General Update- 100307

Well, its certainly been awhile, and much has happened since my last post.

First, we went through a couple weeks of very cold weather, and several days of freezing temperatures. Though I'm not certain I think it killed one of my grapefruit trees, and possibly damaged a fig. My plums look OK, though only one is currently blooming.

I still have not finished building the rabbit nest boxes for the fryer cages. I have 5 left to build. I'm also concerned that the boxes are not well shaded from the sun. I may need to build a little awning over each... got an idea for it. Just on the South side, I think the North side will be shaded enough. I also found a Champagne De Argent breeder in my neighborhood... pretty cool since they are not a common breed. The breeder has a dairy goat farm so may also be a good source for info.

I told the breeder that I would be looking to place an order this Fall. I think raising them through the Winter will be easier than through our hot Summer. The cost for a breeding pair will be around $100. I will probably decide to breed them in conjunction with the cooler part of the season. Should be a pretty easy life for them.

As I said before my chicken coop is done. A week ago I ordered the chicks and they will be in on March 19th (next Friday) and I will need to go pick them up from the post office. I bought 12 Cochins- 3 each of 4 different colors. I eMailed the breeder and gave specs and he gave me two possible breeds; Cochin and Buff Orpingtons. The Cochins are bantam, and are suppose to be docile, good layers and brooders. I will be building the brooding box and the chicks will live there for 8 weeks until they are big enough to move to the coop. Depending on curcumstances I may build a chicken tractor to move them around the yard a bit. I haven't decided yet.

I have also built two 4'x8' raised beds and placed them in the front yard by the two I already had. I have room for another in that line and then can move away about 3' and start another row. This year it might be just 4-10 beds, we'll see, and now Spring garden. I have missed that train but Gail and I will go select some plants next week and raise what we can. Next year will be different. I will be prepared! I should have a bit of chicken poop too, and maybe some rabbit!

I'll be glad to get the animals placed and move on to work on the house, then on to the aquaponics system. The microfarm must LIVE!!

Blessings,
Tony

General Update-090906

I think I must be the worst blogger in all bloggerdom. I should be taking pictures as I work on the farm so that I can show before and after but I simply find myself out working and not thinking about later when I blog. Something I need to work on for sure!

Yesterday I managed to plant two types of tomatoes, two types of cabbage (green and red), 4 acorn squash plants, and some garlic. As usual I bought too much garlic. One bulb breaks down into like 15-20 cloves, each one to be planted. I bought two packs each with three bulbs, enough to give Gilmore, CA a run for their money!

I went to Lowes earlier and bought two bags of topsoil and one bag of peat/humas for each of three raised beds. Thi8s adds bulk to the beds and adds nutrition. I had previously added a little triple 13 to each bed so I think that will last for a bit.

I also worked on the chicken yard, hanging wire- which was a pain! Wearing gloves helps but wearing gloves hinders holding the poultry nails. I will need at least one more large rold of 1" chicken wire to finish, possibly two since I am also doing the roof.

As far as the roof I had originally thought to run wires on a turnbuckle the length of the yard to support the netting but I found two warped 2"x4"s and thought I would use them instead. I still need to add a 1"x2"x8' and replace a 1"x2"x4' with one that's 6' long. These are the top and second from the top rungs of the ladder/perch respectively. I'm still thinking about adding another covered perch to the far end of the chicken yard. Also, I think I will need to add a board running along the length of the yard to give a surface to nail the bottom of the wire to and also to keep animals like raccoons from pushing underneath the wire.

I thought I could make the shelter big enough that it could be a perch but also a place for the chicken waterer and feeder to hang. I will reread my chicken book but it seems to me that the feeders and waters are also located IN the house. Also, I wondering about a door to the ramp. I mean if the animal can get through the 1" fencing of the yard it can get through the one inch fencing of the house I think.

Tomorrow I will either work on the pellet trays in which case I will need to get 4- 1"x2's and 2- 2"x2"s, or I will get some more chicken wire and see if I can finish the chicken yard.

