Farm Planning: Planning the Farm on Paper

We closed on land in Manitoba in early 2016 and have been living in Yellowknife, NWT since then. As a result of this technicality, paper planning has been the primary feature of our farm life thus far. Our paper planning has been fairly extensive over the last two years and while nothing physical exists I have still learnt several very important lessons as a result of the planning process.

(Mr. Frank Silver, June 2016) 

Expect a Large Learning Curve
As my experience with indoor composting worms highlights, all new projects come with a steep learning curve. It is important to anticipate and react to this learning curve to prevent discouragement when projects do not go as planned.

Limitations of Paper Planning
There will be unexpected realities when attempting to follow any plan - no matter how detailed. I like to plan some flexibility into the official paper plan to accommodate these unexpected realities. Accepting the limits of paper planning allows one to embrace changes as new information is presented.

(The land, April 2018) 

The Importance of Permaculture
Even though we have yet to begin a farm project, I have embraced the importance of permaculture. I research and detailed an Angora rabbit plan to begin in Fall 2018 but soon discovered that if the rabbits exist outside of a permaculture system the cost of inputs and the problem of their outputs results in an expensive, time consuming and unnatural system. Instead I opted to delay the rabbit purchase until they can exist within a permaculture system which will be more beneficial overall.

There is a time and a benefit derived from paper planning, I am excited to begin projects IRL!

Review: Garden Voices

Here are some of my favourite quotes from "Garden Voices Two Centuries of Canadian Garden Writing" edited by Edwinna Von Baeyer and Pleasance Crawford. While some of the older writings included in this collection are dry and uninspired there are a few great pieces of writing. This was a wonderful winter read! 


"We think of plant communities as peaceful. They're not of course: they're battlefield that seem calm only because the skirmishes are fought in silence and slow motion, often underground. A garden is just a lull in the warfare, and it exists only as long as the gardener's authority lasts. We're the arbiters, the little gods. It's a tough job." - Elspeth Bradbury, 1994

"Apple trees were a first demand of Chipman, Winslow and others when they established themselves in New Brunswick. This was for a very good reason - rum and spruce beer were cheap and plentiful, but in gentlemen's houses tastes ran to the more costly and scarcer wine and cider." - J. Russell Harper, 1955

"I believe my brother farmers are the losers by neglecting the garden. I know that I have lost by such neglect, and by the well-known rule, judge others by myself. The garden pays full as well as the field." - A Canadian Farmer, 1859

"One mistake so many people make in laying out a garden is to put it all in front of the house in a series of stiff little beds, which have no artistic beauty about them. Try instead taking the already beaten lines of travel, which have been made by the tramping of feet to and fro, from the barn to the house, from the well to the house. These paths will, probably, have some pretty curves to them, unless the ground surrounding your house is absolutely level and the distance to be travelled very short. In any case try broadening them out wide enough for two people to walk abreast and then make a wide flower border on one or both sides..." -Mary Irene Parlby

Review: Rabbit Raising

Lately, I have been pursuing archive.org. I find the collection of early 1900s chicken magazines fascinating but recently found a few interesting rabbit resources as well. 'Rabbit Raising' by George S. Templeton, Frank G Ashbrook, and Charles E. Kellogg was published in 1942 by the U.S. Department of the Interior and originally cost 10 cents! (Direct link here)

While it is important to be critical of any publication I do think that vintage publications should be approached with an extra critical eye simple due to the drastic changes in scientific knowledge that have occurred since 1942. With that said, here are some of the interesting information I gleaned from reading 'Rabbit Raising'.

- Rabbits waste a considerable quantity of hay as they pull a stem of hay from the manager, eat part of it and drop the rest. This wastage can be reduced by cutting the hay into 3 or 4 inch lengths.

- It is recommended to leave kits with the doe for a full 8 weeks because the mother's milk supply will gradually decrease over this time frame and the kits will become accustomed to consuming more solid foods as this decrease occurs. Natural weaning in this way results in less of a shock to the kit and the weight loss that occurs with sudden weaning will be avoided.

- When fed a mixed feed, rabbits will scratch out the most palatable kinds of feed resulting in considerable food waste. This can be resolved by placing the different grains and supplements in separate compartments so that rabbits have free access to any kind of feed they want. This means that the rabbit can consume the particular type of feed they desire without waste.

The Prairie Farmer

In the months after the purchase of our agricultural land we began to pay attention to agricultural issues as presented in social media and main stream media as they pertain to our future in Manitoba. There really seemed to be a vacancy in clear, concise, coverage of agricultural issues that presented the issues and concerns while remaining professional in nature. Rather than simply complain about this lack of journalistic coverage I decided to do something about it and The Prairie Farmer was born.

