Canning For Tomorrow!

Last month we discussed where to purchase local goods to enjoy for this hot summer weather, this round on Co-op Corner Blog we will be discussing canning season. While the gardens are over producing at this point, what can you do with the extra?

CAN IT! Canning dates back to the French in the early 1800’s. When Nicolas Appert started canning to help preserve foods for extended periods of time from going bad and spoiling. Today canning is still a great tradition that many carry on, but it is becoming a lost skill. Don’t fret, here at Co-op, we got you! At the Ashland City location, we offer several options for canning, this includes the famous Ball mason jars, seasonings, books, and more. Some of the best foods for canning include green beans, tomatoes, peaches, and jams. There are obviously more but these are very popular. Great tools you need for canning can include a canner, jars, lids, bands, salt, a wide mouth funnel, additional large bowls, jar lifter, and a good ladle! There are two different types of canners, a water canner and a pressure canner.

The water canner is very popular for people who are just starting their journey. This one is traditionally used for canning high-acid foods like fruits, pickles, salsa, beets, applesauce or jellies! Then there is a pressure

canner, which can be extremely dangerous if you are not watching your steps. This canner offers a vent with a pressure gauge to seal the ring around the lid of the jar where you get to the fabulous “pop” to allow you to know, you have done a good job!
Ideally the pressurized canner is designed for beans or meats which need to be cooked to a higher temperature to destroy harmful bacteria. A special ingredient we also discussed was salt, Ball makes a special salt made just for canning! Using your traditional table salt contains iodine, which can darken the color or make them cloudy of your canned goods. If you click on the link provided, you will be able to get a wonderful education from Ball Mason Jars to bring great success to your journey of canning. https://www.ballmasonjars.com/canning-preserving-guides.html

Support Your Local Farmers

As strawberry season is coming to an end, vegetables and other fruits will start being harvested and not a moment too soon because June is National Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month.  Everyone knows fruits and vegetables are the best when picked right off the vine, plant or tree but what if you don’t have an orchard or a garden?  The next best thing would be to visit your local farmer’s market or even one of the local farm stores in Robertson County.  What’s that…you don’t know when they happen or where they are?  Buckle up for this multi-part series and let us guide you to some of Robertson County’s farmer’s markets and local farm stores.

A local farmer’s market is one of the best ways to support your local growers as well as have a lot of variety in one location.  The Robertson County Farmer’s Market happens weekly on Saturdays from 8:00am to 12:00 noon.  You can find all kinds of goodies at this farmer’s market ranging from baked goods to soap.  This market appears to start the first Saturday in May and goes through the last Saturday in August, but the final date may depend on the fair dates because its location is the livestock barn at the Robertson County Fair Grounds on 41 North in Springfield.  Check their Facebook page for specifics: https://www.facebook.com/RCFarmersMarket/ .  Another weekly farmer’s market is the White House Farmer’s Market that happens every Wednesday, 3:30 – 7:00pm starting in May and going through August. They have local vendors as well as live music, food trucks and other family-oriented events.  For directions and more information on this market check-out their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/WHFarmersMarket .  Another action-packed market is the Cedar Hill Farmer’s Market which is a monthly market that takes place on the 3rd Thursday of every month starting in April and continuing through September, but that last market is on Saturday to correspond to the county wide event Experience Robertson County.  This event kicks off at 5:00 and finishes up around 8:00 and has something for everyone including a classic car cruise, ice cream and shopping for all kinds of items that are grown or made locally.  The farmer’s market might finish up in September, but Mayor John Edwards informed me that there’s a fall festival in October so be sure to check that out as well.  Check out the Cedar Hill, TN Happenings (https://www.facebook.com/groups/853215421819255)  page on Facebook to keep up with their market action and for directions.

If the farmer’s market produce isn’t fresh enough for you, we can help you through growing your own veggies!  All of our locations have access to Bonnie Plants and CO-OP seed.  The Ashland City location also sells plants from Shady Maple Greenhouses.  Jo Byrns FFA grew some tomato plants in float trays for the Springfield location in 2023 and we hope to offer plants grown by them in the future as well.  Any of our Robertson Cheatham locations have bagged fertilizer and lime available in order to get your gardens off to the best start.  We also have insect control options to help protect your garden and orchard for pests and disease that would affect your fruit and veggies.  See your local CO-OP for any questions you may have about growing your own food.

