It's a Beginning!

The main purpose of the is blog is to record our efforts at gardening, beekeeping, and raising chickens. Our dream is to one day be able to live off our land wherever that may be. Our hope is learn from small scale and be able to go "large scale." This will be my diary of what works and what does not work.

We started keeping chickens because our family reacts to store eggs. I am not sure if it is what the chickens have been fed or injected or if it is the processing of the store eggs that make us sick. However, we love eggs so to be able to eat them we are raising them. I could purchase them from others who raise in backyard or farms but we were offered free Bantam chickens. So why not try it. Here is some of our flock. We only have one of them named she is Alice. I think the rooster is gorgeous.

We also keep bees. This is our second year. It is amazing how the bees operate. I love looking at the comb they produce. Believe it or not I am allergic to wasps and other stinging insects. I have not been stung by a honey bee yet so I do not know if I will react or not. Yet I love to go watch them take off and land. I do not open the hives that is the work of my husband and kids.

Here they are busy at the front of the hive.

Our wild strawberries are benefiting from the bees this year. We have a cherry tree that for the first time in five years seems to be producing something. We have raspberry plants, grapes and blueberries from last year that are doing better this year.

We are trying a garden using the square foot garden method. I will be recording what works what does not. We will be growing tomatoes, eggplants, broccoli, lettuce, strawberries, beans, carrots, potatoes, artichokes, cucumbers, spinach, and whatever else we might come across. The almanac says this will be a wet year in GA. I am gardening on it! Here are the beds in the back. I will use posts later to record how things are growing.

Well my children are needing my attention.