homeschool, Our Orchard, Our Soil

Spring Buds

Everything is homeschool. Even a muddy former driveway that the pigs rooted through for a couple of months. This becomes a vehicle for talking about healthy and unhealthy soil with the kids. Think of it as a "before" picture. The "after" picture won't be for a couple of years, but ideally that same former driveway… Continue reading Spring Buds

Our Workshop, woodworking

Gates around the scale, and Hog Live Weights

Everything on the farm is interconnected, whether we like it or not. Because we want to be able to give our customers an accurate live-weight assessment for the pigs they bought, we need a scale. Because the scale needs to be on a flat, firm surface, under cover, accessible to all the livestock, it needed… Continue reading Gates around the scale, and Hog Live Weights

Our Food, Our Garden

Cleanup on Row Four

It's getting that time of year again! Time to plant the garden. We planted a dozen or so rutabaga last week, and this week we are starting the peas. On the crop rotation plan (yes, there is one) they are going to be in row four this year, so the first task was: Cleanup on… Continue reading Cleanup on Row Four

Our Garden

Cucurbits in the Garden.

Evie and Daddy planted cucurbits last Thursday (Holy Thursday). Four or Five different varieties of winter squash, with two varieties of pumpkin and three rather scrawny looking cucumbers and two absolutely emaciated melons. (We have never had a good melon harvest. I am about ready to give up on them.) It has been unseasonably dry,… Continue reading Cucurbits in the Garden.