June Farm Work

June has been a very busy month.The vegetables are coming in, and I had my first Farmer's Market last Wednesday at Russell's Garden Center in Wayland. Big Ox Farm products are also available at The Cheese Shop in Concord, T.W. Food in Cambridge, and B&R Artisan Bread in Framingham. Please look at the in season list to see what is available.

Some new arrivals to the farm this month. Jack the Border Collie has come to help me shepherd the 27 sheep, along with the six i have, that have arrived to take part in a UMASS Amherst research project on controlling invasive vegetation.

Piglets should come any day now, and Big Ox Farm chicken will be available at the upcoming New England food night at T.W. Food, check out their web site for more info. Big Ox Farm beef will be out there in September.

Farm Work 5/29/2007

The Sheep have settled in well, and will have their hooves trimmed in the next few days. Another flock of 20 sheep will arive in the next week or two, to particapate in a suddy with UMass on controling invasive plant spiecies. They will live on Fisk Hill in Lexington, MA, at the MMNHP.

The meat chickens arived today, and after Baby Ellie checked them for quality, they moved of to there brooder for two weeks, until they move to their pasture house. Their diet will be grass, bugs, and bakery waste from B&R Artisan Bread, were I work part time, they should be good eating.

Although some of the salad greens had a rough time with last weeks storms, they are coming in, and available at T.W. Food Resturaunt in cambridge, along with The Big Ox Farm Pork. The Beets, carrots, hericot vert, and garlic will also be available soon.

Farm Work 5/11-5/17/2007

Monday was a day of weeding and bed prep, and the first greens harvest for the house, the should be for sale by Friday.

Tuesday morning was a planting day, greens, turnups, radishs, beets and carrots. In the afternoon the pigs moved to a new spot, as well, the cattle were rotated. I Also set up for the sheep arivale.

Wednessday the sheep arived at the farm from UMASS Amhurst. they were sheared that morning, and welcomed to the Big Ox Farm with a flat tire on the stock trailer, and thunder and lightning, but they were very happy to get out of the trailer, and eat grass.

Due to weather, and Baby Ellie, Thursday was a light day, I set new sheep fence, fixxed the pig fence, and picked up compost at T.W. Food.

Farm Work, 5/7/2007-5/10/2007 85 degrees, sunny

Monday I picked up the pigs at Bloods Family Farm, and delivered them to Sel de la Terre and T.W. Foods. Tim was in a pinch so I spent the rest of the afternoon helping him butcher hogs. Were as I used to be a chef, it was a good feeling for me to take the animals from young stock to the plate.

Tuesday morning I showed my friends Heidi, Kit, and Bob at Codman Community Farms how to castrate piglets, we did about 6 of them. Baby Ellie "Helped" me move the cattle Tuesday afternoon. Tuesday evening I got some disking done in the garden, so I will have a place to plant my next vegetable succession, plus the first crop of potatoes on Saturday or Sunday.

Wednesday I started on the disk harrow until the tractor overheated, about an hour, then on to hand weeding greens and roots, then back to disking, then weed.... After Lunch I did fence repairs at The Noah Brooks' Pasture, then back to the garden to weed garlic. Wednesday night, we went to T.W. Foods for the opening dinner. We had mushroom custard, foie gras creme brulle, mushroom ice cream, Big Ox pig ears and trotters with dandilion greens, and Big Ox pork chop with cauliflower mousse eggplant and morels, what a meal!

Thursday we got home from T.W. at 2a.m. I usually get up at 3a.m. to go to my part time job at B&R Artisan Breads in Framingham, MA, so needles to say, Thursday was unproductive.

Farm Work week of 4/30/2007 45-75 degrees, New England Mix

Monday was slaughter day for the hogs. Moving pigs is never easy, so when it only took 10 minutes to separate the pigs for slaughter, from the breeding stock to stay, I new I was in for a bad afternoon. There was lots of rain and mud, but my farm partner, and Farm School Bord Member, Gorge Travis helped get them off to Blood's Farm for slaughter. The Big Ox Farm pork will be available at TW Food Restaurant in Cambridge, MA, and Seld de la Terre in Boston, MA next week.

Tractor problems continued this week, the cooling system is still acting up, but the wrinkles are getting worked out.

Thursday greens, beets, turnips, radishes and beans were planted, and the previous successions, and garlic were cultivated again.

Friday I worked on cutting the brush and trees were the pig pasture was. It is about one third done, and as long as the multi-flora rose dies, the project should be complete next week. The cattle were also moved into the big rock filled grassy parking lot so the grounds crew does not have to mow it.

4/26/2007

65 degrees, sunny

Ellie and I electrified the fence in the garden, and if you look in the top left of the photo, you will see the deer are on the other side of the fence. Some will say it is inhumane to zap deer, but they spread scrapie, witch kills sheep, goats, and cattle, and Lyme's disease, that hurts the farmer. So they have no place on the farm. Hay is for horses and sometimes cow, and pigs eat it and know how.

Farmwork 4/24 and 4/25

4/25/2007 Cloudy and Showers, 55 degrees
I finished fencing in the small permanent paddock for young stock, and if ever needed,sick animals, then it was on to tractor repairs. I had to rip the tractor apart in the field, and in the rain, but the good news is I was able to soder the crack in the radiator back together. After the tractor repairs, I put up a temporary poly wire fence around the garden to help keep the deer and wild turkeys out.

4/24/2007 Sunny 70 degrees
Eliie ate worms, dirt, and weeds, wile Meg and I pulled the mulch of the garlic, and pulled up the orchard grass, long, but very important project. Sorry, no photo.

4/23/2007 sunny, 80 degrees
Today I planted arugula, lettuce, various mixed greens, carrots, beets, turnips, and, hericot vert. The produce should start coming in Mid May. Sad to say, but the Ford's radiator went today, so that will set back field work until I can get a new one, and the 250 bucks to pay for it, but I think Big Jim will be able to pull two gangs of the disk

Farm Work 4/21/2007

4/21/2007 Sunny, 70 degrees
The Garden was dry enough to do some bed prep today. The farm tractor is a 56' Ford NAA 601 Work Master, the plow assembly was taken off because the hydraulic pump is missing. The disk in fact has a cast iron kitchen sink on it to make it heavy. Baby Ellie helped me pick the daffodils, and pull the mulch off the first bed of garlic.

The Rains Stopped!

After a week of heavy rain, it finally stopped today. As for the farm, I let things dry out today. The water has receded from the garden. The arugula, lettuce, mustard, cress, beets, and turnips have germinated, and look like they will pull thru. The tulips and daisy's are about to bloom, and the mulch needs to come of the garic, and be cultivated in the next few days.

Jims New Yoke

I found a nice piece of black locus from behind the Farwell Jones Barn, and hued it with the chainsaw, and a small broad ax, and ruffed out the single ox yoke pattern. I will carve the yoke, and pick up the bow and hardware from Berry Brook Farm.http://www.berrybrookoxsupply.com/

Jims New Yoke

Chunked out with the chainsaw, and cleaned up with the felling ax

Jims New Yoke

The yoke takes Shape

Another wet day at the farm. Today's project was to finish building the sheep manger, and to start carving a new yoke for Big Jim.

This Week's Farm Work

The weather has been miserable this week in Concord, my early greens are under water, and most of my pasture is a mud pit, but that is April in New England. Yesterday the wind blew three trees down on the fence, and the Dexter Steers got loose, and the hogs were free range for a wile, a little extra excitement on a ugly day. Big Jim and I have been busy reclaiming pasture come shine or rain.