Winter is leaving

This is the time of year that I look forward to. Some would say we are deep in winter. But all I can think is that Spring is near. We have been busy making new shelters. Putting up more fences, building a woodshed, planning and preparing the garden for spring. 

There will be baby goats in two and a half months and we hope to have at least four goats that will be milking this year. If you have never had goats milk before all the rumors of it tasting really bad are simply not true. Our little heard makes some of the sweetest milk I have ever tasted. Its way better than cows milk. Thanks to our wonderful and sometimes creepily friendly Sire "Uncle Buck" we should have some great little kids. Uncle buck will follow you all around the farm. Most goats will, but most goats follow you because they want you to feed them. Not so with this little guy he follows you around because in general he enjoys your company. By the look on his face he really thinks you enjoy his too. It is pretty fun to have a goat that likes me for me. Not just for the food I provide.

In  three months it will be time to start another batch of broilers. At the end of this year I had vowed to never raise meat chickens (broilers) again. We had decided a while ago that we would never do cornish cross because of the ethics of raising such a breed. So we tried a few different types of heritage broilers. Jersey Giants and Delawares, both with promising reviews of giving great carcasses. We fed them well and let them go well past the twelve week mark but every time we were greatly disappointed with the size. In general the finished size was in the two pounds and that was sadly mainly bones. This year the last batch we did on a whim of desperation was the freedom rangers.  They were great. Really friendly, very healthy, and finished around four pounds. In the spring we will be getting another batch of these guys to raise.

Our Great Pyrenees Rutabaga

The seed catalogs are in. We have the garden planned. We can see some of the garlic starting to sprout out of the heavy mulch. We will be expanding the garden again this year. Hopefully to add another five or six rows. 

We added some new pasture for the goats. This time we went away from the traditional woven wire fencing and used hi-tensile wire fencing. We did six strands that so far seem to be keeping everyone in. The first day that we let them into the new area things did not go so well. One after another they would do up to the fence get shocked and jump through. But it seemed that all they needed was the shock. Since then no one has tried to go through and they all keep their distance from the wires. If it continues to work we will be adding new sections back into the woods on the other side of the pond. Its our goal to start clearing out that section next.

The other thing that we added was a new feeding station for the goats. Since we keep our hay and feed at our shed it seemed really crazy to carry it all the way down the hill. So now just across from the shed we can feed the goats under a roof. It also has a hay feeder that will hold three bales of hay at a time so we don't have to fill it every day. We plan to collect the rain water off the roof into a small pond for the goats to drink.

We still have perennials to plant, more fences to build, a barn to put up, a woodshed to fill with firewood and more pasture area to make for the chickens. This has been a busy winter so far and looks like it will continue to be. 

 It is time to prepare for the coming life of spring.

What are you doing to get ready for spring?

Out of the dark & into the Garden

The weather here as of late has been less than my favorite. Wintry, cold, grey...occasionally a 70degree day tossed in just to remind us how much we love to be outside and having the windows open.

the oppressive grey.

Blah. And, even though it is so cold and icy and miserable we must plan for the spring, which is due to arrive at some point--this is North Carolina after all! Blue skies are destined to break through and sunshine will inevitably wake us out of hibernation. And, when it comes our garden beds and seedlings have to be ready.

So, it's that time of year. Plant your gardens! Drew built us a larger greenhouse structure on the South Side of the house. It's attached and should help warm the crawl space as well. That couldn't hurt our power bill, which has been shockingly high for a 1200sqft house these past few months. One day we'll have a more efficient wood-burning system, but in the mean time we are using a lot of blankets and layers...

looking for a GREAT Southern Gardening book? This is IT! I adore this book. I saw the author speak on growing garlic at the Carolina Sustainable Agriculture conference & picked it up then--you should order!

    

The greenhouse has 3 small trays of tomatoes in it. Turns out it's WAY bigger than the last portable greenhouse and we are still working on ideas to make it an efficient place to grow out seedlings, keep some tropicals, maybe a rocket stove and grow in every season. Oh the vision of all-season-productivity we have!

