Just another reminder post that the blogs URL or web address will be redirected on Friday. The new website is www.raintogreen.com
I'll be rerouting the oxrayfarm traffic over to the new website, on Friday. OxrayFarm blog will remain on the web but the address will now be www.oxrayfarm.blogspot.com
Thanks guys!
05 December 2012
03 December 2012
It's time to move
Followers,
It's time to move. Well not in that way... geez I just posted about the house, we haven't sold it yet. No, I'm talking about the blog is going to move. I stopped blogging for a while because I really hated bloggers layout and how much I struggled just to get a cohesive post. Trying to upload video is difficult, I can never get it to look quite right.
I switched to a tumblr powered blog, and have been blogging there for over 3 months and loving it. I've come back occasionally and posted duplicate posts on both tumblr and blogger. I didn't want to leave anyone behind. But I am going to switch permanently. I did consider keeping oxrayfarm and trying to blog on two platforms, but lets be honest, this blog would fall by the wayside.
I wanted to let any followers know before hand. I didn't want to shock anyone. Here's the plan:
1. Let ya'll know about the move.
2. When the move is going to be official. ( Friday December, 7th 2012)
3. New Website name: www.raintogreen.com (which is live already)
4. Redirect traffic. On Friday I'll be changing oxrayfarm's web address to point to raintogreen. What that means is, when you type in oxrayfarm.com you will be automatically redirected to raintogreen.com.
I plan on leaving this blog on the web it won't disappear. But the address will change to www.oxrayfarm.blogspot.com. If you follow me in blogger dashboard, I'm not sure what will happen. It maybe that you'll have to "follow" a whole new blog with a different address, that being the raintogreen.com address. All of the old blog posts will remain on the web for reference for at least a year or two, then I'll integrate any older posts I want, and take this one down.
Sorry to freak everyone out, but I just found that I couldn't tolerate the little things that made posting on blogger so frustrating and time consuming.
I'll post again here on Wednesday as a reminder. Please come with and follow me at www.raintogreen.com
Jennifer
It's time to move. Well not in that way... geez I just posted about the house, we haven't sold it yet. No, I'm talking about the blog is going to move. I stopped blogging for a while because I really hated bloggers layout and how much I struggled just to get a cohesive post. Trying to upload video is difficult, I can never get it to look quite right.
I switched to a tumblr powered blog, and have been blogging there for over 3 months and loving it. I've come back occasionally and posted duplicate posts on both tumblr and blogger. I didn't want to leave anyone behind. But I am going to switch permanently. I did consider keeping oxrayfarm and trying to blog on two platforms, but lets be honest, this blog would fall by the wayside.
I wanted to let any followers know before hand. I didn't want to shock anyone. Here's the plan:
1. Let ya'll know about the move.
2. When the move is going to be official. ( Friday December, 7th 2012)
3. New Website name: www.raintogreen.com (which is live already)
4. Redirect traffic. On Friday I'll be changing oxrayfarm's web address to point to raintogreen. What that means is, when you type in oxrayfarm.com you will be automatically redirected to raintogreen.com.
I plan on leaving this blog on the web it won't disappear. But the address will change to www.oxrayfarm.blogspot.com. If you follow me in blogger dashboard, I'm not sure what will happen. It maybe that you'll have to "follow" a whole new blog with a different address, that being the raintogreen.com address. All of the old blog posts will remain on the web for reference for at least a year or two, then I'll integrate any older posts I want, and take this one down.
Sorry to freak everyone out, but I just found that I couldn't tolerate the little things that made posting on blogger so frustrating and time consuming.
I'll post again here on Wednesday as a reminder. Please come with and follow me at www.raintogreen.com
Jennifer
30 November 2012
The Big Decision
Jake and I decided a few weeks ago that we are going to put our mini farm up for sale. The decision was a long one, we've been considering it from every angle but it's time. The one thing all topics like this boil down to is money. We can afford to live here, but we can't afford to live here and retire early. Myself being a full time domestic engineer (house/farm girl) I'm, I guess what you'd call retired. I don't bring in any income unless you count food and meat as income. Jake is the full time 9-5 er that keeps the bills paid and the roof over our head.
