Chickens and other poultry members come in all sizes, shapes, colors and personalities. Nearly 400 recognized breeds and varieties of poultry exist, including large fowl and bantam chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys and guinea fowl. Using our illustration and a few selected hints, can you guess which mystery breed we have depicted here?
Find out the answer below.
Hints
With origins dating back to the time of Julius Caesar, this petite bird is a very old and rare chicken breed.
Close-fitting feathers cause this chicken breed to appear even smaller than it is.
The rooster possesses a form of “hen feathering,” in which he doesn’t develop long sickle feathers in the tail, hackle and saddle feathers.
The APA recognizes two colors: Golden and Silver, and despite its name, it probably doesn’t like to go “camping.”
Mystery Breed Answer
The breed depicted above is the energetic Campine, a dependable layer of medium-sized white eggs. Both varieties are solid-colored on the head and neck and display black barring on the body and tail.
The chicken breed’s single comb and medium-sized wattles are bright red. Its bright-white earlobes sit close to the head. Shanks are leaden blue.
Standard Campine cocks weigh 6 pounds and hens weigh 4 pounds. Bantam Campine cocks weigh 26 ounces and hens weigh 22 ounces. The breed is listed in the Critical category of the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy’s Conservation Priority List. Learn more at Hobbyfarms.com/campine-2. To purchase Golden Campines, visit Murray McMurray Hatchery online.
This mystery chicken breed feature originally appeared in the July/August 2023 issue of Chickens magazine.
Gardeners want their spaces to feel lush, healthy, vibrant and full. But gardens in their first years often seem weak and too spaced out. Planning gardens requires knowing proper spacing, but in that waiting period things can appear a bit lackluster.
Welcome to my own personal garden where I walk you through the first year of my front yard garden. In the video above, I show you the ways I chose annual fast-growing fillers and some materials to hold the space while the foundation plants mature.
Foundation Plants
Foundation plants are those that set the scene in gardens. They define the space and are mostly evergreen, maintaining structure year round. Examples in my garden are trees, azaleas, boxwoods, ligustrum, loropetalum and abelia.
Foundation plants are often the bulk of expenses in gardens. These fillers, however, are all inexpensive and either fast growing or immediately ready.
Grasses
Savannah and purple fountain grasses are highlighted in the video. These were $6 plants planted in the spring, and they provide so much height through the summer and into the fall.
Grasses are perfect for a dramatic effect because of their size and texture and really look like well-established older plants.
Vines
In this video sweet potato vines are used as a quick-growing ground cover. This vine gives a lot more height and depth than average ground covers and really takes off in the heat.
One of the greatest annual seeds to plant for garden fillers are zinnias. They are extremely easy to direct sow, very productive and bulky. They fill space really well.
Zinnias often reseed in the same spot, coming back each year despite being labeled annuals.
Another great attribute about zinnias? The endless options. Zinnias have been bred so you can choose your favorite texture and color combination to match your garden color scheme.
Rocks
Although these don’t grow, rocks make great fillers for garden beds as opposed to mulch. Not only do they add a different texture and color pop to the bed, they don’t seem as empty as mulch or dirt when there are not as many plants in the space.
Containers
You can gain immediate height and bulk using containers. While waiting for shrubs to reach the 3-to-5-foot range, just add containers to create the backdrop you need. When everything is hugging the ground, containers create visual interest year around.
A hack I use in the video is to plant a $10 emerald green arborvitae in a large container from winter to fall, then plant the tree out and start again. This allows me to buy trees very inexpensively, baby them through their first year and keep beautiful evergreen plants in containers.
We absolutely love using up our abundance of zucchini (not to mention a few summertime eggs) by making fritters with them. They are great leftovers and even delicious cold! We usually make a couple dipping sauces to enjoy them with, including our favorite, garlic aioli.
