Poor Girl's Greenhouse

  For the whole spring and summer, I've been growing my microgreens outside on the back deck; they took up so little room that it worked perfectly! And then the rains came. Granted, I was delighted to finally have the rain; we needed it super bad. But my micros weren't thrilled with the sudden sogginess. It finally got to the point where the micros weren't growing at all, but rather were rotting, because of all the standing water (I'm not kidding when I say "the rains came". It was torrential and lasted for days!) 

 So I had to build some sort of protection really fast, and really cheaply. I'm a horrible builder (I can do basics if you tell me precisely where to put something), so that left me having to face a project that wouldn't fall down on me, and didn't really require wood... What I came up with was a tweaked version of things I was seeing online. It involved cattle panels, greenhouse plastic, fence posts, and wire. Ta da.

My sister helped me erect this funny little greenhouse, and all total it took us about 4 or 5 hours. In the pouring rain. It rained so hard that our Carhartt coats were drenched through (that's sayin' something!), our hats were worthless, and we could have feasibly brought out shampoo and washed our hair there and then. It was wet. But it was fun; we sang lots of songs from Pete's Dragon (I admit, that's a favorite childhood movie...).

 Anyway, you probably want details on this thing, huh? Thought so. I was originally planning it to be something like a 6.5'x15' structure, but apparently the cattle panels are shorter than I remembered... It came out as a 6.5'x13'. Oh well.

 We pounded 8 fence posts into the ground at 4' spacings, to keep the greenhouse firmly on the ground, and then used some random wire (it was leftover from the electric fence used on the pasture!) to lash three cattle panels to it. Technical, I know. I didn't really know what I was doing; just had a vague idea, and ran with it. 

 The plastic was a mistake. I didn't know what weight to get, so went with the cheaper option of buying the 4mm. Next time I will invest in the 6mm. Trust me folks, pay the extra cash and do it. Water comes through the 4mm. I'm not talking condensation here (you get that no matter what weight). I'm talking actual RAIN. If it's raining hard enough, and you're standing inside that greenhouse, you'll feel a gentle mist of drops coming right through that plastic. Which can be nice in a way; it's like having an automatic watering system. ;) Just tryin' to stay positive here. But still, go with the 6mm plastic. It's worth it. You may also notice that I have two flavors colors of plastic going on here. No idea what happened there. I thought for sure I had grabbed the exact same bags of plastic, but when I pulled them out to put them on the panels... They were different!!! *shocked look* There wasn't any time to exchange one for a matching plastic (remember the drowning micros?), so I just went with it. I like the less-clear plastic, personally. Seems to hold heat in a bit better.

To put the plastic on, all I did was dig a 6"-8" trench around three sides of the greenhouse, lay the plastic over the panels, get it snug, and then buried everything. That greenhouse ain't goin' nowhere.

You may notice in the picture above that I have pieces of cardboard behind each fence post; this keeps the metal post from ripping the plastic. My original desire was to put those rubber sleeves on the tips (you find them at farm stores; they keep animals from gutting themselves, which happens more frequently than you might think...), but once again time was the master of the day and I didn't have said rubber sleeves on hand. So ugly cardboard has to suffice for the moment.

This image below gives a closer look at our "wire lashing" job. Zip ties would have been awesome to have (that would have cut the building time down to probably 3 hours or less!), but did I have them? No. Phooey.

 I'm working on lining the back and one whole side with these handy dandy PVC shelves (this original one came with a kit from Half Pint Homestead), but until those get made, I just plop my extra trays on the ground.

  To keep vegetation at bay in there, I'm getting ready to put landscaping fabric down, and then covering everything with a generous layer of woodchips. It'll allow water drainage, look nice, and do an excellent job at smother weeds and grass.

  It took about 2 weeks for the microgreens to adjust, but now they're doing amazingly!! It gets up to an easy 80+ degrees in there by afternoon these days. I'll be working on winterizing the greenhouse over the next couple of weeks; getting a front and door on it, and then *hopefully* building a homemade solar heater.

 It's still very muchly a work in progress, but I wanted to show it to y'all nevertheless. It was cheap to make (all total it came to $85), works well, and my sister (who is taking over the business when I leave for Missouri) should be able to grow microgreens through the whole winter.

