Since my last blog, things have been moving right along on the farm front. We have weaned and sold half of the most recent litter of piglets. We had a fella coming to pick up five of them and we had tried to trick them into the foaling stall so we didn’t have to chase them all over the nursery pasture. We almost had them in and I closed the gate behind them. Upon realizing they were trapped, they all went berserk and charged the gate, which Nick (who’s a strong guy mind you) was holding closed. The combined strength of ten little piglets is astounding! They pushed that gate and manage to lift it off the ground and squeeze under, despite our best effort to hold them back. Plan A was an epic fail. We tried again but they had caught on to our little game and were having nothing of it. An hour later, a kind gentleman and his young son showed up to get the five piglets and we had to sheepishly inform him that our plan failed and we were going to have to run them down. It had just rained and so those already fast and squirmy boogers were now also slippery with mud. An hour of piglet chasing later, we finally sent him on his way with an apology, five slightly traumatized piglets, and a muddy son.
We harvested several of the older hogs for the half and whole hogs we sold over the last few months. We kept a half for ourselves and I have to say, pasture raised Berkshire pork is something wonderful! We are also in the process of applying for a farm-based retail meat license and have scheduled an appointment to have our first hog processed and packaged under USDA inspection so we can start selling by the cut. Because let’s face it, as much as most people like bacon and chops, they rarely have the space for a 100-200 pounds of them. We’ll keep everyone updated on this for those interested in getting their hands on some juicy natural pork!
Our garden has been producing fairly well and we have already harvested our spinach, lettuce, rashes, beets, peas, kale, cucumbers, peppers and the tomatoes are starting to come in. Unfortunately, due to the baby, working full time, and all the other farm tasks, the large garden has been completely taken over by weeds. The only plants making a stand against them are the enormous squash plants that came up first and a few puny stalks of corn. Oh well, there’s always next year. D came with me on several wild blackberry picking trips and we managed to pick 4 gallons of blackberries for the freezer that is destined to become blackberry merlot jam on a raining day. Any extra or overripe produce is enjoyed by the animals. Interestingly, pigs love, love, love raw kale! Who would have thought?
One last note; our farm logo has been finalized and we are ready to roll it out. So here it is!
We harvested several of the older hogs for the half and whole hogs we sold over the last few months. We kept a half for ourselves and I have to say, pasture raised Berkshire pork is something wonderful! We are also in the process of applying for a farm-based retail meat license and have scheduled an appointment to have our first hog processed and packaged under USDA inspection so we can start selling by the cut. Because let’s face it, as much as most people like bacon and chops, they rarely have the space for a 100-200 pounds of them. We’ll keep everyone updated on this for those interested in getting their hands on some juicy natural pork!
Our garden has been producing fairly well and we have already harvested our spinach, lettuce, rashes, beets, peas, kale, cucumbers, peppers and the tomatoes are starting to come in. Unfortunately, due to the baby, working full time, and all the other farm tasks, the large garden has been completely taken over by weeds. The only plants making a stand against them are the enormous squash plants that came up first and a few puny stalks of corn. Oh well, there’s always next year. D came with me on several wild blackberry picking trips and we managed to pick 4 gallons of blackberries for the freezer that is destined to become blackberry merlot jam on a raining day. Any extra or overripe produce is enjoyed by the animals. Interestingly, pigs love, love, love raw kale! Who would have thought?
One last note; our farm logo has been finalized and we are ready to roll it out. So here it is!
RSS Feed
