Cox Family Farm

Moving through January

2012-01-21T23:49:00.001-06:00

January is moving right along and we are having lots of success and lots of fun!

We have been planting in the greenhouse and seedlings are sprouting already! YEA! We have planted lettuce, spinach, korabi, tomatoes, radishes, turnips, and more to come! The garden plan has been designed and it is being implemented. We are expanding the garden this year and very excited about the growth here on the farm!

The cows have been bred and we are excited about the due dates for new calves to hit the ground!

We have also added some FRUIT TREES to the farm this winter! 3 new Peach Trees which brings the count to 5 and 2 Orange Trees along with 1 Lemon! We were so excited to have fruit that will be available at the farm, just hope it produces more than Alice can eat or no one will get some! LOL AND a Special thanks goes out to Mrs. Susan, who has donated 2 plum trees to the farm, we are looking forward to picking them out and getting them planted!
Not much too report today, but have been busy, busy, busy! If you want to plant or dig in the dirt, give us a call and come out to help! We always enjoy the visits and the help!

New Year, New Plans, New ......

2012-01-06T23:23:00.000-06:00

The past year was a long and stressful year, between droughts, animals, garden, and LIFE we made it to 2012! As with all new beginnings, we get to start over, improve on somethings, and enhance others! So here is the list of what is changing and what is happening on the FARM!

GARDEN

The garden is growing, we are expanding the garden so that we can offer more CSA shares and a lot more varieties! If you can name a veggie we are probably growing it this year! We have a very extensive list of items that should be coming in your baskets soon. We adding on 12 more CSA members, so if you or someone you know is interested please contact me cathy@coxfamilyfarm.com. The CSA this year will be $50 a month for a peck of vegetables, we call them a basket, but fresh, organically grown, local veggies once a week that will feed a family of 4-6 each week!

We are working hard on adding recipe's into the baskets so that you can learn different techniques for cooking all the wonderful things you will be receiving! We are hoping to get feedback from our customers so that we can build a large list of recipes to share with each other. Some of the comments we are hearing about our CSA is "My Husband was skeptical when I brought home the last basket because of the winter veggies, but after the week he said WOW you had the kids eating Kale, Swiss Chard, and turnips and everyone enjoyed it!" We are glad to help supply healthy foods to our customers and friends.

COWS

We are breeding cows right now! We bred 4 today and currently have 1 bred, so if you are looking for grass fed beef contact us and put a hold on your calf for next year! The FARM is currently working on obtaining our Raw for Retail Grade A Licence so that we can sell Raw Milk from the farm. We will keep you updated on the progress as this procedure takes time.

Have a GREAT Week and come see the farm,
from our family to yours, enjoy!

Back on Track!

2011-11-29T21:29:00.000-06:00

Many of you have heard of the woes of the farm this summer, some of you have not. I kind of stopped blogging because everywhere I turned I was facing another devastation. It started with Cows who did not do well through the drought and miscarried to chickens who couldn't stand the intense heat of our 108 days all the way through a early freeze that wiped out the last of the summer veggies!

Well you can sit and look for the bad, or you can "Pick yourself up, Dust yourself off, and start all over again" (Got to love Sesame Street) So that is what the Cox Family Farm did!

We have re-breed half the cows and will be testing soon, to be sure that it took. We have 2 cows that were born on the farm that were breed for the first time! So if you are looking for some grass feed beef, get on the waiting list so that when they are born and ready you can put some in your freezer! I love having beef in the freezer, the hard part is deciding what is for dinner because there are so many choices! We are looking forward to having NEW BABIES on the ground and hopefully lots of rain SOON so we can have lots of grass for them!

The garden is on the next phase, winter veggies! So if you have been craving salads, turnips, greens, and more they are here, with Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrots, and others on the way! We are excited about the winter garden and getting ready for next year! We are adding more CSA shares so if you want a basket full of veggies each week for $12 a week, give me a call! We are hoping to add some of your favorites too! So if you have veggies that you look forward too, or just LOVE give me an jingle or shoot me an e-mail, you can even just post of FaceBook and we will get the seeds ordered and the planting schedule adjusted!

Planting is always a busy time of year and it takes everyone so if you feel like getting dirty or just hanging out with us and visiting while we work, give me a call and we can schedule sometime for everyone to be apart of the FARM! The greenhouse will be the hangout starting about the second week of January!

We are making improvements to the farm also, so if you want to come check them out, or swing a hammer for awhile, give me a shout and we can all pull things together!

I am excited about the growth on the farm this year and hoping to see wonderful thing popping up all over. Come and visit and enjoy some dehydrated squash chips while you are here! They are turning out to be a welcome addition out here! Healthier than potato chips, and tastier than you would think. My favorite feed back so far has been "I wouldn't mind eating squash like this, they are good!"Maddy "She likes them so I had to come try one, they're good!"Dad

Hope to see you all soon, and hope to update sooner so I can keep everyone informed of the going ons at COX FAMILY FARM!

Ramping up for a new School Year and Fall Garden!

2011-08-09T10:27:00.000-05:00

We have got our supplies, books, and are ready for the best school year so far! We homeschool so that we can be the biggest influence on Alice, it is fun and we all learn! We are starting 3rd Grade this year and very excited. Trying to establish our Homeschool support group at the farm again, so we can practice public speaking like book reports and hold cool classes like worm composting or pottery! This year I also want to add science projects once a month! Big plans, so we will all try to work it out!

We create a grade book/journal each year and this year's book is done and being filled in! I created grade sheets with all the assignments so that it would be easier to track! Always putting pics of Alice from last year on the cover. This time I put a picture of Alice and her new brother, well brother-in-law, close as she will get to a brother! We are excited to have him in the family!

