Not in Love with Ruth Stout's No-Till Garden Method

Maybe we didn't follow her instructions exactly. Maybe we had higher hopes than we should have. Maybe it's just a weird year (it is).  In any case, I don't think I am a fan of Ruth Stout's No-Till Garden Method, unless we make some changes.

I think our greatest error was not to have had the garden completely covered over the winter...It was mulched with grass clippings in part of it(which had disintegrated over the winter) and straw in others (which wasn't completely gone by spring), and that wasn't enough.

With the changes in my availability/ability to work a lot in the garden this summer, I sort of planted the garden on a wing and a prayer. Many things would not germinate well (but we have had a cool spring and summer) and we had more weeds break through the mulch and outgrow our veggies when we were away for 10 days. The okra never came up all three times I planted it (never had a problem before this year, and I tried three times).  And then in July we went on vacation(always a negative as far as the garden is concerned).      So it had a lot going against it.

We have had far more success with fully tilling the garden(even just once), pulling out any unwanted plant matter, making rows or hills, planting seeds, and then mulching heavily once seeds emerged.

I think we will be going back to our old way of doing things next year.

For this year, though, we do have a couple of healthy sized melons, cukes, green beans, a couple pepper plants, onions, chard(what the chickens don't eat), corn, and hopefully potatoes(if I can find them past the thistles).  The summer squash have succumbed to the squash bugs..not sure I will even try next year...maybe I will just plant later...

That will have to do for now.  Not much to "survive" on, if we had to, that's for sure.  Thankful we are not relying solely on the garden!

Until next time...

A Short Chicken Video

For your enjoyment...

They didn't want to go in when I was ready, so I eventually had to herd them in.  They are loving the green grass!  We're getting 5-7 eggs a day, which isn't bad for having 7 hens!

The (Wood) Heat is On as of October 27

Well, hubby decided to fire up the outdoor wood furnace this last weekend.  The weather has become decidedly chilly (nd windy!) and I guess the house needed a little bit more warmth than we were willing to crank up the propane.

Here's the hubs out tending the fire.

And.....we need more wood! Unfortunately, our usual backup wood supply does not have wood to offer the public this year. Apparently, they weren't able to get into the woods last winter due to the wet, non-freezing weather we had.  Bummer!

It's That Time of Year Again....Firewood

The fall colors are brightening up my corner of the world and the temperature has dipped to freezing in the nighttime hours.  The farmers are out in their big combines harvesting the corn and soybeans, which means the ground is dry enough that we should be able to get into our woods and get firewood put up for the winter. We are going to need it, as our supplement source from previous years is not available this year.

So, you probably don't have to guess what we will be doing on our weekends...oh well, it's good exercise!

Heigh-ho!

Chick Update: 7 weeks old

Our Light Sussex chicks are 7 weeks old today.  They are really filling out, and I am impressed by the sturdiness of their legs and feet. To me, they are reminiscent of the Cornish Rock chickens that we raised for meat a couple years ago. I think this is a good thing, since one reason we are raising them is for a potential meat bird.

 We've had no casualties with the Light Sussex chickens since they were chicks, and the one surviving one that had a crooked neck has recovered and I'm not sure as to which one it even is.

It got really hot today (104 plus  humidity) and I put some ice cubes in their water.  I also gave them some weeds and some bug-chewed chard from the garden to give them something to do.

The camera is not working right....I hope to be back soon to post pics or video!

Chick Update: 5 weeks old

I'm a bit late on the Chick Update--sorry!

They are now turning into chickens, and this week my daughter and I moved them out into the chicken coop. 

Here's a little video...it's really short due to the iPod being nearly full...sorry!

I very much like them out there better than in the porch at this point.  They are not roosting on the boards shown in the video yet. I went in last night to check on them around dusk and they were all huddled by the door in a pile. Hopefully they will soon learn to roost up where they should!

June 2012 Menu Planning

As promised, here is my menu plan for the month of June. :)

Breakfasts will consist of the following: Purchased granola bars, homemade granola bars, homemade granola, bacon, eggs, oatmeal, cereal, Sausage sandwiches, fruit, yogurt, toast + nut butter, juice

Lunches will consist of: leftovers, sandwiches, veggies and fruit, the odd chip treat, homemade cookies

Snacks will be: smoothies/Morning Orange Drink(made w/kefir), Apples + nut butter or cheese, Tortilla chips + cheese, salsa, Popcorn, dried fruit/nuts/chocolate chips mix, carrot/celery and hummus, homemade granola bars, homemade cookies and the like

Here is the June 2012 Dinner Plan, by week:

Week 1:
Hamburgers, Green Salad with red peppers and onions
Boneless Pork Loin, Chard from the garden (boiled), potato cakes from freezer
Roasted Chicken, Green beans, Mashed Potatoes, Green salad with cucumbers, peppers, onion
Taco salad (pastured ground beef cooked with added mexican herbs and spices, onions, lettuce, salsa, Daisy sour cream, white corn chips)
Church party-

Week 2:
Hamburgers, Tailgate Salad, Green Salad w/veggies
Mac 'n cheese, hot dogs, red peppers, olives (someone's requested birthday meal, lol, will fill in with a big salad or leftover Tailgate Salad)
Chicken Thighs(what kind to be determined), Veggie to be determined, Rice and salad
Burritos/wraps, using leftover shredded chicken meat
Pizza from scratch, pepperoni and mushroom (this is where I use the spelt flour instead of wheat flour and test it on myself)

Week 3: VBS week--trying to keep it simple and minimal cleanup...
Hamburger Stroganoff, veggie, salad
Hot Dogs, tater tots, veggie tray
Chicken Thighs(crockpot?), veggie, salad
Leftovers? Wraps again? Sandwiches? Anything quick.
Pizza (yes, again! but I don't think there will be any complaints :))

Week 4:
Hamburgers, veggie tray, Pasta salad
??????????????
Roasted Chicken, Green Beans, Potatoes or Rice
Beef/Bean/Veggie Enchiladas
Nachos Grande (White corn chips, pastured ground beef with Mexican seasoning, cheddar, toppings), or maybe Taco Salad again....depends on the lettuce situation


Might be a bit boring and repetitive, but it gets the job done! :)

Chick Update: 4 weeks old

Our Light Sussex chicks are 4 weeks old today.
I am really wanting them out of the sunporch, as their dust is building up in there. I don't dare attempt cleaning it up until they're out, though.  So there it sits.

Life has kept us busy enough that we haven't gotten a new door made for the chicken coop yet. Hopefully this weekend will offer the time and inclination to get that done and move the chicks to their new home! (Please, Lord?)

This last pic is of a chick perched on the box the kids made for the chicks. I call it Webkinz for Chickens. :)

So far, only one of the chicks has a larger, redder comb that is one indicator of being a rooster. Ivy thinks all of the ones with black on them are roosters and the ones with gray on them are hens.  Odds are, she's right, because that's more like the 50% chance we have of getting boys/girls. But I like the one rooster idea better.
It's way to early to tell for sure, though! Just guessing at this point.

Chick Update: May 31, 2012 3 weeks old

Our Light Sussex Chick(en)s are 3 weeks old today (give or take a day).
They're very nearly feathered out. I'm thinking maybe in the next week or two we will put them out in the enclosed chicken coop, once we get that patched up a bit.  Caught another raccoon today, so we have to be sure the coop is varmint-proof before we put the little guys and gals out there or this will be all for nothing!

The weather will have to warm up a bit more before we put them out there as well. It has been a little bit chilly the last couple of days!

A little video, complete with my kids' comments:

Protecting our Assets, aka Catching Pillagers and Thieves

Since planting my garden about 2 weeks ago, I've been dealing with a few issues.  One issue is that something has been digging around in the garden. Who knows where the zucchini seeds have ended up! At the same time, many of my flower pots were being upended and rummaged through. They even broke my favorite pot (wah!). Hubby thought it was the cats (he says he hates the cats, but I know he loves them deep down, hehe).

Another issue is that something has been nipping off my pepper plants and my beans that are sprouting and have their first leaves.

Then there is the mole, but that's another story...

Two nights ago, I set the live trap directly on the spot I planted the zucchini seeds in. This is what I caught:

Last night, hubby saw a groundhog run under the shop (where the stray cat had been living...come to think of it, I haven't seen him around for a week or so...) and this is who we caught:

These creatures are now Turkey Buzzard Cuisine. Relocation is illegal--and besides, moving critters to someone else's woods is just making the critter someone else's problem.  Even our local "nature preserve" backs onto people's backyards. This is just the way things go when raising food and dealing with "the competition".  Lowering the population of raccoons will lessen the chance that our chickens will be ravaged later in the season. Lowering both the coon and groundhog population will help us to get a better harvest this summer. And....as I hear my hubby quote Clint Eastwood: "Buzzards gotta eat, same as worms."

In case you are wondering, our kids know the reasons we catch and dispose of these animals. It's not because we enjoy doing it. It's because these animals are, or have great potential of, destroying our crops and the chickens. 

I'm wondering what we might catch next. The trap is now set by one of the far outbuildings, where hubby caught some 15 critters last year.

I'm betting on another coon. 

Chick Update: May 23, 2012 ~12 days old

The chicks are about 12 days old now.  I am not sure which one is the crooked-necked one, so I guess that is a good thing s/he is doing well.  I will have to go in this evening when they are tired and see if I can tell which one it is.

