Our Tiny Farm During the Year of COVID

In December 2019 I wrote a post about how we were transitioning Our Tiny Farm for the next stage of our lives. I am still working full-time as a faculty member in the Department of Horticultural Science at  NC State University, but I am starting to think about what I want to do next. 

We also have an RV that we really enjoy exploring this beautiful country in. So raising cattle, garlic, and vegetables don't fit quite as easily into our lives and plans as they used to. 

We have decided that we will continue to raise our own donkeys and provide a temporary home for a few others. We enjoy them so very much. And when we travel, our very capable son, who lives on the farm, takes care of them for us. THAT is one of the keys to our being able to make this transition and keep the farm; having a young, strong son who enjoys living here with us. He gets free rent and we have built-in farm help.

These are our two donkeys. Chester is the brown miniature donkey on the left and Meadow is the small standard donkey on the right.

The farm behind us also raises donkeys and one summer day a baby was born right next to our fence line. This donkey is less than five minutes old!

We put up a nice supply of locally grown hay for our donkeys. We have a good relationship with our hay supplier and are assured that they use no persistent herbicides on their fields so we can safely use the manure on our gardens and provide it to others without risk to sensitive plants.

The plan for 2020 was to grow a small, manageable garden that would be easy to maintain and not put a guilt trip on us come harvest time. Well, old habits die hard and before I knew it, hubby had planted a sizeable garden. We enjoyed lots of fresh, homegrown tomatoes, beans, sweet corn, summer squash, zucchini, butternut squash, peppers, eggplant, and potatoes. 

We also froze and gave away much of what we grew. Now this big garden area, which we have managed following practices and using products approved by the National Organic Program, is sown in cover crops. Next spring our plan is to keep this area planted in soil building and pollinator friendly plants and build raised beds close to the kitchen!

We had a very special treat this summer. We had several elk from the Smoky Mountain National Park find their way into our community. People were posting pictures of them on social media from all over our area, and then late one afternoon, a big bull came to our area. Here he is just strolling across our farm. All the horses and donkeys just stood and stared. 

On a very sad note, we had to say good-bye to the most loving, wonderful dog in the world, Traveler. Traveler came to us from the Foothills Humane Society 12 years ago. He was our constant companion. He got along well (most of the time) with all the farm animals and the house cats. He is missed very, very much.

In addition to boarding donkeys, we will continue to be beekeepers and bottle honey.

It was an excellent honey year. Our friends and family will be enjoying this for a long time.

Easter night we had a terrible storm come through with high winds and a deluge of rain. Our Tiny Farm was hit particularly hard. We don't know if it was a micro-burst, straight line winds, or a tornado, but twenty VERY large trees were blown down in the middle of the night. We were so blessed. The only damage to the house was to the gutter on the corner of the porch.

Like many others, I became quite proficient at making many kinds of face masks for family and friends.

We till up the garden each spring using the Troy-Bilt rototiller that my mother, siblings, and I bought for my father when I was a teenager. They don't make them like that anymore!

Carpenter bees were making swiss cheese out of our barn, so we hung four of these traps on the barn this year. They really work!

These daffodils were here when we bought Our Tiny Farm in 1999. Who knows how long they were there before that!

We see beautiful sunrises and sunsets from our farm.

Our big excitement in January was going out to see the donkeys in the morning and finding that a bear had tried to push his, or her, way into the donkeys' paddock. Several years ago I had my husband reinforce the fencing on the paddock area where we confine our little donkeys each night. He moved the six-strand electric fencing to the outside and put woven wire fencing on the inside. The bear reached through the upper electric wires and pushed the woven wire fencing out of the big heavy staples on the corner post. We assume that as he/she pushed forward, he/she made contact with several of the electric wires and was shocked enough to give up (we keep that fence very hot). There was a footprint left in the mud that I asked some of my bear hunting friends to verify that it was indeed a bear (although, what else could have done that?). Since then, we have a trail cam mounted.

And that was our COVID year on Our Tiny Farm. Today I was planning for our very small Thanksgiving celebration later in the week. It will just be three of us this year but we are looking forward to Zoom video calls with parents, siblings, and my daughter and family. Aren't we fortunate to have such technology to get us through this pandemic. Stay safe.

 

There have been lots of changes on Our Tiny Farm

Our Tiny Farm in early summer

I hardly know where to start because it has been so long since I've posted an update here. Sorry about that. My job with NC State University seems to consume more and more of my time as the years go by. Fortunately, I love my job, but I would like to have more time to spend on the homeplace, too.

So, let me do a quick chronological update starting in fall 2012.