While the ground is wet (and in between frozen) we managed to till up and terrace our south hill, where we cut down all those trees last year. We've run the goats, chickens and pigs through that area a few times to help root up the brambles, kill back some poison ivy and fertilize so we might be able to convert the whole hill to garden as time goes on. The terracing is swales on contour and represents permaculture at its best. The water that could potentially wash all the topsoil and nutrient down into the pond is now caught by our garden beds, sunk and used to improve our garden soil quality. It's such a relieving feeling to know something is working to improve our garden without us lifting a finger! Granted, we still have a lot of work to do when talking about water catching--such is the story for folks living on a hill. But, it's a vast improvement, and we have a much better idea of where the water is coming from and what we need to do to be more efficient. The end goal is to not need to water, and at the most have a few small ponds up hill to use so no one has to lug water up the hill or pump it.

these are not ducks; they are girls in the pond. they call this an 'island'. whatever--i like girls who play in the mud.

We've planted some in the garden beds that are ready, but, only after we put a rabbit proof fence around it all. Though we've seen a few rabbits, our ducks are the detriment of anything we plant. If they don't find a seed as soon as hits the ground, they gobble up any green thing that pokes its head through the dirt. It's been a struggle to plant cover crops and even some plants we've put in the ground were ripped to shreds. Who knew? Somebody...

The fence is working, and the garden seems to be in the perfect spot--just beneath the house where harvesting and admiring will be easy. Give it a few years and I can certainly envision a more idyllic and less barren place. Rosemary, lavender (that's right, I won't quit trying), lemon balm, chives, chamomile...I can't wait to get these perennials established. Feverfew, valerian, comfreys, some hedges and wildflowers...I need this vision today!

We planted veggies in the beds like peas, kale, carrots, swiss chard, broccoli, cauliflower, artichokes, spinach and more. So anxious to see some sprouting. I keep writing because in doing so I am feeling a little transported...

sometimes the sun shines from below...

Life on Schoolhouse Farm is busy and slow all at the same time. The house is under renovation which makes escaping outdoors even more desirable. While we convert the garage into living space we're all feeling even more pent up and claustrophobic. The dust and debris is making us all sick, plus there are mounds of clutter and boxes and furniture all waiting to settle in its rightful place in this new space. It'll be a homeschool room, laundry room, pantry...above all else it's the 'window room'. We installed 2 windows we scored at Habitat for Humanity and they are dreamy. I cannot wait to take a nap in a room filled with spring time. I cannot wait to feel the sun through the glass. I cannot wait to sit in a breeze filled room with the girls all working on their separate projects. This house needs that light, and so do I.

hugelkultur (hoogle culture)

Permaculture's hugelkultur

We're making an effort to embrace and learn permaculture systems by incorporating them in our homestead as much as possible. Permaculture embraces ways that work with nature, not against--utilizes the natural tendencies to get the most out of things with the littlest (long term) efforts; Hugelkultur is a prime example of taking advantage of nature's way. The idea behind this system makes a compost pile to plant on simply by digging a shallow hole, burying yard waste and letting it do it's 'thing'. The wood itself develops its own ecosystem while decomposing, and eventually converts into a very fertile hill. The logs release nitrogen, retain moisture and compost all at the same time. These types of beds are a great way to clean up a property that has logging debris all about, like ours right now...

So here are the (our) steps.

Dig a hole, employing your most agile diggers. (ours is about 12" deep x 15' long and 3'wide)

Fill the hole with logs, rotting ones are even better.

Then cover the logs with wood chips, leaves or both.

Finish it up with  the dirt you dug out of the hole and cover the logs/waste. Some people import more dirt and compost to pile on--we used what we had and were surprised how far it went.

The finished thing looks something like this (a hot mess).

Then plant into it. This hugelkultur is it's own thing, an ecosytem unto itself--or that's the idea. The wood below will rot and hold water, create compost, and provide everything your plants need by the third year. A hugelkultur is capable of growing anything, from fruit trees to herbs and flowers to tomatoes. Of course, thanks to 'google culture' there's plenty more available for those of you interested.

