The Family Garden

2011-06-05T22:22:00.000-07:00

Oh it has been busy around here! I'm about to do an update of our animals and garden but first I had to share some very beautiful things I had the fortune to enjoy over the weekend. I travelled back to Maine to attend my 20th high school reunion (!) and while there took time to visit with some family and old friends and was lucky enough to visit an amazing. garden store and a fabulous garden I look forward to seeing every time I visit.

First up is Snug Harbor Farm in Kennebunk, Maine. My cousin has worked here for years and has told me so many incredible things about it but I never was able to visit until this past Saturday morning. It is incredible. Incredible.

These green houses are HEATED in the winter -- can you imagine?

The following day I went to a lovely garden in Gorham, Maine. Maine blows my socks off really. It is so lush and the lilacs! Oh the lilacs! This is Friend's Corner and it is sprawling and perfect. Truly amazes me the amount of work that goes into this.

The hostas and bleeding hearts grow so easily here. Stunning.

First Day of Spring

2011-03-20T15:05:00.000-07:00

I just realized today is the first day of spring, although you wouldn't know it with the wind and rain here this week. I'm glad to have some bonus rain as we tend to be dry nearly all summer. As I lumber out of my blog hibernation (the last post was winter solstice? Really?) and settle in for the first post of the "official" growing season, I thought I'd share what I've brought inside today from our garden and spare the camera a soaking outside. In my hiatus we have remodeled our kitchen (almost done, everything goes more slowly with children) so while my husband took the boys outside in their rain gear I had some quiet time inside to make dinner and play around with the lighting in our new setup. What a very lovely way to spend the afternoon. Ahhhhh.

Happy First Day of Spring!

I made a batch of stinging nettle compost tea this winter and fed the entire garden with it last week, I look forward to showing you how well it all went! I'm about to don my rain gear and go join in some splashing while harvesting a new batch.

Happy Winter Solstice

2010-12-21T23:27:00.001-08:00

Goats!

2010-12-08T15:43:00.000-08:00

Oh we have been busy. Quiet blog, busy life. Or so it tends to be around here. We have been working on fencing and teeny barn building (with all reused materials except for the screws!) and.... we have goats! Yes! Our friend, Jamie of Serendipity Farms, was downsizing her herd a bit so we were fortunate enough to get 3 young Nubian beauties ready for breeding. And you know what that means! Cutie baby goats and after a bit of solo baby/mama time... fresh, raw goat milk!

This is the best photo of this journey: An abandoned back-carrier for the youngest of our human brood, along with a half dug water station. Yes, this is how WE roll. Little bits, as the littles in our lives allow.

How cool is this? 3 generations of fence builders!
Forging new ground: We expanded our chicken "pen" (they can get out, but the neighbor dogs can't get in) to nearly an acre. Or more than one, we aren't certain since the perimiter meanders here and there around certain trees.

Just for fun, the 2 hens who share these 4 chicks. They are amazing little co-mamas and a true demonstration of something I strongly believe which is FAMILIES COME IN ALL SHAPES AND SIZES.

Gratitude

2010-11-25T14:45:00.000-08:00

For this beautiful life I get to live, for my little boys who are so eager to learn and help, an amazing husband to share this journey, and for the chance to raise some goats for fresh raw milk! We're building their shelter in preparation for new life on the ranch. Exciting times, so very grateful.

Cuteness

2010-11-22T13:30:00.000-08:00

The one day old chicks came out to soak up some warm sun this afternoon and enjoyed their first meal: Figs and amaranth from the garden.

Goings on

2010-11-21T15:51:00.000-08:00

Last night it hailed and stormed and hailed and stormed complete with thunder and lightning which is sooooooo rare around here. My husband and I sprang out of bed at one point last night just to turn on the light outside our bedroom to see how big the pellets were! They sounded HUGE and it was dumping!!! Very fun for us Californians who nary get a peck of solid weather :)

This morning the boys and I headed out to see if we could find any residuals and they got to play in this one little pile hidden on the shade fabric which is protecting my seedlings. (all the seedlings were just fine!)

Even the snap peas, who didn't have much protection, were just fine.
Since it was such a cold and rainy (and sunny, sometimes) morning, of course I just had to bring in some flowers. Such a juxtaposition this time of year is. It's cold and hailing outside, but the fall/winter garden is gaining and growing and there are still flowers about. I even still have sunflowers!

I started sweet peas much earlier this year. I usually wait until late December.
Baby chicks! Born this morning. This one is just breaking though her shell.

And look! Thanksgiving turkey, oh so fresh. Last year I brined and then we bbq'd the turkey and it came out great. I'm going to brine for less time this year (12 hours, 1/2 cup kosher salt and 1/2 cup sugar or other sweetener per quart of water, plus all the herbs you want... go BIG on the herbs so they don't disappear in there, that's my advice ;) and we are going to do it in a clean cooler instead of buying a special brine bag.

Random Garden Update including Creative & Frugal Seed Marker Ideas

2010-11-04T18:23:00.000-07:00

First, I must say that I'm cracking myself up with this post. It is 3 (maybe 4?) separate posts I've had in my brain all lumped into one. Eh, who's counting? (besides me?)

As my boys and I were starting a bunch of seeds in the past month or so I started looking around (as I'm assuming all mothers do constantly because nothing is ever where I put it) for my fancy seed markers. NOWHERE to be found. Over the course of the last week or so I've found 3 of them. I had 30. Ahem. Anyway, I had to get creative and luckily I'm kinda good at it. I *knew* I had been saving old credit cards for a reason! They turn out to be really fun for the kids to paint and work fantastic for marking seeds. And FREE!

Old canning lids also work fabulously. Painted (for fun) or left plain.

AND they fit perfectly under bird protection.

This is our new garden path. I've been working to change the old sharp corner into a new path which freed up a corner for more of a permaculture beneficial garden.

The leeks just started poking through a few days ago. They're so cute I had to show them off.

This little patch was planted late on a lark and I'm so glad I did it.

More seed starting markers -- and these are things I try to avoid bringing home. When I do end up with them I keep them all because I'm a freak like that and can't stand to throw something away when it could possibly be reused. VOILA! Some are biodegradable, I guess we'll see just how well they biodegrade!

Spoons are definitely the cutest...

As for the fowl, we culled 4 roosters last weekend. Rowdy was one of them. He just got to be such a jerk that I couldn't even give him away. I simmered them for nearly 20 hours and made a big batch of rooster enchiladas complete with homemade enchilada sauce. The sauce came out so fabulously I will have to post the recipe. Next time. We have 2 broody hens, both Copper Marans which is interesting because they are the youngest of all the hens. I'm not complaining, we need more chickens. After taking these photos they (and their eggs) were moved into their own quarter.

The waning hours of sunlight have already had an impact on the hens. Egg production is down.

A volunteer tomato (the healthiest of the season) is still in high production. Go figure.

Sweet pea seeds soaking. These are all saved from last year, just a small sampling of the seed load from those vines!

Hmmm... the kids color pallette for painting the seed markers.... out of place but still kinda cute no?

Even rocks or old tiles work great. These are two old ones from a few years ago. They were bird protection weights this year. After painting, be sure to let them dry completely and then seal them with a clear varnish spray.

More bird protection: Strawberry baskets protecting the crazy maze of snow pea seedlings, held down with pieces of coat hanger.

BOO!

2010-10-31T21:47:00.000-07:00

October in The Garden

2010-10-19T19:30:00.000-07:00

A daily fig!

Rosa Bianca eggplants still filling out:

The annual garden burn pile. Oh how I love a burn pile! It amazes me how quickly large, uncompostable debris clean up with a good burn. I'd really love to have a chipper to make better use of the corn and sunflower stalks. We had such a funky summer with random bacterial and viral issues I decided to burn instead of saving them to use as light fencing or trellising.

I also went ahead and burned the tomato cages to burn up the old plants and sterilize the cages themselves.
Clean! (awesome!)

According to my 4 year old, burn days rock because he gets to roast marshmallows in the coals. We also lounged in the grass and watched the sky and thought about life.
This beauty turned into dinner for several nights.

I loosely followed this recipe for Squash soup with curried condiments on a recommendation from a friend and it was very delicious. I topped mine with home-cultured yogurt and spiced pumpkin seeds. This portion was for my 1 year old and he ... well... made a mess of it. :)

World Raw Food Day

2010-10-11T07:58:00.000-07:00

Sunday was World Raw Food Day. We celebrated by attending a raw potluck lunch out at Garland Ranch Regional Park in Carmel Valley. Chef Kari hosted the event and brought so many beautiful and tasty raw desserts. I only had a few minutes to snap shots, they were easy shots to take! Everything was gorgeous.

:: Chocolate Coconut Pie::
::Cheesecake with Strawberry Coulis::

::Chia Pudding & Walnut Cookies::

::Brownies::

::Mini Flax Pizza Bites:: (as loosely adapted from here)

::Fruit Stew with Wild Rice::

::The Table of PLENTY!::

......................................................The Group..........................................................

GARDEN and HARVEST updates coming soon... I've taken a million photos lately but don't seem to find the time to post them. I'm still planning (read:NOT planting) the winter garden so ya... lagging!!

September Can Jam at The Bancroft Ranch, Carmel Valley

2010-09-19T12:22:00.001-07:00

I had a last minute opportunity to lead a canning workshop at The Bancroft Ranch yesterday. After setting up several work stations and welcoming a dozen or so eager participants we got to work in the shady shelter of a canopy of oak trees. A bonus crate of plums and homegrown! Fuji apples arrived (which turned into very excellent lightly sweetened tart and gorgeous jam) which added to our cache of tomatoes and strawberries donated by Jamie of Serendipity Farm.

We filled all these jars and then some! with roasted tomato sauce, sweet dilly pickles, strawberry jam, plum apple jam, and orange tomato chutney.

Julie of Bell Tree Farm provided appetizers and lunch. She made goat milk feta and let me tell you, it was insane. It paired quite nicely with some oven roasted balsamic strawberry preserves.

Thanks to Mark Basse for these next 4 images, I did crop the first 3 (hope that's ok!) to respect the privacy of some of the participants of whose permission I did not ask to post photos of.

Everyone was so enthusiastic and I was really stoked to see how everyone just jumped in and went at it. An impressive group of people and a truly great time.
::Me filling jars with a hot brine solution for pickles::

Everyone went home with a bag filled with the fruits (and vegetables) of our labor. What a FABULOUS time!
I came home to a beautiful evening and my little family happy and excited to see me. Life is good! No, life is GREAT!

Sunset in the Garden

2010-09-14T09:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I got a wild hair and decided to rip out some of the tomato plants that were pretty much done anyway. I surveyed what was left on these 10 or so plants and couldn't think of any reason I should keep them around. We're out of green tomato chutney anyway! So the kids and I (ahem) pulled them out together and just set them aside. We planted some abandoned fava bean seeds which were found sprouting in an abandoned pot (the kids had been "cooking" them in mud recently). I also planted a round of Kentucky Wonder pole beans which I hope to eat a few fresh but mostly they will be for drying. We'll see how the weather holds out.

