homestead – Page 3

Posted on April 1, 2023April 1, 2023 by admin

Planting Hazel Trees and Moving Pine Logs

We planted our first hazel trees. This is a test planting to see how they do. We should have our first nuts from the hazel trees in 2-3 years, if all goes well.

We also pulled up drip feed lines so we can trim and to make it easier to cut the grass. Drip irrigation is great, but having lines everywhere does make for some management challenges when it comes to cutting grass and keeping everything looking nice and well managed.

We also had a few logs to move from a dead pine tree that we cut. Its been too wet to move the logs until now. It is nice to get them out of the way so I can mow that area.

The spring flowers are blooming and the bees are busy.

We’ve learned that young seedlings are often enough reason for a deer to want inside the anti-deer fence area, so we put cages around them.

It was a nice way to spend a Friday afternoon.

Posted on March 12, 2023 by admin

Planting a Pecan Tree and Flying a Kite

We planted the 3rd pecan tree, spread pine straw and took some time to enjoy the pleasure of flying a kite in the back field. What a nice day. Warm and sunny.

Posted on February 21, 2023February 21, 2023 by admin

Blueberries Go In! Bees Go In!

Since we started the farm, one of the things I’m looked forward to is planting blueberries. We had a couple of delays putting them in, but now they are finally installed.

The picture doesn’t show the blueberry plants amidst the pine stray, but they are there!

Experiment of using the hugelkultur mound for blueberries

My wife Connie, came up with a wonderful idea. She suggested that we plant blueberries in the Hugelkultur mound. This gives the blueberries a wonderfully sunny place that is very well drained. The hugelkultur mound is approximately 85 feet long x 30 feet wide. It is now home to 20 blueberry plans (all rabbiteye), raspberries and goji berries. This area has easy access to drip irrigation and is inside the anti-deer fence. We planted a mixture of blueberries, including Columbus, IRA, Yadkin and Tifblue varieties. The raspberries are Fall Gold from Rabbit Ridge Nursery in Coates, NC. The raspberries are acclimated to this area, so we hope they will do well. We still need to put up the trellis for the raspberries and the goji berries.

Bees on the Farm, means Honey will be Available Later in the Year

We are excited to have bees on the property. We have partnered with a local beekeeper so we can offer honey from our farm later in the year. I’ll post a blog entry when the honey is available. The bees will also help pollinate our berries and crops.

We also plan to bees on your place in the mountains again this summer (www.troublesomegap.com) so we should have sourwood honey available as well.

The flowers are coming up on the farm, so spring isn’t that far away.

Posted on October 30, 2022 by admin

Mowing Grass and Enjoying a Slower Pace on the Farm

It was relaxing putting lime on the back field and getting it mowed. It is ready for winter. Nice to be able to take a break from a very busy summer growing season.

Checkout the winter garden

Tractor is ready to spread the first batch of lime

Posted on October 2, 2022 by admin

Questions from the Farm – #2 in an Ongoing Series

We get lots of questions from community farm participants. Here are questions that came up this week.

1) How do you know whether you should plant 1 seed or multiple seeds in the same spot?

If the seed are purchased then the back of the seed packet will usually show planting information that includes desired spacing between plants and the number of seeds to plant in the same spot

Another way to determine how many seeds to plant in each spot is to look at the germination rate listed on package.

If the germination rate is 80% or below I would plant 4 seeds and then thin as needed. Above 80, consider planting 2-3 seeds and thin as needed. A 95% or greater gemination rate means you could try planting one see per site.

2) Is it better to wash produce before or after freezing?

Definitely better to wash before freezing

3) What crops have the best number of calories?

If you are interested in the number of calories per ounce of crop check out:

https://www.calories.info/food/vegetables (click at the top to select serving size)

It is important to note that calories / lb of crop is only a small part of the picture. Some crops are easier to grow, take more or less space or have higher yields.

Another way look a it is with a typical serving size. You can download a chart here from the FDA:

Vegetables – https://www.fda.gov/media/70792/download
Fruit – https://www.fda.gov/media/76508/download

Also check out: https://www.fda.gov/food/food-labeling-nutrition/nutrition-information-raw-vegetables

The breakdown of carbohydrates vs. protein is also important. Protein is a very important part of your diet. Check out:

https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/19-high-protein-vegetables

4) How long does eggplant last in the fridge?

Eggplant lasts about 5 days in the refrigerator crisper.

5) How many weeks does a fig last on a fig tree?

Figs last just a few days after picking when ripe. Figs don’t store well, so it is best to eat or process them soon after picking. Once the fig is ripe on the tree, it won’t last long. Birds and insects are drawn to ripe fruit left on the tree.