Clover – Page 6 – NuttyGrass

Step One of Crimson Clover Harvest

The first step with all harvest is to go out and see when it time to begin. We have been watching our Crimson fields move from a vibrant sea of red blooms to a more ripe and brown colored horizon.

This photo was taken May 4th.

This one was taken just a few days ago.

So yesterday even while wearing the most unpractical farming shoes we took one last walk in our clover field to make the final call…

…and we decided starting at 4:30am this morning we started to swath (cut the crop and lay it down in rows).

In a week to 10 days we will be heading out with our combines to harvest this crop. In the end we will have thousands of pounds of tiny little seeds. Seeds that will move all over the U.S. to be planted for cover crop and pasture mixes.

The golden seeds in the palm of my hand are the finished product.

The harvesters separate the seeds from the bells (hairy pod looking things that are on the head of the plant).

Crop number two (peas were our first crop) is under way! Let the harvesting begin!! Happy Friday!

It’s Mom Sense: Farming in Focus

You never know where blogging is going to lead you. Since starting this blog in 2012 one of the things that I have enjoyed most is the friendships and connections I have made. Not only with other farmers across the country, but other foodies, bloggers, moms and the like. So when I got an e-mail from another blogger who I met at a conference in April, asking to come to our farm and take some photos, I jumped at the chance. I always enjoy having people come and visit our farm. Seeing our operation through the eyes of someone else, especially a photographer is always something that I admire. New perspectives, new insights, and great questions have always motivated me to never turn down a chance to show someone around our farm.

The blogger I showed around is named Sara, and while not a farmer by trade, she is a mom and a consumer who wants to know more about where food comes from, who are those behind the wheel of the tractor, and in general more about our food and agricultural industry. You can check out her awesome blog that covers everything from bees to junk food, food dye to GMO‘s at ItsMomSense.com.

So for her most recent Farming in Focus post she wrote about and posted photos of our farm and all the crops that we have growing this time of year. She even got to come out and watch some pea harvesting! Just click the photo below to check out some great photos and good commentary from a new set of eyes about Kirsch Family Farms!