To do List

now that it's starting to be fall like I thought I'd write down an actual "to do list" perhaps it will all get done that way :)

• dig out beds, layer in mulch and compost, plant cover crop seeds
• buy cover crop seed
• rake out chicken run to get mulch for beds
• make hard apple cider
• buy cider supplies-buckets, yeast, large pot for cooking
• rent cider press from tool library
• pick apples
• add "debris board" to the bottom of the chicken run - hopefully using scrap wood
• go thru seeds - order any new 
• set up seed growing space in basement
• set up old dining room table
• locate grow light  & extension cords
• organize gardening supplies
• buy compost to start seeds in
• bring small pots and seed trays into basement
• Decide how many beds we want and offer others to friends 
• they will need to amend soil too
• Create winter tool storage space
• back porch or shed
• move all tools into storage space
• clean tools off first

I think that's all of the major things - I'm hoping to get all of this done by the end of October so that in November we can focus on starting seeds!

rambling plans and updates

Amazing.  I can't believe it's been so long since we've posted.  Since our last post the ducks have grown up and are now living outside int he chicken run.  They are noisy 'pack' animals that don't really seem to like us. They do not think we are their 'rooster' (what's the duck equivalent?) like the chickens do.

Jen has 3 new baby chicks right now - fancy ones - and I can never remember the varieties even though she tells me over and over.  they are super cute.  These one's don't have any purpose other than being cute - they won't lay regularly or anything.  I guess that means they'd better be super cute ;p

We joined Full Circle Farms CSA since we didn't get many things to grow this year.  I guess when you move when you're supposed to be starting seeds and don't have your awesome soil you spent 2 years building up that's what happens.  We did manage to grow onions, garlic and cabbages though so that's kind of cool.  Jen's tomatoes might ripen still too so there's that possiblility.

I'm trying to decide what to grow next year and I'm looking forward to getting the basement set up with the grow lights and starting all the seeds.  First comes the really exciting part of looking through seed catalogs and thinking of all the tasty things I want to eat.  I still want to build potato bins to grow those and I've found I love carrots so I'll have to grow those as well.

There's a lot of work to do before I start growing things though.  Part of our problem here is the horrible soil in the raised beds.  We didn't amend it when we first moved in and it's awful - such a disappointment after our amazing soil at the last place (yay compost!)  This soil has too much clay so plants rot in the spring and dry out and die in the summer :(  I'm going to remove all of the soil in the beds and add layers of chicken mulch, compost and soil back in and top it all off with some cover crop seed.  I found a cover crop that is formulated especially for chickens which I think will be awesome.  Especially since I will be letting the chickens loose on my raised beds before I plant.  After this mix sits all winter and the chickens scratch it up in the spring I think I'll have awesome planting space.  I do want to raise up one of the beds and will be trolling craigslist for some free 4x4's or cinder blocks.  I'm excited for this project.

winter and animalses

yes - that's animals-es as in lots of them - and not necessarily ours. It's COLD outside!  We had temps below 20 degrees at the beginning of last week, then a snow and ice storm...now it's clear and slightly rainy but still really cold.  This brings out the animals from the green belt...

The chickens seem to be OK with the cold - we put a wool blanket on their coop and shut them in at night so they would stay warm and they seem to be ok.

Then there's the other animals-es..........yea. 
There are 2 juvenile raccoons living under the back porch but of course not just under the porch...the owner has some sheets of plastic down there to move the rain water away from the house so they of course are living on top of the plastic under the wood...noisy!  They are not to much of a pest though.  What's a  real pest is the possum (yes, I know it's really Opossum) twice now it's climbed INTO THE CHICKEN COOP!!!  when we left the door open after dark.  So that's a small detail, thank god it's a small baby possum.  I was so scared it was going to be super agressive and attack us or something.  We had to get a rake and shove it out of the coop and out of the run, fortunately it just went out, scared of us.  It doesn't seem to get that the chickens are possum food which is really really good :)

The one that really annoys me though is whatever has taken up residence in my wall - right under the head of my bed!  rrr!  I can hear it at night eating and moving about - I guess I should be happy there's only one of it but I can't help but wonder if it's going to eat through the drywall and into my room some night. *shiver* EW.  Have I mentioned I'm happy we're moving out of this house?!?

