Farm Work Catch-Up Post

Spring has clearly sprung around here and so have all the farm chores. I am a sporadic blogger at best but like having this as a record so that I can look back to see where we were and to also have an idea of what worked and more importantly what did not.

Over the last few weeks I finished hard fencing the perimeter of our property. Now our entire ~4.75 acres of working land is enclosed by field fencing, with a hot wire running along the top. This lets us make better use of our electric netting since we can situate it against the field fence in a semi-circle and clip into the power at will. More importantly if any of our animals escape their individual paddocks (which the goats are particularly prone to do) they are still confined to our property. A final piece of fencing that needs to be accomplished is surrounding the market garden so that any aforementioned escapees do not gain access. I am going back and forth on what is the best way to accomplish this. Field fencing would be the strongest and most durable solution, but would make plowing and prepping the fields more difficult since the tractor would have restricted access. I am thinking about using some of the electric netting since it could be removed and installed as needed but it would be less of a barrier to the animals and would require that I maintain the fence line so that the charger does not short out due to long wet grass.

Speaking of plowing fields, last weekend I plowed up the newly expanded market garden as well as a new plot that will be planted with a variety of grains. I was able to borrow a plow from my neighbor and modify it to fit my tractor. I always enjoy being able to borrow farm tools, especially ones like a plow that you only need to use for one to two days in any given year. This past week I also ran the disc through both plots a number of times to break up the soil and get it ready for planting.


Finally on to this past weekend. Danielle cut up 50 lbs of seed potatoes this week so priority number one on Saturday was to get these in the ground as we were expecting rain on Sunday. Julia helped me place all the potatoes in the trenches and even covered one entire row. In all we planted 11 rows each 85 feet long. I still have 50 lbs of Yukon golds and 20 lbs of Russian fingerlings to get into the ground. The giant market garden is not looking so large anymore and the free area will continue to shrink as I get the other potatoes in.


Gratefully, the rains came as promised and so far we have received over an inch and a half of much needed precipitation. I know others are barely keeping there heads above water with all the rain this Spring (sorry Woody) but we really needed a good soaking. This will go a long way to help all the new young plants that have started to pop in the last few weeks as well as provide a good watering in for the potatoes and the 50 trees that Danielle planted this weekend. It also provided some time for us to rest aside from rinsing out some recycled water containers with the runoff from our gutters.

Turkey's Out to Pasture

Last Friday and Saturday Danielle was learning how to shear sheep, so my work crew and I were left to our own devices. Our Narragansett turkeys have started laying for the season and we wanted to get them moved out onto pasture before the hens started to set. We did not want to move them after they were setting since this would likely be stressful on the hens and eggs, and based on last year, moving them after the poults hatched out would be a lesson in futility since the poults are wary of us and quite quick. We definitely needed to move them since our barn yard area needs to rest over the summer to recoup from having all the animals on it, as well as the fact that the turkeys got into the neighbors grape vines last year, something that will not be repeated.


The kids helped me put some sides and a back onto a simple shelter we used last summer to provide shade for the geese. We used some scrap wood I had left over from the basement remodel we have been doing. The crew got a ride on the trailer out to the turkeys new pen with the shelter, electric poultry netting and some straw for a nest.


We tied the electric netting into the fence I ran last week, giving them a nice sized area to hang out in.


The hens seem to have found the nest in the corner of the shelter acceptable. We moved out 8 eggs and as of last night I counted 11 in the straw. Not sure if they will share this nest, or if one will lay another clutch once the other sets. I guess as in everything we do on the farm, only time will tell.