But our goals changed, because we've been given a heads up about layoffs that most people never receive. Jake's company has growing in size over the last 3 years by acquiring 2 other companies. With such growth come the inevitable lay offs. Jake was almost picked last spring but the current Boss fought to keep his position. We found all this out after the fact and it's been weighing on us, do we wait for the inevitable or take action?
Over the winter I'll be getting the house ready for sale. Doing things like cleaning, selling things on eBay, and dealing with different livestock issues that arise. I am sure this will be the first of many posts about the farm for sale.
24 November 2012
Thanksgiving Desert Pictures
I forgot to take pictures on our T-day, which was Friday for us. So this is the next morning damage. Pie and Champagne.
22 November 2012
Gluten Free or Whole Wheat Stuffing
Directions:
1 loaf of bread cubed, dried
1 stick of butter (1/2 cup melted)
1.5 Cups onion finely chopped
1.5 Cups celery finely chopped
1 quart (or less) chicken/rabbit or vegetable stock
1/4 - 1/2 tsp.salt
Start with 1/2 tsp. of the following, then add to taste.
pepper
sage
poultry seasoning
Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl, set in a cool place for 2-3 hours to allow the flavors to incorporate and the bread to soak up the stock and butter. After 2-3 hours check moisture level and add more stock accordingly, the stuffing should be like a soggy sponge but not dripping. Let sit another hour after adding more stock and seasonings. Check again, adjust stock and seasonings. Bake 320* oven for 2-2.5 hours uncovered. Stirring every 30 minutes. Taste along the way.
I uploaded a video walking through the steps so ya'll can see it visually.
Cheers and Happy Thanksgiving!!
20 November 2012
Frogs in the Garden
I photographed a rather large frog (for around here) in mid October, hiding in the worm bin. But this guy was right outside the back door, truth be told I almost stepped on him. I had him in my hand but he jumped onto the sleeve of my jacket and proceeded to nestle in for the long haul. I considered for a moment doing my morning farm chores with a ride along guest, but ruled it out on the grounds if he slipped I might step on him.
Cute little guy huh?
16 November 2012
Winter Growing Vegetables
The video has most of the information in it. But I took a few pictures that I'd like to share too.
Swiss Chard and root veggies in the back. Showing the agribon and the hoop frame bones below.
Here are the links to the agribon and the tufflite 6 mil plastic that I use. I really like the agribon fabric, it serves for late season extender and also getting going earlier in the spring.
Swiss Chard and root veggies in the back. Showing the agribon and the hoop frame bones below.
Here are the links to the agribon and the tufflite 6 mil plastic that I use. I really like the agribon fabric, it serves for late season extender and also getting going earlier in the spring.
16 July 2012
Mini GreenHouse Milk Jug Update
Way back in March I talked about winter sowing veggies in milk jugs. Well here is the much awaited update about that.
I have mixed reviews depending on the plant. I started in milk jugs; tomatoes, cabbage family (broccoli, cauliflower, bak choi etc..) lettuces, spinage, swiss chard. There were flowers too, zinnia, nasturium, cosmos and marigolds. What survived? Well the swiss chard, spinage, and lettuce was a smash!! Although, now that I have a cloche set up this will go by the wayside and I'll plant the seeds directly into the ground in early spring.
The flowers did well too, I got all the zinnias, cosmos and marigolds started early and set into the ground. However, Jack Frost came out of late retirement and screwed me over as usual! Anyone who knows Jake and I know we watch the weather obsessively, our projected low was 39*. I woke up to a frost, hard enough that the all the neighbors roofs were still covered. I hate that! Opening the curtains to welcome the day and receiving a poop pie in the face... guess what?!?! all your plants you didn't cover are toast!!! Ok back to the facts. I lost nearly all the marigolds, and zinnias but my mom who had not planted her's yet, survived the frost and she gave me some. They have done well so far and are now about double what a normal "planted after last frost" plant would look like.
