Monday, July 27, 2015
The (Organic) Struggle is Real
In the beginning of spring, I asked the local organic friendly garden store for some apple tree spray. They handed me two products and didn't ask me any questions about if I wanted organic or not. It wasn't until I was spraying the tree the second time that I looked closer at the bottle, I was using some non organic spray!!! For reason, I didn't think they would sell me a chemical without telling me it wasn't organic. And I also have this assumption, if I am growing something in my backyard, of course it's organic.
After doing a bit of research, I learned what the sales person probably already knew: it's pretty tough to grow organic apples. I sprayed them once more after that, starting off with the attitude of "this is the only way" and ending with feeling horrible about the whole thing. When I was nearly done, I noticed a birds nest in the tree, OMG! Did I kill those precious bird babies?! And then I could smell it when we were outside playing and I was cursing the wind for blowing, fearful that it would affect my kids.
So, I stopped spraying them. It wasn't really an intentional decision. I actually wanted to use up the spray until I found an organic option, but I physically couldn't keep spraying them. I mean, baby birds and my precious kids were looking me right in the eye. (While visions of apple pies danced in my head, ha ha. )
The apples will be ready to eat in a week or two! They are looking delicious (probably from the few times I did spray them.) But now I feel like we can't eat them right off the tree.:(
Which is kind of the purpose of our yard: playing, eating and being intimate with all it's deliciousness. I'm gonna wash the heck out of them and make a ton of applesauce.
But I am gonna really have to get it together next year.
Meanwhile, the chickens have moved from starter food to layer food (anxiously awaiting that first glorious egg!) Again, organic farming didn't really hit me until I went to buy their new food.
It is about 4 times more expensive for organic feed. Of course I had to say out loud in the store, "If I don't feed my chickens organic feed, the eggs wont be organic?" Yep, that's right blondie. Despite raising them in our backyard since two days old the eggs won't be organic. You can guess which feed I chose. When it comes down to it, I am cheap and this is supposed be a bit of an economic process, saving money on eggs. Again, I am going to do my research and see if there is a better middle ground. And the chickens do eat quite a bit of organic veggies from our yard.
I guess that makes my eggs non-organic too, no wonder we have such crazy little kids.
Just Joking!
After doing a bit of research, I learned what the sales person probably already knew: it's pretty tough to grow organic apples. I sprayed them once more after that, starting off with the attitude of "this is the only way" and ending with feeling horrible about the whole thing. When I was nearly done, I noticed a birds nest in the tree, OMG! Did I kill those precious bird babies?! And then I could smell it when we were outside playing and I was cursing the wind for blowing, fearful that it would affect my kids.
So, I stopped spraying them. It wasn't really an intentional decision. I actually wanted to use up the spray until I found an organic option, but I physically couldn't keep spraying them. I mean, baby birds and my precious kids were looking me right in the eye. (While visions of apple pies danced in my head, ha ha. )
The apples will be ready to eat in a week or two! They are looking delicious (probably from the few times I did spray them.) But now I feel like we can't eat them right off the tree.:(
Which is kind of the purpose of our yard: playing, eating and being intimate with all it's deliciousness. I'm gonna wash the heck out of them and make a ton of applesauce.
But I am gonna really have to get it together next year.
Meanwhile, the chickens have moved from starter food to layer food (anxiously awaiting that first glorious egg!) Again, organic farming didn't really hit me until I went to buy their new food.
It is about 4 times more expensive for organic feed. Of course I had to say out loud in the store, "If I don't feed my chickens organic feed, the eggs wont be organic?" Yep, that's right blondie. Despite raising them in our backyard since two days old the eggs won't be organic. You can guess which feed I chose. When it comes down to it, I am cheap and this is supposed be a bit of an economic process, saving money on eggs. Again, I am going to do my research and see if there is a better middle ground. And the chickens do eat quite a bit of organic veggies from our yard.
I guess that makes my eggs non-organic too, no wonder we have such crazy little kids.
Just Joking!
Monday, June 8, 2015
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
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Thursday, April 23, 2015
Spring- is there anything better than this?
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| Our first spring is full of discovery- what will this be? |
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| Baby Irises |
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Star, Blossom, Huevos and . . . ?
Our chicks are here! They are so fun. The first day home, one died quite dramatically in my hand. But after a quick burial, we were feeling offically initiated into the farming world. "We'll just get a new one Mom." said Nori. And that we did. With our skin thickened, we are ready for all the challenges this little farm will throw our way. We have 4 chicks now: Blossom, Black Star, Huevos and one whose name is yet to be determined.
