While I find myself very behind in writing on the blog, everything is in tip-top shape and moving ahead as planned in the field, pasture and orchard. Plants are growing by leaps and bounds. The field is filling with varied hues of greens, with touches of golds and purples. The pasture is alive with squawking chickens and young piglets on the move. As June rears it's head today we are on the verge of CSA and a lovely season with our farm members, what we have been planning for and patiently looking forward to for months!
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| Tomatoes planted and staked individually. |
We are grateful for our weekend helpers!
The weekend was a flurry of people and tasks on the farm. Thank you Steve and Franny for coming down and helping with cutting up the tree, planting tomatoes, mulching and greenhouse progress! Of course it was wonderful to balance the farm work by spending time with great friends. Thank you Nate and Megan for stopping by and bringing morels for dinner!
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| One bed of peppers with mulch. |
We continue to make progress on the greenhouse as time and help allows, and look forward to making use of it this season for curing onions and winter squash. Thank you Larry for coming out a bit on both Saturday and Sunday to help with framing! Farm dog Hazel looks like she is trying to take some credit for helping as well.
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| The greenhouse framing for the walls. |
The beekeepers stopped by to check on their replacement queen in one of the hives. They stop by about every week to 10 days to maintain the hives.
On Sunday we had more visitors coming to check out the farm and piglets, a couple local farm fans, as well as Dustan and Sara, from Sara Beth Photography (Twin Cities) who came down to photograph piglets for a project she is working on.
From the Field
CSA begins in a couple weeks, slated for start on June 17th! We push forward with more succession plantings, weeding, trellising and other task work to get ready for our first deliveries.
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| Lettuce heads sizing up nicely. |
Lettuce, strawberries, tender early greens and radishes are stars at the beginning of the CSA season.
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| Red Russian kale - tender and sweet! |
Spinach is a member favorite!
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| The spinach is coming along so nice! |
From the Pasture
It's a little nerve-wracking having avian flu confirmed in Brown County, but our chickens are happy and healthy as can be! They as loud and silly and productive as ever.
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| Two chickens in the nesting box. |
The pullets are now 17 weeks of age and someone laid an egg yesterday! Typically by 18 weeks pullets can start laying at anytime.
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Our Buff Orpington and Silver Laced Wyandotte pullets
(young chickens under one year of age.) |
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| Eggs in browns and blues. |
Saving the cutest for last - the piglets have arrived!! May 22-23rd the ladies farrowed and we now have 20 piglets running around blessing us with their cuteness. We are constantly impressed by the instincts of sows and what amazing mothers they are.
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| Piglets at 9 days - active, alert and going everywhere with mom. |
Piglets are active and alert right from day one. They are sticking close to mom and learning along side of them, digging their noses in the dirt.
