Sarah Goes Farming: May 2014

Three weeks ago, at 7:30 AM, I went and picked up my first of three nucs. Originally I was only going to have two, but I got the opportunity to get one more from the president of the Cookeville Beekeeper's Association and I couldn't pass that up!

A frame of bees

The new hive.

I've got them set up in the corner of the yard and there will be room for the other two hives. Those bees are coming to me in what's call a package, which is smaller than a nuc. But that's just fine. The two packages of bees will be arriving sometime next week- mid May.

For about a week I was doing really well with my bees. I've even found the queen twice! I wasn't even looking for her and hoop! There she was.

Then I went and did something terribly stupid. I was worried they were making a queen cell, which is a sign that they are ready to swarm and half the hive splits off and finds new digs. It was threatening to rain so I thought I had better get to the task quick. Well, that was that was the first stupid thing. Never race against the rain when bees are concerned. The second stupid thing is that I didn't have a strong enough smolder in my smoker. Basically, not enough smoke to calm the bees. So that combination of stupid things got me stung twice... both in my inner thigh. Which is not a fun place to be stung when your home is a far way off and up a hill and your pants keep rubbing on the sting site. Also, I was wearing overalls. I did have the special jacket, hat, mask and gloves on.

One of the stingers came right out but the other one I couldn't get out. That sting site turned into a huge itchy welt. It's starting to go down... a week and a half later.

I've learned my lesson. If rain is threatening- stop and put everything back quickly and leave the bees alone. They don't like their hive getting wet. Not even a little bit. Also, make sure your smoker is well lit and smoking good before getting to the hives.

It's been over a month since the last time I posted anything and in that time a lot has happened. I'm sorry to those of you who enjoy getting more regular updates.

So much has happened in just this past month, that I'm not quite sure where to start! The greenhouse is up and running and we've got vegetables growing happily. It didn't start out that way. The seedlings we put in to the system right away mostly died within 24 hours. It was a huge disappointment to me, especially since I am the one who proclaimed to have the green thumb and would be in charge of making sure the plants were growing and producing.

I went back and mulled it over- what we planted, what the temperature in the greenhouse was, the air, the chemical balances of the water.... And I realized that they all died from shock. I didn't give any of the seedlings time to adjust to their new environment. The only ones that took it like a champ were the sugar snap peas.

We have the sugar snap peas set up with strings hanging from wire that is hung across the length of the greenhouse. They use these to secure themselves to something instead of each other. They still cling to each other, of course, but not as much as they used to. In the future, we plan to have a netting system up for the next crop. It will be easier for them to climb and for us to harvest.

Since the sugar snap peas are doing so well, we have decided to focus on peas and beans as our main crop. We have also started growing a variety of different vegetables just to test out what grows well and fast. So far we have purple cabbage, romaine lettuce, bush beans, jalapeño peppers, bell peppers, a LOT of genovese basil, pickling cucumbers and yellow squash.

The bush beans and the basil are happy plants and not much of a target (so far) for the bugs. The cucumbers are not so lucky. They smell wonderful, but SOMETHING loves their leaves and nibbles the edges which gives us some raggy looking plants. They are slow to grow and I don't think they are going to be a main crop for us. The cabbage is doing wonderfully too- I don't see it as being a big seller, but I love it.

a wide shot of a bunch of our test vegetables

bush beans

Aaron attaching the sugar snap peas to the trellis system

Our first sugar snap pea flower!

We are cultivating other seedlings in the greenhouse and feeding them the nutrient rich water that the plants in the system get. So far, the watermelon is taking off in a big way. All varieties of corn are growing fast and strong. The one variety that is still too small to be transplanted into the ground is the pink popcorn variety. I can't wait to try that! All the vegetables that might get too heavy or rangy for the aquaponics system are going to be planted in my studio's backyard. It's fenced in, so the dogs and chickens and guineas can't easily stomp all over my little vegetable garden.

Already I have planted two varieties of corn. A sweet corn and a multi colored ornamental variety. When the pink popcorn variety is ready, it will go in the row with the rest of the corn. The backyard is sloped, so I'll have to do a bit of work to make it ready for the watermelon.

In animal news, we have some additions to the farm. A week and a half ago I went to Poultry Hollow with my Mom and Aaron and we got 6 new chicks and a pair of ducklings. The chicks were only 2 weeks old and the ducklings were about 5 weeks. The chicks are a mix of 3 varieties: Ameraucana, Barred Rock and Silver Wyandotte. The Ameraucana are also known as "easter eggers" since they are known for laying eggs that have green and blue shells. The two Ameraucanas are different colors- they come in a variety. I have a cream one and a brown one. The Barred Rocks are a black chicken with some white on them- their feathers look almost striped. And the Silver Wyandottes are a black and white chicken too. Here are some photos I found online to give you an idea of what they will look like as adults:

brown Ameraucana adult hen

beige Ameraucana adult hen

Ameraucana eggs

Silver Laced Wyandotte adult hen

Barred Rock adult hen

Swedish Blue adult duck. The males and females look the same, generally. The males are bigger. Mine have markings very similar to this duck.

Swedish Blues can have a variety of color patters.

I was going to get a lot more ducks actually- 3 pairs, or 6 ducks, total. But once I got to Poultry hollow I realized I should start with two and add to my flock if I enjoy keeping ducks. Aaron suggested the names Joanie and Chachi for the ducklings.

As far as the chicks go, only the beige Ameraucana has a name- Star. She's the biggest of the bunch and also the prettiest. I'm hoping they are all girls. When you get chicks so young, it's hard to tell when they are breeds that are all the same color at a young age. I'm pretty confidant that the ducklings are a male and female. One is clearly bigger and more defensive than the other. Maybe next year we will have a flock of ducklings of our own!

Here are some photos of my new birds:

The ducklings stayed in a large dog crate for the first two days so I could get their coop ready. They didn't care. They were scared of everything.

This the brown Ameraucana chick.

Joanie and Chachi in their new coop swimming pool! Which they only use if I put them in there. But Aaron and I did create a ramp in and out for them, so when they are ready, they will go in on their own.

One of the chicks- the brown Ameraucana I think.

Hanging out at the watering hole! That's Star on the left and the other Ameraucana on the right, with one of the Barred Rocks behind her.

A Barred Rock chick peeks out of the hole in 100 gallon trough they are being raised in. We closed up the hole after Aaron took this photo.

I also have some videos:

The ducklings enjoying their new digs and having some water. They drink A LOT of water and it gets EVERYWHERE!! Ducklings are cute, but they are very messy. I thought chickens were messy.... boy was I wrong. The chickens seem like neat freaks compared to ducks!

Here are the chicks eating and just hanging out. I have changed their feeder to a different style one- so they can't sit on it and just poop all over their food. Wasn't I just saying chickens were like neat freaks? I need to re-think that.

The other big news is that I finally have some bees. But there's a lot to say about them, so I think I'll save that for the next update.

In the meanwhile, here are some photos: