International Perspective: Questions about Georgia

გამარჯობა! Hello from Georgia! If you've been checking out the home page you know that I, Danni, (Pat & Les's youngest daughter) your faithful BlackSheep tech support and goat enthusiast, has been teaching English in the Republic of Georgia. I've been adding little stories to the home page about the agriculture I've seen in this unique country. The experience has been wonderful, but is shortly coming to an end. I will be back home to Wisconsin in three weeks. For that reason, I'm giving you guys the opportunity to ask any questions you might have about Georgia, Katchapuri, foreign free-range chickens, and community cows. Please post in comments any questions you might have for me. I will do my best to find the answers in my last few weeks and post the answers when I get back. The questions can be related to anything, not just agriculture. See you soon!

You can read my travel blog, too!

Activities

Picked asparagus again this morning. Good yield, but still finding stalks from earlier this weeks frost damage. We try to cull these out, but saved some tips for soup. Friend made her favorite creamed asparagus soup, really good! Will try to get the recipe posted. Reminder to all who get our product either through the CSA or see it in stores. Unlike most product on the shelves, you should have little to none of the stalk to throw away from ours because it is "woody". We sell usable product, not material that you know you will be throwing away a third of the stalk because you cannot eat it "All good to the last stalk".

We are working on the computer glitches for the CSA orders. This approach is new to us also, but promises to be the CSA of the future!! Bear with us on this learning curve. Thanks also to our children for their computer help and expertise!

Had a request for the red milling corn we developed. Seed plot to have their own red corn for corn meal. Reminder we have white OP ORG for seed also.

Have seven light poles for the hops. Will set soon as we can get the cover planted under them. Vine starts are looking great!

Global Warming

Just watched a PBS special on "Global Warming". Their main concern was CO2 concentrations and the resultant relationship on temp increase. I agree with their findings, but; Why doesn't anyone take our "conventional" farming practices and subsequent higher limestone usage. Organic farming uses the organisms in the soil as a buffer to pH and appear to use less limestone per acre per year than conventional. Liming of Acid soils releases CO2 into the atmosphere as part of the neutralization process.

CaCO3 - chemical weight = 95 , CO2 given off as a % of total, almost 47%

If farmers average use of 400 # lime per acre/year. (2Ton/Ac. every 10 years)

That equals 197# CO2 per acre per year

Convert that to all the tillable acres that are farmed from the Mississippi River on East. Thats a lot of Greenhouse gas yearly. Some is tied up in the soils carbon cycle, specially on organic production fields, but still a sizable tonnage released yearly.

Newest addition!!

Finally - A Close Up!!!

Finally got a close up of the newest three goslings to hatch! Mom was not happy for the photo opportunity.

Goslings!

Hard to get a picture when the adult geese don't want you near them!

Mothers Day - Herb Day

Mothers day flowers given to Basic's in Janesville. They were going to do an ID contest with a small prize for one person who could identify the most herb flowers in the arrangement.

Catgrass!!!

NOW THAT'S CAT GRASS!!!

"If you like being alive, you might want to thank a plant."

I thought I'd share this NPR link. It talks about working out the genetic code for plants. It's always good to understand out world better. What's more crucial to our world than our food? This article will help you delve deeper into your own understanding about plants. Enjoy!

Learn More Here