Sunday, March 4, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
Polyface Farms
More pictures from our fall road trip. After visiting family in Wisconsin, we headed south and east through Indiana and Kentucky.
Natural Bridge Kentucky
Breaks Interstate Park. The deepest canyon east of the Mississippi. Right on the border of Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Took a drive around the crooked road.
Including stops at the Dr. Ralph Stanley Museum, the Carter Family's Old Home Place, and the Bristol Country Music Museum.
And stopping at every civil war site we saw.
That brought us into the Shenandoah Valley.
For a visit to Polyface Farms and a tour with "High Priest of the Pasture" Joel Salatin.
The closely choreographed dance of species in his mob stocking herbivorous solar conversion lignified carbon sequestration fertilization system is truly inspiring. Here in a forested pork finishing glen he explains that "our duty as stewards of the earth is to massage the ecosystem to sequester more carbon than it would in it's natural state."
Out on the pasture cattle are "mob stocked" through daily paddock moves. Giving them only fully grown pasture and only as much as they can eat in a single day.
After a couple week's rest the beefs are followed by the millennium feathernet. A portable hen house. this duplicates nature's pattern of the bird on the rhino's horn. The bird follows the herbivore.
Pastured poultry shelters move across a field. giving broilers a fresh salad bar each day.
Portable turkey roost/shelter.
Heritage piglets will soon be moved to pasture.
Next seasons egg layers in the brooder house.
Piglets, chickens, and rabbits will share a hoop house for the winter.
The season's last batch of broilers being processed. His operation has so many more intricacies that I couldn't begin to explain them all but you should get the gist. Having read his books it was really cool to see in action.
Natural Bridge Kentucky
Breaks Interstate Park. The deepest canyon east of the Mississippi. Right on the border of Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Took a drive around the crooked road.
Including stops at the Dr. Ralph Stanley Museum, the Carter Family's Old Home Place, and the Bristol Country Music Museum.
And stopping at every civil war site we saw.
That brought us into the Shenandoah Valley.
For a visit to Polyface Farms and a tour with "High Priest of the Pasture" Joel Salatin.
The closely choreographed dance of species in his mob stocking herbivorous solar conversion lignified carbon sequestration fertilization system is truly inspiring. Here in a forested pork finishing glen he explains that "our duty as stewards of the earth is to massage the ecosystem to sequester more carbon than it would in it's natural state."
Out on the pasture cattle are "mob stocked" through daily paddock moves. Giving them only fully grown pasture and only as much as they can eat in a single day.
After a couple week's rest the beefs are followed by the millennium feathernet. A portable hen house. this duplicates nature's pattern of the bird on the rhino's horn. The bird follows the herbivore.
Pastured poultry shelters move across a field. giving broilers a fresh salad bar each day.
Portable turkey roost/shelter.
Heritage piglets will soon be moved to pasture.
Next seasons egg layers in the brooder house.
Piglets, chickens, and rabbits will share a hoop house for the winter.
The season's last batch of broilers being processed. His operation has so many more intricacies that I couldn't begin to explain them all but you should get the gist. Having read his books it was really cool to see in action.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Monday, December 19, 2011
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Growing Power
Wanted to share some some photos of our recent cross country road trip starting with a visit to Growing Power in Milwaukee. Growing Power was founded by former pro basketball player Will Allen as a community food source and learning center. After basketball and a career in corporate sales, Allen became interested in agriculture and purchased a defunct garden center on Milwaukee's north side. The 3 acre plot included a historic green house and was the last property zoned for agricultural use in the city. His urban farm stand soon became a community learning center as neighborhood youth from nearby housing projects were inspired by his enthusiasm and green thumb. He hasn't looked back and is now considered the world's preeminent authority on urban farming. A corp of dedicated volunteers are helping the expand the mission to other urban areas.
The use of space is awesome. Talk about vertical integration. On two acre they produce a truly amazing amount of produce including a thousands of pounds of a variety of fruits, vegetables, and greens, mushrooms, thousands of tilapia, lake perch, and other fish, eggs, and honey.
In greenhouse #1 they start around 3000 flats of various sprouts every day. They are harvested 4-6 days later and sold to local stores and restaurants.
The #1 thing that they produce is soil. They use several composting methods. In green house #2 worm bins turn food scraps into vermicompost.
The bins are watered daily and the run off is collected to be used as "worm tea" fertilizer.
