The past couple of months have been absolutely hectic. I've always wanted to become involved in more animal agriculture and of course make inroads into a seed cooperative but little did I know just how much time and energy I would expend in doing so.
The weather has been beautiful, but unpredictable, and more recently oppressively hot for this time of year, adding an entirely new dimension of wear and tear to the one/sometimes two person crew that is Bishop's Homegrown.
The turkey flock is really coming along nicely this year, right now there are somewhere around 95 individuals I think, some juveniles, some started, and some still in the brooder box. I've learned a ton about them this year, lots of observations on genetics and behavior and new fronteirs have been discovered, every day I am amazed.
The rabbits are doing well to, we did have a couple scary days when the heat kicked in this year, I had no idea they were so sensitive. It quickly became imperative that we find them some shade, which we did in the form of some scavenged metal poles and some shade cloth, then we took and old metal home fan, put it in a large cage (to protect turkey toes) and made a redneck version of a rabbit air conditioning. They seem to be doing fine now.
Of course we've been building and expanding this year too having scavenged the lumber and metal from a couple of old hog sheds and Kim's dads house and turned them into one sturdy chicken coop to which we added the scavenged lumber and wire as a run which we picked up for free from a customer. Yesterday I put two old galvanized nesting boxes inside in anticipation of adding chickens to the flock again (for home egg purposes). We also got hold of a ton of old galvanized purina chicken tube feeders which have come in handy.
Most of the main season crops are in the ground but there are lots of weeds to contend with, along with the heat and humidity we have been recieving a massive share of percipitation. Years of cold composted manures have aided and abetted this weed problem, but it is just another step in the learning experience. Besides, to some extent the weeds are helpful as shade and mulch as well as for their ability to mine minerals deeper in the ground than what the vegetables can. We are working on a new system for next year which will alieviate many of our weed problems quickly and efficiently.
The breeding projects are most certainly becoming more of an emphasis as we move forward, both in animal agriculture and in vegetable/flower crops as well as perrinial crops. We have a fantastic stand of many types of corn, new crosses, old favorites, and segregating populations, interplanted with grexes of pole beans and lots and lots of winter squash. This past Friday we traded a nice fellow some turkeys and guineas for an old corn crib which will serve us well, both for corn storage as well as seed corn drying and a shelter in which to place our shelling and milling table and equipment, but let me tell you I paid the price for that project. My body had been running on empty for a couple of weeks for all the work around the farm culminating in a sinus infection that Friday night which I'm still fighting to some extent now, but feeling much better than I did.
The orchards/berry blocks/tree strips are doing excellent. All counted this year we have planted over 80 trees and close to 30 berry plants with more to come. As we speak there are seeds for perssimmons popping up as well as white, red, black, and pink mullberries, apple seeds, a grex of handcrossed everbearing strawberries (not alpines), a grex of everybearing and alpine/chiloensis/Virginiana/musk strawberries, pears and more and we just placed an order for some yellow raspberries.
The guttering system hung above the berry trellis is filled with cucumber and strawberry plants as well and the trellis is slowly being filled up with raspberries, blackberries, gooseberries, and dewberries. The two varieties of white blackberries are finally producing a few runers and there is also a nursery area out there which contains asian pears, domestic pears, apples, strawberry plants, peach trees, cherry trees and a lot more. There are cherry pits in cold storage as well and several galons of cherries, with pits inside, in the freezer awaiting some semblance of free time for their fateful wine making day.
A friend also recently gave us some peacocks and we recieved an order of 30 guinea keets from the wonderful Winters Guinea Farm. We have also added some English Game chickens which will find a new home in the goat enclosure where they will help aerate bedding and clean up spilt feed.
Watermelons, cantaloupe, cucumbers, tomatoes and more are setting fruit. Acorn squash is blooming and winter squash is growing along nicely. We have entered the part of the season where resources and food will become more and more abundant and a bit more time can be set aside to actually enjoy it all and share it with our CSA customers, our friends, our families, and here on our blog.
We are looking at producing quite a bit of seed this season and more next season. In coming years we will prioritize seed production in two categories, farm/feed seed and human/feed seed. We have over the years developed (as you can tell from reading the blog) a fantastic relationship particularly with corn, watermelons, squash, cantaloupe, sunflowers, cotton and a few others, this is where we will come to specialize, but our other favorites will certainly still be part of the list (tomatoes, peppers, beans, ext). Of course in time we will add perrinials to the list as well. It's my hope that with time we will be able to introduce a lot of bio-regionally adapted seed varieties that are unique to us as well as continue to create new grexes and populations for those who live outside of our bio region. This fall not only will we publish our seed list (here and locally) but we will publish our very first local resources catalouge which will cover our CSA's, Poultry, Meat Products, Vermicompost/redworms, rabbits, seeds, and nursery stock.
Tommorrow I will put the last of the corn squash and beans in the ground for the year. My wonderful friend Owen is sending me some more edamame which will go in the ground as it arrives and I am also awaiting a major shipment of suprise resources from ARS GRINN. I also have to go and pick up some chickens and guineas tommorow and get a title for my well earned Jon Boat I finally bought myself ( I will fish more this year! I will make time for myself!) And then I'll be off to trade some poultry for an awesome yardsweep which I have been desperately searching for (mulch and compost). Sometime next week a delivery of two-three dump truck loads of hog and cow manure will find it's way to my doorstep and in time to the worm herd.
In a couple weeks we will find ourselves slaughtering some roosters, rabbits, and a guinea for one of our wonderful CSA customers.
I love my life here even if it is hectic, I wouldn't trade it for anything....EVER.
Tommorrow I will attempt to take some pictures to share with you all!
If you haven't yet, check out our new seed CSA, seriously, it is an excellent value my friends and you will not regret it.
Showing posts with label farm updates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label farm updates. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
A hard lesson learned....Evolution is neither quick nor painless.
What is the deal with the weather here in the Ohio Valley the past couple months? Hot and Dry, Cold and Wet, Cold and Dry, Hot and Wet, and on and on and on.
Anyhow, sorry for the lack of updates lately to all my friends here and over at Homegrown Goodness (I miss you guys and I'll be back soon I promise) but the farm, record keeping, and some switchups in the business has kept me more than busy.
First of all the animals are keeping us very busy. For the first time in many years a farm in Indiana is actively ranging 85 turkeys on family land again. It's a lot to keep up with, particularly on the days when a new batch of young turkeys is either hatched, arrives in the post, or when they are first let out from their coops to explore the world, trust me, explore they do.
This year we are really exploring the biodiversity of the turkeys with a number of "Standard" heritage types as well as new crossess and some wild birds. From the top of my head I know we have Naragansette, Blue Slate, Black Spanish, Royal Palm, Bourban Red, Midget White, Red Slate, Chocolate, Bronze, Red Bronze, Phoenix, Rio Grande, Eastern Wild, Regal Red, and probably a few more running around at the moment, with more on the way in the post (more wilds for that Kiva turkey I previously wrote a priori proof on) and some eggs about to go in the incubator later this week. Of course we are hatching guineas as well, lots of interesting colors this year.
