http://www.mountainsmallholder.com An Experiment In Mountain Semi Self Sufficiency Thu, 18 Sep 2008 17:53:08 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Fall is definitely set in,the aspens are changing color and the mushrooms have been and gone (and we're completely mushroomed out!), but strangely enough the garden is still holding in there. Salads, chard, spinach and beets among other things have been feeding us steadily over the summer, so we can ... http://www.mountainsmallholder.com/?p=87 Three of our spring chicks turned out to be roosters and the last of them went to the "block" today. Shame the Rhodes Island was very friendly :( So last weekend we picked up 5 replacements from someone on CL, they're a few months younger than the other girls so ... http://www.mountainsmallholder.com/?p=84 We've finished our 2nd to last jam, a Raspberry from 5 pounds of wild raspberries collected in the forest. Others this year include: Peach and Orange (mentioned in the previous post), Orange and Dandelion marmalade (making use of our spring collected Dandelion harvest), Strawberry and Peach and finally Strawberry, Apple ... http://www.mountainsmallholder.com/?p=82 We recently returned from a vacation of rafting down the Grand Canyon, on our way back we stopped at Palisades CO., just off I70 near Grand Junction. Palisades is primarily small family farm orchards - we've just entered Peach and Pear harvest time, so we picked up 50 pounds of ... http://www.mountainsmallholder.com/?p=80 The final accommodation for the spring chicks is complete, and a little larger than expected I might add. 2 stories and 18 square feet on the main level (4 x 4 feet plus nesting boxes) and 8 square feet on the second level plus a perch. We built in an ... http://www.mountainsmallholder.com/?p=70 There are two things that grow in abundance here in the mountains, Dandelions and Rhubarb, so what better way to use the excess than to make a seasonal mountain wine? Here's this years recipe:Dandelion and Rhubarb Wine (2 gallon yield)3 cups Dandelion petals (tip: pick during the mid day and ... http://www.mountainsmallholder.com/?p=69 Suppose I should do an update on the garden! We've put in 4 new raised beds this year and a major overhaul on the others. The salad space has been reduced and moved from last years location to a smaller, new bed but the production of the salad has doubled!! ... http://www.mountainsmallholder.com/?p=64 I've been putting off posting about the "chicken tractor" or backyard chicken coop, till I had drawn up the plans properly for people to reference, with how busy things are in the spring, I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon :(   I had in mind ... http://www.mountainsmallholder.com/?p=59 We're also expanding our livestock quota this year, 3 weeks ago we took delivery of 13 day old baby chicks, 4 Rhode Island Reds, 8 Columbian Wyandottes and one mystery rare breed. The chicks are all very happy and so far only one casualty, one of the Wyandottes became constipated ... http://www.mountainsmallholder.com/?p=56 The first crop of Swiss Chard and Beets have gone into the ground, I'm hoping I'm not too early in my eagerness!A few changes have been made to the poly tunnel/hoophouse system from last years design, it was found hammering 2ft lengths of rebar into the soil and putting the ... http://www.mountainsmallholder.com/?p=53