News and blog
What's happening on the farm.
Posted 5/17/2012 12:28am by Heather Redden.
Greetings!
I have many stories to tell this time of year. The farm is so busy with planting and many baby animals. The extremely naughty and adventurous adolescent turkeys (or velociturkeys as I've taken to calling them) managed to destroy a lot of the plants in the greenhouse. The plants are Brandon's babies. I'm lucky he's not filing for divorce. The velociturkeys are my responsibility. Another set of animals, the honeybees, are also my project and cost me dearly this week. I was working in an extremely strong hive when one of the ladies took a dislike to my presence and stung me in the ring finger. After 5 or so hours and doses of Benadryl, the swelling was only getting worse. I made the painful decision to have Brandon cut off my wedding band with a pair of tin snips. I figured my finger was more important. Farming definitely puts a marriage to the test!
Mother's Day weekend was an eventful one for mamas and babies here. A first time mama hen had faithfully sat on her foster eggs and they started hatching on Saturday. She had hatched out one chick the week before who she wasn't particularly nice to but who seemed to be thriving anyway. Well, when the next egg hatched, she promptly killed the baby guinea. When a second guinea hatched and she was obviously not going to tolerate it either, I stepped in. I have a lovely little silkie hen that is an amazing mother but she had shown no signs of going broody yet this spring and so wasn't really in mama mode. I decided to tried a little experiment. I took that tiny guinea and placed it in front of the silkie. The baby pushed up against her breast. I watched to see if I was going to need to save the little one again (some hens very much dislike chicks that they didn't hatch themselves). The silkie stared with great intensity at this baby for a couple of minutes and then I saw her expression soften (yes, chickens show expressions) and her eyes start to close. She was transforming before my eyes. She started clucking baby talk to the little one and within 5 minutes she had tucked the little keet under her wing and the adoption was complete. I retrieved each new baby as it hatched out under the homicidal hen and was able to give the silkie a total of 2 guinea keets and 3 turkey poults. She is doing an awesome job with her little brood. I would be lying if I said that the silkie's show of love and acceptance of these little ones didn't bring a tear to my eye. As for the homicidal hen, she seems to love her eggs even if she doesn't care for what comes out of them so I gave her some new eggs to hatch and she seems happy with the arrangement.
This Sunday is an open farm day so come out and see all the babies and pick up some better than organic eggs. We are also having a volunteer day on Sunday. We will be weeding and mulching and having a lot of fun together. If you'd like to volunteer let me know by Friday night. We have a potluck meal and enjoy the wonderful company. We are getting a large shipment of chicks on Friday so there will be lots more new babies to meet.
Sincerely,
Heather Redden
www.naturesharborfarm.com
I have many stories to tell this time of year. The farm is so busy with planting and many baby animals. The extremely naughty and adventurous adolescent turkeys (or velociturkeys as I've taken to calling them) managed to destroy a lot of the plants in the greenhouse. The plants are Brandon's babies. I'm lucky he's not filing for divorce. The velociturkeys are my responsibility. Another set of animals, the honeybees, are also my project and cost me dearly this week. I was working in an extremely strong hive when one of the ladies took a dislike to my presence and stung me in the ring finger. After 5 or so hours and doses of Benadryl, the swelling was only getting worse. I made the painful decision to have Brandon cut off my wedding band with a pair of tin snips. I figured my finger was more important. Farming definitely puts a marriage to the test!
Mother's Day weekend was an eventful one for mamas and babies here. A first time mama hen had faithfully sat on her foster eggs and they started hatching on Saturday. She had hatched out one chick the week before who she wasn't particularly nice to but who seemed to be thriving anyway. Well, when the next egg hatched, she promptly killed the baby guinea. When a second guinea hatched and she was obviously not going to tolerate it either, I stepped in. I have a lovely little silkie hen that is an amazing mother but she had shown no signs of going broody yet this spring and so wasn't really in mama mode. I decided to tried a little experiment. I took that tiny guinea and placed it in front of the silkie. The baby pushed up against her breast. I watched to see if I was going to need to save the little one again (some hens very much dislike chicks that they didn't hatch themselves). The silkie stared with great intensity at this baby for a couple of minutes and then I saw her expression soften (yes, chickens show expressions) and her eyes start to close. She was transforming before my eyes. She started clucking baby talk to the little one and within 5 minutes she had tucked the little keet under her wing and the adoption was complete. I retrieved each new baby as it hatched out under the homicidal hen and was able to give the silkie a total of 2 guinea keets and 3 turkey poults. She is doing an awesome job with her little brood. I would be lying if I said that the silkie's show of love and acceptance of these little ones didn't bring a tear to my eye. As for the homicidal hen, she seems to love her eggs even if she doesn't care for what comes out of them so I gave her some new eggs to hatch and she seems happy with the arrangement.
This Sunday is an open farm day so come out and see all the babies and pick up some better than organic eggs. We are also having a volunteer day on Sunday. We will be weeding and mulching and having a lot of fun together. If you'd like to volunteer let me know by Friday night. We have a potluck meal and enjoy the wonderful company. We are getting a large shipment of chicks on Friday so there will be lots more new babies to meet.
Sincerely,
Heather Redden
www.naturesharborfarm.com
Posted 5/6/2012 9:30am by Heather Redden.
Hello!
Today is an open farm day from noon-4. We are bursting with babies! Lambs are frolicking, turklets are running around the greenhouse, and our turkey hen just did a stupendous job of hatching out 1 silkie chick, 13 guinea keets(and counting), and 6 turkey poults. The cuckoo maran hen has also hatched out her first foster chick with more to come. Come out to purchase the best eggs possible from chickens and ducks foraging on pasture and supplemented with non GMO feed and see all the little ones.
