On Mondays, I will be posting notices about local events, points of interest and anything local to Cheatham County.
Did you ever wonder how you could find who has a farm locally? Do you have something to sell or a notice you want everyone to know about? Have you had trouble trying to figure out how to get your message out to folks in Cheatham County? Well, you're in luck because now all of us here in this county can use a nifty new bulletin board website to post announcements, have discussions, find items for sale or post your sellables.
Let's give a big welcome to www.cheathamchatter.com put together by Jim Day of Timbertop Farm with the excellent assistance of his oldest son, who by the way has an uncommon acting ability and is a talented writer, as well.
Cheatham Chatter is a bulletin board. In ancient computer times, a Bulletin Board existed as a dial-up number were you could download short messages and upload you own text only messages. I remember as a teenager that having a phone number and password to a bulletin board was a hotter ticket than any black market commodity. Now, bulletin boards have progressed quite a bit thanks to Internet access for all, but the concept is still the same. It is a terrific way to post messages and news.
I test-drove it and it is a nice simple friendly way to get news out. First you must register. You type in a username and password of your choice and when you've submitted your registration, the system zaps you an email lickety-split. You will be prompted to agree to a user agreement during this process.
Open the email and authenticate your password. Now you are ready to post. I found the posting form easy to use and very self-explanatory. It looks a bit like Word. I did not see any ability to post pictures per se, but I'll bet that with some bona fide actual looking for this function, it would be there. Once you click the post button, your text is forwarded for review before posting. I posted a bit about Mule Shoe Farm under Local Foods.
What are you waiting for? Go see it. Now - ish at www.cheathamchatter.com
Monday, October 1, 2007
Friday, September 28, 2007
It's not just that we are what we eat...
In The Omnivore's Dilemma, Michael Pollen sums up one of his chapters by saying that it is not only that you are what eat but that you are what you eat, eats. Think about it for a second...
Oh okay, I can't wait - ADD and all. I really I want to tell what that means in my understanding because I think this concept is vitally important to understanding why organic makes such a difference.
I used to think that food had nutrition almost by magic and that it was pretty much all the same. Some of it was probably better because it didn't have additives, but otherwise nutritionally speaking, it was all the same. But then, was talking about grain-fed beef vs. range cattle just all marketing hype?
What I have found out is No, not really.
Grain fed beef, for example has fat marbled throughout the meat and actually has more fat than pasture or range fed beef. Why is that? Mostly because grain fed beef stays put in one spot and range fed beef gets to roam. More exercise means more lean, even for cows. But that's not all. When a cow eats pasture, it (we are talking about steers here) doesn't just get grass. It eats other meadow vegetation, including herbs and such. There are actually quite a few things cows cannot eat. The Extension Office has more information on that under Poisonous Plants. Whatever nutrition is in the grass and herbs is picked up by the cow during digestion and goes to build the meat that we eat. Good grass - good cow.
What's in the corn that the cows are eating in the feed lot? Antibiotics to prevent disease in close quarters. Growth hormones to speed the process. And whatever nutrition is in the corn. Well, what would be in the corn? How was it grown? Most of the feedlot corn is grown in huge fields. To prevent diseases and weeds, it is sprayed with pesticides. The field has an herbicide application schedule. The field has probably been growing corn for some time and requires chemical fertilizers to produce a good crop. I may not have a complete grasp on the molecular science of what combines with what during the corn life cycle but up to this point I count three different classes of chemicals. Once the corn is harvested, shipped, stored and shipped to the feed lot, those chemicals are not necessarily gone or used up. And what kind of nutrition is in the fertilizer? When I read a fertilizer bag, I don't see a list of vitamins and minerals. Some things I can figure out, like it may have some kind of calcium something or other in it, maybe an ammonia compound or a nitrate. That is taken up by the plant during growth and transformed into the nutrients that are then passed to the animal that eats the corn. In this case a cow. Whatever nutrition the cow absorbs is then passed to us when we eat it. That was a long explanation for something that after while appears pretty self-explanatory.
Studies have shown that organic food has higher amounts of essential vitamins and minerals. Why is that? It's in the soil, baby. Organic farmers do not rely on the chemicals to prevent disease, pests, weeds or to promote growth. They have to rely on the innate health of the plant and the soil which it grows in. A healthy plant is much less susceptible to disease and insect damage. A plant is only as healthy as the soil it grows in. If that soil is living, rich with organic matter, beneficial microbes, etc. then the plant has much larger amount of nutrients to absorb to begin with. Which means we can absorb more nutrition from that plant. If we eat the plant at the right time, we maximize the nutrition we receive from that plant. In general, the more processing, the less nutrition. Tomatoes are one exception where slight processing releases lycopene.
