Bed of Garlic

Today we placed our first raised bed for the garden. Wayne built the frame for me. I put down two layers of cardboard, and then we put in a mixture of soil, compost, and cow manure. I planted 108 cloves of garlic using the square foot gardening method. I plan to use all raised beds (except, maybe, for corn and potatoes)for the garden, and use the square foot method along with lasagna gardening. Our dear friends' house burned several months ago, and their windows were replaced by the insurance company. They blessed us with their old windows, and we are going to build the beds to the dimensions of the windows so that I can do cold-frames and hot-beds to get earlier produce from the garden. The same friends gave us the white plastic boards used to build the beds. They are "scrap" material where the husband works. I am thrilled with them!

Garlic is supposed to be planted in the fall, and harvested the following summer. I was unaware of this, and so I am hoping for a crop this year. If it doesn't "make" I will simply leave it in the ground and allow it to grow another season before I harvest. Not only will I use the garlic for the obvious, food, but I will also use it medicinally. I have not set foot in a doctor's office for almost four years. GOOT is the primary reason I have been able to achieve this. GOOT is Garlic and Olive Oil Ointment Treatment. It is made from three tablespoons each of garlic, olive oil, and coconut oil. These are warmed gently, blended together, and any large chunks strained out. Simply apply it to the skin, and it will be absorbed into the bloodstream and work systemically to fight all types of infection. Of course, applying GOOT to the affected area is most effective, but you can also apply it to the soles of the feet and put on socks to fight infections where you cannot apply the GOOT. It's good stuff!!!

Sorry this isn't done, but since I referred to it in my Kelly the Kitchen Kop reply, I figured I had better get it back up here. I will post more tomorrow.

For more information about lasagna gardening, check out these sites, which have proven to be extremely helpful to me:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/1999-04-01/Lasagna-Gardening.aspx
http://ourgardengang.tripod.com/lasagna_gardening.htm

And check out these sites about square foot gardening, which have also been helpful to me:
This is the inventor of the method. He takes it to the extreme, i.e. everything has to be perfect or it's not Sq. Ft. Gardening, but it's still a great place to start: http://www.squarefootgardening.com/
Here's a very good explanation as well: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_foot_gardening
http://timssquarefootgarden.com/calendar.htm

The chicklets are here!

Today I bought the first chicks for our new homestead. I bought 10 black australorps. As you can see, my furbabies are just as excited about their arrival as I am! They are such cute, tiny little fluffballs of black with yellow on the undersides and sides of the head. They should start laying in July. I can't wait to have my very own fresh eggs!

Chicken Day!

We are buying our first baby chicks for our new home today. I am planning to get black australorps (like the picture)this time. They are a dual purpose bird who are excellent layers and have a mature weight of around seven pounds. I will buy straight run (mixture of both sexes) and we will butcher the males when they achieve full size, except for one or two that I will keep so that the eggs will be fertile and the hens can raise babies next year. I hope to get to the point that I won't need the assistance of a hatchery for my chickens, unless I want to try a new breed. That will take a few years, though. I decided to choose several different breeds, and allow them to cross in the hope of producing babies that are better than their parents. Time will tell.

I want a goat... and some bees, please.

I know... you think I'm nuts. You're not alone. Most folks who know the real me think that, too. But I am serious. I want to get a milk goat and a hive of bees as well as a flock of chickens and a big garden. I want to make every square inch of our 2.36 acres count toward being as self sufficient (with His help, of course!) as possible.

I am researching the different breeds of milk goats. It seems that the most popular dairy goat around here is the Nubian. I like the fact the Nubians are dual purpose, so we could use the male kids for meat, though I don't know how I will be able to make myself do that. I really like the sound of the Saanen, too.

I have made out my list of seeds to buy from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. I am buying only open pollinated heirloom seeds. No GMOs or hybrids for me, thanks! I am going to be able to save my seeds from year to year, and therefore, I should only have to buy seeds of new plants I want to try in the future once I get this first crop harvested. I think that is an amazingly wonderful plan.

I am researching chickens as well. Part of me wants to choose only one breed so that my flock will be uniform and successive generations will be purebred and also "normal" looking. The other part of me wants to choose about three different breeds that I like the characteristics of, so that I am not "putting all my eggs in one basket" so to speak. If a certain breed succumbs to illness or predators, maybe the other two breeds will not. Also, the offspring of the crosses may be better than my original breed selections. Hmmm... which way do I want to think?

I'm Gonna Miss Her

Today we helped some friends move. I was so sad to see them go. It was a real bummer to discover that our husbands got along famously and we could have been great couple friends! (Dear friend and I had just been girlfriends , but never involved the guys.) However, life is not over, and we have an open invitation to visit them in their new home which is two hours from the mountains and three hours from the beach. What an amazing setting that must be! The first picture is the guys working hard, or is that hardly working? The second is us girls taking a break.