Some Tips on How to Raise Pigs

1. Of course, the first thing you should consider is your capital.

Do you have enough saved to start a pig farm? How many pigs can you purchase? You can start with just a few pigs. Every time you sell a pig, use some of your earnings to buy more piglets.

2. Another thing you should take care of is where you’ll put your pigs.

You need ample space to keep your pigs. As a general rule, each pig is supposed to have at least 1/10 of an acre of pasture area. This is for grazing pigs. If you plan on building an enclosure, around 100 square feet for each pig is enough. Barns, pig pens, and other enclosures give you more control over the animals. Feeding them will be a lot easier as well as collecting their manure which can be used as fertilizers, another possible source of income. Additionally, pigs in enclosures have more tender meat as compared to grazers which tend to have tougher meat because of the muscles that often develop.

3. Another factor on how to raise pigs is food source.

If you’re keeping pigs for meat, you’ll need to feed them right for them to become bigger, meatier and more profitable. Pigs will eat anything edible. But this does not mean you can feed them anything you can get your hands on. The right pig diet should contain ample amounts of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. If you can, avoid giving them supplements. Get their nutrients from actual food and other organic or natural sources. For grazing pigs, you need to have enough pasture grass around. Plant some if you need to.

4. You should also be aware of what not to feed your pigs.

Raw potatoes are not recommended since they can be poisonous. Raw meat should also be avoided as they may carry bacteria and diseases. Cook or boil them before you give them to your pigs. As a safety precaution, you need to boil everything that you intend to feed them.

5. Food consumption should also be controlled.

One way to know if you are putting too much food in their troughs is to time the feeding. If there is food left after 30 minutes, then that means you are giving them too much. This may lead to overeating which is not good for them. You’ll also lose money because of this. You can also weigh the food. Six pounds is the most you can put in their troughs.

6. One more important tip on how to raise pigs properly is to provide them access to water.

Give them fresh, clean water to drink always. Be prepared to clean their water troughs regularly as pigs like to clean themselves in the water. Troughs made from galvanized iron are usually sturdier and easier to clean so you may want to consider that.

7. Even if you originally planned on keeping pigs for meat, you can still profit from breeding.

You’ll need a farrowing house so you can separate the sows. You can earn more if you sell your piglets. This is also a good way to increase your farm’s pig population.
These tips on raising pigs is only a guide for you to kick off your business venture. Nothing beats experience. As you go along, you will harvest enough knowledge on how to raise pigs which you can use for your pig farm to thrive and provide you with more income.

Types of Potatoes to Try Planting

Potatoes vary in size, shape, color, texture and time to maturity. Maturation time is the most important variable, because potato tubers grow best when soil temperatures range between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Try to get your crop harvested before hot summer temperatures arrive.

Types of Potatoes to Try Planting

Early varieties that mature in less than 90 days are good fits for any garden. Creamy, round ‘Irish Cobbler,’ purple-skinned ‘Caribe,’ and prolific ‘Red Norland’ fall into this group, along with ‘King Harry,’ which is resistant to Colorado potato beetles.

Midseason varieties mature in 100 days or so, and include ‘Yukon Gold’ and ‘Red LaSoda,’ which is often the top-producing potato in warm climates.

Late varieties need 110 days or more of growing time, but they typically produce a heavy set of tubers that keep well in storage. ‘Butte’ is an all-purpose brown-skinned potato that performs well when grown in the Midwest; ‘Katahdin’ and ‘Kennebec’ rule in the Northeast.

Elongated fingerling potatoes vary in their maturation times and come in a range of colors and sizes. None are very early, but late-maturing fingerlings will size up earlier if you pre-sprout the seed potatoes before you plant them.

Top 10 Tips for Keeping Chickens in Winter

For new chicken owners, winter can be a scary time. Will they be warm enough? Will they keep laying eggs? These tips will keep your hens happy and healthy.

1. They don't need a heater.
I've often gotten questions about putting a heater in the chicken coop for winter warmth. My answer: don't do it! Think of all that bedding - you're asking for a fire. Plus, chickens don't need it. They huddle together for warmth. And don't seal up the coop completely. Ventilation is key to prevent moisture buildup.

