#smallfarm — Public Fediverse posts

Proud mama hen hatched two baby chicks early today, and we're hoping for more over the next few days. She's staying on the nest, so she seems fairly certain more are coming!

#Chickens #RanchoDeLaLibertad #Chooks #Chicks #SmallFarm

I'll also crosspost this with the updated figures from today's harvest for those of you interested. Since January first, we've produced on-site:

111 dozen eggs (that's 1,336 eggs approximately)
175.25 pounds of meat
21 pounds of vegetables
16.5 pounds of lard
7 pounds of animal fodder

This does not count the 100 or so pounds of unrendered fat in our freezer, nor does it count almost all of our spring crops that have yet to come to harvest (only the early season ones that we already harvested). We've given lots away, and we have lots in our freezer and canned for later.

Our inputs are minimal: once a year we make a bulk organic animal feed order, we use some well water, and I did order seeds last year (though often I save them from our own vegetables). No fertilizers, no mineral inputs, no purchased soil, no pots, no trays, no tilling, nothing. We've transformed about a half acre or so (and growing) of our six acres of previously landfilled, compacted, and completely soil-collapsed land into cultivable soil. It's taking time, but the momentum is building and it's getting easier every season to rebuild topsoil and produce more on-site with less inputs.

#RegenerativeAg #Permaculture #Farming #Homesteading #Food #SmallFarm #IndigenousOwned #Decolonize #IndigenousAgriculture #FoodSovereignty

Apparently chaotic gardening that is actually quite intentional:

We are digging the greywater channel deeper after adding a charcoal & rock base biofilter. This aims to reduce soil salting by minimizing water evaporation directly from the channel and forcing the water to be pulled *up* through the soil via the plant roots. Current seedlings in this basin are getting top water but when their roots can be expected to be slightly deeper they'll be left to only seek water from the saturated soil below. Initially I wanted to optimize for a proper floodplain but now I think intentionally incising the channel may be a strategy so long as matting roots can hold the bank against rains - we'll just have to see!

The squash mostly killed off by frost was pruned back, and the volunteer plants are frequently cut back and their stems used for mulch - you can see the slight mulch layer being built from vegetation in this site. The squash is trying to put on baby leaves again but the weather has been erratic so I'm fine if it just decomposes in place and doesn't come back, another round of beans, squash, and corn has been planted nearby and if the weather is conducive to getting a head start on the season we will have much more to harvest this fall.

The other side of the basin was seed blasted and is being mulched over with animal bedding and manure.

For this season this basin holds mostly cover crops sown for animal feed or milling, but when we can afford to we will be starting a series of trees in this basin to establish more permanent cover. Ultimately this will do more to avoid soil salting and nutrient loss, but for now simply establishing roots and working on soil restoration is a good start, especially where we can get a useful yield and bring down the cost to raise our animals.

#permaculture #earthworks #greywater #RanchoDeLaLibertad #Farming #SmallFarm #FoodSovereignty #NativeOwned #Indigenous #RegenerativeAg #Gardening

Busy, productive weekend 👩‍🌾 Many food crops were transplanted. An acre of beds were prepped for more crops to be transplanted.

#FoodSecurity #SmallFarm #FoodCrops #GrowFood #FarmWork #WorkParty #Food #Wsanec #Saanich #VictoriaBC #YYJ #VancouverIsland #VanIsle #PacificNorthwest #PNW #Farming #Volunteering