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ARGOSY
FARM is a farmsteading1 project located in Hillsborough,
North Carolina. After years of fast-paced, hectic lives, we're looking for a
"simpler", sustainable and self-sufficient lifestyle. We're not abandoning
modern conveniences, but we believe we can combine the best living practices of
our grandparents with those modern conveniences which bring value -- without
ecological compromise. We hope to protect and nurture the land. Integrate simple
low-impact, self-sufficient concepts such as ecological design and building,
natural and heritage food production, and
alternative energy. And most challenging of all, we hope to do this without
mortgaging our souls.
We invite you
to follow our progress as we wade through the challenges of the local permitting
process, and learn the joys and pitfalls of farming, building and more.
Why grow our own
food?
June 2009
Update coming...
May 2009
We had our first birth at Argosy Farm
this month. One of our Key West hens went broody and, after diligently sitting
on one egg for three weeks, hatched out a little chick. Wish now that we'd had
more faith in her ability as we would have slid more eggs under her.
The garden is progressing and is well-planted with a
much wider variety of vegetables than we had the previous year. It was a
challenge getting everything into the ground on schedule. Seedlings did well in
the hoop house, strawberries are producing, and looks like we may have some
fruit developing on the fig tree. Spinach, lettuce and mustard greens are still
looking good, but as the days heat up we'll see those vegetables slow down just
as the beans, corn, tomatoes and other vegetables hit their stride.
 We
built housing and fenced a paddock for three goats that arrived from
Humbug Farm this month. Emmy
and Jalapeña are Nubians, and Heidi is a Nubian/Saanen mix. We're getting milk
from Heidi and Emmy so we're now working our way through Ricki Carroll's book
Home Cheese Making. So far, we've tried easy queso fresco, a quick farm
cheese, and yogurt. Chocolate goats milk is also pretty good, and it makes
excellent ice cream.
 A
week after the first goats arrived, we added two-month old Nubian twins, Zora
and Zada. The older goats aren't too thrilled with the new additions.
And to round out the month, we added a handful of Red Bourbon turkey chicks, a
heritage breed.
April 2009
All Fool's Day brought the birth of little Zora, a
Nubian goat kidling born at
Cedar Moon Farms.
She is the first of what we hope will be two doelings coming to us after
weaning. And we've reserved a Great Pyrenees puppy who will serve as a livestock
guardian to the goats.
The first eggs have begun to trickle in. Strawberries, asparagus, sweet
potatoes, French fingerlings and Yukon Gold potatoes are in the ground, and we
planted a brown turkey fig in the orchard near the apples and pears.
March 2009
 March
roared in like a lion with blustery winds, driving rain and icy temps. And eight
Key West chicks found themselves a new home, albeit a bit nippier than what
they're accustomed. But the chicken house is standing up to the weather, keeping
the new tenants warm and dry. They seem happy. (Read
more)
The hoop house plastic is finally on! We regularly get some strong winds over
the ridge, which made it more challenging to install, but the final product
looks great. A temperature test taken around noon a few days later registered 81
degrees F. inside and 54 degrees out. We'll be transplanting seed starts into
larger pots and moving them out to the hoop house.
We moved the 5-week old chicks into the larger chicken house after cordoning a
portion of it off with leftover deer fencing to protect them from the older Key
Westers.
Twelve blueberry bushes arrived from Finch Nursery—four
each of Tifblue, Premier and Brightwell.
We planted them in the orchard near the apple and pear trees.
We also adopted six, 19-week old Barred Rock hens rescued from a factory farm.
Their clipped beaks and timid response to us contrasted with the outgoing,
free-spirited Key Westers. The hens spent the first three days cowering in a
corner of the coop before finally venturing outside. Our black Key West rooster
immediately formed his own harem and has the new "girls" following him around.
February 2009
 Our
chick order arrived on February 10. (See
chick photos).
The chicken house is nearly complete, and none too
soon with the chicks expected to outgrow the brooder at age 4-weeks. While
it may seem a little fancy for a chicken house, we knew we needed building
practice for the sheds, barns and houses to come. Most of the outdoor work is
finished and we'll begin making roosting ladders and nest boxes next weekend. (See
chicken house photos)
 In
the meantime, we also have eight certified Key West chickens arriving the first
day of March, complements of V's parents. The chicks,
complete with certificate signed by Key West's mayor, are descendants of Spanish
Fighting Game Cocks, brought first to Cuba in the 15th century, then to Key West
by Cuban immigrants. This batch lost their mother to a hawk, were rescued, sent
to a shelter, adopted by V's parents, and will make North Carolina their new
home.
January 2009
 Winter
arrived with a vengeance this month, with high winds and driving rain bringing
in the New Year. Falling temperatures then hit a low of 9 degrees for two days
running, covering the ponds in an inch of ice. Arctic air brought snow on
Inauguration Day. All conspiring to delay installation of the plastic covering
on the hoop house. Being forced inside does have its benefits, however,
providing time to pore over the growing stack of seed catalogs. After
inventorying our saved seed collection, we ordered more for the coming season.
Our goal this year is to grow a larger assortment of vegetables and flowers.
We also placed our order for day-old chicks from
Murray McMurray
Hatchery to arrive in February -- 6 each: Araucanas, Barred Rocks, Buff
Orpingtons and Delawares, and 5 each: Dark Brahma Bantams and Mille Fleur Bantams. The hatchery
throws in an "exotic" freebie, bringing our total to 35 chicks. We've built a
brooder and are making progress on a 12'x12'
chicken house.
 How
fast can a calf run? Pretty darn fast when she's out of the pen and running
free. We've had
Isabelle for just over a month now and we're still getting to know her.
Weighed down by heavy winter gear and hampered by snow, catching her was no easy
task. Although this escape was made possible by not adequately latching the
gate, we'll be looking at fencing around the property to help keep her contained
should she make another run for freedom.
Archive
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We define farmsteading as a lifestyle of simple, agrarian
self-sufficiency.
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