Haven't seen me around here in a while...

I have a confession to make: I loathe winter. Oddly enough, though, I don’t mind the occasional snow but I hate being cold and cannot stand the lack of sun. It’s also pretty boring on the farm. When the days get really short and cold, nothing wants to grow. Needless to say, it is a dreadful time of year around the farm or just in general. Oh, and to make it worse, any work on the farm that needs to be done in preparation for the spring season has to be done in 30 degree with the wind blowing 30 mph. Onions have been planted and covered multiple times to protect them from frost and freezing rain. There is also baby kale and lettuce in the ground wrapped up nice and tight under row cover (which is really difficult to maneuver in the wind; it's like a giant sail). All of it is necessary for the spring season to be bountiful but I would prefer if I could do everything in the high tunnel. Don’t get me wrong, I still like being out on the farm with Bran. It’s not very stressful and there is no dress code. Mother Nature just didn't seem to get the memo from Punxsutawney Phil that we are supposed to have an early spring. To add insult to injury, the sun is shining while I type this and in a few minutes I have to get up and go to a real job (not horrible but I won't be soaking up the sun). Ok, I’m done complaining for today. I do have faith the weather will eventually get better, I promise (please, Mother Nature, hurry up and cooperate, I am begging and pleading). Here are a few things that are going on around here:

 Early Tomatoes!!!

 Onions in the ground an waiting on row cover

Itty bitty Swiss Chard

All things new and lovely

Where to begin??? We were on the front page of the Three Rivers Edition a few weeks ago (so awesome, in case you were wondering)! We received wonderful response from it. The article led to us expanding our email list and drop off to Batesville. We tried out the Searcy drop last Saturday and it went great. Our regular customers are hilarious. The farm has turned green again with the fall crop growing daily.

We took in a homeless kitty from a friend. Meet Elliot.

 

Jeans and jackets have made a reappearance into farm fashion. (so adorable, that one!)

Oh and then there is all the new veggies! (mustard greens, komatsuna, red komatsuna, and arugula)

I'm going to miss spending almost every waking moment with my "Abercrombie Jesus" when I resume full time employment but eventually, I'll get to be at the farm full time everyday...

 

Love, Hate Relationship

So, a few months ago we had an overabundance of tomatoes and we wanted to do something with them besides salsa or sauce (neither of which we can sell at the farmers market). For my birthday I had received an interesting cookbook with a bunch of unique canning recipes (thanks Linda!). It had a recipe for tomato basil jam which was ok if you liked tomatoes. Since this first endeavor into jam making I have broadened my horizons into Carrot Cake Jam, for all the tiny cull carrots that cannot be sold, and multiple jellies with seem to be very popular.

 It gives me an inside activity for the blazing hot afternoons and a little extra money each week.  Unfortunately, a conflict has arose. I love making all the pretty little jars of jams and jellies but I HATE the mess that comes along with it, oh, and when the jelly refuses to set despite doing everything right. With experience I have stream lined the clean-up process much more than my first attempts but I have yet to figure out how to make the jelly cooperate as I want it to. Sofie is of no assistance in this matter. I will continue this side project because there is something very Zen-like about it cooking it and the reward of it doing as it should but some days I will still stomp around the kitchen when failure occurs.

 (Sofie during my outburst following the failure batch of lemon honey jelly)

Seeds, Dirt, and Rain

 It looks and feels like spring around the farm lately. There has been lots of sitting inside starting seeds and transplanting seedlings. The babies are so cute but having to sit still for a few hours to plant them is, um, tedious. This American Life keeps us company though.

There have been random pop up showers that last a few minutes then go away (although we are not complaining).

The Indian corn, which was given to us by a lovely customer, is starting to make cobs.

Oh, and yesterday, Bran had a great idea as to how we can bottom water more than just one tray of seedlings at a time which has been the chosen method. (Which also takes FOREVER, in case you were wondering.) A couple of old cattle feed troughs waters 10 trays in no time. There are many more troughs in the field that are probably going to end up scattered around the farm housing lettuce.

It still feels foreign to be excited about these sorts of things. I got up at 5:30 this morning to make sure orders were ready to be sent with my wonderful sister to her work. I am not a morning person, my parents can confirm this, but there I was 6 a.m. at the farm putting veggies in bags for customers. And tomorrow I'll be up at dawn's early light to pick some more veggies for the afternoon market. It's funny how people evolve. Peace be with you. Eat local and often :)

Break

So it's been a while since I did this. I believe a quick review of the past few weeks is due. We have been dealing with evil little monsters AKA blister beetles. They have stripped multiple plants of their foliage and have been a pain in the tuchus.

There has been an overwhelming amount of tomatoes, drought like conditions and extraordinary heat. (Shelves now line this wall to hold said tomatoes)

We took a 24 hour sabbatical to Mountain View to relieve some stress and spent 4th of July holiday with the people we love despite not having any fireworks. 

I have also been practicing brining pickles. The first batch was a failure but the second attempt is looking promising. In recent days Mother Nature has given us a break with decent temperatures and minimal pop up showers, the blister beetles are still making their presence known, and I am looking forward to our next disappearance from reality. 

Funky Cabbage pt. 2

So the first attempt at homemade sauerkraut was a SUCCESS!!!! Not only was it my first attempt at sauerkraut, it was my first attempt at canning!!

This too seemed to be a success. We had the bratwurst and potatoes with sauerkraut on Monday for lunch and we seem to be fine. Hopefully this record holds since Bran gave some to our dear friends and neighbors and I intend on giving some to my granny. Be prepared for more canning adventures. I have frozen bags of blueberries begging to be made into jam and syrup. Oooh and more fermenting! We are going to try brine pickles. 

The week in review

It has been a hectic week. Monday my sweet little cousin, Dace, came to spend the day with us, oh and it rained YAY!!!!! He helped me transplant tomatoes then we came home to cook lunch (homemade fish sticks and homemade potato chips). He practiced the xylophone and drums while I cooked. He is quiet the musician.

Unfortunately with the rain came thunder and lightning which he did not care for so this is how him and Bran spent the afternoon until Mag came to get him. They were watching cartoons... I think the big boy found them funnier than the little one.

The rest of the week was picking veggies, pulling weeds, and visiting an alleged farmers market that did not have any farmers just peddlers... But we won't talk about that now.