The Black Bread Lodge

Beautiful and inspiring, buddy. The yellow thing you believe to be mullein looks like primrose to me. Not sure if you planted it, I've never seen mullein look like that but it could be a different variety than I'm used to. The thing with spines that don't hurt appears to be a wild bramble. Those are not my friends in the garden, they will root in your hugel and take it over. Those rhyzomes can pop up a long way away.

For ants, I built some stacked stone walls and the ants and slugs are not an issue anymore. I know there are a bunch of toads and lizards living in there but maybe some snakes too.

My poor wife is now used to me getting a bunch of rocks and "installing" them somewhere that I have seen bugs or slugs. I have gotten pretty good at it, and they last a long time. I have to buy them from people tearing out their landscaping so I get maybe 50 at a time, and I just make a pile until I have enough. We had some fire ants around here, but now the areas that have rock piles nearby I haven't seen a colony this year. Concrete chunks will work but I don't like the way they look or the strong base they can make nearby. I may do more of that though to be cheap, just not near the house.

Tj Jefferson wrote:The yellow thing you believe to be mullein looks like primrose to me

You are right, I've finally found some mullein and it is different. There are lots along the roads towards Campbellton.
I've also seen tons of wild chicory too, so if ever I want this in the garden I know where to go now, I'm glad.

I noticed something interesting with this wild bramble, the roots are strong and they split easily. I've been looking
for something to make cordage and all I had was spruce roots. They make better cordage than bramble roots but a lot
harder to harvest. Also I pull bramble out of my way all the time so...

Bad picture, but the only one I've got. Growing garlic is a long process!
Home grown is very different from store bought. They are more sticky and
it's surprising how the taste can vary.



Milo is finally done... I think.



Hanging to dry besides amaranth. Amaranth went to the chickens, milo
is in a mason jar waiting for me. I still don't know what to do with it.



Flax. I left these alone to see if they will reseed.



Oats ready for a good beating.



Thyme did not grow as much as I expected but still enough to have
fun in the kitchen.



This was a surprise. I sowed lavender but nothing showed up until
I found these little beauties. I fell in love with the smell, I need these
in my garden that's for sure.



My gardener friend is also very involved with her church. She asked
me to lend her my pumpkins. I was really proud! Can you find all 6?



The chickens are spending more time outside the coop now. They blend
in well with fall colors.



Ok, here's the plan.



The fierce one. He doesn't like me much.

Tj J wrote:getting a bunch of rocks and "installing" them somewhere that I have seen bugs or slugs

.

This sounds interesting - do you have photos?

Really love this thread
Thank you

So many tomatoes! And everyday brings more!



The Best Sandwich



I completely neglected the carrot patch. Out of curiosity I pulled one and it was a teapot.



Oats being winnowed. Processing grain is easier than I expected but I can see how tedious
this would become on a larger scale.



I giggled like a little kid when I found this. My first egg!
Nov. 31, roughly 6 months after getting my chickens.



Store bought vs home grown. Big difference in size and also mine has a much thicker shell.



The whole buckwheat harvest, ready to be processed.



Buckwheat flour made using an ordinary coffee grinder and sifted with a kitchen strainer.
For 100g of grain I get around 70g of flour.



YUM!

what a gorgeous, gorgeous thread!! thank you for sharing.

The garden offered me a couple of surprises late in October.
I wasn't expecting my perennials to flower on their first year, some of
them were eager to show me their colors.

A purple coneflower.



Almost there, Black-eyed Susan. That's the most I'll get from them this year.



Beautiful New England Aster



Soaking up the sun



One of many hiding in the wild bergamot patch



Up close

And were getting close to a full loop, November looks like spring but it sure feels different.
At this time everything is ready for the coming Winter.
2017 was an awesome year I just wish I had more time to document it.



The last harvest from the garden. These were so sweet!



In early Summer I was a bit disappointed with wild bergamot so in my impatience I decided
to throw all the content of my seed packet in the patch. Nothing came out so I thought ok well
I'll content myself with what I've got. But now, surprise surprise, these seeds are waking up!
I've got sprouts everywhere!



The nights are getting colder and I'm concerned for my chickens. They seem fine.
This is grooming time.



What's this white stuff??



Commercial eggs are so uniform! As for my hens one gives me ping pong balls, the other gives me
cones and the last one lays miniature eggs. One ping pong and one mini here, so small!
Can I select for cones? That would be funny, cone eggs.



Commercial eggs are runny. I can't really tell the difference in taste. The chickens don't eat
much feed, they forage all day.



At first they wouldn't come out of the coop. They don't like snow, they like to hang out under fir trees
where they can still scratch the ground.



I knew I was asking for trouble when I put the coop there. It was relatively flat ground and now I
was about to pay for my laziness.



What a mess! The chickens wouldn't come down.



yuck!! My punishment for being lazy stupid.



The chickens approve my choice of location. The coop is stiff and is relatively easy to move.



November is a dark, bleak month but sometimes we get special treats.
I feel so lucky to be able to live moments like these.


**Edit**
I just realized this is my 100th post :D

December, lots of snow, lots of shoveling.



I was wondering about how the chickens would do after the first storm.
Everybody I spoke with were skeptical because the coop was not heated.



Turns out they did great.



But they don't like snow. They always kept to the path.



From time to time I find these laying around on the snow after strong winds.
I don't know what they are but they survive the cold.



I was concerned about fresh water for the chickens. A pail of warm water will stay
liquid for a surprising amount of time even down to -25C. The chicken learned to
peck through the ice that forms on top. The bigger problem was me keeping up with
the shoveling. One day the tractor broke down and I had to walk a kilometer twice a
day to get them water. Just before and after work. That was real hard.



This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end

Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise, the end
I'll never look into your eyes again

In May 2018 I had to quit my cosy job. The new one I got is full of stress and requires an insane
amount of my time.  One summer week I worked 95 hours. This is a problem around here our
job market is pretty shitty. Minimum wage part time or sell your soul, your choice.

I lost the chickens to predators and my garden to weeds. The sudden jolt brought depression
and hopelessness. I was expecting this but it is still a difficult period. I now live with "the others"
who know what is going on but are not conscious enough to be touched by this knowledge.
On the bright side I'll be debt free soon maybe then I'll be able to survive with a part time job
and get back to doing real work.

2018 can be summarized in a couple of lines. The perennials are holding on against the forest.
The tomatoes self-seeded and gave me fruits. I also harvested greens, squash and paprika
despite complete neglect. The most memorable event of 2018 was discovering monarch
caterpillars munching on my orange butterfly weeds. I've never seen them around before, ever.

Time to end this thread. Thank you for all the comments, apples and likes :)