Bluebird Mornings

April 04, 2020 by James Gibbon

One thing I love about living in Montana is the abundance of natural wildlife we have. From wild turkeys to elk and everything in between, Montana has a lot to offer. Living in Montana gives you a unique perspective on nature and allows me to become closer to the wildlife and ecosystems that support it. About a month ago, we went to our local Wild Birds Unlimited store and purchased 4 wooden blue bird boxes. We were told to hang these up in March and have them facing the East. We went around our property and hung up the boxes in various locations around our property. A few weeks went by and we saw minimal activity. But then all of sudden, the Mountain Bluebirds started to appear! The gorgeous blue birds were all around our nesting boxes and we couldn’t be more excited. All of the work was finally starting to pay off. In fact, just the other morning as I was on my way to take care of our chickens, I spotted this bluebird at our garden nesting box. Below are some pictures for you to enjoy!

blue bird (garden nesting box) - James Gibbon

James Gibbon - Compassion with Horses

January 08, 2020 by James Gibbon

When I first moved back to our family farm, I was not a fan of horses. They were big, unpredictable, and didn’t seem to like me, therefore, I didn’t like them. However, all of this has changed. Now, I have a newfound appreciation for the animals. I find them very endearing and well intentioned animals. Our two horses have become my friends. Their personalities and constant fixation on food has made them wonderful companions. Every morning I feed the horses and our chickens. Starting out, I resented having to go feed the horses whereas I enjoyed feeding and watering our chickens. Now, I love feeding the horses and it has become the highlight of my mornings. I can honestly say I love horses now. What a change from how I used to think about horses.

Raised Garden Beds w/ James Gibbon

January 01, 2020 by James Gibbon

James Gibbon believes that it is never too early to start planning the garden for next year. As you know, our garden last year was rushed together and unfortunately we didn’t have enough time in the summer to make it exactly what we wanted. I plan on changing this. One of the things we really wanted to incorporate into the garden is a group of raised beds. Instead of buying expensive raised beds from a garden center, we chose to build them ourselves. Mind you, I am no carpenter, so this was a bit of a stretch for my skills. Nonetheless, we persevered. It all started with a trip to Home Depot - https://www.homedepot.com/ .

Here is what we bought:

Using these materials, along with a little common sense we were able to piece together the raised bed boxes. Below are some images of our finished products!

After completing our 3 boxes, it was time to place them in our garden area. We wanted to place cardboard in the raised beds over the winter to help kill off the grass, and prep our soil for the summer. We took some old cardboard boxes and flattened them out to fill the raised beds. This is what we ended up with!

James Gibbon | Update on Bea Hein

December 28, 2019 by James Gibbon

James Gibbon here! It’s been a while since I last updated everyone on Bea Hein, our chicken. Since the last time I wrote about her, she has gotten much healthier and is doing much better. Mostly thanks to Scratch and Peck’s supplements. For those of you that don’t remember, Bea Hein is one of our chickens who was constantly being pecked on by the other chickens. She lost all of her tail feathers and was badly bleeding. We had to separate her from the rest of the flock, ail her wounds, and provide her proper nutrition to recover.

Here are some pictures of her now and how she is doing. I’m very proud of her recovery and excited to share these photos with all of you. Although she is not back to 100%, she is much farther along than she was and I’m very optimistic about her full recovery. On top of all this, she finally started laying eggs and it’s great to see her body in full swing!

How to Build a Compost Bin with Uncle Jim's Worms

November 22, 2019 by James Gibbon

James Gibbon has got worms! Never have I been more excited to say that phrase! 😂 - but really…I’ve got worms 🐛and I’m loving them. Vermiposting has always been something I have been interested in and I started to do a lot of research online about creating our own vermicomposting ecosystem. I’m going to walk you through my process of building the worm 🐛compost bin and hopefully this helps guide others who are looking to do the same.

First, you got to order some worms 🐛. I ordered mine from https://unclejimswormfarm.com/ who specializes in Red Wigglers for composting in a worm bin. We purchased 1000 Red Wigglers and received them in 3 days and it was a really great customer experience. These 3 days allowed us time to build our worm bin.

In order to build a worm bin you need:

(1) Plastic Bin - https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-45-Gal-170-L-Wheeled-Latch-Tote-Stadium-Blue-Case-of-4/44785816

Electric drill - https://www.lowes.com/pd/DEWALT-20-Volt-Max-1-2-in-Brushless-Cordless-Drill-Charger-Included/1000135807?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-tol-_-google-_-lia-_-129-_-cordlessdrillsandcombokits-_-1000135807-_-0&store_code=2608&placeholder=null&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3vHG4Lap5gIVENtkCh02wwk1EAQYBiABEgLiS_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Cardboard - https://www.dickblick.com/products/utrecht-corrugated-cardboard/?clickTracking=true&wmcp=pla&wmcid=items&wmckw=13900-3040&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6d-OtLep5gIVfCCtBh3ewgBbEAkYASABEgLef_D_BwE,

