Some Pictures - This is all I could upload tonight.

Some of this year's harvest

So this calf and it's pal think the chicken coop might be a good place to get out of the sun.

A Rhode Island Red, Delaware, Plymouth Rock and Mel to the right.

Mel when he was Amelia.  They love hanging out around the tractor shed.

Ronny planting his hay nursery with hay from East Texas.

Yes! We Are Still Here!

I can't believe it has been so long since I posted on the blog.  Needless to say, farming is work especially when you work!  The summer has been a tough one with a major grasshopper invasion that isn't quite over and moderate drought conditions.  We are praying that Hurricane Miriam and the cold front have a nice collision tomorrow and bring some much needed rain. 

One of my favorite finds this month is this website.  It is a site for farm girls and has been fantastic.  I joined and can't wait to get started on earning badges.  Sort of like girls scouts but we do things that help us learn more about all kinds of things related to farming and so forth.  I am looking forward to learning more about the organization.

Garden

The garden was definitely a favorite place for the grasshoppers and I waged a valiant war against them.  Of course, we strive to be organic and natural with minimal pesticide use.  I am happy to say that even though, I lost more than half my crops, we only used pesticide on the few surviving pumpkin plants.  They will be ornamental for us and I refused to let the nasty buggers have them all.  I lost all my peaches, cilantro, cucumbers, corn, beans , watermelon, and eventually my onions to hoppers.  They got the purple hull peas after we got a good couple of pickings.  We could have gotten so many more but did at least get 12 quarts.

The best crops were figs, lettuce, some spinach, radishes, onions (until the hoppers discovered them), patty pan squash, zucchini squash, peppers, cantaloupe, and okra.  The okra is still producing pretty well despite being punished by ants and grasshoppers.  The cherry tomatoes have done fairly well all season but none of the other tomatoes survived the pests.  The figs were outstanding.  I probably picked over 100 pounds just off my mature tree.  Despite being chewed to pieces at the top by the grasshoppers, the tree is surviving well in the lower branches and putting out more fruit.  I am working to keep the hoppers off of it.  We also planted 4 small fig trees this spring and look forward to them producing as well.  I made fig newtons, fig honey orange jam, strawberry fig jam, peach fig with thyme jam, and my favorite was fresh fig pound cake. 

Thankfully, the grasshoppers have shown no interest in strawberry and blackberry plants.  Those have been our biggest investment and we hope for a good crop next year.  We are very happy that they have survived the summer. 

We used Neem Oil, garlic spray, Garrett juice, and NoLo bait on the garden and fig trees.  I think I put out about 60-70 pounds of NoLo Bait.  I will start putting it out at the first sign of a hopper next year.  It has long-term effects and infects the general hopper population.  So, even though we haven't seen the NoLo effect this year, it should reduce the invasion next year.  I first found it in a local greenery for about $20 a pound.  Then I was fortunate enough to find it here for a huge discount if you buy 5, 10, or 25 pounds.  No doubt, I needed more than one pound so this was a great find.

I planted my fall garden on Labor Day, which was late but it was hard to time with the waves of grasshoppers.   I used seeds from Johnny's Seeds and I planted lettuce, spinach, brocolli, cabbage, cucumbers, radishes, and carrots.  Oddly enough, not one single plant has come up.  I haven't lost hope, though.  The okra took forever to come up and is almost indestructible now.  I am even wondering if it will come back next year if I just leave it alone.  Some of the trunks are 3-4 inches wide.

We plan to put in a cover crop soon of field peas.  When we get ready to plant in the spring we will have prepped the soil by mowing and plowing the cover crop into the soil.  The peas are a legume and will replenish nitrogen in the soil.

Chickens

I cannot say enough, how I love my chickens.  One year ago, we lived in our old house in town with one dog and each other.  Less than one year later, we are on our farm with 23 animals!  I got my chicks in May as one-day old chicks.  I ordered them with my neighbor.  In addition to the other birds I ordered, we also ordered 13 Americaunas together.  She got 10 and I got 3.  I picked mine out with absolutely no rhyme or reason.  They all looked the same.  I ended up with one beautiful marbled beige/brown/black and green tail feather rooster and one red, and one cream with a red head.  I think all of the neighbor's Americaunas are reddish.  No way could we have known that I would get the three that looked different and a rooster to boot.  All of the chicks were supposed to be hens!  Imagine my surprise when I am going to the coop early one morning and I hear three cock-a-doodle-ooooo's!  He sounded like a 12 year-old boy whose voice was changing.  I had called him "Amelia" when I thought he was a she because he/she flew the coop the first chance he/she got as a young chick.  His name is now Mel.

