Alternatives to Roundup

There are many concerns about the increasing use of glyphosate on both farm crops and in general.  This increase can be attributed to the ease of use of the product and the major increase in the number of GMO plants available for crops.  We discuss many alternatives to roundup.

To view the article in it’s entirety, click HERE

This article has been moved to our new website.  Please Click HERE to be rerouted to http://heritagebreedsfarm.com.

We talk about many of the alternatives to glyphosate for weed control.

Thanks,

DrJeff7

Hay There!

For more check us out at http:/heritagebreedsfarm.com

Red Poll Journal is here

I am excited to see the newest Red Poll journal included in mu post vacation stack of mail!  Good times ahead reading all of the articles.  I will try to pass on tidbits as I learn them.

We are still researching and building our foundation herd, so gathering as much information as we can is vital.  The National Red Poll meeting appears to be slated for Louisville, Kentucky this year.  I think the date is set for sometime in November.

Until next time!

Tips for New Fruit Trees?

Rows of thick-trunked leafless fruit trees covered in pink blossoms, against a backdrop of Osoyoos foothills. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I am not sure about how to start new fruit trees.  Does that seem like an odd way to start a blog on new fruit trees, or what?   Hang in there and let me explain……I have never started new fruit trees (unless the 30 foot tall tree that grew from the abandoned peach pit counts).  In my quest to get inspiration for plate, I stumbled a cross a topic in my daily Bible devotion

Leviticus 19: 23-25

“When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden.  For three years you are to consider it forbidden, it must not be eaten.  In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord.  But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit.  In this way your harvest will be increased.  I am the Lord your God.”

English: Recently planted fruit trees, Hom Green This field has been planted with fruit trees within the last year as last September whis field was in arable use. See: [955381] (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Did you catch that recipe?  The first three years the fruit is forbidden.  I take this to mean….remove the fruit and the fruit buds.  This allows the tree to focus its nutrients toward strengthening itself by building better roots, a stronger trunk, and to strengthen its generalized health.
The fourth year the fruit is to be a praise offering.  I am not sure what this means for today.  Perhaps donating the food to a local food bank?  Though this has no purpose that I can think of for the tree….tithing the “firstfuits” is definitely a great Biblical principle.  In the fifth year, we may eat.
God promises a reward for this recipe stating “In this way your harvest will be increased.”  (Tangent alert….tangent alert:  this makes me think of the 10 commandments when God states: honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord is giving you.”  This is the only commandment with a promise).

I would like to get some new dwarf fruit trees this year.  I will try to recall the principles from above as I try to get our fruit trees off to a solid start.  I am interested to look and see if there is actually a recommendation that follows the outline above.

Using a Cold Frame

Cold Frame (Photo credit: Chiot’s Run)

Using a cold frame is relatively simple.  The basics involve lifting the transparent cover up a few inches on day that are sunny and warm.  A good temperature guideline is 55 degrees.  If left shut on a 70 degree day, plants will get overheated and die.  The lid should also be kept shut on cold days and mild days that lack sunlight.

A few things that I have learned about cold framing. First of all, cold frames come in many shapes and sizes. A frame can be made from wood, cinder block, or even be a floating row cover elevated with hoops. I even visited a homestead that used white plastic 55 gallon drums that were cut in half length wise.  Whatever the material, size or shape; a cold frame must have the ability to seal well and to allow light in through the top.  The clear covering can be any material, including plexiglass, plastic and glass

Second, I learned that something should be used to prevent the lid from flying open during heavy winds. I have not decided what to use to stop this with mine as of yet. Ideas that I am pondering are baling twine, a notched propping stick, or a chain.  As you may have noted in a previous post, our clod frame blew open in some high wind and the glass shattered all over the ground.

It is vital to place the cold frame where it is convenient and easy to see. That way it will be ever present within your mind. I have lost two tomato plants because I did not open the cold frame early enough in the day.  I would suggest that the cold frame go near to the garden or close to the house.  Ours will get moved down near the house, where it will be seen every day and night in the fall.

A weed barrier should be placed underneath the plants, otherwise weeds will be encouraged to grow along with the desired plants.  The plants can be grown directly in the soil.  They can also be grown in containers. (If transplanting is desired later on, containers would be the best way to grow the plants.)