2. Use deep litter to keep them warm.
The deep litter method is a way of allowing bedding material and chicken poop to build up in the coop over the spring, summer, and fall, so that by winter you have roughly a foot of composting material on the floor of the coop. This composting poop and bedding will give off its own heat, warming the coop naturally.

3. They may not lay unless you supplement light.
Some birds are great layers right through the winter. But in general, supplemental light is required if you want to keep your family or customers in eggs all winter long. However, there are some downsides to supplementing light - it stresses the birds and can shorten their laying life.

4. Feed them corn in the evening to keep them warm all night.
Giving your chickens a nice feeding of cracked corn before bed gives them something to digest during the night, keeping them warmer.

5. Hang a head of cabbage for a chicken play toy.
Just like humans, chickens can get a little bored and stir-crazy in the winter. They sure seem to like it when I hang a head of cabbage on a string in the coop. They go wild pecking at it while it bobs around. It makes me feel like I’m doing something for them, anyway. So try it - keep your hens happy!

6. Make them a nice sunroom.
If you’re worried about your girls not having enough space in the coop, you can build a kind of cold frame or greenhouse style addition to your coop, covering it in clear plastic. They will wander out into it and have a bit more space on nice days, and you can rest easy knowing they aren’t too smushed and are getting some fresh air.

7. Petroleum jelly on combs and wattles protects from frostbite.
In the coldest winter climates, you may find that breeds with large combs and wattles are prone to frostbite. To protect them, you can smear their combs and wattles with petroleum jelly. However, if your chickens do get frostbite, it is usually jsut the tips of the combs that are affected, and they don’t seem to be any worse for the wear - but it can look a little icky.

8. Chickens don’t like snow.
Generally speaking, once temperatures are in the 20 degree F range, chickens (mine, anyway) won’t walk out onto snow. You can scatter hay or straw on the ground and this will make it more palatable for them.

9. Chickens don’t have to be put inside in bad weather.
They know what to do. If they don’t want to be outdoors, they will head in to the coop. Just let them do what they want. They are hardier than you might think, and aren’t as averse to cold as people often think they are. Don’t waste your time and energy trying to shoo them indoors in the rain or snow.

10. Roosts are key.
Chickens will roost together and fluff themselves out. This is what keeps them warm. It also keeps them off the cold ground. So make sure you have plenty of space for all your chickens to comfortably roost (check on them in the evening with a flashlight - if someone’s on the ground, there’s not enough space). Roosts should be at least two feet off the ground.

Most Popular Tomato Varieties to Grow in the Home Garden

The most popular tomato varieties got that way with good reason.

 Some are easy to grow. Others have excellent disease resistance or be particularly flavorful or offer outstanding production … or all of the above!

With thousands of varieties to choose from, it can be hard to decide which tomatoes to grow in your garden.

Check out this list of most popular tomato varieties as chosen by your fellow tomato growers online!

Most Popular Tomato Varieties: 
Hybrid Tomatoes

Better Boy Tomato
Hybrid, indeterminate, 75 days, red, beefsteak (12-16 ounces), resistance: VFN
Big Beef Tomato
Hybrid, indeterminate, 73 days, red, beefsteak (10-12 ounces), resistance: VFFNTA; 1994 All-America Selections Winner
Big Boy Tomato
Hybrid, indeterminate, 78 days, red, beefsteak (10-16 ounces), resistance: A
Celebrity Tomato
Hybrid, determinate, 70 days, red, globe (8-12 ounces), resistance: VFFNTA
Early Girl Tomato icon
Hybrid, indeterminate, 50-52 days, red, globe (8 ounces), resistance: VFF
Grape Tomato
Hybrid, indeterminate, 60 days, brilliant red, elongated cherry tomatoes, resistance: FSA
Independence Day Tomato (Fourth of July Tomato)
Hybrid, indeterminate, 49 days, red, small (4 ounces)
Jersey Tomato (Rutgers Tomato)
Hybrid, determinate, 75 days, bright red, globe (6-8 ounces), resistance: VFA
Juliet Tomato
Hybrid, indeterminate, 60 days, red, elongated cherry (1 ounce), resistance: cracking; 1999 All-America Selections Winner
Sunsugar Tomato
Hybrid, indeterminate, 62 days, orange, cherry, resistance: FT, cracking