Ronny built an amazing chicken coop.  It is 10X10 with 8 nesting boxes.  It is so cute and cozy and they love their home.  They free-range and know that is the place to go at sunset.  We transitioned them into the coop from their little chick box and let them stay in there for several weeks before letting them out into the big old world.  I check the nesting boxes daily but haven't seen anything but the four golf balls we put in there to show them where to lay.

The flock is beautiful.  I have already described the Americaunas.  I have 3 big white Delawares with black tipped feathers, 3 friendly brown/white/black Speckled Sussex and their 3 pals the Rhode Island Reds, and 3 black and white barred Plymouth Rocks.  Don't you love their names?  One of the Sussex hens had a severe leg injury this summer.  It was either broken or just severely wounded.  It got caught in a pile of steel beams.  It was limp and sheared at the joint.  Well, needless to say, I was heart-broken because we thought she was a goner.  We cleaned and dressed the wound and splinted it with a clothespin.  I checked on the internet and found great advice to put a sock over her head while we attended to her.  She laid on her back and didn't move or make a peep.  We kept her in the house in a small kennel for a day or so, then transitioned her out to the coop in the kennel so that she wouldn't be isolated.  When she could start to bear weight on it, we transitioned her to the chicken tractor.  It took about 3 weeks to heal.  Even though she mostly used one leg, we finally decided it was time to see if she could range.  As soon as I took her out of the tractor, Amelia (aka Mel) attacked.  Of course, I didn't know Amelia was Mel and just thought she was the bossy top bird.  So, I put her/him in chicken time out for over a week.  He/she was spitting mad.  I also looked this up on the internet.  Assuming that Mel was Amelia, you settle the aggressive hen down by isolating her and taking her out of the pecking order.  Otherwise, she picks on new and/or weaker birds.  Despite the fact that Amelia was really Mel, it worked.  He/she came out and was much nicer and less agressive toward his/her own flock.  Are you lost yet?

Madagascar

 

I made a second trip to Madagascar in July to do mission work.  What an honor and privilege!  We are going back next year.  This year's trip was my second trip there.  One of the things I am anxious to learn more about is their farming methods.  They have the most amazing farms and it is very organic.  They plant around rice paddies and use a lot of small plot gardening and terracing in the hilly landscape.  The rice paddies grow fish and rice.  Once the rice is harvested, the fields are drained and bricks are cut from the dried silt.  The paddies are flooded the following season and the silt is replenished and restocked with fish and rice.

I am so disappointed that I am unable to upload pictures tonight.  They won't upload here or into an album on FaceBook.  I will try tomorrow and will post them in a new blog.  You will love seeing all the changes.  So, I will bid you goodnight.  I have so much more to tell you but this is already long enough!  Happy Farming and good night!

Produce Available This Weekend

Already Picked

I will have combo bags of lettuce, radishes, and green onions this weekend.  Email if you would like to pick some up.  You must arrange to come.  Please do not drop in.

Calves, Chickens and Kittens....OH MY!

Needless to say, I have been a busy farm girl!  So busy that I haven't had time to post a blog in weeks.  The garden, livestock, company, weddings, and funerals......life.....has kept us running!  But it is a good life!  As you can tell by my title, we went from Ronny and I and our dog, Tucker, to another dog, Shasta, two kittens, 4 calves, and 15 chicks.  We got all the babies in one week!

Baby, Baby, Baby

Well, first off, we welcomed a new granddaughter to our brood of granddaughters.  She makes number 4 and is a sweet little baby.  We adore her!

As for animals, the calves came first.  We bought them from our neighbor and basically fence-line weaned them.  That method has been shown to reduce stress in mamas and babies.  The way they all bawled that first night, I'm not sure what it does for stress in the humans!  It sounded like we had a herd of elephants in our backyard!  One of the calves trumpeted just like an elephant and one of the mamas answered back the same way.  It was a loooooong night for us and the neighbors.

We got them on a Saturday.  Our son, who is an agriculture expert happened to be visiting for the weekend.  He helped us with tagging and vaccinating.  We did all of that in the trailer but definitely plan to build a corral with a squeeze chute to make the process easier and safer in the future.  We started out with 4 calves but one crazy, black heifer that I named, Bossy, jumped the fence twice.  She went to the sale barn and we went down to 3 heifers.  A few days later, we got our bull calf from the neighbors.  He seemed to acclimate better than old Bossy.  We put him in the holding pen to wean.  You should have seen those three heifers pushing him around.  Just like a bunch of bossy women!  He seemed to settle in well.  He went to visit the vet and became a steer and earned the name, Dinner.  Yep,  you got it.  He will end up in the freezer.  Now, I know some folks might have problems with that.  But I promise you that your meat does not come from the "gettin' place."  Now Dinner had us quite fooled.  Ronny cross-fenced half of the pasture with electric fence and turned the four calves out of the weaning pen this weekend.  They kicked their heels up, ran and explored and feasted on good grazing.  After three days with no trouble, lo and behold if old Dinner wasn't on the other side of the fence with his mama.  Ronny spent all evening tonight working on that fence.  Dinner will have to come home and be a big boy.