Cold frame (Photo credit: castle79)

The only other key is to water the plants regularly.  Stressed plants do not grow well.  The plants tend to dry out if they are in containers, so monitoring is key.  If in containers, the plants likely will need to be transplanted to larger containers as they grow to a larger size.  Root bound plants also tend to become stressed.

Hopefully this is helpful.  There will be more tips and tricks added as we discover more information through research and trial and error.

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• Peter’s Garden: On Cold Frames and Greenhouses (primroseblog.wordpress.com)
• Building a cold frame (workbike.wordpress.com)
• How to Protect Plants from a Late Freeze (backyardgardeningtips.com)
• Using a Cold Frame to Start Your Summer Garden (eatdrinkbetter.com)

Another natural approach to allergies: Local Honey

This image was selected as a picture of the week on the Malay Wikipedia for the 46th week, 2009. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I covered a great way to help with allergies in a previous post.  I now want to focus on another natural form of allergy control: honey.  I was talking to my doctor that other day and the topic of natural health came up.  He asked me if I had tried honey as a method of allergy control.  I told him that I have been eating a lot of honey, but that I was unsure of how much I ate per day.  He stated that the suggested amount of daily honey is 1 tablespoon per day.
The thought behind honey is that bees feed on pollen.  By eating honey everyday, you are essentially taking in a small amount of pollen.  This concept is similar to the method of allergy hyposensitization (allergy shots.)  One key is that the honey must be produced locally by free ranging bees.  This allows the bees to collect the pollen from sources that are likely bombarding your histamine cells.
So is there any science behind the claims that honey helps to alleviate allergy symptoms or is this simply a false claim?

There does not to be a peer-reviewed study that has been conducted on this treatment/ theory.  As a veterinarian, the premise makes

sense in that you are introducing very low amounts of the allergens into your body over a long period of time (the same concept as immunotherapy).  It appears that the pollen should be a local as possible (within three miles is generally recommended.)

Honey (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One informal (unfunded) study on allergies and honey conducted by students at Xavier University in New Orleans produced positive results. Researchers divided participants into three groups: seasonal allergy sufferers, year-round allergy sufferers and non-allergy sufferers. These groups were further divided into three subgroups with some people taking two teaspoons of local honey per day, others taking the same amount of non-local honey each day and the final subgroup not taking honey at all. The Xavier students found that after six weeks, allergy sufferers from both categories suffered fewer symptoms.  The group taking local honey reported the most improvement.

The good effects of this local honey are best when the honey is taken a little bit (a couple of teaspoons-full) a day for several months prior to the pollen season.   There are a multitude of success stories online to back up these claims.

Canadian goldenrod (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Some allergists rebel at the concept of honey relieving allergies.  Their claims are based on the thinking that most allergies are caused by plants that are fertilized by the wind and not insects.  As a result, the bees do not collect this pollen and it does not show up in the honey that they produce.

Related articles

• Benefits of Honey (farmfoodieandfitness.com)
• Natural approach to Allergies (heritagebreedfarms.wordpress.com)
• Allergies? Some Pollens Are Much More Aggressive Than Others (myallergysupport.wordpress.com)
• Can Local Honey Help My Allergies? (webmd.com)

Homesteading Series part 6 plant selection

So now we move on to the selection of plants.  Again this may be higher on the list, but we will discuss it here.  The reality is that all of these parts are intertwined.

Selection of plants can be broken down into several categories.  First we need to consider what the animals will be eating.  So one consideration is the pasture, the other consideration is the crops.  Second we will look at the garden plants.  Third, and finally, comes the orchard and berry plants.

Plants for the animals.

Pasture:

Crops. View from a bridleway. The different textures and colours are created by barley in the foreground, wheat behind and young sweet corn to the right. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As can be noted from examining the blog here, we are fans of grazing systems.  This allows for less equipment and generally more self-sufficiency.  We prefer rotational grazing, but I digress.  So what plants do you want to have in your pastures?  Pasture should include one or two types of grasses.  Typical types include Fescue, Ryegrass,Timothy, Orchard Grass and Kentucky Bluegrass.  Other plants that are typically included in pasture are red clover, ladino clover, white clover and alfalfa.  It is recommended to have a variety of these plants within a given pasture to provide varying amounts of protein, vitamins, and mineral.  Certain plants also thrive at different times of the year.  By varying the types of plants within a given pasture, the grazing season can be extended both earlier and later in the year than normal.