The rabbits are also becoming priority, given their propensity for reproduction and the rate at which we are currently selling them. Lots of good homegrown and healthy food to go around this year that's for sure.
The second reason for a lack of updates is the constant record keeping we are doing this year. We have been recording every last detail that we can think to record for future research and eventual publications (I will be making time this fall to start writing a few agriculturally based theory papers again), every chance I get to set down (which isn't often) is hampered by the fact that everything must be written down in the book.
Third of all the rapidly changing weather patterns have really put a hamper on some projects this year, lots of rain and cold weather caused seed to rot and to wash out of the ground on the slopes which we farm here (we are slowly terracing but this is a years long process). The stress that accompanied the failure of some of these crops this early in the year, coupled with the fact that some of these projects were very limited in the form of seed, and a few were in fact from varieties that we have been selecting from and breeding with for the past couple years, luckily nothing was completely lost, but for about two days nature nearly brought me to my knees, it humbled me, and made me thankful for what success I have had.
That said, something definitely snaped in my head, you could say I had a revelation about the future of my business and that just a tiny bit of alchemical evolution happened due to those unfortunate circumstances. Every year I fight the elements to get market to produce early and every year I cut my nose off to spite my face by being both a market gardener and a plant breeder. Anyone who has spent time doing both or one or the other knows how impossible a proposition such a posistion is. You will always wind up short selling yourself in the long run, no matter how careful you are.
As I was at my witts end (coupled with the even that transpired here detailed in the previous post and the stress which came with it) for a few days, I began to finally understand that it's time to move the business in the direction I have been yearning for in years past, that of a seed production oriented business.
I've spent six years building up the audience in Southern Indiana for "eco-logically" grown heirloom and hybrid- heirloom produce, an accomplishment I am quite proud of particularly when I recall that another market vendor once told me that what I was doing would never work. I have wathced as the audience of folks looking for something different and "real" has expanded fantastically, and I've also watched as others have pirated my ideas (I have no problem with this, in fact I anticipated it and have stayed one foot ahead) over the past couple years, theres not much more I could do within these basic premisis, other than expanding into the areas in which I have; plant breeding, poultry, vermicomposting, ginseng, grafting/nursery, and so on, other than to continue to stretch myself thin (you gotta remember most of the people who are my competition have some help on farm, with the way Kim works and my parents health I do 95% or more of the farm work) and stress myself out (and trust me, I excell at both), other than to find a way to evolve.
Nowdays I've got an economic back up, what with the skills and traits I have learned or taught myself regarding nursery stock, plant breeding, raising turkeys eco-logically ext. that I feel that I am ready to move Bishop's Homegrown/Face of The Earth into the realm of a full on Breeders Seed company. It will be nice not to have to choose between taking that nice melon to market or saving it for seed, it will be fantastic not to have to debate if it is still to early in the year to "risk" planting this rare green muskmelon seed, and it will be fantastic not to have to deal with the local competition who claim (via false advertising quite often) that they are "Eco-Grown" (as they, like the asshats they are, call it). Why compete with them when I can sell these very seeds to them, the ones they want and beg me for everyyear because I bred them and got people to like them and the ones that up to now I had failed to monetize (because despite the fact that I own a business I hate "selling" anything using the currently accepted system of commerce in the US, even touching a "Federal" Reserve note makes me feel, idunno, Icky) because I wanted to share them far and wide around the world with the people who need them (which I will still do, both via the seed company and via trades at homegrown goodness) as they are the people I really had in mind when I bred them. But, I've got to look at both my personal sanity and my ability to continue to run a business, work for myself, and deal with the "Bottom Line" (at least until the dollar can't deal with it's "bottom line" anymore, oh, and it is coming soon) at the same time.
I'll still run a small CSA, and I'll still go to the farmers markets to sell worms, rabbits, turkeys, guineas, seeds, plants, and nursery stock, but the priorities will have changed, at least until my orchards start bearing fruit anyhow.
I also this week took a look at what has and hasn't been successful here on the farm, the conclusion was actually quite startling, but the greenhouse portion of the business (annual plants here, not perrinials which make a ton of money) has made relatively little money, meanwhile the red worm business as well as the poultry and the nursery stock have suprising always allowed us to make ends meet. So, the big greenhouse is going through a transformation, I'll cover it with a hay tarp, throw up a couple of slaughter tables, raise some rabbits in the mid section, and add an additional 8 boxes of red worms to the end of the house. Later this year I'll put up a small greenhouse (12 x 12) in which to grow plants for the farm, the general public and the CSA folks and all will work out well I believe.
I suppose I should stop rambling now. Anyhow, I just wanted to say hello basically and let everyone know I haven't dissapeared off of the face of the earth. Hope you are all doing well and many updates will be coming your way soon. Just waiting for everything to get up and growing so we can start publishing some pictures and rambling on about what we are up to.
Off to make some wine for the night.
-Alan
Anyhow, sorry for the lack of updates lately to all my friends here and over at Homegrown Goodness (I miss you guys and I'll be back soon I promise) but the farm, record keeping, and some switchups in the business has kept me more than busy.
First of all the animals are keeping us very busy. For the first time in many years a farm in Indiana is actively ranging 85 turkeys on family land again. It's a lot to keep up with, particularly on the days when a new batch of young turkeys is either hatched, arrives in the post, or when they are first let out from their coops to explore the world, trust me, explore they do.
This year we are really exploring the biodiversity of the turkeys with a number of "Standard" heritage types as well as new crossess and some wild birds. From the top of my head I know we have Naragansette, Blue Slate, Black Spanish, Royal Palm, Bourban Red, Midget White, Red Slate, Chocolate, Bronze, Red Bronze, Phoenix, Rio Grande, Eastern Wild, Regal Red, and probably a few more running around at the moment, with more on the way in the post (more wilds for that Kiva turkey I previously wrote a priori proof on) and some eggs about to go in the incubator later this week. Of course we are hatching guineas as well, lots of interesting colors this year.
The rabbits are also becoming priority, given their propensity for reproduction and the rate at which we are currently selling them. Lots of good homegrown and healthy food to go around this year that's for sure.
The second reason for a lack of updates is the constant record keeping we are doing this year. We have been recording every last detail that we can think to record for future research and eventual publications (I will be making time this fall to start writing a few agriculturally based theory papers again), every chance I get to set down (which isn't often) is hampered by the fact that everything must be written down in the book.
