22 Dec December 2023 Newsletter

Paardekraal Produce December 2023

This is a long newsletter as I haven’t written for a while.

The weather has varied from excessive amounts of rain in October to extreme heat now.  We had so much rain the one Saturday in October that we had an issue trying to cross one of the rivers on the way back from a visit to town.  There seemed to have been a cloud burst in the mountains, and when we tried to cross that afternoon, the water was over the bonnet of the Land Cruiser bakkie, up the windscreen on my side and coming into the cab.  Geoff had the vehicle in low range, but we were losing power by the time the situation was as described.  Thankfully we had a snorkel attached to the air filter which helped (as water could have been sucked into the engine), and we could reverse to get back out.  What we didn’t know at the time was that the rivers were rising.  We were lucky we didn’t get washed down the river or loose the vehicle.  It was a very scary experience one that I don’t want to repeat again.  This also meant that for 2 days we couldn’t get back to the farmhouse.  Our neighbour very kindly put us up for that time, but never did I think that when I go to town that I would need to take an emergency pack of cloths etc with. That is what you do when you fly in the event of lost luggage.  We could finally cross this troublesome causeway on the Monday morning, after another neighbour put a TLB through to clear it of mud and rocks. Then in November the heat came and when I mean heat it was excessive.  43C in Graaff Reinet and the weeks leading up to it, was constantly north of 35C.

With the livestock it’s been a trying few months. The staff reported that the milkgoats had runny tummies. I therefore immediately started treatment but thought that the cause was very green lucern.  In the process we lost 2 milkgoats (including Georgina), and some of the others who produced lots of milk gave very little.  We weaned the kids, expecting the pressure on the moms to be alleviated and for them to produce more milk but the situation carried on.  To cut a long story short, I discovered that they were suffering from internal parasites.  As soon as we could treat with a remedy safe for them and humans the situation changed radically.  5 Goats from last years kidding, kidded as well.  Unfortunately, one of the goats that kidded also got a runny tummy.  We treated for internal parasites which was successful for 2 days then it came back.  I continued to treat (which involved putting a tube down her throat into the stomach and pouring a remedy in) twice a day and on the third day she died.  It was a relief for both her and me as its not a pleasant procedure and to do this regularly was stressful.  The next loss was that of the big breeding billy goat. He was found dead in the lands; what the cause was I don’t know and will never know.  It was a shock but luckily, I have a backup ram for when he is needed.  Since the problem has been sorted out and the goats are producing about 20 litres of milk a day.

The news continues to be gloomy with the decision I had to make to put my old pet sheep, Bella to sleep.  She had lived for 13 years (born in 2010).  It got to a point where walking was difficult, and she was not coping with life.  Bella was put to sleep and buried on the farm.  She had lived 2.6 times the lifespans of most sheep, so I think she deserved the rest.

The duck that was sitting outside the dining room window under the vine, hatched out 6 ducklings.  There are ducks sitting on eggs, everywhere in the garden and hopefully they will hatch.  The chickens in the house have been hatching out large broods of chicks.  With more chickens sitting in the coops.  Thankfully and touch wood, we have not been affected by the Avian flu outbreak, but it’s a tenuous situation which could change at any time. The chickens have reduced their egg laying and I suspect this is due to the severe heat and them enduring heat stress.  The gander died and I suspect due to snake bite.  We got 3 adult geese and 4 of their goslings.  Hopefully there is a male in the gosling group but knowing my luck probably not and only time will tell.

The big mama sow farrowed (that’s the term for lambing / kidding) with 8 piglets.  Now there is a total of 13 piglets in the yard.  Their eye teeth needed trimming, (something that gets done at a young age), so we had to catch said piglets and I clipped their teeth.  It became sports with us trying to separate the mamas from their prodigny as every time a piglet got caught by staff, they screamed blue murder and mamas would try to attack and bite.  We got the job done but thankfully we don’t have to do this often.  Since then, big mama has also died.  It’s been a bad run of it.  We were away for one night and got the news that she was not eating.  I was in contact with the vet, and we administered treatment suspecting mastitis but by day 2 she died.  That is farming for you.

