Greens and Cows

This week is brought to you by the color green

The shares are very green today!  While we may have planned for more “hard crunchies” to go with the “green leafies” this week, we are at the mercy of what the garden offers up to us.  As my father recently reminded me, “Man plans, God laughs”.   We hope you enjoy your abundant box of leaves.  Radishes, beets, turnips, cabbage, onions and more will be on the way soon.

COW-abunga?  COW-a-bungle!

It started about a month ago, when Connie showed us a photo of a large footprint in her driveway.  Definitely bovine.  The cows must have been out again.   The folks who own the property catty-corner behind us keep a handful of cattle, and from time to time over the years they have turned up on our property.  We let Clarence know, and either we or him chase them off and home they go.  End of story.

A few days after the hoof print sighting, the cows turned up in our field.  No surprise there.  But the problem with cows in the garden is a bull in a china shop sort of situation.  They don’t have to eat the crops to cause damage.  Just walking around is bad enough.  And heaven forbid they poop in the garden.  You can kiss that crop good-bye!

Clarence chased them off, but they didn’t go home.  These cows, or one cow and three bulls, to be precise, had tasted freedom!  A couple days later the cows would turn up again.  Clarence and some other guys would run around on four-wheelers trying to find the cows.  But the back half of our property is wild space.  And it buts up against someone else’s wild space before you eventually get to the next road, as the crow flies.  My point is that there’s a lot of gullies and

thickets and smilax filled woods for cows-who-don’t-want-to-be-found to mosey around in.  I’d sleep in the back of my truck to keep guard over the crops.

Randy suggested they set up a catch pen in the one place the cows keep coming back to: our field.  Right next to our spring crops.  Someone had a portable sorting pen, so that was set up with a trough of grain to lure the cows in.  In order to keep the cows out of our field, we first lure the cows to the field.  You see the problem.

Clarence has been coming out at dusk, when the cows usually arrive, to try to close them into the pen.  After nearly a week of this routine, there are now three cows in the pen.  One bull is still at large.  Fingers crossed that tonight is that night the cow saga comes to an end!

Online Store Open for Native Plant Orders

We have two native plant sales coming up!  May 10th at the Cooper Young Community Farmers Market from 8 am to 12 noon, and May 18th here at Tubby Creek Farm from 11 am to 5 pm.   We have about 45 species of native plants available, propagated in our greenhouse.  You can browse our online store and place an order to pick up.  All orders are for pickup at CYCFM on the 10th or here at the farm.

Small Shares

• Kohlrabi
• Red Russain Kale
• Collards
• Lettuce Mix
• Saute Mix

Full Shares

• Kohlrabi
• Red Russain Kale
• Collards
• Lettuce Mix
• Saute Mix
• Head lettuce