The fall garden is coming along, we have started seeds and are working on more. We have got lots coming up right now, watermelon personal size, squash (yellow, patty pan, butternut, zucchini) along with Purple Hull peas and Black eyed peas, but don't forget the Okra! Lots being harvested and lots of excitement!!

We are starting to get a steady supply of eggs for those interested call the farm! We are still waiting on the Baby Calf to be born, does anyone what to guess if it is a boy or girl? Maybe I will start a poll on Facebook where you can vote! Who ever gets it right can get a pound of flour (fresh ground)!

The hides are dried and the next step is to start the tanning process to make the leather soft! Will keep you informed and post pictures as soon as we start the next step!

DH is working on improving water lines and building chicken tractors and PLOWING gardens space for me! He stays pretty busy with Honey dos. Maybe this weekend I will grill him a rib eye from the new calf we butchered! Have a good week everyone!

Salting of the Hides...

2011-07-22T23:45:00.000-05:00

OK sometimes common sense just has to kick in! We salted the hides and my darling Husband says the articles I have read says to stack them on top of each other. I say if you stack them on top of each other they won't dry. He says Cathy that is what it says can we follow instructions? ....

So the next day we are placing them on a piece of fence and putting that on top of the clothes line with him saying that is what it said to do, but it is not drying. I say You can't stack a bunch of wet towles and expect them to dry! LOL So now that we have that figured out, they are on the clothes line (litteral on top) and they are almost completely dry! YEA! then on to the next step. I will keep you informed.

On to other news, we planted a LOT of tomatoes for the fall garden today. We also planted some Bell Peppers. The fall garden is shapping up and so is the existing garden. Purple Hull peas are rippining up and looking great! The Egg Plant decided it like the irrigation being fixed and it is doing awesome too! So lots of good things happening at the farm.

Eggs, Eggs, Eggs..... soon we will have tons of eggs approx. 3 dozen a day! So if you want to get on our waiting list of receiving eggs each week give us a call! We already have approx. 8 dozen a week spoken for so hurry up and get your orders in!

I guess that is all for today. Check back with us and I'll see ya on the farm! Remember all this good food is for your family from ours with love!

Tanning Hides & Enjoying the fruits of our labors!

2011-07-20T00:17:00.000-05:00

We raise grass feed beef on the farm and have had several steers processed. Although we have enjoyed the meat, we have also wanted to tan a hide from one of the cows. Not sure what we would get from this process. We are hoping that the process will be a fun learning experience. In the past we have had a lot of new things going on and one more thing just seemed too much, but we took the first step today!

When having the steers processed we requested the hides back and they said we would have to pick it up today before closing, so we did.

We have enjoyed raising the cows in a happy environment with their mothers milk and grass being the main diet. We did not have a problem with bring them to the processor and eating the beef. Everyone asks how can we pet and love an animal and then kill it for consumption and I give them the same answer that I give my (3 yo the first time we did this) 7 year old. If God wanted us to keep the animal he would have given us a girl so we could milk her and let her raise babies. God gave us a boy so that we could nurture our bodies. She is OK with this and understands the process, so it works well for us.

We have always been sad to seem them go, but understanding this is how a farm works. I did not expect to run through a sadden state when we started working with the hide. Seeing their colors and rubbing the salt on the hide was a little more difficult than I thought it would be. We started the process today and I decided that it should be a topic of the blog so that everyone can see the process and finished product! I don't know how much detail I will go into on the blog, but if you desire more detail please feel free to give us a call.

So how do you start? Well, my husband really wanted to do this project so he scan cyberspace until he found several articles about tanning. He compared them and studied the techniques and concepts. This is where we started, before we ever brought the cow in. Sometimes you try to be prepared, but sometimes things don't quite happen like you think they will. I will share the experiences and applications that we will use in this process with you as we go through it!

We are working on 2 at once, which maybe a good thing and may not we will see. The first step is to cure and dry the hide/skin. We had to find a location where the animals domestic (cats and dogs) as well as wild life would not get to the hides and tear them up. So we decided to use the old barn, that is basically storage for now. We cleared a spot and placed a sheet of plywood up off the ground on boxes. Then we laid the first hide flat on the plywood. After ensuring that the skin is flat and doesn't hang off anywhere or buckle around the corners, we placed salt all over the hide and rubbed it in. This will dry out the skin and create a firm/brittle skin with no moisture. We are unsure how long this will take, but the articles that we have read said anywhere from 2 days to 2 weeks, one even said 2 months. So we will watch the progress and apply more salt where needed.

The excitement has begun and then the thoughts flood through your mind, and Alice's, what do you do with it when you are done? Alice figured out that Cow hide = leather and leather=BOOTS! Don't know if boots will be the end result, but we will see. Maybe just a very lovingly made pair of moccasins. I would like to make a wall hanging or rug out of one, so maybe the fact that it is two will be a good thing. Wish us luck and keep posted for progress!

Moving through the Hot Summer Months

2011-07-05T22:09:00.000-05:00

July is starting with a BANG! In Brazos Valley we are in a burn ban so there were no fireworks, but Texas A & M and George Bush Library had a great Laser Show so that the celebration can go on! God Bless America.

Thank God for a wonderful country in which we can live the lives we are lead to live. We choose to live on the farm and produce good wholesome food! We are glad that our friends can be a part of the farm as well as enjoy the wonderful Nutritional food.

Well enough about my gratitude, now on to the information you have all been waiting for:

Garden:
The garden is growing and growing, we have black-eyed peas, purple hull peas, okra, and squash growing along with egg plant, tomatoes, and banana peppers that are producing. We have been offering baskets (1/2 bushel) for $10. Currently we are sold out for the baskets, but as new items are coming on-line we will add more shares to become available. All of our vegetables are $2.00 a pound, unless you belong to the CSA receiving a basket each week then it is $1.50 a pound. If you want to get on the waiting list to be the next to receive a basket give us a call or e-mail me!