Yield: 10 fritters
Ingredients
2 cups grated zucchini
1 tsp salt, more to taste
1/2 cup white onions, finely diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup white all-purpose flour (or one-to-one gluten free flour)
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
2 egg yolks (my husband can’t eat egg whites so we just use yolks)
1/2 cup avocado oil (or extra virgin olive oil)
Preparation
Wash zucchini, discard ends and grate. Once grated, mix with 1 tsp salt and allow to sit at least 5 minutes to pull the liquid out of the grated zucchini. Then transfer to a fine mesh sieve and drain liquid. Use the back of a spoon to push down the zucchini and release additional liquid (or a clean palm of your hand is even more effective).
Mix in onion, garlic, flour, feta cheese and egg yolks.
Heat oil in large cast iron skillet. Measure out 1/4 cup scoops and carefully drop the batter into the hot oil. Use the back of a spoon to gently flatten the patties to 1/2 thickness or so. Sprinkle additional dusting of salt, pepper and garlic powder over patties. Fry until browned (about 5 minutes) and flip over until golden brown. Add more oil as needed throughout the cooking process.
Once thoroughly cooked, remove the fritter and place it on a paper towel lined plate. The paper towel will soak up additional oil.
Do not stack zucchini fritters straight from the frying pan, as they’ll become soft.
Note
Use one egg instead of two egg yolks if you prefer.
Add in fresh herbs such as dill or parsley to jazz them up even more.
Garlic Aioli
We absolutely love garlic aioli and make it as a dipping sauce for all sorts of things we cook. I believe it’s a perfect accompaniment to these fritters and hope you think so too!
Ingredients
3/4 cup mayonnaise
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1.5 tbsp. lemon juice
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Preparation
Mix all ingredients together and allow the aioli to meld in the refrigerator for at least thirty minutes before serving.
Though you can scrimp on chicken-care costs, some things are non-negotiable, including safe housing, protection from predators and access to adequate nutrition and hydration. While each of these is a requirement for quality chicken care, a bit of ingenuity and a “give it a try” attitude can help keep your costs down when keeping chickens.
Reimagine a Chicken Coop
Chicken housing has few requirements other than it be sturdy, safe, spacious (a rule of thumb for standard-sized chickens is 3- to 5-square-feet of space per bird) and well ventilated.
After that, all bets are off!
Look at what you may already own: Kids’ playhouses (plastic or wood), potting sheds, old corn cribs and even lean-tos can be modified into a safe haven for your feathered friends.
If nothing springs to mind, don’t fret: If you’re on a farm of any size, there’s most likely materials that can be cobbled together into a stellar chicken abode. Pallets, salvaged lumber, old cabinets and more (even trampolines, satellite dishes and old cars!) have all been successfully made into chicken coops.
If you don’t have any building materials lying around, plan a trip to a local construction surplus store (such as Habitat for Humanity ReStores) to look for building materials you can repurpose. And don’t stop at the frame! Your coop can be an extension of your home, put your decorating stamp on it.
If you want to build something from the ground up, find free plans online and spend some time on Facebook Marketplace or sifting through garage-sale finds to create your dream coop on the cheap.
oranguta007/Adobe Stock
Grow a Garden for Supplemental Nutrition
Quality feed can be one of the most expensive, ongoing costs of chicken care. Though not something to scrimp on, you can stretch your feed-bill budget. If you already plant a garden, consider adding (or planting more of) some chicken-friendly options, including:
beets
carrots
chard
cucumbers
kale
lettuce
melons
peas
parsnip
pumpkins
radishes
spinach
squash
sweet potatoes
tomatoes
turnips
Here’s a bonus: Hens that eat dark, leafy veggies lay eggs with richer yolks!
If you don’t have room for a full-fledged garden, consider an herb garden: Chickens love basil, cilantro, dill, lavender, mint, oregano, parsley, sage, tarragon and thyme.
An added nutritional boost can come from the garden. While you’re weeding, thinning and watering, pick off Japanese beetles and June bugs, throw them in a bucket of water and then give them to your flock as a tasty treat.
Consider making your own chicken treats, too, using grains, suet and lard. If you’re the more-adventurous type, try raising your own grubs or meal worms.
Free-Range Your Flock
Free-ranging your flock offers a plethora of nutritional options while encouraging the natural foraging and feeding behaviors. Chickens will nibble weeds and grass, as well as insects, lizards and mice. They’re especially helpful in pastures where they will pick through manure, eating flies and their larvae, as well as other nuisance insects.
