Trying Out Some Peas

We dodged the frost and our red raspberries are looking great. They are still producing and when I was out picking the bees were out working right next to me. We had fabulous weather on the weekend and took advantage of the time. My husband tilled a field that was done producing. He had a bright idea - why not try some peas?

So we planted some peas. We'll see if they produce. If our fall planting works we'll have peas in November.

Frost Possible?

A cold front has come through and the weather forecast is calling for mid-30 temperatures. Farming is at the mercy of the weather. There can be extremes - like tonadoes and hurricanes. But the changes that come like tonight can really affect a crop. Will it frost? We don't know!

We are currently picking red raspberries. If we have frost it could damage any less developed berries. The nearly ripe ones should be okay because it won't be too cold.

We have tomatoes that we are still picking. But those are in a greenhouse so they'll be okay tonight!

State Fair Success

We've been home from the Ohio State Fair for a week, but I haven't summarized how our pigs did. We entered the majority of our pigs in the Muscle, Quality and Performance Show. This show focuses on how well the pigs grew on the farm, how they looked in the show ring and how their meat graded after the fair.

Three of our pigs were in the top ten in the meat quality portion of the show. This is exciting - these were pigs that were born and raised on our farm. It's exciting to have them recognized as top in producing meat that is lean and has high quality.

In the show ring, we had some firsts, thirds and fourths. Our two daughters were the top two in senior showmanship and in the top 30 in the overall competition.

Rounding Up the Pigs

This morning we didn't get an opportunity to eat breakfast until 9:00! The dog started barking as soon as we were up at 6:00 a.m. We looked outside and saw three sows (mama pigs) outside in the lawn having a fun time.

We had weaned the sows the night before and put them in a new pen. As usual, the sows were very glad to have their babies weaned. By the fourth week, the babies are plenty big and ready for regular feed. The sows are pretty tired from having 12 pigs nursing around the clock and need some rest and relaxation themselves.

We must have not tied the wire securely on the gate after putting the sows in their new pen. A sow will always test the fence in a new pen, just to see where she can go. A 450-pound sow can put a lot of pressure on a fence and these girls busted out of the pen and were happily digging up the lawn by morning.

We easily put them back in their pen and tied the gate much tighter. The rest of the time was spent cleaning up their mess of turned over barrels, trash cans and dug up sod! One of the sows even put a dent in a 30-inch fan that was in the barn by just stepping on it.

Newly weaned pigs enjoying some quiet time.

Fair Time

We are in the middle of showing pigs. We just finished the Clark County Fair and are attending the Ohio State Fair. This is a pictures of our purebred Berkshire gilt. She was third in class at the Ohio State Fair, which was great for her first outing.

We'll be bringing her home and breeding her to have Berkshire pigs for next year. Hopefully one of her daughters will do even better at the 2012 Ohio State Fair.

Strawberry Season

I must admit - this blogging is harder than I thought. I thought I'd keep up better - but there's always tomorrow. We have just about finished strawberry season. The days start at 5:30 a.m. and we don't eat supper until about 8:00 p.m. We pick strawberries for the pre-pick in the mornings, then have u-pick and pre-pick customers all day long. We are also trying to get summer crops in the ground. In between all this our oldest graduated from high school this year! But, it's always a great feeling that we've worked hard and done what we could. Unfortunately, it was a very short season with very few berries. The spring was cold and wet -- but it was the lack of sunny days that hurt the strawberries. Then, we went immediately to 90 degree days and strawberries just don't like that much heat. They prefer 70 degrees with lots of sun...don't we all!

Some of our strawberries - a taste of summer.

Green Strawberries

The strawberries are beginning to ripen - finally! Strawberries need lots of sun for the ripening process. They also need warm days and nights. This spring has been a combination of cold weather with cloudy days. We figure we are almost two weeks behind our usual time for picking strawberries. Here's today's picture of the patch:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can see the tip of the strawberry starting to turn pink.

