Getting the Farm Ready for Winter

It’s Halloween in Kentucky.

You know what this means?

Pumpkins, leaves, jack-o-lanters, and free candy, right?

Wrong.

Halloween in Kentucky means winter is almost here.

More specifically, it means that today it’s summer and tomorrow it will be winter. Of course, next weekend it will be summer again and then winter and then we will all be sick. But at some point, the yo-yo weather will make up its mind, winter will come to stay, and we will all have frozen pipes.

When winter is looming, it is best to go ahead and prep the farm for the freeze that is coming.

It is always best to take care of these chores while the sun is shining. If you wait until there is a hard freeze in the forecast (the kind that makes pipes burst) you may find yourself running around in the dark, during the eleventh hour, or even worse: in the pouring down rain, getting everything ready for winter.

No thank you.

Pick a bright, sunny day and get it all done now so you don’t have to worry about it when the weatherman delivers doom and gloom.

WINTERIZING THE FARM #1 – THE GARDEN

Although it is tempting to leave all the exhausted, deceased plant matter laying in the garden until spring, a little housekeeping now can save you headaches in the future. The garden sweep may not be how you want to spend your time; however, it won’t take long and, I promise, you will be happy you did it.

There are many reasons that you should clean up your garden BEFORE winter. Leaving plant debris lying around all year is not only untidy, but it is also a breeding ground for problems.

Plant matter can harbor diseases
Dead plants offer cozy homes for insects that you don’t want around next year

A little cleanup and preparation in fall is one of the easiest ways to set yourself up for an amazing garden next year.

By cleaning up the garden now, you will save yourself heartache from pests, problems AND when spring rolls around (it will be here before you know it) your beautiful garden will be perfectly kept and ready for planting.

A WORD OF CAUTION

One of my favorite tools is the garden torch. This is sometimes called a “weed dragon” or a “flame thrower.” It is basically a wand attached to a propane tank that shoots fire. This is a fabulous way to “cleanse” your garden. The amazing heat will kill diseases, it will kill pests (and their eggs), it will kill weeds (and their seeds), and it does not disturb the soil composition. Unlike tilling, using a torch does not disturb the natural layers of the soil. Anytime you till you are potentially uncovering weed seeds and planting them. The flame thrower kills any weed seeds on the surface of the soil and it also will not replant weed seeds.

If you chose to use a garden torch, be sure you use care with this garden tool. Follow all instructions with the product and observe any burning laws in your area. Do not use if you are under a ‘burn ban’ or are in a very dry season. Keep an eye on the garden after using the garden torch and put out any spots that continue to smolder.

LEAVE THE COLE CROPS

If you have space in your garden dedicated to growing plants through winter you do not need to clean up these areas. It is perfectly healthy to leave these plants in the ground so they can continue to produce.

Rotate the beds/areas you leave planted over winter so the soil can rest every other year (this is called crop rotation).

Beds to leave undisturbed:

The herb bed
The asparagus
The garlic
The collards, mustard greens, kale, and beets (or any other plants you plan to continue to harvest from the garden over winter)

WINTERIZING THE FARM #2 – THE WATER

Even in neighborhoods, folks in the cooler states disconnect all hoses and turn off the water to outdoor spigots to prevent frozen pipes. This same process takes place on farms.

We disconnect all the hoses and sinks in the barns, the dairy, any building that has water running to it.

In winter we depend on frost-free pumps for all our outdoor water needs.

In addition to turning off all the outdoor plumbing, we also prepare the livestock’s water situations for the frozen months to come.

There are all sorts of anti-freezing solutions for animal watering systems. There are “frost-free” containers that use warmth to prevent freezing. There are even solar options.

The de-icer is the red circle.

We use good old fashioned de-icers. These are little warming vessels that float in the water. They run off electricity.

We have electricity in our barns and buildings, so getting to power is manageable. For far-away fields, we run extension cords to get the deicers into the stock tanks. In these cases, we use zip-strips and connect the extension cords to the fenceline (along the top). This keeps the cords off the ground, out of the fields (so the cows won’t mess with them), and safe.

Breaking ice is not fun

Tank de-icers are magnificent. If you have ever broken ice you know the numbing torture that accompanies breaking ice. Sledgehammers, shovels, frozen fingers. It is a cold, cold, cold, horrible job.De-icers mean you won’t have to break the ice.

