New Additions to the Farm

Our farm is developing year on year and I am really excited about the work ahead. Although we are not into the thick of the farming season, each day we have a full schedule. As mentioned in the last post, one of our sheep gave birth to a healthy lamb. They are both doing very well. I had intended to rest the south hill of the farm for the purpose of increasing vegetation for the initial month after the sheep gave birth. This hill has a large amount of weedy vetch and pea species, as well as a crop of rye grass seeded in mid fall. This provides a diverse and healthy diet for raising our sheep and maintaining the mothers milk production.

In the beginning of the week, we were surprised by two more additions to the farm. Our first born sheep gave birth to two lambs. This is rare considering this was her first time to give birth. I was delivering several containers of grass to the sheep in another field, when I came upon these new borns in a recently cut bamboo thicket, they were squirming around on the sloped field fighting to stand up. I called Kaori to help me bring them over to the main field, as we had prepared a stall for the new born lambs. A new male and female lamb, seemingly half the size of the one born two weeks before have slowly grown comfortable in their new stall, often sleeping and standing up in short strides to drink milk.

With these additions, we will need to increase our area. We are already making plans to increase the fences around the property. The fields on the top of the farm will be installed next. This will take some time and a great amount of effort to bring the materials up the hill and put the posts in place. We have also purchased a wood chipper that will come in handy for processing the bamboo into a useable material. Presently we have more than enough stakes, for tomatoes and beans and want to use the bamboo and wood chip fill for pathways. I have read about inoculated bamboo powder or wood chips and using it in the field as a compost, but am not familiar with the process. I would like to try using this type of active bamboo powder to improve the soil. As we work to manage the top field, the sheep will continue to help us in this effort, as they graze newly formed fields and paths in the coming years.