Well, it's getting that time of year where things are really heating up at the farm, so I thought I would start a weekly snapshot of what we've got going on. "Farm Fodder" sounded about as good a title as I could come up with, but if you have a better name, by all means let us know.
On the vegetable front, we're having some real issues with raccoons digging the seed out and eating it. I've replanted squash and cucumbers 3 different times, and noticed this morning that the little masked thieves raided the melon and watermelon seed I planted last week. I took my gun down to the farm, but they're difficult to see at night, much less shoot. As a result, I've ordered some live traps that'll show up Tuesday, so somebody's leaving the county next week, I just hope it isn't me!
I got a good start on planting sweet corn today before the bottom fell out, but the rain was needed, so no complaints on my end. The squash and pumpkin transplants I set out that got beat near to death in the wind has actually recovered a little. Everything seems to be really growing slow this year, compared to last year, except the lettuce. It seems to be thriving, even after getting frozen by that last snow. Here's a photo of a row in the plastic mulch:
On the pig front, you can see a marked increase in growth of the pigs as a result of the warmer temps. We're waiting on the clover to get about mid-calf height and just starting to flower, so we can turn the bigger pigs in to graze. I'll make sure and take some video of them, as it's really cool to watch them grazing like cattle.
We've got our two Spotted girls, Perk and Twiggy, due around the 3rd week in April. This will be second litters for both of them, and neither looks to be just loaded with piglets. It's quite common for second litter sows to have a slump in born alive due to their loss of body condition after nursing the first time. I guess it's mother nature's way of bringing their balance back. To combat the slump we normally skip breeding them when they come in heat after weaning and feed them extra heavy until their second heat, but we couldn't afford the gap in production this year. Some pigs are sure better than no pigs.
Geez and Myfoot are some milking fools, and their piglets are really shining. Here's a photo I took of them the other day:
Thanks for reading, and we'll try and post something each week about farm news under the "Farm Fodder" heading.
Pork & Greens