today we had a cow get out. That was eventful. I noticed it pretty quickly, so herded it back in and then called in reinforcements to help me go over the fence. Thank goodness for helpful neighbors (Thanks Dad!).
Our fall garden has been very eventful. About the time that the hot days ended I was pulling out a gallon bucket of tomatoes every day. Now I'm pulling them out just as they start to look pink at the rate of about a gallon every few days, depending on the weather. They ripen on my cupboard, the flavor is the same - and in my mind at least - this makes the remaining tomatoes ripen faster. It was rainy today, so imagine my surprise when I harvested another gallon after only a day. These were mostly ones that I had missed. I just looked at the plant from a different angle, and wowza! A few more would appear.
I also grabbed a few peppers, a butternut squash, and noticed that we might have a few more watermelon squeeze through before the first frost. We just have to figure out when that is. For the most part the weather has been fairly mild.
I grabbed a few sunflower heads that had a few seeds ripe. The poor plant had been pulled over and never did really well, but it did flower and it looks like there are some seeds. however, I have to admit I've never harvested sunflower seeds and am a little scared that they might kill me. I will diligently research before consuming.
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Tomatoes
We have been getting a 1 gallon bucket of tomatoes out of the garden every day. Its been crazy. But nice. I think I have about 5 gallon bags of frozen tomatoes in the freezer right now!
The cows are growing. The black one who licked my hand has been a little to tame lately, so I am going to leave it alone and let it get standoffish again.
I didn't collect the eggs on Thursday, so when I went to collect them on Friday there were 34 eggs. Yowzer. I have a lot of eggs, want to buy some chickens?
I'm back. I just put a post up on Facebook to see if anyone wants to buy some chickens :). Would be nice to not have so many eggs. Of course, the cold weather is coming...
We harvested a 22 pound watermelon last week from our garden. There is another one out there that should be ready in the next day or so.
Milton made a yummy beef stew yesterday using our beef and carrots and potatoes from the garden.
The carrots were white, yellow, red, and orange. They were a packet of seeds that looked cool, so I had to try them. Strange, but a white carrot tastes the same as an orange one. Oh well, they were fun to look forward to!
We have gotten so many cantelope from the garden this year. And they are so good! Thanks YouTube for helping me know when to harvest them!
Our lettuce has sprouted again. We let it go to seed after the spring harvest. We have been eating it when we can. I love leafy lettuce so much more than ice burg!
We pitched the corn stalks to the cows last month when they kept pushing on the fence next to the garden to get to them. That was easier than trying to shore up the fence enough.
The cows are growing. The black one who licked my hand has been a little to tame lately, so I am going to leave it alone and let it get standoffish again.
I didn't collect the eggs on Thursday, so when I went to collect them on Friday there were 34 eggs. Yowzer. I have a lot of eggs, want to buy some chickens?
I'm back. I just put a post up on Facebook to see if anyone wants to buy some chickens :). Would be nice to not have so many eggs. Of course, the cold weather is coming...
We harvested a 22 pound watermelon last week from our garden. There is another one out there that should be ready in the next day or so.
Milton made a yummy beef stew yesterday using our beef and carrots and potatoes from the garden.
The carrots were white, yellow, red, and orange. They were a packet of seeds that looked cool, so I had to try them. Strange, but a white carrot tastes the same as an orange one. Oh well, they were fun to look forward to!
We have gotten so many cantelope from the garden this year. And they are so good! Thanks YouTube for helping me know when to harvest them!
Our lettuce has sprouted again. We let it go to seed after the spring harvest. We have been eating it when we can. I love leafy lettuce so much more than ice burg!
We pitched the corn stalks to the cows last month when they kept pushing on the fence next to the garden to get to them. That was easier than trying to shore up the fence enough.
Monday, September 8, 2014
Oy y vey
I wonder if that is how you are supposed to spell it? I don't know and frankly, I'm to lazy to go look it up right now. So there it is.
The garden. Its doing well. We are picking lots of cherry tomatoes right now. The bigger tomatoes are coming slowly but surely.
The peppers are doing well, we just have one problem. Toddlers. Toddlers who imitate. Toddlers who imitate their parents when they harvest the garden. you get the idea. Its a problem. I do my best to find the picked produce and try and salvage it. Sadly, our poblano peppers will never get large. And that will have to be ok. Their lives ended to early.
I am a cantaloupe stalker. I check them every day to see if their are done. Cuz I know how to do that. (after watching a youtube video) :)
The watermelon is not done. Yet it is huge. but according to youtube, it is not done. I sure hope it doesn't rot on the vine.
The corn is done. has been for a while. The cows are now enjoying the stalks and pushing on the fence and breaking the electric wire in order to get to it. Yeah, rethinking the corn location. And the voltage on the fence.
The chickens are giving us about 16 eggs a day. In my book that means that 6 chickens are shirking their duties every day. I'd like to find those chickens and give them a talking to. But none of the other chickens will rat them out.
The chickens have been free ranging every afternoon. I started this when we had a problem with egg eating. We had been getting 18-19 eggs per day and then it went down to like 8-10. And there was evidence of broken eggs. So I started letting them out and it seems to have stopped. Either that or they have become clever and figured out how to hide the evidence. Sadly that is a real possibility. But I don't have the time to track it down right now. Maybe this winter if it becomes a problem again.
Both the chickens and the cows have been enjoying some peach trees that hang over the pasture. They love to go and have a snack under that tree. The peaches are not buggy and are just about ripe. So I may harvest some to add to the peaches currently rotting on my cupboard.
The cows are getting nice and big.
The lettuce seeds are sprouting again and we will probably have some more lettuce very soon. The herbs are growing like crazy and also the volunteer tomato plants are giving us roma, cherry, and regular tomatoes. What a treat!
The garden. Its doing well. We are picking lots of cherry tomatoes right now. The bigger tomatoes are coming slowly but surely.
The peppers are doing well, we just have one problem. Toddlers. Toddlers who imitate. Toddlers who imitate their parents when they harvest the garden. you get the idea. Its a problem. I do my best to find the picked produce and try and salvage it. Sadly, our poblano peppers will never get large. And that will have to be ok. Their lives ended to early.
I am a cantaloupe stalker. I check them every day to see if their are done. Cuz I know how to do that. (after watching a youtube video) :)
The watermelon is not done. Yet it is huge. but according to youtube, it is not done. I sure hope it doesn't rot on the vine.
The corn is done. has been for a while. The cows are now enjoying the stalks and pushing on the fence and breaking the electric wire in order to get to it. Yeah, rethinking the corn location. And the voltage on the fence.
The chickens are giving us about 16 eggs a day. In my book that means that 6 chickens are shirking their duties every day. I'd like to find those chickens and give them a talking to. But none of the other chickens will rat them out.
The chickens have been free ranging every afternoon. I started this when we had a problem with egg eating. We had been getting 18-19 eggs per day and then it went down to like 8-10. And there was evidence of broken eggs. So I started letting them out and it seems to have stopped. Either that or they have become clever and figured out how to hide the evidence. Sadly that is a real possibility. But I don't have the time to track it down right now. Maybe this winter if it becomes a problem again.
Both the chickens and the cows have been enjoying some peach trees that hang over the pasture. They love to go and have a snack under that tree. The peaches are not buggy and are just about ripe. So I may harvest some to add to the peaches currently rotting on my cupboard.
The cows are getting nice and big.
The lettuce seeds are sprouting again and we will probably have some more lettuce very soon. The herbs are growing like crazy and also the volunteer tomato plants are giving us roma, cherry, and regular tomatoes. What a treat!
