Sunday, November 29, 2009

cardboard boxes & feed sacks as garden mulch

They decompose over the winter and till under nicely in the spring. Note the carpet walkways which will be removed for tilling.

This message has been sent using the picture and Video service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, Quicktime@ 6.5 or higher is required.

Greenhouse cold frames from leftover roofing material

Triple paned polycarbonate lays nicely over pots with germinating lettuce greens

Abigail & mom in the 51 degree greenhouse (38 outside)

We cleaned up the greenhose yesterday & pruned the tomatoes. Spring planted collards are in the background.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Greenhouse tomatoes in November are a beautiful thing

This message has been sent using the picture and Video service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, Quicktime@ 6.5 or higher is required.

Storing winter delectica & butternut squash

I've wrapped the winter sqaush that we use as "sweet potatoes" in pantyhose (as you would for onions) and hung them in the garage. We will use them first. We have about 18 stored. We eat those a lot mashed with butter & sweetened with our own honey.

Storing winter sqaush in Oregon

I just finished wrapping 40 unbruised spaghetti squash in newspaper and boxing them up. We are storing them in the garage pantry which is fairly dark (the newspaper helps with that).


We'll see how many last until spring. Hopefully they will compliment nicely all of the tomato sauce we canned. We'll eat one a week and supplement the hogs with the leftovers.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Pigs make great garden cleaners.

These are American Guinea hogs eating tomatillos and tomatoes.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Friday, September 4, 2009

Don't buy Chinese iron! Lodge Logic's cast iron griddle is best!

This is our replacement griddle. We bought our first cast iron griddle at Bi-Mart a few weeks ago. We went looking for a Carolina-made Lodge griddle after seeing their manufacturing process featured on the Food Network during our delivery at the hospital (the last time we were around TV). Bi-Mart had several Lodge cast iron skillets but no two-burner griddles. There was only a very inexpensive Chinese-made griddle. I prophetically said, "I don't want to buy some cheap Chinese made crap." Response: "It's a solid piece of iron; how could they mess it up."

Well, we learned firsthand what bridge builders and office builders have known for years: Chinese iron sucks. I mixing eggs and heating the griddle when I heard a loud "Crack!" The griddle broke! They cut corners. Heck, their iron was probably mixed with lead, which is great for a cooking surface! At least the lead can't make me any stupider than not buying American iron. Buyer beware.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

The goats being processed at the Eugene Livestock Auction

The high school kids at the auction house glue numbers on the goats and mark breed and gender in their ledgers.

The way it works is you drop off the livestock and give them your address. Then they mail you a check next week. Pretty easy process.

This message has been sent using the picture and Video service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, Quicktime@ 6.5 or higher is required.

Goats gone & we're full of breakfast from the Stockman's Cafe

Friday, July 24, 2009

Racked the hard apple cider tonight

It started at 13.5 percent original sugars with the final at 5 percent . 8.5 percent alc. content. I use the refractometer to determine residual sugar to calculate alc. content.

We originally picked the apples on or about September 13, 2008.



Then we put the apples into the hopper to shred them and then pressed them:






And then the cider drips off the press:



Thursday, July 23, 2009

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

8-Ball Zukes stuffed

Picked this two zukes, hollowed them out and steamed for 20 minutes. I stuffed with fresh picked turnips, rice, prosciutto, chard, and French sorrell.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

A home cooked home grown meal

Everthing from tonight's meal came from our farm except for the cottage cheese and ranch dressing.

We had a rib steak, collards (with a bit of honey), yellow tomato, and salad (mixed greens, hard boiled egg, cucumber) & plum mead.

This message has been sent using the picture and Video service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messsages sent to email, Quicktime@ 6.5 or higher is required.

Greenhouse Tomatoes are Growing and Producing

The photo to the right is of several cherry tomato plants as well as some Greenhouse Hybrid plants. The cherries are producing and the GH hybrids are setting.


The plants are in old cattle lick tubs and are trained along bailing twine which is attached to the rafters.


The photo below is of one Oxheart plant hanging in the foreground and a Red Lightening hanging in the background. There's two other tubs full of tomatoes in the background as well. The Red Lightening are producing firm and flavorful fruit.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Raised bed #2

The structure is built with tiles that we salvaged from BRING 3 years ago. I shoveled a path along side, transferring the clay soil into the bed. I'll finish it with a yard of good potting soil.

picking raspberries for seedless jam or jelly

Jacy has been picking berries while I've been stacking tile and shoveling clay soil.

Raised bed #2 in progress

I've put down the tiles around the perimeter & now I'm scooping soil from the walkway into the bed. Next I will pick up rocks from the property to lay on the tiles. Then I'll add a yard of soil mix.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

This morning's berry harvest

Raspberries and gooseberries for pie and strawberries for homemade ice cream

fresh picked Gooseberry pie

From the garden

Saturday, June 27, 2009

raised bed: All done hauling rocks

Building a Slocumb inspired raised bed

The east/wet side of the garden. In mid-summer I'll plant carrots and other fall/winter veggies & greens.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Monday, June 8, 2009

What kind of snake is this?

It hissed and pretended to strike and rattled its plain ol' tail. I have some ideas but I want honest opinions.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Hanging tomatoes are huge

I installed the drip irrigation today so they should be ready for the heat. We still need a shade cloth I think.

Friday, June 5, 2009

Monday, June 1, 2009

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Jacy in the greenhouse

Planted 6 rows of sweet corn.

For a total of 75 feet.

40 feet of Ruby Queen and the rest bodacious.

Monday, May 25, 2009

Garden planting has begun

So far I transplated some sweet corn and pumpkin (between the corn rows). I sowed carrots, parsnip, rutabaga, and turnip. Started planting the heirloom potatoes, which will absolutely love the loose clay clod "soil."

Sunday, May 24, 2009