They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
Last Thursday was a catch-up day on the farm. Daddy and the three youngers finished school quickly and got over to the farm to get some work done. Mommy and Evie stayed home to finish Evie's school and then went out to run some errands. Including dropping off a picnic lunch for the hungry farmers.… Continue reading Catching up
Here it is, September. The gardening season is about over, because it has been getting cool and rainy again, and now... Now! the garden has decided to wake up and make something of itself. Get in my belly, corn! Tomatoes just beginning to turn, corn beginning to tassel out. Let's see if anything can manage… Continue reading Garden Update
Our seed cleaning screens from Siskiyou seeds came on Monday, so on Tuesday we completed the winnowing of the wheat. As it turns out, it was also the final threshing. First, scrubbing the tomato out of the rubber tote. The kids were all about this because it involved using chlorox wipes. They love the smell… Continue reading Final Winnowing
Like Saint Paul, I boast willingly of my weakness… The ultimate gardening fail, buying tomatoes from the store in August.
You never can tell with Western Washington. Last year it was hot and dry through late September, this year we had a cold, rainy week in mid-August. This has played havoc with some of our delicate dry crops, particularly Adam's runner beans and our cannellini beans. We love cannelini beans, and Mommy cooks them into… Continue reading Cannellinis.
We have harvested the beets, pretty tiny haul compared to last year, but we have a backup plan. Buckwheat is taking over. It is tall and falling over into the pathways. I think this winter we are going to add t-posts every 10 feet or so along the rows so we can run twine when… Continue reading Beets in the Freezer
Green (and purple) beans are one of those gifts that just keep on giving. And giving... And giving. I told Seppi we needed to pick beans, and he literally sprinted to the garden with excitement. "Daddy! Let's have a pick race!" Five minutes later: "Daddy, I'm going to let you win." All the little kids… Continue reading More Beans
We finished threshing the wheat on Tuesday. It is amazing how small the actual pile of berries and chaff was, considering the size of the stack of wheat we started with. Threshing the last of the straw with sticks, baby girls is very much a monkey-see-monkey-do kind of girl. A great long stick of molding… Continue reading Winnowing time.
Harvest time is always busy on the farm. Plants mature, fruit and veggies are ready when they are reay with little to no concern for what we have going on in our non-gardening lives. Tuesday was a good example of that. Beans and blackberries are both coming in hardcore, but this is also the weekend… Continue reading Busy nights
Broccoli! Some of it survived slug-aggedon! Never mind the teethmarks. That’s what happens when you deliver vegetables to a four-year-old and tell him to take them to his mom. Quality control The ducks have been getting a little too big for their temporary, mobile shelter, since we haven’t built a permanent mobile shelter, or even… Continue reading Ducks and Broccoli.