Friday, July 11, 2014
The corn is as high as an elephant's eye!
Or at least it seems like it to me!
The tomatoes are looking great and we have a few ripe cherry tomatoes! The only problem is the boys removing several green roma tomatoes before they could turn red. We are working on that. If only the garden wasn't such a little boy magnet. All that dirt and mud (we have a leak in the irrigation system. who knew the thick concrete could have a hole?). And of course the golden raspberries lure them in for a snack every day.
We have been enjoying zuchini, yellow summer squash and crookneck squash. Picked young while it is still tender.
The garden is doing very well.
We have 6 chickens a day laying for us. I'm hoping the other 16 will kick it into gear soon. And I also wish they would lay in the nest and not in all corners of the coop. But we will continue to work on that. We need some fake eggs....
The cows are doing well. Eating their heads off.
The new grape vines look good. Of course we will not have fruit this year, but they are looking alive and healthy.
The new apple trees look good as well. The older one (by one year) might have fruit last year. Oh the joys of honeycrisp apple trees.
We are going to have a small crop of peaches and nectarines. Yay!
The apricots at Mom and Dad's will be ripe next week and Dad is going to make apricot jam! Sounds delish. We have also been enjoying the occasional invite to pick the strawberries over there. The boys love that!
The tomatoes are looking great and we have a few ripe cherry tomatoes! The only problem is the boys removing several green roma tomatoes before they could turn red. We are working on that. If only the garden wasn't such a little boy magnet. All that dirt and mud (we have a leak in the irrigation system. who knew the thick concrete could have a hole?). And of course the golden raspberries lure them in for a snack every day.
We have been enjoying zuchini, yellow summer squash and crookneck squash. Picked young while it is still tender.
The garden is doing very well.
We have 6 chickens a day laying for us. I'm hoping the other 16 will kick it into gear soon. And I also wish they would lay in the nest and not in all corners of the coop. But we will continue to work on that. We need some fake eggs....
The cows are doing well. Eating their heads off.
The new grape vines look good. Of course we will not have fruit this year, but they are looking alive and healthy.
The new apple trees look good as well. The older one (by one year) might have fruit last year. Oh the joys of honeycrisp apple trees.
We are going to have a small crop of peaches and nectarines. Yay!
The apricots at Mom and Dad's will be ripe next week and Dad is going to make apricot jam! Sounds delish. We have also been enjoying the occasional invite to pick the strawberries over there. The boys love that!
Sunday, June 29, 2014
The chickens
The chickens are laying! We found 2 eggs in the nesting box yesterday! Boy was I surprised. I knew it was coming soon. But the fact that it finally happened and that they even layed in the nest were both huge surprises.
We bought and stacked about 2 1/2 tons of alfalfa this past week and also purchased most of the wood we will need for the next few years winters. We bought 3 cords of lodgepole and 4 cords of juniper.
We've found that burning a combination of hard and softer woods makes our fires just right.
We still will need to rent a log splitter since the lodgepole is still in rounds.
Most of this work was done by Milton with some help from the girls.
The golden raspberries are on right now. I picked 3 quarts on Thursday. The boys have been wolfing them down. They love to be next to me while I'm picking because I let them eat as many as they want. If I was making jam it would be another story. But right now I'm just trying to keep up with the berries.
I'm starting to rethink my canterbury bells. They are just to tall and need support and don't look very nice in the front flower bed I put them in. While the Malva behind them look gorgeous and are standing up tall and nice.
I'm thinking about pulling them out. And that makes me sad since they are biennials and I started the seeds last year. So this is the second year I've had these plants and i'm sad I don't love them. I think they would look better in a pot. With more support.
Did I mention I have more in the garden for next year? Not sure what I'm going to do with them now.....
We bought and stacked about 2 1/2 tons of alfalfa this past week and also purchased most of the wood we will need for the next few years winters. We bought 3 cords of lodgepole and 4 cords of juniper.
We've found that burning a combination of hard and softer woods makes our fires just right.
We still will need to rent a log splitter since the lodgepole is still in rounds.
Most of this work was done by Milton with some help from the girls.
The golden raspberries are on right now. I picked 3 quarts on Thursday. The boys have been wolfing them down. They love to be next to me while I'm picking because I let them eat as many as they want. If I was making jam it would be another story. But right now I'm just trying to keep up with the berries.
I'm starting to rethink my canterbury bells. They are just to tall and need support and don't look very nice in the front flower bed I put them in. While the Malva behind them look gorgeous and are standing up tall and nice.
I'm thinking about pulling them out. And that makes me sad since they are biennials and I started the seeds last year. So this is the second year I've had these plants and i'm sad I don't love them. I think they would look better in a pot. With more support.
Did I mention I have more in the garden for next year? Not sure what I'm going to do with them now.....
Friday, June 27, 2014
Overwhelmed by Peas!
We have been eating peas for the past 2 weeks. Every day. So many that a few days ago I was at the grocery store and the very thought of peas made me feel sick. So I'm taking a break now. LOL.
The lettuce is finishing up. It has been a great season and it could still keep growing as long as it doesn't get to to hot. Usually what happens is that it stops growing and then in the fall we have some come up again from when the lettuce went to seed. Although I think only the spinach went to seed this year. I guess we'll see.
The bak choy was a huge failure this year. It seems like the minute we put it in the garden it went to seed. We finally gave up and pulled the plants a few days ago.
We have been enjoying zucchini and summer squash in our salads this past week. Its just starting, but we've found if you pick them when they are about 8 inches long they are still tender and yummy for the dishes we like them in.
We've had several incidences with Ned pulling plants out and putting them in the ditch. Luckily we've rescuing them. but it always puts them in shock when they're in their overnight. Its happened to some tomato plants, pepper plants, butternut squash, and strawberry plants. Not good. It always seems to happen those days I'm transplanting something. Ned has a fascination or something.
The golden raspberries are going crazy. We've had some rainy days that have kept us from going outside a few times this week and those are the days they get overwhelming. the boys love it and would eat and eat and eat out there until they are gone (and they have) but it may be time for jam.
The corn and potatoes are growing like crazy and the weeds in that area are too. Not to bad though. Just really big. They do pull out easily though. Its just taking the time to pull them.
the chickens are pretty independent these days. They have a waterer that has to be refilled once a month, and their feeder just needs a little attention every day. Its a gravity feeder, but for some reason the feed doesn't come down well on its own. So a couple of swipes at the food in the feeder and a check for eggs everyday and my chicken chores are done!
The cows are growing well and are doing fine eating the grass down. they love freshly mown grass from the lawn the best, and will take down the electric fence if I forget to turn it back on after watering day (don't want to get zapped while messing with the gated pipe). Luckily its not a hard fix.
Speaking of the gated pipe, it has its ups and downs. Its not entirely water tight (a headgate issue) so it does get leaky but we've put in a small ditch that is taking care of the swamp we had going on. Overall though, its not a bad set up. The biggest learning curve was that we have to water the potato and corn while its still small until the roots reach far enough down for the ditch water to irrigate it properly. We may have made our ditches to deep. We will try more shallow ditches next year.
The lettuce is finishing up. It has been a great season and it could still keep growing as long as it doesn't get to to hot. Usually what happens is that it stops growing and then in the fall we have some come up again from when the lettuce went to seed. Although I think only the spinach went to seed this year. I guess we'll see.
The bak choy was a huge failure this year. It seems like the minute we put it in the garden it went to seed. We finally gave up and pulled the plants a few days ago.