By spreading out the manure, chickens also disperse worm eggs and larvae, disrupting their life cycle and limiting livestock’s chance of reinfestation.
Allowing chickens access to your compost bin will also offer them supplemental nutrition, while their scratching will assist with aeration.
Think Outside the (Nesting) Box
While there are few things that make a chicken-keeper happier than seeing a hen snuggled in on her nesting box, these contraptions are made for people, not necessarily hens. A chicken will lay her eggs wherever she feels safe, which, in some cases, could be all over the yard, under bushes or in other farm buildings.
Nest boxes make it easier to collect the eggs, but they need not be fancy. Milk crates, 5-gallon buckets placed on their side, old cupboards, wooden wine crates, bookcases, mailboxes, plastic kitty litter containers (and litter boxes!), newspaper holders, large planters and even old computers (with screens and “guts” removed) and tires can work!
Nest boxes don’t have to be square, but they do need to make the hen feel secure, while offering enough room that the hen isn’t cramped. Standard nest boxes are about 12 inches long and 12 inches wide. The height is often between 12 and 16 inches, depending on the breed of bird you have.
Nest boxes should be elevated at least a few inches off the ground.
Investigate Other Bedding Options
Nest box bedding encourages your hens to lay in them, and it provides a soft space for the egg, which will prevent breakage. Nesting pads are reusable but can be expensive. Other options include hay or straw, pine shavings or needles, old newspaper and shredded cardboard.
While some of these options will have added labor involved, their relative accessibility and (lack of) cost often outweighs the added time.
Bedding choice can vary by season to cut costs: Grass clippings (free!) can be used in the summer and straw can be used in the late fall once it’s been used for seasonal decorations. If you live near a sawmill, you may be able to pick up pickup-truck bed loads for a reduced fee.
One of the most popular and least expensive types of bedding is dried, shredded leaves. Though leaf removal isn’t always necessary if you have property, access to leaves is usually quite easy, whether you rake them yourself or pick up bagged leaves from those who live in town.
Mulching them with a mower makes them more absorbent, and chickens enjoy scratching around in them and finding any bugs. Dried, mulched leaves can be stored in containers to use throughout the year, as well.
No matter what bedding you choose, cleanliness is key to keeping birds healthy. Fresh, dry bedding is a must to keep fungus, bacteria and pests at bay.
DIY Dust Baths
Though commercial dust-bath products for poultry are available, it’s easy to make your own. Dust baths (which are literally loose dirt) encourage feathers to shed and exfoliate skin. The baths also smother lice and mites that may be on your birds.
Dust bathing areas can be made in containers or in a shallow depression. Like nesting boxes, dust bath containers can be repurposed from things like old flowerpots, sandboxes, shallow feed pans and kiddie pools, among other items. The container should be low enough that chickens can easily get in and out, but with some sort of side so that the material doesn’t escape when the feathers really get flying.
Dust bathing is a multibird endeavor, so the space needs to be large enough to hold three to four flock members at a time.
All that’s really needed for a dust bath is loose, dry dirt. Dense heavy clay should be avoided. If you have only clay in your area, you can use potting soil (fertilizer-free, please!), fine wood shavings or sand to ensure the bath stays clump-free; the preferred sand is often called river, mortar, construction or concrete sand, which offers multiple particle sizes. (However, sand can go by various names across the country, so it may be necessary to go and lay eyes on the sand you’re purchasing.)
Fine-grained play sand should be avoided as it can cause crop impactions if ingested and respiratory issues if inhaled.
There are some things that can be added to make a dust bath even more appealing, including peat moss to keep the bath aerated, wood ash or charcoal. Don’t use charcoal briquettes or wood that has a chemical coating or has had lighter fluid on it, however. You can also add a small amount of sulfur dust, garden or agricultural lime or diatomaceous earth. Each of these kill lice, fleas, ticks and other parasites.
You can also add fresh or dried herbs to the bath as well. These will keep the area (and your chickens!) smelling sweet, and they can help keep insects at bay. Some herbs you can add include basil, cinnamon, ginger, lavender, lemon balm, mint, rosemary, sage, thyme and yarrow.
