Spring 2020

Usually we post one update per month. This year, Spring was a flurry of activity - putting long awaited plans into action, many changes, keeping heads above water, and most of all, preparing for the arrival of our first baby who surprised us three weeks early! All of our plans went out of the window for a few weeks while we settled as a new family. But, below, you can read about the plans that did become a reality in early Spring…

The Move to Long Field

Our biggest achievement in Spring was the move of all the animals to a flat area of land, known as Long Field (read more in the August blog here) . This area was previously very swampy and inaccessible. We used to stand on the koppie at the top of the property and look down over the ‘flatlands’, dreaming and scheming about how one day we would have animals there. To finally see this become reality is rather unbelievable! With help from the Chanthunya family, we cleared shrub along a cattle path to open up a route that was accessible with the four wheeler, and later, the bakkie. In exchange for chicken and pork, we hired our neighbour’s TLB so that we could build bridges over the dam overflow and the stream, and then begin to move our animals to the only flat area on the farm. This makes moving broiler pens and egg mobiles SO much easier and much less time consuming.

PASTURE RAISED CHICKENS

The broilers were the first to make the great move to Long Field in their new Salatin Style pens. Part of the reason we were finally able to build these pens was because of the possibility of moving to Long Field and having flat land to move them along. Our previous pens were more flexible on uneven ground but were not as effective in protecting and keeping chickens warm. The grass was still brown and dry before the Spring rains fell.

Here is the resulting wood chips from our Winter broiler experiment where we raised two batches of broilers in a free range style in the tractor shed. This was turned, watered, and composted before being used in our veggie garden. (Read more here)

PASTURE RAISED EGGS

The layers were next to follow onto Long Field. Their impact has been astonishing - the heavy manure load has left dark green patches of rich grass. Our neighbour began leasing part of our grassland for grazing and his cattle will always go to these richer patches. They, in turn, graze and drop manure which further improves the grass.

pasture raised pigs

We have had one sow farrow every month in Spring - Shrew in September, Spotty Pig in October, and Lady in November. Spotty Pig refused to have her piglets in the safety of the enclosed area but found every which way to break free and successfully delivered her piglets in an exquisite nest that she built in the forest. She was so well hidden that it took us a good half an hour to find her in the forest.

The piglets born in July were old enough to be put into “Pig Pods” on Long Field where they set to work on rooting up brambles and trampling in cover crop seed.

The bottom photos show the male pigs separated from the females, having some fun in the mud in their own forest camp.

GOATS

A big excitement at Bramleigh was the beginning of the goats kidding! Our goats keep long grass and shrubs in check (being browsers), drop their fertility pellets (manure) wherever they go, and keep us well entertained. The goats are a herd share project with our staff so everyone was very excited by the birth of 7 babies - 2 sets of twins and 3 singletons.

The start of Spring was incredibly dry. We burnt our firebreaks just in time - a week later, an extremely hot, dry and windy Sunday saw at least 8 runaway fires flare up across the area. Everyone in the area was called in to assist as the fires raged, some for hours, some for more than a day. Fortunately these were brought under control by quick and dedicated responders but animals were lost, fences were cut as animals were set free to flee, and many hectares of grassland was damaged as the fires leapt across rivers and roads!

GROND TOT MOND ARTICLE

In September, we were contacted by Grond tot Mond magazine who did an interview with us about our farm, and unbeknownst to us, we ended up on the front cover! They also did a feature on REKO Rings. Check out the magazine during December for some really interesting content - available in Shoprite, Spar, and CNA or grondtotmond.com We are so grateful for this opportunity, the beautiful photography and a fun-filled afternoon!

EARTH ROUTE MARKET

Earth Route Market opened up again, much to the delight of producers and local customers alike. The market meets every Saturday in the Farmer’s Hall in Nottingham Road 7.30am - 11am.

Some of our value added products - pork lard and sourdough bread

Enjoying blossoms and bugs in the Orchard. We were very excited to see this number of ladybugs on the peach tree, keeping control of the aphid population.

the good news and the bad news…

The bad news (for us) was the Chanthunya family leaving Bramleigh to continue their dream of moving to Malawi. We will be forever grateful for the time, help, support, and confidence they gave us. Thanks to their company, we survived lock down, and they had an enormous impact on the farm from their time and help. We are excited to watch their journey ahead.

The good news, was the arrival of our little bundle. We can only imagine the adventures this little guy is going to get up to on the farm in the coming years!