Flowers and Love

I’m personally a big fan of traditional blue/purple iris, but this one is just stunning. It’s been fun to see what all the colors in the yard are. Evidently, Walla Walla had a famous Iris breeder for a lot of years, and many yards here locally bear the results.

Yup, right now everyone seems to be living in peace and harmony. We’ll see how long it lasts. No one has gotten stuck in a fence this week.

We managed to trim the feet of Elmo, the one goat who we will keep (as a gift) from my friend whom the other goats are on loan from. Elmo (recently renamed Molly) was a rescue and her feet were way overgrown. Trimming feet is definitely a two-person job, and we’ll have to do it every week for a month or so, removing a little bit more each time, until they are back to normal. She took it pretty well.

The young sheep are growing fast! Soon it will be time to ween them.

Easter Came Late

I’m a scrounge. We joke that in my family it doesn’t really kick in until you reach 30. After that you can’t walk by a pile of junk in someone’s yard or barn or falling down house and not want to go poke through it looking for useful stuff. So, I subscribe to a “freecycle” yahoo group for my area. Rarely is there anything that interests me. But when I saw an ad for “free California and New Zealand rabbits plus cages” I jumped on it.

How To Plant A Carrot

Big container, 'cause it was 75 feet, after all.

You know those “1001 Garden Tips” books? The ones that tell you to start your seedlings in eggshells or hang your onions for storage in old nylons? Well, I love those books. I check them out from the library and pour through them for new ideas.

And once upon a time, so many years ago now that I can’t remember which book or where I was living, I ran across a tip for planting carrots.

Planting By The OTHER Signs

Phenology: Forsythia in my yard. Started to bloom March 11, 2012.

No, not the moon signs. The forsythia blossoming signs!

You know how every year, you buy a copy of the Old Farmers Almanac, and read all of the goofy articles and the gardening tips, and then get to the actual planting charts in the back, and if you can figure them out, they don’t seem to quite line up with what you know about when to plant for your area? That is, if you can figure out the charts at all? Well, that would be me.

Progress!

Bloomed just in time for my birthday. Zone 6 baby. Just sayin’.

Getting LOTS more eggs now. I have 15 laying hens, and with the exception of the Buttercup, who has likely got a stash somewhere that I haven’t found, and the crazy Red Star who roosts in and lays under the blue spruce (despite my repeated objections), all are laying IN THE NEST BOXES.

Waiting On The World To Change

It’s funny. No matter where you live, spring can not come fast enough. In southwest Colorado, the daffodils bloomed around April 15th, and our final frost of the year often came near Father’s Day in June. Here in southeast Washington, the daffodils will likely unfurl their petals near March 15th, and every day, I go out and check on them, dancing like a two-year old who needs a trip to the bathroom, and chanting “hurry up”.

The chicken wire keeps the hens from "scratching" out the bulbs.

And then finally, last Sunday, we had a stunningly beautiful sunny day and temperatures in the high 50′s, and I found my first crocus bloom. I then walked under one of the huge silver maples out near the barn and was stopped in my tracks by the sound. The tiny pollen spewing blooms had burst forth, and the bees had found this critical source of early spring food. The tree was so full of bees that you could hear the buzz, just standing underneath it.

Planning, Planning, Planning

You really CAN have too much summer squash. Because when you have it, EVERYONE has it. I go easy on this one, and try to harvest young and grow unusual varieties.

Now that I have one year of market gardening under my belt, I am determined to do a better job of record keeping this year. Last year, I used one of those free wall calendars that came in the mail and wrote down whatever I was doing in the garden (planting, first harvest, last harvest, gopher issues etc.) in the little squares (this is not a bad method, but makes future planning a pain because you need to flip through the months to figure out when you planted, sprayed or harvested a particular crop). In some cases (green beans, peas, potatoes, cucumbers, an estimate on carrots) I kept track of the number of pounds I was able to harvest.

But a lot went unrecorded. How much lettuce did I actually plant? How many pounds did I harvest as small greens and how much as full heads? You get the idea. What I did have a good grasp of was what I wish I had planted more of (carrots, green onions) and what I planted too much of (kale, lettuce). This year, I’ve discovered a lot more resources for use when planning. (See a list of resources at the end of this post).

Ratatouille – summer in November

Yup, I grew everything here except for the garlic.

I was home for a visit to northern California back in the 1990′s, during the height of summer, and my step-mom was making ratatoullie, a French vegetable stew. Not one to eat many vegetables at the time, I reluctantly tried some, and it was a revelation. It was SO good. Nothing like vine ripened tomatoes and fresh basil to make all vegetables taste fantastic. I was sold, and have been making ratatouille in September, during the height of the warm weather vegetable glut, ever since.

