July update

I have been slacking with my posting duties being too busy with everything that's been going on around here. We finally fenced in the fruit trees, expanding the area so we may add blueberry bushes in the Spring. Now we won't have to battle the elk to keep them from stripping our trees bare. The garden continues to grow and although we were slow to get started we should still have a decent amount of vegetables this year.
Meanwhile we have started prepping for next year, getting the remaining plots ready with cover crops until we build up the beds in the Spring. The turkeys are getting bigger and there's quite a few males that will be our special guests for Thanksgiving this year. We aren't sure yet about breeding for next year or just buy day old poults again, so we will wait and decide later. We lost the two hens that had "blowouts" but the remaining hens are well and getting used to their new coop in the barn. The challenge will be in getting the two flocks together in one area for when they begin laying. Some of the Rhode Island Red and Austrolorps are picking tail feathers from the hens so we hope they all settle down soon and can live together peacefully.

Our egg sales have kept pace with our current layers and once the pullets start laying we plan on expanding our customer base which will be helpful if we decide to sell vegetables or meat through a CSA in the future. If you are interested in eggs, contact us and arrange pickup here at the farm.
The biggest challenge this Summer has been the lack of rain and the heat. I had planned on getting some seeds into the pasture but will have to wait until it might rain. We plan on putting some tillage radish in the front pastures to drill into the hardpan and facilitate drainage come Springtime. I'm hoping we have a less rainy Spring next year but if not, we are working on improving the soil and drainage. Well, that's all for now. I'll try to post more often if there's time. Until then, thanks!