The cabbage family was a bust. I am not sure if it was weather, or if they didn't like there roots disturbed or the ants that attacked the roots and made the whole thing wither and die. We also got a strange heat wave in early May, the temps soared to upper 80's which caused the bok choi to bolt. Regardless, Neighbor Kara gave me a head of cauliflower since our crop was toast. Her's did just fine, but was store purchased and planted much later than mine was. I've had very little success with the cabbage family in this garden.
The tomatoes did so freaking awesome!! WOOT!! Most of the tomatoes in my garden are the ones I grew inside the "traditional" way that I've been growing tomatoes for years. Traditional way: starts inside, pick the best ones, re-pot into 4" pots, harden off in May, get into the ground. Milk Jug way: prep milk jug, dirt, seed, water, set outside... wait.... plant!! The 3 tomatoes that are milk jug grown are just as big as the traditional grown. When we got the late frost, all the other tomatoes had frost burned leaves and looked a little sad. The milk jug tomatoes looked great, they had been coping with cold temps there whole life! The milk jug kids are not the same size plant when they go into the ground, they are maybe the size of my fist or smaller. The traditional grown ones are about as big as a small basketball (not in thickness but height). When I planted the milk jug tomatoes they looked so sad and tiny, I was sure they'd never amount to much. It's nice to be wrong about that. The two varieties that I chose to plant are Black Krim, and Currant. Two varieties I got from Neighbor Kara's sister. Both these tomatoes are newbee's here. Looking back I should have transplanted something I've grown before so I could have a comparison as to which method is better. But I think I'll still get that regardless of tomato type.
I don't have a tiny in the ground picture. But the comparison is similar to the tomatoes in this picture vs. the peppers. The milk jug tomatoes were about the size of the peppers when I put them into the ground.
And now they look like this. Waist height and the same size as everyone else! Now it's just a matter of time to see how they perform as far as fruit production. But I will likely next year have tons of milk jugs again! Can you tell who's who? The last 3 cages are the milk jug kids, everyone else is the traditional method.
I have mixed reviews depending on the plant. I started in milk jugs; tomatoes, cabbage family (broccoli, cauliflower, bak choi etc..) lettuces, spinage, swiss chard. There were flowers too, zinnia, nasturium, cosmos and marigolds. What survived? Well the swiss chard, spinage, and lettuce was a smash!! Although, now that I have a cloche set up this will go by the wayside and I'll plant the seeds directly into the ground in early spring.
The flowers did well too, I got all the zinnias, cosmos and marigolds started early and set into the ground. However, Jack Frost came out of late retirement and screwed me over as usual! Anyone who knows Jake and I know we watch the weather obsessively, our projected low was 39*. I woke up to a frost, hard enough that the all the neighbors roofs were still covered. I hate that! Opening the curtains to welcome the day and receiving a poop pie in the face... guess what?!?! all your plants you didn't cover are toast!!! Ok back to the facts. I lost nearly all the marigolds, and zinnias but my mom who had not planted her's yet, survived the frost and she gave me some. They have done well so far and are now about double what a normal "planted after last frost" plant would look like.
The cabbage family was a bust. I am not sure if it was weather, or if they didn't like there roots disturbed or the ants that attacked the roots and made the whole thing wither and die. We also got a strange heat wave in early May, the temps soared to upper 80's which caused the bok choi to bolt. Regardless, Neighbor Kara gave me a head of cauliflower since our crop was toast. Her's did just fine, but was store purchased and planted much later than mine was. I've had very little success with the cabbage family in this garden.