If growing your own veggies and fruits is not an option, visit one of the listed farmer’s markets!  You’ll be helping local farmers as well as the local businesses that they buy from while buying fresher produce for your family.  If you don’t have the time, energy or space to grow your own or you can’t make it to a market then stop into the CO-OP Corner next week to find a local farm store that can supply you with everything from apples to zucchini!

Tennessee’s Little Winters

Last week we discussed gardening and some of the different options that you can use to grow some fresh vegetables for you and your family.  This week we’re going to give you 6 reasons to pay close attention to the seasons when determining when to plant your vegetables.  Whether you’ve recently moved to Tennessee or lived here all your life, if you’ve been here for more than a week then you have probably learned our weather has a mind of its own.  If this is your first spring in Tennessee then get ready to experience what we native Tennesseans call little winters and you’ll soon learn that just because the calendar says it’s Spring doesn’t mean it’s Spring in Tennessee.  If you’re new to the area or never heard of the little winters then keep on reading and hopefully, you’ll learn something in the CO-OP Corner this week!  Don’t put those jackets into storage just yet and don’t even think about planting those tomatoes and peppers until after Easter! You might ask why if you’re new to Tennessee but the locals know it’s because the cool weather didn’t blow away in the March winds.

What is a little winter?

A little winter is what we Tennesseans call the cool spells that happen usually throughout the spring season with the last one happening a few weeks before the first day of Summer.  This is what happens: Spring begins on March 20th.  The weather may be cool or warm.  Trees are starting to bud and grass is starting to green up because we’ll have a few or several days of nice warm weather.  Then all at once it’s freezing, or at least miserably cold, for a few days.  Then we return to our regularly scheduled warm spring weather.  It’s like Mother Nature is teasing us with nice weather then stings us with the cold.  Next thing you know, it’s the first day of Summer and highs in the 90s.  How many winters do we have to endure?

The Who, Why and When

Eastern Redbud tree in bloom. Photo borrowed from: https://utarboretum.tennessee.edu/tree-identification-guide/

There are 6 of these little winters and here’s who they are: redbud, dogwood, locust, blackberry, whippoorwill and wool/linen britches or britches for short.  The order that these happen depends on who you ask.  There’s a little controversy around locust where some people say it’s the first little winter and some people say it’s the last.  The people who say it’s the last usually aren’t counting britches winter or don’t know about britches winter.  These cold snaps are named after trees and bushes mostly and that’s because that is the tree/bush that is blooming at the time of the cold snap.  For instance, the first two, according to my observation, is redbud and dogwood so redbud winter happens when the redbuds are blooming and dogwood winter happens when the dogwood trees are blooming.  Blackberry and locust are named the same way.  Whippoorwill winter is named for when the whippoorwill bird can be heard in the early mornings or late evenings usually mid to late May.  If you’re interested in hearing the whippoorwill’s song, check out this YouTube clip posted by the American Bird Conservancy Whip-poor-will Song – YouTube  That brings us up to britches winter.  I thought whippoorwill and britches winter was the same winter until I did a little research.  They can overlap so maybe that’s why I thought they were the same. According to The Tennessee Historical

White dogwood tree in bloom. Photo borrowed from: https://utarboretum.tennessee.edu/tree-identification-guide/

Society’s website, britches winter is named after the cool spell that can happen late May to early June.  In the old days, people had already put up their woolen or heavy britches and started wearing their linen britches or lighter weight clothing by this time.  They’d have to get their heavy clothes out for one last winter spell before the summer heat took over.  These last 2 winters I didn’t know anything about until I was grown.   The others I had heard my grandparents talk about all my life but didn’t know which was which because I’d never asked and then common sense kicked in as I got older so I realized what they were talking about the blooms.  These little winters are usually short lived and only last a few days before our lovely spring weather comes back but the earlier ones can be fatal to those gardens and warm season vegetables that were planted too early.

