Farm news - Cloughjordan Community Farm https://cloughjordancommunityfarm.ie Cloughjordan Community Farm Thu, 01 Feb 2018 19:19:51 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://cloughjordancommunityfarm.ie/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/cropped-cropped-CCF-logo-32x32.png Farm news - Cloughjordan Community Farm https://cloughjordancommunityfarm.ie 32 32 Farm Newsletter – Issue no. 4 https://cloughjordancommunityfarm.ie/farm-newsletter-issue-no-4-feb-2017/ Mon, 20 Mar 2017 18:15:51 +0000 http://cloughjordancommunityfarm.ie/?p=360 Click here to download This month is now showing hints of Spring: hedges and trees are starting to sprout buds, even some daffodils are appearing….and whilst it is not our most productive sewing and planting month, our peppers and tomatoes have already gone into the tunnels and large amounts of onions have been sewn into trays. Other mainstay crops will follow soon and the next issue will go into more detail on crop planting. A new Polytunnel is going up, to increase propagation and provide more planting room- see Goi’s update on this tunnel on p.5 ; recipes to use up our root veg before we move onto lighter recipes for Spring appear on p.10 and an article on our Pigs follows this. Getting to the Root of it: some facts on our Farm Pigs By Raquel Dafouz Last week, while some of our neighbours from Cloughjordan watched and with…

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This month is now showing hints of Spring: hedges and trees are starting to sprout

buds, even some daffodils are appearing….and whilst it is not our most productive

sewing and planting month, our peppers and tomatoes have already gone into the

tunnels and large amounts of onions have been sewn into trays. Other mainstay crops

will follow soon and the next issue will go into more detail on crop planting. A new

Polytunnel is going up, to increase propagation and provide more planting room- see

Goi’s update on this tunnel on p.5 ; recipes to use up our root veg before we move onto

lighter recipes for Spring appear on p.10 and an article on our Pigs follows this.

Getting to the Root of it: some facts on our Farm Pigs By Raquel Dafouz

Last week, while some of our neighbours from Cloughjordan watched and with

supervision by the volunteers, Pat moved the pigs to the area where the onions were

last grown. Now the pigs have a new field to continue exploring and digging in and they

are doing an excellent job rooting up the ground.

The four pigs that are currently on the farm are male and are growing fast into healthy

animals; they are already 7 months old! Their feed is based on one half of pig nuts and

the other half oat cereals. The oats give the pigs much more energy and are digested

much better if germinated so, two days before feeding, the grains are immersed in

water so that they can germinate and provide all the nutritional benefits to our piglets.

The task of feeding them is carried out twice a day, in the morning and in the evening.

And… you know what? They love to eat while you scratch them behind the ear and leg!

This is something simple that helps to establish a bond and more trust between the pig

and the caretaker.

Piggys2

It is important to know that pigs play an important role on the farm. They bring oxygen to the ground when they churn it around with their rooting technique. This activity is also beneficial for microorganisms in the soil as it helps to decompress the soil, an activity that favours the maintenance of soil quality and also the biodiversity, which is so important for our crops.

Have you been to the pig’s field and wondered where Georgina, the mother of our little pigs, is? And the famous Peppa is also no longer here… if you’ve been wondering about them, don’t worry! They are happy and enjoying their well deserved ‘retirement’ at the Kildare Animal Foundation animal shelter, about 100 km north-east from Cloughjordan.

And finally, if you have not yet been to visit the pigs, we invite you to approach the pigs’ field where you can watch them playing, sleeping, sunbathing or digging in the dirt!

Now that we volunteers have got to know the pigs better we can say that we are happy and grateful to have them as they bring so many benefits to the farm.

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]]> Farm Newsletter – Issue No. 2 https://cloughjordancommunityfarm.ie/farm-newsletter-issue-no-2/ Fri, 01 Apr 2016 19:15:01 +0000 http://cloughjordancommunityfarm.ie/?p=729   After biding our time for the wayward weather to calm down, the sun has finally arrived to herald Spring proper. This month has been unseasonably cold and the sun’s heat sparse but over the last few days green shoots have burst forth in the polytunnels thanks to the new sun’s rays and in the days and weeks after St. Patrick’s Day we will be going into overdrive on the Farm…sewing trays and trays of seedlings, transplanting into pots, after that into the fields. Our irrigation systems are being cleaned and restored, channels dug for new fencing, old crops cleared, fruit beds weeded, soil turned over in the tunnels and fields…..after winter’s hibernation we are limbering up for the explosive abundance of life and growth in the madly busy weeks ahead. Read more…Issue 2 of Farm News

The post Farm Newsletter – Issue No. 2 first appeared on Cloughjordan Community Farm.

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After biding our time for the wayward weather to calm down, the sun has finally arrived to herald Spring proper. This month has been unseasonably cold and the sun’s heat sparse but over the last few days green shoots have burst forth in the polytunnels thanks to the new sun’s rays and in the days and weeks after St. Patrick’s Day we will be going into overdrive on the Farm…sewing trays and trays of seedlings, transplanting into pots, after that into the fields. Our irrigation systems are being cleaned and restored, channels dug for new fencing, old crops cleared, fruit beds weeded, soil turned over in the tunnels and fields…..after winter’s hibernation we are limbering up for the explosive abundance of life and growth in the madly busy weeks ahead. Read more…Issue 2 of Farm News

The post Farm Newsletter – Issue No. 2 first appeared on Cloughjordan Community Farm.

]]> Farm Newsletter – Issue No.1 https://cloughjordancommunityfarm.ie/farm-newsletter-issue-no-1/ Mon, 01 Feb 2016 19:14:32 +0000 http://cloughjordancommunityfarm.ie/?p=726   It is February and the weather is still wild and wintry but at the Farm we are looking forward to Spring and already some planting is underway. In Celtic times, this is the time of year when the pagan ritual of Imbolc would happen- or the Rites of Spring. Click Here to read more…Farm News-Issue No1  

The post Farm Newsletter – Issue No.1 first appeared on Cloughjordan Community Farm.

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It is February and the weather is still wild and wintry but at the Farm we are looking forward to Spring and already some planting is underway. In Celtic times, this is the time of year when the pagan ritual of Imbolc would happen- or the Rites of Spring.

Click Here to read more…Farm News-Issue No1

 

The post Farm Newsletter – Issue No.1 first appeared on Cloughjordan Community Farm.

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