drying | Better Hens and Gardens

Milk Production Testing?

Now that the does have been bred for 2013 (see Kidding Schedule), it’s time to think about drying them off. But, it’s said that you shouldn’t dry off does prematurely as that will shorten the length of all their future lactations. We were considering going on milk test next year, so we don’t want to do that - but also wondered whether milk testing would be worthwhile – would the does have earned their AR (Advanced Registry) milk stars if we’d tested this year?

The AR star is earned by a doe when the herd goes on official DHI (Dairy Herd Improvement) milk test and the doe produces the [...]

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Drying Lavender

The lavender is blooming now, so it’s time to start drying it – I love having it around for sachets and crafts. It’s well known for its insect repellant properties and we love the fragrance.

There’s really nothing difficult about drying lavender - simply gather the flowering stems just as the flowers start to open and hang in small bunches to dry. When cutting the stems, be sure to leave a few inches of green growth on the plant – don’t go all the way down to the woody portion of the stem. When you’ve cut enough blossoms to fill your hand, wrap a rubber band [...]

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Homemade Sun Dried Tomatoes (oven dried really)

This is the time of year when things are coming in from the garden so fast that it’s hard to keep up – I’m putting the corn, beans, squash, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, and raspberries into the pantry or freezer in various forms as fast as I can. So, sun-drying tomatoes is a nice method of preservation because it requires little work, they’re a lot less expensive homemade than from the store, and there are a couple of recipes (like Sun Dried Tomato Dip) that I like to have them on hand for.

The only problem is, we live in Ohio, and sometimes there’s very little sun - so I make [...]

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