This is the Day

After some awesome storms last night, the sun is out and the temps are warm.
 Today I'm going to dedicate to my gardens.
 Today the lettuce, spinach and Swiss chard will get planted.
 Today the herb beds will all be renewed.
 Today the lawnmower will get a once over and perhaps even a workout.
 Today I will try out my new handy dandy seed planter.
 Today I will remember that I am blessed in all things.
 Today...Lord willing.

The Harvest is Plentiful

Rain in the forecast through Saturday.  But come Sunday the sun should be shining and, Lord willing, we’ll be combining our oats and wheat.  We’ve had a neighbor combine our oats before, but we have our own combine now!  My honey has been working on it, and it should be ready to roll. 

 I’m excited because I planted a plot of wheat and it’s done now.  I was going to hand harvest, but decided to try the combine.  Less work sounds like a much better idea.  Growing our own wheat should help with our grocery bill considerably.  I usually by my grain through the local coop and it's $45 for 50 lbs.  I'm hoping to harvest enough for us for the year, some seed for next year and enough grain for my parents, also.

Time to hit the garden.

Happy Harvesting!

Frost.....and more frost

Okay, so it's not snowing, but we did have a good frost last night.  Tonight we get to have another one.

I don't think there's enough plastic in the township to cover my garden.  I did get some of the beans covered, half of the tomatoes, some of the cukes.  The rest got hit with the frost, though I think the corn is going to make it.  I'll check it out tomorrow morning.  Pumpkins and squash might be goners.  This has been one of the shortest growing seasons I can ever remember.  I did put in an abundance of cold weather crops-cabbage, broccoli, kale, rutabagas, beets.  We should get a lot of potatoes, too, but I was really looking forward to canning tomatoes and eating as much sweet corn as I wanted. 

Our 4-H club put on our fall animal swap today.  I'll have pictures soon.  It was a wonderful day for my son.  He crated up about 20 roosters and brought them in.  He sold 16 of them for $2 a piece (he got to keep half of the money)  and traded the last four for a mallard.  My son is crazy about ducks and he couldn't have been more blessed.  He is so happy.  I'm happy we got rid of so many roosters.  We have had some very busy hens this summer who have hatched us out somewhere around 60 chicks.  We should still have plenty of roosters to butcher this fall.  We've had 12 new chicks born this week and another hen started setting last week.  God is good.

Sitting here shivering at the computer, I think it's time to go hunker down under the covers and get to sleep.

Good night to all.

From Glory Farm

Do you have your seed catalogs yet?

Sitting here at my computer, my toes turning blue, I hear the sweet peeps of baby chicks.  It's a wonderful springtime sound.  But I know it's not spring.  It's not even Christmas.  And the only reason they're down in the basement  is because it got so cold in the coop,, Mama couldn't keep them warm anymore.  We only have 4 of 14 left.

Last Monday, guess what came in the mail?   Yep, my first seed catalog.  Nope, it's not too early.  My Johnny's catalog came and I've already made out my order.  Then yesterday, my Nichol's catalog came, so I'm comparing prices, etc. Looks to me like the prices have gone up again.  I saved some seeds from last year's plants, but cabbage, carrots, beets, these are hard to save seeds from.  Need to give them two years and I have a hard time  doing that.

I suppose I should keep my mind on finishing Christmas gifts.  But the sun is shining, the chicks are peeping, my seed catalogs are sitting on the table.  Ahh...hope springs eternal.  If it weren't for all of the frost on the windows and my blue toes, I could just about think it's spring!

Dehydrated Soup

My dehydrator is running constantly this harvest season.  I'm putting together soup mixes. 

Onions

Squash

Beans

Peas

Carrots

Lovage

Basil

Bay

Garlic

Dehydrating these, mixing them, and putting them in plastic bags.  For soup in the winter, just add meat and stock of your choice, or even just meat and water. 

I hope to dehydrate some tomatoes, also.  We had a killing frost last night.  My garden is too big to cover everything, so we lost the squash, pumpkins,  corn, and sunflowers.  I covered the cukes and tomatoes and have yet to check to see if they made it.  Corn, tomatoes and squash weren't even done yet.  Such is life.  We do have a fantastic cabbage crop.

Well, off to school we go.

From Glory Farm

Happy Harvest

Can you feel it?  I step outside and yes, I can feel it.  The thermometer says 85, but the feel of the wind says harvest.  It stirs in me and I love it. 

I canned wild blueberry jam yesterday, and some beet pickles.  I sliced up a bunch of garlic and onions and have that in the dehydrator along with savory, marjarom and lovage.  Today I hope to dehydrate peas and beans, weed the tomatoes, mow the lawn, dust, laundry, sew a skirt and welcome my honey home.  He's been over the road again.  I love this weather.  I have energy. 

