Not really a farm here but for those who do the things that bring you close to the soil such as keeping chickens or other 'provider' animals or gardening I thought it might be fun to have a thread to post goings on. Maybe a Hibiscus bloomed (always a treat) or the tomatoes are ripe and ready.
As mentioned in this thread we recently started getting our first eggs of a different color. We have several Americaunas which lay eggs in various colors from light pink to green to blue. For very dark chocolate brown eggs we have French Black Copper Marans and almost as dark but speckled eggs our Welsummers should be coming along soon.
Thats the first Blue egg second from the left front row Lannie, the large egg in the lid was 2 oz and the second egg of one of our new Black Sex Linked hens. We had two of these hens from last year and one of them lays a 3 oz egg from time to time with most of hers being Jumbo or over 2.5 oz. Getting a good many Peewee and even smaller right now as these new hens figure out their jobs but most of our breeds should be in the large to extra large range as they get a little older.
We started last year with 6 larger hens and 5 Bantys (2 roos and 3 hens), well it seems there is this thing called chicken math and things tend to grow exponentially when you are using it. This year we built a large coop and between hatching and purchased chicks ended up with 50 more chickens. This years new additions are between 19 and 22 weeks old so while we started getting a few early eggs most have yet to begin laying. I keep tellin The Mrs that pretty soon there will be an eggvalanche and am looking forward to having the excess to share with the rest of the family and friends.
There were many driving forces behind us expanding on the chickens and high on the list was manure for our gardens which keep expanding all the time. Here in the high desert our soil is pretty much devoid of the life that encourages lush growth so every input we can find we try to make the most of. We are not hard core organic but we dont use harsh poisons and try to let the natural system work itself out. Since we are not gardening as a business (though it would be nice if it began to pay for itself) we are not pressed for any particular yields. Most of the gardening goes back to the chickens so something like aphids is almost a bonus
Each year the soil is getting better, not so much just plain sand any more and the life is beginning to surge in it. For a great many years you could dig for days and never see a worm, now in any of the garden beds just making a small hole for a plant will disturb several. We have come a long ways with it in a short time by putting in a lot of work and by investing in the systems (chickens, composting, worm beds ect...) that provide a high return.
A few months ago I built a little shade structure in the garden so we would have a place to sit out of the sun and enjoy the new views. We are going to plant some grapes on it that are being started in our little greenhouse and have dubbed it The Whinery as it is the place to go whine about it being so dang hot. It is also our favorite spot to sit in the morning with a cup of coffee and vape. This was built using some old railroad ties, a few old bunkbed frames and 100 year old barnwood from a building I demo'd some number of years ago, very satisfying in repurposing materials like this.
So whatever your farm interests are little or large if it is one of the things you like to do while jump in and share your favorite vaping spots.
As mentioned in this thread we recently started getting our first eggs of a different color. We have several Americaunas which lay eggs in various colors from light pink to green to blue. For very dark chocolate brown eggs we have French Black Copper Marans and almost as dark but speckled eggs our Welsummers should be coming along soon.
Thats the first Blue egg second from the left front row Lannie, the large egg in the lid was 2 oz and the second egg of one of our new Black Sex Linked hens. We had two of these hens from last year and one of them lays a 3 oz egg from time to time with most of hers being Jumbo or over 2.5 oz. Getting a good many Peewee and even smaller right now as these new hens figure out their jobs but most of our breeds should be in the large to extra large range as they get a little older.
We started last year with 6 larger hens and 5 Bantys (2 roos and 3 hens), well it seems there is this thing called chicken math and things tend to grow exponentially when you are using it. This year we built a large coop and between hatching and purchased chicks ended up with 50 more chickens. This years new additions are between 19 and 22 weeks old so while we started getting a few early eggs most have yet to begin laying. I keep tellin The Mrs that pretty soon there will be an eggvalanche and am looking forward to having the excess to share with the rest of the family and friends.
There were many driving forces behind us expanding on the chickens and high on the list was manure for our gardens which keep expanding all the time. Here in the high desert our soil is pretty much devoid of the life that encourages lush growth so every input we can find we try to make the most of. We are not hard core organic but we dont use harsh poisons and try to let the natural system work itself out. Since we are not gardening as a business (though it would be nice if it began to pay for itself) we are not pressed for any particular yields. Most of the gardening goes back to the chickens so something like aphids is almost a bonus
Each year the soil is getting better, not so much just plain sand any more and the life is beginning to surge in it. For a great many years you could dig for days and never see a worm, now in any of the garden beds just making a small hole for a plant will disturb several. We have come a long ways with it in a short time by putting in a lot of work and by investing in the systems (chickens, composting, worm beds ect...) that provide a high return.
A few months ago I built a little shade structure in the garden so we would have a place to sit out of the sun and enjoy the new views. We are going to plant some grapes on it that are being started in our little greenhouse and have dubbed it The Whinery as it is the place to go whine about it being so dang hot. It is also our favorite spot to sit in the morning with a cup of coffee and vape. This was built using some old railroad ties, a few old bunkbed frames and 100 year old barnwood from a building I demo'd some number of years ago, very satisfying in repurposing materials like this.
So whatever your farm interests are little or large if it is one of the things you like to do while jump in and share your favorite vaping spots.