Another full, productive month around the farm! I love this time of year because signs of new life pop up everywhere you look. Here’s what we accomplished in March:
+ Our biggest project of the month was the construction of the Critterfence! We used six foot T-posts as the stakes and since we wanted to have three exits, my boys dug post holes for me and then filled with concrete for the gates. I’m so happy to have the chickens and the deer finally away from all of the plants and trees.
+ The pigs went out to pasture! Fred and Ethel are like an old married couple, but it was time to separate them as she (hopefully!) gets closer to delivery and will need increased feed. Fortunately, the transition was painless and they were so gosh darn adorable. If you haven’t seen a pig zoomie around a paddock in complete excitement and happiness, you’re missing out.
+ I removed sod to create a new bed for our potatoes this year. Then we dug trenches (I was unhappy with the straw results last year, so we’re returning to the trench method) and whew, what a workout! All clay and rocks, so I have a lot of amending and compost adding in my future.
+ We had a truck full of compost delivered. I’m back with my beloved Gorilla wheelbarrow, making trip after trip after trip.
+ I mucked out the chicken coops – one of my least favorite jobs, but I had a full compost pile in just two days!
+ I direct seeded lettuce and beets. I also started broccoli, cabbage, kale and brussels sprouts seeds. In other seedling news, I potted up the marigolds and tomatoes into bigger pots. I made a mistake and ordered 4″ pots instead of something smaller, so we are definitely crammed under the grow lights right now.
+ We lost Henny Penny to a surprise fox attack. Henny Penny was one of the hens from our first year and she was very special to us. She survived a hawk attack, sustaining an injury that left her blind in one eye. She was a fighter and we rehabilitated her and eventually returned her back to the flock. She was a favorite and we swear she knew her name and came when called. Anyway, one day we noticed the detritus of an attack and after taking stock of the hens, realized that it was Henny Penny. We were saddened but comforted that she probably didn’t even see it coming.
+ The first batch of broilers arrived! The new hens arrived two days later with an unfortunate delay in shipping. The poor things looked pretty weak when they arrived and we lost five within the first few days. I’m really trying to beef up my flock this year, so we decided to supplement with more chicks from Tractor Supply. Our current girls are exclusively Novogens, but we changed it up and bought eight Black Sex Links. I’m excited to add a little variety to the crew.
+ I transplanted six blueberry bushes from one part of the garden into another. I also pulled out three dead cherry trees so I can use the space to plant something new.
+ And surprise! Our livestock guardian puppy arrived at the farm on the 26th. I’m overwhelmed and nervous about adding him to the mix and training him correctly, but I’m excited to have his added layer of protection for our animals. His name is Samson.
I didn’t know you were getting a puppy! Welcome Samson and I’m sorry for the lost of the chickens
*loss
We’ve been considering a livestock guardian dog for awhile now and couldn’t resist when friends of ours had puppies for sale! Definitely a new adventure.
Congrats on the LG pup. Good, patient training is so import for working dogs. The flowers are absolutely gorgous!
Thanks! We have a lot of work ahead of us – good thing he’s so darn cute!