Chicken Coop at Last

After building 15 coops in the Dominican Republic during 2012/1013  HHEF finally constructed a Chicken Coop, but using a different design----an "A" Frame.

The PVC pipe is suppose to be a feeder.  It remains to be seen if it will work as planned.

The nests are 5 gallon buckets with a moon shape cut out of the bottom.  

Two doors open at the back so you can reach in and get the eggs.  I expect the hens to be so contented with this coop and with the macho rooster picture as the final touch that they will lay 2 eggs a day!

This is the final resting place for the coop under a tree.

The 55 gallon barrel is the water tank for the coop.  The chickens will get water by water nipples.

There are things I would change in this design, but it turned out pretty decent I think.  Further updates will be given as I gain a little experience.

Rocket Stove and Storm Wall

We have been busy at HHEF the last 2 weeks.  We built a Rocket Stove and a Storm Wall along the north side of the house to protect the basement window wells from the big storm if we ever have one again.  The huge storm that hit Mesa last year came very close to sending tons of water down our window wells to the basement.  That would have been real bad.  The following a few pictures of our activities and the beginning of a chicken coop.

Rocket Stove.  

Pipe on the side for lifting and carrying.

Removable tin wind shield

Metal stove top embedded in concrete

Storm wall with flower pots

"A" Frame Chicken Coop

I have just started this project.  After analyzing 4 different designs including the famous Dominican Republic design, I concluded an "A" frame suits my budget and purposes best.

Future posts will so how it turned out.

2015 July

We spent a very busy June canning and preserving a lot of wonderful produce coming out of the Haws Haven Experimental Farm,  Our pantry is full of good stuff!  The following pictures show that everything is off except for the Butternut squash that is still producing some squash and actually is still producing some flowers.

The above pictures show that I have decided to prepare grow boxes using 4x8x16 fence block over the entire garden.  It looks nice to have straight rows and a confined area for planting and another for walking.  The planting area is 31 inches outside block edge to block edge.  The walkways are 12 inches clear.  I wish I could make them a little wider, but I would have to give up on a row.  I am in the process of adding grass clippings, leaves and manure in the planting areas.  

I managed to do all of this without uprooting the bell peppers and chilli peppers to keep a promise I made to my wife to not destroy her bell pepper plants.

I hope to plant pinto beans and black eyed peas within the next week in two of the rows and save the other rows for a winter garden to be planted in October.

I added a wash table and wash basin at one end of the garden to keep dirt from going inside the house.  The wash basin drains into a bucket that I carry to areas of the garden that seem to need it most.

Garden of Eden

This is the produce we picked from HHEF just today.  You will see in the following picture: 2 kinds of tomatoes, apples, melon, chilli, armenian cucumbers, onion, corn, and bell pepper.  Just today!  We have been picking a lot nearly everyday and have canned a lot from the garden and fruit trees.

I finally got a sign up for the "HAWS HAVEN EXERIMENTAL FARM" though I found out that people can interpret the abbreviation EXPERIMENTAL to EXP in a lot of different ways!

Over the last 2 months or so we have picked lettuce, corn, 2 kinds of  tomatoes, green bunching onions and granix onions, beets, chard, kale, zuchinni, parsley, bay leaves, butternut squash, armenian cucumbers, and I am sure other stuff I have forgotten about.  

The triple digit temperature is here, so in another month it will probably all be gone and I will be preparing for a winter garden.

HHEF is back up and Running!

When we returned from the Dominican Republic we had a lot of work to do in the Haws Haven Experimental Farm, but finally I have something I feel good about and am willing to share an update.  Here are some pictures of what the HHEF looks like today.

Homemade Water Nozzle.  It cost a little less than a commercial watering wand and shouldn't rust out.

Water source for the water wand

I built boxes using 4x6x16 block just laid next to each other.

I used leaves that had fallen off the trees mixed with dirt to fill the boxes. The flood irrigation surrounds the boxes, but doesn't over top and damage the soil or plants.

Butternut squash is just starting to come up on the right.  The left side of the box has turnips, radish, lettuce, beets, chard, onions.  I hope they can all grow together in the small space if I train the butternut to climb the chain link fence.

Peas just about to finish their very productive season

Yellow crookneck just sprouting.  In spite of the bird netting and chain link fence a bird did damage to one seedling

Bell pepper and Anaheim Pepper

Onion and Garlic

Onion on left, kale on the right.  How you ever tried homemade kale chips?

Lettuce going to seed.  I probably will not let it go to seed.  Rather I will pick the stem because the lettuce leaves are still good.