Our first harvest

The harvest has begun :) These radishes, spinach and Mizuna are from the February sowing inside the greenhouse! The last winter was very mild and thanks to that this was possible. Lets make some salad :)
By the way you can see in the background all the mentioned veggies within the greenhouse.

We are also harvesting Rhubarb and freezing it for the winter.

Rhubarb Pie? Hell Yeah :)

Sweet Kristine and I harvested our Rhubarb for the first time and ...

... of course baked a Rhubarb Pie :)) yummiiiii

But before the pie we made an omelet with our homestead eggs, Nettles and Ground elder. The tomatoes are organic from the shop but the Basil on top of is from our pots :) 

Just to update; I planted today Red Lettuce, Iceberg, more Onions, more Carrots, more Radishes, Perennial Rucola, Parsley and Leek. All seeds. 

Gardening has begun

Its time to start planting seeds! This winter was very mild and thanks to that we can begin planting now.

Onions, Summer Carrots and Radishes

Raised beds filled with composted horse manure

Colorful Spring time at The Willow Farm :)

One chicken gone missing ...

... thats what I thought when I went to lock them up for the night. I always count them when they sit on the stick; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, .... !!! Where is the 9th one !!! So I looked outside and she was not there! One brown one was missing! Then I looked into the nest boxes and there she was sitting on the eggs :)) She became broody :)) how great is that! Now I have to research what to do so the other hens don't lay new eggs every day into this same nest when she is eating. I think I might separate her into the newly built cage within the same coop. I wonder how many eggs can she brood?

The Greenhouse is Alive

I have started Tomatoes from seeds in February which as a bit too early I think. They have grown so big that I had no other choice but plant them into the greenhouse even though the temperature is still on the low side. Most important is that frost will not happen and even if ...

... I have placed the tomatoes in poly-tunnels just to be on the safe side.

Geenhouse Spinach from sawing in February (23rd)

Mizuna (above) and Lettuce (bottom picture) from sowing in February :) who sais you cant have early veggies in Denmark :) Next year I will plant much more in the greenhouse in February. I will also plant late in the Autumn this year after the Tomatoes have finished to have salad until January.

I even planted Potatoes today outdoors. I will continue planting more lettuce, spinach and radishes outdoors and will probably plant the parsley and summer carrots too as well as onions.

All the lovely green people

I have spent a very nice weekend on an island in Denmark called Samsø where 400 people came to part-take in a manifestation called Practic Ekology. This was the first time that the 6 Eko organizations had a meeting at the same time. I have met many many lovely green people and have learned a lot. I even got some very interesting seeds and plants for my permaculture forest garden :)

My friend Cristian Damgaard and I used this opportunity to talk about natural beekeeping in top bar hives. The organizer Trine Krebs gave us an official hour to present this alternative to conventional beekeeping. 50 people came to the presentation :)) and we will be meeting soon to start a new organization which still has no official name but I call it Biernes Venner Skandinavien (Friends of the Bees Scandinavia). One member suggested name "Swarm Denmark" which I like very much :) another mentioned "Bee Herders" and "More Buzz in the Gardens" which is also very nice. I'm so happy to see many interested in letting bees be bees rather than manipulating them for the sake of more honey.

400 people came to Samsø to stand up for a better greener world

Dragon Dreaming was just one of the many workshops during the weekend

Many inspiring talks and presentations ...

big thank you applaud at the end of this lovely meeting

Next big thing is the Nordic Permaculture Festival in Denmark :) stay tuned or even better join us :)

Seeds of Death - Full Movie on Monsanto's GMO seeds

Spring preparations

At last :) all raised beds are filled with composted horse manure. In about a week or two I will be starting to plant veggies. I will start with carrots, radishes, potatoes, parsley and lettuce. I will cover them with something to speed up the growing process a bit since it is still a bit cold in the night time.

Im hoping to see at least one Hen starting to go broody and for that reason Im building a cage within the chicken coop just under the sitting stick. This way I can also collect the chicken shit for fertilizing our garden this summer :)

It is so easy cleaning the poop now the platform is build just under it. Im placing the poop in a plastic container and will use it to feed our veggies. Since chicken shit is very strong I will be diluting it 9 parts water 1 part chicken shit.

Wazz uup on Piletoften farm

Broccoli to the right and Yellow Wonder raspberries to the left. Broccoli will do much better if planted early so to avoid Cabbage Moths which become problem during the summer. The raspberries will give fruits the first year if started indoors.

Paprika and Chili plants growing strong ...

I have re-potted the Tomato plants

Forced Rhubarbs are growing faster than the non-forced as you can see on this pic. The Rhubarb in the front is still small since it wasnt covered

The radishes, Mizuna kale and Spinach are growing in the greenhouse. The lettuce isnt sprouting for some reason. Maybe bad seeds?

The greenhouse is finito

Well, not entirely :) but the large greenhouse is finished for now. The smaller greenhouse is also covered but needs materials for the walls.

I present to you ... (fanfares !!!) ... the ugliest greenhouse in human history ;) I literally used all sort of materials I could put my hands on and tried to fit it as best as I could. But the greenhouse is fully practical and functional :) that is the most important part. I'm sure our tomatoes, paprika, chili and cucumbers will enjoy it :)

I even installed a plastic barrel to collect rain water. I just have to figure out how to make a cheap DIY gutter. I was thinking about nailing 2 planks together in a V-shape ... will see.

 The chicks are becoming more accustomed to my presence. I dump horse manure into the hens yard which seems to bring much joy into their life :) they just love sifting through it!

 Gorgeous looking Danish Leghorn Land-race both Black & Brown

I just LOVE this Cock so much people might think Im turning gay ;) He is such a handsome fellow and very gentle towards his ladies. Cant wait to get some baby chicks :))