okay so it is Wednesday...a day late again on this blog...I have been running marathon days and every time I think, "oh I should write the blog", it is generally way early in the morning and I am preoccupied with farm chores to want to sit down and write or it is late in the evening and well let's just say my writing would be pretty much incoherent at that hour. So now it is 3pm on a 90 degree day. I just came in after a couple of hours on the tractor...a tad sweaty...took a cold rinse in the outdoor shower...put on some shorts (yikes WHITE legs)...got a tall glass of water and sat down to write....a quick write because now I am anxious to head back out and kill some weeds with my trusty hoe : ) The things we farmers get excited about!
Speaking of HOT, this week I thought I would introduce my electric chargers. I use one each for my pigs, cows and turkeys. On the farm I worked at in PA, we had to use a charger to electrify a fence that enclosed the entire farm to keep out the deer. Luckily (knock on wood) my deer pressure isn't so great here si I don't need to go to that expense.
The pigs are introduced to the fence about 10 days after we get the pigs in the spring and they quickly learn not to touch it. It doesn't really hurt the pigs, I mean yes it hurts but kind of like a carpet shock, nothing major, just enough to keep them in.
Now the cows need a "hotter" fence. Partly because their fence line is much longer and partly because they are a larger animal. Their charger uses a solar panel to keep the Deep Cycle battery good and charged for about 3 months. Then I may need to bring it back to the barn and put it on the plug in charger to refuel it.
The cow fence is also meant to keep the cows IN...and again they usually learn pretty quick, mostly by smarts not necessarily by getting shocked. Many of you know my little escapade with the cows this spring. Yes they broke through the fence and ran, I mean bolted, sprinted, lightening fast about 3 miles away. I can sort of laugh about it now, but not really. These guys are sort of frisky this year and they seem to like to run, so I hope this fence keeps them in for the rest of the year!
The turkey charger also has a solar panel on it along with a Deep Cycle battery so I can keep it ULTRA HOT. This charger is more to keep predators out rather than the turkeys in. Since the turkeys are mostly keratin and have no moist nose to give them a good shock, the turkeys are pretty much oblivious to the fence. So generally I have it off during the day to save the battery and turn it on at night to keep away the raccoons, coyotes, fox, fishers...
This is Milo. He was a super cool cat that loved the turkeys and who also seemed to be immune to the electric fence!
PYO STRAWBERRIES! OPEN NOW. (I changed my mind, you don't have to wait til Friday). The plants are LOADED!!!
This Week's Harvest: Lettuce :), garlic scapes, hakurei turnips, spinach and berries for half shares
Next Week: lettuce, scapes, chinese cabbage, chard...
