Beautiful Broccoli!

Christa has grown some beautiful broccoli this year! The heads are huge - almost the size of a dinner plate!! The taste is incredibly sweet. The secret....composted chicken manure that we spread on the fields from the chicken hoophouse this spring. Another benefit of a diversified farm!

Using Old Farm Implements

I chained up an old horse drawn spring tooth harrow to do some weeding the other day. Its only about 3 feet wide which means alot of passes to pull up weeds. I have another harrow just like it that I plan on joining together with this one.

I picked up this harrow and a few spike harrows (kind of like large nails attached to a frame) at an old farm this spring. A guy was cleaning up around an old barn and I stopped in to say hello and ask if he had any old farm machinery he wanted to part with. He did and he talked about his uncle that farmed the land with horses many years ago. Those old implements have now found new life on a new farm.

Pasture Farrowed Piglets

Three out of our four pregnant Tamworth Gilts (first pregnancy, after their first they are considered sows) farrowed (birthed) their first piglets out on pasture! They had 10, 10 and 9 respectively. All are healthy and vibrant. The other adults and boar on the same pasture are very gentle when around the piglets. Two of the gilts chose to farrow next to the two round bales I dropped in the pasture a few days ago. The third farrowed at a fence corner in the dirt. I later brought over some mulch hay.

I was concerned about the recent thunderstorms and resulting rains causing hypothermia for the piglets, but they have come through fine. They obviously stay close to their mothers for heat and they snuggle under the hay for additional protection and warmth. So far so good, we will see how many piglets are left after weaning them from their moms (in about 3 weeks).