old & new

Isn't he magnificent? Our tom turkey was in full uniform during morning chores yesterday. Obviously, he thought he was pretty special because he didn't even take time to eat. Following close behind two hens, he stayed puffed up for about ten minutes. Wonder if there was any food left after he deflated himself? He is handsome, though!

Click on the photo to enlarge.

Today's beautiful weather prompted another butcher (too many mutts in the barnyard). Most of them were hatched last April, but never culled. Today is the day! These birds may be a bit tougher than than the 8-week birds you've been buying, but they shouldn't be too bad. Using a slow cooker is a good idea, though.

We learn something new everyday, don't we? As I [Paula] was preparing today's blog post, I learned that the MHf blog has a follower! That's just for Facebook, right? Apparently not. I also learned that a list of followers could be added to the blog. One thing lead to another and to another. Hence, the blog has virtually been transformed from head to toe, including the background (as you can clearly see). No longer does it mimic the website, and that's probably not a bad thing. If you have a Google account, become a follower!! Comments are welcome, too.

Remember, farm products are still available during our break from deliveries. CSA customers have access any day during normal business hours as stated here. Give us a call so we can have the gate open for you. For all others, the gates will be open each Saturday from 2-4 pm.

Merry Christmas!!

holiday foods

Mmmmm...Sweet Potato Pie

Two varieties offer a unique twist on the traditional pie: O'Henry and Beauregard [darker]. For a distinct color difference, keep the two separated and use designated utensils during the entire prepping process: cooking, mixing, & spooning. Ladle two scoops of each into the plate (one across from the other), and then top the alternate variety with the remaining filling. Use a table knife to swirl the filling starting from the outside and working toward the middle. The color variation is subtle, but pleasantly noticeable. Before baking, top it with chopped nuts for an extra special treat. You may want to prepare a crust, as well. In the excitement to get it baked and photographed for today's post, the pie crust was waived. Each order of sweet potatoes comes with a 50/50 blend.

Speaking of other holiday foods, the turkeys have been relocated to their new home! (We know these birds won't actually be available as holiday food until next year, but it made for a good segue.) Turkeys and chickens were relocated and have enjoyed their new space since last Thursday. Electric netting is next on the agenda.

Saturday was a VERY productive day on the farm - thanks to two neighbor girls who wanted a bit of extra cash! After the brooder room was completely cleaned out and scrubbed-down, we then moved onto to cleaning the out front part of the shed. We made so much progress in there that Eric was able to install a small wood burning stove - and light it, to boot! Working in a heated atmosphere is a welcome change.

Ready-to-eat fish has been added to the In Season page. Two men have enthusiastically offered to harvest fish and throw them in a holding tank. Eric cleans them that night and soaks them in salt water. The pond is stocked with crappie, bass, bluegill and channel cat. All varieties are priced equally and orders are filled from what's available. Sorry, no specific orders will be accepted.

There's still time to register for the upcoming herb class. Paula will be co-teaching with Jacque Spangler. While both represent the Harvey County Master Gardener program, Jacque also represents Harvest Greenhouse. Click on the poster to read the details. We'd love to have you!

fire season kicks off

Fall offers the most fantastic blessings of the year: vivid sunrises & sunsets, crisp air, serenading coyotes, migrating geese, simmering suppers, and fires in the stove. Last week’s frost marked the beginning of fire season. A new chainsaw has been busy cutting out trees for an extension to the permanent fencing around the farm. Armload-by-armload, the wood pile moves indoors. Last winter saw at least one meal cooked on the wood stove and we plan to do even more this year. Experimenting with the five-gallon buckets, wood ash = lye = soap (we hope). All is well and all are blessed.

Projects from the previous post are coming along - one quicker than the other. Eric's chicken schooner is about 3/4 complete. After the ends are closed off, feed and water tanks will be hung inside and it should be ready. Electric netting will provide a run for the birds to enjoy daily sunshine and fresh air (and protection from predators). This schooner will house the meat flock while the layers remain in the hen house.

Paula's greenhouse is currently postponed due to another project taking priority. Some of you have visited the brooder room, but almost everyone has seen the fridge and freezer sitting on the front porch. (We really wanted the appliances in the brooder room, but it was still being used.) If the greenhouse went up first, it was going to be nearly impossible to get the appliances in there. So, the brooder room has been cleaned out with the waste doing it's thing in the garden. After a vigorous bleach rub-down, minor repairs will tighten up the walls and everything will be primed & painted. Not only will the appliances be moved in, but the room will also hold all MHf supplies: egg cartons, packaging materials, other items for purchase, etc. In a sense, it will be an on-farm store!

Another herbal class has been scheduled (in Harvey County this time). Click on the flier to read all the details. Hope to see you there!

Do you like to fish or know someone who does? And would you like to get paid for it? Check out the most-recent farm venture: MHf Harvest Rebate.

promotion day

Promotion: to further the growth or progress of.

