Our blog has moved!

Looking for the Cackleberry Farm blog? Follow this link:

http://cackleberryfarm1.wordpress.com/

Over due post!

My All Blue potatoes happily growing in the 24-inch pipe Chris salvaged from his job site.








Below the cute puppy picture, my raised bed. I have peppers and tomatoes with a grid of French Breakfast Radishes. I love the grid effect a la square foot gardening.

Homestead stuff

Chris set up a shelving unit with shop lights for our seed starting station. It is perfect and used an item we already had. Cool!



















This sifter has served a variety of purposes. It was originally built as a floor to a cage for "mobile" bunnies (I used to take them to visit at the nursing home). However, it has also been used as a compost sifter and, in this photo, a weed sifter. This bed was full of weeds already, so Chris shoveled it up and we sifted out the weeds. Much easier than pulling and got the weed roots, too

The organic potting soil we got from our friends Henry and Lita. Thanks to them for ordering in bulk! That is the kind of sharing and sense of community we are working toward.

Here's to a productive growing season!

Please comment!

Just a request to those who visit to leave a comment for me! I would love to read what you think or see any requests for new projects! Thanks!

Chicken Tractor and the Indiana Brew Pub Tour continues!

Off we went to Nashville, Indiana, yesterday to visit the Big Woods Brewery. I married into a family of beer snobs, who appreciate craft beers. No Bud or Miller in these houses! Chris's brother and sister-in-law, Sean and Michelle, take their beer seriously. Chris and Michelle ordered a sampler to decide which one to order. I guess sampler beers don't count! Anyway, the brew pub was nice, but very small and difficult to find. It is in an alley called Molly's Lane. We drove in circles until we found it. After lunch, we strolled through Nashville and checked out some shops. After that, off to Bloomington to the Sahara Mart (olive oil, goat cheese, olives, and beer), Butler Winery (wine tasting and, wait for it---beer brewing supplies!), and Worm's Way for coconut shell mulch. The weather was lovely, so we had an enjoyable day!

Chris has finished our first chicken tractor and it is a beauty! It is a working prototype. He has already decided on modifications for the next two he is going to make for our friend Henry. We put our two Auracana hens inside and they are so happy! I love to go out at night to close them in to find them nestled in a corner, ready to snooze. I can just see a whole fleet of these things around the property! No tilling around here, let the chickens do their thing!

Planting seeds today outside on the porch. Spinach, romaine, and a lettuce mix. I've got seeds sprouting on the kitchen table and will start the next batch this weekend. Still trying to decide which chicks to order, but they won't ship until April so we have a little time. Come on spring!

Cold, snowy day off

We've been so lucky with the weather this year. It hasn't been pleasant, but other areas of the country have been slammed with snow and ice. I will not complain-it could have been much worse here!

We are working on some projects, most in the planning stages. Chris has a great design for a chicken tractor. I have been deciding what to plant this spring and where to plant it. My pet project will be my container garden on the front porch. I want herbs, lettuces, and some vegetables that make good patio plants.

Chickens, gotta love 'em. Top is Penny one of our Auracana hens. She and her friend Coco have not given us an egg in about 9 months. They are not that old and we don't understand why they stopped laying. They are both quite docile and tame and like to be carried around and pet.

My friend Helen brought me some squash she was storing that got hit by the cold. No longer fit for human consumption, the chickies sure enjoyed the treat.

I love all those brown eggs! Different shades of brown, some even look a little pink. White eggs just look funny to me now.

We've got a lot coming up. Chris is doing a presentation on February 15 about easy garden construction projects. On February 22, I am doing a presentation on Urban Sustainable Living. Can't wait!

Natural Gardeners Club

I have added a button to the blog to make it easy for folks to join the Natural Gardeners Club group.  We use the group to keep each other notified of upcoming meetings and events. We would love to grow our membership, so contact me or join the group for more info!

Knit, knit, knit!

My knitted dishcloths. Fun and easy, good practice!

My knitting basket with my current and upcoming projects. I keep it conveniently on the couch.

Jasper taking a snooze on the small blanket I knitted for him.