Categories
Recipes

Mashed Root Vegetables and Apples

Ingredients

  • 1 pound sweet potatoes or yams
  • 1/2 pound parsnips
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 pound apples, peeled, cored and cut into quarters
  • 3 T. butter
  • 2 T. milk
  • 1 cup coarsely grated white cheddar cheese
  • freshly ground nutmeg and/or black pepper

Preparation
Peel sweet potatoes or yams and parsnips, and cut into large, consistently sized chunks for even cooking. Place in Dutch oven or other pan with a wide bottom so vegetable chunks are not layered more than two or three deep. Add salt. Add water to cover by 2 inches. Cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to a gentle boil and cook, covered, for 10 minutes, or until vegetables are about half-cooked. (You can pierce them with a fork, but they’re still quite firm and don’t break apart.) Add apples, replace cover and cook until vegetables are tender (easily pierced by a fork), about 10 more minutes.

Pour vegetable-apple mixture into colander to drain cooking water. Shake gently, then return mixture to hot pan; allow to steam dry for about 5 minutes.

In a separate pan, heat butter and milk until butter is just melted. Pour over vegetable-apple mixture, and mash by hand, using a potato masher or pastry blender, until mixture is fairly smooth but some chunks still remain. Pour into buttered, 1- or 11⁄2-quart casserole. Top with white cheddar cheese, and dust, to taste, with nutmeg and/or black pepper. (Be sparing with the nutmeg, as a little goes a long way.) Place under broiler just until cheese is melted and bubbly.    

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Categories
Recipes

Apple Salad with Gorgonzola and Almonds

Ingredients

  • 1/2 pound crisp apples, any kind, cored but not peeled, chopped into bite-sized pieces
  • 1/2 cup chopped celery
  • 3 T. diced red onion
  • 1/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
  • 1/3 cup sliced almonds
  • spinach, romaine or Bibb lettuce leaves

Dressing

  • 1 T. olive oil 
  • 1 T. lemon juice
  • 1 T. apple cider vinegar
  • 1 T. pure maple syrup
  • 1/2 tsp. stone-ground mustard
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preparation
Place apples, celery, onion and Gorgonzola in medium bowl. Combine dressing ingredients in a jar and shake until well-combined. Pour dressing over apple mixture and stir to coat. Add sliced almonds and toss gently. Serve on greens of your choice.

Makes four side servings.

Categories
Recipes

Low-fat, Low-sugar Apple-oatmeal Muffins

Apple Oatmeal Muffins - Photo courtesy iStock/Thinkstock (HobbyFarms.com)
Courtesy iStock/Thinkstock

Ingredients

  • 2 cups apples (see below)
  • 1½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup old-fashioned oats
  • 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1½ tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1 cup plain, fat-free yogurt
  • 1/4 cup skim milk
  • 2 egg whites
  • 2 T. vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp. vanilla

Preparation
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

If using fresh apples, peel, core and grate apples into two equally packed cups. Dry grated apples on paper towels before adding to batter. If using frozen apples, thaw, place in colander to drain, and use your hands to squeeze out as much moisture as possible. If apples are in slices or large chunks, dice apples to equal 2 packed cups.

In a large bowl, stir together flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk yogurt, milk, egg whites, oil and vanilla. Add all at once to flour mixture, and stir just until combined. Stir in grated or diced apples.

Spray muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray. Spoon batter evenly into cups. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until tops are browned and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Place muffin tin on a wire rack and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Then use a table knife to gently loosen the edges of each muffin; remove muffins from tin and allow to finish cooling before storing, or serve warm. 

Makes 12 muffins.

Categories
Equipment

Farm-management Software

Farm record-keeping software
Red Wing Software offers agricultural accounting options that can be used by farm hobbyists.

Growing up on a large, diversified farm, I never saw my dad sit down at a desk to open a ledger or record a single number. He kept all of his financial records in his head along with a mental calculator that could outperform even today’s computer chips. While he was a successful farmer in his day, there were several problems with his farm business approach. He knew if he was making or losing money, but he couldn’t necessarily tell you how much or from where among the half-dozen enterprises he managed.