This weekend the turkeys and chicks were promoted to larger facilities. This grand hotel became the new home for the turkeys. After they learned they had more space above their heads, they began roosting on the water tank and the feed bin. So, today they get an official roost in their pen! With portability in mind, these larger pens are surprisingly easy to move and the design is much more stable than the smaller pens.

The incubator chicks and the La Fleche moved into the turkey's old house. La Fleche is the breed that arrived during the heat of July. Starting with 24, only 6 remain. The tallest on the far right is a La Fleche.


Farm tip for the day: when one cow is all alone in the pasture without any inkling to join the herd, there's much more to the story. "Congratulations, Angus! You have just been promoted to motherhood!!" She calved a healthy bull-calf yesterday morning. Eric and Snow checking on the pair.

Eric's Endeavors ~
Put up electric fencing in 1/4 acre plots along the driveway. The cows have pretty much eaten the available grass in the existing pastures, plus it saves us time mowing.

[click on any photo to enlarge]

working on the corral

Piece by piece the corral is becoming a reality. Designed with 8' sections, each section has its own purpose.
As the animal comes out of the chute, we have the option of releasing it back to pasture or moving it up the ramp and into the trailer. Eric built the platform to the far left. Paula's brother Michael was here last week to build the ramp and the section just before the chute. He also put feet on the chute so we could move it with the forks on the tractor. Paula's nephew helped a bit, too.
Went out one evening to do chores and found this guy running around. That was a surprise! But it was an even better surprise when we realized he's an Ameraucana because we had no rooster for this breed. Who's ever heard of a stray rooster?

Eric's Endeavors ~
We now have a wide path mowed all the way to the pond. The pond is still full after all the rains and loaded with healthy fish.

[click on any photo to enlarge]

coming and going

coming...
The chicks are here, but they've been nothing but trouble since their arrival. Saturday morning we started with 24 and we're already down to nine or ten. The heat & humidity, one too many days in transit, summer hatching - it all adds up to weak chicks. If they weren't staggering around the pen, they were lying down and too weak to make it to water. We moved them four times Saturday trying to find the best location for their comfort. This breed, La Fleche, is an experiment to see if MHf can maintain it's own flock of meat birds. Ordered back in April, their popularity and scarcity put MHf on the waiting list. Hence, the July delivery. Photos will be posted at a later date (if any survive long enough to pose).

going...
MHf is going to the KS State Fair!! A few weeks ago the Simply Kansas program called asking if we'd like to showcase MHF in their booth for one day during the Fair. Of course we would!!! And we'd love to see as many customers as possible. If you're in the neighborhood Thurs, September 16, please stop by the Simply Kansas booth for a thank you gift.

Eric's Endeavors ~
The fall garden is progressing on schedule. Cooler temperatures and fewer insects make for better-tasting produce.

more eggs, please!

Some of you may have already guessed, but MHf is running low on eggs. CSA orders continue to increase, as do sales at the Newton Farmers Market. Therefore, we decided to throw four dozen eggs in the incubator. The eggs were not candled so we don't know how many eggs are actually fertilized, but the ones that hatch will be most welcomed.

If you're in the neighborhood Thursday, please stop by the Newton Medical Center for their Health & Wellness Fair. MHf will have a booth set up with herbs and herbal information. The fair runs from 7 am - 5 pm. Click Schedule of Events above for more info.
[More info next week on the State fair!]

Eric's Endeavors ~
It's hot out there!

[click on photo to enlarge]

newest MHf ventures

Simply Kansas ~
Last week MHf received official notice of membership in the Simply Kansas program! It's been on our to-do list for quite some time and glad to finally have it marked off.

Please visit their website. MHf can be found by searching either Company or Category.

Company ~
From the homepage, select Member Directory, then Company, and then Companies L-R. Scroll down until you find MHf!

Category ~
From the homepage, select Member Directory, and then Category. When it asks you to select a specific category, please opt for one of the following.
1. Agritourism
2. Eggs
3. Fresh Vegetables and Herbs
4. Fish [soon to be added]
5. Frozen Foods [soon to be added]


APPPA ~
MHf recently joined the APPPA [American Pastured Poultry Producers Association]. As MHf gets closer and closer to a full-fledged pastured operation, it's only fitting that we learn from those experienced in the practice.


Poultry ~
The registration certificate arrived in the mail allowing MHf to sell frozen poultry. The only catch is that the customer must drive to the farm to purchase (the meat cannot be delivered). To make the purchase worth your time and gas, you may consider stocking your freezer.

traveling chickens

We like to think of this as a fine example of concurrent planning.

Chicks slated for the butcher block travel about the yard via portable forage pens (MHf's version of Amtrak). Each day, the group is moved to fresh ground giving them access to new grass, unsuspecting bugs, and wiley weeds. Getting up and actually having to walk somewhere is not their idea of a good time; however, they thoroughly enjoy their new surroundings. While feed is provided 24/7, in no way does it diminish the effect foraging has on the taste of the meat. Fantastic!

The hidden plan is that this slope will one day be home to brambles and/or vines. Leaving the waste from these critters adds vital nutrients to the soil. Allowing the older birds to scratch the previous grazing patch just speeds the process. If you look closely at the ground in the forefront, you'll notice a definite line where the pen sat several weeks ago.

