The Wanna-Be Farmers Who Shouldn't
Posted 6/10/2009 10:11pm by Lyndon Hartz.
Fences
By Good Earth Food Alliance grower, Amy Brucker (with an excerpt from Erin Meyer)
Some of us migrate from city life to farm life through the accumulation of animals. It usually starts with a few chickens and then possibly a goat or two and, before long, we're setting up elaborate, complex fencing systems to keep boys away from girls, bullies away from their victims, and everybody out of the garden. One topic that isn't typically covered in the Encyclopedia of Goat Nutrition or the Complete Chicken Handbook is how to build a good strong fence from leftover pieces of cattle panels, cinder blocks, t-posts, or whatever else you can find lying around the farm yard.
Erin Meyer, a Good Earth Food Alliance producer and Basil's Harvest head honcho, claims that her family are the wanna-be farmers who shouldn't. Sheep don't stay in their pastures on Erin's farm. Llamas can be found peeking through the kitchen window at times. And who knows what ever happened to the cows they used to have? Read Erin's blog here:
The Meyers: The wanna-be farmers who shouldn’t
May 27, 2009
Have I mentioned that we have sheep, and there are new lambs in our yard every spring? I say yard because I have deemend them my "free range" lambs. They wander here and there to eat all the lush grass and clover; not to mention my basil, chives, and parsley plants. The wanna-be farmers try to keep them in via fence panels. However, the lambs are able to crawl right under the lowest rail to enjoy what I thought was supposed to be my bounty. I will let the lambs enjoy the beautiful aromatics, while I resource the herbs needed for Basil’s Harvest through the local farmers.
Just a word of caution to the wanna-be's out there: bone up on your fence-building skills first!
To the Good Earth Food Alliance CSA members:
- Just a reminder that pick up times are from 4:30 - 6:00 pm at Hult Health, Wildlife Prairie State Park and Grace Anglican Church in Galesburg. Those arriving early will need to wait until 4:30 to pick up their share.
- Have you tried a new recipe that you'd like to share with other members? Let us know about it by responding to this e-mail.