successes and failures part 5 - mushrooms

Success and Failure - Mushroom logs were a big hit. We sold all the ones we had back in August, all of which fruited at least once. Next year we need to do a bunch more, several varieties and sizes, and keep a separate stock pile for ourselves.

Success and Failure - The straw baskets we did in early spring were doing great to start off, until the water problems started. When the well began messing up and we couldn't water them regularly there was nothing we could do. I think they are a bit too labor intensive, and that next year we should put more concentration on the logs.

Success - The demand. Everyone at the market we sold at were interested in the mushrooms, we had customers asking for them every week. Hopefully next year we will have them to sell more often, if we focus on logs and keep a watchful eye on our own stockpile.

I think this concludes my little success failure series. 

It has been a crazy year, I can only imagine what next year will bring our way.

Live simply,

Angela and Jonathan

successes and failures part 4 - the rabbits

Raising the rabbits has been pretty fun. I love the babies, they are just so cute. I love watching them grow bigger each day. I love dragging myself out of bed in the morning, and as soon as I get down there they are all hopping towards me, waiting for food and fresh water. I can't go long without smiling. While processing day is always hard, I know that they lived good lives. 

Failure - Late start breeding. We didn't have a litter to sell until July. Next year we will start breeding in January with a heat lamp in the big hutch, giving us late May to early June rabbits for sale.

Success - Demand. We sold all the rabbits we had to offer within two weeks of having them available. Next year we will up the price from $7 a pound to $8 a pound. 

Both - The rabbit tractors we used in the front yard worked pretty well, except for several escapes. Next year we need to make bigger tractors to allow for a 6 inch run of fencing along the edges to prevent digging out. 

Failure - How much is it worth? I'm not sure yet, but I don't think we made enough money to justify the amount we spent in feed. We need to work on a fodder system to grow our own grasses to feed, and we are discussing the idea of focusing on mushroom logs more and not selling the rabbits at all, although I don't think we are going to eliminate them completely. 

I think we would enjoy the entire process more if we we were eating more rabbit is all.

Live simply,

Angela and Jonathan

successes and failures part 3 - the garden

 Success - Onions. We got about 150 onions, yellow white and red.

Failure - Storage. Most of them rotted before we could eat them. 

We need to work on a better drying rack, location, and dry cold storage for after that.

Failure - The pumpkin vines all got a blight and died before any pumpkins formed. :(

Failure - Watermelon and two other kinds of melons all grew but the fruits never reached maturity.

Success - The small warted gourd mixture I planted went crazy. We sold a few, 

decorated with a bunch, and are drying out some to try to make little bird houses and things.

Success - The six tomato plants we bought as transplants did really well. We didn't stake them up very well, but they gave us more than we could eat anyways. We sold some of the extra, but I really wish we had tried to can or freeze some.

Failure - The direct seeded tomato plants didn't do much, just a handful of cherry tomatoes, 

although they were delicious.

Success - The yellow squash and zucchini did fantastic, although next year we need to do several plantings in order to extend our growing season. 

Failure - Cucumbers. We only got a few from a bunch of seeds. 

Failure - Beans, peas, and peppers.

Mediocre Success - The potatoes planted in the halfed barrels seemed to work well, but we needed to start the plants with the barrels half full, and then hill them as SOON as the vines are getting tall enough. Harvest was easy, but there were only potatoes in the very bottom. Also, the same drying and storage issues as with the onions.

Mild Success - The garlic crop we planted last October came in small and we waited too long to harvest them, making the skins slimy. 

A few more garden notes for next year:

-same space, more walkways.

-stake the plants early.

-multiple plantings to increase harvest time.

-spread the vine plants around the property to save space.

-fence along the backside of the garden to protect from deer, rabbits, etc

Live simply,

Angela and Jonathan

successes and failures part 2 - the birds

Failure - Starting the baby birds in our bedroom! What a mess! The same tote brooders will work just as well in the barn with secured lids.

Success - The totes themselves, two separate ones for the chickens and ducks. The ducks make such a mess with the water! We let them visit for days outside while they were still young. When we moved them outside to the tractors they got along just fine.

Success - We used dog crates as little chicken tractors in the front yard until we got the big coop built, it was a good temporary solution that could be used again if needed.

Success - The coop we built from timbers and cattle panels has worked really well. It is sturdy, easy to move (we have to give it a little push up hills with the four-wheeler) and is now, after a few lessons, pretty secure. It has been covered with plastic for the winter, and it is nice and toasty inside.

