Garden-Budget Plans 2017

Posted on January 6, 2017 by Just another day on the farm

Normally, I have a thousand dollar yearly budget for my garden-farm, this budget includes, seeds, tubers, plants, bushes, tree’s, tools and garden related training classes, seminars

Most years I am under budget by a hundred to several hundred but not always, some years I push it to the very edge with travel costs an overnight hotel stays at an event.

This year is an interesting year because almost all my budget has to go to the pasture project.. up to 500 to rent the equipment-man hours to have my fields prepared properly, 200 in custom blended seed at a min (could be more depending on how thick it must be spread) and at least 100 for the spreader, which we will get a heavier duty 80 pound walk behind and do that part ourselves.

That brings me to 800 of my thousand.. leaving me 200..

So far I have ordered my seed potatoes at a total cost of 43.00

This includes 4 kinds, one early fresh eating, two later season storage potatoes and one mid-season that does it all, that has in the past produced tps balls for me. It was an interesting call this year on our potato harvest on if we should hold back for seed or buy seed.. we decided due to the much reduced drought yield that we would order in seed.

So now I am down to 150.. or am I?

Nope, ordered in upland dry planted rice, and that sucked up another 50, now part was us exchange rate (yikes) an shipping(double yikes) and asking for help and ending up with two folks giving a helping hand an therefore getting two orders.. which I am great with, should have enough seed to share with a few folks and plant for myself for two or three years.. Below is a photo from the producer and it shows the proper set up.. this will also be a investment, but we have extra netting an standard metal poles and zip ties, so I am not count the setup in the cost as its sunk costs from a different year.

If you want to order an try growing some rice, here is his link

http://www.sherckseeds.com/pages/seeds/grains/rice/duborskian-rice/

Now I have a hundred…. 1/10th of my normal budget.. left for the rest of the garden..

A dear friend smiled at me and said, you do understand that 100 for the year is more inline with what normal gardens would spend in a year.. hump.. (is that true? what do you spend on your garden?)

Needless to say, no eco-farm day for me this year, no seedy Saturday this year for me, no trip out for asterlane edibles farm, no buying from the amazing holly and her outstanding tomato an pepper starts( not only awesome kinds but gave me so much more starting room without these being in my house)

I will need to do a lot less shopping and have a full but leaner amounts of things in my garden, I will be planting out mainly

A) all my own saved seeds

B) all my older seed stash

C) I will be saving seed like mad to re-stock for the coming two years

D) barter.. I might have lots of this or that and someone might want some an trade me a few extra squash seeds for it..

E) all my own seedling starting.. welcome to the jungle!

I will fill in the blanks on what that hundred gets me.. once I have it figured out.. I know that this year, I will be buying from a local store for extra seeds as I will tag it to a feed buying trip, so that I can avoid shipping costs.

ps, this was just after the first wash an drain, do not dry your seeds on paper towels, once blotted, move them to glass trays or wire trays and dry open air..

While it will be different, I think its very doable and I don’t think I will see a reduction in production, just a reduction in variety..

What is your annual garden budget and for how big of space..

and please don’t let any tools break this year an need to be replaced!

Posted in frugal, gardens, Goals | Tagged Dryland rice, Garden, Garden Budgets, garden costs, Seed Potatoes, Seeds | 10 Comments

Turkey Barley Veggie Canned Soup with Recipe

Posted on January 5, 2017 by Just another day on the farm

I took the left over meat that I could pull off the bones, and then, I added two diced onions and a good amount of garlic.. about 8 cloves with 1/4th cup of plain white vinager, and I cracked open the bones, snap pop.. all scraping from the cooking pot.. and then topped up with clean well water and to a boil it came, then the heat got turned down and it simmered for a full day..

Then I pulled the bones, picked any extra meat back into the bone broth that I could get, chopped up the leftover meat add it back in and added a big old heap of 1/4th cup of a basic herb an garlic blend from bulk barn.

It was heated back up.. and I had washed the jars and gotten the pressure canner ready.. I have learned the amounts for fresh an the amounts for dried and I have a very good idea of what hubby likes for his lunch soups..

I was doing a full canner load, in each jar, went one tablespoon of pot barley dried, and 2 tablespoons of dried mixed veggies.. (you can dry your homegrown, you can dry a big bag from the store that is got on sale or you can buy dried mixed veggies in bulk at bulk barn or the like) after you get them measured out, go back with a knife and give them a light stir to mix them up and then I filled each jar with the hot turkey bone broth with turkey, onion and garlic and herbs in it with a full 1 inch of head space left in each jars.

