Chicken Thistle Farm CoopCast
164 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 7 years ago - ★★★★★ - 900 ratingsSharing our small farm stories and skills along our farming, gardening and homesteading journey.
Visit the farm for an informative and sometimes irreverent tour through our garden, livestock pastures, chicken coop, beehive and greenhouse as we live - pasture to plate.
Farming topics free range around pastured heritage pigs, broiler chickens and pastured eggs, heritage breed turkeys, an heirloom vegetable CSA and garden, high tunnel / hoop house / green houses, organic and traditional gardening, farm infrastructure, tractors, sustainable energy, being self sufficient, permaculture, food preservation, bees, beekeeping and even fence mending.
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Episodes
0115 On Farm Staycation, Vegetable Garden Success, SiriusXM + O&A + raw milk
July 09, 2014 22:07 - 53 minutes - 43.2 MBAfter a week of on farm vacation and frozen fresh fruit libations enjoyed on the deck, we are back with a bunch of updates around the pastured chickens, a recent hoophouse project and the vegetable gardens. We also talk about the pigs and some general happenigns around the farm. In the Veggie Patch we talk a lot about the success of the peas, the success we have had training and pruning the tomato plants this year and an update on our mulching. This week on Close Encounters with Free Ranging...
0114 Piglets get names, pastured chickens and part time farming
June 25, 2014 22:11 - 53 minutes - 42.3 MBThis weeks updates are pretty simple. We talk about piglets and names, the chickens in the pasture and some a la carte CSA shares. Then we jump into the Farmers Choice that Kelli sprung on Andy - "are you a part-time farmer". What does that phrase mean, if anything. What decisions are impacted when you are "part-time" or not deriving all your income off the farm. There's a bit of debate and some good conversations around this topic.
0113 Farming weather, chickens to pasture, supportive farmers
June 18, 2014 23:00 - 57 minutes - 45.8 MBThe updates this week start with the farming weather - and the fact it's been unusually "normal". We have moved the chickens to pasture on a solid growth of clover andthey are loving it. The pigs are gowing well and weaning is a few weeks away. In the vegetable garden the peas and eveything else is growing and healthy. Even the weeds are under control with the mulching effort we have undertaken this year. In the CoopCast Community we wanted to take a bit to thank all the listeners and farm...
0112 The farms potato patch, vegetable garden fencing and super soil in the greenhouse
June 04, 2014 23:06 - 43 minutes - 34.4 MBThis weeks updates include the latest on the 7 surviving piglets and the status of their name selection. We talk about the pastured broilers in the brooder and how they are doing as well. We also check in on the laying hens and the egg eating issues. In the Veggie Patch we talk about the status of the garden and fencing. We talk about a great find at a local garden center to help with the soil quality and quantity in the green house and we also talk about this years potato patch plans.
0111 Chicks on the farm, happy piglets, vegetable gardening fun!
May 29, 2014 00:08 - 43 minutes - 34.3 MBThis week we are just doing a bunch of updates (since there's a lot to share). We talk about how the piglets are doing well even after the traumatic events covered in episode . Then we tell a story of how great and helpful the United States Postal Service was when they seemed to have lost our box of broiler chickens. But have no fear, we found them and we share how they are doing in the brooder. In the Veggie Patch we talk about the progress and planting of the vegetable garden now that th...
0110 Loss of a pig and piglets while farrowing on our farm
May 21, 2014 23:09 - 1 hour - 61.8 MBThis episode is a frank and honest retelling of the harrowing farrowing experiences of 2014 on our small farm. From the highs of hand delivering piglets to the lows of losing a breeding sow, this is as honest of a farming story as you may ever hear.
0109 Gardening, farrowing and why the Non GMO Project might just be a joke
May 07, 2014 22:55 - 1 hour - 49.8 MBThis weeks updates are all over the place after skipping 2 weeks of episodes! We talk about moving the pigs to their farrowing paddock, moving the egg laying chickens to fresh pasture and how the weather this spring has changed things a bit. We talk about the vegetable gardens and the progress of potting up plants in the greenhouse as well as some of the first plants of the season being planted in the garden itself. Not having a full season CSA this year has made both the farmers a lot more...
