WEEK 8: Slow week

It's been a chilly lingering winter.  Not that we get the sub zero temperatures here in this part of Ontario, but because we are close to Lake Erie we often get a high humidity which leads to it being so darn damp outside.

The only accomplishment we had this week was putting a door on the north side of the chicken coup so we can easily open that side of the coup for cleaning. 

Pretty soon we will be ordering our chickens!

An almost complete chicken coup.  The only thing we have left to build is a ramp leading to the door, nesting boxes, and a roosting bar.

WEEK 7: Chickens, rabbits, and seed pots OH MY!

This week we had a day that was fairly mild (hovering around 0 Celsius) so we decided to place the steel roof on the chicken coop, along with some some 1/2 inch galvanized wire mesh on the window and on the back of the coop.

Steel roof now placed on the chicken coop.  The orange flagging tape was so that Aaron would stop hitting his forehead on the sides of the chicken coop...which he almost did twice...he managed to do it only once.

The east side of the chicken coop that is right next to the shed.

Now we can open the window in the summertime to keep our chickens nice and cool :D

 



We also have had a lot of cottontails on our property since we can remember. They frequently feed underneath the bird feeder just after sunset with up to 5 individuals seen at one given time. Aaron took full advantage of the situation and shot 2 cottontails to cook up before the season ends.

A brace of coneys!

Aaron has had experience with cleaning mink, so he went to cleaning the pair of rabbits like a pro.  However, there was the question of how to cook them?  In the end we decided to make hossenfeffer. 

Here are the steps we used:

-soak in water and salt for 24 hours
-drain the water and rinse the rabbit
-quarter the rabbit
-soak in pickling brine for 24 hours (vinegar, salt, pepper cloves, onion, garlic and mustard seed)
-rinse and dry rabbit
-dredge in flour and pan fry until golden brown
-transfer to the pot and cover with reserved pickle brine and simmer for 1-4 hours (we did an hour)
-remove from heat and stir in some sour cream
-serve with mushrooms and rice...yum!

Straight off the stove we were not sure if we like it or not, as every bite seemed to taste a little different. The next day, after reheating individual servings in the microwave, the flavour seemed to be evenly distributed in the meat and we really enjoyed it!

Out of both bunnies, we only saved one hide as the other one was very thin, and was falling apart while skinning the rabbit

The only other activity this week was making more seed pots.  In 2 weeks we are going to begin propagating in the basement :D

WEEK 6: Seed Order Has Arrived

February has come in with snow and a cold chill.  This is a stark contrast to last winter here in southwestern Ontario when we didn't have a winter whatsoever.  A lot of indoor activities to be had this week including more seed pot tubes and thinking ahead for the spring in summer.

Our seed order arrived this week! We will have enough seeds for this year, and the following year.  Expanding the garden is a must now.

WEEK 5: Seed Starting Pots

After ordering enough seeds to feed an army, we are beginning to slowly collect newspapers and create seed pots so as to start our crop downstairs on the growing shelves.  We started off by cuttting newspapers into strips.  Placing a strip on the counter, we would spray water on it with a spray bottle until soaked. To add extra duarability, another strip of newspaper is layed on top and soak it as well. Taking a pill bottle, the paper is loosely rolled up to form a tube.  Lastly, we placed our tubes into a tray to dry.

 

 

Later, we will plant our seeds in soil that will be placed inside the tubes. When they are ready to transfer into the garden, the whole tube will go into the ground and eventually the newsprint will breakdown in the soil. The tubes of course, are open on the bottom for the roots to go down into the earth.

Total Cost: $0.00

WEEK#3 and WEEK #4: Chicken Coop and Seed Order

It's been awhile since we have posted, so here is an update.

During week 3 we saw our yearly January thaw. Almost all of the snow melted and Aaron used this opportunity to work on the chicken coop some more.

He installed the front, south, and back wall, along with the roof sheathing.  The window was donated by Marianne's parents, along with the steel roof.  Unfortunately, these January waves of warm air also brought high winds, so the steel roof is still in our garage.

 

 

The Chicken coop really starting to look like....A Chicken Coop :)

 

This week we also put in our order with the Ontario Seed Company.  Currently, we have a garden that is approximately 12 X 35 feet in diameter.  In 2012 the garden yielded Roma Tomatoes, Beefstake Tomatoes, Green Bell Peppers, Butternut and Acorn Squash, and Cabbage.  This year we ordered:

 

Green Beans

Golden Wax Beans

Beets

Cabbage

Carrots

Red Onions

Red and Orange Bell Peppers

Peas

Rutabaga

Spinach

Zucchini

Acorn Squash

Beefstake Tomatoes

Cherry Tomatoes

Roma Tomatoes

Asparagus

Edible Soybeans

Oregano

Sweet Basil Lemon

 

We also picked up some .25 cent seed packs from Canadian Tire that included Romaine, Mesculin and Leaf Lettuce.  We also have some saved seeds from last year's Butternut Squash.

 

Looking at this list, we may have to expand the garden a little bit this year.

 

We also have a back field that primarily consists of grass, along with some Golden Rod, Common Milkweed, some Strawberry, Sumac and Ragweed.  We ordered some wildflower seeds from the Ontario Seed company as well including New England Aster, Butterfly Milkweed, Red Swamp Milkweed and Purple Coneflower to attract more butterfly species. In the summer of 2012 we had species of butterfly that are uncommon to our area including Common Ringlet, Checkered Skipper, Buckeye and Fiery Skipper.

 

Here is a link to the OSC website: http://www.oscseeds.com/