Third of all the rapidly changing weather patterns have really put a hamper on some projects this year, lots of rain and cold weather caused seed to rot and to wash out of the ground on the slopes which we farm here (we are slowly terracing but this is a years long process). The stress that accompanied the failure of some of these crops this early in the year, coupled with the fact that some of these projects were very limited in the form of seed, and a few were in fact from varieties that we have been selecting from and breeding with for the past couple years, luckily nothing was completely lost, but for about two days nature nearly brought me to my knees, it humbled me, and made me thankful for what success I have had.
That said, something definitely snaped in my head, you could say I had a revelation about the future of my business and that just a tiny bit of alchemical evolution happened due to those unfortunate circumstances. Every year I fight the elements to get market to produce early and every year I cut my nose off to spite my face by being both a market gardener and a plant breeder. Anyone who has spent time doing both or one or the other knows how impossible a proposition such a posistion is. You will always wind up short selling yourself in the long run, no matter how careful you are.
As I was at my witts end (coupled with the even that transpired here detailed in the previous post and the stress which came with it) for a few days, I began to finally understand that it's time to move the business in the direction I have been yearning for in years past, that of a seed production oriented business.
I've spent six years building up the audience in Southern Indiana for "eco-logically" grown heirloom and hybrid- heirloom produce, an accomplishment I am quite proud of particularly when I recall that another market vendor once told me that what I was doing would never work. I have wathced as the audience of folks looking for something different and "real" has expanded fantastically, and I've also watched as others have pirated my ideas (I have no problem with this, in fact I anticipated it and have stayed one foot ahead) over the past couple years, theres not much more I could do within these basic premisis, other than expanding into the areas in which I have; plant breeding, poultry, vermicomposting, ginseng, grafting/nursery, and so on, other than to continue to stretch myself thin (you gotta remember most of the people who are my competition have some help on farm, with the way Kim works and my parents health I do 95% or more of the farm work) and stress myself out (and trust me, I excell at both), other than to find a way to evolve.
Nowdays I've got an economic back up, what with the skills and traits I have learned or taught myself regarding nursery stock, plant breeding, raising turkeys eco-logically ext. that I feel that I am ready to move Bishop's Homegrown/Face of The Earth into the realm of a full on Breeders Seed company. It will be nice not to have to choose between taking that nice melon to market or saving it for seed, it will be fantastic not to have to debate if it is still to early in the year to "risk" planting this rare green muskmelon seed, and it will be fantastic not to have to deal with the local competition who claim (via false advertising quite often) that they are "Eco-Grown" (as they, like the asshats they are, call it). Why compete with them when I can sell these very seeds to them, the ones they want and beg me for everyyear because I bred them and got people to like them and the ones that up to now I had failed to monetize (because despite the fact that I own a business I hate "selling" anything using the currently accepted system of commerce in the US, even touching a "Federal" Reserve note makes me feel, idunno, Icky) because I wanted to share them far and wide around the world with the people who need them (which I will still do, both via the seed company and via trades at homegrown goodness) as they are the people I really had in mind when I bred them. But, I've got to look at both my personal sanity and my ability to continue to run a business, work for myself, and deal with the "Bottom Line" (at least until the dollar can't deal with it's "bottom line" anymore, oh, and it is coming soon) at the same time.
I'll still run a small CSA, and I'll still go to the farmers markets to sell worms, rabbits, turkeys, guineas, seeds, plants, and nursery stock, but the priorities will have changed, at least until my orchards start bearing fruit anyhow.
I also this week took a look at what has and hasn't been successful here on the farm, the conclusion was actually quite startling, but the greenhouse portion of the business (annual plants here, not perrinials which make a ton of money) has made relatively little money, meanwhile the red worm business as well as the poultry and the nursery stock have suprising always allowed us to make ends meet. So, the big greenhouse is going through a transformation, I'll cover it with a hay tarp, throw up a couple of slaughter tables, raise some rabbits in the mid section, and add an additional 8 boxes of red worms to the end of the house. Later this year I'll put up a small greenhouse (12 x 12) in which to grow plants for the farm, the general public and the CSA folks and all will work out well I believe.
I suppose I should stop rambling now. Anyhow, I just wanted to say hello basically and let everyone know I haven't dissapeared off of the face of the earth. Hope you are all doing well and many updates will be coming your way soon. Just waiting for everything to get up and growing so we can start publishing some pictures and rambling on about what we are up to.
Off to make some wine for the night.
-Alan
Saturday, April 24, 2010
First Day of Washington County Indiana Farmers Market 2010
Went wonderully, we saw many new faces and made a bit of money, got some of the Kazakistan apple trees out there along with Astronomy Domine corn seed.
We've got so much going on on the farm right now, with animals, breeding projects, and plant propigation that it's hard to keep up with our online pressence at the moment, however within the next couple weeks we will be doing a lot of updating of the blog site as well as posting a lot more on the homegrown goodness messageboard at alanbishop.proboards60.com
Keep your eye peeled for posts on plant and animal breeding projects, new pictures, and also items for sale!
-Alan
We've got so much going on on the farm right now, with animals, breeding projects, and plant propigation that it's hard to keep up with our online pressence at the moment, however within the next couple weeks we will be doing a lot of updating of the blog site as well as posting a lot more on the homegrown goodness messageboard at alanbishop.proboards60.com
Keep your eye peeled for posts on plant and animal breeding projects, new pictures, and also items for sale!
-Alan
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Keeping Better Notes and Documents
I made myself a promise last season that I would start keeping much more efficient notes and particularly pedigrees in the coming years as well as document all of my work where and when possible, mostly for my own use, but also for any interested in the vagaries of daily life and record keeping on a small sustainable farm. Kim passed onto me a cell phone (without service, I don't keep a cell phone active for various reasons) complete with a word pad option and from there I kept a few notes beginning in September of '09. Here they are, mostly for my own reference, but some may find some things of interest. If nothing else it is interesting to compare these notes and the ideas that I present in some of them to how those ideas changed in the weeks afterword as evidenced by my posts here on the blog and at Homegrown Goodness. ( spelling as appears via that tiny damn keyboard )
Sept 5 2009:: Why use a sterile and "soiless" seed starting and potting medium purchased with funds that are not available when resources such as worm castings, bat guano, creek sand, Forrest dander, and leaf mold are abundant. Spent the day gathering material for "living Soil." Dampening of and fungal infections lead to advanced insights into survival of the fittest and allow only the strongest stock to remain for future selection. The small 8 x 8 Rion greenhouse and humanure house has been prepared as a potting shed and the stratification site for the nursery stock seed in need of such treatment. Earlier seeded blueberry plants have been transplanted to four inch pots and find themselves in the southh-easter facing kitchen windows along with the seeds of date plums, asian persimmons, jujubees, wolberry seed and wolfberry cuttings.
