Week Four:

This week was probably the best week so far. I continued working with Carly and we took care of the ducks and chickens in the morning and evening. In the middle of the day the two of us worked in the garden. What made this week great was being able to spend time with the WWOOFers and the garden manager Maria!

Devil Rooster.

When Carly and I feed and water the chickens we try not to be confrontational with the rooster, but that's not always possible...There are three sets of chickens at the farm. We call them: adult, teenage, and garden chickens. The adult and garden chickens have MEAN roosters! Luckily I have only been attacked once while I wasn't looking.  To avoid this, when I see that the rooster or roosters are teaming up to stake out an attack I start swinging my foot or just start walking toward them until they run away. Unfortunately, Carly has not been as lucky... she has been attacked on numerous occasions.

Usually, there is only one rooster per group of hens, but sometimes there are two. In this case, they live in harmony,  the two roosters decide which one of them is going to be the more dominate. They determine this by fighting. Unfortunately for us, the two roosters we have living together also like to team up and attack us at the same time, its so frustrating...it makes me want to eat them for breakfast!

                                                                   Chamomile tea
                                              Photo credit: http://tinyurl.com/bvherqg


In the garden, the Garden Manager/ Biochemists, Maria taught me about some of the herbs she uses and their medicinal properties.

Chamomile- Can be made into a tea and is great for hair and skin. Chamomile tea is a great alternative to using lemons to make highlights in blonde hair, lemons are extremely acidic and tend to dry your hair out. It gives you the same highlights that lemon juice would without the harmful effects. After showering I would pour a cup of chamomile tea on my head and let it soak into my hair and skin.
 There are multiple medicinal properties of chamomile, it is anti-inflamitory. It can be used for intestinal problems, helps to relieve menstrual cramps, and can help with hair growth. In addition, chamomile tea can be good for other plants too. Here, it was sprayed on garlic plants to prevent a fungus from taking over.

Stinging Nettle- I found out what this plant was while weeding... if stinging nettle comes into contact with your skin it will immediately form a rash and a deep burning sensation to that area. This will last for about 20 mins.
This reaction creates blood circulation and is therefore great for people that have bad circulation and people suffering from hair-loss. When it is drunk in a tea it is a great blood builder because its rich in iron.  In addition, it is an excellent herb for anemia, fatigue, digestion problems, and can cleans the body of metabolic waste (http://goo.gl/udBOc).

Sage- Is an herb we would cook with, mostly in soups but some other dishes. It is used to help prevent the loss of mental function that comes with age. "It has been found to increase oxygen to the brain cortex and helps improve concentration"(http://goo.gl/Vs3iT).

Maria

Photo Credit: John Chester

Maria explained to me that when she was growing up in Hungary her family took care of animals and when they needed to eat meat her family ate their animals. When they needed vegetables they picked veggies from their garden. Because she was the oldest of two and her mother had passed away she took on most of the responsibility for the animals and plants. One of the plants she used to harvest was dandelion. Dandelion is usually known as the common weed, but when sold in stores it can be expensive. She explained to me how to harvest dandelion and some of the medicinal qualities it has such as, helping with digestion and cleansing your liver and gallbladder.

Harvested Dandelion Roots

photo credit: http://goo.gl/VPD7n

In addition, it can also be used for breast problems ( inflammation or not producing milk), fevers, boils, eye problems, and diarrhea ( goo.gl/pzAAl). She warned me that when drinking dandelion tea make sure you're near a bathroom because it helps rid your body of extra fluids and any solids that are in your system.

How to harvest Dandelion:
(Maria suggests picking them on a full moon because the nutrients of the plant moves to the root and the root is the part we want to make the tea with.)
1. Gather dandelion roots and leaves. Clean in warm water.
2. Separate the root from the leaves. Then lay out to dry for a day.
3. When dry, chop the root into small pieces and cut the leaves into small slices using scissors. Leave     the roots and leaves out to dry for another day.
4. Steep the roots and leaves in hot water for 15 minutes and then strain the dandelion particles out of the tea.

Week Three:

Everyday for the past two weeks I have been taking care of the sheep, but this week I was able to spend time with Carly in the lemon orchards taking care of the ducks. When I first heard that the ducks lived in the lemon orchard I was thinking, why? Why aren't they living in the pond? And ducks usually need water to mate, so how were they reproducing? But my questions were soon answered.

The primary crops Apricot Lane Farm produces are avocados and lemons. Both crops require some maintenance including: weeding, watering, trimming, and picking the fruit. Neither of the two trees uses pesticides or any weed control chemicals, so when snails began eating the lemons on the lemon trees the farm took a biodynamic approach to this problem. 

Ducks were the solution to the problem because of their appetite for snails! The duck's coop was moved to the orchard and the animals were fenced off to a certain section. The fence is electric this keeps the ducks in, predators out, and the people on their toes when they get shocked. The electricity is generated by a solar panel, which absorbs the suns energy and stores the energy in a car battery. The stored energy is then used to electrify the fence during the night when sunlight isn't present. 

Picture of me getting zapped by the fence.

The duck fence is moved to a different section of the orchard when the snail supply is running low. The duck care taker usually counts the number of snail in a 4 ft. by 4 ft. section. About 100 snails are counted in the section on the first day, about 40 snails are left on the second day, and the duck's fence is moved to a new section on the third day.

Picture of Carly herding the ducks into a new section of lemon orchard.

Unfortunately for the ducks, the coyotes dug under the fence and killed 52 out of the 60 ducks. Currently there are 2 injured and the 6 in good health, but all 8 are male meaning no more eggs will be produced. Luckily we have about 15 duck eggs incubating, so if the farm decides to continue using ducks there will be some little ducklings in the future. 

Also, the answer to my last question about ducks needing water to mate isn't true. Ducks prefer water to reproduce in, but are capable of reproducing on land.

On a happier note, we have a new WWOOFer at Apricot Lane Farms, Joshua D. Nelson! He has joined the WWOOFer cult...just kidding we aren't really a cult. I spent some time teaching Josh how to care for the sheep, but he came to the farm an experienced duck master. Since he has been here he has also unintentionally checked the electric fences voltage strength after he increased the voltage in a last attempt to keep the coyotes out. Josh is keeping the last 8 ducks alive by catching the ducks at night and locking them in the coop and putting the voltage up high.