The Dixie Henhouse Homestead at Ellis Farms

The Dixie Henhouse Homestead at Ellis Farms

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Getting Trashy On The Farm

Recently at Ellis Farms, we "acquired" a Rubbermaid tote full of worms and worm dirt. I say "acquired" because it was essentially given to us from the local 4-H Office. I have been involved in the 4-H program here since I was 5 years old, first as a 4-H'er then as a volunteer. I currently serve on the 4-H Advisory Board. At the last board meeting, I was asked, "Hey! Do you want our worms?" And I was like, "Huh?" It was then I was quickly educated on the world of Vermiculture. According to Wikipedia, "Vermicompost is the product or process of composting using various worms, usually red wigglers, white worms, and other earthworms to create a heterogeneous mixture of decomposing vegetable or food waste, bedding materials, and vermicast. Vermicast, also called worm castings, worm humus or worm manure, is the end-product of the breakdown of organic matter by an earthworm.[1] These castings have been shown to contain reduced levels of contaminants and a higher saturation of nutrients than do organic materials before vermicomposting.[2] Containing water-soluble nutrients, vermicompost is an excellent, nutrient-rich organic fertilizer and soil conditioner.[3] This process of producing vermicompost is called vermicomposting."

And so, this tote of worms made it's way to our upstairs office where, for the past few months, I have fed them veggie scraps and left them alone. Easiest pet you'll ever have! Haha

This past weekend, I decided the worms needed to make their way from the office to a REAL compost bin. So I did some quick research, finding a great helpful article Composing- A Guide To Making Compost At Home. Using scrap wood from the family sawmill, and in no more than an hour, our household compost bin was complete.


My plan, is to use the compost for planting flowers mainly, but I'm sure it will be used in the garden. It's a great way to make natural fertilizer from things that you'd normal throw out with the trash. The next thing I did was order a kitchen composter that will fit under the kitchen cabinet so I can collect the food scraps and then, when it's full, dump it into the outside bin. I found a cute one online for $19.00 plus free shipping at Hayneedle.

Monday, May 13, 2013

Rainwater Harvesting

Recently we began harvesting rainwater at Ellis Farms. Now....before you look into doing this at your own home or farm, make sure you are aware of what the law is in your particular area. In some states, it is illegal to harvest rainwater. In North Carolina, former Gov. Purdue signed a bill into law in 2009 which allowed residents here to be able to collect and use rainwater North Carolina To Allow Rainwater Harvesting (news article).
We were able to purchase five used 55-gallon barrels for $40 out of Rock Hill, SC from a posting on a farm sales site on Facebook. One barrel we re-purposed to hold feed for the goats and the rabbit and the rest we decided to use for a rainwater collection system. The system has now been installed at the back of the barn and we are using it as drinking water for the chickens, goats, and the rabbit. So far it's working well. We have had a huge amount of rain over the past several days, so we've been able to test it out and work out some of the kinks along the way.
The N.C. Cooperative Extension Service through N.C. State University has an good document with pictures, diagrams, and other helpful information if you are interested in doing something like this on your own homestead. Urban Waterways- Rainwater Harvesting: Guidance For Homeowners