The tomatoes did so freaking awesome!! WOOT!! Most of the tomatoes in my garden are the ones I grew inside the "traditional" way that I've been growing tomatoes for years. Traditional way: starts inside, pick the best ones, re-pot into 4" pots, harden off in May, get into the ground. Milk Jug way: prep milk jug, dirt, seed, water, set outside... wait.... plant!! The 3 tomatoes that are milk jug grown are just as big as the traditional grown. When we got the late frost, all the other tomatoes had frost burned leaves and looked a little sad. The milk jug tomatoes looked great, they had been coping with cold temps there whole life! The milk jug kids are not the same size plant when they go into the ground, they are maybe the size of my fist or smaller. The traditional grown ones are about as big as a small basketball (not in thickness but height). When I planted the milk jug tomatoes they looked so sad and tiny, I was sure they'd never amount to much. It's nice to be wrong about that. The two varieties that I chose to plant are Black Krim, and Currant. Two varieties I got from Neighbor Kara's sister. Both these tomatoes are newbee's here. Looking back I should have transplanted something I've grown before so I could have a comparison as to which method is better. But I think I'll still get that regardless of tomato type.
I don't have a tiny in the ground picture. But the comparison is similar to the tomatoes in this picture vs. the peppers. The milk jug tomatoes were about the size of the peppers when I put them into the ground.
And now they look like this. Waist height and the same size as everyone else! Now it's just a matter of time to see how they perform as far as fruit production. But I will likely next year have tons of milk jugs again! Can you tell who's who? The last 3 cages are the milk jug kids, everyone else is the traditional method.
03 July 2012
The chicken situation
I was worried a few months ago about what would happen when Shinny went broody, how would Curious react. Would she go around "bawgawking" waiting for someone to answer her? As it turns out she didn't do anything bad, she was her calm quiet self, she kept Shinny company during the day. I never did get a picture of it, but Curious would roost as close to the nest box as she could and hang out with her broody friend. It was really very sweet. Shinny went broody for the entire month of May and about 2 weeks ago she started again.
I have a farmer friend who has a rather large flock of chickens, I called him up and explained my situation. He suggested we bring Shinny to his house so that she can run with a rooster and have the chance to hatch some babies. We agreed to trade, so I went outside and grabbed Shinny off the nest box and put her into a basket and drove over to my farmers house. I set my broody chicken onto a nest box and she seemed rather dazed, I can only imagine it was quite the shock. Broody hens always have this dazed look about them though. I digress... I picked out 2 chickens and paid for one of them.
The black/orange small kid is a Campine chicken or a Hamburg we're not sure. She has her wing clipped because she is a good flyer. I think they are more of an ornamental chicken, however she has laid the last two days, we'll see if she lays today. They are decent sized white eggs. The black/grey girl is a easter egger (EE) mutt. She has some of the characteristics of an EE like the beard but she doesn't have a rose comb. So I'm not sure what she is. Her eggs are a decent size and a soft brown/pink in color.
So far they are both extremely quiet, neither one has "sang" after they lay, which is awesome. Curious seems to be coping well, she tries to bully them but since they were with a large flock and a rooster the new girls are used to dodging attacks. Both of them are very shy and not at all apt to let me handle them, which is ok. Hopefully the Campine chicken will not become an escape artist. Only time will tell.
I have a farmer friend who has a rather large flock of chickens, I called him up and explained my situation. He suggested we bring Shinny to his house so that she can run with a rooster and have the chance to hatch some babies. We agreed to trade, so I went outside and grabbed Shinny off the nest box and put her into a basket and drove over to my farmers house. I set my broody chicken onto a nest box and she seemed rather dazed, I can only imagine it was quite the shock. Broody hens always have this dazed look about them though. I digress... I picked out 2 chickens and paid for one of them.
The black/orange small kid is a Campine chicken or a Hamburg we're not sure. She has her wing clipped because she is a good flyer. I think they are more of an ornamental chicken, however she has laid the last two days, we'll see if she lays today. They are decent sized white eggs. The black/grey girl is a easter egger (EE) mutt. She has some of the characteristics of an EE like the beard but she doesn't have a rose comb. So I'm not sure what she is. Her eggs are a decent size and a soft brown/pink in color.