Meet Rodeo Rosy, Ginger, and Blanca respectively.

After that busy weekend, I went to work and the kittens that I had been waiting for arrived.  They are darling little orange siblings.  We got Elmo, the long-haired one and Zoe Girl, the shorter-haired kitten.  They are sweet little things and took to us and the dogs very nicely.  The dogs were mildly curious but they are all very companionable and share the same watering bowl.  Now, I can't say the same for food bowls.  Those dogs will have the kittens for breakfast if they go near their bowls.  I leave the kittens food in their kennel and the dogs leave it alone.  They love climbing trees and I am glad so that they can defend themselves by climbing the trees just in case!



Nap Time



Then.......on Thursday of the same week, the little chicks arrived at the post office.  I went in with my neighbor and we picked up a cheeping box of 25 chicks early on Thursday morning.  I got 5 different breeds:  Rhode Island Red, Barred Rock, Ameraucana, Delaware, and Speckled Sussex.  I chose those breeds through a poultry selection tool found on a great website found Here.  The criteria I used included docility, egg laying, and heat/cold tolerance.  They are beautiful birds and growing so fast.  The website I mentioned gives lots of great advice and information on raising chickens.  If you are interested in raising a flock, I highly recommend that site.  I am also fortunate to have a neighbor with lots o' flock experience already!

Some things I have already learned are that you have to check their little bottoms or vents for pasting up.  That happens when poop dries and plugs up their vent.  You can sit their little hind end down in warm water to soak and pull the mess off.  Chicks are also susceptible to coccidiosis.  Using medicated chick starter feed and being diligent about keeping their water clean will help avert that problem.  Speaking of water, they get it dirty really fast.  I found some flat landscaping rocks to set their waterer on.  I had to raise it up another rock tonight because they are getting so tall.  One of my favorite things is giving them their worm treat.  They looooooove dried worm treats.  They just fight and fuss over the treats and will steal it away from each other!  They are hilarious!

 

Mind you, I am fond of naming animals and I had a long list of
old-fashioned women's names but those rascals move too fast for
me to tell them apart.  I think I am going to pick 2 or 3 distinctive
birds to name.



How Does My Garden Grow?

The garden is doing amazing.  We have already enjoyed salads with my mesclun mix salad greens, green onions, and radishes.  The tomatoes are starting to produce so they will be a welcome addition to the salads.  Pretty much everything I planted came up well.  The leeks and carrots did not come up but I knew I was gambling on them by planting them sort of late.  The cabbage and broccoli came up better than I expected.  Some beets also came up.  I have learned that English peas, lettuce greens, leeks, carrots, and spinach need to go in the ground pretty early. 

I fought a valiant battle with Neem Oil for non-beneficial insects and Garret Juice for soil amendment.  I have also used an organic plant food on the tomatoes and peppers.  I had a lady bug release for aphids and planted beneficial plants that attract beneficial insects.  I have two different birds nesting in the garden and lots of visiting birds which are nature's best insecticide.  Grasshoppers have come on the scene and have me very worried.  They are everywhere.  So far, they have mostly stayed out of the garden.  I am putting out Nolo bait which is an organic treatment that affects the grasshoppers' reproductive cycle and ultimately kills them.  I also put out Rabbit Scram, another organic product, around the perimeter of the garden.  I wonder if that doesn't help repel the grasshoppers as well?  I had an idea tonight to put several birdbaths throughout the garden to attract birds.  They can have one-stop shopping:  a bath, a drink and a buffet of grasshoppers!

Everything is in full bloom.  We are going to have lots of melons, tomatoes, peppers, squash, and okra.  The corn is starting to silk.  It was planted in two stages as the first planting did not have good success in coming up.  We supplemented the bare spots and that all came up well.  I am particularly excited that the purple hull peas are loaded.  I love those peas!  I have lost to aphids for about 3 years now but am convinced that diligent weekly application of Neem for about a month and the lady bugs did the trick.



Right after planting




Melons and squash



Tomatoes and Peppers



Peas, Beans, Corn



Pick Your Own and Downtown Farmer's Market

We will post PYO days as soon as we start having produce to pick.  I am pretty sure we will limit the PYO to melons and figs and will pick the rest ourselves for you.  The berries will not be ready until next year but are doing very well.  I am excited to visit an organic farm in Iowa soon that raises strawberries.  I can't wait to learn new things to enhance our natural growing practices here on Scasta Farm.