Our new steers

The pasture raised beef we produced and sold in late fall 2011 was OUTSTANDING!  So in October 2012 we got two young steers to raise the same way. Good pasture, clean mountain water, lots of fresh air and sunshine, and daily attention and a cookie; that's how we do it. The meat we harvested in fall of 2011 was vacuum packed and frozen. We are still eating some of that meat now (only have a few roasts and steaks left) and it is still just as fresh tasting and delicious as it was when we first brought it home. The vacuum packaging and storage at below 0 degrees F really maintains the quality.  We will probably harvest these two in October or November when we have two new ones arriving.  Because we only raise two at a time, if you are interested in buying a quarter or half, you should contact us and reserve it now.



The last market day on the Mills River Farmers Market in 2012



We finished out the 2012 selling season at the special holiday market day in November at the Mills River Farmers Market on Hwy 280 in Mills River.  It was cold but sunny and with carolers right next to our booth, very festive. We sold lots of honey, potatoes, garlic, popcorn, and some of my hand-knit and crocheted hats, scarves, capes, and bags.  It was a great way to finish the season.



Hagar, the world's greatest donkey. May he rest in peace.

Seven months have passed and it is still difficult for me to write about this without tearing up. If you follow any of my social media outlets you know that Hagar, my donkey, was my best pal. I loved this donkey the way many other people love their dogs. He was so smart and affectionate, and mischievous. Unfortunately, in early December he suddenly became quite ill. We raced him down to the horse clinic in Tryon but they could not save him. An autopsy revealed that something had poisoned his liver.  We worked with three vets, our neighbors, our feed supplier, and other local experts to figure what he could have eaten that poisoned him. We had the feed and hay tested. We walked the pasture looking for toxic weeds. Nothing was obvious.  We will never know what took dear Hagar's life, but I suspect it was chicken feed.  When we moved the chicken tractor each day, there were always a few chicken pellets on the ground. Hagar would gobble those up right away.  I know those pellets wouldn't hurt him when fresh because we made sure to buy chicken feed that did not contain any antibiotics or hormones that could harm him (and there are brands that contain those, so read the labels).  But, I suspect that sometimes he missed a few pieces and came back to get them later. And if wet, chicken feed goes bad very quickly.  From what I learned about mold toxins, if he was consuming a little of it frequently over time it could have been slowly damaging his liver for a long time until it finally reached a critical stage.  Like I said, we will never know for sure, but from what I have learned, having damp chicken pellets where your horses or donkeys could possibly eat them is not a good idea.  We have since sectioned off a portion of the pasture with temporary fencing just for the chicken tractor so the equines cannot access any spilled feed.  Also, did you know that some cattle feed and mineral blocks are also toxic to horses and donkeys?  Watch for rumensin. If that is added to the cattle feed it is highly toxic to horses.  Again, the feed we buy does not have rumensin, but many brands contain it.  I am shocked that we did not even know to be watching out for these things until this incident.

Bee hives

Honey is a major crop for us. It has great flavor and our customers love it. Unfortunately, we lost all but one of our hives this winter. We have spent a good deal of time, effort, and money rebuilding our hives this summer. As of July, the new hives look good except for one which is missing a queen. We are going to try a new method we learned to remedy that.  The loss of bees was great in our region this year, so expect honey to be in short supply and more costly than last year.



The sweet gentle giant we boarded, Sir Big 

It was an emotionally draining winter on Our Tiny Farm. We had been boarding this beautiful Belgian horse for about 18 months. He was a very sweet old guy and his owner loved him dearly. He had arthritis and had been limping for months, but he seemed to be managing okay. Very suddenly, however, his hip got so bad he could no longer support himself. He also had to be put down very quickly. It was a shock for all of us. Rest in Peace, Sir Big.

Our new baby mini-donkeys. Are they cute or what?

Our farm just seemed so empty without Hagar and Sir Big, so we began thinking about getting another donkey. Our vet and farrier both suggested that we get a mini-donkey. Well, it just so happens that the farm behind us raises mini-donkeys. Our neighbor told us he had some young ones for sale and on Easter weekend, Chester and Meadow came to live with us. They were both about six months old when we got them. Chester appears to be a true miniature donkey (will be under 36 inches tall) and has a short kinked tail. Meadow is a little bigger and might top out as a small standard (36 to 48 inches tall). They are both super cute, loving, curious, and fun.

