This Is The Farm Blog

About six months ago we counted the chickens in our semi annual chicken round up. Make sure everyone is present and accounted for. All the hens were there. The rooster was there. But there was an extra rooster.  A very pretty, but extra loud rooster. After scratching our heads for a few days, trying to figure out where the extra rooster had come from, we realized the only possibilty was a visiting livestock trailer. He was a stow away on a sheep delivery.

We called the rightful owners and they confessed that it was in fact possible that their rooster had jumped the sheep train. In fact, they realized it when they were here but decided the rooster would be quite happy here...and who felt like trying to catch a rooster anyway?

So we allowed the rooster to stay. We thought he'd get along. But old rooster wouldn't have any part of new rooster. So new rooster went to live with the sheep. He had no hens of his own. He was a little on the sad side. But a beautiful rooster he was!

Black and white rooster had this habit of crowing all night long. I mean, ALL NIGHT LONG... Cock A Doodle Doooooooooo....All the night through. All night, every night, for many, many months. I, an insomniac in the first place do not need any help staying awake at night.... so I decided the rooster had to go. I was planning to send it to 'live' on a neighboring farm. Where they kept hens but no roosters. I don't know what they did with the roosters, and I had decided I didn't care. Truthfully, I am positive they made no bones about eating old roosters and that the fate of B&W rooster was likely a seat at the neighbor's dinner table.  

So today is Friday. B&W was going to live with new people on Saturday. This morning I went outside to check on sheep; see if any babies arrived overnight and there in the pasture were the feathers of B&W...everywhere. All over, nothing but feathers. I followed the feather trail into the woods. No sign of B&W but feathers. Poor guy. I really hated him, but I didn't want to see him go this way. He was such a loner. He wouldn't go inside at night. I mean, I reallly, really hated hearing him scream all night, but I didn't want to see him go feathers-all-over-the-place style.

Rich didn't believe me when I told him ole' B&W was gone. I told him to go see the feathers for himself. He called me out to show him the feathers. He didn't believe it either. I think it was a fox. Rich firmly believes it was a neighbor, either to the west or to the east, that was also sick of hearing ole B&W....he almost believes that rooster was so annoying that it is possible that a neighbor even came dressed as a fox, captured the poor guy and left nothing but feathers to make it look like an 'accident'.

Very sad - ole rooster! We didn't want to see you go this way! we'll miss you!!! Even your annoying 2AM COCK A DOODLE DOOOOOOOOO will be missed. We bid you adieu ~  Cock A Doodle Doo!

Posted by jackie at 07:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Looking good. Here's your spinach. Second leaves have arrived. I wish the second hoop house would arrive so that we can harden it off before it goes into the ground in three weeks. You are gonna love this spinach. It is very pampered. Watered every morning. Spritzed in the afternoon. This spinach is going to be fabulous.  Follow it with us to your table.

Posted by jackie at 06:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Your spinach has germinated. It will be ready for the farmer's market in about 45 days. I planted it for you about a week and a half ago. Along with some other things; tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, basil, fennel, oregano, broccoli and celery. This weekend I will be planting your flowers for you. And in about three weeks I will plant some squash so that is can be ready by mid to late June.

Your spinach seeds were flown in from Maine. Certified organic seeds, very nice. They're growing in some very fancy certified organic germination mix, also flown in from Maine. No lobsters though, we didn't have any of those flown in. The soil is a luxury item. We've mixed our own in the past with mixed, mostly poor results. So this year we sprung for the good stuff so we can supply you with even more spinach.

Your spinach will be watched closely for the next week or so. We have to make sure it doesn't grow too leggy or dampen off. It will be moved to the hoop house in about two weeks. Then very shortly after that it will be in the ground and a couple of weeks later we'll start cutting the leaves and bringing them to market.

It is pretty close to organic. The seed and soil organic. The ground it will be grown in is eligible for organic certification. The only thing prohibitting your spinach from being certified is the hay that we use for mulch. It comes from a field we own, which we rent out to another farmer. He's growing his hay organically, but it isn't certified and that problem trickles all the way down to your spinach.  

I make no guarantees, but we'll try to follow your spinach from seed to table.  

Posted by jackie at 07:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I tend to be an inquisitive person. What's this? What's that? Hey Mister, Watcha doin?

This weekend Rich and I went to the annual meeting of the Dane County Farmer's Market. We aren't meeting people, but as new vendors, who have been on the waiting list for 3 years, we went. We had to. It was required.

So it was a meeting like all - long and boring. Except for the potluck which was fabulous. I didn't know it was a potluck because Rich read the invite and he doesn't know what a potluck is. At the very last second, I read the invite and grabded an unopened bag of organic cookies. I wasn't missing out on a potluck and you can't have any if you don't bring something. That's the rule.  I LOVE POTLUCK. A Laotian women brought eggrolls. Not the crappy kind you get at Chinese places - the really good kind. They have a name - don't know what it is.

Anyway. Potluck was over, boring speakers finished and we're on to rules and regs. Food safety comes up. I ask a few questions - they get answered. no biggie.

Then - at the end of the meeting I ask food safety about eggs, "Says right here I need a mobile retail food licesne to sell eggs. Unless I sell them wholesale, then I need a food processing license. But the Beloit market tells me I need a food processing licesne. Which is it?" Well - round and round and we all don't know how to interpret to rules. So today, food safety calls and thanks me for alerting them to the issue. "Yes, you need a food processing license. You and everyone else selling eggs. Thanks so much for alerting us to this." So now we add to the list of things to do...

211. Get a certified kitchen

Very tricky. You have to have a building, sixty four sinks, hot and cold water, etc. etc. We're going to try, but that'll teach me to open my mouth again.

So when the neighbor stopped by today I found myself asking lots of questions about his milking shed. They are highly regulated too. "Got hot water? What about septic? Is that a small scale septic or just your average house septic?"  Septic tanks? Why am I talking about that. Phew. 

Posted by jackie at 06:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We've got a list of things to do this spring. Most everything has to get done in March and April in order to be ready for the summer season.

1. Build hoophouse. Old hoophouse belongs to new hens.

2. Fix up henhouse, actually old hoophouse. Need shadecloth, roosts and nesting boxes. Clean up from over wintered roasters.

3. Build brooders for 1000 chickens. That's right, 1000.

4. Locate a brooding house for 1000 chickens...how bout the garage? The cars can stay outside. The chickens can't.

5. Build moveable pens for 1000 pastured chickens

6. Erect fence to keep chickens in their allocated 3 acres of pasture.

7. Get certified organic. No don't. No do. No later. Oh boy.

8. Mix soil. Plant seeds. Grow plants.

As usual, even without a full time job it is going to be chaos. The full time job has actually been replaced by full time antiquing which includes buying, restoring, selling, shipping, etc. AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Posted by jackie at 06:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)