What the heck is that?

Well, my list just keeps getting bigger.  No, not my honey-do list, but my list of things I want to do at the new place.  A few posts back I briefly mentioned some of the things I want to do on the farm.  If you are new, keep in mind that it's only a 1 acre plot, which is a farm to me.  Anyway, I mentioned chickens, goats, bees, worms, and a garden.  Well, I had a lunch with a good friend of mine yesterday.  He's an insurance guy.  So, naturally, I asked him for a quote for the house and we had lunch to discuss the details.  Anyway, I'm digressing.  Back to point.  During our lunch time together, I filled him in on the details of our plans with this property.  At one point, he asked if I was going to get any guineas.  No, not guinea pigs, but rather guinea fowl.  If you aren't sure what they are, I describe them as a cross between a chicken, a turkey, and a peacock - a veritable pig with three asses, if you will.  Below is a picture if you are still not sure of what these guys are.  Back to the story.  My friend described them as loud, skittish, and not affectionate.  So, why would I want these, you ask.  According to my friend, they taste good.  But even better, they aren't like chickens, which will just walk up to you and let you pick them up and haul off to the butcher's block.  No sir, they are hard to catch.  But the pièce de résistance is that...wait for it...you have to shoot them to harvest them, because of their ability to elude their pursuers.  Now, there are some caveats that I need to keep in mind.  First, they eat ticks.  That's not a problem for me.  However, ticks are insects.  Not all insects are bad, especially in the garden.  So, if they eat ticks, will they also eat the beneficial insects that come to reside in the garden?  Also, a year or so ago, I watched a video about a farm run by nuns out on the far west side of Evansville.  In it, the farmer essentially took the viewer on a tour of the farm.  In this one particular video he filmed guineas running around.  He mentioned that he got them for the bugs, but that they were having problems staying out of his garden and were eating the lettuce sprouts.  So, I'm not sure if I'm willing to risk it.  I need to do more research.  All of my information about guineas comes from the aforementioned video I watched and my lunchtime conversation.  So, there is more to find out.  I do hope it is true, because after all, I might be able to add "Hunter" to my list of lifetime accomplishments.

Flock of Guinea Fowl
www.hoglezoo.org

 

Yes!! - Part 1

Well, the offer was accepted today and we are moving in the right direction.  The only thing standing in our way right now is a bad home inspection.  I'm no construction work or architect, but the house looks very good to me.  So, barring any major problems, we should be able to move in the first weekend in February.  In the meantime, while we're waiting on things to move and papers to sign, I'm gathering information on the things I need to know to raise chickens, goats, bees, and as my wife reminded me today...worms.  Yes, worms.  So, let's start with the most simple critter and move up.

Why worms, you ask?  Composting...vermicomposting to be exact.  I looked into this a few years back and didn't really ever find the time to put something together.  So, since the farm is becoming more of a reality, I'm resurrecting the idea.  When I first looked into it, the main issue was building a vermicompostig bin and layering things correctly.  I'm not sure of the direction, but I was/am under the impression that the worms eat in one direction.  By the way, the worms eat pretty much anything but plastic and steel...cardboard, paper, kitchen scraps, etc..  Anyway, back to the point, the worms are supposed to eat...and crap, thus the compost...in one direction, leaving behind the compost which I am supposed to collect and add to the garden.  That's where the idea of layering is important.  You are supposed to layer the materials either above or below the most recently-composted level.  As they move out of the composted layer, they are supposed to start munching on the new layer.  I think the eat from the bottom up.  The other issue, is building an appropriate vermicomposting bin to accommodate the worms in their journey through the trash.  So, the first item on my vermicomposting To-Do-List is figuring out how to make VC bin and how to layer it correctly.

The next critter on the taxonomical list are the bees.  The idea of having bees is fairly new for me.  So, I'm not bring any previously found information into this project.  Anything I have learned has been collected only recently.  One of the big questions I have, as I think most people would, is "How long until I get honey?"  As for the answer, I'm not sure.  From the videos that I've watched and some of the literature I've read, it seems like it takes about a year.  The reason I say that is because one video series I watched was of a guy that did a video diary of his experience.  He set up his hives and received his bees in late spring/early summer.  Subsequent videos were added, indicating his activities in summer, fall, winter and early spring of the next year and he still hadn't collected any honey, although some of his plates (I think that's what he called them) were showing signs of honey production.  The other issue of beekeeping is keeping them from swarming.  I'm not definite on what this means, but I think this is not a good thing and that it will occur if the hive somehow develops a new queen.  I guess the get confused on who the boss is.  Anyway, from the videos I've seen, keeping bees looks pretty labor-intensive, but I'm up for that, especially if I get some honey.

As for the chickens and the goats, I'll have to get back to you on that.  I need to get some actual real work done.  The semester starts in about a week and I need to get somethings done.

City Boy Goes Country

A few years ago, my wife and I decided that we would like to own a small farm - really small.  We aren't looking to become millionaire farmers with 300 acres of corn or beans.  No, we just want a small place where we can have a substantial garden and some small farm animals.  Well, we are on the eve of finding out if we are going to be able to get financing for a 1 acre place in Evansville, IN.  If all goes well, then this blog will become my diary of making the transition from a city boy to a country boy - if I can call it that.  I plan to lay out my plans and take you through the process, albeit positive or negative, of making those plans a reality.  For now, we'll just leave it at that.  I don't want to jinx anything.  If the financing comes through, I will have other entries.  If not, well, this blog will disappear into the ether.