September 6-20 2009: Have started and collected seed of persimmon, pawpaw, blueberry, blackberry, yellow, purple, and red raspberry, gooseberry, white, red, and pink currants, black walnut, pinion nuts, zuni peaches 12 types of sweet and sourr cherries. Researched Luther Burbanks books and Johnny Appleseed. Determined to work with genetically unstable apple pips in field and timber clearings to develop new varieties and also sell as cider apple stock in nursery. Cut 150 cedar posts and build trellis and arbour systems. Started many plum varieties and planted "blue River Peaches. Also cut out lane along back fence for firewood and plan to plant high value orchard/timber in it's place including hickory, persimmon, black cherry, black walnut and possibly apples. Gathered apple pippins from cider press at "Old Settlers Days" in Salem Indiana and seperated seed from pulp with the help of the worm casting harvester. Cleaned out the goat pen and fed bedding and old compost to the worm heard and cleaned out the chicken coop which filled two four by four by four compost boxes. Resultant compost will be used as soil amendment in 2010 as well as for "living soil" for nursery. High nitro chicken manure for corn in 20010 and for the nursery as well.
Sept 19 2009:
Purchased and ungrafted purple plum tree and planted in block five of west facing hill in orchard. Four distinct yearling rose of sharons planted in front of west facing porch as future nursery stock.
September 22 2009: Today saw the planting of the apple seeds obtained via the local apple press. I planted a myriad of them and have yet a couple ounces left to go. First new "living soil" mix must be created. Also planted sweet pecan nuts and chestnuts in nursery.
Oct 3 2009: Last of the genetics for the orchard still rolling in. Plums from New Miexico in "living soil" four inch pots and chessnuts in ground next to strawberry nursery. Playing with grocery store fruit genetics such as black asian plums, asian pears and apples. Those fruits from the Southern Hemisphere are already well stratified with apples sometimes having sprouted inside mother fruit. Particularly is the cas of Pink Lady. Also recieved josta cutting from Lieven David that is already rooting. Pinion nuts from Silver seeds have already germinated and apparently stratification is not needed. Fruit seed from crocery not yet stratified will now be seedied into "living soil" contained in egg cartons and stacked ins spare refrigerator for winter stratification. Should be convinient. Also prepping greenhouse for winter and bringing fall crops to table. Have been clearing back wooded lane for fire wood and site of future orchard of ungrafted trees. Will also include alpine strawberries and white blackberries as well as Tim Peters perrinial grain varieties. My good friend Jason Carty alerted me to Khazakistan wild apple seed sources via ARS GRIN GENEVA/Phillip Forsline. Seed coming in November with scion wood of elite lines coming in spring of next year via lines already tested for disease resistance and cullinary qualities. "elite germplasm". So far have cleared nearly an acre of land in the project. Poulty breeding program comin along well with two turkeys of standard bronze type reaching maturity and mating way ahead of season. Currently treating bronze hen for a case of bumblefoot.
Oct-Nov 2009:
Finished cutting orchard space from woods and dug 10 foot by 10 foot by 6 foot deep irrigation pond for watering the seedlings in this new ungrafted orchard. Ordered and am currently stratifying quince, French Walnut, Heartnut, Filbert, Apricot, Hickory and pear seed which was obtained from ARS GRIN USDA. Recieved a number of plum, apricot, apple, pear, pecan, walnut and other seed via trade. Also recieved the Snowbank white blackberry via Bob Hornback. Total cost with shipping and inspection is sixty dollars but very well worth it. Lost my Naragansette turkey to a predator but was quickly replaced with five Royal Palm Turkey poults and two broad brested bronze hens. Also obtained some Harlequin meat rabbits from May Finn Farm and donated some Hip-Gnosis foundational seed stock to the Long Island Seed Project.
Nov-Dec.
Learned to slaughter chickens and turkeys. Culled a Bourban Red Hen and a Standard Bronze for Thanksgiving. Easier than I thought. Expanding in 2010.
As you can see, at some point I stoped taking notes so vigorously, it takes a lot of time and from now on I'll just be recorded the relevant and important things as opposed to vagaries. Anyhow, just wanted to have this on record somewhere. The 2010 notes will be posted in 2011 as part of the finished five year Grimoure.
Sept 5 2009:: Why use a sterile and "soiless" seed starting and potting medium purchased with funds that are not available when resources such as worm castings, bat guano, creek sand, Forrest dander, and leaf mold are abundant. Spent the day gathering material for "living Soil." Dampening of and fungal infections lead to advanced insights into survival of the fittest and allow only the strongest stock to remain for future selection. The small 8 x 8 Rion greenhouse and humanure house has been prepared as a potting shed and the stratification site for the nursery stock seed in need of such treatment. Earlier seeded blueberry plants have been transplanted to four inch pots and find themselves in the southh-easter facing kitchen windows along with the seeds of date plums, asian persimmons, jujubees, wolberry seed and wolfberry cuttings.
September 6-20 2009: Have started and collected seed of persimmon, pawpaw, blueberry, blackberry, yellow, purple, and red raspberry, gooseberry, white, red, and pink currants, black walnut, pinion nuts, zuni peaches 12 types of sweet and sourr cherries. Researched Luther Burbanks books and Johnny Appleseed. Determined to work with genetically unstable apple pips in field and timber clearings to develop new varieties and also sell as cider apple stock in nursery. Cut 150 cedar posts and build trellis and arbour systems. Started many plum varieties and planted "blue River Peaches. Also cut out lane along back fence for firewood and plan to plant high value orchard/timber in it's place including hickory, persimmon, black cherry, black walnut and possibly apples. Gathered apple pippins from cider press at "Old Settlers Days" in Salem Indiana and seperated seed from pulp with the help of the worm casting harvester. Cleaned out the goat pen and fed bedding and old compost to the worm heard and cleaned out the chicken coop which filled two four by four by four compost boxes. Resultant compost will be used as soil amendment in 2010 as well as for "living soil" for nursery. High nitro chicken manure for corn in 20010 and for the nursery as well.
Sept 19 2009:
Purchased and ungrafted purple plum tree and planted in block five of west facing hill in orchard. Four distinct yearling rose of sharons planted in front of west facing porch as future nursery stock.
September 22 2009: Today saw the planting of the apple seeds obtained via the local apple press. I planted a myriad of them and have yet a couple ounces left to go. First new "living soil" mix must be created. Also planted sweet pecan nuts and chestnuts in nursery.