I was also thinking that I will build a stand at the far end of the rabbitry and sit the wire cage I have. This can be for my experimental bunny I feed dehydrated veggies and hay to. If I built the stand correctly I could use the underside for storage. The wire cage is a commercial cage about 3'x3'x2' and has a galvanized metal tray beneath it.

Mark Ns family has a lemon tree that has giant lemons on it, seriously the size of green softballs. Perhaps I could get some clippings and try to grow some myself. I noted that Lowes is selling blueberries and blackberries again, and their stock of fruit trees is back up. I might get a few more bushes but I think I will wait on the Spring to purchase and plant anymore trees to avoid a cold weather kill. I would like to get a couple kumquats which I will prune to around 4' and keep them bushy.

Tony
Cantonment

General Update-090903

Today I was able to place one row of chicken wire down the back side of the chicken yard. It amazes me how difficult poultry nails can be to hammer in. Its never about a flat board on a hard surface. I had to bend over and hammer in the nail while stretching and placing the chicken. I think I may only need one more role of chicken wire, maybe two with the roof. I think I will use the turnbuckle and wire support for the roof.

I also bought 6 tomato plants, three Celebrity's and three... Sundowners, something like that, and four Acorn squash plants. I also have a packet of squash seeds I will put out too. I think I'll put the tomatoes in the front raised beds, and the squash in the raised bed on the side of the house. These will be easy to clean and plant, though I'll need to use some fertilizer. I hope the tomatoes will produce outside the normal bug life cycle.

This weekend I will try to get all the chicken wire I have up, and build the rabbit pellet trays. Maybe even jack-up and fix the roof. I need will need a couple straight 2"x4"x8' boards and some 3" exterior screws, and my jack. For the rabbit trays I will need to buy another gallon of tar though I think I have the needed wood.

A thing I learned recently is not to store boards standing up. I think it makes them warp. Store the flat; horizontal.

I was also thinking recently, after the success of my new gate made from 1"x2" s that I might make 8' sections of fence the same way... basically a 2"x4" on each end, a 2"x2" on the top and bottom and 1"x2" boards spaced out at around 4" running in between. I could eventually replace the interior wire fences and ugly green metal poles. Its something to think about, after I fix the things wrong on the house this Fall/Winter.

Tony
Cantonment

Beginning Summary

To Begin With:
I have less than half an acre but my plan is to raise chickens for eggs and meat, rabbits for meat, fish for meat, fruits and vegetables. This post will summarize where I'm at and what I have planned. Future posts will be updates as to my status and observations.

Chickens:
I have built a 4'x8' chicken house made almost exclusively from chicken and welded wire. My theory is that in North West Florida the heat is the predominant factor so the floor is 1/4" welded wire supported by 10 gauge wire connected to turnbuckles so it can be tightened as needed. I have chosen to raise bantam (small) chickens so I built the nest box 10"x10"x8', a 8' long ladder made from 1"x2"s allows entrance as well as acts as perches. I am not comfortable with letting the chickens roam around the yard so a 4'x16' chicken yard will be built to allow the chickens to move around while being protected by animals. I still need to figure out the the placement of feeders and waterers.
I hope to select hens that are both good layers and brooders. The laying attribute is obvious but because of my limited time I need the hens to raise their own young. I will research the best overall breed prior to ordering. I would like to get a rooster, and have cleared it with my closest neighbor, but wonder how long we will need to get use to it's incessant vocalizations! On the other hand I can then have the possibility of new chicks. I hope to install the new chickens by the Fall of 2009.