If you're going to try one, do it now while it's cool and the ground is soft. This was hard work, even with all hands on deck it took us approximately 6 hours. We were pooped and felt very deserving of our day off. Thank goodness 'farming friday' falls right before shabbat. But, over time our time saved on tilling, weeding, and watering will hopefully prove our effort worthwhile.

Planting the Spring Garden

Our Spring Planting and Planning is well underway.

Well it's about as cold as it ever is in our region, some nights in the 20s, and a little snow too. But, thanks to our little greenhouse and child labor we've got our spring garden started. It's going to be a major experiment this year as we have little-no sun. We're going to have to cut down several more trees, but the professionals going to have to come in for our safety and that of the house. Drew has done a lot (with the help of some friends) and that lumber handy is proving very useful. But, if we can get someone to cut some trees for free, potentially make a little at the lumber mill, well that seems like a good deal. Especially if it's the difference between having a garden or not.

We're trying out a lot of permaculture ideas with our gardening. Having it right up against the house is one; accessibility is a major part of the permaculture planning. And we're using a key-hole shape in our garden beds which increases square footage, but also makes every inch of it 'reachable' without having to step into the actual bed. Great for maintaining loose, healthy soil, but also for keeping our feet clean.

After the 3 tons of compost Drew and I shoveled from the dump, we are really quickly realizing we'll soon need even more. Since we're anti-till, and since this soil is completely unprepared for planting, and since we have no compost or manure built up to use yet, a trailer full of city made compost was the best option for us. We intend to use essential oils and biodynamic preparations to help detoxify and break down any synthetics that have built up in that compost, and from the previous owners of this house.

There's lots more to do, but it's exciting every year to watch the little seedlings poke their heads out and stretch toward spring. So much hope there...even if we're constantly chilled to the bone. Are your gardens underway?

Busy as the Bees

someone turned 8 since the last post.

When  I take long breaks from the blog I get nervous about what to say next. Like, it'd better be important, meaty and enthralling or the people of the e-verse will wonder why I'd bothered. But, it's time to throw caution to the wind and break back in after a long, awkward pause...

and we enjoyed a lovely sukkot.

I am a little unsure of where to start in terms of what's been up 'round here. Really, what hasn't been up? Nary a corner remains that we haven't touched or at the very least considered. But, consideration does little to get things done; yet, things done without it can be a waste of time and worse.
So, we're constantly pacing ourselves.

a kitten chasing a hand knitted chain. all our kitten toys are naomi-made.

Bit by bit some of the major things that make a place feel like home are getting done. We've got lots of new lighting, which is a great help in lifting the gloom that fills a house with 'turret windows' in the woods. (turret windows--affectionate term for the narrow windows that were put in a house situated in a place that deserves walls of glass on account of the views. Perhaps the builder was a survivalist? It'd be sweet to stumble on a hidden stash of weaponry).

sisters grim.

I've come here today to talk a bit about the most overwhelming part of our move so far. We're relatively easy-going about the house. We've accomplished a lot and are happy to take it one bite at a time from here on, but oh how we miss our garden. We have a blank canvas of unturned soil; and a lot of trees. The latter is intimidating to say the least. Who wants to cut down tall beautiful trees? Folks who want to grow big plump tomatoes. Our acres are about 9/10 wooded--and pond. We've enjoyed the pond FAR more then we would have expected especially since we'd never really considered buying a place with one. I'll say, you should consider it, not only is the fishing fun, the canoeing dreamy and the cool breeze to die for on a hot and terribly tiring day--there is SO much to learn at the water's edge!

this one will be 4 in a week!

And, the pond is yet another overwhelming consideration while we try to effectively plan our future farming. Where does one put the goat house? And, with little sunlight, where shall we plant the orchard? And, which of these tall trees might bring in a little income? Or fall over? What about the bee yard? The kids' swings? And the chickens? And with the water flowing toward the pond, what about run-off and what equipment can't we live without? What can we do today without spending a penny??

using timber from the land helps the budget...can make for adorably rustic buildings too...

