No frost in the South
We have been particularly lucky to have warmer temperatures, and it looks like spring arrived a little early this year, so we decided to cess the winter activities like cutting wood and drinking spirit, to replace it with long awaited planting, sowing, digging and get a head start.
The hive in action
The bees did not waste any time, and by the first sign of burgeoning they were already at work, I'm happy to see that the Asian hornet did not completely eradicate the local colonies. Last year, our fig trees became nearly unapproachable because of their squatting.
Come to think of it, we only arrived in our farm in July, so we really missed all windows for preparing the harvest for the year. The first thing I did in November, was to clear a big chunk of land to make sure we have enough food for next winter.
Do you even Bee box?
Now that I've seen these workers in action, I'm really thinking of making a hive and our own honey very soon. There's a nice spot south of our land, and just the idea makes me very excited. The amount of flowers in the surrounding would be more than enough nectar for them,.
The task might be a bit scary at first, but it's totally worth a shot, my only concern will be the perpetual battle against the hornets.
I remember watching a documentary on the History Channel few years back called "Live Free or Die", following the lives of homesteaders, trappers, primitive wooden, and it's always been a dream of mine to live this life. Om the show there were a couple Tony and Amelia that owned a small piece of land and they had everything on it: chickens, rabbits, worms, veggies, and bees.
They created this perfect cycle where nothing is thrown away. The rabbits ate the weeds, the worms ate the rabbit poop, the chicken ate the worms, it was so ingenious. Each year, the bee hive was going all "swarmy", meaning it's time for a new queen to set a new hive. They built their own boxes for the hives and in few years had dozens of them. Nothing is never lost, and what they didn't use, they bartered it for something they don't have.
What we're planting in Feb and March
My youngest daughter Mischa is barely a year and a half, but she isn't afraid of work. Always ready to help, she understood that it was time to get the hands in the mud.
We had already sowed broad beans in January that survived the frost, and the plan was to clear the overgrown grass and make more rows with a wire, ensuring we go straight. Why so? Our neighbour got a tractor, which makes our life much easier to harvest. You need to make space between rows for the tires to go through, but it has to be straight.
The local soil is made of clay, but I also saw what sort of yield the neighbors got with their crops and have no fear for the results we can get this year. It's also filled with worms which is always a good sign of an healthy ecosystem.
I purchased from the local store some small onions to plant, Mischa and I spent the afternoon digging and sowing them at 3 cm, she got the hang of it very quickly, even if sometime she wanted to dig them out to eat them. I left a meter from each onions to plant some more in March, just to have them harvested at different intervals.
A key element in the choice of our veggies this year, was to grow what the neighbors don't have, so we can barter. They have butternut, tomatoes, carrots, pumpkins, and many more valuables like stacks of hays and eggs. I also barter my arms and legs, as there are old people around here and do need help for heavy lifting and anything they need.
My next step will be to get a large portion ready for watermelons that tends to spread a bit, I try to do a little bit of work everyday but homeschooling at the same time the 2 others and taking care of the little one is fucking impossible. I don't know how my wife did it, though she never done any handy work, so the tasks were nicely split. I did the handy work and she did the kids.
Now that she has a new job since Monday, I'm busy until 9pm with the kids, and start working on my stuffs after 10, I don't even know when I will have time to work on the next musical post on hive. That's the scary part, but it's all worth it.
Here we go, already bitching 😆
The chickens will arrive in March, it gives me a little bit of time to ensure that they are fenced, and also our dogs depending on plane tickets, so it is important that each animals have their own space. I'm not gonna lie, jacky the husky had a bite of a chicken once☺, so I need to make sure it won't happen again.
I am really looking forward to the next few months, there will be challenging moments, and very little sleep, but building a self sustainable life is the most exciting project of all, something we wanted to do for years.
I would love to do more music, but realistically I will have to be content with an hour or two every day, in recent years I proved to myself how resilient I can be, recording my album while having a day job that I hated.
It won't be that easy for my wife @lionmom as she started a new chapter of her career for one of the biggest crypto exchange, which will make us a family 100% crypto funded!
There's a part of the barn that is completely empty and I would love to build a little mining right, powered with solar panels that showed lots of promises In recent years.
I purchased many more seeds for the next month to come, I want corn and green beans living in symbiosis, strawberries, potatoes, cabbages, aubergines (brinjaal for the South African🇿🇦) and many more things that I forget right now. The warm weather of the South is ideal for lots of veggies, my dream to plant olive trees will have to wait as they apparently don't grow olives in the region
To all my fellow friends homesteaders, let me know what I should plant on our land, and I will add it to the list. I forced my friend @rubido to join HIVE and write a 2000 words essay and look at me barely making it to 1000.
