Backyard Farm: Harvest for 2015 : 450+ pounds

 Okay, I am a bit late with this post.... but better late than never.

just a few of the winter squash harvested in 2015

END OF SEASON UPDATE:  135 pounds of tomatoes; 147 pounds winter squash; 120 pounds
zucchini and yellow summer squash; bushel of green beans, bushel of cucumbers, peck of bell peppers, 30 pounds cabbage, plus lots of parsley, chives, rosemary, oregano, sage, thyme and dill.

24 meat chickens; 6 meat ducks; 1 turkey and several hundred eggs.
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The first harvest: cabbages, tomatoes and peppers.... yum!

This is the first year that I don't need to water the garden every day.  In fact, due to all the rain this season, I have watered it only twice, and only for a short period.

When it comes to watering the garden look for the signs that it needs water, don't just assume that because the topsoil looks or feels dry and it hasn't rained it in days (or longer) that the plants are in thirsty.

Over-watering is just as bad for the plants as not getting adequate water.

Check the soil at root level.  If it is dry, they need a drink.   If it is moist, leave the hose turned off.

Another thing I have noticed with the winter squash is when those huge leaves begin to droop and resemble half closed umbrellas they need a little drink.  I set the hose a few inches above ground level, set the spray to a wide, medium flow and secure it so it will spray across to all (or most) of the plants and the ground.  It usually takes about 1/2-1 hour until the leaves perk up again.

Since the plants are supporting large, growing squash I do not want them to get stressed, so I water them just until they respond.

This method seems to be working well.  There has been no sign of white mildew, or other damage caused by over-watering.

 

mulching with hay from the goat pen

During the early weeks I was hoeing out weeds every morning.  Not a fun job by any stretch of the imagination.  Then I needed to figure out what to do with all the hay the goats weren't eating, and I didn't want it to go waste.

By using the hay from the goat pen as mulch between the plant rows,  there has been a lot less weeding to do and the ground has been remaining moist and so it requires less watering.

When the gardening season is at an end the hay will be turned into the ground, along with the hay from their stall, and will compost directly in the garden over the winter months.

Since I do not use any chemicals or pesticides in my garden it is a daily chore to keep up with the

munching critters that insist on devouring everything in sight.   The first of these insects appeared in my cabbage patch.  Since I planted only six plants there wasn't enough to share with the bugs.  That miserable little cabbage moth just wouldn't go away.

I tried a concoction of soapy water and vinegar which I sprayed on all the leaves of the cabbages.  It actually worked, until it rained.

Then I read somewhere that baking soda sprinkled on the plants will keep all the pests away.   That also worked well!    .....until it rained.   So I kept up with either sprinkling or spraying whenever the solutions got washed away and until the cabbages were large and formed well enough to let them fend for themselves.

In the end I harvested 6 cabbages with a total weight of 22.5 pounds and barely a hole in sight.By the way,  I also sprayed and sprinkled the Brussel Sprouts too.

The only other insect issue has been Japanese Beetles.  This annoying little bugs can eat leaves in no time.  The sparrows have found a happy feeding ground in my garden.  They can be seen each morning by the dozens sitting on the tomato fencing and feeding on the beetles.

Whatever beetles the birds don't get we try and collect by hand and then feed them to the chickens.

Everything else in the garden managed well on their own with no assistance from me.

The zucchini and summer squash have finally stopped producing!  I stand in awe at the amount they produced this year... a whopping 108 pounds from 8 plants.   At this moment there are still on vines one giant zucchini and giant yellow squash which I am letting grow as long as possible and then I will save the seeds and remove all the withered plants.

Some of this squash I shared with whomever would accept it.  The remainder we ate, or dehydrated, or shredded and froze to use in zucchini bread and muffins this winter.  It's amazing how much easier it is to store these veggies once they have been dehydrated.  20 pounds will shrink down to fill a quart sized canning jar.

If you haven't tried dehydrating your surplus vegetables I recommend you give it a try.   It is very easy, and there isn't much work or prep time involved in comparison to canning.

Don't have a dehydrator, that's okay, use the oven set on a low 135 degrees for veggies and fruit.  To prepare the zucchini and summer squash it isn't necessary to  blanch them after they have been sliced to about 3/8" thickness.  Last year I didn't blanch.  This year I blanched for 6-7 minutes and found that they reconstitute to their original size quicker.  They are ideal for slow cooker meals since the extended cooking time allows them to fully reconstitute.

The four raised beds were filled with homemade compost at the start of the season.  Then weekly throughout most of the growing time  the entire garden was given a heavy dosing of chicken poo tea.

