Variety CSA Begins Today!

The Carmel Valley Co-op Variety CSA begins today, February 3rd! Sign-up info is on the www.carmelvalleycoop.org website.

The Variety CSA was introduced last year. The idea is to combine the convenience of a locally produced food CSA with the variety offered from different farms in the area.

One of the favorite features of the Variety CSA are fresh eggs. No, those aren't dyed Easter eggs you see in the photo. Those are the natural colors. Nice browns, brown speckled, blue, green, tan, white. Who says eggs have to be white or brown?

Here at Carmel Lavender, I maintain one of the flocks that supplies the eggs for the Variety CSA. I keep a broad assortment of heritage hens that lay those beautifully colored eggs you see above.

This little lady, the black, grey, and white striped bird is one of those hens. She is a barred rock hen. She lays wonderful brown eggs. I also have Rhode Island Reds, Black Cornish, Buff Orpingtons, Auracanas, and a few other breeds. Each breed has different personalities. The black cornish like to have their backs scratched. The Rhode Island reds do too, to a lesser extend. The auracanas don't tend to like to be handled as much, and stay away from people. In fact, they tend to stay away from the other hens too. And the barred rocks have a nice temperament, but are not quite as forward as the black cornish hens are.

Here you can see two buff orpington roosters. No, they don't wait until sunrise to start crowing. Usually the noise begins around 3 or 4 in the morning. I actually like the sound. Sometimes I wake up partially, but it is kinda nice to feel the life around the farm, even while you sleep. They aren't too close to the house, or it might be more disturbing. I suppose roosters in close urban quarters would require enthusiastic neighbors!

The roosters protect the hens. That is their job. Any time you handle a hen, you can see a nervous rooster standing by, ready to step in if needed. They also keep the eggs fertile. I keep enough roosters to ensure fertile eggs.

The chickens have a pretty diverse diet. I feed them the vegetarian kitchen scraps. They love that. It does mean a lot less for my compost heap though. But the chicken manure goes into the compost instead. I also give them a grain based chicken feed. And important in my farm plan is to let them forage on the grasses and wild plants. Here you can see a field I sowed with wheat a few months ago. The wheat is starting to get higher. When it is ready, I will let the chickens forage on this to supplement their diets.

These days, while the wheat isn't quite ready, I am bringing the chickens the grasses and weeds I pull from my home vegetable garden. I just load up the wheel barrow every morning, and then dump it into the tractor. The hens go to work! They can devour an entire load in one or two days. They sure seem to have fun picking through the pile to find the tastiest weeds!

I hope you enjoyed reading about the hens. And if you are interested in eggs, please go to the website at www.carmelvalleycoop.org and sign up for the Variety CSA! In addition to eggs, you enjoy fresh organic vegetables, lavender, essential oils, soaps, and delicious olive oil. Provided by Catalan Family Farms, Carmel Lavender, Larsen Family Farms, and Carmel Valley Olive Company.