More On The Garden

Here is the photo of the garden taken from the greenhouse roof. The quality is not the best. We got about 3/4" of rain last night and this morning and it was hazy when I shot this.

The right foreground, which is covered with black plastic, was sod last year - hence the plastic. Staked tomatoes are on the right, peppers in the center and unstaked, uncaged tomatoes on left. Just to the left of that, off the plastic, is celery. It's hard to see from this angle because the tomatoes are taller but it's doing very well.

Behind this area are potatoes. The first row is in bottomless buckets with the following rows planted traditionally in hilled furrows. We planted German Butterball, Red Pontiac, Green Mountain, Russet Burbank, and Austrian Crescent.

Behind the potatoes are two short rows of beans. To the left is a compost bin which contains the remains of the 2006 chicken butchering. Behind and to the left of it are more beans (snap type).

Then we have 3 rows of corn hills running the entire width with more beans behind that. We're growing a lot of dry beans this year - Black Coco, Soldier, Tiger Eye, Vermont Cranberry, and Taylor's Dwarf Horticultural. Unfortunately, we've misplaced the diagram that tells us which is which so we'll have to wait for harvest.

Behind the beans is the broccoli with cabbage behind that. Then 3 more rows of corn hills. The garlic was behind that but it's already been harvested and is curing.

The left foreground that isn't shown has strawberries and the peas and lettuce which have already been harvested and not succession planted. The remaining bedding from the ram pen will go here after finishing the 10' extension of the growing area in the immediate foreground of the photo.

Scott asked about rotating the location of the garden. Since we're moving to a no-till, mulched system of annual production, we won't be changing the location of the garden - just rotating the plants within the space. I have been giving some thought to growing small grains in the pasture which would probably be a 5-7 year rotation. Annuals for three years, then back to perennial polyculture for 2-4 years.

Rain!

We got a good 2 inches last night and a little more this afternoon. Coupled with cooler temperatures over the next week, this should give the pastures a good foundation for moving into late summer.

Even with the rain, though, I've decided to feed a little alfalfa hay to the sheep. I'm afraid if I don't, we're going to have some little lambs when it comes time to harvest them in mid-September. The amount of hay I plan to feed equates to about $10 per head for the ram lambs (the ewe lambs and mamas will be eating it too) which works out to around 6 pounds in the live weight of the lamb. I don't have any research of my own but things I've read lead me to believe that feeding some alfalfa now will be a net gain when we sell the lamb.

We bartered chickens for some of this hay we got earlier this week. Today the woman we got it from left a message saying the chicken was fantastic and the carcasses were very clean. I sold another bird to an egg customer today. She said, "I'm so excited! I get to eat chicken again!" She can't eat supermarket chicken because of a reaction to antibiotics or pesticide residue or GMO grain or something. It's nice to be able to provide people with food of higher quality than they can get commercially. The truth is, you can't buy chicken in the store like we sell.

New Listings - What's For Sale

I updated my Local Harvest and Eat Wild listings today to reflect the following:

Liberty Farm began in 2005 with the purchase of our farm in northern Morrow County, Ohio. We started with a small flock of Icelandic ewes and a handful of laying hens.

It is our goal to build a sustainable farm for the purpose of raising healthy, pastured food and healthy kids. Our pastures are managed in a chemical-free style with an eye to long-term improvement of the land.

We have 100% grass-fed, drug-free lamb to offer for sale. Our lambs produce very mild flavored meat. They eat nothing but grass and mother's milk with some vitamin and mineral supplement.

In addition, we have chicken and eggs. Our meat birds and laying hens are fed certified organic feed from Curly Tail Farm here in Central Ohio and live on pasture in hoop houses that we move regularly to fresh grass.

The chickens follow the sheep in the pasture rotation. This means that the grass is nice and short so the birds can take full advantage of it. Their contribution is to fertilize and scratch the ground, making better pasture for the sheep.

and:

We are now taking orders for lamb that will be processed in September. Whole and half animals are available. They are going fast - reserve yours today with a phone call or email! The price is $3.25 per pound (carcass weight - processing not included).

Broiler chickens are available now and we will be butchering more in September. They are $2.50 per pound which includes processing. Weights range from 4-6 pounds.

Eggs are $2.50 a dozen. Our supply will be better in late August.

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you may remember a post some time ago explaining that we don't sell chicken because we don't produce any grain which is their primary food source. Allan Nation has often pointed out that the biggest difference between organic and "conventional" agriculture is the name on the bag of inputs. He's right and that isn't sustainable. So why the change at Liberty Farm?

The first reason is practical. To be honest, we're hemorrhaging money and broiler chickens are a sure way to increase cash flow. Are we selling out? Maybe... At least the chickens are a good fit with our sheep on pasture.

Secondly, as much as I might like to see a change in modern organic and "sustainable" ag, it ain't happening yet. And it probably won't until the price of oil makes shipping grain and supplements cost prohibitive. When that finally happens, it will bring a lot of changes. For one, we won't be eating young, tender, large-breasted chickens anymore because those hybrid birds are so nutritionally demanding. They need lots of protein and a precise balance of vitamins and minerals. We found this out the hard way this spring when we lost 46 out of 50 birds due to a lack of vitamin B in the supplement.

So we're selling chicken for the time being - chickens that live their short lives feeling the sun on their back and the grass under their feet. There is no comparison whatsoever to confinement raised chicken, including the industrial organic crap. Get it while it's hot.

In the meantime, I'm working on learning more about organic no-till grain growing and experimenting with different heritage breeds of chicken that will thrive on feed that I can produce by hand.

Michael Pollan and Cheese

Here is a photo of my first cheese. It's a 3-pound Farmhouse Cheddar. We had some extra milk from our herdshare and finally got around to making cheese.
Michael Pollan was on "On Point" on NPR this morning. I don't know how long this link will be good, but you can listen here.

Promised Photos

Here is the corral we built to work our sheep. There is a gate at the end and a gate in the center. The dimensions of the corral are about 9 feet wide and 34 feet long.

These are the two hoophouses that used to be one. Broilers are in the left one and pullets in the right.

The chicks pictured here are golden-laced Wyandottes. They have recently been allowed to roam a little farther from home and enjoy going in to visit the rams next door. The rams lounge here in the barn while the chicks explore all around them. Of course, when I went in to take this photo, Luther had to get up. I had to hurry up and snap it before he came over to have me scratch behind his ears.

Be Fruitful and Mulch Apply

That title comes from the email sig of Keith Johnson of Permaculture Activist. It describes my work the last few days. I only wish I had gotten the entire garden mulched a month ago. Oh well, better late than never.

I've been awful about getting photos posted here this summer. I'll try to get some over the upcoming holiday week. We finally nixed our internet connection at home. It's so slow that we weren't using it. Why continue paying for it? Anyway, with the laptop there are plenty of places to get online. I just have to remember to get my photos on the computer so they're ready to upload when the opportunity arises.

Next week I'm going to start calling my hay sources and try to get some idea what local farmers are expecting regarding the 2nd hay cutting.