This content was created by Victor Justin Rhodes. This content was uploaded by Victor Justin Rhodes. This is a YouTube vlog titled "Chickens ‘Gang Up’ to Prepare Land For My Orchard" (created 2019-03-14). The excerpt is an informal, multi-speaker farm vlog/transcript featuring a primary host (Speaker A) and several family members/helpers (Speakers B, C, D and children named Jonah, Gideon, Lily, Josiah, plus mentions of Grandma, Papa, Justin, Kyle). They discuss preparing a clover area for planting an orchard and berry/elderberry patches, practical farm tasks (mower maintenance, moving a tractor, building cow lanes, leveling a greenhouse, moving rocks), and promote an upcoming hands-on permaculture workshop (March 19) with Danu from Whole Tree Permaculture and links/resources in the video description. The tone is conversational, instructional, and documentary about homesteading and permaculture work.
Chapters
Jonah, we let our ICs free-range yesterday. They could be here. This would be a small area, but Jonah, we are going to plant there down beside the fall garden. It's got some lush clover and grasses, and we're about to plant that in an orchard. You guys ready? I could not resist this clover. This is pretty much a clover patch. Chickens are gonna love it. Mr. Brown, you want to let out these chickens? Okay.
No, it's not on, but we can let them out.
This area This clover area, they're going to prep it now for our orchard. This is going to be a bush— bush patch. No, this is going to be a berry patch. Over there, we're going to plant an elderberry patch by the creek. And up top, we're going to start an orchard. About time, right? About 20 years too late, but we're going to get on it. Uh, we're going to do a workshop on that March 19th, hands-on, hands-on. If you want to get dirty come here, help us plant plants. Danu from Whole Tree Permaculture is coming. He's going to do lessons on planning and planting a permaculture-style orchard and berry patch. So if you guys want in on that, there is a hands-on workshop. I'll leave the link in the description. There's a digital version too. I'll leave info for that down in the description. And for the rest of you guys, you can look forward to the vlog. We'll cover that. You met Danu in a previous vlog. It should be a lot of fun. Papa? Yes?
Look!
Why?
I heard them!
You did? Did you hear them over there? Like, they're loving this. All right, let's get this mower started. Mower is needing some oil. I don't have any, I don't think. Let's see if Big Daddy has some. Hey Grandma, do y'all have any oil for a car? Why? For the mower.
Okay, but I'm going going to town.
Oh, okay. Yeah, I'll have you get me some. Okay.
All right, Mom and I are gonna go at 8:30.
Okay. All right, guys, come on. We have 45 minutes. Um, let's see if a tractor will start. I really— we have to, we have to keep working on that lane. Kyle's got to move this afternoon, so it's got to happen. Let me see if this thing will start. Dead as a doornail. Gideon, we're gonna have to do it the old-fashioned way. You ready? I was thinking the wheelbarrow. There's a truck right there. They're having to leave with it though. Now-ish they're leaving with it. Dang. Okay. All right, the problem with this is it's hard to keep the empty posts in, but you can spot me, right? Grandma does have another car. Let's see if they're taking the truck. Can't take our van, it's going to the shop. Hey, Grandma. Yeah. Are y'all taking the truck? Yes. Okay.
Oh yeah, we think we have some oil up there. We're gonna go get it.
Oh, so if we do— well, the mower wouldn't start, so we're not in a big hurry anymore. Oh, okay. You'll start, won't you? You'll get it warmed up. Want to get this wheelbarrow warmed up? There we go. Okay, it's warmed up. Let's go. Now the trick is carrying these. If you set them long ways on this They don't stay on. We could set them across, then it's— then it's really heavy and somebody's always got to be holding it or else it tips.
Josiah, come here, buddy.
We gotta go. From that wooden fence, okay, behind this bush, across here. We'll come from that post straight here, straight across, and then angle up in there. All right, time's up. Time to get the cows in. Are you gonna shut the lanes up, Josiah? What's he want? Let's see if they'll let me through and then come through. Sugar Iris, come on. Come on, Mustang, come on. No, no, come on, back up. Go ahead, it's open. Come on, come on, Phyllis. Yeah, give him a bump, stud. We're gonna try to go across this road, I guess, with only one lane up. Eventually no lanes. They'll get in such a habit, I don't think we'll have to put these lanes up. Oh, she got— she's going in the garden area. What is she doing? I guess there was a fence there, now there's not. Don't stop at the alfalfa. Come on, give her a push, Flossie. Get in there. Thank you. Look at this, they practically do it themselves now. Lily, will you help Jonah walk the calves? Yeah, look at you carrying Bessie all by yourself. She's so trained now.
I can't carry her all by myself.
Uh, if Lily will take some turns with you— you guys take turns. Now Gideon's going to do it. Wow.
Walk, come walk with me. Feel the breeze, come walk with me. Oh, and dance, come dance with me. Shuffle your feet, come dance with me. And I will tell you when you're old enough to judge. And then are you gonna do Phyllis's alfalfa pellet? Okay.
This afternoon, gonna continue working on the cow lane. Beauty! Has been at it all day. She's been leveling this greenhouse, has put bricks under there to get the cedar wood off the ground. She's leveled out a path right here. Let's go see what she's doing now. What are you doing, you energetic lady? You're feeling good.
Where, where are those rocks from the keyhole garden?
Behind the barn. And there's also— remember our sidewalk?
I know, our stepping stones. I knew we had those.
Okay, you don't want those?
I do. I want both of those.
Wow. Okay, I can help you get those other rocks over here.
Okay, that would be good.
It is done. A barrier of rocks around the edge. That'll be nice. What are you gonna plant in that?
Something short.
Something short.
I want to try to find something short that stays And maybe a perennial.
Yeah.
Okay, I have to go look that up. I've got Justin helping me. We just loaded up a whole bunch of rocks.
If you're seeing this Thursday, that's cool. You still have some time to check out my friend Jill Wingers from The Prairie Homestead. She's got an online course going right now. Today she's teaching, uh, at-home dairy. She's doing a crash course heritage cooking class, guys. That's there. On Friday she's teaching safe, not scary canning techniques. So if you guys are into preserving your harvest, you guys might want to check that out. It's totally free. It's only available for free right now. Check it out, link in the description.
