Category: Sustainable living

Honeybees


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We see disturbingly few honeybees at the abbey. Last year, it seemed as though bumblebees did most of the pollination. There were some honeybees working the apple blossoms this morning, though, and they were a welcome sight. There also were lots of other nectar-sipping creatures.

Ruth, R.I.P., and other chicken news


Ruth resting in the grass the day before she died

Ruth died on Tuesday. Some sort of digestive disorder carried her off. She fought it for a week, then finally she stopped eating and drinking and weakened fast. Tuesday was a cold day with a very cold night forecast. We brought her inside and gave her a heat lamp Tuesday morning, but she died very peacefully around dusk.

We bought a flowering cherry tree as her memorial. She’s buried under the new tree. I am not certain what made her sick, but I think there’s a very good chance that it was the organic fertilizer we spread a couple of weeks ago. The fertilizer contains chicken manure, and it’s pelletized. I’m afraid the chickens ate some of it before the rain washed it in, because it probably looked like food and wasn’t recognizable for what it was. Patience also was sick and had diarrhea for a while, but she recovered. So there’s a new rule at the abbey: The chickens must be kept away from newly spread organic fertilizer.

Now we’re down to one chicken — Patience. I was afraid that Patience would be depressed from loneliness, but she seems to be doing pretty well so far. Then again, she’s had Ken for company. Ken has been working on replacing the screen and re-securing the chicken house against predators, in preparation for new baby chickens. Patience has stayed right with him almost every minute. Ken said that, at one point, when he was lying on the ground to work on the bottom screen, Patience was exploring his hair with her beak. I think I’ve mentioned before that Patience has long had a crush on Ken.

Anyway, it’s almost time for spring chickens, and we’ve had to make some quick decisions. Ken had the brilliant idea of getting some fertile eggs and giving Patience a chance to hatch the eggs and raise the chicks. She has already shown a bit of a tendency to nest this spring, though she hasn’t been obsessive about it. Maybe some eggs will stimulate her instincts. I’ve ordered a dozen Golden Comet fertile eggs from eBay. They should arrive next week. We’ll give Patience five or six of the eggs and see what she can do. If she succeeds, we’ll have to figure out what to do with the males. If she fails, there should still be time to buy chicks from the local roller mill. They always sell baby chickens in the spring, around Easter.


Any time Ken’s in the garden or orchard, Patience dogs him, especially if he’s digging, or on the ground like a chicken. Patience has thoroughly enjoyed Ken’s work replacing all the predator wire on the chicken house.


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Let's all scratch in the dirt


When the daffodils are out, it is time to scratch in the dirt.


Onions, lettuce, and chard from plants bought at the roller mill in Walnut Cove. They don’t look like much when they first go in the ground, but they’ll be much more photogenic in a few weeks. I’m probably about two weeks away from planting my broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, etc. Those plants are being started for me in a nearby greenhouse from seeds I ordered from Baker Creek. I figured that a greenhouse could do a much better job with young plants than I can do under a grow light in front of a window, which is how I started my plants last year.


I finally found some sour cherry trees, Montmorency. I bought two, and Ken planted them yesterday. I’m not entirely happy starting fruit trees in the spring, and the dirt ball on these trees was poor. But having spent more than two years looking for sour cherry trees, I’ll take what I can get when I can get it. We also planted a peach tree, a couple of lilacs, and some NanKing cherries (see below).


A gardener friend of mine recommended NanKing cherries. I was not familiar with them. They’re a shrub that produce edible cherries that the birds also love. They’re a hardy plant from Asia that was brought to this country over a century ago. NanKing cherries grow in the Himalayas.


When we scratch in the dirt, the chickens come running up to help. They know that it will mean worms and grubs for them.


Patience


Ruth

Fertilizer run


WoodCreek Farm and Supply

It’s surprising how difficult it is, at least around here, to get organic fertilizer in 50-pound bags. Hardware stores such as Lowe’s sell some organic fertilizers in small packages, but the price per pound is far too high. The nearest source I’ve found is WoodCreek Farm and Supply at Cana, Virginia. That’s almost a hundred-mile round trip from here. They’re open only on Saturdays. I made a run to Cana today and came back with 500 pounds of Harmony fertilizer (based on chicken manure) and 50 pounds of dried kelp. The dried kelp is very expensive, but I figure there’s no better source of trace minerals for the garden.

As I’ve often mentioned, there are no straight roads into northern Stokes County. That’s particularly true if you need to go east or west. The best route from here to Cana, Virginia, is on N.C. 103 and Virginia State Route 103. That goes through Claudville, Virginia, and some very nice foothill farm country, then to Mount Airy, North Carolina.

I stopped for breakfast at the Cafe of Claudville and found some honest old-style diner atmosphere, with a proper front counter and rotating counter stools. They even have wifi.


Foothills near Cana, Virginia


Foothills near Claudville, Virginia


The Internet antenna at the Cafe of Claudville

Prabhupada Village

Yesterday Ken and I made a visit to Prabhupada Village, a 360-acre village of Hare Krishna devotees about 8 miles north of Acorn Abbey. They all live simply and close to the land. Many of them farm and are excellent farmers. In many ways, they live much as the rural people of this county lived up until 50 years ago. The village has been there for 20 years.


From a ridge, looking down on Prabhupada land


Water tower and hay shed


Ken with one of the village puppies


A living roof


Daffodils and crocuses, blooming too early in the warm winter

The garden zones move north


U.S. Department of Agriculture

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released a new version of the “Plant Hardiness Zone Map.” As you might expect, a warming climate has pushed the zones north. It’s the first time the zones map has been revised since 1990.

It’s interesting to note that the Department of Agriculture isn’t saying anything about global warming. Though the data is obvious, we can’t risk offending the oil companies and the know-nothings.