Most Popular Tomato Varieties: 
Heirlooms (open-pollinated tomatoes)

Amish Paste Tomato
Heirloom, indeterminate, 85 days, red, paste tomato (8 ounces)
Black Krim Tomato
Heirloom, indeterminate, 69-80 days, red/brown, beefsteak (16 ounces), resistance: FN
Brandywine Tomatoes
Heirloom, indeterminate, 69-80 days, pink, beefsteak (16+ ounces), resistance: F
Cherokee Purple Tomato
Heirloom, indeterminate, 69-80 days, purple/brown/black, beefsteak (16 ounces)
Green Zebra Tomato
Heirloom, determinate, 78 days, green, small (3 ounces)
Mortgage Lifter Tomato
Heirloom, indeterminate, 85 days, pink, beefsteak (16-24 ounces)
San Marzano Tomato
Heirloom, indeterminate, 85 days, red/pink, plum (4 ounces)
Yellow Pear Tomato
Heirloom, indeterminate, 71 days, bright yellow, pear-shaped cherry (1 ½” round)

How Many Goats Should You Get?

Before you bring home any goats to supplement your green lifestyle, you have to determine how many goats you really need. One of the biggest mistakes new goat farmers make is getting too many goats. You need at least two goats so that they can keep each other company, but it's better to start slow. And you need to get only wethers or does, depending on your purpose, unless you have seriously considered the implications of getting a buck and decided that you really need one.

The number of goats you can adequately provide space for on your property depends on the answers to a few questions:

How much fenced pasture or range is available to the goats?

If you live in an area where you can't let your goats range (roam over a large area), such as a desert area or in the city, you need about 20 square feet per adult standard-sized goat for sleeping and resting, plus another 30 square feet (outdoors, ideally) for exercise. This gives them enough space to move around and not be cramped or too confined.

If you have a larger outdoor area in which to raise your goats — where they'll have pasture, woods, or range — you need less indoor space per goat because they only rest and sleep there. The rule of thumb is 10 to 15 square feet per adult standard-sized goat.

How much space do you have for a sleeping area?

Goats like to sleep together in small groups, and so the actual sleeping area they need can be quite a bit smaller than their living area. If you have a building with a lot of separate pens, keep the doors open so they are accessible to all of your goats. (Of course, the herd queen and her brood will take over the best spot anyway.)

Will they have kids?

A standard-sized goat needs at least a 4-foot-by-5-foot kidding pen. If you have more than one doe that you want to have kid, breed them at different times, and clean and sanitize the pen between kiddings.

How to Process Goat Fiber

Before you turn your goat fiber into yarn, you need to put it through several processes. To process your fiber, you need to wash, card or comb, and spin. Here are some hints for preparing goat fiber.

Washing
Unless you're selling your raw fleece to a commercial operation, you need to wash your goat fleece to remove grease, dirt, and other impurities:

Separate the fleece into smaller bundles and put them into mesh bags.

Do not pack the fleece tightly into the bags.

Put 145°F water in your sink. Wearing rubber gloves, check the water's pH.

If it is below 8, thoroughly mix in small amounts of baking soda until the pH is 8 or 9. (Neutral pH is 7.) Then mix in a small amount of detergent.

Place your bags of fleece in the water and soak for 15 minutes.

Pull out a bag and check a lock of fleece. If it is gummy, all of the grease is not out and you need to keep soaking it for up to another 45 minutes.

Refill the sink with 145°F water, using only half the detergent and no baking soda. Soak for 15 more minutes.

Remove the fleece from the water and let out the water. Fill the sink with more hot water and soak the fleece for 15 to 30 minutes, agitating it with your hand from time to time.

Remove the bags, refill the sink, and rinse for 15 to 30 minutes, using cooler water each time.