Selecting Forage Crops

Carsington Pastures, Derbyshire (Photo credit: eamoncurry123)

Crops:

Perhaps crops are what many people think of when they think of plants on the farm.  Crops are used for many different purposes, the main one of which is food for the animals.  Field corn is a crop that is vital to many farming operations.  It is very versatile and can be fed to numerous species of animals.  Corn has traditionally been a very inexpensive feed source, though that had changed some with the subsidization of the ethanol fuel industry.  Soy beans are another crop that is grown in abundance in the United States.  It is used as a protein source and also as a way to fix nitrogen into the soil when used in a crop rotation.  Other crops that are commonly grown are Wheat, Barley, Rye, Oats, Spelts and many others.  Some of these, such as oats and wheat, can be used for two purposes.  The grain is harvested for use as a feed and the stalks can be harvested for use as straw (animal bedding).

Garden Plants

The vegetable garden is one of the main focal points of a homestead.  A garden serves to provide fresh food and also bountiful harvests that can be stored for winter usage.  The plants that can be grown in a garden are limitless.  We will discuss a few here, but the scope of this particular series does not permit for an in depth discussion.

USDA 98c0442 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sweet Corn is the starting point, as it is one of our favorites.  The only downside that I see with Sweet corn is the space required to grow it, though the space can be maximized by using interplanting (we plant melons within the rows of corn, which allows the melons to spread out.  Both melons and corn take a lot of space, but by growing them in the same row, we can capitalize on some of that space.)  Beans are another key crop.  We also raise green beans (Green Jade works well as a variety).  There are many types of beans, several of which can be dried.

Other vegetables that are traditional garden staples include lettuces, spinach, onions, beets, cucumber, zucchini, squash and many others. Heirloom vegetables are those that are passed from generation to generation. They serve to preserve the plant genetic variability. Heirloom plants (as long as they do not get cross pollinated) will produce seed that it is true, meaning that the seed can be saved and replanted. Once replanted, the seed will produce plants that are the same variety as the mother plant. Hybrids plants do not produce seeds that will grow predictable plant offspring. Oftentimes the seed is not viable. At other times , the seed will produce on of the parent varieties that was used to make the hybrid plant. An example of this is Incredible Sweet Corn. This is our favorite sweet corn. Saving the seeds and replanting them will usually produce a dent corn or field corn that was used in the cross pollination to get the incredible hybrid.
We utilize several varieties of heirloom vegetables so that we can save the seeds if desired. A few examples are blue hopi corn (Below)

and golden bantam corn. Heirloom seeds can be purchased from several suppliers. We usually make our selection from Fedco Seeds.

Orchards and Berries

The third and final category for homesteading plants includes Orchards fruits and berries.  This category will be finished in another post due to space and time constraints.

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• Start a Self-Sufficient 1-Acre Homestead (rajultrivedi.wordpress.com)

Homesteading Series Part 5: Containing animals

A sturdy and well-built post and rail fence (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Here we will specifically discuss fencing.  Fencing plans again depend upon the type of animal that you are trying to contain. I will try to lay this out in an organized fashion starting with types of fences. I will then try to cover fencing for various farm animals. These animals will include cattle, goats, sheep, pigs and horses. I will not attempt to cover chickens at this time ( other than to say clip their wings and make sure your tightly woven fence is tight against the ground).

Types of Fences

There many various ways to classify fencing. The first way to organize it is electrified versus non-electric. Another way is permanent versus temporary. For the purposes of this article, the focus will center around permanent fencing. Systems can be hybrid with permanent and temporary, but the perimeter fencing should be very solid and permanent (in the opinion of this author).

woven wire fence(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There are various type of materials that are used to make fencing. Focusing on the modern versions, there are hog paneling, woven wire, barbed wire, high tensile, polywire, vinyl and board fencing. Board

Roll of barbed wire on a farm (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

fencing, woven wire, and hog paneling are suitable for non electric systems. Vinyl may be considered here as well, though animals can lean on the vinyl and pop the rails off. I recommend adding one or two strands of high tensile along the top and bottom of vinyl fencing to prevent the animals from pushing the rails out. Barbed wired, high tensile and polywire are typically electrified. These systems can be non electric if enough horizontal wires are placed to make them visible. Most fencing is, after all, mainly a mental barrier and deterrent.

