Pike Valley Farm Tour

This past weekend Andrea and I attended a tour of Pike Valley Farm, near Lancaster, KY.  We had previously visited the farm a couple of times, to purchase ground beef and/or chicken. I was excited to be able to take a tour, though, and see how they raise the animals.

We were a few minutes late, but fortunately were not the only ones, so didn't miss out on anything. After a brief welcome and introduction, during which time we learned that the gentleman now running the farm worked for a time on Joel Salatin's Polyface Farms, we walked to the nearby chicken tractor. There really wasn't much new for us to see here, as we're already familiar with this approach to raising chickens.

After seeing the chickens we were directed to our transport. Most of the crowd loaded onto a  utility trailer, where bales of straw were stacked to make seating. We rode in the bed of the truck, which was also full.

Our next stop was to see the pastured pigs. It was my first time seeing pigs, other than from my childhood when my Dad would sometimes raise one in confinement. The pigs are rotated through paddocks, at regular intervals, so that they clear one area, and then are moved to another. It was explained that the pigs greatly improve the pasture, and that they will often follow them, once the pasture has grown back, with cattle.

After the pigs we loaded back up and headed to the cattle paddocks. The farm has both beef and dairy cattle, the latter of which is part of their herd share program, which provides a legal means for participants to receive raw milk. After explaining a bit about the rotational grazing used for the cattle, a move from one paddock to another was demonstrated. It was quite impressive, as all that was required was a couple of calls, to get the attention of the cattle, then they eagerly moved into the adjacent, now open, paddock where fresh grass awaited. I always imagine cattle grazing huge pastures, of couple inch high grass. In their system, however, the paddocks are sized based on what the herd of 120 cattle will eat in one day, and then they are moved into the next. The vegetation in the new paddock was three to four feet high, but they apparently don't mind.

After seeing the cattle we next moved to a nice shady area and saw the rabbits, of which the farm only produces a few. We finished the tour up here, with a question and answer session. Afterwards, an optional lunch was provided, as well as the opportunity to purchase farm products. We weren't interested in what they had to off lunch, and are currently considering another option for our beef and chicken, so didn't buy anything.

I found the tour to be very enjoyable, and informative as well. I like the methods used on the farm, and am wondering if rotational grazing might be worth considering when we do venture into small livestock. I am not a fan, however, of electrified fencing, but it seems that almost everyone uses it.

08/26/13

Today was a fairly productive day. I picked a couple more ears of corn for lunch, bringing my total for the year so far all the way up to six. After work, it was pretty hot out, so I decided to wait until it cooled off to do much of anything. While waiting we drove into town to get propane for the grill, so we could have pizza for dinner. Once we were back home I finished hauling the grass clippings over to the garden and spreading them. I was able to get one section completely covered in a fairly thick layer of mulch.

Andrea spent much of the day in the kitchen. She initially started because she wanted sun sunflower seed bread on hand to start eating for breakfast. While she was at it, though, she decided to make up pizza crusts to freeze.

08/25/13

I was able to spend most of Friday evening outside working. I got the lawn sweeper out, and collected grass clippings from the recently mowed from yard. While I was at it I also collected some clippings from along the side of the road, because the highway department had mowed fairly recently. Once this was finished I started hauling the clippings to the garden, and spread them over an area with nothing planted. I didn't get to finish, because I had to move onto the next task before dark, but I think the clippings I have might be enough for what I need.

I stopped mulching to get the truck ready for grocery shopping the next day. This involved loading our large storage container into the bed of the truck, during which I discovered a wasp nest that I had to deal with. Fortunately I didn't get stung, although I'm really not sure why. I also loaded a couple of coolers into the bed of the truck and strapped everything down. Andrea helped to clean out the cab of the truck. By the time we finished it was nearly dark, and I needed to do some things inside.

We got up early Saturday morning, got dressed, gathered a few things, and drove out to town for breakfast. The last time we were there for dinner the lady mentioned that she hadn't seen us at breakfast in a while and urged us to come back in, so we thought we'd oblige. After breakfast we headed to Lancaster, for a tour of Pike Valley Farm. We were actually a few minutes late getting there, but thankfully others were too, so we didn't miss the start of the tour.