We have been enjoying zucchini and summer squash in our salads this past week. Its just starting, but we've found if you pick them when they are about 8 inches long they are still tender and yummy for the dishes we like them in.
We've had several incidences with Ned pulling plants out and putting them in the ditch. Luckily we've rescuing them. but it always puts them in shock when they're in their overnight. Its happened to some tomato plants, pepper plants, butternut squash, and strawberry plants. Not good. It always seems to happen those days I'm transplanting something. Ned has a fascination or something.
The golden raspberries are going crazy. We've had some rainy days that have kept us from going outside a few times this week and those are the days they get overwhelming. the boys love it and would eat and eat and eat out there until they are gone (and they have) but it may be time for jam.
The corn and potatoes are growing like crazy and the weeds in that area are too. Not to bad though. Just really big. They do pull out easily though. Its just taking the time to pull them.
the chickens are pretty independent these days. They have a waterer that has to be refilled once a month, and their feeder just needs a little attention every day. Its a gravity feeder, but for some reason the feed doesn't come down well on its own. So a couple of swipes at the food in the feeder and a check for eggs everyday and my chicken chores are done!
The cows are growing well and are doing fine eating the grass down. they love freshly mown grass from the lawn the best, and will take down the electric fence if I forget to turn it back on after watering day (don't want to get zapped while messing with the gated pipe). Luckily its not a hard fix.
Speaking of the gated pipe, it has its ups and downs. Its not entirely water tight (a headgate issue) so it does get leaky but we've put in a small ditch that is taking care of the swamp we had going on. Overall though, its not a bad set up. The biggest learning curve was that we have to water the potato and corn while its still small until the roots reach far enough down for the ditch water to irrigate it properly. We may have made our ditches to deep. We will try more shallow ditches next year.
Thursday, June 5, 2014
A Visual...
Since my wife gave me props for all the projects, I thought I would share a before and after video of one of the major projects. Revamping the garden.
Before:
After
Before:
After
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Lazy?
My husband has spent the last few months working his head off. He redesigned the garden, redesigned the irrigation system, and has now nearly finished redesigning the chicken coop.
He has been so busy.
I've been playing the part of the support team as I cared for our kids, kept the house, and grew our garden in the greenhouse from seed.
We have both been caring for the lawn as mowing season starts. We got it down to an hour and a half the other day!
We have been very busy.
But we are starting to see the benefits already.
We have been eating lettuce for a few months now. The green onions as well. The peas have grown and I saw a few flowering this morning. The garden is planted with the exception of watermelon and canteloupe which are just waiting for a cool evening to transplant.
I have even snuck a few strawberries that were red before the kids saw them.
So I guess you could say that yes, this is a busy time of year. But this is also when it starts to really pay off.
I'm really excited for my Canterbury bells! You have to know a few things to understand my excitement. Canterbury bells are bienniels. This means that they don't bloom the first year. you have to wait for the second year for blooms. So last year I planted the seeds and then watered them forever and then transplanted them into my pea bed once the peas were done for the season. And then I cared for them and then left them alone all winter, just hoping things would go well and they would come alive again in the spring. And they did! They even looked alive in the winter. They just turned a little purplish which was sort of pretty.
About 6 weeks ago I planted them in a permanent spot in my front yard.
AND I saw a bloom just starting to open today! This after teasing me for over a week with all sorts of buds. It seemed like everyday there were more and more buds. But no blossoms! But soon!!!!! It will be all worth it!
I started more seeds this spring and the plants look good. They are currently living in a spare garden bed for now and will hopefully bloom for me again next year. And I found a new variety of Canterbury bells for next year. Its a cup and saucer mix. Should be beautiful!
We transferred the chickens to their new coop last night. It was disturbing that after I put the first few in they flew at the wire walls trying to get out. I've never quite had that reaction before when moving chickens. But after about 6 were in there it stopped and they eventually quieted down and now seem to be enjoying the space and dust baths in all of that new soil that we had to use to raise the ground and discourage flooding when we irrigate.
We will be working on a new 55 gallon water and a new feeder in the next few days. this means that we won't have to water and feed every day. We will only have to collect eggs. So that will be one more chore streamlined.
I just wish I could streamline my laundry! Speaking of....
He has been so busy.
I've been playing the part of the support team as I cared for our kids, kept the house, and grew our garden in the greenhouse from seed.
We have both been caring for the lawn as mowing season starts. We got it down to an hour and a half the other day!
We have been very busy.
But we are starting to see the benefits already.
We have been eating lettuce for a few months now. The green onions as well. The peas have grown and I saw a few flowering this morning. The garden is planted with the exception of watermelon and canteloupe which are just waiting for a cool evening to transplant.
I have even snuck a few strawberries that were red before the kids saw them.
So I guess you could say that yes, this is a busy time of year. But this is also when it starts to really pay off.
I'm really excited for my Canterbury bells! You have to know a few things to understand my excitement. Canterbury bells are bienniels. This means that they don't bloom the first year. you have to wait for the second year for blooms. So last year I planted the seeds and then watered them forever and then transplanted them into my pea bed once the peas were done for the season. And then I cared for them and then left them alone all winter, just hoping things would go well and they would come alive again in the spring. And they did! They even looked alive in the winter. They just turned a little purplish which was sort of pretty.
About 6 weeks ago I planted them in a permanent spot in my front yard.
AND I saw a bloom just starting to open today! This after teasing me for over a week with all sorts of buds. It seemed like everyday there were more and more buds. But no blossoms! But soon!!!!! It will be all worth it!
I started more seeds this spring and the plants look good. They are currently living in a spare garden bed for now and will hopefully bloom for me again next year. And I found a new variety of Canterbury bells for next year. Its a cup and saucer mix. Should be beautiful!
We transferred the chickens to their new coop last night. It was disturbing that after I put the first few in they flew at the wire walls trying to get out. I've never quite had that reaction before when moving chickens. But after about 6 were in there it stopped and they eventually quieted down and now seem to be enjoying the space and dust baths in all of that new soil that we had to use to raise the ground and discourage flooding when we irrigate.
We will be working on a new 55 gallon water and a new feeder in the next few days. this means that we won't have to water and feed every day. We will only have to collect eggs. So that will be one more chore streamlined.
I just wish I could streamline my laundry! Speaking of....
Monday, May 19, 2014
Making Yogurt
With Spokane Family Farms milk!
What you need:
1 gallon of milk (I recommend Spokane family farms!)
1 - 6 oz container of plain yogurt with live active cultures (I like Zoi greek yogurt)
whisk (small enough to fit into your container of yogurt, but big enough to whisk a gallon of milk)
ladle (like for punch or soup)
funnel (like you use when you can and are putting liquid into a canning jar)
Canning jars (enough to fit 1 gallon of milk = 16 cups) and a few extra in case one breaks.
lids for the canning jars (don't have to be new, you don't need them to seal. I like to use old lids)
rings for those lids
large pan that will hold a gallon of milk easily
medium size pan to boil and sanitize tools
hand towel
cooler that can easily fit your filled canning jars
Thermometer
First you shake the jug really well. This milk is non-homogenized. What that means is that it is in the same form that it came out of the cow in. Fat and all. This farm uses a cow that produces a milk that has a milkfat of about 3.5%.
OK, so back to the milk. After shaking really well I put it in a pitcher and let it sit for a few hours if I'm in a hurry or overnight if I'm not. This allows the cream to rise to the top.
I skim the cream off the top and put it into a separate container and put it back into the fridge for another fun project for another day when I've got a little more cream (cultured butter and buttermilk!)
