Design Variety Into Your Farm

So after I get the goats set up in their new home and after I finish installing the fencing I need to keep them in I will have to immediately turn my attention to building a chicken coop. I don't have much money, nor do I want to spend much money, but I do want to create a home for my hens that will be both beautiful and functional.

Here are a few really nice chicken coops I've found on the interwebs, but I want more ideas, I have been particularly interested in trying to craft a fiber chicken coop out of bamboo and sturdy vine fibers.



1. Coop on a stick, I've seen several variations on this theme and it is quite charming especially for the backyard chuke enthuiast. Seems quite nice for certain types of varmit control as well.

2. I call this one the "Foghorn Leghorn" coop, it reminds of the old  Warner Brother cartoons, though I'm not sure why.

3. This coop has a green roof which will keep it cooler in the summer and bring in yummy bugs for your chukes to gnosh on.

4. The outhouse coop, this is a charming design for your backyard or urban plot.

5. "Rustic" Not really sure about this one, but I like how cobbled together from natural materials it is, this kind of work CAN BE both functional and gorgeous.

6. The "Noog" pure ellegance.

7. The "Garden Club" this one is super simple, very clean and wonderfully bright. How many garden club members have chicken coops at their back porches?

8. Finally, I call this one the "Mayberry" I like the idea of a whole chicken farm made up of little tiny replicas of town dwellings, you could even make one that looks like a train at the station.


Do you have a coop already that is your pride and joy, send us a picture in the comments, or better yet, what would your dream coop look like? Draw us up some plans and send them our way.

Heirloom Seed Gift From Vermont

My good friend Suzy just gifted me some seeds from her farm in Vermont. Among the magick beans are blood orange seeds, which may or may not work outside at Brewton's latitude, but probably will do just fine in containers with the aid of the green house in the winter. I also received; Jacob Cattle Beans, Rattle Snake Poll Beans and Vermont Cranberry Beans.

Zizania Aquatica In Wetland Remediation?

Bog on north side, remediation target.

BunnyGoat Farm has a small wetland, a long narrow pond that is roughly 2 acres and about 4 to 5 ft at it's deepest. The floor of the pond is mainly mud and tree debris, I'm not sure about what kinds of subsurface plants that may be on the bottom currently. The wetlands current incarnation is no older than 5 years, created after hurricane Ivan swept through the farm and destroyed a forest and small spring fed woodland bog environment leaving a large field and pool of standing mud. The pond was dug out and a dam built on the south side. Till now the pond has been grazed and enjoyed by a herd of on average about 40 cows (the farm in general has been overgrazed by cattle for quite a while.) The north side of the pond is a bog that completely dries out in the summer months. The edges of the entire wetland have been grazed and trampled down by cows so that no vegetation grows, there is soil erosion occurring as well.

I need a selection of non-invasive native grasses and plants for small wetland management. I've been looking into Zizania aquatica, a native North American wild rice, which is good for aquatic bird populations. What are some others that I could use to balance my pond and make its water and shorelines happier and healthier? 

Suggestions are always appreciated.

Kudzu is Useful? Who knew?

Junco Sato Pollack of Georgia teaches about the Kudzu plant and its many fiber applications. 


Check out this great article about her at Kudzuweaving.com

BunnyGoat Farm In The Beginning Part 3

Part 3 of the survey of the small kitchen garden area of BunnyGoat Farm. The fenced area is only 1/2 acre of the full 37.

Well Now We Know the Pond Is Full!

Went out to the big pond in the pasture yesterday and spent about three hours fishing. Worms and bream hooks, nothing special, except we hauled in about 21 Bream and 1 Bass that weighed at least 3 lbs dressed.

The breeze was up and the temp was kind to us. Some clouds had rolled in and it was nice and cool. Sometimes the breeze was strong enough we couldn't see our floats on the water, but the fish were so eager we could have been in the dark and still would have hauled in a bounty.

Wild Food! Blessed Be!

