We have seasonal offerings of
- soil amendments
- biochar
- livestock
- Fodder Plants
Offerings are often limited and not always available. Soil mixes and biochar can be made per order. We are located at 11550 S. Cottonwood Ave in Ensley Center, Michigan, Just between Big Rapids and Grand Rapids. Show up by appointment only.
Contact by email: Cairnstonefarm@gmail.com
NOTE* our produce and eggs are seasonally on hold
Soil Amendments
Sold in 5-gallon or 4-cubic feet (a full Wheelbarrow) increments.
- Rabbit manure
- Bulk Potting Soil
- Bulk Garden Soil
Biochar
Sold by the 5-gallon bucket or 50-gallon load. 5-gallon buckets and 50-gallon barrels are available for extra cost or bring your own container. I currently sell 5-gallons for $20 and 50-gallons for $150. It’s small-chunk, unground.
Livestock
We have seasonal lambs, piglets, and bunnies.
Our lambs are hardy Jacob sheep, sourced from local herds and selected for local adaptation.
Our pigs are small-breed homestead pasture pigs. Bed for hardiness, survivability, and outside raising success. Our herd is a unique mix of genes from American Guinea Hog, Mangalitsa, Wild Russian, and three small Asian breeds. They are calm, manageable, and healthy by nature. Not a lean breeding so they will fatten up as much as you let them.
Our Rabbits are a unique meat breed, crossed from Flemish Giant, Silver Fox, and the American. They are selected for health first, and for successful pasture-feeding secondly. Large, muscular bodies with gray to brown coats.
Fodder Plants
*Note about availability- Fodder trees and Jerusalem artichoke are a late fall/early spring offering. The comfrey sale is in the springtime, but can be ordered any time outside of winter.
Potted plants are 10-15 dollars, depending on the market season.
Our Landrace Aspen is a wild-discovered, fast-growing, tree of the poplar family. It grows comparable to a hybrid polar in less-than-ideal circumstances. The mother tree is roughly 80 years old and we’ve cultivated hundreds from it. We sell them locally in the spring. Our sheep’s favorite fodder tree.
Hybrid poplar will, in ideal conditions, outperform any other tree for leafy fodder or fuel value per acre each year. It responds well to continued harvesting and coppice/pollard systems. It has adequate protein and energy for all grazing animals.
Hybrid willow is less fast-growing than poplar, but also less attractive to deer. It is slightly less favorable to livestock, but they still eat it well, and it’s part of a good grazer’s diet.
Jerusalem Artichoke is a US native perennial sunflower that grows large yields of tender tubers. Harvest as chicken, rabbit, or cattle feed, or let pigs dig them up. High in carbs, moderate protein. Can be fermented for better feed usage. I have raised and fed many pigs on primarily Jerusalem Artichokes. They stay good in the soil until spring and make a good winter hog feed.
We Have 2 varieties of comfrey, Bocking 4 ( softer leaves, best for ruminants) and Bocking 14 (more prickly but higher-yielding, best for pigs and poultry). Clones of the original specimen. They are 1-20 percent protein, high in lysine, and quite favorable to pigs. I have fed many pigs on diets of 40-80 percent fresh comfrey leaf. Poultry and pigs will happily forage it, and comfrey can supply most of their protein needs.
We sell these at our spring sale and other spring events locally, and can supply local orders.