Winter Gardening

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Lagniappe Farm Alpacas

Nope, I’m don’t have one at the moment, but I do hope that I will have one next winter. The resource I’m using is “The Winter Harvest Handbook” by Eliot Coleman. I was out of town at the time I should have been planting and when I got back, the weather was still mild, even though we had snow in October for the first time since I’ve been in Virginia 14 years, but that only happened because I was not here. You see, it snows every time I am home for a visit in Louisiana.

Anyway, I came down with the flu when I got back from my trip so that was another 2 weeks that hampered my winter garden. If I had known that we were going to have such a mild winter, I would have started the garden anyway. As I write this we have a wind chill of 22 degrees, but that’s not been the norm so far. I do think that a nice selection of crops would have fared well this year. The strawberries I planted last year are still growing nicely and all the leaves are very green. I’m hoping that we will get a nice crop from them, providing the ants don’t eat them first.

So, now I’m planning a spring garden that I hope will turn into a year round garden. As soon as my new chicks are old enough, I’m gonna have them out scratching and eating the grass in the new garden area. I hope the chickens and the garden will have a nice symbiotic relationship that will allow me to be pesticide free. The chickens at our barn do a great job on the poop piles from our alpacas and we couldn’t be happier with that arrangement. They are great little composters and keep things turning and moving all the time.

Another thing I want to focus on is planting beneficial plants and herbs outside our alpaca pastures, along the fence lines. It’s something that I had thought about from time to time, but just have not done. If I can get them to grow the right way, it will allow the alpacas to nibble on them, but keep them from eating the plants down. Of course, I might have to worry about the wildlife, deer in particular, from eating them also.

Do you plant year round? If so, I would love to hear all about it and please leave a comment.

Bountiful harvest

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New Year’s Resolutions

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Lagniappe Farm Alpacas

I don’t really do them, but I do plan on keeping my blog more up to date and posting good resources for small farmers, be it alpacas or chickens or crops. I do feel a sense of renewal with the start of a new calender and plan on taking advantage of that in all ways. Last year was a rough one around here, like it has been for a lot of other folks. This one is going to be better than ever and I’m gonna work hard at making it happen.

Very soon I’ll be working at Central Virginia Fiber Mill and plan on learning another aspect of fiber production. I do almost all my own processing and I do enjoy it, but getting roving back from a mill sure does speed up the work. I also need to do a lot more spinning than I did last year. My selection of hand-spun yarns for the market is fairly low and I want to have a larger selection for my customers.

Here’s to a wonderful, prosperous New Year for all of us!

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All lotions are not created equal

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Lagniappe Farm Alpacas

They really aren’t. Lotions are all about the percentages. Some commercial lotions’ percentage of water to oil may be as high as 90%. You won’t get that with my hand crafted lotions. I don’t even use water anymore, I’m using aloe vera juice. So, you might think you are getting a great deal on a buy one get one free special at your local big box shop, but you are really paying for a lot of water and chemicals and a little bit of the good stuff.

I combine aloe vera juice with high quality oils and butters to get a very creamy moisturizing body lotion. I also feel this extends the life of the product and I can use less preservative. I use certified pure essential oils, but can also scent my products with fragrance oils, if that’s preferred. I have a very large selection to choose from. Some of my favorite essential oils are chamomile and neroli, almond and honey and lavender mint. My current favorite recipe combines aloe vera juice, olive oil, rice bran oil, sunflower oil and vitamin E.

My 4 ounce bottle of lotion is $1o. This might sound like a lot compared to the petroleum based product you can get at the dollar store, but my lotions are made in very small batches and contain about 95% natural ingredients and you aren’t paying for mostly water.

 

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All done with shearing, huzzah!

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Lagniappe Farm Alpacas

We had our best shearing ever last Saturday. Sarah Rawlins of Fall Line Fiber always does a great job for us. I know that shearing on a table is much harder on the shearer, but my knees thank her for using it anyway. Next to a good shearer, you need good friends that will help out on this important date at an alpaca farm. It’s not the hardest work in the world, but it certainly is work by every definition.

Spa day for an alpaca?

We did things a little different this year. I normally sort my fibers into 3 grades: the blanket, upper back legs and neck and then the belly and lower legs. Our friend, Carolyn Hitchcock from Cameron Mountain Alpacas, is training to be a certified fiber sorter. As we were pulling fiber off the animals it was brought over to her at her sorting table. All the fiber was then sorted into different grades based on color, micron, consistency of primary and secondary fibers and other things. I was very pleased with our overall harvest and this year, for the first time, we have black fibers. Can’t wait to start working with those.

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Spinning every Tuesday at The Arts Center in Orange

Posted on April 18, 2011 by Lagniappe Farm Alpacas

I have a group that meets every Tuesday at the Arts Center in Orange. We spin from 12:30 to 4:30. Stop by to visit us even if you are not a spinner. Don’t know how but want to try it out? Someone is always very generous with the spindle or wheel and will be happy to help you out. Every month we do a type of fiber study. April’s study was on woolen spinning. May 10th our study will be at our farm. We will be doing fiber prep of all kinds. Need a spindle? I have supported and top whorl spindles in lots of colors and styles to choose from

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Are you using a petroleum jelly to moisturize your skin?

