Heritage Hogs

Raising my own Hogs are definitely on my future to do list. Not this year though lol

Like most homesteaders I dream big, and plan years in advance. Hog breeds are something that I have been looking into for quite some time. That being said Heritage Hogs, are in the same category as heirloom seeds. It's going back to our roots. This article really grabbed my attention.

http://www.olyfarmstead.org/heritage-breed-hogs/

With a list of various heritage breeds as well as a pile of information it's a great resource for anyone looking at getting a hog or two. Give it a read! And let me know which is your favorite! 

~ Niki

Watermellon Trellis

While searching around online for different ways to make the most of my garden space I came across a great blog post on grooving Watermellon vertically! This for me is awesome news! Watermellon is one of the many things on my "grow" list this year, and 1 plant can take over 15 ft in diameter of garden space! Considering I plan on planting at least 25 of them I was starting to wonder if I would have room for anything else!

Growing Watermellon plants vertically is going to save so much room in my garden I can't wait to incorporate it into my plans! Go to http://squarefootabundance.com/growing-watermelon-on-trellises/ for details!

~ Niki

Easter Babies!

So excited to share with everyone the newests members of the Gurney homestead! We got 2 Cooper babies (2 weeks old) and 2 Gibsons babies (also 2 weeks old) from a wonderful lady and friend Kara at Three Mile Ventures who breeds these beautiful birds. (Make sure you check out her page on facebook!!!)

The Gibsons will lay pretty green eggs, and the Coopers will lay a dark brown egg! We are so excited to watch them grow and mature, and even more excited to try their first eggs. 

Kids are still working on names for them, but so far we have "Bare Bum" and "Morgan" lol

~ Niki

Grazing Options for Chickens.

Anyone that has ever raised chickens knows that if they have lots of area to roam they will munch on the greenery and move on. However this can be an issue for people have have to keep the grazing area to a smaller scale or may not have the idea growing conditions to keep up with the demand. Chickens will pull vegetation out of the ground roots and all for fresh greenery.

There are many ways to curb this issue, either by expanding their free range area, constructing a chicken tractor, or building a grazing grid. Not only is it beneficial for the chickens to get fresh greens, and cut down on your feed bill, but it will make happy healthy birds, and very yummy eggs!

This spring an summer I plan on building many of these options out of recycled material, but in the meantime check out this fantastic post by another blogger and get some ideas of your own for your homesteading projects!

http://www.thegardencoop.com/blog/2012/02/07/grazing-frames-backyard-chickens/

~ Niki

Busy Easter weekend.

Today has been a crazy busy weekend in our home. Not only was hubby home, but it was Easter weekend. Normally I do the big full on meal, but this year I cut it down and spent the extra time helping hubby, cleaning, and planning.

We did a bit of transplanting, and I got even more of that done today along with starting my herbs etc. I love having my hubby home. That being said I love him working too lol. This current job seems to fit nicely schedule wise. He works 3-5 days during the week and is home on the weekends. It's only a temp gig as he's doing it to help get a friends business rolling in a new to them field. Plus it helps put some cash in the bank since he has been laid off since Valentines Day.

He left again early this morning and will be back sometime Friday. We have really awesome family and friends that are letting him crash in their spare rooms as he's a bit of a nomad right now bouncing from one place to the other. It's nice for him that he's able to catch up with everyone too.

Well this girl needs to get back to purging and listing stuff for sale if I'm ever going to get this homestead going lol will post again tonight if I get a chance!