Moonstruck Farms

Our organic chicken and turkey season is in full motion now at Moonstruck Farms with chicken available in just a few short weeks again and Summer turkeys in July (10-12 pounds) and holiday turkey waiting list soon to begin (20-28 lbs).  We will be ending our season in November this year, and starting back up in the Spring.  The cold weather was just too much for the chicks this year and so we are going to avoid the high losses by cutting the season.  We also were having great difficulty in obtaining our organic feed costing us hours of running around to try and find it each week so we are now ordering direct from Modesto Mills.  If you would like to order your Modesto Mills Premium organic feed with us just drop us an email at moonstruckfarms@verizon.net.   Now that we have been up and running for a year it is time to streamline some things and solving the feed issue is a huge help!!!  We have had some great help come on board also, and that has been a tremendous help leaving more time for me to cut chickens to order.  We have even added butterflying whole chickens to your choices which include boneless breasts, breasts on the bone, half chickens, legs, thighs, leg and thigh combinations and ground chicken.  Tomorrow is "onion" day with 1,500 onions going in...good night.

The Sieberts have lamb available for Easter now.  This will be the only lamb available for Easter with the next availability being this summer.  They are lambing now and the 4H kids always get first pick and then it will be available for sale to the general public.  Let us know by Friday if you are interested.  Just drop a line moonstruckfarms@verizon.net.  Here at Moonstruck the trees and grapes are all in the ground finally.  I do have to finish mulching and painting the trunks and pruning and hopefully it will be on a warmer day than today.  That North wind was so cold today...thank the Lord for flannel lined jeans and three layers and a flannel work jacket!! 

The Sieberts have lamb available for Easter now.  This will be the only lamb available for Easter with the next availability being this summer.  They are lambing now and the 4H kids always get first pick and then it will be available for sale to the general public.  Let us know by Friday if you are interested.  Just drop a line moonstruckfarms@verizon.net.  Here at Moonstruck the trees and grapes are all in the ground finally.  I do have to finish mulching and painting the trunks and pruning and hopefully it will be on a warmer day than today.  That North wind was so cold today...thank the Lord for flannel lined jeans and three layers and a flannel work jacket!! 

Summer turkey season is upon us.  The hatchery called to let me know there was a problem with some of the turkey egg orders so I could not get the white broad breasted and the bronze in an order so I switched it to all Bronze Broad Breasted, which I actually prefer. They seem to be sturdier.  I guess it is because they are closer to the original Heirloom Standard Bronze breed.  The white broad breasted is preferred in the commercial industry not only because of the breast meat, but also because of the white feathers there is no worry of quill marks.  You will only see the quill marks after butcher if the quill busts in the skin.  Most of the turkeys I have processed do not have the marks, but you do get some and it appears like tiny black dots.  They do not affect the taste of the turkey at all, just look a little funny compared to your "store bought" or white broad breasted.   I do get the additional pleasure of watching beautiful bronze turkeys raised here and so can you just come and visit any Saturday (after they arrive) from 9-12.  If you would like to reserve a Summer turkey (10-14 pounds) for July 2013 just drop me an email at moonstruckfarms@verizon.net.  Moonstruck signing out!!