Oct 3 2009: Last of the genetics for the orchard still rolling in. Plums from New Miexico in "living soil" four inch pots and chessnuts in ground next to strawberry nursery. Playing with grocery store fruit genetics such as black asian plums, asian pears and apples. Those fruits from the Southern Hemisphere are already well stratified with apples sometimes having sprouted inside mother fruit. Particularly is the cas of Pink Lady. Also recieved josta cutting from Lieven David that is already rooting. Pinion nuts from Silver seeds have already germinated and apparently stratification is not needed. Fruit seed from crocery not yet stratified will now be seedied into "living soil" contained in egg cartons and stacked ins spare refrigerator for winter stratification. Should be convinient. Also prepping greenhouse for winter and bringing fall crops to table. Have been clearing back wooded lane for fire wood and site of future orchard of ungrafted trees. Will also include alpine strawberries and white blackberries as well as Tim Peters perrinial grain varieties. My good friend Jason Carty alerted me to Khazakistan wild apple seed sources via ARS GRIN GENEVA/Phillip Forsline. Seed coming in November with scion wood of elite lines coming in spring of next year via lines already tested for disease resistance and cullinary qualities. "elite germplasm". So far have cleared nearly an acre of land in the project. Poulty breeding program comin along well with two turkeys of standard bronze type reaching maturity and mating way ahead of season. Currently treating bronze hen for a case of bumblefoot.
Oct-Nov 2009:
Finished cutting orchard space from woods and dug 10 foot by 10 foot by 6 foot deep irrigation pond for watering the seedlings in this new ungrafted orchard. Ordered and am currently stratifying quince, French Walnut, Heartnut, Filbert, Apricot, Hickory and pear seed which was obtained from ARS GRIN USDA. Recieved a number of plum, apricot, apple, pear, pecan, walnut and other seed via trade. Also recieved the Snowbank white blackberry via Bob Hornback. Total cost with shipping and inspection is sixty dollars but very well worth it. Lost my Naragansette turkey to a predator but was quickly replaced with five Royal Palm Turkey poults and two broad brested bronze hens. Also obtained some Harlequin meat rabbits from May Finn Farm and donated some Hip-Gnosis foundational seed stock to the Long Island Seed Project.
Nov-Dec.
Learned to slaughter chickens and turkeys. Culled a Bourban Red Hen and a Standard Bronze for Thanksgiving. Easier than I thought. Expanding in 2010.
As you can see, at some point I stoped taking notes so vigorously, it takes a lot of time and from now on I'll just be recorded the relevant and important things as opposed to vagaries. Anyhow, just wanted to have this on record somewhere. The 2010 notes will be posted in 2011 as part of the finished five year Grimoure.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Implimenting more animal agriculture!
As those of you who follow the blog and the Homegrown Goodness Message Board know I have taken a keen interest in adding farm animals to my farm for production as well as breeding work. Particularly my interest is in guineas, turkeys, and now rabbits. I've become very interested in meat production both for my family as well as to provide this valuable, locally produced commodity to my business customers. Of course having access to their manure is almost as valuable to myself as the meat itself is.
But what would my animal husbandry skills be without some amount of breeding just as I have done to improve upon and further adapt my plant varieties.
A couple of experiments in particular have piqued my interest.
A lot of modern families don't want/need a large sized standard bronze turkey but are more akin to eating a smaller type turkey, the Belstville small white turkeys and midget white turkeys fit this bill to a t and as such I have added them to the stock list for this spring and built a second coop to keep two separate flocks of birds, a large sized standard and a small sized standard. My large turkeys of course I am selecting for feed to weight gain ratio as well as new color combinations and stronger constitutions, the small birds will be a bit more interesting.
The problem with the small midget type turkeys is the color, white is a very predator prone color, particularly in an open field, in Pekin Indiana where we have a huge population of red tailed hawks waiting to Carry them off, it seems to me that selecting for and actively breeding for a dark colored midget turkey would be not just of value to myself but to many others along with breast fleshing properties. Alas I will build another genepool.....more to come.
Next up are guineas. Recently I became aware of French Guineas which look and behave just like pearl guineas but reach a much larger, meat friendly size and which also lay eggs year round with a little bit of light (I got rid of my chicken laying flock to buy these birds and have space for them without worrying about so many turkey and chicken cross disease issues). The problem is the French guineas are akin to broad breasted turkeys in that they don't breed naturally, however after a bit of research I have learned that using a standard guinea cock mated to a French guinea hen it is possible to select for the large size, the year round egg laying ability, and natural breeding tendencies.
I am still learning a bit about the rabbits, but have added a lot to my stock having recently purchased some young California crosses, New Zealand, Pure Californians, and New Zealand crosses to go with my English Lop and Harlequin stock. In time I imagine that I will genepool these traits and study them while selecting for the fasted meat gain properties available to me.
But what would my animal husbandry skills be without some amount of breeding just as I have done to improve upon and further adapt my plant varieties.
A couple of experiments in particular have piqued my interest.
A lot of modern families don't want/need a large sized standard bronze turkey but are more akin to eating a smaller type turkey, the Belstville small white turkeys and midget white turkeys fit this bill to a t and as such I have added them to the stock list for this spring and built a second coop to keep two separate flocks of birds, a large sized standard and a small sized standard. My large turkeys of course I am selecting for feed to weight gain ratio as well as new color combinations and stronger constitutions, the small birds will be a bit more interesting.
The problem with the small midget type turkeys is the color, white is a very predator prone color, particularly in an open field, in Pekin Indiana where we have a huge population of red tailed hawks waiting to Carry them off, it seems to me that selecting for and actively breeding for a dark colored midget turkey would be not just of value to myself but to many others along with breast fleshing properties. Alas I will build another genepool.....more to come.
Next up are guineas. Recently I became aware of French Guineas which look and behave just like pearl guineas but reach a much larger, meat friendly size and which also lay eggs year round with a little bit of light (I got rid of my chicken laying flock to buy these birds and have space for them without worrying about so many turkey and chicken cross disease issues). The problem is the French guineas are akin to broad breasted turkeys in that they don't breed naturally, however after a bit of research I have learned that using a standard guinea cock mated to a French guinea hen it is possible to select for the large size, the year round egg laying ability, and natural breeding tendencies.
I am still learning a bit about the rabbits, but have added a lot to my stock having recently purchased some young California crosses, New Zealand, Pure Californians, and New Zealand crosses to go with my English Lop and Harlequin stock. In time I imagine that I will genepool these traits and study them while selecting for the fasted meat gain properties available to me.
Re-using on farm Junk/New Turkey Coop
I have a compulsion about cleaning up junk brought to the farm by other family members. Junk annoys me, anything laying around without a use really annoys me. I had been staring at the guttering laying next to the barn for the past few years trying to find a use for it. Some of it was used on some buildings to make some water catchment systems, but there was still a lot left. Then it hit me; "Those would be perfect for growing alpine strawberries in!"
As you might remember from reading the blog, this past year I cut a number of cedar posts to make some trellis systems, it just so happens those gutters fit perfectly at the top of those trellis's. Yeah, I know, the strawberries will freeze out in the winter time and will have to be watered in the summer, no big deal. Since alpines self sow readily and since I do a lot of alpine breeding I've always got enough seed to replant in these new troughs. Junk problem solved!
Also, since I'm expanding on my poultry, particularly my turkey flock, I have been in bad need of a secondary coop but I was a bit short on money to build one, alas, I found my solution.