Rabbits:
I have constructed four 2'x2'x8' cage frames. They are all use 2"x2" lumber covered with 1/2" welded wire. Two of the frames are divided into two cages each making four cages total. These are the breeder cages. And two of the cage frames are divided into 3 cages each making a total of 6 cages I will be using for "fryer" cages- a place to fatten the young rabbits.
The cage frames are stacked in twos between buried 4"x4" posts with a isle running between the two stacks. Each stack is roofed with leftover roofing shingles. I have a slight bow in the roofs due to a miscalculation as to the weight of the shingles but I will be correcting this. Trays are mounted below each cage to collect the feces for composting.
The cages are competed and only need to be furnished with nest boxes, feeders and water bottles.
I want to order something other than New Zealands, or Floridians (white rabbits). I will try to get my breeders installed in the Fall of 2009. I intend to have two breeding pairs.

Catfish:
I have been working on an Aquaponics project with another group called Sustainable Missions (see their FaceBook/MySpace accounts) so I plan to duplicate a smaller version of this system on my microfarm. I have a small aquaponics model on my front porch that has been supporting several goldfish for a few months. I grew jalapeno peppers in the grow bin with no extra effort from me.
I have a 400 gal poly tank and will need to build some grow bins as well as a sump prior to installing the fish and planting the bins.

Fruit Trees:
I planted two grapefruit trees this year in 2008 and will probably not produce anything for a couple years. I also planted two Santa Rosa plum trees that may bear something next year, as the figs might do since they have already produced several figs already. I have determined that I will top these trees when they get around 12' so they will not become a problem for storms and hurricanes.
I also planted 6 blueberry bushes of three types. A local blueberry grower told me to pull the blossoms from the bushes for the next couple of years so the growth will go into the bush.
I hope to add a couple more citrus trees (lemon and Satsuma), then either peaches or apples. I may also plant some strawberries in some unusable areas like fence rows.

Vegetables:
This year I dug and tilled several long rows about three foot wide. I purposefully left the grass between the rows which in the end caused trouble by allowing weeds to invade the rows. Since I have limited time to pull weeds, and my family is not 100% on board with the microfarm, I will need to develop and better system. I will be building formal raised beds using 2"x10" lumber and weed-block fabric on the bottom. I will also integrate a PVC watering system into the new plan.
Once the beds are built the tops can be built; plastic for early season plants (green house), insect screens, or shade. The beds will be filled with a fertile mix of my own compost and purchased soil amendments. Other than the weeds I neglected soil preparation this year and had limited success in the new beds. This should not be a problem once I begin composting the animal manure.
As far as crops I will be sticking to the old standards, but I will plant some root crops to begin experimenting with drying and feeding them to the rabbits. Also, experiments on cutting and storing bean hay.

What Is Left:
I have several things the need to be completed prior to installing the chickens and rabbits.

• Chicken yard established
• I need to consider further sheltering for the chickens, not just nest box
• Ramp for chicken house
  
• Two rabbit pellet trays built and installed
• 4 rabbit nest boxes built
• Rabbit feeders and bottles purchased and installed

As far as the fish...

• Build & mount grow bins
• Build sump (ferro-cement); overflow drain
  
• Plumb poly tank; drain and supply lines
  
• Configure system; set things where they go
• Plumb system; supply and drain
  
• Purchase, install and test pump
• Acquire fish of some kind to prime system.
  

At some point I will also need to complete some home repairs. Things needing done since Ivan! I would also like to redesign my compost bins. And level/back-fill some areas of my yard.

Future:
My wife, Gail, has also suggested that we also get some pygmy goats to raise and milk. If we do thin we will need to bring in food since there is no way I could raise enough food for them. The good news is that there is a farmer at the end of the road who might sell me some hay and straw. However, the goats are certainly further into the future.
I am also reading up on bee keeping. I would only need one hive and I'm thinking of it in the context of honey for medical purposes, not just to eat.
I also have a dream, and the beginnings of a plan, to build a little (14'x10'x10') domed ferro-cement farm house for one. It will be my office and part of the experiment using a water catchment system, saw dust toilet, PV-DC electric system and other sustainable low-tech features.

Stay tuned for other posts!

ADF
Cantonment- 090825