Molly vs. Lolly

Anyone who has read my blog knows that we have the best neighbors, period.  Recently we've had a run of sheep getting loose.  One of the fence lines is weak and has been breaking when the ewes rub up against it to itch their wool.  Then they push through to get that green grass.  Four days in a row this happened and each day my neighbors helped get the sheep back into the pastures.  The last day I came home from work to find Eric out with wire trimmers and fencing fixing some holes.  Thanks to him and his wife Lola we got the sheep taken care of (but not before the girls munched my new starts in the garden - grrrrr!)

About a year ago Eric got a rescue dog Molly.  She is a golden labrador retriever and was rescued from a puppy mill.  It took her a bit to warm up to us, but she has always loved Jordan and now she will come to see me and Jeremy as well.  Although the cats don't like it when Molly comes over to our yard, Molly doesn't chase them so we don't mind when she comes lobbing over, tongue hanging out.

Memorial weekend we went on a little trip away from the farm.  (My parents come over to do chores.)  We got home Monday and promptly when down to visit all the animals.  We had just started giving oats to the sheep when Eric came over, with Molly.

Lolly following Speckles along the pole barn

Usually when Eric and Molly come down, the chickens are in their run.  But Monday night they were still out free-ranging.  Eric said, "Hi, are the birds getting into your garden?"  And then Molly took off!  She tore down the driveway, past me and after two chickens who were pecking loose oats around the pole barn.  The chickens freaked and ran behind the bard towards the thick snow berries around the creek and culvert.  I could see them flapping and trying to get away from Molly.  Everyone was yelling "Molly, drop it!"  "Molly, get back here!" "MOLLY!"  She came tromping out with Lolly, our Australorp, in her mouth.

Now Molly is a retriever and I don't know if she was ever trained to act as one, but she literally retrieved Lolly and brought her right to me (the closest human).  And it didn't even phase Molly that I was red faced and scream "Drop that chicken now!"  Molly did and Lolly took off down the creek bank squawking the whole way.

That's when Molly realized how much trouble she was in.  She headed back into the snow berries in hopes that we wouldn't be able to grab her.  But Jeremy was livid and went right in after her.  He grabbed her collar and brought her over to Eric who apologized
and drug a reluctant Molly home to spend the night in the dog house.

I went over to see if any other chickens were still in the snow berries and found Henrietta.  She was attempting to make herself as small and still as possible.  I reached down and picked her up - she was stiff, holding her wings and feet in tight.  I put her in the run with the other four, the smart ones that automatically ran into run to escape the dog.  Then we started looking for poor little Lolly.

There wasn't any blood anywhere.  Another good trait of retrievers is they have a very soft bite when getting the prey for the hunter.  But there were feathers.  I followed the trail to the last feather next to a large clump shurbery.  Jordan and I poked around calling for Lolly.  But it's hard to see an all black chicken under thick vegetation.  We looked around for about 10 minutes and then decided to give it a break and hope she would come out on her own.

An hour later we went down to check and Lolly came out.  She followed me back to the run and then let me do a once-over.  There were no puncher wounds but there were some bald spots on her shoulder and wing.  And when she tried to hop up into the coop she couldn't really flap up.  So I lifted her in the for night.  The next morning she decided to not come out.  She kept peeking out the door and then deciding to stay in.  On day two Jordan and I forced her out to eat and drink water, but she then went right back in (with help, still no flapping up).  On day three when we came down for morning chores Lolly was out of her own choice and up on the outside perch, meaning her flap came back.

Lolly feeling all better :-)

Lasagna Garden

We actually did this the fall before last, but I never really gave it a good write up.  Now after a full growing season and starting into the next, I feel secure is stating that yes, lasagna gardening has its merits.

What is lasagna gardening you may ask.  It's layering of different materials to create a weed barrier and great soil for a new garden (or row in your existing garden or new raised bed).  It can be done over any landscaped surface - lawns, weedy areas, bark dust, gravel.  I used the technique to expand our existing in-ground garden by 6 feet so that I could add two more rows of strawberries.  Since our garden is huge, it took a lot of materials.  Personally, while it worked well for us, I think this technique is best for smaller raised beds.