0108 Cleaning a chicken coop, cooking Easter ham, declining farmers
April 16, 2014 22:49 - 51 minutes - 41.4 MBWith a bit of warm spring weather we have been able to get to some overdue chores. The joy of the springtime Coop clean out is completed and the compost is on the garden. We have more hydrant troubles and talk a bit about the YNN TV crew that was here to learn about how we produce eggs. In this weeks "We eat good" segment, we talk about the joys of cooking an Easter Ham... kinda. Rather how to simply prepare a ham and the unloved ham steak. Out of the kitchen and back on the front porch w...
0107 Spring arrives on the farm, vegetable garden seed choices, a Mark Cuban quote
April 09, 2014 22:59 - 56 minutes - 45.6 MBThis weeks updates are finally more than just worrying about the weather. We got a springtime break and took to the outdoors! The asparagus patch got a cleanout of last years fronds. The chicken coop got a bit of a cleaning too. There was fence mending and happy pigs as well. Then in the Veggie Patch we discuss the seeds we have started for this years vegetable garden and why we liked them. We also talk a bit about some challenges with a soil block recipe change this year - a bit unexpecte...
0106 Spring comes to the farm, starting seeds, thinking about the vegetable garden
April 02, 2014 22:31 - 46 minutes - 38 MBAs Spring comes to the farm (with another snow storm too) we took a walk around the propery at the end of March to try and come to grips with what this late Spring means to our garden plans. We discuss the winters impact on our plans and the things we typically got done that are not on the to-do list. We also talk vegatable gardens - specifically what we have been doing with regards to seed starting and preparing the greenhouse. Speaking of the greenhouse, we talk about the issues the cold ...
0105 Pregnant pigs, wormings pigs, buying a half pig
March 26, 2014 22:38 - 53 minutes - 42.7 MBThis weeks updates include more cold weather and some updates about the animals around the farm. The pigs and chickens are doing well but all of us are done with this cold weather. We also talk a bit about the business of farming and what we still need to do on that said with regards to customer emails and notifications. In the Coopcast Community we have a breif tutorial on searching old coopcast episodes so you can find things you might have missed or are interested in. Brent had a question...
0104 Vulcan Blizzard and the Farm, prepping for weather, frozen water pipe
March 12, 2014 22:23 - 53 minutes - 43.4 MBThis episode was recorded live during the Vulcan Blizzard event! THe updates of course revlove around the blizzard and how we prepared for it. We also talk about the coldest day ever recorded in March and the frozen pipe it casued. Farmer Kelli talks about these events and her CSA decision.In the CoopCast Community we talk about some iTunes reviews, listener emails and some general questions we received.
0103 A new tractor store, a day in the life of a farmer, eating out of season
March 06, 2014 00:44 - 44 minutes - 35.7 MBAs the bitter cold continues to make #farmerandy rage, we discuss the weather... We also talk about a "major award", a new Tractor Supply store and living life on a frozen farm. Actually we detail a day in the life of the farm in the middle of winter around here. It's not overly exciting but it's honest. Then this week we have a Farmers Choice segment talking about what we are eating and why this time of year. We discuss the balance of food we have put up vs what we buy from the store and w...
0102 Farm animals in the cold, winter greenhouse garden, farm meeting
February 26, 2014 23:29 - 1 hour - 55.1 MBThis weeks updates include a folloup about the eveil seeds that Johnny is selling and why we will continue to buy from Johnny Seeds. For your reference, here's the list of seeds they get from We discuss how the endless cold this winter has impacted the pigs and chickens and how we deal with cooped up critters on a free range farm. Kelli gives an update on the Ag assessment while Andy complains...In the Veggie Patch we pretned that it's gardening season and talk about artichokes, managing ...