I really enjoyed writing this 😇, cheers!
Ed
🌺
I edited this to ask what camera?
Eggplant in the states. Bee boxing—good one!
That was a really nice read, Ed. For a wanna be transplanted Frenchy, back seat bus riding South African, your English is not that bad. Great post dude! My favorite part about the whole thing is the example you're setting at home.
Good job, pops! They're lucky to have you.
Thanks brother! My hands were full all days so I wrote for the first time with ecency. It took longer. I forgot to talk about the fruit trees, dude they beautiful check this out
Keep'em comin. Congratulations on the trail. 👍🏿
Thanks! That was sincere, I know it!
Those are some mighty well fertilized trees you got there buddy.. Whats your secret 😁
It's the new fragrance by Jean Paul Turd 😄😁
mmmm nutty and fragrant with a musky bouquet
😂
Thanks brumest and @qurator, much appreciated!
It's always nice to see those blossoms arrive after winter...It tends to lift one's spirits and hints at the better weather to come. All the best for the sustainable life to come, and crypto-funded? Cool!
So, I also ran into @rubido and thought, what madness is this?! @edprivat has friends?
Seriously though, well forced mate...I'm sure he'll go well.
Especially I am the whitest I can be right now! The effect of rays on my energy level cannot be underestimated. My pineal gland was drying up like an old raisin.
In 2018 we lived off crypto only, but now we have a salary paid in crypto, it's a dream come true. It took 4 years in the making, I guess it's all about being patient and resilient.
Touché! I ain't the most sociable guy, not the most lovable neither. It just feels good to find like minded individual in the area, you know what I mean?
I'm not very peopley Ed and only keep a small friends group so I understand your comment about like-minded people. I'm not unlikeable, just selective.
Here's to spring and summer, and a pineal gland that produces copious amounts of melatonin!
Cheers to that haha have a great day buddy!
That is some really AMAZING pictures, and I love the flowers 😍
Makes me wish for summer.. Lol
So cute you have Misha helping you, seems like a beautiful place to be and grow things.
Have a wonderful week. Cheers 🌹
Thanks so much!
Yes!!! So much to grow, so little time, I can't wait to do more, but my neighbor that is a bit older than I (82 years old) advised me to wait until the soil is warm enough to continue planting, so I am going to listen to the voice of reason haha.
Have a nice week to you to! 😎
It is a growing progress for sure, and it takes time.
Your neighbour might be right and I am sure once the Soil is warm your progress Will go smoothly.
I built a greenhouse last summer and this year Will be the first time ever growing things in there 😁 Excited and wish I could do it now.
It is a learning experience and fascinating to see it grow.
Can't wait to see how it goes for ya 😉
Gnight and sweet Dreams 🌛
Middle of the night here 🤪 LOL
I went to stalk on your blog to see, was it the one made out of wood? Is the weather a bit colder in Sweden right now?
We have cranes (bird) that migrates from the North during winter, and they fly away once it's get too warm, they just left last week. I reckon it means it's also getting warmer on your side :)
I totally understand, went to be at 2 hahah cheers!
Beautiful 😍
Thanks buddy!
Great way of teaching a child life lessons. Loving memories and survival skills is all that one needs to learn.
I love the flower photos.
Yeah, it feels like the spring came early this year, but here we won't expect flowering trees for at least another month. Its really nice to see the colors.
This is our goal. I also want them to know how to code and handle their own wallet, while still being able to bow hunt if needed, or make a fire out of nothing. I also need to learn of these skills though haha, because for now I am good with a guitar and that's it! 😂
I also wish I could learn all of that one day! 😃
You have amazing goals in your life!
Thanks so much, that's the best compliment you could give me, for reaaalz 😄
You've captured life on the farm beautifully @edprivat, those blossoms are too gorgeous, as are the gals in your life. Wishing @lionmom the very best in her new career, well done!
Hope you have an abundant crop come spring, we can already feel a slight change in the temperature here, most welcome after a really hot summer!
Thank you my friend, how were the shower storms on your side, during summer?
We were really fortunate not to have any damage but having an engineer & a perfectionist as a husband you can imagine the storm water system and retaining walls are built to withstand the worst storm as we have a sloping property. Others were not so lucky!
I totally understand, my father being an engineer also 😁
Autumn is my favorite month in South Africa, the first time I came was in Autumn, I instantly fell in love (with the country of course, and the wife after that).