Have you heard of silvopasture?
In layman's terms, it's an area that has both trees and grass, used for rotationally pastured animals. Animals benefit from the shade of the trees and the nutrition from grazing. The grass benefits from the fertilizer animals provide and the sunlight from between the trees. It's an ideal way to raise animals with permaculture practices, and something we've been trying to develop here at the farm.
We have planted some saplings in our pastures, but they will take years to grow to a useful height that isn't tempting for the sheep to eat (we've lost a few trees this way, unfortunately). But a much faster method is to thin our woods to let more light in.
The pigs have been crucial in this process. They rooted and ate the underbrush, which at one time was so thick that it was difficult to even walk through. Now that the brush is cleared and the trees have been thinned, we anticipate that they will help dig out the small stumps as they root in these silvopastures.
The most exciting part of this silvopasture experiment has been to watch the native plants come up on their own. We originally planned to sow seed in all of the pastures, but the areas we have left alone are so green all on their own.
These newly created silvopastures will primarily be used for rotating our pigs (an important step we take in effort to minimize intestinal parasites), providing necessary shade in our hot Virginia summers. We may occasionally run sheep through some sections as well to control the growth of new saplings.
This silvopasture project has been over a year in the making, and it's exciting to see Clayton's vision for the space come to life!
*I originally tried to publish a reel like this over a month ago, but due to a glitch, I finally had to create a new one. I hope this one actually publishes!
Tell me you live in the country without telling me you live in the country...
We were leaving home the other day when I realized I had the perfect example to jump in on this "tell me without telling me" trend.
Any other country folks find themselves mowing the grass *in their driveway* during the spring and summer?
#TrotterCreekFarm #countryliving #countrylife #livinginthecountry #cuttingthegrass #inthedriveway #drivewaygrass #homesteading #homesweethomestead #farmlife #permaculture #gardening #pastureraised #pasturedanimals #hairsheep #pasturedpoultry #pasturedpigs #narragansettturkeys #kunekunepigs #americanguineahogs #powhatanva #powhatanlife #powhatanvirginia #powhatanvafarm #tellmeyouliveinthecountry #tellmeyouliveinthecountrywithouttellingmeyouliveinthecountry #tellmewithouttellingme #withouttellingmechallenge #trending #trendingreels
How we plant sweet potatoes for free year after year:
🍠 Save some good-quality sweet potatoes from last year's harvest.
🍠 In the spring, put them in cups of water in a sunny spot.
🍠 Check water level daily. Soon they will start to sprout slips!
🍠 When the slips are about 6" long, break them off and add them to a jar of water.* Check water level daily, and soon they will develop roots!
🍠 Keep the slips in a jar of water until they're ready to plant.
*Don't worry if some sweet potatoes take longer to sprout than others - they all will eventually!
#TrotterCreekFarm #farmlife #homesteading #gardening #growyourownfood #eatlocal #doesntgetmorelocalthanthis #sweetpotato
#sweetpotatoes #growingsweetpotatoes #sweetpotatovine #sweetpotatoslips #sweetpotatoslips🌿 #sweetpotatoslips🍠 #howto #gardeninghacks #gardeninghack #spring #springtimeonthefarm #busyseason #freeplants #frugalgardening #frugallife #sweetpotatoplant #gardentotable #garden #gardenlife #gardeningisfun #eatwhatyougrow #growwhatyoueat
Welcome to the world, baby chicks!!🐣
#TrotterCreekFarm #farmlife #homesteading #incubator #incubatingeggs #hatchday #hatchingeggs #chickensofinstagram #chickeneggs #chickenfarmer #chicks #welcomebabies #welcomebabies❤️ #creamlegbar #leghorn #barnyardmix #barnyardmixes #futureegglayers #farmfresheggs #miracleofnewlife #nevergetsold #thankful #spring #springtimeonthefarm #busyseason #nowtosetupthebrooder #peekaboo #hatching #hatchingout #pastureraisedeggs
Our move to Virginia was one of the hardest seasons in my life.
