Hoeing and mulching

Broccoli

I had to stop weeding last year due to an injury, and there is a massive amount of weed seed in the garden.   The sensible thing to do would have been to turn it all under and plant a couple of green manures this year, but we need the veggies.   So, I'm spending a lot of time hoeing and mulching.

I still don't know if the lambs quarters (a weed) are going to win.   So far, they are sitting up in the gallery and laughing at me.   They have high, squeaky voices, and are getting on my nerves.

A friend noted that the lambs quarters are edible.   They should try to remember that.

Part of bed #1

Bed #1 - broccoli, onions, rutabaga, beets, cucumber, lettuce, etc.

Part of bed #2

Bed #2 - potatoes, beans, some squash, more onions, etc.

From the Cellar to the Sky

This was the first winter that we used the cellar and a freezer for storing veggies grown here.   I never stored vegetables for the winter before.  With both of us working full-time off-farm, there didn't seem to be the time.   This is not much of an excuse, as I have friends who work long hours and store vegetables.  But, it was our excuse, and I hold to my excuses firmly.

Now I wonder why in the world I took so long to start.   It is February 19th.  In the photo are some of the veggies I brought up this morning from the cellar, chopped up, and put in a crock pot for a beef stew supper.

We are keeping lots of veggies quite nicely without any refrigeration or blanching.  I know this should not be a surprise to me, but somehow it is.   I grew up with refrigeration and store-bought vegetables.   We also have a further selection of vegetables from the farm in the freezer.

Are the veggies in the cellar perfect?  No.   A few have gone bad.   Some of the carrots now have a bit of rot that can be cut away.   I don't need perfect.   I know very few people who do, and those tend to have stomach aches.

For awhile, after the ground froze, the good veggie peelings were getting thrown out with the trash.      I didn't want to buy and try one of those big turning-composting contraptions, and hand turning a frozen pile under snow is difficult, particularly as you get older.  We aren't keeping animals capable of generating enough manure to keep a pile warm.  I tried one of those small, stationary, vertical compost bins for awhile, but it seemed to be viewed as a casserole dish by the local raccoons.  

So, now we have put an old covered trash can in a garage, and the good compost-type stuff is getting tossed there.  Will this practice attract someone unwanted into the garage?   If so,  I need a plan B, which I don't have yet.   But, I do have lots of nice old vegetable peelings and coffee grinds, that may make it into a compost pile in the spring.   Good.

I'm a planner and a great worrier by nature.  Actually, I am the designated family worrier.  I do an annual budget and track all expenses, both for the family and the farm.   I object to tossed coffee grinds.   I follow people around who are sniffling and push tea and honey on them.  I object to George (husband) wearing sneakers rather than boots in the winter, although it does not seem to make him sick.  I wonder if we will run out of wood for the stove before spring.

I don't worry about the price of gas, because George worries about it.    I do not believe in duplicating worrying.   The fact that neither of us can do anything about the price of gas is immaterial.    Worrying is in our nature. 

I was just reading the entry from Cold Antler Farm, a blog I enjoy.   She (the writer) is not a worrier, and has accomplished a lot, which is wonderful.  She took on a farm with no savings and is making it work.  She has pushed through lots of mistakes.  She might get the pony she has always wanted, and soon.

The owner of Cold Antler Farm is younger than I am, has been farming longer, and probably has less arthritis in her hands.   I like reading her blog.  Maybe her last entry will give me courage to try more things here.  Isn't it wonderful when people give you courage?

Why didn't I start putting up vegetables sooner!    Maybe a little less planning and worrying is in order.

I want a pony.   Chunky, strong, and cheerful pony.   Ok, there, I said it.

Hay, Garden and a Big WHEW

Whew - been an exciting couple of weeks.    I brought in a few bales of second-cut hay for the old sheep, which put us over the amount (financially speaking) that we needed to make to keep the land classified as agricultural land for tax purposes.    In Maine, one can count both sales figures and product consumed on farm toward this total, and ours includes a bit of both.   I expected this year and next to be tough in this regard, until we got more activities going on the farm, but we were counting every bale and weighing every vegetable this year. 

We still have hay that needs to be sold, but  I don't think that will be a problem this year.   It is a hard year for buyers to find good day.   

Carrots headed for the blanching pot

The hay was difficult to get in the barn because of the wet weather this year.   Three of the last five years have been difficult for hay here, with the heavy clay soils that take a long time to dry.   The investment in a hay tedder this year paid off (a "tedder" helps to cure hay faster, so hay can be brought in during a shorter weather-window).  Modelling related to global warming predicts that Maine should get wetter, so maybe that has something to do with it.   In any case, the rain just underscores that we need to continue to diversity. 

The first frost was predicted for last night, although we had the good luck not to get much.   But, just in case, we brought in a lot of vegetables yesterday.   The acorn squash we'll be eating this winter is now in the basement.    I already cooked a couple with butter and brown sugar, and it definitely gets a thumbs up. Some pie pumpkins are curing in an old and warm wooden garage, before being moved to the cool basement with the acorn and spaghetti squash.   The onions are drying.   I've been blanching vegetables all summer for the freezer, which now contains lots of frozen summer squash, broccoli, string beans, and carrots.  There are also bags of frozen cherry tomatoes, and lots of frozen zucchini bread (some with walnuts and chocolate chips).    I'm still intending to put some potatoes, rutabagas, and fresh carrots into the root cellar.

This was the first summer  that we haven't had both adults working full time off-farm, plus trying to run the farm.   Things have changed a lot.   It isn't easy, but it is always interesting.

If anyone reads this who bought hay or seedlings or vegetables from us this year, I just want to say thank you. Every bit helped.   Thanks also to family and friends who listened patiently to intense comments about haying machinery, green manure, or the weather.