Sincerely,
Heather Redden
www.naturesharborfarm.com
Today is an open farm day from noon-4. We are bursting with babies! Lambs are frolicking, turklets are running around the greenhouse, and our turkey hen just did a stupendous job of hatching out 1 silkie chick, 13 guinea keets(and counting), and 6 turkey poults. The cuckoo maran hen has also hatched out her first foster chick with more to come. Come out to purchase the best eggs possible from chickens and ducks foraging on pasture and supplemented with non GMO feed and see all the little ones.
Sincerely,
Heather Redden
www.naturesharborfarm.com
Posted 5/2/2012 12:22am by Heather Redden.
Hello Friends,
I am happy to be writing to you again. It has been an extremely eventful couple of weeks. First, the volunteer day that wasn't. A couple of days before, I decided to come down with a most awful illness. We had to cancel the volunteer day. I was certainly not going to risk passing my yuck on to anyone else. We have decided to reschedule for Sunday May 20, same time, same project. Please let us know if you are planning on attending by the Friday before. Brandon found the first strawberry yesterday amongst the weeds so you'll likely get to snack as you weed. How's that for incentive? I have started an event calendar on our website which will have our open hours and other events on it to help you keep track. http://www.naturesharborfarm.com/calendar
Our lambing season is now over for the year with the birth of a single ewe lamb each to Callie and Luna. Callie is an older Icelandic ewe and she and I are quite attached to each other. Last year, she had a really hard time and lost a set of triplets. This year she gave birth to a lamb that is her spitting image. I couldn't be more pleased. Callie will not be bred again and will live out her days as my sweet pet. I'm a pretty impractical livestock farmer at times. We received our turkey poults from the hatchery and they are doing well. The first egg also hatched under our turkey hen. She has a foster silkie chick! Silkies are a small breed of chicken. Its quite amusing to see this large turkey and her tiny chick. She is very protective. As I write, I am sitting next to a small cage with three turkey poults from our own hen that hatched out in the incubator. It has been interesting comparing them to the hatchery turkeys. They seem to be larger and for lack of a better term, more solid. We think that it is probably a result of the better nutrition that our breeding pair receives versus a hatchery breeding flock.
Living life on a sustainable farm is a daily opportunity to embrace life at its fullest and most diverse which includes intimate first hand knowledge of birth, death, and everything that comes between. Brandon found a newly hatched box turtle in our garden. So amazing to see a perfectly formed fully functioning turtle with a shell the size of a quarter. I also found a garter snake in the greenhouse. I couldn't resist reliving my Cincinnati Zoo days so I caught it for my girls to touch. I'd forgotten what a snake feels like. We found a wild turkey nest at the back of the farm. It unfortunately had been abandoned or something happened to the mother. As much as I wanted to save those eggs, it is illegal to keep wild turkeys and so we had to leave them be.
One of the sad facts of incubating eggs whether under a bird or in an incubator is that sometimes things don't go right. The turkey hen had a second silkie egg that started to hatch but the chick didn't make it. When I found it, I peeled back the membrane to find a perfectly formed chick still tucked into the shape of the egg. It was sad but also a moment to marvel at a most awe inspiring process. A fully formed chick fills the entire shell. It doesn't have the tiniest amount of extra room. The legs, head, and wings are all tucked in like some sort of elaborate puzzle. It is a miracle that they do make it out of the shell most of the time. All of these experiences add up to living what to me feels like a "real" life. Wish I could think of a better way to describe it.
A couple of fun items to bring up. Our little farm is famous! We are one of the farms featured in the "Notable Edibles" section of Edible Ohio Valley magazine. You can find a digital copy of it here. http://www.ediblecommunities.com/ohiovalley/ This is a gorgeous magazine and worthy of picking up a paper copy. The artwork and layout are beautiful. This issue also features an article by Dan Adams of Earthineer.com on urban chickens. Continuing the chicken theme, I will be giving a presentation at Imago on Saturday, May 5 at 2 pm on backyard chicken keeping. Afterwords will be a tour of some of the backyard coops at the Enright Urban Ecovillage. For more details or to sign up http://www.imagoearth.org/home/public_programs/backyard_chickens_a_presentation_and_field_trip0.html
Sincerely,
Heather and Brandon Redden
www.naturesharborfarm.com
I am happy to be writing to you again. It has been an extremely eventful couple of weeks. First, the volunteer day that wasn't. A couple of days before, I decided to come down with a most awful illness. We had to cancel the volunteer day. I was certainly not going to risk passing my yuck on to anyone else. We have decided to reschedule for Sunday May 20, same time, same project. Please let us know if you are planning on attending by the Friday before. Brandon found the first strawberry yesterday amongst the weeds so you'll likely get to snack as you weed. How's that for incentive? I have started an event calendar on our website which will have our open hours and other events on it to help you keep track. http://www.naturesharborfarm.com/calendar
Our lambing season is now over for the year with the birth of a single ewe lamb each to Callie and Luna. Callie is an older Icelandic ewe and she and I are quite attached to each other. Last year, she had a really hard time and lost a set of triplets. This year she gave birth to a lamb that is her spitting image. I couldn't be more pleased. Callie will not be bred again and will live out her days as my sweet pet. I'm a pretty impractical livestock farmer at times. We received our turkey poults from the hatchery and they are doing well. The first egg also hatched under our turkey hen. She has a foster silkie chick! Silkies are a small breed of chicken. Its quite amusing to see this large turkey and her tiny chick. She is very protective. As I write, I am sitting next to a small cage with three turkey poults from our own hen that hatched out in the incubator. It has been interesting comparing them to the hatchery turkeys. They seem to be larger and for lack of a better term, more solid. We think that it is probably a result of the better nutrition that our breeding pair receives versus a hatchery breeding flock.