Posted on April 18, 2011 by Lagniappe Farm Alpacas

If you are, you may not be getting the results you think you are. I’m sure some of you grew up with a jar of Vaseline in your bathroom cabinet just like I did. I think around our house it was used for a baby butt treatment. I recall using it in my teens as a lip gloss or on my eyelashes to make them sparkle. Over the years who knows how many products I’ve used with a petroleum base.

When I started making lotions, I started researching individual ingredients. I have not found many pleasant things about petroleum products and when thinking about it, it makes sense. It’s a moisture barrier, but what does that truly mean? If something can’t get out, is that really a good thing? If it can’t get out, doesn’t that mean that something can’t get in? So what does that say for it’s moisturizing properties? Some people swear by it and say it makes their skin feel smoother. Does it or are they just a product of good genetics? I don’t know about that, but I do know that I don’t want it clogging up my pores.

I strive to use pure ingredients in my body products. I’ve even taken the water out of my lotions, using aloe vera juice instead. Unfortunately, I can’t eliminate them completely because you have to have a preservative in a liquid product and just because you don’t see bacteria or mold, does not mean it’s not there. I do however feel like the 1 or 2 percent that I do have to use in my total recipe is not harmful to your skin.

I ran across this article online and I thought it did a good job of explaining petroleum skin products. Give it a look and let me know what you think.

http://www.articlesbase.com/hair-loss-articles/why-petroleum-jelly-is-not-good-for-your-scalp-or-hair-1050111.html

 

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Even birds like alpaca!

Posted on April 7, 2011 by Lagniappe Farm Alpacas

Well, if they could speak to us, I’m sure they would say they do :)  We have seen many nests around our barn built with our alpaca fiber. Just last week we were looking at a lovely one at our friend’s farm, Cameron Mountain Alpacas. The nest is one of the nicest I’ve seen.

I’ve been making my Bird’s Nest Builders for a few years now. We had a girl scout troop at our barn for a field trip to learn about renewable resources. I was trying to come up with a good item they could take home with them that would fit that subject matter. I make a cage out of chicken wire and then stuff it with alpaca fiber. It comes with a plastic hanger or you could use some string to tie it to a tree branch or outside of a bird house.

I am taking preorders for these and they will be ready a week or two after shearing, about the middle of May. They are $8 plus shipping. If you live in the area, I offer free refills.

Bird Nest Builder

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Join us at DuCard Vineyards May 21, 2011

Posted on April 5, 2011 by Lagniappe Farm Alpacas

We will be a vendor at Ducard’s Music an Craft Festival. I’ll be doing spinning and felting demos. Stop by and learn about how fabulous alpaca fiber is. I’ll also have a selection of my lotions and creams, hand crafted soaps and alpaca felted soaps. These are a wonderful way to exfoliate and make unique gifts. I will have hand spun yarns, knitted hats and scarves, felted scarves and purses, spindle kits, felting kits, cat toys and jewelry.

http://www.ducardvineyards.com/calendar.html

Wine-appalooza:  Music and Craft Festival
Saturday, May 21, 2011, 11 AM – 6 PM+
Join us for our own full day of great local music and Appalachian crafts out on our back lawn.  Drink some of our delicious wines and relax at our gorgeous location at the edge of Shenandoah National Park. Bring your own picnic or enjoy BBQ and other local foods that will be available for purchase.  $10 admission fee (kids free).  We are excited to announce a great line up of music: Eric Reitz with his peerless and soulful voice,  Mandalelewith their unique Hawaiian-inspired sound, and Carleigh Nesbit with her fresh country vocals.  Check back for details on the full list of crafters.

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Spindles, spindles, spindles!

Posted on April 5, 2011 by Lagniappe Farm Alpacas

ceramic whorl supported spindles $15 each

Outfitting yourself for spinning does not need to be costly. Much of the world spins their fibers on spindles. They are portable and inexpensive. I have hand made supported spindles for $15 each and top whorl drop spindle and niddy noddy sets for $30. Both come with some basic instructions and internet resources. If you live close by, I will be happy to give you personal lessons. It’s almost time for the summer season of the farmers market here in Orange. I bring my wheel there most Saturdays and will be happy to teach you how to spin. Or course you will want some of our fabulous alpaca fibers to make wonderful yarns.

Hand made, hand painted or stained top whorl drop spindle and niddy noddy set $30. I have more colors.

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Making cat toys today

Posted on April 4, 2011 by Lagniappe Farm Alpacas

The temperature today suggest I should be doing some gardening, but it’s much too windy for that. I’m knitting up some cat toys using my Knifty Knitter flower loom. Our cats and others are really attracted to these. They are stuffed with alpaca fiber. I sell them individually for $4 or they come in a pack of three with a small bag of cat nip for $10. These have a bell on one end and a crochet tail on the other. I also make a set of balls with crochet tails on both ends. Those are priced 2 for $7. I’m out of felt balls at the moment, they are priced $4 each.

Cat toys

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