Lingering over coffee on Sunday morning…I’m heading to the kitchen soon to start working on zucchini and squash. I’m going to start with making chips in the dehydrator. I’ll also grate some for the freezer to use in muffins and breads. And, since we have plenty, we’re going to give sun drying a try. I’m… Continue reading Dealing with the Green Monster (and yellow, too)
Putting Up the Sign
The produce is coming in like crazy: peas, early beans, squash, zucchini and more. We put up the sign on Memorial Day but haven’t had any traffic yet. Today, I am going to head down to the end of the drive with a table full of vegies to see if that makes a difference. Bob… Continue reading Putting Up the Sign
Mad Farmers
Two of my favorite people showed up together this week: Mark Bittman, food writer for The New York Times, interviewed Wendell Berry, hmmm…how to describe him? Farmer, writer, philosopher: the Times calls him an American hero and that sounds good to me. At one point in the recent past, I declared I wanted to be… Continue reading Mad Farmers
Freezing Kale
I “put up” 22 quart bags of kale last week and there is plenty more to do this weekend. Last weekend, I took pictures of the process, anticipating a blog entry. It took a whole week, but here you go…freezing kale! 1. Pick the kale. I knew I was going to chop it so I… Continue reading Freezing Kale
Potato Day
So here we sit, watching Meet the Press, laptops open, catching up on email and the news (and, in my case, this blog) before heading outside to plant potatoes. It is SPRING and that means we spent every free moment with our hands in the dirt. I’ve been mostly working on flowers. Bob tilled up… Continue reading Potato Day
Rolling Along
I admire farmers who have time to record their work as well. As spring comes along, we are busy! I do the indoor work and then move outside to take advantage of nice weather for planting and weeding. We’ve got peas coming up, plenty of kale and mustard greens ready for picking, and today, 26… Continue reading Rolling Along
Greenhouse Building
During the bout of nice weather last week, we started working on the greenhouse. The original plan was to create a foundation out of some railroad ties. But Bob contacted the local cement company about getting cement and they called this afternoon to say they had a bit left over from a job. The truck… Continue reading Greenhouse Building
Seeds in the Ground
Rain and wind last night and this morning have brought in more seasonable temperatures, which are almost 20 degrees cooler than we’ve had the past two days. We spent those lovely days working in the garden, getting the frame and foundation together for the green house and putting in rows of beets and carrots. Next… Continue reading Seeds in the Ground
Transitioning
It has been an easy winter so far: today promises sun and 60 degrees! The sun room was 82 degrees this morning and when we opened the door, the whole house was flooded with warmth! We are starting to make the transition to spring already even though the actual first day is still almost two… Continue reading Transitioning
Building Community
The rain has settled in here at the farm but held off for the morning as we visited a local farmer in Surry County to learn about his operation and meet several other interested farmers. It seems we all have the same goals: live and work in a rural setting and grow enough food for… Continue reading Building Community