The trick to making sublime ratatouille, rather than just good ratatouille, is really good tomatoes and cooking most of the vegetables separately, only combining them at the end (ala Julia Child). Generally, the order is Eggplant, Zucchini, Peppers, Onions, Tomatoes, or EZPOT (ala some random reality show episode on Food Network). Cooks Illustrated also has a ratatouille recipe where the eggplant and zucchini are roasted instead of sautéed. Play around and see what you like.

The best part of this recipe? It freezes beautifully. Portion it out into quart freezer bags, thaw in the winter, add a small can of cannelleni beans, diced red potatoes or small pasta of your choice, some chicken or veggie stock, and you have a healthy flavorful soup to help counteract all of the holiday eating. It’s also great as a pizza topping.

Ratatouille

• ½ lb. eggplant. Note that the smaller Italian or Japanese eggplant are less bitter and do not need to be salted and drained, as is often recommended for the large globe eggplant.
• ½ lb. zucchini or other on-hand summer squash
• 2 (about 1 cup) green and/or ripe bell peppers
• ½ lb. (about 1 ½ cups) storage onions (i.e. not sweet)
• 2 cloves garlic, or more to taste
• Olive oil
• 1 lb ripe tomatoes. If you can’t get vine ripened ones, you are better off substituting a 14 oz can of diced tomatoes rather than the tasteless ones available in winter.
• 3 tbsp minced fresh parsley (or 1 ½ tbsp dried)
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil (or 1 tbsp dried)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Dice eggplant, squash, peppers and tomatoes into 1/2 to 1 inch dice. Peel and seed tomatoes if that is your preference (I personally don’t bother). Coarsely chop the onion. Mince the garlic.

Skim the bottom of a dutch oven with about 1 tbsp olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Saute the eggplant until lightly browned on all sides, 3-4 minutes. Remove from pan.

Adding more oil, saute squash until lightly browned on all sides, 3-4 minutes. Remove from pan.

Reduce heat to medium. Adding more oil, saute peppers and onions until cooked through, but not browned. Add garlic and saute briefly until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes and cook until they have released their juices and some liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. (Start with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Add more to taste).

OK, this is not the best picture, taken with a flash, post pot luck. But this did get frozen, and I will be feasting on it in January.

Return eggplant and squash to pan, along with parsley and basil. (The original Julia Child recipe calls for layering the squash and eggplant with the tomato/onion/pepper mixture for a total of 5 layers. The goal is to help each vegetable retain its individual flavor. I find this too fussy. Do so if you wish. I just stir it all together). Simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes. Uncover, and continue to simmer for about 15 minutes, being careful not to scorch the bottom.

Ratatouille is great served hot or cold, with a nice slice of crusty bread. This is a great pot luck dish for summer gatherings. If you want to try this recipe roasting some or all of the vegetables, simply toss veggies/whole garlic with olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast on a foil lined sheet pan in a 450 degree oven, stirring ever 10 minutes or so, until vegetables are tender. It should take about 30 minutes depending on the size of your dice. Then combine and add your fresh herbs.

Miles Away Farm Blog © 2011, where we’re miles away from summer ripened tomatoes, and could use a big dose of vegetables in our diet. I’ve been enjoying cooking for my husband for the last two weeks, and the scale is reflecting all that good food.

Found Them!

Alternative title: Garden Porn. Grin. Yummy recipe for kohlrabi at the end.

I LOVE this time of year. The time when all the hard work finally starts to pay off. Every day, you find a new long-awaited treasure in the garden…or the chicken coop. It’s kind of like having Easter in August. Here are a few of the recent finds.

The good news? These were IN the coop. The bad news? They were nowhere near the nest boxes. When chickens first start to lay, the eggs are small, and are called "pullet" eggs.

Rainbow carrots. The secret to carrot germination? Keep a piece of burlap or other cloth over the bed and water twice a day through the cloth until the seeds germinate. The purple carrots taste pretty much the same as the orange ones.

Summer may officially begin (in August!). I finally have ripe tomatoes, and have been eating pasta with a barely cooked tomato sauce for several nights in a row.

My cucumbers have taken FOREVER to grow. This is the first pickling cuc, almost ready to harvest.

Baby cantaloupe. This was a last-minute addition when the soy beans didn't germinate worth a hoot. Not sure if they will make it or not, but sure are fun to see.

Yellow squash, complete with sleeping insect in the blossom.

I LOVE growing onions, even though they are inexpensive in the store and one of the least contaminated conventionally grown vegetables. They just take almost no work, and literally push themselves out of the ground when they are ready. What's not to love? Recently saw a recipe for spicy red onion (think caramelized) jam that I have to try!

Decorative small gourds. I also planted luffa and bird house gourds, which I don't think are going to make it before the frost. Fingers crossed. But these guys are ready to take over the garden.

Jalapenos always do pretty well for me. Too many at once and they get dried if they are ripe or pickled if they are green.

I get almost as giddy about bell peppers as I do about tomatoes. Have you priced organic red bell peppers in the store? Holy cow are they spendy. That is because they are HARD to grow well, especially if you aren't living where it is warm at night for months on end. So this sight makes me really happy. Too many at once? Roast on the grill and then freeze for later use.

