Re-Purposing

The farm is in full swing!  We are shaking off the ache of the cold, cold winter and working hard to make the soil bring forth new life.  We have started some seedlings of Pak Choy, Tomatoes, Green Peppers, and Zinnias.  We are planning on transplanting those seedlings into our rubber lumber, raised beds.  (More on that later.)  We like to get the most out of the farm, so everything has to have multiple uses.  As you have read from other posts, we still have some heritage turkeys wandering around the farm.  They do not like to stay in the yard we have fenced in for their protection, it seems they enjoy our company too much.  Due to their wandering ways, we have our own egg hunts searching for where they have laid them most recently.  Once we find some of their eggs we use them for breads, muffins, and brownies.  As for taste, there is not much difference between turkey and chicken (wink, wink), but the shape of the turkey egg has a more pronounced point at one end.  They also have a much harder shell, so breaking them into mixes can be a little tricky.  So far that is the only thing keeping them around on the farm.  I want to go ahead and slaughter them, but the family has me out-numbered on touting their usefulness.  I feel like the Dread Pirate Roberts - when I see the turkeys at evening I tell them, "Goodnight!  I will most likely kill you in the morning."  Maybe the next time the kids leave for the day, I might just act with decisiveness.    

Two of the most recent Turkey eggs.

As for the rubber lumber, raised beds, we discovered a great site concerning sustainable agriculture.  Check out the Noble Foundation here.  Our newest venture is building raised beds from rubber lumber.  Did you know that most tire places will give you old tires?  I've heard old farmers tell me to plant potatoes in old tires by planting potatoes in one tire, then stacking another tire on top and filling it with more dirt.  One older guy told me he had stacked four tires high with potatoes!  Our plan for the raised beds is to cut the steel belting off and use the tread for "walls" on the raised beds.  We will post some pictures as soon as we get some tires.  It doesn't take a farmer to re-purpose items, you can do it at your home as well.  It just takes some interest and desire to re-purpose something rather than throwing it away.  Take a small step towards being more sustainable and environmentally responsible.  If you have any ideas to share with us, please either comment or email us with your ideas.