In December on the farm, we harvested the last of our meat animals and did some cleanup. We did not have as much to do around the farm.

December on the Farm

We had some freezing temperatures. But, otherwise, it has been a mild start to the winter – warm-ish and rainy.

Joey has had some time to relax. He started learning to play guitar.

I have been enjoying a break from milking the goats and preserving the garden harvest. I LOVE having a wood-burning stove – one of my favorite things about winter.

Gardens

We have entered the season of adding to our soil. For winter, we put ash, and mulch of all types (leaves, livestock bedding, etc.), over the ground.

We still have carrots in the ground in our big garden. I had hoped to get them pulled in December, but that didn’t happen.

We have been eating the last of our (refrigerator) pickles already. Cucumbers and peppers are mostly gone, but we still have beets and green beans … as well as a jar of red peppers and tomatoes.

We still have dried red hot peppers and corn. We have garlic, onions, and winter squash left.

We had some potted (dying) plants in the mini greenhouse, along with a few stevia plants that were still thriving. We had a pretty big windstorm, one night and it blew the mini greenhouse across the yard, knocking the stevia plants over and exposing the dead tomato/pepper plants … haha.

Livestock Update

We processed the remaining 5 pigs for the freezer. We are officially done with pigs here at BorderLine Farm (until we get another wild hair and try again).

We culled so many roosters and old hens, but have several more to cull. We have most of the chickens in the milk barn to give them better shelter and their regular pen a rest over the winter.

Two of our Nigerian Dwarf goats are in the woods with our Nigerian Dwarf buck for the breeding season. Our mixed breed doe was most likely bred but was acting sickly (mostly, just too skinny since the other goats bully her) so we have her in the milk barn for better care.

We have a few meat rabbits for breeding. These are our children’s pets/ventures.