Research reveals that grass-fed beef is better for people and the environment

This is a very interesting article that I happened to stumble upon among my blog reading.  It brings up interesting points that grass fed programs have a lower carbon footprint than other methods of farming.  The other interesting thing is that organic practices lower that footprint even further.

We would like to try to take things a bit further by trying to eliminate some of the machinery in our gardening.  Unfortunately, we are unable to totally eliminate the use of machinery all together.

We may look into horses for farming at some point in the future.  That sounds like enjoyable work.

Thanks to the author for the article!

Research reveals that grass-fed beef is better for people and the environment.

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)
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• Using a Cold Frame to Start Your Summer Garden (eatdrinkbetter.com)

The difference between open-pollinated, heirloom, and hybrid seeds

Reblogged from The Adventures of Thrive Farm:

Reblogged from http://blog.seedsavers.org/open-pollinated-heirloom-and-hybrid-seeds/#.T7jq-xD_Nhk.facebook

Deciding which seed to plant can be a daunting task, and the decision is often more complicated than simply trying to pick which beautiful tomatoes to grow. Among the more important decisions every gardener makes is the choice between open-pollinated, hybrid, and heirloom seed varieties. Each of these seed types has something to offer, depending on the gardener’s needs, interests, and values.

Read more… 429 more words

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Raw Sweet corn (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption] Couldn't have put it better myself. This is a good explanation of seed types. We like Open-Pollinated Heirlooms for seed saving, yet we utilize F1 Hybrids for several of our crops (Sweet corn being the most prolific!)

Related articles

• Homesteading Series part 6 plant selection (heritagebreedfarms.wordpress.com)
• Organic GMO-Free Corn - From WI Farms (wholefoodandmore.net)
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• The Beauty of Heirloom Seeds (eatdrinkbetter.com)

Homesteading Series Part 6a Plant Selection

We left off the last time with needing to cover fruit and berry plants.

Fruit Trees

I recommend having apple trees.  Apple trees may be a bit hard to take care of, but they are such a good producer of fruit.  I recommend dwarf apple trees, as the traditional varieties get very tall.  We have some trees that are 15 feet tall and very difficult to manage.  The dwarf varieties are more manangeable.

Blueberries:  We love blueberries.  They are an excellent source of vitamins and antioxidants.  One key with blueberries is to hve two varieties.  Two varieties are necessary because one variety will produce fruit.  There are several types of plants, separated into categories in different ways.  The first category is high bush versus low bush.  The other way to categorize the plants are by when they produce their fruit.  One major problem with blueberries is that birds love them.  Many people chose to cover their blueberry bushes with nets in order to keep the birds from eating all of the fruit.  Another thing to note with blueberry bushes is that they require a low pH.  This means no lime applications.  One of the things that I know of to produce a low pH are pine needles.

Grapes:  We have concord grapes, which we use to produce a lot of homemade grape jelly.  The main thing with grapes is pruning them.  I suggest looking up some articles on how to prune grape vines.  Other uses for grapes are as an edible food and to make wine.

English: Leafs and grapes of the white grape variety Johanniter. Deutsch: Blätter und Trauben der weißen Rebsorte Johanniter. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Grapes come in many varieties.  White grapes and red grapes are commonly found in the produce section of many grocery stores.

Strawberries:  There are two main types of strawberries that I am aware of.  The first are Alpine strawberries.  These plants do not produce runners.  There is a second type that produces runners.  The ones that produce runners are very prolific, but can get out of hand and out of their designated area.  I suppose that there is another subcategory.  There are June bearing and Ever bearing.  The June bearing produce berries basically once a year.  They will tend to produce a robust crop over two to four weeks.  The Ever bearing types will produce off and on throughout the year.

Raspberries:  These seem to be easy to grow.  We inherited a patch and it seems to do well on its own.  We have berries that produce fruit twice a year.  In the Spring, new canes grow up.  There are cans left from the previous year as well.  The old canes in the Spring will produce a final crop that season and then die off.  The new shoots will produce fruit in the fall and then again the following Spring.  There are thornless varieties that have been produced as well.

Other: Peach trees are often found on homesteads.  We are currently trying a cherry tree and a plum tree.

In addition to these plants and the ones mentioned in the first article on plant selection, there are nut trees.  Walnut trees are popular in our area.

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• Plant Some Bloomin’ Blueberries (philadelphia.cbslocal.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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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.

Related articles

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Homestead Series Part 1 Where to Begin

Homestead-July 15, 2006 064-BW (Photo credit: jc-pics)

 

A follower requested a thread on starting a homestead. First off, I direct you to a previous post about homesteading…..what is it? In that post, I give you my definition and description of what homesteading is. Here , I will begin to describe a homestead and define its essential parts. I will attempt to tackle this in my own step by step approach and according to my list of priorities. So here we go…..

 

 

The most essential aspect of a homestead is securing a site. This may seem simple and basic, but let me explain. To begin a homestead, you must have some land. I would guess that an acre would suffice, yet the more the better. Perhaps 20 acres would be ideal for a simple homestead, but several hundred acres would lend itself nicely to a self sufficient homestead. Perhaps 100 or more acres would be more of a hybrid between a homestead and a fully functional farm.

 

The remainder if this post will focus on what to include in the homestead site.