With all of the dehydrated vegies, I'm making a soup mix.  A bit of carrots, corn, peas, beans, garlic, onions, lovage, herbs.  Then when I want soup, just put some in a pot with some water and meat-viola!  soup.

Our two older daughters have been berry crazy this year.  They go out almost every day and pick.  With their help we have put up almost fifty pints of berries.  Our two youngers are out doing chores right now.  They get up, eat, get dressed, and out the door they go.  So nice to have all of the chores done when I get outside.  'Nuff bragging on my kids.

So how's your harvest coming?  What do you put up for winter?

Blessings from Glory Farm

Information overload and organic seeds

I belong to a few Yahoo groups and found this website while going through some postings http://www.fastonline.org/CD3WD_40/CD3WD/INDEX.HTM  This site has information on just about any kind of farming you want to do.  I think a lot of the info was posted for third world countries. A person can get overwhelmed with everything here. Check it out.

 

I also have a question for those of you who garden.  Last  year I tried to buy organic seeds and I also tried to make sure that they were heirloom varieties, not hybrid.  I'd like to be able to save seeds year to year.  This year I'm concentrating on the seed saving part and not so much on the organic part.  If  you grow all of  your vegetables organically, just how much difference does it make if the seed's not organic.  I don't plan on being certified or anything like that, I just can't grasp the importance of organic seed.  Any ideas?

 

The Harvest is Plentiful, but the workers are few....help

 

Tomatoes...Also peppersWe spent most of the day in the garden yesterday, harvesting what the frost didn't kill.  God has surely blessed us.  I picked five wheelbarrow loads of tomatoes.  And I have enough squash and pumpkins to share with the whole neighborhood.  Look...

pumpkins and squash...

I put up some applesauce today, have apples in the dehydrator, yogurt warming, and sunflower seeds roasting.  I'm going to go and gather those tomatoes and start some more salsa.  I'm starting to feel like I need a break from all of this blessing.

Thank you Lord.

From Glory Farm

The Big Freeze

I know what I'm doing today. 

 Weather is always such a "hot" topic here.  Last week we had 90 degrees.  Last night it hit 20.  Brrr.....I did get the furnace fired up yesterday.   So we had heat. PTL  But, of course, my pumpkins didn't have a furnace.  My garden is so large that I couldn't cover even 1/4 of the freezable stuff.  I covered most of the tomatoes and peppers, but even then the frost was so hard that I don't know if it helped.  I'm not going out there until about 10:00 to survey the damage.  The poor sunflowers wrapped their leaves around themselves tight, but alas, they just froze that way.

So today it's pick and pull time.  Tomatoes, peppers, squash, pumpkins and watermelons.  We're having an abbreviated school day and heading out.  I have some pickle relish started this morning and I need to put up some applesauce today.  I think, if the tomotoes survived, I probably have to put up some salsa.  I think the peppers might be toast.  They were so far off of the ground,  and the plastic cover blew off some of them.  Thus ends my garden.  I still have fall broccoli and lettuce coming.  Lots of carrots and beets and a couple of cabbage lefr.  Time to till, mulch and fertilize. 

May I do all to the glory of God.

From Glory Farm

Harvest

In the spring, the thought of planting and weeding seems like so much work.  But then you think about the harvest and the thought is thrilling.  Why is it, we forget the work part of that?  At least I do.  God has blessed us above and beyond what I thought He would.  True, I planted for a farmer's market, so I have a large garden.  I've been giving and giving it away (especially the zuchinni :)  )  Today our trip to the garden produced strawberries, zuchinni, buttercup squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, habeneros, green peppers and sunflower seeds.  Now I get to make more spaghetti sauce, salsa, relish, and sunbutter.  The sunbutter I haven't tried yet, but I hope it works.  I'm taking a load of vegetables up North on Friday, Lord willing and another down to the cities in a couple of weeks.  How good is our God!  I hope it doesn't sound like bragging, because I could never have grown a garden like this myself.  Maybe there's a parralel there in the spiritual sense.  God provides the seed, the water, the soil, and the increase.  We just have to be willing to do some work.  The harvest is great. 

Praise God.

From Glory Farm

Attack of the Killer Zuchinni

In the shadowy depths of my garden lurcks the "mutant zuchinni".  It grows larger and larger, unseen by the locals until at last, unable to conceal itself any longer,  it bursts forth to confront the gardener. (That's me.) The scene isn't pretty and you may want to make sure your children don't read this.  With hatchet and wheelbarrow I go out to battle.  Well, maybe that's a bit of a stretch.  You get the idea. 