A lifetime of experience had told him his hogs would carry the farm business if dairy prices were down and vice versa. Our farm financial records consisted of receipts for sales and expenses that were retained by my mother for annual tax accounting. When my father borrowed money to buy land or for short-term cash-flow needs, it was largely on the strength of his reputation, not a financial spreadsheet.

Farm Business Today
Hobby Farms MagazineToday’s lenders require more. Just as important, a good farm manager needs records to make the best decisions possible and to plan for the future. Whether you have 10 cows or 100, 1 acre of strawberries or 500 acres of row crops, you need data and business management as much as you need to know what to feed an animal or a plant. That’s one of the first lessons a new farmer must learn, suggests Parker Forsell, program organizer for Land Stewardship Project. The Minnesota-based nonprofit offers a training program for new and prospective farmers called Farm Beginnings. The program is offered in a number of Midwestern states and as far east as New York.

“We often have to get participants to step back from their desire to learn production techniques, to setting goals, thinking about marketing and financial plans, and setting priorities,” says Forsell. “We introduce them to experienced farmers who think of their farms as businesses. We introduce them to record keeping, but there is no way to hold their feet to the fire once they finish the program.”

Brad and Leslea Hodgson are graduates of Farm Beginnings and operate a 100-acre farm near the town of Fountain, Minn. Brad Hodgson’s cabinetmaking is a good complement to Root Prairie Galloways, their growing grassfed-beef enterprise. In neither farm business does the couple have to hold their feet to the fire when it comes to financial record keeping.

“Everything has to be economically feasible,” says Brad Hodgson. When he and Leslea decided to start the beef enterprise, it was only natural to turn to QuickBooks, which he was already using for his cabinetmaking. “I just set the farm up as a new company,” he explains. “The program has parameters for different categories that are well-adapted to farming and the cattle business. It categorizes all the normal expenditures automatically, generates tax reports, and tracks incomes and expenses for our multiple enterprises.”

Even though they were new to beef production, their Farm Beginnings classes taught them they needed a way to track individual animal productivity. Just as Brad Hodgson was comfortable with QuickBooks, Leslea Hodgson developed an affinity for spreadsheets using Microsoft Excel. Doing so allowed her to concentrate on areas she wanted to track, such as the beef they market at the farmers’ market, through area stores and off the farm.

“Excel is totally flexible, and the inventory feature is a must-have for tracking cuts of meat available for sale,” explains Leslea Hodgson. “I have a spreadsheet listing every animal we’ve marketed by its tag number with live weight, carcass weight and dressed weight. We use the data for yield and cutability evaluation. I also have spreadsheets for the breeding herd that include information from the registration papers, breeding history and offspring.”

The Hodgsons use the spreadsheets to make culling and breeding decisions. In the past eight years, the original cow herd has been replaced by the next generation. Heifers that don’t make the grade for the home herd or for sale as breeding stock are direct marketed for meat. Bull calves are segregated from heifers and left intact until about 1 year of age, when they’re evaluated as potential breeders.

“Instead of castrating and implanting, we take advantage of the natural growth hormones and see if they have potential on the farm or for sale as purebred bulls,” says Brad Hodgson. “By taking linear measurements at a year, we can extrapolate their conformation into potential offspring.”

Farm-ready Records
While the Hodgsons chose separate software for production and financial analysis, other packages are available to do both. Red Wing Software has been offering agricultural packages they describe as “more than accounting” for more than 30 years. Customers range from hobbyists to corporate-style farming operations

“With our software, you can get profits by head, bushel or pound, depending on the commodity,” says Matt Hiton, agriculture sales consultant. “We offer a lot more management perspective, such as productivity analysis.”

One of the advantages to a commercial system versus designing your own is available support. Red Wing offers a “wizard” helper for setup and a 12-person, toll-free call center dedicated to answering users’ questions. The wizard walks the producer through a setup process that identifies commodities and all the business specifics. When it’s finished, the producer has a basic set of accounts that can be modified or deleted as needed.

