We have all of our CSA spots filled. Thanks everyone! We are thrilled to be serving a few families in the Sheldon area as well as a few friends in Burlington.
We have pigs! Their names are Bubba, Walnut and Toby.
They are really sweet boys. At about 4 months old, they weigh 70 pounds each! Holy bacon, Batman!
We went through a few different fencing fiascos but have finally found something that seems to work. At first we used cattle panels to create a 16x16' square pen for them, plus a shelter that we fashioned out of 2x4s and a tarp. Since we want to move them along different parts of the pasture, however, we quickly learned that it was difficult for us to move the pen without letting them loose. Luckily with the help of neighbors and friends we've always lassoed them in, and of course offering them some treats to lure them back home helps.
Next we set up electric fencing for them. 100' of electrified polywire netting holds them in well... if there's enough of a charge. At first we tried using a solar charger that we bought off craigslist, but the zap of the fence only annoyed the pigs and wouldn't ya know it, they picked the stakes up and dragged them around. In the end, we splurged on a much stronger solar fence charger and haven't had any problems, and the netting doesn't need to be moved as often because the area it encloses is bigger. Plus, when we do need to move it, it will be much easier (lighter weight, plus the pigs respect the physical barrier more than the cattle panels). It's not ideal that we have to shock the pigs to keep them in one place, but now that they've each tried it once with their noses they rarely even come close now. We're going to buy an additional 100' of netting to give them an even bigger area to roam around and dig up. Boy can they dig! They get their noses in the ground and WHAM- your field is tilled! We aren't going to directly plant crops in the area they've already dug up this year, since the manure is still... fresh. We're going to plant some cover crops that the pigs can eat, and next year we might try some rice or ducks in the pasture that they've been on (it's some pretty soggy land).
We ordered a 16' canvas tent to live in! Should be here and set up in the next 2 weeks. After going over many pros and cons for building our own cabin, we decided that it would be in our best interest, time frame, and budget to buy a sturdy tent. We are excited to move out into it, to be closer to our fields and live a little more connected to the earth instead of the internet. We'll also build a small outdoor kitchen and composting toilet. We're lucky to still have the amenities of Sam's family's house in close proximity for laundry, a hot shower, the occasional Mad Men...
This morning a big burly man named Mark came with his tractor and tilled in our field. He tilled over at Duffy Hill Farm (Sam's farm last year with his friends Lucy, Eli, Joe and Nate) and said our soil was considerably less rocky. Yeah! Speaking of DHF, we walked around the woods behind there and found lots of RAMPS which we'll hopefully harvest and sell wholesale this week. We also found a bunch in the woods on our road... yum! Back to the fields though. We grabbed a bunch of compost that DHF left last year and spread it on the field before Mark tilled it in so hopefully the soil will have some nutritious stuff to feed the plants. Direct seeding begins ASAP! Transplanting... soon. We bought an awesome light table from the same people we got our hens from which has helped in the past cold, cold, weeks to keep most of our seedlings alive. Now that it looks like warmer temps from here on out we'll probably move everything back outside.
We were also able to see in person the dispersed members of DHF the past couple of weeks, all except Nate who will be back in June to tent it up with us and help out from time to time. We had dinner at Lucy's and Eli stayed over a few days, and Joe's been up to visit a few.
We also ordered our meat chickens (Freedom Rangers) and turkeys (Standard Bronzes)! 46 little birds comin' next month...
And we are officially part of the Northwest Farmer's Market in St. Albans this year! Selling a few veggies, some eggs, bread, and taking orders for birds.
That's about all for now! Thanks for reading!
PS all the laying hens also have names now (we got 5 more, Light Brahmas, from a family in Sheldon, and are planning on getting juuuust 2 or 3 more): Brahma, Mama, Obama, Llama, Pajama, Whitebutt, Cameron, Zelda, Nutmeg, Cornelia, Peggy, Joanie, and Billie.
