Author Topic: 2020 Greenbean's Goals & Garden  (Read 3989 times)

8greenbeans

Re: 2020 Greenbean's Goals & Garden
« Reply #15 on: January 27, 2020, 10:13:11 PM »
Yay! We finished the nesting boxes. I was planning on making more of a windbreak when MrBeans was at work but he said tonight that we need to add more of a windbreak. So at least we are on the same page ;-)

Spread 3 more wagons full of chips on the muddiest parts of the outside walkways, spread composted manure in the potato bins, and did a bit of grocery/prep shopping.

USMC Veteran, LEO Mama
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8 Beans
9 GrandBeans + 1 on the way
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8greenbeans

Re: 2020 Greenbean's Goals & Garden
« Reply #16 on: January 28, 2020, 11:04:28 PM »
Well, one of our female rabbits died. Last night after we moved them everyone seemed happy & content. Had supper & went back out to see how they were. One female was laying down while others hopped on her. Palpated all around and wound up moving her to a nesting box full of hay. This morning, I couldn't tell which female had been lying down. All were hopping around, eating, drinking, and seemingly content. Went out at lunch and there she was lying down, dead. Still somewhat warm and no rigor yet. She had 7 babies half developed 😭
Autopsied her but found nothing unusual at all. No injuries or bites, organs were perfect, no trauma (bruising) to the flesh. A sad mystery.

Other than that I got some beans bottled up, an herb order made, and more greens sown in the greenhouse. MrBeans was getting worried about my shoulder hurting so much so asked me to take a day off from spreading wood chips, which meant no spreading composting hay or composted manure either *sigh* BUT my shoulder feels better!

USMC Veteran, LEO Mama
Navy MIL, USAF Vet Mama
Army Daughter
8 Beans
9 GrandBeans + 1 on the way
3 Beans-in-law, 3 Future-in-laws
1 MrBeans

Country Singer

Re: 2020 Greenbean's Goals & Garden
« Reply #17 on: January 28, 2020, 11:24:28 PM »
Well, one of our female rabbits died.

There for a second I thought there was going to be a ninth green bean!   ;D
“Our country demands all our strength, all our energies. To resist the powerful combination now forming against us will require every man at his place.
If victorious, we will have everything to hope for in the future. If defeated, nothing will be left for us to live for.”

8greenbeans

Re: 2020 Greenbean's Goals & Garden
« Reply #18 on: January 28, 2020, 11:28:15 PM »
Well, one of our female rabbits died.

There for a second I thought there was going to be a ninth green bean!   ;D

😂😂😂
MrBeans might have had a few questions if that were the case!

USMC Veteran, LEO Mama
Navy MIL, USAF Vet Mama
Army Daughter
8 Beans
9 GrandBeans + 1 on the way
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8greenbeans

Re: 2020 Greenbean's Goals & Garden
« Reply #19 on: February 07, 2020, 09:10:33 AM »
Feel like I've lived in the car this week but I have some photos of things accomplished outside. The deluge yesterday helped me see where I need to do a little fill-in and where my low spots are in the pasture so that I don't put tractors in those spots.

The last photo is the ducks jealous of the chickens lol along with an example of one of the spots that needs more chips.

Got the area level for putting the water tote. I am thinking I want to put an old iron table frame on top of the pallet by the pen door, then the tote on top of that. As I want the water to have enough elevation to go through the whole system I am setting up. But MrBeans isn't sure the table frame will hold the weight of a full tote. So *might* be rethinking that. Input appreciated!

The walk area from the pad to the building is much more level now. Dad can walk on that a lot more steadily and is enjoying going out there a lot more now.

I'm not all that thrilled with the buck tractor. Likely will wind up building a better one after the grow out and hatching tractors are built. Then I'll use this one as a hospital or broody breaker. I need to get these moved into the pasture after all the rain dies down.