The initial $995 cost of the package includes one year of customer care with unlimited phone support as well as upgrades. Extensions of the customer-care package run $379 annually, and Hiton says 85 to 90 percent of Red Wing customers extend yearly.

“There are always questions when setting up a system,” says Hiton. “From a management perspective, people want to know how to take advantage of the analysis tools and get updates. We have customers who have extended their care package every year for 25 years.”

Farm Files’ customers have chosen a third path. Whether a 1/4-acre strawberry farm in California or a cattle ranch in Kansas, they purchase a dedicated farm record-keeping system to help them manage their farm business, but like the Hodgsons, select Quick Books, Peachtree or one of many accounting packages to handle their tax needs. Jon House, president of Farm Files, sees no reason to duplicate accounting systems these companies have spent millions to develop and update.

Instead, he advises prospects to focus on production records and analysis software that fit their needs. “Most of the packages out there track all the essentials, just like ours does,” he says. “The difference is how intuitive they are and how quickly you can get data in and analysis out.”

The key, he says, is to try out the programs. Most software companies like his offer prospective customers a free trial of two weeks or more. “You aren’t going to be able to tell from a website what is right for you,” he says. “What you need depends on your situation.”

This article originally appeared in the September/October 2010 issue of Hobby Farms.

Categories
Crops & Gardening

Boutique Pumpkin Varieties

We have hundreds of pumpkin varieties to choose from with new hybrids in development all the time. While many of them are big and orange and make the perfect jack-o’-lantern, specialty pumpkins steal the show. These are the beautiful boutique varieties that literally stand out in the field. Boutique pumpkins are easy to grow, eye-poppingly gorgeous and surprisingly useful in the kitchen.

The Pumpkin Family

Pumpkins are members of the Cucurbita family, along with squash, cucumbers and melons. The official line between pumpkins and squash is a fine one, and there’s a lot of crossover and regionality in the usage of these common terms. Most experts consider pumpkins part of the winter squash category, along with Hubbard squash, Acorn squash and Butternut squash, all of which have hard skins and store well.

Pumpkins and other squash types fit into four primary species:

Cucurbita moschata

This species consists of many crookneck varieties, including Butternut squash and Cushaw squash. Members of this species are generally more resistant to pests and diseases, including squash bugs and vine borers. Cooking pumpkins tend to be in this group, as well, and it includes the most common varieties for canning.

Cucurbita pepo

This species includes most jack-o’-lantern pumpkin varieties; the miniature varieties; and most soft-skinned summer squash, including Scallopini squash, Patty Pan squash, zucchini and others. Gourds are also in this category.

Cucurbita maxima

This species consists of the biggest members of the family including Hubbard squash, Turban squash, Buttercup squash, and other large-fruited squash and pumpkins.

Cucurbita mixta

Members of this species are not as sweet and flavorful as the other groups and are often cooked with sweeteners. Many types are used as a source of edible seeds. They have good resistance to vine borers and drought. The most common C. mixta variety is the Cushaw squash, which you’ll see with white skin (the Johnathan pumpkin), green striped, and orange or yellow striped.

Regardless of their official familial lines, boutique pumpkins have a one-up on jack-o’-lanterns, especially at farmers’ markets. They’re downright interesting, and for a customer who wants to stand out from the crowd, a display of these unique fruits will get them all the attention they can handle.

“These types of pumpkins draw crowds and give people something unique to take home,” says Danny Neel, marketing specialist with the USDA and an advisor to the Virginia Pumpkin Growers’ Association. “It’s hard to know the demographics of pumpkin buyers, but we know it’s a diverse group.”

And, for now, these diverse customers can’t buy specialty pumpkins at the big box store—they have to either grow them or rely on a small farmer who’s willing to step out of the box.