Rinse a final time.

Check the pH of the final rinse; it should be 6. If it is higher, add a small amount of vinegar to lower the pH. Soak and rinse for 15 minutes.

Dry the clean fleece.

Remove the bags, press them gently, and then remove the fleece from the bags. Spread out the fleece to dry on a towel as you would a wool sweater. You can use a fan to accelerate drying.

Carding or combing
Carding and combing are ways to separate the strands of washed fiber to prepare it for spinning into yarn. Both methods blend the fibers and remove hay and other contaminants that may still be left in the fiber. They also straighten the fibers to make them lie in the same direction. Carding produces a fluffier end product than combing because combing better aligns the fibers and makes the fleece more compact.

You can card your fiber by hand or with a carding machine. To comb your fiber, you can use paddle combs. These are similar to hand carders, but they are simpler and have only one or two rows of teeth. They are good for working medium to long fibers or for working with cashmere, where you have to remove the guard hairs as you go along. Combing separates the long and short fibers and prepares the fiber for spinning.

Spinning
Handspinning is the traditional method and requires a drop spindle or a spinning wheel.

You need to practice spinning the drop spindle without yarn to get used to working with it. To spin with a drop spindle, you attach a piece of yarn (called a leader cord) to your spindle and then attach the end of your fiber to that. You have to spin in the same direction (normally clockwise) to hold your fiber together. As you spin the wheel, you gradually add fiber to the end of the rolag or roving you are working with.

Spinning on a wheel requires you to use your hands and feet. You use your feet by pushing on a treadle that keeps the wheel moving as you gradually add fiber to be spun into yarn. You need to practice to learn to move your hands and feet together and get a consistent product. After you get it, the process seems like second nature, and spinners even say it's incredibly relaxing.

How to Take Your Goat’s Temperature, Pulse, and Respiration

Part of a green lifestyle may include raising goats. As a goat owner, you need to know how to check your goat’s vital signs. Checking your goat’s temperature, pulse, and respiration can tell you a lot about his overall health.

Taking a goat’s temperature

Taking a goat’s temperature is easy. You need either a digital or traditional glass thermometer that you can buy from a feed store, a drug store, or a livestock supply catalog. Both types are fairly inexpensive.

If you use a glass thermometer, make sure you shake it down before you start so that it reads accurately. Tie a string around one end of a glass thermometer so that you can retrieve it if it goes too far.

To take a goat’s temperature grab a thermometer and take the following steps:

Immobilize the goat.

You can hold a small kid across your lap. Secure an adult in a stanchion, have a helper hold him still, or tie him to a gate or fence.

Lubricate your thermometer.

Use KY jelly or petroleum jelly.

Insert the thermometer a few inches into the goat’s rectum.

Hold the thermometer in place for at least two minutes.

Slowly remove the thermometer.

Read the temperature and record it on the goat’s health record.

Clean the thermometer.

Use an alcohol wipe or a cotton ball that has been wet with alcohol.

A goat’s normal temperature is 102°–103° Fahrenheit, but can be a degree higher or lower, depending on the individual goat. A goat’s temperature can also go up or down throughout the day. On a hot day, you can expect some of your goats to have higher temperatures.

To determine what a normal temperature is for your goats, be sure to take their temperatures when they are healthy and keep a record of it. Measure their temperatures on a hot day and a normal day so you have an accurate baseline.

Checking a goat’s pulse

The normal pulse for a goat is 70 to 90 beats per minute. Kids’ heart rates may be twice that fast.

To take your goat’s pulse:

Make sure she is calm and resting.

Find the goat’s artery below and slightly inside the jaw with your fingers.

Watching a clock and count the number of heartbeats in 15 seconds.

Multiply that number by four to get the pulse rate.

Checking a goat’s respiration

The normal respiration rate for an adult goat is 10 to 30 breaths per minute, and for a kid it is 20 to 40 breaths per minute. To count respirations, simply watch the goat’s side when she is calm and resting. For 60 seconds, count one respiration for each time the goat’s side rises and falls.