Springing into action

You may have guessed by my lack of blogging activity recently that getting back on track after 'fruitcagegate' has consumed every waking moment. Not only was the rebuild a soul destroying, time consuming, mammoth task but it knocked our farming schedule out of sync. Alas, we are recovering from a hard winter of construction, cold weather and a roller coaster of emotions, and things are looking up.

Spring has well and truly sprung on the farm and what a change. Things are green again, grass has grown back over the muddy trenches we dug for power lines and the place is looking like a farm rather than a construction site. 

The fruit cage is now finished (again) and has a variety of fruit trees and bushes planted in it. The leaves are emerging and we have begun to train them along the wire cables we installed.  This is called espalier growing. The technique was developed in the 16th century, out of the practical need for growing fruit in marginal climates. The early French and English discovered that if they bent apple-tree branches horizontally, they could direct energy away from vigorous vertical growth and into producing spurs (those stubby lateral branches that eventually flower and produce fruit). In addition, by growing the tree flat against a wall or fence, they could create a favorable microclimate in which the wall radiated heat and provided shelter. In addition, there is ease of management. We do not need to climb ladders to harvest the fruit at the top as the branches can be trained at a reachable level.

We have also added a 3 part compost bin inside the fruit cage, built from reclaimed pallets, of course! This year we will put all out compostable material into the first bin. The chickens, who also roam in the sanctuary of the fruit cage, scratch through the compost, eating whatever interests them. This process provides food for the chickens, speeds the composting process up, reduces labour as they are turning it for us and adds additional manure. We are finding it to be a highly efficient method. The bins also firm up the structure of the fruit cage.

The poly tunnel is finished and has power. So far we've planted around 10,000 seeds, staggering each planting session. Leaving 2 weeks between each session lengthens our growing season and gives us time to transplant into bigger pots & harden the new plants before transferring them into the ground. Some of the seeds are beginning to germinate within 3 days in the warm, moist conditions. This weekend we are transplanting the first beans, peas & kale outside. They are going into the fruit cage as these are particular favourites of the local deer. We are embracing the idea of companion planting so we don't have to use chemical fertilizers. An example of this is planting marigolds around the peas. These plant benefit from each other's nitrate needs and use, and the marigolds repel some types of bugs as well as rabbits. Here's some further reading if you are interested: http://www.westcoastseeds.com/topicdetail/topic/companion-planting/

The pig and goat house that we built is now a temporary nursery for 4 hens and their 8 baby chicks that we hatched 2 weeks ago. This had been a highly rewarding experience, with a few exceptions. We didn't get as many chicks hatch as we had hoped but that's because I couldn't stop interfering! We let the hens sit on their nests in the main coop. The other hens hassled the moms and interrupted the development of some of the eggs. Next time I will move the broody hens and their eggs into the nursery from day one. Also, I had the extremely stressful experience of vaccinating the day old chicks. There were tears, sweat and I am now vaccinated too! Despite this, it has been lovely to watch the Momma hens caring for the babies and teaching them. Today the babies were trying to fly. By fly I mean running around in circles flapping their newly developed wings and jumping in the air. This usually ended with a face plant or a squashed sibling. Also, the hens were collecting meal worms and taking them to their babies.  So far the hens have been ok about me co-parenting and this experience has reaffirmed our decision to do this naturally. Watching the hens and chicks bond has made me thankful we didn't go down the route of incubators.

As we're talking about animals, I'll mention that we have sheep arriving next week and piglets in June. We've purchased 2 lambs and have their Momma sheep on loan. The lambs are for meat and we have bravely taken the decision to not only raise them but slaughter and butcher them ourselves!!!!! Our neighbours did it last year so we are following their example and drawing in their expertise. Of course, when I say "we", I mean "Ian". I feel that this is beyond my limitations.

We have finally found a breeder of heritage pigs and are learning more about that process. The pigs are also for meat and we have several people wanting to but into this process. A number of families are purchasing half a pig. They will get delicious pasture-raised pork, butchered to their specific requirements from pedigree pigs. I will talk more about that process as it happens. We will not be slaughtering and butchering the pigs though. As they are for sale they have to be processed at a facility.

