You’ve been hearing about me spreading manure on the garden pretty much all fall. However, this post has been an even longer time coming. In fact, it’s been sitting in my drafts folder since June 2012. Way back then, Matt and I mucked out our first stall.
I was responsible for raking up the old straw.
And Matt was responsible for getting the straw out of the stall and into the field behind the barn.
We just used rakes, rather than bothering to find the pitchforks, and then we piled the old straw behind the barn. This stall became Wiley’s garage.
The previous owners of our property had boarded horses. When they left, they didn’t bother to clean out the stalls.
And this fall, three yearslater, we still had 14 stalls full of straw and manure.
We also had a brand new vegetable garden that had been super productive. If I wanted to keep it productive, I needed to replenish the soil.
That meant it was finally time to tackle the barn.
It took me about 9 hours spread over three weekends. There were more than a dozen trailer loads of manure, and I don’t even know how many wheelbarrow loads. There were two assistants, Ms. Scratches and Mr. Sunbather, neither of whom gave very much assistance.
There was no way to get the tractor or the trailer into the barn, so I wheeled all of the straw through the barn, up a plank and into the trailer. When the trailer was full, I towed it out to the garden.
I got very proficient at backing up the trailer through this project. It just fit through the gate on the garden.
I usually laugh when people ask me what my workout routine is. I own a farm. That means I work. No need for a gym membership. Here’s my version of a workout video. Repeat that about a 100 more times.
So it only took me three years (or really three weekends once I got started), but finally the stalls are clean.
Now to find a new workout…
Have you ever had to muck out stalls? Any tips to make it easier? (Not that I’m planning on doing it again). What’s a project that you’ve had hanging around for awhile?
Ladies and gentlemen, I have to inform you that this is the first post of December. We have just three weeks until winter.
And that means I have just three weeks left to finish up my fall to-do list.
I’m actually not doing too bad.
The vegetable garden – Done for the season
As you saw last week, I’m declaring the vegetable garden done for the year. Never mind that I didn’t finish everything I wanted to. I have high hopes for productivity come spring.
The bird feeder– Done for awhile.
Our birdies are loving the feeder. So is Ralph. She camps out under Matt’s car and watches the feeder intently. So far, I don’t think she’s caught any birds. A trio of neighbourhood crows showed up on Sunday morning. If Ralph wants to deal with them, that would be fine with me.
Firewood – Done thanks to Matt and his Dad.
Here is my view as I type this post. I love our evenings in front of the fire.
Get Wiley ready for winter – Done thanks to my cousin.
Our little tractor will need his snowblower soon, but the rest of him is ready for winter.
The house – Almost done.
Matt cleaned out the gutters again a week ago, and I took off the screens last Saturday–Baxter thought we should go on a third walk instead.
The outdoor water is off, and all that remains is the annual service and filter replacement on our indoor water system. That’s scheduled for next weekend.
So only one thing left to do before winter. That’s probably a good thing because I have a long list of things to do before Christmas. At least life is never boring.
How are you doing on getting ready for winter? What progress have you made in getting ready for Christmas?
I’m calling the garden done for the year. I didn’t do quite as much as I wanted (edging it and putting in some raised beds around the perimeter), but I’m satisfied with where we ended up.
Matt and I spread manure (and a lot of straw) over the whole 2,000+ square feet. We couldn’t get Fairfield, the rototiller, going, and we suspected the soil might be too wet and sticky for him anyways.
So Matt drained the gas from the tiller, and we’ll revisit the cultivating in the spring. Let’s just say that for now we’re embracing the no-till philosophy.
This post should perhaps not be called a wrap-up, as for the first time the garden is unwrapped… pretty much.
Since spring, half the garden has been covered by a tarp and a section of carpet. Matt and I finally lifted them to spread the manure.
The coverings did a great job of killing the weeds. We have one little corner that escaped the tarp, so we moved the carpet over that patch… another thing to revisit next spring.
In fact, we were so impressed by how effective the tarp method is that we moved the tarp around to the back of the house where I want to tame the “jungle.”
Here’s the view from last summer:
And here’s the view now from the roof. Trust that this isn’t a garbage bag weighted down with bits of gravel. That’s the whole area behind the house covered with a very large tarp.
But that’s for next year. For now, look at the garden.
Oops. Sorry that’s horse poop in the garden.
Let’s see… what can I show you beside more manure.
We discovered four more acorn squash–just what we need. Anyone want some squash?
I think we finished gardening season just in time. As of yesterday morning, the farm was covered with our first dusting of snow.