Little Winter Gardening Tips

Most of us warm weather loving people and especially the gardeners are anxious to get some plants growing in the spring but some helpful hints and little sayings that I’ve heard over the years can potentially keep those plants alive through the little winters of spring.  In last week’s CO-OP Corner, I said that I like to plant my garden in May.  You don’t necessarily have to wait that late to plant and a lot of people will already have cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and greens planted by then because they are cold weather crops.  Plant those things early to mid-March along with onions and potatoes.  A good rule of a green thumb on warm season vegetables is to wait until after Easter.  I’ve heard old timers say that over the years working at CO-OP and while you may not be completely out of danger of frost, the chance of frost is much less likely after Easter.  Usually by the first of May, the ground is warming up and tomatoes, peppers, squash and other warm season vegetables will grow and do better in the warm soils.  How can you tell if the ground is warm?  Literally sit on the ground and wait about 10-15 minutes.  If your rear end is cold, so is the ground.  Wait a little longer to transplant your plants and hold on to your seeds for a bit longer if you’re planting beans, okra and squash from seed.

Standby, Loading Spring

As we learned last week when it was raining, snowing and sleeting all in the same day, Tennessee weather can be confusing at times.  Most of us warm weather people are sick of winter before it starts so we’d love for the warm days to start as soon as March 20th gets here.  Unfortunately, sometimes getting spring weather to load in Tennessee is like using an internet connection from the 90s and it takes a while to finish loading.  For the younger readers, you wouldn’t understand what I’m talking about but trust me it was slow.  Be patient and enjoy watching the plants come back to life and when you’re in the middle of a cold snap between March 20th and June 21st, pay attention to which trees are blooming so you can teach your children and friends about the little winters that we experience during a Tennessee spring!

 

How does your garden grow?

How many times have you been on a social media platform and seen a post that resembled the following: my food comes from the grocery store?  Like most farm kids, I learned at an early age that the food on our table came from the garden and livestock.  It may not have been raised at our place but someone, somewhere produced everything from the sugar in our sweet tea to the beef roast, carrots and potatoes on our plates.  This information is something that I took for granted but I didn’t realize that not everyone knew that livestock, fruits and vegetables were grown in order to produce food for people.  It was in college that I realized that some people my own age, 18 at the time, had never seen a cow in real life and possibly didn’t realize that cattle produced milk to drink and meat to eat.  That’s when I realized how lucky I was to have grown up on a farm being taught how to grow my own food.  Since 2020, people have been looking into their food supply options other than grocery stores.  Some have looked for local suppliers to which you can find a few under the Farm Fresh tab in our Media section on our website: www.yourfarmerscoop.com.  Others frequent the local farmer’s markets when they are in season.  Then, there are the brave people who want to learn to grow their own food and this week’s blog is about the different types of gardening and what you’ll need to be successful with each one so let’s get growing!

Space and Time

A couple of main things to consider when deciding on growing veggies is how growing much time and space you have for this garden.  Obviously if you live in an apartment and/or work long hours then you’ll be more limited on what and how much you can plant so a container garden would be a great option in these situations.  Because containers come in different sizes, you would determine how big or small you wanted these containers to be and you can move them around if needed.  Container gardens would also be a great choice for someone who works long hours and won’t be able to spend a lot of time caring for the plants because weeds and plant pest won’t be as much of an issue.  Because container gardening doesn’t have as many pests, less chemical would be needed to keep the plants producing which would be a major advantage for people who want to stay as natural as possible.  Also, not as much large equipment is needed for container gardening and if you moved the containers can go with you.  Most vegetables can be grown in containers as long as growing space is available…for example, if you wanted to grow a vining crop, you’ll need to plan on where the vine will go once it starts to crawl.  One drawback to having a container garden would be the added expense of the actual containers and bagged dirt but the price of food in stores is going up by the day.  The convenience of picking your food from your patio, not to mention the pride and bragging rights you would gain would more than make up for the expense.  Ready to move off the patio or have a little more time and space?  Move on up to a raised bed garden!

5′ Tarter Bunk Feeder being used as a container garden and a 3′ round Tarter Raised Bed Planter

Moving on Up

Growing veggies in a raised bed would be another great option for people who maybe live on smaller lots or who doesn’t want to have to buy a tiller or other more expensive equipment to grow vegetables.  Raised beds can be made out of pallets, bags of soil, straw bales or some of the fancier raised beds may consist of crossties or landscaping timbers. Some are only 8” – 10” above ground level and some are built up and fenced so that rabbits can’t hop through and nibble on crops.  A raised bed can be as small and economical or as big and elaborate as your budget will allow but the vegetables will taste the same.  Like container gardens, the biggest required expense will be the dirt unless you want a nice, fancy, permanent raised bed built with crossties or landscape timbers.  If container and raised bed gardens aren’t your thing or you don’t want to be confined then you could always go with a more traditional type garden that’s planted directly into the ground.

