Monday, July 16, 2012

A Quick Update and a Week Off


New portal is great! 
Hens


Beets, broccoli and lettuce, collards and more beets recently planted.

Potatoes

Beds with shade cloth; L to R: wild arugula, mustards and kyoto carrots, then sunflowers, tomatillos, marigolds, calendula and hot peppers, then radishes, spinach, chard, beets, broccoli, and more!

Volunteer tomato in with chard.

Cover crop of rye and buckwheat

Planting of Amaranth

Planting of Red Scallions, Carrots and lettuce

Second planting of the Blue Corn

Tomatillos to the left and under shade with micro sprinklers is carrots, lettuce and radicchio.

In the next few weeks we are preperaing this area for a fall planting of more greens, carrots, herbs, beets and hopefully some sun chokes, strawberries and asparagus. We have big plans but can really only move one day at a time..,.. coming soon is a high tunnel greenhouse or two as well as more solar off the grid technology and pasture for more layers. Exciting time to be a farmer.

Calendula in a hollowed pine log and popcorn is tall!

View to the East

Tomatillos and a propped up sunflower

Beans with lettuce mix growing underneath and pickling cucumbers growing up the other side.


These were volunteers!

Carrots, tomatoes and basil

zucchini is lowing this location/ micro-climate, calendula in between plants and radishes all over too. 
New planting of pak-choi, chard, radish and lettuce.

Chicken pasture is growing

herb garden


new roof on the new portal

Birds eye view west of the house

arroyo

Friday, June 22, 2012

Garlic and Carrot Harvest

These carrots are as tasty as they are beautiful! 
We will have some this evening at the Eldorado Farmers Market

The garlic is small but packs a big bite in its spiciness.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Water Catchment for Chickens

The layer hens now have a self contained water catchment system.

Even though they are only a hundred feet from our doorstep this is a vast improvement.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Shade Cloth and Micro Sprinklers

Got a good rain yesterday. Planted and set up about 2 dozen micro-sprinklers.
All four beds with shade cloth were uncovered during the rains. Hopefully this will help germination of lettuces, mustards, chard, tomatillos and flowers. 

Chicken Tractors

 We have five chicken tractors with a total of eighteen layers in them combined.

A chicken tractor is named so because of its ability to replace a traditional tractor by tilling, weeding, mulching, fertilizing and so on. 

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Farming For the Future

Blue Flax and Orange Poppy


We got this 125 watt panel to power our 12 volt water pump for irrigating.

Broccoli and Lettuce and Beets under shade cloth,, carrots and scallions and more lettuce to the right.

Calendula

Snake in the Chicken Shack

This snake was making a meal of our eggs.


Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Pastured Poultry in Drylands



These hens have been getting moved on our native drylands pasture at least twice a day ,,,,sometimes four or five!
Hens on a diet of leafy greens, sprouted wheat berries and barley, and organic scratch, no soy whatsoever. 



These three hen tractors can on a good day produce three eggs each!


Growing

Purple Basil in the ground... no transplanting needed

Tomato plant in the same bed 
Yarrow on it's second year

Chives