Healthy soil = healthy plants. It's a win-win situation!

(click on the photo to enlarge)

frenzy in the henhouse

Popular belief is that roosters crow at dawn. Many believe that roosters crow only at dawn. Neither is true - especially if there is more than one rooster in the barnyard. MHf roosters have been known to crow anytime throughout the day. After the first rooster bellows, the other roosters take it as a challenge to see who has the best, the clearest, the loudest, and the most ferocious crow. And let's not forget the most attractive for the female. Posing in the most beneficial crowing position, each rooster accepts the challenge with all the gusto he can muster. They banter back and forth a few times and then all is well again. Daylight is their prime time to perform so the nights are usually quiet.

Usually quiet, that is. Awakened in the middle of the night, why on earth was one particular rooster repeatedly crowing? (Like parents with children, a farmer learns the particulars of each animal's voice.) This was indeed just one rooster. He was crowing as if his vocal chords had been hard-wired to a metronome. Over and over and over. Come on, already - we hear you! Falling out of bed and into our clothes, we venture outside to investigate. (It's 1:30 in the morning.)

For some reason everyone is outside under the yard light. In the middle of the night! What is going on? Except for the constant rooster crow, the flock seems fairly relaxed. But sleeping outside has never been a regular practice. A look in the henhouse leads nowhere. The rooster has since quieted. He must find a little comfort in having us out there. A walk around the henhouse leaves us baffled. Nothing seems to be wrong. It's obvious, though, that something is wrong as this is not normal behavior for the MHf flock. We're at a loss. As odd as it seems, we let them be and returned to bed.

While doing chores the next evening (more than 12 hours later), we found the problem. Curled up tightly in the bottom corner nesting box was this uninvited visitor. His coloring just blends right into the wood. That and the fact that he was resting way back in the box was the reason we didn't see him the night before. We were amazed that he was still hanging around, but thrilled that he was still asleep. Taking careful aim, three shots took him down. No more hen house villain. This critter could be the same reason we had been finding broken eggs in the nesting boxes recently. Perhaps we just stumbled upon a barnyard sign of things to come. We'll have to put that one in the memory bank.

to a good and spacious land

"So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite." Exodus 3:8

Barnyard translation:
So Morning Harvest farm has come down to deliver the chicks from the power of the hatchery/incubator, and to bring the chicks up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with plants and insects, to the place of the Wyandotte and the Maran and the Orpington and the Ameraucana and the Cochin and the Australorp.

One of said chicks basking in the surplus of the garden.

(click on photo to enlarge)

Time to grow up

"Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6
The chicks featured in the previous post have been promoted to the great outdoors. It was time. The brooder tanks were getting quite crowded and they were starting to fly.

Moving them outside serves several purposes. The most obvious being that it gives them more room to roam. It also puts meaning to their scratching in hopes they will find creepy, crawly things in the dirt. Their feed trays have been put away and food is spread on the ground morning and evening. After they eat, they spend the remainder of their time scratching & searching. (Incidentally, the rich, dark yellow yolk is a by-product of those creepy/crawly things.) In the meantime, they are introduced to the big guys (see, hear, and get used to each other without actually being together).

The brooder room remains open all day with a heat lamp glowing constantly. Those who are not sporting enough feathers can still find warmth. Eventually, they will learn the routine of being out and about during the day and in the henhouse at night. That, however, is still a lesson in progress. At first, none of them knew they should go in at night. One would think they would remember the heat lamp, but not so. We had to literally carry each one into the brooder room and place them under the lamp. More and more find their way each night, but there are still a few that need assistance.

In three to four weeks, they should be completely feathered and ready to make the big move to the henhouse.

The broody hen experiment

"Give heed to my cry, for I am brought very low; deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me." Psalm 142:6
Remember the two hens that unexpectedly decided to brood? (You can read about it here.) This little guy is the lone survivor.

The chicks started hatching on schedule (May 3), but there were only five of them. They seemed to be quite strong and lively. Mrs. Maran was a good mother: very protective, teaching her babies to scratch, etc. Then one day everything changed. There was a hen of another breed (Miss Wyandotte) sitting in the box mothering the chicks. All chicks, that is, but one - and Mrs. Maran kept it close by. We pulled the chicks out of the box so they could be with Mrs. Maran, but Mrs. Maran cruelly rejected them. So, they went back in with their foster-mother. Each day started with fewer chicks. One-by-one they were found on the ground lifeless and no longer breathing. As an attempt to not lose them all, we put the lone survivor in the brooder tank with the chicks from the hatchery. Our guess is that if Mrs. Maran was not allowed to mother all of them, no one else could either. And the chicks were caught in the middle.

Hens were created to foster new life. If it were not for broody hens, chickens would have been extinct centuries ago. In our opinion, it would have worked beautifully if the broody hen had been isolated with her batch of eggs. For now, no more broody hens allowed! We'll try again when we can separate them from the want-to-be-but-aren't mother hens.