When I planted the cabbages in the first raised bed I mulched them using the wood chips from the ducks pen.  First I put all the wood chips and duck poo into a 30 gallon tote and filled it with water.
After a few days the chips were saturated and the poo was mostly dissolved in the water.

Next I spread a thick layer of those chips around the transplants, about 6-8 inches deep, then gave it all a good dose of the poo tea.   I did the same treatment to the Brussel Sprouts and Muskmelons.

Not a weed in sight all season!

This was the first time growing these three vegetables.  The Brussel Sprouts seem to be doing well, there are tons of little sprouts growing and developing.  And the muskmelons have issued several of their fruit (one per plant).

The most amazing development in the garden is the winter squash patch where I planted 4 Blue Hubbard from seeds I save from last year; there are 5+ Blue Hubbards  growing and are each about the size of a basketball.  The Butternut squash which I have never had success with currently has about a dozen nice squash of varying weights, the largest is at least 5 pounds and still growing.
Another test is the Acorn squash.  Since they are small and the plants are large it is difficult to find them and get an accurate count, but there are more than 5 at this time.

To plant these squash I dug up and loosened the soil of the entire area where the seedlings would go.
Then I added lots of wood chip compost mixed with aged chicken poo.  After transplanting, all the plants got a good dose of chicken poo tea.  At first I fed them weekly for two months, then every other week.  Now I just make certain to water the plants when I see their leaves beginning to droop.

And by the way, no weeds here either!  I mulched thickly with wood chips soaked in the chicken poo tea.

Garden Update

The garden after less than 2 months!

The garden 2 months ago.

tomato rows in May

 This is the garden as it appeared early this morning.  The squash plants and tomato plants are waist high and thriving.
The pepper plants may not be tall, but they are loaded with peppers!
I started harvesting zucchini and summer squash last week and so far have gotten 34.5 pounds; and there is much more that will be ready today, tomorrow, .....

tomato rows today

tomatoes  vining back and forth through fencing.

The lettuce is long gone.  The dill and Italian parsley have been doing great, the rosemary (the little plants at the left of this photo >  have been transplanted to the herb bed and have tripled in size!  Also the garden sage plant just above the rosemary in the photo.
The second raised bed is full of zucchini and summer squash, about a dozen plants, and they are all thriving.  The second "hooped" bed holds brussel sprouts and musk melon.

Photo on left is the tomato and pepper patch.
There are four tomato rows planted along cattle panels for support.  The green frame at the right front corner supports cucumbers, and those few green plants to the right of the shovel are green peppers.

Among all these are vagabond squash, pumpkin or watermelon plants which grew from the compost.


Photo to the right is the same view as above.
The 4 tomato rows, peppers, cucumbers and vagabond squash, etc.

The tomato plants are heavy with fruit and now I am just waiting on them to ripen.






The tomatoes weaving themselves in and out through the fencing.

This is the best tomato support  I have ever used!  The plants are well supported and it is easy to trim the plants and see the fruit.

The snap green beans are off to a slow start and I have had to restart have the seed (the wild rabbit ate half the seedlings).

I have sliced, blanched and frozen 11 pounds of zucchini and summer squash so far.  Today I will prepare another 10 pounds for dehydration, shred a couple of the very big zucchini for the freezer to use later in zucchini bread and other recipes.  We have also shared a few with the neighbors.  It's the least I can do since everyone has been very good about our new rooster's crowing.

Backyard Farm: Photos of the "Farm"

Eye level view of the new fencing for the garden and the goats.

The lower portions of the picket fencing and the goats pen are "lined" with chicken wire in order to keep chickens and wild critters out of the garden; and to keep chickens from wandering out of the goat pen.

There is a chicken wire "tunnel" which connects the chicken run with the goat pen and allows chickens to have full access to the goat pen as well as their own large run.

This view during fence installation shows more clearly the chicken run at the back of the garden.
The run is about 25' long x 8' deep and is beneath the trees and along the fenced property line.

The property behind is an early elementary school, grades K-5.  The children often bring their parents to visit the animals after school.
The teachers have also taken their young students to visit our turkeys at Thanksgiving.

I apologize for the dark areas at the tops of these photos, it's the camera strap peeking over the lens.

Another view during the installation; the yellow chicken house has two runs and the coop is divided inside by a chicken wire wall and door.
This is to keep young birds separate from the mature hens and their pecking order.

Cattle panels have been used for the goat pen; left-over panels are being used as support for the tomatoes. 

An old frame made from piping and wire, to form a mesh, is providing support for the cucumbers.

A view from "the street" looking in to the yard along the fence-line.

The goat pen was constructed from pressure treated 4x4's and 2x6's and 50" inch x 16 foot galvanized cattle panels.  The entire goat yard
measures about 30' x 20' with an ell about 8' x 12'.