Oh, and I have sprouts in the greenhouse to go along with the lettuce seedlings... Cabbage, parsley, lemon balm, and a catnip plant coming back to life. I'm very impatient so it was a great relief to see these tiny little sprouts pop up!
« Last Edit: February 07, 2020, 09:25:31 AM by 8greenbeans »

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8greenbeans

Re: 2020 Greenbean's Goals & Garden
« Reply #20 on: March 23, 2020, 12:54:21 PM »
That goal to take more photos and such isn't coming to pass lol I'm just staying so busy that I forget to take photos but I'm still going to work on it.

So here are the updates since my last post and hopefully I will download a few photos that have been taken since it is raining again.

One mama bunny kindled 7 kits. The other mama kindled 2 - both died .... we are thinking because they kindled a week apart and used the same nest that they were suffocated by the older baby buns. I've already decided on some modifications to be done to the tractors so that I may check on the kits more easily. So far the kits are doing great! They are weighing in at an average of 1 1/4 pounds each now.

Two of the three goats kidded a total of 3 kids. Two boys and one girl. The girl wandered outside in the rain and died of hypothermia in the middle of the night before she was even 24 hours old. The as yet unnamed boy (we are narrowing it down) had a suspected broken leg - thankfully not broken, but is injured and requires hot compress treatment multiple times a day. Likely mom or an auntie stepped on him.... I lean toward mom cause she has major attention span issues. He is growing well and hobbling across the field now where before he wouldn't go but a few steps prior to treatments. The other boy's mom is named Blue. So he was named Blue's Clue.
We decided to use the backyard as a second pasture temporarily. It's been interesting watching the goats - they seem a little put out in spite of the plethora of new eatin' lol
The back yard and a little "meadow" between our place and the neighbor's (but on our side of the fence) is going to be the area for the hatchling and rabbit tractors. I want to keep them touching the ground where at all possible but also keep goats from climbing on them and keep our backyard from becoming too poopy. Rabbit pellets are easy to shovel up so we will be giving them a shot in the backyard.

One turkey hen made a nest and has 5 eggs in it so far. We are going to let her attempt to hatch a set of eggs while we also incubate the other hen's eggs. Same with ducks - one duck made a nest inside their building while one made one outside in the corner. The others lay willy nilly so we collect their eggs and leave the nests alone. The chickens are laying reliably - now to pick which roosters get to live....

This week we get the wood for the raised beds. We were put in touch with a sawmill so we are picking up their "ends" (the first & last cut of a tree where one side is rounded). Then I can finally transplant a bunch of my seedlings!
I'm mostly happy with my greenhouse.... all except the ants that made a home in my huge pots (18+ gallon pots) that I have been growing my fig tree, lettuces and spinach in ... they left my banana plant alone for some reason but they are doing a number on the other stuff. All of this in spite of using DE. So very frustrating.
Let's see, I made a planting calendar at the beginning of the year and am following that this year to help keep things straight. So far, I've sown these seeds: two types of cabbage, parsley, lemon balm, three types of onions, echinacea, broccoli, cauliflower, beets, marjoram, lavender, oregano, potatoes, elderberry, hawthorne, calendula, peppers (hot and sweet), tomatoes, cilantro, eggplant, lobelia, peas, sage, and valerian. I've got a lot more to get sown in the next few days. If for some reason I can't get transplants outside, then I'll be forced to pot them up before they get quite entangled.

MrBeans put a hitch on the lawnmower so that we can put a trailer on it to make lots of jobs easier on my shoulder.

I guess that's about it for now.

USMC Veteran, LEO Mama
Navy MIL, USAF Vet Mama
Army Daughter
8 Beans
9 GrandBeans + 1 on the way
3 Beans-in-law, 3 Future-in-laws
1 MrBeans

8greenbeans

Re: 2020 Greenbean's Goals & Garden
« Reply #21 on: March 27, 2020, 12:12:38 PM »
We finally got the wood for the raised beds yesterday! I'm excited and hope to get a little bit started today. MrBeans shoulder hurts a lot so he's not very keen on picking up these slabs.
Turns out our sawmill fella is a beekeeper so we had lots in common.

Got more of the barnyard cleaned up and part of one outbuilding. The new outbuilding is still well organized and clean thankfully.

