Month: February 2025

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DIY Greenhouse Build

Lyndsey and I have been inspired by my Dad and Step Mother to build our own greenhouse. The last couple of years we have really gotten into gardening, and learning all about how to grow the best crop we can, persevere that crop, and be able to use it throughout the year in various ways. This greenhouse will allow us to get our plants that we start as seeds potted up, and continue to thrive early on before being transplanted to our garden. It will also allow us to extend our growing season for certain plants, and possible be able to winter certain plants as well. We are excited to take you guys on this journey of learning about greenhouse growing as it seems dynamic in Iowa’s climate.

I built this Greenhouse on pallets with skids so that it can be moved if need be. We hunted windows and a sliding door down on marketplace, and framed it up with lumber from a local hardware store. The most expensive part is the clear greenhouse panels, other than that following a similar plan can get you into a cost friendly greenhouse. Most places will give away pallets.

This will be a learning curve, and we look forward to getting to know more about ways to extend our growing season with our new greenhouse. I will post pictures of the completed project under the photos section in the top menu of the website when it is completely finished.

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Winter Chicken Maintenance

Chickens are some of the most resilient animals to exist. They don’t require a whole lot of maintenance, and they can be free rangers and scavengers for their required food intake. 

The Winter months can be a challenge in Iowa because of the snow cover, and the frigid temperatures that winter brings. Here at Flourish Farms, we have a few tips that have proven to work well for us in maintaining the health of our Chickens over the winter months. 

Shelter

  • Shelter is key. Chickens have a heart that beats around 3-400 BPM, this allows them to keep a healthy core temperature even in below 0 temps. It is important to make sure that your coop has no major drafting and allows an area for your chickens to get out of the elements and huddle together. Chickens prune their own feathers and tend to become puffier during the winter months with more pin feathers to allow for more warmth. If they do not have proper shelter, this could hinder their ability to maintain the proper self-care.
  • Choosing the correct bedding for the winter months can also be crucial for maintaining healthy chickens. At Flourish Farms we like to use a mix bedding of sawdust for compaction, and chip bedding for volume. We do not have a heat source in our coop, so we utilize turning the bedding over every other week to generate its own decomposition heat. In the warm months bedding needs to be changed and discarded to compost outside of the coop, during the Winter months this decomposition can actually help heat the coop without causing a major mess.

Food/Water

  • Daily water is key to the health of your flock. Flourish Farms is planning to bring electricity onto our property this spring, but the last couple of years that we have had chickens on our property one of the major chores has been daily water in the freezing months. You need to make sure that your chickens have water that is not frozen every day, because of the extra energy going into keeping themselves warm, and also not free ranging at all they will require just as much water as summer months.
  • Having a hearty food source for the winter months is also key to maintaining good flock health. We use a mixture from our local tractor supply store that has proven to work well for our chickens over the last few years.

Activity

  • Lastly, make sure to allow your chickens to get out and stretch their wings on nice days in the winter months. We have come to notice that our chickens have way more of a personality than people may guess. Anytime that the temperatures allow, it is a great idea to get your chickens out and running around, this will ensure they stay active and healthy.

My wife Lyndsey and Fern, one of our laying hens. 

10 Tips on Caring for Chickens in Cold Winter Weather ~ Homestead and Chillhttps://homesteadandchill.com/caring-for-chickens-in-winter/#:~:text=10%20Ways%20to%20Keep%20Chickens%20Warm%20and%20Healthy,Provide%20Essentials%20In%20The%20Coop%20…%20More%20items

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Winter Garden Planning

One of our favorite things to do here at Flourish Farms is to start our yearly garden prep in the winter while we are stuck inside with plenty of time to brainstorm and create our new year’s vision board. This short blog includes information on what we do for winter garden planning to make sure that once spring thaw occurs, you are ready to hit the ground running with your action plan for the planting season.

The first thing my wife and I like to do is sit down and create a vision board for the new year, this includes everything from what we want to accomplish, to what we want to plant, have more of or less of than last year and anything new we want to do at our property/homestead.

Obtaining a grow light is one of the best investments for winter garden planning because it allows you to get your seeds started early and be able to transplant them directly to your garden when the weather is ideal. In our experience, getting your plants started under grow lights allows for more yield, and quicker than purchasing an already started plant from a store or nursery. This is mostly due to the fact that your environment created under your own grow light has been more constant than the environment of plants traveling to stores or nurseries.

Once you have your upcoming season plan for crops, the best thing to do is get what you can planted and under your grow lights to germinate and start growing. This is a fun family activity, and our boys love to watch the progression of the growth.

Lastly, prepare any building materials/supplies needed for the rest of your vision ideas so that when the weather permits, you can get started right away!! Stay tuned on this blog for things to come such as fun sour dough/discard recipes as well as what we like to do to keep our chickens healthy in the winter.