Down On The Farm

This is my year to get my homestead where I have always wanted it.

First things first: upon arriving we set out to provision our pantry with a year's worth of food. Done.

Wilbur IV made the ultimate sacrifice and is now in the freezer. Then it was time to lay out the Hog Yard.  We will have 4 breeding sows and a boar this year. Ms. Piggy has already put 2 litters on the ground - 9 in August and 8 several days ago. Her piglets have now grown to breeding age, and we will keep 3 plus Ms. Piggy. I plan to plant out over an acre and a half of corn, beans, and pumpkins that will be primarily next Fall's finishing feed for this years piglets. The hogs will harvest it themselves, and when its gone... deh-deh-deh- DUH....

It would appear that our 4 cows are bred - and that our Dexter bull has been doing the right thing.  We are looking forward to having farm fresh milk again. We lost nearly half of our goats over the winter to a parasitic infection that seems to be going around Tennessee. Still, I plan to fence an acre of sloping pasture to hold them next winter as I don't think the wetness associated with our bottom land in winter helped.  The market price for goats this year is double what it was 4 years ago.  The egg incubator is full - 270 eggs of which at least 200 will hatch, and perhaps 140 will make it to adulthood.

I built 8, 4' x 8' by 12" deep cedar wood raised beds for the garden along with 1, 24' x 4' x 8" cinderblock assembled raised bed. This year I am adopting the "square foot gardening" schematic for most vegetables but corn, beans, melons, and potatoes are still going in the field.

I will share some photos over the coming days. Let Saudi Arabia blow up - I'm prepared.