Time to order some seeds!

 I usually already have my order picked out by now, but I'm behind this year.  Most of my seeds last year came from Seed Savers. 

I had really great luck with my tomatoes.  I had three different kinds last year.  Italian Heirloom was by far my favorite.  If you are looking for a good canning tomato, this is it.  Most of the fruits were in the 1-1.5 pound range.  I even had one that hit over 2 pounds.  I took a picture of it on my phone last year, we'll see if I can get the picture off of it.  Chalks Early Jewel was a good slicing tomato.  It was perfect for putting on sandwiches and very prolific.  My favorite novelty tomato this year was a Green Zebra.  It was so much fun to watch them turn green with green stripes to yellow with green stripes.  Although I have to say it was a little weird eating a green tomato. 

Last year my tomatoes were out of control!  My cages were not sturdy enough for them.

These plants are a couple weeks old.  Potato bush right there in the front.



And the out of control tomatoes begins...cucumber plant down there at the bottom



That is not one big tomato plant, but rather about 8-10 plants.

Needless to say, I learned a lot of about the correct spacing of plants.  Although you can fudge a little from what they say, since most seed packets give directions for commercial plantings.

My absolute favorite veggie I grew last year was Amish Snap Peas.  Absolutely delicious and the more you pick the more they yield. 

And of course, I have to laugh at my potato snafu last year.  I bought both Yukon Gold and Red Gold (can't find it on the website) thinking that I ordered a good all purpose yellow potato and a red potato.  Wrong!  They are both varieties of Yukon Gold, except the Red Gold has red skin...duh!  If you've never grown potatoes, you definitely should.  They have great big beautiful bushes and they are a lot of fun do dig up at the end of the season. 

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Sorry...I was MIA...

I've been sick the past couple days and it's felt like a blur.  In the two years that I've worked as a pediatric nurse every time I get sick, my ears are affected.  Nasty nasty stuff...but I'm back and I feel much better!  More farm posts to come this week...

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Runzas

If you've ever been to the Midwest or lived in the Midwest, you might be pretty familiar with a runza.  It's typically a ground beef, cabbage and dough concoction.  There is also a  chain of restaurants in Nebraska and surrounding states called Runza.  If you are ever at a Runza restaurant get the onion rings, they are the best!

Anyways, back to making runzas.  I made the cabbage/meat mixture the night before because things were not going well for me.  And by not going well, here's what happened. 

Almost ran out of flour, thankfully realized that I had some downstairs...

Went to get some sugar and completely out!  Thanks heavens for good neighbors. 

Sugar is in the mixing bowl and on to add some yeast....and out of yeast. 

So, I threw in the towel and just made the meat mixture and the dough the next day.

Can I just take a minute to talk about how much I love dough? 

I

love

dough...

The end.



Stretch out the dough into a rectangle and put a heaping pile of the meat mixture on top.




Pinch the middle part together and then bring the sides up to meet the middle. 



Try not to drop any cabbage/meat mixture on the floor, because this dude will snap it up in a hurry.  You can just see the pleading on his face... 



And done!



Enjoy some runzas!  This version is slightly different from the restaurant version.  I keep wanting to add a little cream of chicken soup or something to make it a little less dry and I keep forgetting.  Maybe next time!  These are also really great to make with swiss cheese and mushrooms.

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Neckwarmer complete!

I'm finally finished with my neck warmer.  I used to secretly giggle at people who wore neck warmers and now I'm a convert.  When you're walking your dog at 6:30 in the morning when it's 10 degrees out...you need a neck warmer.  Along with some long johns and some Carhart wool socks...

It's baby alpaca and a simple garter stitch.  So nice and soft!

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Goat milk

A couple years ago something strange happened to me.  I started noticing a pattern of having stomachaches, cramps and indigestion later in the day.  It took me awhile to connect it, but I finally realized that drinking milk was making me sick.  I was very upset when I figured it out and kept drinking milk trying to ignore the symptoms.  Not my smartest moments ever...   My favorite breakfast used to be a bowl of cheerios (plain...no sugar) with some skim milk.  When I finally figured out that milk was making me sick, I tried lactose additives to see if I could still drink milk.  The amount of additives that I was having to take made it too expensive to drink milk regularly.  With much sadness, I didn't drink milk for probably a year and a half. 

And what's the yin to oreo's yang? 

That's right, milk.

No more oreos and milk for me....:(

I had tried soy milk with no luck.  It had too much of a nutty aftertaste.  So, that also excluded almond milk.  I've never tried rice milk.  Raw milk was no better, still made me sick.  And hemp milk is just too weird to sample.  So, finally one day when I was in the grocery store I decided to take a chance on some goat milk.  Success!  I was not sick at all that day.  Count me as one of the many people all over the world who are goat milk drinkers.  It's very interesting to learn that the majority of the people all over the world are goat milk drinkers.  It's just the opposite in the United States.  Researchers still aren't sure why some people tolerate goat milk more than cow milk.  Some speculate that it could be because goat milk has a slightly lower lactose level or that it's naturally homogenized.

