Here they are in the nursery with 34 little turkeys running around happily!
Follow along our adventure as we make the transition from corporate city life to the world of natural farming. Each day brings a new experience and brings us to a deeper understanding about the life and spirit that made America great. At our farm we do our best to give the animals we raise a natural, free, happy, stressfree lifestyle. Our mission is to learn and share how to manage a farming operation that is both profitable and humane.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Christmas Turkeys Arrive!
Today we received our baby turkeys, intended to be ready for sale by Thanksgiving and Christmas. We Chose to go with the Naragansette breed exclusively. Some of these guys will become our own breeding stock to lay eggs next spring. Then we wont need to buy babies, but can save some money and hatch our own eggs for next year.
Here they are in the nursery with 34 little turkeys running around happily!
Here they are in the nursery with 34 little turkeys running around happily!
Friday, April 16, 2010
Garden weekend!
Looks like we finally have good weather for starting the garden. Perhaps a bit late in the season but we had to wait for the soil to dry out enough to till. Looks like we are there and no rain forecast till Monday :)
Got a start on this by working this evening (after the day job) on the tractor to move the barn compost pile and the purchased for the trees but leftover compost pile to the garden. I just used the front loader to spread it around a bit, and ended up pretty much covering the entire garden from the two piles. The barn compost was amazing quality. Down a couple feet was pure rich black moist soil, better than you can buy anywhere! This should really beef up the garden soil even more than last year.
Next project is getting the tiller ready for the year. I like to sharpen the tines and service the engine at the start of the season. Unfortunately my brand new Hitachi air compressor died completely today so the air powered grinder isn't an option. Something new to deal with... but I finished the job with the Dremel tool I bought to cut rocks with Hunter. It did a pretty good job putting an edge on the tines. Why put a sharp edge on tiller tines? Well, the first tilling involves tilling under the winter growth of weeds and such. I find that sharpening those tines to a knife edge will slice through the stalks and grass much easier, leaving nice soft dirt behind in fewer passes.
Got a start on this by working this evening (after the day job) on the tractor to move the barn compost pile and the purchased for the trees but leftover compost pile to the garden. I just used the front loader to spread it around a bit, and ended up pretty much covering the entire garden from the two piles. The barn compost was amazing quality. Down a couple feet was pure rich black moist soil, better than you can buy anywhere! This should really beef up the garden soil even more than last year.
Next project is getting the tiller ready for the year. I like to sharpen the tines and service the engine at the start of the season. Unfortunately my brand new Hitachi air compressor died completely today so the air powered grinder isn't an option. Something new to deal with... but I finished the job with the Dremel tool I bought to cut rocks with Hunter. It did a pretty good job putting an edge on the tines. Why put a sharp edge on tiller tines? Well, the first tilling involves tilling under the winter growth of weeds and such. I find that sharpening those tines to a knife edge will slice through the stalks and grass much easier, leaving nice soft dirt behind in fewer passes.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Best Tasting Turkey Ever!
We prepared two of our recently butchered turkeys yesterday and the results were nothing short of amazing. I am not especially fond of turkey meat myself, but this particular combination of things has produced a flavor, texture and moisture that rivals any other meat in enjoyment. I even found myself nibbling on leftovers today!
Whats the secret combination that produced this near perfect result? I think the whole point is "combination". I have tried any one or two of these before and produced good but not outstanding results. It does take all of these to make a turkey guaranteed to please the most discriminating guests.
1. Pasture raised heritage turkey processed at approximately 9 months of age.
There are three important aspects here... Pastured means they get naturally foraged food with little to no corn based supplement. Heritage breed means these are not altered by breeding nor genetics to overproduce meat on the bird's frame in a ridiculously short period of time. Nine months is what it takes for these birds to accumulate not only enough meat but to develop enough of the healthy fat to keep the meat tasty and healthy.