The cattle are doing well.  I got a call on a Monday morning from our neighbour saying that he had 3 of my bulls in his kraals since Friday.  It turned out that there were no loading facilities so we had no choice but to walk them to Paardekraal the forecast temperature was 37C and we started to walk them at 10am as we could not walk any earlier and we couldn’t leave them longer in the kraals.  The walk was a 13km walk.  I felt so sorry for them.  They made it and maybe it will be a lesson on walking about.

Having said all this the Karoo is looking beautiful.  We have so much water running in the rivers, the dams are full, and stock is fat.  It’s a sight that really gladdens any farmer’s heart.

I went for a walk a few weeks ago and found a newborn baby springbuck outside our garden gate.  The mom left it there for safe keeping whilst she went to graze.  I have never seen a day old before.  What a wonderful and rare sighting.

The vegetable garden has produced the most amazing peas and broad beans. Expansion of the patch is ongoing as Geoff runs out of space to plant vegetables.  The spinach crop was massive but has now come to an end. Geoff has planted lots of tomatoes, beans, chillies, courgettes & peppers.  We also look forward to our own watermelon someday.

For this month I have the following on offer:

• Karoo Star – goats milk chevre
• Karoo Gold – marinated chevre
• Karoo Night – ash covered crottin
• Free range duck eggs
• Spinach field blend soup consisting of spinach, swiss chard, kale, bok choi (vegetarian, no cream)
• Frozen organic spinach
• Apricot jam
• Salsiccia – Italian style sausage
• Bangers
• Large Pork and Paprika stew
• Large Pork and mushroom stroganoff
• Spinach lasagne
• Spagethi bolognaise
• Whole pork necks
• Goat Milk soap

All produce is made from free-ranging animals.  We do not administer growth hormones or antibiotics on a routine basis.
Whilst every effort has been made to remove bones from the dishes, care should still be taken when consuming.

Many thanks for your continued support.

Paarderkraal Produce December 2023 Price List

• Duck eggs – free range duck eggs (per 6 eggs) – R40.00
• Karoo Day (goat milk feta cheese) 200g – R70.00
• Karoo Star (goat milk chevre style cheese) 200g – R70.00
• Karoo Gold (marinated chevre in olive oil, vinegar & herbs from the garden) – R90.00
• Karoo Night (goats milk ash crottin) 200g – R80.00
• Apricot Jam – homemade with only sugar and apricots nothing else – R80.00
• Frozen organic spinach  – grown in the Paardekraal vegetable patch 500g – R40.00
• Spinach Field Blend Soup – made from organic spinach & kale, grown on Paardekraal, with chicken stock (no cream) 600g – R50.00
• Spinach lasagna – organic spinach grown on Paardekraal and chevre lasagna with homemade pasta using our own free-ranging chicken eggs, and cheese – R120.00
• Spaghetti Bolognaise – beef and pork mince bolognaise made from our own free-ranging indigenous pork with homemade pasta using our own free-ranging chicken eggs – R120.00
• Free range pork sausage Italian style – pork sausage made from our own free range indigenous pigs, with fennel seed, garlic, and red wine +-400g – R40.00
• Free-range pork bangers – pork bangers made from our own free-range indigenous pigs +-400g – R40.00
• Free-range whole pork neck – from our own free-range indigenous pigs, suitable for roasting – R70/kg
• Free-range Pork Stroganoff – made from our own free-range indigenous pork with mushrooms and cream (100% meat) 600g – R150.00
• Free-range Pork & Paprika Stew – made from our own free-range indigenous pork with tomato, paprika (no chillies) and green pepper (100% meat) 600g – R150.00
• Goat milk soap – handmade soap from our own goat milk, great as an exfoliant whilst nourishing the skin at the same time 80g – R80.00

Please note:

• The vegetables and meat are sourced from Paardekraal.  The meat is free ranging and free of growth hormones and antibiotics.
• All meals are frozen.
• The dishes do not include rice or fillers
• Whilst every effort has been made to remove bones, care should be taken when consuming
• Portion sizes are minimum:  large 600gram of meat.

Thank you for your support!