For more information about this week's share, click HERE.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Rest in peace Moonbeam.
This past Thursday we lost one of our hens: mean ole' Moonbeam. True to her character, she didn't go down without a fight; she hung in for about a week battling a condition that caused fluid to pool up in her abdomen. Moonbeam earned her name for being the sweetest little chick we'd ever met. Then somewhere along the way, as she grew up, she developed a bad streak that lent her a depth of character any chicken would envy. (In the photo below, Moonbeam is the chick on the far left, no stripe.)
This sad loss offers us a reminder of the extent to which hens are givers: they pour so much life and energy into making eggs, nearly one a day, which they must then labor to pass. With so much of themselves going into their eggs and out into the world, they are truly generous creatures. Moonbeam, too, was such a saint--albeit with a rough edge all around. Her quirks, her pecks to the back of our calves, and her unique personality will live on in our memory.
We'll miss you Moonbeam! The coop just won't be the same without you.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Monday, May 14, 2012
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Hens eating fresh pasture.
On February 15th of this year we sowed vetch and rye grass seed in the vacant of our two 'hen zones'. That was followed by a sowing of perennial rye on March 10th. Last week we finally introduced the hens to that area, now a verdant jungle with blades of grass as tall as they are. They've been loving the change of scenery!
A May 13th share.
From left to right: ruby streaks mustards, easter egg radish, red round turnip, habitat's hens' eggs, sunday mix, oregano sprigs, and assorted thyme.
We think it was the quick snap into summer about a week ago that has caused most of our broccoli family crops to send up flower stalks (called "bolting"). That's why we decided to pull the Red Round Turnips and include their greens in this week's shares, even though the roots were too small to use yet. The resulting vegetable is like a gourmet treat: a whole plant, comprised of tender leaves with the occasional floret. The red of the roots shows in the bright pink stems. Enjoy!
For more information about this week's share, and to find out what 'sunday mix' is, click HERE.
Monday, May 7, 2012
May 6th harvest.
A portion of yesterday's harvest: endive, carrots, mustards, bunching onion, thymus oregano, radishes. Not shown: eggs (in the fridge) and braising mix (in cotton bags). Find more details about the full basket HERE.
A brief tour of Habitat Farm, spring 2012.
We left 8ft. each of upland cress and arugula to go to flower, to attract beneficial insects. The yellow cress flowers and white arugula flowers are not only doing good; they make us feel good!
We recently completed a long-planned project to expand our rainwater harvesting capacity by adding additional barrels. We've had five more barrels for some time; we just added spigots to each and found them homes in reach of our disconnected downspouts. Now, as of the past month or two, we've expanded our rainwater storage capacity from just 60 gallons to 360 gallons. Here are two of the barrels next to some logs inoculated with shiitake mushroom; the overflow from full barrels keeps the logs pretty moist.
Here are three of our five compost piles, and the cans that we use to steep batches of compost tea. We compost weeds, straw and chicken manure, vegetable material discarded during harvest, kitchen scraps from our home, and sod removed in the course of making vegetable beds. We also have one experimental pile (at the the left of this shot, in the background) of blackberry vine and chicken manure.
For our entire first year at our Raymond St. home, the back border of our yard was covered with invasive himalayan blackberry--an area roughly 17ft by 60ft, or about a thousand square feet altogether. Today, that section of our yard is home to four beds of onions with room for another four beds to be planted this weekend. It didn't come easily; it took time, effort, and good friends. Big hugs to Maureen, Laura, Emily, Matt, Chris, and Jay for all their help at our work party!
Here are some shots of what it looked like that day:
And here's what it looks like today. The same compost pile in the shot above appears in almost the same position in the photo below. Now, it's just had it's covering of leaves removed to become mulch elsewhere on the farm, and the pile is going to be divided in the coming days to build up some new beds.
And here's a shot from the opposite corner. At the top of the frame are two beds of Dakota Tears fall storage onions, and in the foreground are two beds of Rossa Lunga di Tropea onions.
If you're having a tough time seeing onion transplants in these photos, consider how quickly the spring weather draws the greenery up out of the earth; already things are looking different out here. Come on by to check it out in person!
We recently completed a long-planned project to expand our rainwater harvesting capacity by adding additional barrels. We've had five more barrels for some time; we just added spigots to each and found them homes in reach of our disconnected downspouts. Now, as of the past month or two, we've expanded our rainwater storage capacity from just 60 gallons to 360 gallons. Here are two of the barrels next to some logs inoculated with shiitake mushroom; the overflow from full barrels keeps the logs pretty moist.
Here are three of our five compost piles, and the cans that we use to steep batches of compost tea. We compost weeds, straw and chicken manure, vegetable material discarded during harvest, kitchen scraps from our home, and sod removed in the course of making vegetable beds. We also have one experimental pile (at the the left of this shot, in the background) of blackberry vine and chicken manure.
For our entire first year at our Raymond St. home, the back border of our yard was covered with invasive himalayan blackberry--an area roughly 17ft by 60ft, or about a thousand square feet altogether. Today, that section of our yard is home to four beds of onions with room for another four beds to be planted this weekend. It didn't come easily; it took time, effort, and good friends. Big hugs to Maureen, Laura, Emily, Matt, Chris, and Jay for all their help at our work party!
Here are some shots of what it looked like that day:
And here's what it looks like today. The same compost pile in the shot above appears in almost the same position in the photo below. Now, it's just had it's covering of leaves removed to become mulch elsewhere on the farm, and the pile is going to be divided in the coming days to build up some new beds.
And here's a shot from the opposite corner. At the top of the frame are two beds of Dakota Tears fall storage onions, and in the foreground are two beds of Rossa Lunga di Tropea onions.
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