2024
2024
2024
Chicken Coop Renovations
We were thankful to inherit an old chicken coop when we purchased the property from our family. We decided to name the coop "Chez Poulet" (English translation: The Chicken House!) as a nod to my time living in France and job as a world language teacher! After extensive research and a full assessment of the existing coop we created a list of "must-dos". We prioritized completing safety, weather-proofing projects and then sprinkled in some fun aesthetics for the interior prior to our chickens move-in date.
In 2024 we :
- Designed & Constructed a brand new enclosed run to the south side of the coop.
- Cleaned out, Renovated and Decorated the interior of the coop
-Installed an automatic chicken door.
-Replaced the existing leaking shingle roof with a brand new metal roof.
Greenhouse
We decided to invest in and construct a small hobby greenhouse last year. It will help us extend our growing season with container plants and even grow some fun plants and flowers that otherwise wouldn't tolerate our climate.
You can check out our hobby greenhouse by clicking here!
Backyard Overhaul
We have a lot of plans for this space and we started making progress towards our goals this year. We completely removed the grass and installed a new crushed stone patio complete with firepit, grill space, living room and dining room areas!
Check out the patio install progress by clicking here!
Raised Bed Garden
We decided to have some trees removed on the West side of the raised beds as they were providing too much shade on a large portion of the garden. This largely impacted last years harvest so we knew we had to have them removed as early as possible in the season. We hate to cut down trees, truly, but it was and is necessary to have sufficient sunlight for our garden - so down they went! We arranged for the tree company to leave the cut trees on the property, which saved us a considerable amount of money and also provided us with a large amount of firewood for next season! Waste not!
You can follow our progress on these beds by clicking here.
2023
2024
2024
2023
2023 was full of research, land evaluation and preparation!
Plus, of course, settling into our newly renovated home after reveal day!
Growing anything on a new property requires a lot of research and attention specifically relating to wind, drainage, soil make-up/health, sun patterns, and more! We spent a LOT of time evaluating the areas that we plan to use as gardens and discovered that our soil is super rocky, clay material and completely overgrown in poison ivy, bittersweet, etc. This meant our gardens would primarily, if not entirely, be made up of raised beds moving forward. With all this knowledge, I began reading more about raised bed gardening and then mapping out our short and long term goals for the property.
We also found lots of "treasure" throughout the property as we began to clear it. We found an old wagon wheel, a cast iron tub and sink, an old wood burning stove, a couple bonus raised beds, old garden tools and more! We have been brainstorming ways to recycle these items (like using old milk buckets as planters around the property!) and have also taken inventory of the wild growing perennials that we can save and relocate as we clear the land.
We also fixed up an old swing, cleaned out a little garden shed, and did some simple landscaping in the existing gardens around the house. Our largest project of 2023 by far was clearing out and reviving an existing raised garden bed area. We cleaned up and filled the beds, installed a perimeter fence, and added a white rock ground cover around the beds. We had a pretty successful first growing season and where we failed, we learned a whole lot!
The potential for our property is truly incredible, and while sometimes I find myself overwhelmed with the amount of work we have ahead of us.. the vision of what it will be keeps us going every single day. This year, the dream officially became a plan with detailed goals.
We will get there, one day and one project at a time!