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January End of Month Newsletter--Jackson Hollow Farm
Meet Stonewall Jackson (Stoney)! We have found our guardian dog at a local sheep ranch. Stoney is a Great Pyrenees puppy, 4 months old. This breed is one of the best poultry protectors available, and he was raised with chickens and ducks as well as sheep. He is a very gentle dog and will be watching over this year’s chicks as soon as they arrive. Come out this summer to meet him!
We are hoping to organize 2 new pickup locations this year, one in the Burnsville or south Metro area, and one in Stillwater. We need at least 5 members to pickup at those locations to make the mileage feasible. If you have friends or family anywhere along our route, you are eligible for a 10% referral credit for every new member you refer.
Brian is drawing up the plans for our new passive solar greenhouse/cold frame. This will be located behind the raised beds and will serve as a seedling greenhouse and permanent cold frame to extend our season and protect against those late spring and early fall frosts. It replaces my portable tent style greenhouses, thank goodness!
The new henhouse will be a modified dome structure using the star-plate building system. This is a new method for us but will be an efficient use of materials and also it looks very nice. This will replace the little red shed we had last year. The shed has a new life as my potting shed and tool storage.
Right now the land is sleeping under a heavy blanket of snow.
Now is the time to order our seeds and plan for crop placement in both the raised beds and field rows. If you have not already sent in your crop preferences, please do so soon or email us for another copy.
So far members have indicated that they can obtain local sweet corn elsewhere, which will allow us to put all the acreage to more high-value vegetables. Email us and let us know your opinion!
That’s all for this month, planning and dreaming for the coming year. It was 11 below this morning and everyone is snug and warm here. We hope you and your family are just as safe and healthy.
Laura Jackson