Newspaper - https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/S-14640/Newsprint-Paper/Newsprint-Sheets-20-x-30?pricode=WB0760&gadtype=pla&id=S-14640&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIs--fo7ip5gIV8SCtBh2VHA14EAkYASABEgIgv_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Brown paper bags - https://www.amazon.com/Premium-Brown-Paper-Bags-Merchandise/dp/B07SRLBMMC/ref=asc_df_B07SRLBMMC/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=385191959882&hvpos=1o3&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2543179368326282102&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1020859&hvtargid=pla-835439303258&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=78792189975&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=385191959882&hvpos=1o3&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2543179368326282102&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1020859&hvtargid=pla-835439303258

Organic soil - https://www.acehardware.com/departments/lawn-and-garden/hydroponic-gardening/hydroponic-gardening-supplies/7299795?x429=true&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&&cid=CAPLA:G:Shopping_-_Hydroponics_&_Accessories&k_clickid=351b927c-f458-40d6-9c94-b1d459ca124c&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIzo7p0bip5gIVMRh9Ch1eBQt-EAkYAiABEgKj4vD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

The first thing you are going to want to do is cut holes into the plastic bin to give the worms’ oxygen.

Once these holes have been drilled into the tub, you can begin filling the bin with food and a home for the worms. Start by placing brown cardboard on the bottom of the worm bin. Next, tear up brown paper bags into strips and spray with water. After the bags, begin to tear newspaper into strips and place on top of the brown paper bags. Use water to spray these down as well. Finally, add the organic soil and your worm home is complete!

Just add worms! 🐛 - We added our 1000 red wigglers and our vermicompost bin is complete!

Once the worms are settled into their new home 🏠, which takes a few days - you can begin to feed the worms additional food. So far I have given our worms banana peels, apples, corn meal, and more. I’m curious to learn what you have given your worms to compost? Comment below and tell us what your worms enjoy the most!

James Gibbon - A Radish Experience

October 09, 2019 by James Gibbon in james gibbon

A little under 2 months ago, with winter right around the corner, we decided to start a small garden and grow 🌱 as many vegetables as we could in the limited amount of time we had. James Gibbon went to the store and purchased onions, lettuce, carrots 🥕 , cabbage, bok choy, and some various different types of radishes. During our garden experiment, there was one vegetable that ruled them all - the radish. Why do you ask? The radish is one of the fastest growing edible vegetables 🌱. In as little as 30 days, an edible radish can be grown from seed. I think this is pretty incredible and certainly makes growing this vegetable a lot of fun. Our radishes took longer than 30 days to grow due to our late season planting, but they still grew incredible quickly.

Our radish journey began by planting the seeds. A vital step where we made a few major errors that drastically impacted our production. I can’t stress enough how important it is to plant the seeds ATLEAST 1 inch apart from each other. We were in a hurry to get the seeds planted and crowded the seeds which hindered the growth of the radishes and caused some radishes to only grow leaves. Once we had the seeds planted it was time to water the garden a couple times a day. As the weather became increasingly cooler, we covered the radishes with plastic to help provide warmth.

The radishes continued to grow and I took pictures of their progress as seen above and below.

After 30 days, things started to get really interesting. Our French Breakfast radishes started to become visible above ground and this is when I knew we were close to being ready to harvest. However, some of the bulbs were still really small and I wanted to wait as long as we could to get the best radishes possible. Mother nature had plans of her own on when we would pull the radishes and when the weather reported 20 degree weather in October, I knew we needed to pull our radishes before the freeze. This is what we got!

We had a really successful harvest and we were overwhelmed with gratitude. To be able to build a garden, grow vegetables, and harvest them in under 50 days was a really RAD experience. I hope you enjoyed hearing our radish story and please comment below!

James Gibbon | Mountain Biking and Gardening

September 26, 2019 by James Gibbon in james gibbon

Nothing screams Montana Farm Life more than gardening in the morning and mountain ⛰ biking 🚵‍♀️ in the afternoon - and this is exactly what I’ve been doing lately. I used to “mountain” bike a lot when I lived in Austin, but since moving to Montana I had yet to take a bike to the trails. So I got a mountain bike and headed to a nearby trail called Corbly Gulch. Right away once I got to the trail I knew I was in trouble. Not only was there a brutal 1 mile road that was hardly passable, but once I got to the trail head I instantly realized I wasn’t in Kansas anymore.

Unlike the south, the trails here are literally going up mountains. The shear amount of strength and endurance needed to make it deep into the trail is impressive and I was not prepared for what I was getting into. Nonetheless, I persevered and pushed up the trail as far as I possibly could until I was about a half mile in.

As you can see I ride a Trek Roscoe 6 hardtail with mid-fat tires on it. The bike road great and did especially well on the way down, helping me navigate tight twist and turns to my car below 🚙. The ride was an absolute blast and I have gone many times since including trips to another local trail, Truman Gulch pictured below.

Truman Gulch is another fantastic trail with diverse terrain and is quickly becoming my favorite trail in the area. Read more about my mountain biking adventures at www.jamesgibbonoutdoors.com

So what about the gardening?

