Not really a time to rest, though my left arm is telling me otherwise. Three days of rest and light activity whether I like it or not, with a healing regimen of ice applications and extra stretching to get myself back into shape. No matter how much I have accomplished, there is always more to do...
In the meantime, the farm store is open by appointment only until next spring. For details, see the farm store page.
Our stock is limited to honey, fingerling potatoes, kidney beans, mini butternut squash and some carrots.
Contact us by email or phone if you are interested in making an order.
or call (613) 278-1937
This is the smallest of four strips that were plowed in October by a local farmer (thanks Kevin!)
The turf will remain flipped over for the winter, to allow the freeze dry cycles and desiccating action of the wind to kill off as much of the bluegrass and quackgrass rhizomes as possible.
In the spring, Kevin will return to disc the field, chopping it up into a tilth that I can then work into seed beds.
This particular field will be used next season to allow us to expand our CSA by about a third. In the next 2 or 3 years, the extra produce will be in one of the other three strips, while a set of hoop houses will be set up here to extend the season of our tomato, lettuce and salad greens production.
Author and (now retired) CSA pioneering farmer Eliot Coleman documented a lot of his experiments creating high tunnels that cost a fraction of what many "professional" greenhouses do; and they are easily scalable.
By the way, Eliot's books are eminently readable, loaded with interesting information, and easily translate to any of the gardening work you might be doing in your yard or allotment. I first encountered his books and techniques during my internship at Elmtree Farm
The other big accomplishment is work on the new pig field.
There are not many pig breeders in the area who specialize in the traditional outdoor foraging breeds, and the demand is higher than what these breeders raise each season. As I understand, sows generally produce two litters: one in March and one in May. As most folks seem to want their pigs in May, having a home ready for them in March increases the chance I have of finding some earlier in the spring. Therefore, I have done everything I can to prepare this field so that it is ready in time for the first litters of 2024.
This area pictured is what I refer to as their home base: where the pig hutch, water trough and feeding station is. It has a strengthened electric fence augmented by a physical fence to "train" the pigs to respect the electric lines that divide their paddocks and the entire pig field from the rest of the farm.
One other item (off camera by about 20 feet) is a scratching post and place where the pigs can create a wallow to cool off and deter flies in the summer.
The remainder of the field is divided into 21 paddocks. Surrounded by an 18 inch fence, with an additional two electric lines. One is at snout level and one at jumping level. (Yes pigs will jump, though I have only heard of this behavior being done by boars when separated from a female in estrus - not necessarily a behavior exclusive to pigs...).
In turn, the paddocks are separated by temporary electric tape that are easier to adjust should the need arise.
In this climate, grass typically recovers from grazing in 21 days during the spring and early fall. At that time, the pigs will be given access to each paddock for one day. The next day, that paddock will be closed and the next opened, allowing the pigs to access fresh grass. After 21 days, the pigs return to the first paddock, which would have new growth on it by then.
During the mid summer, the grazing recovery period is about 28 days. During that time, the pigs will have access to paddocks in the new field discussed below.
Each paddock will have it's own set of grasses, weeds and planted oats and other forage crops to graze upon, as well as old, rotten and partially buried logs to root around for grubs. Each paddock is different, providing novelty to keep them interested in their surroundings, and important element to consider for raising healthy, stress free animals.
Most of the paddocks also have shade for the summer heat.
As for the other fields plowed this fall:
This is one of three parallel strips of land plowed. In the past, I had used these strips as the old pig field.
My intention is to create a 3 year rotation of the activities in each strip: In season one, pig paddocks in one strip, produce in another, and spelt and or other hay crops in the third strip.
In each successive season, the pigs move to the vegetable field, the vegetables are planted where the hay was, and the hay grows where the pigs grazed in the previous season.
With a set-up like this, the pigs follow the vegetables, cleaning out roots, weeds and rodent nests and re-fertilizing the land. The season after the pigs are on a particular piece of land, I will have hay planted to use as bedding (and winter fodder for when we start to breed pigs). Placing the hay year between the pig foraging year and vegetable growing year ensures that the manure is safely broken down and incorporated into the soil, neutralizing harmful bacteria more than a year before produce is planted.
Always thinking ahead, I have a place to over winter pigs when I am ready to start breeding them. This structure (seen from the opposite side of the pig field) is the current chicken coop. It's cellar opens onto ground level (the door is visible behind a small tree).
With more than a bit of work, the cellar and yet to be enclosed yard can be re-purposed to contain pigs over the winter, taking advantage of the insulation provided from the surrounding soil and ground heat coming up through the earthen floor.
I'll need to build a run that leads the pigs from the winter yard to the pig field, though that task should be fairly easy.
To be continued...
