Memorial Day Work Weekend 2013

We had an "all hands on deck" work weekend that ended with just the right amount of fun! Check it out... 

It was a wet and soggy start to the weekend but the ducks were loving it! They even found their Canada Geese friends had come back for a visit.

Our tomatoes have grown A LOT since this post and were needing to get into the ground in the worst way! We finally had all the plastic mulch and drip tube that we needed to get them in.

The beds were made and the drip tube was laid.

 Then came the plastic mulch. We decided to give the red mulch a try since it is supposed to help tomatoes grow stronger stems and larger fruit.

Next came the tomatoes! They were so big they already needed to be supported with the strings and clips!! On the outside edges we will be adding in some herbs and maybe hot peppers.

The farm stand got a fresh coat of paint, inside and out!

We are still working on the trim but it's looking pretty good.

Here is a view of the inside, honey, maple syrup and pastured eggs for sale each and every day until we start adding some produce as the season progresses. Check out our For Sale tab above for more info.

We also spent some time moving this low tunnel greenhouse which we constructed last fall as an extension to the winter chicken coop. We decided to use it to plant the peppers in. That would allow us to have more space in the high tunnels for tomatoes and cukes.

The broiler chickens also got moved to pasture this weekend. Here they are all snuggled together in one corner... not sure how any one bird will get to the water except by walking on the others??? Crazy birds!

 And finally came the fun! After a family barbecue and dessert we waited for dark and then the fireworks!! Jason our resident fireworks expert brought a Chinese lantern. It was a blast to watch it float really high and then slowly back down.

Our family firework experts are becoming quite good at putting on a great show! Had some amazing fireworks right in our back yard! 

 Can't wait until the 4th of July for the best firework show yet!

Moving Day for the Pullets

The day has come to move our new laying hens on to pasture! The new chicken tractor is ready and so are the pullets! We tested a new moving method this time since we have so many birds (83 to be exact). The back of the pick up truck with a piece of the broiler pen as the top worked pretty good. They really had too much space and were pretty jumpy in there...

 Once we got them moved in they seemed to adjust really quickly! On a sunny day like this one they seem to stay really close to the coop and venture out more when the sun is going down.

Our laying hens were also moved  to the pasture area from their winter home across the street. They are loving the new grass!

They found a compost pile we had dumped in the field and totally tore that thing apart! Guessing there was lots of tasty worms in there!

We wrapped the electric netting around the old hay rake... hoping they take to using it as a roost so we can snap a pic :-)

The extra electric netting we purchased this year gives us a much larger area for the hens to graze. It reaches from the woods line all the way to the road. Right now we have a divider fence between the new pullets and the older hens so that they can get use to each other. Soon we will remove the divider and let them hang out together. Our plan is to eventually use only the new chicken tractor/coop to hold all the laying hens. 

Early Spring Update 2013

Things are really picking up now on the farm! Here is a few of the things we've been up to...

Our newest laying hens are really getting too big for our small brooding coop and their new home is just about done! Here are a couple of photo's...

We still need to add roosts and egg boxes but it's looking really good!

It has been very dry so far this spring but because the ducks love the water soooooo much we usually fill the turtle pool once a day for them to splash and play in. They are so fun to watch!

Our rhubarb is just getting going, we hope to have a bumper crop this year!

Our tomato seedlings have just been transplanted into large soil blocks. We are keeping the in the green house with an extra layer or two of row covering over them at night just in case. 

Outside we have lettuce, broccoli, and cabbage in. We are using row covers on these also, mostly to keep away those pesky cabbage loopers.

Our first batch of broiler chickens have arrived. Also ordered three guinea hens to help keep the tick population down.

2013 Maple Syrup Is Ready!

We have been busy the last few weeks boiling sap and bottling syrup and now have some delicious syrup for sale! You can check out our For Sale tab above for prices and more info.

Winter Update: New GVF Babies Arrive

 Things are pretty slow right now at the farm. We have our vegetable seeds ordered and are waiting their arrival. Some of the guys have been working on our sawmill but quickly came to realize that frozen logs do not cut well! We are also about to start tapping trees for this years maple syrup run. We are praying that it is a great year for sap so that we have enough syrup to sell in our farm stand all season.

 Most of the excitement right now is coming from our order of 100 Rhode Island Red chicks! We are trying to keep ahead of the demand for our pastured eggs come this summer. Right now we are just barely keeping up! We ordered them to arrive at the start of February so that they would be laying in June.

They are so cute and fun to watch at this age! They are living in a large box in the house for now but will be headed to a coop once a few more of their feathers come in. Then once the snow is gone and the grass is in we will move them to the chicken tractor.  The kids are loving having them inside the house!

 We will most likely add another 50 chicks in the summer so we will end up with a grand total of 200. We hope to be able to offer our eggs at a local natural food store! Stay tuned!