Materials:

• cardboard, news paper or all-natural fiber cloth
• sticks, pine cones, straw or dry leaves
• compost
• optional, soil

Steps:

1. Pick your location.  For most garden plants you want at least 8 hours of direct sun, so that's the primary consideration.  But also think about access - can you get to and walk around the space easily.  And don't forget a water source because you don't want to be lugging water a long ways.
2. Lay down the cardboard over the space you want to garden.  This is your weed barrier. If you are building a new raised bed, lay down the cardboard first and then build the sides of the bed over the top.  Make sure to over lap the cardboard a little so there aren't spaces for weeds/grass to come up through it.  If you are using news paper, make sure it's 5 sheets thick or more.  You want it to take at least two seasons for the newspaper to decompose, that time is important to make sure the weeds and grass die out.  An all-natural fiber cloth, like linen, burlap or even jeans, works really well too.  It can't contain any synthetic materials because those won't decompose over time.
3. Next add about 4 inches worth of brown structure like twigs, pine cones, straw or dry leaves over the cardboard.  Don't tamp it down.  This layer is creates drainage under the compost and soil.  Most garden plants like to be damp but not sitting in puddles of water.
4. Add 6 inches of compost.  We compost all our kitchen scraps along with animal (sheep and chicken) waste on site, so we have a lot, I mean A LOT, of compost for the garden.  I added it very fresh. In other words there were still banana peels visible.  Since I did this in the fall and let it rest all winter, I knew it would be composted by spring.  If you don't have a source of your own compost, go get some from your local nursery.
5. If you are creating a new garden in the spring, you'll probably want to plant right away or at least in a few weeks.  I would recommend buying a compost/soil mix from the nursery.  They can help you decide how much compost-to-soil is best.  You want a minimum of 6 inches of material to plant in; more like 8 inches if you are planting root veggies like carrots.

That's it.  No tilling, just let it sit.  My fresh compost sat all winter and in the spring I transferred strawberry runners into two new rows.  We had a great harvest last year.  This spring the plants are looking good and the weeds are still absent.  Hopefully we'll get a bumper crop again :-)

2013 Seeds

This year we are sticking to the basics, as in heirloom.  I decided to purchase through Eden Brothers because they have a wide variety of seeds to choose from, including conventional, heirloom and organic.  We are also just doing the basics in terms of what we are growing.  Nothing fancy.  The stuff we always enjoy eating fresh and processing.  

Here is my order list:  
2    Corn Seeds - "Golden Beauty" - Ounce  SVCOR27-OZ  
1    Beet Seeds - "Detroit Dark Red" - PacketSVBET5-PKT  
1    Beet Seeds - "Crosby Egyptian" - PacketSVBET8-PKT   
2    Carrot Seeds (Organic) - "Danvers 126" - PacketSVCAR113 -qb1 
1    Cucumber Seeds - "Long Green Improved" - PacketSVCUC35-PKT 
3    Kale Seeds - "Premier" - Packet      SVKAL53-PKT    
1    Bean Seeds (Bush) - "Golden Wax" - OunceSVBEA4-OZ    
1    Bean Seeds (Bush) - "Landreth Stringless" - OunceSVBEA7-OZ    
2    Bean Seeds (Bush) - "Contender" - OunceSVBEA2-OZ   
1    Pea Seeds - "Sugar Snap" (Snap Pea) - OunceSVPEA92-OZ   
2    Pea Seeds - "Thomas Laxton" - Ounce  SVPEA86-OZ    
2    Pumpkin Seeds - "Small Sugar" - PacketSVPUM102-PKT   
2    Spinach Seeds - "Bloomsdale Long Standing" - PacketSVSPI112-PKT    
1    Squash (Summer) Seeds - "Golden Summer Crookneck" - PacketSVSQU119-PKT    1    Squash (Summer) Seeds - "Black Beauty" - PacketSVSQU114-PKT 

I'll buy tomato and green pepper starts at Wilco.   And I'll get some basil once the weather gets warmer (the thyme and rosemary over wintered OK).  We also have blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and grapes in the garden.  Crossed fingers, we'll have a great harvest this year! 

And So It Begins

It happened.  I didn't really expect it to happen for a few more years.  At least until she was in her early teens.  That's when it happened to me.  But Jordan has always been an early bloomer.

A month ago we went in to the doctor's for Jordan's well-child check up.  All was normal - normal for Jordan seeing as how she is 10 years old and 5' 2".  Then Dr. Bisguard asked Jordan what kinds of foods she liked.  Last year Jordan's response was "corn and hot dogs."  This year Jordan says, "Well, I'm a vegetarian."  Dr. Bisguard replied, "Really?" but her gaze shifted to me so clearly I was suppose to explain how this came about.