Into the canner and done per my level etc, use your book to figure out how long for your cannner, the size of jar and sea level..

For myself, I would be more then willing to add half a jar or a full jar of water when reheating but my hubby loves his rich broths, so the odds are good he will eat his as is..

Did you make any soups from your holiday leftovers? Did you pick up a turkey or two on the sales just to something like this? What is your favorite turkey soup recipe for canning up. Do you like using dried veggies for your canning or do you like to use fresh only?

Posted in Canning, Soups and Stews | Tagged Bone broth turkey, Canning pints for lunches, Canning turkey veggie soup, Turkey leftovers, Turkey Veggie Barley Soup | 4 Comments

How is your budget looking this year?

Posted on January 5, 2017 by Just another day on the farm

Now I don’t know where you live, but in my neck of the woods

We have three new taxes on basic things, increase in what we have to pay for our portion in regards to medical coverage (yes, I know I live in Canada, the country with the free medical care.. Yes and NO on that one) A increase in what we have to pay for CCP. A new carbon tax and a continued increase power costs that are out of control.. (truly for my country, despite not living in the north and our province under-selling our extra power for pennies on the dollar)

Throw in the fact that everything has gone up in cost.. from seeds for the garden, to feed costs, to hay costs, to wood costs and food costs..

The bottom line.. Nothing is going to cost us less and everything will cost us more.. the little magic program says that the new carbon tax and other new tax’s should cost my family around 5 grand.. We will see..

I am pulling in tight on our budget this year.. There are Four reasons for this..

One- we are going to be paying out more per pay day.. and that’s a fact..

Two- I have a few things I really want to do this year and we need to have the fund required to do so.. these would including some bucket list things, a kickin week long camping trip and a number of day trips to new provincial parks. If you want something enough.. you do what you need to do to make it happen!

Three- Reno’s.. we have things that need to done in 2017 on the farm.. I need that extra saved money to be put into hard ware and paid skill set.. Its a upkeep year on the farm..

Four- I need to redo my pastures, which means I also need to pay to feed hay all year long as I keep the critters off the pastures, other then for fast push them though grazing with hot lines for the sheep or goats only.. I have a issue with white clover and I am going to need their help on it 🙂

I am running a number of budgets for different projects. On a few of them, I will do a post or two and see how close I get!

So what about you? How is your budget looking? Up in the air.. started at least, going to be a good year, had a increase income (hey, it happens) a reduction in income or a unknown.

Unknown because weather, and people factors are all at play, and you are self-employed or you have a base line from one person but are not sure about other extra’s that might or might not come in..

And here is the big one.. how much are you counting on your garden, your farm or your hunting or fishing, or foraging to cover for you..

I am going to big this year.. I want my wee farm to produce enough that “if” I had to buy it locally at equal value that we would need to pay out a min 20,000 and max 30,000 to do so..

We will see.. We will see if I can do it.. I know, I know.. don’t count your chicks before they hatch.. I say.. true but it helps when those eggs all produce something different?

Posted in Goals | Tagged Goals, Goals on the homestead, Homestead Budgeting | 4 Comments

New Year Storm…

Posted on January 4, 2017 by Just another day on the farm

Ok, I had gotten into a bad habit in the past year or two of trying to get a post out each day, instead of writing the posts I want to share and never mind that somedays it s 1 post and some days its more..

I expect if this year goes the way I think it will.. a lot of days will have at least two.. So the freezing rain came.. it was a slick cover to everything.. I mean a sheet of ice a solid inch an half to two inches thick that was crackable with the ice breaker, so slick that you needed to put down grips and where spikes on your boots..

And then the temps went up just a tad and it rained.. cold bitter rain for hours.. and they said.. don’t worry, the rain and the warmer temps will melt that freezing rain and so I waited.. around me 20 min in this direct.. it melted and 40 min up the valley.. melted.. smaller amounts of ice and the rain took it away..

Not here on the farm.. by evening chores the first tree was down in the pasture, across from the pathway to the Big Barn.. and the temps were dropping, and they said.. snow is coming..

It was a white winter land out there this morning, with a fresh light dusting of 2 inches but more, much more is coming.. back to back snow storms they say.. hitting Friday and Monday.. if we only swipe the edges of it.. just a mear foot to two.. if we get hit with it fully.. two to three….. we will see..

Yes, you are seeing that right.. the average load on the smaller branches are the ice is thicker or as thick as the branch ad the snow on top of that..

