Things have been a little tense lately (and my thoughts on grass)

Looking to the east…

Looking to the west…

The photos cannot convey the surreal feeling when your home is surrounded on all sides by a smoky haze.  Australia is experiencing a heatwave, and Tasmania currently has over 40 fire related incidents that the Tasmanian Fire Service is dealing with.

The TFS Online page has been up on the laptop for nearly the last 48 hours straight.  Some Tasmanian communities have been severely damaged by fire, over 100 homes destroyed to date, but at present, as I am aware, no lives have been lost.  However it looks like the next 2 to 3 days will continue with challenging weather conditions.  Our thoughts and our prayers go out to the families and animals that have been affected by the fires and our intense thanks and gratitude to the members of the Fire Service and other emergency departments that are working tirelessly throughout this troubling time.

Whilst we have discussed various fire plans and directions we would relocate to based on the location of a potential fire, the thought of leaving the farm and our animals is not pleasant.

I was brushcutting part of our front lawn that was knee high and had gone to seed in places and I was contemplating all that I know about the growth of grass and plants in general.  This was the second cut to this patch for the season and it may get cut once more before winter.  It was first cut in October or November (with a brushcutter) and then raked up and put down in a pen for our broody mothers and their young chicks to scratch through.  If I had cut it with a lawnmower the resulting mulch would consist of many short pieces of grass, these short pieces of grass are not good for chooks and can actually block up their crops and cause what is known as ‘impacted crop’.  This can lead to the death of the bird which has happened to a rooster of ours.

My aim with most of our lawn (at least for the short term) is minimum maintenance, maximum health (for the lawn) and maximum diversity (for the ecosystem).  The long term plan is to gradually plant out the majority of our ‘front lawn’ areas to a food forest style system.  However a large part of our grassed areas (around the house yard) are grown as grazing areas for ducks, rabbits and chicks.  These areas are rarely cut by me, except around the edges, as we move various mobile structures through with rabbits and chicks inside them and the ducks freely graze these areas as well.

My readings, particularly of Joel Salatin’s work, imply that the most nutrition (for the animal grazing this grass) will be gained from an actively growing grass.  Which he manages to create by a grazing system using cattle and poultry.  In his system, as I understand it, the grass may only ever reach around 6 inches long.  It is systematically grazed, by cattle, fed by cow droppings, which are then scratched through by chooks (grass is aerated) and fed again by chook poo.  He talks about the ‘candy grass’ that occurs a certain time after the chooks have been through which his cattle absolutely love.  Anyway enough about his system, it is great, it works and is a result of his many years of experience and observations and I’ll edit in a link when I get a chance.

Back to my meanderings, my observations this morning of my knee high grass were this – whilst I may not have achieved maximum health of the grass, I feel I had come close to maximum diversity.  There was heaps of insect life and various broad leafed plants that would not be tolerated in many ‘lawns’.  In my mind this ‘grass’ is excellent for my chicks to graze through as it has loads of insects, broad leaf ‘greens’ and a variety of seeds.  This would provide a diet high in a variety of protein sources amongst other things.  It may not be as good for our rabbits but as they are also fed a seed/grain and lucerne supplement then the grass is not meant to provide all of their nutrition.

As I was brushcutting I kept trying to create a rotational system with rabbits and chicks similar to Salatin’s but what he has, is 2 animals that are miles apart in digestive systems and diseases.  Rabbits and chickens are both susceptible to a disease called coccidiosis and for this reason alone I need to be very careful about any mixed grazing I do.

This is not meant to be a completed treatise or anything, I’m just getting my thoughts out there, rambling to myself in a fashion.

So far I haven’t mentioned what’s happening underground, and I am basing all of my thoughts on the theory that the size of the root system mirrors the size of the plant above ground.

So, in Salatin’s system – As the vigorous healthy grass grows out to 6 inches or so, so do the roots, seeking out water and nutrients, along comes a cow and eats it back to, say, 3 inches.  Some of the root system dies off, stimulating decomposition and the microorganisms that accompany or follow this process.  The chooks have come in, scratched through the cow manure, thus aerating the top 1-2 inches of soil, and fertilized it as well.  Then the ground is irrigated, allowing all of the goodness in both manures to penetrate deep into the soil, in particular the top 5-10 inches and stimulating the biomass within this space even more.  The roots of our grass then grows into this space, and potentially beyond, and the result could well be this ‘candy’ grass that Salatin talks about…maybe.

