Wild Hope Homestead

It was a bit of a rough end to the year, with most of my immediate family getting a tummy bug for Christmas or the New Year and The Grandpa passing away a few days after Christmas as well. Hence, things have been a bit quiet on the homestead front. However, we move on, whilst looking back, and we are all the richer for the amazing experiences we have had together. There were also a lot of challenges on the homestead last year, including The Great Egg-eating Scandal that cut almost the entire chicken flock, exceedingly wet weather through Autumn, Winter and most of Spring, which delayed many garden tasks, brought fungal problems to some crops and caused minor surface flooding, including in the chicken coop; injury and illness  and projects that took a lot of time and physical effort. However, good things happened in 2017 too; a lot of good things, and thus, now is a great time to look at a little summary of what we achieved at Twiglet Homestead during the 2017 year. Or at least the things I can currently recall.

Garden

• Grew, mostly from seed, and harvested potatoes, pumpkins, cucumbers, tomatoes, capsicums, chillies, bush beans, runner beans, carrots, parsnips, lettuce, rocket, sorrel, kale, onions, spring onions, leeks, garlic, cauliflowers, broccoli, cabbages, boy choy, oyster mushrooms and probably other things.
• Harvested plums, peaches, pears, apples, feijoas, tangelos, lemons, figs, strawberries, blueberries, blackcurrants and walnuts.
• Grew and used parsley, basil, coriander and dill in addition to perennial herbs: rosemary, oregano, thyme, lemon thyme, lemon verbena, sage, pineapple sage, chives and garlic chives.
• Dried oregano, thyme and lemon verbena for kitchen use.
• Planted an apple tree, an almond tree, an apricot tree and a plum tree and re-planted three blackcurrant bushes and a blueberry bush.
• Entered two pumpkins in The Great Pumpkin Carnival and won Best Mature Miniature Pumpkin Open Class.
• Finished forming the Plum Tree Garden and planted a bunch of plants in it.
• Built a new raised bed in the Vege Garden.
• Made two large piles of compost and used it in the garden.
• Set up a compost bin for chickens to turn compost in Orchard Pen, then moved and renovated it into 2-bay compost bin in Cedar Pen.
• Felled two trees: unproductive plum and tall, narrow, ivy-ridden  conifer.
• Killed horrible ivy that was taking over the cedar tree.
• Dug out a lot of stumps by hand.
• Acquired two new rain barrels with lids and installed one by deck,  removed one rain barrel and downpipe from beside back carport.
• Removed old washing line and installed new one closer to house.
• Made curtain screens for woodshed.
• Filled up both bays of woodshed with free wood, found or cut up from pallets.
• Cut up and moved all wood and rubbish from beside the deck.
• Created the Apple Tree Garden, complete with strawberries.
• Re-potted and moved all potted plants onto pallets in the Plant Alcove.
• The fur child, Nala, caught lots of mice and rats.

The vege garden last Summer.

Tomatoes.

Capsicums.

Carrots.

Borlotto Fire Tongue bean pods.

Borlotto Fire Tongue beans to dry.

Potatoes.

A Crown pumpkin.

Red cabbage.

The Vege Garden at the start of this Summer.

The Weedpost Pile started off as a place to chuck some of the masses of weeds.

Then the Weedpost Pile turned into something useful: compost.

The chickens, to their great delight, got a compost bin so they could turn compost for me.

A new raised bed was built in the Vege Garden.

The big Compost Pile produced a lot of compost for the garden.

The Compost Pile is now gone in preparation for more back-friendly composting systems. Before I get around to the tumbling composters, a giant pumpkin, some tomato plants and some potted kumara plants are utilising the space. And they’re utilising it even more right now.

The chicken compost bin was moved into the Cedar Pen and renovated into two bays, then filled.

The Herb Garden earlier in 2017.

The Herb Garden near the end of 2017, post-stump removal. The plants have grown, there are no more stumps, stepping stones have been completed and new plants have been planted.

Garlic chives flowers look pretty and feed the bees.

An apricot tree and an almond tree were planted in the Cedar Pen.

The blackcurrant bushes were released from their planter and planted in the Maple Garden.

There were masses of feijoas from our one huge tree.

Some of the walnut harvest.

Strawberries.

Drying herbs in the lounge.

My prizewinning miniature pumpkin. The first produce prize I’ve won and I’m hooked in a very orange-tinted way.

The giant pumpkin was fun for all of us. Everyone should have one or two of these lying about.

Setting up the second chicken pen, the Cedar Pen, involved pruning, stump removal, tree removal, invasive weed control, fort repurposing and fencing. When this photo was taken the fort sides had been demoed and some ivy and other weeds had been cleared from the raised level.

The ivy in the cedar tree was so intense that I thought we weren’t going to be able to kill it for a while there.

One of the camellia stumps that was dug out of the pen area.

So… many… stumps…

The pen was finished with fencing.

The Husband got heavy handed with another stump, this one in the Plum Tree Garden.

The Plum Tree Garden had a useless plum tree felled.

The Plum Tree Garden now has two plum trees again, a dwarf orange, a dwarf mandarin, a blueberry bush, for now, and a bunch of ornamental plants.

The woodshed got curtains to keep things tidy and keep chickens out of there.

The future patio area/temporary woodpile thing got worse before it got better.

Dealing with this area and creating a new garden bed, the Apple Tree Garden, was a great garden improvement. And installing the rain barrel here has already been helpful.

I did a few vases of flowers for the table. I ought to do more this year.

