Tag: Suffolk horses horse

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Back for Another Log
Hooking Up to a Log

We have enjoyed having another  Logging Workshop today. Ken has been demonstrating how to safely skid logs from the woodlot to a snowy field. Gwen and Buttons two of our Suffolk Punch draft horses are behaving very well.  We will cut up and split many of the logs for firewood later in the spring for next winter.  Some of the better logs we will  saw into lumber to be used for various projects around the farm.

Sunflower Oil for Winter Fuel

Ken has also been experimenting this winter with sunflower oil to run diesel motors. He has added a bit of gasoline to the sunflower oil (see jar on the right).  It keeps the sunflower oil from jelling up at cold temperatures (see far 0n left) and makes it so it will burn directly in a diesel motor without having to be first heated up or  made into bio-diesel.  Making bio-diesel is a complicated business and has some byproducts that are difficult  to dispose of easily. Using our draft horses makes sense for many jobs around the farm, however we still use the tractor for front end loader work and to run a Power Take Off for our baler and bush hog.   Ken is trying to figure out if he could grow an oil producing crop that would provide enough fuel to run the tractor  and perhaps a diesel generator for some electrical needs.

I walked down the farm today with a potential apprentice and was happy to see that the irrigation pond is almost full to over flowing.  Our CSA garden fields are becoming visible as the snow melts and I can feel my blood starting to stir as I anticipate the spring and the coming season.  We will soon be starting our early transplants. Most of our seeds have arrived and I am feeling rested up and ready to go again.  I enjoy having an occupation that is so closely linked to the natural word, where the work slows down during the dark time of the year and picks up again as the days lengthen out and my energy returns. We still have some spaces in our CSA for the 2011 season. We have a steady trickle of applications coming in and in March, when people are ready to think about spring again, I will contact all our past CSA members to remind them that it is time to save their spot!

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Potato Digger in Action
Potatoes Ready for Picking-up

Some of you may have seen Ken working on getting our “new” old potato digger back into working order last week. One CSA member asked him, “Are you ever going to get that rust bucket working?” The answer is YES! We have pictures to prove it.  (If you double click on the photos they will enlarge.) One of my stipulations for growing the CSA was to have a potato digger and now we do! Those working shares who have helped us dig potatoes with a fork or paw around in the soil after the horse drawn potato plow went through can attest to the amount of work it is.  So, I am delighted with our “rust bucket” that works! We have a big potato crop this season and it will be well used. It is still a heavy pull for two horses, but we hope to split up the harvest between two or three digging days.

The squash and pumpkin crop is also coming in. Check out the recipe section for some squash and pumpkin recipes. Keep in mind that any pumpkin recipe can also be made with squash. Go to the search box and type in squash or pumpkin for some of the older blog recipe entries from past years.  The following is a recipe from a past entry:

Leek and Potato Soup by Jill Wilcox
Ingredients
1 lb. leeks (about 3 medium)
3 tbsp butter
1 cooking onion, chopped
1 rib celery, finely sliced
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
3c water, chicken or veg. stock
2c milk or cream
chopped chives for garnish
To make the soup
1. trim the coarse green portion of the leeks. Cut leeks in half lengthwise, leaving the bulb end intact and clean well under running water. Shake off excess moisture and slice the leeks thinly, discarding the root end when you get to it.
2. In a stock pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Cook the leeks, onion and celery about 5 minutes until soft.
3. Add the potatoes and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook about 25 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.
4. Add the milk (or cream) and return to a bare simmer. Season with salt and white pepper to taste. (You can puree the soup with an immersion blender at this stage if you wish or pass it through a food mill.)

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Nora and Ethan harvesting herbs
Tomatoes have finally begun to roll in! The hoop house tomatoes have done really well and now the heirloom and paste tomatoes that we planted outside are ripening as well. It’s a great change from last year! We have also begun the fall raspberry harvest. Summer squash and melons have come to an end, but the winter squash and pumpkin crop looks very promising.

Gradually the garden is coming out of production and we are seeding it down to an oat cover crop to keep the weeds down and cover the ground to protect it from erosion.

We managed to get two small fields of good second cut hay into the barn this week before the rain today. Ken has also been working with Siggy and Sam and they are doing well discing in a three horse hitch. Chester has managed to breed all five our our mares and we are hoping that they catch and we have a lot of Suffolk foals in another year. Mable is growing and continues to be a big hit with our CSA members.

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August Draft Horse Workshop
Our August three day Draft Horse Workshop has just been successfully completed. We had another great group of individuals come to the farm for three days to learn about driving draft horses. Nora assisted Ken with teaching the workshop while the rest of us cooked meals and got the Saturday pick-up ready. We were very grateful to the working shares who came out and pitched in to help us get the pick-up ready. We also managed to get our oat straw into the barn. We have never had a year when it has been so difficult to get straw dry!

The garden is exploding with produce and our hoop house tomatoes are coming into full swing just as our out door tomatoes are beginning. It is a big improvement over the near corp failure in our tomatoes last season. It just reminds us how every year is different. Fall raspberries are about to begin. We hope to be able to start picking next week.

Tomato and Fresh Basil Soup from Vegetarian Cooking, by Linda Farser

Serves 4-6

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 pounds ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
about 3 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons sun-dried tomato paste
2 tablespoons shredded fresh basil
2/3 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper
whole basil leaves, to garnish

Heat the oil and butter in a large saucepan until foaming. Add the onion and cook gently for about 5 minutes, stirring, until the onion is softened but not brown.

Stir in the chopped tomatoes and garlic, then add the stock, white wine and sun-dried tomato paste, with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, half-cover the pan and simmer gently for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep the tomatoes from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Add the cream and heat through, stirring. Do not allow the soup to approach the boiling point. Check the consistency and add more stock if necessary, then season with salt and pepper. Pour into heated bowls and garnish with basil. Serve at once.