Catching Up

I let this blog lapse last year. I will try to catch up.

Currently we are in the process of completing the greenhouse that we had started. I've had all the materials but completing the top of the geodesic has been problematic as this is 14 feet high and my husband and I realized that we are height challenged!

So we're diving in this next Monday to get this completed and have a place to start all of our seedlings.

We're also looking at re-using what used to be a playhouse on stilts. This was here prior to our buying the place and it is too old to be safe for any children- but we're looking at ways to move it to the ground and the back of the property to make it into a chicken coop.

We had a setback last year when Opal (our first goat) died- She wasn't young when we got her, however she quickly became a member of the family. This was a painful time for all of us as we looked forward to visiting with her first thing in the morning.

Along a positive note: We currently have two goats- Mable and Mush and they are due to kid, one the last week of March and one the first week of April. They are young and energetic and have distinct personalities. I have to admit- when we were looking for additional goats- we used Opal as the 'rule of thumb' as we missed her so much.

We're looking at making our planting garden a little closer together- we were using double row areas with 3 1/2 foot spaces between them. This was so we could put a wheel barrow thru the areas. However I realized that I never really needed to use the wheelbarrows down the rows as the rows are only 30 feet long. So we are preparing the rows with only 2 feet in between. This will allow us to get more plants in- currently we're looking at putting in as our main garden 12 double rows of 30 feet each. We still have several other areas for gardening- for herbs, asparagus and strawberries.

More later with pictures to follow

Sandra

Picture time

Not a very good picture- but this is the one I have so far-

I would like to introduce Opal to everyone

She loves long leisurely walks in the yard, honeysuckle, raspberries, roses, apples, parsley and lavender, and being scratched behind her ears.
Opal doesn't like us going inside, dogs barking, or amateurs milking her.

Opal- the latest addition to our garden area

We are having a great time with learning about goats. Opal is a wonderful addition. I thought that we were going to be making cheese- but that will be down the road. Opal doesn't seem to have the patience for training us in milking! We haven't completely given up yet- but if I don't get the hang of it soon, she will have dried up for the season. However, beside being great company, she is doing a great job of trimming the shoots that I have to keep trimming around the trees.

I thought that there would be concerns with letting her freely graze while I planted more things in the gardens. However, the only thing that tempted her was the corn seeds. I've seen her take a nibble or two from the grape vines and a couple of herbs but she seems much more intent on the fruit tree shoots- which works out perfect for me. I will be posting a picture of her soon.

The only one that seems to not be thrilled with Opal is our indoor dog, Chacita, she keeps getting head butted whenever she gets too close to Opal.

My next goal is to build a milk stand- in talking to Opal's previously family- I will have to make one that is basically just a stand slightly above ground. It was the only way that they were able to milk her.

Update

  I'm new to blogging so bear with me please:
  We've had a very mild spring here and frost dates that have been much later than the last few years. Due to this, my garden has had a slow start.  We're finally able to have more things planted- I will update as I can.
   We had a new addition to are little garden.  I acquired a beautiful nubian goat name Opal- we have been amazed with how friendly and gentle she is. I'm hoping to learn how to make cheese.

here's a diagram of our garden areas- it is also a work in progress- so I will update as I have time.

Birthing a new garden

My focus is to provide nuitritious, home grown produce to the local and surrounding areas- I am focusing on the SPIN farming method.

I've been busy starting up my garden- I'm focusing on edibles from micro greens to vegetables to herbs. These will all be pesticide free and through organic means only. I'm also focusing on as many heirloom varieties as I can locate.
Today I started the peas and the onions- it's still several weeks before the frost date- so most of the work I'm doing is preparing the garden. I have been also working on starting seeds for transplant later.

As this is a work in progress- I will be adding content and pictures as I go.