Our homestead's in the depth of winter. There's an acceptance
that this is the season we are in and are making the most of what it has to offer.
It's important to take time out, to think about the homestead, taking note of the progress so far
and planning for the season ahead as well as being grateful for the moment right now......
In history there have always been trying times however the storm passes and good times prevail.
Being resilient and gracious in the storm, takes intention, planning and action
I've seen that snow peas were selling for 42 dollars a kilogram in some places
and there were lettuces selling for twelve dollars a head, that's if you could get greens at all.
These abundant snow pea plants were sown as seeds only a few months ago,
snow pea pods are so crunchy and flavorful as fresh home-grown food is and the shoots
make a beautiful base for a salad. The pea plants are also adding nitrogen to the soil,
so they're improving the soil for the summer crop and because we've had a wet winter, they've only
been watered by the rain, so i've done nothing apart from sow the seeds, harvest and eat them.
Perhaps that's not entirely true as i have added compost to the soil before i
planted the seeds as well as manure and all the other good things that get added into the soil
over the year, which is vital for the abundant harvest that i get.
Having good, healthy soil is probably the most important thing when it comes to growing food,
you don't want to add chemicals or any chemical fertilizers, there are so many good natural
organic products that you can use and things from your own garden and plants that you grow that can
add nutrients back into the soil and it certainly helps to have ducks and chickens and access to
poop from alpacas, sheep and other animals around here,
that add beautiful nutrients to the composts. If you're familiar with my channel,
you'll know that i grow two crops per year, in each place, in my small garden.
Harvesting the food you need for the day means that the food is always fresh and there's no
waste. We're always eating local and seasonal and the parts that i don't want, are perfect
for the ducks and chickens, the worm farm or even the compost, which then goes back into the soil.
The citrus trees have been fed and mulched. They're hungry plants with shallow roots
so they need regular watering in the warmer weather and feeding every season
This pays off because then i have an abundance of fruit in the winter time
Some of my creative ideas, for winter projects have manifested already. The bay tree, from the
poultry coop has been moved and re-potted. It came from the poultry coop to this location in the back
garden. The poultry coupe seat has also been moved as the ducks and chickens enjoy more time
under the big tree and not so much in the poultry run and as there's already a seat under the big
tree to watch the ducks and chickens, i thought this would be a nice location to enjoy the dogs.
My kumquat tree has grown considerably since being planted in the ground,
after living in a pot for many years, so i've increased the size of the circle around the base
of the tree so that there's no grass competing for the shallow roots and nutrients and water.
Citrus perform better when they don't have competition.
Another completed project is that the wooden pallet has been replaced by a gate. This will give
easy access to the back of the kiwi fruit, passion fruits and whatever else i'm growing behind the
shed. This will make my life a lot easier and it will keep the dogs out of the garden.
Some of the girls are back laying already. They take time off mid-autumn while they molt and
they start up again when they're ready, of course this also means some of my ducks are going broody
already so i'm trying to keep them off the nests at the moment because i don't need any babies.
It's too early, it's too cold and i just don't have the food for them at the moment.
baby ducklings eat so much, they eat more than a drake
Under the big tree, where the ducks and chickens like to spend most of their time,
I have my most neglected plant, the Staghorn! Probably because it's not a food plant it's
been neglected for years. It fell off the mount when it was huge and i decided to cut it up and
place it on new mounts this winter and i wish i'd done it long ago. This poor old thing,
after it fell off i had to cover it with wire so the ducks wouldn't eat it,
it was simple enough to make some mounts out of fence posts and screws,
a bit of wire, sphagnum moss and tie them on with fishing line and now they look so much better
and they will be able to grow without being pruned by the ducks and squashed by the wire.
and although it's not really a homesteading project it was definitely a good project to have
done this winter and it looks so great, I feel so pleased when I walk past. Cleaning up the ugly and
fixing things that need fixing, definitely creates a good energy in the environment that you live in.
Another important project that i have done was to renovate the glass house,
giving it side doors to prevent the ducks and chickens from devouring my seedlings
and replacing the big chunky window that i had at the back of it with an iron sheet,
that i already had, in my iron pile. This saves room in the garden, there's plenty of airflow for
the hot spring days and enough protection for the cold nights, it's ready for the late winter seeds.
I'm grateful to be harvesting food every day, I feel that my time and energy is well spent
on the homestead and while there's a lot of noise and fear out in the world right now,
it's beneficial to quiet the noise and focus on what you can do to make your life better
and as history has shown us, there are always going to be storms.....
....but good things can come out of every storm.