Author: legacy.valley.nc

Milking a goat is really so much fun once you get the hang of it. But learning the steps of how to milk is for another post. 

Today we are talking about how to store the milk once you have milked the goats. I use stainless steel bowls to milk into.  After each goat I pour the milk in to a 2 gallon milk pail. 

The supplies to filter and store your milk are listed below.

1. 1/2 gallon mason jar
2. Funnel
3. Milk filter

Once I come inside, place the funnel in the mason jar and put the milk filter inside the funnel. Next, I pour the milk from the milk pail into the lined funnel. 

**PRO TIP** I write the date on the lid with a dry erase marker. After we have used al the milk I use a magic eraser to wipe it clean. Now it ready to write the new date after the next milking. 

Then off  the the freezer for 2 hours. I USUALLY set a timer on my phone to go transfer it from the freezer to the fridge. Now your goats milk is ready to drink. 

Today let’s learn about the difference between a fruit bud and a leaf bud. There are 2 types of buds on a blueberry plant. The sharp pointed tips of the leaf bud are now starting to peek their tips out.

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​ ​The fruit buds which are more red in the photo below, are preparing to open to allow honey bees to pollinate them.It’s blossom will produce several berries. ​ ​ ​At this stage, we are about six weeks from first fruit. It’s also time to give the berries a little fertilizer to help them with the energy they will need to produce all those berries and bush growth.​ ​ ​We have two more does who will kid in early April. We will have cute baby goat kids pictures in the next newsletter. ​ ​Thanks for joining us in our farming journey.​ ​Dave and Danielle

This year we have ordered another 750 blueberries, 350 blackberries and 40 raspberries! The beds have already been tilled last fall and allowed to sit fallow over winter. Now it is time to add the soil amendments to prepare the proper bed for the blueberries. 

​ ​Blueberries require a low ph of 4.5 to 5.5. We plant rabbit eye varieties which are a little more forgiving but we still like to get the ph in this range. To do so, these are the steps we have taken. The first step is to add our custom soil mix from Dirt Craft Organics. Next we add Sulphur pellets and pine sawdust or double ground pine fines; either work great. Once the soil is mixed well, we use a potato hiller and prepare a raised bed to plant the berries above ground grade. This allows the roots to get the water they need plus keep them high enough not to keep their feet too wet, preventing root rot. Once the berries arrived we set the plants in the ground every three feet in our 200’ rows. This is where family and friends come in! We all work together setting out the potted plants and begin setting them in the ground. The soil is very mellow at this point and it is easy to open a hole and seat the plants in the holes. Once the plants have been planted, we come back and mulch them in with pine bark, pine chips or what is available that is acid based.This spring we will have berries from the original 150 plants to pick this year!! However, the newly planted berries will require us to remove all the blossoms so they don’t produce any fruit this year. This will allow all the energy to put new growth into the plant so the bushes will be bigger to make fruit next year. Below is what we are hoping for.We are excited to share with you along our journey! Come visit us starting the middle of May to Middle of July for Blueberries and then black berries from July through August. Raspberries will be August – September.

Spring ….. It’s one of my favorite times of the year! The cold of winter melts off at the first sight of daffodils peaking through the thawing earth.  While it is still winter our thoughts here have turned to what’s ahead for spring.

3 Things we are planning for this spring

1.Blueberries

We will be planting 750 blueberry plants…. Yes you read that correct 750!! 

Blueberries require a low ph of 4.5 to 5.5 to thrive. We plant rabbit eye varieties which a little more forgiving but we still like to get the ph in this range. 

Dirtcraft Organics is a family-owned, farm-based business located in the mountains of Western North Carolina. They are known for “creating living soils for conscious growers”. We are currently working with them to create a custom blueberry mix. It’s always fun to collaborate with a local, family-owned business to help us get started. We started looking for a Peat Free Potting mix options…. Why does peat matter?