 Not bad for fence posts, cattle panels, and plastic sheeting. ;)

Can't Have It Quiet

I've always been more of a livestock type of person. Plants typically don't like me. But the microgreens have been a breakthrough into the quiet, quiet world of dirt farming (such as it is), and have been the first successful thing I've done where plants are concerned. It's taking some getting used to though, all this messing around in dirt with seeds and stuff. And it's taking some getting used to as to how quiet this job is. Plants don't moo at you, or snort in frustration because you're late, or push on fences because they're feeling impatient. Everything is quiet. And still. I ain't used to that. I may be a quiet person, but I talk a LOT when I'm around the livestock. More often then not it's just mindless chatter to keep them alert as to my location (more than once I've spooked an animal because I was too quiet), but it also helps new animals get used to having a human as a part of their life. And plus, I like to talk to them. I can say whatever I want without wondering what they're thinking, and I have an easier time processing ideas when I say it out loud. I think the reason I'm quiet around people is because I've already said what I wanted to say around the animals.

But then we switch over to the micros. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to talk to my vegetables. Nope, not this girl. Talking to a cow is one thing, and is slightly understandable. Talking to a radish shoot just doesn't have the same appeal... I didn't last very long with all that quiet while tending the plants. In fear of going insane, I finally pulled out my MP3 and flicked on some music. And now it's habit. If I'm planting or harvesting the micros, I always reach for my music. Lately I've been thinking how much I would love to have an iPod; then I could tuck that little gizmo into my back pocket and sing along with whatever's playing. That's the one thing I don't like about my MP3: I can't sing with it. You can't hear yourself with ear buds in. LOL. An iPod would be fun to have in the barn too, or when moving the sheep to a new paddock. Instead of chattering ceaselessly, I could sing. :) The animals might rebel against that idea what with all the sudden warbling, but oh well; I never asked them anyway. 

Some might say I have an -- addiction, to my music and when confronted with such an accusation I always grin and say, "Maybe. Maybe not!" It's true; I don't really know if I've fallen that far yet. But I do love my music, and all kinds of it. Music bridges the gap between the emotions I feel and the words I don't know how to say; a lot of times I sing songs simply because I don't know how else to say what I'm thinking. It takes my mind off of mundane tasks (washing dishes, mopping the floor, mixing soil, seeding microgreens...), and makes the job more enjoyable. I can do without a lot of things in life, but I don't think I'd get far without my music. I think I might would go without books before I went without music (and that's saying something; the librarians don't even blink when I check out 40+ books in one fell swoop).

Flipping between chores with livestock and plants always takes a moment to adjust to; with the stock I'm busy talking, keeping an eye on Gyp, observing the stock, doing routine tasks, and then there's the occasional escapee to deal with, or perhaps an animal needs some quick vetting. With the plants, there's a sudden and drastic loss of stimulation. I feel like everything just went into freeze mode. It takes me awhile to settle down enough to enjoy the peace that the plants offer; one certainly doesn't have to worry about them running off or overeating some grain. But I think it's going to take some time before this fireball of a farm girl can tame herself down enough to truly enjoy this work. And until that happens, at least I have my music to keep me company. 

Here We Go

I think I might need to go on another run to clear my head... Oy vey, this has been a crazy day. 

First off, my new milk cow is coming on Monday, around 5pm! :) I'm definitely excited to get her, and to get back into the milking groove! The timing is also perfect, since the grass up on the 98 acres is at the perfect stage for grazing a dairy cow; thick, green, lush, and 8" tall. Perfect. I've been madly trying to find a hauler to bring her down, since I still lack a trailer of my own right now, and I'm happy to say that someone offered to bring her down for me for the bargain price of $50! I  had called Hertz Equipment Rental and they told me I could rent a 2-horse trailer for $137 for one single day. -_- Uh - thank you sir, but I'll keep looking...

There's also the floating idea of going tomorrow to look at those two Jersey cows that the seller wants to trade for a pair of my goats. I wouldn't mind taking a look at them and sizing them up. Goodness knows I have the grass for them! I'm already thinking I'll need to invest in a scythe in the next couple of weeks to cut the pastures that I don't want to go to seed. Even with three cows and stockpiling some of the far pastures, I'm still going to have to cut a few areas to keep them from growing more than I want them to. Such as around the cow barn.