Speaking of the tomato plants, the most odd thing is happening. I'm not sure if this is typical of wilt or if I misdiagnosed the issue all along, but several of the plants have fresh, healthy growth on them. And flowers. Completely stumped. I figure I'll let some of them go just out of plain curiosity! I have buckwheat to go in as a cover before it gets too cold so we'll see how long I do let them go ---

This photo is so over exposed, however this is the youngest corn patch, or shall we call it an amaranth patch? haha. The newest sunflowers and a few young melon plants are in the foreground. Summer was so dreary and awful I figured I throw a few things in really late just to see. I had extra seeds anyway. I noticed at The Farm had a whole strip of corn that was only perhaps 5" tall the other day, I'm guessing they're banking on a warm fall as well.

Eggplants and pepper just now starting to bloom. Craziness! They have been waiting all this time.

Hens and roosters starting to roost for the night.

A very dry, September native lawn.

An egg hiding in wood shavings in the coop!

Amaranth

Our juvenile Pumpkin Hulsey rooster, a recalcitrant fellow who refuses to roost with the others. He always chooses this tree instead. He's making his way up to his favorite branch in this photo.

A variety of winter squash:

Cosmos:

Good night!

Tomato Canning... with kids

2010-09-09T12:22:00.001-07:00

I managed another tomato harvest yesterday afternoon. I'm really surprised at the quantity of tomatoes coming from the plants. Surprised and, of course, thrilled.
Mid-week canning can be a bit torturous and difficult since it's just me and the kids. I generally try my best to involve them in most of what I do, when my sanity allows (haha). Yesterday the kids were strangely agreeable so we got all the tomatoes cleaned and cut and roasted. I decided to do this batch something like this sauce recipe from Collecting The Moments. It really does make a great sauce to either can or freeze. I prefer to can my tomatoes so they're at the ready without having to think ahead to defrost them. There is a measure of comfort, too, knowing that if we lose electricity I won't lose all my hard work.

We made time for silly crafts with the oddball tomatoes too. Both kids were laughing at these two little surprises I set out for them SO HARD that they made me laugh so hard I cried. It was really hilarious.

There is plenty of taste testing for quality control as well.

And a few Hot Wheels and various other vehicles add to the adventure of the day.

This is a mix of Green Grape and a volunteer type. We all thought they were so pretty mixed together.
Roasted tomatoes cooling.

As a side note, one of the many things I love about preserving my own tomatoes is that I have full control of what goes into it. These go the chickens... I wonder what a factory would do with them? Yuck.

Here are our pots of sauce all blended and ready for canning. Gorgeous!

That's as far as we got yesterday. This morning the sun cleared to beautiful skies so the canning pot went out on the bbq side burner. I used to be such a bbq snob and would ONLY eat food that had been cooked over hardwood charcoal (no packed briquettes for me still unless I'm being a gracious guest). Once the kids came along and I realized how hard it was to get and keep those coals just so while juggling everything else we caved and bought a big dumb gas grill. I'm disgusted by how much I love that thing. It's just so darn... usefull. ha! And really, how great is canning OUTSIDE while the kids run around and play in the mud?!

And by noon the cans had made their way to a shelf in the pantry. I'm hoping to fill that shelf with more preserves as the tomatoes ripen. My shelves are looking much more sparse than usual this time of year!

Some sun, some flowers, and lots of lacto-fermenting.

2010-09-08T07:35:00.000-07:00

It has been busy around these parts. I know the blog has been very quiet and that is for a few reasons. One, my camera is in for repair. Sometimes I borrow one, but I really miss MY camera. Also, we've been making lots of food and putting a variety of foods up for winter. The kitchen sink is always busy lately. Oh and the third reason it has been quiet here? You may guess it... yup 2 small kids ;)

Speaking of those small kids, they went on a green tomato picking spree one afternoon while I was pulling down the sweet pea flowers (at the end of August? They don't usually last past June!). What do do with all these green tomatoes? Green tomato chutney! Delicious. We've had it on salmon tacos, burgers, omelets. My 4 year old big boy will eat anything if it has green tomato chutney slathered on it. I'd post a photo of it but we've eaten it all...Oh! Look! We have a new layer. One of the homegrown babies has started to lay. They're a mix of Cuckoo Marans and something else... hard to say what with our unseparated flock. A teeny little perfect egg was found this week in the nesting boxes. The rhubarb harvest has been in full swing. At the end of August. Weird. I know I keep saying this, but this has been the most odd summer ever. My 4 year old took this photo of me holding a rhubarb bouquet.
The melons and pumpkin vines continue to grow and I see some of the pumpkins are growing quite large.
I was beyond excited last week when I found a preying mantis on the yarrow! I've never seen one here in my garden! It was only perhaps an inch and a half long and it's coloring perfectly matched the yarrow. Of course I was without camera so I have no photo of it, but what a dreamy abode the yarrow makes.
I even spent an afternoon with the seeds in the garden. I brought them out to remind them of where they will be growing. No, really, I brought them out to plant some but the day got away (ahem) and I haven't had a chance to even think of them since. I do need to get some fall seeds started.
And now for the lacto-fermentation chatter. If you aren't already familiar with fermenting foods, this is a great summation by Sandor Ellix Katz, author of Wild Fermentation. Food Renegade and Lost Arts Kitchen have great posts to read if you want to acquaint yourself with why and how . It is so very simple indeed. No need to be intimidated! I promise. A simple, healthful, natural way to preserve food AND make it even more nutritious.

Much of the vegetable ferments I've done use a simple sea salt brine solution with some garlic and herbs thrown in for flavor. The only down side of fermenting vegetables that I have found so far is I do tend to go through so much salt!

Look at these sad tomato plants! My my... it seems as if they wouldn't hold a single tomato in there.
But we've been eating a few of them! This was the real first harvest I suppose, although it was just a quickie-mini from the first few plants. Just a grab-and-go-cuz-the-kids-are-alone-inside-likely-wreaking-havoc type of mini harvest.
We've also been eating lots of carrots. This harvest of this crop of Amarillo carrots is coming to a close. They have been a great producer for us this cool summer. Our favorites, Purple Haze, didn't fare as well in the coolness.
Some of the tomatoes and carrots quickly became lacto-fermented salsa and some lacto dilly carrot sticks.

We've been making a bunch of salsa in fact. One afternoon my big boy and I had a hankering for some salsa but we quickly realized we were out of lemons and limes and since the baby was napping, there was no chance of a quick jaunt to the store.
Which led to a GREAT discovery! My son has been eating lots of Sheep Sorrel, a common weed in our garden. His eyes got big and he said "I know! Let's use the sheep greens! They taste lemony!" You know what? He was so right! In addition to the lemon flavor, it also imparts a nice tang.
My big boy and his harvest of the goods for our afternoon of salsa :)
We've also been picking and fermenting lots of dilly beans, which I made just like the carrots.
This big glass jar has been filled with cucumbers for true salt- brined pickles. We're all really excited for them, especially my little guy.

Also in the lacto mix went several jars of Escabeche. We've begun enjoying this lot already and let me tell you it is really fantastic! I plan on making a few more batches of this, one of which I'll leave the jalapenos out of so the boys can enjoy the onions and carrots and mild peppers.

Canning too! I made all sorts of boysenberry preserves this spring and as it turns out our favorite by far is the batch I made with orange juice and zest in it. So I tried my hand at adding it to the strawberry as well and it's quite nice. Then I got all fancy and followed this recipe for a batch as well... and well.... it didn't gel. It's great added to our homemade yogurt so I'll keep it for that, but would love to do another batch using my standard go-to pectin to ensure it gels properly. I'm still not sure what I did wrong. I'm wondering it it's time for a new thermometer. The ginger in the recipe is awesome.

Tomato Harvest!

2010-09-07T16:54:00.000-07:00

Despite some seriously pathetic looking wilted plants, I managed a fairly good first tomato harvest today! The Green Grape tomatoes managed a great summery tomato flavor despite the lack of sun and heat this summer while the rest are eh... bland. No matter, they'll make great sauce for canning which was my main drive for planting all those tomatoes in the first place.
I have yet to harvest any of the San Marzano paste tomatoes as they are still ripening (and seem to be a bit resistent to the wilt virus). I'm so very glad I didn't pull out all the plants as was my first impulse when I saw them wilting. There are many more out there to harvest still. Once I get these canned I'll hit the plants up again. Very happy!

2010-09-06T20:54:00.000-07:00

I have a huge post I've been working on for over a week (which means I really need to not do huge posts) but I had to share my excitement of our first Black Copper Marans egg! I posted about our new birds when we first received them last March. They are just starting to lay! Yay! The coloring is gorgeous.

Sunday Flowers! The sun was out!! WOOOHOOO!

2010-08-15T17:19:00.000-07:00

What better way to see flowers but with a backdrop of a cloudless, fogless sky. ahhhhhhhhhhhh.

A Chilly August Harvest

2010-08-15T10:53:00.000-07:00

Seems so drab and boring to bemoan, once again, the cool and dreary summer we have had here. I've nearly forgotten what sun on my back feels like. This August garden is different from any other I've ever done. Usually by this time of year the heat has been on us for so long that all the lettuce has long bolted. This year? Well this year I have crisp, beautiful lettuce in abundance.
I have managed to squeak out a few tomatoes. Wilt has taken a strong suffocating hold on them, but there are some to be had for which I have learned to become grateful.

I've been making lacto-fermented salsa and green tomato chutney. Last night we had salmon tacos and the green tomato chutney was pretty phenomenal on it! I loosely followed this recipe and the results are sweet and tangy with a nice little zip.

Our breakfast scramble this morning with freshness straight from our garden. Sorrel, basil, chard, zucchini, beans, Amarillo carrots. Of course scrambled with our homegrown eggs!

Excuse the images... I had to send my camera in for repair (why oh why do I ever bring it to the beach? Sand is so hard on cameras!) so these were all taken with my phone.

Sunday Flowers

2010-08-08T08:17:00.000-07:00

:: Leeks ::

Good morning. It's early, I've lit a candle for you. Sunday Flowers.

2010-08-01T00:05:00.000-07:00

This bouquet is a combination of a crazy invasive (yet charming and pretty?) weed which I don't know the name of and garlic chive blossoms. Anyone know the name of the weed?

Name this bug?

2010-07-31T23:45:00.000-07:00

We can't!

CUCUMBERS!

2010-07-26T10:06:00.000-07:00

Sorry to yell that out, but my goodness I was so surprised to see some cucumbers that I let out a squeal when I saw them. This is the back side of the tomato garden. I planted cucumbers and two chayotes (which I blogged about here) and some hot peppers along the fence. The deer have eaten most of the hot peppers (the more I type that out the hungrier I get for venison).
Here is the chayote so far. Not seeing 30' vines just yet...
Look at these cucumbers! They grew so quickly I never even noticed them as babies.

So you know what I did immediately after taking these photos, don't you? I picked them and ran (really, I ran!) into the kitchen to taste them. I cut blossom end off first and started slicing. Fabulous! A teeny taste of bitter in the skin which I find tasty. Look how juicy and perfect they are. Oh my. Still swooning.

And, of course, you may guess what I did next. Oh ya, PICKLES!! (did I just shout that? sorry!)

Happy!

