Tag Archives: shed

Homestead weekly update

Posted on May 17, 2013 by | 2 Comments

Welcome to this week’s homestead update.

Last week, I forgot to talk about the beekeeping meeting I attended.  When I took the beekeeping short course, it included a year’s membership to the Susquehanna Beekeepers, that’s my local beekeeping organization.  Each month, we have a different speaker that’s an expert on some part of beekeeping.  This month the speaker was an expert on the Small Hive Beetle.  I learned quite a lot about them.  They just made it to my area, so lucky me, I get me bees late int he year and we just started having problems with the SHB.  But according to the expert, there’s not a lot that we need to worry about when it comes to the SHB.  As long as the hive is strong, the bees are able to keep the SHB in check. Continue reading →

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Homestead weekly update

Posted on April 13, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Welcome to this week’s update.

Unknown plant

Unknown plant

As I’ve mentioned in my soil cube post, I “make” my seed starter mix. Since I don’t use all that much of it, I usually have some of the materials left over each year.  I guess some sort of seed blew into the materials because I’m getting plants that I haven’t planted growing in my soil cubes.  There are just 2 or 3 plants per flat of soil cubes.  I had one grow in a cube where a cabbage plant didn’t grow, so I decided to plant it in the garden to find out what it is.  This picture is the unknown plant in case anyone can identify it.  If not, I guess I’ll figure it out as the season progresses. Continue reading →

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Homestead weekly update

Posted on April 5, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Welcome to this week’s homestead update.

Hives in place

Hives in place

I took the hives out to the apiary and set them in place this week.  The delivery date was Saturday.  I’m really looking forward to working with them.  I have 3 mediums in place for each hive, but my understanding is that when I install the packages I will only leave 2 mediums of frames for the bees.  I will use the other medium box to cover some jars of sugar syrup.  Since I’m starting off as a conventional beekeeper, I need to feed them when I install the package.  I intend to stick with no chemical treatments, but initially I need to feed them sugar-water. Continue reading →

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My homestead goals for 2013

Posted on January 7, 2013 by | 1 Comment

As promised, here’s my list of goals for 2013 on the homestead.

Plant more fruit – Last year, I started planting the fruit trees for the orchard.  I also planted some raspberries.  This year I will expand my fruit production.  I currently have 2 types of apples, 2 types of sweet cherries, 2 types of tart cherries and 2 types of almonds.  My next trees will likely be Asian and European pears.  After that, I want some peaches, plums and more apples.  I’ve also been looking into pomegranate trees, I found that some grow into zone 5.  I may order a couple of those to add to the orchard.  In addition to trees, I plan on planting more cane fruit.  I will likely plant more raspberries, but will add blackberries to the yard.  I have a whole list of various fruits that I want to eventually grow, many are unique and not regularly grown in gardens.  I just want to try out as many as I can find. Continue reading →

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2012 Goals, How I Did

Posted on December 31, 2012 by | 4 Comments

As 2012 comes to an end, I guess it is time for me to take a look at the goals that I set for myself at the beginning of the year.  It is only through reflecting on our goals that we know if we are progressing.

Grow my tomatoes from seed - This was the first goal that I met.  I decided that I wanted to actually get some tomato plants from seed instead of the spindly little plants that I usually grew.  I started out with a good soil mix and planted into soil cubes made from this.  My tomatoes this year did very well.  They had well developed stems and roots when I transplanted them into the garden.  The soil cubes ensured there was little transplant shock.  In the end they provided many tomatoes.  I canned the majority of the fruit. Continue reading →

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Homestead weekly update

Posted on November 2, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Welcome to this week’s update.

Lacto-fermented radishes

I was surprised to see the lacto-fermented radishes lose their red color.  The solution took on the color and the radishes are now white.  The last batch had a slight radish taste, but didn’t pick up much flavor from the garlic and peppercorns.  I did like that the sour taste from the fermenting was not overwhelming.  I could taste it, but I could also taste the flavor of the radishes. Continue reading →

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Homestead weekly update

Posted on October 19, 2012 by | 4 Comments

Welcome to this week’s homestead update.

Shed pad

I’ll start out this week talking about the pad I’m putting in for a new shed. I think I mentioned it in a previous weekly update.  Here’s a shot of the current state of the pad.  I’m not moving all that fast, but it is surprisingly hard work.  Since it is on a slope, I have to dig out for just about every board.  My dirt has a lot of soap stone in it, most if it seems to be just under the surface where I have to dig.  I’m also drilling down through the boards and driving rebar into the ground.  Once I’m finished, I’ll fill this with stone and order the shed. Continue reading →

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