(If you use regular store milk, skip the above steps :) )
Get out a clean pan that can easily hold 1 gallon of milk. Add the rest of the milk (without the cream) to this pan.
Bring it to 180 degrees (did I mention you need a thermometer? Cause you do)
While the milk is coming to 180 degrees you need to do a couple other things.
Turn on your oven to 350 degrees. Get out a cookie sheet and put your clean canning jars on it. Your canning jars need to bake for 20 minutes at this temp. This will sanitize them.
Start a pan of boiling water. This is to sanitize your tools. You will need to add your whisk, funnel, ladle, and lids (not rings)
Boil your tools for at least 5 minutes, maybe more. This will sanitize them.
Why is it so important to sanitize? Because you are going to inoculate your milk with live active cultures. Do you want to chance introducing other strains of wild cultures from other parts of your kitchen? Also, I always use my homemade yogurt as a starter for my next batch of yogurt. Its cheaper and works just as well. So I try to keep everything extra clean to ensure my family is safe.
Anyway its time to check your yogurt. Is it at 180 degrees yet? Just a side note. I have let it get over 180 degrees a couple of times now. It doesn't affect the yogurt. Its just unnecessary. And it lessens your yogurt product through evaporation.
Also, why 180 degrees? 2 reasons.
1. this sanitizes the milk
2. this change the milk protein in a way that helps it become yogurt.
Once your yogurt is up to temp, put the pan in a sink of cool water. I usually fill it up to about the same level of the milk. Make sure not to get anything into your pan of milk!
You need to cool your milk to 110 degrees before you can add your yogurt cultures. To hot and you can kill your cultures and you would have to do this all over again!
Once the jars are done in the oven you will want to get them out asap. They need to start cooling, and this takes a while. Don't try dipping them in cool water to cool them. I tried this one day and it sort of worked. Another time I tried it and the jars were to hot and I broke several jars this way. Don't do it if you value your jars.
Now would it be a big deal if you got called away or busy and the milk went way below 110? Maybe. I've had this happen and just popped it back onto the stove and got it back to 110.
OK, so the jars are cool, the milk is at 110 degrees, and your tools have boiled for at least 5 minutes right?
Now you need to get out your yogurt cultures and your whisk and your ladle.
Use your ladle to scoop some milt into your yogurt. Use your whisk to loosen up and liquify the yogurt. This makes it easier, trust me. No lumps to chase down in a large gallon of milk. Ask me how I know.
Add the yogurt to the milk and whisk well. About 30 seconds.
Now ladle the inoculated milk into your clean jars using your funnel.
Once you are done, put the lids and rings on the jars as tight as you are able.
Get your cooler and make sure your bottles all fit.
Add water to the cooler. You want the milk to stay around 110 degrees, so try and get that temp of water into the cooler. I usually fill the cooler to the neck of the bottle. That way I don't chance water leaking into the bottles.
Keep the bottles in the cooler for 4-8 hours. When the yogurt is thick (I usually tilt it to see if its one large blob or still liquid) it is done and can be put into the refrigerator.
The longer you let it sit in the cooler (even after its thick) the tangier it is. So its no big deal if you forget about it, or if you want to go to bed and take it out in the morning.
And now you are done!
How do you enjoy this delicious treat? Just add fruit and granola and you are in heaven. My husband likes fresh fruit cut up and pumpkin flax seed granola from Costco. I like the same granola but with dried cherries and blueberries on it (Who had time to chop fruit?). My kids like it when I add a little cherry flavoring and some sugar. They also like almond flavoring.
If my instructions are to wordy, there are many other how to's online. But the basic steps are get your milk up to 180, cool it to 110, whisk in your yogurt with cultures, and keep at a temp of 110 for 4-8 hours.
What you need:
1 gallon of milk (I recommend Spokane family farms!)
1 - 6 oz container of plain yogurt with live active cultures (I like Zoi greek yogurt)
whisk (small enough to fit into your container of yogurt, but big enough to whisk a gallon of milk)
ladle (like for punch or soup)
funnel (like you use when you can and are putting liquid into a canning jar)
Canning jars (enough to fit 1 gallon of milk = 16 cups) and a few extra in case one breaks.
lids for the canning jars (don't have to be new, you don't need them to seal. I like to use old lids)
rings for those lids
large pan that will hold a gallon of milk easily
medium size pan to boil and sanitize tools
hand towel
cooler that can easily fit your filled canning jars
Thermometer
First you shake the jug really well. This milk is non-homogenized. What that means is that it is in the same form that it came out of the cow in. Fat and all. This farm uses a cow that produces a milk that has a milkfat of about 3.5%.
OK, so back to the milk. After shaking really well I put it in a pitcher and let it sit for a few hours if I'm in a hurry or overnight if I'm not. This allows the cream to rise to the top.
I skim the cream off the top and put it into a separate container and put it back into the fridge for another fun project for another day when I've got a little more cream (cultured butter and buttermilk!)
(If you use regular store milk, skip the above steps :) )
Get out a clean pan that can easily hold 1 gallon of milk. Add the rest of the milk (without the cream) to this pan.
Bring it to 180 degrees (did I mention you need a thermometer? Cause you do)
While the milk is coming to 180 degrees you need to do a couple other things.
Turn on your oven to 350 degrees. Get out a cookie sheet and put your clean canning jars on it. Your canning jars need to bake for 20 minutes at this temp. This will sanitize them.
Start a pan of boiling water. This is to sanitize your tools. You will need to add your whisk, funnel, ladle, and lids (not rings)
Boil your tools for at least 5 minutes, maybe more. This will sanitize them.
Why is it so important to sanitize? Because you are going to inoculate your milk with live active cultures. Do you want to chance introducing other strains of wild cultures from other parts of your kitchen? Also, I always use my homemade yogurt as a starter for my next batch of yogurt. Its cheaper and works just as well. So I try to keep everything extra clean to ensure my family is safe.
Anyway its time to check your yogurt. Is it at 180 degrees yet? Just a side note. I have let it get over 180 degrees a couple of times now. It doesn't affect the yogurt. Its just unnecessary. And it lessens your yogurt product through evaporation.
Also, why 180 degrees? 2 reasons.
1. this sanitizes the milk
2. this change the milk protein in a way that helps it become yogurt.
Once your yogurt is up to temp, put the pan in a sink of cool water. I usually fill it up to about the same level of the milk. Make sure not to get anything into your pan of milk!
You need to cool your milk to 110 degrees before you can add your yogurt cultures. To hot and you can kill your cultures and you would have to do this all over again!
Once the jars are done in the oven you will want to get them out asap. They need to start cooling, and this takes a while. Don't try dipping them in cool water to cool them. I tried this one day and it sort of worked. Another time I tried it and the jars were to hot and I broke several jars this way. Don't do it if you value your jars.
Now would it be a big deal if you got called away or busy and the milk went way below 110? Maybe. I've had this happen and just popped it back onto the stove and got it back to 110.
OK, so the jars are cool, the milk is at 110 degrees, and your tools have boiled for at least 5 minutes right?
Now you need to get out your yogurt cultures and your whisk and your ladle.
Use your ladle to scoop some milt into your yogurt. Use your whisk to loosen up and liquify the yogurt. This makes it easier, trust me. No lumps to chase down in a large gallon of milk. Ask me how I know.
Add the yogurt to the milk and whisk well. About 30 seconds.
Now ladle the inoculated milk into your clean jars using your funnel.
Once you are done, put the lids and rings on the jars as tight as you are able.
Get your cooler and make sure your bottles all fit.