Sky is the Limit

The sky is the limit on how big to make a traditional garden which is what I’m calling the gardens that are planted directly into the ground.  These gardens are only limited to the amount of land that you have dedicated for a garden area and how much work you want to put into raising your own vegetables.  More traditional gardens will be a little more work because of grass, weeds and bugs and also because the preparation of the ground will take a little more effort.  When getting ready to plant seeds or plants in the ground, the ground will need to be tilled or worked as country folk call it.  I normally plant after the middle of May because anyone who has lived in Tennessee very long knows that we have “little winters” until around the end of May.  These little cold snaps happen regularly in Tennessee and will send you scrambling for anything you can find to cover those plants to save them from frost and freezing temperatures.  All the work is worth it though, when you cook that first head of broccoli or bite into that first ear of sweet corn.  A traditional garden is the way to go to produce volumes and if you’re wanting to can or freeze vegetables on a large scale, this is the only garden for you!

Growing a garden can be overwhelming if you’ve never tried to do it but have no fear, your CO-OP is here!  Regardless of whether you plant in containers or in the ground, grow some fresh vegetables this year.  You won’t be sorry and if you have any questions, we’ll be happy to help!  Stop on by your local CO-OP and get all your gardening supplies.  We have most everything you need and can give you advice if you’re a little unsure about how to handle something.  If you don’t feel up to planting your own, holler at us and we’ll help put you in touch with some of our local producers who would love to have your business as well!  Stop back by this section next week for a little more information on the “little winters” of Tennessee!  Happy gardening!

New Year, New CO-OP

Robertson Cheatham Farmer’s Cooperative has been a part of the community for more than 74 years.  A lot of things have changed over the years and 2021 brought a few more changes.  We had a couple people retire and even lost a couple of past and present employees.  We welcomed some new faces and welcomed back a familiar face as well as started some new traditions that helps us to be a little more active in the community.  Now is as good of a time as any to inform our customers, readers and listeners of some of the new activities we have in play.

Chewing Cud

In case you haven’t heard, CO-OP has joined in the 21st century with our social media platforms, blog and the newest a podcast.  We had planned on launching a podcast in 2020 but covid-19 showed its ugly face and changed our plans like it did for so many others.  Early this fall, we welcomed back Clint Grubbs who is our main host on the podcast dubbed “Grazing.”  Clint worked with us a few years ago pulling soil samples, tendering fertilizer when needed as well as making videos for CO-OP’s social media platforms.  Clint, along with our accounting manager, Caroline Huffines, and our general manager Randy Sutherland, welcome a different local guest every Monday to “chew the cud” with so to speak.  To listen to “Grazing,” it’s posted on Facebook and Instagram about midday every Monday or checkout the media section on our website: www.yourfarmerscoop.com.

Trying New Things

One of the newest events was held at our Bulk Fertilizer Building in Springfield, where we had Santa Paws and Mrs. Paws come for a photo shoot with pets and their families.  We partnered up with Critter Fixers to make this happen in mid-November.  Critter Fixers is a local non-profit that is working diligently to get a much needed low cost spay and neuter clinic here in Robertson County.  We raised over $500 in just a few hours which made both of us happy because we had no idea what we were doing but everything went off without a hitch!  Also in 2021, CO-OP entered into the Robertson County Christmas parade for the first time ever.  We had so much fun handing out candy, license plates and a few cards that could be redeemed for caps, shirts and hoodies.  So many familiar faces were in the crowd that brisk November evening and we had a blast decorating James Neblett’s truck.  We’re looking forward to continuing these two events annually so hopefully we’ll see you at them in the future!

Our marketing team has been back at work planning on a few new events to begin in 2022.  We’ve been around for so many years and the community has changed so much over the years that we hope to be more active in local events in the future.  Feel free to share your farm related pictures with us on our Facebook page or just tag us…we enjoy seeing your farm kids, family, pets and livestock.  Stay tuned to see what we have up our sleeves!