These are also tasty treats for your birds to nibble as they bathe.
nutid/Adobe Stock
Creative Chicken Tractors
Like chicken coops, instructions on how to build your own chicken tractor abound on the internet, many of them specifying that they are easy to build in one day with limited tools and capabilities. Movable chicken tractors offer chickens the ability to forage for food while being kept safe from predators.
A chicken tractor can be used as permanent housing for chickens that aren’t allowed to free-range. It’s basically a mobile home for poultry.
Many plans require only some structural supports (think pallets, cattle panels, old gates, remnant lumber or PVC pipe) and chicken wire or hardware cloth, though they can get as complicated as you prefer to make them, adding tires, shingles, siding and more.
Like coops, functional is often better than elaborate!
Secure Additional Food Sources
Table scraps can supplement your flock’s diet while reducing food waste. Most birds welcome the addition of meat, grains, greens, veggies and bread as a tasty treat. If you don’t have a lot of leftover food, there are other options you can investigate to supplement your chicken’s diet.
Consider approaching your local grocery store and speaking with the produce manager to see if you could pick up produce the store is preparing to throw out on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. Farmer’s markets are another option: Most producers don’t want to pack up extra produce and may let their goods go for a song.
Who knows, you may even be able to barter eggs to sweeten the deal!
Investigate Easy Ways to Feed
While most chicken-keepers would prefer to have feed that remains feces-free, chickens don’t care if their food has been on the floor for more than 5 seconds or if it’s covered in some nasty stuff. Most chicken feed that’s offered daily isn’t harmed if it gets wet or dirty (except for layer pellets) once it’s on the ground. And chickens prefer to scratch and hunt for their food.
Because of this, the scatter method works surprisingly well for both chicken feed and any scraps you share with them.
It’s important to note that chicken feed should stay dry when stored, but the flock’s daily ration can get damp before it’s ingested with no adverse health issues. Any feed that is moldy or looks “off” should be discarded.
If you prefer your birds eat out of designated containers instead of scratching for their meals, nonfancy feed scoops can double as serving containers for a small flock. If your flock is larger, consider using 8-quart dishwashing tubs, gallon jugs cut in half or juice containers on their side with the top cut off to hold daily feed rations.
If buying in bulk, plastic, 55-gallon drums can store up to 250 pounds of chicken feed. If the top doesn’t fit well, weigh it down with a cinder block or other heavy item you have around the farm. Plastic pickle barrels hold a bit less feed but have screw-on lids that keep feed secure from weather and vermin.
Chicken keeping isn’t overly complicated or expensive, but there are ways to cut costs that don’t sacrifice quality of care. If you’ve got some great cost-saving tips, email us at chickens@chickensmagazine.com.
More Information
Repurposed Roosts
A well-appointed hen house includes areas for the chickens to roost. While there are commercially available roosts, it’s not difficult to find sturdy branches, dowel rods, spare 2-by-4s or even old ladders that can be repurposed as roosts.
Additional Money-Saving Measures
Additional ways to save money while keeping chickens include the following.
Use old golf balls as artificial nest eggs.
Cull old laying hens that are no longer productive.
Butcher on time so birds aren’t fed longer than necessary.
Keep only one rooster for egg fertilization.
Hatch your own chicks.
Raise bantam breeds. Smaller birds eat less.
Cook and feed extra eggs for added protein and calcium. (Just be sure that these eggs are cooked and crushed up/scrambled so egg-eating isn’t encouraged!)
This article originally appeared in the July/August 2023 issue of Chickens magazine.
In a Hobby Farms Presents: Growing Good episode that’s just a little bit different than usual, Barbara Lawson talks about gardening’s place in moving through grief.
Hear about how Barbara’s business, Meet Me in the Dirt, eventually grew out of her own grief over her mother’s death and the healing power of her own garden. She talks about healing gardens and shares a really special story about the tropical milkweed that brought home this concept to her.
Learn about the progression of Meet Me in the Dirt, from a group of Facebook followers to a mobile garden Barbara built in a bus to the current iteration of a wellness retreat space full of plants. This plant-filled wellness retreat is in a storefront in a mall, of all places, and serves as a healing space for Barbara’s clients—and it’s not the final iteration of Meet Me in the Dirt.
