Hey! It’s been a little while since we’ve touched base.
As you can see by the picture above, we have a new addition to the family who is keeping us hopping. It is good for me to (begrudgingly) get outside with the new pup many times a day. But it also is hard to get peaceful chunks of time to think.
So, how are you doing now that winter is so heavy upon us?
I don’t know about you, but to me, this February feels endless. I’m so happy for the sun we’ve gotten the last few days. But wow, there is a lot of snow on the ground! Continue reading “February Follies (Newsletter)”
The baptisia in full bloom attracts hummingbirds an butterflies.
It’s January now and all the highs and lows of the 2019 summer season are having their sharp edges whittled away by time. We’ve seen snow, a melt, more snow and yet another mild spell in the last six weeks. Our lifestyle orbits around heating with wood, winter chicken chores and keeping the lane snow-free.
It wasn’t that long ago that the meadow was lusciously green and we were harvesting armloads of veggies for the farmers’ market. Looking back through our photos twigs my memory of the past season. Here’s a short and sweet list of three things that stood out.
Dusk in the onion patch mid-July. The no-till beds are working well.
Best Move: Converting the Market Garden to No-Till
Over the past few years we’ve worked to reduce our tillage in the gardens. Exposure to a series of books, articles and podcasts convinced us that a no-till/no-dig system would really benefit us and our shallow, heavy clay soil. Continue reading “Reflecting on Summer 2019”
Garden centres are getting better at providing more variety when it comes to vegetable seedlings. Last year I found a surprisingly nice selection of hot peppers at a nursery in Owen Sound. Still, I prefer to grow vegetable varieties that have the characteristics that are most important to me; whether that’s days to maturity, colour or disease resistance. I’m a bit of a control freak that way.
This year my priority is buying organically grown seed. I’m still using up seed from previous years, but most new seed I purchased this year had to be organic. One exception was a package of blight resistant tomatoes – ’cause who knows when blight is going to strike and wipe out your entire crop. Better safe than sorry.
The first seeds to be started around here are peppers. I’m still amazed that this little tiny dry speck grows into a lush tropical plant that provides food for us.
This is only my second year to grow pepper plants from seed, so I have a lot to learn. Last year it took the seeds almost a month to germinate in our less-than-tropical house. The sweet pepper seedlings I put in the ground were embarrassingly small compared to those hotties from the garden centre.
This year, I did some research into pepper growing so I had a few germination tricks up my sleeve. First, I started the seeds two weeks earlier than last year. Then, whenever I watered, I used warm water instead of cold. Finally, I set the black tray near the patio door on sunny days to heat up the soil.
So here we are on the verge of Thanksgiving. We have so many things to be thankful for, even though we can get caught up in the day-to-day whirlwind of life: school, chickens, garden work, cleaning up to host family for the holiday.
I’ve slowed down enough for a quick reflection here, just before I dash to meet the bus. If a picture is worth a thousand words, here are a few thousand words of gratitude from our homestead to yours.
Daddy and daughter celebrate another season of dance completed. My Hearts.
The dog I always dreamed of…even though she can be a dork at times. She’s a great companion to my new work.
Chickens give us healthy eggs and meat while they improve our soil. They are also very entertaining. Henny Penny, pictured above, finally got to brood a clutch of eggs and be a momma to an Icelandic chick.
The hoop house. Building it was a huge undertaking, but the benefits of this protected growing environment are phenomenal. We have just scratched the surface. I’m already planning for next season.
Nothing can compare to doing work that you truly believe in. This was a great season of learning for me. Thank you to everyone who bought our veggies this year at DeJong Acres. I’d love to hear from you!
Wishing you a very happy Thanksgiving this weekend…or in November…or both!
I spent a lot of time with the chickens today. More time than I expected. More time than is usual for a Saturday.
See, my usual school-day routine is to peek in on the birds before driving my daughter to the bus stop. When I get back, I fill feeders, check waterers and refill if needed. Usually I have a “treat” bucket of scraps from the house to disperse, maybe some dried crushed eggshells or sunflower seeds as well. I gather any eggs that are in the nest boxes. Check mineral supplements and refill. Then I hang out a bit and watch. You can learn a lot by hangin’ with the birds. I’m usually inside eating breakfast half an hour later.
Well, today is Saturday. I thought I’d allow myself to sleep in to the decadent hour of 7:45am. In my defence, I had had a fitful sleep, dreaming about making egg salad and waking to the realization that learning the ins and outs of blogging was definitely not coming along as easily as I had expected. I managed to drape a towel over my head to block the dawn and didn’t get to the birds until an hour later than usual. Continue reading “Time management and chickens”