After the farm tour, we drove on into Nicholasville and stopped by the Lexington Container Company. We looked around, but only bought the one item we had gone after, a 3.5 gallon pail with Gamma Seal lid. We plan to keep the pail in the kitchen, and empty cooking water and water used to clean vegetables into it. This will allow us to add that water to the compost. I don't normally add moisture to the compost, other than urine, but I like the idea of adding the water from the kitchen since it contains starches and bits of organic matter that would otherwise go to waste.

We grabbed lunch after leaving the container store, then went to Good Foods Market to stock up on groceries. This past weekend was one of the quarterly Owner Discount Days Events, so we received a discount on our purchase. We had also special ordered a few items in full case quantities, on which we received a further discount.

We made a few more stops after Good Foods, including dropping by to visit a friend for  a few minutes. It was nearly dark by the time we made it back home, and was completely dark by the time I had the truck unloaded. Needless to say, we didn't accomplish anything else on Saturday.

We both woke today not feeling well. Both my allergies and acid reflux were bothering me, which makes me think that maybe I forgot to take my medicine on Saturday. I napped around the first part of the day, and as just generally lazy. Up in the day we rode over to the garden, so I could take out the compost and Andrea could pick tomatoes. While there I picked a couple ears of corn that had been damaged by pests. I didn't do much else the rest of the day, but Andrea accomplished some tasks inside.

08/22/13

It has been a somewhat productive few days since I last posted a daily update. On Tuesday I worked from the office in London as normal, although that is going to be changing back to Wednesday. Our final Gardening 101 class was scheduled for Tuesday evening, but was cancelled at the last minute due to an illness. I still didn't do anything when I got home from the office, though.

On Wednesday the forecast was calling for rain, and it was raining all around us, so I let that prevent me from going out to do anything. I don't think it ever ended up raining here. Sometimes I think I would be better off not even checking the weather forecast.

Unlike the past couple of days, today was productive. At lunch I went over to the garden and picked a couple ears of corn. These were much fuller than the one I had picked last week. So far I'm very pleased with the way the corn has turned out, although I realize that I can't judge the crop by the first three years. I went back out immediately after work and hauled off the debris from when I trimmed tree limbs recently. I had been meaning to do that anyway, but today had no choice since I was getting ready to mow. After finishing that I mowed the front yard, which was badly in need of it. It was nearly dark by the time I finished. While mowing I did come to the realization that I'm going to have to work on the brakes on the 4-wheeler. They have been sticking for a while, but today it was bad enough to impact my ability to mow.

Andrea and I both also worked today on putting together a big book order. One of the publisher's, Chelsea Green, that we order from often has a huge sale going on right now. Between the two of us we ended up ordering more than 20 books. I'll certainly have no shortage of material to read.

Book Review - The Weekend Homesteader

I recently finished reading The Weekend Homesteader: A Twelve-Month Guide to Self-Sufficiency by Anna Hess. The book takes an interesting approach by organizing the material into projects by month. Each chapter is also available as its own e-book, but I found that it is best to own the book in its entirety, so that other chapters can be referenced as needed.

While Anna has several e-books available, including Trailersteading, in which Andrea and I were profiled, this was her first, and so far only, print book. I have read a lot of books by new authors, or those with only a couple of books published, and was impressed by this one. Since I was already familiar with Anna's writing style, through her e-books as well as her blog, I knew I would enjoy the writing. What I did not expect, however, was the quality of the book itself. Starting with the front cover the book is filled with photos, and has a quality feel to it. I applaud Anna for starting out right by going with a publisher that gave her book the treatment it deserved.

Even though the book is organized by month, with each chapter describing projects to tackle during that time of year, I recommend reading the book in its entirety the first time through. Anna will often reference back to things she discussed earlier in the book, which could be confusing for anyone who picks the book up in, say August, like I did, and started by reading just that chapter. I also found that some of the material did not always fit into the month into which it was grouped. In July, for example, is a section on Fall Planting. Garlic is included in the list of things to plant for fall, and while Anna does mention that garlic can be planted later in the fall than most other crops, I found it odd to be reading about it in the July chapter when it would likely not be planted until late October or early November. Also, the book is written based on the author's experiences with the climate in which she lives, which I believe is a zone 6a or 6b, or possibly a 7a. I live in a similar climate, so doing most of the projects in the months she suggests makes sense here, but those in a significantly different zone will likely need to adjust accordingly. Reading through the entire book will make those adjustments easier.