So far the smaller tree’s, the bigger and smaller branches that have come down have all come safely, in the pasture, in the yard or in the open ground.. I would be happy to take any extra prayers beyond my own that none come down in a dangerous way! So far the power has stayed on.. but we will see

If you are in the local area, stay safe.. and do your winter prep, check your gear and get caught up on extra’s.. (currently in my bathroom is a extra ten full six gallon buckets of water, just in case.) for livestock needs, plus, they will have snow access and the water troughs are full from the rains.. and are heated so free and open.

Posted in homestead | Tagged Farm storm preps, farmgal photography, Freezing Rain, Ice storm, photography | 1 Comment

Food in Jars Mastery Challenge 2017

Posted on January 4, 2017 by Just another day on the farm

http://foodinjars.com/2017/01/food-jars-mastery-challenge/

Back in 2010, the blogger we all knew as Tigress hosted a year-long canning challenge known as the Can Jam. Each month, she’d announce a new category of ingredients and we’d all head out and make a preserve featuring that particular food. It was fun to be pushed to try new things and I so loved the sense of community that the Can Jam created

I did this great challenge back in the day, so I am excited to see a new one 🙂 I will as always as much as possible try and use things off the farm.. at least ideally one thing at a min..

Love the color on my gooseberry jelly from 2016..

I am adding in a twist, ideally, I will also include a recipe with photos using the product itself 🙂

hopefully I will be more creative then just on toast lol

Posted in Food in jars | Tagged Blogging, Canning, Food in jars challange 2017, homestead blogger, jam, jelly, Skill challange | 3 Comments

Photography- Bojangles

Posted on January 4, 2017 by Just another day on the farm

This is my favorite of the day, if the snow had been clean, it would have been perfect but I like it as is ..

Love this rolling photo, number 2.. action shot.. feet flying, snow angels and it looks like he is making sure I am watching him lol

This is number 3, much softer, different sun angles, and just love the tree frosting

the last is just playful, quickly snapped, colorful an still winterish..

Posted in photography | Tagged Dapple grey horse in winter scene, farmgal photography, horse photography, pet photography, photography, Winter Horse Photos | 1 Comment

Help on the farm

Posted on January 3, 2017 by Just another day on the farm

I got a interesting comment on one of my recent posts about the fact that I don’t appear to have much outside help on the farm..

She is not wrong..

In 12 years, we have hired and or bartered our own helping hands to get

1)a tractor that did the gravel spread on our driveway, we did all the smaller paths by hand but the driveway, we paid 50 and had it finished for us

2) I hired a girlfriend to do some tricky tree cutting down to clear a power line.. it took six of us, with ropes, time and care to bring the tree’s down in a safe way.. it was the power line from the house to the barn, and we have a breaker switch, so the line was not hot!

3) We have hired the farm helpers (aka the local farm kids) the boys have helped me clean pens and haul compost and build hugel-beds.. the Miss learned how to garden, she helped plant and weed and harvest.. While they were great help.. on average in a year.. 10 to 15 hours between them all for three years, and then each one aged out into bigger more well paid jobs.. I was a stepping stone at that 12 to 14 years in age for them..

4) we hired a man with a machine to dig our post holes for the big pasture.. you can tell hubbies awesome hand dug holes vs the machine at a glance.. the hand dug are so much better lol

(the perk of the Farm Helpers) is that their momma trained them well, they can have something asked of them and then left on their own.. each one has their own strengths, and I tried to match them to what they were doing.

Which brings us to 2016.. over the years I have had a lot of folks tell me that they would love to come to the farm and learn from me, I have softly, kindly and as gently as I can said no..

I will do a post about why you should not bring folks to your farm.. so! SO! many reason’s to not have farm helpers and or teaching on the farm etc.

But D won me over.. I knew her for a good while before she got permission to come to the farm and we started with little, first I worked with her on an event off the farm in 2014, and she was great.. then we plan this and that in 2015 and she proved herself over and over again.. steady, calm, level-headed, smart and a hard worker.. This is a women that I am proud to call a friend!

So when she asked if she could come work on the farm and learn in 2016, I said yes, but only if I could do my best to spend the year working on all kinds of skills..

She came pretty much weekly, some days I struggled to find something worth sharing, and some days we just planted or weeded or harvested, sometimes we drove for things required for the farm..

But most of the time I made a point of there being some kind of lesson per time..

We covered topics like

Permaculture
Gardening
Herbs
Wild Forage
Birth or hatchings
Raising of young offspring
Breeding programs
Feeding programs
Worming and medical programs
How to figure out weights and give oral meds
Sheep and Goat foot care
Sheep Shearing
Weathering Lambs or Kids
Butchering everything from Fowl to Rabbit to a full pig
How to bring things in and create meals with them

And I am sure there is a good amount more that I am just not remembering today, I would look at the time of the year and we would work on the skills that you would use if you had your own farm.

