House Project Phase 3: Trim, Gutters & Paint

Phase 1: Back Gable End
Phase 2: Pantry Roof
Phase 3 checklist:

• trim
• gutters
• paint
• attic vent fan cover

Tah-Dah!

Now, Dan's eyeing the carport as his next project.

House Project Phase 3: Trim, Gutters & Paint © Dec 2018 

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/

Developing a Pasture Management Plan

This is the last part of my blog series on sustainable pastures. 

Pasture improvement was one of our 2018 homestead goals because good forage is one of the most important elements in my goats' diet. Good forage consists of grasses, legumes, and forbs or edible weeds. Forbs are herbs or other broadleaf flowering plants that add variety and nutrition to the livestock diet, as well as plant diversity to the pasture. True weeds are what I call anything that the goats won't eat! Here are some examples of true weeds I have problems with.

I don't know what this is but the goats don't eat it and it shades out the good stuff.

Grasses and clovers are shaded out beneath weeds like these and struggle to grow. Because the goats don't eat them, they tend to dominate.

Another serious problem is ground ivy.

Ground ivy is a real problem in one of the girls' areas.

The goats don't eat it either. It spreads vigorously and chokes out everything we want to grow. We have one paddock that we now estimate to be about 70 to 75% ground ivy. That same pasture once grew clover and orchard grass!

Another discouraging weed is horse nettle.

Horse nettle flowers

Horse nettle berries.

It's a nightshade, so it's toxic, and it has nasty little thorns that can pierce even garden gloves. The tips of the thorns break off in your skin and fester. It always leaves some root in the ground when pulled, so it's impossible to eliminate.

Weed problems like these point to several causes. One is mineral deficiencies or imbalances in the soil, the other is improper management. Grazing animals will eat what they like first to the point of killing it. That leaves the stuff they won't eat to take over.

So what's the answer? According to Joel Salatin in Salad Bar Beef the first step toward weed control is to start rotational grazing. By not letting stock eat the good stuff down to oblivion and giving it time to recover, he says the forage in a pasture will not only recover but can be completely changed. Other graziers confirm that, even though it seems incredulous to me.

So we've made a start. To plant, I undersowed the existing forage with as diverse a seed mix as I can, both perennials and annuals: wheat, oats, winter peas, perennial rye, hairy vetch, chicory, radish (both garden and Daikon), oregano, lespedeza, turnip, timothy, orchardgrass, non-endophyte fescue, alfalfa, birdsfoot trefoil, rape, small burnet, sanfoin, kale, buckwheat, phacelia, sudex, and a variety of clovers (red, crimson, sweet, and several kinds of white). Next Dan mowed the standing growth to mulch the seeds. Then, I started stringing electric fence.

So far I have one pasture seeded and subdivided into three paddocks.

The corral gate controls whether they can enter paddock #3,

or have to go down the corridor.

Corridor

An experimental gate controls whether they can enter paddock #1 or #2.

The wire runs through a makeshift pex pipe arch.
The baby gate directs which side they can enter.

After it runs through the pipe an alligator
clip fastens it to the wire on the other side.

So far the girls have been cooperating. They've all had their noses zapped so there's no trying to break through to somewhere else. Amazingly, no one has tried to break through or jump the baby gate. They love the fresh forage and know that's where I'll lead them, so they follow willingly.

Ready!

Something I didn't understand at first is mob grazing. Joel talks about it in his book, but I had trouble grasping the concept. Now that we've started this rotation plan, however, I'm seeing the mobbing effect in action. Because the goats are in a relatively small area, they are competing for the best bites and aren't so choosy. Initially, they spread out.

Forage is pretty spotty right not, so it doesn't take them long to eat it down.

But soon there's competition. In trying to eat everything so no other goat can get it they create a "mob."

The result is something like this...

Before

After

The tops of all plants are eaten and the rest is trampled down. The eating stimulates plant growth and the trampled leaves and manure break down to feed the soil microorganisms. Folks who practice this say the land responds in a positive way and begins to produce more good livestock forage and fewer weeds. The other plus is that this management method sequesters large, measurable amounts of carbon in the soil.