My hesitance in going to see the cows tomorrow has nothing to do with being on the fence about the cows themselves, but rather if I can fit the trip into my day. You see, I have appointments with three different upscale restaurants tomorrow. I'm taking samples of my microgreens to the chefs! I'm excited and nervous at the same time! Calling the restaurants to set up the appointments was probably one of the most nerve wracking things I've done... Yes, the chefs are human, and yes I have a really neat product, but there's still a feeling of nervousness in calling them up... Perhaps it's a fear of rejection, I don't know, but it took some serious mental preparation before calling! And then in the end it was no problem. LOL. One of the chefs was especially excited to hear that I have microgreens, so hopefully that's a good sign. I'll be taking my spicy mix, my mild mix, some radish micros, and possibly some peas... Still going back and forth on the peas. :-/ I guess it depends on how many sample containers I have! 

So yep, here I am. It's been a whirlwind of phone calls today about cows and microgreens, and I'm feeling fuzzy headed. A run sounds good, but now that I think about it, I need to go mix some more soil for the micros, and then harvest a couple more trays for tomorrow...

The run can wait. Here we go! Cows and microgreens ahoy!

They Came Today!!

My micro green seeds were slightly late, but at least they're here now! I've got a variety of mustards, broccoli, cabbage, kale, radish, endive, and peas. :) 

Time to start planting!

Last Year's Garden

This is a picture from last year... Duet is looking through the kid pen and into my garden. My crazy, wild, wacky, awesome garden. It was a boisterous mess and I loved it. It didn't turn out like I wanted, and I really didn't harvest much from it (save for the overabundance of cherry tomatoes. *shudder*), but I always smiled at the vibrancy it had, what with the spiraling pumpkin vines, cheerful nasturtiums, and one towering sunflower that filled the boundaries. 

I haven't decided yet if I will try a garden again this year or not... I may just be content with the raised beds we always do. But looking at this picture always makes me smile. 2012 was a wild and awesome year. :)

Change of Plans

Normally I'm excited whenever I buy a new animal. And I've been looking forward to having another cow around for quite some time now. But for some reason, I felt no excitement at the idea of bringing Flash the Jersey home...

I wrote it off as nerves at first; after Mattie died, it seemed only natural that I would be hesitant about getting another cow, and a Jersey at that. But there was still that "off" feeling... Something's not right here. I wasn't comfortable with the idea of buying her. The only thing "right" about her was her price tag. I thought, and thought, and thought, and finally came to the conclusion that the uneasiness I was feeling was due to the fact that I was about to take on a lactating cow that was wilder than Peaches ever was. And Peaches gave me a hard time as it was. Flash is a chronic kicker, she's not halter broken, and she has a 30' foot flight zone; meaning that if you get within that thirty foot bubble of hers, she'll bolt. 

Yes, I could have dealt with it. I could have had a ultra rough week and broken her in, but it wouldn't have been fun. I would have needed chain hobbles and/or a kick stop, ( I probably would have bought both), a 20' length of chain so that I could work on desensitizing her without her snapping a rope, and it would have taken a LOT of time. She was also prone to mastitis, and I really didn't want a cow that had that problem.

I did not feel good about bringing that cow home. But at the same time, I felt bad about cancelling on her. So I did what I always do when I'm torn on a decision. I get advice. My council group these days seems to be made up of four people: A good friend, my parents, and my grandpa. The vote was unanimous. Cancel on the cow. Wait for a better one.

So I took their advice, and cancelled on Flash. I just gotta' be patient. 

But meanwhile, I do still need a source of income! The cow would have been that source, but now that she's not coming, and I don't think I'll do any cow buying for a couple months yet, I need to switch to Plan B: Microgreens. I've been growing these all winter; tweaking and perfecting methods, experimenting with different kinds, and just generally trying to get a better feel for this little crop. I've never considered myself a gardener, but I have to admit that I love these microgreens. They are fast, fun, easy, and amazingly tasty. I have a huge salad of pure microgreens with my lunch almost every day and I adore it. :) 

So since the cow will not be coming this week, I will instead be focusing my attention on microgreens. Getting a greenhouse erected so that I can grow the greens year around, contacting chefs and seeing about getting some permanent orders down, and buying some more seeds. I really do think that these microgreens have potential. Now it's time to put my hunch to the ultimate test.