As for fence posts, the options here vary as well. Vinyl fencing utilizes vertical vinyl posts. Board fencing uses wooden posts. For the wire- type fences, posts materials vary from treated wood to cedar to locusts posts. They can also utilize t posts and even some specialized products like kencove posts.

As a side note when planning a fencing project, it is important to draw out the design in many fashions. Talk to other farmers or fence installers about your project.  Describe your setting, animals and goals. Mark out all of the gates that are needed. Gates are needed for entry to the field by the farmer, for equipment and for animals movement.

Cattle:

Cattle may be the easiest animals to contain, as long as they are well fed.  The grass is always greener on the other side, so cattle will test fences if better food is available across the fence.  I like electrified barbed wire or high tensile.  Two to three strands should suffice.  The lower strand should be about 24 inches off of the ground and the upper strand at 36 to 30 inches.  I like a wire in the middle as well.  Wooden fence posts should be placed at no more than 16 feet in order ro have better visibility.  Some places suggest further spacing, but I have found that our fence is great with posts every 16 feet.  Make certain to keep weeds off of the fence, otherwise a short will be created and it won’t take long for the cattle to figure out that the fence is off.  I suggest placing the wires on the outside of the fence posts, so that animals can graze around the base of the fencing.  This gives you more grazing space and less weed wacking.  Other options for cattle include board fence, vinyl and woven wire.  I would add a top strand of barbed wire or electrified high tensile at the tops of the 48 inch woven wire.

Closeup of a smooth wire fence without barbs (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Goats

Goats are more of a challenge due to their inquisitive nature.  Woven wire works very well for goats.  The can be deterred by electric fencing as well, but the fence must be solid and provide an adequate shock to keep them in.  Board fencing and vinyl fencing tend to leave larger gaps that the goats can get through or around.  These gaps can be closed using electric barbed wire or high tensile.

Barbed wire fence in west Texas (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sheep

Sheep are basically like goats in their needs for fencing.  It is not their stubborn nor inquisitive nature that make them hard to fence.  The problem with them lies in the thick wool coat.  This prevents them from perceiving the chock of an electric fence.  Woven wire seems to be the best for sheep, though multiple high tensile strands can works as well.  The strands should be placed at 6, 12, 18, 24, 36, and 48 inches from the ground on up.

Horses

 vinyl fence  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Horses love to lean on fences.  They also like to hang their heads over the fence, looking for food to graze upon.  They can be kept in with just about any fencing system.  Traditional horse people tend to prefer either board fence or vinyl fencing foe aesthetic purposes.  One major advantage to these is the decrease in injury potential.  Barbed wire and high tensile work well with horses, but can cause serious injury if the horse gets a leg tangled up in the strands.  Fence posts should be placed no further apart than 16 feet, as the visibility goes down for a horse after that point.

Pigs

Again, I am going from what I have read, not what I have done.  I have read that pigs can be easily trained to electric fencing.  Their snouts are very sensitive.  In fact, they are very conducive to rotational grazing, but be careful where you leave the gates.  It seems that pigs have a good memory, so much that they are reluctant to cross where an electric strand previously stood. The bottom wire is generally set at 5 or 6 inches and the top wire at 10 or 12 inches.  They will train quickly according to several sources that I discovered.  There are other options as well.  Hog paneling is meant for pigs (hence the name….).  Premier Supplies makes several electric netting options for hogs as well.

http://www.greatamericanegg.com/blog/?p=89

I hope that this article has been helpful.  I know that it just touched the surface of a very complex issue.  This is meant to be something to stimulate thought and provide a basis to start.  Good luck and keep raising your homestead, taking more control of what you eat and what you do.