Farmers’ Forecast

Have you ever wondered how people back in the good old days planned anything without knowing what the weather was going to do? Weather stations are giving conflicting forecasts for this weekend which shows that even all their high-tech, fancy equipment is confused by this front coming through. While the folks back then didn’t have computers, radars or weather modules to tell them what the weather would be like tomorrow, they did have signals from nature to tell them what was going to happen. With all the snow that RobCo has already seen, here’s a couple snow predictions from the older folks to help you out in the future.

Ring Around the Moon

Ever noticed a ring around the moon?  According to older generations, when you see a ring around the moon, snow will be coming soon.  This one has been true anytime I’ve ever noticed a ring being around the moon in the winter.  The Farmer’s Almanac calls this a lunar halo and it is caused by the light of the moon reflecting off of the ice crystals in the atmosphere around the moon.  A friend on Facebook posted a picture on Friday night, taken right here in Robertson County of the moon with its “halo” indicating that there will be snow this weekend.  Hopefully you’ve prepared by buying milk, eggs and bread as well as been by the local CO-OP to purchase your ice melt for the sidewalks and driveway!

But Wait, There’s More

Another common snow saying is that if snow lays around for more than 3 days then it is waiting for another snowfall. This one is pretty self-explanatory. If the snow stays for 3 days, then it’s obviously still cold enough for it not to melt and if more precipitation falls then it’s most likely to be snow. Which is a good thing if you have a little milk, sugar and vanilla to make snow cream. Wild Hearts Trading Company, located on 8th Avenue here in Springfield, posted the recipe for “Snow Ice Cream” last week during the second snow of 2022. Which was the perfect time for them to share this recipe because you don’t make snow cream with the first snow.  Don’t use the first snow because it’s said that snow cleans the air. Granddaddy didn’t go by a recipe…he sent us kids out to get a big pan of snow, put milk in until it was the right consistency then mixed in some sugar and vanilla. What a wonderful memory from long, long ago.


Whether you’re playing in the snow, building snowmen, making snow angels or sledding, please remember that farmers don’t get snow days.  They’ll be out checking livestock, feeding hay and grain, making sure everything has access to unfrozen water. They may have issues with trucks or tractors starting. They may get cold while out checking everything on the farm but it’s just another day on the farm and it has to be done. Look for the signs of snow and check out these theories and remember where to find that ice melt when the next snow is coming down!

 

In Like a Lion…

The groundhog predicted that we’d have 6 more weeks of winter on February 2nd which is also known as Groundhog Day. Then the week of Valentine’s Day, we had everything from freezing rain and ice to sunny spring-like days. March is coming in cool and breezy so hopefully it’ll go out calm and pleasant. For years people have had sayings about the weather and how to predict what mother nature has in store for us but this is Tennessee and our weather does its own thing. I’ve heard the saying all my life that goes something like this: if you don’t like the weather in Tennessee then wait 5 minutes and it’ll change. In my lifetime, I’ve heard several old wives’ tales that predict the weather and they usually prove to be pretty accurate. I’ll share a few of them with you this week.

Since we just had a big snow a couple weeks ago, we’ll start with a snow tale. My granddaddy always said that if snow laid around for 3 days that we’d have another one that season. In case you didn’t notice, the snow we got the week of Valentine’s day laid around for several days after the snow fall. My birthday falls about the middle of April and I do remember having snow on my birthday a few times so there’s plenty of time for more this year! During this week of freezing rain, ice and snow, CO-OP sold about 4 truckloads of Ice Melt collectively through our 4 locations. We had a little over 2 truckloads before this wintery weather moved in and that was gone on the 13th. We’ve received more and we do have it right now but not a doubt in my mind that we’ll sell out again as soon as they start talking about snow in the forecast. By looking at local forecasts, we will be experiencing warmer, sunny days this week but we’ll have plenty precipitation in March. How do I know? Read on to find out!

The last day of February was more like a spring day with the temperature reaching around 70 and in came the rain which brings me to this popular forecasting tale: if it rains on the first day of the month, then you’ll have rain at least 15 days in that month. The tale doesn’t say how much rain will come. It could be a down pour or it could be a sprinkle but anyone I’ve ever known to keep up with this has found it’s true. What I don’t know is whether that transfers to other forms of precipitation or not…could you imagine 15 days of snow? Another rain/storm predictor is the red sky. The saying goes something like this: red sky at night, sailor’s delight; red sky in the morning, sailor’s warning. That one is pretty self-explanatory. The delight is calm weather that would be great for smooth water and sailing. The warning is bad weather that could cause choppy water that would make for less enjoyable sailing conditions. This one seems to be pretty true from my experience of when I have paid attention to the sky. Whether it be in the morning or the evening, a red sky makes a beautiful picture regardless of the weather it’s predicting!