Add water to the cooler. You want the milk to stay around 110 degrees, so try and get that temp of water into the cooler. I usually fill the cooler to the neck of the bottle. That way I don't chance water leaking into the bottles.
Keep the bottles in the cooler for 4-8 hours. When the yogurt is thick (I usually tilt it to see if its one large blob or still liquid) it is done and can be put into the refrigerator.
The longer you let it sit in the cooler (even after its thick) the tangier it is. So its no big deal if you forget about it, or if you want to go to bed and take it out in the morning.
And now you are done!
How do you enjoy this delicious treat? Just add fruit and granola and you are in heaven. My husband likes fresh fruit cut up and pumpkin flax seed granola from Costco. I like the same granola but with dried cherries and blueberries on it (Who had time to chop fruit?). My kids like it when I add a little cherry flavoring and some sugar. They also like almond flavoring.
If my instructions are to wordy, there are many other how to's online. But the basic steps are get your milk up to 180, cool it to 110, whisk in your yogurt with cultures, and keep at a temp of 110 for 4-8 hours.
Friday, May 16, 2014
So lazy!
We have now finished our garden redesign and are currently experiencing some growing pains as we learn how to most efficiently use our new gated pipe system and how to adequately water the irrigated part of our garden.
We ended up buying a 2nd cow. We found it on Craigslist and it was a couple of towns over, about a 30 min drive. He is pretty darn ugly, but has a good body shape. The guy who delivered him said he sure was pretty at the same time I said Wow that cow is ugly. But then I followed up with a quip about how ugly was a good thing if you were going to eat him. He established dominance over the other cow with a few head butts and now all is quite calm in our pasture. No 10 minute Moooooings. Those weren't bad, the neighbors dogs yapping is worse. But it was noticable.
The chickens are getting bigger and are developing combs and wattles. Their new coop is about halfway done. Lots of work being done on it! We were going to build new, but after talking about it decided that the old coop just needed a remodel. Much cheaper and just as good.
We planted our garden last night. Everything looks good today. I'm currently trying to get rid of the 50-60 extra plants we have now. I'm disgusted by all the eager takers who then can't seem to simply show up. I think I'm going to change my offer to first come first serve and even post them on Craigslist.
I still have a bunch of flowers I need to find homes for. Not sure how I'm going to do that... I'm not sure where to plant that many Larkspur flowers. But I guess I will find a place! So pretty!!
We ended up buying a 2nd cow. We found it on Craigslist and it was a couple of towns over, about a 30 min drive. He is pretty darn ugly, but has a good body shape. The guy who delivered him said he sure was pretty at the same time I said Wow that cow is ugly. But then I followed up with a quip about how ugly was a good thing if you were going to eat him. He established dominance over the other cow with a few head butts and now all is quite calm in our pasture. No 10 minute Moooooings. Those weren't bad, the neighbors dogs yapping is worse. But it was noticable.
The chickens are getting bigger and are developing combs and wattles. Their new coop is about halfway done. Lots of work being done on it! We were going to build new, but after talking about it decided that the old coop just needed a remodel. Much cheaper and just as good.
We planted our garden last night. Everything looks good today. I'm currently trying to get rid of the 50-60 extra plants we have now. I'm disgusted by all the eager takers who then can't seem to simply show up. I think I'm going to change my offer to first come first serve and even post them on Craigslist.
I still have a bunch of flowers I need to find homes for. Not sure how I'm going to do that... I'm not sure where to plant that many Larkspur flowers. But I guess I will find a place! So pretty!!
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
New Cow!
And its the ugliest thing you ever did see. But after a brief head butting session has settled right in to our pasture. The other cow has stopped mooing and balance is restored.
We found him on Craigslist and after a trip to choose him where we got to choose him from a large herd, he was delivered last night.
Irrigation started on Saturday and it has been a bit of a pain to work with the gates on the gated pipe. But we will get it down. the garden didn't like it very much and now we need to do some repairs since the water was rough on our ditches. I'm not used to the amount of pressure in gated pipe versus regular head gates. We'll figure it all out I'm sure.
My husband is working on our new chicken coop. After some discussion we decided that we could use a chicken coop we already had which still had a sturdy frame. A few modifications and it should work. It started life as one of those honeybee shelters that you see in farmers fields. The frame was solid still, the floor was rotted out from chicken poop and the walls are really weathered. The roof is solid. So we will most likely replace the walls, the floor will drop to the ground and have a sand/dirt floor and hubby is going to pop out some nesting boxes out the back. So, a big change, but much cheaper than building from scratch. We will also demolish another old coop we have and keep a smaller coop that is getting worn, but is still a good place for young chicks when they are ready to come outside.
Did I mention the strawberry plants? I had someone call me on Saturday who wanted to buy 500. I said sure thing. He asked about bartering and we discovered he had firewood and we needed firewood. We thought 1 cord wood to 600 plants. When he got here yesterday morning he said he realized he didn't have a full cord (don't know if he didn't have room or didn't have the wood) so he also brought cash. We settled on 50 plants for $80 worth of wood and $70 cash. So a great trade! And even better when we were sorting out the plants and I realized I only had 500. So I would have been short!
I think the strawberry farm people may have gypped me. I planted about 500 plants, Dad got 200, I sold about 140 or so. This guy took 500, I count a shortage of 200+ I will be leaving a negative review.
We found him on Craigslist and after a trip to choose him where we got to choose him from a large herd, he was delivered last night.
Irrigation started on Saturday and it has been a bit of a pain to work with the gates on the gated pipe. But we will get it down. the garden didn't like it very much and now we need to do some repairs since the water was rough on our ditches. I'm not used to the amount of pressure in gated pipe versus regular head gates. We'll figure it all out I'm sure.
My husband is working on our new chicken coop. After some discussion we decided that we could use a chicken coop we already had which still had a sturdy frame. A few modifications and it should work. It started life as one of those honeybee shelters that you see in farmers fields. The frame was solid still, the floor was rotted out from chicken poop and the walls are really weathered. The roof is solid. So we will most likely replace the walls, the floor will drop to the ground and have a sand/dirt floor and hubby is going to pop out some nesting boxes out the back. So, a big change, but much cheaper than building from scratch. We will also demolish another old coop we have and keep a smaller coop that is getting worn, but is still a good place for young chicks when they are ready to come outside.
Did I mention the strawberry plants? I had someone call me on Saturday who wanted to buy 500. I said sure thing. He asked about bartering and we discovered he had firewood and we needed firewood. We thought 1 cord wood to 600 plants. When he got here yesterday morning he said he realized he didn't have a full cord (don't know if he didn't have room or didn't have the wood) so he also brought cash. We settled on 50 plants for $80 worth of wood and $70 cash. So a great trade! And even better when we were sorting out the plants and I realized I only had 500. So I would have been short!
I think the strawberry farm people may have gypped me. I planted about 500 plants, Dad got 200, I sold about 140 or so. This guy took 500, I count a shortage of 200+ I will be leaving a negative review.
Saturday, May 3, 2014
Cows named Bubba and Stinky
So Stinky is lonely. He hangs out with the chickens but is desperate for a cow friend. So desperate that he will moo over and over for 10 minutes at a time. I think he is trying to get some of the other cows in our area to moo back. I don't think he can see them because they are so far away, but he can occasionally hear them.
We've been keeping him in a smaller pasture behind our house so we can keep a closer eye on him. He is doing ok, other than pooping a lot around the chicken coop. That is fun when it comes time to feed and water the chickens.
