Pasture clearing

Today our group cleared woody growth from the back pasture.  Many trees were already cut down, so we split the wood, piled up the good stuff and burnt the rest.

Caitlin splitting logs

Making a pile

burning the left-overs

There is always time to check on our little lambs:

Newly tagged ears

Don't sit under the Apple Tree...

when the student farmers are pruning!

Today we worked with a professional pruner and semi-pro comedian Brad to learn the basics of tree pruning and orchard care.  The whole day...  in the sun, amongst the trees.  It was delightful and tiring.  First we looked at and worked on the apple trees at Sentinel Elm

Sophia high in the tree

Caitlin getting advice

Looking at the trees at Sentinel Elm with Brad

Brad consulting Maggie on her trees

Later, we visited Maggie and had a chop at her trees and when we were done there, we drove down to an apple orchard in New Salem Massachusetts.  Here we found some very old trees that Brad has been working on to bring back to life.  Trees can get old and tired; in particular, they can be over-grown and all of their fruiting wood worn out.  With the judicious pruning, trees can be encouraged to grow new wood and then new wood produces "fruit wood" which actually bears the apples.  One technique we learned was taking new growth "suckers" and twisting them back on themselves or nearby suckers.  Once this sucker is no longer going vertical, it begins making fruitwood.  Here are some photos of some beautiful old trees with braids and pretzels.

Two arching braids

Tyson, taking a few good cuts

Plenty of pretzels

Student farmers, all working on one tree

And we celebrated Brian's birthday--no longer a teen!

Birthday boy enjoys pruning an apple tree!

And two new lambs.

Older brother up and running, new sister still slimey

Hedgerowing.... and Small Fruits presentation

Our group continued with the destruction of the hedgerow between North and South Waslaske fields.  'Nuff said...


Our afternoon was fascinating.  Sonia from UMass came to speak with us about cultivating small fruits (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and "ribes" or gooseberries and elderberries and currants.

Sonia chooses a vine to prune

Theo helps with the vine

Small fruits seminar with Sonia

And there is always time to stop in and see our newest farm friends.  Today we let the new family out of the jug.  Here is a little one exploring the sheep shed:

Pastured Poultry and a little field work

This morning the whole group discussed the births of our twin lambs with Josh Pincus before getting down to our topic of the morning, pastured poultry.  We discussed different ways to care for bird while giving them a pasture living.  Protection from the elements as well as predators are important, as well as designing a "chicken tractor" that is easy to move and to care for throughout the 12 weeks.  We will be raising "Kosher Kings" and the chicks ought to be arriving around June 1.  Before that time, we need to build two tractors to keep them safe and pastured.

First, we went outside to look at the version used at the Visiting Schools Program.

Looking over the model

Small sized with half roof

Emily can almost stand up inside

Wheels to move on?

So then we get to work making our slightly larger version.

We lay out the frame

Theo and Nora cut wood

Caitlin and Kiyoshi add braces

Brian fastens a corner

Sophia and Justin attach this side

Rebekah helps Betsy line it up

Lots of people on a small job

Emma sits down to rest!

We'll finish it up in the next week and begin working on a different design.



In the afternoon, we planted our first round of tomatoes as well as some radicchio in the greenhouse.

Some onion plants looking a little yellow

Tyson expounding on greenhouse technique

Boots on the ground

Stephen coaching Betsy in planting tomato seeds

After the planting was complete,  half of the group went to prune raspberries while our half returned to the hedgerow between North and South Waslaske fields.   Here's a little video of a well-coordinated "heave-ho"

Breath-taking

This morning, we found one of our ewes in active labor.  It was about two hours from finding her to witnessing the first birth.   During labor, she pawed the ground.  She would stand still for a while.  Then she would move about. Then she would lie down.  Then stretch her neck.  Then lie still for a while.  We watched her do this for an hour or so.  Then we went to get Rebekah, who was on duty.  As Rebekah came in, the ewe was lying in a regular position, chewing her cud.  What?  False labor?  No, just taking a rest.

