What's up around the farm.

    Summer was fun. Lots of learning experiences.  We sold at the Martinsville Henry County Farmer's Market and met a lot of wonderful folks.
    Currently we're looking for retail shops that are a good fit.  Tuggle Farms gift baskets are at the top of everyone's shopping list this year - right?
   The chickens are doing well. I took them for a walk yesterday. They were well behaved, engrossed in exploring the new grass, until Barney and Betty decided to make a run for it.  No problem. A little food enticed them back.

A sampling of Tuggle Farm products.

We'll be at the

      Charity League
      Holiday Crafters Market
      National Guard Armory
      Fri  Dec 2, 2011  4 - 8
      Sat  Dec 3, 2011  9 - 3

  Hope to see you  there.

The Black Prince and family

I can remember my Dad having bragging contests with his gardening buddies about who would have ripe tomatoes before the 4th of July.  At Tuggle Farms, it is a joint effort. My brother Dwayne, my cousin Thad and I each have a hand in the physical side of things. Mom was involved with the Farm Supply business for many years at Bill's Feed and Seed; she keeps us on track with planning and processing help. Dad is still involved as farmer emeritus and is a wealth of important information about how, when, where, what to do and what not to do. 

This year we've been joined by Thad, who has done a great job attending to the details of production in the vegetable garden.  I give Thad most of the credit for the tomato you see here. Sliced on July 4th.

It is an heirloom variety called Black Prince.  It comes from the siberian region of Russia and is supposed to be cold hardy.  It's more a chocolate color than red or black. We got the seeds because we've long loved Cherokee Purple tomatoes and wanted to try some more of the darker varieties.  It also meets the approval of the taste testers!!

At the Farmer's Market

You'll find Tuggle Farms' salsas and preserves at the Martinsville Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings. The hours are 8 - 11 AM. Come on out and join us!

Other happenings around the farm: The chickens are happy with their new enclosure. They now have a fenced lot where they can scratch and peck and explore. The vegetable garden is coming along nicely. Taters, corn, beans, onions, beets, okra. squash, cukes and basil are among the happy plants. Tomatoes and peppers make up the biggest part of the garden. We have planted lots of heirloom tomatoes and a wide variety of peppers: hot and sweet.  Wapsipinicon Peach Tomato was one I had to try just because of the name. We'll see how it goes.

Fresh Garlic and a Farmer's Market

An armload of fresh garlic for Tuggle Farms' Garden Salsa. We made a lot of salsa. These batches are particularly good. The secret recipe is now complete. Hot, medium and mild for your individual tastes.

We'll be at the Martinsville Farmer's Market for the season opening Saturday, May 21st from 8 until 11. Hope to see you there! 

Chickens Everywhere and an Egg Thief

I went in to feed the chickens this morning and inspected the nesting boxes for eggs; turned around and the whole flock was outside the pen. Evidently the door had come open and while my back was turned they decided to go to the place where the grass was greener.  They were happy.  Most of them went back in pretty easily. The rooster and one of the Barred Rocks decided they wanted to see the countryside. But after a few minutes of herding they were back inside.

After that taste of freedom, they made another break for it. This time exploiting a weakness in my door design. Thad and Dwayne rounded them up. I found out about it later.

About 6 PM I went down to gather eggs and give them their evening feed. I had noticed 6 eggs earlier. When I went to the first nesting box there was about 8 inches of black snake tail hanging out. Like any good blogger, I first went to get my camera. I also grabbed a box and a pole. I removed the snake, which turned out to be a very fat black rat snake, and put it in the box.

I turned around and the chickens had taken advantage of my preoccupation and were grazing outside again. Who could blame them? I was wrestling a big black snake in their coop.

The chickens went back easily. Three of the six eggs remained. And, I relocated the 6-foot black snake to a chicken free home.  Farm life is wonderful....

Around the Farm

Thad and I spent the day in the kitchen yesterday making batches of jam. The peach blueberry jam looked particularly tasty. The blackberry is pretty special too. We plan to be out at the Farmer's Markets soon. The next batches will be garden salsas. All flavors: hot, medium and mild.

Potatoes are in the ground, along with some beets, tomatoes and peppers. I'm shooting for bushels of beets this time. We're going to try our hand at sweet potatoes too. I may have to break some more ground.

The chickens have been pretty consistent layers until the rain set in. I'm not sure whether it's the weather or if it's coincidence. They seems to be happy birds. I've still got my sites on a few more when the right birds shows up. Just looking for a few good hens!  

Historic Garden Tour 2011

Spencer Penn Kitchen is a great place to be starting a cooking related business. Not only is there a kitchen but there are a lot of opportunities to meet the public.