Sunday Flowers

2010-07-25T20:02:00.000-07:00

The July State Of The Garden. And Chickens.

2010-07-23T14:04:00.000-07:00

Seeing as the month is nearly over and I have yet to do proper State Of The Garden post, I got to work early with the camera this morning.

The Black Copper Marans are growing and thriving. I'm completely in love with this breed so far and I have yet to see an egg (perhaps the end of summer!). They are lovely birds. Here is a growing rooster. In the coming weeks I'll be keeping a close eye on the behavior of the roosters. Our resident gentleman rooster, Rowdy, has taken to stalking and flying at me so he will be re-homed as his genetics aren't necessary anymore anyhow. I'd eat him, but he is great with hens and a bit too old to be good eating anyhow. Just seems a shame to off the guy and it seems there are always folks with small flocks who need a new roo from time to time. This fellow pictured below, who remains without a name, is one of my favorites so far. I'm hoping he turns out to be a kind fellow. The grapes have been trimmed substantially by the deer. This year the deer are jumping the 6' fence without a thought. I've lost quite a bit to them so far. On the outside of the fence the plants are trimmed to nothing. On the inside? Quickly being trimmed to nothing.Here are the raised beds with the corn garden in the rear. This is the view from just a few feet inside the front fence.
And here from a side/rear view:
On the left when inside the fence is the asparagus mayhem. This hedge is serious. Parsley and onions interplanted. The tree there on the right is a Fuyu Persimmon (2 years old now) and behind the child's chair is the small potato bed.

Rhubarb and columbines... the columbines were just thoroughly trimmed by the deer. They were gorgeous before.One of the greens beds:
Carrots, beans, chard, onions, mache:
Carrots left to go to seed to not only cultivate the seeds, but to provide a very strong attractant for beneficial insects. And they're pretty.
Next year my big goal is to not have to hand water the main corn garden. It's a pain, it wastes water, and there isn't any reason beyond a lack of time for this scene below to be transpiring. It's the only beneficial aspect of the deer having access to my garden: they trim the leaves of the Katy apricot tree so I can plant a hose there. Sad, I know.
You'd think the b&*^urds could leave me more than this?????

I just finished harvesting ripe figs from this Brown Turkey tree, only to see there is a new flush coming!
Another issue. Chickens. Ahh chickens chickens chickens. Every once in a while one of mine goes broody and insists on nesting in the garden. I think our cat may try to play with her (big mistake) so a few feathers can be found but the hen goes right about her business and the cat stays far away for a bit in an apparent satire to demonstrate the satisfaction of another lesson learned.
The pumpkins! So tiny for this time of year!
The sweet peas still going strong (but trimmed by deer regularly) and the pumpkins and chicken coop in the background.
The corn/children's garden. I call it a children's garden because the fun of tall corn with sunflowers was the only reason I started planting this plot. I leave a path through the middle with a little circle in the center to lay a blanket and have snacks/dream/play/read books. Here is a view from the front:
and from the back:
Some of the Mammoth Sunflowers are starting to form their heads! They are at least 8' tall. So beautiful and strong.
Look at the girth of this stem! (I dread pulling them out this fall already.. oh my back...)
On to the tomatoes. Those who have been reading know my struggle with wilt this year. It's so sad. BUT... I'm so very happy I followed the advice of my farmer friend Jamie (who also offers a great CSA) and didn't pull all of them. She smartly told me to wait and see. I'm organic here and don't spray this or that (even organic or non-toxic) because I do really believe that things can work themselves out (umm.. except I'm going to spray the crap out of my dormant Septoria-inflicted boysenberry cuttings this winter LOL). As my dad has always taught me: "Don't F with Mother Nature!" haha! That comes with a wink at my house and a story about Muscovy Ducks I'll have to go into some day ;) My Dad is about to get a new knee next week after a long painful journey so he's on my mind a lot these days.

Anyway... See how one plant is badly afflicted and the neighbors not at all (yet)?

And jewels abound. I'm not holding my breath expecting a harvest, but danggggggg very tempting!

The basil is going OFF! LOVING IT!

A view to leave you by of my false salvia, placental Wonderful pomegranate, and a pineapple guava bush which is fighting for space in the jungle which is my yard!

The best of the best is shown here. There are flops (I should do a whole post on flops, really) and heartbreaks (deer, gopher, chicken, migratory birds, blue jays) and general annoyances (kids) along with really crappy stuff (weather SUCKS so far this year... where is summer anyway??) but all in all I'm really impressed with my garden and how well it does with my lack of attention span (2 kids) these days. Some friends came to visit our garden recently and called it a DINOSAUR GARDEN because it seems so big. I keep putting that in my mind as I work at it and visit it, it has really helped to give me perspective. That and looking back at old posts to see how it has grown.

Thanks Garden and Garden Friends! xo

Ode to a Black Swan Poppy

2010-07-19T18:17:00.000-07:00

I played with this image a bit, thought I'd share how vibrant it became.

Sunday Flowers

2010-07-18T20:51:00.000-07:00

My big boy turned 4 this week so we've been busy! His birthday party was today so my Sunday Flowers are courtesy of a fabulous day spent celebrating my oldest boy.

Sunday Flowers

2010-07-11T20:13:00.000-07:00

the first sunflowers of the season in our garden

Smoking at Home

2010-07-09T13:01:00.000-07:00

This is the coolest thing!

It all started with a 4H pig we bought two years ago. When our grass-fed half cow was ready to pick up from the butcher I realized I really needed to make some room in the sub-zero freezer which meant I needed to clear out two sides of pork and two pork shanks. I had been reading in my Charcuterie book for some time about preserving meats and knew I wanted to turn those sides into bacon but it seemed a bit overwhelming and I was having a difficult time figuring out the brine much less coming up with a smoker. I read this post on Life Through The Cracks and kind of drooled over it for a bit. Her smoker is fabulous! And her brine so simple. After a short stint of looking to buy a used smoker I came across a video by Alton Brown showing how to make one using materials I already had! All I had to buy was a $10 hot plate! SOLD! I also discovered that Alton Brown is very well known? I had never heard of him.

Setting it up is all very basic. The finished product looks like this:

I started with a big terracotta pot and put it up on some feet I stole off of one of my planted pots. Then I ran the cord of the hot plate through the hole in the bottom and turned it on to high heat.
Then place a heavy pan directly on the element, fill with chips and a bit of water...
Place the grill, which sits right in the pot without any other support...
This pic is from the first smoking I did, see how clean the scrubbed pot is? This was the first smoke I ever saw coming from my new smoker! Very exciting stuff. Ahhh the little things...

This is a cut called side of pork from which bacon is made. Before smoking it was brined for 7 days in saltwater and then rinsed and marinated for another day and a half with maple syrup and blackstrap molasses.After placing the terracotta pot dome lid on top, the thermometer goes in the drain hole and the whole bit of magic starts.
After about 15 hours this is the color of the bacon:

I deemed it done and let it set back up in the fridge to make for easy slicing. The bacon is AMAZING. Amazing I tell you! I will never buy bacon again for I am HOOKED ON HOME SMOKE! And no nitirites/nitrates or preservatives. The type we purchased before this didn't have any of that garbage in it anyway, but the price was steep enough we didn't buy much of it.
I also brined and smoked the ham shanks (also known as hocks). One is simmering away in a pot of beans for dinner as I type.
On the Fourth I smoked a few Niman Ranch pork loins (which I brined overnight first) for about 4 hours and then finished them on the grill. They were (you already know what I'm going to say) AMAZING!

Just thought I'd share this new found love of mine. Everyone I have shown it to declares they are setting up their own as well! It's just so dang easy.

Our 4th looked something like this...

2010-07-05T22:33:00.000-07:00

Plus lots of GREAT food and GREAT friends and family. Wow. What very spectacular days we live right now. I went to sleep last night feeling like the luckiest woman on earth. Tired, but lucky.

Sunday Flowers on a Monday

2010-07-05T21:55:00.000-07:00

Tomato Issues. Damn. Wilt?

2010-06-29T08:04:00.000-07:00

I arrived home Sunday from our camping trip in Big Sur and, of course, ran out to the garden right away.
I was laughing at myself a bit because, really, how much can change in 2 days? Right?
A lot, really.

Upon first look everything is robust and beautiful.

But upon closer look, some of the plants seem to be wilting.

Their leaves are twisting and turning brown.

This plant is wilting, while the plants on each side still look completely fine.

Even the stems have some damage on them.

While I was poking around trying to figure it out (while mothering 2 cranky kids, so it took quite some time if you can imagine) I found the first unripe tomato! And something else... thrips? I don't even know if we get thrips here? I've never seen them and I've been gardening in this area of California for 15 years and in this spot for close to 10 of those.

I'm at a complete loss at the moment. This year has been my most challenging yet. The weather was so wet and cold for so long, and now the berries have Septoria and the tomatoes have?? I have no idea. I thought perhaps blight but the tips of the upper stems seem to die off before anything on the bottom. And the plants showing the most damage are in completely fresh composted soil. I'm fairly certain the soil is complete with nutrients. I read that tomatoes can in fact get Septoria also, so perhaps it is that even though they live on the opposite side of the garden? I found a pretty nice site from Cornell University listing a variety of tomato ailments. Who knew there were so many? I've grown them so easily in the past without complication. Sigh. I'm leaning towards Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus, which is spread by thrips. I'll need to spend some time researching it, but I have found a few good links such as this one showing some examples of wilt and this one showing a photo of what thrips look like. I'll be investing in some sticky cards for certain. I've pulled the worst plants and plan on spending those little moments here and there when possible doing some pruning.

Completely open to suggestions and ideas!

Sunday Flowers

2010-06-27T21:36:00.001-07:00

This Weekend

2010-06-24T22:45:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow morning we leave to go camping down the coast in Big Sur. I haven't been to where we are going for at least 5 years. I stumble on writing that, it doesn't seem possible that 5 years have passed. I was just out in the garden, late nite while my family sleeps, watering and picking and on my way back I walk past my big beautiful borage plant which volunteered to grow on the edge of the tomato garden. Every time I see borage in my yard I think of the lovely place where we are going as it was the first place I ever saw borage. I remember seeing it out the back door under some apple trees, right next to the kiwi vines, and thinking it was the most gorgeous plant I had ever seen. I've always had some in my garden since then.

I'm so excited to visit this special place again and be able to bring my family and some friends to take in those hills and swim in those waters. Ahhhhhh.

Have a great weekend, see you next week!

Full Disclosure

2010-06-23T18:57:00.000-07:00

Just to be fair, and in the spirit of mommyhood, I bring you my kitchen right now.

I'm doing so much cool stuff in it right now and I can't wait to post about it but with two youngins I have to find time to:
1. figure out how to do stuff
2. plan stuff
3. do stuff
4. clean up after I do stuff

And I tell ya, #4 isn't a natural for me ;)

In and Around My Kitchen The Past Few Days....

2010-06-22T18:53:00.000-07:00

It has been busy. I'll have to come back to expound.

Sunday Flowers. A day late. But who's counting?

