Showing posts with label mulch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mulch. Show all posts

Sunday, 1 May 2016

Week #17 - A busy week!


As we head into May, we are ramping up for our busiest time of year. This week was a busy one! 


We started the week with a bang when Patty, the pig gave birth to eight healthy piglets. As a first time mom, we weren't sure how she would do, but she did great! The piglets have almost doubled their weight in 6 days and are doing very well. Patty is a very attentive mother and we are planning on moving the crew outside to pasture shortly. 

This week we also rounded up some lovely new chicks from a lady near Dugald. While we are hatching our own, I wanted to explore a few new breeds and bring some new genetics into our flock. Looking forward to watching these little ones grow! 


Our third arrival this week, was Oliver! At a week and a half, he is a strapping young fellow. He and his twin sister are half Nubian/half Alpine. Their mother was struggling to feed both the twins so their owner decided to sell Oliver. We are bottle feeding him of course so back to regular feeding times we go! 



At the end of the week, we managed to get most of our field prep done. We plant in black, biodegradable plastic mulch which heats the soil, traps moisture (there is a drip tape hose running underneath) and keeps weeds away. This weekend we put the mulch down on both fields and smoothed, shovelled and hoed the rows to be sure that all are even and secure. We even got a few of our kozy koats filled up - we put our tomatoes in these waterfilled mini-shelters to give them an early head start. 

Just talking about the week leaves me satisfied and tired... definitely will sleep well! Sweet dreams!

Sunday, 3 May 2015

Please Mum, it's time to play!


FFF Photo a Day - Day 123


It was a busy weekend of seeding potatoes, kale and swiss chard. 

This afternoon, Avery had had enough of us ignoring her and decided she was going to insist. A 125 llb dog sitting in the middle of your seeding area, tends to interrupt you! So.... we went and played! 

Thursday, 9 April 2015

Potato salad anyone?!

FFF Photo a Day - Day 99

Our seed potatoes arrived today (Thanks Bruce!). 

We plant our potatoes into rows of black plastic mulch. This serves to heat up the soil, keep weeds down, and moisture from evaporating. 

With the stretch of warm weather that is expected this weekend, we are hoping that we will be able to lay our mulch soon!