2. Brine in salt and sugar
Brineing is the perfect method for preparing turkey. Simply defrost the bird, place it in a clean plastic bucket with the brine mix and cover for 1 to 2 days. When finished remove and rinse the bird for cooking. The brine is a simple mix of 1 gallon water, 1 cup sea salt, 1 cup brown sugar, and a tablespoon of thyme. Make as many of these as required to completely cover the bird. If the bird tried to float, I take a brick in a plastic bag on top to keep it under. Be sure to use enough ice so that the mix is below 40 degrees. Place the bucket in the fridge or outside if its cold. I like to use a one of those big 5 or 10 gallon drink coolers with the spout. They are perfect side, food grade plastic, and insulated.
3. Slow cooking over wood fire
To cook I use a smoker that takes wood pellets. My preference is hickory or mosquite wood. In the morning bring the smoker up to about 300 degrees, place the birds in for maybe an hour, then turn down to only smoke for the rest of the day. keep the internal temp of the smoker around 200 degrees. An hour or two before meal time check the meat with a thermometer. If its not above 170 degrees in the thigh and breast, turn up the temp to finish cooking. Also pull a leg partly off to make sure the juices run clear.
If you follow these directions, I can guarantee a finished product that will astound you. Who knew turkey could taste this good!
Whats the secret combination that produced this near perfect result? I think the whole point is "combination". I have tried any one or two of these before and produced good but not outstanding results. It does take all of these to make a turkey guaranteed to please the most discriminating guests.
1. Pasture raised heritage turkey processed at approximately 9 months of age.
There are three important aspects here... Pastured means they get naturally foraged food with little to no corn based supplement. Heritage breed means these are not altered by breeding nor genetics to overproduce meat on the bird's frame in a ridiculously short period of time. Nine months is what it takes for these birds to accumulate not only enough meat but to develop enough of the healthy fat to keep the meat tasty and healthy.
2. Brine in salt and sugar
Brineing is the perfect method for preparing turkey. Simply defrost the bird, place it in a clean plastic bucket with the brine mix and cover for 1 to 2 days. When finished remove and rinse the bird for cooking. The brine is a simple mix of 1 gallon water, 1 cup sea salt, 1 cup brown sugar, and a tablespoon of thyme. Make as many of these as required to completely cover the bird. If the bird tried to float, I take a brick in a plastic bag on top to keep it under. Be sure to use enough ice so that the mix is below 40 degrees. Place the bucket in the fridge or outside if its cold. I like to use a one of those big 5 or 10 gallon drink coolers with the spout. They are perfect side, food grade plastic, and insulated.
3. Slow cooking over wood fire
To cook I use a smoker that takes wood pellets. My preference is hickory or mosquite wood. In the morning bring the smoker up to about 300 degrees, place the birds in for maybe an hour, then turn down to only smoke for the rest of the day. keep the internal temp of the smoker around 200 degrees. An hour or two before meal time check the meat with a thermometer. If its not above 170 degrees in the thigh and breast, turn up the temp to finish cooking. Also pull a leg partly off to make sure the juices run clear.
If you follow these directions, I can guarantee a finished product that will astound you. Who knew turkey could taste this good!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Chicks moved to their new home!
Happy in their new home
The chicks where moved to the old turkey pen.. After cleaning and a fresh coat of shavings. The were sooooooo happy to be in such a big space!
The original door was covered with wire too big for chicks... Even after fixing the damage from Romeo. We needed somthing to keep the chicks from squeezing through the wire and escaping
Adding an interior door was intended to keep the chicks contained but within a couple minutes the pooped up on it. So this triple door helped a lot!
The first lamb arrived!
Our daughter Kim decided to use our new sheep for showing at the Jackson County fair this year. The meant that she needed to have the lamb in posession by this week, so we sent her up to Dexter, OR to the breeder we chose of jacob lambs. She brought home Evita, the first of our flock of jacob sheep.
For now, Evita is living with Peep, the last sheep of her last years show stock. He has been a great "uncle" so far as is living with her in the barn now. Wwhen the rest of the sheep arrive, we will move them all to the new pasture.
The first lamb of our new flock has arrived! Her name is Evita. She is soooo cute
For now, Evita is living with Peep, the last sheep of her last years show stock. He has been a great "uncle" so far as is living with her in the barn now. Wwhen the rest of the sheep arrive, we will move them all to the new pasture.
The first lamb of our new flock has arrived! Her name is Evita. She is soooo cute
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