Just a simple growing update from the farm. Lot’s of gratuitous glamor shots all from the farm, except the last 2 I took at a local winery…. A special thanks to Brother Dave for helping out so much this season….. How’s your season growing so far?
Posted in Farm, Gardening, tagged chickens, Farm Pics, garden, garden pictures, photography, winery on June 30, 2013| 28 Comments »
Just a simple growing update from the farm. Lot’s of gratuitous glamor shots all from the farm, except the last 2 I took at a local winery…. A special thanks to Brother Dave for helping out so much this season….. How’s your season growing so far?
Posted in Gardening, Homesteading, Organic Gardening, Self Sufficient Living, Sustainable Farming, tagged build a mini greenhouse, Cold frame, garden, greenhouse, Growing season, Home and Garden, how to build a cold frame, mini greenhouse, plant trays, seedlings, Sowing, starw cold frame on April 28, 2013| 35 Comments »
Want to start your growing season early? Maybe extend in into the winter months? Then build a cold frame or sometimes called a mini greenhouse. A cold frame is 4 walls that secure heat and protect plants from the elements and a top that allows light through.
Step 1) Find a good location that gets lots of sunlight and faces south.
Step 2) Build the walls. I used straw bales. They’re great at holding in heat and no tools are needed.
Step 3) Use some old windows to put on top. I used some storm windows I found in the trash at a local church.
Step 4) Fill with plant trays full of seeds.
Step 5) Keep an eye on temperature, moisture and airflow. Open up the lid a few inches to circulate fresh air in.
Step 6) Acclimate your seedlings by taking the lid off when they get bigger.
Happy Planting!
Next Post: Starting your seeds in the cold frame.
Posted in Farm, Farming, Gardening, Self Sufficient Living, Sustainable Farming, tagged animals, backyard chickens, chickens, farm, garden, nature, Opossum, opossum facts, opossum video, trap, trapping, virginia opossum on April 13, 2013| 34 Comments »
I was hoping to trap a raccoon that’s been trying to get into the chicken coop but instead, I caught this little guy. I also made a 34 second video of his catch and release below the facts part.
I didn’t know much about these marsupial creatures so I looked up some facts about them:
These facts were found at: http://biology.clc.uc.edu/students/114-sum98-opossums/misc.htm
My favorite part of this video is at the end when I pan over to the chickens… They’re all like “What the heck was that?”
Posted in Gardening, Gardening, tagged Baker Creek, farm, farming, garden, gardening, Heirloom plant, homesteading, Tomato, ugliest tomato contest, zoey zoo on September 24, 2012| 24 Comments »
Catbird – 35.4% of votes
Congratulations! Send me your address and we’ll send you your prizes. $20 Gift Certificate to The Zoey Zoo (great 1 of a kind whimsical illustrations with themes such as animals, insects , vegetables and more!) and 5 packets of heirloom seeds from Baker Creek Seeds. Runner up will receive a prize as well.
Posted in Garden, Gardening, Gardening, tagged contest, garden, gardening, Tomato, tomato contest, ugly tomato award, ugly tomato contest, vote, Voting on September 9, 2012| 32 Comments »
Thank you for everyone who sent in a pic for our 1st Ever Ugly Tomato Contest. Please view the pictures below and vote for your favorite-most ugly tomato. The winner will receive a $20 Gift Certificate to The Zoey Zoo (great 1 of a kind whimsical illustrations with themes such as animals, insects , vegetables and more!) and 5 packets of heirloom seeds from Baker Creek Seeds. Runner up will receive a prize as well.
Vote as often as you like. Post on Your Blog of Facebook Page and get voting. Winners will be announced in two weeks on September 23rd. Just click on the poll with the number of the picture you like. You can vote for up to 3 tomatoes at once. Good Luck Finalists!