I took about 2 minutes of video and uploaded it to YouTube to share with my readers.

And here are some pics of our daughter and the chick she was holding. She is the only one of the kids that really wants anything to do with them. She wants to hold them and play with them every day (so far). LOL

The Main Garden: May 21, 2012

Some of the garden seeds I planted a week ago are coming up!

Royal Burgundy Bush Bean

Kale Mix

Burgundy Okra

Picklebush Cucumber

Jacob's Cattle Beans

There are moles that keep digging up and eating my onion sets. They don't particularly care for eating the red ones, but they dig them up anyway.  I put a live trap out there and haven't caught anything, which reinforces my thoughts that it's moles. I will have to figure out how to deal with them, as the vintage mole trap bit the dust last year...

I have seen a gigantic bunny outside on the property the last couple days. I am willing to bet that it's him or one of his buddies that have nipped off two of my banana pepper plants! I saw him this morning and ran out and scared him away, but I know that won't last for long!

Row-to-Row Carpeting in the Garden...aka Mulching

Since the garden was put in in the last week, today was dubbed Mulching Day.

Where we live, the soil around here is mainly clay. Not the best soil to grow things in, as it turns into a brick in the heat of the summer.  If the summer is particularly dry, the clay soil cracks. Picturesque, but not great for the plants.
 
Over the last 4(maybe 5) years, we have been mulching between our garden rows. This adds nutrients to the soil as it breaks down, makes pathways that we can walk on to get to our plants even if it's just rained heavily, helps keep the weeds down, and over time has made our garden less clay-like and more gardening friendly.

Our mulch of choice has often been grass clippings from mowing our acreage. It's work, but I'd rather be mulching than weeding, any day! 

Our second choice, and what I used today, is old straw. This year, we are using what was donated to us from the church's Live Nativity last December.  They didn't need it and were looking for someone to take it, so they brought it on over last winter. Win!

I do not recommend hay. Hay will have a lot of seed in it, and you don't want to be introducing that to your garden.  

Here's the straw I had to work with:

Here's the garden, with complete Row-to-Row Carpeting:

I think I ended up using 12 bales of straw. I need to water later tonite...those boards I think I will leave there so as to help the sprinkler head to sit level when I am watering.

Quite a change from 2 months ago, eh?

Chick Update: May 17, 2012

As of this morning, the chick count is down to 11 chicks.

The last one to hatch had something wrong with it, as I mentioned in my last chick update. It could not sit up at all, even when I set it up. I think it was paralyzed or something.  Its feathers did not fluff out nearly as much as the other chicks and it was missing feathers as well. I put that one down on Monday, rather than have it suffer any longer.

The second death was the weaker, less coordinated of the two that have what I believe to be Wry Neck. I gave this chick vitamins a couple times a day, and dipped his beak in the water multiple times a day. Still, he didn't make it.  I had read about elaborate means of trying to save chicks, involving blending lettuce and other foods up and force feeding them....and I considered it, but decided it to be unwise in our situation. If these chicks work out for us as dual-purpose birds, I don't want to be breeding birds that I know have this gene--and especially not ones that aren't able to pull out of it on their own.  At any rate, I think this particular chick was having difficulty in swallowing, and I am not sure he would have been able to eat the food, even if I did force it on him.

At the end of the day, this leaves us with 11 chicks. The remaining chicks all look to be healthy and strong. The one that has Wry Neck (or whatever it might be) is fully able to eat, drink, and run around with the rest of them. For now, I am just going to let nature run its course and see how it does and whether it corrects itself. If it's a roo, we will likely have him for dinner once he's grown enough...same if it's a hen and we don't want her eggs to be mingled in with our other hatching eggs.

Time will tell.

What's Happening on Augsburger Farm? May 2012....Just a few pics from the Herb Garden

Bumble Bee working in the fully blooming Chive patch

Bumble Bee detail

Another Chives pic

Walking Onions detail, with Chives in the background

Sweet Pea among the Walking Onions

This last one is not in the herb garden, but in the yard nearby...

Peonies and Columbines

Chick Update: May 13, 2012

My daughter, Ivy, home from camping and *finally* I let her hold a chick! :)

We have had a total of 13 chicks hatch out between last Thursday and Saturday.  The last one to hatch is not able to move around, open its eyes, and looks like half of its feathers are missing. :( Unfortunately, it's the way it goes when raising animals: there will be animals that aren't perfect specimens like you might find at your local Tractor Supply. I think we may have to cull that one. :(

Of the 12 that are fluffy and running around, we have 2 that have what I believe to be Wry Neck.  These two chicks have their heads thrown back and it's like they are checking out the ceiling all the time. They *can* set their heads upright (one of them is better at this than the other) but are often seen resting their heads on their backs.  One of them I have observed righting itself and running to the feeder/waterer and eating/drinking. The other one, not so much; s/he is less coordinated and often topples backwards. I was afraid it was blind, but it's not. It's just terribly uncoordinated.