Boutique Pumpkin Varieties

Many specialty pumpkins were bred decades ago for their use in the kitchen, and they continue to be so, though North America hasn’t caught onto it quite yet. The history of many of the heirloom pumpkin varieties is long, and the breeding efforts to develop new boutique choices continue. Here are some exceptional varieties:

Black Futsu

Jere Gettle, owner of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds in Missouri, a retailer of specialty pumpkin and squash seeds, says, “The New York Times listed [Black Futsu] as their favorite pumpkin a few years back.” And deservedly so. The flattened, round fruit has heavy ribbing and a bumpy rind. They have dark green-black skin with golden, nutty flavored flesh. Gettle adds that this is a good variety for gardeners with limited space because the vine is more compact than other varieties. He also finds that it has moderate resistance to insects and diseases.

Galeux d’Eysines

A French heirloom with salmon-peach skin covered in tan peanut-looking warts, this variety is a complete show-stopper. The longer these fruits mature, the wartier they become. This corking results from expanded fractures in the skin that occur because of the fruit’s high sugar content and thin skin. The flesh is very creamy and smooth and is a favorite for pies and soups. Its name means “embroidered with warts from Eysines”—the small city in France from which it hails.

Marina Di Chioggia

Sometimes called the sea pumpkin, this variety is surely one of the prettiest pumpkins you’ll ever grow. The 4- to 10-pound, round and flat fruits are a deep blue-green, and the skin is covered with innumerable smooth bumps. The flesh is bright orange and delicious.

Jarrahdale

Hailing from Australia, this variety produces 6- to 10-pound, slate-blue fruits shaped much like a flattened drum. They’re round with deep ribs and beautiful, smooth skin. The flesh is dry and smooth with a nice fragrance. The rind is very dense. Gettle says you may need an axe to cut it in half—but that thick skin pays off: Jarrahdale stores for up to two years!

Musque de Provence

Often called “the fairytale pumpkin,” these flat pumpkins are shaped much like a wheel of cheese and can weigh up to 20 pounds each. Their heavy lobes and deep ribs start out dark green and mature to a deep mahogany color. The variety hails from southern France, boasts decent pest resistance and keeps for up to one year in proper storage.

One Too Many

A recent introduction from the Rupp Seed Company, this pumpkin is a pale cream color with orange-mottled netting all over. The fruits can be either round or elongated and weigh 15 to 20 pounds each on average. It is said to have good tolerance to mildew.

Triamble

A tri-lobed heirloom pumpkin from Australia, Triamble ranges in color from a pale slate-blue to a deep green. It’s a novelty pumpkin with an excellent flavor. The skin is very hard, making it a long-lasting storage pumpkin, too.

Valenciano

These pure-white, flattened fruits are surprisingly elegant. The 12-inch-diameter fruit stands a mere 6 to 8 inches tall and has light ribbing.

Rouge Vif d’Etampes

Translated as “red life of the times,” this French heirloom is sometimes called the Cinderella pumpkin, as it looks much like the carriage-making pumpkin in the fairytale (shown on page 50). Large fruits ripen to a deep orange-red color. They are flattened, deeply lobed fruits that are reported to have been the variety served by the pilgrims at the second Thanksgiving. Gettle suggests harvesting them when they are 9 to 10 inches across, long before the skin hardens. “Pick them young, and fry them whole. They have an excellent flavor,” he says.

Red Warty Thing

The name pretty much says it all! Round, bowling ball-shaped pumpkins are bright red at maturity. They weigh 10 pounds or more and have hard, bumpy skin.

American Tonda

A beautiful, ribbed pumpkin. The skin is deep orange with green stripes between the ribs. Fruits weigh 4 to 6 pounds.

La Estrella

Grey-, green- and peach-colored skin that looks like it was watercolored onto the fruit. This is a newer variety that is the result of hybridization efforts at the University of Florida. Fruits weigh up to 10 pounds each and have deep-orange flesh.

Lumina

A pure-white, classic-shaped pumpkin measuring 8 to 10 inches across. Flesh is great for cooking.

Long Island Cheese

The smooth tan skin and flat shape of this pumpkin make it look much like a wheel of cheese. Weighing as much as 20 pounds each, Long Island Cheese is an excellent roasting and baking pumpkin with deep-orange, sweet flesh.

Baby Boo

A super-cute mini-pumpkin with stark-white skin, this variety is exclusively for decoration and is a real hit with children.

