Give me five hours and a tractor

[lew92]

DH was gone today to put out flags at the cemeteries, so I made good use of the time without him hovering around while I used the tractor.

We haven't raised any pigs for a couple of years and decided against it again this year, so I decided I wanted the pig yard for a garden. The chickens don't bother my other gardens and rarely ever venture far enough from the coop to reach them, but this one is where they love to scratch, so I had to change some fencing to keep them out.

I didn't think to get before pictures, but I did remember in time to get a couple "during":




I've got plans to completely enclose the pig house, with a gate for human access, to make this area secure for hens to raise their chicks.  We do have a tiny house and attached pen that we've used for several years, but it would be so much nicer to be able to walk in to feed, water and clean.


I didn't get the fencing as tight as I would have if DH had been here to help, but I'm proud of my job anyway.  It doesn't have to be cow-tight, just keep-the-hens-out tight.



I still need to construct a gate to go between the two wood posts, but that shouldn't be too much work.  


It doesn't show up, but I made a compost bin in the left front corner.  I used 2 cut-off pieces of cattle panel as 2 sides, with the fencing as the other 2 sides.  The cattle panel is stuck in the ground with the cut off edges down (if that makes sense) and I used rubber bungee cords and carabiner type clips to hold it together.  I didn't want anything permanent, so that it can easily be taken apart and emptied/turned.



Maybe, just maybe tomorrow I will start planting.  I've still got Yukon gold potatoes and onion sets to put out.  This area will also be planted with sweet corn, Pale Grey Hopi squash (thank you, Applelonia!),  cucumbers, and mangel beets.  The total space is about 16 by 25 feet or so.

[sdmilkmaid]

Good for you!
I like DH working full time for someone else. I get more done when he's not here...
Don't get me wrong. I love him dearly! And I'm a little bit sad that we're not farming full time anymore. But we both seem to do better with a little outside pressure to get moving on the morning.
Rachel

[treatlisa]

Fun, fun!! Best wishes for a very productive space!

[grammagrace]

Nice. My eyes turn a bit green when I see garden and garden to be.
I just can't do in the ground garden. I have tomato plants started in the house (they will be container grown) and lettuce in a container outside. It has a wire cage to keep the fowl out of it.
Even tho my eyes get green I am really happy for all who can do a garden. I wish you overflowing with yummy produce.

[lew92]

Most of my gardening is in raised beds - DH is going to help me construct 3 new ones in the next week or so - but I don't want to build them in this area just in case we ever want to have piggies again.

I can't do much in-ground gardening, but I think my planting plans for this space shouldn't be too hard on my knees and back. The soil is perfectly composted, due to the action of the pigs turning the compost for a couple of years and now laying dormant for 2 years.

I know I'll pay for it tomorrow, but it just felt so good to be out in the sunshine and wind and just work for a change.

[susaq]

That's awesome! You have some really wonderful soil. That makes me green with envy! I'm glad you got to have some fun.

[westxgrl13]

I'm impressed, lew92! These are the kinds of days you wish you could bottle and save for later!!!

I spent a lot of time outside today, as well, and though I will feel it tomorrow (did a bunch of clambering around on the hillsides, in shorts, and now look like I had a fight with 14 cats), I looooved all the messing around! Got to study the tons of wildflowers that just keep coming on and on and on from the timely rains we've had, and take some pix of the critters and whatnot.

Then tonight at milking time, I got three out of our five bottle-baby goats to drink straight from Katy Kow! Our oldest one refuses, though I gave him another chance tonight; one of the nannies out of the two sets of twins wasn't that interested either, but I will try her again--she did latch on half-heartedly; the other three took a bit to figure it out, then ate themselves into milk-induced comas!!! Ha, ha! If they don't have "the squirts" tomorrow, I will be shocked. But I was so happy that I hated to pop them off before they decided to stop sucking on their own.

[lew92]

susaq, that soil is very well amended with barnyard dirt. The pig pen used to be where DH would put the cleanings from the barnyard and chicken coop and the pigs would work it and turn it.

Now that he's got a bigger tractor, he's removing a lot more from the barnyards and making huge piles of it. The next door neighbors use it to fertilize their fields. They commented on how rich it is, too. It makes the soil here a lot more like it was where I grew up in Southern Minnesota.

westxgrl13, these are the kind of days I store away in my "memory closet" and take out when I need some R&R. Sitting in the water in the Gulf of Mexico is another dear one. That's been my main go-to for 14 years!

