How to Pick Sweet Corn

How to Find Ripe Corn

First, make sure you're aware of the number of days until harvest for your particular variety of corn. Check the seed package or with your seed supplier to find out. Another guideline is 20 days from when the first tassels appear at the end of the ear of corn.

When you look at an ear of corn in the garden, you will see tassels on the end of the ear. These tassels are the part of the plant that both bears and receives the pollen.

When corn is ready to harvest, the cornsilk turns from a light blond color to a dark brown. When the cornsilk is dark brown all the way down to the husk, you can assume that the corn is ready to eat.

To double-check the ripeness of the corn, pull back the husk a little bit and take a peek at the kernels. Make sure the kernels are filled all the way from the base of the ear of corn to the very tip of the plant. Rub your thumbnail along the kernels. They should feel tender and squirt a bit of milk out as you push your nail against them.

Hearty corn will have firm, dark green husks. The silk will be dark but held tightly against the ear. You will be able to feel individual kernels through the husk.

How to Pick the Corn

To pick corn properly, grab the ear firmly, placing your thumb toward the top of the ear and your middle finger closer to the base of the ear. Snap the ear against the stalk and pull upward. That's it! Now your corn is ready to cook and eat.

How to Cook Fresh Corn

You'll want to cook freshly picked corn as soon as possible, because as soon as you pick it, the sugar in the kernels begins to turn to starch. Within the first 24 hours, corn loses 25% of its sugar to starch. The most freshly picked, cooked and eaten corn tastes the best!

If you're selling your corn at the farmers market or straight from your farm, soak the picked corn in lukewarm water until you sell it. This will help keep it fresher.

Boiling fresh corn is the most popular way to prepare it. Choose a pot large enough to hold the amount of corn you're cooking, plus enough water to fully cover the ears. Get the water boiling before you pick and husk your corn so that it will be as fresh as possible. Pull off the husk and silk, and drop the corn into the boiling water. When the water returns to a boil, remove the corn - it's done!

You can also grill fresh corn. Pull the husk back to the base of the ear, but leave it attached. Remove the silk and rinse the ear. Pat them dry and rub softened butter along the kernels if you wish. Or grill in the husk, soaking in water first to prevent the husk from burning. Another option is to bake them at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 to 25 minutes in a baking pan or directly on the oven rack.

Frizzle Chickens

The origins of the Frizzle are difficult to track down. Some texts refer to Asia - Japan in particular but other countries seemed to have the Frizzle for a long time and there are texts from the 1800's that mention India, Egypt and South Africa. Whatever their exact origins are, it is clear that they were around for many centuries in various qualities but started to become more standardised and gained popularity, reaching the US and Europe by the time the first poultry shows were held.

The make up of the Frizzle is also somewhat of a mystery although the Silkie would be the most probable ancestor.
The frizzle feathered Poland or Japanese Bantam have similar feathering but are not considered as Frizzles. They are covered by their own respective breed standards and clubs. The Frizzle Society of Great Britain was formed in 1978.

Breeding Hints
Mating Frizzles will give 25% smooth feathered, 25% very frizzled and 50% frizzled (of varying quality). It is best to keep some smooth frizzled pullets as mating a very frizzled pair will cause deterioration in feather quality after a couple of generations. Less feather follicles cause the offspring to have bald patches over their body.

How to Raise Chickens for Meat

If you're interested in raising chickens for meat, not eggs, you'll need to do things a little bit differently. There are some additional steps to consider as well -- for one, slaughtering, processing or butchering the birds when they are fully grown to market size. Chickens raised for meat are commonly called "meat birds" and are usually a different breed from laying hens.

Should You Raise Meat Birds?
This is the critical first step, before you actually get the chicks. Consider whether you really want to raise meat birds. They're very different from laying hens. You'll have a lot (usually 50 or more, although you could just raise a few) of fast-growing birds, which means a lot of poop. And the biggest question to answer: can you handle saying goodbye in six to eight short weeks? Whether you slaughter them on-farm or take them to be processed, if you're a new farmer, you will need to face this reality, or be a vegetarian farmer. It's up to you - but it's cruel to meat birds to let them live longer than a few months as they are heavy-breasted and can die of heart failure if they grow too big.

How to Choose a Meat Bird Breed
Meat birds are truly a breed apart from laying hens. Although a hundred years ago, laying hens were truly dual-purpose, meaning most people kept a flock of hens and roosters and killed older birds as needed for meat, older chickens tend to be tough and stringy, better for stew or soup than a roast chicken like we eat today.

