Pigs # 22 - Update
The pigs are 26 weeks old, and I finally managed to get a tape-measure to them on Friday morning. The bigger they get, generally the more docile they are, and they were fairly happy to be measured during their lunch! Their vital statistics are:
Pig 1: Chest 37", Back of ears to base of tail 42"
Pig 2: Chest 37", Back of ears to base of tail 40"
Using the tried and tested formula, that gives:
Pig 1: 65.33kg liveweight
Pig 2: 62.22kg liveweight
My growth charts are on my other computer so I can't compare directly (update later this week), but from memory they're about the same as the Saddlebacks at this stage. I'd like to get them to about 30 weeks, or 75 to 80kgs in weight before they 'go'.
I popped in to see James & Richard at Morris Free Range Meats & Horticulture in Coedypaen today and saw some new-born piglets, which must have been only a few kgs in weight each. What amazingly productive animals pigs are!
Ancient David Brown Tractor, Ben - Head of Sales!, The Great Oak, Monmouthshire Tymawr Farm
Sunday, 10 February 2013
Sunday, 20 January 2013
Cider # 6 - Prototype Orchard Plans
I've been thinking further about the design of the 'Barn Orchard'.
We would like Plums, Damsons, Blackcurrants, Redcurrants, Gooseberries, Raspberries, Mistletoe and a ground cover of Oats and soil-improving legumes. The area will be stock-fenced to keep the sheep and alpacas off it when the trees are small, and later to train the Raspberries against.
The ground will be well covered with large rocks to try to retain heat from the sun and also to provide inviting habitat for worms.
This year the focus will be on preparing it for planting - the soil is heavy clay, so I'll be trying to add lots of organic matter through heavy mulching, chicken scratching, green-manure growing and pig-ploughing. I may also try a bit of primitive drainage with the long, heavy bar that I use to make pilot holes for fence posts.
In the drawing below each square is 1m x 1m. The top of the page is North, and the prevailing wind here is from the West. The key to plants is:
1. Blackcurrant
2. Redcurrant
3. Plum Tree on St. Julien A rootstock (half-standard size tree).
4. Damson Tree on 'Pixy' rootstock (small tree).
5. Gooseberry
6. Raspberry
The North boundary is the wall of the hay barn, which in due course I'll paint a smart white. The other boundaries will be stock fence, and there will be a wheelbarrow-width gate on the Eastern side (I've learnt my lesson with the various chicken runs / enclosures etc. that I've made - "Always make the door wide enough for a wheelbarrow!"). I'm hoping that the rasperries could be climbing varieties on the barn side, and, another possibility that has just struck me is that we might be able to train Hops up the barn side too. Beer made from Oats and Hops? Sounds like it might be possible, if not particularly delicious!
I've been thinking further about the design of the 'Barn Orchard'.
We would like Plums, Damsons, Blackcurrants, Redcurrants, Gooseberries, Raspberries, Mistletoe and a ground cover of Oats and soil-improving legumes. The area will be stock-fenced to keep the sheep and alpacas off it when the trees are small, and later to train the Raspberries against.
The ground will be well covered with large rocks to try to retain heat from the sun and also to provide inviting habitat for worms.
This year the focus will be on preparing it for planting - the soil is heavy clay, so I'll be trying to add lots of organic matter through heavy mulching, chicken scratching, green-manure growing and pig-ploughing. I may also try a bit of primitive drainage with the long, heavy bar that I use to make pilot holes for fence posts.
In the drawing below each square is 1m x 1m. The top of the page is North, and the prevailing wind here is from the West. The key to plants is:
1. Blackcurrant
2. Redcurrant
3. Plum Tree on St. Julien A rootstock (half-standard size tree).
4. Damson Tree on 'Pixy' rootstock (small tree).
5. Gooseberry
6. Raspberry
The North boundary is the wall of the hay barn, which in due course I'll paint a smart white. The other boundaries will be stock fence, and there will be a wheelbarrow-width gate on the Eastern side (I've learnt my lesson with the various chicken runs / enclosures etc. that I've made - "Always make the door wide enough for a wheelbarrow!"). I'm hoping that the rasperries could be climbing varieties on the barn side, and, another possibility that has just struck me is that we might be able to train Hops up the barn side too. Beer made from Oats and Hops? Sounds like it might be possible, if not particularly delicious!
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