• Peat bogs sequester an incredible amount of carbon- we need them left alone and doing their job for healthy soil
• Peat is a non renewable resource
• Peatlands are home to an incredible diverse amount of animals and insects- important to keep healthy soil and soil food web intact

These facts were learned from the Regenerative Farmers of America. To learn more about Regenerative Farming and Agriculture check out www.regenerativefarmersofamerica.com

1. Pasture Poultry

Last year we raised pasture meat chickens to try it out. It went so well, we are planning to run 2 batches this year. It was absolutely lovely to have a freezer full of clean meat and made meal planning for our family such a breeze. One quick way we used our meat chickens was to spatchock them on the grill. It was juicy and tender beyond belief. Michelle of Legacy Valley, loved to make beer can chicken. We haven’t decided if we will sell some this year or not but if you would be interested in purchasing meat from us please email us at legacy.valley.nc@gmail.com. In the subject box type PASTURE CHICKEN YES!

2. Goat Kids

The third thing we will have this spring is goat kids bouncing all around. We anticipate having 7 new kid faces on site. We raise Nigerian Dwarf goats which are known for their dairy capacity. They are small and easy to handle but produce lots of milk. They are perfect for a small homestead. So far our favorite thing we have made from the milk is blackberry goats milk ice cream. It was amazing! 

Can’t wait to share more with you in a few weeks! Thanks for joining us in our farm journey.

Danielle

1. Pine bedding and extra hay in stalls for the goats. **FUN FACT** Since goats are small ruminents, they can warm themselves by eating hay.

2. Chickens were moved to a less windy area and their chicken tractor was secured so it wouldn’t move with strong wind.

​CHALLENGE FOR THE WEEK: Most of the animals are winter hardy and can handle snow. To be honest, neither the chickens or goats came out of their shelters until a few days after the snow. We spoiled them by feeding them inside! Our farm did well in the snow, we are just working towards a better hay storage solution. Right now it’s stored under our back porch and mice like to live there( yuck) and we have to stoop to get hay in and out. Alfalfa bales weigh 90-100 lbs so it’s quite difficult. UP NEXTWe have our first goat kid scheduled to be on the ground February 18th so we are in full preparation mode getting supplies and kidding stalls set up. Goats do best when supported during delivery. Can they deliver without anyone present? Absolutely! However, goats are susceptible to parasites, during labor and delivery the increase in stress causes the periparturient egg count to rise or “bloom” which increases the load the goat is carrying. That increase then lands on the ground where the kids are growing and they pick them up. It could escalate quickly and make for some sick goats.​One way we try to manage parasites( they are never all the way gone, we just need a healthy load for the goats to manage) is by kidding during colder months. This decreases the parasite’s life span which helps the goats. One challenge cold weather kidding brings is if the goats don’t get dried and cleaned off quickly they could die of hypothermia( preventable) or have frostbitten ears( also preventable). The Dam’s( female goat) do a great job of this, but Nigerian Dwarf goats are known to kid multiples. It can be hard to get three kids out and dried off in very cold conditions.

Legacy Valley is a multigenerational family farm focused on clean farming practices and rotational grazing principles. We strive to grow food in systems that are better for the environment and for our bodies.  

As we began to learn more about our food and how it was raised and grown, it changed our thinking behind it. We started to consciously think about all that goes into what we eat and how we steward the land. We realized if we started to care for these things and share about them, others might care too.

Legacy Valley is a jointly-owned 14-acre farm just outside Asheville,  North Carolina.The farm is owned by Daniel and Danielle Edwards and Michelle and Dave Cole (Danielle’s parents) since 2018. We have been raising pasture poultry for eggs and meat as well as growing  berries. Our hope is to expand our farm using methods that are free from chemicals, hormones, and pesticides. This food would be for our family and community.

WHAT WE OFFER- Nigerian Dwarf Goats and U-Pick Berries

Nigerian Dwarf Goats 

We also specialize in ADGA Registered Nigerian Dwarf Goats. Our performance herd is bred for its milk production, parasite resistance, and body structure. When choosing our herd; Linear Appraisal Score, parental genetics, milk test results, udder formation, and temperament were important for each Goat on our farm. We participate in DHIR (Dairy Herd Improvement Registry) which requires milk testing for 305 days of lactation. All this to say, the quality of our Nigerian Dwarf Goats is extremely valuable to us at Legacy Valley!

U-Pick Berries

We currently have 5 varieties of blueberries planted which we hope will be ready for Asheville’s 2022 U-Pick season. Our property experienced flood damage from Tropical Storm Fred in August of 2021. It is unclear how this will impact our crop, however we are hopeful to have some opportunities to allow U-Pick. In spring of 2022 about 700 blueberry plants will be planted to grow more fruit for the following year.