This plant was a blessing to find out about, so I thought I'd share it with all of you!
It didn't take me much research to decide to order some seeds, but the more that I read about this plant the more that I am impressed with it. Until about a month ago, I hadn't even heard of it before. However, I'm glad that we stumbled upon it.
SAINFOIN?
Sainfoin is an interesting name in itself, and comes from the French words meaning "Holy Hay" (Saint Foin) pr "Healthy Hay." It's a perennial member of the legume family, which is good news for many reasons. Since it is a perennial, it'll come back year after year once it is planted. Since it is a legume, it has some great characteristics like fixing Nitrogen in the soil.
Here on our homestead, space is limited. We want to have grazing animals, so providing a healthy pasture for them is key. The more healthy, beneficial, and nutritious the pastures are, the better they will work for raising our herds and flocks. It's also considered to be one of the healthiest forages for animals. Many grazing animals prefer Sainfoin to grass, it can actually help prevent bloating in animals too. Since it grows well in a wide variety of climates and is drought resistant, it'll work great for us.
A NATURAL ANTHELMINITIC!
While all that is very good news for us, it was another characteristic that really interested us. Sainfoin is a natural anthelminitic, which means that it can help destroy parasites. Basically, rather than using chemical dewormers, just by eating Sainfoin our animals can actually help deworm themselves and prevent parasites from attacking them.
For us, this is a huge bonus. We want to keep our land as clean and "natural" as possible. Every solution for common problems that we can prevent just by growing plants is major blessing to us. Think about it, what would you rather do, plant some plants that your animals love to eat or purchase chemical dewormers to give to your animals. For us, that choice is simple.
CRAZY-LOOKING SEEDS!
The seeds were also very interesting to see. I had never really seen what they looked like until they showed up when I ordered them, but they are crazy looking. They look like some interesting and savage alien eggs or something. From the strange texture to the spiked ridge, they are a sight to behold. Thankfully with my macro lens I can show them off to all of you up close.
Have any of you ever heard of Sainfoin before? Have you ever grown any for your animals? If not, doesn't it sound like a great plant to have growing in the pasture?
As always, I'm @papa-pepper and here's the proof:
proof-of-sainfoin-seeds
Well, not quite. Sainfoin is French comes from the adjective "sain" meaning sane, healthy and yes "foin", hay. So, yes "healthy hay", but not "holy hay".
In French, Onobrychis viciifolia is usually called "sainfoin cultivé" (cultivated sainfoin). It is also called "esparcette à feuilles de vesce", which I found a beautiful name.
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Nice to have someone who speaks French, you know how the internet is! Healthy Hay it is!
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Bro you don't want to miss out on viewing this post regarding "They Didn't See It Beneath Them!" The illustrations are finally finished, check them out broooooo
https://steemit.com/art/@verbal-d/me-and-mikkolyytinen-have-finally-finished-our-illustration-collaboration-for-my-first-short-story-original-blog-milestone
Those Sanfoin seeds look crazy and they provide a lot of benefits to your land and animals. Sounds like a great investment with a year after year ROI. Thanks for the knowledge for life bro
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Very cool! I can't wait to see that. I was really impressed with your story and I'm glad that our friendship developed from there!
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Thanks bro, I knew you would enjoy it. I am glad we stemmed from this point and have grown since then.
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as always your post are good quality and of good length. all the photo and information is useful.
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Yeah, people used to say that they were too long, so I try to keep them more digestible. Hopefully it helps. Thank you.
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yes sir i understand why people say so, but its not always possible to present all our thought in just some lines, we must take care what we are proving to our readers.
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Yeah, especially with so many posts every day on steemit. It's hard to have time for them all anyway.
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The seed is crazy have never seen such before thanks for bringing new things so lovely
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I'd never seen such either!
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Incredible plant serving a notable purpose. Thanks for the update. I've added to my list of plant
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I agree, I am continually impressed by all that God has already provided for us and the animals of the earth.
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Really common in UK for hay producing meadows. Attracts lots of bees to the flowers :-)
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I believe it. People have been using in their pastures for at least hundreds of years.
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My friends grow it on 5 acres as they keep horses, she says the hay is the best as it prevents horse colic :-)
You're living the dream mate, best wishes to you and yours :-) Love seeing the pics each day, especially of the livestock !
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Very cool! Thanks for the encouragement. It certainly is our dream!
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I just went and read some more on Sainfoin. It sounds like an awesome plant to introduce to your pasture. Best of all it's something different. I love trying out new things. I have no need for a pasture but I've tried some different types of vegetables in my mom's garden.
We live in the city. They are out in the country and have tons of garden space. I buy them some varieties of seeds that you don't find in the stores. This is a picture of some of the different varieties of cucumbers that we tried. I try to buy heirloom seeds of varieties of vegetables that are less common and we try them out. It's great fun.