The good points of this, a hard-working pair of hands, a great mind, and a good sense of humor, I found I loved working with someone who I could talk to.. truly it was as good as it gets.. 5 out of 5..

The interesting point.. I needed to really think about why I did things, I had to dig out books and check where I got this or that data and in many cases, as it was hand down learned or hands on learned.. I had to try an explain why this one got this and that one got that tweak and this one was this..

This was a good thing for me as I had to learn how to turn “get it done” into hand on showing and into explaining it in understandable way..

The downside if there was one, was that everything takes longer.. you are not doing.. you are teaching.. you move slower so they can see and learn.. in some cases you don’t have enough tools or you have to teach how they are used.. I never minded honestly because I found I quickly learned to enjoy the company..

But I will own that there was a freedom at times to doing something on the other days, where you just moved though it at full speed, quietly focused and so forth.

IF D said, I want to come learn this or help with this, I would say.. come on out..

I watched a group of women that I admire work together in the same year.. but I also feel that they did the same as D an I did.. they meet, they became friends, they learned about each other, they proved themselves as good people, good workers, hard workers with steady temperaments, and over a couple of years, they worked together on this and that project..

Then in 2016, they began to share a working space on of the ladies farm-land.. this allowed everyone to have positives and I wish them continued good luck in their plans, they have earned it..

Having said that, I can’t see myself opening up the farm in any way to the many requests I get.. and I know that I would never personally do a woofers or such..

So the logical questions that the above will bring.. is.. but what about as you age, what about if you had health issues.. what if you can’t get it done..

Well, the truth is we are looking that very question square in the eye.. because hubbies work is looking like, he could start regular travel again. Its possible that though out the year that he could be traveling for a few days to week or more monthly for upwards of 25% of the year in total.. and we are looking a that being possible for 3 to 5 plus years..

That is very much a major loss of help on the farm.. and the answer.. cut breeding programs, cut numbers, focus on what gives the best yields.. and all hands on deck..

Something you will hear often for new homesteaders or those that are going to be buying land, I will have lots of help, I have this person or that that has offered to come out and give a hand..

I have also read some very bitter posts about the fact that after they are on the homestead or farm or very large garden etc that the help didn’t do what they said they would.. Its often listed as one of the reason’s that many will leave their homestead or small plot in the first five years.

For me.. when someone says something like.. work-develop community on their lists for why they are wanting to or getting into homesteading.. its a big old red flag.. You need to do this for you and your family first and formost.. the extra’s go towards working or supporting your family, friends and community..

So I will finish this post this way.. NEVER count on outside help.. Any outside help you get is a blessing and bonus, and ideally it will be there for you when you need it..

But for the daily work, for the routine, for the day in and day out, for the yearly grind.. its all on you.. sick as a dog.. maybe you can call in help but the odds are much better that you will be dragging yourself out of bed, throwing feed, checking water and then falling back into bed

Its just how it is.. truly farming, homesteading is lonesome hard thing.. that is why when we do get help, when there is a helping hand, we feed and hug and say thank you we say, if you need us, call…. but (we know, that we or they will only call when truly needed) because you do need your community.. but it is not the village that will grow your farm or get your chores done.. its you.. only you..

Posted in farm, Goals, homestead, Real Life | Tagged canadian Homestead, farm helpers, Help on the homestead, Homesteading | 6 Comments

Puddin an Pie..

Posted on January 3, 2017 by Just another day on the farm

Pie was picked up the weds before Christmas, she was bigger then I expected. slid in my hands as I cradled her, friendly and sweet..

She has had time to bond with puddin over the holidays, and they get along so well, puddin has adopted her an pie just being a babe says yes please.. she often cuddles so close to puddin, that she just disappears under that long coat

yesterday, I cracked out the camera and did a wee photo shoot.. Enjoy!My mom found me this awesome mug from England and it was my Christmas present, very limited time she was going to fit in it.. 🙂 This is her official welcome portrait lol

Now for the free stacks and nose to the camera poses..

As she is a red roan, not sure how her color will change out with age.. she is just a cutie pie..

Posted in Critters | Tagged little pig, pet photography, pets, photography | 4 Comments

Canada 150 Year Birthday!

Posted on January 2, 2017 by Just another day on the farm

Canada is turning 150 years old this year and there are many planned events across the country and there are 150 planned events for Ottawa our national capital city.. I know that a few at least will end up here on the blog in story and photo for sharing..

