Pig Move Part 1

As you all know I am very adamant about my animals having the best life I can give them. To my surprise since last August we have not seen any predators around. I saw one raccoon last fall otherwise a few tracks at the far edge of the property. This has allowed me to give the chickens free access to the farm. Soon the turkeys will be venturing out of their large stall and I need to get my two pigs out onto pasture.
It's been upsetting to still have them in the barn but as you know there is always something to do here and their move became sidetracked with the vegetable garden being planted.

So yesterday I announced today is the day. We set up a temporary electric fence inside of the deer fencing. Then the big move of rolling the dog house up to the field for them. It is so incredibly heavy, well over 200 pounds, oh my goodness! Never underestimate a determined woman, even in this heat wave. Somehow we got it there. I finished cleaning out their house and put in some hay. Then I tightened the top wire of the deer fence and we connected the electricity. I don't own a tester so...  I'm working up my nerve to touch it and also for the major part of this project: moving the pigs. Yikes. After all this exertion combined with the heat (the thermometer read 34 degrees C in the shade) I was wiped out and decided to do the move the next day. Now I'm wondering if I should wait for help to move them or attempt it on my own.
I'll let you know how it goes!

Tiny Egg

While collecting eggs yesterday  I came across an anomaly. All chickens occasionally have an odd egg, like a double yoker, an egg shell that is bumpy instead of smooth or even a egg without a shell (which I haven't experienced yet). Yesterday I found a tiny little round egg, which was at least a third of the size of the other ones. So cute.

This morning I broke it open for breakfast. The shell was super hard and inside I found only egg white.

Just another interesting thing that happens on the farm!

Box Delivery Week 4

Here is a look at this weeks newsletter and what is inside the delivery box:

June 27^th, 2014

Week 4

Here are some of the items you may be receiving in your delivery this week:

Mesclun, Arugula, Kale, Spinach, Radish, Cucumber and Rhubarb

This has been a fantastic week here on the farm. I had a wonderful young lady named Marine join me. She and I were able to accomplish so much, from digging new garden beds, teaching her how to plant squash on little islands, transplanting, fertilizing and sowing new seeds. It was great and I hope she had a great time and enjoyed herself.

Rhubarb is in your share this week. It’s commonly referred to as the first fruit of the season. If you have never cooked it before, here is the easiest recipe.

Stewed Rhubarb

6 cups chopped Rhubarb

1 cup sugar

2 tbsp water

Place all 3 ingredients into a large saucepan over medium heat. Stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Then reduce heat to medium-low, stir occasionally, simmering uncovered for approximately 15 minutes until thickened and the rhubarb is soft. Let cool.

It can be refrigerated for 5 days.

This compote is great on cottage cheese, yogurt, oatmeal, toast or my favorite vanilla ice cream.

Have a wonderful weekend and Happy Canada Day!

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

Your Farmer,

Amber

New Turkeys!

The turkeys are arriving! Eek!
I ordered 8 turkeys this year and their pick up date is for the end of the month. So imagine my surprise when I got the call last night telling me they will be waiting for me in the morning. My chickens are now taking up all of my coop space so I had to come up with a new solution. They are going into a horse stall. I managed to drag the horse mats out so the birds can scratch in the dirt. Those things are very, very heavy.
The water dish is now spotless as well as their feed trough. New shavings are put down and I just need to put up a roost for them later. I'll be able to have them go out the back of the barn in about a week after they are settled, to graze and get some sun.
Pics to come!

Box Delivery Week 3

Here is a peak of this week's Box Delivery and newsletter!

June 20^th, 2014

Week 3

Here are some of the items you may be receiving in your delivery this week:

Arugula, Mesclun, Green Zest, Kale, Pea, Purple Radish and Sunflower Shoots and Green Garlic

Spring is definitely salad making time!

I hope you all enjoyed the Green Zest last week. My boys and I love it with a creamy dressing to balance out the flavours.

The shoots this week are very juicy and delicious.

Maybe try sautéing the Kale for breakfast. It’s become a standard Sunday morning breakfast in our household along with eggs and bacon.

If you are able to visit Liquid Gold in the Hydrostone they have an amazing variety of oils and vinegars. Our favorite is Black Currant Balsamic. It’s perfect on any greens.

Have a fantastic week!

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

Your Farmer,

Amber

A Farm Visit

This week I was able to visit a certified organic farm near Caladonia. The owners have been so wonderful and supportive of me, as all the other farmers have been. It was amazing to see their production and listen to the great ideas they have implemented. They have a number of huge heated greenhouses, each filled with either tomato plants, cucumbers and eggplants. Plus one designated for transplanting. All of them have a little beehive in each one for pollination. They use bumble bees as they are the best pollinator.

We toured the fields and she showed me the cattle they raise for themselves and their chickens. 

My head was full of ideas when I saw the basement. Instead of heat mats which can be dangerous she showed me how to make one using water pipes, a recirculating pump and a propane heater. The plastic pipes go up on top of a table covered with heat retaining mats and zigzag across. Then soil is added on top and all is secured over with chicken wire. Above rows of grow lights hanging on chains are suspended from the ceiling. It was awesome. I will be building this sooner than later.

After a delightful time she gave me some pepper plants for my family to enjoy and we said our good-byes.

On the way home I must admit I felt a little defeated. This is a late spring and all the farmers are feeling it. I was so far behind as it's just me doing all this. I have a little help but as much as I try, I'm no army. 

Best medicine is to call Mom. She told me I was doing great and reminded me that all my friends thought so too. Also to smarten up as this is my first year and comparing it with farmers who have been doing this for over 30 years and have all of their infrastructure already set up is crazy. You are doing your best and that is great. Listen to their ideas and do what feels right for you.

I am very grateful they opened their doors to me. They are very inspirational. One day I will pay it forward to another farmer.

Back with the Flock!

The little chick who had been sick, (Seriously, I'm not trying to rhyme here), is now back with the rest of the flock!

We brought it back into the house last Thursday night after finding it with it's head tucked into it's chest and acting very lethargic. Thankfully, the next day the bird was able to eat and drink, which was a good sign. However, occasionally it would stagger backwards and experienced some very worrying convulsions.

I searched on the Internet and found out the chick was experiencing "Stargazing".  An odd name for it. The ailment is most likely caused from a deficiency in thiamine. I talked with a number of other farmers who had seen many chickens tuck their heads down but had never heard of "Stargazing". The site said I either had to find a medication called Nutri-Drench or get a hold of some Brewer's yeast. As the Food Co-Op would need to special order some of the solution and only sold 50 pound bags of yeast, it was time to call the Wine making store.

Now that was an interesting conversation! Apparently I was the first one to ever call them looking for help in doctoring a sick chicken. Who knew? When I went in to pick it up, all of the staff knew about me. They were so nice and wished me luck. It's inspired me to get back into wine making this fall.

Back home I sprinkled a small amount of yeast on it's food throughout the day, watched for any abnormalities in it's poop, massaged the back of it's neck often as instructed and made sure it had clean water. I was very concerned and was unhappily thinking of killing it. It's so horrible to watch an animal suffer. Maybe it was a cop out on my part but I decided to give it a few more days just in case.

So Tuesday came and after keeping an eye on it off and on all day I somehow just knew it was fine. There had been no more symptoms and the bird was restless and wanted out of that darn cage. That evening I took it out and walked it up to the barn holding it under my arm and placed it back with the flock. There were no issues. It was like it had never left. I've been checking in and since most of them all look the same the little sucker has blended right back in. Good news.

Week 2 Box Delivery

Here is a peek at last week's newsletter.

June 13^th, 2014

Week 2

Here are some of the items you may be receiving in your delivery this week:

Mesclun, Spinach, Zesty Greens, Pea Shoots, Sunflower Shoots, Baby Kale, Braising Mix, Radishes, and Green Garlic

More wonderful salad mixes this week!

Pea Shoots are the tips off of the pea plant and are a delightful addition to your salad or as an added touch on top of something from the BBQ .

Sunflower shoots have the taste of sunflower seeds but pack in a lot more nutrients.

Garlic Sauteed Spinach recipe:

Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in large sauce pan on med heat. Add chopped green garlic and cook until bright green and tender. Toss in the spinach with some salt and pepper and combine. The spinach will wilt down in just a few minutes. Serve hot with some butter and a squeeze of lemon.

This recipe is also great by substituting some chopped bacon for the olive oil. Once cooked drain off most of the fat and continue with the recipe starting with the green garlic.

Have a fantastic week!

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

Your Farmer,

Amber

Sick bay

Last night while feeding the animals and closing up the barn, I noticed one of my new little chicks laying off to the side quite still. I gently reached in and lifted it out. There was a little bit of movement. She shook her wings and moved it's feet against me but seemed exhausted and wouldn't raise it's head. I laid her down on the hay bale and held there her for a little bit. She chirped and would wiggle a bit occasionally. I lifted it's head but it would not keep it up. Thankfully a friend stopped by and he thought that the others must have been picking on it. That she just needed some space and time to itself. So we moved her back down to the house. She hardly moved all night staying right where I had put her. I feared for the worst.

This morning my youngest came to get me and said there's a chick downstairs and it looks hungry. The little chick is now up, eating and drinking. Still unable to lift it's head fully. The only thing I can find out about it's condition is something called "Stargazing". This is where the animal is unable to fully lift it's head and mostly walks backwards. It's thought to be caused by a Thiamine deficiency. I'm on my way to pick up some Nutri-Drench today from the Farmer's Co-Op and need to massage it's neck often throughout the day.
Here's hoping she's alright.