We have also registered as intermittent vendors at the Waxahachie Downtown Farmer's Market.  We plan to take surplus produce there on an as-needed basis.  Look for us if you are ever there.  They have a wonderful new location just off the square.



Children's Garden

We have a particular interest in teaching children about raising food and gardening.  We would love to have home school groups, scouts, or private schools come visit the farm.  Email for more information.



Children's Garden



So, I think I have sort of caught you up to speed on happenings at Scasta Farm.  I have so many things to share with you including what I am learning about composting, cover crops, and building chicken coops.  I also want to chat about subjects like GMO's and find out your thoughts on that.  There is so much to know, learn, and experience.  The farm is just the place to do it.  So, I will bid you goodnight and pray for rain and a peaceful night's sleep to all.  Happy Farming!



Strawberry Update

I have made this announcement on our FaceBook page but wanted to spread the word on our blog as well.  Due to the fact that the strawberry plants are new, we will be pinching all blossoms back this season and will not allow the plants to produce berries this year.  This will ensure a heavier bearing season next year.  So please hang in there and we should have a great crop next year.  Stay tuned for PYO of other produce this year, though.  All plants are coming up except leeks and we had to supplement the corn.  Otherwise things look great!

What To Do With Your Produce

So, you come pick fresh produce at a PYO farm.  And then you go home and have a wonderful stir fry and a refrigerator full of fresh fruits and veggies.  You suddenly ask yourself, "What on earth will I do with all of this before it spoils?"  Don't despair.  Home food preservation is easy and possible and there are lots of resources to learn how to do it.  I highly recommend taking a canning class.  I have been to one at a feed store and at an aquaponics farm.

For starters, the PYO website that we are listed with has lots of information for canning and preserving all of your fresh goodies.  Just think how great it will be this winter when you make a warm stew with vegetables that you picked and preserved this summer.  You can go to our PYO website Here.  For instance, we will have corn and you might want to preserve it.  Here are some links that will help you out:  How To Can Corn or Several Ways to Can Corn

I found this really great website for any kind of home preservation of food.  I am linking you to the tomato section but as you can see this is a fantastic resource National Center for Home Food Preservation.  I am putting this link on my list of links on this blog.  Great information!  I will be putting up other useful links for making jams and jellies soon so stay tuned!

We just got a wonderful rain.  We have the garden nearly planted and really wanted a good, soaking rain.  It came at just the right time.  You know you have become a farmer when you think this way :)  However, Ronny has been doing a lot of research on irrigation and is putting in a great system so that we don't have to totally rely on good weather.  We have strung hoses to all the blackberry plants and installed a tiny little plastic spigot at each plant.  The hoses are all connected and water simultaneously.  The spigots at the blackberries deliver one gallon of water per hour.  It was so easy to turn the water on and then off after a few hours the other night.  We found a great rain water cistern on the property that is full and over 20 feet deep.  It is fed continuously.  Ronny will be connecting the cistern water supply to the garden hose system and we will be able to water easily and efficiently any time.  You can get supplies for this type of irrigation at Home Depot or Lowe's but we found a good soure Here.

Efficient watering

As I have mentioned we will be hosting the children from our church preschool.  I found a great source for activities for kids in the garden.  It is called Kid's Garden by Witney Cohen, Life Lab Science Program.  It has a lot of wonderful activities.  It suggests a garden design called a pizza garden.  I will post pictures and updates once we get started.  The children will begin May 3 so stay tuned!

Blackberry rows

These are the blackberry rows before planting and the water hose before irrigation was put in.  All the plants are doing well and are 6-9 inches tall already.  We chose to leave grass paths between so your feet will stay clean when you come pick!  I will be putting some garden pictures up soon.  We have lots of little green babies poking through the ground.  The rain today and a warm week next week will really bring the garden on.

Please note that we have chosen to pinch all strawberry blossoms off this season to ensure a heavy berry production next year.

Happy Farming!

Tractors, Google, and Burner Phones

We have learned a few things as we continue on this very fun and wonderful journey of establishing a farm business.  First off, it is so important to have a plan.  Now we had a general plan, but the concept of having a PYO (Pick Your Own) farm was something "huger" than I ever thought (is huger a real word?)  Anyway, I initially listed us on a PYO website to start getting our name out there so that when crops came in, we would have a fan base built.  WELL, people are literally "hungry" for PYO farms and the fan base is built before the crops are in!  My phone has begun to ring off the hook!

