Raised Garden Beds 2011

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Well some of you know that I decided to build some raised garden beds this year. Why? Simple. In Maine the growing season is short, and the raised beds allow me to start the season earlier and extended the season into late fall. With raised beds, the soil warms much faster than the ground allowing me to plant at least 3 weeks earlier. I can also extend my growing season by building hoops for some of the beds that will allow me to grow some more cold weather crops even past the first frost in November.

What I also like about these raised beds is how I control the soil and conditions. I layered the soil materials; first with hot fresh horse manure, second with 2 year old composted cow manure, and finally with fresh finished compost. I could actually feel the heat coming off these beds with my hands! Since no feet or tractor tires will ever touch the soil, it will never get compacted and stay very porous which will help retain moisture even through the hottest dry spells.

I built a total of 6 4' x 12' raised beds out of 2" x 12" hemlock, filled with a lot of resin to help slow the rotting process. By the way, never use pressure treated wood as the chemicals will leach into the ground and ultimately into your food.

Below is a picture of a raised bed that is full of potatoes!

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More pictures to follow in future Raised Garden Bed updates...

Chicken Coop Update

The "Ladies" have their new home. The coop has been painted and the 5 chickens have settled right in. They climb the ramp each night around 8pm and start to roost and come out about 530am each morning like clockwork. My two daughters joked with me the other night that they feel replaced by the "Ladies."

Horses Haul Horse Manure 2011

Today was day one of the weekend horse manure haul from the farm behind me. Above is a picture of the 1977 Wheel Horse C-120 with the new Ark Loader along with the 1963 Wheel Horse 753 who had all the back and forth duties from garden to manure pile. That little 753 has so much power for such a small tractor!

Today I was only able to do about 8 loads of manure since I had to take my youngest daughter to an audition in Portland. Tomorrow will be a full day of hauling to all 3 gardens and of course the tilling. I will actually till each garden a minimum of three times due to the straw content of the manure so it really breaks down before planting time. Click on the pictures for a better view.

Making A Chicken Brooder

Last night I made our brooder. As you can see, it's simply made from a 32 gallon Rubber Maid storage container, 2x4 piece of wood, heat lamp, and a small strip of rubber type material (used in a silverware draw) for the bottom. I have a small thermometer on the bottom of the brooder to help me find the right height of the heat lamp to keep it at 95 degrees.

I bought a small waterer and feeder at the local Tractor Supply, so I have about $30 into this brooder now. I hope to get the chicks this weekend and of course I will post some updates. Cannot wait!

April Fools Snow

We had about a foot of snow today. This was real heavy wet snow. Since I had already removed the snowblower from the tractor, I had to use the loader instead. Not very efficient compared to the blower, but it was fun!

I have no idea how long it's going to be before I can get in the gardens. The horse farm behind me has a ton of well composted manure just ready to be hauled, and a week old foal that is now contributing to that pile. Let's hope for some warm rainy weather to make this white stuff go away.

Chicken Coop Being Built

Here's a picture of our new chicken coop being built. Darryl is doing a fantastic job and I cannot wait to get the coop home. I will post another picture when he sends me an update.

I'm hoping for some warmer weather. We've been back down into the high 30's again during the day and in the teens at night. But I hear it's good for the sap flow - It's Maine Maple Sunday today and my family is going to Cooper Heritage Farms in Windham for some pancakes and real Maine Maple Syrup. Someday I hope to have some land that can produce Syrup.

A Little Help Please

So I finally have a front end loader for my Wheel Horse tractor. Today I purchase an Ark 508 Loader from a person up in Bangor, Maine. No more scraping ice by hand in the winter and now the compost pile and hen manure can be turned with ease. I am soooooo excited about having this help!

Moved some snow banks today already too...