The only thing I could think of is that we butcher animals here on the farm.  Late last summer we butchered four turkeys and Jordan unfortunately saw some of the innards as I brought a baggie of giblets into the house for cleaning and packing.  After that experience Jordan decided not to eat any of the turkey on Thanksgiving.  I figured this episode has something to do with the vegetarian statement and proceeded to explain to the doctor.  Jordan nodded her head in agreement.

Dr. Bisguard asked if this meant all meat.  Jordan said no, that she still eats hot dogs (of course), sausage, anything that doesn't remind her of the grosser aspects of eating an animal - namely the blood and guts.

I get it.  I can't gut a fish and turn around and eat the meat.  I need a few days separation between the yucky part and the eating part.  But Jordan hasn't mastered the art of pushing icky thoughts from your brain.  And I suppose it doesn't help when Jeremy and talk about the former animal we are eating ... "So is this Sammy or Porky?"

Dr. Bisguard was quick to point out that meat has important nutrients that a growing body needs.  And if Jordan wasn't going to eat meat then she'd need to get those nutrients somewhere else.  She'd need iron, which comes from spinach (Jordan's not a huge fan).  And protein  which comes from nuts (good), tofu (not loving that) and beans (hates those).  But as Dr. Bisguard rattled these off, Jordan just nodded away like "No problem, I'll eat those things."

In the car I tried to explain, again, why we grow and butcher our own meat.  Why I won't purchase faceless, grown in barn, fed only corn, meat so she doesn't get grossed out thinking about us butchering in.  Jordan said she understood, but I was skeptical.  Until a few weeks later when Jordan was at her Grandma's house.  Grandma was serving steaks from the store.  Jordan refused to eat the steaks on the grounds that she didn't know how the cows were treated, if they were abused.  At least some of my moral stances are making a mark on her ;-).

The good news is that because we don't raise chicken on the farm - at least not friers, we do raise layers - she will eat that meat.  Luckily there is a produce market five minutes from home that sell chicken from a local farm with really good practices (e.g., true free ranging).  I can also get ground beef products past her.  I made Swedish Meatballs last weekend and she has requested those again this weekend.

I suspect this is just the beginning of Jordan walking in and making statements like "I'm a vegetarian now."  I remember distinctly my decision at 15 years old, "I'm not shaving my legs anymore."  This of course was in response to the oppressive male-dominated culture that expected women to be hairless (lol).  And my choice as a teenager to be a vegetarian - due to the horrible living conditions and torture of the animals we ate (I still ate any meat my dad hunted down himself).  As long as Jordan's proclamations aren't too crazy, we will support and adapt.  Maybe we'll both learn to like tofu ... I doubt it.

Packing Pears

For Christmas every year my best childhood friend sends us a box of pears from Medford, OR.  This year I decided to can a bunch of them - my first time canning pears.  It's a very easy process; way easier than corn or green beans because you don't need a pressure cooker.  Here are the equipment, ingredients and directions:

Equipment:
1 large bowl
1 large stainless steel pot
1 large canning pot (or big stock pot)
1 ladle
6-7 pint jars, sterilized and kept hot
1 jar remover (to get the jars out of the boiling water)

Ingredients:
7-8 large pears (approx. 11 lbs)
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 cups sugar
6 cups water

Directions:

1. Wash and peel the pears.  I used a potato peeler.  Remove the core/seeds.  Slice or cut - I cut into large cubes.
2. Place pears in a large bowl and pour lemon juice over. Stir to cover all the fruit.  The lemon juice will prevent the fruit from browning while you  prepare the light syrup.
3. Fill the canning pot half full of water and set over high heat to bring to boil.
4. In a large stainless steel pot, bring sugar and water to boil stirring frequently.
5. Add the pears to the pot and boil for 5 minutes.
6. Ladle pears into hot jars, leaving one inch headspace.  Add enough syrup to cover the pears.
7. Screw the lids on tightly and place in the canning pot with boiling water.  The water should be about one inch above the top of the jars.
8. Boil for 20 minutes.
9. Remove and let cool to room temperature.
10. Store in a cool, dark location

Enjoy!!!!