Cornish Rocks, which are a cross between a Cornish and a White Rock, are the typical meat bird breed, used in factory farms all over the US and on many small family farm operations as well (both pastured and conventional). They are extremely efficient converters of feed to muscle. However, other breeds more suited to pasture are also becoming available.

 How to Choose a Coop for Meat Birds
You will need a coop for your chickens, just like for your laying hens. Coops for meat birds are often larger so that you can raise 50, 100, or more birds at a time. Many people raise meat birds just during the summer season, so they can often be more temporary shelters like hoop houses or tarps. You will need to make sure your birds have protection from rain and wind. They don't need roosts because meat birds don't really like to roost. If you're pasturing your chickens, you will want to have something movable or use a day ranging method (see below).

How to Start From Day-Old Chicks
Most likely, you will buy your chickens as day-old chicks from a hatchery or feed store. Baby chicks require a bit of specialized care: they need a brooder area and heat lamp to keep them warm; they need their brooder temperature monitored closely; and they need to be prevented from developing issues like pasting up.

Raising Meat Birds on Pasture
You can keep your chickens in a coop with just a small run attached, but I love raising my meat birds on pasture. The meat is higher in omega-3s, and the birds are just happier in my opinion. I love raising the Freedom Rangers and watching them forage for bugs and chomp on grass every single day. I will even let my birds run out of feed for a little bit so that they have a day when they are highly motivated to forage.

Processing Chickens on the Farm
When your birds have grown to full size, typically 5-7 pounds depending on whether you're raising broilers or roasters, it's time to process them into chickens for the freezer. You can do this on-farm, or you can find a poultry processor and transport the birds to the site to be slaughtered and processed. If you plan to sell your birds at a store or farmers market, you will need to have them slaughtered at a USDA-approved facility. There are even mobile facilities in some states.

Happy New Year

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Secrets to Tomato-Growing Success

1. Choose a bright, airy spot.
Plant tomatoes where they will get at least 10 hours of light in summer. And leave room between plants for air to circulate.

2. Rotate even a little.
Alternate your tomato bed between even just two spots and you diminish the risk of soilborne diseases such as bacterial spot and early blight.

3. Pass up overgrown transplants.
When buying tomato seedlings, beware of lush green starts with poor root systems. They will languish for weeks before growing.

4. Bury the stems.
Plant your tomato seedlings up to the first true leaves. New roots will quickly sprout on the stems. More roots means more fruits.

5. Water deeply but infrequently.
Soak your tomato bed once a week, or every five days at the height of summer. Water directly on the soil, not on the leaves.

6. Pinch the suckers.
Prune off these non-fruiting branches. This directs the tomato plant's energy into growing bigger, better fruit.

7. Stake them high.
Use 6-foot stakes for indeterminate varieties like the 'Brandywine' tomato. Put in the stakes when transplanting to avoid damaging roots.

8. Add compost and trim.
While the first fruit is ripening, encourage new growth and continued fruit set by scratching compost around the stem, and trim some of the upper leaves.

9. Plant again.
Three weeks after you plant tomatoes in your garden, put in another set so all of your harvest doesn't come at once.

10. Pick ripe, but not dead ripe.
Heirloom tomatoes that are too ripe can be mealy. Harvest them when they're full size and fully colored.

Babydoll Southdown Sheep

Olde English Miniature Babydoll Southdown sheep are an ancient breed with sweet, teddy bear faces. Because of their diminutive size, miniature Southdowns make outstanding weeders for use in orchards and vineyards -- they are only 24 inches tall when mature, and so can't easily reach tree branches or trellised grapes. Their small hooves help break the soil surface without compacting it. They move easily up and down hills, and can get into a field or vineyard much earlier than machinery can. And not only do they provide an organic alternative to pesticides and expensive mowing operations, their recycled grass (manure) helps improve soil fertility as well.

Main Stud Pepper  Miniature Southdowns are usually white; however, there are also black (or brown) ones. They are easy to handle and are not aggressive. They are not wanderers and do not bother fences. Ewes are good mothers and often have twins and occasionally triplets.

Care for miniature Southdown's is similar to that of other sheep, including sheering, vaccinating, foot trimming, and worming, however, as an ancient breed they are resistant to foot root and more resistant to parasites than other breeds.   Their wool is short stapled and fine with a 19-22 micron count, which puts it in the class of cashmere.