HOPEFUL SPROUTS
As I work even harder to feed my animals without buying feed in plastic bags the sprouting gets more and more important. As we know plastic is not going anywhere but into the piles and landfills in our respective countries. It is quite simply piling up. Landfill is stupid word. What happened to rubbish dump or garbage dump. Whatever the semantics it is one problem we ALL can make an impact in. We can be powerful in managing our plastic output. For me – taking on the feed bag problem is huge. Buying in bulk is key.
My biggest work lately is trying to find a few growers to grow local GM free and transitional grains and then find the pig and chicken farmers to buy these locally grown grains in bulk. Finding a market for the grain will encourage the growers to grow the good stuff. I am creating a registry if you like. I have a few farmers who can grind up their grain, but for me I sprout them. I sprout just about anything I can find. Mostly corn, oats, barley and sunflower seeds. The animals need variety too.
Above are my usual sprout containers under the weeping mulberry tree. Under another tree I am beginning to sprout in old buckets that have got holes or splits in them due to age or being stood on by a cow. (There are many ways to put a hole in a bucket – throwing them at a dog is another way!). These buckets last forever even with holes in them, and holey ones are good for sprouts and tree watering.
I wash the sprouts under the trees. That way the trees (another resource we must husband) get the run-off water for that day.
And the sprouts are so, so much better for the animals growth and health.
And when I buy in bulk I know exactly what my animals are eating.
Tane has the biggest mouth!
Mr Flowers has dropped all the feathers from his tail – just a few more to go. This is the late summer part of his feather cycle and only takes a few weeks. I collected as many as I found and they are all waiting to go into the peacock feather wreath that is on my wall. Soon we will see little peeks of his new and even longer feathers growing in.
More clouds came in late in the afternoon yesterday and we had a good drop of rain in the evening. I need to unearth the rain gauge from the little raised bed garden that has become overgrown with weeds. But it felt like about half an inch. And it is still so humid I think I will definitely get a fourth cut on my hay – later in the month if the weather cooperates.
I have more Airbnb guests coming today so I had better get a wriggle on.
I hope you have a lovely day.
celi
WEATHER: Overcast and humid. Maybe more rain and a bit cooler which will be nice.
Thursday 09/06 80% / 0.46 in
Light rain early…then remaining cloudy with showers in the afternoon. Much cooler. High 74F. Winds NE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
Thursday Night 09/06 20% / 0 in
Cloudy. Low 64F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.
Sun
6:24 AM 7:17 PM
Moon
Waning Crescent, 15% visible 2:29 AM 5:28 PM
c
36 Comments on “HOPEFUL SPROUTS”
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thekitchensgarden 
I think Peacock feathers are the most beautiful of all. I have a circular one that I bought is a charity shop many years ago and it is still is lovely to look at ….Mr Flowers is a beautiful bird. We have had rain which proved where the leaks in the roof were. The man was coming to do it but it rained……. Why cannot we return to paper containers or sacks as in the days before plastic…plastic is killing our world…we shall drown in plastic Have a good day and keep smiling
We can return to them. It will be a big change in your household though.
In France animal feed is sold in paper sacks… Your Airbnb seems to be working pretty well, am I right? Hope you’re making something out of it.
Yes. The Airbnb is doing very well and in fact is making more profit than the animals. ( which is actually not saying much!) I spend about three hours a time getting it super clean and pretty- baking bread etc. so it is a wonderful little business.
That’s great! A lot of people are doing that with their summer houses in Greece. And you get to meet a lot of nice people, too.
It is so frustrating that organic non GMO food and non poisonous and bio degradable packing materials are so difficult or too expensive to source. Laura
That’s why I have decided to go to the source and grow our own.
Great effort with your work towards being plastic free Celi. I love your photographs, especially Tane. Here’s to your Airbnb project….many sparklies for that. Hugs Xx
The Airbnb project has been up and running for just over a year now and I am more than happy with how it is working out.
Marvellous, Celi and ‘hats off’ to you for doing it. Xx
Encouraging others to buy non GM is a brilliant thing to do!
My farmer has started selling his potatoes in bio degradable/compostable bags, which look like clear plastic, but are in fact natural. Apparently you can even eat them! I forgot to ask what they are made of, but have found cassava bags online:
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/05/this-plastic-bag-is-100-biodegradable-and-made-of-plants/
Tane looks so happy!
Great link! Thank you.
When I was in Germany I was so impressed with their recycling and avoidance of plastics if possible. I do what I can here, but after spending two weeks around people who are really conservative, I know I can do better. Thank you for giving me a “Tane” fix this morning. I just love that boy!!
Tane is such a character! He was lying in his water bowl then laughed at me for taking the photo!
You are so very thoughtful and mindful of our planet- thank you!
We all are doing the best we can
I’ve started really thinking about all the plastic we use, too. It’s everywhere 😦
Luckily, we don’t have to buy too much feed for our chickens and ducks, and it comes in paper bags. We get Scratch-and-Peck, which is organic and GMO free. It’s kind of expensive though, and I don’t know how feasible it is in large quantities. Plus, I really think buying directly from farmers is the way to go!
And yay for Tane!! Love that pig!
I agree. And why are they so expensive / other than having to pay teams of people to hand weed the fields I suppose.
Go C!!!! Love the old holey bucket used for sprouts and that it waters the tree too. How resourceful. Question: I know you don’t have a whole lot of time – but would Tane let you brush him? I think brushing him would be so relaxing. Actually – Sheila would be the one I would want to sit and brush. 🙂 Dads cows loved brushing but they would almost knock you down!
Tane is also full of burrs- he NEEDS s good brush!
I kind of wish we could go back to when feed and flour came in cloth sacks. You could really recycle those babies; millions of people grew up wearing clothes or sleeping under quilts made of feed or flour sack fabric. It was cheap, frugal and good for the cotton industry, and when things wore out, they could go on the compost heap.
I would LOVE THAT ! And do you remember those potato sacks!
Hessian potato sacks, like we had at home? They used to get unpicked and used as the base for rag rugs, or turned into rough aprons, or stitched together and hung in windows and doors of animal sheds to keep the cold and wind out. (And those are just some of the uses I’ve seen myself).
Yes! Those are the ones. I loved them.
It really is a struggle cutting down plastic. It’s everywhere! We’ve cut down quite a bit but still working on it.
Sadly we can not eliminate it. But cutting back and always being aware of its awful longevity things will slowly change.
There has been such awareness now, hopefully it does some good.
Do you need help growing sprouts? Since I live close I would be more than happy to help you. I don’t think we receive as much rain as you did.
We got great rain last night- any time you want to come over and help Connie- I would love it – and now I have Duck eggs for your noodles!
I would love to make you noodles from duck eggs!
And some for you too!! I will save you some.
Haven’t seen our grain chook food here in anything other than plastic. But now I will look further afield. In the meantime the G.O. recycles the feeds sacks by growing potatoes in them. This year 1, the trial… we’ll see how it goes and if successful expand further next year.
That is good. Potato sacks will be interesting.
Out of curiosity, what do you feed your dogs? You talk a lot about the food your livestock, and it has gotten me curious about the pups.
The dogs eat meat from
My freezer. Either cooked with rice and vegetables or raw depending on how much time I have. As well as being good for them it is cheaper. They get an egg a day as well and in milking season they get the milk. So they eat totally from the farm.
Animal feed should be sold in paper bags .. ! Good on you Celi for your effort to avoid buying that rotten plastic