Living life on a sustainable farm is a daily opportunity to embrace life at its fullest and most diverse which includes intimate first hand knowledge of birth, death, and everything that comes between. Brandon found a newly hatched box turtle in our garden. So amazing to see a perfectly formed fully functioning turtle with a shell the size of a quarter. I also found a garter snake in the greenhouse. I couldn't resist reliving my Cincinnati Zoo days so I caught it for my girls to touch. I'd forgotten what a snake feels like. We found a wild turkey nest at the back of the farm. It unfortunately had been abandoned or something happened to the mother. As much as I wanted to save those eggs, it is illegal to keep wild turkeys and so we had to leave them be.
One of the sad facts of incubating eggs whether under a bird or in an incubator is that sometimes things don't go right. The turkey hen had a second silkie egg that started to hatch but the chick didn't make it. When I found it, I peeled back the membrane to find a perfectly formed chick still tucked into the shape of the egg. It was sad but also a moment to marvel at a most awe inspiring process. A fully formed chick fills the entire shell. It doesn't have the tiniest amount of extra room. The legs, head, and wings are all tucked in like some sort of elaborate puzzle. It is a miracle that they do make it out of the shell most of the time. All of these experiences add up to living what to me feels like a "real" life. Wish I could think of a better way to describe it.
A couple of fun items to bring up. Our little farm is famous! We are one of the farms featured in the "Notable Edibles" section of Edible Ohio Valley magazine. You can find a digital copy of it here. http://www.ediblecommunities.com/ohiovalley/ This is a gorgeous magazine and worthy of picking up a paper copy. The artwork and layout are beautiful. This issue also features an article by Dan Adams of Earthineer.com on urban chickens. Continuing the chicken theme, I will be giving a presentation at Imago on Saturday, May 5 at 2 pm on backyard chicken keeping. Afterwords will be a tour of some of the backyard coops at the Enright Urban Ecovillage. For more details or to sign up http://www.imagoearth.org/home/public_programs/backyard_chickens_a_presentation_and_field_trip0.html
Sincerely,
Heather and Brandon Redden
www.naturesharborfarm.com
Posted 4/17/2012 9:57pm by Heather Redden.
Hello Everyone!
Things are really hopping on the farm these days. We have welcomed three new lambs so far. Shamrock started us off with a darling ewe lamb born on March 28 about 10pm. I have the pregnant ewes penned in my front yard right now (one of the joys of country living) so that I can keep an eye on them. I was sitting in my living room and through the open window I heard a chorus of baas. Shamrock had just given birth and it seemed all the sheep were welcoming the new addition. Especially vocal was Shamrock's lamb from last year, Goldie. She really wanted everyone to know that her little sister had arrived. Usually, they do not become so vocal over a lamb. Then just this past Sunday morning, Claire gave birth to an adorable set of twins. This was the first birth I've gotten to witness in a long time and the very first that my daughters were able to see. We caught quite a bit of it on video and it is posted on the farm's Facebook page if you'd like to see the little ones. My daughters' commentary and the "help" of our kitten Milo make it more entertaining. http://www.facebook.com/#!/naturesharborfarm
We also continue to work towards producing our own poultry. I would eventually like to move away from the use of hatcheries as I don't feel it is a very sustainable practice. Our good friend Mary of Rising Phoenix Farm has put a number of our bourbon red turkey and silkie eggs in her incubators. She reported to me today that three of the silkie eggs have pipped (started to hatch) and I'm looking forward to getting the new babies home. My turkey hen has since gone broody and so she is now sitting on turkey eggs from another good friend's farm, Ame of Fox Run Produce. Her turkey hen is laying but not wanting to sit! My turkey hen also has 18 guinea eggs and some silkie eggs under her for good measure. I also have a welsummer hen sitting on more turkey, guinea, and chicken eggs. I'm going to try to put all my broody hens to work this year raising babies. It is wonderful to watch their mothering instincts kick in. We are also anticipating the delivery of bourbon red, narragansett, and royal palm turkey poults and some silkies from the hatchery this week.
We suffered a gardening set back last week. We lost many seedlings in our greenhouse to a freeze one night. Our greenhouse is unheated but usually retains enough heat to protect the plants in the spring at night but this time we lost between 50 and 75 tomato, pepper, melon, and squash plants. Ouch! Luckily, some pulled through and Brandon has already replanted. It was very disappointing to see all those dead plants though. They are our babies too.
As I mentioned in the last newsletter, we are planning a volunteer day on the farm for April 22 from noon-5ish. We are going to be renovating a large perennial food garden. Lots of weeding and mulching to do along with great conversation and making new friends. A late lunch/early dinner will be potluck. We provide the main course, drinks, and a side and you bring a favorite side or dessert. You also can spend some time with the new lambs and turkey poults. At the end of the day we also send you home with some goodies in appreciation. Please let us know by Friday April 20 if you are able to help out. Thanks! That Sunday is also an open farm day so if you'd like to come down for a little while to see the farm and purchase some eggs we will be there. It also happens to be Earth Day so a trip to a sustainable farm might be a good way to celebrate.
For those of you with chickens or other livestock, Mary and I are putting together another order from Hiland Naturals Feed. They carry GMO free animal feeds that are outstanding milled in Millersburg, OH. Please email me for more information or with your order by Sunday April 22. Pickup will be at Rising Phoenix Farm in Independence, KY again and it should arrive about 3 weeks from the time we place the order. Payment is due in advance.
