After a bit of a delay, the garlic is in the ground and bedded well with straw. The potato bed has been amended, and covered with a tarp until freezing temperatures take hold – neighborhood cats are an issue and the thought grosses me out.
Got another batch of pasta sauce into the freezer today – with a total haul of about 150 lbs of green tomatoes (mostly cherries… next year I’ll limit myself to one plant of each variety), I’m pretty happy that 25 lbs has been made into sauce. I’ve also dehydrated a fair bit, but there’s still lots to sort through and use. Although a good portion will end up spoiled, it’s nice knowing that more than half of that will end up processed to feed my family. And even the portion I lose, ends up going back into the soil to return the nutrients lost during the growing season.
Salsa still needs to be made – perhaps tomorrow.
This is the time of year I can take stock of what I need to change for the next growing season. I was incredibly pleased with the celery we grew – it’s since been consumed except for a portion that was dehydrated or frozen for soups. Broccoli did well too, but I know I need to be more on the ball about using it immediately when it’s ready. Carrot… did not plant even remotely enough. Same with beans, though the beans were a battle between me and the local murder, who kept stealing my seed stock as it went into the ground (as well as the young shoots as they emerged). Also need a dedicated space for onions… what we harvested gets used quickly.
Potatoes? I think we’ll be mostly set, though hitting the 100 lb mark would be fantastic.
Tomatoes – I need to restrict myself to one of each cherry variety, then two of the larger ones. My go-to’s are definitely Mortgage Lifter, Principe Borgheis, and then either Amish Paste or Roma (or maybe one of each).
I need to remember not to waste valuable garden space on chard or spinach – we don’t eat it. Lettuce, ultimately goes to the rabbits, which is great… but I don’t need to plant it because it volunteers itself through my lawn every year.
Herbs… another bed that needs further organizing. I never have enough basil. The abundance of oregano I had last year failed to materialize this year. But the sage! The sage was lovely. And I have Rosemary and Thyme in an indoor garden box, to keep in the kitchen for the winter.
I think I need to take a few moments to write all this down, for my 2026 planning…
Author: Amy
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I kinda suck at updating
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Welcome Autumn!
Summer has come to an end, as my children (teenagers, really) return to school and the days become noticeably shorter. I’ve harvested the potatoes (a new record of 83 lbs, grown in a small 4′ x 8′ raised bed), and have started to collect the first ripening tomatoes.
Two weeks ago was our local Fall Fair, and I’m thrilled to report that my doe, Mystic Meadows Clover, took Best in Show for commercial breeds.
Mystic Meadows Clover winning the 2025 Quesnel Fall Fair Best in Show, Commercial Breed Then, last weekend, at another rabbit show in my province, I sent another doe (Mystic Meadows Ginger, bred and owned by Amy of Mystic Meadows Rabbitry), who won all four shows as Best of Breed for Champagne d’Argent! Avon Hill’s Larry took Best Opposite in two our of four shows, so I’m pretty darn happy about that too.
In the last few days, I’ve moved all the rabbits into the Bunny Barn. No, it’s not quite finished, but it’s sufficient to keep everyone organized and comfortable. Violet is due with a litter in the next few days, which is exciting, as this will be Beretta’s first litter, and I can’t wait to see what he produces!
Bunny Barn interior from one of my cameras -
The Bunny Barn… So Close!
So close! Walls up inside and out! And rumour has it that construction may be complete by this week! And that mean a that I’ll be able to paint!
I am so, so excited!
The possibility of finally moving everyone in to their permanent quarters… fall breedings can commence now!
Which leads to further plans… what pairings will potentially create the best kits? Especially when it comes to creating pairs and trios for other rabbitries. While, of course, considering this fall’s show schedule.
Stay tuned!
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Here we go again
Good news, the four ladies are all still accounted for.
Of course they’re not happy that they’re in a smaller pen at the moment, but it’s the small price to pay to keep them alive. In fact yesterday was actually a two egg day. Both Clio and Pickles gave me an egg.
I really can’t complain about that.
Of all the things that I’ve learned since doing the little urban homestead thing, it’s always important not to be disappointed when things don’t go your way.
It was my fault completely that I did lose chickens to the fox. I can’t blame the fox, it’s probably a female feeding her young. The biggest issue is that this is now a forever problem – my coop is now on the fox’s radar and an easy source of food. The camera a I have set up outside the coop have caught footage of the fox every couple nights, checking to see if the can grab another hen.
I’m very glad that the rabbits were tucked a way safely in my shop during this whole ordeal; the stress from the scents and sounds would be unbelievable.
Is part of me counting down the days until I can finish this rabbit barn?
Absolutely. Once it’s complete, a huge weight will be lifted from my shoulders.
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Tragedy
Welcome to this weeks addition of learn from my mistakes.
As I’ve mentioned, probably a million times, I’m eagerly awaiting the completion of my bunny barn. As construction began in earnest, I had to disassemble the existing chicken run, and erect more temporary housing.
This was mistake number one.
Chickens, when removed from their enclosed run (yes, even the top was wired, to protect from predators), will take every opportunity to run amuck. And trust me, they certainly did.
