I have posted before about our nifty electronic controllers that turn the lights on a little bit earlier each morning. In addition to running the lights, the controllers also open the eggmobile doors at sunrise and close them at sunset to protect the hens from predators. The whole system—controllers,  lights, and door motors—runs on 12 volts DC. During the winter, we use transformers to plug them into 110 volts. But when the pastures green up, these egg ships will launch again, running off deep cycle 12V marine batteries.

Given the high price of organic hay, the wagon will pay for itself with the money we save on feed alone. But it’s also about taking care of the soil: fewer tractor trips and more frequent moves means less soil compaction and better manure spreading.

The mobile refinery is pretty cool, but we were even more impressed with Dorn’s radishes. He plants daikon radishes in the fall as part of his cover crop. The radishes grow a deep tap-root and then die over the winter. The root decomposes in the spring, leaving behind a deep vertical tube of compost. This breaks up compaction of the soil, allowing crops to grow better and improving water drainage. The radishes also capture nitrogen in the fall and release it in the spring when needed, reducing the need for added fertilizer. PLUS—if you harvest a few radishes in the fall, you can make a killer kimchi.

If you have stopped by the farm recently, you may have been disappointed to find the egg supply very low. And, if you know the farm well, you may have noticed that our laying hens are looking very spiffy. These two things have the same cause: our chickens are going through their annual molt. When chickens molt, they drop their old feathers and grow a new set. The pretty much stop laying eggs for the duration, focusing their body’s energy on making feathers. The new outfits look very nice, but we would frankly rather have the eggs.

1 whole chicken, cut up
3 lg potatoes, peeled and cut in eighths
3 parsnips, peeled and cut in 2 inch long sections
1 lg onion, chopped
½ cup flour
salt & pepper
2 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp butter
½ cup white wine
4 cups chicken stock
½ cabbage, chopped in 1 inch pieces

Preheat the oven to 350°. Put ½ cup flour, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp pepper in a large Ziploc bag. Put half the chicken pieces in the bag at a time and shake the bag to coat. Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a large skillet until it just starts to smoke. Brown the chicken on all sides over medium high heat. Transfer the chicken to a Dutch oven. Sauté the onions, parsnips, and potatoes in the skillet until the onions turn clear (5-8 min). Transfer the vegetables to the Dutch oven. Add 1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp flour to the skillet and cook 3-5 minutes over medium heat. Add ½ cup white wine to the skillet and deglaze. Add 2 cups of chicken stock to the skillet and bring it to a boil. Transfer the liquid to the Dutch oven. Pour in more chicken stock if necessary to just cover all the meat and vegetables. Throw in the cabbage on top. Cover and bake @ 350° 30-40 minutes. Take it out, stir it, taste it, salt & pepper to taste. If the sauce is too thin, strain out the meat & vegetables and reduce the sauce. Optional: remove the chicken meat from the bones and skin before mixing the meat & vegetables back into the sauce.

Serve with fresh bread.

With the help of chainsaw madman Frank DeGennaro and his son, Frank Jr., we are cleaning up the mess. Progress was stalled today because, of all things, chain oil is sold out throughout our region. Hopefully, by this time next week the snow will have melted, and we will have another month of grazing before winter arrives for real.