Getting Ready For Winter- garden prep

 The gardens are done for the year for the most part. Time to let the chickens and ducks into these normally forbidden areas so they can work the soil for us. This is done by rearranging some fencing. 

Getting Ready For Winter- Late Fall Harvest and Planting

 The Sunchokes/ Jerusalem Artichokes were ready for harvest in early November. The plants are tall and strong and have a sunflower type bloom at the trop. When the plants die off they're ready for harvest. We have sunchokes in a few spots and they did very well this year. I harvested quite a lot and replanted some in new spots to try. I also planted quite a few varieties or both hard and soft neck garlic. I planted some in the raised bed and some in the ground. Harvested some more potatoes too, about 10 pounds this time. 

Guess I didn't take many pictures of the garlic planting, this is an area of garlic in a raised bed. I mulched with leaves. 

Sunchoke Harvest

                                                                           Potatoes

Animals enjoying fall before the snow moves in to stay.

 

Getting Ready For Winter- Chicken/Duck/Bunny Barn

 This fall I had to replace some of the winter siding that I add to the covered run area outside the coop. This siding is simply heavy duty, clear shower curtains, Clear Gorilla tape to attach and zip ties through the holes meant for shower curtain hangers to fasten to the posts. I've gotten up to 4 winters with these shower curtains in most cases but this year several need replacing. It's not such a hard job and was done in an afternoon after work. As a few of the still in good shape, just not so see through anymore, I kept those ones and only replaced the ripped curtains. So some parts of the run are mo0re see through than others now!

Getting Ready For Winter- The Rabbits

 In summer the rabbits have a covered dog kennel run for their cage, it's very large and they love it.  In winter though the buns must move into the barn with the chickens and duck and must contend with a much smaller home. I do let them out into the fenced yard from time to time though so it's not all bored bunnies! Now they are old rabbits they don't dig out of the fencing and generally go back into their cage in the barn by dusk all on their own. It was certainly a different story when they were younger, Hayley and Tristan will remember trying to catch the naughty escaped bunnies many a time!