Duchess, the new boarder

We missed the income from our boarder, so this spring we brought on a new boarder. Her name was Duchess and she was a five year old Tennessee Walker. Tall, beautiful, proud, and a mare. We had never had a mare on the farm before and didn't quite know what to expect. Well, Duchess was going to be the boss of the farm. She harrassed Little Man, our 27 year old Tennessee Walker gelding, and chased the little donkeys all over the pasture.  Within a short time, we had the barn, the paddock and the pasture divided in two.  Little Man and the mini-donkeys were on one side and Duchess on the other.  Little Man became very protective of the mini-donkeys, like a mother hen and her biddies, but he clearly wasn't happy. It was sad to see our old horse looking depressed, so on July 1 Duchess moved to a new home.  We are now looking for another boarder.  Preferably a mature gelding who gets along well with other horses.

Little Man and his charges. This was taken in spring when everyone still had their big heavy coats on.

Chester in his fly mask

We are strong believers in fly masks for our equine friends, so when fly season started, in addition to using fly predators we purchased two little fly masks with ears for the mini-donkeys. The velcro sound freaked them out at first, but they quickly learned how helpful they are. Now every morning after they have had a little grain, they hold up their heads and let us slip on their masks.  Okay, maybe they aren't that cooperative every day, but Little Man is.



We had a healthy harvest of snap peas.

The market garden was doing great this spring and we had wonderful snap peas, kale, garlic, elephant garlic, shallots, and new potatoes. And then the rains came...and they have never left. As of July 20 we have had more than 23 inches of rain over the average for this time of year. That combined with late blight has devastated the tomatoes and we don't know if we can get the rest of the potatoes dug before they rot. The corn and eggplant still look good and if the rain will slow down, we will put in a fall garden.



Foamhenge near Natural Bridge, VA

We made a trip up to Pennsylvania at the end of June and decided to stop and visit fun places along I-81 in Virginia. Just had to share this picture with you.  This is "Foamhenge". A full-size replica of Stonehenge done in styrofoam. Unfortunately, weather, time, and vandals have done a great deal of damage to it, but it is still impressive and fun.

Chicken tractor for sale

So now what are we up to?  We are putting in a new pasture this summer and designing a permanent chicken coop with multiple runs so we can rotate the birds on the land. This chicken tractor was a great learning tool, but with the size farm we have, we think a permanent coop will be more practical and efficient. Also, with hubby's physical limitations, it was just too big and awkward for him to move. Since we can't mix these six old ladies with a new young flock, we put up ads on Craigs List and Facebook today offering this chicken tractor and the hens to a good home for $10. The response has been overwhelming! So, next spring we might have eggs for sale for you.

Beautiful summer sunset over Our Tiny Farm

So, that completes the quick update on Our Tiny Farm. I will try not to go so long without posting, but I can't promise anything. My job is keeping me very busy, there is always something to do on the farm and in the house, and I'm going to start revising my book in August.  But, come out and see us at the Mills River Farmers Market later this summer. We plan to have honey, garlic, and popcorn again.  And there will be beef in time for Thanksgiving (those are the plans, anyway).



What's happening on the farm in early July



A portion of our vegetable gardens in early July.

Just wanted to give you a quick update on the farm. The vegetable gardens are growing well, for the most part. We have been dealing with a vole problem this year that has been quite aggravating. The voles seem to have a real taste for young beans. I can't count how many times we have reseeded them. The young white cat that has adopted us and is living under the workshop has been snacking on some, but we either need more barn cats (not!) or create a bait and trap system.

We had an excellent garlic year and there are several varieties curing in the barn right now. Most of the potatoes have been dug and the summer squash is just starting to come in. We are also enjoying fresh basil and cilantro. Yum!

The Davis bees are happily producing honey.

We had a good honey year in 2011 and hope to have another good one this year. There is still 2011 honey available. Just give us a call if you want to purchase any. We will be selling it at the Mills River Farmers' Market when we have a few more items to sell along with it.



We need to decide if we want to expand our poultry production.

Our chickens are in their fourth season of production and providing us with a surprising number of eggs. That's one of the many benefits to raising heritage breeds; they don't "burn out" as quickly as the newer commercial breeds. But, we are at the stage where we need to decide if we want to expand production and start selling eggs. I see some folks selling pasture raised eggs for $2 a dozen and cannot figure how they are making any money doing so. I haven't crunched all the numbers yet, but I think we would have to charge at least twice that much to make any money on them. How much are you willing to pay for locally grown, pasture raised eggs?

One of our girls lost her tail!  I really don't know what happened to it.

