The Christmas Tree

With Ken out of town I thought it would be fun to surprise him upon return with the Christmas tree cut, set up and decorated.  I figured I was up to the challenge of doing it alone – and I was right.  What an adventure!       First I got a rope ( my sister – in- law’s excellent suggestion), and a bow saw and the longer sturdier sled.  Then I looked at trees.  …

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Rendering Lard

Part of raising pork is rendering lard.  Well rendered lard is a wonderful fat.  One can use less than most oils and it takes heat well.  It is marvelous in making pastry, especially pie crust.  One heats the fat at a low temperature; some people use a crock pot or a simmer burner.  We use the oven.   Once the fat reaches 255 degrees any water or liquid has evaporated and the fat is pure. …

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Harvest Newsletter

Greetings from the Garden!  This CSA box has onions, garlic, winter tomatoes, squash, the last of the sweet potatoes, winter kohlrabi, beets, and cabbage. Field Notes.  We are glad to see the snow; it will act as an insulating blanket and slow the descent of the frost into the ground.  It also provides a check against erosion and will provide moisture to the soil.  Seed inventory is done, and next we hit the seed catalogs.  …

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Snow Cover is Great for the Garden

Each season Ken and I look for an early snowfall.  If we are lucky cold follows snow and the snow continues to pile up.  While this does not make everyone happy, gardeners rejoice.  Why?  The snow acts a s a blanket to insulate the ground, and slow the frost creeping down,  The warmer soil means microbes stay closer to the surface and the earth’s warmth can actually slowly melt the snow from below so good …

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Seed Inventory and Seed Order

Each year around Thanksgiving Ken and I discuss our season to plan how to improve in the coming year.  We also discuss what we should grow more of and what we should grow less of in the next season.  After that I do the seed inventory to see what viable seed we still have from the prior season.   Then I start to go through seed catalogs.  I try to get the orders in early …

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Harvest Newsletter

Greetings from the Garden!  This week’s CSA box has onions, garlic, winter squash, sweet potatoes, cabbage, celery root, carrots, black radishes, rutabagas, winter tomatoes, and greens Field Notes.  We have some greens in hoopettes in the garden, and we will see just how they do!  This has been a season of extremes – 80 in October and a low of 5 in early November and this week may see the 60’s!  Ken has moved poultry …

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Canning Pork Stock

Our pork is slaughtered on farm.  We find it means less stress for the animals, and the waste stays on the farm lungs and stomach to be fed to dog, lungs to the cat, and guts are composted.  Ken eats heart and tongue; I eat liver.  So, although we are not quite nose to tail, we work to respect the animal and use as much as we can and waste as little as we can. …

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Poultry in the Garden?

Ken has been moving portable shelters and coops to the garden.  Why?  Well, it is not only easier to feed everyone in one location fairly close to the house all winter, but also each of the poultry breeds by their nature will help us grow vegetables more easily next season!     Geese will take out weeds.  Chicken also take out weeds and weed seeds and any remaining insects. Turkeys will scratch the soil and …

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Harvest Newsletter

Greetings from the Garden!  This CSA box has pie pumpkins, garlic, onions, peppers – some hot, sweet potatoes, winter kohlrabi, Napa cabbage, greens and parsley. Field Notes.  As the prior blog entry indicates we have had a 70 degree temperature shift in three weeks.  October was unseasonably warm and last week was unseasonably cold.  We are working with and around the weather.  We need temperatures above freezing to harvest greens or they simply turn to …

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