Yes, the garden suffered, but I was willing to overlook it, because I was sure that I’d be able to move them out of the temporary, easily escapable run any day.
That didn’t happen.
And as a result, half the flock paid with their lives, when a fox found where they were roosting, and took them away.
I am gutted. This was one hundred percent preventable. All my fault.
Please, learn from me.
The remaining ladies; Clio, Pickles, Mika and Grace Kelly, have been confined to a small, but very secure run. And at night, they are locked inside the coop.
From here and out, I will have to be vigilant- the fox knows where to find them. This will be an issue forever.
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Fail
Garlic scape pesto – fail.
Why?
I didn’t trim them properly, and the result was course, stringy scape-matter that did not blend down into a pleasant product. No manner of olive oil or pine nuts is going to save this mess.
Live and learn. It’ll probably still taste fine, albeit a little chewy. Next year the plan is for a larger garlic crop, so I’ll have more to work with then. Live and learn!
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July! And rolling right along
We have had the strangest weather… hot and humid yesterday, to the point that I moved the rest of my rabbits into my workshop, where it stays nice and cool. Rabbits do not do well in the heat. When it started to cool down in the evening, the wind started to pick up, and I received notification that Prince George, just over 100km away, had received a tornado warning!
Where yesterday’s temperature reached over 30C, today is a nice change, currently sitting at about 15C as I write this. Windows are open, and I’m enjoying a gentle breeze as I work on a university course for work (I’m taking a brief break from the math).
Because of the fact that I have a pesky autoimmune disease that makes it difficult to function in heat (hello, heat intolerance), I truly do identify with my rabbits. Hence, why I’ve placed so much importance on the completion of my bunny barn.
With yesterday’s heat, I try to get most of my chores done in the morning, before it heats up too much. After taking care of all the rabbits, and moving the last of the cages into the shop to keep everyone cool, I was pretty much done for the day. At that point, I tend to do a lot of laying low where ever I can find a cool spot. If I can find a good combination of energy and motivation, I’ll get little projects done. The day before, I started a batch of Chive blossom vinegar.
It was a pretty simple process; all I had to do was harvest about a cup of fresh chive blossoms, rinse them and dry them, then place them in a sterile jar. After adding 2 cups of warm vinegar (I used white wine vinegar), I simply had to apply the lid to the jar, give it a good shake, and place it in a sunny window.
If I shake the jar every day for about 2 weeks, I’ll be able to strain the chives out, and have a beautiful pink vinegar for making salad dressings.
Top, fresh chive blossoms. Bottom left, immediately after adding vinegar, bottom right, several hours later. 24 hours after adding vinegar. Today, I just may use my harvested garlic scapes to make pesto. Almost all the scapes have been picked now… the first few I dehydrated to make garlic powder. With what’s left, I think I’ll be able to make a few servings of pesto to store in the freezer.
Fresh Garlic Scapes! -
Meat Rabbits and Growth Rates
This post will contain links and references to other websites, which I feel have more experience than I, on this very important topic.
When raising rabbits for meat, there are several things to take into consideration – and size is not necessarily the most important.
When one things of rabbits – big rabbits, Flemish Giants often come to mind, as the breed is known for it’s size, with mature rabbits often reaching between 15 and 20 pounds. Though this appears impressive at first glance, it should be noted that it can take over a year for the breed to reach full maturity – that takes a lot of feed! Additionally, this rabbit breed is rather stocky in bone… the opposite of what is generally aspired to when breeding.
The ideal meat rabbit, regardless of breed, should have a high growth rate, have good flesh with light bones – aka a good meat-to-bone ratio. For that reason, in addition to Champagne d’Argent, New Zealand, Californian, and Silver Fox are also breeds with good growth rates.
8 Meat Rabbits and Their Differences
One of my favorite resources for all information meat rabbit is Brick House Acres Rabbitry; their website is a wealth of information. I have found that they cover almost every aspect of breeding rabbits for food.
This growth chart is taken from the BHA website:
Keeping the most correct kits with the best growth rates as future breeding stock will benefit your rabbitry, if you’re looking to fill your freezer at as low of cost as possible. When I first decided to breed meat rabbits, I figured I’d only be keeping back kits for replacement breeding stock as needed. Instead, I’ve found additional enjoyment in showing rabbits, as well as helping others gain food security with starting their own rabbitries.
I’d like to be able to process my kits between 9-12 weeks, when they hit a minimum of 5 pounds. However, I’ve since learned that there is an advantage to waiting a bit longer on the rabbits that aren’t definite “culls” – those kits who are too narrow in the shoulder, have pinched hips, or are just too “long and low” in their conformation. Sometimes, that means that I don’t butcher until the rabbit has reached 6 or 7 pounds, at 16 weeks or more.
From the financial point of view, the earlier a rabbit is processed, the lower the cost of feed invested. In addition, less time and energy is also spent on the rabbit.
The drawback of processing earlier is that a kit’s pelt may not be able to be tanned before 16 weeks. As I have a collection of pelts in my freezer that came from kits ranging from 9 to 20 weeks, I’ll have a better idea of the issues once I attempt to tan them.