Hoping all of you have a lovely week,
Heather and Brandon Redden
www.naturesharborfarm.com
Things are really hopping on the farm these days. We have welcomed three new lambs so far. Shamrock started us off with a darling ewe lamb born on March 28 about 10pm. I have the pregnant ewes penned in my front yard right now (one of the joys of country living) so that I can keep an eye on them. I was sitting in my living room and through the open window I heard a chorus of baas. Shamrock had just given birth and it seemed all the sheep were welcoming the new addition. Especially vocal was Shamrock's lamb from last year, Goldie. She really wanted everyone to know that her little sister had arrived. Usually, they do not become so vocal over a lamb. Then just this past Sunday morning, Claire gave birth to an adorable set of twins. This was the first birth I've gotten to witness in a long time and the very first that my daughters were able to see. We caught quite a bit of it on video and it is posted on the farm's Facebook page if you'd like to see the little ones. My daughters' commentary and the "help" of our kitten Milo make it more entertaining. http://www.facebook.com/#!/naturesharborfarm
We also continue to work towards producing our own poultry. I would eventually like to move away from the use of hatcheries as I don't feel it is a very sustainable practice. Our good friend Mary of Rising Phoenix Farm has put a number of our bourbon red turkey and silkie eggs in her incubators. She reported to me today that three of the silkie eggs have pipped (started to hatch) and I'm looking forward to getting the new babies home. My turkey hen has since gone broody and so she is now sitting on turkey eggs from another good friend's farm, Ame of Fox Run Produce. Her turkey hen is laying but not wanting to sit! My turkey hen also has 18 guinea eggs and some silkie eggs under her for good measure. I also have a welsummer hen sitting on more turkey, guinea, and chicken eggs. I'm going to try to put all my broody hens to work this year raising babies. It is wonderful to watch their mothering instincts kick in. We are also anticipating the delivery of bourbon red, narragansett, and royal palm turkey poults and some silkies from the hatchery this week.
We suffered a gardening set back last week. We lost many seedlings in our greenhouse to a freeze one night. Our greenhouse is unheated but usually retains enough heat to protect the plants in the spring at night but this time we lost between 50 and 75 tomato, pepper, melon, and squash plants. Ouch! Luckily, some pulled through and Brandon has already replanted. It was very disappointing to see all those dead plants though. They are our babies too.
As I mentioned in the last newsletter, we are planning a volunteer day on the farm for April 22 from noon-5ish. We are going to be renovating a large perennial food garden. Lots of weeding and mulching to do along with great conversation and making new friends. A late lunch/early dinner will be potluck. We provide the main course, drinks, and a side and you bring a favorite side or dessert. You also can spend some time with the new lambs and turkey poults. At the end of the day we also send you home with some goodies in appreciation. Please let us know by Friday April 20 if you are able to help out. Thanks! That Sunday is also an open farm day so if you'd like to come down for a little while to see the farm and purchase some eggs we will be there. It also happens to be Earth Day so a trip to a sustainable farm might be a good way to celebrate.
For those of you with chickens or other livestock, Mary and I are putting together another order from Hiland Naturals Feed. They carry GMO free animal feeds that are outstanding milled in Millersburg, OH. Please email me for more information or with your order by Sunday April 22. Pickup will be at Rising Phoenix Farm in Independence, KY again and it should arrive about 3 weeks from the time we place the order. Payment is due in advance.
Hoping all of you have a lovely week,
Heather and Brandon Redden
www.naturesharborfarm.com
Posted 3/26/2012 7:04pm by Heather Redden.
Hello!
I'll try to keep this one brief. It just occurred to me that I will be in Independence, Ky tomorrow if any of you would like to meet me to get some eggs. I have both duck and chicken eggs. I would need to know your order by 8:30 am tomorrow morning and we would meet at 3:30 in the afternoon. I'd love to get a chance to see some of you again and catch up a little.
On Sunday, I introduced our apprentice, Amanda, to the honeybees. It was the first time I checked for the year. Unfortunately only two out of the 4 hives made it through the winter. Those two hives are very strong though. I will plan to split them in about another month to create two new hives. I have also been looking into setting out some swarm lures. Those are boxes with old honeycomb in them along with some drops of lemon grass essential oil. Interestingly, the lemon grass oil acts as an attractant to bees and may make a swarm choose to move into the box. I have definitely learned that it is most important to work with locally adapted bees and propagate those versus buying new bees from the south to replenish stock. I am now in my 6th year of treatment free beekeeping and I continue to learn better ways to keep bees naturally.
Our sour cherry tree is in full bloom and the apple tree is budding out so I really hope we don't get the frost that is threatening for tonight...
Sincerely,
Heather Redden
www.naturesharborfarm.com
I'll try to keep this one brief. It just occurred to me that I will be in Independence, Ky tomorrow if any of you would like to meet me to get some eggs. I have both duck and chicken eggs. I would need to know your order by 8:30 am tomorrow morning and we would meet at 3:30 in the afternoon. I'd love to get a chance to see some of you again and catch up a little.
On Sunday, I introduced our apprentice, Amanda, to the honeybees. It was the first time I checked for the year. Unfortunately only two out of the 4 hives made it through the winter. Those two hives are very strong though. I will plan to split them in about another month to create two new hives. I have also been looking into setting out some swarm lures. Those are boxes with old honeycomb in them along with some drops of lemon grass essential oil. Interestingly, the lemon grass oil acts as an attractant to bees and may make a swarm choose to move into the box. I have definitely learned that it is most important to work with locally adapted bees and propagate those versus buying new bees from the south to replenish stock. I am now in my 6th year of treatment free beekeeping and I continue to learn better ways to keep bees naturally.
Our sour cherry tree is in full bloom and the apple tree is budding out so I really hope we don't get the frost that is threatening for tonight...
Sincerely,
Heather Redden
www.naturesharborfarm.com
Posted 3/24/2012 12:36pm by Heather Redden.
Greetings!
