by Mark & Jill Baker | Jun 15, 2011 | Green
Sunday night is gear-up night. We’ve found that picking up chickens at night makes the job a lot easier. Chickens (and other fowl) don’t move at night. That makes them easy prey for nocturnal hunters, including chicken farmers. The guys go out after dark,...
by Mark & Jill Baker | Jun 6, 2011 | Green
We were talking with Peter Hirst and he mentioned this AMA overlooked disorder: Nature Deficit Disorder. We find that when children come to the farm, they delight in their access to animals, plants, dirt. They love, in a word, nature. I realized today what it means...
by Mark & Jill Baker | May 27, 2011 | Green
Our yard was very aromatic this week. The apple trees are blossoming. The lilacs were open. Mark moved the compost pile. It rained. The neighbors are spreading liquid manure thickly. I didn’t say all the aromas were good. Babies are part of nature’s...
by Mark & Jill Baker | May 22, 2011 | Green
> While Peter Hirst was here, he showed the guys how to build a biochar burner called a TLUD, which stands for Top-Lit UpDraft pyrolysis. The basic components are a paint can (with lid and handle), a no.10 can, and two 28 oz. cans. It uses the principle of a top down...
by Mark & Jill Baker | May 17, 2011 | Green
Even though it was rainy and breezy, several brave and curious souls arrived at the Michigan Biochar sponsored biochar seminar last Saturday. As mentioned before, Peter Hirst was the featured presenter. Peter is one of the foremost proponents of biochar in the...
by Mark & Jill Baker | May 16, 2011 | Green
The rain is wonderful. The sun is great. We especially love it when it rains hard like it did yesterday and then is sunny and warm like today. The grass seemed to grow two inches! We spent the day outside as much as possible, with various degrees of sunburn to...