Ewe in labor

Soon she was up and moving again.  It was another hour of this before we noticed a tennis-ball sized blob coming out of her "lady parts."  Once that hit the ground, she pushed again and something new began to show.  Something with hooves and a wee little nose!  Plop, out fell a football sized blob.  They had warned us that the baby would be very still when it came out.  I'm glad they told us, otherwise we would have thought it still-born.  The mother turned right around and began licking the little sweetie and soon, a white lamb, with a creaky voice, took her place in the barnyard.

Momma cleans her baby

In our excitement, we began setting up the "jug" temporary walls to keep the mother and babe together.  As the jug walls were going up, we noticed the "afterbirth" coming out.  But wait!  It had little hooves and a little nose...  TWINS!!!  The momma was pushing out the second baby but continuing to clean and tend to the first!  Once that second baby was out, she turned to care for it!

Second baby gets the welcome treatment

After several hours (and a bit of worry on our part), the momma had cleaned and tended and bonded to her little ones.  And everyone settled down for a nap!

Yes, I know this is a repeat, but isn't it a great photo???

Only 10 more births to go!

Twins!

This morning, we witnessed the miracle of birth...  TWICE!

Hedgerow Happiness and Soil Science

 Prelude:  This evening I am on "lambing duty" and I am a bundle of nerves.  Two of the ewes are showing many signs of readiness and I feel totally unprepared.  I ought to be sleeping now so I can make the 11PM and the 3PM check, but I'm too jumpy to sleep.  So I'll be back to finish this later.

This morning, our group headed off to the hedgerow between north and south Waslaske field.  With our loppers, saws and pruners, we cleared about 100 feet.  Having less foliage between the fields allows for better airflow.

Before

After

Here we are walking back for lunch

This afternoon was our session on soil science with John Howell.  Wow, did I learn a lot!  We've had several sessions on soils and he had a magical way to bring it all together.  Soil has structure--differently sized particles with space in between--and soil has chemistry.
(More to come)

"We know more about the movement of celestial bodies than about the soil underfoot."

Leonardo da Vinci

Farm work--seeding the pastures and other projects

Thursday, March 24

This morning our group cared for the animals' pastures.  First we seeded some pastures with white clover mixed with an inoculant--a bacteria that helps the clover plant jump-start its nitrogen fixing job.

preparing to broadcast the seed

Olivier waxing poetic on inoculant

Here's how we did it.  We drove to the pasture in North Wyslaski field.  We shared out half a bag of white clover seed--grass seed is cheap at around $75 for 50 pounds and legume seeds are quite dear at $200 for 50 pounds--in our five buckets.  Then we shared out the inoculant--200 million viable bacteria per gram--into our seed.  After stirring, we added a bit of water and stirred some more to stick the inoculant to the seed.  Then we marched into the pasture, lined up and began our "step, step, fling" pattern across the land.  We covered another pasture--South Wyslaski.  We then went to Hazel's fields that had been seeded yesterday.  Here's where the real fun began:

We approached the field and saw the harrow on the grass with a section of chain-link fence tied behind it.  On the fence portion of the modified harrow, there were four tires.  It looked like this:

Ah-ha.   We sit on them

Hmmm... what are those tires for?

In the afternoon, our group took on manure--demolishing an old manure spreader and using the tractor to move manure and and rocks.   This old manure spreader has seen better days and the axle is still good, so the demolition team of Nora, Sophia, Emily and Rebekah moved in.

Josh coaching Nora and Sophia on angle-grinder

Emily with sledge hammer

Emily and Rebekah unbolting

Sophia with angle grinder

Moving rock/gravel

I had some time on the tractor.  First, I helped to move horse manure out of the paddock.  It was tricky because some parts of the pile were frozen and other parts were mushy.  Moving the tractor in was kind of nerve-racking because it would tip and roll  a bit.  And a few times, I scooped up the soil below the pile and that is hazardous to leave trenches in a horse paddock.  "Need more practice," I told myself.

Then I was tasked with moving a pile of rock/gravel to a wet place in the barn yard.  Here's the sequence:  Approach the pile to be moved  Before you get there, level the bucket and lower it to the ground.  Approach the pile again and slightly tip the bucket down.  Moving forward, allow the bucket to begin loading.  As the bucket fills, slowly tip back and lift (but not TOO high).  Back up out of the pile and deliver the load to designated spot. " Lather, rinse, repeat" until pile is gone.