We are ramping up for the Spring season! Instead of hatching my own this year, I ordered a batch of chicks for my new laying flock this year. It will take 6 months for these to start laying eggs. Once they do, we can expect 30 eggs laid per day!
Read more The Littlest Layers
I just wanted to make some of the evening chores just a bit faster. Every time I let the turkeys out to free range, I have to carry one or all back into the pen. These birds are well over 20lbs each, the Tom, Carl, being the heaviest. Carl, is a docile guy. He loves…
Read more Some Ideas Are Better On Paper
New fuzzy things to love here at Funny Farm Acres! It’s gone great. Things I’ve learned so far: They don’t stink… yet. They like to taste test clothes and hair. Goats love treats. Goats will climb your entire body to reach treats. These goats s are not fond of dogs. Their hackles raise when alarmed.…
Read more Look at My Goats! Video Evidence!
Do you ever wonder why we have so many food recalls?
Do you trust the food that you buy?
Read more Who $hit In The Lettuce?
A Confession: I’ve been a bad gardener. I have started beds and abandoned them at the first sign of infestation or disease. I have neglected to water or properly irrigate rows of plants, leaving them to the mercy of mother nature. She’s a cruel master that will sow every manner of pestilence and plague at my plants, negating all the time, effort, and money I’ve invested. It has always been easier to buy produce at the store or decorate with silk plants.
But year after year, I have been drawn to the idea that I should be growing my own vegetables. Every spring, I would spend time browsing the plants at the big box stores, buying a few plants, and feeling a sense of satisfaction as it grew. Then, inevitably, the plants would decline and I would lose interest.
When I began my own research, most of the information and techniques were not accurate for my particular growing zone. Most of the available information pertains to temperate zones, i.e. most of the United States, rather than the subtropical zone 9B where I reside. The techniques, plant varieties, and growing seasons are vastly different. I wasted a lot of time and money chasing the wrong solutions.
This year I began to take courses with the local county extension office. They have great courses on gardening techniques for your area, backed by up- to- date university research. The most important thing that I have learned is to research the care and common diseases/pests associated with each specific plant species. Armed with the correct knowledge, everyone can have a green thumb.
I’m becoming a better gardener. I’m excited to begin documenting my research and experiments. Please join me on the journey and remember to subscribe for updates.
# Permanent link to An Introduction via Confession
I am %100 positive that anyone who has a pet or a child in the house can relate. You’re going about your business, head in the clouds when you manage to slide your bare foot or hand into something unexpectedly moist. You know well the onset of sheer panic as you try to figure out…
Read more Farm Chronicles: Mystery Fluid
While unsuccessfully hunting for a raccoon near my chicken coops this morning, I saw the cat chasing a squirrel in a tree. I have acres full of squirrels and I was not particularly concerned about the cat catching this guy. He was fast. He ducked and dodged. He taunted and chittered. He was outwitting…
Read more Farm Chronicles: To Peel a Squirrel
I just wanted to play Xbox with my kid. I’ve been anticipating the day when she’d be old enough to play games with me. It’s also an excuse to to buy the new hotness in game systems because it’s for the children… It was a special occasion to me. I’d finally get to share…
Read more Farm Chronicles: A dead chicken, a rooster attack, and copious amounts of vomit.