2010-06-21T21:44:00.000-07:00

I've had one of those days. Productive, plentiful, filled with gratitude and happiness! At the end of this long day of canning, dehydrating, smoking, pickling.... I realize I have forgotten to post my Sunday flowers. Here they are, as they are, among the chaos which marks the end of my day. Love.

Happy Summer Solstice

2010-06-21T21:41:00.000-07:00

Not Goaty

2010-06-20T12:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I headed out to The Bancroft Ranch in Carmel Valley for an artisan cheese making class. Julie Lang brought a few La Mancha milking goats and a few 3 week old baby goats down the hill for the occasion. Since the babies were away from their moms for the first time in their lives Julie brought along a bottle to feed them in case they got hungry in those few hours. It was really cute. (and who knew a beer bottle can be reused to make the perfect feeder?)
We also had an opportunity to learn how to milk a goat. Of course I had to try it! I've always wanted to try and next spring I'm hoping to get a few goats. It was easy! The bucket of yummies they are given while milking may have something to do with the ease? hahaI was able to drink some fresh, raw milk moments after milking. It was delicious!
Then we watched as Julie made ricotta and a classic chevre with herbs. Did you know fresh goat milk doesn't taste "goaty" at all? There is an enzyme in the milk which, when left for a few days, begins to change the flavor. So fresh goat milk doesn't taste goaty at all. In fact, it tasted a bit like sweet grass; Very subtle. Several young girls were there who professed they don't like milk at all and didn't want to taste it. After a bit of coaxing each of them tried it and said it tasted much better than cow milk to them. Fresh and raw from loved animals? Can't go wrong there!

The fresh ricotta was then mixed with some fresh herbs and made into raviolis. DIVINE.

The day was topped off with goat milk cheesecake made in a classic New York style. Ohhh the decadence!

What a fabulous day! Thank you Susan and Julie!

If you live locally and are interested in any upcoming classes, you can find a list of them here. Next month's class and lunch sounds pretty awesome. Julie sells goat cheese locally (and it is the best I've ever had!) and can be contacted through her Facebook page here.

Eat Nasturtium Seeds!?

2010-06-18T18:03:00.000-07:00

When I was searching around the other day looking for ideas to preserve some nasturtium blooms I stumbled across some other intriguing ideas. Did you know during WWII nasturtium seeds were ground and used as a substitute for black pepper?

I'll be trying two recipes of the same thought:
Preserving nasturtium seeds to be used like capers.

I'll be doing the classic vinegar pickling method as per this recipe from *2* Survival Cooking and then lacto-fermenting some as per basic lacto-fermenting principals which is basically fermenting in a container filled with 2 Tablespoons of sea salt per quart of water and allowing to set until fermented. I found an interesting read with more details and somewhat humorous reading here at Reality Sandwich (funny the things we find while searching LOL).

I thought I'd post it before I've actually created anything because I tend to get annoyed when, months after something was in season, great things are brought up on blogs that I wish I had been able to try. The lacto-fermentation recipe takes months! So, in case anyone was wanting to try something new from a prolific (at our property anyway) source here you go! :)

And I really must add that finding and picking the seeds is a FANTASTIC game for a 4 year old!

In The Tomato Patch

2010-06-18T08:08:00.001-07:00

::Borage flowers sharing space with the tomatoes::

The tomatoes are growing right along. I didn't end up getting every single one trellised or caged and I'm seeing where I will need to dedicate some time to getting a bit more of that done while I still can (kind of) this weekend. The plants in proper cages are already showing how they will be easier to harvest from, come harvest time that is. Their size, compared to what they looked like just 15 days ago, really demonstrates what amazing things come from warm sunny days which were so late to arrive here!
Even the remote thought of tomato harvest time sent me searching around hoping to find a little baby tomato. Nope, none here yet. There are lots of flowers popping up though! I wish I could say what type of tomato plant these pretty little fuzzies came from but I'm afraid where I was terrific at marking which seedlings were which, come planting time everything became a bit confused. I wish I could blame it on my 4 year old, but he was better than I with taking the name marker out and putting it next to the seedling. Had I written them down then I'd have at least a third of an idea! Once the tomatoes start to fill out I'll know. I hope.

Inter planted with most of the tomatoes went basil. I had forgotten about them until yesterday afternoon when my son asked, with his fingers wrapped around the base of the plant ready to yank, what kind of weed smells like pizza. Now he knows all about basil.
Look how cute this Sweet Genovese is tucked under the wing of a tomato. What happy bedfellows.

::Sweet Genovese::

::Red Rubin::

::Thai Siam Queen::

::Greek Mini Yevani::

While we were out there we transplanted the last few little straggler basil seedlings. Their roots were so healthy and pretty and nice and long so they'll be instantly able to tap into the slow, deep water of the drip lines. None of the basil plants have their own dripper, they're all just thriving from the deep watering the tomatoes get every few days.

Nasturtium Preserves

2010-06-15T19:14:00.000-07:00

I had some inspiration today. Both kids asleep {at the same time?!} and a bounty of blooms along with a clean kitchen led to searching around the web for what I might do with a whole mess of nasturium blooms. I found nothing. So I made it up as I went and some lovely stuff came from a mind bent on nothing but a bunch of beautiful goodness in the quiet of an afternoon kitchen bathed in sunlight.

I started with fresh blooms and then added in some African Blue basil just for fun. Just sounded yummy.

Gave them a good long soak (and removed a whole lot of ants that I hadn't seen while picking). I have to admit I was afraid cooking these beauties would turn them brown and ruin them. Eh no matter, there were many more outside.

Here is what I came up with:

1 cup packed nasturtium flowers

2 cups water

2 T white balsamic vinegar

1 T basil flowers

1/4 cup maple syrup

Pamona's Pectin, following directions

The results are beautiful. There is a delicate hint of pepper which I could see on a delish pork loin. Hmmmn might need to try that. Oooh or over a nice soft triple cream brie. mmmmmmmm.

Sunday Flowers

2010-06-13T18:44:00.000-07:00

:::sweet peas and carrot blossoms::: (I couldn't decide which to post :)

....joining A Sonoma Garden with summer flowers

Beautiful Things from Today

2010-06-12T18:27:00.000-07:00

A bouquet of broccoli for the barbeque
our front path

The boys camping out on the lawn tonight

matijila poppy in bloom

freshly dug potatoes

my baby enjoying some berries

few and delicate: the first golden raspberries

harvest

pulling spent greens and finding perfect peas

(and a collection of chicken food)

ramblers on the shade blanket

dinner salad in the evening sun

carrot bloom

elephant garlic

elephant garlic blossom

Flowers Inside, A New Summer Sunday Habit

2010-06-08T14:19:00.000-07:00

I was just reading through some of my favorite garden blogs and saw this post by Kendra of A Sonoma Garden encouraging a Sunday flowers habit and thought it was a really splendid idea so I am joining in.

This first post is on a Tuesday, but these are all flowers we picked over the weekend. We don't have a dinner table, our house is too small for that. We eat at our kitchen counter/bar and it's in the process of being decluttered (specifically at the stage where it is worse before it gets better haha) so no view of that one ;)

Elephant garlic flower buds and sweet peas in my kitchen window (and a pair of smiling eyes peering through)

Parsnip greens and flower buds at my new custom computer table (thanks to my husband!)

Hot Lips salvia in the shower window
This one was picked and placed by my son: 2 simple yellow Yarrow blooms by the bathroom sink (& I just noticed some cerinthe seeds which must have dropped off from last week's boquet on the sink!)

Dinner From the Garden

2010-06-08T09:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon I happened to look over at the potatoes to see that a few of them were popping up out of the soil, begging to be harvested. My older son and I happily obliged, making yesterday the first potato harvest of the season. He was so proud of this big pink one he had a hard time setting it down.
We tossed them in olive oil with some sea salt and chopped rosemary from the garden and roasted them in a trusty cast iron in the oven.

Then I tossed in some baby amaranth greens (yay for abundant amaranth volunteers! Now that we eat their leaves I'm never bummed to see them spout up!)

Then my son had the great idea to add in the steamed broccoli and peas to make a big bowl of garden goodness. It was fantastic and he ate a ton of it.

Ahhhh Summertime. Bon Appetit!

Spotted Boysenberry Vines = Septoria Leaf Spot

2010-06-05T12:07:00.000-07:00

The Nanaberries are beginning to ripen. Yesterday we all had a choice first berry of the season. Just in time, too, since I opened the last jar of jam this week.

This year brings a new issue with the berries: Spotted leaves. All over last year's canes. The way we were instructed to grow these from Cyrus' grandfather when he gave us some rootings was to clip away the previous years growth and train the new canes up in the fall. The previous year's canes then produce fruit the following summer. I have to admit we were tardy on both clipping back and training up, which I see we may be paying for now with a fungus or bacterial problem. All our late season rain (yay! not complaining about rain in California I swear!) may have aided in this as well.

Some of the canes have completely died back, shriveled baby fruit and all.

The flowers were completely fine this spring, there are a few remaining and they are perfect little spotless flowers.

The spots can be found on the leaves AND the canes. Here is a front and back and sun view of an affected leaf.

I did a bit of searching around and am wondering if it could be Septoria Leaf Spot but I'm afraid I just don't know enough about it.

Anyone have any ideas?

I'm considering pruning all the canes back to the ground after this season and spraying sulfur all over everything.

UPDATE: Looks as if I was on the right track! Shauna over at Chronicles of a Pacific Northwest Gardener gave me this link on Septoria and the photos are dead on. Thanks Shauna!

Hello? Hello!

2010-06-03T20:35:00.000-07:00

I was just going through some photos and realized I have gobs of pic I just never posted. What can I say, time is limited. The garden is going off, there is camping and mothering and mothering and mothering and ..... life! haha! We've been busy here at the compound.

Overall the garden is getting a slow start. It really wasn't until today, after a few real days of heat, that I could see things really are getting along just fine. Color is filling out, weeds are a spoutin' all over the dang place. I should always realize if the weeds aren't growing great then it really is the weather!

The newest planting of corn (with one more batch to go!) is in and getting situated. You can see the roll of cover crop I decided to compost instead of till there in the center of the photo, the chamomile just beyond and the raised beds (which mostly contain things going to seed so I can save them)

A closer view of the corn and beds
figs!

See this corn? Knee high by the fourth of July! Heck ya! By the fourth of June in fact!

Other things happening as my babe and I walked around tonight:

The chickens beginning to roost:

The tomatoes thriving:

Seedlings miraculously thriving despite my lack of attention:

First sweat pea! I plant these always right before Christmas time for Mother's day blossoms. Weeks behind this year. Interesting. Perhaps this year I will have to plant at Thanksgiving.

Iris

My curly toe-headed baby dining on salvia nectar

Till next time!

When a Woman is Scorned... By A Chicken?

2010-05-19T17:56:00.003-07:00

I have had *the* worst time lately with chickens in my garden. We have a fence. A 6' fence. But it is no barrier for this particular mother hen and her chicks. I transplanted some corn seedlings today and at every turn I took (snacks, potty breaks, naps, you name it for the kids) those DAMN chicks and hen were on my newly planted seedlings. ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!!!!!!