Cows:
The cows are about to have calves! We have one due is July, this month, and another due in September. So if you want to come and see the new babies, keep posted for the birth announcements! Once born you can place a deposit for any bull calves that were born for future grass feed beef. The two steers that are currently spoken for are going to the butcher on July 19th.

We have a new cow that will be breed in August, so she can join the ranks of the other milkers. We are excited as this is the first cow that was actually born on the farm!

Chickens:
We have new laying hens that should start laying, YEA! This will allow us to keep up with the demand for eggs. We are excited about getting the new girls on-line.

We have also been raising chickens for our friends and ourselves. We are excited about how big the chickens are getting. The are looking so good. We are getting ramped up for processing day. We will have a day, September 17th, with all our friends to process our chickens that will allow everyone to have chickens in the freezer for the next 4 months. We will be looking at raising the next group starting in September, so if you would like farm fresh chickens please contact us by e-mail or phone.

WOW we have been busy and enjoying every minute. If you get an itch to stick your hands in dirt or plants some seeds, give us a call and we would be happy for you to come out and help on the farm! There is lots to do and it is always more fun with friends! We like to teach, guide, and work along side our friends. This is a community/family farm and we would like everyone to feel apart!

I am sorry it took me so long to update the blog, I will try to do better in the future, but as you can tell we stay pretty busy on the farm.

Summer is ramping up and school activities are calming down!

2011-05-19T00:51:00.000-05:00

We have been very busy on the farm, new chickens arrived so we have adults, teenagers, and tots! They are a lot of work, but it is fun to see them grow and play. Sometimes I go sit in the chicken coop and watch them scratch, eat, and play they are very relaxing and humours to watch! We are building chicken tractors because these babies are growing fast! Everyone ready for processing day? I am kind of excited and we have Andrew who is going to help us quarter and cut up our chickens (we might get lucky and he'll give us all a demonstration!)

We are planning for the processing day event which should be fun! Lots of help and lots of learning!

The garden is doing great! We have 3 varieties of squash available and one more is about to be ready! Zucchini is looking good and going fast! We have some cabbage and spinach and Swiss chard still available and the Roma tomatoes should be ready any day now! Banana Peppers are ready too, boy don't they look good! We have pulled up all the lettuce and replanted more crops to follow! OH and the egg plant has the most beautiful purple flowers on it when you come by the farm stop and take a look!

We have been picking lately and got peaches, strawberries, and blueberries so I've been making jam and jam and did i mention jam? It is good and fresh! When you come to the farm remind me and I'll let you know what is still available!

We have been drying up Dixie so she can have her new calf soon, and she is not happy about it, but she will be a good momma, she always is! Let's all cross our fingers for a boy, can you say "Beef: it's whats for dinner"

Alice is having her dance recital this weekend so we will be busy fixing hair, dressing up, and running to rehearsal and performances! We are excited and can't wait to see her shine.

Lots of Firsts this year!

2011-04-12T08:44:00.000-05:00

Well, this is the first year we have been to the farmers market and it seems to be going well. We are very excited to see everyone out there. Thanks for helping us make this successfull.

We have been eating more salad this year out of the garden and it has been AWESOME! Really enjoy the variety of lettuce in the salads along with the spinach. I even went and bought several different kinds of dressing so everyone can have their favorites! The carrots are still really small, but good!

We have EXPANDED the garden, it is official! We planted in the new garden area and applied the drip irrigation so hopefully it will all be ok, everyone cross your fingers for us! We planted Squash(straight neck, crook neck, spaghetti, butternut), Zuchinii, purple hull peas, english peas(i know were late on this one, but we will see), and banana peppers! Very excited to have the additional room in the garden, but we are not through yet! Still have some black eyed peas to plant and watermelon and pumpkins!! Come check it out as soon as you can! OH and a very big thanks to Christopher Johnson, David, Micheal, Benjamin Capps for all their hard work. These boys helped me plant over 400sqft of garden and apply drip irrigation, i could not have gotten it done in a day without thier help! A special thanks to Hubby for coming home and helping me in my crisis with the irrigations stuff!

Keep Growing and we will see you soon!

First Farmers Market Event for the Farm

2011-03-30T22:40:00.000-05:00

I just wanted everyone to know that we have had our first appearance at the Brazos Valley Farmers Market! We had a table at the Village Foods Wednesday Market. Thanks to everyone for supporting the farm and keep looking for us at future markets! Working on having a table at Saturday Mornings market too!

For those of you who tried the link in the last post and it did not work, I am sorry. I was typing late at night and made a typo it has been corrected so again to view our updated web-site please visit www.coxfamilyfarm.com and enjoy the Photo Gallery, I will be adding captions over time for the pics!

Keep growing and we will see you soon.

Things are coming together! Check out our New Web-site....

2011-03-26T22:13:00.000-05:00

We have been so busy on the farm. The garden is getting bigger and bigger, we have filled up the existing garden area and are expanding into the next pasture! How exciting it is to see this growth! We have been working hard and this is the first time that we have been able to fill the existing garden area and are looking at expansion! We have several things ready for HARVEST at the farm RIGHT NOW!

Lettuce (butter crunch, ice berg, and red leaf)
Swiss Chard
Radishes

We have more that should be available soon, so keep checking in on us! Come out for a visit if you would like to see this beautiful garden, course I am prejeduce.

We have been planting berries too! Blueberries, Blackberries, and grapes! Which are looking great, we will keep you informed about their progress.

The big chicken coop is almost ready, we should be getting the baby chicks in at the end of April or Begginnig of May. We are getting ready and very excited.