#5
Posted in Farming, Garden, Gardening, Gardening, Homesteading, tagged garden, gardening, Halloween, homesteading, pumpkin patch, pumpkins, sunflowers, tomatoes on August 19, 2012| 50 Comments »
Posted in Farm, Garden, Gardening, tagged Aphid, beneficial insects, bugs, garden, Insect, Larva on August 12, 2012| 32 Comments »
Aphids and aphid mummies on the underside of a nasturtium leaf (smoky gray aphids, tan puffy aphid mummies)
For some gardeners, the mere sight of aphids on their beloved plants is a call to action. They grab the closest bottle of poison and squirt the aphids into oblivion. What many gardeners don’t realize is that aphids are the food of choice for an assortment of beneficial insects. These good bugs are likely hard at work among every aphid infestation, munching, laying eggs for the next generation inside their unsuspecting prey, or sucking the aphid carcasses dry. One squirt from the bottle of insecticide will kill some (not all) of the aphids, and most of the beneficial insects.
If only we could easily tell at first glance that beneficial insects are on the scene! They don’t wear white hats or wave flags to alert gardeners to their presence. Instead, beneficial insects creep, crawl and squirm across our plants, often appearing as if they could be the cause of damage, not the cure.
Take hover fly larvae, for example. As adults, these bee-mimics visit flowers, feeding on nectar and pollen. When the female finds an aphid population, she lays her eggs on the infested plant. Like all flies, the hover fly juvenile stage is a maggot, in this case a small maggot that feeds on aphids. The legless, semi-transparent hover fly larva hardly looks the part of a beneficial insect, but each individual can eat dozens of aphids every day.
Another aphid-killer that feeds in the larval stage is the lacewing. As adults, these delicate insects with netted wings feed mainly on pollen and nectar. Lacewing larvae, sometimes called “aphid-lions”, are efficient predators, stalking down aphids and piercing them with their hooked jaws. After removing the contents from the aphid’s body, the lacewing larva casts aside the empty aphid carcass, and heads off in search of another victim.
Ladybird beetles are also voracious predators of aphids, feeding in both the adult and the larval stage. Like hover flies, ladybird beetles (also known as ladybugs) will lay their yellow, spindle-shaped eggs on plants that have active aphid colonies. The beetle larvae look nothing like the adult ladybug. They are spiny and elongated, sometimes compared to baby alligators. These active hunters crawl over leaves and across stems to find their next meal.
Parasitic wasps are another group of aphid-eating insects unlikely to be noticed by the uninitiated. The tiny female wasp stings individual aphids, laying an egg inside the aphid’s body. The egg hatches into a wasp larva, which eats the aphid from the inside, killing its victim and causing its body to become papery and swollen. These so-called “aphid mummies” can be seen in aphid colonies; some mummies will have a round hole where the adult wasp emerged to begin the cycle again.
When the gardener rushes for the bottle of insecticide, the predators will likely be killed, but surely not every aphid will die. Since aphids can be born pregnant with their granddaughters, their populations can skyrocket in the absence of beneficial insects.
These aphid predators will in time bring balance to the garden, keeping aphid populations down to a dull roar. If the predators are allowed to complete their lives in the garden – meaning the gardener has provided a habitat with plenty of flowers and a few aphids to feed upon – they are likely to stick around, ready to feed on any future aphid outbreaks.
So the next time you see aphids, grab a magnifying glass and take a closer look. Chances are, the good guys are already on the scene.
Thank You Denise for your Guest Blog!
Posted in Farm, farm pictures, Garden, Garden Pictures, Gardening, Gardening, Homesteading, tagged DIY, farm, farming, garden, gardening, growing vegetables from seed, vegetable garden on July 8, 2012| 51 Comments »
If the garden thermometer had a setting that read “hot as balls” that’s what it would have read the past 3 days. Scorching heat with the heat index hitting 107 degrees by 9:00am. The heat wave has consumed most of the Midwest but has past on today, you’re welcome New York and Philly.
Thank You to Farm n Wife for doing a quick piece on us. See it here.
Here’s a bunch of pics of how the garden is doing.