I caught her. Ohhhh the satisfaction. See that grin of mine?
I pulled out her wing....
And I clipped it! YES! I clipped it! She will no longer be flying over the fence to devour (all) of my carrots and onions and half of my new corn. OVER IT! OVER IT I TELL YOU!

Now for the chicks. I had the husband pick up a length of aviary fencing to put a final barrier between the garden and the chickens who have chicks. Since we have 2 broody hens right now... oy.

Today's Garden Loot

2010-05-18T18:58:00.001-07:00

There are many more peas out there but distractions ran high today so this is all I gathered!

Where is that little house, anyway?

2010-05-18T17:09:00.000-07:00

I've been stepping back a bit lately and instead of rushing to do more I've been working on appreciating all we've done here. I find myself overwhelmed at times and right now is one of those times. I find looking back and admiring our hard work lifts my spirits and fortifies my soul.

When we chose this spot to build there was nothing. Nothing. Well that is wrong, there was an old shooting target spot (which is in our front yard now and is purposely not planted with any edibles). But there was otherwise nothing but a big fat hole in the ground which we suppose someone thought might make a good septic someday? Unknowable. We filled the hole in and improved the soil and planted little things here and there and cared for them and.... well now we have a beautiful jungle of happiness. Where there were no frogs or birds there are an abundance. We began this journey in 2004! Wow.

Look at our bamboo! It is ready to close the one little gap that shows a teeny view of our house.

Our front gate:

I am so enjoying this today. Enjoying and appreciating all our hard work. Our daily work.

Good Morning!

2010-05-12T09:27:00.000-07:00

What a sleepy little blog this has been of late. I've been in the garden a bit and taking photos but not finding the time to post I guess.

This morning as I prepared breakfast I stopped to appreciate the clean and pretty (and home grown) ingredients in the bright light of my kitchen window. There is something so magical about strapping my babe to my back, donning my boots, and trudging out into the cool morning mist of a new day to gather ingredients for a meal for my boys. I feel such gratitude and abundance and.... love. So corny, I know, but hey happiness is as happiness does, regardless if it's corny or not.

I hope to be back and do some garden updating in the next few days. I know if I don't I will be kicking myself next year at this time when I go to look through old posts.

No sleep, lots of rain.

2010-04-29T07:46:00.000-07:00

I haven't been out in the garden much the last few days. Between the rain and the lack of sleep (teething? ear infections? both!) I've just barely had time to pick spinach for dinner. The dishes have been washed on as-needed basis. So, that's where I'm at.

Maybe the moon has something to do with it too?

The forecast is calling for a week of sunshine. I need that! Yay!

Firsts

2010-04-27T08:20:00.000-07:00

We harvested the first strawberries and first peas from the garden yesterday!

Upon checking how things were looking last year I see both are several weeks behind this year than they were last! And last year at this time I was complaining about a heat wave. It's raining today :)

the weekend

2010-04-18T19:59:00.000-07:00

We were all busy bees this weekend. Despite a fairly vicious rhino bug (they all seem particularly vicious when a nursling is involved don't they?) we had a fairly good, productive, food growing kind of weekend.

My big boy and I planted Potato Beans. These seeds are HUGE! They were super fun for my boy to help plant in our black compost.
As for the tomato beds: I kept filling in with new home-grown seedlings, some much too young and their disappearance is making me feel greedy and humble as I start new seeds. Cyrus got all the drip irrigation hooked up for them so that is a boon! We're mixed on what we'll be using as supports: It will be an interesting mix (think diatribe at harvest) of things! We're really invested this year in not investing in the garden hardwares per se. We do have so many materials at our disposal thanks to the hubby's construction profession and because he hates to see good lumber and such go to waste. He's a GREEN BUILDER through and through and boy do we have the stockpiles in our skyline to show for it. .... And oh how we love to use those piles!

Here we have the mature cover crop on the left foreground, the growing chamomile for our year of tea on the right foreground and the tomato rows in the background.

I planted some new corn in our patch this weekend and moved the bird cover back to protect it. I also threw some new rice straw (which is super seedy and I'm not happy about it but I had to get it in so ... there we go for some new weedin' A TIP (which the hubby didn't listen to btw hence this seed infested stuff) be sure you are getting spring cuttings for straw and hay. Invest in them now if you think you will need them later because they will have WAY LESS seeds than the fall-cut stuff. I read this years ago and always find it to be true.

The corn seedlings are looking good! I hope the migratory birds leave them alone at this stage. They are a mere month old after all.

In the new area I planted Oaxacan Green Dent Corn from Seed Savers. The seeds were like gems, again. I think I may have a thing for corn seed.

Interplanted went some Papa De Rola Pole Beans. Again, BEAUTIFUL beans! I'm doing a green theme in that area this year: Green Amaranth, Green Envy Zinnias, and Green Centered Sunflowers. Ya Baby!
I have a few magical iris as well. One snapped off.. (oh the carefree nature of a 3 year old) so I had some time to play with it before it began gracing a container of water on the kitchen sink shelf.
And the rest of the weekend was spent like this: Admiring my family in the warm sun of a summer-type day. And I had to include this photo. Here I have some weekend harvests that have yet to be processed. So, tonight, as I type this post I have this ahead of me. They looked lovelier in the afternoon sun than they do on the dark of my deck I assure you. But the afternoon sun was precious and beautiful and simple and I'm so very glad I took it in.

In the garden right now: Bed 2 of 6

2010-04-17T06:06:00.000-07:00

Freshly weeded and thinned and mulched! The idea of doing a post for each bed is really fantastic motivation! Love it. In this bed on the left is an heirloom lettuce mix that I can't find the name of, interplanted with broccoli. The lettuce is already becoming a tad bit bitter (which I like), even under the shade cloth. I've been cutting them to about an inch above ground and the leaves grow back in! They were terrific while it was so cold and rainy. There would have been a few more broccoli plants in there had the chickens not ransacked the freshly seeded bed back in late January. On the right side there is really beautiful Purple & White Vienna Blend kohlrabi. I tried planting kohlrabi last year with really poor results but decided to give them another try. I interplanted with Bordeaux spinach which is really tender and beautiful. It was a first for us of this type and it has become my new favorite green, I find myself fishing around for it in salads.

Bordeaux Spinach Leaf

Kohlrabi beginning to bulb out

Heirloom Lettuce

A Broody Hen Makes Good, Again.

2010-04-16T14:40:00.000-07:00

Our Golden Laced Wyandotte hen just hatched her first chicks of the season! I had written on my calendar they were due to pop yesterday so I went to check on her as I hadn't seen her yet for her daily puffy/noisy 4 minute jaunt for food and water. We had ourselves a pretty nice rhythm going. I decided to remove the eggs she had laid herself for fear they wouldn't be fertile as she is a wanderer and replaced them with some good stock of blue egg layers my sister-in-law gave me and we knew to be fertile. I put 6 beautiful blue eggs in her nest 22 days ago so I'll be curious to see how many chicks she ended up with. We have a brooding house set up for her and her chicks to keep them safe, moving her should be interesting.... I'd leave her be but we have skunks and opossum and fox and mountain lion and coyote, all for which she and her babes would make a tasty treat.

My last jar of tomatoes = Shakshuka

2010-04-16T09:37:00.000-07:00

Well there it went: My last jar of home-grown, home-canned tomatoes. Sigh. It was a jar of Green Zebras and it looked so lovely sitting on the shelf in my pantry. I was saving it for something special and what's more special than finding out my husband will be home on a Friday!
It feels like the weekend but it's not! YAHOO!
I had seen this recipe on the Smitten Kitchen blog and had to try it: Shakshuka it is! It was a hit. And fun to say.

In our garden right now: Bed 1 of 6

2010-04-15T08:21:00.000-07:00

I decided to spotlight one bed per post in the next week or so. I need the motivation to get them filled in and dressed up ;)

This first bed is packed with goodness. Tatsoi, peas, mache, broccoli, carrots, and radish.

The mache greens are new to us and FABULOUS. They are hands down my husband's favorite right now.
They make a nice dense mat of leaves so they stay fairly clean and are really easy and quick to cut and prepare for harvest. If I only have a split second to gather greens I find myself going to these first because they really won't even require much of a rinse and we eat them whole so no cutting or tearing is involved.

This photo is not a great representation, but upon a concentrated look you can see the mache gets regular haircuts.

The peas have just started to bloom. My 3.5 year old is on a daily patrol waiting for le first pea pod to arrive.

I just checked my calendar and see this entire bed was planted January 8th. That seems forever ago.

Cauliflower Greens are Edible Too

2010-04-02T16:41:00.000-07:00

We've cooked cauliflower greens before but I found them a bit... eh just OK. I wanted more than OK from these blue-green beauties that I harvested as I pulled the last of the cauliflower from the garden. I went searching for ideas and found a few here, here, & here

I really enjoyed reading different cultural uses and views of the leaves and it led me to come up with my own spin on things which turned out pretty dang good! Now I wish I had more leaves!

Here is the spread I came up with using stuff I just had on hand, feel free to spin it and suit your own fancy. Had my can opener not broken into pieces I would have added some coconut milk instead of water and coconut oil but I think the lightness of the water is better.

6T coconut flour
1/4t cinnamon

1/4t nutmeg

1.5t turmeric

1/4t yellow mustard

1t curry powder

salt/pepper

6T yogurt

1T coconut oil

1T minced garlic (or pressed would be good too)

splashes of water to make it spreadable (takes several tablespoons)

Spread onto cauliflower leaves that have had the spine cut out.I spread mine on one side of the cut leaf, then flopped the clean side onto it and spread on the top of that one too. Then rolled it up starting at the blunt end.
Steam for a few. The cauliflower should look pretty like this, not a drab over-cooked green color.
Allow to set for a few minutes and then either pick up like a burrito or cut into slices. Although slices work better if they are chilled fyi.
I think the possibilites are endless here. Ground or shredded meat if you are so inclined, hot pepper flakes (I left out for our kiddo), various preserves.... And a boon is that leftovers are great sliced and fried in the cast iron with some fat of choice. I used butter.

Ahhhhh Choooooo!!!

2010-04-01T21:01:00.000-07:00

Our deck is covered with pollen. Covered. The kind Live Oak tree who shelters most of our home and was my birthing inspiration (my husband kept reminding me of the strong beautiful oak and it worked) the first round and is who we built our deck around, well she is in bloom. Rain or no rain or more rain, the pollen factor is off the hook so to speak.
The Live Oak blooms are really... understated. I'm amazed how much pollen they produce.

While I was admiring the fresh new leaves and insane bloom patterns, I saw this little dude cruising about. It's amazing to me that this little caterpillar can have such a anti-climactic finish to life seeing how gorgeous the little bugger is in his youth. It's really quite unfair I think. If you recognize and want to see more of his stages, this link has some great Western Tussock Moth photographs.

I think this youthful stage is really quite magnificent! For both the baby leaves and the caterpillar that is :)

Sprouts

2010-04-01T16:10:00.000-07:00

What an exciting time in my California garden right now. I love looking around at all my little seeds to see who has popped up. This afternoon I went around and found some new ones.

Corn! Yay! I was afraid that the cold storm we had which dumped over an inch of hail yesterday was going to prevent my corn from germinating at the last moment. What a relief to see some cheery little heads popping up today.