I had my personal cell phone number listed at first but discovered that I needed a separate business phone.  I checked out some of the "burner; go; or disposable phones that are now available.  I basically need a simple phone to leave general messages on and to serve as an answering machine.  I highly recommend going this route instead of buying an expensive phone with a contract for your business.  I bought a PayLo phone yesterday and activated it. I also updated all the business listings with the new number.  I had five phone calls today! Not to mention, I feel very important carrying two phones :)

I also recommend setting up a business email separate from your personal or work email accounts.  This will make it more streamlined when you need to respond to emails.  If business emails are buried in your personal and work email, you may overlook messages that you should respond to.  Google is a great tool for starting a small business.  I set up our farm email account and this blog on Google.  The blog basically serves as our business website for the time being.  I also intend to figure out how to use Google for documents.  The recent economic conditions have spurred people on to try their hand at starting their own businesses and Google is a really great internet and digital source.  If you have any tips on how Google documents are used, please leave a comment.

The biggest demand that we see in our phone, email, and FB queries is for strawberries!  We initially planted 50 plants.  Well, needless to say 75 more are being shipped and will be planted ASAP because of the demand that is taking place.  We cannot guarantee a strawberry crop yet this year but that remains to be seen. 

A tractor will be one of your larger purchases in starting a farm. Ronny searched patiently and diligently to find a tractor that would do the things he wanted at a price we could afford without debt. That patience paid off and he found a great 1988 Massey Ferguson. It's red with a black smoke stack. It looks so "farmy."

I can't post this blog without mentioning how amazing the bluebonnets and wildflowers have been here in North Texas.  We have massive fields of blue bonnets in our area.  Check out the little patch on our property.  I took it with my cell phone.

And of course, there are the before and after pictures that folks keep asking for.  I plan to start painting the breakfast nook this weekend.  It is such a cute little room.  I can't wait to freshen it up.  I did finish that teeny tiny little powder room.  I don't have an after picture of it yet but it turned out so nice.  I was really glad to get it done!  The kitchen is finished for the most part.  Ronny did some custom cabinet work on the bottom cabinets.  Didn't it turn out cute?

One of my next projects coming up besides getting ready for kittens and chicks is preparing for our church preschool afterschool kids.  They will spend a few hours a week this spring and summer at the farm learning all about gardening, beneficial insects, butterflies & humming birds, and will be able to watch our baby chicks grow and develop.  I can't wait to work with the kids!

Well, like I said before, we absolutely love our new home.  We have awesome neighbors and a beautiful. peaceful place that takes us out of ourselves and reconnects us with nature and each other.  It is a healing place.  Ronny told me goodnight a little while ago and said, "Have I told you that I love this place (and my tractor)?"  I think you've heard me say that a time or two. 

Good Night and Happy Farming!



Events

We have had a wonderful response to listing our farm as a Pick Your Own Farm.  I do want to remind everyone that PYO days will be harvest-dependent and that we are a new farm with new seeds and seedlings in the ground.  We will list the PYO days on this blog and on our FaceBook page.  Like us on FaceBook at Scasta Farm so that you can keep up with the most current information.

We are going to double our strawberry plants as the requests for strawberries has been phenomenal.  The new blackberry plants are doing really well and we have lots of baby peaches! 

We will also host small groups for activities that bring the classroom to the farm.  We will be hosting the Angels of Faith Preschool from Living Hope Church of the Nazarene this summer.  They will have a plot of their own and will learn all about caring for a garden in a holistic manner.  We also have a little group of Girl Scouts that will be coming to the farm in June.  They are anxious to learn about chickens and eggs.

If you are interested in an activity at the farm, you can contact us at scastafarm@gmail.com.  Forms for activities will be emailed to you.  I am working on finding a way to put them on this blog.  If I find a way to do it I will put up a post to let you know how to access the forms.  In the meantime, just email me to schedule your event and the forms will be sent.

My next post should be very interesting.  I am reading a great book about raising chickens and it is called Chick Days by Jenna Woginrich.  It is a delightful book!  We get our baby chicks in May so be ready to learn right along with us as we raise our "little girls" to egg layin' mommas!

Hasn't this spring weather been lovely.  We pray that you and yours were safe during the recent tornadoes here in the Dallas area.

Enjoy these Easter tulips!  I am excited about taking a photography class this week and hope you enjoy even more beautiful pictures.  Happy Farming!

Dollars

So of course, starting a small farm is no small feat.  Careful financing is very important.  Ronny and I worked very hard to be debt-free before we made this leap.  We are what we fondly call "Dave Ramsey Disciples."  We took his Financial Peace University workshop about five years ago.  With discipline, obedience, and God's provision we were completely debt free when we bought the farm.  We made such great deals on the sale of our previous home and on the purchase of the farm that we financed a very minimal amount.  Due to great credit, large down payment, and no debt we were the first people our lender had ever written this type of loan for under 3%.  We had an wonderful realtor who carefully guided us through the entire sale and purchase process.  It is definitely important to have a good realtor who teaches you and who has your best interest at heart.