I was totally not expecting a turn of events like this. But I have to admit that I'm rather relieved knowing that Flash will not be coming after all. I will still get a milk cow eventually. But it will be the right one. I will wait.

Northern Heirloom Seed Collection: Review

It seems I have a recurring illness that always strikes in the winter time.

It's an acute pain, that strikes at odd moments, and can sometimes be so overwhelming that I fairly buckle. Did I mention that it's also highly contagious?

This illness is known as "Spring Fever". Certain people are affected by this problem, and I happen to be one of the numbered. Life will be going by just fine when we're suddenly overtaken by an urge to work in the dirt, and roll seeds around in the palm of our hand. We need to grow something. Plant something. Do something! I sometimes get a little claustrophobic during this time. The house starts feeling smaller and smaller... I need to be outside! Quick! Somebody call 911! I'm having a massive attack of Spring Fever! It doesn't help either, that this always happens in December/January; right when the ground is frozen solid, and everything is cold, cold, cold. 

All that we can do is order seeds... And that right there is a dangerous task. It's when I'm stuck inside with catalogs that my plans go out the window and my garden suddenly becomes the size of New Jersey. Do I really need five different kinds of onions?? Of course I do! And let's not forget the fourteen varieties of tomatoes, the eight varieties of pumpkins, and all those cabbages! I'm hopeless. Thank heavens I have an online bank account, so I can repeatedly show myself that I DO have a strict budget to contend with. And then once faced with a budget, I deflate and suddenly have no idea what to buy. Am I the only one with this problem? (please say 'no'!)

But I had a eureka moment this month. Or you could call it a "duh" moment. The former makes me feel smarter though, so let's go with that one. To continue though, I had the opportunity to check out someone's seed collection, and everything fell into place: Seed collections may not be for everyone, but I'm convinced that they're the most logical purchase for this impulsive dreamer. You already know my problem of wanting to buy everything in the seed catalogs; I need a bit of curbing...

Now, I'm not so dim that I've never heard of a seed collection before (Really. Cross my heart). I've seen these time and time again, but I have to confess something... They scared me. Buying a seed collection seemed like letting go of all choice. I didn't know what I wanted while flipping through a catalog, but the thought of not getting what I didn't know I wanted was terrifying. If you understand that sentence then you get brownie points. 

With this silly fear floating around in my head, I never bought a seed collection. So for quite a few years I've been buying just some random seed packets; never a lot. Maybe ten or fifteen packets in a year; in my feelings of "not knowing what I want", I never bought much.

And then I saw this seed collection from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds... It was staggering.

This particular collection is known as the Large Northern Heirloom Package, and has 50 different packets of seeds nestled inside the smooth surfaced, metal can that makes the package. The size of a 1-gallon paint can (or very close to that size, anyway), my mind can't wrap around the fact that this lightweight container held enough seeds to grow who-knows-how-many pounds of food... I'd wager it'll grow over a ton. 

 Fifty packets of seeds sounds like a lot. But fifty packets of seeds LOOKS like even more. This is where the "staggering" part came in. I started pulling the vibrant packs out, but the just kept on coming... And coming... And coming... And coming... The number fifty suddenly seemed very large. 

When I had all the seed packets laid out, I couldn't help but grin. This is what I've needed all these years!! I was always afraid of missing out on something by buying a seed collection, but in that little can was everything I've ever grown, and then varieties I hadn't grown because of my own overwhelmed feelings while faced with a catalog. Take a close looks at those pictures; you'll see all the usual stuff. Corn, beans, tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, peas, radishes, cabbage, pumpkins, and carrots. Everything a traditional garden would have. And then things get even better when you find the fun packets of watermelon, rainbow chard, cantaloupe, leeks, basil, asparagus, and lettuce mixes. Suddenly, "choice" doesn't seem as much fun as "Surprise me!". 