Well, this does not really show a fantastic picture, but all the little brown things on the ground are tree protectors on the trees....better pictures once they get bigger and bloom. The trees are just minus some mulching, tree protectors and tags. We also put some vetch in to see if it will do well as a living mulch. The vetch is already out in the West field and comes back for about 75% of the year to feed the chickens a high protein snack. The grapes are taking a little bit longer because they are being put on a area that was tractored quite a bit and so Michael and the granite are having a disagreement, but if anyone knows my husband the granite will lose. The last 40 holes along the fence line should go quickly and all grapes are on somewhat of a slope with a southern exposure for drainage and optimal light. They are all Cabernet and Merlot grapes except for four seedless Flame I added near the end (well Dave Wilson added them and I just kept instead of calling for the millionth time!!) We were shorted some trees and there is a little bit more room on the Southeast side so I think I will add 50 more this next year if all goes well and add in an additional apple, some pears and nectarines and maybe a couple olives. Saturday was my favorite working day of the four so far, and that is when all three of my girls were out there along with Olivia and her daughter Addie (alias Great Customers and Friends). It was "Girl Power" day and the energy made the day go so quickly and by far was almost the most productive....the day Michael augured almost all the tree holes takes 1st Place. Well, I am just a little tired to say the least, but note sore?? I guess I am in better shape than I thought...well one more day of planting and then Saturday is irrigation day right after it rains hopefully. Though I must say "Thank you Lord!!!", the rain, the snow, the weather for planting all was perfect!! This was a huge step for us and I was more than just a little anxious about getting this done, but then everything fell into place so perfectly!! It could not have gone any better!! One of our major goals this year has been to become "tourable", and I believe by the end of March we will be there. I went ahead and told a Boy Scout troop to come on out!! Can't wait and they even asked for a project to do....I can't wait...they are 1st and 2nd graders!! See ya all soon....Moonstruck signing out!!

Moonstruck Farms has one side of Berkshire pork left available and that will harvested in June 2013, and the next available batch will not be until August 2013.  We are maxed out!! The winter batch of chicken is going okay though costs are high due to this chilly winter and the lights have been on almost 24/7.  Today was the first time they really ventured outside much, and even then they were cuddling by 2:30 in the afternoon and so I carried everyone back inside this evening to make sure they stay warm with the new storm blowing in.  We have decided to do two batches of turkeys this year.  One will be available in June/July harvesting at approximately 12 pounds and the second batch being the holiday batch and will be ready by November 1st at latest and will be brought to the 15-25 pound range for the holidays.  Turkeys will be only be available in these two batches and will have to be picked up once available.  Any that do not sell will be ground up right away...sorry our electric bill is already too high!!  The current batch of chicken is sold out, but we are taking deposits due by January 20th for the late March harvest.   The deposits enable us to grow by providing us the capital to buy large amounts of chicks and feed and we truly appreciate it.  We would not be where we are now if it were not for all our customers support.   In the produce division about 60% of the new greenhouse is planted in snow peas, spinach, broccoli and lettuce and the old greenhouse is slowly being retrofitted for hydroponic lettuce, strawberries and in the ground (below the hydroponic lettuce) asparagus!!  The pomegranate jelly was a great success so we added a few pomegranate trees to our planting and the English Morello cherries arrived today (these will be reserved for future speciality products!!).   Thanks again for all your support.  Moonstruck signing out!!

Thanks to Dirt Creek starting up their breeding program again of Berkshire pork we are proud to announce that we will be able to offer this chef sought after pork here at Moonstruck Farms.  I love any farm fresh pork, but I must admit I can see what the chefs are talking about.  It is a richer deeper flavor.  Unfortunately the piglets are a little more and they take a little longer to feed out so they are a premium item, but we personally have decided that it is worth it, and it enables us to do our part in supporting a heritage breed pig and a wonderful family farm...Dirt Creek owned by Brian and Stephanie Winn. In the meantime we completed our first poultry season and though not perfect we are very happy with our accomplishment of 200 chickens and 50 turkeys, and looking forward to doing more of both next year.  We are starting a winter batch of chicken starting in December that will be available in February, but only 50 because I want to make sure they can all fit in the coop if the weather goes bad.  Michael is going to finish off the other run with an enclosed area for more chicken protection, but that will have to wait until after all the ground and holes are prepped for the 250 trees to arrive the first week of February.  They include figs, canning peaches, cider/baking apples including Winesap and Spitzenberg, and wonderful eating apples like Empire, Honeycrisp and Gala.  We threw in a few plums and pluots but concentrated on the "canning" U pick division of peaches and apples.  We are starting tomatoes and peppers inside this week for a January start in the larger greenhouse and keeping lettuces in the old.  We are very far behind and appreciate everyone's patience as we go through these major growing pains, but thanks to you all the expansions will be complete with the trees and the new fence line though one day we will need to add a large garage/barn for Mike to work in, but that will come in due time.  Moonstruck signing out.

