mid summer update!

Tomatoes haven’t been making it long around here, as we have been on a green tomato kick! With all of the heavy inconsistent rains, we have taken the safe bet and picked before they turn red to avoid split tomatoes or end rot! Our “Florida weave” method has been allowing our tomatoes to get very tall!

paisley holding one of the sweet baby Pekins.

Pekin ducks are known for their ability to reach a butchering size by 45 days!

The Pekins are now calling the ponds behind the house home for now! Staying safe thanks to electric netting!

The electric netting I use is: https://a.co/d/71IoOdZ. This netting is incredibly simple to set up, even when contending with rocks, and can be used with a variety of fence chargers. While I usually pair the fence with a solar charger, this time I mixed it up and tried out the battery powered fence charger similar to this one: https://a.co/d/eMbdxap

I chose the speed rite product because the area down by the ponds is frequently wet, but also pretty rocky - which has the potential for conductivity concerns. I wanted something easy to move and without having to do all of the grounding rods, but keeping in mind I needed something strong enough to keep predators out.

The plan with the pekins, other than enjoying watching them swim around and keep the water looking better is to keep a few as egg layers and the rest to be butchered for meat.

Speaking of meat... The heritage meat chickens are getting close to dispatch to freezer camp! Follow us on facebook so you don;t miss your chance to learn about backyard chicken processing.

A litter of 11 Kune Kune Piglets, kept us busy in late July as we plan to butcher out a few more hogs this fall to fill our freezer and that of a few others on our wait list!

As we have somehow ended up in august already we have begun the fall garden which includes planting a greenhouse full of MUMS! So far we have transplanted 175.

Advance orders are being taken now on my site, with no deposit for the Belgian White, Yoder Bronze, Belgian Orange, Belgian Violet, Yoder Pearl. You can keep up with the growth of your plants by subscribing to the "MUM UPDATES!" Mums are expected to be ready starting September 23 with the bronze and pearl colors and continue through mid October through early November with white, orange, and violet.

Erin's Alpaca's had an exciting start to the summer as well with a baby cria born to the farm in woodstock. We kept the party going by hosting a "sip and see" bringing in Strasburg's "Burg Nutrition" Teas to sip on as a compliment to coming to check out the local vendors and snuggle the alpacas! The Little R learned a lot about event coordination, social networking, marketing, and set up for events. We are already looking forward to beginning the planning for a fall event soon! Stay tuned because it will be one of a kind! AND EVEN BIGGER... THE LITTLE R WAS SET UP ON SITE FOR POP UP MARKET SALES!

ERIN'S ALPACAS

"Emu" looks on as "Pauline" gives baby "Agnes" aka "Aggie" a kiss!