People may look at these distinctive pumpkin varieties and laugh. The laughter, though, translates into purchases. After all, their individuality is their appeal. It seems that these fruits have got the gutsy eccentricity most of us wish we had. They are special plants, indeed.

This article originally appeared in the September/October 2010 issue of Hobby Farms.

Categories
Crops & Gardening

How To Grow Pumpkins

Any pumpkin-growing foray should start with the same thing: space—and plenty of it. Choose a location for growing pumpkins with a minimum of six to eight hours of full sun and a lot of room; vines can grow to more than 20 feet long.

Pumpkins prefer well-drained soils high in organic matter with a pH of 6 to 6.5. (Testing your soil in the fall allows you to adjust the pH accordingly before spring planting time arrives.) For all but the northernmost zones, pumpkins can be planted from seed after the danger of frost has passed and the soil temperature has reached 60 degrees F. Northern growers can start pumpkin seeds indoors in peat pots three to four weeks before transplanting them outdoors, again, after the danger of frost has passed.

Small farms can plant pumpkin seeds individually by hand, but for larger acreage, mechanized planting may be desired. Adam Voll, farm manager of Soergels Orchard in Wexford, Pa., uses a special technique for planting larger fields of pumpkins. (The farm grows 23 acres of squash and pumpkins.)

“We’ve been experimenting a little with this,” Voll says. “Typically, we’ve plowed and worked the ground into a fine seed bed. We still do a lot of that, but I’ve started doing more strip tilling. I have a machine that uses a sub-soil tooth, and then with a few disks and a rolling basket, I get a great seed bed in one pass. It saves time and is reducing the erosion and helping the soil. I will typically do this in a rye field or an old hay field so that the organic matter on top then helps with erosion and keeps the weeds down. We’ve also planted some on plastic. We use trickle irrigation under the plastic and have gotten great results.”

All pumpkins grow the same, no matter how much space you have to dedicate to their production. Pumpkins are monoecious, meaning the male flowers are separate from the female flowers on the same plant. Male flowers arrive first, ensuring ample pollen is available when the females open a few days later. You can tell the male flowers from the females simply by looking: Males are born on straight flower stalks, while female flowers have a swollen base that develops into the fruit once pollinated.

The pumpkin flowers are pollinated by insects, including many species of bees, flies and beetles (including the dreaded cucumber beetle), so to maximize pollination, plant plenty of flowering plants in and around the garden. The more flowers you have around, the more pollinators will be present in the garden. Hand pollination is possible, too; although, it’s only necessary if problems with pollination have occurred in the past or you need to control pollination for seed production.

Once the pumpkin seeds have germinated, mulch between the plants very well.

“We use a good bed of straw,” notes Gettle. “Once the vines get growing, it’s hard to weed around them. And the straw keeps the fruits clean and off the ground.”

Mulching also retains soil moisture, and pumpkins use a lot of water. Gettle recommends protecting pumpkin vines with floating row cover until they flower.

“Row cover is probably the No. 1 way to control squash bugs organically,” he says.

The row cover should stay in place while the pumpkin plants are young and vulnerable; it serves as a physical barrier between the plant and the pest. The cover is then lifted when the plants come into flower to allow for pollination. By that time, the pumpkin plants are mature enough to fend off any subsequent attacks, and the fruit are more likely to reach maturity. It helps deter cucumber beetle damage, as well.

With many types of squash and pumpkins, powdery mildew is likely to be an issue, especially during rainy summers. This dusty, white mildew appears on the leaves and is prevented, first and foremost, by choosing resistant varieties; secondly, by spacing plants properly to provide adequate air circulation and allow plants to dry quickly; and thirdly, with regular applications of potassium bicarbonate-based fungicides or compost tea. Although powdery mildew seldom kills plants (it’s primarily an aesthetic issue), when combined with pest issues or other plant stressors, it can result in plant death or decreased production.

“The weather has always been our biggest challenge,” says Voll. “Rainy, wet seasons make it tough with diseases like powdery mildew and also at harvesting time. But hot and dry makes it harder for watering and keeping the size up on the pumpkins.”

