Blog
Been a while; have been getting ready for winter, cut back the figs and mounded up with wood chips. Irrigation system has been winterized.
Breeding season is over, Zimmie is back out with the whole flock for clean up after a 2 week gap, the rest of the rams are visiting the neighbors flock.
Peppers and tomatoes did well in the Jr. hoop house, will plant further apart next year.
First Asian pears in the new orchard this year. We do get a pineapple from time to time, and fresh is so much better that what you can buy in the store.
Winter pastures look good, spread the compost from the hay feeding yard over some of them, broadcast harry vetch and crimson clover all filelds then cultipacked in.
Week ending August 1, 2025: Brought home the new Gampr stock guarding dog last weekend. Lots of cabbage and red grapes. Continues flowers, tomatoes and peppers with the hot peppers starting. The red teardrop is HOT, the rest are all mild types. Finishing up the last of the early sweet corn. Attended the 3rd annual sheep and goat day the Univ. of MO holds at the Southwest Research and Education Center in Mt. Vernon, had NSIP info table. Picked up chicks on the way home.
Week of July 14, 2025: We just returned from the 2025 Eastern Alliance for Production Katahdins ‘Symposium and Sale’ that was held in Elizabethtown KY. We went a day early and did two cave tours at Mammoth Cave, then had 2 good days at the symposium. There were many good sheep at the sale, there was one ram that we really wanted to bring home, but his price when higher than out budget (congratulations to Gibraltar farm who bred him).
Stuie was out with the ewes until this morning for fall lambs, he and our teaser ram are now with the rest of the rams until fall.
The brown ram at the left is the commercial ram we expect to have for sale AFTER his genetic test results come back, and after last months and next months FEC’s have been submitted and analyzed by LambPlan.
Week of July 4, 2025: Blueberries are finishing up (and the birds are eating plenty), first summer cabbage ready, still ton’s of tomatoes and green peppers, few hot peppers etc. Flowers still going gangbusters, Cassie picture with Ciara who was visiting and helped pick and arrange.
Got the mobile shade finished with the help of Josh who was visiting (pictured petting Nancy the guard donkey). who We pulled out in the pasture to start the faster rotations. The sheep need shade in the long pastures where the pecan and honey locust trees are not yet big enough to provide shade. The faster rotations will build organic matter faster. This is Switchgrass, grows well in this wet area.
The microclimate figs South of the tropical greenhouse have little figs; planted late in 2023, froze to the ground as usual, started small crop last year, too lated to ripen. Looks like they will do well this year.
Week of June 25, 2025: Cassie is picking a lot of flowers, we are eating a lot of tomatoes and peppers. Picked the first fig. Finished up the last of the early cabbage and broccoli in a stir fry. Still fixing fences from the flood, but the end is in sight.
Visitors this week took home eggs, flowers, garlic, tomatoes and peppers (sweet, the hot’s just starting to ripen) along with what they have learned. Cassie did a small stained glass project with a visitor.
Week of June 11, 2025: There is always a blessing in any challenge… Here is the first of what I hope to be a weekly update. We are no longer in drought…. and I have spent the last several mornings fixing fence from the flood damage! Another inch of rain yesterday, 1 to 2 more inches forecast for today. The 1,400 feet of bamboo we planted over a decade ago that has successfully filtered the trash out of the flood waters 3 times…. was overwhelmed by this record flood. We have logs in the fields! Lesson learned, more is not better… very little damage to the 2-wire fences, little more to 3 and 4 wires, and major damage to the 5-wire fence (5 wires was required for the NRCS grant, see the fences in this are on the video). Eating a lot of cabbage, harvested the first tomatoes and peppers and the last of the tart cherries this week. Got a banana too.
