The Khaki Campbell

"Behold, my friends, the spring is come,

the earth has gladly received the embraces of the sun,

and we shall soon see the results of their love."

-Sitting Bull

They've arrived just in time for spring...four Khaki Campbell females.  I read about this breed recently in The Resilient Gardener, mentioned in a previous post, and just had to get some. 

According to the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, Campbells are a rare breed.  They originated in England were they are kept for their high level of egg production. 

These little ladies can exceed even the most efficient of egg laying domestic chickens, with the breed laying up to 340 eggs a year.  I have read that they hold the world record for egg production among all breeds of poultry.  In addition to being prolific layers, these ducks are extremely hardy and if allowed to roam, will forage for most of their food.

Sounds like the perfect addition to a homestead with high hopes for sustainability.  We will learn more about them as they grow.  It will be interesting to compare them to our Indian Runners.
Happy Spring Everyone.

After the Rain

rain is over--
on the post a splendid
mushroom

-Issa

After having the driest winter in many years we have finally had some rain. It has been storming all week.  The skies cleared up for today although the rain is expected to continue.  I took the opportunity to go out and get some pics of the farm while the weather was clear.  Some of my favorite moments are after the rain when everything is always so fresh and new.  Above is our kitchen garden, which has become more of a bunny garden since much of the perennial greens planted to feed us year round are now going to give the rabbits their daily ration of raw food.  Of course, we don't mind sharing.
 

Blue potatoes are coming up in front of the barn.  A good place to plant them since the goats are not interested in potato greens.  They pass by this bed on their daily romp down the hill and have nibbled practically everything else I have tried to plant there (even tomatoes).  It's also easy to grab straw from their stalls to hill up the plants.

Brothers making an afternoon fire in the backyard.  A quick break from chores and play to roast some marshmallows. 

Seeds are coming up in the latest round of flats that were planted.  We scored a load of wooden wine boxes and are finding the shallow ones quite useful as seed flats and the deeper ones perfect as nesting boxes for the bunnies.
 

Speaking of bunnies, we've been caring for this mama while our neighbor is traveling.  Today she surprised us with a new litter.  We had an idea she was expecting but weren't sure about when.

 

The chicken run is super muddy but it's residents don't seem to mind.  Especially the ducks who are happy as can be.  Egg production has finally gone way back up after a pretty slow winter.  We're still working on the pond and the new coop. 

Hungary chickens fighting over their food.  Our winter chicks have matured nicely, you can see the Bard Rock in the center has fluffed out to the size of the rest of the hens and the Blue Laced Red Wyandottes (front) are some of the most gorgeous of the breeds I have seen. 

 

The real deal, muddy eggs from muddy chicken and duck feet.  The ducks are finally laying again after almost two months of moulting.  We're expecting five new ducklings next week.  I'm exciting to try out the Khaki Campbell breed after reading about them in The Resilient Gardener, a book I highly recommend! 

 

  After confinement to the barn for several rainy days, the goats were so happy to get out and graze.  Not certain whether or not our does are pregnant, I noticed today Bella has started to make her udder.  She is getting ready to make milk and that can only mean kids on the way soon.  Definitely the most exciting news around here yet.  We've been watching her get bigger and bigger but were not sure if her size was due to pregnancy or just a greedy goat who likes to eat everyone else's portion of hay. 

 

 

The turnips are looking sweet.  Rows of them down the hill are ready to harvest.  Have you ever had fresh turnip greens sauteed in a little butter?  Delicious!

A wonderful surprise in the orchard, the apricot trees have budded and are producing fruit!  Last year we did not see one apricot.  Now it's looking like just a couple more months for apricot pie and jam.  The rain has been a welcome friend.  The renewal and rejuvenation of the land from a good soaking is a blessing indeed.  Spring is just around the corner.

Propagating Shitakes

 

Following are some pictures from the shitake propagation class I recently attended.   Although growing this delicious fungi seems easy with just a few basic steps, it is apparently much more difficult to grow shitakes in the Bay Area then in other regions due to our drier climate.  A great resource for learning more about the subject is Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms By Paul Stamets. 

Our class began with oak logs that had been aged for 1-3 months.  We drilled holes up and down the logs in a triangular pattern. 

spawn plugs

Each hole was then plugged or inoculated with spawn plugs (ordered from fungi perfecti) that had been removed from the refrigerator the day before to warm up. 

Once the plugs were all firmly inserted into the logs, we brushed melted food grade wax over the holes and the ends to seal them. 

