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. …
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. …
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. …
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 …
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 …
