December 2009

I added six Muscovy ducks this month—one drake and five ducks. They're hanging out with the chickens until I figure out their shelter needs. Three of the ducks put themselves to bed each evening in the chicken house, but the drake and remaining two ducks head for the pond at sundown. They show up for breakfast each morning in the chicken yard. Watching them swim in the big pond is a treat, joyously splashing and playing like children.

King of Hearts went back to his farm at the beginning of December. He lost his "goaty" smell after several weeks here. Male goats have some interesting habits, such as encrusting their head in urine, curling the lower lip and sticking out the tongue. Apparently, this is VERY attractive to female goats. I don't get it.

Strawberry plants are blooming in the hoophouse, in spite of recent temps in the low 20s. Collards, Swiss chard, spinach, turnips, radish, beets and several lettuce varieties continue to do well.

November 2009

More berry plants went in this month in raised beds—gooseberry and elderberry join blackberry, raspberry, strawberries and blueberries in the orchard. Garlic is planted, a little later than last year, but rain kept me from working the ground. I'm using my own seed grown from this year's crop.

I've put up a shelter to store hay and straw until I can get a barn built. The pastures need a lot of work next year to improve grazing for the animals.

October 2009

Milk and egg production has slowed down with October's arrival, along with cooler temperatures and fewer daylight hours. This means less time to get things done on the farm, and I'm finding most of my evenings after work go towards animal chores, making weekends even more precious. This month will be devoted to preparing for the winter ahead -- winterizing animal shelters, tending the hoophouse garden, and making sure the goats will be back in milk come spring.

King of Hearts, a Nubian buck from Humbug Farm, will spend the month here at Argosy. Hopefully I'll have goat kidlings come Spring.

September 2009

The raised beds are finished in the hoophouse and the plants are thriving: lettuce, collards, swiss chard and some volunteers that popped up on their own -- tomatoes and cucumbers. I've left them to grow, hoping they'll make some progress before the cold weather sets in. Two sets of paved walkways, separating the three raised beds, are nearly finished, leaving the other half of the hoophouse to complete. In this next phase I'll build potting tables, provide an area for potting soil and organic amendments, and access to water -- when I find some extra time. I also put in blackberry and raspberry beds in the orchard.

The goats are now registered with the American Dairy Goat Association (ADGA).

August 2009

This year, like last, August was a complete blur. Most of my time was spent harvesting, canning, freezing or drying produce. It's a real challenge to keep up with both garden chores AND animal chores.

One of my hens hatched another chick, bringing the total born at Argosy this summer to four.

July 2009

We finally found some time to open the bee hives and harvest some honey, after ordering an extractor from Brushy Mountain. A great discovery—the bees will clean all the excess honey residue off the extractor, if the equipment is left outside. Wish we could let them loose in the kitchen.

The pace has picked up in the garden with weeding, watering, picking and processing taking more of our time. See the garden slideshow.

June 2009

Ursa, a Great Pyrenees puppy, arrived at the farm this month. She'll serve as livestock guardian once I've completed her training. For now, she's a white fluffy ball of energy, intent on chasing the goat kids, turkeys and chickens.

Goats turn out to be pretty cool. Not only do they provide milk, but they also work as a land-clearing crew, eating up briars and poison ivy. Electric net fencing allows me to move their pasture around once a week, opening up new territory for them and gradually clearing land. I'm building a milking shed on skids which will enable me to move it as needed. And I built a milk stand using a plan from Fias Co Farm. See the milk house slideshow.

The 14 young pullets purchased in February started laying eggs this month, bringing the hen population up to 24. I have way too many roosters though, so I'll soon be processing a few of them to bring peace to the barnyard and food to the table.

In the garden, green beans are coming in great batches, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers and squash are ready, while sunflowers and other cut flowers provide a beautiful backdrop to the garden. The carrots, peas and Swiss chard are ignoring the hot weather. The young blueberry plants produced a handful of berries. Strawberries haven't been very prolific. Yukon Gold potatoes are delicious and the little French fingerlings were a good choice. I also harvested the garlic crop this month. I set aside the largest bulbs to use as seed in the fall and it looks like I'll have plenty to sell after the curing process is complete.

After trying several soft goat cheeses, I finally ordered a cheese press and made the first one-pound wheel of cheddar cheese, coated in red wax. The aging time on this recipe is just a month, so I'll have my first slice come August.

Flies have been unrelenting this month, with my Jersey cow Isabelle taking the brunt of the assault. I talked to several local feed stores looking for an organic solution, but as in many areas of our society, the "easy" answer always involves some kind of potent chemical. Do you really want to drink milk or eat meat from an animal regularly drenched in poison? I finally found an herbal mixture that, when sprayed or rubbed on her coat, offers some temporary relief, when combined with a fly mask made for horses. She does present a strange sight though, standing in the pasture.