The moral of the story is:

• Be patient
• Get rid of debt
• Save
• Have a plan
• Find a good realtor

Other financial considerations that we have learned and taken advantage of include filing for an Ag Exemption and for the Ag/Timber Sales Tax Exemption.  Every county will be different in regards to application criteria for an Ag Exemption.  Our county required documentation.  I wrote a Business Plan that included an Executive Summary, Descriptions, SWOT Analysis, Planning, Implentation, Photos, and Invoices.  We were approved in less than a week.   I have used two books as resources for the business side of farming.  They are listed at the side of the blog.  The authors are Wiswall and Aubrey.

Each state will have a different process for applying for the sales tax exemption.  The state of Texas exemption application process is found Here.  Click on Texas Taxes tab at the top of the page and then on the link to Apply for Ag and Timber Registration Number at the left of the page.  After you get your registration number, you can set up accounts at farm supply stores and will be tax exempt on qualifying items that you may purchase for your farm.

I also found a really neat web site called the New England Small Farm Institute (NESFI).  This is a wonderful website NESFI  and you will find the Farm Start-up Checklist is very useful.  Here are some other websites that might be helpful Ag Grants and Beginning Farmers.

We have had great flooding rains that have definitely replenished north Texas lakes, ponds, rivers, and creeks after the awful drought of 2011.  It does present a challenge, though, when it comes to getting a garden in.  The second set of 75 blackberry bushes and 50 strawberry plants will be planted tomorrow and work on planting veggies will definitely be done this weekend.  We have sunny, warm weather forecasted.  Stay tuned for Pick Your Own Days.  Of course, they will be harvest-dependent.

I spent 10 days chicken sitting for my chicken guru neighbor and fell in love with the critters.  Never thought I would say that.  Feeding, watering, rescuing the old biddy from her shelf, cutting feed sack string off chicken feet, scraping poop, and collecting eggs aannnndd  feedin old Moe, the ferrel hog, was such a great learning experience.  My neighbor gave me the most beautiful glass chicken for doing barn duty.  I really earned that little chicken, though, when I had to put her big bull back in the pasture!  I headed out the door to go to work yesterday and look who was standing in my driveway!

Thank goodness for some men who drove by and helped me!

I know I gave the wisteria a bad rep on my last post but we did let one bush survive in the backyard and it was beautiful.  I will close out with some pictures from it.  Happy Farming!

We're In Love

If I've said it once, I've said it dozens of times.  I love our new place and so does Ronny.  We love coming home and hate leaving.  All the work we do is fulfilling and Ronny says over and over that it "just doesn't seem like work."

The fruit trees are planted and the Navaho blackberries are waiting for the rain to end so we can plant them.  I plotted out the garden tonight and bought seed today.  I am going to plant the vegetables in five phases:  fruit trees, blackberries & strawberries, early spring veggies, spring veggies, and early summer veggies.  On the list of veggies are spinach, mixed lettuce, onions, leeks, radishes, brocolli, cabbage, beets, carrots, green peas, purple hull peas, green beans, corn, tomatoes, peppers, okra, squash, and canaloupe.  I don't figure we'll go hungry!  Stay tuned for "Pick Your Own" days.  You will definitely be able to pick blackberries and we'll see how the other produce does.  Once I get my fill, I will post "Pick Your Own" days.  Have I said, "I love this place?"

Peach trees blossom

I bought our chick starter set today.  I've been reading magazines from my chicken guru neighbor, information from the MyPetChicken website, and some books.  My neighbor is going to put me through my paces next week by letting me take care of her chickens to get some practical experience.  She is an awesome friend, teacher, and neighbor.  We hope to get blackberries and early spring veggies planted this week then start building the chicken coop.  Of course, Ronny also still needs to build the gate for the calves.  He has the fence up and the new corner built (it looks awesome!).  The rain has been wonderful and we will not complain but it has slowed a few things down. 

I have taken advantage of being stuck indoors by tackling those last three paint projects.  They are my nemesis!  The powder room is the first one.  It is the tiniest bathroom and in a state of disrepair.  The toilet area is so small that when I painted one wall and turned to paint the other, welllll, my hind end ended up in wet paint.  You have to see this picture to appreciate what I just told you :)

I hope to post before and after pictures of the kitchen soon.  We have just a few more things to do and it will be checked off the "to do" list.  The dining room is pretty much done except for flooring.  That will come when all painting is done.  Check it out!

