Winter Prep On the Farm

So it is that time of year again, the weather is starting to turn colder. What does this mean on the farm?

For starters, it means stocking up on hay. At the moment, hay is a little hard to find this year, as New Mexico was in a drought this growing season. This means that hay is a bit expensive, and a lot of my regular growers don't have as many bales.

Next, adding a light to the chicken coop. Many of our clients at the farmer's market like having their farm fresh eggs year round, however, chickens tend to stop laying in the winter. To combat this, we add an artificial light to the coop to encourage them to continue to lay. That being said, it is still molting time, so they will stop laying to molt. You will read several different opinions on adding a light, but we have found it works best for us. The animals will eat regardless, so it is better that they help pay for their food!

Another thing we do is move the rabbit tractors over the garden plot and open it up to the chickens. This will start adding extra nutrients to the soil for spring planting. We don't typically do a winter garden, due to New Mexico's short growing season. There are many farmers who do around here, with the assistance of greenhouse tarping.