We left the height of the 4x4's uncut in case we need to add additional height to the fence as the goats get bigger.

These goats are 4 months of age in this photo and are about half their adult size.

Inside the goat pen there is ample space for running and playing.  A teeter-totter, cable spool and child's slide keep them busy when they aren't playing tag with the chickens.
                       

 This overhead view was photographed through window screening and with electrical wiring in the way.  Please excuse the poor photo quality.

To the far left of the photo, along the neighbors fence, is our compost area consisting of 3 large bins made from rescued decking. 
At the upper left corner is the smaller of the two chicken runs.  We use this run for turkeys, ducks, and meat chicks before they are big enough for the chicken tractor and the larger fenced in pen.

 The larger chicken run, to the right of the coop, is situated along the neighbors chain-link fence and the back side of the garden.  It also meets with the back left corner of the goat pen where we added a chicken wire tunnel so the hens can easily roam from their run to the bigger goat pen.

Lots of worms, bugs and greens available for their foraging.


The goat yard measures approximately 30' left to right and 20' front to back.  There is also an additional section which adds another 8' x 12' to the back, left corner of their yard.  This is also the corner where the chickens can come and go.

At the front of the goat fence, about in the center, we have a hay bin made from left-over cattle panel.  The panel was measured and cut in a sort of + shape, and all four sides folded upward, and joined at the corner seams with zip-ties.  Longer  bits of the some of the wire were folded over to form hooks for hanging onto the fencing.

This is my favorite area!  It is where we grow my Kentucky Wonder green beans.  The frame is 8' wide x 16' long x 10' high (might be a bit higher)

There are 7 "joists" plus the two ends.  Twine used for baling hay is tied to the joists about 5" apart.  At the ground are 2"x2"x8" strips to which I tie the bottom end of the twice, about 5" apart.  By tying the lines so the wood strips float just above the ground the lines remain taut.
I plow a trench for each row and fill it with compost, burying the wood strips with the compost.  (The dark lines in the earth are these rows) 
At the bottom half of each end we added 2"x3" fencing (left-over) for additional vine support, such as for vining flowers like Morning Glory. 
Added bonus here, when nothing is being grown except flowers, it is a nice area for comfortable outdoor chairs; or, as we plan to try later this year, covered and wrapped with heavy plastic wrap, it can be used a a warm house to extend the growing season, or start seeds in the early spring.  It has full sun, all day, all year.
To the far left is the fenced area for meat birds.

This arch is the chicken tractor we use for the meat birds that are old enough to remain outdoors.  During the day, both ends remain open.  At night both ends go up, with the birds inside, for their protection.

Currently we have ducks living here.  Six Peking for meat, and 4 ducks of two other breeds for pets.  The area is enclosed with 2'x3' fencing, 48" tall. 

After the ducks have been processed, it will be time to move the meat chickens to the area; then turkeys.

Through the arbor at the rear of this area, is the front yard.  Next year, we plan to add an orchard and more garden there.  The orchard will have apples, peaches and pears all planted using the espalier method in order to get the most use from the limited space.

As you can see from these photos, we do not live out in the middle of nowhere.   Nor do we have a very large parcel of land.  What we do have is a carefully laid out site plan where we can get grow or raise most of our food.  We also earn a bit of money from the sale of our eggs which helps to pay for the feed and wood chips they will need in the winter.

Our goats will be ready for breeding around Thanksgiving.  I am searching for a suitable sire for their kids, which should be born in April.  At that time there will be plenty of fresh goats milk for drinking, for cheeses and for soap.  Much of which will be sold, including the kids.

From this garden I can, dehydrate, ferment, etc. enough food to last us until the next harvest.  

There is still much to accomplish such as collecting and storing water, converting our oil heat source to a sustainable wood heat system, building a green house and a root cellar.  In time we would also like to drill a well and be free of the water company.

We have looked into solar power for electricity but at this time the investment isn't doesn't make "cents" for the small amount of electric power we consume.

I hope this visual of the layout of our little homestead is helpful to you when you are planning your backyard farm.  Remember, this started with only 6 bags of potting soil!

Backyard Farm: Compost, egg shells, and epsom salt

In order to have strong and health plants that produce lots of great tasting vegetables the plants should have a healthy diet.  Plants that have a well-balanced diet will pass on this on to you when you eat their vegetables.  On the other hand, plants grown in poor, under-fertilized soil will struggle to produce even a meager crop.   (We do not use commercially produced fertilizer in our garden.)