We are having a beautiful and very early spring on the farm. The fruit trees are in bloom, the honeybees are bringing in pollen and nectar, and the poultry are laying eggs like crazy. We have many plants started in the greenhouse and I've started my pregnant ewe watch. None of them should be due until next week but those due dates are more a suggestion than a rule:) I think we spend most of the year feeling like we are behind but this extra early spring has me feeling it even more.
I want to remind you all that the first open farm day is tomorrow from noon to 4pm. Our
address is at the bottom of this newsletter and if you would like directions please respond to this email. Some GPS systems have a harder time finding us than others. If you pull in and don't see anyone just honk. We are out and about somewhere working on the farm. Our apprentices will be out as well helping us. Come out and enjoy the wonderful weather and all the beautiful flowers while they last. We have both chicken and duck eggs for sale.
A couple of other items to attend to. We are now taking preorders for heritage turkeys for Thanksgiving. The number available is limited and a $30 deposit is due up front to reserve your turkey. We also have the opportunity to purchase some more Icelandic sheep which will be processed later this summer. You can purchase lamb by the half. Cost will be based on hanging weight(this is the weight after the initial processing steps but before packaging as individual cuts). Price will be $8.50 per lb and the estimated weight for a half will be 30-45 lbs. Icelandic sheep produce a very mild flavored meat and do wonderfully on grass. They have been pastured at their current home and will be pastured here as well. Now is the time to reserve your grass fed lamb. A deposit of $150 reserves your half with the balance due at time of processing. Please let me know if you have questions or want to reserve lamb or turkey.
Sincerely,
Heather and Brandon Redden
We are having a beautiful and very early spring on the farm. The fruit trees are in bloom, the honeybees are bringing in pollen and nectar, and the poultry are laying eggs like crazy. We have many plants started in the greenhouse and I've started my pregnant ewe watch. None of them should be due until next week but those due dates are more a suggestion than a rule:) I think we spend most of the year feeling like we are behind but this extra early spring has me feeling it even more.
I want to remind you all that the first open farm day is tomorrow from noon to 4pm. Our
address is at the bottom of this newsletter and if you would like directions please respond to this email. Some GPS systems have a harder time finding us than others. If you pull in and don't see anyone just honk. We are out and about somewhere working on the farm. Our apprentices will be out as well helping us. Come out and enjoy the wonderful weather and all the beautiful flowers while they last. We have both chicken and duck eggs for sale.A couple of other items to attend to. We are now taking preorders for heritage turkeys for Thanksgiving. The number available is limited and a $30 deposit is due up front to reserve your turkey. We also have the opportunity to purchase some more Icelandic sheep which will be processed later this summer. You can purchase lamb by the half. Cost will be based on hanging weight(this is the weight after the initial processing steps but before packaging as individual cuts). Price will be $8.50 per lb and the estimated weight for a half will be 30-45 lbs. Icelandic sheep produce a very mild flavored meat and do wonderfully on grass. They have been pastured at their current home and will be pastured here as well. Now is the time to reserve your grass fed lamb. A deposit of $150 reserves your half with the balance due at time of processing. Please let me know if you have questions or want to reserve lamb or turkey.
Sincerely,
Heather and Brandon Redden
Posted 3/9/2012 11:27pm by Heather Redden.
Hello Again!
We have had some exciting times this week and they haven't had much to do with farming. I'm sure you all know about the tornadoes that came through the tri-state last Friday. I hope that all of you are safe and sound and didn't suffer any damage. You have my deepest sympathy if you were affected. We were very lucky and our farm was spared but one of the tornadoes passed far closer to us than I would ever want to get and devastated the community of Peach Grove just north of us. I have been working all week to help with the relief effort and I've learned a lot about what is really needed in a disaster situation and also seen the absolute best in the people of northern Kentucky shining through. There has been damage to or complete loss of 175 homes in our little corner of Pendleton County. The loss of farm buildings and livestock is yet uncounted. Many families have lost their homes, possessions, vehicles, pets, and livestock. Luckily, there was no loss of human life in our county and for that I am supremely grateful. This weekend will be a big one for volunteer opportunities. I'm sorry that I didn't get this out sooner but the details are only now becoming available.
For those of you on Facebook all the information is available on the group "Coordination of Help for NKY Victims fo 3.2.12 Tornado". http://www.facebook.com/naturesharborfarm#!/groups/TornadoReliefNKY/ Go to the thread about Northern Pendleton County. Unfortunately, there is no good place I can find online for those of you not on Facebook to see all the opportunities to help but if you call the Pendleton County Emergency Operations Center, they are supposed to be coordinating the efforts. 859-654-6540. They can tell you what items are needed most for donations, where to take them, and how to get involved with the clean up effort. Thank you for your support.
This picture is of Wesley Chapel Church after the tornado. It is still standing which is more than I can say for many of the homes.
Now for more pleasant topics. Giving you all a quick reminder that the deadline for the first order of chicks for the season is March 11. http://www.naturesharborfarm.com/content/13888 for more information. Also, we will start our open farm hours on Sunday March 25 from noon-4 pm. We will be open every other Sunday and once I figure out how to use the calendar on the website I'll keep it updated. Right now we have lots of chicken eggs and a limited number of duck eggs available for purchase. We've also received our first shipment of the GMO free feed from Hiland Naturals so all the poultry will be starting that tomorrow. This makes me so happy:) Spring is always an exciting time of year on the farm and we look forward to sharing it with you.