In other good news, the tomatoes are starting to blossom in the greenhouse. We have the sides of the greenhouse rolled up so the bees can get inside to help pollinate the tomatoes. You can see the edges of the greenhouse are wet. We had storms again last night.

The sticks are put next to the tomatoes to keep them from falling. The strings also help the plant to grow upright.

Waiting for the Berries

Now it's May 15 and we are waiting for the berries! The entire spring has been wet and cold. This last week, we did get some heat during the day which is helping to bring the strawberries. We figure we are at least one week, maybe 10 days, behind where usually are with strawberries.

When will we have berries? Only Mother Nature knows that. This week there are some cold nights forecasted, so we'll be pulling out the covers. The rain is supposed to stop and possibly some warm weather near the end of the week.

We have small, green berries. We just need warm weather to grow them bigger and closer to ripeness. We'll let everyone know when they are ready to pick!

Cold Weather for Strawberries

Here's a post I actually wrote last weekend, but my internet wasn't working, so I couldn't post it until today.
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We have blooms on our strawberries! However, this past week we had some cold weather which makes any fruit grower nervous. The temperature was forecasted in the mid-30s at night. If the temperature dips to 32 degrees F., the strawberry blooms will be killed.
 A strawberry bloom has a yellow center with white petals. If the bloom is frosted, the sunny yellow center turns black. When I walk through the fields and see a black center it really makes me sick to my stomach. That's a bloom that won't become a strawberry.

We protect our strawberries when the temperature gets low by covering them. But, that's a lot of work! Wednesday night the kids missed their 4-H meeting because we were busy putting the covers on the strawberries. Four hours later, we finally had them all covered.

With the blooms, we know we'll have strawberries in about two weeks. I'm always nervous right now, hoping for a good crop. But it's also exciting to know that we'll be tasting those berries soon!

Delicate strawberry bloom (picture taken by my son)

A strawberry forming from the center of the bloom into a strawberry

Starting the Tomatoes

We have started tomato plants getting ready for spring. We have them growing in the greenhouse so we'll have early tomatoes. The plants will also be available for sale at farmer's markets that begin this weekend. Looking forward to spring!

Getting Ready for Online Sale

It's picture day! We are selling some of our pigs to 4-H and FFA members in an online sale on April 19. They will take these pigs to the county fair. Being show pigs, we treat them extra special. We take pictures for our website. In the first picture, I'm trying to get some corn off this pig's nose -- he was eating before the photo shoot! You'll see an orange water can in the second picture. One of the pigs is getting a drink in between shots -- the life of a supermodel! The smaller pig is not supposed to be in the photo shoot. She is younger than the other pigs and not ready to be sold. But, she is quite the diva and insists on joining the bigger pigs in the photo. If you want to see the finished photos, click here to go to our show pig site.

The finishing touch before picture time!

Getting a drink from the water bottle.

A Winter of Baby Pigs

I'm just starting my blog, so I thought I'd catch you up with happenings on the farm in the last few months. This winter we were busy with baby pigs. The sows (mama pigs) are kept outside until they are ready to have their baby pigs. You can see the snow on the ground. We move the sows inside because on our farm it would be too cold for the babies outside. The next picture is my daughter washing the sow. Since the sow was outside, we need to get any mud off her udders so the babies can nurse in a clean environment.

The pregnant sows are kept outside

Washing the sows' underline before she has the babies.

 

 

 

 

 

We have the sows in a farrowing crate. When the baby pigs are born, they only weigh about 2 pounds. The sow weighs over 400 pounds. The crates give the babies room to move away from the mama pig where she can't step on them. If we didn't do this, we would lose about half of the babies. In the corners of the pen we have heating lamps. This is a place where the babies can get extra warmth. That also helps the sow keep cool. When the babies are first born, we want them to have a place to go that is 90 degrees. But that is MUCH too hot for a working mother! The warming corner lets the babies stay extra warm while giving the sow the rest she needs. These babies are so comfy that they fell asleep!

Babies nurse while the sows rests. The babies have a warming lamp in the corner
where the can get away from the sow's feet.

This baby fell asleep while eating!