Sustainable Sunday - Meet The Farmy

I don’t do this often but TODAY I have collated an amazing round up of the farm! So how is everyone on the organic sustainably managed farm?

Jun 16, 2024

This post might have got a little too long for the email due to all the photos so don’t forget to click onto the heading to get the Full Story. And don’t forget to subscribe while you are there so you don’t miss a THING!!

The Farm. The Kitchens Garden Farmy.

The farm is wildly busy now and deserves a section in Sustainable Sunday all of its own.

This is as good for me as it is fun for you. I am going to have to keep my head on straight this summer.

Chicks - 25 of them.

Actually 24 - we did lose one to a cold night early on. These are layers. All kind of different heritage varieties. I look forward to our eggs in the Fall!

Ducklings - 5

I ordered four and they threw in a free one. These five are well bonded and LOVE anything water and anything green. When I refill their water tray (frequently during the day) they rush towards the sound of falling water.

Calves - 3

Doing super well and bonding nicely with the big cows into a herd.

Turkeys - 8 - I think

To be perfectly honest I can only able to identify the turkeys now due to their long legs and size. They are very inquisitive and often found in the wrong place. Plus these beautiful white ones are feathering out their wings fast.

Big Cows - 2

The cows are loving having the calves for company and teaching them how to get right down the back, when to come up for water and what to do with a mineral black. I call them the Aunties.

Chooks - who knows how many - maybe 30?

Even with this many hens I am still only getting a dozen eggs a day. They stay in their big cool hen house for the summer or we would not have one tomato left in the garden.

Rescue Pigs and Tima - 4

With the heat I am having to go down into the root cellar where the big pigs sleep and literally call Jude out for food. Jude does not do well in the heat and FreeBee does not do well in the cold. There is no pleasing the pair of them.

Tima gets up very early to wander the garden and eat mulberries and seldom comes up for breakfast. She is perfectly well fed.

Wai still very quietly appears at the back steps in the morning so he can have his breakfast in private. He is slathered in zinc to protect his ruined skin from the sun and flies.

The Charlottes

Settling in well though I check them frequently to make sure they are out of the sun. They are very white and those ears are targets for sun burn. They also have zinc applied to their ears if I can get close enough.

Quacker

I have not got a good photo of Quacker in a while which means she is sitting on eggs. Which is always sad because her eggs will be infertile. But she is alive and well and loud when she comes racing over to find me. She shows no interest in the ducklings yet.

Guinea Hogs (coming soon)

July 20 is their pick up date - another month. I can’t wait. R and I will literally take small dog crates and pick them up in the car.

The Story

The story has gone into hiatus for this week. I did not have time to get back to it. I am so sorry! The farm and kitchens gardens are almost set up for the summer then I will have more time.

As a consolation prize here is a picture of my daughter’s dog TimTam (who you all know) and her best friends cat. They love each other.

🎥 TKG Take Ten

Your favorite this week was TKG Take Ten.

I have released this video for all to see: It is They are HERE!

Have a click and watch those piglets on their first day.

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🦋 The Kitchen’s Garden (The blog)

⬇️ The Most Read Blog Post of the Week:

The Piglets Have Arrived.

After we had unloaded the little pigs and were herding them in under the trees to the shade and their water, my little farm helper said in a hushed voice: “I have never seen piglets before not for real. I saw some on UTube once. But never for real.” He looked up from the pigs to me and smiled out loud.

🐞 Mission Accomplished.

🐞The Sustainable Sunday Tips

Save Your Skin

It is in the 90’s today, bright sunshine and blowing hard. Hot, full sun and windy. This is a terrible combo for human skin. Do you remember that saying “Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.” Noël Coward. (1931) and even more relevant now. Even my little white pigs are laying in the deep shade keeping out of the sun.

On hot sunny days like this I observe how the animals like to manage their days. They don’t eat much during the day spending most of the time lying in the shade thinking deep and meaningful things. So, I make sure to feed the animals early morning and early evening. Water and wallows are critical then I leave them alone so they can sleep the hot day away in the shade. The cows were allowed into the little field with lots of trees adjacent to the barn so they can lay in the shade.

For us humans it is best not to let this kind of harsh sun hit our skins at all. One thing the old people taught us was to wear a hat. My grandma always wore a hat and long sleeves. I wear long sleeves and long pants. And gloves when I am mowing.

If any of my skin must be exposed I use mineral sunscreens or sunscreens marked reef safe. If they are safe for the fish then I figure they are safe for a persons skin. Our skin is one big organ and needs as much care as our heart.

I think anyway. What do you think?

Not all sunscreens protect against both UVA and UVB rays effectively. UVA rays penetrate the skin more deeply and are primarily responsible for aging and long-term skin damage. Beware misleading marketing.

We often misunderstand SPF (Sun Protection Factor) ratings, we think that the higher the SPF numbers the greater the protection. In reality, SPF 30 blocks about 97% of UVB rays, and SPF 50 blocks about 98%.

And you must reapply is you swim or sweat.

So - yeah - wear a hat. In the end hats and long sleeves are the most environmentally responsible way to save our skin.

It might be a good idea to avoid chemical sunscreens - the jury is still out on whether these harm our skin or not. The chemicals in them certainly harm reef residents.

🐞Once a Week Recipe.

I am going to take the recipe section out of the sustainable line up for the summer. (Unless something amazing comes up) I really am too busy to cook more than my fast favorites. 😂 Though I am working on a slow cooker loaf of bread for people (I often bake the pigs bread in the slow cooker) - my oven is still misbehaving! 🥊 I will let you know how that goes.