Garden Update Four Oaks, North Carolina

Spring is truely here!

The plants are growing like weeds!

Basil in the aquaponics beds.

Garlic and collards
Cabernet grapes

(we lost one this winter)

Sunflowers in front of the porch
Bush beans

The first planting of corn is showing. The gourds are looking fantastic. We have sooooo many strawberries that it is difficult to try to eat them all! (Sooo many burdens--I don't know how I do it!) The tomatoes are looking great. I got an egg plant this year! Yeah! I hope all you gardeners out there are planting away! (We use a no till system. We grow cover crops in the winter (rye) and only make rows. We also mulch with leaves and hay. We try to disturb the ground as little as possible.)

Companion Planting

My Blog Friend, The Back Forty, always has great informtion to share. Yesterday her post was about companion gardening. Very interesting. I had thought about plants and what should go together or not together. Well, Robbyn put it together for me. This is the link for her post on companion gardening. You will find this link in her post, too, but I wanted to share it with you all here. Trucs d'artan I know all my homesteading friends will enjoy these. ( Y'all are probably smarter than me and figured this all out a long time ago!) Have a great day! Christina

Gardening on the Homestead... Spring

Winter is finally heading north.... still some cold nights, but, as always, we are anxious to get the spring planting underway.Spring seed starts.

Marigolds are peeking out.

Garlic, planted in November, looking beautiful!

Onions, seed planted in January, finally looking like onions.

Grapes showing the first leaves.

Strawberries!!! yeah!!!

Even turning red and juicy!

I can't wait.

Here, at the good ole homestead, we plant organically and use a no till method of gardening. We also raise worms and use the worm compost in gardening. This year we have also started an aquaponic venture. (or adventure) I think the kinks are almost worked out of the auto syphon. The water is cycling great. The fish are healthy. The water is getting close for planting! Stay tuned. I will keep you up to date with all going on at the homestead!

Chicks Week 1

Well---Here we are!

Happy Birthday Chicks!

We have had the little peepers home for 1 week now.

All nine are still active and healthy!

Sugar is very protective when we go out on our daily "walk".



The New Hampshire Reds seem to be feathering up fastest. Their wings are totally feathered and the little tushes are fast feathering up. The Buff Orpingtons are next. The Barred Rocks are coming in last. But the feathers they do have are gorgeous! Still have no idea who is a boy and who is a girl. I am sure I will know soon enough! Happy Peeping!

If you have a minute, stop by my store for some coffee!

Homestead Chicks--Day 5

Well.... It is chick day five at the homestead!

My sweetie says he should have gotten me baby chicks along time ago.... I am so easily amused!

Sugar--keeping an eye on her babies!

My... how they have grown in such a short time!

Wing feathers are out. The NH Reds seem to have the most!

The tail feathers are beginning to peek out the back!

They are very active and observant. They can tell the difference between a hand coming in to grab them and a paw reaching in to pat them! They amaze me!

Here ... chick chick

Here... chick chick

Aquaponics Update

System is cycling well. We had to go from one syphon drain to individual syphons on all grow beds.

The Cycling has begun!

The "Greenhouse"

Operation "Aquaponics" Start up

Overview

4 growing beds

1 fish tank

1 pump

connected overflow w/separate drain

siphon drain system

pump runs at about 2 gpm to fill the 4 grow beds

when the water reaches proper level,

siphon kicks in and drains the grow beds

fish tank stocked with about 8-10 little fishes from the lake behind our house

According to my local techno-geek and spreadsheet generator,

the nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, etc, etc, etc levels will become aligned

in such a way that low and behold--- ta da! -- we can grow little veggies

and little fishes and have a real live aquaponics system that will actually

feed us! I am really excited!

Do you want to start your own aquaponics system?

A big help to us was

Backyard Aquaponics

&

Barrelponics group at yahoo

Have a great DAY!

Chris