Mike Frizzell

google Dirt Doctor, whose name is Howard Garrett out of DFW and he has excellent ways of dealing with fire ants.  Thanks for reminding me why I left Texas.

I had the owl problem with my almost free range chickens, with an owl that would take the head and sometimes one bite out of the breast. The shelter is 4 posts with a tin roof and a yard split into 4 paddocks radiating from it. I fed the chickens a little in the evening, spreading the feed in a straight narrow line that included a long dead limb they used for roosting. I had a section of Premier1 electric chicken fence that I erected around the chickens when they came in to eat and made sure all were inside.  They didn't complain, just settled in for the night. The killing stopped until an escapee from the net was caught by the owl.  I changed the fencing to include the shelter, wrapping it around the posts almost to the top, and leaving the one side open toward the straight feed path. A few nights later the owl was entangled in the net portion around the shelter.  A call to the local bird lady and my problem was solved.

Several years ago I bought a scythe at a local auction just out of curiosity. It is an American snath and pretty old. Is it likely to be worthy of efforts to rehabilitate the blade or should I just keep it around "in case".  The blade seems large compared to many I have seen while trying to learn the proper way to use one.  I'm 6'6" tall and it seems short for me.  Do you have any suggestions for a better scythe for me for use on a small farm?  I would like to cut hay and cereal grains, in addition to keeping the farm looking nice.

On an 75 acre, long and rectangular farm, I plan to start phasing into a U-pick operation by establishing a pumpkin patch out by the county road. It will be a combination upick and grandchildren staffed booth. I'm not too worried about the upick portion because anything that is ruined will be fed to the pigs and chickens. We planted blueberries farther back on the driveway, anticipating a upick there in about 3-4 years. I'm slowly building a fruit orchard alongside the blueberries, but that may be for the next generation to use the lessons we learn from this beginning.
The ultimate plan is to start with this and eventually establish a store that will not only have a upick operation but also sell our meat (lamb, chicken, pork). I don't plan to raise produce for sale to the permies.
Does this sound like a plan that makes sense, assuming we have the patience to let it unfold as the products mature? Are there any other farm-raised upick products that might make sense to phase into this plan in north central Ohio?