Permsteading.com

I have sown shade tolerant grasses to mixed result. It starts out OK in the spring but as the denser canopy trees start filling out they don't grow great.

This year I'll focus my efforts on opening the canopy by cutting & girdling trees. I will plant nitrogen fixers to get things going like geoff lawton suggests. Some annuals and a fair amount of perennials too. Black locust seed is pretty cheap & with pre-soaking the germination rate is good. I'll let some seeds come from the back end of the animals or old hay.

I think the only annuals I'll plant will be forage radish/turnips to open up the hard pan.

Mullien has several usages for herbalists, CJ. Seems that it's good for lungs, as shown by the hairy leaves. You might pass the word that you have a crop coming on this year, if you don't mind someone harvesting them for flowers and leaves to use in tinctures or decoctions. I think it might be used to brew tea as well.

My daughter & I picked some flowers, put it in olive oil - supposed to be good for ear infections but we haven't needed it yet. I suppose I could post to Craig's list... not sure how else to get the word out but something to keep in mind.

You've got a great place CJ....it's so green!

That's why Vermont's the green mountain state!
ATM, however, everything is white:

by , on Flickr

I've got 4 ewes ready to pop any second!

Good luck with the lambing season, CJ. How often do sheep have twins?

From 4 ewes I'm hoping for 6 lambs.

And guess what! I just went out to feed the dog in their paddock and there was a brand new ram lamb. This is my 4th season and I have not had to intervene yet.

That is great CJ. I knew from what a friend had told me that many sheep will throw twins. His plan was to keep all of the sheep that had twins and butcher the ones that did not have twins. For some reason I thought the lambing season was a little bit later than Feb. You have a good bit more snow up your way than I have here, my yard is starting to melt off and show some of the grass.

You've never had to assist a lambing, CJ? That is encouraging news. One ewe down and three to go. Are they all mated with the same ram?

All mated to the same ram.

I have certain requirements when I picked my livestock breeds and easy birthing is one. I have Black Welsh Mountain Sheep. The only downside is that they are small so it'd be tough to make any money selling them for meat. On the plus side:
Hardy (it going to the single digits tonight and they will do fine in a 3 sided shelter - even the new lamb)
Good at foraging (not picky)
Beautiful
Tasty