Saucing it up

I just realized its been nearly a month since my last post. Time really does go by fast.  The past two days the sky has looked like November, with the kind of dark clouds that threaten snow is on the way.

Its been a  "Ping-Pong" like guessing game for next winter's weather predictions. The weather channels are predicting a strong El Nino, bringing in a warmer winter. On the other side of the table, the Farmer's Almanac is predicting another cold and snowy winter. I'll come up with my own forecast by what the animals are telling me at the end of October.  Lot's of hair growth on the horses and goat is usually a pretty good indication I better have my firewood stacked.

The garden was not at all what I'd hoped for this season, but I did manage to get some tomatoes, popcorn, yellow squash, green beans, lettuces, a great crop of garlic, and some miscellaneous herbs.  The rest of it went to hell.  I've resigned myself to putting in the past and moving on to other things.

So be it. ~A

Hiding

I've been hiding out for a month.  I broke my arm four weeks ago, and injured some ligaments and tendons pretty bad as well, in both arms.  A bad time of year for this to happen.  But I supposed any time of year would be bad for breaking bones, wouldn't it? 

Horses.  That is how it happened and that is all I will say about it... 

The garden is in.  Planted by my mother while she was visiting, thankfully.  If it were left to me it would have never happened in my beat up condition.  And that would have been horribly depressing. It is full of weeds, but this weekend I will finally feel good enough to pull some I think.

So that is where I've been, hiding.  But now, I'm back...

It's the little things

I planted Asparagus last year.  I'm a terrible gardener and I have free range chickens, so I only half expected it to ever grow.  I found this yesterday...

They say not to harvest your asparagus for 3-4 years after planting.  Do you think the chickens will understand?

Shades of Brown

The last of the green is fading and the many shades of brown are creeping in.  Winter is nearly here.  The only sign of life in the garden is the parsley, who seems to be unaffected by the frost or snow.  The cilantro is hanging on by a breath, but starting to turn brown as well.

We had a lot of rain recently.  The creek gushed and swelled, and over-filled the little pond.  The dog dared not go for his usual swim.  He learned a time before after getting swept away a few hundred feet down little rapids in the creek. 

 

I miss the eggs from my hens.  I haven't found an egg in the nest box since late November.  I've heard from other fellow farmers everyone is experiencing the same thing at the moment.  Even my young hens won't lay. Store bought, factory farmed eggs are an abomination... Really!

~A

Lettuce Talk...

We planted a little more lettuce this year, and now I wish we'd planted even more.  More garden space is definitely going to have to be added soon, because this year I have no room for corn or pumpkins or squash. Though I will admit it may not have been necessary to plant 25 tomato plants?

But anyway, back to lettuce.  I adore salads and their versatility.  Mind you, not the creamy, blue-cheesy, topped with breaded chicken, shredded cheddar and loaded crappy crouton-type salad that you get in many restaurants and fast food joints ( I won't say which ones), but REAL salads.  The kind you pick fresh from the garden, make your own crouton and dressing, and maybe even top with a hard-boiled free-range egg and some roasted vegetables.  Those kind of salads. 

Did you know that a 100 gram (about 3.5 oz) serving of lettuce contains only 15 calories?  And 247% of your daily vitamin A requirement?

How about that its also a rich source of vitamin K, contains good amounts of folates and vitamin C, and is packed with B-complex vitamins (thiamine, B-5, riboflavin's).

Regularly consuming lettuce is known to prevent iron-deficiency anemia, and protect from cardiovascular and Alzheimer's diseases, as well as some cancers.

The darker the green or reddish the leaves, the more nutrients in each serving.  Lettuce is also a complete protein containing all eight amino acids.  Never would have guessed that one...

I bet you will look at lettuce a little differently now, won't you?

So last night for dinner I made a salad from the garden, and a little of everything else. I broiled a piece of wild salmon to go alongside, poured a glass of wine, and it was just right. 

Eat well friends ~ A

From Garden to plate!

Is your Garden in?

The first small livestock sale was made at Mon Abri Farm this week.  On Tuesday a father and his two children came out to buy a New Zealand rabbit.  I sold him one of our ready-to-breed females, and he and his kids really enjoyed watching the goat being milked while they were there as well.  Later that night, one of our horse-trainer friends stopped by to pick up a horse we had been training to correct bad behavior, and in its place a young, barely broke 2 year old filly was left behind for us to finish up her training, before she is sent off to the racetrack for her new career as a racehorse.

June has arrived and the garden is starting to produce.  Radishes are coming in this week.  Really good, spicy-hot radishes.  I absolutely have to eat some every morning before I head out for the day's activities.  I'll be giving this recipe I found at Food52 a go around this evening.  Looking very forward to it, though I don't have any turnips on hand, so I will omit those and deal with it!

The potato and tomato plants are looking vibrant and healthy as well.

 Pastures are lush again, animals are happy.  At least until "fly season" starts up again...

I hope you all have a lovely Wednesday.  ~A

Hardiness Zone Confusion...

While daydreaming about what fruit trees I want to plant this coming spring, I jumped on the Internet  to find out what hardiness zone I reside in.  Not what I expected...  I checked five different sites, all of which ask you to type in your zip code to determine your particular "zone."  Guess what?  Out of five sites, I got four DIFFERENT answers!  Given the information, I decided I would go with Zone 6, just to be safe.  My zip code is 44491.  Check it out yourself and see what your zone is... I hope you have better luck at getting a more concrete answer than I did. 

http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/  Zone 6a

http://www.garden.org/zipzone/  Zone 5a

http://www.gardenweb.com/zones/zip.cgi  Zone 5

http://www2.arborday.org/treeinfo/ZoneInfo.cfm?ZipCode=44491&submit=Look+it+up%21 
Zone 6

http://www.burpee.com/gardening/content/gygg/growing-zone-information/growingzoneinfo.html

and that last one came up with Zone 5...