Come Get Some Yummies!

My own brand of chicken treats is now available in my Etsy shop!  That's treats for chickens, not treats made of chicken. No chickens were harmed in the making of these treats. My own chickens absolutely love them. See them here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/RockwellDesigns

Happy Mother's Day

I hope everyone had a good day.  Lots of fun stuff today. Started planting in my new garden beds: swiss chard, radishes, snow peas, cucumbers and romaine.

As you can see from my uber fancy twine and dowel divided sections, I'm using the basic principles from Square Foot Gardening. To match my fancy twine, I added strips cut from a milk jug for my plant identifiers. I know, it doesn't get any more uptown than this, does it? I will spare no expense for my garden.

I especially like the circle one from the round indent on the side of the jug. Always wondered what this was for. Now I know.

I've been wanting to start composting since we started chicken farming, as my father-in-law calls it. I figure we really should do something with all this chicken poop, other than just tossing it in the field. I tried just dumping it in a pile with some grass clippings, but that turned out to be a bad idea. The chickens thought I put it there for them to scratch through to dig for worms so it just ended up spread out instead of the rotting pile I intended it to be. So much for that lazy plan. I think I may just be one of the laziest people I know and this occasionally works for me....but not this time.

I've thought about different ways to make a compost bin, from wire fencing, pallets, 55 gallon drum and even checked out the $100 plastic ones. Well OK, I didn't actually consider buying one of those things. They look nice and no offense to anyone who has one...but c'mon a hundred bucks for a plastic barrel?  I don't think so. 

I finally decided last night on using a trash can. This morning I took a trash can from the garage we were using for wood scraps and drew circles with a marker all over it where I wanted the holes. My son, Trenton, used a  drill and 1" hole bit to make the holes and wa-la, a compost bin was born.  Thanks Trent!

I filled the bottom foot or so with chicken poop, brown dried grass clippings, mulched leaves, a bit of water and stirred it up with a small pitchforky thing I bought at a yard sale last year. I'm always picking up unusual things at yard sales that I just know I'm gonna use some day (gotta love those yard sales) and I'm so happy when they actually prove to be needed.  I did need to add a handle but luckily I was able to find one that I think came off a paint roller. One little screw and I was in business. I decided to put it by the pine tree near the chicken coop.

I 

I think I'll use a coffee can until I can find a cute container to leave on the counter for the veggie material, coffee grounds, tea bags, eggs shells and such. Hopefully I can train everyone in the house (including myself) to remember to put their compostable garbage in the can and if I can remember to take it out with me when I go out to the coop every day, this might just work.

Got some plants and seeds in the garden - made a composter - planted 24 crowns of asparagus and 3 rhubarb roots - then chicken and homemade noodles for dinner topped off with a piece of toast spread with dandelion jelly and sprinkled with cinnamon for desert. Hmmm....I think the day went quite well.

The Beginning

This past year has been a new beginning of sorts for me and I've decided to document it in bits and pieces along the way.

Last Spring I started raising chickens; something I decided to do on a whim after reading a bit it in a book. I guess I just thought it sounded fun. Happily, this turned out to be true. I've enjoyed it every step of the way and haven't regretted it for a moment. My girls (hens) are much more than just little egg machines as I originally thought of chickens. They're more like pets and, oddly enough, family members. They all have names and I love them.

This year I started dabbling in old-fashioned domestic practices, self-sufficiency and general homesteading. I've found that simple things, such as making our own butter, vanilla extract, home-made jam,  jelly and laundry detergent are rewarding and soul-enriching experiences that I can't seem to get enough of.

I have been reading about home canning this week and made a batch of strawberry jelly. It turned out nice. Yesterday I made dandelion jelly, which is quite pretty and delicious with a honey flavor. Rhubarb is the next jelly I want to make when I can get it. It doesn't seem to be easily found in stores and no one I know has any plants.

Today my family built a raised garden bed and tomorrow I'll be planting seeds and some transplants I started in the house a few weeks ago. Over the winter, I've been reading Square Foot Gardening and am looking forward to putting the information to use.

I don't know where all this is leading me, and I guess it doesn't matter. What I do know is it's fun and it just feels right.