Scarlet Runner Bean
Sunflowers

Cucumbers

A very humble Giveaway

2010-03-24T21:37:00.000-07:00

I managed to order too many tomato seeds. You see, my satellite Internet connection goes wacky here and there and I just figured something was up with that. And then I checked out, apparently a wee bit hastily, and ended up with 4 packages of white tomatoes. Don't fault me. I have two small children.

So, pleasant and kindly readers, here is an opportunity to win some seeds. Three random winners will be sent a package of these White Tomesol Tomatoes from Baker Creek.

US shipping only please.

Your odds aren't bad! Leave a link or direct info needed to contact you in a comment. Please be simple my time is Previously Occupied (a theory I have used to no avail in the past when it comes to speeding tickets but now it is used more appropriately to exemplify my experience of motherhood, relevant or not.) Comments will close 4 days from now or something like that because I'm not too particular. Want an exact timeframe? This is not your perfect giveaway. I really will figure it out. I promise.

Good luck readers!
The beautiful thing about a small number of entries is that the way to pick is very simple! Names pulled out of my garden hat by my big boy helper! Congratulations to the winners!

(ps Marlyn I have some from my open packet I'll set you up with when I see you later today!)

Hey what can I say, everyone wins around here :)

The Tomato Bed

2010-03-24T19:24:00.000-07:00

Ya... Serious!

They have arrived!

2010-03-24T17:54:00.000-07:00

Here I present our first ever mail-delivered chicks. Black Copper Marans with a few Birchen Marans and Pumpkin Hulseys thrown in for good measure. Many thanks to Paul at Greenfire Farms. The packaging was impeccable. We lost a few in transit (I'm blaming the post office for neglecting to call when they came in nearly 5 hours before I went to inquire about their whereabouts). They're in their new little home that we prepared yesterday.
Colven helping with the chick lodging preparations yesterday. We sprinkled seed all over their outside dirt bed so by the time they can be let out they have lots of sprouts to eat and dig around in.

You know you are in the country when...

2010-03-22T17:23:00.000-07:00

you wack down weeds and find a broody hen, and under an antique defunct tractor no less!
This little Golden Laced Wyandotte mama has 7 eggs there. She tends towards wander-lust so I'm not sure any of them are fertilized. We'll find out!

Garden Happenings!

2010-03-21T20:44:00.000-07:00

I am just so thrilled that it is time to get planting! HOORAY! And I'm not planting while bending over a big pregnant belly like last year!

Our fig tree has begun growing some babies instead :)

The cover crop is full and lush and about two feet tall now. I only cover cropped a small area this year, the rest of the garden has had several years and I think is good with just additions of compost on top now. I'll be all about NOT disturbing that soil and all of it's organisms now. This last zone will get a haircut and till in a few weeks when the bell beans begin to bloom.
This is about a third of the area that will be covered with a variety of corn. I'm growing less sweet corn and trying dent corn (also known as field corn) for the first time. I have this idea that I will grow, harvest, soak, and grind or mill our corn for tortillas for the year. We tend to go through a lot of corn tortillas and I'd love to be able to get by without the plastic packaging and I'm sure homegrown will be tastier than anything purchased (even my favorites which are made right in Salinas!). What can I say, I'm an optimist! Here I have marked the path and center chill/snack/play zone with some sawdust. I planted flowers and Wade's Giant Indian Corn in this first area.
The seed is gorgeous. As in stunning gorgeous. It's hard to tell from these photographs but each kernel is like a sparkling gem in the sun. I'm very pleased with the seed quality!
I also started transplanting the little seedlings into bigger homes. I was going to direct transplant everything but the tomatoes don't have their home ready yet... maybe will finish today.
I've decided to move the old kid's digging area to the patch in our lawn (in the pic below) that has never done well for whatever reason. Well, really it's because this very end wasn't prepped as well as the rest. We had cover cropped and gardened for several years in the location where the native grass went because we moved into raised beds and the rest of the garden. So here I will put 6 rows of compost on top of the soil with mulch in between the rows. I think I'll have room for 10 plants per row which makes 60 tomato plants! I'm so excited! (I keep saying that don't I?? can't help myself)

The future home of the digging zone! We may even build a teepee over it and bring in some sand. Or just leave it a simple mud hole, that's what the kids seem to enjoy best anyway.

I also just put an order in for about 20 Black Copper Marans day-old chicks which are due to arrive Wednesday and am mailing in an oder for some more Buff Orpintons and Golden Laced Wyandottes from Sand Hill Preservation. I threw the idea of a few Dorkings around but decided to wait on that. I can't seem to find good stock locally so they will be mail-order day old chicks too, hopefully not far behind the others -- perhaps 2 weeks tops.

I'll have to do a harvest post this week, we've been enjoying cauliflower and beets and parsnips and a wide variety of greens, some of them new to us.

Something new for our garden: Chayote (Sechium Edule)

2010-03-20T07:31:00.000-07:00

I was reading one of my gardening books, Carrots Love Tomatoes, not long ago and came across a name of a vegetable I didn't recognize. The description was alluring to say the least!

"This is a perennial tropical vine, an annual in colder climates, which bears a delicious, light green, pear-shaped fruit in the fall. Two vines must be grown or it will not bear well. Chayotes in a cream sauce are a dish "fit for the gods." I grow them on my garden fence along with cucumbers, where both do exceptionally well. They apparently have no insect enemies and seem to be protective to the cucumbers."

Fit for the gods? Cream sauce? Heck ya I'll try it! I found a great article on Mother Earth News' site which sealed the deal and sent me on a quest to find some of the fruits to sprout and plant whole. I'm excited to see some 30' vines loaded with fruit this fall. I'll keep you updated! Anyone want to experiment with me? I found my chayote fruits at one of our numerous Mexican markets and they didn't take long to sprout on my windowsill.

Vernal Ponds, Wildflowers, & Owls

2010-03-15T17:18:00.000-07:00

We drove out Panoche Valley over the weekend to visit some favorite hot springs and really couldn't have picked a more fabulous weekend for wildflowers out in the hills. Pure beauty. We stood in awe of our extensive vistas and stunning surroundings up on top of this hill and took it all in.

Long-eared owls

I love this time of year! I think I may say that at every season change.

Seedlings

2010-03-03T08:09:00.000-08:00

Every year I promise myself I'll be more organized about seed starting. Here comes another year and I'm no more organized than any of the last. The only thing I decided to change was something I really couldn't decide, the decision was made for me. I only have one germination mat and the greenhouse is much too full of STUFF to make room for my seedlings. Sigh. Some day I'll be organized. For this year I decided everything would be started outside in this single wood starting tray.
I put it under cover (with bird, cat, and child protection although the child part of it still requires keen ears and observant eyes) in the little semi-covered outdoor room where our family bath is (I photographed it last year here). This is the bath our second son was born in, so I'm really counting on baby energy to aid these little seedlings :)

This morning I trudged out in my trusty rain boots to check on the little dears. Note how saturated the ground is. I'm happy to have all this rain, we REALLY need it here in California. And the timing has been good for us to have it dump so much while we've been sick! Sweeeet.

And look who I found! Most everyone is up and shining! I am so pleased. Once all these seedlings are up I have another tray to start in it's place of more tomatoes, some more peppers, a few this and that.

And I've been so busy with life that I've just been writing down what I've started on my calendar! At least I know I won't lose it like the cute little notebook I used last year. Or the file folders the year before that. Like I said, someday I'll be organized right?

Fancy Feet & Dumpling Soup

2010-03-01T14:42:00.000-08:00

As my rooster stock was finishing up I got a hankering for a good spicy soup. In the quiet that is my older boy with his dad and my younger boy asleep, I started poking around for some inspiration. One of the blogs I have listed on the side bar there is What Julia Ate and she has some truly inspired and creative canning ideas on there which is how I found the blog to begin with. As I looked through all the things she has listed on her side bar I saw it: Chicken and Dumplings. Oh ya baby!

I made a few changes, as I always must do. My collected garden greens: parsley, thyme, spinach, radish greens, French sorrel, celery.
Fresh cooked rooster. I'm including a photo of it to show what beautiful meat it is. The dark meat is DARK. The fat is yellow and thick. The muscle is strong. Real meat from real moving birds.

I chopped up my greens and put them in the bowl with a sprinkle of hot chili flakes for good measure and to help wipe out this infection. I like to put the greens in the bowls instead of the pot so if there are leftovers the greens don't end up mushy yuck, and I know each bowl got a decent bit of greens which look pretty while you eat them. They don't really need to cook, a few ladles of the hot liquid wilts them perfectly while the soup cools enough to enjoy.

Delicious! My mom used to always make chicken and dumplings. It has been forever since I had it. I won't wait so long again. Such good, healthy comfort food for a tired and sick mama.

Next bowl I make will have much more French sorrel in it, I find that even through this stuffy head of zero smell or taste I can still get the tang of the sorrel which is very very nice. I need to get more of it in the ground, I'm always stripping the one little plant I have!

What Ever Happened to Fancy Feet?

2010-03-01T12:07:00.000-08:00

We've been down and out with the flu as anyone who reads this blog already knows. So I haven't been able to keep my eye on the chicken flock dynamics as much as I like to and should. Since culling the extra roosters recently as I posted about here, there was one rooster we named Fancy Feet who we just couldn't catch and ended up deciding to give him a chance. Then we lost Roo and I was really glad we kept Fancy Feet. Then yesterday I was out collecting fire wood and heard the hens in a big ruckus and saw Rowdy (our original gentleman rooster) running to break something up. As it turns out, two babies we adopted because their mother had been eaten and we had a good mommy with similar aged chicks who I knew would take them in (and she did, LOVE Buff Orpington mommies!) both turn out to be roosters. One of those unnamed roosters and Fancy Feet were chasing down hens, holding them down and pecking their heads. I looked at my gals and saw that things have changed quite a bit in our flock as almost every hen had a bloodied comb! Yesterday evening, despite the sick baby strapped to me and my throbbing sinus infection my husband and I decided to cull out the two problem roosters when we heard them going nuts and knocking hens off the roost to mess with them! Outrageous! Our 3.5 year old held one door closed and I the other and my husband bravely entered the coop full of roosting chickens and grabbed the two problem dudes. He swiftly culled and cleaned them while I held the flashlight and our son played by the fire we made to burn the feathers and goo and right into the stock pot they went.

Adios Fancy Feet, you little bastard.

Treating Acute Sinusitus Naturally

2010-02-28T12:57:00.000-08:00

As the flu takes it's leave from our home I find myself with a new, albeit related affront to human kind. The sinus infection. My right cheek bone feels bruised, my top teeth on the right side feel as if they are about to jump out and walk away on their own. I've never had a sinus infection before so I did the first natural thing to do in these modern times and I Googled it. Big mistake. Within a few minutes of reading I was being told that sinus infections can cause death. Death. DEATH. No wonder most people run, hysterically screaming, to the doctor for some sort of pill. Goodness! I on the other hand chugged a glug of pediatric decongestant (couldn't help myself), promptly closed out the search window, and consulted one of my favorite ailment books: Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child. If you have offspring or care for the offspring of others, you need this book. It has conventional, homeopathic, dietary, acupressure, nutritional supplement, herbal, and homeopathic treatment information for a huge variety of childhood (and in this case, anyhood) health issues. I really value this book.

