Meet Theodore: Our Newest Addition to the Farm

We picked up a young goat buckling today. He is 6 weeks old, and cute as a button. My daughter has fallen in love with him, as you can see in the video. We have high hopes for this little guy as we venture down a path we have never taken before.

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Planting Tomatoes: Experiment in Fertilizer Types

I decided to go ahead and plant some tomatoes. Ask 10 gardeners what they feel the best fertilizer is and you are likely to get 11 answers. I am going to compare worm castings to fish fertilizer. This is the beginning of the test.

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First Hive Split 2017

I finally got larvae in some queen cells, so I made our first hive split of the year.

https://youtu.be/AMvuv0JwlF8%20

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Queen Cell Inspection to Check for Spring Hive Splits

I had the opportunity to check my hives. I wanted to check on the queen cells I found in there during my last inspection. I want to use those frames to make spring splits. It’s still a bit early here, but the weather is up and down, and I don’t want to miss the chance.

 

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Propagating/Rooting Grapes and Muscadines

We decided to attempt a rooting of grapes and muscadines.  I probably should have done this in the fall, but well, I didn’t. I figure since neither have leafed out yet, I might as well give it a go. After all, if it fails, I am not really out anything but time. I will post an update later to see how things go.

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The Importance of Knowing Your Community

Get to know your community. I had occasion to meet someone I didn’t know before, and he is a great fella. The sad thing is, he has lived at the end of my road for a year. I never knew he was there. I can make all the excuses I like, but the fact is, I did a poor job of knowing who is living in my own rural community. I ended up helping him take down some old structures, and I came home with a gold mine in lumber. Tomorrow, I am going to help him get some stumps out. So, while being cautious is a good thing, knowing your community and being a part of it is a good thing as well. Keep that in mind.

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Honeybee Orientation Flights

I decided to walk back and watch the hives today for activity. We have had some lousy weather lately. so it was nice to see the bees out and about.

 

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Baby Chicks Day Two and a Quick Intro to the Other Animals on the Homestead

Earlier in the week, I built a new brooder box for chicks. You can see that post HERE. I built it big, probably bigger than needed, but I wanted plenty of room to grow. I bought a batch of chicks, and got to put the brooder to use.

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Planting Bare Root Trees

I spent a good portion of the last two days planting bare root trees. I had never ordered bare root trees before, so this was a bit of an experience. I planted several fruit trees, including peaches, plums, nectarines, apples, blackberries, raspberries, apricot, and persimmon. I also planted some trees for the beauty of them, including tulip poplar, rose of Sharon, and hummingbird vine. Just for kicks, I planted a few English walnuts… after all, who doesn’t love walnuts? Overall, planting bare root trees proved to be a huge savings financially, as long as they all take. We have high hopes.

For those who are not familiar, bare root trees are simply trees that are removed from soil during dormancy and kept moist. You can purchase them at a savings and have them shipped to you. I purchased these from theusanursery.com and was not disappointed. The trick here is you are under a pretty strict time schedule when ordering trees this way.

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Ant Free Beehive Stand Build

As you may know, I HATE ants. I don’t just hate them a little bit, I despise them. They completely destroyed my hives when I was starting out, so I build some hive stands to keep them out. You can take a look at that post HERE. Here is a quick how-to on how I build these, as I built another today. Continue reading

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