Life is SO good

Today I posted this on facebook:

it is like a warm spring morning on the farm...I can smell the rain in the distance, the roosters and chasing and calling, then hens are scratching and escaping, the ducks and geese are talking and swimming and life here is so good it just takes my breath away.

I came into the house after dumping the compost and Good Life by OneRepublic is playing on my iPod, and though he is not talking about farm life I can apply some of the lyrics to my life here on the farm. I could complain about a lot of things, things that I have not gotten done, about the constant contamination of my farm pond, the lack of good fencing.... but I just can't. I go outside and instead I see all the beauty and I realize how very luck I am to be alive, to have a little piece of heaven here in this beautiful town of Berea. I love my chickens, ducks and especially my geese. I love my cold frames and my farm cats, and visits from the neighbors peacock. I love the birds in my feeders. When there is so much to be thankful for it just seems like complaining about anything is a waste of this very very short life that we have here on earth. The weather is due to turn brutally cold again, and even then when I have to defrost the waters and freeze my fingers off to feed the farm animals I will not complain. I will come in the house, enjoy a cup of tea and look through my seed catalogs and dream of all the wonderful possibilities that spring will bring. Life is going by too fast. Enjoy every second.

This has gotta be the good life

This had gotta be the good life

This could really be a good good life.

When your happy like a fool, let it take you over.

Melting!

As many of you already know we are living through one of the HOTTEST summers in a long time. We have lost two chickens to the heat, but all of the other animals are doing well. We are checking on the animals several times a day in this heat, making sure that they all have cool water to drink during the day. The garden didn't do as well as I had hoped this year, but that is OK. I am getting ready to plant my fall garden. I grew a new type of cabbage this year that is actually doing very well, it is called

Couer De Beouf Des Vertus. I have NO idea how to pronounce it, but it is growing well, though it is very vulnerable to the c

abbage worm so I have to go out and hand pick the worms and eggs, but I am about to harvest the cabbage and I bet that it will be worth it. I just love cabbage and I am so excited to try this one!

Here is what it looks like. Please be sure to support you local farmers, without you we would soon cease to exist!

Spring is here!

Spring has been very busy here at TTF! I ordered 50 new laying hens from Murray McMurray hatchery to keep up with the demand for fresh pastured raised chicken eggs. I have also added more ducks and geese to the farm as well. We are up to our elbows in cute fuzzy babies!
The weather here has been very rainy, but I have to say that I don't mind it. I have a lot of seedlings out in the garden that really need it.
The apple, peach, pear and cherry trees have already flowered and I am hopeful that we will have a large supply of fresh fruit this year. I also planted 30 pounds worth of seed potatoes this year! I am growing German butterball, and our favorite All blue from Seed Savers Exchange! I also ordered seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom seeds, my favorite! We are going to grow LOTS of Hazelfield tomatoes this year, they did very well here last year. I am also looking forward to growing peanuts again, and this year hopefully getting to eat them! The chickens found out where I set them outside to dry and ate every last one of them! I think I will dry them in a dehydrator this year. Are you planting this spring? What are you trying that is new?
Speaking of food...right now my favorite food is fresh asparagus with poached eggs! If you have not tried them together I can't recommend it highly enough! Get some fresh eggs from your local farmer, cook your asparagus in boiling water, scoop them out and then drop your eggs into that same water and poach them. Asparagus tastes so good dipped into egg yolk! Try eating local this spring, I promise you will enjoy it!

My Favorite Season

It is been a very long, very hot and very dry summer. The weeds loved it. I certainly did NOT!
Herbs did great, as did the asparagus and we are still getting some tomatoes. Today we harvested peanuts from the upper garden which was a wonderful surprise! It is like finding a buried treasure and in my opinion it is better than gold.
It's time to plant some fall crops such as:

• Kale – Nutritious leafy greens on productive plants that over-winter easily even in cold climates.
• Collards – Another leafy green similar to kale but with larger, stronger flavored leaves.
• Lettuce – Plant varieties bred especially for growing during the fall season or in cold frames.
• Spinach – Not as easy to grow as kale and collards, these leafy greens will also over-winter.
• Turnips – Here’s a quick maturing root crop that’s productive and easy to grow.
• Rutabagas – Larger and sweeter than turnips, plant earlier in the summer for fall harvests.
• Broccoli – Popular, productive and much easier to grow than cauliflower.
• Cauliflower – Finicky grower, planting must be timed well in order to develop large heads.
• Mustard – Spicy hot leaves, this is a very fast growing vegetable.
• Mache – Very cold hardy, mild greens can be grown right into the winter months.
• Cabbage – Grow from transplants (like broccoli and cauliflower) or start seeds indoors under lights.
• Oriental Vegetables – Wide range of unusual varieties are available for fall production.
• Escarole – A bitter leafy green vegetable that can be cooked or used raw as a salad green.
• Endive – Similar to escarole with attractive frilly leaves.
• Brussels sprouts – Start seed in early summer or purchase transplants.
• Arugula – Fast growing leafy greens for salads or gourmet recipes.
• Leeks – One of the hardiest plants in the garden, leeks can even withstand winter freezes.

Enjoy the fall, and don't forget to get those cameras out and take lots of pictures!