My first greenhouse was a Rion 8 x 8, I always suggest to people buying a greenhouse for the first time not to waste their money on these overly expensive and cheaply produced houses but to instead buy a cold frame. The problem with these hobby kits is that no matter how well you put them together eventually the panels are going to be blown out by the wind and the plastic is going to crack in places. I have used mine for many different projects since buying it, it has been a greenhouse, a seed drying facility, a potting shed, a humanure hut, and now a turkey coop.
I framed out the sides with some rough cut lumber (like I used in building the huge meat rabbit grow out hutch), attached some chicken wire across the bottom for ventilation and knocked out the side panels. I took some old tobacco sticks and screwed them to the front and back and then used the tarp off of the old chicken coop to cover the top and block the sun out. For roosts on the inside I screwed some metal 2 x 4 pieces in place (these were dropped off here 3 years ago by one of my dad's friends for no good reason, I'm glad to find a use for them) and thus a Rion greenhouse was turned into a homegrown turkey coop! Speaking of using junk, in front of the new coop you'll notice some old ammo boxes, wherein there are seed for five types of raspberries, a blackberry type, and two gooseberry types stratifying, more junk with a good use!
For some reason blogger isn't allowing me to upload photos so I'll try an embed from my picassa account.
As you might remember from reading the blog, this past year I cut a number of cedar posts to make some trellis systems, it just so happens those gutters fit perfectly at the top of those trellis's. Yeah, I know, the strawberries will freeze out in the winter time and will have to be watered in the summer, no big deal. Since alpines self sow readily and since I do a lot of alpine breeding I've always got enough seed to replant in these new troughs. Junk problem solved!
Also, since I'm expanding on my poultry, particularly my turkey flock, I have been in bad need of a secondary coop but I was a bit short on money to build one, alas, I found my solution.
My first greenhouse was a Rion 8 x 8, I always suggest to people buying a greenhouse for the first time not to waste their money on these overly expensive and cheaply produced houses but to instead buy a cold frame. The problem with these hobby kits is that no matter how well you put them together eventually the panels are going to be blown out by the wind and the plastic is going to crack in places. I have used mine for many different projects since buying it, it has been a greenhouse, a seed drying facility, a potting shed, a humanure hut, and now a turkey coop.
I framed out the sides with some rough cut lumber (like I used in building the huge meat rabbit grow out hutch), attached some chicken wire across the bottom for ventilation and knocked out the side panels. I took some old tobacco sticks and screwed them to the front and back and then used the tarp off of the old chicken coop to cover the top and block the sun out. For roosts on the inside I screwed some metal 2 x 4 pieces in place (these were dropped off here 3 years ago by one of my dad's friends for no good reason, I'm glad to find a use for them) and thus a Rion greenhouse was turned into a homegrown turkey coop! Speaking of using junk, in front of the new coop you'll notice some old ammo boxes, wherein there are seed for five types of raspberries, a blackberry type, and two gooseberry types stratifying, more junk with a good use!
For some reason blogger isn't allowing me to upload photos so I'll try an embed from my picassa account.
 |
| Bishop's Homegrown 2010 |
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Working Away!
Been planting the fall garden the past few days.
-Yellow Cabbage Collards
-Late Flat Dutch, Winter Drumhead Savoy, Discovery Cabbage
-A mass cross of slicing cucumbers
-Roma II beans
-A mass cross/mix of kale
-Purple Top Globe Turnips
-A new bed of alpine strawberries from my selections
-Daikon raddishes, cherry belle, and a mix I've made
-Sugar Snap and Snow Peas
-Hip-Gnosis Lettuce Mix
Also been busy saving seed from everything under the sun.
This year we grew out a selection I made two years ago from Astronomy Domine, grew it last year and though it was a straight ahead F1 hybrid, this year it is remarkably stable and much like last year. Very pretty 8 row bantam type, about 65 days to fresh eating, starts out bi-color and large kernel and proceedes blue and then starts to dry down to red and black. Definitely and normal sugary type (SU), would probably have relatively high protein. Pretty happy with it for the moment and sticking with it for a few years along with Rainbow Inca.
We have had an incredibly we season here. Apparently Indiana has moved to the Pacific Northwest. Rain like no one has seen in Indiana for at least a hundred years, temperatures that fair the same as well, the coolest year I ever remember.
We have learned a lot of hard lessons this year. We did a number of Open Pollinated sweet corn growouts which I plan on writing a report on later, most of them were so poorly maintained over the years by the likes of seed banks that they were far to inbred to actually be of any merit. The wet weather also brought out the raccons, possums, squirrels, rabbits, deer and other pests like never before, we lost a lot of corn and subsequently a lot of money. Weeds have been another issue all together and we have moved forward with plans for next season to use black plastic mulch in the vegetable gardens, going far more bio-intensive than we ever had this year worked out well, better than I would have thought, I just have to get the weed issues under control.
We have also been working on our "orchard" when the time allows. We have taken on some of the ideas that Thomas Jefferson was espousing at Monticello in regards to "berry blocks", applying this even to strips of orchard trees on the periphery of our fields.
We have filled 95% of the gaps in our seed "library" in the past five years with our newly bred varieties. We now believe we truly have our "repitor" down to a system, we will publish our master seed list later this year for those in this area interested in what we are growing along with why.
We have made the decision recently to invest the next several years into researching field corn varieties. Partly because of our new association with the Becks Mill project and volunteering on the site to help with the agricultural history of the site and partly because someone desperately needs to be working with the time tested open pollinated types.
Next year we will be growing five acres of dent corn for use as on farm chicken feed, grains for sale for farm animals, and also for those who want to feed the squirrels or birds on their property. Hip-Gnosis seed development and Bishop's Homegrown will also be donating this seed to the gift shop at Becks Mill in order to place varieties once grown by the locals and ground at the mill back into the hands of the community which we love.
I just finished uploading about 500 pics from the farm and from mine and Kim's summer journeys onto the computer, I'll upload them to the net along with my more frequent posts over the next few weeks, we have had a blast going on our every other Sunday adventures this summer. Becks Mill, Spring Mill, Marengo Cave, Onedia Kentucky and Daniel Boone National Forestry, and the little Swiss Amish community right down the road in Salem Indiana.
I expect to start updating this blog with small updates on a much more regular basis now, at least once every couple days. Could be a new research article, could be a blurb, could be a simple as a picture, the truth is though that if I hope to help anyone with this blog or to get their attention and interest in agriculture I'm going to have to spend a bit more time here in the future.
I hope everyone is doing well and having a terrific summer!