The arrival of sunshine has reignited the social scene at the farm. The barn has hosted a couple of events and dinners already. And the lure of baby chicks has ensured a string of visitors.  

Recently, we met some new neighbours who accidentally wondered onto our property on their way to Glorious Organics next door. (You must understand that I use neighbour in the loosest sense as there are not many properties around us, but they are within walking distance if you come through fields and over fences). Anyway, it was a wet, dreary Saturday morning when Madeliene and Peter stumbled across us toiling on the fruit cage. Meeting Madeleine and Peter was the best thing that could have happened to us that day. Madeleine and Peter are of Swiss origin and moved to Canada a number of years ago. 20 years ago they set out with a plan to do exactly what we are doing and create their little peice of homesteading paradise. Walking them around Laurica Farm and hearing them reminisce and be astounded was a real tonic. I realized that we had become so entrenched in the work and mud and winter challenges that we had forgotten to enjoy it. We'd stopped looking around and having fun. Here were 2 people in awe of the farm and showing us that after 20 years, their homesteading dream was still real and enjoyable and rewarding. We're invited to Madeliene and Peter's for dinner tomorrow and can't wait to share stories, experiences and energy over this lifestyle. A combination of spring and interacting with all of our wonderful neighbours again has reignited us. AND, in case you hadn't noticed, we're starting to sound like farmers. Let the first growing season commence. 

It never rains but it pours

The title of this post has both literal and metaphoric purpose.  As I sit at my kitchen table typing this blog, it is literally pouring down with rain (hence I'm blogging instead of completing the outdoor tasks Ian asked me to do today).  But it is also a reflection of life on the farm at the moment; once something goes wrong, everything seems to tumble down around you.

Regular readers of this blog will know that we've had quite a good transition to homesteading life.  We have worked hard, made sacrifices but achieved a lot.  That changed recently.  The major story is the fruit cage falling down under the weight of the snow.  This collapse triggered a lot of other things that have thrown us off track.  Firstly, the work that has gone back into rebuilding it.  The biggest thing to overcome was an attitudinal barrier for me.  The first day after it collapsed, I went around undoing all the cables that are for training the fruit trees and bushes along.  I'd only finished installing these 3 weeks earlier.  My arms ached tightening them all up and now they were aching again undoing them.  It was really hard to overcome the mental challenge of doing it all again!  Thankfully, Ian and I work well under pressure and have banded together, erected flood lights and laboured through the dark, snow and rain to rebuild the frame.  One week after the collapse, the entire 20,000 sq. ft. frame is back up.  We still have to replace the netting but it's a little less soul destroying seeing the fruit cage now.

The time wasn't the only cost of this rebuild.  We had to replace some of the timbers too.  Unbeknownst to me, the price of wood fluctuates depending on the US construction market.  Of course, timber is way more expensive now than when we purchased it the first time.  We still need to buy more concrete and other materials, I think the remedial work will cost us around $1500, which we can ill afford.  We are also really behind our schedule, we should have moved in animals and begun planting this week but everything has been put on hold.

I also have to acknowledge the friends that rallied around to help us, especially Kyle and Shenade Ingram.  Kyle came and volunteered his time to help demolish, paint and rebuild for four days.  Shenade collected Jess from school and cleaned my house.  Thank you Ingrams!

The dishwasher died about a month ago.  Followed by the tumble dryer.  Followed by numerous other seemingly little things that all add up to one big headache.  I've spent this week trying to focus on the silver lining.

Fruitcagegate: Although devastating at the time, thankfully it was empty (apart from the chickens who miraculously escaped death by crushing).  If this happened in five years time, it would have destroyed $1000's of dollars worth of fruit trees and bushes.  We are now able to make a more accurate risk assessment for the rebuild and take steps to ensure we are never in this position again.

The dishwasher is turning out to be a blessing in disguise.  I quite like washing up.  I stand at the sink looking out of the window planning and musing about farm issues.  Two deer wondered passed the window today which was just beautiful to observe and was a reminder as to why we chose rural life - far nicer to look at marauding wildlife than gangs of marauding youth!