There you have it, in a nutshell, tied up in a little box with a bow, Take it to the bank, take it to the grocery store with you. Visit your local farmer's market and get to know the people who grow the food you want to eat. Find out what they do and how they do it. Enjoy the food.
Oh okay, I can't wait - ADD and all. I really I want to tell what that means in my understanding because I think this concept is vitally important to understanding why organic makes such a difference.
I used to think that food had nutrition almost by magic and that it was pretty much all the same. Some of it was probably better because it didn't have additives, but otherwise nutritionally speaking, it was all the same. But then, was talking about grain-fed beef vs. range cattle just all marketing hype?
What I have found out is No, not really.
Grain fed beef, for example has fat marbled throughout the meat and actually has more fat than pasture or range fed beef. Why is that? Mostly because grain fed beef stays put in one spot and range fed beef gets to roam. More exercise means more lean, even for cows. But that's not all. When a cow eats pasture, it (we are talking about steers here) doesn't just get grass. It eats other meadow vegetation, including herbs and such. There are actually quite a few things cows cannot eat. The Extension Office has more information on that under Poisonous Plants. Whatever nutrition is in the grass and herbs is picked up by the cow during digestion and goes to build the meat that we eat. Good grass - good cow.
What's in the corn that the cows are eating in the feed lot? Antibiotics to prevent disease in close quarters. Growth hormones to speed the process. And whatever nutrition is in the corn. Well, what would be in the corn? How was it grown? Most of the feedlot corn is grown in huge fields. To prevent diseases and weeds, it is sprayed with pesticides. The field has an herbicide application schedule. The field has probably been growing corn for some time and requires chemical fertilizers to produce a good crop. I may not have a complete grasp on the molecular science of what combines with what during the corn life cycle but up to this point I count three different classes of chemicals. Once the corn is harvested, shipped, stored and shipped to the feed lot, those chemicals are not necessarily gone or used up. And what kind of nutrition is in the fertilizer? When I read a fertilizer bag, I don't see a list of vitamins and minerals. Some things I can figure out, like it may have some kind of calcium something or other in it, maybe an ammonia compound or a nitrate. That is taken up by the plant during growth and transformed into the nutrients that are then passed to the animal that eats the corn. In this case a cow. Whatever nutrition the cow absorbs is then passed to us when we eat it. That was a long explanation for something that after while appears pretty self-explanatory.
Studies have shown that organic food has higher amounts of essential vitamins and minerals. Why is that? It's in the soil, baby. Organic farmers do not rely on the chemicals to prevent disease, pests, weeds or to promote growth. They have to rely on the innate health of the plant and the soil which it grows in. A healthy plant is much less susceptible to disease and insect damage. A plant is only as healthy as the soil it grows in. If that soil is living, rich with organic matter, beneficial microbes, etc. then the plant has much larger amount of nutrients to absorb to begin with. Which means we can absorb more nutrition from that plant. If we eat the plant at the right time, we maximize the nutrition we receive from that plant. In general, the more processing, the less nutrition. Tomatoes are one exception where slight processing releases lycopene.
There you have it, in a nutshell, tied up in a little box with a bow, Take it to the bank, take it to the grocery store with you. Visit your local farmer's market and get to know the people who grow the food you want to eat. Find out what they do and how they do it. Enjoy the food.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Tracking the Eggs of the Famous Houdini Hens
If you live in the Ashland City area and would like to order eggs laid by our 'Can't Fence Me In' Houdini Hens, make a comment below as to how many dozen you would like and your preference for day and time. I can deliver eggs weekly, either morning, afternoon or evening.
Chickens are relatives of jungle dwelling birds. No, really. They don't fly much. It's more like semi-controlled falling or jumping. But that's because most domestic chickens weigh a bit too much to fly. Of course, in our modern agroindustry, most chickens don't even get a chance to spred those wings to find out how much they can fly. They prefer moderately warm temperatures. Think California. Chickens also tend to be home-bodies. They like to nest in the same place night after night. Being able to jump, however clumsily, up the limbs of a tree protects them from predators.
Staying in the same place every night doesn't seem like the greatest predator protection. For predator fooling tricks, we have to look at a hen's nesting habits. She prefers a secluded area. She will wallow out a shallow depression and scratch the ground up causing bits of grass, feathers and other stuff to form a sort of nest. Typically hens will look for places to nest that are screened by vegetation. This provides a cover of sorts from predators. A hen's nesting profile is very low and its coloration will blend in with the vegetation, no matter what colors are involved. Once the egg is laid, the hen will move off the nest and strut away from the nest making the characteristic chicken sound: Bowck Ba boc boc bawk or something similiar. (It is hard to translate chicken into English and each one sounds a little different) She is deliberately leading any predators that may be thinking of eating a nice chicken or eggs away from the nest. The attention will be focused on her at that moment.
