The old FineOffset WH1080 weather station has seen better days. The sensors and sending unit replacement parts were getting harder to find and would randomly stop working at certain temperatures and humidity.

So I did the unthinkable and bought myself a new “Professional Weather Center” from AcuRite (model 01536). Even though just about all of the affordable units are made in China, these folks claim to be making these things since the horse and buggy days. The unit came to me from somewhere in the mid-west, but be assured all of the parts are made in China.

Everything seems to be working OK, placement is always a big consideration. Trying to find the right place within the (330 ft) distance limit that isn’t near a building, or pond, or sprinkler system, or ……. You get the idea. Then learning to re-configure the WeeWx software. I need to do some manual tweaking. The driver the auto-config utility picked doesn’t recognize the inside humidity data, and the barometer reading is slightly off of what the base station is reading. Still not bad for a quick swap out.

You can find the weather page here http://stonefacefarm.me/weather

The date is May the 26th and the soil temperature has finally gotten above 60 degrees F. I have been waiting to get these seeds in the ground so I can get on with the grand experiment.

First to find a place to plant them, getting water to them could be a problem, but “they say” these plants don’t need irrigation. Well, maybe not if you live where it rains, at all, during any part of the year. However here on the Tyhee flats if it aint irrigated, it don’t grow. I also read that this plant can be grown in “marginal” soil. Check!

I decided to further experiment by planting each variety in a different spot, which is recommended if you don’t want cross pollination. And planting each in a different orientation. so I planted the black amber variety in rows north to south. This plot I also did a bit of soil prep with compost and a harrow. The rows I furrowed with a hoe and dropped the seeds by hand and stepped them in. I then tried using an Earthway seed planter with some beet seeds to try and calibrate for the other variety. It did not like the coarse texture of the compost augmented soil.

Next was the Cane Sugar variety. I used the Earthway seed planter set to 3/4 inch depth and using the plate intended for beet seeds. I did not plant these the recommended number of feet apart so cross pollination will likely occur. This bed I oriented east to west and having about twice the number of seeds as the black amber I decided to plant 4 rows after I ran all of the beet seeds out of the planter. I did not harrow or compost the soil which left it as “marginal” as possible.

What Happens next will astound you! (totally not click bait)

For the next 10 days I checked everyday to see if there was ANY sign that they would grow, then on the 5th of June… There they were! Not only did the sorghum sprout, but the beet seeds which were packaged for use in 2015 were coming up too! The beets have been delicious by the way, I only used them to try and calibrate the planter, but that they grew is still boggling my brain.

Fast forward a couple of months (almost) I have a few observations, but first the pictures…

I know that there is still a ways to go until I can harvest either the seed or the cane or the leaves. The seeds will be for next years crop and to see if this is a sustainable feed for the chickens and ducks.

The leaves of course will be fodder for the goats. The cane if I can figure out how to press it without a press will be processed for syrup and the spent cane for goat fodder as well. We still have to get there though and the weather this year is not cooperating. We have not had a significant rain for about 2 months, so I have to constantly irrigate this and the hay fields. The variety that was composted is doing so much better, both need more water than they are getting.

When I planted, the seed plate I used was way off and through a bit more research I think I have a better one. For the Cane Sugar variety nearly all of the seed was “dumped” in the first half of the first row. I did manage to move a few of the canes, but growing in unimproved soil has not given them a very good start. I’m not sure I want to thin them as much as I think they need, I hate killing plants that are growing even if it will help the remaining ones.

Well, this seems to be quite long and I think I will end this article here. I will try to keep this updated

Just a quick note : The weather page is back up and running !

There is still  no wind info since that particular component of the weather station is broken, but the rest of it is reporting. The page has a slightly different format, but you should be able to navigate it with no problem.

ENJOY!

Well, it has been about 5 and 1/2 years since I have done anything with this site.

let me sum up…

2015-2016

• diagnosis -Myasthenia gravis not good, got worse, surgery “fixed” it.
• While the insurance is good, why not fix the shoulder too?
• worst winter in a decade, shoulder in a sling, good thing we have a new tractor.

2017

• Daughter married
• grandson born
• lots of new chickens, ducks, and goats

for the rest of the time I just try to get back to normal.

Somewhere in there we got rid of two bucks, right now Phoebe’s kid Apollo is the buck for the near future.

this spring (2021) I sold off 6 does and their kids, lost Abby and Skeeter and I am struggling to keep ducks and chickens laying in the high temps and drought.

Next month I expect 12 new ducks, they have been on order since may.

Also this year I have spent  a lot of time just fixing the irrigation so I can use it. Nearly six weeks of digging and clearing pipe, it works for now as well as it ever has, but if I want to improve it that would be EXPENSIVE!

well, not real detailed, but …. I’m back. I will try not to get lost again.

I know, I know! Its 1/1/15 and I was going to post last night, but got sidetracked with the wild and crazy NYE celebration here at StoneFace Farm! Continue reading →

I have been both very busy and very distracted for the past month. though it does not seem as though a month has past, I cannot deny what  the calendar is telling me. Time to close out the year, tally the up the good, the bad, and the egg-ly. So, here we go Continue reading →

Having completed the new buck pen with shelter and all the next wind that came along reminded me that I still needed to secure the roof of said shelter. Rascal and FatHead seem to remember that they are friends, but the new buck has developed the scours and I think it is related to the change in his feed, but I’m not sure how to heal him.

I am trying to be patient, let the last thing I tried have a chance to work, but it is difficult to watch as he mopes around the pen and poops water. I finally found an electrolyte that he seems to like. Hopefully that will help keep him from dehydrating.

If he is not better by the end of the day tomorrow I will try probiotics to get his rumen functioning again.

I was finally able to start and move both the rototiller and the lawn mower into the shop on Saturday the weather was JUST warm enough to spin the starter. Of course I had to charge the mower battery after leaving the key on for a week, but the equipment is under cover at last.

Egg count for the week of 11/16/2014 thru 11/22/2014:

• Collected – chickens 45, ducks 12
• Sold – chickens 6 dozen
• Cartons filled – chickens 4, ducks 1

And that should bring everything up to date until next week.