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| Our Bonding Flock |
Friday, March 20, 2015
Pruning
After a quick tutorial by arborist and friend Robb Grace, www.gracetreeco.com,
I purchased a pruning saw and went to town. Hopefully I didn't kill them!
I purchased a pruning saw and went to town. Hopefully I didn't kill them!
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| After (Left), and Before (Right) |
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| Fruit Tree Massacre |
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| Snowdrops in Snow |
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Bok Bok
I orderd our chicks today! The second week of April we will be owners of 4 day old baby girl chicks. Nori wants to name one Bok Bok and Pete wants to name one KFC. hmmmmmmmmmmm, not sure about that. It has been fun learning and researching the different breeds. This breed, I am most excited about: Brabanter.
I mean, she is so ugly it's adorable.
I attended a "How to Own Backyard Chickens" class, and realized that yes, I am going to be a farmer. There were several chicken owner responsibilities that made me feel this way. If a chicken gets her eggs stuck on the way out, guess who is the midwife? And some chicken's maternal instincts are so strong that they are convinced a chick will come out of its eggs, even though there are no roosters to be seen, so she sits and sits. Then I will have to counsel her "off the nest." But most daunting is what happens when our girls reach chicken menopause, and don't lay eggs anymore? I know I won't be taking her to our table, farmer or not. But I am farmer enough to not want to keep them around once they aren't filling the basket on my kitchen counter.
That's right, I also learned that fresh eggs don't have to be kept in the fridge! They are fine at room temperature for a MONTH! And last in the fridge for 7 months.
I don't think we'll have any lasting longer than a week. We average 18-24 eggs a week around here. We are expecting to get about 21 eggs a week from these ladies.
But they don't start laying until 4 months old, about September.
We also hope that they make it thru their infancy with us, as the first several weeks seem the most difficult. We are building a cardboard box brooder and have to keep them nice and warm until they are about 6-8 weeks old.
Then, there's the neighborhood fox. I saw him TAKING A NAP on our porch the other day. Although, our chickens won't be free ranging it, according to local experts I still need to be worried. Now I need to learn how to trap.
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Soon, we will begin
Today, I am sitting between.
Between winter, I am watching the snow fall in big gorgeous flakes, hopefully for the last time this season. And Spring, despite the snow, morning bird song greeted me today. "Thank you birds, " Miriam repeated yesterday, for reminding us that spring is just around the corner. Winter was a welcomed deep rest for us. After the stress of moving, then the holidays, we were grateful to settle into the dark days. Especially with the newness of our home and lots of new toys that the holidays brought. We played, created endless art projects, baked and read. Although we didn't spend a lot of time on our farm yard, we relished it's winter beauty. Almost to the day of the winter solistice the trees were laid bare, revealing a beauty hidden by leaves. The apple and pear trees braches are particularly wild, with shoots everywhere, reminding us that we will need to learn about their pruning soon. We learned which plants die back to the ground, while others kept a stalk of green or brown. A few bushes, evergreen, were clipped and brought indoors for Christmas. Before the blanket of snow came (which has been present since January,) I was thrilled to see the grass I planted sprouting. I was late getting it in, and happy it took root. We cleared a section of plantings and filled a rain garden hole last fall with the hopes of having a small area that is NOT farmed that we can all play in. One of my hopes was room to build a snow man, and as you can see from the photos, this magic came true.
Between winter, I am watching the snow fall in big gorgeous flakes, hopefully for the last time this season. And Spring, despite the snow, morning bird song greeted me today. "Thank you birds, " Miriam repeated yesterday, for reminding us that spring is just around the corner. Winter was a welcomed deep rest for us. After the stress of moving, then the holidays, we were grateful to settle into the dark days. Especially with the newness of our home and lots of new toys that the holidays brought. We played, created endless art projects, baked and read. Although we didn't spend a lot of time on our farm yard, we relished it's winter beauty. Almost to the day of the winter solistice the trees were laid bare, revealing a beauty hidden by leaves. The apple and pear trees braches are particularly wild, with shoots everywhere, reminding us that we will need to learn about their pruning soon. We learned which plants die back to the ground, while others kept a stalk of green or brown. A few bushes, evergreen, were clipped and brought indoors for Christmas. Before the blanket of snow came (which has been present since January,) I was thrilled to see the grass I planted sprouting. I was late getting it in, and happy it took root. We cleared a section of plantings and filled a rain garden hole last fall with the hopes of having a small area that is NOT farmed that we can all play in. One of my hopes was room to build a snow man, and as you can see from the photos, this magic came true.
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