The Square H

The Square H The Harbinson Homestead- Our dream has been to experience the joy of country life while providing produce, free range eggs and meat for family and friends.

Have you planted your garden yet? Well...we're working on it. Gardening is a marathon, you gotta pace yourself.We have t...
06/02/2026

Have you planted your garden yet? Well...we're working on it. Gardening is a marathon, you gotta pace yourself.

We have two large gardens; one we till, one we dont. Our tilled garden can be prepared and planted quickly, thanks to the tractor. It's used for growing potatoes, corn, vines plants and a few other row veggies. Our no till garden has mulched paths which means the soil prep is all done by hand. We use thick plastic to keep the w**ds from growing before we plant. A broad fork loosens up soil compaction. Top with compost. Plant the seedlings. Each row takes between 1 - 1.5 hrs to prep and plant. To keep things manageable, I divide this task over a week or so. Four rows done, five to go

05/27/2026

Time to cool off!

How's your no-mow May going? Can you stand it? Is your front yard resembling a pasture yet? Mine sure is. I admit it's g...
05/26/2026

How's your no-mow May going? Can you stand it? Is your front yard resembling a pasture yet? Mine sure is. I admit it's getting a little out of control. The mower is coming out soon.

Grass seed and broad leaf w**ds are a favourite for our chickens and suppliment their feed. Wilbur can appreciate the long grass too. Places to hide...

Almost everything I plant in my garden, I grow from seed. I am very fortunate to have a small greenhouse which provides ...
05/20/2026

Almost everything I plant in my garden, I grow from seed. I am very fortunate to have a small greenhouse which provides sunlight, shelter and warmth that the soil needs to help seeds germinate.

When I plant my seed, I will often plant two seeds per pot to ensure something comes up. This usually creates the task of splitting the plants into individual pots. Now I am left with a surplus of tomatoes (lots of San Marzano which is a paste tomato, limited amount of yellow cherry tomatoes, and limited amount heritage long stoarge tomato) and tomatillas (purple or yellow). I will also have Brussel sprouts to split.

$4 ea or 3/$10

Now is the time to put out fresh fruit, jam and Orioles feeders.
05/17/2026

Now is the time to put out fresh fruit, jam and Orioles feeders.

I was not surprised finding this scene when opening the hive today. The bee hive had gone silent in late winter and ther...
05/15/2026

I was not surprised finding this scene when opening the hive today. The bee hive had gone silent in late winter and there was no activity when the consistent warmer weather came. We knew that the colony had died. The bees appear to be frozen in time. What surprised me was how much honey was still untouched. I know they didnt starve. There are a number of possibilities that could have lead to their death, but I am no expert so I wont try and guess.

Bees are hard to keep and its unlikely we will invest in another colony at this time. What is the most disappointing is that we will have less pollinators for our fruit trees and shrubs. In an ideal world, we would love for a bee keeper to put a hive or two on our property; pollination for us, honey for them. Until then, we will continue to try to create an environment that will attract natural biodiversity.

The broiler chicks have outgrown the brooder and are officially on grass. This is usually a welcomed transition but this...
05/13/2026

The broiler chicks have outgrown the brooder and are officially on grass. This is usually a welcomed transition but this week has been cool and today's west wind requires all sides of the chicken tractor to be covered to retain heat. We have heat lamps on to keep these teens warm. 🥶

05/07/2026

Meet (Father) Ted, our Tamworth boar. With W***y still intermittently lame and not reliable to do his 'job' when needed, a stand in was required.

This friendly guy stands taller than W***y, which made me a bit nervous when we first met. I knew he was friendly, but you never trust a boar 100%. Getting pictures beside him gives you a better idea how big this fella is.

He has successfully bred two of our sows and we look forward to seeing what colour of piglets will arrive in July and Aug.

As for W***y, we are hoping that he will be able to breed our third sow one more time so we can have another litter of pure Large Blacks. Securing a pure bred Large Black boar with a different blood line that doesnt have to be shipped across country is proving to be challenging.

Nothing says spring like blossoms 🌸 and seedlings 🌱The first to bloom is always the plum and plumcot. They have pure whi...
05/06/2026

Nothing says spring like blossoms 🌸 and seedlings 🌱

The first to bloom is always the plum and plumcot. They have pure white blossoms that cover each branch. Our golden spice pear has also started to bloom. They have a pretty pink centre.

The seeds in the greenhouse are starting to germinate. I did start tomatoes, peppers and shallots at the end of March. The climbing beans, cucumbers, squash, onions and other various annual flowers were started at the end of April and are popping up now. They will spend another 3-4 weeks in the greenhouse before they get moved to the garden.

04/24/2026

The strawberries did not thrive last year. Their natural life cycle and greatest productivity last about 2-3 years and they create sister plants on runners that establish a new fruiting plant. Unfortunately the sister plants have not been high yielding and the patch has slowly been taken over with w**ds and twitch grass.

Im hoping with strong early w**ding and the addition of lots of organic matter, the plants will get the bump they need. If this doesnt work, Im considering making this area a raised bed to allow for better w**d control.

Weeding this area is tedious work and is a big investment in time. I hope it pays off.

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Monkton, ON

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