Privateer Farmers Market in Liverpool

This morning was my first time as a vendor at the Privateer Farmers Market in Liverpool. I took a number of seedlings with me including 4 types of tomatoes, 4 types of squash and some cucumbers. We experienced huge winds, intermittent rain showers and rays of sunshine.

The vendors were wonderful and we all helped each other either setting up tents, saving windswept items or giving morale support. The people of Liverpool were outstanding. I was enchanted by stories and shared many smiles and laughs. The hours flew by and I look forward to being there again as a regular.

The market is each Saturday until the end of October from 8am to 12pm.
Next week I will be bringing some more interesting varieties and by the end of the month or early July I will have some vegetables to bring too.

Blossoms

Here are some of the beautiful blossoms on the farm. The scent is heavenly.

Week 1 Deliveries

Week 1

Here are some of the items you may be receiving in your delivery this week:

Arugula, Mesclun, Spinach, Asparagus, Radishes, Stinging nettle and Green Garlic

First find some of your favorite salad dressings. I make my own house favorite. A recipe is at the end.

Why not be adventurous and grill the asparagus instead of steaming it? It brings out a nice nutty flavor. Simply snap off the woody part at the bottom. Grill on med heat. I overlap the asparagus tips onto the stalks as they cook faster. They will turn a brilliant green just watch carefully so they don’t burn. You can do the same in a grill pan. Remember if you are just learning how to cook, have fun! You might get a few char marks but it’s only adding BBQ flavoring.

Stinging nettle is a little bit daunting at first. Do Not Touch It With Your Bare Hands! It will not hurt you but Will cause irritation to bare skin. The cooking process eliminates this.

Simply empty it out of the bag into a pan with some water and do a quick sauté or blanching. They are very delicate greens and have a spinach/cucumber taste. They are extremely full of nutrients, a healthy and yummy addition. You can try a sauté with ginger and mint adding a little honey at the end or plain with salt and pepper. I like them with a little balsamic vinegar.

Green garlic, I use where ever I would use chives. Cook them in an omelette or with the other greens. They have a mild, garlicky sweet flavour.

My Raspberry Vinaigrette

1 part Dijon mustard

2 parts Raspberry Jelly

1 part red wine vinegar

2 parts olive oil

Mix together thoroughly. Play with the amounts to find what suit you. Maybe you would like it a little more tart? Also you can substitute in a different jelly or a jam. The mustard is a binder for the oil and vinegar and the jelly adds flavour. I buy my local raspberry jelly from Thompsons’ Berries at the grocery store or at the market.

We just had a wonderful rain which is great for our plants. The next week looks fabulous for growing. My hope is the big greenhouse will also be built this weekend so I can get our lovely tomatoes into the ground.

Have a fantastic week!

My idea of chicken confinement

Each Friday I travel into Halifax to make my farm deliveries. Lately I've been taking the boys in with me for some family time with their aunt and uncle. They have 2 dogs which Anthony and Navarre are completely in love with. We stay overnight in the city and come home the next morning.

This is great but it has put another spin on the day as I need to have all the animals fed and put away before we leave by 4 o'clock in the afternoon.

We all make mistakes and we all learn. Our chickens are completely free range, they go on daily expeditions far and wide. So being cooped up in the barn is the last thing they are interested in. When I go to let them out in the morning, I open the doors and stand back! So, I've decided the best thing is to just let them have free access to the main area of the barn on Fridays and not open the doors. This is harder then it sounds. I came to this decision when we tried to get them in early the first time. Frankly my hens absolutely no interest in going inside the coop until sunset.

Teamwork saves the day! Anthony and I flushed them out of the grass and bushes while Navarre had guard duty. He had to keep the ones already in the barn in and then hide when I called that a chicken was coming. I'm sure you can guess this was a little chaotic. We felt like we were at a rodeo! I had my broom and both kids had their hockey sticks. It took us about 45 minutes of running, skidding, yelling, stalking and staring to get them inside the barn. Worst part was when we were all in the car happy to be off, we saw a chicken!

I'd forgotten to latch the back door to the barn! OMG! What an idiot! 5 of them made a run for it before I could get up there to shut it! It locks on the inside so the boys held it closed as I slipped inside to latch it. Once again we had to act as sheep dogs. So the idea of getting a dog is now looking a little more like a possibility. We will see.

The relief of finally leaving for Halifax was immense. Then Anthony asked if I was hungry. Feeling horrible I said yes but didn't have anything for them. He said, "Don't worry Mom I brought us some chewy bars and Navarre brought water." BEST KIDS EVER!!!