From what I have read, if this is Wry Neck, infant Poly-vi-sol drops without iron should help, as might vitamin E. We went to the store yesterday and I picked up a bottle of Poly-vi-sol. I put a few drops in the water, figuring it wouldn't hurt the other chicks to get some additional vitamins, and I tried to get a drop into the worst-off chick's beak this morning.

I am going to continue checking on the chicks, and dip the worse-off one's bill in the water/food frequently throughout the day.

Part of me wants to do all I can to save these chicks. But the other part of me feels that the best thing to do would be to let nature run its course. Survival of the fittest, and all that, you know?  These chicks are a heritage breed (Light Sussex) and they are bound to have their specific genetic weaknesses. I don't do the breed any favors by coddling a chick that will pass these genes on to the next generation, assuming we use these chicks as breeding stock for our future egg/meat chickens.

Here is a video of the chicks last night. Sorry it's so red: that's the heat lamp causing that.

One More Hatching Video

Thought I would share another video of chicks hatching. This was two of the ones that were hatching around the kids' bedtime. One of the kids and I are talking in the background. :)

Hatching Day 2: May 11, 2012

All day yesterday we had only one chick running around in the incubator. Two of the eggs had the first pip by the afternoon, but there was no more action until bedtime. Perhaps it was too noisy for them and they were too scared to come out?

At any rate, once the kids were put to bed, 2 more chicks hatched out.

When I got up this morning and went down to look, we had 7 chicks total! They are clamoring about in there pretty good, bumping into the other eggs, so I think I will prepare a box to move them into. I was going to wait another day, but these guys are crazy! As soon as they detect movement, they run over to the edge of the incubator where they see us looking in, all giddy and excited. It kind of reminds me of the movie, Independence Day, with all the people at the top of the skyscraper, staring up at the UFO's. LOL

I'll be back later with more pics! :)

Checking out the wall decoration, lol!

Hatching Day: May 10, 2012

Today, May 10, is Hatching Day on the calendar. Yesterday I heard a few peeps in the pantry, where the incubator is sitting. Today, I came downstairs to find one very talkative egg with one pip. Soon, we will have at least one Light Sussex chick!

I am using my oldest kid's iPod to take some video.
I will try to post some video through the course of the day. It takes forever to publish to Youtube and I'm afraid I will miss something going on in the incubator, lol! :)

In the meantime, here's a few teaser pics:

First Pip

Chick #1

Chick #1, pose 2

I'll be back later today with an update! :)


Update:
Here is the video of the little chick in the pics above, hatching. The noise is the background is us getting the kids around and out the door for school. :)

Amish farm kids don't have the allergy problems we do? Makes me go Hmmm.

I have often come across the supposition that farm kids don't have as many allergies, and that it's our modern pristine environment that is causing kids to have all of these allergy problems.  I haven't subscribed to that train of thought, though; having spent much of my childhood on a farm with plenty of dirt and animals, I still ended up with my allergy problems. I shudder to think of how they could be any worse than they got.

The thought that farm life leads to fewer allergies is based on an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2002(citation at the bottom) about children growing up on farms in Switzerland. These kids had fewer allergies, thus leading to the conclusion that a less-than-sterile environment was conducive to a better, more appropriate, immune response.

More recently, there was a study comparing Amish farm kids in the Indianapolis area, farm kids in Switzerland, and non-farm kids in Switzerland. Results showed that the Amish kids had far fewer issues with allergies and asthma than did the Swiss farm kids, who in turn had fewer than the non-farm Swiss kids.

The article I read online on Yahoo News touched on many possible reasons for the health differences between the three groups of kids. Some reasons mentioned include: limited gene pool in the Amish community, positive effects of drinking raw cow's milk, and more time spent outside and in barns due to the low-tech ways.

I would like to add to their speculation that the Amish may not be exposed to Genetically Modified crops, since they grow their own food and use the lower-tech ways. I could be wrong, but I highly doubt the Amish buy into the government-subsidized crops.  They probably don't have Roundup to deal with, either, in their surrounding air, or in their food, and thus their bodies don't have to deal with the repercussions from being around it. 

I would like to see further scientific research as to what exactly each of these population groups eat on a regular basis, and whether that might have some bearing on the health of the populations' immune systems.  My guess would be that the non-farm Swiss families may get some GMO's in their foods(yes, there are GMO's in Europe, but not as prevalent as in the US), the Swiss farms might eat less if they grow much of their food, and the Amish would have very little to none, and that may explain the results of this recent study.

What are your thoughts?