Hickorycroft Farm

Some going's on around the farm this week. November 1, 2020 Partridge Chantecler chicks hatched under a broody hen! (not a planned brood lol). Still we feel this is a testament to the breeds adaptability and also ability as natural mothers to populate the world with little Partridge Chanteclers! https://youtu.be/G1QB7e35tak

Dani enjoying some sun this afternoon in the front pasture. First day outside for our two Lynch Linebacks here today was quite comical letting them out, but they eventually settled nicely.

We are so proud of our new additions to the farm. Introducing Dani and Dorothy, our Lynch Lineback girls. Although milking is a long ways off, we are very excited to have them. #hickorycroftfarm #subscribetousonyoutube #lynchlineback #homesteadinglife #homesteading #homesteadingincanada #ontariohomesteader #ontariohomestead #cowsofinstagram

We are so excited for our newest arrivals! And we are bringing them back to where they originated from which is so wonderful, but there will be a future video about that. Thanks so much for watching!

In our most recent Vlog post we share some info about our 200 subscriber giveaway. Be sure to watch it to find out what the rules are and what we are giving away. Remember, subscribing is free and so appreciated by Chris and I. Have a fantastic weekend everyone.

Shearing time on the farm. This is one of the first years that we have been organized enough to do a fall shearing. Thanks so much for watching and don't forget to subscribe!

This is just a short video of a giant puffball we collected this fall. This was the first time we had tried it and have to admit it was pretty good and there was so much mushroom! https://youtu.be/KnkNGbOocxo

Another fantastic harvest day! Considering we started this year with a blank slate at a new homestead, we are so pleased with this. Some things were a little disappointing, ie the container potatoes (video post to come) but for the most part things have gone well.

Grey is getting his daily grooming by the Partridge Chanteclers. He is out on pasture at night, and this is the routine every morning for him and his chickens. Love our Icelandic sheep, and love the chickens for keeping his fleece in amazing condition lol. #subscribetousonyoutube #findusonyoutube #hickorycroftfarm #ontariohomesteader #ontariohomestead #canadianhomestead #homesteadingincanada #homesteading #icelandicsheep #partridgechantecler #lifeonthefarm

We finally got the sheep out on pasture. Better late then never. Now to keep ahead of them and finish fencing pasture 2.

We can not say enough good things about these tomatoes. Developed in Canada and perfect for our climate. If we had to choose just one tomato to grow, this would be it, no questions asked. https://youtu.be/hTSadPIUNEU

We purchased our Kunekune trio in March. These pigs are slow growers, which we knew. They take closer to 12 months to finish. But man do they know how to graze. in 6 months, we have only used $24 in pig pellets...Total! and that is only to get them into their night time pen. Loving this breed. We will definitely be working on some videos about this breed for our VLog. If you are thinking about breeding pigs definitely give them a look. Subscribe to our channel to see how we progress with them. No breeding till the new year. https://youtu.be/5ZTDzjeRaoo

A great recipe to use up those end of season pickles. These are always a hit around here.

Finally got a chance to make this video to share our recipe. Crabapple liqueur is always a hit around here.

We have recently started a 7 part series on our experiences with Raising Meat Rabbits. Take a look at our youtube channel, and don't forget to subscribe to be sure that you don't miss anything. We would love your input for future videos as well.

This is our second year growing potatoes in containers. It is so easy to harvest which is wonderful. I do wish we had got them planted earlier though. https://youtu.be/W-MxF0kSQmo

Kids and homesteading... got to love them. It is always so impressive how much they have learned from us. She is really learning to ID plants.

What a pepper year we are having. We have not had to buy any peppers for canning. That has never happened. In today's Vlog we share our top 4 pepper choices.

Just another video of what we got up to around the farm this weekend. All and all not a bad weekend and we finally made some good progress on the fencing (though that project is still not done). When people ask what we have been up to we can show them! https://youtu.be/feAeJ4-pwpk

This was a "new" addition to the garden for 2020 Grey's Sweet Cherry Tomato. We have grown another variety of cherry tomato in the past but were not super enthusiastic about its flavor etc. so wanted to try something new. This variety has been amazing, I don't generally like eating tomatoes unless they are cooked into something but these little guys are very sweet, small and easy to just pop in your mouth. I think we will be sticking with this variety for the foreseeable future! seed already saved!

Switching it up today with a photo of our pair of American Buff Geese. When we moved in 2019 we were not set up for everything and this spring we made a decision to sell some of the geese to focus on getting fences etc. done. Since then we have made the decision to give these guys another shot and see how 2021 goes as we get fences built it will make managing them a lot easier. Overall we do like the geese for their thriftiness. Watch this space for future updates on our progress!

Another great food storage day. Harvested our first batch of Red Noodle Beans (one of my garden favs). Chopped them and the green beans as well as some cauliflower for the freezer. Still tons of canning on the go. A great first season at the new farm.

Another garden shot, our roma tomatoes. We didn't prune off the suckers as much as we should but the plants are nice big and healthy (and loaded with fruit!). Won't be long and we will be harvesting (a sign summer is coming to and end)

Another "experiment" turmeric plants growing out in our raised bed garden. The plants seem to be pretty healthy and fairly vigorous but will be interesting to see how the roots develop over the summer. Likely we will have to bring these into some cover by late September to keep them going but shall see how the experiment goes.

Another garden favorite of ours, Yellow Crooked-neck Squash. It is a great summer type squash which we find quite versatile as far as what you can do with it, and also quite tasty! This year as we wanted to save seeds from this variety we stopped growing zucchini (as the two will cross) and wanted to focus on the Yellow Crooked-neck's.

Some fall gold raspberries one of the "ever-bearing" raspberries, almost ripe on the canes. We planted a small patch of these this spring and so far like them (we have had enough to have a taste of the yellow raspberries) and the kids like them to.

Something we tried growing this year for the first time is the Kajari Melons. We never really have grown any kind of Mellon before but these little melons have been fantastic! the vines are also quite prolific which is a good thing! I think next year we will likely grow a larger patch of these. Taste wise they are similar to a honeydew but I would say a bit sweeter (but that may just be due to the freshness). Either way they have been a great addition to the garden!