Peach preserves, apple butter, applesauce, spiced applesauce, dill pickles, bread and butter pickles, green beans and now mincemeat are all canned and sitting on the shelves ready for eating, gifts or Thanksgiving pie!! Bring on the holidays I am ready to enjoy and be thankful for all the blessings we have received this year!!  Unfortunately Thanksgiving may have to be rescheduled at home due to Michael being asked to fly to Kauai as his buddy Scott's trainer (he fights in the MMA rings)....I feel so sorry for my husband who has to fly to Kauai!!  Not....it was our favorite island on our honeymoon, I am so jealous!!  It is just as well as we will be busy putting on the dinner at the church, and I so love that day!!  By far one of my favorite of the year, and a little rescheduling is not unusual for this farm/EMS family after all these years.   Life always works out for the best as in the last few days I have been fighting a head cold so I have been poking around the kitchen cleaning and finishing up the canning chores looking forward to having more energy right when it cools down on Monday and enjoying every minute of planting dill, cilantro, lettuce, bok choy, radishes and more kale!!  Tomorrow I am picking up a couple of straw bales and finishing off a larger compost pile, and I think I will just plant my Fall potatoes right into it and see what happens.  I have some sliding glass doors to throw over it for the winter.  My favorite part of gardening is waiting to see "what will happen next"....there is always something new to learn and look forward to!!  Moonstruck signing out. 

As I was filling orders I felt the sense of peace that I love so much about my farm life...not that it always feels that way, but I cherish it when it happens.  I had just come in from feeding and collecting squash, which is now producing since the weather has been a little more even in temperature, but they are still very small.  I had filled all the little Cornish chicks watererers and feeders and they are so cute at this stage to say the least, and while I was doing that the turkeys in the pen adjacent were walking up and eating all the bugs off of the waterers...turkeys are very social and love to peck at bugs that are invisible to the naked eye.  I then filled the feeders for the larger Cornish (who are running like I have a blow torch in my hand from me...not social) who will be ready for harvest in four weeks and I marveled at their growth.  Molly during all this is throwing her body against the pens reminding everyone who is boss!! (Yes, this is our morning routine).  We then went down and gave the pigs the scrap bowl and checked on them.  Two are about ready, but two are quite small so it will be a while yet.  During this Molly is running around barking at the heels of all the cows to remind them who boss is once again!  (Sorry, she loves the pigs, if she has time she just comes over and gives them kisses....and then I give her a bath!!).  Then over to feed the cows who race me to the feeder and make it almost impossible to put the leaves in as they are trying to eat as I push it into the corrrals.  I then make a second trip where "girl" comes over to eat by herself.  She is the smallest and we have developed a routine where she saunters over (I might have told you already) to eat by herself, but the last week or so "Spot" has been joining her....romance in bloom maybe??  I think part of my sense of peace comes from the break from the heat yesterday and the feeling of Fall in the air and winter soon.  I am a Fall and Winter person...they are my favorite seasons!  I can't wait to have my first fire, put some chicken carcasses on the wood stove and make heartwarming chicken soup!  My kids actually ate some canned soup this week and said it was horrible....hopefully they will appreciate Mom a little bit more, but I doubt it, they are teenagers after all!!  See ya all soon!

As most of you know things have not been going smoothly around here, pool collapses pouring 50,000 gallons of water into greenhouse and across property (the pigs loved it!), the beds out front are now succumbing to the beginning of the critters building their stores for winter, and yields have been down due to my learning curves and the weather and taking on too much, but what do most farmers do…we bounce!So we are bouncing and not only are we about to dive into hydroponics to solve part of the issue, but we are getting some help around here in the yield category…yes the real workers are coming…two bee hives arrive on Saturday!!What a tremendous blessing they will be increasing yields hopefully beyond any tinkering with the soil that I could do would accomplish. We also are investing in more equipment to make the animal end of the farm run more efficiently with more automatic water fountains and more feeders.Even the cows are going to get a new automatic water fountain so that I don’t have to clean out their trough and they get nice fresh water with each sip. To bring my spirits up around here I walk the fields (that are doing well) like the corn, the green beans coming up and all the winter squash including sweet dumplings, butternut and carnival and the huge first two plants of rhubarb! I also tinker in the kitchen and tonight there is goats milk yogurt warming in the oven (i have a bread proofing setting of 100 degrees) and with some luck I will have luscious warm yogurt to add to my granola in the morning along with some fresh canned peaches (we did 30 quarts).Yes I know it sounds crazy after all that hard work, but it puts a smile on my face and a warm feeling in my belly!!