These squash were found in my garden.  The one on the left is some kind of zuchinni, I think.  I didn't plant it and there wasn't a garden here last year, so I don't know where it came from.  The one on the right is two squash grown together.  I think it's some kind of summer squash, but I don't which type.  And how would you prepare it?

Here are a couple of pics of my garden.  It's hard to tell what everything is.  I was going to wait to show you until all of the weeds were pulled, but that is so not going to happen.

Also, is it possible to can pesto?  I don't have a canner so it would be open kettle.  And what is the best way to preserve green peppers?  Canning, freezing?

Thanks so much. 

All for His glory.

 

Gardening and Free Plants

The children were all gone for the week end, so my dh and I took a ride down to the Twin Cities.  We picked up a loader for our Int'l 560.  Once we get it on the tractor, I'll be able to drive into the barn and scoop up the manure (excurse me, fertilizer) and haul it on the garden.  This wheelbarrow thing I've been doing is far too labor intensive.

We also stopped to see my brother, who works at a greenhouse down there.  They were in the process of throwing out all of the last of their plants!  They gave us shrubs, yarrow, lilies, and a couple other perennials.  We could have had a truck full!  They threw out lilacs, junipers, hydrangeas, etc.  just cuz they couldn't find anyone to take them.  So maybe there's an idea.  Leave your phone number with the greenhouse you do business with and have them call you when they need to get rid of inventory.

I'd like you to see my garden.  Next entry I'll try to post more pics.  The weather has been great for growing things.  Problem is the weeds like it too.  Today is officially garden day here at the farm.  No housework or baking.  Just weeding, freezing, canning and harvesting.

Our two youngest are at their mom's all week.  They've never been away like this before and I'm a case.  Worry is something that doesn't help and doesn't need to be done.  I do it anyways.  Praying that God's supernatural peace blankets us. 

From Glory Farm

 

 

A picture of my garden

I thought I'd post a picture of our garden.  I guess it's a bit like bragging, but it's growing so well.  We've had great growing conditions this summer.  God is good.  This is the biggest garden I've ever had and I think we'll go even bigger next year, even if we don't bring it to the farmer's market.  There are so many people who don't have gardens and really like the fresh produce.

It's a bit hard to tell what's what.  Sunflowers, onions, spinach, herbs, tomatoes, etc.

Now in the category of using time wisely, I've placed my spinning wheel next to my computer.  I have dial-up and spend a lot of time playing solitaire waitning for pages to load.  Now I spin waiting for pages to load.  This way I'll finally finish this old roving and be able to start on the new stuff.  I can also spin when I talk on the phone.  It's great.

Hope you enjoy your day.  Bring glory to God.

From Glory Farm

Berries and Broccoli and Peas-Oh My!

Our garden is such a blessing.  It's producing much better than I thought a first year garden would.  I planted much more than we needed, thinking that I would be selling at a farmer's market, but it hasn't happened yet.  I put in my application at the nearest one, but they said that they really didn't want me or my produce.  Oh well.  Now I have vegetables to share with everyone.  Neighbors, parents, I even bring a cooler full to church.  I froze snow peas today and we've been using the broccoli as it's been getting done.  When I go to the grocery store, I don't have to buy vegies or much for fruits because my family is satisfied with fresh peas.  They eat them all day long.  God is so good.  I'm still not sure what to do with the abundance.  I may try a farmer's market 50 miles from here, but to tell you the truth, I'm a bit leary because of my experience with that last farmer's market.  I'm not sure where God is leading. 

Also, the blueberries and the rasberries are getting done.  We have a bunch back in the woods to the east of the house.  I love to put up blueberry sauce.  We have it on pancakes, yogurt , ice cream and in smoothies all winter long.  I don't put up blueberry jam anymore.  Everyone likes the sauce more.

This has been a fine day.  How does the song go?..This good day, it is a gift from You.  The world is turning in it's place because You made it to.  I will sing, sing a song of praise for this good day.

Thank you.

From Glory Farm

Have you read Brother Juniper's Bread Book?

A hot cup of fresh ground coffee, a piece of just out of the oven Cajun Three Pepper Bread, a soft rain hitting the livingroom picture window and my computer.  Hi, how's your afternoon?  My house is quiet.  Just me and my Bassett Hound.  It's time for a coffee break.  The rain forced me inside.

I hand-milled some soap this morning.  Some Aloe Vera, and some French Clay.  Yesterday I put some Skeeter-Be-Gone and some Oatmeal Cinnamon up to age.  Getting ready for the Farmers' Market.  I've made feed sack aprons and I'm experimenting with new kinds of breads to sell.  I've been using recipes out of Brother Juniper's Bread Book.  These have been great.  I've tried the Scottish Struan Bread, Wild Rice and Onion and now today the Cajun Three Pepper Bread.  I want to take all three to the Market.  Maybe I should take Musketman's Cinnamon Rolls?  I think that's the label I'd put on them, too.