Sincerely,
Heather and Brandon Redden
www.naturesharborfarm.com
We have had some exciting times this week and they haven't had much to do with farming. I'm sure you all know about the tornadoes that came through the tri-state last Friday. I hope that all of you are safe and sound and didn't suffer any damage. You have my deepest sympathy if you were affected. We were very lucky and our farm was spared but one of the tornadoes passed far closer to us than I would ever want to get and devastated the community of Peach Grove just north of us. I have been working all week to help with the relief effort and I've learned a lot about what is really needed in a disaster situation and also seen the absolute best in the people of northern Kentucky shining through. There has been damage to or complete loss of 175 homes in our little corner of Pendleton County. The loss of farm buildings and livestock is yet uncounted. Many families have lost their homes, possessions, vehicles, pets, and livestock. Luckily, there was no loss of human life in our county and for that I am supremely grateful. This weekend will be a big one for volunteer opportunities. I'm sorry that I didn't get this out sooner but the details are only now becoming available.
For those of you on Facebook all the information is available on the group "Coordination of Help for NKY Victims fo 3.2.12 Tornado". http://www.facebook.com/naturesharborfarm#!/groups/TornadoReliefNKY/ Go to the thread about Northern Pendleton County. Unfortunately, there is no good place I can find online for those of you not on Facebook to see all the opportunities to help but if you call the Pendleton County Emergency Operations Center, they are supposed to be coordinating the efforts. 859-654-6540. They can tell you what items are needed most for donations, where to take them, and how to get involved with the clean up effort. Thank you for your support.
This picture is of Wesley Chapel Church after the tornado. It is still standing which is more than I can say for many of the homes.
Now for more pleasant topics. Giving you all a quick reminder that the deadline for the first order of chicks for the season is March 11. http://www.naturesharborfarm.com/content/13888 for more information. Also, we will start our open farm hours on Sunday March 25 from noon-4 pm. We will be open every other Sunday and once I figure out how to use the calendar on the website I'll keep it updated. Right now we have lots of chicken eggs and a limited number of duck eggs available for purchase. We've also received our first shipment of the GMO free feed from Hiland Naturals so all the poultry will be starting that tomorrow. This makes me so happy:) Spring is always an exciting time of year on the farm and we look forward to sharing it with you.
Sincerely,
Heather and Brandon Redden
www.naturesharborfarm.com
Posted 2/23/2012 10:44pm by Heather Redden.
Greetings from Nature's Harbor Farm!
I haven't sent out one of these newsletters in ages! First off, I'd like to welcome all the new members to the list. Its so exciting to think that there are over 300 people interested in the doings of our little farm. I hope you find these missives to be entertaining and educational. I know I have fun writing them.
What in the world have we been doing this past year? As many of you know, Brandon and I took a much needed year off from heavy market farming. I think it can best be summed up by saying we were tapped out physically, mentally, and fincancially after 5 years of working to get this farm off the ground. I assure you we never stopped farming (I don't think that would be possible for us) but we took a big step back and reevaluated our life here and what we wanted from it. This is a working farm but also our home and we needed it to work for us in all aspects of our lives. I am so happy to say that the time off worked and we are so excited about this coming growing season and reconnecting with all of you. The continually growing local food movement is a wonderful place to be hanging out.
It has been such a wacky mild winter and has been easy on the animals and farmers alike. Honeybees will fly anytime the temperature rises above 50 or so degrees. I have never seen honeybees as often during a winter as I have during this one. I have seen them flying probably at least once a week all winter. Last year, I didn't see a single one from November-March. I am also happy to report that as I type this the spring peepers are peeping in the pond across the road. Frogs in February! Who ever heard of such a thing?
We have decided once again to not attend farmers' markets. We are going to stick to the farm. I will be coming out with a schedule of open hours for the farm and will let you know very soon what that is. There are a lot of expenses and time that go into setting up at farmers' markets. We are much more protected legally when selling products directly to you from the farm than once we leave. Its unfortunate but true. Our farm is a bit of a drive but it is a beautiful one. We hope that you can look at it as a wonderful experience and chance to visit with all the animals and see how your food is grown. I will be available to give tours when you arrive and it should be a fun day for everyone. I would also like to offer to connect people who live close to each other so that you can take turns making the drive out. If you send me an email with your location I will work to connect you with others on the list in your area. I can still meet up with you for eggs, produce, and honey as I run around northern Kentucky if you can't make it to the farm but all meat sales will be from the farm only. It should be an exciting year. We have plans to raise chickens, ducks, and turkeys for meat this year. Also, I will soon be sending out an email to preorder lamb for probable delivery in August. Amounts will be limited so get ready to place an order.
We are very pleased to welcome our two new farm apprentices this year. Natalie and Amanda are bringing in some amazing enthusiasm and willingness to get dirty and learn sustainable farming. You can follow Amanda's blog about the journey at http://naturesharborhelper.wordpress.com/ I will also be keeping a photo journal of the process on the farm's facebook page http://www.facebook.com/naturesharborfarm#!/naturesharborfarm
Another piece of exciting news is that we will be getting GMO free feed again from Hiland Naturals. http://www.hilandnaturals.com/ I am helping out Rising Phoenix Farm collect orders for our first shipment. If you have any kind of livestock and would like to be included in the shipment please contact me. This is awesome feed and Hilands carries a feed for every type of livestock. I would need to know what you want to order by Feb 27. I don't have the current prices because they just notified us that they are lowering them. Should have them soon. It would be safe to assume that 50 lb bags of feed will be between $16-$22 depending on type (for the non GM0. Soy free or organic would be more). Money would be due up front (once I have a price) and pickup would be at Rising Phoenix Farm in Kenton County. No onsite storage available at this time so you need to be able to store what you order. Questions?
I've been getting emails asking about chick orders and when I'm going to start brooding again. I love seeing all these new backyard poultry enthusiasts getting started. I have added a page to our website including all the details. http://www.naturesharborfarm.com/content/13888 I will be placing the first order in March for arrival in April. Please have your orders to me by March 11 and feel free to contact me with questions.