We moved away from the community, friends, and church family we had known for 12 years, and went from being just over an hour's drive from my (Kim's) immediate family to a 7+ hour drive. Thankfully we moved close to other family, but I felt the loss deeply.
Unfortunately, the cost of real estate and the restrictions on agriculture made it nigh impossible to continue toward our goals to have a productive homestead and humanely grow our own food. So Virginia it was!
How we found our little farm is a long story, but we had basically given up on finding a place that seemed right when this house popped up on the MLS. Within 48 hours, we put in an offer that was accepted. Our house sold in an equally short time, and a few months later we moved in. It was a whirlwind.
It's taken a few years, but we've hit our stride here. We've found a new community of people who have similar goals and don't look at us like we're strange (well, all least less of them do) for raising our own food.
So, in the words of Ross Geller, "Now that I've had time to absorb it, it's all working out!"
#TrotterCreekFarm #adventuresinfarming #farmlife #homesteading #virginiahomesteaders #virginiafarmers #smallfarms #womanfarmer #heritagebreeds #livestock #pasturedanimals #grassfed #hairsheep #PasturedPigs #kunekunepigs #redwattle #americanguineahogs #narragansettturkey #backyardchickens #farmfresh #eatlocal #gardening #preserving #pasturedpoultry #powhatanva #movingsouth #homesick #homesweethomestead #bigadjustment #itsallworkingout
(Hit the full screen icon to see the video)
Pasturing animals means regular moves to new pasture. This is one of the longest moves we've ever made with our pigs. It took some preparation, but the move went perfectly!
This happened over the weekend, but we are so busy right now with our spring to-dos that it took me a few days to share it.
Also, pardon the wood pile and wood chip mess! This is real life here.
#TrotterCreekFarm #whatwedo #farmlife #adventuresinfarming #homesteading #busyseason #pastureraised #PasturedPigs #greenerpastures #movingpigs #movingpastures #freshpasture #preparationiskey #cangetstressful #sothankful #allwentwell #buckettrained #theyfollowfood #bucketsareimportant #farmersbestfriend #kunekune #kunekunes #kunekunepigs #kunekunesofig #kunekunepig #kunekunesofinstagram #kunekunepigsofinstagram #freerangechickens #Maisythefarmcollie #thinkssheshelping
Had some fun making this while doing chores this morning! 🐑🦃🐓🐖🐇🐥
When we got sheep this year, I'm pretty sure we got a reaction similar to this. Diversifying our farm is important to us, and each animal (including the cats and dogs not pictured) serves a purpose here. It's crazy some days, but also so much fun!
P.S. Sorry for the shaky camera work. I do NOT have a steady hand and I need to figure out a workaround.
#TrotterCreekFarm #somanyanimals #farmanimaladdiction #farmanimalsofinstagram #Stcroixsheep #hairsheep #americanguineahogs #kunekunepigs #narragansettturkey #rabbits #chickens #pasturedpoultry #chickensofinstagram #kunekunesofinstagram #pigletsofinstagram #rabbitsofinstagram #bunniesofinstagram #sheepofinstagram #turkeysofinstagram #babyturkeys #springtimeonthefarm #busyseason #farmlife #homesteading #adventuresinfarming #lifeisfull #neverenough #itsalifestyle #wemightbecrazy #butitsworthit
This was me this morning when I heard chirping coming from the incubator. Four #naragansettturkey eggs pipped so far! 🐣
*CHECK OUT OUR STORIES FOR A HATCH VIDEO!
#hatchday #soexcited #smallmiracles #pasturedpoultry #hatching #hatchingeggs #TrotterCreekFarm #stcroixsheep
Introducing the Feed Sack Sprint! Family fun, fitness, and farm chores can go hand in hand.
We're thankful to have found affordable non-GMO, soy-free feed from @sunrisefarmsinc . Happy, well-fed animals give us delicious eggs and pork!
#TrotterCreekFarm #farmlife #farmfitness #pastureraised #happyanimals #pasturedpork
#farmfresheggs #farmfresh #homesweethomestead #sunrisefarmsva #powhatanva