Before

After

The most remarkable before and after is the creepy wisteria.  It was literally taking over the house.  It completely covered the carport and had great compost rotting under the two feet of limbs on the carport.  It was so invasive that it pulled the carport from the house.  We spent a full afternoon and evening taking it off one piece at a time.  Our neighbor offered to pull it off with his tractor but we were afraid it would pull the house down!  I don't think captions are necessary :)

Well, time to sign off.  Can't wait to crawl in bed and snooze to the sound of raindrops.  Here are some of the clouds that brought rain yesterday.  Good night and Happy Farming!  Have I said, "I love this place?"

Sweet Summer Pickins

Join us as a follower so you can keep up with our progress of starting a farm from the ground up.  I would also love to know who is following our blog.

I took the leap and ordered 150 blackberry plants!  Half of them will be shipped this week and the other half next week.  Ronny is working on tilling the part of the garden they will be planted in.  Fig and peach trees and strawberries will be planted too.  Turkey manure will be the soil amendment that we will till in before planting.

I decided on two blackberry varieties:  Arapaho and Navajo.  Being the Aggie Mom that I am, Texas A&M University Horticulture Department was my resource of choice for information on blackberry varieties.  http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/fruit/blackberries/blackberries.html

Arapaho Blackberries are an erect, thornless plant that produces a medium, high quality fruit.  It is very productive and resistant to Double Blossom and Rust.  This is a new variety developed in 1993 at the University of Arkansas.

Navaho Blackberries are an erect thornless plant that producess a dense hedgerow that ripens later than the Arapaho with even higher yields.  The berry is medium-size and sweet.

I am really looking forward to learning lots about blackberries and how to raise them.  Be on the lookout for blackberry recipes on this blog!

I get to go to Chicken Care 101 with my twinster neighbor, Becky Thursday morning.  She is going to show me the ropes then.  We are getting our rooster from her and she will be my go-to-person on chicken raisin'.  I can't recommend the link www.mypetchicken.com too much.  Check it out!  The chicken coop will be built after the blackberry planting.

We have had a warm winter and spring is filtering in without us realizing it.  I enjoyed a great walk on the back of the property with the dogs yesterday.  Here are some pictures I took with my new camera.....having fun learning to use the different features of the camera.

Thorny Mesquite

Donkey skull out in the pasture

Reflections

Red Sky at Sunset Means Storms in the Morning?

Something fun that I will be doing this week is taking a canning class.  I already know how to can but know that I can learn so much more.  I am taking the class at Aquaponics in Desoto.  Aquaponics is an interesting farming technique.
Check out their website http://www.aquaponicsandearth.org/aboutus/who-are-we/

Signing off for now.  Hoping for more rain tonight so we can continue with a healthy drought recovery here in our part of Texas.  Happy Farming!

Putting the Plan Together

We had a great rainfall this weekend.  We got nearly two inches and the ponds were all overflowing into each other.  Ronny and I got out and sloshed around all of it so that we could get a good idea of where to build our second pond.  Tucker was a hoot.  That dog hates to get his paws wet.  We followed the wash on one side of the property.  At that time is was a swift-flowing creek.  Somehow, Tucker ended up on one bank and us on the other.  He was not about to walk through that water!  Shasta just plunged right on in and crossed to the other side.  On the other hand our tenderfoot, 100-pound pooch found a narrow part and hopped over.  Heaven forbid he should get wet!

Our pond runneth over

Shasta ain't skeered

Mr. Delicate trying to find a good place to cross

So, the tax news was good and that means it is time to get serious about things.  Ronny's focus will be calves, hogs and building a shop.  We are networking with our neighbors and plan to buy some of their calves and fence-line wean them.  Derek suggested this as a more gentle way to wean calves in order to reduce stress.  Here is an article that I found discussing the method of fence-line weaning: http://animalscience.ag.utk.edu/beef/pdf/FencelineWeaningReducesStressDuringWeaningofBeefCalves-CDL-ASB312.pdf

My focus this year is getting the garden into shape, planting blackberries and starting a flock of chickens.  Thank goodness for my red head twinster, Becky, next door.  She will be my resident advisor on raising chickens.  I can't wait.  I love the website listed on my link list below: "My Pet Chicken".  It gives lots of great advice for the ordinary person and makes it seem like such fun.  I am definitely going to get a few Easter Egger chickens so we can have some green and blue eggs!  I also found a website called "Pick Your Own" that is listed on the right.  It is a great tool to publicize our crops.  If you are interested in eating locally grown food seasonally it will be a good resource for you to check out no matter what state you live in.

 Now don't get me wrong. This will be hard work but what would you rather do? Sit on your fanny and watch the world go by or dig your hands into some rich black dirt, work outside in fresh air and sunshine, and build something that you can call your own?  Share our blog with others.  We would love to hear from other farmers or ranchers.  Their practical advice, wisdom, and knowledge of resources would be greatly appreciated. 