Finally, I would like to direct all of you to a great new sustainable living, social networking site I've become involved with. It is the brain child of northern Kentucky resident, Dan Adams. This site is called Earthineer and if you would like to learn more about me and the farm and how it works, please check out my recent Member's Spotlight on Earthineer. http://www.earthineer.com/spotlight.php?blogid=5702 Hopefully, you can spend some time browsing around Earthineer and consider joining.
I think that is it for now. Phew! I need to send these more often. I could have written more!
Looking forward to a great year with lots of fun on the farm...
Sincerely,
Heather and Brandon Redden
www.naturesharborfarm.com
I haven't sent out one of these newsletters in ages! First off, I'd like to welcome all the new members to the list. Its so exciting to think that there are over 300 people interested in the doings of our little farm. I hope you find these missives to be entertaining and educational. I know I have fun writing them.
What in the world have we been doing this past year? As many of you know, Brandon and I took a much needed year off from heavy market farming. I think it can best be summed up by saying we were tapped out physically, mentally, and fincancially after 5 years of working to get this farm off the ground. I assure you we never stopped farming (I don't think that would be possible for us) but we took a big step back and reevaluated our life here and what we wanted from it. This is a working farm but also our home and we needed it to work for us in all aspects of our lives. I am so happy to say that the time off worked and we are so excited about this coming growing season and reconnecting with all of you. The continually growing local food movement is a wonderful place to be hanging out.
It has been such a wacky mild winter and has been easy on the animals and farmers alike. Honeybees will fly anytime the temperature rises above 50 or so degrees. I have never seen honeybees as often during a winter as I have during this one. I have seen them flying probably at least once a week all winter. Last year, I didn't see a single one from November-March. I am also happy to report that as I type this the spring peepers are peeping in the pond across the road. Frogs in February! Who ever heard of such a thing?
We have decided once again to not attend farmers' markets. We are going to stick to the farm. I will be coming out with a schedule of open hours for the farm and will let you know very soon what that is. There are a lot of expenses and time that go into setting up at farmers' markets. We are much more protected legally when selling products directly to you from the farm than once we leave. Its unfortunate but true. Our farm is a bit of a drive but it is a beautiful one. We hope that you can look at it as a wonderful experience and chance to visit with all the animals and see how your food is grown. I will be available to give tours when you arrive and it should be a fun day for everyone. I would also like to offer to connect people who live close to each other so that you can take turns making the drive out. If you send me an email with your location I will work to connect you with others on the list in your area. I can still meet up with you for eggs, produce, and honey as I run around northern Kentucky if you can't make it to the farm but all meat sales will be from the farm only. It should be an exciting year. We have plans to raise chickens, ducks, and turkeys for meat this year. Also, I will soon be sending out an email to preorder lamb for probable delivery in August. Amounts will be limited so get ready to place an order.
We are very pleased to welcome our two new farm apprentices this year. Natalie and Amanda are bringing in some amazing enthusiasm and willingness to get dirty and learn sustainable farming. You can follow Amanda's blog about the journey at http://naturesharborhelper.wordpress.com/ I will also be keeping a photo journal of the process on the farm's facebook page http://www.facebook.com/naturesharborfarm#!/naturesharborfarm
Another piece of exciting news is that we will be getting GMO free feed again from Hiland Naturals. http://www.hilandnaturals.com/ I am helping out Rising Phoenix Farm collect orders for our first shipment. If you have any kind of livestock and would like to be included in the shipment please contact me. This is awesome feed and Hilands carries a feed for every type of livestock. I would need to know what you want to order by Feb 27. I don't have the current prices because they just notified us that they are lowering them. Should have them soon. It would be safe to assume that 50 lb bags of feed will be between $16-$22 depending on type (for the non GM0. Soy free or organic would be more). Money would be due up front (once I have a price) and pickup would be at Rising Phoenix Farm in Kenton County. No onsite storage available at this time so you need to be able to store what you order. Questions?
I've been getting emails asking about chick orders and when I'm going to start brooding again. I love seeing all these new backyard poultry enthusiasts getting started. I have added a page to our website including all the details. http://www.naturesharborfarm.com/content/13888 I will be placing the first order in March for arrival in April. Please have your orders to me by March 11 and feel free to contact me with questions.
Finally, I would like to direct all of you to a great new sustainable living, social networking site I've become involved with. It is the brain child of northern Kentucky resident, Dan Adams. This site is called Earthineer and if you would like to learn more about me and the farm and how it works, please check out my recent Member's Spotlight on Earthineer. http://www.earthineer.com/spotlight.php?blogid=5702 Hopefully, you can spend some time browsing around Earthineer and consider joining.
I think that is it for now. Phew! I need to send these more often. I could have written more!
Looking forward to a great year with lots of fun on the farm...
Sincerely,
Heather and Brandon Redden
www.naturesharborfarm.com
Posted 8/16/2011 9:58pm by Heather Redden.
Greetings from Nature's Harbor Farm!
It's hard to believe that it is August with this amazing break we are having from the record heat. Feels a lot more like fall but here on the farm it still tastes like summer. To me, that means a fresh picked brandywine tomato, fresh mozarella cheese, fresh basil, a little salt and some olive oil. Its like a little bit of heaven on my plate. I love all the wonderful varieties of heirloom tomatoes but the brandywine is my favorite. It might not be the prettiest looking tomato. It is huge, lumpy, and tends to split. It would never ship well, couldn't be packed neatly into boxes, and would probably be left behind if it made it to a supermarket shelf but to me it is perfect. Summer would lose some of its character if this tomato didn't grow in our garden.
