Farm on 171

08/02/2026

As I finished freezing the last of our purple hull peas today, I realized we’ve just about wrapped up our spring and summer harvest here on the farm. It may only be the first of August, but in Mississippi, the dog days of summer usually mean the garden is winding down, the canning shelves are filling up, the hens are laying fewer eggs, and we’re already looking ahead to fall and winter.

Here’s a look back at our 2026 Spring & Summer Harvest (including produce we grew and produce we purchased from local farmers to preserve):

🥚 Approximately 250 dozen eggs this year
🍅 25 pounds of tomatoes from our garden
🫛 31 quarts of purple hull peas
🌽 13 quarts of sweet corn
🫙 50 jars of jams and jellies
🍯 2 pounds of honey
🧼 50-100 soaps, salves, cleaning product, extracts
🐣 100+ chicks hatched and/or raised

Some of these items stocked our own pantry and freezer, while others made their way to our Farm on 171 stand. Every jar, every egg, and every batch represents hours of work, and we’re thankful for the opportunity to do it.

This afternoon I rode out to check the bees, and the goldenrod is just beginning to bloom. That is one of nature’s reminders that another season is beginning. Soon we’ll be thinking about fall gardens, a possible honey flow, cooler mornings, and everything the next season has in store.

Thank you to everyone who has supported Farm on 171 this year! We appreciate every farm stand visit, every purchase, and every kind word. ❤️

07/28/2026

Happy 30th Anniversary to my farm helper who never wanted to be a farmer, but helps me because he love me! We have this big beautiful family 30 years later! We are so blessed! Love you, Jeff! 🎉😘

07/27/2026

07/19/2026

Summer time!🍅🌽👩🏻‍🌾🐓🐝

06/27/2026

Sweet Summertime!☀️

06/26/2026

Good morning! ☀️

For those of you who love colorful eggs, what would your perfect rainbow dozen look like?

🥚 Dark Brown – Black Copper Marans
🥚 Green – First-generation Olive Eggers or Backcross Olives
🥚 Blue – Easter Eggers, BBS Ameraucanas, Ermine Ameraucanas, or Cream Legbars

The reason I ask is because many of my blue-laying breeds produce eggs that look almost identical. If I didn’t label them, I wouldn’t know which hen laid which blue egg!

Here’s something interesting:

A first-generation Olive Egger (Blue Egg Layer × Black Copper Marans) often hatches from a blue or brown egg, but she will lay green eggs herself.

A backcross Olive Egger can lay a beautiful dark green egg…or sometimes a dark brown egg. Ask me how I know! 😂 I paid good money for two gorgeous backcross Olive Eggers. One lays a stunning dark olive green egg, while the other lays a dark brown egg. That’s part of the genetics.

So if I packaged a rainbow dozen using first-generation Olive Eggers, it might look something like this:

🤎 4 dark brown eggs
💚 4 future green layers (laid from blue or brown eggs)
💙 4 blue eggs

That means your carton would actually contain 8 blue/brown-colored eggs, even though four of those hens would go on to lay green eggs themselves.

I’m planning next year’s breeding program and I’m curious what everyone prefers.

Would you rather have:
💙 More blue eggs?
💚 More green eggs?
🤎 More dark chocolate brown eggs?
🌈 Or just the prettiest rainbow assortment possible?

I’m still building my breeding program and love hearing what other chicken lovers enjoy.

Thanks for your input! 🐓🥚

06/21/2026

06/20/2026

Last day of spring! I haven’t posted much on our page lately, we’ve been busy! Here’s a snapshot of our spring happenings! 🐣🥚🍯🐝🐶🫑🥒🍅

06/20/2026

We have strawberry jam + blackberry jam available today!