-Alan
-Yellow Cabbage Collards
-Late Flat Dutch, Winter Drumhead Savoy, Discovery Cabbage
-A mass cross of slicing cucumbers
-Roma II beans
-A mass cross/mix of kale
-Purple Top Globe Turnips
-A new bed of alpine strawberries from my selections
-Daikon raddishes, cherry belle, and a mix I've made
-Sugar Snap and Snow Peas
-Hip-Gnosis Lettuce Mix
Also been busy saving seed from everything under the sun.
This year we grew out a selection I made two years ago from Astronomy Domine, grew it last year and though it was a straight ahead F1 hybrid, this year it is remarkably stable and much like last year. Very pretty 8 row bantam type, about 65 days to fresh eating, starts out bi-color and large kernel and proceedes blue and then starts to dry down to red and black. Definitely and normal sugary type (SU), would probably have relatively high protein. Pretty happy with it for the moment and sticking with it for a few years along with Rainbow Inca.
We have had an incredibly we season here. Apparently Indiana has moved to the Pacific Northwest. Rain like no one has seen in Indiana for at least a hundred years, temperatures that fair the same as well, the coolest year I ever remember.
We have learned a lot of hard lessons this year. We did a number of Open Pollinated sweet corn growouts which I plan on writing a report on later, most of them were so poorly maintained over the years by the likes of seed banks that they were far to inbred to actually be of any merit. The wet weather also brought out the raccons, possums, squirrels, rabbits, deer and other pests like never before, we lost a lot of corn and subsequently a lot of money. Weeds have been another issue all together and we have moved forward with plans for next season to use black plastic mulch in the vegetable gardens, going far more bio-intensive than we ever had this year worked out well, better than I would have thought, I just have to get the weed issues under control.
We have also been working on our "orchard" when the time allows. We have taken on some of the ideas that Thomas Jefferson was espousing at Monticello in regards to "berry blocks", applying this even to strips of orchard trees on the periphery of our fields.
We have filled 95% of the gaps in our seed "library" in the past five years with our newly bred varieties. We now believe we truly have our "repitor" down to a system, we will publish our master seed list later this year for those in this area interested in what we are growing along with why.
We have made the decision recently to invest the next several years into researching field corn varieties. Partly because of our new association with the Becks Mill project and volunteering on the site to help with the agricultural history of the site and partly because someone desperately needs to be working with the time tested open pollinated types.
Next year we will be growing five acres of dent corn for use as on farm chicken feed, grains for sale for farm animals, and also for those who want to feed the squirrels or birds on their property. Hip-Gnosis seed development and Bishop's Homegrown will also be donating this seed to the gift shop at Becks Mill in order to place varieties once grown by the locals and ground at the mill back into the hands of the community which we love.
I just finished uploading about 500 pics from the farm and from mine and Kim's summer journeys onto the computer, I'll upload them to the net along with my more frequent posts over the next few weeks, we have had a blast going on our every other Sunday adventures this summer. Becks Mill, Spring Mill, Marengo Cave, Onedia Kentucky and Daniel Boone National Forestry, and the little Swiss Amish community right down the road in Salem Indiana.
I expect to start updating this blog with small updates on a much more regular basis now, at least once every couple days. Could be a new research article, could be a blurb, could be a simple as a picture, the truth is though that if I hope to help anyone with this blog or to get their attention and interest in agriculture I'm going to have to spend a bit more time here in the future.
I hope everyone is doing well and having a terrific summer!
-Alan
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Updates and the such.
Making an effort to find the time to update the blog and Homegrown Goodness with the minimum of information during the busy growing season. I was digging around looking for information on Thomas Jefferson's growouts at Monticello and came across his "garden journal" which to say the least is very intriguing to read. Basic information, not a whole lot of description or detail, but very interesting.
Anyhow, that gave me some inspiration to start updating this thing over the growing season even though with limited time it will prove quite a bit difficult. You can check out the garden journal here.
So much is going on in regard to plant breeding and development here on the farm, lots and lots of exciting experiments and growouts! It's such a beautiful experience to explore the farm and the diversity planted here. The poulty breeding is going great as well with the new turkeys coming along nicely.
Kim and I have been taking many pictures of projects and making notes regarding our growouts like crazy, all will find their way online in the near future, sometimes there just isn't enough time in a day for all we would like to do or say, but soon enough my friends......
Anyhow, expect short updates and descriptive posts soon. Sorry for the absence but you must make hay while the sun in shining!
-Alan
Anyhow, that gave me some inspiration to start updating this thing over the growing season even though with limited time it will prove quite a bit difficult. You can check out the garden journal here.
So much is going on in regard to plant breeding and development here on the farm, lots and lots of exciting experiments and growouts! It's such a beautiful experience to explore the farm and the diversity planted here. The poulty breeding is going great as well with the new turkeys coming along nicely.
Kim and I have been taking many pictures of projects and making notes regarding our growouts like crazy, all will find their way online in the near future, sometimes there just isn't enough time in a day for all we would like to do or say, but soon enough my friends......
Anyhow, expect short updates and descriptive posts soon. Sorry for the absence but you must make hay while the sun in shining!
-Alan
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Around the farm.
All the initial planting and replanting/replacing is finished, now it's all about maintenance, in that spirit I bring some photos of the ongoings of the farm.
Amongst the following photos you'll see images of what used to be the chicken coop, torn down to it's basic framework with the doors and several posts left in place, part of my absence as of late from the net has been due to a restructuring of my poultry program including donating my bantam flock to a good friend, honestly I was just tired of spending so much time working with birds that give such little eggs and which literally will allow themselves to be mated so brutally that it would put them on their death bed. I was also dealing with a minx issue which is now under control, but more importantly I created a brand new chicken/turkey/guinea coop out of the original worm house, it's much safer and sturdy than the old coop and also has electricity and plenty of room for a relatively large stock of Ameracauna, Marans, Polish, Guineas, and Heritage Turkeys, all of which we will be working with in the near future in breeding lines, hatching chicks for sale, selling hatching eggs, and slaughtering meat both for our own consumption and for sale.
The old coop will be allowed to sit and "mellow" for a year whereupon I will add some posts and some hog panels and plant pole beans in that area, I will also plant sunflowers along the borders to create a "natural room" area for family and visitors enjoyment. The new coop was basically already setup and what wasn't ready to go was more or less lying around the farm anyways including the rough cut lumber type roosts, the eggboxes came from the old coop, the little "window-doors" you see were given to me by a friend and were actually out of an old school bus, heck we even had the chicken wire and nails laying around, so essentially minus labor (which was enough with having to catch all the chickens and move them, catch all the banties and relocate them, and tear down the original coop) the coop was free.
You will also see pics of our new bean trellis system and many of the crops including greenhouse tomatoes which are blooming, lettuce, onions, peas, heelless oats and potatoes. More pics to follow in the coming weeks and months including photos of our breeding projects and new heritage poultry as they grow.