I hope your animals like the cool new addition to their pasture.
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Very cool! Are you in the States? If so, I could get you some interesting seeds that you might not have.
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No. Unfortunately I'm not. I'm in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
I really appreciate the offer though. Thanks.
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I love this seed sharing idea, we used to do it when we had a large garden and space. pape-pepper is into the seeds thing big time and I'm sure he has some exciting new ones you haven't tried. I do like the effort you make into growing. So valuable and if you know of a seed for Ridged cucumbers I'd be happy to hear that one as we can't find them in the U.K. and like to make Bread and Butter pickles. Happy Steeming, happy growing!
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My mother and grandmother traditionally just used a boston pickling cucumber for all of their pickles including bread and butter pickles. It's only been the last few years that we've been trying some different types of cucumbers. I think my mom may have tried a type of english cucumber before but those were for eating fresh, not for pickling.
She has been experimenting with some of the new cucumbers as pickles and has been finding out which ones make a good pickle and which ones are better eaten fresh in a salad or just eaten by themselves on the side. I mostly stuck to cucumbers that looked like they were well suited for pickling just for the fact that you can only eat so many fresh cucumbers in a season.
There were some white cucumbers called white wonders that look just like a boston pickling cucumber but they are white. Mom made dill pickles with them and they turned out a really light green, I'm assuming from the dill. As far as taste and texture go, I couldn't tell the difference from her regular pickles. I assume if they work as dills they'd be fine for bread and butters as well.
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Thank you for your informative and interesting reply.
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I just heard about Sainfoin, and this may be a new discovery in the field of animal health. Hopefully I can get some grains to give to my farm animals. Thanks for information
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It seems that people have been using it for their herds for hundreds of years! I'm glad that I finally found out.
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Sainfoin that sounds like a food.
I like your healthy choices of life sir. It's our responsibility as parents to show our children the best and most healthy way to live.
Could it be possible to get some samples over here sir.
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Yes, the health of our animals is very important to us and if we can take care of their needs naturally, then it is all the better.
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It been incredible that you sharing all this with us ..just amazing.
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Sainfojin, a plant with characteristics worth of considering for planting forage and I'm thinking king of it being a good 🌿 . Thanks for this information. You are indeed a great homesteader
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We are trying to learn as homesteaders! It does take some effort to adjust though. Thanks!
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Seeing this for the first time gives me the believe that the seed is a hell of a seed to serve purpose. Apart from being a forage, can it be used as herb?
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I'm not sure. We are still researching all of the benefits and uses.
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Okay. Thanks for the response. I will personally dig deeper about it and I wish to learn more about it from you
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I don't know this plant is that useful
Thanks for sharing Sir
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I just learned about it myself! You're welcome!
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Sainfoin, a plant with characteristics worth looking into. I cherish this informatjon and it will go a long way to head a farmer like me
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Thanks sir for sharing knowledge about Sainfoin. really did know about this and I'll surely try this out with my dog let's c what happens after that
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I love your blog. <3
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Definitely alien. Be careful.
But seriously, do you also grow clover and lucerne for the animals? I know of a farmer near here who grows those in combination with sainfoin, but I have no idea about the results.
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We have a number of plants already growing, and some new ones to introduce. Ultimately we want our animals to be as healthy and happy as they can be, and meet all of their needs. We are moving forward day by day, and plant by plant.
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It is really a huge bonus.
Thank you for sharing it with us, this is actually my first time hearing about this plant.
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Great! I'm glad that you agree!
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@papa-pepper thanks
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That sounds like a great to have for the homestead seed!
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Where did you guys order the seeds from?
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I'll have to look into that. I don't recall, but they were a very good price, it just took some looking around to find them. I'll try to get back to you later today.
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Okay, I got it. "Nature's Finest Seed." I think this is the link: https://www.naturesseed.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=sainfoin
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Thank you!
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I'm just a little fish not many votes to support you, one word for you good luck and happy ☺.
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While that may be true, other than seeking upvotes what is the purpose of your comment. Did you read the post you just replied to, or are you simply looking for support?
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This seed looks unfamiliar to me ..How it looks like if it grow ??
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I've seen online pics, but I mostly use my own photos for blogs, so I only shared photos of the seeds. Hopefully soon I can take photos of the plants.
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gardening is always awesome and it is also good for health and life
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That it is!
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information which is shared by is also useful for us
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Hi .papa-pepper (77) upvotes mehttps://steemit.com/art/@ahmadakhirat/caterpillar-fish-shaped-d6cac6d416aee. I often
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lovely post sir enjoyed reading your post
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Thank you @pearlvickky.
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wow so beautyful post.
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Really? What did you like about it, or are you just saying that?