Listen to the end and get yourself to a quiet space for Barbara to lead you through a meditation-like experience that she might use in her gardening sessions.
Fox- and coyote-proof, the ark-shaped Pets Imperial Dorchester Chicken Coop (pictured above) has a roof that opens, giving access to all parts of the coop and is suitable for two to three birds. www.petsimperial.com
Soothing Quiet Time Spray
Zen Hen Soothing Quiet Time Spray promotes stress relief, soothes skin and repels bugs, naturally. www.coopsandfeathers.com
Crocheted Miniature Chickens
These crocheted miniature chickens—Mini Penny, Mini Peck and Mini Gertie—are sold individually or as a three-piece set. www.etsy.com/shop/LewieandBerg
Chicken Planter
Made of bonded marble and stone composite, this chicken planter is hand-cast and -finished and available in 14 colors. www.henfeathers.com
EZ Slide Nester
A simple solution for a nesting box, the EZ Slide Nester converts most 5-gallon buckets into an easy-to-clean nesting box. www.tractorsupply.com
Rocking Chicken Perch
A rocking chicken perch provides fun for your flock and a chance to show off your artistic skills. www.backyardbarnyard.com
Chicken Folk Art Mug
The brightly-colored, hand-sculpted Penny the Chicken folk art mug features a “rise & shine” message under the rim, but it also works holding flowers, succulents, pens and more. www.naturallife.com
4-Port Feeder
The weatherproof, no-waste RentACoop Chick2Chicken four-port feeder allows you to keep crumble, scratch, grain and pellets dry while keeping out dirt and water. www.rentacoop.com
Chicken Arms
There is nothing quite as hilarious as chickens with arms; choose from The Incredible Cluck, Cluckasaurus Rex, Spidey Cluck, Bat Cluck, Clucky Balboa, Cluck Kent or Cluckos. www.supercluckco.com
This article originally appeared in the July/August 2023 issue of Chickensmagazine.
You know what? It’s time I got my blueberry bushes the acidity they need to thrive and produce a lot of blueberries. But that’s a bit easier said than done, as my new four-way soil tester informs me.
Soil acidity is determined by the soil’s pH level. A 7.0 rating is neutral, but many plants grow well in the range of about 6.5 to 7.5. Anything higher than 7.5 represents alkaline soil, while numbers below 6.5 (especially below 5.5) indicate acidic soil.
Berry Good
Blueberries can be tricky to grow because they need strongly acidic soil in order to thrive. Somewhere in the range of 4.0 to 5.5 is necessary for the plants to extract everything they need from the soil. If the soil is neutral or alkaline, the blueberries will struggle.
I have three blueberry bushes planted in a raised bed in my garden, but they don’t grow very much, and the berries they produce are tiny. They started out all right when originally planted in a mixture of compost and soil from my northern Wisconsin farm. They’ve been fading over the time, though, and I assume unsuitable soil pH is the culprit.
Testing for Acidity
So in an effort to resurrect my blueberries (and open up the possibility of planting more bushes), I acquired a simple four-way soil tester that measures light levels, soil moisture, soil temperature and—most importantly—the soil pH level. Armed with my new tool, I went on a journey around my farm in search of acidic soil.
Perhaps I was a bit naïve, but I didn’t think it would be that difficult to find suitably acidic soil. I figured most of the soil on my farm was in the neutral range, and indeed it was. The vast majority of locations I checked (with a simple press of a button) revealed pH levels of 7.0 or 6.5. (My tester measures in increments of 0.5.) The blueberry bed yielded a 6.5 rating, so it’s no wonder why my blueberry plants aren’t growing well.
I had read in the past that pine needles are acidic, so I thought perhaps the soil under the stands of Red Pine windbreak trees on my farm would be the right acidity for blueberries. But alas, despite checking many locations, I couldn’t find a pH reading lower than 6.5. After doing a bit of research, it seems pine needles aren’t able to meaningfully lower soil pH levels.
