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.
We have gone through another batch of sauerkraut in the last few weeks. We have shared some with friends. The verdict is in. The lactofermentation in the silicone burp lids goes faster and makes a more harsh, strong flavor. We tried two different methods, one filling the jar with brine, the other with water only… Continue reading Sauerkraut Comparison
Another bumper harvest of Elderberries last Friday morning (Aug 28). It took about 90 minutes to strip them all from the stems, yielding about 9 Lbs of berries. We steam juiced these on Saturday. There was enough berry to make two batches of elderberry "Port" wine. The steam juicer is a very handy way to… Continue reading Elderberry “Port” and Elderberry Wine
This is the "sacrificial paddock" from last winter. I think we can safely say that experiment was a failure. The areas that were re-seeded and buried under hay are dry and dusty, with exposed dirt rather than green grass. This is going to require some serious rehab. The reason I was down here in the… Continue reading Miscellaneous.
We have been noticing a problem in the pasture with the onset of hot weather. It is the presence of flies. Deer flies, specifically, but there are many varieties of fly out there. They love poop, especially cow poop. They also like landing on warm, sweaty surfaces, and in the summer, there is no warmer… Continue reading Pasture Ducks
Busy Friday at the Farm. We are running so far behind schedule in the garden this year, it isn't even funny. Actually, it's probably a little funny, from the correct perspective. However, we can't really get to the garden because other projects keep popping up that take precedence. For instance, all the trees that we… Continue reading Irrigation, Seed Starting, and Comfrey
Last week during lamb butchering I did something a little different. I harvested both kidneys with their fat caps. Not sure why, other than everything was going so smoothly, it seemed a pity to waste anything. (Don't worry, we still haven't attempted making haggis). But then, as often happens around here, we found ourselves with… Continue reading Steak and Kidney Pie
Just another normal Monday at the house/farm/homeschool. Bread is in the oven. The dibbuns made the two smaller ones. Critters are doing their school. Let's check on our science experiment... So, there was a bit of a complication with the last batch of hard cider. After we transferred it to secondary fermentation, a day later… Continue reading Hard Cider, batch two
Our first batch of hard cider has been bubbling merrily away in the closet since Oct 27. Monday, Nov 3, (one week later) I pulled the jug out to have a look at it. The scummy froth on top has dispersed, and the movements of the air lock had slowed considerably. It is now bobbing… Continue reading Hard Cider Update
The last time we made sauerkraut, we kept some of it in the kimchi fridge after it had fermented, because I didn't want to have two jars of sauerkraut in the regular fridge, where space is at a premium. Unfortunately, since it has been in the fridge for several weeks now, when we took it… Continue reading Sauerkraut fail and new batch
Tuesday, 9/30/2025 We pulled the sauerkraut that has been fermenting in the basement for the last 19 days. The temperature in the basement is cooling down as the weather outside cools. It is now about 64 degrees ambient temperature. The jar on the right is a special case. This was a jar of red cabbage… Continue reading Green Sauerkraut Taste Test