I’m going to leave this post at this point and perhaps come back and add some more at a later date, maybe…

Roll on 2013…

Mali at around 8 weeks old, photo courtesy Kalin Hayes.

It has been many, many moons since we last posted. We have been incredibly busy throughout 2012 and unfortunately our blog has suffered.

However, we are wishing our readers a Happy New Year and we will be back in 2013 with renewed vigour and a new focus in 2013. Here’s a hint…

Ducks…anyone?

Mysterious ‘rust’ on blackberries…

This rust is not only on our property but seems to have quite a wide coverage in the area.

Anyone familiar with ‘Myrtle Rust’ out there?

Whatever it is, it hasn’t affected the early harvest of blackberries but it could reduce the length of the harvest.  However we have got more this year already compared with last year.  It will be interesting to see what happens next season.

My little farmer boy and I were inspired by Kate over at Fox’s Lane and using what we had on hand came up with a blackberry and buttermilk cake.

Unfortunately he liked eating it more before it was cooked,and when my little schoolgirl came home

 

she told me it wasn’t sweet enough.  Oh well, more for me and my big girl when she gets back from work.

Now that school is well and truly underway I can no longer indulge in 12-14 hours of farm work 6 – 7 days a week.  Now it is a case of relying on that earlier effort and getting bits and pieces done when I can, with my little helper along for the ride.

We have been harvesting (and selling) zucchinis, squash, rocket and of course eggs.  We are harvesting tomatoes, broccoli, daikon, spuds and oodles of other mixed salad stuff for ourselves, the peas have well and truly finished and the beans are about to start.

We have possums getting into gardens, a rabbit about to kindle, ‘barber pole’ worm issues that have resulted in stock losses and a wedge tailed eagle that has become just a little too friendly.

Oh and for some reason I find myself researching RAW food diets and LGD training…

 

2011, Reflections (what worked and what didn’t).

Even though it is not the end of the growing season let’s reflect as it is traditional to do so at this time of year.

First cab off the rank would have to be this blog, from our perspective I would have to say that it has worked very well.  Certainly there have been many unwritten posts that may come in 2012: predators; stock rotation; Ethanol production and what it means to Australia; Pastured poultry?; to mechanize or not to mechanize?; the eternal optimism of the farmer/gardener; etc.

However the blog has kept friends and relatives up to date and has also kept me on my toes, keeping people updated without hindering the overall running of the farm.  The biggest bonus I would have to say from the blog has been the interaction with my fellow bloggers and fellow farmers/gardeners worldwide.

As always, the shining light/lights on our farm are our poultry.

Oh, and speaking of shining lights,

and the blog photographer was finally caught, by his brother.Using broodies instead of incubators is working well for us, so far.

By using a broody to raise young chicks we can do away with the need to feed the chicks medicated starter.  The purpose of medicated starter for chicks is to expose them, ever so gently to coccidiosis.  When being raised by a broody a chicks early days and weeks is spent avidly following their ‘mother’ around and scratching and eating everything she leads them to, this gives them a healthy exposure to coccidiosis without having to resort to any medicated starter.  It is working well for us so far, if we need to increase the flock drammatically by using an incubator we will indeed have to re-address the process.

Pastured poultry is working well,

they keep producing eggs like these that people are desperate for.

However, pastured poultry is essentially keeping poultry in slightly larger cages than caged birds.  In a few weeks time the majority of our birds will be ranged within electric poultry netting, in our version of a ‘day range’ system, whilst small groups of 3 or 4 will continue in the movable tractors for breeding purposes.  We have a handful of truly free range chooks that roam wherever they choose, not sure why they come in the house at every opportunity though.  Finally we have one traditional ‘coop’ of 3 or 4 ‘chooks’ that is part of a 4 bed rotation.  This 4 bed rotation is leading to plants like these –

I am quietly confident that the ‘Strawberry Fields’ garden is working, it has gone from this (please ignore the mug in the foreground)to this

Cucurbits with a daikon chaser.