The other upside is the closeness it evokes within the family.  With one of us washing and another drying, we are literally close in the teeny weeny kitchen space but also we talk.  Lauren and I have been chit chatting about friends, school, the farm and even politics.  I think we'd forgotten to do a lot of talking as she turned an Internet obsessed teenage and I became busier.  But now we find ourselves in a small space discovering pleasures in each others company again.  I now relish this time without distraction.  Even Jessica is learning the value of helping with chores and asks to help dry the dishes after breakfast.  It's heartwarming to see the girls take responsibility for helping.  We're not going to replace the dishwasher and might use the space for an extra cupboard or even try and remodel the existing kitchen a bit.

The tumble dryer is another story.  I've been trying not to use it for a while now and dry the clothes on the line whenever possible.  And that's the thing. 'Whenever possible' turns into when it's raining, when I'm short of time, and a plethora of other excuses.  I'm learning that as long as I'm organized, I can dry clothes indoors when the weather is bad.  A clotheshorse in front of the wood burning stove is amazingly effective.  Tumble dryers are expensive to run so we're saving a fortune.  We've decided not to replace the tumble dryer either.

The offset of all this is my time.  I've talked about this before I think but my previous reliance on modern luxuries like dishwashers & tumble dryers was driven by convenience.  It's hard to manage a frugal lifestyle and a full time job!  But now this is my job.  When you consider the cost of going to a job (fuel, childcare, convenience items and easy food), I believe I'm saving us more than I could earn.  And that monetary value will increase as my homesteading role extends to growing and produce.  Somebody said I was a housewife which a disdainful and patronising tone last week, which made me laugh.  Well I'm not sure there are many housewives that can operate the kind of power tools I can or have the carpentry skills I'm acquiring, but whatever.  I know the value of my time here on the homestead may not yet be making us financially better off but all our lives are richer.

Housewife, eh?

As for the other things that have failed, broken, given up, well it's nothing we can't manage really.  It's amazing how creative you become when you walk away from a throw away society and mind set.  And so it's time.  This is it.  The point in my transition that I have truly become a homesteading hippy. :-)

Cathy and Ian, circa 2064, probably. :-)

Diary of a disaster, day 2.

Yesterday (Tuesday) was horrid.  I'm certainly feeling the effect in my aching body this morning.

After I got home from taking the girls to school in the morning, the cage had collapsed further.  The top layer of netting and snow was on the ground.  My concern was that I could only find 20 chickens and had to assume the rest were under the collapsed structure.  I spent the next 2 hours trying to locate them.  Some were out on the lot and some had walked into little hiding places under the net.  I found the last five after two hours of searching.  They were trapped in little air pockets.  I can't believe they all survived and feel so relieved.  I did however managed to almost get myself trapped rescuing the last chicken when the wood that was holding her little air pocket gave way and came crashing down on top of me.

Ian came home from work at the point and we set to work clearing.  One of the myriad of emotions we were experience was embarrassment about the collapse.  We reflected that part of our error was to try and save the entire cage the night before by clearing snow from the top.  If we had just cut the nets and let the snow fall through, we would have lost some netting but saved the rest of the structure.  However, during the clearing process we found the root cause of the collapse.  One post and it's concrete base had lifted out of the dirt suggesting that it was the ground that gave away first, not the structure.  This made Ian feel a bit better as the architect and builder of this project.  We were also finding that not much of the wood had broken, and so can be reused.

His relief soon ended when as we started to put the outside layer back together.  Ian dropped a piece of 2x6 lumber from the top, right onto my head as I was bending down.  A quick trip to the walk-in clinic for the all clear and then back to work.

We have now got almost half of the outside posts back up and the snow cleared off the netting.  I will carry on today clearing and prepping for the rebuild.  Ian has gone back to work.

