Dear friends,
The lambs are all progressing nicely. Many are feeding side-by-side with their moms at the feed trough and their growth has been astounding. At 5-6 weeks, up to 50% of their food intake is from feed and hay vs. their mother's milk.
Likewise, the chickens are also laying quite well and we have 5 dozen eggs in the fridge. Thank you for your amazing response to the Valentine's Day Newsletter. Your notes and buying of 12 dozen eggs in 2 days was wonderful. In 9 weeks, when another 30 hens are of age, our production should double to triple!
And as always, firewood splitting continues with 3 more ricks this weekend. With the widening of County Line Road, we should have plenty of wood for the next couple years ... and many more bikers. Interestingly, all trees must be cut down by April 1 to protect the Indiana bat!
Now onto compost, an amazing addition to your horticulture activities. Hill House Farm compost sits for up to 4 years, now in our specially designed and built compositing bays. Many refer to compost as "black gold." We have big piles and turning and loading is much easier with the concrete pad and skid steer. We also purchase thousands of red wiggler and European night-crawler worms each cycle to improve the compost quality. The final product has no smell and resembles potting soil. If there is a clump, inevitably it is filled with the worms doing their job and can be easily turned into the soil. Compost costs $80 for a truck load. Think of how much happiness that can bring to your garden and yard with even more beautiful flowers and an overflowing dinner table. My only request is that you have a strategy for quickly getting it to the designated spot as having it sit on the drive for 4 months could make a mess. The best time for delivery is anytime you can spread it. You can just lay it on top or turn it into the soil when planting. Please email me your order request ASAP (including smaller deliveries)!!
Fun facts: Compost can be used many ways:
- Bulbs: Sprinkle over newly planted bulbs and add water
- New shrubs, trees and plants: Mix compost with removed soil and refill hole with plant
- Existing shrubs, trees and plants: Side dress around the stems
- Gardens: Put a thick layer onto beds and turn in before planting seeds or plants, this also works when replanting crops such as lettuce and bean patches later in the summer
- Lawns: Use for bare patches with seed and can be spread across the entire yard if you can screen the compost first
Hope you have a wonderful week. Spring will be here soon so BE READY !!
Harry