The center piece of the operation is their aquaculture systems. Large wooden frames both above and below ground are lined with pond liner. The fish require around one gallon of water per fish. Most of the ponds ard between five and ten thousand gallons. They employ a three tiered system to save space,filter the water, and use the fish waste as fertilizer. Tomatoes or peppers are placed on the top tier. Water is pumped from the fish tank up to the top and the plants absorb water from the bottom up.
The water then flows down to the middle tier which is planted in water cress. The water cress is raised as an additional crop and helps filter the water which then flows back down to the fish tank aerating it.
Here shiitake mushroom logs hang over lake perch to keep them moist. Note the "anti-suicide" netting.
Adult fish are moved larger tanks for finishing.
Every square foot is utilized.
Storm water is collected, stored, and pumped back in to keep the system full.
A passive solar array is used to maintain water temp.
Another composting method is used to heat the greenhouses in the winter. The soil is dug out about 24" deep and a mix of wood chips and spent brewers mash is laid down and covered with more wood chips. This "hot mix" keeps the houses at a toasty temp. for up to six months. This is old hot mix waiting to be sifted.
Hot mix between crop rows allows year round growing in cold frame hoop houses.
Gotta build me one of these compost sifters.
Out back goats make milk and manure for compost.
A small apiary provides pollinators and honey. There you have it. Solar powered self sustaining urban farm.
The use of space is awesome. Talk about vertical integration. On two acre they produce a truly amazing amount of produce including a thousands of pounds of a variety of fruits, vegetables, and greens, mushrooms, thousands of tilapia, lake perch, and other fish, eggs, and honey.
In greenhouse #1 they start around 3000 flats of various sprouts every day. They are harvested 4-6 days later and sold to local stores and restaurants.
The #1 thing that they produce is soil. They use several composting methods. In green house #2 worm bins turn food scraps into vermicompost.
The bins are watered daily and the run off is collected to be used as "worm tea" fertilizer.
The center piece of the operation is their aquaculture systems. Large wooden frames both above and below ground are lined with pond liner. The fish require around one gallon of water per fish. Most of the ponds ard between five and ten thousand gallons. They employ a three tiered system to save space,filter the water, and use the fish waste as fertilizer. Tomatoes or peppers are placed on the top tier. Water is pumped from the fish tank up to the top and the plants absorb water from the bottom up. 
The water then flows down to the middle tier which is planted in water cress. The water cress is raised as an additional crop and helps filter the water which then flows back down to the fish tank aerating it. 
Here shiitake mushroom logs hang over lake perch to keep them moist. Note the "anti-suicide" netting.
Adult fish are moved larger tanks for finishing.
Every square foot is utilized.
Storm water is collected, stored, and pumped back in to keep the system full.
A passive solar array is used to maintain water temp.
Another composting method is used to heat the greenhouses in the winter. The soil is dug out about 24" deep and a mix of wood chips and spent brewers mash is laid down and covered with more wood chips. This "hot mix" keeps the houses at a toasty temp. for up to six months. This is old hot mix waiting to be sifted.
Hot mix between crop rows allows year round growing in cold frame hoop houses.
Gotta build me one of these compost sifters.
Out back goats make milk and manure for compost.
A small apiary provides pollinators and honey. There you have it. Solar powered self sustaining urban farm.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Harvest
Farmer's markets are through for the season. What a summer! Tricky growing conditions, lot's of new projects and ideas, successes, failures, weeds up the wazoo. Working on putting the gardens to bed, and harvesting and putting up storage crops.
Potato assortment ready to bake up for supper.
65 chickens are in the freezer. That was one heck of a project. Sure are tasty though.
Last week at the farmer's market. I promise I'll blog more next summer.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
around the Cacklin' Hen
Been awhile so if there's anyone still visiting, here's some sights from around the farm. Been crazy. Snow finally melted off the garden second week in may. Everything's a couple weeks behind schedule. just been planting planting planting. composting composting composting.
Oh my gosh, a double rainbow, full on, what does it mean? If you don't get this, search "yosemitebear double rainbow" on youtube.
Broccoli
peas and greens
Onions
Black gold aka finished compost,.
Out back
Meat birds.
Rows of stuff. Carrots an' taters. out of control grass and weeds.
Lots weeding going on
Kaya being good and staying out of the rows.
Oh my gosh, a double rainbow, full on, what does it mean? If you don't get this, search "yosemitebear double rainbow" on youtube.
Broccoli
peas and greens
Onions
Black gold aka finished compost,.
Out back
Meat birds.
Rows of stuff. Carrots an' taters. out of control grass and weeds.
Lots weeding going on
Kaya being good and staying out of the rows.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)