Stay tuned for more farm fun news!

Preparation

So as we embark on this adventure, we know that we should prepare ourselves well.  Fortunately, we have a son who is a former Ag Extension Agent and who is working on his doctorate in prescribed burns.  His knowledge and advice are priceless!  We are also surfing the internet a lot looking for websites and resources.  I have provided a section at the bottom of the page for links that I like.  I have also added a book list of the books we are soaking up.

In my search for books that addressed holistic land management, biodiversity, and organic farming, I stumbled upon some books on biodynamic farming.  I have to say that the readings on biodynamic farming are the most interesting yet disturbing that I have read so far.  They enter a realm that is hard to fathom and one I don't want to enter.  Yet, they also project great knowledge and insight regarding the health of the entire world and our responsiblity in restoring land to health and wellness.  I found a lot of what I read very interesting and challenging as someone who is becoming a steward of a parcel of land.  While the philosophical and theoretical approach is a bit strange, I am learning interesting things regarding some practical application to farming.  It is worth broadening your mind and enriching yourself regarding different schools of thought to read books on biodynamic farming. 

For you newbies out there, I discovered something great today at H & R Block.  The lady filing our 2011 taxes gave me a Farm Tax Record Book that H&R Block provides.  It is a great accounting tool for anyone especially if you are new to this business.

Ronny is working on designing the layout of the property such as crossfencing and location of outbuildings and corrals.  The garden area was thigh-high in weeds and grass when we moved here.  I mowed it immediately and then scalped it last week.  Soon as we know tax damage (or not), a tractor is next on the list to purchase.  We will either start working the garden soil with our own tractor or tap into the neighbors' offers to help with dirt work.  I am also going tomorrow to talk to different nurseries in town to see who can give me the best deal on blackberry bushes.  Yes!  Blackberries from Scasta's Farm will be a main crop.  Stay tuned in the event section for possible public pickin's!  I am also leaning toward figs and lettuce greens as public crops.

Sleepless Night

One of the deals with living in the country is that there are inherent dangers lying around different corners.  Especially if the property was somewhat unkept with surprises buried in deep grass.  Our dog, Tucker, cut his foot a few weeks ago, possibly on metal imbedded in grass.  He ended up getting it repaired at an all night Animal ED to the tune of way too many dollars. 

He has been on limited mobility for the last two weeks and spends the nights tied up.  Welllll, last night the coyotes were howling all night long and so were Tucker and Shasta.......right outside our bedroom window.  Needless to say, he is officially off limited mobility.  His cone cracked with the freezing weather this weekend anyway so we took it off.  The gash is still open (some of the stitches came out) but Momma needs some sleep :)

We Bought A Farm

Okay, the first thing that I learned in setting up a blog is to save what I am writing because I just lost an almost completed first blog.  So, I will keep this shorter and add something new gradually (that was in the unsaved version).  Yikes!  Such a novice, I am.  But I just saved it and checked out a preview.....Whew!

So, the short version for tonight.....We bought 20 lovely acres complete with an old farmhouse, a pond, garden, small pen, and a very tiny workshop.  It is a blank palate for us.  We cannot wait to get started developing it into a small-scale, producing working farm.  We plan to hay some of the property, raise some marketable, grass-fed livestock, and sell several organic garden products.  We have so much to learn!  But we love the country life and the challenge and have a great resource in our agriculture expert son, Derek. 

The house and immediate surrounding property are requiring the bulk of our attention right now.  It needed lots of clean up as you can and will see in before and after pictures that I will be posting.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Before

After

Before

After

I love, love, love the original pinewood floors that we refinished.  I always thought I was a carpet girl but these floors are awesome!  Needless to say, we have lots of work still to do like new flooring in kitchen, bathroom, and dining room, windows replaced, paint the outside and electrical work (thank goodness for our son, Mark, the electrical expert) but it is really feeling like home!  We love it out here.  One of our favorite acquisitions with the property was the previous owner's dog, Shasta.  Yes, that's right....She is now Shasta Scasta :)  Here are her before and afters.  She is so cute now and has such a sweet personality.  She really helped Tucker settle right into country life.

Shasta is the long hair and Tucker is in the front.

All trimmed up and looking good!

So needless to say, one of the best things about having a farm is bringing the grandbabies out here.  I look forward to summer cousin camps at BiBi and PaPa's farm, fun weekends, and holiday gatherings.  Here are Bella and Cockadoodleloo in a standoff.

So, I will sign off for tonight.  Stay tuned and learn right along with us as we learn how to make a farm!  Sweet dreams!