0101 Selecting garden seeds, winter farming updates, lard pie crusts
February 13, 2014 01:28 - 36 minutes - 33.6 MBThe updates are a little thin this week as we watch temps falling and the snow piling up. Mostly we talk about keeping warm and the successful insemination of our pigs. In the community we pick up on the Monsanto conversation last week and some new comments about companies like Johnny Seed and Territorial and the internet myth that they buy their seeds from Monsanto. We also talk about our process for selecting seeds and why we pick the seeds we do. ()In the "We eat Good" segment this week ...
0100 Farming discussions: Monsanto, work-farm-life balance, thanking the listeners
February 05, 2014 23:20 - 50 minutes - 40.7 MBWith 100 episodes behind us we thought it was appropriate to look back at the thoughts and opinions of our farming podcast (farmcast)? and spend most of the episode focusing on the reason why we do what we do - it's all for the listeners! We talk a bit about some listener favorite topics and some recent ones like Monsanto's decision to use some conventional crossbreeding techniques. While this isn't a giant 100th episode extravaganza, it's a fun look at the whys behind why we do what we do an...
099 Swine artificial insemination, agricultural assessment, Annual farm meeting
January 22, 2014 22:48 - 52 minutes - 42.4 MBThe Updates around the Farm this week focus on the big event of artificial insemination and the unexpected surprise we had with the "scheduled" standing heat. We also share our thoughts on FreshBooks as an accounting tool for farming (short version - run away). We discuss out first free range Cornish birg from last years day ranging experiment and share the experience thus far with the tax related agricultural assessment. In the Veggie Patch it's seed ordering time. We continue the discussi...
098 Farming in a polar vortex, seed starting lights, delicious farm recipes
January 15, 2014 23:37 - 53 minutes - 43.3 MBWe are back at the coopcast in 2014. We enjoyed our break but are glad to be back. While we were gone we had the coldest weather we have ever had while farming as the polar vortex descended on NY. We also had our annual farm meeting and other fun events. Tune into this farm fresh coopcast for the latest news from the homestead! In the Veggie Patch (which is frozen over) we are going to talk a bit about some seed starting tips and techniques as people are looking towards spring already. Far...
097 Farming in the bitter cold, moose fencing and a special thanks
December 18, 2013 18:12 - 1 hour - 50.9 MBThis is the last CoopCast of the year! We expect to be back with another episode January 8th, 2014. So on with the farming updates and the bitter cold and endless snow here on the farm. We talk a little about how the pigs and chickens are doing in this brutal cold. If you haven't checked it out - visit our Facebook page and see the story of the #elfonafarm... To celebrate the holidays we have a community segment where we talk about: The recent FDA and antibiotic use ruling brought up by D...
096 An agricultural assessment, farm based accounting software, recipes
December 12, 2013 15:16 - 47 minutes - 38.1 MBThe Farming Updates this week are few and far between. We do celebrate the fact we got our 1st Easter egg just in time for Christmas. We talk about Belle standing or not and the challenges of a new gilt in heat as well as Kelli's plans for the farm undergoing an agricultural assessment. We also discuss some simple online accounting packages for managing our farm - from Quickbooks (bad) to Freshbooks (great).In the Farmers Choice segment brought to you by FarmTek (check out the segment for ...
095 Thanksgiving turkeys, farming with social media, raw milk
December 05, 2013 00:43 - 1 hour - 54.6 MBThis weeks updates talke a bit about the winter weather and the snow we had here on the farm and the impact on thep igs. We move them to the winter paddock - finally! We talk about Tahnksgiving turkeys and why we love ours so much. One farmer is getting tired of deer season so we give an update there and close with some thoughts on our pork sales. This weeks Farmers Choice segment is sponsored by FarmTek.com. Check out the segment for a coupon code to save $25 off orders over $75!!! We al...