I haven't gotten out a newsletter in awhile partly because we finally took a long awaited family vacation. Its the first one since before our second daughter was born! It is very hard to get away from the farm. Thank goodness I have a great friend who took care of everything while we were gone. Believe me, the animals threw every trick at her too.
We could never take a vacation that wasn't somewhat farming related. We headed into Virginia to the Field Day at Joel Salatin's Polyface Farm http://www.polyfacefarms.com/ . This is the Mecca of sustainable farming. Next we stopped at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. We loved the tour of the house and the gardens were just as amazing. They have been painstakingly recreated from Jefferson's notes. He grew over 300 varieties of vegetables! We also managed to eat locally for much of the trip, stopping at farmstands and orchards and purchasing hot dogs and ground beef at Polyface. A cooler and some charcoal and you can eat like a locavore even on vacation. Other fun and educational stops along the way included the beach at Nag's Head, the Jamestown Settlement, and James Madison's Montpelier.
There is a wonderful event happening this Saturday, Aug. 20 in Covington. It is the third annual Farmers' Fair. I have decided to come out of my farmers' market retirement and set up. Farmers' Fair is a great event with a huge farmers' market, great speakers, local restaurants, and booths about sustainable eating and living in the tri-state. I will be selling eggs and answering questions about backyard poultry and beekeeping. Come out and enjoy a great day and say, "Hi." http://www.farmersfair.org/ I look forward to seeing you there.
Finally, to leave you with an amusing image of just how much trouble the animals can get into....
Something you never want to see. A horse's hind end in the door of your chicken coop. That would be Rocky, the 30 year old quarter horse. He might be older than dirt but he has quite the adventurous streak.
Sincerely,
Heather Redden
www.naturesharborfarm.com
Posted 7/2/2011 1:52am by Heather Redden.
Hello Friends!
Another eventful week has gone by at the farm. We were unable to have our work day because of rain (big surprise) so the perrenial garden is still awaiting rescue. We are at the point that machetes will be in order to hack down the jungle. Ugh. I've set a tentative date for rescheduling the day to July 31. Let me know if you would like to participate. A warning to those of you who grow your own tomatoes. Early blight has been found in the area and I've seen it on my own plants.
The story of this year with the animals is the ongoing sheep saga. It's been quite upsetting for me suffering so many losses in one spring and summer. This week we lost our wonderful old Shetland ram, Big Red. It appears he just laid down and died. He was a sweet and gentlemanly old boy. He was my first ram and I will miss him. He gave us many nice lambs including 4 ewe lambs this season. On a happier note, the two bottle lambs are growing like weeds. They think that it is perfectly acceptable to push their way into the house and basically make a nuisance of themselves. Lately, it seems we have more than free range poultry. I was standing in our driveway the other day marveling at a front yard with the girls in the kiddy pool, lounging lambs, turkeys, guineas, chickens, cats, dog and Rocky, the 30 year old horse who occasionally decides to take himself for a stroll outside of the fence. Everyone seemed perfectly happy with the communal arrangement.
I am planning a drop off in Ft. Thomas at 7:00 and Independence at 8:00 for Wednesday July 6. Please place your order for delicious pastured chicken eggs by noon on Wednesday.
I'm adding options to the chicken order newsletter of last week. I've had some requests to brood ducks and bantams as well as the standard size chickens I normally raise for sale. I have raised both ducks and bantams in the past and am happy to expand what I can offer to you for your urban farms :) I'm also extending the deadline for orders to the night of Monday July 4. The cost for the purchase and brooding of bantams will be $10 each and the cost for ducks will be $12. Standard size chickens will still be $9. Also, don't forget to get your orders in for the heritage meat chickens by Monday night as well.
I'm looking forward to hearing from you and hopefully seeing some of you Wednesday.
Sincerely,
Heather Redden
www.naturesharborfarm.com
Another eventful week has gone by at the farm. We were unable to have our work day because of rain (big surprise) so the perrenial garden is still awaiting rescue. We are at the point that machetes will be in order to hack down the jungle. Ugh. I've set a tentative date for rescheduling the day to July 31. Let me know if you would like to participate. A warning to those of you who grow your own tomatoes. Early blight has been found in the area and I've seen it on my own plants.
The story of this year with the animals is the ongoing sheep saga. It's been quite upsetting for me suffering so many losses in one spring and summer. This week we lost our wonderful old Shetland ram, Big Red. It appears he just laid down and died. He was a sweet and gentlemanly old boy. He was my first ram and I will miss him. He gave us many nice lambs including 4 ewe lambs this season. On a happier note, the two bottle lambs are growing like weeds. They think that it is perfectly acceptable to push their way into the house and basically make a nuisance of themselves. Lately, it seems we have more than free range poultry. I was standing in our driveway the other day marveling at a front yard with the girls in the kiddy pool, lounging lambs, turkeys, guineas, chickens, cats, dog and Rocky, the 30 year old horse who occasionally decides to take himself for a stroll outside of the fence. Everyone seemed perfectly happy with the communal arrangement.
I am planning a drop off in Ft. Thomas at 7:00 and Independence at 8:00 for Wednesday July 6. Please place your order for delicious pastured chicken eggs by noon on Wednesday.
I'm adding options to the chicken order newsletter of last week. I've had some requests to brood ducks and bantams as well as the standard size chickens I normally raise for sale. I have raised both ducks and bantams in the past and am happy to expand what I can offer to you for your urban farms :) I'm also extending the deadline for orders to the night of Monday July 4. The cost for the purchase and brooding of bantams will be $10 each and the cost for ducks will be $12. Standard size chickens will still be $9. Also, don't forget to get your orders in for the heritage meat chickens by Monday night as well.
I'm looking forward to hearing from you and hopefully seeing some of you Wednesday.
Sincerely,
Heather Redden
www.naturesharborfarm.com