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 Saturday, (that is last Saturday but one by the time you read this, a.ka. the 16th) we processed most of the tomatoes that we had harvested the previous Thursday, ahead of the rain storm. On the right are the ripest ones, mostly Heirloom Marriage and on the left are the less ripe, mainly Cuore… Continue reading Canning Tomatoes
Daddy: "Ellie, do you want a job that involves sitting in the shade?" Ellie: "Sure!" Daddy: "We need to cut the blossoms off these chamomile plants." Ellie: "I'll use my knife." If you are wondering where our seven-year-old got a knife, she made it herself. It's a stick she sharpened on Daddy's grinding wheel. She… Continue reading Saturday fun
This was the first year we have gotten a decent crop of elderberries from the farm. So far we have only been harvesting from the black elder shrub, and have already gotten a huge haul. These are the elderberries we pruned back to the stump in early 2024. They grew out shoots in 2024, and… Continue reading Elderberries.
It does not often rain during the summer in Western Washington. This is one of the biggest challenges of farm management in the PNW, the 60-90 days of drought that we get every single summer. However, last week we had rain forecast for Friday, and not just a little drizzle, but a good inch of… Continue reading Prepping for Rain
This has been a very busy week and a lot has gone on, so buckle up. It's time for a catch-up post. Literally. Mommy took Evie and Ellie to the fair last Wednesday. No, the other last Wednesday, the 6th of August. That's how far behind we are. They immediately started winning prizes. Ellie got… Continue reading Catch up post
Sometimes you have to choose between farm work and training. Or do you? This week I have been doing "wheelbarrow PT" in the mornings. We are running out of time to plant our winter garden this year. Some of the crops with longer days to maturity (DTM) need to be well established and growing by… Continue reading Wheelbarrow PT
Our Hollywood plum tree produced like crazy this year, unlike the past two years (the tree is only three years old). It is the earliest blooming plum we have, and as such, is subject to late frosts, while the other two plums have a tendency to miss the late frosts. This year, however, we had… Continue reading Plum Juice
What do you do with a 13 Lb red cabbage? This cabbage was one of the late planted cabbages from last year that didn't sprout in time for winter, but took off as soon as the ground started to warm up in the spring. It has been growing next to the pea trellis ever since.… Continue reading Sauerkraut!
Fair week is fast approaching. Last Thursday, the 31st, we finished up our stock making process. Monday we roasted the carcasses with carrots, celery and onion. Then added water with a dash of vinegar and some salt, and set it to simmering. We kept an eye on it for a couple of days, topping it… Continue reading Duck Stock
Tuesday was the day we got around to harvesting our wheat. It was a bit disappointing. If you look closely at the picture above you will see that a significant number of the wheat stalks are missing their seed head. In this section it was 50% or more, most other sections were not hit quite… Continue reading Harvesting Wheat and Garlic