Please check out our new Web-site and give us your feed back. http://www.coxfamilyfarm.com/

thanks and keep growing.

Sharing Photos!

2011-03-21T00:16:00.000-05:00

I have been wanting to share some photos of the garden as we are moving along in the season! BTW I think we will be expanding the garden this year to accomidate all the good produce!

Garden the lettuce is growing! it has actually gotten bigger since this was taken, but i thought it was an ok shot to share!

These tomatoes were planted yesterday! Thanks to my friends and wonderful Husband!

All of these flats are starting too pop! So we need MORE ROOM! think i found it!

One of the new blueberry plants trying to grow!

Well I just wanted to add a few photos so you could see what is going on! See you soon, at the farm!

Spring time is sooooo busy!

2011-03-19T05:01:00.000-05:00

Working on the farm in spring time always makes me feel behind! No matter how much I get done, because there is always something else to do that should have been done or needs doing ASAP!

We have been working hard, between the chickens and the coops, New fences and barns, and the garden and new fruit patch, we have accomplished a lot!

This past week we have a green house full of flats that are popping everyday with new life! It is so cool to see the seeds you plant pop up out of the ground trying to grow! I love watching them and watering the flats makes the coolest rain drop sound that I love, it is so relaxing, and God planned for you to water at the end of the day so you can hear the relaxing sounds! To list a few of the items in the flats to get your mouths watering, Lima Beans, Black-eyed peas, purple hul peas, corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. etc. there is a lot! So stay tuned for what is in harvest!

We also planted 9 blueberry plants, 3 blackberry plants, 3 raspberry plants and 12 grape vines! WOW! excited about producing fruit this year or maybe next! One of the grape vines has a bunch of grapes already growing so i hope it keeps producing and growing! Now the trick is going to be beating Alice to the fruit so that we all can get some! LOL

We also got over 400 sq ft of Roma tomatoes in the ground and lots of egg plant too! The green house is full of flats that are poping so be watching for which items are going in the garden next!

On top of all of this the New Web-Site is about to be released and it looks great! We have a photo Gallery on the site and i have been trying to add photos in my spare time (lol for those who know how much spare time i get). So I will let you know when it goes up and want everyone to check it out and let me know what you think!

I am out of town today at a Karate Tournement with Alice, she is nervous and scared and excited! We will be back tonight and tomorrow planting more in the garden! Have a great week and keep growing...

Fruits and Veggies..... Yumm!

2011-03-13T14:10:00.000-05:00

We are working hard on the farm! Building chicken coops and fences. The Aggie's have a Big Event day and they are suppose to come out on March 26th and help with the fence and a barn! We will have hot dogs and hot links for them and hopefully get a lot done and have a good time.

We are also steady planting in the greenhouse and moving stuff out as it gets done! We have 5 rows planted so far! I am totally excited and can't wait for all the stuff in the green house to sprout so we can move more to the garden.

Yesterday I bought some blueberry, raspberry and grape plants so that we can get them planted and have fruit this year, or maybe next we will have to see how that goes!

Lot is happening and the farm is coming together this year. I am so very pleased with all the progress! We are also in the process of updating our Web-site and it is almost done! So I will announce that as soon as it happens! It will have a photo gallery with lots of pictures for everyone to see what is going on.

Well, I need to get digging so I will post more later....

Enjoy the sunshine!

More Gardening.... and Chicks

2011-03-01T13:59:00.000-06:00

We have been busy in the garden. We have planted 2 1/2 Rows which equal approx. 1000 sq ft of garden! WOW! We have lettuce, potatoes, radishes, brocoli, beets, carrots so far! Tomorrow we are planting cabbage and egg plant. Then planting more seeds in the greenhouse! Excited about the progress on the farm. We also installed the drip irrigation for the season. The raised bed is looking good and trying to start a second one.

We have ordered the chickens for meat and more layers to hopefull fill the egg demand that we have! We received some baby chicks today and should get the rest of them in around April 27. So if you want to come and oooh and aaah over the baby chicks come on out!

See y'all soon,

Sharing Thoughts and Happenings on the Farm!

2011-02-26T08:14:00.000-06:00

Well, we had an interesting week on the farm. We had a cow get stuck in the mud. Now HOW do you get her out you may ask! I did, I called several friends, who raise cattle, and got several answers! But one showed up, Yea Dylan, to help so we went with their expertise. Basically we pulled her out with my Tahoe, sounds like a commercial one friend said Ford got nothing on that! Well, she was not hurt and very happy to be free, followed me all the way to the barn. She seems much nicer now, coming up for a little extra pat now and then!

We also are rooting some fig tree clippings in hopes of growing figs! Thanks Mr. Polo for the clippings! Basically I cut the clippings at the nodes, dipped them in root starter, and buried them in Vermiculite. Worked last year so will try it again!

We got a whole row planted this week so far, lettuce, carrots, and potatoes. So we should have goodies soon! Hope that we can get a lot more in the ground today! Will keep you updated. But the greenhouse is looking GREAT with all the flats sprouting up.

We are getting a face lift on the web-site also. So if you have been to our site, sorry about the broken links, but we are hoping to get it fixed and updated with a new look thanks to Mr. Dee! I will keep you posted when we are ready to unveil our new site!

Also, I have been wanting to write a children's book called "Alice's Farm" since we moved up here! Well, I found someone to help me publish it. I am excited about it and will keep you all updated about it's release! Basically it will be a series about old country sayings so if you know any that you like send them in and they may make it in a book!

I guess that gets you updated for now. I have to get busy the daylight is shining and I need to take advantage of it!

Working Hard on the Farm!

2011-02-19T20:39:00.000-06:00

We have been working hard on the Farm and amazing things are happening! Let me tell you what is going on.