We are looking for a cow friend for him. My husband is a little wary of losing another cow since they are such an expensive investment that can just die one day from whatever. But this time around we are committed. We are trying to find another cow, but they are rather expensive right now. And scarce. My husband has a guy on Craigslist he is talking to and the neighbor gave us a name of another guy we might call. But he is a guy who finds the cows and hels you buy them. Which sounds like more money to me. The Craigslist guy will let you choose the cow and then will deliver to you for a decent price. So I think perhaps we will go that way. We'll see. If that doesn't work, well, we may just buy a calm sheep or find someone who wants to rent the pasture for a small animal.
The plants in the greenhouse are growing like crazy. I can't believe how large the zucchini plants are and the tomatoes are getting big! but not as big as the tomato plants I saw at Costco yesterday. Now those! are HUGE. Full size if you ask me.
The corn and potatoes will be planted today and we will also get to water the pasture for the first time today. I'm excited about the first use of the gated pipe.
I'll be transplanting strawberries today also. They are looking great and are even starting to blossom!
The grape plants have both woken up after a week or so in the greenhouse. they are budding and looks like we will have leaves within the week!
My Canterbury bells are getting taller which makes me happy since they are supposed to get around 2 feet tall. Right now they are 8 inches.
My painted daisy that I have planted around our tree in our front yard is about to bloom. The buds are there and swelling. In the next 2 weeks we should be enjoying the beautiful dark and light pink blossoms. I'm excited for that. And for next year when (hopefully) it will be happening around all the trees in our yard!
I weeded all the tree rings this past week even while the neighbors yappy chihuahuas were barking and growling 5 feet away through a fence. After about 10 minutes the neighbors finally called them off. That was nice.
The boys love to dig in the dirt of the garden. My husband isn't to pleased with the mess in his neatly hoed rows, but just wait until we irrigate. He'll see its not a big deal.
We are trying a new product this year called Azamite. It means A to Z minerals. Its mined out of Utah and has raving reviews on Amazon. We'll see how it does this year. It seems great, but hard to gauge when you are using it on everything. I've put it on just one of Mom and Dad's strawberry beds to see if we can really see a difference.
Lots of stuff going on right now!
We've been keeping him in a smaller pasture behind our house so we can keep a closer eye on him. He is doing ok, other than pooping a lot around the chicken coop. That is fun when it comes time to feed and water the chickens.
We are looking for a cow friend for him. My husband is a little wary of losing another cow since they are such an expensive investment that can just die one day from whatever. But this time around we are committed. We are trying to find another cow, but they are rather expensive right now. And scarce. My husband has a guy on Craigslist he is talking to and the neighbor gave us a name of another guy we might call. But he is a guy who finds the cows and hels you buy them. Which sounds like more money to me. The Craigslist guy will let you choose the cow and then will deliver to you for a decent price. So I think perhaps we will go that way. We'll see. If that doesn't work, well, we may just buy a calm sheep or find someone who wants to rent the pasture for a small animal.
The plants in the greenhouse are growing like crazy. I can't believe how large the zucchini plants are and the tomatoes are getting big! but not as big as the tomato plants I saw at Costco yesterday. Now those! are HUGE. Full size if you ask me.
The corn and potatoes will be planted today and we will also get to water the pasture for the first time today. I'm excited about the first use of the gated pipe.
I'll be transplanting strawberries today also. They are looking great and are even starting to blossom!
The grape plants have both woken up after a week or so in the greenhouse. they are budding and looks like we will have leaves within the week!
My Canterbury bells are getting taller which makes me happy since they are supposed to get around 2 feet tall. Right now they are 8 inches.
My painted daisy that I have planted around our tree in our front yard is about to bloom. The buds are there and swelling. In the next 2 weeks we should be enjoying the beautiful dark and light pink blossoms. I'm excited for that. And for next year when (hopefully) it will be happening around all the trees in our yard!
I weeded all the tree rings this past week even while the neighbors yappy chihuahuas were barking and growling 5 feet away through a fence. After about 10 minutes the neighbors finally called them off. That was nice.
The boys love to dig in the dirt of the garden. My husband isn't to pleased with the mess in his neatly hoed rows, but just wait until we irrigate. He'll see its not a big deal.
We are trying a new product this year called Azamite. It means A to Z minerals. Its mined out of Utah and has raving reviews on Amazon. We'll see how it does this year. It seems great, but hard to gauge when you are using it on everything. I've put it on just one of Mom and Dad's strawberry beds to see if we can really see a difference.
Lots of stuff going on right now!
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Just another day
My 1500 strawberry plants. Well, everyone who said they wanted to buy some turned into just a couple. So now I have a lot of strawberry plants. They are beautiful with leaves and they look like I wish they had a few weeks ago when customers would take one look and reduce their order. They didn't quite get the potential that those ugly little plants had.
The cow is less depressed these days. He got out on Thursday. I had a visitor and the phone rang. I thought I would just check and see who it was. It was Mom. I was going to tell her I would call her back, but the first words out of her mouth was that there was a cow in my backyard! Anyway, with some help from Dad we herded it back in the pasture and figured out where he had gotten out. After some fence repair and a gate adjustment that Dad was so kind to perform, everything was back to normal. Turns out that the breaker was flipped in all this rain and the fence hadn't been on. The cow figured it out and began pushing on the fence to get to grass. At some point he broke the wire and pushed so hard some poles were moved around. this resulted in our gate being unable to latch anymore since the pole it latched on was to far away. It blew open in one of the storms we've been having. So the electric wire was repaired, the breaker was flipped back on, Dad and I discussed some repairs to the gate and poles that would make it less likely to move if a 6-700 cow were to push on it again. My husband was going to have to do the repairs when he got home, but Dad offered to do them, which I really appreciated since its soccer and softball season and time for these projects on weeknights is short.
We planted the broccoli and Bok Choy in the garden yesterday when the rain let up a little. It was getting burnt in the greenhouse from the hot days.
I transplanted the rest of the tomatoes into bigger pots. they were getting to big for the 4 packs they were in. I've notices with plants that they will grow to fill the pots you put them in. So because we want really big tomato plants to put in the ground in a month or so they needed to be transplanted!
I'm excited for the gated pipe in our pasture. The irrigation water is on now and in a few weeks we will start watering. We could start watering now, but our little neighborhood irrigation group has a field of alfalfa (sometimes corn) in it. The agreement that was in place before we moved in was that the field gets water the first week or so of irrigation. Thats not a big deal since spring rains (especially this year) make watering unnecessary.
The cow is less depressed these days. He got out on Thursday. I had a visitor and the phone rang. I thought I would just check and see who it was. It was Mom. I was going to tell her I would call her back, but the first words out of her mouth was that there was a cow in my backyard! Anyway, with some help from Dad we herded it back in the pasture and figured out where he had gotten out. After some fence repair and a gate adjustment that Dad was so kind to perform, everything was back to normal. Turns out that the breaker was flipped in all this rain and the fence hadn't been on. The cow figured it out and began pushing on the fence to get to grass. At some point he broke the wire and pushed so hard some poles were moved around. this resulted in our gate being unable to latch anymore since the pole it latched on was to far away. It blew open in one of the storms we've been having. So the electric wire was repaired, the breaker was flipped back on, Dad and I discussed some repairs to the gate and poles that would make it less likely to move if a 6-700 cow were to push on it again. My husband was going to have to do the repairs when he got home, but Dad offered to do them, which I really appreciated since its soccer and softball season and time for these projects on weeknights is short.
We planted the broccoli and Bok Choy in the garden yesterday when the rain let up a little. It was getting burnt in the greenhouse from the hot days.
