cool season crops. The weather is going to be very warm today, 26 C or about 80 F. And while that may not seem very warm to most of you, none of us have yet adjusted to the heat. Remember, it was only recently that I was complaining to you about all the snow :)
Potatoes are going in maybe today too and that'll be great because it's supposed to be a bit of a wet week, but not cold. The cooler weather means if I take the risk of planting green beans that there's a good likelihood they won't sprout if the soil is cool and wet but sometimes it's worth the risk, and sometimes there are ways around problems like this. I'm sure you've seen farmers planting things in rows that are little ridges in the soil. Well the reason we do that is so that the seeds are slightly raised inside the soil. The raised soil warms up faster and doesn't hold as much water so while the seeds are getting going in the wet Spring weather they have a much better chance of sprouting and not rotting in the ground. So for the home gardener it's also possible to get a week or two jump on the weather by copying what the farmers do and planting seeds that like warmer soil in ridges. These would include beans and corn. Corn is particularly susceptible to soil temperature. Too cool and it won't sprout at all.
Another major consideration is frost dates. It may be 26 C this afternoon but if you've read my blog for a while you'll know that the temperatures can fluctuate wildly in Canada and we could easily get frost next week. We plant and schedule with this in mind. If I get my potatoes started in the ground, they won't actually be sending little green shoots out of the ground for another week or 10 days. They stay protected under the earth while they send out roots and get going. One other way that I use to get a little jump on my planting out of doors is to use a mulch. A mulch is basically any covering over the plant and/or soil. Most common mulches are straw, hay, compost, wood chips etc. These are all good soil builders as they'll break down into the soil over time and add to the humus level which increases available nutrients and water holding capacity, especially in our sandy soil.
Regardless of all the best laid plans, it all comes down to the weather and the seeds. We have to get them together at some point. So once Jordan is home from school we'll get planting potatoes and see if we can get a few hundred feet of rows in before supper time. In 2 weeks I'll side dress with compost and manure to make sure the growing plants are getting enough of what they need to stay healthy. We do practice hilling so when the tops of the plant reach 12 inches tall I'll pile soil up around them and mulch them with straw to keep the soil underneath more moist, to protect the developing tubers from teh sun and to help stop the We're going to plant, Emarosa, Green Mountain, Russet (netted gem) and some Purple Chief. That should give us some nice market potatoes as well as storage ones. I'll post later and let you know how it went, unless the black fly carry me off or suck me dry.
Potatoes are going in maybe today too and that'll be great because it's supposed to be a bit of a wet week, but not cold. The cooler weather means if I take the risk of planting green beans that there's a good likelihood they won't sprout if the soil is cool and wet but sometimes it's worth the risk, and sometimes there are ways around problems like this. I'm sure you've seen farmers planting things in rows that are little ridges in the soil. Well the reason we do that is so that the seeds are slightly raised inside the soil. The raised soil warms up faster and doesn't hold as much water so while the seeds are getting going in the wet Spring weather they have a much better chance of sprouting and not rotting in the ground. So for the home gardener it's also possible to get a week or two jump on the weather by copying what the farmers do and planting seeds that like warmer soil in ridges. These would include beans and corn. Corn is particularly susceptible to soil temperature. Too cool and it won't sprout at all.
Another major consideration is frost dates. It may be 26 C this afternoon but if you've read my blog for a while you'll know that the temperatures can fluctuate wildly in Canada and we could easily get frost next week. We plant and schedule with this in mind. If I get my potatoes started in the ground, they won't actually be sending little green shoots out of the ground for another week or 10 days. They stay protected under the earth while they send out roots and get going. One other way that I use to get a little jump on my planting out of doors is to use a mulch. A mulch is basically any covering over the plant and/or soil. Most common mulches are straw, hay, compost, wood chips etc. These are all good soil builders as they'll break down into the soil over time and add to the humus level which increases available nutrients and water holding capacity, especially in our sandy soil.