Pink eyes and Dutch creams

What hasn’t worked so well…

the garlic in the weed mat wasn’t a complete failure, as can be seen here

Tas purple garlic curing in the shed.

however I did let it get a little weedy towards the end which must have reduced the vitality of the bulbs to a degree.  I am seriously looking forward to planting at least some of this year’s garlic crop into soil I have prepared beforehand rather than just covering lawn with plastic mulch.

Other things that haven’t been a complete success,

an early rabbit hutch design that worked well for a number of weeks before a fatal visit by a predator, most likely a dog.  We lost one of our does that night and as she had kindled only days prior we also lost 6 kits.  We also lost our ginger doe from an infected wound earlier.  The remaining doe has successfully raised 4 kits, 2 white and 2 black.  Possibly 3 does and a buck, we may keep the 3 does but the buck will either be for the table or for sale as a breeder.

Another thing that hasn’t worked as well as it could have was the Salad Garden

essentially the biggest problem has been keeping the grass down, between the rows and around the electric fence line.  Future plans are to start with a clean slate, rotary hoe the whole space thus eliminating/reducing the grass problems and also eliminating the need for the weed mat.

Other things that have worked

•   compost and compost tea, Dr Elaine Ingham style, thanks again Woolyelot.
•   seed raising under ‘glad wrap’ under fluoro lights, thanks to Mike from his Tiny Farm in Canada
•   Pigs prepping market gardens, when they are inside the fence!
•   Our bees, we have a massive amount of clover flowering at present and will be harvesting honey in the next week or so.

Other things that haven’t worked so well

• agisting stock, it limits how we can graze them.
• buying farm equipment online, 2 pieces of equipment have died recently, however both companies appear to be doing the right thing.

I think that’s possibly enough reflecting for now, thanks for listening.  Roll on 2012!!!

I’ve been thinking dirty thoughts lately…

The word has got out and

despite some technical difficulties,

the paparazzi have gathered.  (Don’t worry Mum, it’s just some stuff I’ve been looking at on the internet.)

I can’t seem to stop thinking about stuff like this,

and this,

and most importantly this.

I’ve had plenty of time to think because I have been doing this:

I must give thanks to some online colleagues for some timely blogs of inspiration.  Thanks to Wooleylot for reminding me about Dr Elaine Wingham’s work on compost teas in their ‘Sense of Humus’ blog.  Also a very big thanks to Mike and his Tiny Farm blog on an awesome book ‘Building Soils for Better Crops: Sustainable Soil Management‘, I am just over 100 pages in and soaking it up.

In a nutshell these guys have cleared the sod and fertilized the ground for us, the owner of the sheep that graze on our property turned the soil for us and I’m just finishing off the beds by hand prior to planting.  I had hoped to have our rotary hoe up and running for this part but I’m more than happy to finish it off with the mattock.  It gives me time to plan what comes next and also allows me to experience the soil with all of my senses.

One of the first things I noticed was the overwhelming smell, when I break the soil, of ‘pigscrement’.  I am concerned that we have a sandy loam and with these types of soils it is a challenge to maintain the organic matter, keep the water up to it and increase and improve the organic matter content.

The most important thing I have learnt, so far, from ‘Building Soils for Better Crops: Sustainable Soil Management‘ is that organic matter is broken down into 3 parts; the living, the dead and the very dead.

‘The living part of soil organic matter includes a wide
variety of microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses,
fungi, protozoa, and algae. It even includes plant roots
and the insects, earthworms, and larger animals, such
as moles, woodchucks, and rabbits, that spend some of
their time in the soil. The living portion represents about
15% of the total soil organic matter…

The fresh residues, or “dead” organic matter, consist
of recently deceased microorganisms, insects, earthworms,
old plant roots, crop residues, and recently
added manures. In some cases, just looking at them is
enough to identify the origin of the fresh residues. This part of soil organic matter is the active, or easily decomposed, fraction. This active fraction of
soil organic matter is the main supply of food for various
organisms—microorganisms, insects, and earthworms—
living in the soil. As organic materials are decomposed
by the “living,” they release many of the nutrients
needed by plants. Organic chemical compounds produced
during the decomposition of fresh residues also
help to bind soil particles together and give the soil
good structure…