The first time I tried goat milk, I was a little nervous.  I have to say it does have a slightly different smell than cow's milk.  I couldn't tell the difference!  To me, it tasted like just like cow's milk.  So, if you ever get a chance to try goat milk, try it!  And also have some delicious goat cheese while you're at it!

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Look at these two...

Look at the two beauties that followed me home today...

Now, off to find a good recipe!

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It's been one of those weeks...

Even the dog can't hit his pillow right before falling asleep....

Have a great weekend!  And stay warm!

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Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

So, one of the very first things I did when I started to get interested in local or organic foods was read.  If you know me in real life, then you know how I came out of the womb reading a book.  My top favorite book that I've read is Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.  It follows the year in which Barbara and her family attempt to grow their own food or buy local.  The book is sequenced in a year format starting with asparagus season in March. 

This book excels in showing how food grows seasonally, which is something I feel that the general population has lost touch with.  In the general population's defense, it's very easy to forget especially when you walk into a grocery store and it's always lettuce and tomato season.  Barbara also did a great job of putting in recipes and sample meal plans at the end of each chapter.  All throughout the book, she also has small articles going more into depth about certain topics, such as CAFOs, canning and sustainable farming. 

My favorite chapter is the one about turkey mating.  Trust me...it's great!  It's very eye opening to realize that we have bred the mothering instincts about poultry.  Certain breeds of chicken and turkey literally can not reproduce without human intervention.  That's messed up. 

Bourbon Red Turkeys ( I really want some of these this year)
From: Mother Earth News

So, if you haven't read this book, I would highly recommend it!

On a side note, anyone hear of Kill it, Cook it, Eat it?  It's a BBC program on that we caught on Current TV.  Just a warning, it's pretty graphic!  It literally shows the sequence killing a meat animal, cooking it and then eating it.  Very eye opening if you have the stomach for it!

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Snow...

Anyone else use shoveling as a way to get some exercise?  We do have a cul-de-sac snow blower, but what's the fun in that?  I rather enjoy scooping snow.  And it's even more fun when you can aim your shovel of snow at a certain puppy dog. 

Speaking of, if you ever want to witness pure joy, take a puppy outside for their first snow.  I really wish we could have recorded Max, because he was having the time of his life!

I love the snow.  I know there are people here in Nebraska who would knock me upside the head for saying that, especially after last winter.  But I can't help it!  I wouldn't live anywhere else in the world!

And even crazier, my favorite time of the day when it's snowing?  Right around 6-6:30 in the morning, when the whole world is sleeping...



My favorite Annabelle bush.



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Day off...

Yesterday, I had a day off.  Here's how it went down:

-took the dog to daycare because we've had too much together time*

-continued to read about electric fences

-vacuumed the dog hair off the floor

-went to the library

-contemplated getting groceries, but decided against it since I'm lazy

-picked the dog up from daycare because now I feel guilty for leaving him there.

-vacuumed the dog hair off the floor

-made zucchini bread

-trialed a new sandwich bread, since I can't find my good recipe

-ate popcorn for lunch because I can

-vacuumed dog hair off the floor (noticing a trend here?  German Shepherds shed ALL the time)

-proceeded to destroy the zucchini bread in an attempt to take them out of the pans that I need for the bread

-new bread recipe is great, better than my original!

-made homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich with my fresh bread

-finished Comeback Farms by Greg Judy, excellent, excellent book (Jon got the opportunity to meet him last Saturday and I think I've twisted his arm enough to get him to blog about it)

-capped the night off with a little bit of The Walking Dead

That's it!



*Yes, I know.  I'm one of those people who take their dog to daycare...I used to make fun of people like me...

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Chickens

Oh, how I love chickens!  I first fell in love with them at our state fair a couple years ago.  We wandered into the small animal exhibition with the chickens, duck, geese and rabbits.  I was hot and tired and needed a place to rest.  After watching some young kids show their animals, I continued to walk around and look at all of the different kinds of chickens.  Who knew there were so many different kinds!  After that, I was hooked.  I could have sat and watched those chickens all day long because they were so entertaining. 

Here are a few of my favs:

Brahma

Dominique

Wyandotte

And one of my silliest chickens that makes me giggle the most:

Polish

All pictures courtesy of Backyard chickens


I haven't yet decided what type of chickens we will have on the farm as I still have a couple mail order magazines coming in.  I think I'm guaranteed hours of entertainment, no matter which breed I pick!

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Let's talk energy...

Or lack thereof :)

The land that we are moving on to has not been connected to the grid for several years.  To be reconnected to the grid, would cost in the upwards of 10-12,000 dollars.  The owner of the land would prefer not to reconnect back to the grid, so let me talk about our energy situation.

This picture is about the same type of wind turbine that is already on the property.  It is a Bergey XL.1 wind turbine.  This particular model is a 1 kW wind turbine.  1 kW is 1000 watts of power.  On average, this particular model will provide 100-150 kWh per month.  Have I lost you yet?  A kWh is the amount of energy equal to 1000 watt hours.  When the energy company man comes around to read your meter, he's reading the kWh.

