Ken completed his smaller portable coop for the tweens! Last night we moved chickens: cockerels to the north coop. Ken found that a group of males without a female in their midst form a gang with a pecking order, but they don’t fight. Then the pullets went to the new portable coop Here is his new coop with many great features: There is the bird door with …
As some crops that love summer’s heat start to wane, the beautiful fall greens thrive. this year we have several wonderful new – to – us greens from our participation in the UW vegetable trials. Ken plants them in a “nursery.” Then he transplants them out. Here is a light green Tokyo bekana – a loose head tender leafed Chinese cabbage – great raw or braised …
Greetings from the Garden! This week’s CSA box has lettuce, greens, tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, eggplant, onions, garlic, beans cucumbers, celery, and fennel Field Notes. Ken has been digging potatoes, harvesting tomatoes, peppers, etc. Plants are pushing that final leg of the marathon of the growing season. Enjoy all these hot weather vegetables now as some will end with first frost. We are heading into fall crops as well Ken has been working …
Ken made a large coop on wheels for our laying hens. Since chickens like to scratch, a stationary coop usually means the area all around the coop gets scratched to bare ground and there is too much concentration of manure. A portable coop allows the farmer to provide birds with fresh pasture and the safety of an enclosed predator proof coop at night. Ken’s “egg mobile has worked so well he could use …
This season we have a great crop of beautiful ripe peppers. I chopped and froze (no blanching) some for future use. At Ken’s request I made some ripe pepper jam, and today I made sofrito. Sofrito is a combination of vegetables that are cooked slowly with fat or oil to reduce moisture and preserve color and flavor. What started as two cast iron skillets of onions, peppers and some garlic became four small freezer jam …
On Wednesdays Ken harvests vegetables and brings them to the tubs and I clean, sort and box them up for the CSA members and the on line orders. Once he has harvested he cooks our lunch. Often he takes the culled vegetables – not cute, but still fine – and uses them. This week in addition to apple pie and tomato sauce, he made an interesting bake. A couple weeks ago he made pancakes with …
Ken plants all season. This week he has been transplanting fall greens. Here are some in the garden He has been clearing space, and preparing other beds for late season crops as well. He pulled the sunflowers and gave the seed heads to the chickens to enjoy before the rodents ate them! Ken likes to wait a bit before planting so he can rake or cultivate. This gives the plants a …
Pollinators are crucial to a garden. About a third of our food requires pollination. Think of all those flowering plants that produce a “fruit” for us to eat – peas, beans, cucumbers, squash, melons, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, apples, plums, raspberries, strawberries, etc Ken keeps honey bees, and we encourage all pollinators. We try to have something blooming for them . Now the anise hyssop is blooming. It is a …
We raise eggplant. Ken often combines eggplant with other summer vegetables like onions, pepper, garlic, tomatoes, and tops with cheese for a bake. I was looking for a new eggplant recipe and tried this. Slice and salt eggplant; they will weep so you can absorb some moisture in a towel Season some bread crumbs in a flat dish and beat an egg in a …
Greetings from the Garden! This week’s CSA box has tomatoes, potatoes, cukes, peppers, onions, garlic, beans, beets, greens and lettuce. Field Notes. Ken transplanted fall greens. Ken starts them , moves up to 2″ soil blocks and then transplants to the garden. This means more time in that garden space for other things and more importantly transplanting a small seedling in a clean bed gives the plant a decided edge over the weeds. Ken is …