In other news we are about 3/4 of the way done with the major repairs that have to happen to the new house before we can move in.  We'll finish the upstairs this week which means we can start moving boxes while we finish the basement.  The only other things to happen is getting someone to pick up all of the stuff that was left in the house and to clean it.  I'm sooo excited to start our new garden over there!  Yesterday our friend Ben dug the holes for the new chicken/duck run, it is about 5' longer than our current one which will be awesome.  There are lots of pictures coming - I will have to try to make a point to upload some tonight or tomorrow.  For now, I need to go feed chickens and get a move on - another trip to Home Depot this morning for more primer and joint compound then off to the new house to lay my new bathroom floor and finish primer-ing the upstairs.  WHEW.

Moving!

It looks like the moving is official.  We'll be moving by the end of October or November.  The new space has lots of gardening and chicken room and already has 4 or 6 raised beds built in!  We'll be able to build a new chicken run first so that the chickens will be easier to move I think that's the only thing I'm worried about. It was so much work building the first one! I guess that means we should be really good at building the 2nd one right?!? lol

There's a lot of planning to be done but we're going to try to move as much of the soil and plants as we can and hopefully the peach and plum tree too!  This is going to be an adventure! Good thing I love adventures ;)

More Harvest and another egg! 

eggs!

We got our first eggs today, Go Chickens!  I'm so excited! :)

After discussing the trials and tribulations this year with other gardening family members I don't feel so bad about losing so many plants to the slugs. Seems like everyone is having this issue. I need to ask my sister where she got that green house for my mom and how much it cost. I am quite envious of her tomato plants, and it isn't too late to set one up this year to extend the season for some of my tomato seedlings and at least gather some seeds for next year.
Still need to build the upper half of the chicken run, not to mention build the door. Its wet and cool outside but we might still making it a work day, because we have to get it done as soon as possible!

Chicken run!

This morning we were up early to head to the West Seattle Tool Library http://www.sustainablewestseattle.org/tool-library/ to borrow a post hole digger and begin building the chicken run.  I'm not sure how many post holes I have to dig yet (6 or 8 I think) but it sounds like a ton of work!  Apparently by signing up for my library account online last night I am the first member of the tool library!  This means that I get to be put down as a founding memmber (yay, me! lol) and Jen & I will have our picture in the West Seattle Blog and the Sustainable West Seattle blog. Um. yay?  If I'd known that was a consequence I might have at least taken a shower this morning instead of rolling out of bed, putting some work clothes on and a hankerchief on my head.  oops. The pictures should be awesome.

so.  Now that I've had coffee, the chickens are out playing in their dog crate and the sun is out it's time to go sort all of that free wood we got a month ago (or more?) and decide how big this run will be and exactly where it's going.  We have a rough idea of course, but not a set one. Sounds like a long day of working to me but the chickens will be really glad when we are done!

Another thing is the Photinia trees, they are toxic to grazing animals, but are they toxic to chickens?  Do I need to worry about raking all the fallen leaves out of the run before the chickens go in there?  I can't seem to find this info online, I may need to start emailing other Seattle chicken people and see what they know.

Today I worked outside just doing general clean up, adding mulch to the compost bin and bedding to the worm bin to cut down on the bugs, weeding around the plum tree, honeysuckle vine, roses and sugar snap peas and removing some extra sod from around the flower bed in the front so the lawn mower won't knock down the plants.   We tried to use the weedwacker and the lawn mower today but neither will work...saved for another day I suppose.  It felt really good to get the basic "cleanup" done, tomorrow I'm going to build a little arbor for the pickling cucumbers and get those planted.  I also have zucchini seeds to plant.

After that it's on to the next experiment!   we are going to sew tubes out of the burlap sacks we got from Seattle Coffee Works and fill them with mulch and make a new herb and tomato bed by the side porch.  I'm really excited to get that started.  We have 6  bags of compost and 3 topsoil so hopefully that will be enough for now.  I also want to get to a farmers market next week to get a seed potato, I'd love to grow some Yukon gold or purple potatoes!

Plans are being discussed to build a chicken coop, we are hoping to get some free pallets for wood, we'll see how that works out.