The Bin is In

Well it was really as simple as that...

We've been saving egg shells and coffee grounds for about a week and today was carrot juice day!

Caleb helped me with the drill and bin set up. 

We used cardboard as the filler between the layers of our kitchen waste.

Now we wait a week to get our worms and put them to work

Red Worm Composting

Red Worms

Today is Red Worm Composting Set-Up Day! 

Since we won't be getting the goats or chickens until this summers growing season is over we have decided it might be fun to get a "worm farm" going!  Vermicomposting is an excellent way to reduce food waste, produce organic fertilizer, and enrich garden bed soil naturally by eliminating dangerous chemical fertilizers.  

We already had some Rubbermaid tubs that were not being used so today I'm going to follow the instructions in the video below and we'll see what happens.  I will post pictures later!  :-)

Did you know?

There are over seven thousand species of earthworms; however, one species in particular is well suited for indoor composting: Eisenia fetida, also called red wiggler worm. 

Some fun worm facts:

• Worms do not have eyes; they have cells in the front part of their bodies that can detect light. 
• Worms do not have teeth; they grind up food by using the grit in their gizzard. 
• Worms living in an indoor worm bin (Eisenia fetida) can eat half their body weight in food scraps every day! 
• Worms have both male and female reproductive organs but still need another worm to reproduce. 
• Eiseniafetidahave5“heart-like”organscalledaorticarches. 
• Eisenia fetida start reproducing when they are about 2 months old. 
• One mature worm can produce about 100 worms in a year. 
• Worms live up to one year. 
• Worms“breathe”throughtheirskin,soitisveryimportanttokeepthemandtheirenvironmentmoist, but not sopping wet as they can drown if it’s too wet. 
• If you hold a worm long enough, you will likely see a yellow secretion on your hand, called coelomic fluid. 
• Coelomic fluid is thought to be a defense mechanism against predators as the liquid can smell bad. This bad smell is thought to be the basis of their name fetida or foetida which is the Latin scientific term used for many foul-smelling species. 
• Coelomic fluid is also a way for worms to remoisten their bodies when conditions are dry. 

What a find, it's a sign!

Proverbs 12:10-11 "The righteous care for the needs of their animals,......
Those who work their land will have abundant food.

Today Erik had some time between stores so he stopped at a library used book store to pass the time. Anybody who knows Erik knows he loves books.  Look at the treasure he scored today for only $1.00!  Perfect timing!
"The Homesteader's Handbook to Raising Small Livestock" fits into our new adventure perfectly!
Of course there is no shortage of information on the internet but if we ever are in a post zombie apocalypse and need good old "hard copy" we will have it! ;-)

Welcome to the  "Hinkston Homestead"

Proverbs 12:10-11     "The righteous care for the needs of their animals,.......................Those who work their land will have abundant food."

According to Wikipedia:

"Broadly defined, homesteading is a lifestyle of self-sufficiency. It is characterized by subsistence agriculture, home preservation of foodstuffs, and it may or may not also involve the small scale production of textiles, clothing, and craftwork for household use or sale." 

So it seems like we are about to start on a new adventure at "Mammy's House" Goats.... 

Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats.  These are tiny little bundles of energy and high butterfat milk.  

We used to have goats, Pygmy and Nubians and we loved them. They are intelligent and sweet and make fun loving pets.  Our new goats will be more, we are going to try our hand at dairy farming!  Goat milk cheese and soap will be the "small scale production" on our homestead and the goats will be most helpful with the compost pile for our garden and subsequent  "preservation of foodstuffs"  we are very excited.

Starting any new adventure is a lot of work and takes some planning so I don't expect to get the goats soon, we have to get a proper enclosure built, (pintrest has been most helpful with ideas) and we are researching breeders in our area.  The Del Mar Fair starts this weekend and we will be there to talk goats with the folks that know their stuff. This will be fun, I will keep you posted.