TKG Sunday - You Are What They Eat

So, feed your food well. And that includes the veges! Tons of pictures, a walkabout video and you will be up to date on the farm.

Grab a cup of tea because I pack a LOT into my farm newsletters. But they are always totally current, written on the day and up to the minute. Daily farm news is on the blog thekitchensgarden.com. My instagram cecilia_thekitchensgarden has the best picture of the day. Upgrade here for TKG TAKE TEN farm videos during the week.

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What do you know about Omega-3?

One of the main thrusts of my small organic, sustainably managed farm is to produce happy meat and healthy veg. I will only eat meat I have grown or meat that I can track because I am a firm believer in eating meat and fish (when I am by the sea) that are high in Omega-3 and low in Omega-6 and have a good strong nutrient profile.

So growing my own meat, vegetables and eggs ensures that I produce good food to feed my families and many other good people.

All my animals and birds have access to the great outdoors ensuring high Omega-3 levels and low Omega-6 levels.

Now, Omega-3 fatty acids don’t magically appear in our animals - they have to eat them, just like we have to eat foods high in Omega-3’s for our own health. And these essential fats are pretty important, keeping our brains sharp, reducing inflammation, and protecting our hearts. So, where do we find omega-3s? In pasture-raised meats, oily fish, walnuts, flaxseeds, chia seeds - things like that.

Our diets need diversity and balance.

Greens might not be a direct source of omega-3s, but they help your body make the most of omega-3-rich foods. It’s kind of like how we need vitamin C present to properly absorb iron. So we need those greens too. (Parsley in scrambled farm eggs for instance).

Take pasture-raised beef, for example - the cows eat lots of forage greens - and pasture raised beef can have up to six times more omega-3s than grain-fed beef. Plus, the balance between omega-6 and omega-3 is much healthier in pasture-raised pork and beef. You want that balance because too much omega-6 can cause inflammation, which is something we want to avoid. And inflammation is something modern processed diets exacerbate. Processed and fried foods, along with soybean or corn oil, are loaded with omega-6. Do your best to avoid that lot. The good omega-3’s will help reduce the inflammation.

Now, when it comes to chickens, if they’re raised indoors on grain, they usually end up with higher omega-6 and lower omega-3. But, if they’re out on pasture, scratching around for insects and greens, their omega-3 levels go up and the 6’s go down. In both eggs and meat.

See where I am going with this?

Also I have this theory: animals and fish that get to move around outside ( or on the sea) soak up the sun and wander around in the rain (or the sea), and eat fresh greens, are naturally healthier, and that might contribute to better omega-3 levels. In contrast, the animals with more omega-6 (the bad one) are stuck indoors, under artificial lights, with little room to move. It just makes sense that happier, healthier animals would produce better meat for us. It all starts with their diet. And animals raised for our own nourishment need a good varied diet too.

Not only are we what we eat. We are what THEY eat, too.

Get to know your local farmer at your local farmers market and ask them what they feed to their animals and veg. Or message me.

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Walk-about.

You will see the worst camera work and hear the worst sound and even accompany me through the gates instead of opening them. You will even get to see all the ugly corners! And my finger over the camera - obviously not looking at the screen as I shoot!! 😂 But you will laugh out loud when we finally find the last little lost piglet!

With your contributions (thank you!) I am going to buy a little microphone for the phone so we get better sound. Could not do it without you.

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Seed saving.

Sometimes you get the very best plant that produces the best fruit and has great disease resistance. This is the plant you need to save the seeds from.

I pick a mature fruit from my best plant. Pull out and dry the seeds. Place them in a labeled used envelope then pop the envelope, seeds and all, into a sealed jar. Check the jar after a day or so - if there is condensation your seeds are not dry enough. Take them out quickly and dry some more.

Generally I store the seeds for the winter in a cool part of the house. (Never let those seeds heat up). A month before planting I place the jars in the fridge for chilling.

As well as chilling, some seeds: like beans, pumpkins, peas, beetroot and silverbeet (chard), prefer soaking before planting. This speeds up and enhances the chances of an even germination.

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The sunsets are warming up as the air cools down.

Fridays sunset was spectacular. As temperatures drop so too does the humidity, leading to clearer skies and brighter sunsets. Water vapour in the atmosphere fractures the light so less humidity allows those longer wavelengths like reds and oranges to dominate the sunset display.

Farmy Round-Up

Cows

The cows wait at the gate for me to bring their hay.

I literally have to ask them to move aside so I can get the hay out into the field. The fallen hay is good for the fields plus when they eat they poop. And I want all that good manure on the field - not on the concrete pad where I have to clean it up.

White Chickens

The broilers. Like all birds these chickens prefer to be outside. And because I work hard to raise the levels of Omega 3 in these broilers I make sure they have a good big area to wander about and scratch for greens and bugs. They also eat pond lettuce - a pond plant that I grow in a special tub under a water spout.

Pumpkins are very good for a birds gut so they get half a pumpkin a day.

On Friday night I locked them in their house because we had high winds and rain forecast and they are not known for their brains and are likely to sit out on the rain.

Here is an ugly picture of the pond lettuce in the tub.

The chickens love it - as do the ducks.

Turkeys

The turkeys are finally getting bigger. (Though I have no intention of eating them - these guys are on tick patrol).

They run to me every time they see me, flicking their ankles out to the side as they race across the grass, like a caricature of a funny cartoon run.

PopPops

Look at that face. Pleading with me for more belly rubs.

These American Guinea Hogs are definitely slow growing and are literally ploughing through their field. Leaving swathes of turned soil as they dig up and eat the plants, roots and all.

The Charlottes

And their orange noses. (Walnuts!). Friday’s wind brought down a lot of walnuts that I collected and threw straight into their field.

They also feast on pumpkins, the last of the pears and apples and now pawpaws from my pawpaw patch! Plus a lot of alfalfa hay from my own hay fields.

Jude and FreeBee (are old)

Laying Hens

This summer the laying hens have been a disappointment. We are just not getting enough eggs. They are all getting too old. I am eagerly waiting for the spring chickens to commence laying.

Can you see the comb on this little hen?

That indicates that she is close to point of lay.

As opposed to this old hen with a desiccated comb who will never lay again.

But I let the old ones finish out their lives scratching about on the farm - these old hens have supplied us with hundreds of eggs each. They deserve a retirement.

When I see this. (Below). Chickens hiding under trees. I know there are hawks about. Observation is key to farming.

I need to make sure the broilers have places to hide. They are small enough to be carried off by a big hawk.

Tima and Wai

Quacker and her Ducks

Happy ducks. Quacker is well and truly part of the flock now. But she looks so little beside them.

They just quietly putter about the yard. Bothering no-one. Doing nothing much..

The Fields

Listen to the corn - The Rustle has Begun!

(If this link does not work send me a message quick quick so I can configure it another way!)

And good day to you!

It is Sunday here as I write.

Look at these temps!

Take care and Talk soon.

Celi