Delicata winter squash, one of my favorites. Perfect for one or two people. They have been quite slow, and I regularly remind them that they better hurry the bleep up. But they are ahead of the butternut, which hasn't even bloomed yet!

Pie pumpkins. Surprisingly not actually the best squash for pumpkin pie, but I love them anyway. Only had one seed germinate, but the plant has 4 pumpkins on it.

Acorn Squash. Been a while since I've grown this one.

Buttercup, one of my all time favorites for flavor.

The spaghetti squash have done well. I'm not personally a fan, so these are for sale rather than for me. I've had a lot of people tell me they love them. I feel the same way about squash and tomato sauce as I do about rice and tomato sauce. Yuck.

The sunflowers have been so gorgeous that I can't bring myself to cut them down and sell them. I'll need to plant a LOT more of them next year. This was the first red one to bloom.

Vegetable, or alien invasion? (photo grabbed from internet)

So at the Clayton Farmers Market on Sunday, a fellow vendor offered us some kohlrabi that hadn’t sold. This strange looking vegetable is in the cabbage family, and is often described as tasting like a cross between broccoli and turnip. It seems to only be available at farmers markets. I’ve never seen it in a grocery store. We didn’t want to be rude and say no, but I really had no idea what to do with it. The one time I had tried kohlrabi, I had cooked and mashed it and thought, meh. It was OK, but nothing I would go out of my way for.

 

But I have a CD of veggie recipes for farmers markets, and they had a recipe for shredded kohlrabi with parmesan cheese, and it was flippen fantastic. I could not stop eating it.

 

Kohlrabi with Parmesan

Peel and shred (it helps if you have a food processor) 3 medium-sized k0hlrabi. Saute in a bit of olive oil over medium heat, for about 8 minutes, or until tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with fresh grated good quality parmesan cheese and continue to heat until melted, about 1 minute more.  Serve immediately. Kind of like hash browns, but with a nutty kick and a big dose of vitamin C.

 

Miles Away Farm Blog © 2011, where we’re miles away from eating spaghetti squash, but are wondering… if I started some kohlrabi now, would it would be ready to harvest before the snow fell?

Poppies and Potash

There is an interesting rhythm to life on a farm. Most of my life, I’ve been at an office job every weekday by 8:00 am. I tried to cram in all of my “hobbies” during my non-working hours. Now, there is no 8-5 job, and the hobbies are now my life. And because I love what I am doing, I flit from garden to scrap woodpile to kitchen toiletry invention like a hummingbird sampling a field of flowers. It’s wonderful to be my own boss. It’s wonderful to set my own priorities. It’s not so wonderful to not have a day off!

This bee was completely green metallic, and before I took this picture, she was doing the backstroke in the poppy pollen.

I currently have a booth at two farmers markets weekly, one on Wednesday and one on Sunday. Days in between are generally geared towards making or picking things for the next market. The other day, after about 6 weeks straight of this, I hit a bit of a wall, and decided to recline in the hammock and read a book…for four hours. It felt like quite the indulgence. Butters the cat, who loves the hammock, was thrilled, to say the least.

Look ma, baby cabbage, and no root maggots!

I finally had the money to take a soil sample down to the Spokane Conservation District for analysis. Turns out, as I suspected from gardening evidence, that there is very little nutrition in my beautiful sandy loam soil. Nitrogen, needed for plant growth, low. Phosphorus, needed for good root growth, low end of middle. Potassium, which is needed for everything, low. Organic matter, low. Amount of chicken manure compost needed to amend my garden space? Two hundred and fifty pounds. There is a reason organic gardeners talk of building up the soil over several seasons!

But I’m slowly moving the rotted hay pile, and fertilizing with a mix of organic fertilizers, and while it may not be the best possible garden ever, it WILL be enough for this season. The peas are getting ripe, the lettuce has been beautiful, and the kale small but tasty. One can only do so much.

Say it with me now, like in The Wizard of Oz...Poppies.

Meanwhile, many of the flowers in the flower section of the garden have started to bloom. The poppies, in particular, which were a free seed pack, have just been spectacular. The other day my husband and I watched as the flower’s cover fell away and the poppy unfurled like a time lap video sped up. Stunning.

Occasionally, my husband and I even manage to steal away for a hike, as we did over the Fourth of July weekend. We visited the Pend Oreille (pronounced Pond Oray – go figure) county park, which used to be a Washington State Park before the park system sold it off. It’s a lovely little spot. And you can’t beat sitting on a pick nick table and spitting cherry pits at the dogs as a good way to celebrate the 4th.

I don't know what kind of wild lily this was. Spectacular.

Got to love those long summer nights. This was taken in the backyard at about 8:00 pm.

Miles Away Farm Blog © 2011, where we’re miles away having the fertile rich soil we want, but that doesn’t keep us from stopping to appreciate the flowers.