May 2009

Argosy Farm had it's first birth this month. One of my Key West hens went broody and, after diligently sitting on one egg for three weeks, hatched out a little chick. Wish now that I'd had more faith in her ability as I would have slid more eggs under her.

The garden is progressing and is well-planted with a much wider variety of vegetables than I had the previous year. It was a challenge getting everything into the ground on schedule. Seedlings did well in the hoop house, strawberries are producing, and looks like I may have some fruit developing on the fig tree. Spinach, lettuce and mustard greens are still looking good, but as the days heat up I'll see those vegetables slow down just as the beans, corn, tomatoes and other vegetables hit their stride.

I built housing and fenced a paddock for three goats that arrived from Humbug Farm this month. Emmy and Jalapeña are Nubians, and Heidi is a Nubian/Saanen mix. I'm getting milk from Heidi and Emmy so I'm now working my way through Ricki Carroll's book Home Cheese Making. So far, I've tried easy queso fresco, a quick farm cheese and yogurt. Chocolate goats milk is also pretty good and it makes excellent ice cream.


A week after the first goats arrived, I added two-month old Nubian twins, Zora and Zada. The older goats aren't too thrilled with the new additions.

And to round out the month, we added a handful of Red Bourbon turkey chicks, a heritage breed.

April 2009

All Fool's Day brought the birth of little Zora, a Nubian goat kidling born at Cedar Moon Farms. She is the first of what I hope will be two doelings coming to me after weaning. And I've reserved a Great Pyrenees puppy who will serve as a livestock guardian to the goats. The first eggs have begun to trickle in. Strawberries, asparagus, sweet potatoes, French fingerlings and Yukon Gold potatoes are in the ground, and I planted a brown turkey fig in the orchard near the apples and pears.

March 2009

March roared in like a lion with blustery winds, driving rain and icy temps. And eight Key West chicks found themselves a new home, albeit a bit nippier than what they're accustomed. But the chicken house is standing up to the weather, keeping the new tenants warm and dry. They seem happy. (Read more)

The hoop house plastic is finally on! I regularly get some strong winds over the ridge, which made it more challenging to install, but the final product looks great. A temperature test taken around noon a few days later registered 81 degrees F. inside and 54 degrees out. I'll be transplanting seed starts into larger pots and moving them out to the hoop house.

We moved the 5-week old chicks into the larger chicken house after cordoning a portion of it off with leftover deer fencing to protect them from the older Key Westers.

Twelve blueberry bushes arrived from Finch Nursery—four each of Tifblue, Premier and Brightwell. We planted them in the orchard near the apple and pear trees.

We also adopted six, 19-week old Barred Rock hens rescued from a factory farm. Their clipped beaks and timid response to us contrasted with the outgoing, free-spirited Key Westers. The hens spent the first three days cowering in a corner of the coop before finally venturing outside. Our black Key West rooster immediately formed his own harem and has the new "girls" following him around.

February 2009

The chick order arrived on February 10. (See chick photos). And the chicken house is nearly complete, and none too soon with the chicks expected to outgrow the brooder at age 4-weeks. While it may seem a little fancy for a chicken house, I knew I needed building practice for the sheds, barns and houses to come. Most of the outdoor work is finished and I'll begin making roosting ladders and nest boxes next weekend. (See chicken house photos).

In the meantime, I also have eight certified Key West chickens arriving the first day of March, complements of my parents. The chicks, complete with certificate signed by Key West's mayor, are descendants of Spanish Fighting Game Cocks, brought first to Cuba in the 15th century, then to Key West by Cuban immigrants. This batch lost their mother to a hawk, were rescued, sent to a shelter, adopted by my parents, and will make North Carolina their new home.

January 2009

Winter arrived with a vengeance this month, with high winds and driving rain bringing in the New Year. Falling temperatures then hit a low of 9 degrees for two days running, covering the ponds in an inch of ice. Arctic air brought snow on Inauguration Day. All conspiring to delay installation of the plastic covering on the hoop house. Being forced inside does have its benefits, however, providing time to pore over the growing stack of seed catalogs. After inventorying my saved seed collection, I ordered more for the coming season. My goal this year is to grow a larger assortment of vegetables and flowers.

I also placed my order for day-old chicks from Murray McMurray Hatchery to arrive in February -- 6 each: Araucanas, Barred Rocks, Buff Orpingtons and Delawares, and 5 each: Dark Brahma Bantams and Mille Fleur Bantams. The hatchery throws in an "exotic" freebie, bringing the total to 35 chicks. I've built a brooder and am making progress on a 12'x12' chicken house.

How fast can a calf run? Pretty darn fast when she's out of the pen and running free. I've had Isabelle for just over a month now and I'm still getting to know her. Weighed down by heavy winter gear and hampered by snow, catching her was no easy task. Although this escape was made possible by not adequately latching the gate, I'll be looking at fencing around the property to help keep her contained should she make another run for freedom.