Wildflower Valley Farm - Blog

YouTube Channel Updates

5/31/2018

Have you checked out our YouTube Channel yet? I try to post videos at least twice each week, and more often as time allows. Recently, I have produced videos about things like:

How to plant tomatoes - https://youtu.be/z8Mf9FiIUHY

Keeping city chickens - https://youtu.be/-RjQoyszEdY

Gardening Updates - https://youtu.be/iXiRlGSApEM

Rabbit Care (a multi-part series):
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPVM29FizjvPFwH3B9yuEF_6A6MCpU3Vw

And more!

If you enjoy these videos and want to see more like them, please subscribe to our YouTube Channel. After you have subscribed, if you click the bell icon that is beside the subscribe button, you can receive a notification directly from YouTube right away, each time I upload something new.

So head on over and check out what you've missed!

Rabbit Housing

4/21/2018

Since I no longer have access to a facility where I can host instructional classes, I have started producing some instructional videos. The first installment of this series is on rabbit housing. You can check out the video below.

If you haven't already, don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel so that you can stay up to date on everything that is going on around the farm. You can do that by going here and clicking the subscribe button, or look for the subscribe button below any of our videos (when watching on YouTube's site).

Time sure flies!

4/18/2018

Goodness, has it really been that long since I posted an update? I just looked at the date on my last post and it was apparently a life-time ago. I'll bet you all thought I had dropped off the face of the earth, didn't you?

Well, as it turns out, I haven't been totally absent - I just haven't been blogging. As much as I enjoy reading other people's blogs, writing has never been my forte' because I never feel like I have much to say. So, I took up vlogging instead. Yes, you read that right. I have officially joined the world of YouTube.

I do hope to get back into the practice of writing here on occasion, but if you really want to keep up with things going on around the farm, click here and subscribe to my YouTube Channel!

Below is one of my most recent videos. If you want to see more, be sure to subscribe on YouTube to ensure that you get all of our vlog updates.

Life, babies, and things to come...

7/9/2015

Whew! I bet you all thought I dropped off the face of the earth, didn't you? No such luck!

We have undergone some major, life altering changes here at the farm so, out of necessity, I've been laying a little low for a while. None of the changes were bad - the adventure just changed course slightly.

First, I had a baby! Oh yeah, life has changed a LOT this year!

Second, I finally admitted and accepted that my time and resources were spread too thin. This was true before the baby, but became glaringly undeniable after the baby came home. They say "everything" changes when babies are born. Sometimes what changes is not the situation itself so much as your perspective. In an effort to correct this, we made the decision to downsize and limit ourselves to only maintaining the livestock we are able to keep at our residence. This meant we had to sell our goat herd and our horses, as both were housed at different properties (the horses were more than 20 minutes away!). I admit there were some very tearful goodbyes, but after it was all done and we had time to reflect on the decision from the viewpoint of hindsight, we still feel that we did what was best. If we are ever able to purchase a home with more land, we hope to add these back to our farm again, but for now we feel we have made the best decision for our family.

Aside from the obvious joy of having the most perfect baby ever enter our lives, the changes our farm has undergone will bring some new benefits. By no longer spreading myself all over the countryside (in some ways quite literally), I will be able to focus on some things I never would have been able to accomplish otherwise. I have some goals and dreams for our little in-town-homestead that I kept pushing further back on my to-do list. Now I will actually be able to take steps toward acheiving those goals, but I am going to keep them a secret just a little longer because we have not decided which direction to go in just yet. You are, however, invited to follow us on our adventure as things begin to move forward.

PS - I will give you a hint of one thing coming in September - we will be attending the Family Safety and Preparedness Fair at the World's Fair Park in Knoxville on Saturday, September 26th. We hope to see you there!

Winter Breakfast

1/8/2015

The weather forecast for this week has been predicting that an arctic front would pass through yesterday and today, so I've been preparing for it by making sure I had enough water buckets and bowls to switch out the frozen ones and making sure that the rabbit cages and chicken coop were all as protected from the elements as possible. This morning's temperature bottomed out at 3 degrees, but all of the critters stayed comfortable and were eager for breakfast.

On such an unusually cold morning I thought the hens might appreciate a warm breakfast, so I made them some oatmeal - complete with meal worms and beetles. Doesn't that look yummy?! (photo taken before I added hot water)

Fodder

12/30/2014

Almost a year ago, I wrote about wanting to experiment with fodder for feeding our rabbits and chickens. I really didn't think it would take me this long to write a follow up to that post!