Yesterday was certainly hard but we learned our lessons and have done enough to see a way forward.  There were certainly some tears, anger, frustration and self loathing flowing throughout the day.  It's so disheartening to see all the hard work lying on the floor and knowing that we have to do it all again but we feel relieved that it can be saved.  I wouldn't exactly refer to this as a 'Phoenix from the flames' moment but there is a small spark of fire.

We were extremely touched by the outpouring of support from people.  Although there is not a lot people can do until we make it safe, we had lots of offers of help during the day.  You really get to know who your friends are during challenging times.  Thanks you to all that contacted us yesterday with offers of help and words of support.  We will always remember how your kindness picked us up and motivated us to keep going.

The post that came out of the ground bringing the rest of the structure down.

Repairs underway.  Believe it or not, this is progress.

In the cold light of day....disaster!

We knew there was snow coming but we had no idea how much.  On Thursday, we were complacent about the impending snowfall that was forecast to start Friday.  We had endured heavy snowfall last November and survived with just the old barn lean-to roof as the only casualty.  Besides, the forecast predicted the snow would turn to rain on Sunday.

When the snow kept falling, we started to get a little worried on Monday.  We spent the day clearing snow off the poly tunnel and the barn.  By Monday night we had a few broken beams in the fruit cage.  We cleared snow off the bays until our freezing hands could take no more.  Still we were watching the forecast and the promises that the snow would turn to rain.

It's Tuesday morning as I write this.  The fruit cage/chicken run has collapsed.  We feel physically sick.  Of course, a majority of this project was made from reclaimed materials, and some of them can be salvaged.  But there were significant cost incurred with things like concrete, wood, netting, etc.  The real kicker is the time that went into this project, not just ours but the numerous volunteers.  Bear in mind that this was a 20,000 sq. ft. fruit cage; a lot of blood. sweat, tears, money and time were invested.

And of course, the time for finishing construction and starting farming is upon us.  Our seed order arrives on Thursday!

Today is not a good day to be a homesteader.

Finding our way

I have a few things to talk about in this post; a bit of farm action, a sprinkling of homesteading insight and just a dash of personal awareness.  But let’s get the farm stuff out the way first.

I’ve been going on about the end of construction and the beginning of farming since the start of the year. Well, guess what?  We’re still building stuff BUT we have placed a seed order….Hurrah!  However, some of the projects that we’ve completed have made me really proud.  Not least of all, the poly tunnel (you can find pictures of the build in the last post). 

You may find it hard to understand why I appear delighted to have a huge plastic cylinder constantly in my vision.  There are many reasons; firstly the opportunities it offers to have year round supply of fresh produce, and not just veggies, but fish too.  Ian is attending an Aquaponics course at the local university with a view to installing an Aquaponics system in the middle of the tunnel.  Basically this is a giant fish tank, usually stocked with tilapia or prawns.  Then there are various types of veggies growing either on top or alongside.  It’s a kind of symbiotic process; the fish waste is transformed by bacteria to provide vital food and nutrients to the produce which in turn provides oxygen, etc. to help the fish thrive.  It’s a newish concept (although it’s origins are from Mayan agriculture) that really fits with our permaculture values.  It’s really exciting to find interesting initiatives to aid us in a journey to self-sufficiency and that underpin our ethics.  (See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquaponics for more info on Aquaponics).

Another permaculture value is about building communities and so the second reason that the poly-tunnel project made me proud was the community driven building process.  As usual, most of the materials are salvaged and reclaimed.  The building took a lot of blood sweat and tears, but nothing in comparison to the day we put the poly on the damn thing.  The day was miserable, wet, cold and windy, not ideal conditions for manipulating giant swaths of poly!  However, my heart had plenty of opportunities to swell.  Our friends and neighbours turning up and enduring these conditions to help us wrestle to wrong-sized, fly-away poly rendered me speechless.  Also, although I am usually loathed to publicly credit Ian with anything, watching my brilliant husband problem solve and lead the troops was awesome.  After we started pulling the poly over the frame, we realized that we’d been given the 20ft wide poly instead of the 30ft we needed.  But what can you do when you’ve unrolled it and got it covered in mud and there’s volunteers there waiting to help?  Nothing, you have to make it work.  Anyway, as we discovered the problem I turned to one of our friends and said “Wait for it, Ian will think of something in the next 30 seconds” and I saw his brain whirring into action.  I counted down from 30 and by the time I got to 6 Ian started “Maybe we could….”.  Of course, he made it work and I was so proud.  I normally resent it when people say “Good job Ian” every time we complete a building because I’m there too working through the cold and the dark, but he can have credit for the poly tunnel, he made it a triumph.

