Our week started the best way it possibly could: with a two day slow refreshing rain after a month of drought. The timing couldn’t have been better. On Saturday we got the last of our first cut hay bailed and stored away, and then rain on Sunday night off and on through Tuesday morning to refresh the parched ground. It was a good chance the have the crew catch up on a bit of greenhouse work before heading back to the field to keep ahead of all the new growth of weeds. And there is nothing better than seeing the hayfields and pastures green up again after such a dry spell.
We have fresh chicken again this week. We will have a few whole birds available, tending larger than they were last time, and with luck we will also have parts available if we can get them cut and packed and back from the butcher in a timely fashion. We know many of you are eager for parts again so we will try our best!
This week in CSA we have Head Lettuce, Arugula, Asparagus, Cabbage, Rhubarb, and Dill
It was past due time for another planting in the field for many of our crops so we finally got some ground prepped and seeds in the ground this week. So the next planting of carrots, beets, lettuce, spinach, cilantro and dill is started. Nathan also spent some time row cultivating the first planting crops, and the crew got the parsnips weeded so things look relatively nice again. This week we can hopefully get caught up on transplanting1 and irrigation set for the newly planted field.
We have new lambs again! The two ewes we were still waiting for both lambed this week so we have four more little lambs!
This week’s pasture management job was clipping paddocks behind the sheep and ahead of the next flock of chickens. Sheep are great at eating most of the grass, but they can be a bit picky. Some of the stemmy seed heads aren’t as tasty, and there are always a few weeds and thistles that they just don’t eat at all. So to encourage new (tasty) growth good pasture management requires clipping (mowing) the paddocks after grazing a few times per year. These paddocks had been grazed twice already so it was time to clip what was left behind. But first the mower required some maintenance. New blades and an oil change, plus some wiring had wiggled loose by a safety switch so that took some extra time to diagnose and fix. But it is back in the field and cutting like a dream with the new blades. All ready for the next batch of chickens to hopefully go out tomorrow!
Well it’s a long day today. We already have the chickens at processor but we have a lot of miles ahead of us before the day is done.
Until next week
Happy ordering!
Nathan and Aleta Klassen