First we have built a raised bed for items that stay all year long. This will cut down on tilling and weeding for the farm, YEA! Also we planted the whole thing in a day. It is 4 feet wide, 28 feet long, and 2 feet deep! So needless to say that is a LOT of wheel barrels full of dirt to haul! But we completely filled it up, so I guess I need to get busy on building the second one! Thought it might take me awhile to fill it up, but no such luck! Got too excited and I hope everyone like onions! We actually planted onions, garlic, asparagus, shallots, thyme, basil, cilantro, and other spices! So if you need spice you now know where to go! If you have a favorite spice contact me and I'll add it in.

Second we got 6 rows fertilized and tilled and ready for planting! Bye-Bye Winter garden, Hello spring Garden! We are so excited. We have approx. 26 flats planted and waiting to go in. Lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, carrots, tomatoes, radishes, beets, and more! So keep tuned in to find out what is available and when!

Last but not least, Meat Chickens! We have construction underway to update the buck pen, into the chicken coop for the meat birds! We are about to place our first order of meat birds and need to know who wants us to raise meat chickens for them and how many do you need? Call or e-mail me so we can make arrangements and you can get the details!

Well, I guess I am going to sign off for now, but stay tuned to find out what else is happening at the Cox Family Farm!

Meat Chicken Shares available!

2011-02-19T20:28:00.000-06:00

I wanted to let you all know that we are explanding with meat chickens on the farm. I need a count of how many people are wanting chickens and how many chickens they want.

We are starting to raise meat chickens. We are doing it on a pre-order basis. Let me explain how it will work.

You decide how many chickens do you and your family eat each week/month? Example 1 wk/4 month
Pay a deposit for the number of chickens you want us to raise for you each month. Deposit will be $3.00 Example 4 x 3 = $12
We order the chickens, eventually we will be hatching your chickens instead of buying them, but to start we are getting them from ideal poultry.
We raise the chickens…. For approximately 4-6 months.
Then we have a processing day. If you choose to, totally your option, you can help process the birds. If you help with the processing day you do not pay for processing the birds. If you do not help then you will pay $1 a pound for process your birds. We will process once every 4 months. This way we are only processing 3 times a year.
You pick up your chicken. We are charging $2.50 a pound for raising your bird.

If you have any question please feel free to contact me at (281) 703-8205. I need to know how many birds you would like us to raise for you, so please contact me ASAP with your numbers and we can make arrangements at that time.

Things are growing! Inspite the weather!

2011-02-12T22:25:00.000-06:00

Well, we planted approx 15 flats before all the bad/cold weather hit. They survived and are starting to sprout, Yea for the greenhouse!

Tomorrow we are building raised beds and planting more flats! Maybe even starting on the chicken coop. Did you decide how many chickens you need each month? Call and let us know so we can have them for you.

Lots to do and excited about getting it done!

Brussel Sprouts are looking good too! So if you are wanting some come on out to the farm!

See y'all soon,

Survived the Snow!

2011-02-07T21:31:00.000-06:00

Well we have survived the cold with no broken pipes! YEA! We lost water for a week and a special thanks goes out to my friends who took us in and let us shower and clean milk equipment. We are very grateful for that. We are working on building back up the milk production, glad we have 3 cows in milk. One bad thing is the Washing machine broke :( so laundry mat here we come.

We are rampping up for the spring with planting and improving the soil! We are building chicken coops for meat birds, so if you want meat chickens with out all the yuk in them give us a call. We are now accepting members for the chicken shares. Think about how many birds you eat a month and how many you want, then give us a call.

The veggie garden is shaping up too! So look forward and keep checking on what is ready for harvest.

Playing the Farmers Wife!

2011-01-31T23:11:00.000-06:00

So today was a busy day, but not a usually busy day.

We had 3 families drop in on the farm.
We made mozzarella cheese for dinner (baked ziti).
Also made pasta for dinner!
We made 1 pound of butter
Did the regular chores of milking cows, cleaning equipment, feeding animals, up keep on green house.

What a wonderful day. Alice had a friend who stayed the day with her and they had so much fun! It was cute to see the two of them pushing doll stollers around the farm! We also jumpped rope! Of course I had to show the girls how it was done, and no cinderella it didn't take any Dr.s Guess I need to practice more, LOL!

So if you are making baked zitia do you consider it from scratch if you milk the cow and make the cheese AND grind the wheat to make the pasta? I did use can tomatoes sauce.... but this year I will can more tomatoes for us!

Well just wanted to give an update for a busy day!

Come see us soon!

Planting, Planting, Planting.....

2011-01-30T09:34:00.000-06:00

We are busy on the farm planting! Getting ready for a BIG garden this year! Wanting to master the soil block technique, we have been reading up on it and finally mastered it! We used the technique from the organic farmer, great book!

GREENHOUSE HAPPENINGS: We created 10 flats of soil blocks and filled them all with seeds. So be watching for lettuce, beets, carrots, tomatoes, and others to become available on the farm!

CURRENTLY HARVESTING: We currently have broccoli and Brussel sprouts available, along with cabbage. So if your in the mood for some fresh veggies give us a call!

CHICKEN: We are about to place an order for meat birds! If you want to have pasture raised chicken for your freezer then call me and we can get you on program for birds!

GOT MILK? Maggie is back on line for all those who were wanting a milk share, please contact us! We are starting are cheese season here on the farm too! I'll keep you informed when the cheese is properly aged and ready! If you want ricotta or mozzarella give me a call and place an order!

Happy 2011 Everyone!

2011-01-18T08:21:00.000-06:00

Like everyone else, with a new year comes new dreams and hopes! We are getting ramped up for a new garden and have had 1 new baby calf! So I am going to try and blog at least once a week! pics may be pushing it, but at least tell y'all what is going on out here!