I’ve been forced to think about my place and approach as a homesteader.  This occurred when I had an accidental meeting with two inspiring women.  The ladies in question are two sisters, each one a homesteader with a family.  They live in different places in the North of BC.  Immediately this evoked admiration.  Homesteading is hard work and takes commitment, but doing it in the north with extreme weather and Kodiak Bears rendered me awe-struck.  So when they asked if they could come and see our little homestead, I was both honoured and struck by inferiority complex at the same time.

Watching these two ladies walk around Laurica Farm admiring the projects and bickering about the ‘right way’ to homestead was fascinating and hilarious.  One of the ladies’ approach to homesteading is to make EVERYTHING from scratch.  She literally spends all her time making everything from bread (including grinding her own flour) to candles, deodorant, and household furniture.  She even artificially inseminates her own cow…!  The other sister claimed that this was fools work.  She informed me that while her sister worked her fingers to the bone, she was sitting in the warmth of her kitchen cutting out coupons.  Of course this means that she has to run 3 chest freezers and might have to eat pizza for weeks at a time but she’s happy that she’s never broken a sweat on her homestead.

This exhausting visit, which seemed to involve me doing a lot of mediation between the two sisters in their 70’s, made me think about my place in the homesteading community.  I had never thought about my individual approach to the lifestyle.  I feel like I’m at a happy medium between these two women.  I make all our food from scratch but will look for deals on my deodorant.  And I’m ok staying along that middle-road.  It may not be as cost efficient as the ladies’ lifestyles but it’s not as time consuming either, nor do I have to face a freezer full of processed foods just to save a few dollars.  I think we’re doing ok at it to.  We’ve significantly reduced our grocery shopping bill to $75 - $100 a week for a family of four; that’s pretty good.

 

The next part of this blog is a personal observation.  Some of you might not like it because I’m at risk of sounding a bit preachy.  I apoligise in advance but this blog was always meant to document the transition from our urban lifestyle so here goes.

The final reflection, sparked partly by the sisters, relates to how mass consumerism and societal pressure makes us believe we need certain things & that we must live in a prescribed and generic way.  As our family has stripped luxuries from our life to reinvest in the basics, I come to realize what a load of corporate BS it is.  I looked at the sisters, both in their 70’s, and saw two healthy, fit, astute and empowered women who have always enjoyed a stress free life (the one thing they did agree on).  I thought about the things I imagined I would miss about our old lifestyle.  For example, I used to indulge in the occasional pedicure but view it as a necessity.  I haven’t done this since we moved, not due to some grandiose hippy gesture, purely due to lack of time and money.  But hey, I managed to keep my toenails painted all by myself.  I haven’t developed scales or dry skin on heels.  The only weirdness about my feet is my freaky tiny toes, and that’s genetic.  My hair is not freshly cut or coloured, but my husband hasn’t left me, no one has de-friended me and I haven’t been asked to leave any respectable restaurants due to my offensive roots.  I haven’t shopped for crap from Home Sense and people still visit my house.  There are no new shoes from Aldo in my closet or new clothes from whatever the trendiest shop is at the moment, but no one says a word when I go out in my farm footwear.  I haven’t set foot inside the new Cactus Club restaurant to dine from their generic, franchised menu and I haven’t been cast out of society, nor am I starving to death.

The things that seemed important to me before (all of which cost money)  have been undermined by my new outlook and that fact that nothing bad has happened to me by going without them, in fact, I feel more relaxed, more liberated and less pressure. 

I’ve realized that there is not a set homesteading model that I have to aspire to, meeting these two ladies and 7 month out of suburbia has encouraged me to forge my own path down the long and windy homesteading road.  Let’s just hope I don’t trip on my uncut hair on the way!

