Potatoes in a box!

I've planted some of my potatoes in the ground as always, but I've also tucked some into two deep containers. I've read that adding straw or dirt as they grow can increase yield. We'll see how it goes, but the plants are already outgrowing the ones in the ground!

All in a mornings work...

Spent the morning digging grass and weeds out of this little plot then planting peas, carrots, and beets here. that wheelbarrow went to the chickens (twice!) full of weeds and a few grub worms I found while digging. Needless to say, they are quite happy it's gardening time! We've also put in potatoes and onions in the past few weeks.

Spring has sprung...

Just a few photos of spring here at the One Acre Homestead.

Hugelkulture plan activated!

Have you ever heard of Hugelkulture? It's basically burying logs then planting over the log/dirt mound. (Google it & you'll get tons more info.) The biggest advantage for our area is that it is supposed to cut down on watering as the wood soaks up moisture and releases it slowly.

Here's a pic of our first HC bed being built. I dug a hole about a foot deep then gathered up wood to stack in the hole. Next I'll pull dirt on top of the wood and we'll be good to go! Have you heard of Hugelkulture? Have you tried it? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this technique.

Is that all?

HEAVY rains were in the forecast...there was much anticipation. All the clouds are gone and this is all they left. :( Praying for LOTS more rain before summer.

Decorating graves...

The 9 year old took some time this week to decorate the grave of her dear bunny that died this past summer. This is a part of welcoming so many pets into our lives, it can be so painful to loose them, but was such a blessing to share a time together. Rest in peace, little Stormy.

Everything but the kitchen sink...

My parents live at my granny & grandpa's old homestead. They've built a new home there and they use granny's old house as storage. Years ago, after my grandparents had both passed on, vandals broke into their home and stole many things, even the wood stove. We were so sad to loose all those family heirlooms, but I was thrilled when I discovered that granny's enameled cast iron kitchen sink was still in the house!

My dad & hubby got the sink out so that I could build a garden sink & resurrect granny's beloved farm sink. Have you seen any amazing garden sinks? Outdoor kitchen sinks? I'd love to see some links!

The best wheat pasture in town...

I do believe that I accidentally discovered a great way to cultivate a wheat pasture! My girls had a little sunflower house in this spot so I scattered some wheat hay for them to make it more cozy. As temperatures cooled, beautiful dark green wheat began growing.

The hens just love this little patch of green and nibbling in it keeps their yolks dark orange and tasty (unlike those sad pale store eggs). Maybe we need to plan an accidental wheat pasture every year!

Hens...

We bought these two ladies full grown and laying...don't think I'll ever try chicks again! It was so nice to bring them home and have two gorgeous eggs the very next day! I'm not sure of the breeds, but I'd love to hear your input about that. The black one has a beautiful green shimmer to her feathers so the 9 year old named her "Beetle". The white one was named "Feathered Friend" by the 7 year old. They have been champion layers all winter, unlike winters past when we've gone to the nesting box each day to find it empty. They are also very quiet, no loud announcements of new eggs or anything, just those sweet soft clucks of happy hens.

Fresh ground cornmeal...

Having a flour mill offers lots of opportunities outside of just grinding wheat flour. Tonight I'm grinding corn and wheat to make Avocado Pound Cake! If you haven't discovered this recipe, you MUsT try it! Dee-lish! Just go to Joy the Baker's blog & give it a try...you won't be dissapointed!

Our Wee Horse

While we were back home for Thanksgiving, we got to see the wee horse. She is pregnant & due in April! Brownie had to be moved to a family pasture because of the severe drought here & a lack of good grass for our special lil mama. Hoping she can return to Willow Run before the birth.

Carrots in a Bottle

A few day ago I posted about our experiment with planting carrots in empty pop bottles. The theory is that you will be able to watch some of them grow. Here's what our little carrots look like today! We are up to 3 bottles and I plan to add more as we get empties.

Juicing!

A juicing before and after! The chickens get the trimmings and the pulp.

A juicing plan...

I have a wonderful juicer, but I realized that I haven't been juicing regularly lately...okay, I haven't juiced AT ALL in the past 6 months!! There, you made me face the dark, ugly truth!

So, I have a new plan. I will juice enough to fill a quart jar every morning and drink the whole jar each day.

Day 1 - this juice contains one mango, three apples, two celery stalks, two large carrots, and one pear. I also send the pulp through twice to be sure to squeeze out all the moisture.

Potpourri for Free!

Made a beautiful fruit salad for church potluck yesterday! As I was peeling & coring fruits I threw all those bits into a sauce pan to simmer with a cinnamon stick. Humidifies a dry winter house and makes it smell heavenly! Try it next time you have some apple cores and orange peels!

Bountiful Baskets

My friends, do yourself a favor and check out BountifulBaskets.com! This was our basket for this week with an added fruit package. All this was $25...no kidding!! Our local delivery comes every other week, and I plan our meals and snacks around the contents of our baskets to be sure I use every teeny bit of yumminess.

A little something...

The girls planted carrots in these pop bottles so we can watch them growing beneath the soil. I think I'm just as giddy to check our experiment each morning as they are!

Irrigation

As we problem solve our way through this past summer's challenges, one thing we know for sure is that our garden is too large to hand water in excessive heat & drought conditions. We've decided to design an irrigation system to make the task of watering more efficient.

As Homestead Man works through a plan involving PVC pipe and sprinkler heads, built in an above ground grid, the 9-year-old is coming up with her own underground system. The drawing below shows recycled bottles with holes punctured to allow water to slowly leak out. The bottles are connected with pipe so they can be filled in one above ground inlet. Pretty clever, huh?

Fall is for Baking!

Anyone else have an irresistible urge to bake this time of year? I always pop overripe bananas in the freezer in their skin then thaw them and squeeze out the banana (toothpaste style) when I am ready to bake this banana bread. I added 1/4 cup of wheat germ in the batter and sprinkled a bit on top to boost the nutritional value. Add in pecans grown on a family tree, and you've got a treat you don't have to feel quite so badly about!

News from the Coop!

We have exciting news! After a long run of bad chicken luck and a short break from birds, we went to a local farm and picked out two brand new healthy, happy hens for the hen house! I can honestly say that we have learned how valuable these ladies are to the homestead over the past few months of eggless existence. We bought local eggs, but it wasn't the same.

There's something quite wonderful about walking out to gather eggs, greeting the hens and stroking their lovely feathers, and cracking open a fresh egg with a rich orange yolk, laid just hours before. We know our hens are happy, that they can munch on grasshoppers and green grass all day long, they spend their mornings scratching through a pile of hay nibbling the grains. Hearing them coo to each other while they peck along the dirt is so calming. We've just missed having them around so much!

Meet Beetle, our lovely Black Australorp, named for her iridescent feathers and Feathered Friend, our Columbian Wyandotte, named by the 7-year-old. Beetle seemed happy with her new diggs...she laid a gigantic brown egg just one hour after arriving here at the OAH.