Failure - Escapes. Both the coop and run had gaps in the bottom of the wire along the ground where chickens escaped and were eaten by the dogs. We solved these problems with bricks and logs to fill the gaps inside the coop, and using tent stakes to anchor the fence to the ground in the run. Attention is key, check every day for gaps that could have formed.

Failure - Nest boxes. The buckets we started out with were too small, the trough we built instead is sturdy and they like to walk around in it, but they still lay their eggs around the yard and coop in the grass or piles of hay. Next year we will use golf balls or something similar to try to train the new birds to lay where we want them to.

Having the birds has brought great joy to my life.

Until next time,
Angela and Jonathan

successes and failures part 1 - the greenhouse

Success - We put up the greenhouse, anchored it down well, put up shad cloth to block the hottest sun, and used metal barrels filled with water and painted black for stability plus heat. So far it is holding up well.

Failure - The irrigation. Hand watering with a hose is not enough to maintain straw baskets. Next spring we need to invest in a modest sprinkler system with a timer. 

Neither - The ventilation. We used a big exhaust fan with an extension cord we just set up and moved when it wasn't necessary. It was a bit too big for the space, plus protecting it from water was a challenge. My grandmother has an old smaller fan built into a garage we plan to try to transfer and set up for next year.

our first year farming- successes and failures- intro

I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at the things we did the year around the farm, and make some notes about what worked well, what didn't, what we need to do more, etc. It's been a big adventure this year. Sometimes I feel like we are standing still, but making this list has really helped me see how much we have accomplished. I can't wait to see where next year takes us.

A few general success failures to start us off:

Success - We only missed one farmers market all season, we sold nearly all of our inventory as soon as we had things to offer, and we were welcomed by the other farmers so openly. It was a great experience working with neighbors we never knew we had.

Failure - We need to make LOTS more mushroom logs. We sold out in August at the Celebrate Catawba festival, where we sold all 6 we brought in the first hour and a half! Over winter we need to make a good stock pile for selling, as well as a stock to keep for ourselves.

Success - We are living a pretty frugal lifestyle, Jonathan and I. We are lucky to have so much help from our families, but we have truly learned to live without much. We realize how much more valuable our time is here than time spent working for a corporation.

Success - For our first garden, I think it went pretty well. Lots of good notes for next year though.

There will be several more detailed posts to come in the next few weeks.

Live simply,

Angela and Jonathan

the growing rabbits and our laziness

Jonathan and I were fortunate enough to have a weeks vacation coinciding with his birthday and our trip to Massanutten resort for a few nights. It has been a great week, ending too quick of course, and we completely neglected any sort of farm work (unfortunately we couldn't neglect septic tank work, so there's that.) However the rabbits are still growing, the ducks are warm, firewood is being split, mushroom logs are still slowly being prepared. We are hoping to have lots of mushroom logs and rabbits for sale at the Catawba Holiday Market on Saturday, November 23, so we need to get to work- but not today.

Live simply,

Angela and Jonathan

our dear ducks

the garden - before the ducks

the newly covered duck house - on the garden

the garden - after the ducks. goodbye weeds!

the backside of the ducks house, with their door to the run and a little window for ventilation

The last week has been very windy, stripping the colorful leaves from the trees and leaving things looking much like winter, much too soon for my taste. This morning I recovered the duck coop with clear plastic, less drafty and more sunny. When I was doing my homework about preparing the bird house for winter I was pleasantly surprised to learn that ducks are much more hardy than chickens. They just need a semi-draft free space, unfrozen water, and some dry hay to keep their feet warm. Of course we try to give them more than just what they "need", like a brighter enclosure and access fresh grass. Stay warm duckies!

Live simply,

Angela and Jonathan

pretty pastured hens

goldie

checking out some cantelope

fresh grass = happy hens

the red twins really love our fruit and veggie scraps

and the ducks (the white ones are our two males, unfortunately)

We have been setting up a small chicken wire fence outside of the coop and letting our birds out during the day to get a little more open grass and feeling of freedom. We can't let them truly free range because the dogs would eat them, so this is a small step in a better direction. We are in the process of ordering an electro poultrynet which will give them MUCH more room to roam. They love fresh grass, bugs (we watched red take down a huge praying mantis today), their swimming pool, and our leftover fruit and veggie scraps. 

Caring for this small flock of poultry gives me a lot of joy, 

you can't be in a bad mood watching them. 