Searching for Soil
And so the search continued. I checked the ground where one of my old compost piles used to sit—6.5. I checked the compost pile from which I’m currently pulling garden soil—6.5. The only time I found a reading below 6.5 was when I tested a mound of decaying sawdust and wood chips generated when cleaning up four windthrown Red Pines, and the reading was only 6.0—still too close to neutral for blueberries.
At this point, I’m going to have to take more serious steps to lower the soil pH in my blueberry beds. Introducing aluminum sulfate or sulfur to the soil will surely do the trick, but I must be careful not to overdo it. Paying for a professional soil test might be the best way to measure the exact pH level and determine with precision the amount and type of additives necessary to reach the right acidity for thriving blueberries. But at least I’m on the right track in seeking a solution.
It’s funny, I’m both disappointed and delighted by the performance of my soil tester. I am disappointed that I can’t find any suitably acidic soil on my farm but delighted that the soil tester worked perfectly and saved me from planting blueberries in pine soil that wasn’t nearly as acidic as I assumed it would be.
The edible bike lane is one of the great low hanging fruits for community transition toward edible biodiversity benefits. Let’s look at why the bike lanes that already cross our communities should be at the forefront of this movement. Increasing their network should intentionally look for opportunities to expand on the concept.
Consider the myriad ecosystem services of diversified greenspace in general: from reduction of storm water surges during intense rain events via better root pathways, to drainage and soil water storage from increased micro and macro pores in the soil. Or, reducing the urban heat island effect by increasing evapotranspiration during scorching days.
But what we really like to talk about is the food! Although these ecosystem services can occur in all edible ecosystems planted in cities—parks, yards, etc.—edible bike lanes have the unique layout to provide connective corridors between home and friends, work and home, home and recreation and more.
And what is better than connective corridors of human-scale transit that proffer up an abundance of food? Kids could stop and get an extra apple for the teacher (and themselves) as they bike to school, and you can harvest a bushel of pears into you e-bike basket as you return from work.
Plus consider the tourism benefits.
The lakefront trail I surveyed in Chicago has space for at least 10,000 fruit trees; accounting for large plantings in attached linear parklands brings that number to well over 100,000. That’s not even mentioning the potential millions of berry bushes and billions of herbs!
With ~18 quarts of fruit from a dwarf fruit trees, 40 quarts from a semi-dwarf and over 60 quarts from a standard, we are talking millions of pounds of tree fruits, millions more in berries, and still more yield in herbs. Again, this is on top of all the other ecosystem benefits.
An Easy Transition
There are some key aspects unique to bike lanes that make them so transition-ready to edible biodiversity!
First, let us consider that, because bike lanes are more or less linear, their establishment will be straightforward. Surveying, earthworks, planting and other key tasks are assisted by their simple layout alongside a long route of travel, facilitating access by equipment for all work.
Because the greenspace median common along bike lanes is usually in grass or just a few ornamental trees, the space is available. Some bike lanes run through neighborhoods and offer tree cover, but there is still ample space for understories of berries, herbs and replacement canopy trees that can wait in the partial shade to grow upward when a larger trees senesces.
Those bike lanes that aren’t added to existing roads but have been built intentionally in former railroads and other unused greenspace are especially devoid of most trees. They have lots of opportunity and often very wide linear parkland for planting many rows of fruits, berries and herbs.
Bike lanes are also easy for maintenance. Setting up irrigation would be simple along these linear routes and easy to check up and maintain. Harvesting would also be simple, with easy accessibility.
When it comes to transitioning greenspace to food, bike lanes, walkways and linear parks are low-hanging fruit (yes, pun intended). But this is very serious business for our cities, so don’t laugh. Just get planting!
Grow on,
Zach
Zach Loeks is conducting a survey for transitioning greenspace on bike, longboard and foot across entire neighborhoods and cities. Keep posted on youtube.
It seems that by late July/early August, we are swimming in cucumbers and tomatoes here in the Midwest. Luckily, both of these summer garden staples are incredibly versatile ingredients that can be used in many ways.