 

At home we soaked our logs in rain water (you can also use spring water) for 8-12 hours.  The logs need to live in full shade and get soaked weekly.  We can  hope to see some fruiting action on our logs after six months (we will be watching for white mycelium growing in the holes and on the ends of the logs). 

My three logs are tucked away in a cool, shaded place.  I just hope I don't forget about them.  It sure will be wonderful to have shitakes growing outside our doorstep. 

Also a video by the Urban Farming Guys, who live in a much wetter climate so their methods are slightly different. 

Flint Corn

Every year, in October, we go to Ardenwood Farm's harvest festival to pick a lot of corn.  There is an unofficial u-pick there for organic flint corn.  You can pretty much pick and take home as much as you like for free (although there is an entrance fee).  In the past we would go with the kids to pick several bags of popping corn, which after dried and removed from the cob would last us for the year.  This past October we decided to pick a whole bunch of flint corn as well (aka Indian or ornamental corn).  This variety of flint corn which is extremely hardy is called Zea mays indurata.  I had always thought of flint corn as solely ornamental but then learned that it is very good when ground into cornmeal (can also be popped!).

We have been making our way through our pantry of saved/preserved produce and it just happens that as we move into our homeschooling unit on Native American studies, I am discovering the large stash of flint corn, nicely dried and ready for grinding.  Perfect timing for these little hands to get busy. 

removing the kernels from the cobs

Once the corn was off the cob we had several bowls like this that we put into the grinder.

If you have never used freshly ground cornmeal it definitely is a treat.  The cornbread we made was the best I'd ever had.  It really surprised me how well it came out.  (So well it got polished off too fast to get any pics). 

If you would like to try some too here's our recipe...

Basic Cornbread

2 tbls. butter

1 cup freshly ground cornmeal

1 cup flour (wheat, spelt, or gluten free)

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking pwd.

2 eggs

1/4 cup butter or coconut oil, melted

2-4 tbls. honey to taste (we add more)

1 cup milk (cow, goat, coconut, almond, etc.)

Preheat oven to 425.  Melt the 2 tbls. of butter in the baking dish or muffin tin in the oven, remove once melted.  Stir dry ingredients in one bowl, wet in another.  Combine dry and wet ingredients quickly and pour the batter into the pan.  Bake in the middle of the oven until golden brown on top and beginning to pull away from the edges, about 25 minutes. 

Corn kernels have different colors because of genes that control color.  Each kernel is an individual with its own set of genes, like an embryo.  Kernels are siblings housed on the same ear and so naturally have many different colors…
One-color ears are unnatural products of human selection.  Livestock feeders prefer vitamin-rich yellow kernels, Southerners like white kernels, and Native Americans favor blue.  Years of deliberate selection, careful pollination, and storing of seeds produced these single-color corn ears…Some studies suggest corn pigments promote resistance to insects or fungi that invade an ear of corn…

(wonderquest.com)

Around the Farm

Busy and whimsical, these not-so wintry days have been full of projects as usual.  Saving seeds from the autumn harvest, shelling limas and screening quinoa.  Spreading mulch before the rains come.  Like most gardeners and farmers, we are planning out what crops to grow, where to plant what.  Thinking about how to refine things to be more efficient while applying knowledge from lessons learned last growing season. 

The bunnies are at the cutest stage with their round bellies and naughty curiosity.  We have been finding them irresistible.  I often discover our boys walking around with their favorite bunny in a sleeve or riding on a shoulder. 

This black one is named Cashew.  They crack me up with their expressions.  

Not to mention the attempts to escape.  

Seed flats are all planted with kale, spinach, lettuce, chard, collards, peas, beets, turnips, and onions.  Sprouting quietly in the greenhouse. 

The favas are up and maturing.  We still need to plant many more, as well as some other cover crops, crimson clover and purple vetch.

Working on a larger chicken coop made from salvaged pallets.  It's still in the beginning stages but coming along nicely.  We will insulate with straw after the walls and roof are finished. 

More sheet mulched beds were made in the backyard.  The heirloom collards are growing nicely considering they are in part shade. 

We are continuing the swale onto the western part of our property.  This time last year the grass was up to our thighs.  As you can see, since we have had no rain there is no grass.  The hillside is so dry we are extending the swale to replenish the soil. 

Our grey water flows down a hose into the swale and absorbs deep into the hillside. 

Compost piles are being built in different locations around the farm for easy access to materials while gardening.  This hot pile was compiled in layers from the soiled bedding in the goat stalls, grass clippings and other green waste, aged horse manure, and some animal material in the middle (feathers, bones, etc.), then watered and turned every few days. 

There are many chores that need to be done before the rain arrives as we eagerly await planting time.