094 Some winter farm prep, a bit of hunting and being thankful for our listeners
November 27, 2013 13:30 - 59 minutes - 48.7 MBThis weeks's CoopCast is a batch of updates and a bit of community. We talk about getting ready to move the pigs to their winter area and the fencing preparations that gointo that move. We give an update on deer hunting and pork sales (whihc are unrelated). We also are looking forward already to spring farrowing... and figuring out when our new gilt is in standing heat has been a challenge. In the community we just answer a bunch of questiosn for our Facebook page!
093 Modern trends in swine production review, deposit based farming, common sense laws
November 14, 2013 01:43 - 1 hour - 51.6 MBThis is a coopcast unlike any other... it's our first foray into an immersive multimedia experience. We play the video "" from 1961 produced by US Steel (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcqxI7a6wSM). It's really cool to look back over 50 years to how pigs were produced and how we stack up today. So join us as we walk the fields with a true swine specialist! From there we free range over to some more contemporary farming topics like "how do I get started" and "I know how to farm better than y...
092 Boar taint is for real, farming listeners around the world and are you a prepper?
November 06, 2013 23:42 - 1 hour - 50.6 MBIn the CoopCast Updates we talk about the big smoked pork pickup and the fact the second batch of pigs did not have the USDA inspectors reject their livers. On a nice night out on the town at a super fancy resturant the farmers ordered a dish called "pork two ways" where they were served pork loin medailons and laquered pork belly. While the meal was delicious somethign very interesting happened... Farmer Andy confirmed that he is deffinately sensitive to the "mythical" boar taint. There is ...
091 Customer on farm pickups, moving new layer chickens and pig livers
October 23, 2013 23:23 - 47 minutes - 42 MBThe updates this week include our last major on farm pork pickup by our customers. It's always nice to see customers and experience the coolness of local foods through their eyes. We share some of the challenges in delivering pork to customers as well. This week was also the consolidation of laying birds and the culling of the old flock. In Questions, Conversations & Ruminations we talk openly and honestly about pigs and worms. We learned the hard way that we need to be more proactive in dewo...
090 Farmer anniversary dinner, when butcher cuts are wrong and the Walking Dead farm
October 17, 2013 22:36 - 56 minutes - 46.2 MBThis weeks farm and garden updates include the farmer anniversary and dinner. We talk about getting batch 2 of pigs to the processor and getting the fresh cuts back and to customers from the first batch. We have a new freezer to house the butcher cuts we will be selling from the farm starting in November (stay tuned for pricing and information). Finally we put the veggie patch to bed as we closed up the vegetable garden brining almost all of our gardening season to a close. In the CoopCast C...
089 Turkey processing on the farm, pigs to the processor and the vegetable garden is still producing
October 10, 2013 00:48 - 52 minutes - 43.3 MBThis weeks updates are a bunch of "end of the farming season" things... Turkey processing is complete! It always goes very slow but we had all of them sold. We were very suprised by how small these heritage birds were this year. We also took our first batch of pigs to the processor and have the second bacth scheduled for next week. In taking the pigs we have chosen our new gilt as well! This weeks Veggie patch segment is sponsored by farmtek.com - listen to the coopcast for the coupon cod...
088 Turkey processing on the farm, a listener eats his chicken, filling out a pork cut sheet
October 02, 2013 23:32 - 58 minutes - 48.6 MBThis weeks updates really sound a lot like the end of the season is upon us. We have turkey processing this weekend and are planning the changeover of chickens in the chick wagon and the coop. We also talk about the pigs to processor: trailer in place -1st batch Monday 2nd batch- following Monday receiving final cut sheets, etc our cut sheet decisions This week the CoopCast Community is sponsored by FarmTek - listen to get you FarmTek promotion code / coupon code today! First off, thanks fo...
