Last spring, we plowed and tilled a forty by eighty foot section of our land for an idea: to grow gourmet popcorn and donate the profits to Tiggy’s House. If that didn’t work, we figured we could always sell it as ornamental corn. And whatever didn’t sell, we would throw in our stove.
We couldn’t lose.
So we spread manure, planted corn and waited. Under a blistering sun, the first sprouts came up. Without rain, they started to grow. But they were planted too thickly. Something had gone wrong with the seeder and I had a solid wall of corn coming up. So I started taking thinnings and almost every day, the cattle got a bundle of corn grass added to their hay feeder in the pasture.
Every mouthful of corn grass was a mouthful of my pasture saved and I was thankful for the surplus. But the rains never came and the temperatures never dropped. With record breaking heat and a furnace-like wind, the corn tried to set its pollen.
And failed.
We got only three ears of corn from the whole field.
Three beautiful ears that I really didn’t know what to do with so I fed them to the cattle.
But now hay is at a premium and I don’t have time to think about the crop that failed. I need this space to grow something. Anything that will help ease the pressure on my hay stores. So we spent two days cutting and stacking the corn stover to supplement the cattle with while they are on pasture.
Because every mouthful of corn stover they eat is a mouthful of pasture that is saved.
And I seeded the entire area with turnips.
I’ve never even eaten turnips. I don’t know how to cook them or what to serve them with. But that’s OK. Because while I’m sure we’ll try a few if they come up, this patch of ground is really for the cattle. First the thinnings, then the greens. Then, once winter strikes, I’ll start harvesting the turnips. Half a row a day should keep our two heifers and our little minihorse supplied with nutritious snacks through January.
If the turnips come up. And every mouthful of turnips will be a mouthful of hay saved.
I homeschool my children on a small hobby farm in rural Nebraska and write about life more abundantly, from the joy of a baby's smile to the almost unbearable grief of losing a son while seeking beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, a garment of praise instead of the spirit of despair (Isaiah 61:3)
Thank you again for a glimpse into your ‘cornhusker’ life, Dana. While I have never met you, I feel like I know you in a ‘body of Christ’ sort of way…and so I prayed for you today–for your heart, your hands, and your harvest, whatever God ordains it to be. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, the corn, tho’ shriveled it may be, and even the turnips–mashed, boiled, or even fed to those cattle!
Thank you, Wendy. Sometimes it seems like we are just putting way too much into this to not see more benefits. But some things are turning around, too, and I really hope next year we will start seeing more return on the investment. This year, a lot of things did better than they have in the past despite the drought. Once the rains return, I’m hoping to start seeing a genuine harvest.
I had so many worms in my turnips last year I didn’t bother to plant them this year. If you have row cover you might want to cover them. That keeps the moths from laying eggs that hatch out the worms. That will save the root crop. I don’t think it needs to be covered once the greens cover the stem/root area.
Thank you, Cathy! That’s sort of why I don’t generally bother with any brassicas normally, but I don’t mind pushing aside the worms for the cattle. Did you plant in spring or in fall? I’ve always planted in spring and had horrendous problems, but I have read that they worms aren’t as bad when you plant in the fall. Just wondering what your experience was, and I guess we’ll see if I think it is better or worse!
That and my chickens do love the worms and the moths when they find them!
This made me think of one of my favorite poems. When crops fail and we end up planting turnips, we keep going.
Because sometimes…
Sometimes
Sometimes things don’t go, after all,
from bad to worse. Some years, muscadel
faces down frost; green thrives; the crops don’t fail,
sometimes a man aims high, and all goes well.
A people sometimes step back from war;
elect an honest man; decide they care
enough, that they can’t leave some stranger poor.
Some men become what they were born for.
Sometimes our best efforts do not go
amiss; sometimes we do as we meant to.
The sun will sometimes melt a field of sorrow
that seemed hard frozen: may it happen to you
~ Sheenagh Pugh ~
Almonzo Wilder (Laura Ingalls Wilder’s husband) loved mashed turnips. Cooked and mashed like potatoes. Its in Farmer Boy. My turnips are always bitter because of our extremely low soil fertility and beach sand that doesn’t hold anything. One day I will have amended the soil enough to get a decent turnip. Then I’ll mash it and know what he was raving about.
Does that actually work? Here, according to the county extension website, the heavy clay brings the soil back to where it wants to be within a year no matter how much you amend, therefore frequent amendments are necessary. I would think the sand would be harder to work with. We just can’t seem to change soil pH for anything.
I just wanted to share with you some things we’ve done in the years past to feed our farm animals and cattle.
We used to go to the day old bread stores and buy what was called “feed bread”. I would fill my car completely full, and you would not be able to see out. It was like $.50 a tray, all kinds of breads, rolls, cakes, etc. It was suppose to be only feed quality for animals, but I did pull stuff out to feed my family. We did this a lot for the rabbits, ducks, and pigs. Any animal just about will eat bread. But after a while, a large farmer started paying in advance and picking up all the bread, in large trucks. Us little people don’t get it much any more. I don’t even go try.
Another thing we have done. Here where we live, some of the farms have “Pumpkin patches” where the kids can come and pick pumpkins, for a price. The local one buys rabbits from us for their petting zoo. We have paid them in November after they close, to go in the fields and pick pumpkins, like $5 a pick-up truck load. Last year, they said they would have given them to us, but I asked the day after they tilled them under! I’m not going to be shy, and make a point to ask sooner this year!
A friend we share a pasture with, goes to the cotton gin and busy the cotton “trash”. Seeds, hulls, etc. The cows LOVE it, and eat as much as you will give them. We mix this with their feed.
We also feed them the left overs from the garden.
That is all I can think for now. Just from our experience, and we have been here on our farm for 12 years; it seems each year has a “problem”. It is never really the same from year to year. Last year we had coyotees, and they stole the whole crop of baby goats over one week. This year we have a varmit, we believe a racoon, and it is eating our chickens, rabbits, etc. It uses “hands” and reaches into the cages or pens, holds the animal down, and eats it. Almost has to be a coon or cat. Nothing seems to work to get rid of it. We are down to about 5 chickens
Praying for you!