Regardless of all the best laid plans, it all comes down to the weather and the seeds. We have to get them together at some point. So once Jordan is home from school we'll get planting potatoes and see if we can get a few hundred feet of rows in before supper time. In 2 weeks I'll side dress with compost and manure to make sure the growing plants are getting enough of what they need to stay healthy. We do practice hilling so when the tops of the plant reach 12 inches tall I'll pile soil up around them and mulch them with straw to keep the soil underneath more moist, to protect the developing tubers from teh sun and to help stop the We're going to plant, Emarosa, Green Mountain, Russet (netted gem) and some Purple Chief. That should give us some nice market potatoes as well as storage ones. I'll post later and let you know how it went, unless the black fly carry me off or suck me dry.
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
My Greenhouse is Overrun
When you first start seeds it's common to use flats with 72 or 90 cells. Cells are each little pot that's molded in the plastic. I use 72's because they give just a little more space for root development before I transplant to 4 inch pots. As you can imagine, 10 trays of 72 cells doesn't take up much space, perhaps 12x18 inches each. But once you transplant to 4 inch pots you suddenly have only 18 pots taking up the same space, and when you transplant to a gallon pot well you can only fit 2. My shelf is currently completely covered in flats and it's time to transplant. So herein lies my dilemma. What on earth to do with all these plants!?!
Currently I have a dozen or so Amish Paste tomatoes ready to go into 1 gallon pots, I've got maybe 48 beefsteak tomatoes ready for larger pots or the garden, lettuce coming out the wazoo so I've been making salad and I started using it as an understorey in the gallon tomato pots (it'll shade the soil and then you can pick it when the tomato needs more room), and I have a couple hundred tomato seedlings that are now ready for their 4 inch pots which is the bulk of my space problem. I do have some plastic stackable shelving in the bunk room off the barn so I'll probably have to layer those o the shelf to provide a little more room for the next couple of weeks until we're ready to begin selling our lovely little tomatoes. And thank goodness I didn't start them all at once or I'd really be pooched. I've got other tomatoes that won't need potting up for a couple more weeks. I know you can buy them in the stores right now but really the weather is still too cold for them so it's better to wait for warmer nighttime temperatures.
Another part of the problem is our hi-jumpin' lambs. Steve spent a good portion of the weekend fixing up all the fencing and they're still getting out. Bright orange electric wire may be the way to go. Once I know I can keep the animals out of my garden, I can put in my roses, herbs, sweet potatoes, cucumbers and greenhouse tomatoes and that will give me a lot more space. And if the turkeys move out, well then I'll be able to walk around again! lol I'm thinking of actually just planting some sweet potato vines and tomatoes directly on top of the turkey poop once the little critters have moved out. The shavings and poop will compost and provide nitrogen, but the composting process does take nitrogen out of the soil initially so I'd need a good buffer of soil and small plants who won't need the nitrogen for several weeks. It's a good use of the space too. We'll see, I may yet put meat chicks in there too. Oh one thing to note. If you ever do this remember that chicks and chickens can give a nasty disease to turkeys (it's called Blackhead and you can guess why) so our rule is always that turkeys get the clean space first, and chicks follow. Never the other way round. Yes, sometimes we'll put a chick or two in with day old turkeys to teach them how to eat, and yes, our older turkeys do live with some hens and a roo but they're older and free ranging anyways. I'll keep my turkey poults separate in their own tractor if I can. I have hens and turkeys sitting on eggs as we speak, let's see if they manage to hatch anything this year. Last year was a bit of a bust thanks to our gay turkey problem, lol.
It's an overcast morning, cool and damp so it's actually perfect weather to be in the greenhouse. It's still warmer than outside plus it's dry and not overly hot yet. Being in there some days at 120 f. is just plain awful so I try and work in the early mornings and evenings. I am not a hot weather person. 70's is my idea of perfect weather, afterall I come from a wet and cool island (Britain). One of my grandfathers serves in the desert in North Africa during WWII and told me some amazing stories about the weather, people and insect life there.
