Country Living, Having More...

  There is a lot to know when it comes to raising chickens.  I would have to say, for the last three years that we have had chickens.  We have probably learned something new each year.   First off:  (1) They've got to be the same age at the same time.   Second: (2) They do not like extreme heat any extreme temperatures of weather (hot or cold).  So there are measures that you have to take for that.     Thirdly: (3)...

  This past weekend Papa went to town building our coop for our chickens. He built this coop off of a layout that he designed himself! Really:) He looked at some of the dynamics of other designs out there and then combined there measurements for what would work for our space, layout, and number of chickens. I am completely fascinated by his work. I have never seen anything like this. I mean, just to watch him calculate the measurements...

I just wanted to take a moment to let our followers know that we have got LOTS that is going on over in our little part of the world and we want YOU to be in on it:)  We've got several new posts that we will be adding to the blog which will correspond with the dates of the events as they have happened.  So when you see a new post, read on, and even go back a little.  There's a lot of fun things that we have to share with you. ...

So here's what we've got going on today!  If you look back at yesterday's post you can see that Don has gotten five of the unplanted rows mounded up.  Today, he's measuring and cutting plastic and laying down the soaker hose (also known as "drip tape).  Now before he puts the plastic down over the tape, he's got to cut holes into the plastic.  Why?  Well, that's where the plants are going to go in at.  After...

  We have had a lot going on these past few days...and I didn't realize that I had not been posting as we had been going all.  So stayed tuned as we be putting up a lot of brand new posts of brand new pics of all that is new with us!    With that being said, here's what's happening around here today.  Okay, I have got to start with the little ones first... we've got two brand new guinea hens!  You read that right,...

Our pear trees are budding...our pear trees are budding!  And we are so excited!  I mean, really.  The big deal for us is that seeing buds this spring means that we will have pears (nice-sized pears) in the next year or so.  For now, the trees will probably bear, a smaller variety until the tree(s) get a bit taller and stronger.   Happy Planting Everyon...

Our plowman is back!  And just like I promised you, he wasn't leaving the ground the way that he left it once it was "super plowed".  That was just time to give it, for everything to sort of "settle"  before he came back to smooth it out.  But he's back now y'all and we've got all of the nutrients every which way and the soil composition is in stellar postion thanks to a little bit of timing and the perfect plowing.  Thanks...

      So our plowman came by today and did a real job on this here garden.  He used a device on his plow that basically took all of the rich soil that was near the bottom and brought it to the top and took all of the finer dirt that was on the top and brought it back down to the bottom.  But don't worry, he won't be leaving it like this:)  He will be back to even it out.   Happy Gardening to You! -The...

It is that time again.  You guessed it, right.  It's time to plow up the garden.  Winter is passed (well mostly) and we're getting ready to get things started here.  It's been a long drawn out cold and we all know that things don't grow when everything's cold and solid.  So it's time to have the ground broken up & that's what you see here.  Everything that was old is being dug up and we're getting...

One key component that needs to be addressed in planning your garden is the soil.  The right kind of soil (and it's acidity level) can make all of the difference between plants that grow and the ones that die.  I want to take the time now to address the issue of the acidity levels and what many of us are plague with in the Carolinas and that is clay.   I saw this article today on About.com.  It touches on some of the bases...

It's that time again!  After a summer marked by erradict heat and changes in the weather the fall and early winter have been a quiet, quiet season in our garden.  It is now time to start pulling up anything and everything that's been left over from the fall, and plow the garden to prepare for spring & summer planting. Today, Papa went out to the garden to find that there were still some herbs trying to make...