For the most part the projects in the book can be grouped into three categories, doing, planning, and thinking. The "doing" projects include things like constructing a rain barrel, planting a fruit tree, or roasting a chicken. The "planning" projects include things such as planning your summer garden, budgeting, and setting homestead goal. The "thinking" category includes tasks such as calculating your "real" hourly wage and being conscience of how the media affects you. While I didn't do any of the projects as I read, I believe that the "thinking" projects would have yielded very insightful results, and may very well go back and do those later.

One thing that amazed me about this book is the level of detail that Anna was able to give about the projects that she included. Most books with such a broad focus provide only summary information on any given topic. While covering a broad range of topics, however, this book keeps a narrow focus on each, which allows for much better coverage of each topic. In the section on growing your own mushrooms, for example, she limits the discussion to two types of mushrooms, which allows her to give enough details in fifteen pages for a reader to tackle the project with sufficient information to be successful.

This is one of those rare books that both starts and ends with statements that have stuck with me. The first made me smile, while the latter made me think.

In the introduction, while explaining what homesteading is, Anna says "Remember the back-to-the-land movement of the sixties and seventies? Homesteading is the same thing... without the drugs and free love". When I first read this, I thought, with a smile, that while I could do without the drugs, I wouldn't mind seeing a bit of that free love in the modern homesteading movement.

In the last chapter, titled "Learn to enjoy what you've got", while describing some of the emotional challenges that can come with the isolation common with homesteading, Anna makes a deeply philosophical statement; "In the end, you take yourself with you on the homesteading adventure, and if you're not happy with who you are, you really might be better off working a full-time job and sedating yourself with television in the evenings." While she could have ended that statement in a number of ways, it is the first part that really has the impact, at least to me. Perhaps being happy with oneself is the most important part of homesteading, or really in any venture, for that matter.

2013 Kentucky Woodland Owners Short Course Program - East

This past weekend Andrea and I attended the 2013 Kentucky Woodland Owners Short Course Program - East. I am very glad that we discovered the event, as it was exactly the type of thing we needed to get us started down the path to actively managing our woodlot. The stated goals of the program are to provide educational opportunities to woodland owners, encourage sustainable woodlot management, and raise awareness of the critical role played by private woodland owners to the management of Kentucky's forests. The program is in its eighth year, which was evident by how well organized it was. 

The Eastern Kentucky event was held at the Lewis County Cooperative Extension Office in Vanceburg. A similar event was held the previous week in Daviess county (Western Kentucky) and one for Fayette County (Central Kentucky) is scheduled for next month. We would like to be able to attend the Central Kentucky event, but will be unable to do so due to other plans.

The workshops were divided into two tracks, the Green Track, for beginners, and the Gold Track, for more experienced woodlot owners. Andrea and I attended the Green Track, since we know very little about the topic.

After a round of introductions the day began with what they called the Woodland Games, which was a quiz to see what participants already knew. I was very surprised to learn that 43% of participants already had a written Forest Management Plan.

After the woodland games were wrapped up we were divided into groups based on the track we were attending. Gold track participants were transported to a nearby tree farm for the field portion of the day, while the rest of us remained in the classroom. The first workshop for the green track was Tree Identification, taught by Doug McLaren of the University of Kentucky Department of Forestry. We were taught how to properly use a dichotomous key for tree identification, which I found very helpful. I had attempted this several times in the past, but now realize that the part I was missing was using the buds, rather than the leaves, to identify the arrangement. 