We know this place is an investment in our future, and that of our kids, but it's difficult not to spiral into overwhelm-tion or to sit crippled for fear of screwing it up. Prioritize. Prioritize. Prioritize.

So, the order of priorities that you may hear more about here later:
-finish chicken coop
-finish goat house
-finish building hive stands and bring the bees home.
-plant some fruit trees/bushes
-get chickens
-cut down little trees for firewood
-get goats
-hire someone to take out big trees
-get ducks, and guineas, and a dog to keep them all safe.
Update 9.13 all of this is accomplished! Don't worry, there's a whole new list...

back to school.

All this we're trying to do in a way that makes sense. Efficiency is key. We've been reading this text on Permaculture--along with other resources. And we're trying to apply Biodynamics preparations and get the soil ready for growing. Our heads are spinning a lot of the time. Surely everyone feels this after a move to some extent, and I keep trying to relax and remember what our last place was like 8 years ago when we moved in there. So, if in 8 years we make the kinds of strides here we did there--well, everything will be just fine. And, what's the point if we're not enjoying this process??

Public Service Announcement: Schoolhouse Farm and the South Elm Urban Market

We participated in our first Farmer's Market, the South Elm Urban Market, this past Sunday. It was fantastic, and only encouraged us to try more. Naomi and Leviah loved it, as did Drew and I.

Honey was a huge hit, we offered a sampling to visitors, and sold through most of our stock--so, we may be squeezing the bees in a few weeks to have more ;)

We also took several plants, mainly tomatoes, to sell. These are a couple of the sampler packs we put together, 4 varieties of heirloom seedlings for $6, we sold all but one. People are excited about growing their own food, and about learning the history of plants like Cherokee Purples, Brandywines, Abe Lincolns, Good Neighbors and more... 

Not pictured is the lettuce, which we sold through quickly--we intend to bring more of that next week, we weren't expecting to sell it so well. Also, we sold rhubarb plants and tomatillos--other great plants that folks want to be able to grow for themselves and experiment with.

As we already knew, there's such a movement toward food understanding, and we LOVE participating and learning ourselves. Beyond anything, we're excited to be connected with the local movement of folks. So many new beekeepers, backyard growers and general smart consumers--the Urban Market is a brand new staple in Greensboro that this 'farm' family is thrilled to be a part of. Come and see us!

join Schoolhouse Farm on facebook to stay up-to-date with our movements!

Kinda buggy

Today I was sitting on the floor playing with Eliza, the big girls were outside and all was relatively quite, except this pesky tapping. It sounded a bit like dripping, which made me think it needed further investigation. Then, several visions of a plague like the one Laura Ingalls Wilder describes when swarms of grasshoppers descend on the prairie popped into my head--I've admittedly had some trepidation since our praying mantis larvae arrived a few weeks ago. "75-200 nymphs could hatch" conjures an image in my mind...

After finding this kit on clearance several months ago, it was finally time to order the egg pod a few weeks back. We love Insect Lore, and when I see different kits on sale, I can't resist. So, we've just been waiting since the seed pod came in, and just when we aren't paying attention we have a net bag packed full of hundreds of these creepy/cool little nymphs, the tapping was a bountiful hatching of the tiniest little asian looking bugs you've ever seen, not nasty like maggots or grubs or other baby insects, but kinda cute--just mini-praying mantids. (yep, learned that's the plural of mantis too).

coaxing leviah to hold one.

You have to release most of them immediately. They're carnivores, and if they're hungry they eat each other. They can be fantastic for the garden, and we're hoping the countless ones hopping all over our garden right now stick around to keep the pests down. (well, maybe not all of them, there are SO many) But, we kept 5 in the netting to watch them grow. Fortunately Drew was home early to help the girls out with this project. I'll say, we were all warming up to the little guys though.

The difficult part is they will need constant nourishment from other bugs. We read you can feed them raw meat, so we put a smidge of that in right now as catching tiny bugs like fruit flies is tricky. Soon they'll be able to eat larger bugs--we're hopeful ants will work. Heaven knows they won't starve in our house if they eat ants...

in search of good food for them.

