Diggin' in the Garden!

Even though the temperature was only 14 degrees when I got up yesterday morning, the garden is looking great!  Here is a pictures of the spinach that is growing in my cold frame.



spinach


We set the cold frame in the garden last fall.  The spinach grew back from a late fall planting last year, but today I planted more.  It was great fun!  I threw on my overalls, grabbed my garden tools, crawled inside my cold frame, and tilled up the dirt.  It must have been 80 degress in there.  It really felt like summer, as long as I didn't look around at all the snow surrounding the outside of the frame.

Our cold frame consists of 6 glass patio doors.  They are screwed together, except for one end, and that end is held shut with a bungie cord.  When I need to get inside the cold frame for watering, I just slide the one door out of my way, or if the weather is really warm, I will slide it open a bit, so I don't over-heat my plants.

Try to find someone who is either remodeling or working in construction and get yourself some used glass patio doors or windows.  It's a very simple way to extend your growing season.


cold frame


Here are some pictures of our plants growing under lights.

lettuce mix



tomatoes

 This year we decided to try starting seeds in our own garden dirt.  Who knows what is in those potting mix bags....I don't even trust the organic ones.  So last fall we put some dirt in 5 gallon buckets and stored it in our root cellar.  Notice how green my plants are?  We didn't bake the dirt, like some do, so there are a few weeds here and there, but overall we are hoping to have healthier seedlings to plant this spring.
Mindy

Lucy

The buck goat kid and the lambs that were advertised on Craigslist are all sold, but we still have our doe kid, Lucy, for sale.

Lucy is the cutest thing! She is very tame and friendly. The children like to take her for walks around the farm because she will follow them wherever they go. Her mother, Belle, is our sweetest milk goat, with a very easy going personality. Belle is easy to milk (even for an adult with big hands) and her milk tastes great! I would expect much of the same from Lucy.
Call the farm if you would like to schedule a time to see Lucy.

P.S. Don't forget your mud boots! :)

2011 Order Form is available

A couple weeks ago I finally got around to sending out our chicken, turkey, and lamb order form for 2011. All of our existing customers recieved either an email or "snail" mail with the form. For those of you that would like to order but didn't get an order form, you can now download it from our blog. Just look for the link on the left side of the page, near the top.

Lambs For Sale

For those inquiring about the lambs on Craigs List, here are some pictures. I just snapped these quick this morning while doing chores, so it doesn't really do them justice. Email me to get more details or to schedule a time to take a look.

Sugaring season is here

Here are a few pictures of our make-shift sugar shack that Mike and our neighbor put together.  We got a new evaporator this year, but with the ground still frozen we cannot build, so the sugar shack will get built this summer.




We came very close to doing a sugaring class this year, but with all the commotion involved in getting the new system and setting it up, we canned the idea. But if you would like to come over some afternoon and see our operation up, give us a call. We may even put you to work collecting sap. :)


We have collected sap twice now, but haven't started boiling yet (probably tomorrow).  It takes our family about 45 minutes to collect all the sap, an activity that we all enjoy.  Who doesn't want an excuse to go outside in the spring? :)


The water in our slough has risen considerably with the thawing weather and some of our trees are in standing water.  My two adventuresome little boys had to take the wooden boat out in order to collect some of the sap tonight....they didn't have to be told twice! :)

Goat Kids

 

Here is a picture of Lucky by the chicken coop and one of Lucy getting fed.   Lucky (a buckling) is for sale, if anyone is interested.  We put an add on Craigs list yesterday and there has been lots of interest, but he is not sold yet. :)

Belle had her babies!

Yesterday Belle had her babies.  She had twins - an 8lb. boy and a 6lb. girl.  They are both doing well and are so adorable.  We have not named them yet.  Any suggestions?

Butter Knives

We finally finished getting Jonathan's Etsy sight put together.  You can check it out by clicking on the link found on our "Jonathan's Workshop" page.  :)

Seed starting, a sure sign of spring

Well today we setup our growing area in the garage and got started planting seeds. Most of our veggies we can direct-sow in the ground, but a few things need a head start. So today, we planted onions, tomatoes and parsley. We also are experimenting by planting some various lettuce greens in a large flat, hoping to get some fresh salads while there is still snow on the ground. :-)

We are trying something new this year. Last fall before the ground froze, we hauled five-gallon pails of dirt out of our garden and stored them in our root cellar. Rather than trying to find a decent organic potting soil mix (that may be an oxymoron) and then having to feed the plants, we thought we'd just try the real deal -- good organic living soil.

Apparently that is how they did it in the old days before potting soil was invented. I suspect we'll hit some pitfalls - the first of which will probably be WEEDS. Oh well, we will let you know how it goes.