While predicting Tennessee weather is fairly challenging, some of the old wives’ tales may help you out. These few that I’ve mentioned are just the tip of the iceberg of the tales I’ve heard for weather and planting but I’ll bring you a few more in the future. By the way, Bonnie dropped off the first batch of plants this week but I wouldn’t plant yet. March has a saying that I learned in grammar school that goes something like this: in like a lion, out like a lamb. Let’s hope that saying is true cause March surely is coming in like a lion!

“He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’” Matthew 16:2

New Traditions

Most people would likely agree that 2020 has been a year of change to say the very least and will not soon be forgotten, if ever. Earlier in the year when most business were going to limited store hours and closing down, I couldn’t help but wonder if this year would bring families closer. People couldn’t go out and sit down in a restaurant to eat. Concerts were cancelled. Having a celebration or even worship that involved more than 10 people became a crime. All of these things limited the activities and even that could be done and even spending time with people within your own household. I’m going to bet that some people learned to cook, some started a new hobby while others just about went stir crazy. With Christmas upon us and a new year right around the corner, I can’t help but wonder how many family traditions won’t be carried out this year and maybe new traditions will be started. A certain sadness comes with breaking a tradition that has been carried out for many years and I kind of felt a bit of that sadness when we were getting ready to move from our old location on Memorial Boulevard.

Our main store in Springfield has now been at the new location a year. When we moved out to our new location at 5546 Wallace Road, it was a little bittersweet for me and other employees too. I had worked at our 4000 Memorial Boulevard location for over 20 years and we are creatures of habit which meant I didn’t like the fact my commute was going to take longer. I didn’t like that we were going to have a small sales area instead of a good-sized showroom…this one was a biggie for customers as well. I didn’t like having a porch to back up to and load orders from instead of having a dock. I’m sure there are plenty of other complaints that were mentioned by both employees and customers but I’m going to stop there because we’ve worked through most of them. On the upside of things, we moved to a newly constructed building. We have a much better “back porch” view and we’re in a much quieter area because we are a little further out of town. We suspected that we would lose some business because of our location and that was a concern. We had hopes that we would gain business that we didn’t have before because of our location. After a year of being at the new location, we’re pretty happy with how the first year has went.

I’ve settled in and love the new place…still not crazy about the drive but the good outweighs the bad. Some folks still haven’t adapted to the new place but will in time, I hope. Others, customers and employees alike, comment on how much nicer the new facility is over the old one. If you haven’t been out to see us, come on! I know for some it was tradition to go to the old CO-OP and climb the little 3-step ladder that was mounted on the dock. For others, it was tradition this time of the year to come grab a handful of peanuts and stand around chatting with farmers and employees. We’re here to let you know…we’re ready to start some new traditions in 2021 so stay tuned!

“But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31

 

 

 

Give Thanks

As I was feeding my goats the other evening, I noticed that the oldest doe in the herd was getting knocked away from the feed pans. At one time she was a head doe, but age has taken its toll and she’s not as strong as she used to be. This doe has more than earned her keep and she deserves to eat as much as the younger does if not more because I appreciate the work that she’s done for me over the years. So, the soft-hearted part of me goes and stands next to her to keep the others away while she eats her share of feed. These are the farming moments that non-farming people don’t get to experience. Farmers are some of the most caring, attentive people you will find because the wellbeing of their crops and livestock is their life and people depend on them to produce their food. During the hustle and bustle of the holidays, it’s easy to forget where your food came from and that most farmers don’t take days off just because it’s Christmas. Livestock still has to be fed and watered, cows still have to be milked and new life begins regardless of which holiday may be going on.

