Baby, Baby, Baby
Well, first off, we welcomed a new granddaughter to our brood of granddaughters. She makes number 4 and is a sweet little baby. We adore her!
As for animals, the calves came first. We bought them from our neighbor and basically fence-line weaned them. That method has been shown to reduce stress in mamas and babies. The way they all bawled that first night, I'm not sure what it does for stress in the humans! It sounded like we had a herd of elephants in our backyard! One of the calves trumpeted just like an elephant and one of the mamas answered back the same way. It was a loooooong night for us and the neighbors.
We got them on a Saturday. Our son, who is an agriculture expert happened to be visiting for the weekend. He helped us with tagging and vaccinating. We did all of that in the trailer but definitely plan to build a corral with a squeeze chute to make the process easier and safer in the future. We started out with 4 calves but one crazy, black heifer that I named, Bossy, jumped the fence twice. She went to the sale barn and we went down to 3 heifers. A few days later, we got our bull calf from the neighbors. He seemed to acclimate better than old Bossy. We put him in the holding pen to wean. You should have seen those three heifers pushing him around. Just like a bunch of bossy women! He seemed to settle in well. He went to visit the vet and became a steer and earned the name, Dinner. Yep, you got it. He will end up in the freezer. Now, I know some folks might have problems with that. But I promise you that your meat does not come from the "gettin' place." Now Dinner had us quite fooled. Ronny cross-fenced half of the pasture with electric fence and turned the four calves out of the weaning pen this weekend. They kicked their heels up, ran and explored and feasted on good grazing. After three days with no trouble, lo and behold if old Dinner wasn't on the other side of the fence with his mama. Ronny spent all evening tonight working on that fence. Dinner will have to come home and be a big boy.
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| Meet Rodeo Rosy, Ginger, and Blanca respectively. |
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| Nap Time |
Then.......on Thursday of the same week, the little chicks arrived at the post office. I went in with my neighbor and we picked up a cheeping box of 25 chicks early on Thursday morning. I got 5 different breeds: Rhode Island Red, Barred Rock, Ameraucana, Delaware, and Speckled Sussex. I chose those breeds through a poultry selection tool found on a great website found Here. The criteria I used included docility, egg laying, and heat/cold tolerance. They are beautiful birds and growing so fast. The website I mentioned gives lots of great advice and information on raising chickens. If you are interested in raising a flock, I highly recommend that site. I am also fortunate to have a neighbor with lots o' flock experience already!
Some things I have already learned are that you have to check their little bottoms or vents for pasting up. That happens when poop dries and plugs up their vent. You can sit their little hind end down in warm water to soak and pull the mess off. Chicks are also susceptible to coccidiosis. Using medicated chick starter feed and being diligent about keeping their water clean will help avert that problem. Speaking of water, they get it dirty really fast. I found some flat landscaping rocks to set their waterer on. I had to raise it up another rock tonight because they are getting so tall. One of my favorite things is giving them their worm treat. They looooooove dried worm treats. They just fight and fuss over the treats and will steal it away from each other! They are hilarious!
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| Mind you, I am fond of naming animals and I had a long list of old-fashioned women's names but those rascals move too fast for me to tell them apart. I think I am going to pick 2 or 3 distinctive birds to name. |
How Does My Garden Grow?
The garden is doing amazing. We have already enjoyed salads with my mesclun mix salad greens, green onions, and radishes. The tomatoes are starting to produce so they will be a welcome addition to the salads. Pretty much everything I planted came up well. The leeks and carrots did not come up but I knew I was gambling on them by planting them sort of late. The cabbage and broccoli came up better than I expected. Some beets also came up. I have learned that English peas, lettuce greens, leeks, carrots, and spinach need to go in the ground pretty early.
I fought a valiant battle with Neem Oil for non-beneficial insects and Garret Juice for soil amendment. I have also used an organic plant food on the tomatoes and peppers. I had a lady bug release for aphids and planted beneficial plants that attract beneficial insects. I have two different birds nesting in the garden and lots of visiting birds which are nature's best insecticide. Grasshoppers have come on the scene and have me very worried. They are everywhere. So far, they have mostly stayed out of the garden. I am putting out Nolo bait which is an organic treatment that affects the grasshoppers' reproductive cycle and ultimately kills them. I also put out Rabbit Scram, another organic product, around the perimeter of the garden. I wonder if that doesn't help repel the grasshoppers as well? I had an idea tonight to put several birdbaths throughout the garden to attract birds. They can have one-stop shopping: a bath, a drink and a buffet of grasshoppers!
Everything is in full bloom. We are going to have lots of melons, tomatoes, peppers, squash, and okra. The corn is starting to silk. It was planted in two stages as the first planting did not have good success in coming up. We supplemented the bare spots and that all came up well. I am particularly excited that the purple hull peas are loaded. I love those peas! I have lost to aphids for about 3 years now but am convinced that diligent weekly application of Neem for about a month and the lady bugs did the trick.
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| Right after planting |
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| Melons and squash |
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| Tomatoes and Peppers |
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| Peas, Beans, Corn |
Pick Your Own and Downtown Farmer's Market
We will post PYO days as soon as we start having produce to pick. I am pretty sure we will limit the PYO to melons and figs and will pick the rest ourselves for you. The berries will not be ready until next year but are doing very well. I am excited to visit an organic farm in Iowa soon that raises strawberries. I can't wait to learn new things to enhance our natural growing practices here on Scasta Farm.
We have also registered as intermittent vendors at the Waxahachie Downtown Farmer's Market. We plan to take surplus produce there on an as-needed basis. Look for us if you are ever there. They have a wonderful new location just off the square.
Children's Garden
We have a particular interest in teaching children about raising food and gardening. We would love to have home school groups, scouts, or private schools come visit the farm. Email for more information.
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| Children's Garden |
So, I think I have sort of caught you up to speed on happenings at Scasta Farm. I have so many things to share with you including what I am learning about composting, cover crops, and building chicken coops. I also want to chat about subjects like GMO's and find out your thoughts on that. There is so much to know, learn, and experience. The farm is just the place to do it. So, I will bid you goodnight and pray for rain and a peaceful night's sleep to all. Happy Farming!