 

The detail of a hand pump Deutsch: Handpumpe(Schwengelpumpe) Schwengelpumpe Français : Détails d'une pompe à eau à bras Türkçe: Bir çeşit su pompası olan tulumba'nın detayı (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

 

First off, there should be the capability to secure fresh water. I would suggest a stream, creek, or pond. However, a well would work as well. I suggest considering a well that is electric for the main water supply, but a hand pump type well would be necessary for backup. (I will slide in here my bias that homesteading is also a form of self-sufficiency and preparedness. Again, I will reiterate that we consider ourselves practical preparers. By this I mean that we prepare for some worst case scenarios, but prepare in a way that does not sacrifice a lot of the present.) I like the idea of a hand pump well in case of major power failure or blackout. If you prepared an off grid approach to homesteading, the need for non- electric water pumping would take a back seat. There are also windmills that serve as water pumps.

 

 

 

 

The second focus of a site would be an ideal site to place the house itself. Consideration should be taken for the area’s weather patterns. Here the predominant wind comes from the west northwest. The predominate sun is to the south, especially important in the winter.

 
I would think that a attempt to focus on pastureland and fields would be next on the list. Though a forest would be nice, we need to chose as needed. The importance of pastures and fields are for animal management. As may be noted, we are fans of intensive grazing, pasture based farming, and grass fed meats. Grazing systems can be modified without the need for tractors and a ton of equipment.

Brick Barn (Photo credit: cindy47452)

 
Finally, a site for a barn would be important. The barn can be built to fit the particular needs of the family. For instance, one or two family dairy cows need much lass barn space for milking than a larger number would require.

 

 

 

I placed a link to our Homesteading article and a few other suggestions that came up.

 

Related articles

 

• Homesteading: What Is It? (heritagebreedfarms.wordpress.com)
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Advantages of a Cold Frame

Cold frame (Photo credit: castle79)

cold frame in situ (Photo credit: poppet with a camera)

A picture of my coldframe (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Cold Frame

I always wondered exactly what a cold frame was when I first heard the term.  I will try to get an official definition below from Wikipedia, but here is what I would define it as:

Cold Frame – An enclosed garden bed or container with a removable or hinged clear lid that serves to extend the growing season in northern climates.

From Wikipedia: In agriculture and gardening, a cold frame is a transparent-roofed enclosure, built low to the ground, used to protect plants from cold weather

So I got close off the top of my head…..anyways, why would you want to add a cold frame?

• Extend the growing season
• Allows you to grow crops that would otherwise not do well in your area due to the shorter growing season
• Start Seedlings in the dirt
• Satisfy that early spring itch to plant something
• Easy to Use
• Can serve a double function of being a raised bed
• Nice project to do with the kids
• Can be made out of materials that many people have laying around
• Very versatile/ flexible design

These are just a few reasons that I can think of to build and use a cold frame.  We look forward to using our new one and  seeing what other benefits that we discover along the way.

Grass fed beef. Is there a demand?

Red Poll cow, Temple Newsam. Home Farm, Temple Newsam, is the largest Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) Approved Centre. Significant breeding groups of livestock from the RBST Watchlist are kept at Home Farm. This is one of a herd of Red Poll cattle, and there are 8 other breeds of cattle kept here. See http://www.leeds.gov.uk/templenewsam/farm/farm_live.html (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I was talking to a local farmer today about our small herd.  He asked if we were raising beef cattle or dairy.  My response to this is usually that we are raising Red Poll cattle.  The common retort from people is that we have Red Angus cattle with no horns.  I explain that the breed is called Red Poll.  That is the name of the breed and that my cattle are registered.  They then begin to ask about them, so I explain that they are a heritage breed of cattle that are very good at foraging.  They are known for good milk production and have been bred more for grass fed beef.

I then explain that we are believers in grass fed beef and are trying to capture like-minded people within our niche market.  To my surprise, this farmer began to tell me how his son is producing grass fed beef for a restaurant in Wisconsin, where he currently resides.  They are looking for any and all grass fed beef. This immediately gave me some hope for our products. Though I do not necessarily want to sell the grass fed beef to a distant market, it is nice to know that one exists.
So this got me to thinking: is there an increasing demand fir grass fed beef, or do I simply perceive an increased demand because I am a recent covert? So I began to look into it. I did the common research technique known as ” Google it.” Here is what I found with some links:

http://www.denverpost.com/food/ci_17186593

This article highlighted the growing demand for natural or sustainable beef production.  The author discusses that Walmart and McDonalds are even getting in on the movement.  She mentions that grass fed beef is no longer just offered in high end restaraunts.  In fact the trend has moved more and more mainstream.  She also mentions several books about the subject matter such as:  “Food, Inc.,” “Eating Animals,” “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” “Animal Factory” and “CAFO.”  Those are some titles that perhaps we will read and do a review at some point.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/11/switching-to-grass-fed-beef/

This article. blog talks about the benefits of grassfed beef.  These benefits include:

• Lower levels of unhealthy fats
• Higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids.
• Lower levels of dietary cholesterol
• Offers more vitamins A , Vitamin E and Antioxidants.
• Twice the levels of conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, isomers, which may have cancer fighting properties and lower the risk of diabetes and other health problems.
• These statistics were gathered by the author from a report in the Nutrition Journal.

So in summary, there appears to be a greater awareness of the benefits of grass fed beef.  These benefits are nutritional, as can be noted above.  Other benefits that are linked to grass fed beef production include environmental benefits and humane benefits for the animals themselves.  Those are both a discussion for another time and place.

I added some additional articles that are related below.  One is one of our own posts, the others are from various authors.  It appears that the first one has some concerns about the sustainability of the grass fed industry due to the increased cost per pound for the meat itself.

Cover via Amazon

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• The Performance and Health Benefits of Grass-Fed Beef (stack.com)