The winter garden is looking OK, we have cabbage and broccoli. We are getting geared up to start the new garden for the spring. We are looking at finally fixing/cleaning up the fence. The greenhouse needs it's annual spring cleaning and we are ordering Mushroom compost! I love watching them deliver the Mushroom compost on the big truck with the moving floor. It is really cool! I'll post when the delivery is coming so if you want to see you can come watch!

The New baby Calf is a week old now and learning the ropes. She is such a sweetie and too cute! Mom is flowing with the good stuff and we are looking forward to making cheese on Friday and Saturday!

Well hope your new years is starting off with a bang and all your adventures are successes. A success can be a learning experience too!

Wonderful Week

2010-05-14T08:35:00.000-05:00

We have squash, zucchini, cucumbers and Alice's new favorite sugar snap peas! She keeps eating them before they make it to the house! We should have more soon so don't worry... Tomatoes are looking good and some are rip. Come to the farm and get some good for ya veggies!

We are picking up Bees today! YEA! So you all need to get ready for the honey! We are very excited and past ready. This has been a several year project that in finally coming to light! We should have bees wax and candles too, once we get going.

The cows are enjoying the summer time weather and long days in the pasture, if it has been awhile since you been to the farm come out a bottle feed one of the babies they are almost to the point that we don't have to (well but we really want to LOL) feed them bottles any more so if you want the experience come on out!

New chicks are doing good. If you want chicken please let us know how many you will be eating a month and we will get you on board for our chicken production.

Lots of fun things going on at the farm, y'all come!

Veggies, Veggies, Veggies

2010-05-11T08:43:00.000-05:00

The garden is growing and looking GREAT! We are so excited. Squash, Zucchini, Lettuce, and Broccoli are all available NOW! Things to come in the next few weeks Tomatoes, Cantaloupe, Watermelon, and peas, peas, and beans! We have all kinds and are very excited!
Eggs glorious Eggs! We have Eggs so please remember to ask for them when visiting the farm! Soon we will have a variety of colors, but for now we have white, brown, and dark brown!

We are getting bees soon, if you want honey let me know! We are very happy to have the bees for the garden, honey for our food, and wax for candles! YEA....

Chickens have arrived! We are taking orders for meat chickens. How much Chicken to you eat a month? Want it to be health with no anti-biotic or hormones? We will take orders, raise the chickens and process them once a quarter so every 3 months you will get all the chicken you need for the next 3 months! So call or e-mail and let me know!

Enjoy this summer weather? Looking for something to do? Want to learn something new? Come to the farm and play we always have something going on and would love to have you "be a part" of the farm! Current projects on the farm are building chicken coops! Working in the garden and compost! Making soap!

Go out and enjoy your day! Hope to see y'all soon....

Updates to Share

2010-05-04T23:31:00.000-05:00

We are so excited! Wednesday we are picking up new baby chicks! We are getting several varieties. We are getting laying breeds as well as meat breeds. So if you want to come and see the new babies call and come visit the farm!

The vegetables are producing in the garden and ready to go home with you! Come and get your fresh veggies and enjoy. We have lettuce, broccoli, yellow straight neck squash, zucchini, and squash!

Coming soon, tomatoes, peas, beans, cantaloupe, potato, and watermelon.

The pigs are gone and the cows are growing! Will be putting up the cow for orders hopefully sooner than later. We do have some grass feed beef available if you want it please let me know!

Have a great week and we look forward to seeing you all soon.

Come and Get IT!

2010-04-25T17:15:00.001-05:00

OK, Lettuce and broccolli and some squash ready for the taken!! We are excited to say that we now have veggies ready to be picked up on the farm! Eggs too if you need them!

We have been busy with the Guardians of the Navasota River trying to save the farm from going underwater. Today we took a breather from that and have been weeding to find all kind of veggies just about ready to pick! Some are ready, some almost!

Come out or call and get your fresh, wholesome, GOOD veggies. Looking forward to seeing everyone soon.

Saving the Farm

2010-03-29T10:42:00.000-05:00

We are trying to organize a group to stop the Navasota Dam. I have gotten all of your e-mails from the past meeting that turned out not to be about the dam.

The Region G (Brazos) has listed the Panther Creek Millican dam as providing water to this area in the year 2030 to balance projected demands.

I have contacted the Texas Conservation Alliance group and Janice Bezanson, Executive Director is coming to speak with us on how we can stop this. Ms. Bezanson has a good track record of 45 dams being stopped in the last 25 years! She is willing to come and help us find out what we need to do and how we need to do it!

I have a flyer (if you would like a copy send me a request through e-mail flood@coxfamilyfarm.com) and would love to see all of you at the meeting and forward this information to any and all persons that you feel would be interested in helping us!

Meeting is March 30, 2010 Tuesday @ 6:30 Central Baptist Church in the Christian Life Center (the new Gym in back)!

There are 3 meetings coming up about the Dam.

Region H (Houston) is wanting to build the dam for them to have water. www.regionhwater.org their meetings are Mar 30 in Houston, April 1 in Madisonville

Region G (Brazos) is wanting to build the dam for them to have water. www.brazosgwater.org their meeting is April 21 in Waco. (sometimes their website works and sometimes not if you need help finding it call or e-mail me)

Ms. Bezanson is willing to help us get prepared for the meetings listed above and what we can do to make an impact!

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

Plannting is Almost Done for now!

2010-03-28T07:33:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we plannted potatos, beans, peas and did i mention beans and peas! Lots and Lots along with some spinach!! We are so excited this is the biggest Garden we have ever had here at Cox Family Farm. We have plannted approximately 2,000 square feet of garden and still have a few more rows to go!