We’re coming up on the season of caring and giving. Farmers give their lives to a career that they love while a good number of people give them a hard time about the chemicals they use or traffic jams caused by their equipment or the smells their livestock produce. We live in an age where if you ask a kid where their food came from, they’ll say “the store.” People have forgotten where their food and clothing come from or maybe they were never taught. Every spring, we have a few people coming in and they want to grow their first garden or have a raised bed in order to grow their own food. They are so excited to plant and watch their crop grow. Then nature takes place and they come back looking for something to kill the weeds or bugs. They realize that growing their own food is not as easy as just planting a seed. The whole gardening experience has given them a new respect for a farmer’s work and it’s easy to take that hard work for granted.

Here at Robertson Cheatham Farmer’s CO-OP, we are thankful for each and every one of our customers, big and small and we look forward to these customers who are willing to learn how to grow their food or build their fence. A certain sense of accomplishment comes when you go out to the garden, pick some vegetables and prepare them for your family’s supper or when you grow your own beef and take your first bite of that delicious ribeye steak. Your local CO-OP salespeople get that same sense of accomplishment when you let us know that our advice worked or that product that we recommended worked like a dream. Whatever your farming venture, we look forward to helping you navigate through your farming journey.

Seems like last week was Thanksgiving and, in a few weeks, we’ll be celebrating Christmas. Think about your Thanksgiving dinner and how many of those dishes would not have been possible if it weren’t for a farmer. I’m going to bet Christmas dinner will be the same way in that a farmer raised everything on your table. From the cotton tablecloth to the sweet potatoes, the eggs in the chess pie to the beautiful ham sitting in the middle of the table, there was a farmer somewhere that put as much care into producing the food for your holiday dinner as I did to be sure that my older doe got to eat. Remember to thank a farmer when you see one, they have so many obstacles through the year that a little appreciation might be nice for them to hear!

“I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.” Psalm 69:30

Kill The Weeds

We’ve had a few days of sun and it’s getting a little warmer out…we’ve been waiting all winter for this!  March is the month that spring begins which is usually when the grass and trees start growing.  As grassy pastures and lawns begin to grow with plenty of rain and warmer, springtime temperatures, the dreaded weeds grow as well.  A few weeks ago, we talked about pre and post-emergent that were available in fertilizer that were to be used in lawns.  This week we’ll discuss a couple different sprays that will help you tackle the weeds after they are actively growing in lawns and pastures.  

Picking the best chemical depends on what kind of weeds and where they are growing.  A weed is any kind of plant that is growing somewhere that you don’t want it to grow and killing out the weeds will offer a couple of advantages.  You want to kill the weeds in both lawns and fields for one main reason: weeds compete with the grass for the nutrients in the soil.  If you have mostly weeds growing then they will eventually smother out the grass and you’ll end up with nothing but weeds.  Having mostly weeds in a lawn will look terrible but having large amounts of weeds in the pasture will affect how much forage the livestock will have to eat and affect the livestock’s growth rates with the exception of goats…they are browsers and love weeds!  In early spring while temperatures are below 80, 2,4-D Ester is normally used in both lawns and pastures to kill broadleaf weeds.  After temperatures pass the 80-degree mark, 2,4-D Amine is the product to use.  This chemical is called a selective and will only kill the broadleaf weeds but be careful and stay away from flowers and shrubs.  While 2,4-D may not be strong enough to kill established shrubs, it will burn them and could kill more tender spring flowers.  When you decide to spray your 2,4-D, you should be sure of a few things: no wind blowing because it can drift to neighbor’s flowers, gardens or crops, you want 3 consecutive days where the temperature is 60 degrees and above during the day, and make sure to use a surfactant.  Surfactant is often referred to as sticker and helps the chemical stay on the plant for better killing results.  If 2,4-D doesn’t kill the weeds you’re trying to eradicate then you may try a stronger product like Crossbow.  Crossbow is more of a brush killer but kills most woody-stemmed weeds or weeds that are more stubborn.  Neither of these products will kill established grass but both can kill or damage clover.  You’d be surprised how much you’ll help your lawn and pasture just by killing out some of the weeds!   

Whether you’re a farmer with 100 acres of pasture or a homeowner with 1/4 acre lot, killing the weeds around your place is important and will save you money.  Before you go spending major dollars on seed and fertilizer, make sure to kill off the weeds so the new seedlings will be able to utilize as much of the fertilizer as possible.  Remember if you have doubts on what to spray, CO-OP professionals can help you today! 

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” 1 Peter 4:10