As the growing season progresses, the pumpkin fruits will begin to set and mature. You’ll know they’re ripe when the rind hardens and the vine begins to die. When the fruit is fully ripe, the skin should be tough to puncture with a fingernail, and the mature skin color should be fully developed. When harvesting pumpkins of all types, leave the stem on as long as possible. If it breaks off, the fruit will start to rot at the stem base, and the storage capacity is greatly diminished.

All types of winter squash, including pumpkins, are best stored on cardboard sheets in a cool place like a basement or a root cellar. Depending on the variety, expect a shelf life of anywhere between two months and one year.

Categories
Equipment

Chainsaw Chain

Chainsaws are one of man’s finest inventions. If you don’t agree, just try cutting down a 20-inch oak with an axe. Just as an axe needs to be sharpened and cared for, so does a chainsaw.

I am pretty careful about chainsaw safety, wearing chaps and a helmet, and I try to keep my chains sharp. However, recently I had a chain jump the bar. Chainsaws are one of the most dangerous tools there are, so when a chain jumps the bar, it gets my attention.

When I went to remount the chain, I was a bit embarrassed to see the shape of the drive sprocket. The sprocket was noticeably worn. It was obvious that it needed to be replaced.

I probably could have replaced it myself, but I took it to my local dealer instead. Jeremy, the service technician, pointed out that not only was the sprocket worn, but so was the chain. It was the worn chain, he felt, that had sped the deterioration of the sprocket and the bar that also needed to be replaced.

I realized that saving a couple bucks by sharpening my chain too many times doesn’t pay if it means wearing out other components. I can afford to replace my chains on a regular basis if it means my sprocket and bar last longer.

So give your chainsaw a quick check. If your sprocket or bar is starting to show wear, let your dealer take a look. Check sprocket teeth for wear and the sprocket itself for play. Is the bar groove worn?

The chain can also cause the bar edge to mushroom back on itself. If you have a question, check with an expert. It’s worth it for your chainsaw and for you!

<< More Shop Talk >>

Categories
Urban Farming

Online Weather Tool for Farmers

Online farmer's forecast tool

Urban farmers can look up the day’s agricultural forecast using Weather.com’s Farmer’s Forecast tool.

Urban farmers are already strides ahead of generations past, as they transform vacant lots, small backyards and rooftops to luscious garden hosts. But living in the age of technology means urban farmers also have access to resources they never would have found on Grandpa’s farm.

The Weather Channel’s online Farmer’s Forecast tool, found on Weather.com, has pertinent agricultural information that’s easily accessible to urban farmers. Launched in July as part of Weather.com’s site redesign, the online Farmer’s Forecast tool includes several resources that urban farmers can use to prepare their gardens for the season’s weather:

  • Forecast:
    Similar to the standard forecasting tool offered by the site, which provides users with weather forecasts by the hour and up to 10 days in advance, the Farmer’s Forecast tool relays agriculture-specific information to aid in farming decisions. Information includes the expected amount of precipitation; the expected soil moisture and UV index in a given hour; alerts to freeze, frost, wind or hail; and times of sunrise and sunset.
  • Almanac:
    The farmer’s almanac provides average and historical weather conditions for the user’s specified area, allowing farmers to trade in a hard-copy version of the same information. 
  • Maps:
    The Farmer’s Forecast tool gives farmers access to maps compiled by The Weather Channel that show farming-specific information, including soil moisture, precipitation, and typical freeze and wind, as well as a map that can be customized to the farmer’s needs and interests.
  • Growing Degrees Day Calculator:
    In response to farmer feedback, Weather.com launched the Growing Degree Days calculator as part of the Farmer’s Forecast tool. When the user enters a location, base temperature and time frame, the calculator determines crop growth by calculating accumulated heat over that time period. The tool allows farmers to compare the growing degree days of two different years after 2003 and provides a 30-year average of growing degree days.

Although the Farmer’s Forecast tool cannot be accessed via a smartphone, farmers can sign up for email and text alerts that will provide the forecast.