How did you spend your weekend? Have you seen any snow yet where you are? Will you?
We’re basically a month away from winter. Just enough time to squeeze in another weekend of work in the garden.
Never mind that winter is forecast to arrive on Saturday with our first snowfall of any substance.
Back at the start of October, I said that I had four things I wanted to do in the garden before winter:
Hang the gate
Edge the garden
Put in raised beds
Spread manure
I’ve still not made great progress on any of these… except for one.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been working my way through the barn, emptying the stalls of their manure. As of this morning, the score stands at 10 stalls done, 4 to go.
The plan for the weekend is to clean out the remaining 4 stalls, and then Matt has pledged to till the manure into the garden (if the snow melts).
I’d still love to tackle the other items on my to-do list, but I’m willing to call this it for the year… maybe.
I’ll see how much snow we get.
What’s your plan for the weekend? What’s the forecast where you are? Have you seen any snow yet this year? What outside work are you trying to squeeze in before winter starts?
This spring, as I tidied up the woodpile after our first winter with a working fireplace, I did a very scientific calculation of how much wood we would need to stockpile for the next season.
We had most of two rows of firewood left after about three months of having fires every night. We planned to have fires every night again, but we’d be starting much earlier this year than last year (given that the fireplace wasn’t finished until Christmas last year).
I figured three complete rows of wood would do.
When a tree came down in the big field, that was our sign that it was firewood time.
Matt’s Dad arrived with his chainsaw, and he and Matt went to work. In an afternoon, they cut the fallen tree into lengths, and trailered it back to the house.
After their afternoon of work, it was clear that the downed tree was just one trunk out of four. All of the trunks were dead, so we decided it was best to take them all down.
The following weekend, Matt’s Dad was back. He brought three chainsaws and his splitter this time.
We went with our usual division of labour: Matt and his Dad headed out for the tree, and I started up the splitter.
After I had split the first two loads, Bax and I headed out to the field to check on the progress. The remaining three trunks were down, and one trailer was full.
We filled it again (and added a puppy) and filled Matt’s Dad’s trailer (he didn’t get a puppy, but his extra deep trailer took basically a double load of wood).
Back at the house, Matt and I finished splitting and stacking. I got my triple row of firewood.
And then some.
Good thing, because fireplace season has started earlier this year. We’ve already had a couple of fires, which are so, so nice… although I’ve not photographed them (#bloggerfail). I am so glad we finally have a fireplace to enjoy this fall.
Have you done any tree clean-up at your house? Who else is enjoying fall fires? Have you put up firewood this season?
A month ago, I said it was time to get my act together, and I posted my fall to-do list.
I’m most productive when I post regular updates to hold myself accountable, so today is about sharing where I’m at in getting ready for winter.
And I am pleased to report that I’m getting my act together.
The vegetable garden
Hang the gate
Edge the garden
Put in raised beds
Spread manure
Okay. Perhaps this isn’t the best way to start. Beyond the harvest and clearing out the dead plants, I haven’t spent much time in the garden. My plan is to make the garden my focus for November.
The bird feeder
Reattach feeder bracket – My cousin who made the birdfeeder post for us originally very kindly bolted the top bracket back into place.
Install a sleeve for the post – I put a section of pipe in the ground so that the post can just slide into place, no hammering required.
I restocked our seed supply last week, and we have a steady stream of blue jays, chickadees, juncos and a whole bunch of other birds I can’t identify visiting the feeder every day.
Firewood
Tidy up the trees – Matt and his Dad went to town.
Put up another row of firewood – As Matt and his Dad cut, I split and stacked, and we are set.
More details about our latest lumberjacking episode will be coming in a future post, but for now gaze upon our woodpiles.
Get Wiley ready for winter
Change the oil – My handy cousin (he of the birdfeeder) changed the oil for us.
Check the battery contacts – My handy cousin also made us a little sleeve to tighten up the battery clasp, and Wiley’s starting so smoothly now.
Clean out the gutters — Matt’s done this twice in October, and he’ll probably have to do it at least once more.
Turn off the outdoor water
Annual service and filter replacement on indoor water system — A new to-do
The house is another area where we’ve not done a whole lot. What does that say about me that I’m putting less time into the roof over my head as opposed to the property around my house? Thankfully, Matt’s on it.
Anyways, three categories out of five are completely done. That’s pretty good. Now to keep the productivity coming before winter comes.
How are you doing on your pre-winter to-do list so far?
Home on 129 Acres 