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This plant is needed and ought to be always available by protecting its future to not desappear with time, you post has a valuable qyality love it, hope to see further from you
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Hahahahaha sometimes i wonder how you come across these stuffs. Research and your desire to know is really encouraging sir. Never heard or seen the seed before.
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I stumble onto a few things, but @mama-pepper does most of our actual research. I'm blessed to have her!
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Yaaaay! Thank you mama. Talking of the blessing of a wife. She is a rare gift and she came to give you a lift.
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Wow this is an amazing discovery, just wish i can come along with you on your world of discovery @papa-pepper but am still glad for this information you just given out.
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I've never ever heard about it ..it's good to know new thing everyday ,so your blog just letting me know more. Ew thing which I don't know..thank you for that .,cheers .
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Sounds like a great plant based solution to keep your flock healthy. The macro shots are great. The seeds have such an interesting structure with an armature that looks like brass knuckles or a chemical compound.
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I think it is a great solution.
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Good jop friend
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I like your post ..
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all the time you came with nice and attractive article. gradining is really good it also give pleasure
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upvote and follow @rikineng
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Hi, I am Arisa. Read my comment on this post below and tell me your thoughts. You hurt me so bad without you noticing it.
https://steemit.com/ten-thousand/@noganoo/what-i-have-in-store-for-my-10-000-follower-celebration-and-what-steemians-can-expect-from-me-in-the-future
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The first time I see such seeds! I wonder what will be the plants from them. I will wait for your messages about what you will get!
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The plants do have nice pink flowers, so that will be exciting!
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I'll look for this plant on the Internet and look). I love flowers. And then I'll look at your result)).
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This plant also grows in our country. I just did not know its name.
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Apparently the sainfoin is another of the natural wonders that make our life more productive! God didn't leave out any details, we have everything to be happy, I will investigate a little more to see how he can help me, it's a wonderful information, thank you.
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I agree! Good point!
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Haek ta vote ata jih sombong matee ata gop hantom ie vote 😜
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As usual there you are discovering and sharing. Wonderful. Makes me want to get a herd. Not in suburban Surrey though. Llamas are popular in the countryside here even in Surrey, but the owners like them as animals as they are easy and quite friendly. What does your her consist of? I know you had goats. Thanks for the post.
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So far we have 6 goats, 3 sheep and 1 cow. We are planning on adding some more this year and letting them grow themselves from there! My grandpa used to raise llamas. Good memories.
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What a great combination. Glad I brought back some good memories of your grandpa. Happy growing, Happy Steeming!
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How interesting your article about the Sainfoin, it seems to be a wonderful plant for the animals, because it is easy to digest for them and serves as a parasite, here in the eastern plains of Venezuela, it is customary to plant a grass called Swiss, also has that peculiarity of staying all year fresh for cattle. Thank you for sharing your knowledge of the Sainfoin, I didn't know it.
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Thank you for checking it out.
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This in interesting. We have a decent size garden and since we're close to a forest, we would like to have a spot where wildlife can come. I read that it is loved by wildlife. Since we're love animals, it's something to keep in mind once the spring starts again. Thanks for the information
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Yeah, planting some tasty things for the wildlife can keep things interesting too! It's good to take care of the wild critters out there!
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Yeah, it's nice to see animals in the wild. When you go to the zoo, you can see amazing animals, which you can never see in the wild. But when going for a hike and getting close to a small (or big ;-) ) animal without fence is so much more satisfying.
This is my wife with a small bird on her hand.
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Wow! A wild chickadee! How cool is that?!?!?!
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Thanks for the info on this plant. I am currently working on a cover crop mixture for one of my hay fields that needs "rejuvenation". I will definitely be taking to my seed guy about this one.
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Cool! Glad you think it looks like a good one too.
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well sir very informative post and good to know how you had captured the photo of such small seeds
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Yeah, that macro lens is really cool and sure comes in handy.
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Wow @papa-pepper, looks like you found a miracle plant! It even de-worms! I'm impressed. Thanks for the agricultural education :)
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I like it. We will see how it goes.
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wow very nice post
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Thank you.
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This is great stuff @papa-pepper. Sainfoin is brilliant. Spring is getting closer and although I cannot home stead the boys and I should get some seeds and think about urban gardening.
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You should get at least a few plants growing. You won't regret it!
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Had not heard of that before. The seeds do look super trippy though. I can appreciate not wanting to soak your land with chemicals, so it's cool that will help keep the animales healthy.
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How do you plan to plant it? Broadcast, drill, or disc and cover?
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I can appreciate the way you live off the land. My only strength when it comes to growing things is keeping my yard alive. Thought of you on this post.
https://steemit.com/farming/@realestatecoach/work-the-land
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I have learned something new again today. Thanks, @papa-pepper. I had not heard of Sainfoin before. But I think it would serve my homestead well as it is dry 6 or seven months of the year. Those seeds are really cool. I need to do some research where and how I can get these seeds...
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