After reading a few suggestions and realizing I had everything necessary in my pantry and garden to make up a few concoctions I went straight to work. I simmered chopped rosemary and ginger in a few cups of water to make a warm, moist compress. Very soothing indeed.
Then I made a steam with orange peel, thyme, mint, rosemary, garlic, mint geranium, and ginger. Simmered, covered, on the stove for a few minutes gets the essential oils to start releasing. Taken from the stove, set on a counter and inhaled while under the hood of a towel is magic I tell you. mmmmmmm. I put a few drops of eucalyptus essential oil for round #2. Very pleasing!
Can you tell how soothing it is from here?

Did you know that a hot lemonade, made by mixing fresh juice with an equal amount of water and touch of sweetener (I used honey) helps, according to the fabulous book, to "cut mucus and improve blood flow." ?? I had no idea. It's tasty too. Add a sprinkle of cayenne and you'll really get things flowing.
Add to this some good saline flushes and we're talking serious recovery.

Don't forget therapy for the rest of you! For me, staging, photographing for, and writing a blog post is therapy for my creative brain. Fresh flowers from the garden on my kitchen windowsill are therapy for my spirit, even more so because I can see a beautifully blooming apricot in the background.
Looking up through this tree to a blue sky is pure therapy for every part of me.

Wishing everyone good health!

Anyone know what kind of worm this is?

2010-02-24T13:24:00.000-08:00

I found a bunch of these out in my rain soaked asparagus bed. They move like earthworms but are so small and white. I was thinking perhaps they are infant earthworms but, and this is making me feel a fool to confess, I don't know if such a thing exists? I really should google to find out now that I've made this confession!

For Sherri

2010-02-24T12:56:00.001-08:00

For years I tried to find a mate to my special Iranian Apricot, SHAA-KAR PAREH. It isn't self-fruitful so it needed a mate and I had such a hard time finding the same type so went to other types hoping they would bloom as early as this one only to end up with a few different types of apricot trees around in the garden which never bloomed in time. Then my friend Sherri found the exact tree I was searching for and sent it as a baby gift while we were both pregnant with our second children, born weeks from each other. We planted the beautiful bare root tree over our second son's placenta, which I posted about here and here, and hoped for the best. I'm happy to report it has bloom buds on it at the same time as the established tree! I can't tell you how excited I am about this! Thank you again Sherri!

What a nice thing to drag my feverish body out to see during a small break in the rain.

Funny, I can see a hula-hoop and a fire truck in the background of that photo. With all the sickies we've been having I'm longing for healthy kids playing in the yard again. This flu shall pass. I sure wish it would hurry up. In the mean time I'm managing to work on a sweater for my 9 month old baby, a project I began when newly pregnant! ha! Good thing I know myself well enough to have started a 12 month size.

A February Morning

2010-02-20T20:34:00.000-08:00

I have two sick children. So time is short. This morning I had the luxury of my husband home manning the elder child while I took the younger on a stroll through the garden. Looking back at the photos I took I see I was generally looking very close, as I tend to do. I find I'm always enjoying little pieces here and there and I've realized that it's part of my journey as a mother. Little pieces adding up to a whole. So I find pretty things.
And wonder who is nibbling my asparagus
And chuckle at a bee who stayed out too late last night and had to camp on a daffodil

and marvel at the wonder of growth and new life, inside and out

then back to wondering who is nibbling my apricot blooms!

AND admiring my covered cover crop. It is beautiful!

Remembering Roo

2010-02-18T14:37:00.000-08:00

Very recently I posted about Roo, our second Gentleman Rooster as I like to call our guys. He liked to get into the garden and "man" the front garden gate. He was also a great co-rooster and kind to his hens. He was handsome and regal and everything a rooster should be.

And he is gone. I noticed he hadn't roosted last night but I only had seconds out away from the house so I couldn't go investigate as to why. This morning I went out to check for him thinking perhaps he had gone down to the trees below and decided to roost there for the night. Unfortunately I found a clump of his bloody feathers next to the fence we share with a neighbor. We aren't missing any hens so I'm thinking Roo died with honor, defending his gals from a coyote who left a tell-tale print behind in the mud.

Goodbye Roo. We miss you.

Yes.

2010-02-14T07:15:00.000-08:00

We made our way to the sea this week where my son found "love on the beach" and then beckoned me with complete tenderness and excitement to come witness it with him. Today my baby and I rose before the sun as usual. I constructed and lit an eager roaring fire and cuddled my baby boy's chubby soft naked body while peering through the fog towards the garden. The garden will receive some love today. Love abounds. Commercialism just doesn't compare. There are no cards in our house. No purchased flowers. Just a whole lot of yes.

SpringSprangSprung, I wish! In the garden today.

2010-02-10T16:27:00.000-08:00

Today sure feels like spring. I have to remind myself the rain JUST stopped yesterday and there is more to come and it isn't time for true spring yet. The first bulb is blooming though which adds to the garden trickery of my soul.

And the first asparagus shoots are up! They are huge! I planted purple asparagus last spring and I'm finding it difficult to come up with the words to describe how exuberant I feel with the prospect of eating my FAVORITE vegetable fresh from my own garden in my near future. I planted it in a re purposed wood water tank to provide good drainage and protection from gophers as there is aviary wire beneath the tank. I had to run in and grab an appropriate prop to demonstrate the great girth of this beautiful asparagus specimen.... oh my.
The cover crop bird protection.
And finally, I thought it would only be fitting to offer a picture of the rooster who got away on culling day who I have now named Fancy Feet. Now that he is out of a pack of teens perhaps he'll behave. If he does I'll keep him around as I'm kinda fond of well behaved roosters!

Roosters

2010-02-09T18:00:00.000-08:00

Well goodness. So many of our first season hen-raised babies ended up to be roosters. Dang it. Over the past few weeks they started crowing (which I have to say is the cutest thing ever, I love hearing that initial
cough-cough-eeee-er-oooooh!cough-cough
sound they make when they first learn the craft of le crow) and more importantly they began ganging up on the pullets and hens which just turns me sour. We have two gentlemen roosters named Rowdy and Roo who are a great team and take care of their gals and are just general good guys. They're keepers. Which left us with SIX (yes six!) juvenile roosters to deal with. One was given away to a friend who needed a full sized rooster, one may still go in a bit so he was saved (ok so he's the one we couldn't catch) and the other four were caught {hilariously} and quickly and humanely culled and turned into fried chicken and gravy for a crowd the first night followed by stewed chicken the next. And you know what? It was great!

In an attempt to use every part of the birds I saved some feathers for crafts and we even tried chicken foot soup thanks to my mom who volunteered to boil and strip the feet. Ummm, won't be doing THAT again. The bones are simmering for good bone broth and the hens are back to their regular, peaceful routine with their two great protectors. Life returns to normal, just like that.

Clementines Canned with a little Thyme

2010-01-30T13:57:00.000-08:00

And so it began. I spent a day (here and there, you know what I mean) with clementines. This week we were fortunate to come by some very inexpensive and exquisite home grown organic Clementines through a friend of a friend. I happened upon a post from one of the foodie blogs I've been enjoying and I'm pretty sure it was the mention of Chinese Chicken Salad that sold me on canning some of our Clementine loot. The entire workings of the day were so pretty I couldn't help but take photos.
I peeled quite a few, enough to have good pile of segments and a good pile of peels (which I will turn into marmalade soon enough).
I had this idea to try different herbs with the Clementines. I did some with whole allspice, some with whole cloves, and a few with fresh thyme from the garden.

I did a taste test tonight of the clove and thyme containers and I found it interesting that all the women liked the thyme and the men (and kids) preferred the clove. I may have to attempt to procure some more of these to do some more experimenting. I love the idea of fresh ginger (especially for a Chinese Chicken Salad!) and I'd like to try some bay and star anise as well. Fun in the kitchen, beauty in the canning pantry. Another great day.

Delicious

A Break in the Weather & Findings

2010-01-24T10:08:00.000-08:00

It was so very lovely to wake up this morning to the live oaks lit up by a few rays of light. This morning was a morning for poking around and seeing how everything outside is holding up and perhaps planting the last of the cover crop seed left over from last year.
And for finding where the chickens have been laying their eggs....
No wonder we went from seven eggs down to one per day!

If you have chickens who haven't been producing much for you, look in tall grass ;) You may be surprised!

Chickens

2010-01-20T17:36:00.000-08:00

Last August I posted about our first surviving hen raised chick. If you click here you will see I referred to the chicken as a her, look at the bottom photo. Which I find amusing. She turned out to be a He, as does tend to happen with chicks in my experience since so many are so late to mature.
I ran out to the car during a break in our set of storms to grab my camera and happened to see Roo on the front garden gate. He looked so regal I snapped a quick photo and enjoyed how clever he is to have escaped the fencing once again. Just then I noticed what was happening behind him: Do you see it?????? That first covered bed (which was full of seedlings) was full of chickens. My temporary closepin closures on the shade cloth are not sufficient, especially in these winds. Back to the drawing board. Back to the seed bin. Good thing I'm a seed hoarder.

Wet & Windy = The Chickens are Hiding

2010-01-20T10:07:00.000-08:00

We don't get many good storms here. Perhaps one a year? This is a fantastic set of SIX! storms, one following another, which are hitting us right now. For about 10 minutes last night I seriously thought our house would pick up and land somewhere else. I'm happy that part of the storm passed quickly because I'm not sure our jungle outside (or the big oak tree which we built our deck around!) could have taken much more. We even got a big bunch of frozen rain. I've been schooled to not refer to what we tend to get as HAIL by my dad and brother who have each learned much about weather while earning their pilot licences. So... frozen rain ;)

Bring It RAIN, I have boots!

2010-01-17T21:33:00.000-08:00

So I'm standing on top of our "ranch truck" (phrase used loosely) which is full of old fencing due for a good recycling run and it just looks well... kinda pretty. I think I may have a bit of a crush on my new rain boots....??

Onwards and Upwards please! :) These are some of the views I had while perched precariously on the top of the wet "ranch truck"'s cab. Our garden. And chicken scene. And (native) lawn. This is really a big sneak peek of my new bird protection, so please do notice the two beds which are PROTECTED!!!! Protected I tell you. Huge! No chickens, no birds.... and it has been a solid WEEK!! Yahooooooooo! 4 main beds to go, one asparagus bed, 2 strawberries, 1 golden raspberry bed and anything new we decide to do. Oh hummmm.

See this little pea shoot? Oh, before this would have been fodder for the birds. Not now!

As I was tromping around I found this container of Naked Ladies which are sorely needing some attention. We were given these a few months ago and I completely forgot about them! ugh!

What a fun afternoon I had sans children for a few stolen minutes.
Ahhhhhhh.

Now all I need to do is brace for the coming week of RAIN: up to 8" of rain to be precise. We are due for one storm after another! Kind of exciting, kind of.... ummmm........ mind boggling when I think of being inside for several days with my busy kids. Yikes!