We recently built a fence, which we had designed.  Our intent was to keep costs low, yet be able to try to contain all of the above animals.  The fence that we elected is 6 strand of high tensile, smooth wire fencing.  We placed three large gates to move animals and equipment in and out of fields.  We also placed two other 4 foot “man gates” in other locations for easier access to the fields.  The strands are laid out at 5 inches, 10 inches, 16 inches, 24 inches, 30 inches, and 48 inches.  We electrified the top strand, the third strand down and the second lowest strand.  We went with this number of strands in order to have a sturdy fence that works even without being electrified.   It seems to be working well, though we only have cattle so far.

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Homesteading Series Part 3: Animals

At this point, you may be ready to start planning for and thinking about animals.  (I probably start here rather than with plants, since animals are my profession and plants are my hobby).  You will ultimately assess your own needs, wants, desires and capabilities.  I will go through a few types common farm animals and give what I see as the pros and cons.  I will take this moment to push for heritage breed animals (see where the farm name is derived from?).  By using heritage breeds, you are able to preserve the past and also capitalize on some of their better traits, such as having dual purpose animals. Heritage breed animals may benefit you as well by being more likely to mother their young better than some of the more popular breeds on large farms nowadays.  For instance, a heritage chicken is much more likely to “go broody” than a factory leghorn would.

CHICKENS:  I have already written a post about why you should start with chickens, but I will lay out my thoughts again here.  First of all, Chickens are rather inexpensive to obtain.  We purchased our first six pullets (who were 17 weeks old and about to start laying) for $5 per bird.  So we were out about $30.  The second reason is that I feel chickens are very adaptable.  You can make a small chicken tractor or use an old outbuilding (like we did) and the chickens will do just fine.  Third, chickens are small.  This means that they don’t need a lot of space.  Fourth, chickens are easy to feed.  We feed our table scraps to the girls.  We are also fortunate to be able to purchase organic all mash at a local elevator fairly easily.  Fifth, Chickens provide a very nutritious product…..eggs.  Wait until you crack open your first farm fresh egg, especially if the chickens have access to grass and fields.   The yolk is almost orange, it is so dark.

Buff Orrpington (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The nutritional components of free range chicken eggs is incredible, nearly unbelievable in scope.  Sixth, chicken are fun to watch.  Seventh, you are unlikely to get hurt very badly by a chicken.  Eighth, a chicken that is no longer laying is still good for something……the pot.  You can make your own chicken stock, chicken foot broth, and many other stews and soups with the “retired” old girls.  (A side note:  we utilize Delaware Chickens as they are docile, go broody, produce eggs well, are dual purpose, and we think they are pretty)  (Other heritage breeds to consider are Buff Orrpingtons, Barred Plymouth Rock, Buckeyes, and many others)

Goats.  perhaps second on my list would be a dairy goat.  Though goats can be very frustrating because they do try to eat everything, goats are still rather small and readily available.

Nigerian Dwarf dairy goat, show clip, in milk (Photo credit: Wikipedia)e

A decent dairy goat will probably cost you between $75 and $200 depending on age, breed, and time of year.  A nice thing about dairy goats is that they can produce a decent amount of milk.  When allowed to go out on pasture, they are good at cleaning up brush and unwanted plants, since they are more of a foraging animal and less of a grazer.  A downside to this is that various weeds can change the flavor of the milk.  Another good reason to consider a dairy goat is that the milk tends to be easier for some people to digest.  I believe that this is because the fat droplets are smaller than that of a dairy cow (or is it the protein droplets, I can’t remember at the moment)  We do not currently have a goat, so I am uncertain of a specific breed recommendation.  (we like the San Clemente Island Goat, but simply because they are very rare and are very cute)

Pigs:  Again unchartered water for us at the moment.  We are considering pigs for their versatility.  We are looking into pastured pork, so out focus is on breeds that do well in a foraging and pasture based management system.  Once again, pigs are reasonably priced.  Another good argument for pigs is their varied diet.  These are yet another animal that you can feed table scraps.  My understanding is that fencing pigs is not to difficult.  They apparently train to electric fencing very easily.  I have read that pigs will train uickly to two hot wires.  One at about 9 inches off the ground and another at about 30 inches off the ground.  They will train so well in fact, that it is hard to get them to cross an area that previously had a fence across it.  Most articles I have found simply use polywire or another form of electrified temporary fencing like those used in rotational grazing systems.  (We like Tamworth and Gloucestershire Old Spots for pig breeds.  Red Wattles get an honorary mention)

Sheep:  I suppose sheep are in the fold here too.  Sheep are again easy to obtain and not too expensive.