087 Butcher cuts and cash flow on the farm, fresh vs frozen meat and the vegetable garden Rowboat Roundup
September 19, 2013 00:02 - 52 minutes - 43.4 MBUpdates this week are around the continued sale of pork butcher cuts and the decisions we are considering around actually carrying some inventory (something we have thus far not done). We also got our first egg in the chick wagon as the current laying flock slows way down with molting and the change of seasons. Finally we review the status of our sold out turkeys and the questions we get all the time about the difference (or perception of difference) between fresh and frozen meat.Check out t...
086 A deposit based farming business model, dual purpose chicken breeds, Chicken processing in China
September 12, 2013 00:06 - 1 hour - 52.2 MBThis weeks updates on the farm include our ongoing saga of selling pork sausage :) Want some? We als otalk pre-deposits and our business model as well as some of the lessons learned in appraoching farm sales with a deposit model. We have turkey orders coming up as well on the last day of the 2013 CSA! Ohh, and there was an areal predator strike on one of our chickens too... but she's fine! Hey - if you haven't visited FarmTek.com yet and shopped their great selection of items - now is the ...
085 Sponsoring a coopcast, bunnies for pork and farming apps on your phone
September 05, 2013 00:07 - 51 minutes - 41.9 MBWith only a month left for the pigs on pasture we are still selling a bunch of sausage... and now bacon too! We also discuss the options we are considering around keeping the mom's like we have before vs selling them after a single farrowing and keeping smaller gilts over winter to save on feed costs. We welcome our new sponsor to the coopcast - FarmTek! We have talked about their products several times over the years and think we have found a terrific partner with them. As a listener you ...
084 Healing injured pigs, late season vegetable gardens and a farm fresh tomato taste test
August 28, 2013 23:03 - 48 minutes - 39.6 MBWith a bit more relaxed schedule the CoopCast takes a bit more of a relaxed discussion of an injured pig and how amazing animals are with injury. We talk about Hermione and piglets as well as a grower piglet with hemorrhoids! We talk a bit about selling our sausage to folks and the process around that since we got over 240 pounds back from the USDA processor last week. We then take a late season walk around the Veggie Patch and talk about what did well in this crazy growing season and what d...
083 Moving pigs together after weaning, fencing color matters and other farming tales
August 22, 2013 01:15 - 45 minutes - 36.9 MBThis week we have been challenged for time so we share a week full of pig centric farm updates. We moved out lone sow back to in with the piglets and it's been a little exciting - both the move and the post move drama. We talk a bit about all the work that goes into settin up a new pasture space for the pigs and the challenges that came with it. We share a piglet injury and a decision to move thigns inside the padock around after it was set up. We also update on turkeys and chickens... and...
082 Turkey MURDER!, Beloved farm hog to market and hunting on the homestead
August 14, 2013 22:18 - 56 minutes - 47.1 MBThis weeks episode discusses our sleuthing around a dead turkey inside the fencing and what might have happened. We talk about bringing Katniss to the butcher and the plans for the rest of the pigs. In the CoopCast Community we talk a little about Robert's post on Facebook about soy in food and spend more time talking about how science gets done as opposed to the paper on the subject - . Kelli updates folks on her hand treatments and we make a plea to try and move the needle over on Stitcher...
081 Prepping for the pig move, farm show, more farm fresh recipies
August 07, 2013 22:55 - 52 minutes - 43.4 MBWe are getting things ready to move Katniss off the farm and into the freezer. Part of that process is getting the rest of the pigs ready to move to a new pasture space in the next week or so. We talk turkey about the pastured birds as well as a brief CSA update. Kelli reviews some suggestions for her chapped hands and considers alternative to gloves. Farmer Andy reports from the field in this weeks In The News segment sharing the trends he noted from Empire Farm Days. We talk tractors, alt...
080 Growing pigs, planning for the Fall garden, recipes from the farm
July 31, 2013 22:57 - 47 minutes - 38.8 MBThis week we share some updates about the pigs on pasture and how well the not so little guys are doing. Katniss and Herm are in heat and lovin on Andy something awful. We talk a little about the new turkey shelter and the heritage turkeys - have we clipped their wings, find out! Finally we talk about how nice the chick wagon is! In the Veggie Patch we talk about Fall planting and the staples of cooler weather late-season plantings like radishes, greens, bok choy, beans, and beets. In the gr...