Weather.com’s redesign also included the introduction of several other weather apps, including the Watering Need Indicator, which serves as a gardener’s weather guide.

Categories
Animals

Spider!

brown house spider
Photo by Sue Weaver

Uzzi and Tank and I were licking our lips this morning, thinking of eating our yummy breakfast, when we heard a terrible scream.

Mom bolted out of the feed room holding her hands to her chest and making funny noises (oo-oo-oo-oooo). We ran over to see what was wrong.

“There was a spider in the goats’ feed can, a spider, a huge spider,” she cried. “I didn’t see it, I touched it! It was big as a Volkswagen!”

Uzzi and I looked at each other. We have seen a Volkswagen. It wouldn’t fit in a feed can.
There are 35,000 species of spiders in the world and a lot of them live in the Ozarks. (You can see pictures of some of them here.)

The biggest are tarantulas and we have lots of black widows here, too.

But the ones that scare Mom are those big brown house spiders that live in places like our feed room. Counting their legs, they can be 3 inches across!

Spiders look scary but most aren’t dangerous. Mom’s been bitten by jumping spiders twice this year and it felt like being stung by a bee. Both times the spiders were lurking in their webs under the rim of our water tubs.

So, if you don’t want to be spider-bitten, don’t put your fingertips anyplace you can’t see them (like in a feed can lying on its side).

Also, shake out your shoes and clothing before putting them on even if they’ve been in drawers or the closet and shake towels and bedding before using them.

Wear long sleeves, pants, socks and gloves when working where you know spiders are present and put rubber bands around pant and shirt cuffs if you want to feel extra safe.

« More Mondays with Martok »

Categories
Urban Farming

Eggscapades

Homegrown eggs

Photo by Audrey Pavia

Our eggs come in some weird shapes and sizes.

I remember the first time one of our chickens laid an egg. We’d gotten the chickens as pullets and had been impatiently waiting for them to grow up so they would start laying. The morning I went out to the coop to let them out and found a lone egg in one of the nest boxes was one to remember. Even though the egg was half the size of the ones I bought in the grocery store, it was the most amazing egg I’d ever seen. I brought it in the house in a clenched hand and told Randy to close his eyes until I opened my fist to reveal the gift within. His gasp of excitement said it all.

Hundreds of eggs have come to pass since I discovered that first one. Most of them are your typical bantam-sized eggs — half the size of the ones marked “small” in the carton. In recipes, it takes two of our chickens’ eggs to equal one regular-sized egg.

Once in a while, we get a rather strange looking egg creation. I’ve seen eggs that are elongated, leaving me to think it must have been squeezed out rather painfully. I’ve seen a few that are perfectly round, teeny-tiny eggs, the size of a marble. After ogling them for a while, I toss them in the trash. I’m afraid to break them open for fear of what weirdness might be inside.

Sometimes the nest boxes are empty, and I know the hens have decided to shake things up a bit by finding a new place to make deposits. More than once, I’ve had to go on egg hunts around the yard to find the hiding place. I once found Gwennyth sitting on more than 20 eggs that had been laid under a bush in the planter. I didn’t know how long the eggs had been there, so I had to toss them. It was heartbreaking.

I wasn’t always so enthusiastic about the eggs our hens produce. It took me a while to get used to the idea of eating them. For some reason, I was grossed out by the idea. Although I’m embarrassed to admit it, this is not an uncommon reaction among city folk to homegrown eggs. Once I got used to the idea, I tried to share the joy of our fresh eggs with others. I wasn’t completely surprised when people turned down my offer, responding with disgusted looks on their faces. I guess seeing my hens scratching around in horse poop didn’t help the situation. (Although if these same people saw the conditions where hens are kept at factory farms, they wouldn’t be eating grocery store eggs either.)

With all the drama that centers around the eggs we get from our hens (including the proud ba-guck! that is sounded whenever a hen produces one of these prizes), what’s most important is how good they taste. The bright yellow yolks and fresh flavor make it hard to eat store-bought eggs during those dry spells when the hens are taking a break. I’ve come to realize that my squeamish friends and relatives just don’t know what they’re missing.

Read more of City Stock »