New layers in the coop.

As you may recall, back in April I purchased six new chicks to add to my coop of three Rhode Island Reds.  The fluffy chicks quickly grew big enough to go into the coop with my older hens.  Up to now we've just been waiting until the egg laying began.

And now it has!

Out of the six Barred Plymouth Rocks, three are now laying daily.  I did a happy dance the first day when there was a new egg in the nest.  Each day a new one arrives I celebrate.  All the work and waiting is starting to pay off and I couldn't be happier.  Each egg is like a new gift.  :)

Before:

After:

EGGS!

The top two eggs are from my Rhode Island Reds, and the rest are from the Barred Plymouth Rocks.  You can't tell too well in the picture, but there is a little color difference (the BPRs are lighter) and size (the BPRs are smaller).  However, they all taste the same!  ;)

Soon the other three will start laying and I'll be collecting approximately nine eggs daily.  Since my RIRs are a year older than my BPRs I'm hoping when one breed starts molting the other will still be laying.  That way we'll always have eggs.  At least that's what I'm hoping.  Who knows what the chickens will think of that.  LOL!

Green Beans 2012

And here it is...  My first handful of fresh-from-the-garden green beans.  Sorry about the blurriness.  My camera batteries were dead, so I took it with my phone.  There's enough out there nearly big enough to pick that I *should* get another handful this coming weekend. :)

At this point in the gardening season I can tell what plants are thriving and which aren't.  My beets started coming up, but then died away and haven't been seen again.  Only half of my tomatoes are growing; a few pepper plants, my two types of lettuce came up, but then something ate it all (probably a rabbit).

Right now, I'm the happy gardenkeeper of corn, green beans, pinto beans, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, and cucumbers.  So far, so good with these vegetables.  I just hope they continue to thrive once the true heat of summer sets into the south.  Georgia can get awfully hot in August.

Speaking of cucumbers, as I was picking my handful of green beans I noticed more than a dozen itty-bitty 1 inch long cucumbers.  Maybe it won't be too long before I'm making pickles.  :)

Happy growing!

The seeds have arrived. It's garden time!

This year I'm going with organic and heirloom vegetables for our family garden.  I'm hoping for a healthier and more bountiful crop, but we'll have to just wait and see on that.

My mother suggested a company that she orders from yearly called Southern Exposure Seed Exchange and a high school friend suggested Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.  So I checked them out and ordered.  I placed a hefty order with SESE, but they had run out of pinto beans.  That's when I popped over to Baker Creek and ordered from them.

In just a few days I had received my beans from Baker Creek, and yesterday (a few more days later) my order from SESE arrived.  Woohoo!  Everything arrived safe and sound.

Now, if only my garden area was ready for planting. Eek!  It's okay though since there are still a few weeks left before it's planting time here in North Georgia.  That gives me more time to put the chickens back to work and then pull out the heavy-duty garden tiller.  Then it's on!

Come on Mother Nature!  Be kind to this country girl.  I would truly appreciate your assistance in growing enough vegetables for us to enjoy fresh out of the garden AND can/freeze for the future.  *Fingers Crossed*

Pictured above are my seeds of:

Bolita Beans  --  From Baker Creek
Green Beans
Beets
Carrots
Sweet Corn
Bell Peppers
Banana Peppers
Jalapeno Peppers  -- we're going to try our hand at salsa making
Glacier Tomatoes
Cherry Tomatoes
Pickling Cucumbers
2 types of Lettuce
Onions

All of these are veggies that I know will get eaten.  I may also get some sunflower seeds, but haven't decided on that yet.  Oh, and I'll be getting some potato clippings.

Above all this, I typed up all the details of the seeds from the companies, including growing times and company item numbers so I can keep up with what grows well for us and what may not.  This will make it easier to reference back to next year.  I'll be keeping growing notes and actual sprouting times.  Maybe, just maybe, all of this will help ensure some good crops.  :)

The land I'm working with.

A little about my land to better understand our homesteading attempts.

I live in north Georgia, at the base of Fort Mountain.  We live outside the city limits, though in a neighborhood.  Luckily, neighbors aren't as close here as they are in the local subdivisions where people only get small lots of land around their houses.  I have several acres of mostly wooded land to work with here.

When we first built our house almost 16 years ago, we were young (only 19 at the time) and our only concern was having a home of our own to raise our unborn daughter.  We weren't considering that our future would consist of a desire to raise farm animals and grow vegetable gardens. However, it all worked out in the end.

Our house sits on 2 acres of land, with another 4 acres of family land connected.  That's 6 acres to grow and raise anything we want.  It may not be as big as some people have, but it seems to be suiting our needs quite well.  :)

We have a wood-burning fireplace in the house and feed it regularly through the winter with wood from our land.  Trees need to come down to make room for gardens, the chicken coop, childrens' playsets, and just the routine cleaning up of land.  It has been 16 years and we're still not out of trees.

The ground consists of a layer of beautiful black topsoil, full of organic material, and then the awful layer of slate rock beneath.  Close to the house it's hard to plant things due to the removal of topsoil when they built the house.  Further away from the house, where the bulldozers never went, the land is fertile.  It has taken us  few years of trial and error, but I think we finally found the perfect gardening spot.  I can't wait to see what comes from it this year!

*Pictured above: My oldest daughter lounging in the backyard hammock last summer.*