It's A Start! And Local Produce From Friendly Folks!

The Loquat is planted; I spent a while with it sending gentle requests for a happy and long life! She'll have to be watered a couple times a day till it's established but then it should be just fine. I will have pictures tomorrow! Now on to fall veg... and the berries and grapes. Oh I built the second vine row today for the grapes, very exciting. BTW the sun at 6 was just beautiful, but we need rain so bad.

Plant Shack Co. Rd 6 Castleberry

Circle J Farms Castleberry 966-5631

I got the plants at the "Plant Shack" near L Pond outside of Castleberry, they have such a lovely tree nursery. On the way back we stopped at "Circle J Farms", they have local, fresh, flash frozen field peas (10lbs for $18 bought some!) they also have butter-beans, summer squash, local preserves, beef, sausage, and much more. They're really nice folks so go give them some love. 

I'm taking the afternoon off tomorrow to fish in the pond with Lee; hopefully he'll let me take his picture, what a curious and wonderful little man! Gonna be a blast and hopefully we'll get to see what we have swimming in the pond!

More survey problems and plans.

BunnyGoat Farm In The Beginning

Summer Fruit Smoothies!

In a blender; 1/4 cup plain yogurt, peaches, nectarines, watermelon, 1 tbs lemon juice, a little palm sugar or cane sugar if you like, not more that 1 tbs though. Blend, drink, grow more fruit then repeat! This will keep you cool and energized all day in this crazy Alabama heat.

I was thinking how cool it would be to open an organic juice bar at the YMCA here in Brewton featuring only fruits grown within 50 miles and dairy yogurt from local farms. What do y'all think about that?

Muddy Muddy Cows

My friends up north are getting crazy rain up there, but all we got is a mud pit. But here are some happy happy happy muddy hamburgers to brighten your rainy days!

Water Harvesting; The Basics, How & Why

As promised here is the first in a series of instructionals on Rainwater Harvesting for small farms and home-garden use. Brad Lancaster is an author and lecturer who specializes in Rainwater and water management.

Some City Soup Lovers Have a Cool Summer Recipe For Y'all!

Here's a Cool Cucumber Soup for your long summer days.

"One evening in late July, Judy and I decided to take a long overdue soup journey. We both have shares in different CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) in Brooklyn and we decided to utilize some of our fresh, local, organic produce to make a refreshing summer soup. Some of summer's most abundant veggies are cucumbers and zucchini, so I loaded up my backpack with these potential soup ingredients and hopped on my bike." 

Check out the rest of the story at Soup is Magik.

Did you know there's only one CSA in Alabama right now? How about you local Brewton farmers, ever thought about selling your produce to your neighbors, it's easy and so much nicer than letting Wal-Mart cucumbers shipped in from Chile outshine you. Brewton Eaters, find a farmer and ask him about buying some cucumbers and garlic, then find some goats and ask about yogurt, we can do this in Brewton right now!

'Round Brewton Cows Are Everywhere; Do You Eat Local Beef?

I've been looking around for "Certified Organic" cattle farmers in the Brewton area and all I can find is one: Narrow Gap Farm. They raise all-natural, grass fed beef free of growth-promoting hormones and antibiotics and graze only grass and grass hay. Beef is sold as 1/4, 1/2 or whole.

Check 'em out below. Narrow Gap Farm, Kevin or Rachael Fillmore, 1199 Beasley Road, Brewton AL 36426. (251) 236-0683 or (251) 236-0684. E-mail: narrowgapfarm@yahoo.com. Website

Let me know if you've purchased from them and what the experience was like. If you know of any other organic or sustainable farms in the area please pass on the information to me via email by clicking here.

How Much Land Does A Family Need To Feed Itself?

Here's a great infographic showing how much acreage a family of four needs to feed itself for a year. This is really easy to do and the first step in food security for yourself, your family and community. You can click here for a larger image.

Does Brewton Have Water Woes?