It also makes a lot of economical sense for me to stick with a seed collection. Remember the budget I mentioned? The seed packets are much cheaper when bought in a collection (it's like buying in bulk!). There's also the added plus that these seeds will be viable for 4-10 years (length of time depends on the veggie). I might decide to have a small garden one year and only use maybe ten things from the can; if I do that, then I won't feel guilty about all the other seeds since I know that they'll be just as good next year! And things get even better when you realize that you can save seeds from the varieties each year, so you'll never run out! Three cheers for heirlooms!!

If nothing else, I think these collections are a great idea for emergency preparedness. Last summer was hard for a lot of folks as we faced drought. What if we see that drought again this summer of 2013? How long do we wait before we kick into action and start REALLY trying to grow our own food? A seed collection makes me think of having a whole grocery store sitting on my closet shelf. It's there when I need it. Sitting quietly, safely. 

Looking through the seed packets, I was really pleased and excited by what I saw. As I was preparing to write this review, I tried to think of any cons I found with it, but couldn't think of any... There are fun, unusual stuff in the collection, yes, but there's nothing so far out that an average person wouldn't feel intimidated with growing it. 

Large Northern Heirloom Package.
From Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

Rating: 10+
Impact: 10+
Recommend it? Yes, yes, yes!!
Buy it? Yes! I am SO buying one soon!

I have rated the seed collection as a 10+, and I feel that it is well deserved. Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds does an amazing job with their seed quality, packaging, customer service, and the final result which you find in the container is simply stunning. I haven't bought seeds from anywhere else, save Baker Creek, in 4 years now. I've never needed to. The "impact" of the seed collection is also being put at a 10+. WHY did I never get one sooner??? Seeing it in person definitely made me a fan of seed collections from here on out. Baker Creek also has a smaller seed collection if you want something a bit different, and there is also the option of the Southern Heirloom package which has seeds more suited to hotter weather. What with me living in the Pacific Northwest, the Northern package is more up my alley.

So there you have it! This gardener has finally seen the light, and is now numbering herself as a fan of seed collection. Who needs choice... Surprise me!

Mystery Crop Revealed

Y'all did an excellent job at trying to guess the latest crop being grown here at GSF! You guys got really close at guessing the answer, but no one *quite* got it. So I'm here to spill the beans and give you a fill-in.

Those little green and purple seedling you saw were mustard sprouts. I let them grow to day #10 of germination and then lopped them off this morning.

The result is what is called Micro Greens. A wildly popular (and wildly expensive!) crop that upscale restaurant chefs are raving over and trying to buy whenever possible.

I had first read about micro greens in my Spring 2012 catalog from Johnny's Seeds. I was intrigued by the idea of the tiny plants, but didn't give it a whole lot of thought at the time. I was preoccupied with getting ready for this year's broilers, turkeys, cows, and goat kids. Cool idea, but it wasn't my time to be sprouting little seedlings. I did however try to stay updated on how the micro green fad was playing out in the food world. To my surprise, the little greens didn't fade away as the seasons passed; instead the interest has grown. Hmmm.

Fast forward to this October/November. My dairy goats are dry and won't start milking until March/April. The cow will be dried up by Sunday. The goats and cow provided the majority of my income and I was facing a 3 or 4 month period with very little cash flow. My mind jumped back to the idea of the micro greens. Why not try it now?

After hours upon hours of more research, I bought a test package of seeds that would make a colorful, spicy blend. I have to admit that they taste as good as they look... I have a hit list of some local restaurants that I would like to start selling my micro greens to, and I'm planning on contacting them soon and seeing what deal we can strike. :) 

I'm also taking this idea and giving it a slightly different twist. I have a batch of wheat sprouts ("fodder" as I usually call it here on the blog) that are almost ready to be eaten, and when that point comes I'm going to contact a local, upscale pet store (it ain't your ordinary shop...) and see about taking them some free samples. If they like the sprouts, then I will see about becoming a regular supplier for them. 

And who knows, maybe I'll see about getting a booth at one of my local farmer's markets and see about selling some micro greens there next year...

So there you have it. Yet another one of my wild ideas. But somehow my ideas manage to work one way or another, so it'll be interesting to see how this one pans out. :)

That Slimy, Stinkin' Salamander!

For a couple of weeks now, I've had a really nice blog post in the works. Oh yes indeedy, I was pleased with this new find and was so excited to share it with y'all complete with step-by-step pictures!! 

