Six Reasons Hill Giant Farm Needs Rain

We hate to be too "farmerish" by dedicating a whole post to why we need rain, but the simple fact is, we do. Badly. Here is a list of ten reasons why Hill Giant Farm could use some rain. Some of these might be obvious to you, but others we're hoping will shed some light onto how a farm (and things on a farm) work. 

1. Our garden is in really bad shape because of the drought. The tomatoes and pepper plants have died, the peas, beans, beets, lettuce etc. are growing much slower and the potato beetles are thriving because of the dry conditions. We'd water the garden except for reason 2. 

2. When your water comes from a well, or a spring (as in our case) you begin to think and care a lot about the aquifer that feeds it. There is a limited amount of water in the underground aquifer. As it rains, the water taken out of the aquifer is replaced. When it doesn't rain....well, you begin to run short on water. We're ok so far, but the other day we noticed that our water pressure is dropping. So, we've implemented water saving measures; all animals get watered daily (obviously, as this is essential), we try and eat foods that require limited water to prepare, we either do a load of laundry or have a shower/hair wash each day, and we only flush when absolutely necessary. Needless to say, in this kind of situation, watering a 100x50 food garden is out of the question. 

3. Pasture doesn't replenish itself when it doesn't rain. As the sheep graze down one area of the pasture we move them to another, or they move themselves. Under normal circumstances, this allows the mowed down area to grow back and replenish itself. At the moment, all we have where the sheep have already eaten is weeds and dead grass. Not very encouraging. This will mean we'll have to cut more hay. See reason 4.

4. Without a substantial amount of rain, we will not be able to do a second cut of hay. Typically farmers in Ontario try and cut hay in June/July and late August/early Sept. in order to have enough for the winter. This depends on how well the hay field replenishes itself after the first cutting. At the moment we have enough hay cut for this winter, provided we can pasture the sheep until mid Oct., which depends on reason 3. 

5. Grain requires rain in order to properly form. At the moment we have a beautiful field of oats and barley growing nicely in one of our back fields. However, they are at a standstill. The stalks have grown and the heads have formed, now we just need the seeds to form and solidify within the heads. This, no surprise, requires rain. Our grain crop is very important to us as it will form the second leg of a 2 leg feeding program for the sheep this winter. 

6. Dry ground negatively affects the electrification of our fence. We use electric fence on field perimeters to keep the sheep where we want them. We aren't 100% sure how this works, but as the ground around the ground wire on the electric fence gets drier, the fence loses power and is much less effective. This evening M watered the ground wire for 5 minutes in order to increase the fences effectiveness. That's right, she watered the fence :)

There are no doubt many people who would welcome some rain. What are your reasons for wanting rain? Tell us in the comments section. We'd love to hear from you.

Picture Perfect

There is so much going on at the farm this time of year. The grain field we planted is coming along nicely, the chickens are enjoying their free range lifestyle, birds are laying eggs and waiting for them to hatch, and the garden is beginning to produce. What a wonderful time early summer is! Here's some photos of life on our farm over the last few days. Enjoy!

A close up shot of some of the barley that we
planted.  In about 6 weeks it should be ready
to be harvested.

This nest of Bobolink eggs was discovered in one of our
hay fields.  Because of our discovery we will leave this field until
last in hopesthat the eggs will have had time to hatch and the
birds will have fledged.

Last year we planted buckwheat to outpace the
weeds in this years grain field. While we didn't
plant any this year, we have had several
volunteers emerge. They're lovely at this stage.
Once the white flowers turn black they are
ready to be combined.  

This lovely young lettuce is nearly big enough
to eat. It's amazing that the bunnies haven't
found it yet. Last year, only one head of
lettuce survived the bunny invasion. 

An exhausted Allis chills out on the couch. It's a lot of work
barking at every bird and moth that flies across our 100 acres!

While weeding the other evening, M discovered
that the peas are finally just about ready to eat.
The lack of rain means everything is growing
much slower than usual. 

