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Friday Favorite: These Piggies

June 7th, 2013

I must say, we’ve only had these piggies for a month and they’ve quickly become our favorite livestock.  They’re very personable and happen to be wonderful garden companions.  Since they’re fenced in back by the main garden, they come out and root and oink while I’m back there working.  They even come running when they see me (probably because I often have a treat in hand).
pak choi piggies 1
The most beneficial part of these little porkers is that they’re fabulous garbage disposals.  We had a heat wave at the end of may, temperature were up around 90 for a few days.  As a result, my pak choi bolted.
pak choi piggies 2
What used to be a sad thing in the garden is now almost a cause for celebration as I know the pigs will happily munch it down and turn it into delicious bacon and ham.  Early next week all the early spring spinach will be ripped out and fed to the pigs to make way for peppers and tomatoes.
pak choi piggies 3
We’ll definitely have pigs at Chiot’s Run from here on out. I’m already researching the kinds we want to try next. We want Guinea hogs for sure and I’d love to try Tamworth pigs as well. Next week we’ll be moving them into a wooded area to see how they do in that type of setting, should be interesting for sure!

Have you lost any vegetables because of the weather?

11 Comments to “Friday Favorite: These Piggies”
  1. Kat @ Where the Sidewalk Ends on June 7, 2013 at 7:51 am

    Wow, what great assets hogs are to farms! We obviously don’t have any lifestock yet, but my fiancé really wants hogs, whilst I am definitely more of a goat girl. It’s great to know that they eat everything though, including bolted veggies. So helpful.

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  2. catherine on June 7, 2013 at 7:52 am

    Ahhh, the weather…. it has been hot, then it gets cold (frost on may 31). Then we can talk about the torrential rains, which wash away our corn (300 seeds), carrots (5000 seeds), spinach (1000 seeds), turnips (1500 seeds) and finally our radish. We are on a hill so I’m guessing the farmer below us will have some pretty interesting stuff growing in his fields!

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  3. Bonnie Fowler on June 7, 2013 at 7:53 am

    I haven’t lost anything yet. I thought I was going to lose my romanesco broccoli as I did not have time to plant it for a couple days, but it perked back up.

    I do have a flower that is not doing well with all the rain. It had a bit of mildew.

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  4. Nebraska Dave on June 7, 2013 at 8:23 am

    Susy, gona do some plowing with pigs, huh. In my humble opinion, pigs are the smartest animal on the homestead by far. I don’t think there’s anything that a pig won’t eat as far as plants go. They are very friendly as long as they aren’t with babies. Some mamma pigs are real protective and a definite force to reckon with. I’m glad that you can have a pig experience. Good luck with them.

    Have a great ham it up day.

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  5. Svetlana on June 7, 2013 at 8:30 am

    All my cool season greens bolted. I lost a bunch of tomato seedlings to some wayward chickens (grumble). But the potatoes are up and doing well. So we will have plenty of those. [sigh]

    Reply to Svetlana's comment

  6. tj on June 7, 2013 at 10:20 am

    …Oh you are a stronger woman than I Miss Susy. I couldn’t butcher those lil’ piggies for all the money in the world. But then that’s just me. :o)

    …Sadly, no garden for me this year. Yes, I’m lost. I’ve been concentrating on transplanting flower beds and redesigning them a bit. Just this morning my husband and I were talking about how we’re gonna go about fencing in our entire garden area, including the pumpkin patch. We have the fencing but we do need to get posts yet, so that will be on our “to-do” list this summer.

    …Enjoy your day!

    …Blessings. :o)

    Reply to tj's comment

  7. scott on June 7, 2013 at 10:32 am

    We have talked about pigs before but like chickens have not made the leap. How long will you raise them before slaughter? I have the stall space but will need to get an enclosure for them i suspect. Maybe next year :)

    I lost all my warm weather crops to frost but have replanted them all including the sweet potatoes you sent :)

    Reply to scott's comment

  8. Jennelle on June 7, 2013 at 10:56 am

    I’ve heard that pigs are smarter than even dogs, and since then, I’ve wanted some. Unfortunately, my .5 acre lot in city limits is NOT conducive to that! One day when I get a farm… Until then, I’m enjoying your pics!

    Reply to Jennelle's comment

  9. Caroline on June 7, 2013 at 5:44 pm

    It’s my first year gardening and my lettuce never made it past the first four leaves! I didn’t realize how bad the lack of gutters on the back of the garage (which happens to be right next to the garden!) would be. Turns out, it causes a lot of soil erosion in that area, and is right next to the lettuce. Poor things never stood a chance. Next year I’ll try planting them in another spot.

    Anything else I’ve lost has been because of my own dumb lack of knowledge choices. I know better for next year!!!

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  10. Twitter Bird :) on June 7, 2013 at 7:16 pm

    You are Starting A Farm ! All you need not is a Cow,and some corn and a Scarcrow!

    Reply to Twitter Bird :)'s comment

  11. Kay on June 8, 2013 at 5:35 am

    Oh yes we have lost several things due to the weather this year. Last year, we had hardly any rain. This year it will not stop raining. I have replanted several veggies. My pak choi never even came up. I replanted corn 3 times. Planted green beans twice. I am doubtful my peppers do much because their growth was stunted so badly when it snowed in May, which only happened one time before since they have been keeping weather records in my area (79 years ago). My radishes just made big top, no radish below. Good thing I like radish greens LOL Now, the potatoes, and brassicas are kicking butt. They look fabulous, and my toms are getting there. We have two big garden plots, but I am discouraged this year. Ah well, we cannot control the weather. We just deal w/ what we are given and make the best out of it.

    Reply to Kay's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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