I have yet to take a photo of the "Wyrm House" and it's new set up which is working out nicely, our breeding stock bins are getting up to size and filling up nicely and providing use with some beautiful looking castings, they are moving along at such a pace that we plan to be able to start the second set of three bins sometime within the next month or so! We also purchased two bathouses from The Organization for Bat Conservation, they have not been inhabited yet and probably won't be this year, however the bats have been flying around and checking them out and we have high hopes that they will indeed inhabit their new castles next spring.
Lots of experimenting and planning going on right now at Bishop's Homegrown/Hip-Gnosis seed development including the breeding and production of our own on farm poultry feeds for our flock and also for sale in the coming years. I'll update some new stuff shortly including our new quarterly circular of available products and services and our new "priori proof" paper as well as discuss some of the ideas we are tossing around aimed at making our farm more self sustainable and more profitable, Lot's of cool things going on right now and over the next few years.
Follow This Link for the images!
Amongst the following photos you'll see images of what used to be the chicken coop, torn down to it's basic framework with the doors and several posts left in place, part of my absence as of late from the net has been due to a restructuring of my poultry program including donating my bantam flock to a good friend, honestly I was just tired of spending so much time working with birds that give such little eggs and which literally will allow themselves to be mated so brutally that it would put them on their death bed. I was also dealing with a minx issue which is now under control, but more importantly I created a brand new chicken/turkey/guinea coop out of the original worm house, it's much safer and sturdy than the old coop and also has electricity and plenty of room for a relatively large stock of Ameracauna, Marans, Polish, Guineas, and Heritage Turkeys, all of which we will be working with in the near future in breeding lines, hatching chicks for sale, selling hatching eggs, and slaughtering meat both for our own consumption and for sale.
The old coop will be allowed to sit and "mellow" for a year whereupon I will add some posts and some hog panels and plant pole beans in that area, I will also plant sunflowers along the borders to create a "natural room" area for family and visitors enjoyment. The new coop was basically already setup and what wasn't ready to go was more or less lying around the farm anyways including the rough cut lumber type roosts, the eggboxes came from the old coop, the little "window-doors" you see were given to me by a friend and were actually out of an old school bus, heck we even had the chicken wire and nails laying around, so essentially minus labor (which was enough with having to catch all the chickens and move them, catch all the banties and relocate them, and tear down the original coop) the coop was free.
You will also see pics of our new bean trellis system and many of the crops including greenhouse tomatoes which are blooming, lettuce, onions, peas, heelless oats and potatoes. More pics to follow in the coming weeks and months including photos of our breeding projects and new heritage poultry as they grow.
I have yet to take a photo of the "Wyrm House" and it's new set up which is working out nicely, our breeding stock bins are getting up to size and filling up nicely and providing use with some beautiful looking castings, they are moving along at such a pace that we plan to be able to start the second set of three bins sometime within the next month or so! We also purchased two bathouses from The Organization for Bat Conservation, they have not been inhabited yet and probably won't be this year, however the bats have been flying around and checking them out and we have high hopes that they will indeed inhabit their new castles next spring.
Lots of experimenting and planning going on right now at Bishop's Homegrown/Hip-Gnosis seed development including the breeding and production of our own on farm poultry feeds for our flock and also for sale in the coming years. I'll update some new stuff shortly including our new quarterly circular of available products and services and our new "priori proof" paper as well as discuss some of the ideas we are tossing around aimed at making our farm more self sustainable and more profitable, Lot's of cool things going on right now and over the next few years.
Follow This Link for the images!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Getting caught up!
Howdy everyone,
Just a quick update, nearly 90% of everything on both farms is in the ground and I am wore out! Took today as a "rain day" to get some R and R, soon enough I'll be posting plenty of updates and pictures both here and at the Homegrown Goodness Message Board. The board gets a little slow during the Northern Hemisphere growing season, but don't fret, we will keep it going this summer and fall will breathe new life and discussions into everyone as well.
We have already began harvesting the first of the seasons produce, a huge mix of leaf and romaine lettuce types, green onions, raddishes, kales, and as always eggs from our free range chickens and guineas. We also purchased our first Bourban Red Turkeys, five of them, two males, three females. The first of two incubators full of guinea and turkey eggs is due to hatch in just a few days, got some lavender, brown, white, slate, and buff guineas in there as well as black spanish, blue slate, and bourban red turkeys in there as well and we used the old worm house to create a turkey coop.
We are also preparing to plant the begginings of our small orchard, a variety of pear trees that we successfully grafted will be planted early next week.
This year we are undertaking a massive sweet corn growout, right now there are over 20 Open Pollinated varieties in the ground and many have already germinated.
This Saturday is the opening day of the Salem Indiana Farmers Market located at the Washington County Fairgrounds in town, from 8:30 A.M. until 12:30 P.M., we expect to have lettuce, onions, kale, raddishes, alpine strawberry plants, tomato plants, pepper plants, cabbage plants and a ton more there. If you live locally then please come visit us, we and our other friends at the market would love to see you!
Next Saturday we will be at the annual market at The Lost River Market and Deli in Paoli Indiana from 11:00 A.M. - 1:00 P.M. Lots of good stuff going on over there including a cook out featuring organic beef and hog! Come check it out!
Hope everyone is doing well my friends!
Just a quick update, nearly 90% of everything on both farms is in the ground and I am wore out! Took today as a "rain day" to get some R and R, soon enough I'll be posting plenty of updates and pictures both here and at the Homegrown Goodness Message Board. The board gets a little slow during the Northern Hemisphere growing season, but don't fret, we will keep it going this summer and fall will breathe new life and discussions into everyone as well.
We have already began harvesting the first of the seasons produce, a huge mix of leaf and romaine lettuce types, green onions, raddishes, kales, and as always eggs from our free range chickens and guineas. We also purchased our first Bourban Red Turkeys, five of them, two males, three females. The first of two incubators full of guinea and turkey eggs is due to hatch in just a few days, got some lavender, brown, white, slate, and buff guineas in there as well as black spanish, blue slate, and bourban red turkeys in there as well and we used the old worm house to create a turkey coop.
We are also preparing to plant the begginings of our small orchard, a variety of pear trees that we successfully grafted will be planted early next week.
This year we are undertaking a massive sweet corn growout, right now there are over 20 Open Pollinated varieties in the ground and many have already germinated.
This Saturday is the opening day of the Salem Indiana Farmers Market located at the Washington County Fairgrounds in town, from 8:30 A.M. until 12:30 P.M., we expect to have lettuce, onions, kale, raddishes, alpine strawberry plants, tomato plants, pepper plants, cabbage plants and a ton more there. If you live locally then please come visit us, we and our other friends at the market would love to see you!
Next Saturday we will be at the annual market at The Lost River Market and Deli in Paoli Indiana from 11:00 A.M. - 1:00 P.M. Lots of good stuff going on over there including a cook out featuring organic beef and hog! Come check it out!
Hope everyone is doing well my friends!
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