I have learned a lot in the last several months. I have learned that finding a local source for sprouting seeds in bulk is much more difficult than I expected. There are a number of sources available online, but I was not happy with any of the prices and by the time shipping charges are added, the price is even worse! Every feed store around me has whole oats, so that one was easy to find. Finding whole wheat or barley however was next to impossible. I frequently forget that Ramsey's Farm Market is even in Morristown, because they are not on any of the usual routes I take to anywhere else that I go - but when I remembered to check with them, I found that they carry soft red wheat and the price is actually reasonable. Every supplier I contacted told me they did not carry whole barley, so I gave up on that until recently. One of the local TN Farmer's Co-op stores who told me in late spring that they did not carry it, has now started to do so - which means that I will be purchasing my first bag of barley very soon.

Soaking the seeds prior to sprouting has a learning curve. Soaking is necessary to initiate the sprouting process, but some seeds like to be soaked longer than others, and the ambient temperature of the room in which they are soaking will affect the length of time that those seeds like to soak. Warmer temperatures will require a shorter soaking time for most seeds, but soaking them too long in those same warm temperatures will cause the seeds to begin to ferment (which means they will not sprout at all!).

Moisture is necessary for successful fodder growth, but stagnant moisture is bad. Seeds that are too warm, and/or do not drain well in the grow tray, will begin to ferment and/or grow mold. If the temperature is too warm, the seeds will sprout but the growth rate will be slow and sometimes they will just shrivel and die. The same is true if the moisture level is too low.

By no means is growing fodder as hard as I am making it sound however. My experimentation was not utter failure - I just had to learn to tweak my methods a bit. I still haven't quite perfected my growing system, but it is functional. My rabbits and chickens love the fodder (the chickens like fermented feed as well, but that is a different post for a different day)! So far I have grown oats, wheat, wild bird seed (a mixture of primarily red and white millet, barley, and BOSS), and I plan to try barley very soon. I have some ideas for making my set up more successful and once I have had time to actually put those ideas into practice and test them, I will share them with you as well.

If you grow fodder, I would love to see your set up. Have you learned any special tricks for success?

Safeguard Dewormer

7/27/2014

I had a bad experience with Safeguard dewormer when I first began raising goats. At the time, it was the only dewormer labeled for goats so, being ignorant, I thought it was the only dewormer that could be used for goats. I used it as directed on the label. It failed miserably - I ended up with a dead goat and a large bill with the UT Vet hospital. After that, I swore I would never use it again.

Last year was the first year my entire herd has ever really struggled with high worm loads. I had a few individual goats with issues, but never the entire herd as a whole. The weather last year however created the perfect conditions for parasites to flourish. My vet told me that safeguard could indeed be used, but it had to be given at a much higher dose than how it is labeled, and had to be given for 3-4 consecutive days. I tested that theory last year with two goats, and before/after fecal exams showed that it did work quite well.

Recently, one of my does became ill and needed deworming. Since safeguard is the mildest chemical dewormer available, I decided to try that first in hopes that it would do the job without causing more stress to her already stressed body. This time, the fecal exam gave me vastly different results. After a 4 day regimen, the slide was still so full of worm eggs that someone who didn't know better would look at it and think the doe had never been dewormed. Despite my best efforts, I lost the doe. I'm kicking myself for it too because I am convinced that if I had chosen a different dewormer to start with, she would have improved.

If Safeguard works for your herd, I am happy for you. I however can no longer recommend it because its effectiveness is too unpredictable. It might work, or you might be wasting your money and risking your goats lives. I personally will never purchase it again.

Disclaimer:
None of the information contained on this site is intended to diagnose, treat, or otherwise substitute for the care and advice from a qualified human or animal medical professional. Please consult the trusted medical professional of your choice before using any of the information contained on this site.

Money-less challenge days 4-11

7/16/2014

Days 4-11
July 9 - 16, 2014

I told you I was going to have to purchase canning supplies and gas for the car this weekend. After I give you the total, you are going to be certain that I have failed in this challenge. I have spent just shy of $200 since my last update. WHAT?! How is that spending less? With the exception of two items, everything spent fell within the guidelines set forth at the beginning of this challenge. Let me break it down for you:

$84.05 at Walmart for canning supplies, which included a waterbath canner (because continuing to do 4 jars at a time in my stock pot just isn’t efficient), jars, lids for the jars I already have, spices, sugar, and pectin. I’m planning another post for what I’ve made with these things!
$26.84 at Food City for things Walmart didn’t have (such as dill weed and canning salt - crazy that Walmart didn’t have those, right?) and some additional ingredients for canning projects.
$42.00 to fill the car’s gas tank
$30.00 for hay (the goats can’t go hungry, and this will last me several months)
$10.00 - dill from Trader Joe’s - because it is cheaper there (and better quality!) than at any of my local grocery stores.