079 Fall vegetable gardening, building a new farm, food safety and farming
July 24, 2013 21:57 - 53 minutes - 38.2 MBThis weeks farm updates are short and sweet so we can get to a bunch of our listeners questions. We did more pig castrations - not on ours, but super small mini-pigs. It's a great example of how going slow on a farm make a lot of sense. We also got the turkeys out on pasture - finally - with a redesigned mobile turkey shelter that ROCKS! In our CoopCast Community section we talk a bunch of listener questions like: Are we planning for fall planting? Erin wanted to know about her NC property...
078 A slow return to normal on the farm, chicken processing setup and a farming nugget
July 18, 2013 01:22 - 1 hour - 44.5 MBThis week the rain has stopped and the farmers are much happier in their daily chores. We also are finished with our pastured broilers this year and introduce a visual element in this episode for you to follow along in our discussion of chicken processing. (). We then talk about the day in general, the size of the chickens this year and the financials of pastured poultry. We then have a quick update on the pigs and the vegetable garden and CSA. We then have a Rumination continuing on with ...
077 Frustrated Farmers, Weaning of Piglets and the Challenge of Chores
July 11, 2013 12:06 - 54 minutes - 48.7 MBThis is not our happiest coopcast... we have been struggling with endless rains this year and it shows in this episode. We talk about the weaning process of the piglets as well as catching some of them for selling as growers. We do share some good "how to" ideas / lessons regarding moving and catching piglets. But mostly - we use the coopcast as a chance to vent our frustrations with how difficult the weather has made things. We avoid talk about the gardens as things are just not looking...
076 Hot Pigs, the recovery of sick tomatoes in the garden / greenhouse, remember when on the farm
June 26, 2013 22:32 - 45 minutes - 37.5 MBLast week we responded to a listener question with a little bit of good natured humor about a non-conventional mode of transportation - the tricycle. We learned that 99.9% of trikers are funny people and, well, let's just say - if you are going to ask us a question and are looking for an answer... you should expect the same humor and standards we apply to ourselves to also apply to you. We talk about our decision regarding Katniss on the farm and why / how we got to that decision. It's bee...
075 Soggy farm pastures, waterlogged tomato plants in the garden, judging a farm as a consumer
June 19, 2013 22:58 - 45 minutes - 32.3 MBIn our updates this week we lament about the nedless rain on the farm, the wet pastures and the sorggy gardens. Our pigs have even taken to finding new places to walk and eat since thing sare so muddy. On the upside we have a lot of them sold with our pre-order process. We took advantage of a break i nthe rain to get the pastured broilers out and the pens are moving across fresh (but wet) ground. In the vegetable garden the tomatoes have not been so happy about the endless rains but the gree...
074 Egg eating chicken, waterlogged vegetable garden, building a greenhouse for your farm
June 12, 2013 21:35 - 47 minutes - 41.5 MBThis week on the farm has been marked by more rain than we need - over 2" above average for the month. Becasue of that we have been trying to find a time to get those Cornish X chickens out to pasture. We also discovered an old layer hen that the weather made blue - so she started eating eggs. On the piglet front we have noticed a big differnce in sow nursing capacity Katniss vs Hermione nursing 6vs 11. Part of farming is then selling the good you raised - so we talk a little about the por...
073 Hog heritage on the farm, starting the CSA, managing the garden and succession planting
June 05, 2013 22:19 - 52 minutes - 45.4 MBUpdates this week include a discussion about the new piglets and the genetics / lineage in them and what decisions we migth be making in the comming months. We talk about the Cornish X broilers and the efforts to line up chicken helpers for the July processing day. The heritage turkeys are doing well in the brooder and Farmer Andy loves the chick wagon - dreaming of a farm of all mobile wagons. In the Veggie Patch segment we wander all over the gardens - from the greenhosue to the pasture t...