We are also fighting the dam that Houston is trying to build in Navasota that will flood the farm! They are holding 3 public meetings, at time for us to voice our opionions!
    March 30, @ 6:30 pm Houston 3555 Timmons, Suite 120 Houston, Tx
    April 1, @ 6:30 pm Madisonville Truman Kimbro Convention Center
    April 21 @ 10:00 Waco (will put up info later their web site it down)

please come to any of these you can to voice your opion for them to use new technologys that don't flood 80,000 of farm land!

The Garden is growing and growing.... Todays additions

2010-03-26T06:09:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, was Thrusday and I had Master Gardener Class and we learned all about Grass! Well maybe not ALL, but a lot! Then Alice went to Girl Scouts and celebrated the Birthday of Girl Scouts! It was fun and exciting and her troup leader put the new patches she earned inside a ballon with her name on it! What a cool idea! So we didn't get home till late in the afternoon. Then we got busy!

We planted Watermelon, Envelopes (that's what Alice used to call them really they are Cantaloupes), Cucumbers, onions (white, yellow, red, and bunchings), garlic, Bell peppers! Can't wait till we start harvesting some of these goodies. I also am learning about preserving food so that we can eat from the harvest all year long! So when you come to get your veggie (soon hopefully) I'll try to include tips and ideas on preserving the food that you may not eat that week so that it will last you! Learning with friends is so much better!

Today we are going to make cheese! Now that we are in MILK! We can get back on track for cheese and soap making! So be looking for notices of when the cheddar will be ready! I am going to make 2 to 4 pounds of cheddar a week!

Enjoy your week and come visit when you can!

Garden, Planting, and Planting....

2010-03-24T09:12:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we planted carrots, cabbage, eggplant, tomatoes, zuchini, and squash.... WOW it was fun and a lot of work, but the family was all working together and it was awesome! We use the biointesive method so our garden is a 4 ft bed 100 feet long and yesterday we planted 2 beds! that's 800 sq ft of garden. We plant in a hexagone method for maximum growth and weed control as the leaves touch and create a rainforrest type enviroment under the plants that help with water retension and weed control!

Today we are going to plant watermelon, canteloupe, cucumbers, and peppers. Then we have seeds to put in the ground for other things!! Wow things are growing around here, come out and check it out! Feed the baby calfs while your here!

The green house is finally getting bare as things are moving out to the garden. Although the fig clippings are doing very good. So if you want a fig tree for your yard let me know! Y'll have a great day and enjoy it!

We've been busy....

2010-03-19T09:12:00.000-05:00

Lot to cover as we have been very busy lately! So I am going to hit the highlights as quickly as possible because i have a lot to do.

WELCOME Oreo, she joined the farm on Saturday when Dixie delivered! So we have more cow shares available so if you were thinking about getting one, don't miss it! We also rescued another calf that was having trouble surviving on her own. So if you want to bottle feed a baby calf come on out and enjoy feeding Fluffy (the new calf) or Breeze the last one we rescued.

Gardening is going well. We have planted more grapes and berries. The fig clippings that we tried to root are doing GREAT! Lettuce, Brocoli, and Brussel Sprouts are in the garden and doing well. Tomatoes are in the green house and doing well and more to come! Going today to see what we can find at the Co-op!

This weekend we are hosting a couple from Canada who is interested in moving to Texas! Learning about their country has been interesting.

WHEAT in Bulk

2010-02-24T16:42:00.000-06:00

I am placing an order for Wheat and other grains at bulk prices. Please call or e-mail and i will sent you a copy of the price list.

Thanks!

Growing and Growing....

2010-02-19T16:57:00.000-06:00

Well today we ammended, fertilized and tilled 1200 square feet of Garden!!! WOW and then we started planting from the greenhouse, brussel sprouts and broccoli. So far so good, lots to go, but we are getting there!

We also got the berries and grapes in the ground! Things are looking up and looking good!!

We have another cow share available to the first person to contact me. I was hoping to have a list together, but have not been able to get there, so if you are interested in a cow share or maybe 2 please e-mail me cathy@coxfamilyfarm.com and We will set it up!

Have a great weekend and happy growing ;)

Another weekend gone, but lots done....

2010-02-08T07:59:00.000-06:00

Well, we adopted a new little calf this weekend. He is adorable! We named him Breez after the Saints QTRBack and then they WON!! Geaux Saints.... His mom died and he was only a week old so we are bottle feeding him and he is too sweet!

We also planted in the green house, tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes.... did I mention Alice LOVES tomatoes she was so excited!! We should have several varieties roma, brandywine, beefsteaks and more!

Some of the strawberries are looking Great, the figs seem to doing ok, and the cabbage and lettuce and others are looking great!!! We got the mulch filled into the 3 rows we had dug so now we need to fert. and transplant!!!! Big steps in the right direction! Will be planting more soon....

Update....

2010-02-04T15:07:00.000-06:00

We are taking it easy on this nice wet day! We have been plannting strawberry's and need to get the grapes, blueberries, and blackberries in the ground, maybe tomorrow! The figs seem to be holding their own and the lettuce is looking good along with the cabage! The broccoli and brussel sprouts are coming up too now! YEA! Looking forward to a full day in the garden tomorrow with tomatoes and carrots on the top of the list!

We have put 2 trailers of wood chip mulch in the garden and need another 2 loads! So maybe we can work on that tomrrow as well. Also looking into another Cow! I found 2 one if 4 yo and the other 5 yo so maybe we can go look at them!

I am creating a list for the cow share, if you want to be on the list for the next available share please e-mail me and let me know. I have several people who have contacted me, but want to get everyone on a list so that i can be as fair as possible!

Pig should be ready to butcher in March, if anyone is interested in the Pig please let me know. I can deliever it to K & C processing in Navasota and you can tell them how you want it processed. If you buy the whole pig it is 2.50 hanging weight, other wise we will have some pork here on the farm available at 4 lbs!