I transplanted the rest of the tomatoes into bigger pots. they were getting to big for the 4 packs they were in. I've notices with plants that they will grow to fill the pots you put them in. So because we want really big tomato plants to put in the ground in a month or so they needed to be transplanted!
I'm excited for the gated pipe in our pasture. The irrigation water is on now and in a few weeks we will start watering. We could start watering now, but our little neighborhood irrigation group has a field of alfalfa (sometimes corn) in it. The agreement that was in place before we moved in was that the field gets water the first week or so of irrigation. Thats not a big deal since spring rains (especially this year) make watering unnecessary.
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Whoa
Bubba died. We found him bloated next to the chicken coop on Saturday morning. We are not sure what caused it. We initially thought it might be the freshly mowed grass we dumped in the pasture, but after talking about it, we all agreed he didn't eat more than a bite and then turned up his nose. There is speculation that he was sick before we got him, or maybe he ate some hardware we missed when we checked the pasture, who knows.
We had to wait until Tuesday morning to get him picked up. The kids had to walk by his bloated stinking body on their way to and from school When his body was gone everyone was happy. But he was a nice cow, and we lost our initial investment in him almost right away. So that hurt.
His pasture - mate is doing ok. His name is Stinky. He is skittish and doesn't like to be near people. We make him bolt. If he feels cornered he will run away as fast as he can. He needs a pasture mate I think. We don't know what we are going to do yet.
The chicks are rapidly growing. I think we are on schedule for them to start laying in July.
My strawberries have been selling slowly. I speculate that I will end up with somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,000 to 1,100 plants left in my garden when all is said and done. Don't know if I will do that again. But in the end I spent around $80 for that many plants so I got a great deal there. Just have to figure out where to put them all.
The garden transformation is almost done. The 9 4x4 beds are in and the sprinkler systems are all attached. The end of the garden has been rototilled and gated pipe has been installed there and down the length of the pasture. I'm pretty excited about that since we will be able to more efficiently water the pasture. I just hope it all works the way it should.
In the garden we have peas and onions as well as lettuce, various herbs, and lots of strawberry plants. The greenhouse is overflowing with plants all in need of repotting! Our squash is looking awesome! They are truly huge and already need transplanting from the 4" pots. I'm a little worried that we will be drowning in zucchini from late June on!
I will try and include some pictures next time.
We had to wait until Tuesday morning to get him picked up. The kids had to walk by his bloated stinking body on their way to and from school When his body was gone everyone was happy. But he was a nice cow, and we lost our initial investment in him almost right away. So that hurt.
His pasture - mate is doing ok. His name is Stinky. He is skittish and doesn't like to be near people. We make him bolt. If he feels cornered he will run away as fast as he can. He needs a pasture mate I think. We don't know what we are going to do yet.
The chicks are rapidly growing. I think we are on schedule for them to start laying in July.
My strawberries have been selling slowly. I speculate that I will end up with somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,000 to 1,100 plants left in my garden when all is said and done. Don't know if I will do that again. But in the end I spent around $80 for that many plants so I got a great deal there. Just have to figure out where to put them all.
The garden transformation is almost done. The 9 4x4 beds are in and the sprinkler systems are all attached. The end of the garden has been rototilled and gated pipe has been installed there and down the length of the pasture. I'm pretty excited about that since we will be able to more efficiently water the pasture. I just hope it all works the way it should.
In the garden we have peas and onions as well as lettuce, various herbs, and lots of strawberry plants. The greenhouse is overflowing with plants all in need of repotting! Our squash is looking awesome! They are truly huge and already need transplanting from the 4" pots. I'm a little worried that we will be drowning in zucchini from late June on!
I will try and include some pictures next time.
Saturday, April 5, 2014
Around the place
So much going on around our place. I can't really call it a farm because we are only on one acre. So that would be a joke. Truly. But we do what we can on our property.
We currently have 22 hens. I purchased them through the mail for the first time ever and it has been a great experience so far. They were hatched on Feb 5th and shipped to us from Ideal hatchery. These seem like some of the nicest most friendly hens I've had. We ordered 10 Red sex link and 10 Rhode Island Reds. They sent us that and 1 additional of each breed. So we have 22. They all seem to be hens, but sometimes its hard to see a rooster until later (or until they start to crow) due to the large size of the flock.
We started them in our small greenhouse and after they had feathered out (and we couldn't stand the stink anymore) we put them outside with a light for heat. The have done well. They are growing at a surprising rate and we look forward to eggs around July.
I am trying something new this time around. We are trying chicken nipples. What are chicken nipples you ask? Well they are these neat doohickies that you put on the end of a bottle or other contraption that allow the chickens to drink. Almost like a baby nipple. Thus the strange name. The nice thing about these is that instead of an open bucket or waterer that chickens just love to poop in (and occasionally jump into if you are trying to catch them) these are closed, so the chickens get clean water instead of poopy waterers that are nearly impossible to keep clean. Right now, I'm using them on the end of a water bottle I've strapped onto the side of my coop. I will be going bigger with that, but since a redesign of the chicken coop will be happening soon, I am waiting.
They look like this
http://www.thegardencoop.com/images/chicken-drinking-waterer.jpg
Its the time of year to get cows if you are the kind who does that. In the past we have purchased them from a (somewhat) local auction. That was really hit or miss though. You would see the cows for a few minutes and then decide if they were what you wanted and bid and then pick them up in a few hours if you won your bid. The problem with this is that the cows are highly stressed. They are in a small arena and are highly uncomfortable. They tend not to act like themselves. That is how we ended up with crazy cows the past few years. Those cows got out a lot last year and one time we even had them get out in the middle of the night and had to spend the whole next day tracking them and thankfully found them (but that is a whole other story).
My husband has a buddy at work who raises way more cows than we do at a time (like 15-20) and then sells the beef when its slaughter time. People do this because unlike the stuff you buy at the supermarket, this stuff doesn't have all of that hormones or whatnot in it. This guy can tell you what shots (if any) he has given to the cows. He can tell you what he's been feeding the cows and where he got the feed. And I'm sure if he needed to, he could find out if that feed had been sprayed with anything, and what.
So, this buddy was nice enough to introduce us to his father. His father gets young cows in the summer/fall and feeds them all winter (which most people don't want to do, its a lot of work) and sells them for a profit in the spring.
He was willing to sell us 2 cows at the same price as what he would get at the auction. The benefit to us is that we were able to visit his place and choose the cows. My husband's buddy went with us and pointed out a few likely cows that he thought would get along well on our smaller property.
What we ended up with are 2 very nice cows. Almost to nice. One cow must have been a bottle baby (its mom wouldn't feed it or couldn't feed it and the cow was raised on a bottle with formula). It likes to have its ears scratched and in the beginning would come over and nudge you with its head to get you to scratch its ears. sounds fun right? Well, how would you like a cows slobbery nose on you? This has slowed down as the cow has gotten used to us. Now it will let you come close and scratch its nose, but it doesn't typically bother you. This could be because we opened up the larger pasture and now it has more space to roam, I don't know.
The other cow is nice enough. It doesn't like to get close. Even my 3 year old can scare it by walking more than 30 feet away. But the nice cow seems to be a calm influence and so far everyone is happy with no escapes.
We named them Bubba and Stinky. We usually go with names like T-bone and Hamburger (Hammy). This year we may have gone with names that are to pet-like. We'll see. We will have them until about Fall of 2015.
The garden is going well. My husband is doing a complete remodel that he started last year. It involves cinderblocks and a gated pipe. We are very excited to have it finished in the next few weeks. I'll have to put up pictures when it finally is done.