See ya all soon!

Approximately every two years we start over with our laying hens.  In order to meet the customers needs we have to have them laying at about 90%.  So at this time the 65 new layers are getting pretty big and starting to crowd my hard working ladies so it is time to thin the flock.  The 2.5 years old laying hens are for sale for $10.00.  They are still laying and will for years to come.  Just so you know a new chick is $1.75 at our local hatchery, which is half the going rate, and then it totals out at about $15.00 for me to bring them to four months of age so yes this is a deal especially if you are not set up to take care of chicks.  Let me know if you are interested.  I am only letting a limited amount go at this time; the rest will go in another 6-8 weeks.

It was so nice this week to be able to leave the windows open and sit at my lap top listening to the turkeys whistle!! They are such neat animals.  Michael built them a great new coop and after going into it they did not stop talking about it for hours.  Our first batch of Cornish chickens will be ready soon and the summer turkeys soon after that so I guess we are in full swing.  We did do 10 for ourselves a few weeks back to check the numbers again on using the organic feed and test flavor of course....our favorite duty around here, and it was fabulous!!  No mushy chicken for us.  Free of worries; I know exactly what is going in them, and it is so delicious!! The coop is so nice that Mike built I think we will be able to extend the season a little more than I thought providing more poultry for our freezer and yours!  Remember this year we are only doing batches through the Fall and we only have a limited amount of Thanksgiving turkeys available this year...we needed to get our feet wet and start slow.  Any questions just drop us a line at moonstruckfarms@verizon.net.  Moonstruck signing out!!

A parishioner at church has the most beautiful cherries!!  All organic fertilizer, no pesticides and only $3.00/pound!!!  Best of all all proceeds go to St. Vincent De Paul Food Pantry!!  Come on everyone, let's make cherry jam!!!  Just email at moonstruckfarms@verizon.net!!

Planning 6 months to a year ahead has become our natural course around here.  With the pork operation growing I am developing a waiting list for the batch to begin October 2012 and be harvested February 2013.  The $50.00 deposit will not be collected until September 2012.  I am developing the list so that I can reserve the proper amount of piglets and build more pens if necessary.  So drop me a line at moonstruckfarms@verizon.net if you would like to reserve or side or just need full details.  Moonstruck signing off!!

While my head is not spinning I thought I would take a moment to sit down and update you to some changes.  Sales are climbing so we are only growing for the CSA at this time, and what a relief that is.  It was hard growing for the larger basket requirements for the co-ops and keeping up with a wide variety of plantings for the CSA.  It also allows us to make some changes that were needed.  When we started root crops in August last year outside they did not succeed.  It was not early enough so this year we are reserving a few rows outside to plant in the next couple of weeks of carrots and other root crops.  This way we will have a supply outside and inside the greenhouses hopefully fixing a long awaited problem of enough carrots for the year.  With sales up it looks like the large onion order I made is not going to be enough so we will have to rely on green onions through the winter though I am hoping the red onions will last until December.  I am also going to try Crystal Wax onions from seed in the greenhouses that are a small bulb like onion.  We will be taking the new greenhouse out of production in August clearing it for an September planting of greens, radishes, etc. thus allowing the old greenhouse to continue production of the summer crops until they die out in November/December.  We will then clear and reamend planting as soon as the day length starts to return towards the end of January leaving January for onion/garlic planting again for the next year.  In the meantime the poultry operation is well underway with Cornish growing like crazy and little tiny turkeys who are already spreading their wings and strutting their stuff saying "Yes, I am the man"....someone needs to tell them they are not even the size of a softball yet!!  Moonstruck signing off!