Roosters have an important role to play here. They spend most of their time watching for predators and potential food sources. I have many times seen George, our Bantam rooster, find a spot of food on the ground, investigate it, and make a certain type of cackle until hens come over to eat what he has found. George is also fairly protective of his s and will attack anything that looks like it's getting near and shoulodn't be. The dogs definately leave him alone.
Now for the Houdini part. Our hens like to slip through any hole that doesn't look near big enough for them to get through and find those secluded little spots to lay their eggs. They have some very nice nesting boxes made from plastic planters and lined with straw, but I think they are a bit too exposed for the birds' liking. So out they slip, while I figure out what size hole is just too dang small for them and where to put the nesting boxes this time. One small wrinkle is when I collect the eggs in their little hideaways, the hideaways move. I get to figure out what other places are also inviting. If I am lucky I will come around when the hen is strutting and I can easily figure out where the nest is, this time.
The hens seem to prefer shallow depressions in the dirt surrounded by vegetation. I am trying a new experiment with the nesting boxes. Since straw and hay are in short supply this year, I am using some of the dry rotted wood mulch mixed with leaves as bedding in the boxes. Now all I need to do is move them to a more secluded spot. I will look for a spot near some mounds of grass and place woody stems and small branches around and on top of the nesting bozes and see how that works. I also have a few more escape holes to cover up on the fence. The idea here is to make the nesting boxes as close to the natural setting as possible.
If you have chickens, you know the egg count fluctuates from day to day and season to season. Check to see if you have some Houdini Hens if the count is off for a couple days. When you find their nest(s), it will surely be loaded with eggs. These are not the eggs I sell or eat for that matter. I grab the ones that are laid in the proper places, one of our six nesting boxes. I check for eggs three times a day because each hen has their own optimal laying time. Some like to lay early and some like to lay just before they tuck in for the night.
Chickens are relatives of jungle dwelling birds. No, really. They don't fly much. It's more like semi-controlled falling or jumping. But that's because most domestic chickens weigh a bit too much to fly. Of course, in our modern agroindustry, most chickens don't even get a chance to spred those wings to find out how much they can fly. They prefer moderately warm temperatures. Think California. Chickens also tend to be home-bodies. They like to nest in the same place night after night. Being able to jump, however clumsily, up the limbs of a tree protects them from predators.
Staying in the same place every night doesn't seem like the greatest predator protection. For predator fooling tricks, we have to look at a hen's nesting habits. She prefers a secluded area. She will wallow out a shallow depression and scratch the ground up causing bits of grass, feathers and other stuff to form a sort of nest. Typically hens will look for places to nest that are screened by vegetation. This provides a cover of sorts from predators. A hen's nesting profile is very low and its coloration will blend in with the vegetation, no matter what colors are involved. Once the egg is laid, the hen will move off the nest and strut away from the nest making the characteristic chicken sound: Bowck Ba boc boc bawk or something similiar. (It is hard to translate chicken into English and each one sounds a little different) She is deliberately leading any predators that may be thinking of eating a nice chicken or eggs away from the nest. The attention will be focused on her at that moment.
Roosters have an important role to play here. They spend most of their time watching for predators and potential food sources. I have many times seen George, our Bantam rooster, find a spot of food on the ground, investigate it, and make a certain type of cackle until hens come over to eat what he has found. George is also fairly protective of his s and will attack anything that looks like it's getting near and shoulodn't be. The dogs definately leave him alone.
Now for the Houdini part. Our hens like to slip through any hole that doesn't look near big enough for them to get through and find those secluded little spots to lay their eggs. They have some very nice nesting boxes made from plastic planters and lined with straw, but I think they are a bit too exposed for the birds' liking. So out they slip, while I figure out what size hole is just too dang small for them and where to put the nesting boxes this time. One small wrinkle is when I collect the eggs in their little hideaways, the hideaways move. I get to figure out what other places are also inviting. If I am lucky I will come around when the hen is strutting and I can easily figure out where the nest is, this time.
The hens seem to prefer shallow depressions in the dirt surrounded by vegetation. I am trying a new experiment with the nesting boxes. Since straw and hay are in short supply this year, I am using some of the dry rotted wood mulch mixed with leaves as bedding in the boxes. Now all I need to do is move them to a more secluded spot. I will look for a spot near some mounds of grass and place woody stems and small branches around and on top of the nesting bozes and see how that works. I also have a few more escape holes to cover up on the fence. The idea here is to make the nesting boxes as close to the natural setting as possible.
If you have chickens, you know the egg count fluctuates from day to day and season to season. Check to see if you have some Houdini Hens if the count is off for a couple days. When you find their nest(s), it will surely be loaded with eggs. These are not the eggs I sell or eat for that matter. I grab the ones that are laid in the proper places, one of our six nesting boxes. I check for eggs three times a day because each hen has their own optimal laying time. Some like to lay early and some like to lay just before they tuck in for the night.
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