May Days

The last couple of weekends in May have broken some new ground for the Hust Roost!

Here you can see Tom and Casey literally breaking some ground. Whew, they spent their whole Sunday afternoon on that section!! The goal was to expand the garden on both sides, nearly doubling the amount of growing space! (If anyone is wondering, this is in Casey’s Dad’s yard in Glen Aubrey, NY).

Casey and Gramps stirring up rocks

After the unwanted grass was ripped out (and used to fill the old fire pit), we had lots of rock-picking to do. The garden is right next to a creek bed, so the soil is filled with rocks… Including some big enough to be our grave stones! (Sorryyy, no pictures). Once you remove all those, though, the soil is great.

This picture shows the new organization for the expanded garden. Each bed is about 10 x 4 feet and can hold two or three rows of veggies. Each bed will get a number so we can record what crops went where each year, and then rotate them! Also, my favorite part, the beds make it so we can easily walk through to weed, pick and plant. Not to mention… each beds is designed to fit under a “hoop house.”

(What’s that? See below!)

These pictures show the assembly of a “hoop house.” They are made from PVC-pipes bent over a wooden frame, with a clear plastic sheet stapled over top. These are basically mini greenhouses used to extend growing seasons, making it so we can start growing earlier in the spring and stop growing later in the fall.
More veggies!!!

<—All done!!! Well, besides the plastic sheet.
And besides the rest of them we want to make…
I think now that Casey and his Dad know what they’re doing, the rest will go faster. 🙂

Mulching the blueberries with chicken manure- they love it!

The new batch of Rhode Island Red chicks was moved from the garage to the barn. Some of these will grow up to join the other laying hens, but the roosters, well… they’ll join us for the chicken barbecue in July!

The hens enjoying their new outdoor pens, courtesy of Tom and Casey.

I caught Gramps planting some broccoli as he watched all the excitement next-door. He grows his sprouts on the windowsill, then transplants them into his fancy raised-bucket-garden. Apparently he’s the broccoli expert! I am sure learning a lot from the Husts.

~Rachel

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Hust Roost Farm

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