Great question. So a lot has been going on in the garden since I last blogged. If you follow me on instagram, than you already have seen the progress of our radishes and lettuces. Although we sit at around day 35 with these, we are waiting to pull them as they still have room to mature. Unfortunately, we are battling the elements here in Montana and snow is forecasted the next 3 days. So let’s all pull together and help the lettuce and the radishes survive this cold ❄️blitz.

So there you have it! If you’re reading this please comment below and leave 🍃 some positive thoughts for our vegetables 🍅 and thank you for reading!

-JG

James Gibbon's Outdoor Garden

September 07, 2019 by James Gibbon

Most gardens are well thought out and are typically tilled in the spring. This provides the longest growing season for the crops 🌱. This is especially important when you have a short growing season like we do in Montana. We have long winters ❄️ and short summers ☀️ and vegetables don’t grow too well in the snow…

…so we decided to till our outdoor garden and start planting in late August.
Does this make sense? Not really - but according to our research online, we have a decent shot at growing some vegetables 🌽 before our first winter snow ❄️.

Having little to no experience gardening, we went into this project completely blind. The only thing we did as preparation prior was tarp off some land to kill off the grass 🌱so it was ready to till and we did this in the spring. So we had our land picked out and ready to till and all we need at this point was a tiller. We looked up a local equipment rental company to rent our tiller.

There are 2 types of tillers. Front tine tillers and rear tine tillers. Both serve a purpose and are better at some things than the other.

Front Tine Tiller: Allow for closer tilling around obstacles and in small spaces. Their tines are positioned in front of the wheels, and the engine is mounted directly above the tines. ... They generally cost less than a rear tine tiller of similar size and power.
Rear Tine Tillers:: are good for larger, open garden areas.

Given our garden area 🌾was fairly small with tight areas to till, we went with the Front End Tiller. We rented the tiller, loaded it in the truck 🚙 and headed back to our farm. We got it unloaded and fired up the engine and instantly started tilling. The tiller seemed extremely hard to control and was an intense workout as seen below.

As you can see, I was holding onto the tiller for dear life 😂! It wasn’t until we were almost done tilling the plot of land that we finally realized we had failed to utilized the “depth bar” that digs into the ground and assist in the tilling process! Once we finally dropped the bar, the tiller ran extremely smoothly and the entire process was really simple and easy to operate.

So once we had our ground tilled it was time to plant 🌱. We went down to our local garden center, and purchased the best seeds to plant late in the season 🍁 which included mostly radishes, lettuce varieties, and kale. According to our research radishes are the fastest growing vegetable, so we planted ALOT of radishes. Below is a picture of our garden once we sowed all our seeds.

For irrigation we ran a hose from our barn down to the garden plot and turn on the water for about 1-2 hours per day. This keeps water 💦 on the soil and helped our seeds germinate within the first 3-4 days. Each seed is different and so far our radishes are doing the best out of the bunch. A week or so later, we decided to try and build hoop houses 🏠 for the vegetables to help give them extra warmth 🌞 as we enter September. Below is a picture of what we built without the plastic on the hoops.

Finally, 13 days later here is a picture of our radishes! Stay tuned for updates on our garden!

James Gibbon's First Time Chicken Hens

September 03, 2019 by James Gibbon

🐓 Order chickens online they said. It will be fun they said… 🐓

So we did.

We went to craigslist and ordered six starter pullet hens 🐓 of two different varieties. Three Light Brahmas and three Barred Rock hens. We got our coop cleared of wasp, and set up an electric fence around the perimeter of the coop with plenty of space for the hens to graze. Below is a picture of the setup before the hens arrived. In my opinion our setup was pretty good, and we were confident in ordering some chickens and harvesting some eggs 🥚- unfortunately things don’t always go according to plan and we made a few costly mistakes.

We picked up the chickens from a local farmer and met them about an hour away from our property. The chickens came in boxes, two to a box 📦 and we loaded them into our truck and headed home to release them into their new home 🏠. I was incredibly excited about this and our excitement lead us to make our first critical mistake.

After researching later, it is critical to release the chickens in a certain way. If handling new chickens, it is critical to keep them in their boxes and put the boxes inside the coop. From here, open the boxes inside the coop and close the door to the coop. It is recommended to keep the chickens in the coop for the first 24 hours so they can get comfortable and feel safe.

This is not what we did… 🐔

Instead, we placed the boxes outside the coop and ripped open the tops and grabbed the chickens and released them into the small fenced in field. Not only did this put a tremendous amount of stress on the hens, but it caused one of them to continually break through the electric fence. Our electric fence that we worked so hard on was completely useless against the chickens. The chicken would just stick it’s head through the netting and wiggle its way out. 🐔

We spent the entire afternoon trying to capture the chicken who continued to escape and we worked even harder trying to get all of the chickens into the coop for bedtime. The entire ordeal could have been easily avoided if we would have done more research online and I hope this story helps anyone looking to purchase hens for the first time.

Once we finally got all of the hens into their coop, we had to build a new fence around the coop to keep the chickens in. We did this by using T Post and Hog Fencing 🤺 and built a simple gate to go in and out from. This fence served as our temporary fencing until we were able to put in a more permanent solution to give the chickens more room to graze.

After all the work was done ✅it was time to enjoy our chickens and to our surprise, we received our first egg!!!