And now my two confessions:
I spent $3.04 at Walmart for a skein of yarn to make a gift for someone, and $2.17 for two large iced coffees at Dunkin’ Donuts (one for me, one for DH) because it was nearby, I have a coupon card that makes it super cheap, and I have a weakness. *sheepish grin*

That brings me to a grand total for the month so far of $198.10. I will still have to buy gas for the car at least two more times this month, and sometime next week I will have to buy dog food. I know it sounds like a lot of money already, but really it’s a lot better than it otherwise would have been if not for this challenge. Several times, I was too tired to cook and would rather have eaten out, but I cooked anyway. Even in the stores I did go into, I saw things I wanted to purchase but didn’t because of this challenge. I did not go to Dunkin’ Donuts the other 4 times I really wanted to this weekend. We are running low on some items that I am trying very hard not to replace right now. I am learning to conserve them, use less, be picky about what I do use them for, etc. One of those items is actually a necessity that I am going to try to make rather than purchasing - but I will leave you in suspense as to what that item is until I see how that turns out. I still have not purchased any groceries either, and we’re still eating “normal” foods (supper last night was roasted, homegrown chicken, rice, and broccoli). I think we’re doing okay so far - especially if I can manage to make what was spent this weekend, be the bulk of what gets spent for the entire month.

I’ll give ya’ll another update in a few days.

Total $ spent so far during the challenge = $198.10

Money-less challenge day 3

7/9/2014

Day 3
Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Well, not much has changed so far. This will probably be the last daily update that I write, but I will definitely update ya’ll periodically, especially if something significant happens. I do know that I will have to spend some this weekend to buy critter food, canning supplies, and gas for the car, but hopefully nothing more than that, and hopefully not much. I’ll break it down for you after it happens.

Today’s meals:
Breakfast - Homemade iced coffee again! Seriously, it’s not that we don’t have breakfast foods, but I like to sleep so something has to give.
Lunch - David had leftover pasta from Monday night. I had green beans, fresh cucumbers, and a peach. I swear I could eat enough fresh green beans to make myself sick, but then there wouldn’t be any for later!
Supper - A stir fry of beef, cabbage, red bell pepper, and yellow squash, served over vinegared rice.

Total $ spent on day 3 = $0
Total $ spent so far during the challenge = $0

Money-less challenge day 2

7/8/2014

Day 2:
Monday, July 7th, 2014

I overslept this morning, so breakfast was toasted english muffins (leftover from yesterday) with butter and jelly, and a glass of milk. It was something I could carry out the door with me and eat in the car.

Because I overslept, I left my house 7 minutes late. All notions of improving gas mileage flew out the window as my only concern was just (safely) getting to work on time. Whew! Made it with 2 minutes to spare...go me! (Thank you, Jesus, for no tractors or cops). According to my MPG gauge however, I only dropped to 21.4 MPG so not a huge loss. I made up for it by driving slowly to the goats and home after work. The MPG actually improved to 22.5 by the time I got home, so no irreparable harm done. Whenever I fill the tank, I reset the avg. MPG gauge so I can see how I'm doing with each tank. For some reason, it always starts off with a low number but gradually improves throughout the life of that tank of gas. I expect it to get better before I have to refuel, and since it is an average, the number is more realistic when the tank has been used anyway.

Lunch was leftover fried zucchini and green tomatoes. Man I love this stuff! It’s a good thing too because we have a lot of zucchini and yellow squash at the moment. No complaints here though - it’s good to have plenty to eat when you’re trying to spend no money.

Supper was pasta with ground turkey and sauteed veggies, dressed with a little olive oil and cheese. So yummy!

Total $ spent on day 2 = $0
Total $ spent so far during the challenge = $0 (we’re on a roll!)

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Author

Hi, my name is Nicole and my friends think I'm crazy. I love farming, and my methods can be non-traditional at times, but I love simple living, I love playing in the dirt, and I love life.

Disclaimer:
None of the information contained on this site is intended to diagnose, treat, or otherwise substitute for the care and advice from a qualified human or animal medical professional. Please consult the trusted medical professional of your choice before using any of the information contained on this site.

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