You may not be able to tell because he has no tail feathers,
but this is one of our 2 roosters. He had a run in with Allis.
He escaped with his life, but she sure got a lot of his feathers.

Ever wonder what your oatmeal looks like before
 it's harvested? This is a nice example of oats on the
stalk. Once the stock dries it be harvested 
and fed to the sheep this winter. 

Wildcard Wednesday: Hay Jude....

Our hay elevator, purchased on Kijiji for $150 is a real energy saver.

75 of last years bales mark the beginnings of the pile. 

Late June and early July are an exciting, if not busy, time on the farm. It's haying season! There is, in M's opinion, nothing more beautiful than a freshly cut field of hay laying in the sun to dry. There's also nothing quite as frustrating as the inevitable breakdowns and delays that seem to accompany haying season. This year's hurtles to getting that beautiful fresh hay into the barn dry and before it rots included; a broken hay wagon courtesy of the strong winds we got this Spring and a broken clutch on the baler. However, thankfully we have great neighbours who are always ready to lend a hand. Our next door neighbour's lent us a wagon and when it became clear that the baler wasn't going to work for this particular cut of hay, they baled it for us.     As a result of their kindness and the help of our friend P McM we have 225 bales in the barn so far. A good start on the year's requirements. With 3 fields left to cut, here's hoping the baler is easily fixed. Here are a few photos of the process of putting the hay into the barn. In the first photo you will see the elevator- the machine we use to move the hay from the wagon into the barn. It acts like a big conveyor belt and is a back saver! The other two photos are a before and after of the barn/hay ratio.

What have you been up to lately at your place? Comment. We'd love to know.

2 hours later, 225 bales fill the corner of the threshing floor. 

Wildcard Wednesday: Wildflowers, Nature's Bouquet

Here at Hill Giant Farm we take a pretty laissez faire approach to lawn cutting- as in we don't really have a lawn, but rather one large hay field in front of our house. In about a week or so we will cut it, bale it and the sheep will add it to their winter menu. To some with more of an "in town" sensibility, I'm sure our approach to the front hay field is frustrating. But to us, it just makes sense. Can you imagine cutting 7 acres of lawn?! What a waste of yummy food for the sheep.

What may be missed at first glance is the beautiful array of gorgeous flowers that nature has deposited in this field. We have a flower shop right outside our front door. There are daisies, buttercups, poppies, hyacinth, sweet peas, red clover (beautiful and edible!), snow drops, queen anne's lace, not to mention countless ferns, alfalfa and other lovely greenery. Yes, it is a delightful surprise to go out each day and notice another beautiful flower or fern adorning the front of our house. There are so many of these beautiful, unplanted flowers that the house is often complimented by a lovely, delicate bouquet on the dining room table. Here's a picture of a recent bouquet put together by R, M and our friend SG. What flowers or surprises has nature blessed your lawn with? Tell us, we'd love to hear about it.

Inch by Inch, Row by Row

It's gardening season! Last evening M put the majority of our garden in. As she did so, she kept thinking of this song;  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FkaN0HQgs. While we haven't figured out how to get our flowers and veggies to sing yet, we do find the garden to be a very rewarding pursuit. In a matter of weeks our grocery bill will significantly decrease as fresh veggies begin to make up the bulk of our diet. There's also various pickles, salsas, and freezer treats to look forward to as well.

 Below is a list of our garden contents so far and some of the ways we look forward to eating it.

Potatoes: we love these mashed, baked, fried, scalloped-if you can think of a way to cook potatoes, chances are we've tried and loved it! 

Green beans: delectible cooked el dante and served with butter melted over them. Their also pretty tasty dilled and canned. We also love to freeze them and pull them out mid winter to dress up a tired pot of soup, or as a treat all on their own. 

Peas: we'd love to freeze these for a fresh treat in the winter, but truthfully, very few of them make it past the door. M eats nearly all of them on sight in the garden!

Beets: we love to pickle the root and the greens are fantastic in salad.

Onions: if it were up to M, they'd be added to everything. We mainly use them in soups and salads.

