TAKING CARE OF THE FARM

“Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations. When the hay is removed and new growth appears and the grass from the hills is gathered in, the lambs will provide you with clothing, and the goats with the price of a field.”

Proverbs 27: 23-26

If you take care of your farm, it will take care of you and your family. It doesn’t happen naturally, but it takes time, hard work, and attention to detail. Cleared pastures are continually trying to revert back to forested areas. This happens when saplings, briers, and undesirable weeds and woody plants enter the pastures.

Watch for details in the pasture as new species of invasive plants and shrubs try to grow, and control them quickly through spraying or timed mowing. The same is true with your livestock. If you see a young heifer springing and getting close to time to give birth, maybe you should put her up and have tools on hand to assist her in giving birth. This may require some extra work, but it is worth it when you can save both heifer and calf. Otherwise, you can lose the cow and the potential future income from a calf. off the cob. Simply fill the jars with the kernels, add a teaspoon of canning salt, put on the lid and tighten the ring to pressure can for 30 minutes once the internal pressure of the pressure canner has reached 11 pounds.

August and September are months we gather in the fruits of the summer harvest. The early summer vegetables have been picked and canned or frozen, and it’s time to put the last of the hay in the barn. The weather is still steamy and hot, but all the hard work will pay off with fall and winter food for people and livestock.

While you are gathering hay for the winter, try to bale some small square bales or purchase them straight out of the field for winter use. Many times you might only need to feed a small amount of hay in a catch pen or while nursing a sick cow back to health. Being able to have small quantities of hay in a square bale allows convenience when taking care of only a few cattle.

Okra is a plant that thrives in hot weather with warm soil. It can reach a height of 6-8 feet when it’s mature, and if you keep the pods picked, it will produce on into the fall. According to Gerald Klingaman, retired extension horticulturist with the University of Arkansas, okra came into the United Stated with early slaves from Africa. The French Creoles popularized the vegetable because of its ability to thicken soup, and they refered to the plant name as gumbo. Today, okra is an essential ingredient in fine gumbo.

You can certainly sell any excess square bales you have to folks like horse owners, for horse feed for winter trail rides, or simply fall displays. Almost any animal living on the farm will eat hay. This includes horses, cattle, sheep, and goats. Keeping square bales on hand in the barn can add to your overall winter revenue if you have enough extra to sell.

Canning in glass jars is a great way to store your corn harvest for long term. If kept out of the sun in a closet or cupboard, canned corn can be good for up to five years. Once you have shucked and silked the corn, carefully use a sharp knife to cut the full kernels

Let’s say you’ve planted quite a few hills of watermelons and now they are grown to full size. Do you know when to pick the melon? Are you using the old thump the melon to see if it is ripe? Thumping a watermelon isn’t always accurate. It’s quite frustrating to cut open a melon and see that it is a light pink and tastes like the rind because it isn’t ripe. A surefire way to know that the watermelon is ripe involves looking at the tendril closest to the melon. This tiny, curly pig-tail-looking tendril is about as big around as a toothpick. When this tendril turns brown and dries up, you know the watermelon is ripe and you can confidently pick it for serving.

Extra storage space is important when you are canning vegetables or storing food. One of the best options I’ve found is wire mesh shelving with five tiers. These shelves often come with self-leveling legs and you can stack them at any height you want. I converted a mud closet into a canning closet for glass jars of long-term food supplies. For under $100, you can have sturdy shelves that fill the entire closet with enough food to last year round. They are sturdy and capable of storing many quarts of canned vegetables. You can order any size or configuration from www.amazon.com.

This August and September, pay close attention to the details in your farming operation. Look for in-