Posted in Farm, Farming, Gardening, Gardening, Self Sufficient Living, Sustainable Farming, Sustainable Living, tagged 10 famous rabbits, bunnies, bunny, farming, garden, gardening, humor, keep rabbits out of the garden, Rabbit, rabbit garden, rabbit population, rabbit reproduction, rabbit stew on June 30, 2012| 95 Comments »
We’ve been taught from a young age that rabbits are cute, cuddly, adorable little creatures. They fool hunters and outsmart monsters…They sell us cereal and batteries… They help a young prince grow up and learn to skate… They save the world, promote naked women and are sometimes late but what they really are……..are garden destroyers.
You’ve been brainwashed, Ya been bamboozled into believing these creatures are harmless and I’m here to say, No! All my hard work from; preparing the soil, planting, watering, weeding and general upkeep can be shattered in a single day by one of these varmints.
You can’t really trap a rabbit during the summer. Why would a rabbit enter a metal trap (with whatever bait) when there is a cornucopia of fresh veggies and herbs all over the place? Besides, live trapping of rabbits is not recommended because rabbits can carry certain diseases which may be transmittable to the trapper. Here are a few.
I recommend a .22 , a steady aim and patience. I know it sounds terribly cruel and inhumane but its all part of being self-sufficient. You can’t be self sufficient if you don’t have any produce left to consume and can. Here are some Delicious Rabbit Recipes, my wife is Italian and her Grandmother would always make tomato sauce with rabbit. Don’t worry about the rabbit population, it’s booming.
Rabbits have a very fast reproductive rate. The breeding season for most rabbits lasts 9 months, from February to October. Normal gestation is about 30 days. The average size of the litter varies but is usually between 4 and 12 babies, with larger breeds having larger litters. A kit (baby rabbit) can be weaned at about 4 to 5 weeks of age. This means in one season a single female rabbit can produce as many as 800 children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. A doe is ready to breed at about 6 months of age, and a buck at about 7 months.(Source)
Here’s a link to 10 Ways to deter rabbits from your garden in a feel good happy way: Click Here. Of course, none on this list has actually worked for me. I think I have mutant bunnies.
Rabbits eat a variety of fruits and vegetables, which make it difficult to keep them out of vegetable gardens. Rabbits enjoy eating lettuce, carrots, apples, strawberries, pears, broccoli, kale, spinach, celery and tomatoes. Rabbits will eat almost any leafy vegetable. Rabbits will eat garden vegetables to the ground and damage the bark around certain bushes.
I know some of you have rabbits as pets and I think that’s great. They’re not eating your garden. So, let’s end on a fun note……
My Top Ten Famous Rabbits of All Time:
Posted in Farm, Gardening, Gardening, Homesteading, Organic Gardening, Organic Vegetable Gardening, Self Sufficient Living, Sustainable Farming, tagged 10 useful gardening tips, Bernie Sanders, deer garden, farm, garden, garden tips, gardening, gardening tips, GMO, homesteading, keep rabbits out of the garden, Sustainable Farming, vegeable garden on June 24, 2012| 81 Comments »
Here’s a list of my tips to grow more veggies, keeps animals away, water the right way and more!
On the topic of GMO’s….On Friday, The Farm Bill amendment that would have unambiguously given states the rights to label genetically modifiedingredients in food without fear of reprisal from biotech companies was been voted down in the Senate. The amendment, introduced by Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Mark Begich (D-AK), was voted down by 73-26. If your Senator didn’t vote for it, call their office. Here’s a link to all the Senators from every state Click Here.
It was all over every major news corporation, wasn’t it? Ohh wait, it wasn’t covered by anyone.
Plug: My wife created a site of wonderful artwork; whimsical themes for children in a variety of mediums. She offers original works, archival reproductions and can also create custom artwork for those who request it. Please visit her site by clicking on the banner above.
and finally a quick update on the farm…….in pictures. Happy Sunday everyone!