The last step is to rest the paddock until the plants have had a chance to recover and new growth is shooting up. Then the girls can go in again. We started this in autumn, however, which means plant growth is slower. There are a number of days when they have to go down into my "sacrifice" area, i.e. the woods. But it's acorn season now, so they don't mind.

Browsing in the woods.

I plan to do a similar setup for the bucks.

If you've hung in there with me to the end of this post, then it's probably because you are interested in sustainable pasture too. Here are links to my other blog posts in this series.

• Carbon - What I Didn't Know
• Carbon and Soil Building: Designing a Plan
• Soil Building Experiment #2: Pastures
• Developing a Pasture Rotation Plan: Part 1 
• Developing a Pasture Rotation Plan: Part 2

Developing a Pasture Management Plan © Dec 2018 

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/

Spread Some Holiday Cheer

I think most of us can relate to the concept of economic self-sufficiency. There is a definite appeal to the idea of having a home business or at least making money from products we create ourselves. I want to encourage you to explore avenues this year for unique handcrafted or independently produced items as gifts for family and friends. It's the best way to optimize your spreading of holiday goodwill and cheer. You'll not only bestow it on the receiver of the gift, but also on the maker of the gift.

Of course, as an indie author, I include myself in that category. Still, I realize not everyone is looking for books or perhaps not my books; therefore the appeal to consider buying from indie producers in all categories. Or, leave a good review. That's a gift in itself.

My own offerings include an eBook that has been out of print for a while - Goat Tales. It's one set of tales from my paperback Critter Tales. Click that link to get a "Look Inside" at Amazon. If you're an Amazon Prime member, it's free! Anyone who loves goats or farm animals in general would enjoy this, I think.

My other offerings include Prepper's Livestock Handbook. Best current price for the paperback is at Amazon, where it is now 30% off list price. Also, Amazon is offering a $5.00 off coupon when ordering $20.00 worth of books. But you'll have to hustle because that offer expires at 11:59 p.m. PT on Dec 1st. It's a good deal for a book lover!

Prepper's Livestock Handbook is also available for Kindle and NOOK. If you are a Barnes & Noble shopper, they are offering a 10% discount coupon, details here, but it ends Dec. 2nd.

5 Acres & A Dream The Book is also nicely discounted at Amazon. Currently 40% off, it's at the best price I've seen so far. Combine that with the soon-to-expire coupon and you can stretch your gift dollars.

Unfortunately, with Amazon's print-on-demand publishing department switching from CreateSpace to Kindle Direct, they are recommending price hikes. This is because KDP apparently uses a more expensive printer. I think many authors are raising prices, so now is the time to buy books (especially with the coupon I mentioned above).

This might also be a good time to mention that next year  Acres & A Dream The Book will become Book 1 in a series. So much has changed since I published that book that a sequel is in the works.

Critter Tales, is not discounted.  😞 But I still think it's worth it, LOL. It contains tales of animal antics along with much of my research into sustainable livestock care and how we've implemented it.

How To Bake Without Baking Powder is another of my prepper books and the only one in my How-To series that is available in paperback as well as ebook. Amazon hasn't discounted it either, but it's not unreasonably priced. I notice that shipping is free, even if you buy the one book! Combine it with that soon-to-expire discount I mentioned and you can have books for gifts as well as yourself. If you choose the Kindle edition, you can get a 75% credit toward more Kindle books.

The rest of The Little Series of Homestead How-Tos are a collection of ebooks. You can see a complete listing plus where to buy, here. They are $1.99 each, but the first volume, How To Preserve Eggs is always free!











Well, I had to get in a plug for my books at least once this year. I never wanted to turn my blog into one big ad, and I haven't, because as much as selling books makes me happy, I value my online community even more. I don't want to be constantly pushing things at you just so I can make money. If you do buy my books, however, a hearty Thank You!

So spread some holiday cheer this year, and support your favorite authors, weavers, woodworkers, spinner, knitters, blacksmiths, potters, (etc.) with uniquely special gifts for family and friends.

 Spread Some Holiday Cheer © Dec 2018 

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/