Live simply,

Angela and Jonathan

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Live simply,

Angela and Jonathan

making chickens happy (and ducks too)

little yellow is always the most photogenic of our flock

pecking through the forest of grass

all the birds checking out their new nest box

The chicken coop got a few fancy renovations this weekend. We had planned to cut the five gallon buckets that were in there in half to make them more accessible as nest boxes now that they have begun to lay eggs, but that plan turned out to be entirely too much work, and a secondary plan was executed instead. We had two old closet doors lying around, so we took one, wired it up like a trough, and hooked it up inside the coop. Instant, free, repurposed chicken nest box. Success. We also set up a small chicken wire fence outside the coop, clipped wings, and let them loose. It's not a huge pen, but it does double the size of their space, with new fresh grass to scavenge through. This means lots of supervision for a few weeks, because we do not fully trust the combination of flimsy fencing, first time wing clipping, and ever curious puppy dogs. 

They seem to approve.

Live simply,

Angela and Jonathan

a late july garden

yellow squash

zucchini plants

gourds - the end of the garden in about the center of the photo

our first melon!

 The garden is going strong, despite being pretty weedy from all the rain and sunshine. We have had more yellow squash and zucchini than we can eat, plus some tomatoes and today I saw our first few melons hidden in the vines! The gourds have taken over and stretch out through the field past the garden's edge. This summer has been a great first year for our garden, we know lots of things to do differently next time, but had tons of good food to eat regardless. Life is in the adventure.

Live simply,

Angela

the mushroom business

our (messy) greenhouse, with new misting system installed

phoenix oyster mushrooms

blue oyster mushrooms

Zae the Protector

We are producing mushrooms, slowly. We are thankful that the demand is behind us, we sell out very fast when we do have mushrooms at market, and there are always more people interested.

Live simply,

Angela and Jonathan

hippity-hops

Zae - protector of the bunnies, part time car cleaning assistant

amy guarding her new litter from me

hopper - now our only buck

We sold our first rabbit at the farmer's market last Thursday. We couldn't be more excited! We will have five more for sale at the Celebrate Catawba festival on August 10 at the Catawba Community Center from 10 to 3. There should be lots of cool things and nice people. 

Live simply,

Angela

bountiful harvests and the joy of fresh eggs

My amazing nieces and nephew helped me harvest some vegetables from the garden yesterday. They have been staying with us for a few days, and it is so nice to see them. We came back with a full laundry basket and a half of onions (red, white, and yellow) squash, zucchini, beets, carrots, and tomatoes. They were all quite tasty (the rabbits enjoyed the beet leaves) and Jonathan made me a great repurposed drying rack for the onions and beats (and soon enough, potatoes.) 

Thank you, first garden, you have taught us much already.

(BTW apologies for the crappy cell phone pictures, I lost my camera, temporarily.)

Oh yeah, and this morning I woke up to our first eggs from our beautiful hens. Yay!

Live simply,

Angela and Jonathan

july - the rainy season

the smallest bun-buns

bird baths

always interested - our three pretty hens

the first squash of summer

climbing cucumbers

and zucchini

a small harvest from the week

We have not been incredibly productive on the farm these past few weeks, not nearly as much as we should have been, but things are rolling along as they always do, regardless of our efforts (and lackthereof.) The garden has started to produce beautiful squash, zucchini, beets, and onions, which we have been enjoying on a nearly daily basis. The rabbits are growing fast and we should have 30 plus to eat or sell by the end of summer. The hens should begin to bless us with eggs within the month. The mushroom baskets are all pinning and we should have a nice and timely harvest for market next Thursday. 

Yes, despite our efforts, mother nature keeps us moving forward.

Live simply,

Angela and Jonathan 

mushroom harvesting and more basket making

We harvested our first phoenix oyster mushrooms this week, and this weekend we inoculated five more straw baskets which will fruit in a few weeks. A big thanks to Chris and Eli from Fantastic Fungi for their great spawn! Now we just have to fight off the beetles that are attacking them! I have been researching and so far it seems the best options are bug juice (made from smooshed beetles and water) and Neem (a natural plant oil that deters and kills pests.) We worked super hard today, and tomorrow we will be taking a little time off to visit with both of our dad's for Father's Day. 

We hope you have a great weekend, make time for your dad's too!

fruiting baskets

lighter shelf

underside ^_^

new greenhouse setup

the baskets are growing and growing

Live simply,

Angela and Jonathan