Chicken Thistle Farm CoopCast

Latest Episodes:

0125 Prepping pastured pigs for processing and vegetable garden tomato favorites Oct 16, 2014

Show notes

In this episode the Updates include Farmer Andy's pants free romp becasue of the warm weather, Hermione moving back to pasture with the piglets and preparations for taking the pigs for processing. Then in the Veggie Patch we discuss an overview of our tomato varieties for 2014- what will stay on the rowboat of goodness and what gets tossed overboard! Varieties discussed: Juliet BHN624 cherry Sungold cherry Piriform Valencia Pink Beauty Cherokee Green New Girl Brandywine Cherokee Purple Defiant Celebrity Martha Washington San Marzano

0124 Vegetable garden put to bed, starting a CSA and passionate listeners Oct 08, 2014

Show notes

This week's updates include our prep work in getting ready to move the pigs to the processor this year. We also put the vegetable garden to bed for the season and talk about the process and some of the suprise veggiesthis year. And of course, we have to talk about hunting season. In the Coopcast Community we respond to questions about black fly farming (maggots!), starting a CSA and the callenges involved and how some of our listeners have used our content at some very emotional and powerful moments in their lives. It's insane to hear people listeing to us with a spouse on their death bed, recovering from cancer or training to defuse a bomb.

0123 A tour of the farms greenhouse and its vegetables Sep 25, 2014

Show notes

This week the CoopCast becomes a HoopCast! We spend the episode looking at photos of our greenhouse / hoophouse / high tunnel and talk through the design and the how nad the why. We both share our thoughts and opinions on the evolution of our enclosed vegetable garden area and what we like about gardening inside a controlled structure. If you are following along all the images can be found on our Flickr page in the album Also an indepth discussion when we built it is on our as well.

0122 Fall plantings in the greenhouse, cheese making, business ideas Sep 17, 2014

Show notes

This week our farm updates are simple as the season is slowing down to just the basics. We talk about the plantings in the gardens in the greenhouse since frost is now in our area. We are hoping to extend the season and keep harvesting vegetables and herbs for several more months. There's also updates about pigs in pasture as well. In the Ruminations discussion this week we talk about businesses and how so many let opportunity slip through their fingers. We share the details of a cheese making class we took at a local winery and the missed opportunities that were everywhere. There's lessons to be learned in bad expereinces and this one was rife with them. Although - making your own cheese is cool! We also talk about a business that asked us for input and HOPED we might mention them - . It's a cool concept on . It's a much better approach to a business than the first one (they asked us clearly for feedback and hoped we would mention them). There are still some lessons to be learned here as well. The final business we talk about is Adams Holsters - the makers of the you have ever seen - - and one of the best gifts we have ever received from a coopcast listener!

0121 Farm updates, tractor project, listener reviews Sep 10, 2014

Show notes

Back from a break we talk aboutthe pigs in the pasture and how well they are growing, the late blight that got the tomatoes, the success we had with straw based potatoes and a whole lot more. We also go over the 500th iTunes review and answer some listener feedback on topics ranging from keeping stock tanks fresh to predators to game cameras.

0120 Happy pigs on pasture, canning and freezing garden fresh food, Farm U : Containment Aug 20, 2014

Show notes

This weeks updates start with the pigs scheduled for butcher, their pasture and their rapid weight gains after worming. We moved the chicken netting fencing for the layers and have been busy in the vegetable gardens and kitchen. Farmer Kelli has been canning and freezing all sorts of fresh veggies as well as baked, roasted, blanched and parboiled treats! The vegetable garden is producing and we are expecting be offer an end of summer share full of goodness - including a pasture raised chicken. The Farm U is part of a series we are starting called How We Do It - where we take things that have had lots of questions from listeners and do our best to show with pictures and explanations how we do things around the farm. This weeks episode is all about "Containment" - our fencing setup and why we made the decisions we did. To follow along with the images we are discussing - visit our flicker page and the album Good ole Flickr link - We are off for 2 weeks over Labor Day - so enjoy your celebrations and be safe.

0119 Weaning pig meningitis, bountiful vegetable garden, the perfect BLT Aug 13, 2014

Show notes

After taking a week off for a trip to Empire Farm Days, we return with an update from the farm show. We also share the story of a sick pig on the farm who contracted weaning swine meningitis and what we did to get Mr Green Beans back to health. We tour the Veggie Patch to talk about all the harvested and put up foods Kelli has been making / freezing / canning as she's enjoying a greate vegetable garden season this year. The homestead is certainly going to be prepared for the polar vortex this winter! There's also a bit of fun discussions around the farm this week too!

0118 The future of farming pigs, garden fresh vegetable recipes and sleepy farmers Jul 30, 2014

Show notes

This episode won't go down as one of the most exciting or passionate - but we do talk about the status of things mid-summer around the farm. We continue to prep the pasture for the piglet weaning, the layers are laying and the vegetable garden and green house is producing LOTS of fresh produce this time of year. In the We Eat Good segment Farmer Kelli talks about some of her favorite recipes for the fresh veggies that are piled on the counters this time of year. They are all paper printed recipes so no links - but pay attention and she tells you where to find them or what to Google. You might find some things here: http://www.chickenthistlefarm.com/blog/tag/recipe or here http://www.chickenthistlefarm.com/blog/category/recipes

0117 Piglets moved, the vegetable garden goodies, listener questions Jul 23, 2014

Show notes

This weeks farming updatesinclude our experience this week processing chickens on anotehr farm as helpers. We also moved the pigs to fresh pasture and are getting ready for weaning. Finally the vegetable garden and the greenhouse are producing all sorts of fresh veggies... so Farmer Kelli takes us through what they are and what she has been doing with them. In the Coopcast Community segment we catch up on the listener backlog of emails, posts, tweets and all sorts of other forms of questions. From a solider in Afgahanastan to listeners in Europe to the ever popular Doctor Who and Star Trek questions - we try and answer them all. In a Coopcast produced and directed by Farmer Andy... things in this episode don't follow any stinkin agenda!

0116 Chicken Processing Preps, Processing Review, Cornish Cross Chickens (again) Jul 16, 2014

Show notes

This episode discusses the setup and work that goes into chicken processng BEFORE the actual chicken processing event. There's a lot more than just catching and plucking involved on a well run chicken processing event and we thought it might be worth while sharing those stories and preps as well. We then share a bit of a retrospective on the actual events of the chicken rocessing day and how we run the event. Finally we have a Farmers Choice segment that answers so many of the continual questions and misinformation out there about the Cornish Cross chickens we raise.

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