The next speaker was Zak Danks, an NRCS Liaison Biologist. He talked about several programs available through NRCS which provide either grants or cost-sharing for help with woodlot management. I think it is something for us to look into. He suggested getting a Forest Management Plan from both a forester and biologist, which I think is a great idea. The most surprising thing I learned, however, is that Kentucky State Law requires anyone owning ten acres of land or more who practices either agriculture or silviculture, the practice of managing a woodlot, to have a Water Quality Management plan, which is something we do not currently have. 

The last subject before lunch was about forest pests, specifically those that are causing widespread damage. The primary focus was on the Emerald Ash Borer and Hemlock Woody Adelgid, the latter of which is of greater concern to me because we have several large Hemlocks on our property. 

When it came time for lunch I was expecting sandwiches, which seems to be the norm for events that provide lunch. I was very surprised when they uncovered "real" food, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and rolls. They even served the food on glass plates and had real silverware available. Dessert, in the form of ice cream, was also provided.

After lunch, those of us in the green track loaded into vans to head to the tree farm. A gentleman by the name of Philip Traxler welcomed us onto his farm, and showed us some of the ways in which he uses wood harvested from his lot. Mr Traxler is a wood worker, and showed us some beautiful pieces he was working on. We were also shown his kiln, and he talked a bit about the increased price that the kiln allowed him to get from the lumber he sold. Next we went to another section of his property, to the recently completed cabin which is being used both as a showroom for his wood working and will also be available for rent.

From the cabin we took a short walk in the woods to an area where crop tree release was currently being practiced. It was nice to see how much better the areas looked where the smaller and less desirable trees had been removed. The folks from the Kentucky Department of Forestry explained that the process is not only only beneficial from a timber growth perspective, but also for the forest animals, which is one of our priorities. We were shown a method of dropping trees, called hack and squirt, which relied on an herbicide to kill the tree rather than cutting it with a saw. Andrea and I both agreed that we have zero interest in introducing chemical pesticides of any kind into our woodlot, but it was educational to see the process demonstrated.

After returning to the classroom, we were combined with the gold track participants for the last workshop of the day, Timber Harvesting and Sales. This was led by Jeff Stringer of the University of Kentucky Department of Forestry, with a couple of guest speakers, one a consulting forester and the other an industry forester. One thing that I took away from this segment was the benefit of having a forester help with a timber sale. Since the Kentucky Department of Forestry does not handle timber sales, we will likely use them for developing the management plan, then contract with a consulting forester when it comes time to do a timber harvest in the future.

I am very glad that we attended this WOSC event. It was eye opening for both Andrea and myself, and will certainly help us get started down the path of more actively managing our woodlot. Even with a fairly long drive, three hours each way, I consider the event to be a great value and well worth the time investment. We will likely attend another WOSC event next year, and regret not being able to attend the Central Kentucky event next month.

Concrete Block Jungle Gym for Cats

A while back Andrea had the brilliant idea of stacking concrete blocks to make a jungle gym for the kittens to play in/on. I had some extra blocks on hand, that will eventually be used for the remaining rain barrels, so one day I decided to grab four of them and see how well her idea would work.

I began by placing one block on its side, then placed another next to it, so that the holes aligned. Next I placed another block, also on its side, on top of the bottom layer, positioned perpendicular to them. Finally I stood the last block up on its end, turned so that the top hole aligned with one of the holes in the block on that second level.

The kittens ignored the structure for a while, then began to occasionally sniff around it. Eventually they discovered that it made a fun place to play, or a cool place to sleep. At times all four of them would be on the blocks, or inside the holes. Some of them like to hide in the holes, then reach out and swat the tails of the others when they pass.

I considered adding to the structure once the kittens grew a bit, but never got around to it. It would have been simple to add more height, and longer tunnels by adding blocks. Really, the options are only limited by your imagination, and the quantity of blocks you have available.

The best part about this project is that it was put together with materials I already on hand. Not only that, but once the kittens finish with it, I can still use the blocks for their intended use. Even if I had purchased new blocks to build this, it would have cost less than $6. I enjoyed watching the kittens playing on it enough to easily justify that expense.

For those of you who enjoy pictures to illustrate blog posts, I decided to link to a couple this time. Here is one of Lilly looking out from one of the holes. This one is of Lilly walking around on top of the structure, with Tiger getting ready to climb up.