But today, that slimy, stinkin' salamander named 'Bob' ate that blog post in the works... Folks, my goat ate my homework.

To let y'all in on the secret, I recently learned of a grand way to "re-use" those ends from celery and lettuce. For years I have been trying to grow celery in my garden but it never would work! The little seedlings were so fragile and finicky that they always keeled over and died shortly into the adventure. 

But then I read that you can take the root end of celery (and lettuce) that you would normally throw in the trash (or compost), soak it in water for a week and it will regrow into a completely new head of celery!!

Maybe I'm just daft, but I was tickled to death when I learned this! I can turn what was once trash, into food!! Whoohoo! Said celery stalk was retrieved from the fridge, and after a week of sitting in a dish of water, it looked like this:

It was working! :) With triumph, I planted it in my garden and planned on taking pictures of it's growth to show y'all. After planting, the outer stalks will die off, but the sprouts in the middle will continue to grow until it looks exactly like what you get in the store. Celery is known to be the #1 vegetable to be sprayed with the most chemicals, so being able to convert the ends into an organic plant was cool. LOL. 

As I planted my little celery stalk, Bob watched me with the keenest interest. He tried to shove his big head through the fencing, but the holes were too small. His bachelor pad looks like its been outfitted for WWIII. Everything is tied and retied, there is barbed wire at the top and bottom of the gate, and everything is enforced to withstand him. I finally managed to keep him from battering down the fencing by using, of all things, baling twine to keep the fencing attached to the fence posts. Bob eats zip ties, breaks heavy wire, and flips off the fencing clips, sooooo I really didn't have anything else to keep that fencing tied! He has spent many a afternoon toying with the baling twine, but so far it's kept him in... 

I laughed at Bob's futile attempts and smirked as I told him that there was NO WAY he was going to touch my celery. This, bold sir, was a project in the works; not a goat treat.

I walked back to the house smiling. Oh yes... I couldn't wait to keep track of this little plant's growth and progress. 

Two hours later, the most horrible words started ringing through the house:

"Bob's out! Caity, Bob's out!"

Nooooooooo! Not my celery!! Not the garden!!! I tore out of the house and found a depressing scene before me. The garden was no more... Bob stood four feet away from my once-tidy beds which were now pock marked from his big feet. The spinach is gone... The lettuce is gone... The cabbage, beets, peas, kale, brussels sprouts, and nasturtiums were gone...

And the celery was completely gone! All he left for me was a pile of goat manure where the sugar snap peas were, and some thistles. Thank you Bob. [insert high level of sarcasm]

Apparently Bob decided that the celery was just too tempting, and went beneath the gate, which happens to be only 8" of a gap and has barbed wire strung along that gap. What is pain when there is celery to be had!? 

Mr. Destructo (AKA, Bob) was placed back in his pen, and I was fuming now. Not even cherry pie and a movie could cheer me up. I fortified his pen some more, and when I was done it looked like not even an elephant could break through. 

Today was "town day" and I was gone for a few hours before returning home. And what should I see when I get back?

Bob.

 He was out again.

 The garden looked even worse now. I honestly don't know how he got out this time and I'm not going to let him do it again in order to find out. Bob is now in a kidding stall, where he will most likely stay until Saturday, which is when his owner comes to pick him up.

Bob and I are no longer on speaking terms. He ate my celery and my blog post. That, dear friends, is an unforgivable act.

He had better throw some seriously nice daughters after all this trouble.... Grumble, grumble, grumble...

Seedling

One of many yet to come...

And The Heavens Opened

The morning burst clear and sunny. I grinned as I looked out the window, knowing full well that today I could plant some seeds in the garden...

 Morning chores were done, Bob's hooves were trimmed (an adventure in itself!), the garden beds were raked to a fine tilth (I meant to get a picture of my little garden for y'all... Honest!) and seeds were brought out with anticipation! How I've missed getting dirty in the garden!