Compost is a primary source for a healthy garden fertilizer.  It is easy to create, but it does take time for the organic material to break down.  Start training your family to save kitchen scraps for the compost bin.  When you mow the lawn, provided it has not been chemically treated, add the clippings to the compost pile, along with twigs and small branches that have been chopped into small bits.

Following each addition of organic material, add a layer of garden soil, and give it a drink of water.
You will notice the pile begin to shrink down after a while as the organic matter breaks down.


My favorite fertilizer is chicken poo tea.  I feed this drink to my garden two or three times per week once the plants are established.  It's amazing, you can almost see the plants grow and produce lots of vegetables.

To make the Chicken Poo Tea:  When we clean out the hen house we begin by separating the poo from the wood chips.  Fill a barrel, or good sized tote, or other suitable container, about half-way with the chicken poo.  Next, fill the container with water and let it brew for a few days.

Depending on the strength of the tea it may need to be diluted before pouring it onto the garden soil.
If the container has a strong odor like that of a sewer or cesspool, it needs to be diluted.  You can add the brew to the garden with a watering can, a bucket or other system you may think of.

To make your tomatoes sweet they require calcium.  A good way to ensure they have get enough break up into a powder, the shells of several eggs and sprinkle it into the hole before adding the tomato plant.

Epsom salt is good for helping you to relax by adding it to the bath, but it is also useful in the garden to keep the plants healthy and help them resist disease.  Simply sprinkle a small amount throughout the garden. 

Chicken and Garden Update

 KentuckyWonder Green Beans 7 rows stands over 8' high 8' wide

I can't believe it's been more than a month since my last post.  It has been so busy here the time has
just flown by!

One of our Black Sex Link hens had been abusing the other hens over the past several months, but until Nick caught her in the act of plucking the feathers off one of the Easter Eggers he decided that for the good of the other hens, her time was up.

He is very attached to our hens and having to "take her out" was painful for him.  It took several false starts over the course of a week, but he finally manned up and  made use of the axe he had purchased for the occasion.  She had the last laugh on us however.  Her meat was so tough we could barely cut into it, let alone dine on it.

Since she has left the flock, the girls feathers are finally beginning to regrow.  Not all, but most of the feathers are coming back. 

Nearly fully recovered from her stroke.

Two weeks later, one of the other Black Sex Link hens suffered a stroke.  The poor thing was so pitiful that first day.  She could barely walk and the other hens all attacked her.  Fortunately Nick happened to be nearby and saw the commotion in time to rescue her.  He removed her from the hen house and the run and set her in a safe place in the grass to spend what he thought would be her final hours.  Well, by the end of the day she was still with us and had managed to work her way to the door of the hen house.  So I put inside one of the laying boxes for the night.  The other girls didn't bother her until the next day.  So once again, out she came into the grass.  She spent a few days like this, laying in the grass, being hand fed, and slowly recovering.  During this time we discovered she was blind in one eye which made it hard for her to zero in one her food and drink.


Now, nearly three weeks later, she has figured out how to see with just one eye, how to find and eat her food and drink, she no longer limps, and although we cannot put her back in the run with the other hens (they won't let her return) they manage to have face-offs with her through the fence and she stands up to the bully. 

Little turkeys adopted a hen mama.

Since the other hens won't let her come back, we moved her into the run where we have two little
turkeys.  The little turkeys, Thanksgiving and Christmas, have adopted her as their mother and it is so cute to see them cuddling up with her.  At night-time she puts herself between them and open space.
They do not have a coop, but a 3 sided lean-to with roosts to keep them off the ground.

We have also gotten some meat birds.  Nine little Cornish chicks which are growing rapidly.  We expect them to meet their destiny by the end of August.  They have about half their feathers, so in another week we will be putting them out in their chicken tractor so they can forage for their food.

3 yrs ago the garden consisted of 6 bags of potting soil

Now that the garden is well established, we let the older hens out to roam and forage where-ever they like.  Since I began twice-weekly feeding of chicken poo tea, the garden has been thriving!  Even the corn which wasn't doing anything has shot up after each feeding.

Tomatoes thriving on the poo tea

The tomatoes are doing much better than I had anticipated when I first planted them.  I planted 40 plants of 4 varieties.  Half of them didn't survive and I had to start over with several purchased plants.
Now I have 30 strong plants and 5 or 6 varieties.  The chicken poo tea I have been feeding them has done wonders.  All the plants are full of tomatoes with more appearing each day.  This is one of the smaller plants and it has 20 tomatoes so far.

Oh, and the White Rock chicks we got back in April which were from a run, turned out to be all females.  We had hoped for at least one rooster in the bunch.

That's all the news from the hen house for now.  Hope your girls are all doing well and your gardens are thriving!