Spring, not summer

Spring started out very warm here and I already have a jump on my farmers tan. Temps were soaring into the 80s for a few weeks, but now things have cooled off again. I am actually glad about that because my peas, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower and brussel sprouts were not doing well in the heat. There were two mornings with frost after the last frost date, but everything seems to be doing well so far. The apple trees are just about done blooming and the peach trees finished about three weeks ago, the cherries and pears are also done as well. I look forward to all the fruit this year.
We have started to give farm tours for the first time, and I think that they are going well. I love to tell the story of how we got here. The kids help a lot too setting up their rock collection and lining up the pet cages to show off all of our animals. Over the last few months we have sold some animals and gained some. Rabbits are the newest addition and I just love to watch them hop around the house and tear old coloring books to shreds, throwing paper everywhere and making a bloody mess! We now have a broody hen sitting on about 10 eggs so we are expecting little ones in about two more weeks. We were hoping for some broody ducks this year, but that is not looking too good right now. The white chinese goose is sitting on a bunch of eggs so we are hoping that some of them may hatch out this year because none of them hatched last year. I will keep everyone updated on our facebook page.
For plants I have started about 80 tomatoes, and equal amount of basil and then, in smaller amounts: cilantro, rosemary, sweet majoram, oregano, romanesco broccoli, leeks, onions, garlic chives, and flowers. I bought pepper plants and raspberry plants this year. I had my first asparagus come up this year, which I had found lying on the ground after I accidentally chopped it off while removing the chicken wire from that section from the garden. Keep laughing...it could happen to you! The herbs survived the winter well for the most part, except for the rosemary, which happens to be my very favorite. I have declared war on the mint, chocolate, and other types because they are running through the herb bed like wild unruly children. Mint makes a wonderful tea and has many other uses so none of it will go to waste. The one thing that I am most excited to grow this year are pineapple tomatillos. I couldn't believe it when I saw them in a catalog so I just had to try them. Last year the tomatillos did great in the garden.
Finally, to the right is my pea box, as I like to call it.
My friend got the box for 5 dollars, Dan salvaged the
four posts out of the trash, and I stapled leftover
chicken wire to the sides. The peas will grow up the chicken wire which will shade the lettuce growing in the box. I think that I will add carrots to the soil later when the lettuce is done.
So... what are you doing in your garden this year? And most important of all... are you supporting your local farmers? Please be sure you do!

Waiting for Spring

I went for a walk around the farm the other day and guess what I say under the hazelnut trees? The crocuses have poked through the ground, but the flowers haven't opened yet. The weather people are saying we may get into the 50s later this week. I went through all my seeds the other day to see what I have and I walk through the garden trying to plan for this year. One of our geese has already started laying eggs so I will begin shipping orders of goose eggs soon. The chickens have slowed down with the cold weather, but we are hoping they will pick up soon so we will be able to fill more orders. I have been reading books by Joel Salatin and I really love his books. I have learned a lot about making my farm more profitable, and I am trying to take steps in that direction. Going local is all the rage right now, but we need to stop talking about it and start really supporting local farmers by putting our wallets into our local economy and not into the pockets of the evil empire. I bought some goat the other day from a local farmer and I would encourage you to take some of your money and put it into your local farms, without YOU we will all disappear! I love farm life, and I can't imagine any better way to spend the rest of my days here on earth.
If you are wondering where your food comes from I encourage you to watch the movie FOOD INC. Stay warm, and remember SPRING IS COMING!!!

It's Been a Long Winter

It has been a long winter here on the farm. We made it through the ice storm ok, losing power for under two hours and we also lost two pine trees by the pond. We were very lucky!
Our seeds arrived from Baker Creek this week and I was so excited. Spring IS coming, and the sooner the better. I ordered lots of tomatoes in different colors. I also ordered cukes, watermelons, leeks, pumpkins, corn, peas, carrots, and I will be growing LOTS of herbs. I have found that I enjoy growing herbs and I plan to expand my herb garden to at least twice what it was last year. I have started 3 trays of seeds so far, but I am just beginning! I am starting flowers, tomatillos, brussel sprouts and peppers indoors right now.

The animals did well through the winter and we now have a broody hen. The hens have started laying more eggs (thank you girls!) The geese have started laying eggs and we expect the ducks to follow any day now. We hope to sell baby ducks this year, and maybe some geese too. Last year we hatched out 4 ducks and one goose!

Right now I am reading The Plant Propagators Bible by Miranda Smith, so once you are ready to go beyond seed starting I highly recommend it!

Here are some links on seed starting. Have fun!

http://www.finegardening.com/how-to/articles/ten-seed-starting-tips.aspx

http://www.humeseeds.com/indoor.htm

http://www.savvygardener.com/Features/starting_seeds_indoors.html

Where do you order seeds? I get my seeds from Bakers Creek and Seed Savers Exchange. But there are other great companies. Here are a few!

http://rareseeds.com/

http://www.seedsavers.org/

http://www.fedcoseeds.com/

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/

http://www.wellsweep.com/

And then of course you have to prepare your garden for spring! If you don't have a compost pile start one now. Lay cardboard out on the area that you want to grow on and put some rocks on it so it wont blow away. Warm days are coming, before you know it you will be in your garden planting food! Until then read lots of good gardening books and magazines while wrapped in a nice warm blanket.