Finally received the incubator so have 3 turkey eggs and 38 duck eggs setting. There are 9 turkey eggs & 18 duck eggs in nests. I'd prefer some to be hatched and raised by mamas.

More seeds sown yesterday and more to go in today. I had to add a "leaf" to my greenhouse shelves/work bench just to hold the seed trays.

Photos of the baby buns with mamas munching on greens and baby boy goat (whom I think we've decided to call Hershey) in my arms at the vet getting his injury looked at.

USMC Veteran, LEO Mama
Navy MIL, USAF Vet Mama
Army Daughter
8 Beans
9 GrandBeans + 1 on the way
3 Beans-in-law, 3 Future-in-laws
1 MrBeans

Abigayle

Re: 2020 Greenbean's Goals & Garden
« Reply #22 on: March 29, 2020, 08:25:04 PM »
I want to try getting some ducks that are not flighted, meat ducks, but keep some to raise more.  If we put a low fence around the orchard, the ducks could "graze" a bit.  Next, we would put a kiddie pool out next to the first fruit tree.  When the ducks turned it into compost tea, we dump it at that fruit tree, move the pool to the next fruit Tree....repeat.  Right now, Thor has put fishing line on three levels (doubled) on six foot t posts.  The deer, not having the greatest vision, have respected it so far.  We do the soap and hair thing also, but since we are not getting hair cuts....just soap...  I have noticed that while adding worm casting from the worm farm, that I have a lot more worms in the raised beds.  They wintered over very well.  Thinking of all of you and feeling very isolated, since we will have been in a month on Tues.  Wish others were closer, as I know we would love to share, in person, what we have worked so hard to create....stay safe!

Starlady

Re: 2020 Greenbean's Goals & Garden
« Reply #23 on: March 29, 2020, 09:00:55 PM »
Abigayle, MOST domestic type ducks cannot fly.  Mallards and Call Ducks can but they are too small to raise for meat.  When you start looking go for the medium and up sizes - just about everything you've heard of is in that group.   
 
If you've had duck in a restaurant, it was PEKIN (the breed) and probably fixed as PEKING Duck (the common Chinese dish) and they are a bit more fatty than any other duck.  ALL the rest are pretty lean unless you stuff 'em with corn and they will get fatty and have health issues (just like a chicken).  If you like dark meat chicken you will most likely like duck (that's my unofficial survey of people who have tried it) and duck is ALL dark meat!   I have enjoyed my excess Anconas over the years, they are pretty tasty but was super impressed when I tried some excess Jumbo Pekins I raised last spring.  Fed on regular feed, they were not as greasy as some store bought but definitely a bit more than any other domestic breed I've tried.  I had enough from 2 to save the melted fat for a batch of soap (something to consider for bad times).  I found the Jumbo Pekin more tender at 3 months than the Ancona and certainly the Jumbos have much more meat at the same age, giving you more meat for less work - but they do chow down!  Jumbos are about 15-20% larger than regular Pekins, depending on who you believe.  Ducky Betts and his girls are at LEAST 25% bigger.  But they are horrible parents, rarely go broody, whereas the Anconas are pretty good hatching and raising babies.  Ducks also will lay well into years 8 & 9, chickens only put out decently till 3 yrs.  And the eggs are incomparable in baked good.

And please excuse me if you already knew this,  I just can't pass up a chance to expound on their wonders, lol!
"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." Albert Einstein

Abigayle

Re: 2020 Greenbean's Goals & Garden
« Reply #24 on: March 29, 2020, 09:35:06 PM »
Star Lady, I have been thinking along the same lines that you are suggesting...We love dark meat, and frankly, I am getting tired of chicken, no matter how many ways I fix it.  I would render the grease and can it for a rainy day.  We had a few ducks years ago and the eggs were great.  Our hens are two years old and slowing down a little, even though we never did anything to increase their laying, knowing they would just lay so many in a lifetime. I would like to hatch out my own, because I love the imprinting, when you are the first thing they see...  I always felt like I needed a parade permit, with my newly hatched friends following me around the yard.  As usual, all good suggestions, thank you!

 

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