Operation Poly-tunnel...a photographic story

We got by with a little help from our friends!

The Money, moods & meltdowns.

January 2014: the month that will hereon be known as Black January.  The shine has definitely started to tarnish.  There has been significantly less laughter and certainly no fun on the farm.  I’m not sure if it’s because we’re midway through our first winter, or if the drain on our resources is causing us stress, or if we’re just purely exhausted…probably a combination of all of the above.

There are things that have darkened our mood of late.  Firstly, we’re feeling the pressure of looming deadlines.  All the construction needs finishing off ready for planting, arrival of animals, etc.  You know what it’s like, getting around to the boring stuff when there’s far more exciting prospects beckoning.  And although our weather has been extremely mild, it’s still hard to push on in the middle of January. 

The chickens are also getting me down.  There are four broody hens.  Bless them, they want to have babies.  Couple of issues with that.  It’s a bit early for chicks, best to wait for the spring and we don’t have a rooster.  Nevertheless, they occupy the nest boxes and protect their eggs vehemently.  This is upsetting the entire flock and laying is down.  I’ve learned that I have to ‘break’ their broodiness.  Even the sound of it is harsh.  There are a few methods but basically we’ve put ours in chicken jail.  Each morning I have to go and drag them out their boxes and put them in a cage outside.  They protest until about lunchtime, then they spend the rest of the day sitting, sulking and refusing to make eye contact with me.  Not only is it really hard to wrestle chickens into a cage but it’s depressing to see their little defeated souls in a cage.  The rest of the flock gather around or sit on top of the cage in a show of solidarity and glare at me (unless I'm bearing food).

The money situation remains a challenge having hemorrhaged money since the day we moved in.  Regular readers of my blog will know I’ve chirped on about budgets and planning resources, etc.  Well those things never really happen until it becomes absolutely necessary, and January has seen it become necessary.  The upside of this situation has made me realize how wasteful we are normally and I’ve become quite determined not to revert back to our former frivolous ways.  Every week I’ve been meal planning, making my own bread, hanging washing instead of using the tumble dryer, conserving fuel, etc.  Being frugal means becoming uber efficient!  I’m suprised that I’ve achieved this, probably because I've had too but even so, once I overcame my sulkiness about having to organize, I’ve really quite enjoyed it.  And we are managing to turn the money situation around a little. 

A breaking point was reached recently.  I lost it at Ian.  We generally work well together but, as mentioned, we’re clearly under pressure.  Our problems usually arise from a clash of personality types.  Ian is ‘Type A’ and the only thing I overachieve at is under-achieving.  This usually results in me being wishy-washy about planning a task and Ian charging at it bull-headed without listening.   This is exactly what happened when we were setting up the chicken jail.  The outcome was Ian walking away and me throwing (and smashing) the plastic chicken feed box and  screaming “YOU MAKE ME CRAZY” while slapping my hand on my forehead.  Yes, I’m not proud but this is what my very rare meltdowns look like.  I did manage to find some humour in the situation later in the day when my neighbour said “Oh thank God, I thought you were this perfect homesteady couple and it was beginning to annoy me”.

January is coming to an end though.  Last weekend was beautifully sunny and warm.  I had ten hours sleep and took a minute to walk the property and remembered to look around.  Sometimes it can be easy to forget to stop and take it all in when you’re entrenched with work, freezing cold and covered in mud.  I can see the progress we’ve made.  We’re almost ready to become farmers.  Spring in nearing which will bring the idea of farming to reality.  And despite the occasional broken feed box, our family is strong together.  We’re good and making things happen, and quickly.  I think we’re good at pulling together and facing challenges with resilience.  There’s no choice now really, we’ve just got to keep on keeping on. Here’s hoping for a brighter February, successful planting and a return to happier times.

The Pig/goat House with windows and a coat of paint!

The frame and beds for the Poly-tunnel

Drilling holes for the cables in the fruit cage

Finishing the flashing on the chicken coop (on my birthday).  The coop also has 7 new nest boxes.