Gluten-free, Dairy-free Cookies

2010-01-15T16:29:00.001-08:00

We headed off today to meet with a group of moms and babes for a shared-food lunch and play date. I know one of the moms has a gluten and dairy free home right now, and while I intended to try a bread recipe and make some sandwiches the grain mill broke so I was short on the millet flour I needed but as I poked around the pantry I found a few other ingredients which led to a cookie experiment. I'm by no means a pro at cooking but I love to cook and bake, love good food and clean ingredients and I LOVE to read about food in all it's forms (planting, growing, gathering, cooking, sharing, composting!). Everyone really enjoyed these cookies (even the kids) so I thought I'd share the simple recipe which is high in protein, low in sugar, and just pretty darn good and easy.

1 cup unsweetened fine coconut

1 cup almond flour (or hazelnut, or any other yummy nut you might have around)
2 Tablespoons maple syrup
sprinkle of salt
1 egg
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
nearly 1/2 cup coconut oil in a liquid state

Combine dry ingredients in bowl. In another bowl or 2 cup mixing cup add liquid ingredients with the exception of the oil and whisk together until smooth and well combined. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix to combine. Add coconut oil and mix again. Form tablespoon size balls and gently press to flatten a bit, cook at 350 degrees on a hot cast iron skillet pan for apx 15 minutes or until beginning to golden.

Lemon Grass

2010-01-11T19:28:00.000-08:00

Have you ever had fresh lemon grass before? There are so many uses for it, and here in our yard it does get several good solid frosts and keeps growing. In our climate lemongrass is downright easy.
I dug up the lemongrass today to divide and harvest which is something I must do every year for it to be vibrant and vigorous. I keep some for soups and teas and salad dressing and other dishes (especially good in curry). The remainder are replanted and I'm happy to report this year I had plenty to give away~! Lemongrass is one of those amazing plants which grows all by itself given the proper amount of water. I've moved it from place to place in my front yard, sometimes without an ounce of nutrient in the soil, and it just keeps growing. The tops tend to die back in the winter frosts but besides looking scraggly the plant doesn't seem to mind.

My 7 month old doesn't eat much of anything yet but he sure did enjoy a lemongrass teether today. It kept him busy (and dirt from his mouth) for an hour! Nice.

I should be working in the garden... hmmm... nahhh!

2010-01-10T21:17:00.000-08:00

Today was one of those days when I knew I should be doing more of this:
But did this: This:

And this:

And I couldn't be happier about it!

An evening view of our garden at the end of a gorgeous January day

2010-01-06T17:29:00.000-08:00

Beets trimmed, books consulted

blankets folded & stacked
nesting boxes filled with buckets to deter roosting (and pooping) during the night
tractor powered down

beds topped up with compost
seeds started
and the one (yes, that's right.. after my brag yesterday we got ONE egg today!) egg being carried inside, this is a peek of it in my pocket with the resident mouser circling about

How do chickens know the solstice has passed?

2010-01-05T16:41:00.000-08:00

It has been but a mere few days since the solstice and already our darling chickens have increased their egg production. Amazing and welcomed! We just purchased our first dozen eggs last week and it felt.... wrong. As in I'm paying how much for sub-superior eggs? Not from my own chickens? I find myself running out to the nesting boxes to see if there are any of our own before reaching for the store bought type.

Hello beauties!

Oh this weather!

2010-01-04T17:12:00.001-08:00

We are having a stellar week of spring-like temperatures and clear skies so we spent the last several days outside just soaking it up! while we can. I have some exciting changes in the garden to post about in the next few days (read: severe bird damage again... time for some covered beds!). The coming year is shaping up to be the best yet. I have all my seed orders in and I've even receieved the first batch! This year I'm growing seeds only from Baker Creek and Seed Savers Exchange. LOVE this time of year for garden planning. We've also been eating so much good food preserved from the summer months. I'm looking forward to growing our horizons and am even thinking of trying for a buy-nothing summer of food. We'll see!! For now I'll enjoy some baby toes in the lush green native lawn. Ahhhh winter on the central coast of California!

Stinging Nettle Tea... and more uses

2009-12-30T11:56:00.000-08:00

Every year I try and remember to harvest some stinging nettles to dry and add to my homegrown tea batch along with the chamomile, oat straw, calendula, and native mint harvested in other seasons.
Stinging nettle is really quite an amazing plant. I've always known it was rich in iron and calcium but went looking for other nutrient qualities and found a huge wealth of information on the topic. I learned nettles are also rich in magnesium, potassium, phosphorous, manganese, silica, iodine, sulphur, beta-carotene, B complex vitamins and Vitamin C! AND nettles are 10% protein which makes them higher in protein than any other vegetable. What an amazing plant and it requires no work to grow and is free to pick (I'm sure some gardeners would even pay you to get rid of it!) As if any other reasons were needed, it's also great for ridding the lungs of mucus and for colds in general. A true cleansing herb. Another thing I learned is that they are dioecious plants, meaning some entire plants are male and others female. Be careful if you find some and decide to try it as the stings are painful and the stingers cover the plant down to the bottom of it's stem. I usually either use some scissors and cut low or use my pincer fingers to grab the very bottom of the stem down at ground level. Inevitably I always get stung, but the stings don't last long. If I remember to I grab my gloves on the way out. Once they are dried or cooked they lose their ouch factor.

I found a simple recipe I may try. I've never really cooked with them, although I have mowed them and raked them into a pile to sit for a bit before giving them to my chickens to eat since I read somewhere long ago that they aid in egg production. I can't vouch for the truth of that but can tell you they were quickly gobbled up!

I just had to come back and post about how silly I felt for not cooking with these leaves after all I read today so I added some in place of spinach greens to my homegrown potatoes simmered with turmeric and home grown and canned stewed Taxi tomatoes. The cooked nettle leaves are a really beautiful deep green and very earthy (in a good way) tasting. I'll be cooking with them more. Free greens! Their cooked color reminded me I've seen them used as a natural dye before too. Forgot about that.

This next photo is just for the food porn aspect of things! haha! Isn't that perfect little potato so beautiful in the stewed tomatoes?

In addition to consuming stinging nettles for food and tea, they can be made into a fertilizer as well! Check out this link at Moj Vrt!

Dilly Green Beans via live vinegar: The no-cook, live mother way.

2009-12-27T13:53:00.000-08:00

So it's Sunday during Holiday Week and the dilly beans which I started this past summer, left out on my countertop with a thin cotton towel over them catch my eye and I start to imagine that, weeks upon weeks later, they MUST be ready. I've been watching what I would call a vinegar mother form on top of them. It's really pretty (for ferment freaks like me I mean) and I decide to sample them today. They are great. GREAT I tell you. I want to document them on my garden blog so I look to see what exactly other people call a vinegar mother so I can prove to you it is safe for consumption since I really don't expect anyone to take my word for it. I either really suck at finding stuff on the internet or there isn't much about it. Then I consult my go-to fermentation book Wild Fermentation because I *know* the author has written about dilly beans his father makes and I'm *sure* he must have something about that mother in there but NOPE! So I'm showing off what I have whilst having no idea if I should. The beans are great, we have all eaten them and they aren't making us sick or anything?! haha! The mother is in a word: Gorgeous. I took a bunch of photos but I'll only trouble you with a few.

This first photo is the top of the mother once set back over her beans.
And these two following photos are of the mother, removed from her jar, and placed upside down on a plate. See how the rim which sealed the jar sticks out from the bulk of her to form a lid? Really beautiful. Ethereal even.

I think I'll do this same thing next year, but add some spicy peppers to the mix. I'll definitely also do some lacto-fermentation and then preserve what we don't eat quickly enough in vinegar.

I should note that I did buy an organic white vinegar to start these beans, perhaps the higher quality vinegar makes a difference?

I'd love input. What do you think?

More hiking, more colors. What a beautiful planet.

2009-12-24T16:25:00.000-08:00

Central Coast of California winter hiking colors

2009-12-21T07:48:00.000-08:00

Happy Winter Solstice!

December: Final Harvests and Clean Up BURNs

2009-12-17T19:34:00.000-08:00

First... the beautiful things growing in the garden right now.

Parsnips

Turnips? Not sure (dang it!)

Spinach

A final harvest of tomatoes! Amazing year! I'm making tomato paste as I type.

My son and mother-in-law harvesting the dried-on-the-vine Kentucky Wonder beans last weekend

I collected the open seed pods of garlic chives (should be seeing quite a few of those popping up everywhere... oops again)

I'm amazed how much our garden produced for us this year. A year I assumed would be a slow flop just kept going and going and going. Yesterday I decided to make a fun push to finish the garden clean up and burn any bulky stuff that remained around (such as corn stalks and massive rotting tomato vines). In the midst of the day my 3.5 year old helper and co-gardener took a nap so I stopped for a few minutes and looked around with my baby on my back and found so many beautiful little spots in our yard and garden. I spent the most time with these three views:

Honeybush

Texas Tarragon

Our native lawn

Then I thought with excitement about my garden next summer. I'll have a crawler and a wild boy by my side planting and watching and watering and playing. This area below is the children's garden spot. I may make a few changes to it, we'll see how it evolves in my brain. I enjoy looking at it as an empty canvas!

My youngest son and I had to wait for big brother to wake up before starting the burn pile on fire. In the mean time we sampled some of the greens around the garden. Z's favorite? The bitter mustard greens! He chewed on this baby leaf for a long time. Isn't he the perfect picture of a future gardener?

At the end of the day: The burn. I'm a sucker for a bonfire, as are both of my boys! There is something so primal and pure about gathering around flames.

Kentucky Wonder Beans, Dried

2009-12-16T20:49:00.000-08:00

I have learned that there is something about growing my own dried beans that makes me think of them as more than food. They are beautiful, shining, glorious lovelies worthy of art haha!

This summer we had a great run of Kentucky Wonder beans fresh and crunchy and green right off the vines. I love this particular variety for it's reliable and delicious abundance. This year we had done beans so many different ways and for so many meals that we... I'll admit it... we got sick of them! ACK! I even preserved some in cans and in vinegar. So the last pods remained on the vine and there they rested. Until this weekend. My mother-in-law, Kathryn, and my son and I went about bringing in the remaining pods of beans and then Kathryn shelled them! (oh thank you!!) We ended up with 4.5 cups of dried BEAUTIFUL beans.After soaking them for 24 hours with a glug of vinegar I drained and rinsed them before placing the beans in a large stock pot, covered them with a few inches of water, added a tablespoon of sea salt and a smoked turkey leg for good measure. I cooked them, uncovered, on medium heat on the stove top for 3 hours and let me tell you: They are good. They are fantastic. I searched around to see if they were worth cooking as a dried bean and didn't find much so really I just went ahead and tried and I'm so very glad I did. I will ALWAYS grow enough to have a large batch of these dried beans from now on. They have a nutty flavor and a very creamy texture. I highly recommend them if you have never tried it.

Frost

2009-12-08T16:30:00.001-08:00

I only had but a few moments to slip out today and check out the frost, but oh what a beautiful few moments they were! Once I got everyone dressed and ready to head out the frost had mostly melted. We'll see what lives and what does not. I can already see our giant bush of false salvia is toast... funny how I was just thinking it needed a trim!