My aunt started making this recipe with her excess summer tomato and cucumber harvests about 10 years ago. It is ridiculously simple and so refreshingly delicious. This tomato, cucumber and red onion salad is a great sharable side dish to bring to BBQs, and it’s an easy enough recipe to make quickly for those last-minute invites.
Exact measurements aren’t necessarily required for this recipe as there is no “wrong way” to make it. Just toss in as much as you have of each ingredient, stir it up and call it done. It will turn out delicious.
Yield: 2 to 4 servings (as a side dish)
Ingredients
1 cup of fresh tomatoes, chopped (about 1 large, 2 small, or a cup of halved cherry tomatoes)
1/2 cucumber, peeled, quartered lengthwise and sliced
1/3 cup red onion, chopped
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
Fresh cracked pepper, to taste
Pinch of salt
Instructions
Mix all the ingredients together and enjoy. Seriously, it’s that simple. Refrigerate if not serving immediately.
Double or triple this recipe and adjust ingredients to suit your preference. This recipe is best eaten within two days.
Notes
Crumbled feta is an amazing addition to this tomato, cucumber and onion salad. We’ve also tweaked this recipe by adding fresh herbs, such as ribboned basil or chopped parsley.
If using cucumbers that have a tender skin, such as the English cucumber, you can skip the step of peeling the cucumber before slicing.
If you don’t have time to make this salad the day of and need to make it in advance, use cherry tomatoes instead of slicing tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes hold up better when stored overnight. Using a variety of colored cherry tomatoes makes this salad even prettier!
Reading it, he felt something had to be done to help service members returning to their communities after tours abroad.
In May 2007, O’Gorman organized a gathering of California growers to discuss creating agriculture jobs for returning veterans. The idea of providing American military members not only with farm jobs but also with the quiet and peace that farming offers very much appealed to the growers in attendance. This included Mary Tillman, mother of Pat Tillman, who left a career in pro football to serve his country and who made the ultimate sacrifice doing so.
Over the years, the Farmer Veteran Coalition has grown from that small group of Central California farmers to become an independent 501c3 organization with over 30,000 members. More than 50 percent have service-connected disabilities.
The Farmer Veteran Coalition works hand in hand with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Department of Labor, the Small Business Administration, the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs to promote and provide agricultural business opportunities for the men and women who served our country.
Today, the Farmer Veteran Coalition can assist a veteran at any point in his or her agricultural career. Its mission is to cultivate meaningful careers through the collaboration of the American farming and military communities and to help veterans strengthen those hard-hit rural communities by establishing sustainable food systems that provide military members with purpose, physical activity and psychological benefits.
In addition, the Farmer Veteran Coalition works to establish a sense of community between farmer veterans, a support system that can lead to both agricultural collaboration and friendship.
courtesy Farmer Veteran Coalition
The Details
While membership in the Farmer Veteran Coalition is free and available to both veterans and non-veterans, only veteran members are eligible for the organization’s programs and services. Veterans must have served in the U.S. Armed Forces at any point in their lifetime—including currently—and must verify their service by submitting DD-214, a Certificate of Discharge, a Service Record, or (for those currently serving) a Letter from Command.
Programs include participation in the organization’s Homegrown by Heroes branding of veteran-produced agriculture products and the Farmer Veteran Fellowship Fund. The latter provides grants to veterans just starting their agricultural careers and has awarded more than $3 million in grants to more than 900 veteran farmers since 2011.
In addition, veteran members receive discounts from such Farmer Veteran Coalition partners as Kubota, FarmTek, Johnny’s Select Seeds, Mann Lake Bee and Ag Supply, and Gempler’s.
Further Benefits
The Farmer Veteran Coalition also:
connects veteran farmers with agricultural training programs, internships and apprenticeships
provides resources for finding land, financing a farm, creating a business plan, and developing marketing strategies
offers a large online library of links to farming organizations, networks and other agriculture programs.
Associate members consist of businesses, corporations, partnerships, veterans with unverified service, and non-veteran members who wish to show their support for farmer veterans. Spouses and children of veteran members often become associate members to demonstrate their support for their loved one and for all military service members.
Other Farmer Veteran Coalition supporters include the Wounded Warrior Project, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Farmers Union, Tractor Supply Co. and the USDA.