The Prairie Farmer is an annual print journal that discusses innovative agricultural ideas and techniques for backyard producers, market gardeners and mid-scale farmers through a balanced journalistic approach that focuses on prairie agricultural issues and is written by women of the Canadian prairies.

The Prairie Farmer accepts submissions from women (cisgender and transgender), transgender men, Two-Spirit and non-binary people of all backgrounds and identities. We prioritise submissions about experiences relating to the Canadian Prairie Provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba). Submissions of an academic, experimental, instructive, personal and/or artistic nature are welcome.

Please check out theprairiefarmer.blogspot.ca for more information!

Indoor Worm Composting: Update!

I've had my Indoor Worm Composting system since February (see first post here) and over the summer I switched from the 5 gallon bucket system to the more common rubbermaid tote system. I found that the materials became dense in the bucket system and I found it difficult to regulate feeding. The tote system seems to have a better surface area ratio which makes the upkeep simpler. 

Once I made the switch to totes, my worm population really took off so I started a second bin (which is currently stacked in my kitchen!) I find it difficult to remove finished vermicompost from an active bin as the uneaten food, bedding, and finished compost is mixed together so I plan on only feeding the new bin. This should allow the worms in the first bin to eat through all available food making harvesting vermicompost easier.   

I have also started a more detailed record keeping system. Each bin has a sheet that details the Bin #, date started, and the initial worm count/type. This sheet also has a place to record the date and amount of vermicompost removed as well as the date and amount of worms removed. A second sheet tracks the inputs for each bin by recording the date, bin #, type and amount of food, as well as type and amount of bedding. I hope this record keeping system will improve my worm wrangling abilities! 

Review: Raising the Home Duck Flock

(Photo from Thriftbooks) 

Next in the 'Modern Guide' saga, is 'Raising the Home Duck Flock' (1978). This book offers a good overview of raising ducks and presents ducks as an viable and easy alternative for the homestead. Ducks seem to have an easy place within a permaculture design as ducks can forage for insects while simultaneously controlling insects in the garden. Ducks require less infrastructure than chickens and can even be raised without a permanent shelter (given the correct conditions). 

This resource presents ducks as an easy and low-maintenance homestead animal and because of this, it feels like this resource is lacking details - especially in the area of problem solving. This could be a deficit in the resource or perhaps - ducks really are a unproblematic homestead resource!

Raising Poultry the Modern Way

Raising Rabbits the Modern Way

Review: Raising Rabbits the Modern Way

Next on our series of 'Modern Way' resources, is the Raising Rabbits the Modern Way which was published in 1975.

(Photo from Thriftbooks)

Overall, this book is a decent resource that I am glad to have on my shelf but it is far from a comprehensive guide to raising rabbits. Some information is down right outdated and the author leads (although less so than in Raising Poultry the Modern Way) towards the adoption of industrial agriculture's mindsets and motivations. Additionally, information regarding pedigree/registered and specific breeds is entirely the author's personal opinion with very little neutral information presented. 

The information regarding choosing your first rabbits is helpful as well as the basic information presented regarding genetics. I also enjoyed the author's ideas regarding a side business making and selling rabbit cages and growing food in your garden for your rabbits. I also like the addition of rabbit recipes. 

   

Resources: Homesteading Facebook Groups

Grow Your Own Cut Flowers: While this group is set up by a business, it is full of beautiful pictures of cut flowers and is overall a pleasant and helpful group. While advice posts occur, this group is primarily a place to share photos and to get arrangement ideas from others through photos posted.

Red Worm Composting and Vermicomposting - Worm Farming: Both of these groups are open, inviting, and willing to answer both basic and advanced worm composting questions in a friendly and accepting manner. Excellent resources for worm composting.

Market Gardening Success Group: While this group frequently discusses their mandate of being a place for 'professional' market gardening there is some good advice and conversation within this group. If you are new to market gardening or just growing a large garden for personal use I would suggest that you utilise the search function rather than posting for advice.

CSA Farmer Discussion: This group is a decently friendly group for folks running CSAs unfortunately you have to fill out a google form before admins let you join. There are some good discussions and advice regarding running a CSA in this group.

Winter Sowing (Vegetable Gardening with Sheryl Mann) : While my first experiments with winter sowing were not successful, I find this group to be a welcoming introduction to winter sowing.

Tanning, Leather & Fur Crafting: I've been lurking in this group for a while but do not participate very often. It seems to be a fairly welcoming group and there is a plethora of information contained here. I'm a bit overwhelmed at the thought of tanning but it is something I want to get into.

I'm still searching for a good Angora rabbit group that focuses on wool production and a friendly chicken group.