The well-decomposed organic material in soil,
the “very dead,” is called humus. Some use the term
humus to describe all soil organic matter; some use it
to describe just the part you can’t see without a microscope.
We’ll use the term to refer only to the well decomposed
part of soil organic matter. Because it is so
stable and complex, the average age of humus in soils is
usually more than 1,000 years. The already well-decomposed
humus is not a food for organisms, but its very
small size and chemical properties make it an important
part of the soil. Humus holds on to some essential nutrients,
storing them for slow release to plants. Humus
also can surround certain potentially harmful chemicals
and prevent them from causing damage to plants.
Good amounts of soil humus can both lessen drainage
and compaction problems that occur in clay soils and
improve water retention in sandy soils by enhancing
aggregation, which reduces soil density, and by holding
on to and releasing water.’

(Building Soils for Better Crops: Sustainable Soil management)

I’ll leave it here for now and keep you updated as we plant out this lovely north facing slope.

Introducing our bees

We have roughly another 60 000 just like her, plus a handful of drones (the males) and hopefully only 2 queen bees (one in each hive).  One of the queen bees, from the stronger hive, can be seen in our previous post.

I have found working with bees to be an amazing experience and I am only just beginning.  Most afternoons I will feed the pigs, collect the eggs and watch the comings and goings of the bees on the hill.

We are expecting to harvest honey in early January and again a smaller harvest in March or April.As can be seen here both hives are Langstroth hives, the good thing about this is that there is a lot of equipment and information about this style of beekeeping.  An alternative system of beekeeping that we are very interested in is the Warre system, pronounced war-ray.

A great outline of how we would like to interact with our bees can be found here, if we lived a little closer we would seriously consider one of Milkwood’s Natural Beekeeping courses.

Bees are awesome!

A time of firsts…

Amidst the chaos that ensues at this busy time of the growing season we have been experiencing a time of many ‘firsts’.

We have our first broody hens for the season.

Which has then led to our first chicks of the season.

We have our first baby rabbits.

Whilst making our first thorough inspection of our hives we have sighted one of our queen bees for the first time.

Can you see her?

We’ve also had the first bee sting (our intrepid blog photographer), eaten our first snow peas, garlic scapes and broad beans, planted tomatoes and our early potatoes are flowering.

Another milestone is the planting of our first fruit tree on the property, a bosc pear, an impulse buy at the local school fair.

It sure is spring time

Spring Farm Update

Like a lot of farmers/gardeners at this time of year I seem to be outside with my gumboots on before I am truly awake in the morning and I’m falling asleep on the couch just after taking them off at night. Daily job lists easily fill the back of one envelope and are rarely completed in the one day.

Blogging certainly takes a back seat, an inspirational blogger from Scotland,at http://stoneheadcroft.com/ has been known to catch up on his blog late at night.  I certainly am not capable of stringing 2 sentences together after about 7.30 at night, let alone publicizing my thoughts to the world.

So we’ll just have to settle for an update and maybe some of it can be fleshed out at a later time.

There have been birthdays and bonfires,

cute kids,

bunnies,

and growing piglets.

There have been births

'Births' of a sort, these radish seedlings have come to life despite some very attentive slugs.

Deaths

This unfortunate lamb did not make it much past it's 4th week (?), we have also lost 2 ewes in the paddock for no obvious reason.

and bottle fed lambs

Yes this lamb lost it's mother, and has managed to spray a good lot of milk in that greying beard that is visible.

Garden update to follow.

Hidden designs in nature.

This photo barely captures the essence of this design as it was when I first saw it.

Has anyone seen this pattern before or something like it?

If not care to guess what it is?

Photo by Kalin Hayes.

What do you choose to run your car on?

big picture agriculture: When Will We Admit that our Corn Ethanol Policy is Immoral?.

I hadn’t yet made the leap to using the ethanol options we have in Australia, initially because I’d heard that it may not be ideal for some vehicles.  However I’d been reading snippets here and there from some American forums that had me thinking there was something more than just a little wrong with the whole concept of using our precious topsoil and a food source to fuel our desperate need to travel.

Thanks to ‘big picture agriculture‘ for opening my eyes to this issue.