Food

• Froze heaps of tomatoes and made enough concentrated tomato soup to use as a meal base or soup for most of the year.
• Made plum chutney, apricot chutney and feijoa and lemon chutney (homegrown plums, feijoas and lemons).
• Made chocolate easter eggs and hot cross buns.
• Learnt how to render lard. Now using lard and beef drippings instead of processed vegetable oils, aside from olive oil.
• Made many gluten-free recipes including bread, pizza bases, muffins, cakes and energy balls.
• Made sauerkraut for the first time.
• Learnt about soaking grains and now soak oats, rice, etc. in water with some ACV then rinse before eating.

A lot of concentrated tomato soup was made.

Plum chutney was my favourite chutney of the year.

Easter eggs.

Hot cross buns.

Cutting up pork fat to render lard. I made four batches of lard.

A jar of lard, all ready to make things tasty.

One of a few gluten-free bread recipes I made.

The Little Fulla’s birthday cake: gingerbread cake with chocolate icing (GF and DF).

Trying my hand at sauerkraut.

Chickens

• Started the year with 4 hens, 1 rooster, 6 pullets and 4 cockerels.
• Kept 3 pullets, sold 3 pullets, sold 3 cockerels and dispatched 1 cockerel with Marek’s disease.
• Broody Frodo hatched 2 chicks in February. Very hot weather = poor hatch rate.
• Cleared and built Cedar Pen for second chicken pen, involving pruning, stump removal, tree removal, invasive weed control, fort repurposing and fencing.
• Renovated small chicken coop.
• Re-designed chick feed box to keep big chickens away from chick food.
• Built a new, bigger coop under woodshed roofing.
• 1 cockerel butchered (Mr Collins) and 1 pullet kept (Jane B).
• Bought four pullets, sold two. Excellent choice in purchasing Lorelai, Sookie, not so much. Later sold two.
• Dealt with egg-eating scandal: seven hens and one rooster dispatched throughout the year (Jane, Lydia, Lizzie, Sookie, Jane B, Georgiana, Kitty and Mr Bingley).
• Broody Frodo hatched 14 eggs in October: 6 Australorps and 8 Wyandotte/Australorp crossbreds. One chick with splayed leg righted and all 14 healthy and thriving. Five pullets and 9 cockerels.
• Acquired two more Australorp pullets and took back two hens that were sold to The Big Sister-in-law earlier in year.

The year started off with a tight-knit flock of chickens, only one of whom made it to the end of the year, thanks to all the egg-eating. Frodo is my champion.

The little Leggy cockerels, sons of the late Legolas and Mr Bingley. They were pretty but couldn’t stay.

Frodo with her first chicks of the year: Jane B and Mr Collins, the nuttiest chicken I have yet come across.

We had a supply of eggs for most of the year, but did have to buy some when things got dire.

Sookie, Lorelai and the two black Orpington pullets.

Frodo, Lizzie, Mr Bingley and Kitty, with Jane B on the far right and Georgiana on the far left.

The chick feedbox.

The small coop got nestbox dividers removed and two new, removable roosts made.

The small coop also got a new ramp and door.

The woodshed was a bit of a mess before.

Then a new coop somehow appeared under the woodshed roof. Just casually, with a LOT of time and effort!

Inside the roost end of the new coop, which is long but narrow.

I made a gate from one of the found pallet wood frames.

Frodo hatched more babies – 14! They were a cute mass of fluffiness.

Nugget, daughter of Frodo, has rejoined us.

The two newest Australorp pullets, my Christmas present, since I only hatched one purebred girl.

Lorelai.

The five crossbred boys were separated from the main flock in preparation for being either sold or butchered.

House

• Re-surfaced our old dining table and sold it.
• Made magnetic crop labels for the Garden Produce Board, to show what fruit and veges are available for use.
• Made a decorative shelf and metal rack with vases feature for the living area.
• Installed small shelves in living room and The Little Fulla’s room.
• Installed an additional towel rail.
• Installed hooks on our bedroom door.
• Acquired a new front door, currently undergoing renovation.
• Acquired a ‘big person’ bed for The Little Fulla.
• Re-arranged The Little Fulla’s bedroom so he could have a desk and more fun stuff in there.
• Acquired a water filter.
• Acquired a diffuser and started using essential oils for health benefits.

I liked the old table but it was too small and needed to find a new home.

The Garden Produce Board is on the pantry, where we can check what crops are currently available for use.

The shelf and metal rack with vases feature I put together.

The Husband installed these little shelves in the living room…

… And these shelves in The Little Fulla’s room.

A new towel rail for The Little Fulla’s towel.

New hooks for our bedroom door.

The new front door has been prepped for painting.

Crafts

• Knitted Christmas stocking #2 for The Husband.
• Knitted a baby bear beanie for my nephew, The Little Gingernut.
• Knitted two pairs of slippers for The Little Fulla.
• Knitted two different green hats for The Little Fulla, the first one having gotten lost.
• Knitted a green jersey for The Little Fulla.

The Husband’s Christmas stocking.

A baby bear beanie for The Little Gingernut.

Two sets of slippers for The Little Fulla, because the first ones were a bit small.

Green hat #1, which ran away.

Green hat #2.

The Little Fulla’s never-ending green jersey found an end after all. It’s what hogged most of my somewhat sparse knitting time last year.

It’s clear that the garden and the chickens got a lot of time last year, and the house not so much. I’m proud of how far we’ve come from the start of the year, what we’ve grown, what we’ve made, what we’ve torn down and what we’ve learnt. Bring on the homesteading of 2018!