Some folks have asked why we don't let our chickens roam freely around the farm. There are several reasons. The biggest one is predators. We have very healthy hawk, fox, coyote, and dog populations in our area. Our neighboring farms have all shared stories about hawks and coyotes taking off with their chickens.  And several times when we have had the electric fence turned off, dogs have entered the field and thrown themselves at the chicken tractor. I'm sure we would have lost a few if we didn't have them so well protected. We just visited a farm in Transylvania county last weekend and the farmer shared that he had lost three chickens in recent weeks. Keeping our chickens semi-confined also prevents their interaction with other birds which keeps them healthier and reduces the risk of spreading avian diseases to us. So our girls are moved daily and get lots of sunshine and fresh grass. If we expand production, I would like a bigger run, but they can't roam free here.

There are three equines in our pastures; two of our own and a boarder.

We have a wonderful "mature" companion horse. He is a Tennessee Walker and he is a sweetheart. Then we have my donkey, Hagar. He is a guard donkey, my good friend, and a real character. And we also board an older, small Belgian horse. The three of them get along just great and share the pasture with the chickens. We are currently looking for two young steers. We enjoyed raising our first two Black Angus and our customers loved the beef they produced. So hopefully we will have two new ones shortly.

We try to go to the Mills River Farmers' Market every Saturday morning.

As I mentioned earlier, we intend to sell at the Mills River Farmers' Market off Hwy 280 later in the season. This has grown into a wonderful little market with about 28 vendors and a great diversity of products. Come check it out next Saturday morning from 8 am till noon.

Oyster mushrooms that I bought from Deep Woods Mushrooms at the Mills River Farmers' Market.

I was very excited to see Greg Carter from Deep Woods Mushrooms selling his mushrooms at the Mills River Farmers' Market! He is a great person and grows yummy mushrooms.

The creamy oyster mushroom sauce on fettucine and fresh local tomatoes in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

There are few activities that give me as much pleasure as creating a meal using all fresh, locally grown ingredients. The weekends are the best time to do this. We harvest fresh produce and herbs from our gardens; I run to the farmers' market and buy fresh lettuce, fancy breads, and duck eggs; and we have a freezer full of our beef and my friend's pork. It is a delight to cook with all this wonderful food!

Spring is Here at Our Tiny Farm!

Our girls produce the best tasting eggs!

It is the second full day of spring and it is a GLORIOUS day!  Warm and sunny, with a gentle breeze.  It doesn't get much better than this.  It is perfect weather for working the soil, planting spring crops, cleaning and repairing equipment, picking up branches, etc. 

We hope to expand our tiny farming operation this season. Hubby has serious back, hip, and shoulder issues to deal with, so it is all about finding what works with what we have to give to the place. Hubby is still working out his plans for the steer; how long to keep them and how to sell the meat.  I'm tending towards getting another season of grass feeding in and using a CSA type arrangement to sell eighths, quarters, and halves. But, the grass-fed beef is his thing. 

One of the decisions I have to make is whether we should get into small-scale commercial egg production or just keep 6 to 8 hens to produce eggs for home use with a little left for bartering.  We've pretty much decided not to do meat birds, but I do enjoy the eggs.  I will put a pencil to paper later this week and figure out how many hens we would need to actually make any money at it.

We do want to increase honey, vegetable, berry, and herb production.  And we need to talk to our daughter about whether she wants to do any flower sales or not.  We are increasing production of asparagus, garlic, potatoes, popcorn, and winter squash this year.

We have signed up to be day vendors at the Mills River Farmers Market on Hwy 280.  Being a day vendor means we won't be there every week.  We are easing into this slowly because we don't want to get in over our heads, especially since I have a demanding full-time job that often has me out nights and weekends.  I would love to include some value-added food products to our sales, but our kitchen would never pass inspection for that purpose (because of the dog and cats), so I might look for a commercial kitchen in the community to use.  I have some wonderful recipes using fresh vegetables and herbs that I would love to share with you.   

Here are some pictures from the past few months on Our Tiny Farm

The steer (or is it "steers"?) battling it out on a sunny winter day.

They are growing up nicely, don't you think?

The animals produce lots of "black gold" for our gardens; management of which is made much easier with a little heavy equipment.

Aged manure was worked into the vegetable garden area in February.

The "Anne" magnolia is beautiful with a heavenly scent (March 22).

The garlic looks good for mid-March; ready for the first side-dressing of organic fertilizer.

Prepping the area for potatoes and peas; we all take turns with the tiller.

The steer enjoying the fresh spring grass!

Daffodil season is almost over.

These girls are going into their 4th season and they are still producing LOTS of eggs!

Our Tennessee Walker is a "mature horse", so we are very cautious in the spring to prevent colic and founder. That means restricting access to the pasture when the grass and clover start growing rapidly.  Like right now. He's not too happy about the situation and will do his best to try to open the paddock gate!