Chicks & Piggies....Oh how they have grown;)

So....I had to move my chicks out of their box and into Claire's cage. She was very upset with me when I did this. She literally looked at me like "What the heck are you doing?" The chicks are starting to get very messy. I changed their paper today and look at it? It's a mess again. I like the wood shavings better, but with the chicks being in a cage, they kick the shavings out the side. So I guess I am stuck with Newspaper. 3 more weeks and they will be outside. Woot! Woot!

We weighed the piggies today. The York weighs 256. 2 more weeks until fair and I think we are doing pretty well..... If you can't tell, I am feeding him his evening snack. (marshmellow)

The Spot weighed in at 246. He also loves marshmellows.


The Hereford weighed in at 216. She needs to start eating more, however she doesn't have a big appetite. If I could feed her marshmellows all day, she would be happy!

How Overwhelming....

Wow...How it has grown. We have so much stuff planted that when I walk down the tomato rows, I get claustrophobic....It's not a fun thing to do;) As you can see we had cut the limbs off the peach trees. They were taking over the whole middle. The tomato plants are over 6 foot tall and are putting on more and more tomatoes. My zucchini plants are massive, I am hoping I will be getting a lot off of it pretty soon;)
Look at those peppers! There are 12 peppers on just one plant....I thought that was pretty crazy. If anyone wants some peppers, you know where they are!

Look at these beauties! They are so red and ripe! Nothing like making BLT's and Salsa with fresh tomatoes.


I bought this blackberry bush last year at Lowes on the 50% off almost dead table. It is doing really well and this will be the first year that I have berries.....I can't wait to make Todd's favorite...Blackberry Pie:)

I looked today to see if I had some beans coming on and I do! We planted 100 foot, so when the beans come on more, I will have plenty to sell:)

Chicks & Flowers

My babies have arrived! I was so excited when the Post Office called me and let me know they were here. When I picked them up, they were chirping away. When I got them home, I carefully opened the box. I was so happy to see all the different colors. As I took each one out, I dipped their beaks into water. This helps them learn how to drink. As I was watching them, I noticed I was missing one. I ordered 11 but received 10! They left out one of my Easter Eggers.

Claire doesn't know what to think about these baby chicks. When she is outside, she loves to kill birds. I am trying to break her of this, but it's not going too well. I had a talk with Claire and let her know if she tries to kill my babies, she was in deep trouble.

This is the first year I tried flowers. They finally bloomed, but it took FOREVER. I think next year I will start them in a greenhouse or inside.

I am obsessed with taking pictures of flowers.....

This is another color of Cosmo. I had a few different colors....

I Have Blooms & More....

Here is the tunnel on 5-26-09

The tomatoes are here. Aren't they pretty..... A few more weeks and we will be ready to pick;)

The broccoli did wonderful this year. I think I got to 6 -8 cuts off of each plant. The key is to plant early before it gets too hot.


My lonely little peach. This was the only peach I had found. We are thinking that the trees didn't get pollinated this year. Therefore, we are cutting them back. We will probably move the trees out of the tunnel in the fall or invest in bees.

Zucchini is my absolute favorite. I have picked two and I made muffins. They were soooo yummy. Can't wait for more to come;)

I love the blooms on the Zucchini plants. They are really pretty first thing in the morning.

The Start of Summer.....

So.....My summer started May 15th, 2009. This was the first day I harvested my broccoli. I couldn't believe how delicious it was. The peach trees bloomed and now we are waiting on peaches to start to form. We have "V" stacked our tomato plants and they are growing like weeds. The cilantro is done and my flowers are starting to really take off. I planted Zinnias, Cosmos, and Bells of Ireland. The peppers and green beans are starting to bloom. I can't wait to be able to eat all these goodies!














My Pepper plants are really starting to grow....

Cilantro and Exotic Lettuce.....

Here is a better picture of our "V" shape trellis. It is perfect for tomato plants. It allows them to grow and keeps the leaves and tomatoes out of the aisle way.

Welcome to the Farm

Home Sweet Home

This is the house that Todd remodeled for the piggies. It fits them perfectly and hopefully it will stay nice and cool in the summer.

My 10 year old step son Nathan is in his second year of 4H. He shows swine and this year we decided to get three. He is going to show a Hereford, York, and Spot. Last year was my first experience with pigs. Of course the animal lover I am, decided to name them. We had a Hereford that I named Gretchen and a Spot I named Grant. BIG MISTAKE! As we are hauling them to the Fairgrounds, I start to cry and it only got worse from there. Auction time came and boy was I a mess.... This year I promised myself that I would not name them and I have stuck to my word. However it is still hard, when you have pigs that act more like a dog than a pig. They love when I feed them marshmellows and when I scratch their nose, they instantly lay down. It's just bittersweet....

Here is the Hereford. As you can see she is laying in the corner and is very traumatized! See the marshmellow under her leg.....Yep! She wouldn't even eat it :( Poor Baby...

The Spot seemed to like his new home. He let us pet him instantly, however he didn't know what to think about the marshmellows I was trying to feed him;)

Here is Claire with the York. She is the "Keeper of the Piggies" When ever I go to feed them, she has to go too. She loves the pig feed. Should I just start feeding her that? I think not, unless I want her H U G E! Claire also likes to help walk them;)

The Lonely Tunnel

As you can see, the tunnel is very bare. We recently tilled the ground, laid the plastic, and planted the first row of tomato plants. Even though it is March, it's very warm in the tunnel. Sometimes it can be 20 degrees warmer inside the tunnel than outside. (Notice the sides are up) We will also plant peppers, broccoli, flowers, green beans, lettuce, radishes, cilantro, cucumbers, zucchini, strawberries, and squash. My goal for 2010 is to start seeds early, so we don't have to buy any plants. I also want to start annual flowers from seed to sell.

It's gotta start somewhere....

I am going to use this blog as my diary into the world of farming. I never dreamed that I would be living on a farm, working the land, and taking care of livestock. However, the more and more I do it, the more I love it. I am really wanting to be able to work on the farm full time. I continuously research new ways to make a living from the farm. I want to be able to have income coming in through out the year. This will hopefully be possible as I continue my research. We currently have 57 acres that we farm and grow corn and soybeans. We also have a 100 foot tunnel. We currently have Peach trees down the middle. We have over 200 tomato plants and over 50 pepper plants. In June, I will welcome my baby chicks. I have brown, white, and Easter eggers.

As I continue to pursue this new endeavor, reality starts to sink in. Some of the questions that are running through my head is the following: The biggest question is finances... How much will I need to get started? Do I get loans or do I make this process a slow one? Another question I have is.... Am I going after the right stuff? Am I going to be able to sell my produce? If I raise livestock, will I be able to make money or come out even or go broke? I am hoping through time I will find the answers I am looking for.....

Oh... Did I mention I work full time at a hospital and go to school full time for nursing.... :)