The garden is looking good, but not good enough

We spent several hours in the garden today.  I was weeding all over the place and then the oldest son was helping to bring wheelbarrows full of the new soil into the garden for a few projects.  It isn't done but he promised to help tomorrow if we quit at about 2 today.  :)

We've gotten lettuce from the garden, but nothing else.  Everything is growing, but not fast enough for me.

Tomato plants from seeds on the left, broccoli and cauliflower down the middle, calendula in the back of the row

Calendula - flowers that will be fed to the chickens if they ever grow

More tomatoes, some from plants

One of two bell peppers, at least I see something growing

A sign of good things to come

Onions and Garlic

The cabbage is not looking good

Green beans, there are a few there to pick, but only a couple

Two types of leaf lettuce (right before he started cutting for dinner)

Sunflowers (minus the two the goats ate) :/

Carrots and parsnips

Parsnips

Six potato cages

Another view of how tall they are

Pumpkin plants in the front with the new soil around them

Watermelon plants, not doing very well

Squash

Zucchini

Brussels sprouts that the goats got to :(

Sweet potatoes

The herbs

Basil

Parsley

Dill

I never got around to planting more herbs in the ground, but I'm hoping I can still get some seeds out and still be able to harvest it because these pots didn't do as well as I had hoped.

There is still a good size area that needs to be weeded, mixed with the new soil, and then planted once I figure out what can be planted now and harvested in times.  Worst case scenario, I will do more potatoes.

It was time to get dirt-y

I finally gave in and had some quality soil delivered so that I could complete some of the projects around here.

Ten cubic yards of compost-soil mix was dumped.  When the truck pulled up I was a bit scared about how much ten cubic yards would be, but once it was dumped I knew I could use it all.

The first project was to finish the raised flower bed.

The second project was to raise one of the flower beds so that it was level and would help hide the foundation better.

It took a few more boulders that we brought over from the goat pen and several loads of soil, but we finished it.

I weeded the other flower bed and then we raised it so that it is almost level.  I'm thinking another wheelbarrow or two full of soil will finish the job.

There is still plenty of soil level for the next projects.

And then I took a quick break to repaint the rooster for the summer theme.

Done!

We just finished getting all of the strawberries taken care of.  Last night we made Strawberry jam and tonight we made Strawberry-Peach jam.  We also made more strawberry ice cubes (for summer drinks) and frozen strawberries to defrost as needed.  I'm so excited.  

Another Strawberry weekend

We did it again.  Saturday morning we went to the farmers market and then we drove out to pick strawberries.  We came home with 4.5 gallons of them, again.

Strawberry stained doesn't count as "dirty"

I managed to get about a gallon of them frozen and dehydrated, but the last 3 gallons are screaming my name.  I have to get them hulled and cooked into jams tonight or they'll be bad before I have time again.  Wish me luck.

One small step towards homesteading

I ordered a dehydrator a couple weeks ago and it's been sitting on the table waiting for fresh produce for too long.  So this morning we went to the local farmer's market and bought some strawberries (and some yummy bread and pure honey) and then we went strawberry picking to get even more strawberries.

They measure by the gallon and we had over four gallons.  We picked three baskets/gallons ourselves and we bought 5 quarts.

As soon as we got home we got to work.  I washed and cut the tops off them while the youngest used an egg slicer to slice them up and spread them out on the dehydrator trays.

Six trays of strawberries are drying today and should be done between tonight and tomorrow morning.

A cookie sheet of strawberries is in the freezer.  Once they're hard, we'll seal them with the FoodSaver and put them in the basement freezer.

Then we'll start on making jams for the first time ever.

Moving Day

Although the coop isn't completely done, it was done enough to move the birds in.  So last night once all the birds were in the old coop, I took each of them and moved them into the new coop.  They were a bit shocked and stayed huddled by the door.  Half way through the move, I went inside and put them on the roost bars.

Apparently the other half of the birds didn't understand they could follow suit, so they got up in the nesting boxes.

I moved them around, making sure the rooster got a higher perch.  Then I was able to clean out the old coop and move the hatched chicks into it.

They too stayed huddled near the door in confusion

By morning they had moved to the other corner of the coop and because of the cold temperatures I put a lamp in for them.  I'm not sure that they have figured out the hanging food as I saw them scratching around in the shavings.

Clyde and the hens were all still perched and happy.  They'll be locked in there for a couple days so that they learn it is their new home.  Luckily there is a lot of space.  I need to do some more work, but I think it will do for now.

The new coop - almost

The coop is coming along, but not fast enough for me.

Yesterday a friend came over and we got the four walls put up.

It was so much easier with someone helping me.

Today I was working alone and determined to get part of the roof done.  I decided to take it apart and put the rafters up and then to see what I could salvage from the roof.

I pried the 2 x 4s off the roof which wasn't too hard, but the sun was definitely beating down on my back and shoulders.

I put the rafters back together.

And then I managed to get them all attached to the coop.

I may be able to salvage the particle board and I have a roll of tar paper, but I'm sure I will need to buy more shingles.  I also need to buy some linoleum for the floor so that it is easier to clean and some paint so I can make this thing look a lot better.  And I still have to build the roosts and nest boxes, the door, and the ramp for the birds to get in and out. 

I don't think this is going as fast as I would like it to.