Record keeping (and some rambling)

We have very bad records for this year. Record keeping is one of the unsung but important things in food production - and it's hard to keep good records in your head. But without knowing what you did, what worked and what didn't work, you won't be able to reproduce success or avoid doing repeating something that didn't work.

Some things are burned into my mind; like the tomato ripening issues. While we hope that this year, with it's late cold wet spring and early wet fall, is not typical and we'll have decent tomatoes in future years, I still need to plant the tomatoes in a sunnier spot, with more space between them. I'm used to so much hot sun and no shade at all, it's not been easy to consider that factor.

But when we planted things and when they were ripe - like the existing apple tree here, down by the creek. It's an early type, the apples were ripe a while back, but now that it's been some time (in the time warp of September), I don't remember exactly when we noticed they were ripe...

Other than that... the turkeys are going to the processor this week, we just got the last of the first planting of corn in the freezer, there are lots of peppers to deal with, I have another round of tomatoes to can (sad though our yield is this year) before vacation. We planted a fig, a hazelnut, all three potted grapes, and moved the pawpaw, and finally got the big old Japanese Raisin in the ground - and all deer protected. We are hoping to get the bees dealt with in the next few days, that will be an adventure.

This past weekend was full of social events, a potluck at Seed Ambassadors (fascinating place! They have a seed company and a seed saving organization) on Saturday, and on Sunday, an event for the online farmer's market (Willamette Local Foods) that was cancelled but we didn't know so we had a delightful potluck anyway. So we didn't get as much done as we might, but we met lots of wonderful folks.

Local farm

There's a rather cool farm not too far from us, in Sweet Home. It's name is Sweet Home Farms. I met the owners, Carla Green and Mike Polen (not the famous guy with the similar name) at a food event earlier this year (she got the door prize of chocolates that I was eyeing, but I'm happy with the chicken butchering certificate). They are Salatin-ites who work a day job from home and are overworked. They remind me a lot of us (but much more serious about the farming). They even have an English Shepherd dog.

I was trying to buy a half a lamb a few weeks back and had trouble with their website, and didn't understand their pricing. I know how hard it is, and they are trying to make a profit... but with the confusion and delay means I got sucked into other things, by now they presumably have butchered and the opportunity has gone by.

They also sell by the piece but I CANNOT find their website using google. So just so I can find it again, it is sweethomefarms.com. It sure seems like if you can't be googled, you don't really exist, maybe this link will help them.

Quick update

We're coming up on living here a year, and often think about what a lot we've got done. It's too much to catalog now, but some updates, so I don't forget when we got the first green beans, the way I've forgotten just when the first blueberries showed up.

I'm enjoying the greenhouse very much; though ceiling painting is no fun (heat rises!). The plants are thriving in the greenhouse, I'll be happen when painting is done and they can move into the final locations. I found a tiny little tree frog at eye level in the melon plant, which was a treat. Alas, spider mites on the kiwi.

Of the two roosters that showed up in place of the pullets we ordered, one leaked out of a fence, found by Sophie, and died a week later from the injuries. We gave the other to the Hess's (who gave us in return some very delicious blueberries). 12 cornish cross went to Scio for butchering, which went smoothly. We have six cornish left, which we'll butcher ourselves with the Hess's. The 5 turkeys have a ways to go yet. These guys are stuck in the barn stall until we get fencing.... which had to wait until the leftover construction dirt pile was moved... which just happened. So, progress, but unhappy poultry meanwhile. I bring them dandelions and sow thistles, since they've gone through the kale and collard bolts.

We had our first pickings of green beans this week, they have been delicious. I've only seen two cucumber beetles so far, but the second one got away so we're doommed :-). I check tomatoes frequently but nothing has ripened yet. The peppers look small but we do have some eating size jalapenos. Potatoes have started to die back, they potatoes look great. The cucumbers, squash, and melon plants look good. The corn has just barely started to tassle up. We made a second planting of corn, a bit late on July 20, but we will see. Onions are finally getting large. The garlic, which all sprouted in the ground in spring, has been depressing and I've tried to ignore it. Starting to feel the pressure to get ready for the fall/winter garden; need dirt. We haven't had rain for some weeks, the ground surface is pretty dry, the grass is still green. Keeping things watered has been easy (well, with the irrigiation in...). We haven't yet watered the orchard, though I exect to soon; all the black plastic over the grass must be helping a lot.

The new kittens, Greta and Sundance, are starting to adjust. Greta is much braver and will stick around when we are outside, but we rarely glimpse Sundance. Greta actually came up behind the barn yesterday where we were watching turkey TV, in spite of Sophie being with us. Greta followed Buddy and sat down in the dirt along with the other cats and dog. I think she was hungry. Buddy likes the kittens (Greta, anyway), but KitCat has not been himself since they arrived; he's stayed away for long periods and is grumpy when he's around. He hisses at the kittens, if you pick him up, or sometimes when just walking along. But sometimes he comes and sits on your lap, so we hope he'll eventually adjust. Sophie thinks Greta is a squirrel and behaves accordingly. The kittens are very, very cute (well, the hostile expression always on Sundance's face isn't that cute).

Moving gap

It's been a long time since I posted. We moved! 200 miles north, to the cool, moist Willamette valley. Moving a farm is a horrific task, though we sold off the stock and only took a few chickens (besides the dog and cats). But we did bring hayfeeders, rolls of fencing, water tanks, and a small greenhouse with us, we didn't exactly move light.

Starting over again in a new place is not easy; there was nothing here, we've had to put in a garden, fruit trees, and build a barn, and still have some fencing to do. Relying on store-bought food has been challenging. Eating your own food is a pipeline, where you start things at one point, tend them for a while, and eat them much later. But I didn't realize just how long the pipeline is. Some things you get pretty soon - we've had kale and eggs from an early point of living here, plus this place has oaks and acorns to experiment with. But it's been over eight months now, the carrots, parnips and potatoes we brought with us are long ago eaten, we just ran out of onions, and there isn't much to replace it. We're buying most of our food, and the freezer looks bare and empty.

The soil here is pretty good, so we've managed to put in pretty extensive beds and should have more to harvest starting maybe in a month or so. Chicks and Poults are growing fast now in the barn, so some meat's in the pipeline, but we won't be harvesting any lamb until next year the earliest. Unexpectedly we might have a couple of cherry-producing cherry trees (there are any number of fruitless flowering cherries, so sad).

This land can certainly be abundant, the grass is shoulder high and the weeds are lush. So some future point we've have food again. Then we'll have to wean ourselves off bananas and barbecued salmon :-)