Piglets in action!

Here's a short video of the piglets exploring their new home yesterday:

How cute are they?!

CSA: Early Spring Session (Week 2)

Purple sprouting broccoli

For Week 2 of our Early Spring Session, we added purple sprouting broccoli to the Regular Shares - this variety was a bit of an experiment for us, so we are hoping to just try it out in a small quantity this week and get some feedback on it.  Purple sprouting broccoli, which is an old English heirloom variety of broccoli, overwinters and then is ready for harvest in the spring.  The broccoli heads and kale-like leaves add a lot of color and taste to a salad, but there are some delectable recipes posted here in case you'd prefer to cook it. We're curious to hear your opinions on this variety!

We'll be adding recipes to the blog periodically, and if you have one that you'd like to share, we'd love to post it!  Just send us an email with your recipe (and a photo, if possible), as well as a citation for the recipe, if you found it online or in a cookbook.

Early Spring Session, Week 2: Box Contents

Kale
Chard
Braising mix
Granny Smith Apples or Fuji Apples

Leeks

Watercress

Garlic

Crimini Mushrooms

Yukon Gold Potatoes

Purple Sprouting Broccoli (Regular Shares only)

Piglets are here!

Nine wiggly, healthy piglets were born at Jubilee Farm today.

We were so excited to find that Arabia, our sow, gave birth to nine adorable piglets this morning!  Arabia has been very attentive to her little ones, who are busily scampering about and exploring their new home.  

Arabia laying down to nurse her piglets.

Although the piglets mostly resemble their Hereford momma with their red backs and white bellies, they have some adorable little black spots that they inherited from their father, George, who is a 700 lb. Berkshire boar.  The folks down the road at Nature's Last Stand let us borrow George for a bit; both Arabia and George are so sweet and fun to be around.  George is back at his home now, so Arabia and her piglets have their pen all to themselves.

George, the boar with a heart of gold.

Another lamb (a ram this time) was born on Monday, so photos of him will be up soon; we're also expecting ducklings to hatch in mid-April.  This spring is definitely an eventful one so far!

The new barn's grand opening (part 2)

Here's a video of the cows entering their new winter abode back in November 2012 (see my previous post for more photos):

The new barn's grand opening

Cutting the ribbon (west side of the barn)

As I mentioned earlier, we were thrilled to have the new barn completed in November 2012 - it still needs a few finishing touches here and there, but it has been a fantastic shelter for the cows during the rainy winter season.  The cows are still in the barn but should hopefully be out in the fields again soon - for each sunny day we have, the fields get a bit drier and the grass grows taller!

We held our ribbon-cutting ceremony on November 9, 2012, and most of the members of the construction crew and Jubilee's crew - as well as some other folks who have been so significant in the process of getting that barn put up - celebrated with us as we cut the ribbon and ushered the cows inside for the winter.

Feeding alley

The center of the barn is the feeding alley, where bales of haylage (fermented grass) or hay (dry grass) are set out for the cattle.  The herd was divided into two parts (based on age, etc.); each part of the herd has a loafing area and eating area, where they have access to the haylage through a panel of stanchions.  Around 275 of the haylage bales that we've fed to the cows this winter were baled from grass here at Jubilee. 

Moo!

The loafing areas in the barn are carpeted with straw every few days.  Rather than removing the old straw and manure, we continually add layers of fresh straw on top of it; this method produces a wonderfully rich manure that will later be spread on our fields.  The cows are an integral part of the fertility of the soil throughout the entire farm.

I should also mention that building this barn in a flood plain was a big challenge - a huge pad of dirt had to be built up and leveled, and then the concrete foundations for the barn could be poured.  The final concrete pour was on August 21, 2012, and Farmer Micah got to put his footprints and a handprint in that last layer. :)  (For more information on flooding concerns in our valley, please visit the Snoqualmie Valley Preservation Alliance).

Snow & seeding

We were surprised to wake up this morning to see snow falling (and sticking to the ground) - I definitely had to stop for a moment and think about what month we were in!  Most of the snow melted away when the sun came out in the late morning.  The ducks didn't seem to mind the weird weather too much (and Micah loved tromping around in the slush & snow, of course).

Mornings like this provide good opportunities to get some seeding done.  Farmers David & Kelsey worked on seeding bok choy and spinach:

Sometimes we use a vacuum seeder to help the process along - it uses suction to arrange the seeds for planting in a 72-cell tray, and it's especially helpful with small seeds.

Farmers Wendy & Kelsey with the vacuum seeder

After the trays have spent some time in our warm room in the barn, they'll move into the propagation house.  Lots of little seedlings are growing in there, and some have already been transplanted into larger trays - it's so exciting to see all of the bounty that the summer will bring!

Rosemary

Newborn lambs

Here's a short video from this morning of the newborn lambs.  My sister-in-law Alina and her two kiddos were able to come greet the lambs today as well, so they have had quite a warm reception so far! :)