Excited about the calf due this month! Hoping for a boy so we can have more meat!!! Will let you guys know if we have any for sale! Grass feed beef is great for you and great tasting!

We are making some cheese this week so if you are interested in pre-ordering cheddar let me know! Also making some soap, so if you would like some good old fashion milk soap let me know!

Well I guess that is all for now. Talk to you soon,

Figs???

2010-01-31T22:08:00.000-06:00

We planted a huge amount of Fig clippings (about 2 dozen or more) We hope at least 1 takes root! Then we can have wonderful fig trees on the Farm, YEA!

Broccolli and Cabage, Lettuce are coming up and looking GREAT!!! the Brussel Sprouts are starting to come up but not sure how well they will do. Some look ok and some not so good!

The garden mulch is almost down we had to get another load of mulch and prob. need more before we are done! Now to get the compost from the Mushroom Place in Maddisonville.

hope you all had a great weekend. :)

Crops coming up!!!

2010-01-28T16:47:00.000-06:00

Alice's sunflower seeds are coming up!!! YEA for her....

The lettuce and cabbage is coming up and looking great! The mulch in going in the garden so maybe it will be ready before the veggies need to be transplanted!

In Master Gardening class to day we learned about cuttings and boy I am excited. We are going to Houston on Saturday so i think i will get as many clippings off my fig trees as i can!

Success...

2010-01-27T09:25:00.000-06:00

Success can be measured in the completion of a task the result of a task! Some successes can be small and others large. We are having success at the farm (yesterday sorry I didn't post then), But I wanted to share them just the same!

The milk stand is a big success!! We milked off of the stand yesterday and it was awesome. There are a few little tweeks that need to be done, but we milked both cows (that are in milk) at the same time! With the milk totall for the day being 3 1/2 (which is good for now) so the event did not scare them or cause them to hold back on milk!

The plants in the greenhouse are peeking out of the soil! So I am excited to see new life coming to the farm! Things are moving ahead and we are planning on getting mulch today for the garden so we can finish getting that ready!

Letting Go...

2010-01-25T23:29:00.000-06:00

Well, the cow we were looking at went to the vet to be checked out so that we were sure of what we were getting! We haven't done this yet, but talked about it with our Vet and others to say this is something we should be doing. I guess I have always trusted that God will lead me to what I need to do and where I need to go. Well he has. We are so glad we did have her checked out.

She was not bred, Even though she had been with a bull for 7-9 months. My vet thought she might have actually miscarried because what he felt. His opinion was that it could be hard for her to get re-bred again. She was probably a problem cow.

So the long and short of it is … not the right cow for us! So we will keep looking and anxiously awaiting Dixie to deliver. She is supposed to be due in February, but looks like it might be later, we will keep you posted.

Gardening tomorrow, more seeds to plant! Master Gardener meeting tomorrow evening, it will be my first so I am excited about that! This Thursday the MG class is at the Aggie Horticulture Garden and we actually get clippings to bring home and plant!! How cool will that be.

Good Treats to Come....

2010-01-24T21:58:00.000-06:00

Today we went shopping and bought some cool things for the farm! We have some fruit trees and wanted to add more varieties so we bought some new plants/trees/vines, 5 grapes, 5 blueberries, 1 blackberry, 1 raspberry, 2 strawberries, 1 asparagas.

We currently have apple, peach, nectarine, plum, and pear! So maybe some yumming things to come!

Garden Plowed and getting Ready

2010-01-23T20:27:00.000-06:00

Today was a busy day, Planted Seeds, Plowed Garden and hipped the rows! We plannted Broccoli, Cabbage, and Cauliflower in the greenhouse.

We disc'd and tilled the garden and then hipped the rows by hand.

Thanks shohn, we could not have done it all today with out your help!!

New Cow

2010-01-22T20:08:00.000-06:00

Went and looked at the new cow this evening, she is pretty and not too shy!

Now to name her, I like Bessie.... Leonard said we need an Elsie. List your comments and let's get her named.

She will be going to the Vet on Monday to be tested and de-horned and to check and she breeding status, she is suppose to be bred.

Starting the Garden

2010-01-21T23:43:00.000-06:00

The Greenhouse is covered with new plastic and a new floor! Trying to get a fresh start on a new growing Season.

We started planting today in the greenhouse lettuce (leaf and head) and cabbage (Jersey)! More to come tomorrow!! Alice had a blast planting even planted a few sunflower seeds she found so i guess we will see what happens!

Excited about the farm and possibilities that are happening and growing around here!

Going to look at a new Cow tomorrow!
Found out Maggie (cow) is not breed so we will try again next month!

Just starting the Blog....

2010-01-10T16:09:00.000-06:00

I have been trying to figure out how to kick off the blog for the farm, so here goes!!

We are in the process of planning and starting the garden for the spring! I am excited and hope to post all the good veggies we will have available on the farm. If you want something e-mail me or come out on Farm day and pick up what you need or want!!

I am trying to host a CSA but don't want the traditional, because I am not sure that you should pay for something you might get, so I will only charge for what you actually receive. This way you can get what you want and I feel good about selling good clean food from the farm.

We will from time to time have animals available for the butcher. We use K & C in Navasota, but you can bring them anywhere. If I have animals ready I will post a listing for them 2 months prior to their sell. If you want 1/2 instead of the whole I can post 1/2 is available and if another person acts upons it then you two can split it, but if someone wants the whole animal before you get a person to share with you it will go to the whole bidder!

We also have a cow share available.

If you have anyquestions about anything please contact me on my cell phone and I will be happy to talk and share information with you.

Thanks for bearing with us and hope that you will enjoy yourselves!

Cathy