072 Piglet mania! (and turkeys and chickens too), Memorial Day pistol range time, row covers in the garden
May 29, 2013 22:49 - 53 minutes - 48 MBWith the farrowing behind us this week we can talk about the 17 piglets running around the pasture and the mayhem that ensues! Mama pigs are doing great and we also share the final castration update for the season as we finish off that chore. We also talk about the broiler chickens that are here. Our Cornish X chicks arrived early and we're not ready!! In the CoopCast Community we give a nice thank you to our listeners who helped us by sharing their experience and letting us know we were n...
071 A sow in distress while farrowing on the farm, piglet castration and temperature extremes in the vegetable garden
May 22, 2013 14:48 - 1 hour - 57.7 MBThis has been a week of extreme conditions on the farm physically as well as one of the most emotionally challenging weeks of farming yet. The vegetables have had to deal with a freeze of 28F one day and 90+ a few days later... any way you look at that, it's a challenge. On top of the wild weather we had to navigate piglet castration when the mama wants nothing to do with humans and icing on the cake was a proven sow who has issues while farrowing and needed help delivering 8 more piglets! ...
070 A discussion about pastured pig farrowing and an agressive sow
May 16, 2013 02:02 - 44 minutes - 37.2 MBThis was a busy week on the farm. In fact, we don't even have time to talk about the vegetable gardening this week! Our gilt, Katniss, farrowed her first litter of pigs and we take you through the experience from noticing her first signs of farrowing all the way through dealing with mom and piglets post-farrowing. We reflect on this farrowing experience versus our first farrowing with our sow last year - and there's quite a difference! Share in our joy and disappointment as we deal with ...
069 Preparing for hog farrowing, farm interns, GMO's that are good for you
May 09, 2013 00:11 - 50 minutes - 44.3 MBThis week we talk about our new YouTube series we will be publishing over the next several months called "". We set up some new fencing for the pigs and Andy longs for more permanent fences on the farm. We are getting ready for piglet farrowing in the next week and we talk a little about the new pig waterer we built. We briefly stop by the veggie patch to talk gardening and asparagus and raspberry plants. The CoopCast Community has a followup on the "Milk Rant" from CoopCast 067 and the list...
068 Vegetable Gardening begins, a top secret farming project, how to find GMO's in your food
May 02, 2013 00:17 - 52 minutes - 45.1 MBThings around the farm have been getting busy as the vegetable gardening season is off to is start. Finally we have the peas planted - sugar snap and snow so far. We have also been picking from the asparagus patch and enjoying some fresh spring vegetables. We talk about a trip to the Amish greenhouse and Amish WalMart. At the same time we have been fighting rats in the barn with increasing urgency as we are just a few weeks away from chicks and poults brooding in the barn.Then in the CoopC...
067 Worm Worshiping Hippies, vegetable gardening and soil blocks, farm transparency vs the farmers privacy
April 24, 2013 21:29 - 52 minutes - 47.5 MBThis weeks farming updates show that things are quickly picking up speed as spring marches on. We started last week offering our pastured broilers up for sale and had them all accounted for in 2 days. We also have been fixing some of our permanent fencing that winter was not kind to. As part of the fencing work we opened a spring pasture for the pigs and will be moving them for farrowing in another week or so. Updates include a quick stop in the vegetable garden section of the farm where ...
066 Pasture chicken orders, Diagnosing a sick pig, Disease resistance and breeding
April 18, 2013 00:50 - 56 minutes - 48 MBThis weeks farming updates include a lot of rain and finally a little warmth. We were about to get the snow fence down and watch the pastures start to turn a little green. We started allowing customers to pre-order pastured chickens this week and we are almost already sold out. We found a dead chicken in the coop... looks like a heart attack. In the green house we have been potting up tomatoes and making soil blocks.The Farmers Choice segment this week answers the question we posed in Co...