Ok, back to the greenhouse I go now that I've had a break for a nice cup of rooibos chai tea and a piece of toast. I rubbed up against the lemongrass in my greenhouse and the smell was making me hungry. I figure I can get some more potting done and then if the weather has warmed and dried a bit I'll hang out some washing on the line and get the kitchen ship shape again. We had a great weekend visiting a new friend (Hi Michelle!) and just generally carrying on as well as working here at the farm. It's Wednesday now so I only have today and tomorrow to get things done before the kids are home for yet another long weekend. I think it's the schools way of breaking us in gently for summer when we'll have them home all the time.
And...it's raining again. Maybe I'll start with the kitchen :)
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| Running out of space to work. May 2015 |
Another part of the problem is our hi-jumpin' lambs. Steve spent a good portion of the weekend fixing up all the fencing and they're still getting out. Bright orange electric wire may be the way to go. Once I know I can keep the animals out of my garden, I can put in my roses, herbs, sweet potatoes, cucumbers and greenhouse tomatoes and that will give me a lot more space. And if the turkeys move out, well then I'll be able to walk around again! lol I'm thinking of actually just planting some sweet potato vines and tomatoes directly on top of the turkey poop once the little critters have moved out. The shavings and poop will compost and provide nitrogen, but the composting process does take nitrogen out of the soil initially so I'd need a good buffer of soil and small plants who won't need the nitrogen for several weeks. It's a good use of the space too. We'll see, I may yet put meat chicks in there too. Oh one thing to note. If you ever do this remember that chicks and chickens can give a nasty disease to turkeys (it's called Blackhead and you can guess why) so our rule is always that turkeys get the clean space first, and chicks follow. Never the other way round. Yes, sometimes we'll put a chick or two in with day old turkeys to teach them how to eat, and yes, our older turkeys do live with some hens and a roo but they're older and free ranging anyways. I'll keep my turkey poults separate in their own tractor if I can. I have hens and turkeys sitting on eggs as we speak, let's see if they manage to hatch anything this year. Last year was a bit of a bust thanks to our gay turkey problem, lol.
It's an overcast morning, cool and damp so it's actually perfect weather to be in the greenhouse. It's still warmer than outside plus it's dry and not overly hot yet. Being in there some days at 120 f. is just plain awful so I try and work in the early mornings and evenings. I am not a hot weather person. 70's is my idea of perfect weather, afterall I come from a wet and cool island (Britain). One of my grandfathers serves in the desert in North Africa during WWII and told me some amazing stories about the weather, people and insect life there.
Ok, back to the greenhouse I go now that I've had a break for a nice cup of rooibos chai tea and a piece of toast. I rubbed up against the lemongrass in my greenhouse and the smell was making me hungry. I figure I can get some more potting done and then if the weather has warmed and dried a bit I'll hang out some washing on the line and get the kitchen ship shape again. We had a great weekend visiting a new friend (Hi Michelle!) and just generally carrying on as well as working here at the farm. It's Wednesday now so I only have today and tomorrow to get things done before the kids are home for yet another long weekend. I think it's the schools way of breaking us in gently for summer when we'll have them home all the time.
And...it's raining again. Maybe I'll start with the kitchen :)
Comments
Just a quick break from the usual farm-ish type stuff to say Hi to everyone and let you know that I appreciate the comments. I just went through and realized that I had more than a dozen to moderate. Sorry for the sometimes long delays. I do love hearing from all of you. I hope Spring has been kind to you so far. The chickens, turkeys, sheep and I are are eagerly awaiting a break in today's rather wet weather for some much anticipated planting. If not, I'll go re-pot tomatoes ready for sale in the greenhouse.Love from Nova Scotia
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Long Weekend Report
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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!.jpg)
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