High sheeps (Photo credit: Bertoz)

Uses for the sheep would be meat and wool.  We do not have sheep at the moment, as we do not see spinning our own wool.  Sheep are grazers, so now we are starting to look at more infrastructure.  They will likely need a barn, a yard and fencing.  This adds to the cost of them of course.  (We have yet to select a breed, though I am intrigued by the Romeldale breed.

Cattle:  I would recommend a good dual purpose breed, but you could have a dairy cow and beef cows.  Most true homesteads likely have a good old dairy cow on hand.  A dairy cow will likely cost about $1500 or so, depending on age, breed and quality.  Some decent cow can be purchase through sale barns for less money, but beware that the farmer is likely selling her through the sale barn for a reason.  Cattle require feed and infrastructure as well.  You will need a tie stall or other location for milking.  You will need fencing for the pasture, or else be ready to push a lot of hay and grain around.  (We think the the Red Poll cow is the perfect breed for this, as they are good foragers. grazers and they are dual purpose)  (Other breeds to consider would be Milking Devon, Shorthorn, Kerry, and Dexter)

I would once again recommend a good old farm dog.  They are great companions, good for security and even can help with some of the wound up of the critters if trained to do so.  They can also be helpful with pests, such as the infamous “whistle pig”  A.K.A. Groundhog.

Hopefully I have touched on the main animals for homesteading.  If I have left any pertinent ones out, please let me know.  I am sure that some are fond of Llamas for guard animals protecting their flock of sheep.  Some may like Alpacas for the hair production.  I suppose that I left turkeys out as well.  They have their place too, just not at the top of my list.  Their place, to me, is on the thanksgiving table.

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Of Calving and video cameras

So the other night, we got to witness the birth of our first Red Poll calf here on the farm.  It all started at softball practice with a call from the neighbor.  He called to say that a heifer was in labor…with a bubble hanging out the back end.  We were just done with softball practice, so we quickly jumped into the van to head home for the show.
Upon arriving home, I noted that one of the girls was off on her own with her tail raised.  Indeed she was in labor.  So we set up near the barn to see how things would transpire.  We watched as she laid down to push, then stood up for a bit.  I was surprised to see her eat some grass in the midst of laboring.  We clearly saw her water break.  There was a lot of clear fluid the came out very fast at first and continued in small bursts as she pushed.  Finally she laid down for several contractions.  At this point, her tail and back end were facing away from us.
I decided to walk around to the corner of the filed where she was laying.  I stayed outside of the fence line, but got close enough to watch through the video camera.  I taped the whole event from this vantage point.  I watched as the calf appeared to be stuck.  I could only see one foot and a head.  My veterinary instincts started to kick in, but luckily I decided to wait a little while.  Upon zooming in, I could see both front legs and the head.  The legs were crossed in such a way that it appeared to be only one.  I was still a bit concerned as a few minutes passed without any progress.  I knew it was best to wait it out, but I was questioning this mantra in my head.  I waited a few more minutes and could see that the calf was shoulder locked.  As I was mulling over what to do inside my head, she began to make more progress.  The shoulders were starting to come through as her back end likely relaxed a bit more.  Finally,  the shoulder came through.  After many contractions over about 45 minutes the calf was about to be born.  Three or four final contractions and pushes and the calf was out.
We had a live bull calf.  I was amazed to watch him stand and nurse within 20 minutes.  This is so amazing to me.  We are excited that he was born without any problems and is doing very well.

And now the kicker……remember I stated that I was watching through the video camera?  Well, I was recording as well.  Apparently when I began to walk around for a better view I hit the record button.  Our video camera has a delay on the light enough that I messed the whole thing up.  Every time I thought I was recording, the camera was off.  When I thought it was of….it was on.  So when we went to view the video, there was nothing but grass.  The stinker is that I had a great video (Or so I thought).  O well Maybe next time.