Just as exciting to me, I have gotten one of our lovely free for 2017 park passes, this means that instead of paying to get in for day use to our national parks and national area’s, we can go in for free this year..

For those that like my local area trip pictures, you will be happy to know that more will be coming as we are hoping to do a number of day trips to different parks for a hike and explore on the frugal side.

One of the other things that interests me the Canada 150 blog food challenge by the Culinary historian group that I belong to.. in case there are other fellow Canadian bloggers that missed this announcement and would like to join in.. here is the info and the link information you will need 🙂

Don’t have a blog but love the history of food and the tie in to the Canadian history.. consider checking out your local CHC events and programs.. don’t live close enough to do it live.. join the facebook group and get the monthly newsletter 🙂

They say, that a Ottawa chapter is in the works and I am so there!

http://culinaryhistorians.ca/events/canada-150-food-blog-challenge-2017

CHC Canada 150 Food Blog Challenge 2017

CHC invites food bloggers to participate in our Canada 150 Food Blog Challenge. We’ll be naming a topic for every month and publicizing entries throughout Canada’s sesquicentennial year. At the end of 2017, we’ll choose our favourite participating blogs and sponsor them for entry into Taste Canada’s 2017 blog category. Bloggers need not contribute every month to be considered.

We’re looking for blog posts of any length and in either French or English. The approach could be:

An experiment with a historic recipe
An essay on a topic relating to culinary history
A contemporary take on a traditional dish
A report on an event or visit to a historic site
A family story with a recipe that relates to the topic
A discussion about historic techniques for gathering, preserving or preparing food
…or any other similar topic

January 2017: Fish and Seafood
To enter, publish your entry within the month of January 2017 and post it on the CHC Facebook page before midnight on Friday, February 17.

Posted in Blogging, Canada 150 Birthday Events, canadian wartime recipes, Depression meals, homestead, Life moves on daily | Tagged Canada 150 year birthday, canadian Homestead, Culinary Historians of Canada, War time recipes | Leave a comment

Keeping it real on the farm 2016

Posted on January 2, 2017 by Just another day on the farm

This was our lovely New Years Day Dinner, the works.. turkey, stuffing, mashed, green beans and gravy.. it was so good.. it was also a reminder that I only got 1 turkey baby on the farm.. one.. that’s it..

It was not the breeding birds fault, they did their job, they were fertile, she laid the nest full, she sat and she hatched.. an the coon came, broke in the pen and took most of her eggs just before the hatch, we fixed the pen, and knew that it was far to late to even consider her trying for more this year..

I am going to ideally put some of her eggs into the house hatches, but as for 2016-2017.. turkey has been very lacking in our home, I am planning on using every bit of it and canning up turkey soup to extend it

In my critter world, turkeys were the biggest failure 2016

In the Garden World

Soft fruit, o soft fruits, how I adore you.. while trees slowly grow and some days will yield hundreds of pounds of fruit, dear humble soft fruits are the powerhouse of the farm, plant a tree for the future, plants canes an bushes for the here an now!

Currents and Rasberries.. the faithful producers like the rhubarb.. there for me year after year..

The regular heavy producers now that they are grown up..

Elderberry, grapes and high bush cranberry.. are giving rhubarb a run for its money on bringing in the poundage..

The failure.. once again.. and again.. blueberries and honeyberries.. I never quite give up, I buy new kinds, I try different locations, I modify the soil.. I get nothing.. I mean my hubby was so excited that the biggest, oldest bushes gave him a couple handfuls of fresh eating.. piffle..

if I was short on land, I would rip your lazy bushes out by the roots and replace you with a true producer, but hubby keeps hoping someday.. someday..

but the biggest garden failure in 2016.. squash and pumpkin, with corn a close second..

This was a blow to many gardeners in our area, our plants just sat there, grumbling at us, when the rains came in aug and sept, the plants put the push on but it was far to late at that point.. I lost between 500 to 1500 pounds worth of human and critter feed over this..

only the hugelbed planted squash plants produced, they did the same in 2012 drought an they held up in the 2016 drought as well… Between the seeds and the storage for feed, this was a major loss that must be replaced with bought feed.

I planted corn at three different times, it produced some, all poor, all stunted, all went as feed.. thankfully the potato yield was ok..

So the biggest yields are above but there is one other thing worth noting.. my pasture.. 2016 not only killed many things in my pasture that will need to be reworked, replanted an so forth, but it worked to unbalance the plants.. clover was the plant winner.. to much clover!

now I like clover, but not when it makes up that much of my plant percents in a pasture. this will be a ruuning and updated battle talked about in the coming year..

So what did not work on your farm, homestead or garden in 2016?