Pronky Plans for 2023
The days have been getting longer giving me more time in the light for farm work and quality time with the animals. I’ve been looking forward to this because managing two full-time jobs between tech and farm has been wearing me down this winter. I’ve prioritized health and comfort for the animals over completing other projects. With the snowdrops and crocus finally popping up, it feels like the right time to share my plans for the farm this year.
On the pawpaw front
Most of the pawpaw trees from last year look like they’ve made it through the winter. There are two trees that don’t look so great but I can see new buds forming on all the remaining trees. I’ve always been good at seeing the potential in things, perhaps this is what makes the pawpaw seeds, seedlings, and young trees so exciting even though I’m 3-4 years away from my first real pawpaw harvest.
Filling two acres with only grafted cultivars that are already up to a meter tall is cost prohibitive when you’re planting an orchard which is where all these seeds come in. I have mostly cultivated seeds but there are some wild pawpaw seeds from Ohio in the mix here too. The plan is to buy as many premium older pawpaw trees as I can afford this year, and see how many of my pawpaw seeds end up germinating. We made decent progress clearing invasive barberry from the 8 acres of forest behind the house where I’ll be doing some forest farming. After waiting 7-8 years for pawpaw trees to begin fruiting, I hope I’ll see some neat genetics from the cultivated pawpaw seeds. Trees that don’t have tasty fruit will still make suitable root stock for grafting named cultivars.
I have some growers/farms that have verbally expressed interest in bulk selling their pawpaws to me this year, but I’m trying not to count my chickens before they hatch. I feel like this year is the first real test run of what the pawpaw business could be. I’m in touch with a few local breweries I hope will follow through with buying pawpaw pulp to turn into cider or beer this pawpaw season. Flash freezing and storing fruit pulp has become a rabbit hole I find myself tumbling down often nowadays.
Chickenland renovations
I’ll be the first to tell you that I treat the chickens more like pets than income generating livestock even if I’m processing some of the extra roosters myself. I have no regrets about taking some of the chickens to the vet, but their veterinary visits over the past year guaranteed that I wouldn’t break even with egg sales. A lot of the upcoming changes for Chickenland are to reduce costs while keeping more hens, streamline daily care and improve safety from both illness and predators. I’m traveling out of town for two different trips in April so I won’t be setting any eggs in the incubator until the beginning of May. The final list of breeds for this year aren’t finalized, but one of my goals is to be able to consistently contribute fresh eggs to Foodshed Alliance.
Expanding the flock
No one should be able to tell a woman to smile more without simultaneously handing her Babydoll Southdown lamb. I can’t count how many times I’ve heard this so I get to keep expanding the flock until I die when I’ll become a ghostly shepherd, my own death bell indistinguishable from a sheep bell.
I’m counting down the days until I head to Shepherd Camp at Little Creek in Montana to experience a real lambing season. I can’t think of a better vacation away from my desk job with how challenging things have been this year so far.
Two ewe lambs born on Hundred Fruit Farm this spring will hopefully come join our flock this summer if all goes well. Edith is living the soft life in retirement with her son Hugo, so these are the ewes that will become the foundation stock for breeding more Babydoll Southdown sheep to help tend to the orchard. Additional ewe lambs from another breeder is on the table but I won’t know more until further into spring.
My farm ideas don’t always go as planned but I’m hoping the Year of the Cat will be a lucky one for me.