Resources

If you’re interested in where we get some of our ideas and how we get the most out of our poultry, pork, and produce, check out these links!

The Market Gardener: A Successful Grower’s Handbook for Small-scale Organic Farming by Jean-Martin Fortier

Jean-Martin is a pioneer of small-scale market gardening. We modified our garden plan to fit his model. We divide our garden into 30 inch semi-raised beds with a 12-18 inch walkway. This allows for easy weeding and harvesting, clear walkways, and higher yield.

Pastured Poultry Profit$ by Joel Salatin
We’ve modeled quite a bit of our poultry production off of what Joel Salatin does on his farm in Virginia. This book explains how he makes his living raising and selling pastured poultry. Understanding his methods has made our adventure into pastured poultry a little more manageable. We were lucky enough to see him speak last year and learned even more. If you’re interested in a detailed look at alternative poultry production and going “beyond organic”, this is a great resource!

The New Organic Grower: A Master’s Manual of Tools and Techniques for the Home and Market Gardener, 2nd Edition (A Gardener’s Supply Book)This is a great vegetable gardening resource! If you were to only buy one book on gardening, this should be it. Don’t let the title mislead you, this book is for all gardeners, not just organic growers.  Eliot Coleman outlines an economical way to start a market garden and demonstrates how to use different methods of season extension to maximize your gardens potential.

Onlyfire Heavy Duty Rotating Cordless Dual Post Open Fire Spit Rotisserie Grill System, 38 Inch Spit Rod, OutdoorWe finally bought a rotisserie for roasting pastured chicken over a fire. This model is battery powered, so it’s a good choice for camping. My only complaint is that it’s somewhat noisy, not really loud, but noticeable. Also, a bit of warning, a 4.5lb bird can take 3hr+, so plan accordingly. The rotisserie is not a fast way to cook, but it is a fun and entertaining way to cook, and the end product is mouth-watering, finger-licking chicken.

Yardbird Chicken PluckerAfter hand-plucking last year, we decided to invest in a chicken plucker. It was worth it! If you are plucking chickens by hand, you are “plucking” crazy. Pun intended. The manual states that it will pluck 2 birds in 15 second. More like 10! This plucker is is fast and leaves the birds very clean. Seriously. The most important part of plucking is the scald. With a proper scald, ALL the feathers will be removed. Also, it is better to under-scald than to over-scald. When a bird is over-scalded, the plucker has a tendency to tear the skin.

Veggetti Spiral Vegetable Slicer, Makes Veggie Pasta
This is great for making noodles out of veggies like zucchini, carrots, cucumbers, etc. The drawback is that they have to be small enough to fit into the funnel. If you’re looking for a creative way to use summer produce, this will help!

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