I put in another five rows in my garden this morning.  The frost took out three rows last night.  I took a gamble and I lost.  Tomorrow it's to the greenhouse to replace tomatoes and peppers.  I met some fellow farmer's market sellers yesterday.  I thought having 1/2 acre in garden was big, they have 13 acres in vegetables.  They do alot of corn and potatoes.  I don't think I'm going to do that.  I've put in alot of herbs, beans, melons and many varieties of greens.  They own the farmer's market in a town about 50 miles from here.  They said that we'd be welcome there if we wanted to sell.  Very nice. 

Coffee break is over.  Time to clean.  Have a blessed Memorial Day. 

From Glory Farm,

Rhonda

 

What do you learn in the garden?

Working in the garden, weeding and planting is such a pleasant escape.  It's a time of prayer and meditation, also.  The bible mentions planting, sowing, weeds, soils, reaping and harvest, quite a bit.  Every time I go out to garden, I can learn a biblical lesson.  Like now when the seedlings are coming up along with the quackgrass.  I need to let the weeds and the seedliings grow until the seedlings are strong enough and then I can pull the weeds.  In the word, Matthew 13:24-30, Jesus talks about the tares growing with the wheat.  He says to let them grow together until the harvest when the tares shall be thrown into the fire.  The tares being sown in by the enemy.

I thought that maybe it would be interesting to hear what kind of biblical truths others discover in the garden..."and you shall eat the herb of the field.  In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread..."Gen.3:19    I thought maybe a contest, but I know that I'm not qualified to judge this. So...I have notecards that I make from homemade paper I'd like to send to anyone who'd like to post or comment.  Thanks.

From Glory Farm 

Crocus and compost

It's not much, but it brings hope.  This lonely little crocus I found in my flower bed.

Still too cold to put in anything in the garden, but I have tulips up and I'll post pictures when they bloom.  I love flowers, don't you?

I put together my new compost bin today.  I think it'll work well.  It looks a lot better than the sheep wire I had around the old one.  I just put four pallets together and left the shorter one able to swing open.

I'd better get some supper on.  Have a glorious day.

From Glory Farm

Organics and Herbs

There are so many interesting things in this world that I have a desire to learn.  I always end up spreading my resources ( brains, strength, faith) too thin.  Our family is starting a truck garden this spring to help pay for our farm.  It's a bit overwhelming, but I'm not planting two acres the first year.  Maybe 1/2 acre.  There's so much I still need to learn about marketing.  The growing part should be fine, but how do I price, bag, display?  I've been reading some good books on this, but I think finding someone who is doing it would be very valuable.

Now I'm looking for information on Christian Natural Healing.  I have many books on using herbs, but I want something more in depth.  I grow alot of herbs and I really enjoy it, but most go to waste, because I don't use them like I should.  Maybe somehow this could go along with our truck garden enterprise.  Maybe I should sit back and listen to God instead of going in all directions?  Maybe the desires of my heart were put there by God? 

Well, better get back to school.  If anyone has any recommendations for courses or books to study, I would really appreciate it.

From Glory Farm

Belle's Challenge-The Compost Bin

I haven't tried this, but it's on my list for this spring.  I have a compost pile held in place by woven sheep wire and it just doesn't work for me.  I read about using old shipping pallets.  You take four pallets and stand them up.  Wire them together to form the bin and then just unwire and open like a door when you need to get in there.  One thing we aquired a large amount of when we move in here was shipping pallets.  The man who owned this place worked at Wal-Mart and brought home all kinds of treasures.  Does anyone have any other ideas for using these pallets?  It seems a shame to burn them.

From  Glory Farm

Truck Gardens

Good Morning!  We were blessed with such a gorgeous day yesterday.  Over 50 and sunny.  My dh plowed up my garden.  The plow needs some serious help, but it's better than nothing.  I'm very happy with it. 

I'm starting a truck garden and am overwhelmed with the information I've retrieved so far.  Do any of you do this?  Here in Northern Minnesota, the season isn't very long.  I'd like to put up a high hoop in the future.  I'm not sure what to plant, how much to plant, etc.  I've gardened for years, but this seems different.  We have just over 1/4 acre plowed.  I don't want to start too big and not be able to handle it all.  I plan on doing the farmer's markets.  I'm not sure what prices to charge or how to package my produce.  Any information would be great.  Help. 

From Glory Farm