Pennys Patch & Pasture

05/27/2026

Its pig theme week!

05/27/2026

Article/tests that supports 'veggies grown naturally are more nutrient-dense'

One of the reasons we do what we do.
More vitamins & minerals with every bite.

We charge 'the same or less' for our organically grown veggies, as the grocery stores charge for commercially grown veggies using chemical fertilizers & pesticides.

In the book “What Your Food Ate” by David R. Montgomery and Anne Bikle, an interesting anecdote is told that says a lot about our gardening and eating practices:

A farmer in Northern Oregon decided to see if natural practices to control weeds would work in his fields. He planted one field as he usually did, tilling the bare soil, planting his winter wheat, and then using glyphosate several times before harvest. In another field, he used crop rotation, starting with spring wheat, then barley, then the same variety of winter wheat used in his conventional field, and finally, a mix of cover crops. After two years, both fields had produced 75 bushels an acre…and the cover crops in the non-sprayed field suppressed the weeds beautifully. But what surprised him most was that the mineral content of the winter wheats were different.

After sending out samples of his crops for lab testing, he discovered that the winter wheat in his no-spray, no-till field had 35-56% more boron, manganese, and zinc and 18-29% more copper, iron, and magnesium. But you can’t change the mineral content of the soil that quickly, so what was going on?

Since the 1930s, scientists have studied soil microbes and found that they play a large role in making nutrients available to crops. Anything that kills or reduces soil microbes (like tilling and glyphosate) leads to food that’s less nutrient-dense. This effect is clearly seen in livestock; for example, studies show that cows eating plants grown conventionally produce less milk than cows fed the same plants grown with regenerative practices.

I am unaware of any studies that compare conventional and regenerative food in humans, but it’s pretty difficult to believe there is no effect on human health. In fact, I wonder if conventionally grown food leads to overeating because our bodies are craving nutrients they aren’t receiving enough of. (Some studies show that livestock fed conventional food eat more than livestock fed regenerative food.)

Just something to bear in mind while we try to grow the most healthy, nutritious food we can on our homesteads 😊

Photo by Scott Bauer, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Services.

05/19/2026

Checked the price of the 'best grocery store eggs available' today. Proud that our eggs are similar in price, but here's how our eggs are even better:

We all have pastured, free-range hens, but theirs get 108 sq ft each, ours get 15,520 sq ft each.

One uses commercial feed, one uses organic feed like we do. We also feed our hens fermented raw milk, kelp, organic farm veggies & herbs.

We all provide fresh drinking water, but theirs is chlorinated, ours is from a clean deep well.

We all have size large eggs, but ours also includes sizes up to jumbo mixed in, giving more value.

We all have healthy hens, but they use medications & vaccines, & we do not.

We all have clean eggshells, but they use a chlorine based sanitizer, & we use 115°-120° running well water.

No roosters, no fertilized eggs.

WE HAVE ROOM FOR 4 MORE CUSTOMERS each week, who want to eat the Best. Eggs. Ever!

We meet every Thursday in the Tractor Supply parking lot 6-6:20pm.

Message me if you want to give us a try, & we will sell you your first dozen for $5 (normally $6).

**THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING A LOCAL FARMER**

05/16/2026

What veggies do YOU love each summer/fall
& would consider purchasing from our farm?

All suggestions welcome!!
If we don't already grow it,
& a few folks request it,
we just might plant some!

Growing these all-organic veggies 👇👇
Snap Peas, Garlic Scapes, Garlic, Broccoli,
slicing, cherry & canning tomatoes
Green Beans, cucumbers, cauliflower
Carrots, potatoes, sweet & hot peppers
Beets, Basil, dill, rosemary, thyme
Acorn, Delicata, Buttercup & Butternut squash
Leeks, spring onions, lettuce, zucchini
Sweet potatoes? (new this yr)

What organic/heirloom veggies did we miss 🤔

(last summers pics for fun!)

05/10/2026

Walk around the farm today...
sunshine, clouds & even a lil rain

Great place to forage, grow veggies,
pasture pigs & chickens,... grateful.

05/04/2026

04/26/2026

A few sights from around the farm today
before breakfast...

02/01/2026

These freezing temps are the best days to bake things, low & slow. Keeps the house warm.

I started a new batch of Lard today, likely will be done tomorrow evening, maybe the next day.

This is the back fat from one of our Pigs, so I know it is high quality, clean food. I had it ground & frozen, waiting for the perfect day to render.

I am doing a multi-stage wet render in the oven @ 190°, strain, chill, remove impurities, repeat 3X.

That will make it very pure, & can be used for cooking or lotions. Sealed jars are shelf-stable 6-12 mos kept in cool & dark area. Unsealed jars can be kept in the fridge for storage 6-12 mos.

01/22/2026

Things we kinda need, free plse if you have one laying around:

- Plastic Barrel, food safe,, 30-55 gal, with a lid:
Gonna cut it in half and make a pig feeder out of it, that will level us up from having to fill 3 individual rubber bowls, & wrestling 3 pigs each day to feed.

- Plastic buckets, food grade, 3-5 gal size, with handles & lids if possible. Maybe a restaurant that has too many??

- Non-working chest freezer:
The bigger the better, no rust, with a good seal. We store our chicken & pig feed in them. The no rust is for cleanliness and long-lasting storage. The seal is to keep the feed dry. Both rust free & good seal keeps mice out. Note: we are probably gonna ask if we can give you gas $$ to deliver as we don't have a truck.

- Leftover Wood & Metal. We can use part or full, not rotted or rusted, boards & metal corrugated steel. We are always needing 2"X4"s or larger, to make things (like the barrel feeder we need the plastic barrel for), & metal roofing/corrugated steel strips for roofing, walls, raised beds,...

Just looking for things you might want to be rid of, that we could use. Recycle, re-purpose, re-use. Maybe we can pick up, maybe you can bring to our next Thursday egg meet, maybe I can pay you for delivery - however we can make this happen!