Anyway, so now we're learning about praying mantises and how magnificent they are.
:: They're the only insect that turns their neck to look over their shoulder. One did this on my finger today, it was crazy! nearly 180degrees to spot prey.
:: If you raise one, it can be semi-tame.
:: "They use their front legs to snare their prey with reflexes so quick that they are difficult to see with the naked eye. Their legs are further equipped with spikes for snaring prey and pinning it in place." from here
:: The list goes on and on. This site has loads of records and such.
:: kid friendly praying mantis fact site.
:: and a decent coloring page. (there were loads more just googling)

Planning the Plot

There are 2 types of gardeners, perhaps even more. In the two I know there's the folks that look at a piece of land, want to tear it up, get their fingers as dirty as possible and plant again, and again. Some plants not doing exactly what these folks hoped, or as quickly as they'd liked, get ripped out and replaced, thrown immediately to the compost heap--no questions asked.
Then, there are folks that plant and wait. They tend the garden in a totally different fashion: they assist it, they'll water when need be and maybe even pull a 'weed' here and there, but overall they are more pleased by the organic beauty that evolves the less you interrupt. A little browning on the leaves doesn't provide this second gardener type an opportunity to remove it, but to gently nurse it knowing it could pull through--sometimes perhaps when hope really should be forsaken.

the manila envelopes hold the seeds we saved from last year's crop. our first real effort at saving our own seeds. Can't wait to see what magic they'll hold!

Our home holds both. Now, generally type 1 does the lion's share of the gardening because he is much more forward, gung-ho, up-n-at-em. So, type 1 would probably pipe in here to mention that if it was left to the type 2 gardener we wouldn't get as much produce. Well, type 2 disagrees; type 2 thinks there can be bounty in her methods.
It's in type 2's nature to let type 1 be a sort-of inseparable part of the garden--like a ceramic gnome holding a thermometer, or a glass mosaic frog slowly decaying under the sunflowers--an artifact that makes her garden what it is, she pretends things get torn out and tossed aside as a natural part of type 1's inseparability from the plot. She'll keep an extra eye out for that rare corner left alone for any given period waiting to see what magic it holds--rogue tomato plants, stray nasturtiums, unplanned marigold bushes, a come-back-kid rosemary bush...she'd rather not quit a plant. Not to say type 1 never relinquishes and allows such naive hopefulness, and not to say all 'dying' plants have miracles in store.
Neither type 1 or 2 is right or wrong, better or worse. The fact is, it may be the 2 are the perfect pair for a successful garden, and beyond.

This all comes to mind as we pull together our planting plan for the upcoming growing season. What a thrill to start back at the beginning each year. Type 1 has ordered compost, type 2 thinks our dirt could work. Type 1 wants to toss seeds from years past, type 2 thinks there's hope for them yet. Type 1 wants to restructure the garden beds to keep the raised bed boards from rotting, type 2 thinks a rotten board here and there might be romantic...

gardening in the year twenty-twelve involves an iPad. there's probably an app for that...

The list goes on and on, and though it can cause an argument here and there with these two naturally opposing types, we both still love to garden--together.

Anything like this going on in your garden?

Fall Signs and Smells

we found some of these on our tree,

so we picked.

and peeled.

and peeled some more.

and put them in a pot to make sauce. and smelled (sorry, no picture for that)

looking forward to more cool mornings, crisp evenings, fall holidays and another birthday season! is fall your favorite time of year?

Tomato Paper Craft

As we harvest, eat, and process the endless supply of tomatoes from our garden, Drew thought of a fun activity making use of tomato peels. The girls loved it, and the outcome is like stained glass...

Many recipes for canning tomatoes call for peeling them, which makes for much smoother sauces, salsas, etc. But instead of throwing them away,

lay them out, press them (we used 2 cutting boards)

and hang the result in the window!

notes: using waxed paper, pelon or some other non-stick material would work better. We just used regular scrap/printer paper and in some places it didn't peel off well. It takes almost 2 days for the tomato peel paper to dry thoroughly, so be patient! And, tomatoes aren't the only produce that make great peel-paper...