 I looked through my fat collection of heirloom seeds and picked out my best cold hardy varieties. Kale, cabbage, spinach, broccoli, radishes, beets, peas, some flowers, daikon, brussels sprouts... I do like my veggies. ;)

 When I finished, I stood back and surveyed the morning's work. The garden looks so tidy with its ten beds of compost, and no weeds yet. Each one was brimming with possibilities and things to come. In a few weeks there will be green sprouts poking their fragile heads out into the cold world. Sprouts! Little green forms of life! Makes a body whoop for joy at the very thought, after a long, dismal winter. Oregon is always green. Even in the dead of winter, it's green here (ever heard the song "Christmas In The Northwest"??). But spring green is altogether a different kind, and puts a smile on even the most wizened. Bob the goat sauntered over to see my handiwork but he didn't seem too impressed. No doubt he will be in a few weeks when he finds that the spinach is in his reach...

 I cleaned up and went inside; taking scant notice of the gray clouds looming in the distance... I sat down inside with some handiwork that needed finishing and my trusty MP3 (I will mourn if that little thing ever dies), and commenced to utter oblivion as my hands did one thing while my ears listened to varying artists.

  My reverie was broken when a sister came up to me looking like a drowned rat. Ummmm, what happened to you? She pointed out the window, and as I took my headphones out I realized that I could hear rain pummeling the roof. Holy kohlrabi! It's pouring out there!

 T'was indeed a spring shower. It was one of those delightful rains that is coming down so hard that you're drenched on contact. It comes down so hard that it stings your skin, fills your eyes as it rolls down your face, and you have to yell to be heard. One of THOSE rain showers... The low spots on our property were flooded in minutes and we had more standing water than we've had all winter! As if the heavens opened and poured its entire reservoir, so we got rain.

 I went out to the garden during that tempest and looked at my garden beds...

And was silently grateful that I got them all planted this morning...

Torture... Pure Torture...

It came today... Baker Creek's 2012 seed catalog!

And not only did ONE catalog come in the mail, but by some sort of blip I received TWO catalogs! ;)

Alas, I have firmly told myself that I will under no circumstances open either of those catalogs until I am on the airplane on January 17th. Bound for Virginia. 

And it's torture... Pure torture... This year's beautiful catalog is 196 pages of gardening bliss. And let's not forget the 120 "new" varieties that they've added to their stock... My goodness, that catalog has enough heft to feel like a book! 

I so badly want to look through it... Just a peek. 

But no, I must stick to my goal and keep it for the 10 hour flight that looms in just 36 days. I can't even think about the plane trip without feeling a knot in my stomach.. I like traveling as much as people enjoy getting the flu. It ain't fun in my book. 

Does anyone else here look forward to receiving their yearly seed catalogs?

A November Giveaway!

It's not too late! There's still time for me to host a November giveaway! I checked the calender, and it says we still have five days before December, so I'm going with the "Better late than never" phrase here. ;) I meant to host the November giveaway, you know, like back in the middle of the month! Really. I did. But nothing was catching my eye and just screaming, "Give me away on your blog!!" 

That is, until I saw the Gettle's new book...

Oh how I have lusted after this book while it was still in manuscript... And then when it was finally published only a couple months ago... The term "Hog heaven" applies here.

I contacted Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds and asked if they would consider donating a book to my little giveaway, and they graciously agreed! And not only did they send a beautiful book, but they sent a beautiful book that Jere Gettle autographed! [swoon, faint]

I'm the sort of person who starts getting the serious itch to garden in November/December. Right when the ground is frozen, and the seed catalogs come pouring in. So I thought what better way to torture ourselves, then to give away a gardening book! 

If you have yet to acquaint yourself with Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, you may do so by clicking HERE. I am extremely picky about where I buy my seeds, and I've found that Baker Creek always fits the bill perfectly. I am a staunch customer. ;)

But back to the book now. As I'm sure you've noticed, the title is 'The Heirloom Life Gardener'. Jere Gettle writes this book on a personal level, which I always like in my books. You read through it, and feel as if you're reading a letter from an old friend. Jere gently leads you through his personal history on how he started working with heirloom plants, to how he's gotten to where he is now. He teaches you how to garden, save seeds, cook each kind of vegetable out there, and the entire book is chock full of tantalizing pictures... 

My favorite part of the book is probably in the back, where there is an A to Z growing guide. So I can look up a specific veggie, such as broccoli, and find out when I need to start seeds, how to grow it, harvest it, cook it, and how to save seeds from it. Very nice. :)

And down to the specifics now! If you would like to enter this giveaway, please leave a comment explaining why you like to garden! 

