Harvest is in full swing on Marshall farms! Ride along with us to learn the 5 steps to combining corn!
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Monthly Archives: September 2012
Picture This: Chickens Growing up on the Farm
If you didn’t see the chicks when they arrived in April, check them out here.
If you did see the chicks when they arrived in April you should still check them out here. They were really cute after all.
And here is a photographic update of those same baby chicks!
The chickens began laying eggs at the end of August. We gather 3-4 per day now, although you might be able to tell from the picture they are still on the small side. They should get bigger as the hens get older.
Another interesting tidbit to note: one of our hens is actually a rooster. (You can order all girls, or hens, but sometimes it happens!) In the photo directly above you can see a white bird with black tail feathers. That’s him. We call him “McChicken” because he is the biggest scaredy of them all, but just watch him protect those girls when he hears one of them cry out. McChicken turns into a valiant knight and defends the women of his flock!
They are so much fun to watch and one of the funniest things they do happens when we open their coop in the mornings. Those chickens literally run out of the pen and into the corn field like school kids at recess time! A video of this hilarious experience is coming soon, so stay tuned!
A Taste of Farm Life
Try this taste of farm life– literally! I’m not exactly sure why, but although anyone may can food at home, farm families tend to do a lot of it! Fall is a busy time in the field, but it is also a busy time in the kitchen. Tomatoes from the garden turn into salsa and crushed tomatoes for chili. Peaches from a near-by orchard taste great as peach halves, peach butter, and peach sauce. Apples from friends make lots and lots of yummy applesauce. Any of these foods are readily available at your local grocery store or farmer’s market and believe me when I say they taste so much better than what you buy already canned!
Before you get started canning I suggest you make a plan. Learn the steps for home canning from a cookbook, internet source, or canning book. I like Blue Ball canning and Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. Check to see if you have all the supplies you need. Most supplies can be purchased for little cost, but consider borrowing them if you have never done this before. Then schedule a day when you won’t have to quit half way through the process. I’m much faster now, but when I began canning it took most of the day and is still a big event in our house.
Applesauce is a great place to start, but crushed tomatoes are probably quickest. Choose your favorite foods for best results and try a taste of farm life!
Harvesting during the Drought
Harvest has officially started. And we, like nearly everyone else, are leaving long strips of corn in the fields.
What is this all about? Well, most farmers purchase crop insurance each spring. Just like someone might buy insurance in case of a car accident or home fire, farmers insure crops in case of a Mother Nature disaster. People hired by the insurance companies come out to look at the crops and see how bad the damages are. Leaving strips in the middle of the field allows a farmer to get on with harvest while leaving a sample for testing by the companies.
Have you seen strips like this left in fields near you?
Some Favorites
Climb on up!
Hi! I'm Kelly, a busy farm wife and homeschool mom. On this farm we don't have time for complicated, so these are my straight-forward, real-life adventures on a farm that grows food for your family. Climb on up and take a ride in the tractor to learn what we do everyday.
Daddy's Tractor 