Making Lambs: Tips for Tupping On Sunday 11 May, we reintroduced Spidey the ram to his 10 girls with the expectation that hot lovin’ would ensue. The official farming term for the hot lovin’ process as it applies to sheep is ‘tupping’. Spidey and Friend Continue reading →
Growing Saffron as a Crop on a Lifestyle Block Of all the projects, animals and sustainable philosophies that we’ve got going on at our farm, nothing piques people’s interest as much as our saffron growing. There’s a mystique about the world’s most expensive spice, even if it is just a collection of dried stigmas from a little autumn-flowering crocus. Everything about saffron seems exotic – its history, vibrant colour, honey-like aroma and distinctive taste. Continue reading →
How to Buy a Water Tank for a Lifestyle Block When we moved onto our block in 2011, we weren’t too worried about water security. Our supply was stream-fed, so we figured we were less vulnerable than our rainwater-dependent neighbours. Then someone pointed out that streams sometimes dry up. Their courses can alter after earthquakes. And hey, didn’t we have a eucalyptus woodlot right next door to a neighbour’s Douglas fir plantation? Continue reading →