If you share this giveaway via Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, Wordpress, or you tell a friend, you are allowed two contest entries. (please specify that you shared, so I know...) Only one entry per family, please.

Entry deadline is next Friday, December 2nd (I know, we'll be in the next month by then, but I wanted to stretch the giveaway to a week).

Good Luck!

Today's Treasure

Is it a UFO?

Is it an archaeological find?

Is it even real? 

The answer is, it's a tomato!

And it sure tasted good, fried!

A Mennagerie Farm Giveaway!

Now! Onto happier subjects other than head bonking and CNG people! (referring to the post below)

Mennagerie Farm is hosting a giveaway!!

And the prize is....?

A lovely collection of Heirloom seeds, just in time for planting season!

This collection will have a generous variety of seeds that would be sufficient for a medium sized garden and will range from extremely rare seeds, to not-so-rare, to just-plain-beautiful varieties! (pictures do not show exact varieties that will be in the collection)

To enter, just leave a comment below, and just for fun, tell what your favorite veggie is!

The final drawing will take place on March 12th, so save the date!

Did Someone Mention Spring?

I hope so, because I don't know how much longer I can wait to start putting plants into the ground!

Yesterday, after an interesting visit to a local nursery (it was hailing, what can I say?) we managed to bring home 25 blueberry bushes and 5 Boysen berry plants all in a tiny Honda Accord. If you ever need some amusement, try and see how many plants you can fit into the trunk of a tiny car; it makes for some good laughs. ;)

But home we got them! And none are worse for the wear. Now our loot sits quietly on our deck, awaiting planting season....

Only ten of the blueberries are ours. The other fifteen, plus the Boysen berries are for some friends. But I think our ten will do well for us. :)

Now, if spring would just hurry up and get here....

Free Labor

Free is always a good price, right? ;)

With the month of March approaching, I have been working on getting the garden ready to be tilled and planted. But first, I really wanted the blanket of leaves that had been put upon my garden patch to be shredded into pieces, so as to make the tilling easier (I'm assuming that tilling is challenging, I've never done it!). But how does one manage to "shred" 150 square feet of leaves? Enter free labor....

So yeah, I'm not always the brightest bulb in the box. I had one of those "duh" moments the other day when I decided to pen the chickens into the garden for a few day, and wondered why I never thought of it sooner. ;D

It's been fun watching the "ladies" (oops, forgot that there's a rooster in the bunch too) enjoy their afternoon as they find bugs, weed seeds, weed sprouts and other chicken delights, while efficiently turning the leaves into a crumbly compost.

First Of Many...

Once again, our sewing room upstairs is starting to get very crowded...

Right now, there are about 120 onion starts up there...

These are the very first little sprouts...

Seeds Anyone?

Hurray!! I have the pleasure of announcing that:

My seed library is officially open!!

I have over 70 varieties of fruits, flowers and veggies, and have somewhere around 2500 seeds!

I'm still trying to finish archiving my seeds, so that I can see at a glance what I have, how much I have, and keep a record of growing notes on each variety. And it's going slooooow. Lots of tape, page protectors, three ringed binders, paper clips, and time. Maybe I should employ a helper.... ;)

I'll try and get a list on here with what I have available, and if you see something you would like to try out this year, just send me an e-mail (I'll provide that in the seed list post) saying what you would like and how many seeds, so that I will know what to reserve for you. I would really like to keep this as a SASE (Self Addressed Stamped Envelope) to cut down on confusion on my part of things. I have already "checked out" quite a few seeds to people, and believe me, it gets confusing trying to get the right seeds to the right person! 

Getting Closer!

Wow are things moving fast these days! I had mentioned in an earlier post how I was hoping to start my own "seed library", but wasn't sure when I would get to actually offer any seeds. Well, in just this past week, I have gotten so many seeds for free, and still have many more on the way, I just may get to open my library doors much sooner than I ever imagined! :D

Black Prince Tomato

Goldman's Italian/American Tomato

Purple Podded Pole beans

Marketmore Cucumbers

(Credit for pictures goes to Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds)

God is good. :)