So far they are both extremely quiet, neither one has "sang" after they lay, which is awesome. Curious seems to be coping well, she tries to bully them but since they were with a large flock and a rooster the new girls are used to dodging attacks. Both of them are very shy and not at all apt to let me handle them, which is ok. Hopefully the Campine chicken will not become an escape artist. Only time will tell.
01 July 2012
01 June 2012
Farm Update
It's been a while, we've been busy with garden and family visits. Finally I am able to get some stuff out there!
I'll start with the bee's, we decided after our spring tests came back to split the 'snow' hive. We moved the empty 'dots' hive out to the friends property and got set up for the split. We took from 'snow' 4 frames of baby bees in varying stages from egg, to capped brood and one of honey/brood mixture. First we made sure that the 'snow' queen was not on any of these frames we took (that's important or you have serious bee drama on your hands). Once the frames were moved over into the 'dots' hive we closed 'dots' up and locked them in for 24 hours. They can't fly and so can't get back to the original queen. By leaving them locked in for 24 hours the bees loose the sent of the original queen and will be likely to accept a new one. I contacted our Master Beekeeper and got a queen from him. We installed her 12 hours after the original lock up. Came back 12 hours later and freed the bees, making sure to put tons of weeds/grass/branches in front of the hive to make the forager bees reorient to the new hive. Jake also faced the hives in apposing directions, to further make sure the foragers would get back to the right hive. Happy to say they did accept her and have been working strong for the last 3 weeks. We should have a huge population boom in the next week or so!
Next on my giant list of things to do was pick stinging nettles. I missed my opportunity last year and by the time I remembered the nettles were well into flower. This year mom and I went out with a giant green tub and filled it with nettles! Mom will probably be horrified that I put a picture up of her rain-fuzzed-out hair! LOL!
I brought all the nettles home and divided them into 3 categories, blanched, dried or compost tea. I used the best of the leaves for blanching and freezing, dried the really good stalks for me and the bunnies. Then made the rest into compost tea.
The last is a video I made for the YouTube followers, livestock update mostly about the bunnies.
I'll start with the bee's, we decided after our spring tests came back to split the 'snow' hive. We moved the empty 'dots' hive out to the friends property and got set up for the split. We took from 'snow' 4 frames of baby bees in varying stages from egg, to capped brood and one of honey/brood mixture. First we made sure that the 'snow' queen was not on any of these frames we took (that's important or you have serious bee drama on your hands). Once the frames were moved over into the 'dots' hive we closed 'dots' up and locked them in for 24 hours. They can't fly and so can't get back to the original queen. By leaving them locked in for 24 hours the bees loose the sent of the original queen and will be likely to accept a new one. I contacted our Master Beekeeper and got a queen from him. We installed her 12 hours after the original lock up. Came back 12 hours later and freed the bees, making sure to put tons of weeds/grass/branches in front of the hive to make the forager bees reorient to the new hive. Jake also faced the hives in apposing directions, to further make sure the foragers would get back to the right hive. Happy to say they did accept her and have been working strong for the last 3 weeks. We should have a huge population boom in the next week or so!
Next on my giant list of things to do was pick stinging nettles. I missed my opportunity last year and by the time I remembered the nettles were well into flower. This year mom and I went out with a giant green tub and filled it with nettles! Mom will probably be horrified that I put a picture up of her rain-fuzzed-out hair! LOL!
 |  |
The last is a video I made for the YouTube followers, livestock update mostly about the bunnies.
10 May 2012
08 May 2012
Time to harden-off plants again.
I started on Sunday taking everyone outside and putting them in the shade all day. They slowly get sun exposure over the next 2 weeks before I plop them in the ground. The spring dance, where no kitchen table space can be found!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)