This map shows that water is an issue in South Alabama, but all you really need to do is look out the window at the brown grass right? Where do you get your water? Do you use city water to spray your garden daily? How much does it cost you? 

How about using the rain water we get during the spring, what happens to all that water anyway? And how about the summer rains we get from passing tropical storms coming up from the gulf? Have you ever thought about trapping that water and using it on your vegetables? It's really easy, free, and will eventually save you money! 

So how do you do it? Stay tuned for some tips and tricks for easy home water harvesting...

Drought Monitor can be found here with updates daily.

So to get you started with some good reading the Texas Water Development Board has come up with a very in-depth pamphlet on water harvesting in their state, I can't find anything like it for Alabama yet, but I'm sure it's out there somewhere. For now though take a look at this and I will have some practical tips in the next post.

In Alabama Clean Water Means Good Food

Jim Searcy, executive director of the Coastal Gateway Economic Development Alliance (CGEBA) from an op-ed in the Brewton Standard online discusses the controversial proposed Conecuh Woods Landfill. His insight is from the perspective of business development and even his organization is reluctant to promote the proposed land fill.

"There are a number of challenges that confront the citizens of south Alabama as we engage in efforts to create sustainable economic opportunities. The Conecuh Woods Landfill would not enhance those efforts and could prove to be an insurmountable obstacle going forward."

The proposed Conecuh Woods Landfill could also have harmful if not disastrous effects on local food security. The agricultural economy needs guaranteed fresh uncontaminated water supply to survive. What would happen in the event of aquifer and water table contamination? Farmers of all stripes, large and small scale, in the region should take note of developments in this story and continue to lobby your city, county, and state officials about the horrible and irreversible effects of allowing this toxic landfill.

The Conecuh Woods Landfill is a proposed 5100 acre solid waste disposal facility under review to be built one mile south of Repton, Alabama. The application was approved earlier in 2011, but there are several lawsuits pending before construction will be allowed to commence. One such lawsuit can be found here Town of Repton v. Conecuh County Commission.

How Much Of Brewton's Food Comes From Abroad?

The reserve grain storage in major nations, including the US, has disappeared. This has never been the case for hundreds of years as a matter of self-preservation of nations. But now, corporations are in charge of the responsibility of the backup grain supply that nations have kept to prevent mass famine. And there are NO backups at this time.

It's pretty obvious how an international society with an artificial food chain, instead of a natural, native agricultural system with grain backup, could be hit by a huge food shortage if transport supply lines were interrupted or deliberately stopped. We've placed a corporate gun to our own heads.

Our economy, agriculture and industry have all been transferred quietly to the hands of international corporations. The job of this generation and the coming ones is to end that or suffer the consequences.

• What do you think?
• Do you know where most of your food comes from?
• Would you sacrifice low prices now for food security in your community?
• What can be done on a local level to fix this?

We want to hear from you.

People We Should Get To Know!

Sweet Home Farm is a working family dairy established in Baldwin County, Alabama in 1985. Our herd of Guernsey cows has access to fresh pasture grasses nearly year-round, supplemented with regionally grown grain. Using a variety of sustainable agriculture practices permits us to control quality every step of the way as our cows transform grass into milk, and we convert that milk into cheese. We use no herbicides, pesticides or growth hormones on the farm. We handcraft a wide variety of cheeses, all made from fresh cows' milk, enzymes and salt, and aged for a minimum of 60 days. Farmstead cheese reflects the particular soil, climate and herbage of each season. We celebrate these seasonal variations in the cheese and recognize them as the hallmark of unique regionally-produced food.

Alabama and the 21 Century CSA Movement

I was dreaming this afternoon, napping and looking out at the pond from my comfy bed at Calico. I was thinking about the suburbs of the 40's and the idealized icon of the milk-man. Grow food and sell it to your neighbors, friends and people in your community. What a radical idea! Grow Alabama is giving it a go in the most fertile, agrarian, places in the U.S., it's about feeding people and helping farmers. Check 'em out below.


http://www.growalabama.com/