It amazes me that Katy Kow will allow goats to nurse on her. But then again, I had a steer that nursed on a pygmy goat. She wasn't happy about it and he was only able to do it if he could get her cornered. Forgot one small detail - he weighed about 1200 lbs when he started this trick.

[lew92]

I have to say that I am more relaxed than I've been in over three weeks. I slept great last night, too.

The only pain I'm having today is plantar fasciitis in my right heel. I iced it last night and am stretching it this morning, but that foot is sure a bugger!

[westxgrl13]

I just cannot believe how "far" an animal will go to get what it wants! A 1200-pound calf cornering a tiny pygmy goat............the mind boggleth! Did you get any pictures of them, or video?

[igotcows]

you did a great job lew. I was hoping to plant potatoes this morning, before the rain, but alas it is raining. I hope your plants grow strong in your new area.

[lew92]

May 17, 2019 10:26:23 GMT -5 westxgrl13 said:

I just cannot believe how "far" an animal will go to get what it wants! A 1200-pound calf cornering a tiny pygmy goat............the mind boggleth! Did you get any pictures of them, or video?

No, this was before cell phones had cameras built into them and I'm not even sure I had a digital camera yet.

May 18, 2019 5:29:51 GMT -5 igotcows said:

you did a great job lew. I was hoping to plant potatoes this morning, before the rain, but alas it is raining. I hope your plants grow strong in your new area.

It will probably be a jungle in short order with all that rich soil in there. The other 2 potato patches are planted on cardboard covered with a few inches of composted barnyard dirt. One patch of Kennebec potatoes, one of Purple Majesty. I grew them that way last year and got better yield than I did on the 3 traditionally planted potatoes that I did as a control. It will be interesting to see how these Yukon golds perform.

I spent two hours out there yesterday and got sweet corn, potatoes, peas, cucumbers, onions, and dill planted. I've got room in the center for 5 rows of mangel beets and kept some space along fenceline to use as support for 3 or 4 tomato plants.

The two hours left me miserable. I know it was because it compounded the five hours from the day before. Today I took it easy, but not too tough to do on a rainy day.

[cdmoi]

Wow! Great job! You got me all inspired!! And while I've never raised pigs as we don't like pork much, I am always stunned at how well they clear an area. Love the job!!

[Shawn]

I think we need an update on this project!

[eljay]

I completely missed this when you originally posted it. That is a lovely garden you've built out of the old pig pen.

[lew92]

I've harvested the onions and Yukon gold potatoes. I always wonder why I bother because I never get much from either, but I have the space to experiment so I never feel like it is a total waste.

The Hopi Pale Grey squash is growing up into the elm tree, via the lilacs. I've seen a couple of fruits that will require a ladder to harvest. The picture of the squash is one that hangs over the compost heap. Looks like they will keep the cows and us fed for quite some time.

The five foot row of cukes I planted along the fence have kept us in constant supply, fed a few friends and made several jars of pickles. Prior to being away for 2 days, I picked every single one I could find and got a couple pints of sweet gherkins, my favorite.

The mangle beets are growing well and I'm thinking of planting more in the space left by the potatoes.

The raised beds are also doing great, I've canned quite a few green beans and am now letting them go for seed and dried beans. The zucchini of course is going great guns and the tomato plants are lovely and loaded with green fruit. Just holding my breath for them to ripen.

Thanks for your interest!

[simplynaturalfarm]

I think you gave me the tomato seeds ( yeah yours are sitting here, but I'm fermenting fresh!) I've been eating tomatoes for over a month, but the plants from seeds I grew, planted same time as my others still have only green tomatoes on them!! I'm dying to taste but not even a hint of orange!

I think considering how short our seasions are, you need to plant another variety also so you can enjoy tomatoes earlier. My ND earliana, Cherokee purple, cosmonaut gave me tomatoes early July and I don't have a hoophouse anymore.

Having said that, I'll send you seeds for next year when they are dry! I have them triple marked so no mixing seeds this year unless children touch and they've been warned!!!

[bnb87]

Beautiful garden!! Didn't get one in this year between the rain and other distractions 😁

[simplynaturalfarm]

What is a hopi pale great squash?

I can't believe how well your stuff grew. I have some winter squash that is still only 6 inches tall!!

[Debbie Lincoln]

Wow - I missed this the first time too. Great garden!