Great Progress…

		Construction in Full Swing VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Wow, work is really progressing around the farm. We had been holding off starting the troughs until the new excavator could come to get the drainage issues resolved but one weekend we spent a lot of time digging three more mini swales and a small ditch out behind the greenhouse. Each of these mini swales will have a mound of dirt in front of them, planted with various berry bushes (the same way that we’ve done the blueberries). We figure that we can get at least 100 bushes on this area. We also got the rainwater collection hooked up, which captures all of the water from the barn roof. We hooked up a 300 gallon IBC tote on a Saturday afternoon and a few hours later we had a “gully-washer” of a storm hit. The storm only lasted about 20 minutes but in that short period of time, it FILLED that IBC tote. I kept going out during the storm to see the progress of it filling the tank and was amazed at the collection rate. We will use this water to flood the swales and slow soak the berry bushes. We bought a portable pump and have that hooked up to the tank, with several garden hoses on the outlet side and these can reach just about any planting area we have. We tested out the system the other day, after hooking up the pump, and it only took 5 minutes to drain 100 gallons from the tank. This was enough water to fill the top swale, near the blueberries. What an awesome resource….this is water that would otherwise run down the ditch and off the property.

Soooo, since we have the drainage issue in a good holding pattern (all of these swales and ditch out back have controlled the water flow substantially), we decided to get started with putting the troughs together. As you can see from the pictures, they are all together and the liners are in them. The liner is a 20 mil Duraskrim product which is  reinforced and waterproof. The guy from Lowes told me today that it’s commonly used on roofs for its great durability. I know there are many uses for it and we found it pretty easy to work with in lining the troughs. Friendly Aquaponics has a fantastic video on their website on how to install it in troughs, with all the tips and tricks that you need to know to create the corners, etc. and it was a huge help. We’re finishing up the trim that goes around the edge of the troughs and then we can start on the plumbing. We’ve got our air pump and water pump ordered so they should be here next week, just in time for our next steps. We have rafts to paint and lots of other things to do in the meantime.

The chickens are growing like weeds! We’ve got them fenced in with 100’ of no shock fencing and they are having a ball, exploring the yard and eating all the bugs and plants their little hearts desire. We can’t believe how fast they are growing. It won’t be long before they’ll be laying eggs. That will be a fun treat to see that next stage in their lives. They have such neat personalities and such an inquisitive nature about them. They are a pure delight to spend time with and watch. When we take a break during the day, we like to sit and watch them. While building the chicken wagon, I fell twice when the floor boards were off and I was replacing the decking. When I went through the floor joists, my feet stopped when they hit the axle under the wagon. The second fall was the worst for my left ankle (my right shin bone had a massive bruise and lots of bruising around my ankle area). I had wrapped it with an ace bandage and iced it for several weeks and thought it would be ok. After six weeks, it was feeling really ouchy on uneven ground, climbing ladders and similar tasks. I finally went to the doctor and they took x-rays and an MRI. It showed that there was a lot of swelling in my ankle and it was bruised really bad inside (the doc called it a micro fracture). He put me in a boot to restrict movement so it could heal. I’ll be in the boot for another four weeks (have had it on for two weeks so far). My ankle feels so much more comfortable in the boot except it’s very hot on really warm days. My left calf should lose at least 5 pounds over the course of these next four weeks…LOL)

Remember the China Doll pumpkins from my last post? Well, they sprouted in less than a weeks’ time and are doing great, up on Pumpkin Hill. Likewise for the 33 cages of potatoes we planted. Everything is liking the hot days we’ve been having, with the dose of thunderstorms mixed in on a pretty frequent basis. We can’t wait to get the sprouting table full of yummy veggies. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We’re making great progress….the finish line is looming in the distance.

LiveJournal Tags: China Doll pumpkins,red Norland. gold Yukon,Friendly Aquaponics,rafts,MRI,organic,trough,Duraskrim liner,rainwater harvesting,IBC tote