Category Archives: Homesteading

Baby chicks, take two

Posted on May 7, 2009 by Sandy

After our first baby chicks met a sad fate, we decided to try again.  Here you can see our four new baby chicks:  three Golden Sex Links and one Golden Laced Wyandotte.  The chicks are now about a week old … Continue reading →

Posted in Homesteading | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

Photo album: Greenhouse in May and self-watering containers

Posted on May 3, 2009 by Sandy

Today, pretty much all my garden time was spent working on projects in the greenhouse. In spite of a weather forecast that predicted mostly cloudy weather today, it was really mostly sunny, making the greenhouse quite warm. I opened up the … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, Homesteading | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

Baby chicks RIP

Posted on April 30, 2009 by Sandy

I’m sad to report our baby chicks are all dead. We’ve been keeping them in the basement in a large box. Our dog Gala has been curious about the chicks so we’ve kept the door closed to the basement to keep … Continue reading →

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Gawky chicks and the indoor phantom insects return!

Posted on April 28, 2009 by Sandy

A few things for my quick post today. First, I noticed more insect damage under the grow lights yesterday. As you can see in the lower right, one of the watermelon seeds was cut down.  So the seedling damage continues.  … Continue reading →

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Under the grow lights: The summer crops emerge

Posted on April 25, 2009 by Sandy

Last weekend, I seeded my summer crops.  As you can see, I’m having really good germination and early growth under the new grow lights.  In these 28 pots, I have three types of cucumbers (Alibi, Green Slam, and Boothby’s Blonde), … Continue reading →

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Photo album: Raspberry beds, Walla Walla sweet onions, rhubarb, lettuce box, greenhouse in April, and baby chicks

Posted on April 12, 2009 by Sandy

In this picture you can see our two new raised beds for raspberries. Yesterday, Derek built the first set of supports for  the raspberry canes. You can also see the composter in this picture.  I’m mostly using this composter to quickly … Continue reading →

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Portland raised bed garden and baby chicks

Posted on April 9, 2009 by Sandy

Gardeners in the Pacific Northwest eagerly take advantage of every nice day during the spring.  Last weekend was absolutely beautiful — warm and sunny — and I missed the whole thing! Well, I didn’t exactly miss it, but I wasn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, Homesteading | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

Chicken tractor and call for advice

Posted on March 29, 2009 by Sandy

After days of rain, the sun came out this afternoon. Yay!!! It can get pretty dreary in the Seattle area during springtime, so sunny days are greatly appreciated. The nice weather today gave us (well, Derek) the opportunity to finish and … Continue reading →

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Animal smackdown: Harry the goat vs. new neighbor dog

Posted on March 22, 2009 by Sandy

On a bit of a down note…one of our goats, Harry (the Pygora) got chomped on the left foreleg by our neighbor’s new Australian shepherd / corgi mix.  The dog was short enough to squeeze under the gate and proceeded … Continue reading →

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December utility bill, snow, snow, snow, and animal husbandry in a frozen tundra

Posted on December 21, 2008 by Sandy

Our December utility bill (covering mid November to mid December) shows our best energy reduction results so far. Our daily average K HW usage for electricity was down 17%.  Our daily average THRM usage for natural gas was down 34%.  There are two primary reasons for … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy usage, Homesteading | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments