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 :))

Bad day, good day, Spring day!

So far I have filled 7 raised beds with compost soil. Im half way there :) Its a slow process. It takes time to build raised beds but after they are ready there is no much to do but remove a few weeds which might appear every no w and then. It is VERY easy to remove weeds from such beds since weed roots do not cling to hard clay soil but very loose compost soil :) Adding every year 5cm thick compost layer is all there is needed to maintain it. You can see in the background that the green house is not finished. The reason is that I have no material to cover the walls......

My local recycling plant has no knowledge of Reuse but rather they are very good at Refuse :( I asked them nicely today if I can get these old windows for my greenhouse and they said NO! Its against their policy apparently :( They pay money for the container to be emptied yet, so it is in their interest to let me take these windows so they dont have to empty it that often. I even offered to pay them some small money to take the windows and they still replied NO! :( Such beautiful old windows will go to waste. It saddens me greatly indeed :( 

But not all seems gloomy :) I have got a new toy :)) a new trailer :)) Now I can get pallets and others stuff easily and transport whatever. It sure is a big help when living in the country side. I have got many pallets from my new friend Sophia today. Now I have enough pallet planks to make a few more bee hives :) for free :) Beekeeping doesnt have to be expensive!

This is the first Honeybee in 2014 that has appeared in front of my eye :) such a joy!

It seems that even Ladybirds have woken up :)

I love non-digging my garden

No-dig gardening method suits my life style perfectly! I dislike non-sustainable machines like tractors and roto-tillers and I sure am not a great fan of shoveling hard clay soil ;)

So what do I do? Non-digging seems perfect for me :) It sure takes some time to create a no-dig garden using cardboard and newspapers as well as compost which has to brought to the spot.
I simply place newspapers or cardboard onto the grass and apply 15 cm thick compost soil on top of it. If I have planks I do like to define beds with them, but they are not a must have. All the grass under the cover will die and become :) food for my veggies.

I have bought 2 kg of organic Sava potatoes and have placed them in a tray beside the window to help them sprout. I placed some soil under them to also encourage the creation of roots. In about 4-6 weeks I will be planting them outdoors. I do have many Sarpo Mira potatoes in Sweden which I will bring to Denmark in April. Sarpo Mira is blight resistant. 

Black Cherry and Marmande Tomatoes have started sprouting :)

Im so happy to see most of the Acacia seedlings growing well. My intention is to plant them on the East side of our Spruce forest. My bees will sure appreciate Acacia nectar :)

Pruning Apple Trees

This is the perfect time to prune apple trees. The trees are slowly waking up and pumping the sap up. This enables the trees to quickly repair/heal any damages caused by the pruning scissors. If the apple trees are pruned in Autumn instead they can easily develop apple tree rot.

It was hell of a job to correct the apple trees. The previous owners didn't really prune them buy the book. Each and every one apple tree has got the rot.

This branch was not cut properly and the rot has infected the tree. It is very important to cut the branch as close to the tree as possible so the tree can heal. If the branch is left a bit long the tree will not send the sap into it and therefore it can not heal.

This branch was cut all the way to the tree and it healed nicely :) you can see how the bark grew into the cut part. That is a sign of successful healing. 

I have pruned all apple trees but one. Will finish the job tomorrow. Lets hope to get a good apple season since we are planning to do much with them.