WINTERIZING THE FARM #3 – UNITE THE CRITTERS

We always move all of our livestock to one field for the winter. Sometimes this means 8 cows and a dog. Other times it has included 12 sheep and two cows and a dog. Whatever your collection includes, if you can put them in a field together, it will make life easier.

Wherever you keep livestock over the winter will probably be pretty beat up by spring. Winter is a messy, sloppy, muddy, wet, sloshy, cold mess in Kentucky. It’s not that the animals are bad, it’s just that they are large and there is usually a bunch of rain. The combination always equals disaster.

The more fields you have holding animals in winter, the more fields that will need to be repaired in spring. For more on repairing pastures go here.

During winter in Kentucky, there is very little fresh grass for the cows to eat. They are eating hay for the most part so I don’t need to worry about there being enough grass for everyone. Instead of grazing, our cows will be standing around the hay bale munching most of the day.

It is much easier to take care of animals over the winter if they are all in one place.

You will only have to fill water in one field.
You will only have to take hay to one field.
You will only have to de-ice the water in one field.
You will only have to refill the minerals in one field.
You will only have to clean out the stalls in one field.

Putting all livestock in one spot streamlines the chores and duties.

Cows, sheep, goats, and most other livestock are herd animals. It may sound silly, but they love being together. They have warmth, they have companionship, they have friends. It is a win-win if you decide to have a farm party over the winter.

WINTERIZING THE FARM #4 – THE RABBITS

There are several chores to get the rabbits ready for the cold months. We have outdoor rabbits. They have lived outdoors their entire lives. They have shelter, windbreak, and protection from the weather.

Rabbits before”Winter” preparations

The first thing we did to prepare for winter was beef up the hutches.

The Rabbitry with the added protection on the front and sides.

We added some sides and a front to keep out any icky elements. We can still easily get to the rabbits to manage their food, water, and love on them. The wood frame blocks the weather but not our access to them.

When things get really frosty we will give them some fresh hay to bed in and munch on.

Rabbit duty number 2 is to get more drinkers. However many we have now (in the habitat) we double. We have 3 drinkers in the rabbit cages. This means I will need a total of 6 drinkers (3 for the rabbit cages & 3 extras). We keep the extra 3 at the house. Every morning we fill the 3 (extra) drinkers with fresh water & take them up to the rabbits. We swap the freshwater for the blocks of ice in their cages. We take the frozen 3 down to the house to thaw. The next morning we fill those with fresh water & swap again. This gives the rabbits fresh (unfrozen) water every day.

Last on the rabbit list: Cull any extra rabbits, process and send to freezer camp. We don’t’ want to feed, water, clean up after, and have the burden of carrying any unnecessary animals through winter.

Any extra rabbits (and roosters) are culled and packaged before the snow shows up.

WINTERIZING THE FARM #5 – THE COOP

Clean coop ready for fresh litter

We always get the coop nice and squeaky clean before winter. How we clean the chicken coop here. We fill all the nesting boxes with fresh bedding. We cover the entire floor with fresh hay. When the chickens add their contribution to the coop it will all begin to compost and break down and make heat. This is what keeps our chickens cozy and warm all winter. More on using Deep Litter to keep chickens warm here. We keep the window open for ventilation (if your coop doesn’t have good air flow it can cause frostbite). More on chickens and frostbite here.

To encourage our chickens to “turn” the deep litter for us we toss scoops of feed onto the hay.

We do not have any electricity or lighting in our coop. I am too scared of barn fires.

WINTERIZING THE FARM #6 – THE LANDSCAPING

Fall is the perfect time to cut back bushes, roses, perennials, and other landscaping

This will have the front of your home looking tidy and clean going into winter and come spring they will fill back in perfectly.

When trimming back bushes and perennials be sure to not remove more than 1/3 of the plant or it could harm it.

I have enormous, ceramic pots that I fill with the prettiest flowers you’ve ever seen every spring. The pots are haphazardly arranged on my front and back porches. My world is surrounded by cascading, overflowing vines, plants, and flowers for three seasons each year.

It breaks my heart each and every year when I must rip them from their pots and throw them into the compost.

In spring, when it is time to refill them with glorious vines, flowers and plants I will be so happy that they are empty and not holding dead plant matter.

WINTERIZING THE FARM

It is a chore to get the farm ready for winter, but it is a chore worth doing. It is time well spent.

Once the work is complete, you will have that fabulous, “I am WonderWoman” feeling as you walk into the farmhouse to make a cup of hot tea.

Bring on the white stuff!

Stay warm!

XO,

Candi

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