The greenhouse is full of all sorts of flowers and vegetables. they are all doing well. A few haven't come up yet, but I haven't given up hope.
We bought 2 bare root grape vines yesterday. We will be planting them in a few weeks. right now they are in a pot of dirt getting watered with the greenhouse.
I did something, unusual the other day. I bought 1,500 Quinalt strawberry plants. Yep 1,500. I plan on selling most and then planting the rest. We love strawberries at our house. They are supposed to arrive next week.
The nectarine tree will be blossoming soon, and it looks like the apricot trees have frozen yet again. I haven't checked on the peach tree yet this year...
The cherry tree that we planted last year looks good. I don't know if we will have a crop this year, but hopefully it will have enough blossoms that the older cherry tree will have a crop.
The adventure with the Honey Crisp apple trees is ongoing. We started out with 2 about 5 years ago. Got a crop 2 years later (small) and then lost one of the trees to a bore. We replaced the tree. Last year we lost the other tree to fire blight. We bought 2 trees this year (in hopes of ensuring an eventual crop) and planted those. We now have 3 trees. Here's hoping to a crop in a year or so!!
We are busy!
We currently have 22 hens. I purchased them through the mail for the first time ever and it has been a great experience so far. They were hatched on Feb 5th and shipped to us from Ideal hatchery. These seem like some of the nicest most friendly hens I've had. We ordered 10 Red sex link and 10 Rhode Island Reds. They sent us that and 1 additional of each breed. So we have 22. They all seem to be hens, but sometimes its hard to see a rooster until later (or until they start to crow) due to the large size of the flock.
We started them in our small greenhouse and after they had feathered out (and we couldn't stand the stink anymore) we put them outside with a light for heat. The have done well. They are growing at a surprising rate and we look forward to eggs around July.
I am trying something new this time around. We are trying chicken nipples. What are chicken nipples you ask? Well they are these neat doohickies that you put on the end of a bottle or other contraption that allow the chickens to drink. Almost like a baby nipple. Thus the strange name. The nice thing about these is that instead of an open bucket or waterer that chickens just love to poop in (and occasionally jump into if you are trying to catch them) these are closed, so the chickens get clean water instead of poopy waterers that are nearly impossible to keep clean. Right now, I'm using them on the end of a water bottle I've strapped onto the side of my coop. I will be going bigger with that, but since a redesign of the chicken coop will be happening soon, I am waiting.
They look like this
http://www.thegardencoop.com/images/chicken-drinking-waterer.jpg
Its the time of year to get cows if you are the kind who does that. In the past we have purchased them from a (somewhat) local auction. That was really hit or miss though. You would see the cows for a few minutes and then decide if they were what you wanted and bid and then pick them up in a few hours if you won your bid. The problem with this is that the cows are highly stressed. They are in a small arena and are highly uncomfortable. They tend not to act like themselves. That is how we ended up with crazy cows the past few years. Those cows got out a lot last year and one time we even had them get out in the middle of the night and had to spend the whole next day tracking them and thankfully found them (but that is a whole other story).
My husband has a buddy at work who raises way more cows than we do at a time (like 15-20) and then sells the beef when its slaughter time. People do this because unlike the stuff you buy at the supermarket, this stuff doesn't have all of that hormones or whatnot in it. This guy can tell you what shots (if any) he has given to the cows. He can tell you what he's been feeding the cows and where he got the feed. And I'm sure if he needed to, he could find out if that feed had been sprayed with anything, and what.
So, this buddy was nice enough to introduce us to his father. His father gets young cows in the summer/fall and feeds them all winter (which most people don't want to do, its a lot of work) and sells them for a profit in the spring.
He was willing to sell us 2 cows at the same price as what he would get at the auction. The benefit to us is that we were able to visit his place and choose the cows. My husband's buddy went with us and pointed out a few likely cows that he thought would get along well on our smaller property.
What we ended up with are 2 very nice cows. Almost to nice. One cow must have been a bottle baby (its mom wouldn't feed it or couldn't feed it and the cow was raised on a bottle with formula). It likes to have its ears scratched and in the beginning would come over and nudge you with its head to get you to scratch its ears. sounds fun right? Well, how would you like a cows slobbery nose on you? This has slowed down as the cow has gotten used to us. Now it will let you come close and scratch its nose, but it doesn't typically bother you. This could be because we opened up the larger pasture and now it has more space to roam, I don't know.
The other cow is nice enough. It doesn't like to get close. Even my 3 year old can scare it by walking more than 30 feet away. But the nice cow seems to be a calm influence and so far everyone is happy with no escapes.
We named them Bubba and Stinky. We usually go with names like T-bone and Hamburger (Hammy). This year we may have gone with names that are to pet-like. We'll see. We will have them until about Fall of 2015.
The garden is going well. My husband is doing a complete remodel that he started last year. It involves cinderblocks and a gated pipe. We are very excited to have it finished in the next few weeks. I'll have to put up pictures when it finally is done.
The greenhouse is full of all sorts of flowers and vegetables. they are all doing well. A few haven't come up yet, but I haven't given up hope.
We bought 2 bare root grape vines yesterday. We will be planting them in a few weeks. right now they are in a pot of dirt getting watered with the greenhouse.
I did something, unusual the other day. I bought 1,500 Quinalt strawberry plants. Yep 1,500. I plan on selling most and then planting the rest. We love strawberries at our house. They are supposed to arrive next week.
The nectarine tree will be blossoming soon, and it looks like the apricot trees have frozen yet again. I haven't checked on the peach tree yet this year...
The cherry tree that we planted last year looks good. I don't know if we will have a crop this year, but hopefully it will have enough blossoms that the older cherry tree will have a crop.
The adventure with the Honey Crisp apple trees is ongoing. We started out with 2 about 5 years ago. Got a crop 2 years later (small) and then lost one of the trees to a bore. We replaced the tree. Last year we lost the other tree to fire blight. We bought 2 trees this year (in hopes of ensuring an eventual crop) and planted those. We now have 3 trees. Here's hoping to a crop in a year or so!!
We are busy!
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
The beginning - because we have to start somewhere right?
I am calling this blog the lazy gardener because a few days ago I was working in my garden and my sister was visiting. As we talked I was describing the method we use to garden. As I described it she said "You guys are such hard working gardeners!" I said "Not! We are lazy gardeners if anything."
And this blog was born.
I had been thinking about starting a milk blog about my adventures in cheese, yogurt, and butter making. But wasn't sure if I had enough of that to talk about. Add some gardening and some of the animals we have around here and as Emeril says, "Bam!"
My husband and I and our family are the adventurous independent sort. We like to try things and do things ourselves. Not that we are crazy about it. Its more like this - I started making homemade bread because I can control its ingredients. Now my husband likes it so much he won't let me not make it. Although the occasional loaf from the grocery store (in the freezer) will do in a pinch if we are out of homemade. We bought a whole bunch of all natural milk because it was an awesome price and froze it for cheese making. Well, life got hectic and then a cow was butchered (took up a lot of room in the freezer) and my husband was wondering if we were ever going to use the milk in the freezer. So I started making yogurt. Now he eats parfaits every morning with the yogurt, some granola, some berries and a banana. Loves it. Hates when we run out. And then I cracked open a year old parmesan a few weeks ago and it was delicious. And he started asking about what else was aging in the cheese fridge.
Some of these hobbies start out with a crazy look from him and end up with all of us wondering how we ever did without!
So join us in our adventures! I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
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