Swiss Chard: this delicious, often overlooked green is choke full of vitamin D and is great in salads, wilted with butter and garlic, frozen for use in lasagnes and soups. If you've never tried it, you really should. It's delicious, but make sure you buy it while it's small.

Cherry, Roma and Yellow Tomatoes: cherry tomatoes are great for eating and salads. As for the Roma, nothing makes better home made salsa, bruschetta in a jar, or harissa sauce than Roma tomatoes. Our mouths are watering just thinking about it. Yellow tomatoes are a tasty way to dress up a platter salad or to add unique flavour to a bacon lettuce and tomato sandwich. 

Sweet Peppers: these are great raw or sliced and frozen for easy addition to future stir fries, lasagnes, couscous casseroles and soups. 

Hot Peppers: R likes things spicy, so we dry these and he adds them throughout the year to practically everything he eats. He reminds M of his Dad!

Lettuce, Radicchio and Mesculin: there is simply nothing in the world as satisfying as a fresh salad made with brand new, perky lettuce from your own garden. So fresh and full of flavour. Don't believe us? Our local rabbit population agrees too :)

Left to plant are: carrots, radishes, cucumbers and spinach. Did all this talk about fresh food and veggies make you hungry? We hope so. We also hope it inspired you to plant some seeds of your own. Remember, whether it is a small pot of peppers on a verandah, a plot in your backyard or a full scale garden, growing your own veggies is a nutritious and delicious way to save money and improve your overall health. Now, go eat something green and leafy :)

Cat's in the Cradle

Tiger and kittens sleeping.

     We had a lovely surprise at Hill Giant Farm today. This morning, just as we were heading out to the barn our cat, Tiger, went into labour. Over the next 3 hours she delivered 5 healthy, strong kittens. There was a lot of meowing and licking-as well as a good measure of curiosity on the part of our dogs, Allis and Levi, who were certainly not allowed anywhere near mother and kitties.
     Now, if you know us well, you are likely thinking "wait a minute...R and M have a cat?!? R doesn't even like cats!" You're right, he doesn't. The cat scammed us into bringing it home on a cold, wet, awful night during the winter. Seeing its badly matted fur, its bony signs of hunger and what we assumed was dirty grease marks all over it, we decided that the compassionate thing to do was bring her home. Since arriving she has grown on us and we're already pretty fond of the kittens. Tiger, no surprise, is an orange and black cat, and her kittens consist of; 1 orange, 1 black,  and 3 tabby. See the picture below.
     If you know anyone who wants a cat in about 2 months, let us know. We've got 5 free to a good home.

5 Things You've Always Wanted to Know About Chickens

One of the aspects of the farm that we're really enjoying, but that people hardly ever ask us about, are the birds. Currently we have the big birds (our laying hens and 2 roosters) and the little birds (chicks and ducklings). Both are quite interesting-at least we think so. In honour of the "big birds" on our farm, who lately are producing 10-15 eggs/day and generating egg income, here's some interesting things you've (no doubt) always wanted to know about chickens.

We keep Rhode Island Red chickens.

1. How round or oval an egg is depends on how quickly the egg was laid. The slower the hen passes the egg through her, the rounder the egg. It is actually the pressure of the muscles contracting as the egg is passed that gives the egg its pointed top and oval shape.

2. A hot chicken will eat far less than a cool one. This is because eating produces internal heat, further elevating her temperature. The less she eats, the cooler she is. The downsize is that her egg production will suffer as she eats less. 

3. It is estimated that there are over 50 billion chickens being raised around the globe at the present time. That's a lot of chickens!

4. Chickens are omnivores. While it is true that they really enjoy a good junebug, beetle or fly, chickens will also happily dine on delectable treats like yesterday's discarded pepper seeds, carrot peels and other compostable kitchen scraps. This makes chickens easy to keep happy when it comes to dietary considerations.

5. The average chicken can live between 5-10 years (if nature is left to take its course). The oldest chicken to ever live died at 16 from heart failure, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

We hope you've enjoyed this entry and that it will inspire you to learn more about the various species of animals we all depend on for food and nutrition. Have a great day!