So, what does 100-150 kWh per month mean to our situation?  Well, take into consideration that the average American family consumes 750-850 kWh per month and you can see how little energy we will be working with on the farm.  Jon took a look back on our energy uses and it ranges from 450-2,000 kWh per month.  That's crazy considering there is only two of us!

We also do have 8 batteries in the battery shed that average 10 kWh when the wind is not blowing.  With wind energy, it's very important to have a hybrid system.  Our system on the farm is not really hybrid.  A hybrid system would combine a wind energy system with a solar and/or diesel generator to provide a reliable system of off-grid power.  We would both love to have some solar panels, but they are quite expensive.  A wind and solar system complement each other very well.  During the winter, when wind is the highest, the sun is not as bright.  Vice versa, during the summer when the wind is at its lowest, the sun is at its peak brightness. 

Hope that wasn't too technical for everyone!  It's really an eye opener to realize how much energy we take for granted.  There will definitely be a learning curve when we get to the farm!

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Our house...

There she is....

Ain't she a beauty?

She made need a little bit of TLC, but after all she is 99 years old.  That's a long time in house years. 

And here is where all the dish washing action will be...



Notice the flip up counter space...that effectively doubles what we will have for counter space.

And here's the rest of the kitchen

I would like to first point out the smallest refrigerator in the world, sitting next to the smallest stove in the world.  Those types of fridges are commonly used as a "beer" fridge in college.  It will take a little getting used to especially after our gargantuan refrigerator...

Oh well!  It will be an adventure!

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Why on earth would we want to farm? (part two)

So, apparently I have a lot to talk about!  I wasn't intending this to be a multiple part series.  So, anyway a little background on my husband and I.  We both grew up in small towns about two hours away from a good mall.  I know...the horror...right...  Jon grew up in his small town since he was born and I moved to my small town when I was ten years old after the divorce of my parents.  He grew up on a cattle and hog farm, while I kept planting those dang corn seeds.  After meeting in college, falling in love and getting married, we both settled in to what seemed like the life that everyone lives after graduating college.  But we were both disasstisfied.  Jon really wanted to start his own business and wanted a flexible lifestyle that both of us could work together to attain.  I just really wanted to garden, raise chickens and putter away the day with my many crafts.  We had joked about moving back to our small towns and starting to farm, but we were never serious.  After all, you can't make a living in farming...  

We continued to feel the pull towards the simple life as I got more interested in organic and local foods and of course...chickens.  That's a whole other blog post!  After watching Food Inc, I think we both had an epiphany.  We could do that...we could raise our own meat and vegetables and still make some money!  I googled Joel Salatin so fast, it made my head spin.  And we continued to plot into the night about whether we could seriously make a living farming or not.  At the end of the night, we put away those dreams and went back to living the life we thought we were supposed to be living.  But neither one of us could put those dreams of a farm out of our head.  I'm not sure when we both decided this is it...we're doing this if it kills us.  But we did!  And we are now starting our adventure this spring on 160 acres of rented land.  It's gonna be a lot of work, but I could think of nothing that I would rather do in life.  So here we are...

one crazy girl with big dreams

plus, one husband with a kick ass farmer's beard...

plus Max, our lovable sidekick

equals: Open Sky Farms!!!

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Bathmat accessory...

Anyone else have a pup that thinks that the bathmat RIGHT in front of the shower is his own personal bathmat?  I do....

Never mind that I have to actually get out of the shower somehow without disturbing his royal highness...

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another test

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Why on earth would we want to farm?

That's a very good question!  From a very young age, I've been obsessed with growing things.  You know in third grade when you planted corn seeds in little white styrofoam cups?  I didn't stop planting them after we were done with that chapter.  I just loved to see that corn seed turn into a small green plant that kept pushing its leaves farther and farther upward.  We always lived in rentals growing up, so I never got the chance to actually garden.  When I got to college, I always felt so cooped up living in an apartment.  I just wanted to get outside and dig in the dirt!  So, one day I went to Home Depot, bought some cacti and a burro's tail and was hooked.  The feeling of the potting soil and watching my plants grow thrilled me to no end.  It wasn't until Jon and I moved to our first cheap rental house that I actually started to grow veggies.  My first try was lettuce and snap peas.  Seeing my first lettuce leaves pop up and actually eating them on a BLT made me realize how much more I wanted to grow.  Fast forward to the present time....  Last year, I dug up a part of my lawn (I know...the horror of all homeowners...) to plant a raised bed close to the house.  I also put a smaller raised bed in an empty planting bed.

I wanted to try my hand at growing my own plants since I was dissatisfied with everything I found at our local stores.  So, eighty dollars later at Seedsavers, I had my seeds.  Which by the way if you google Seedsavers Exchange, it looks a little naughty....go ahead...I dare ya!  What started as plans for 3-4 tomato plants of three different kinds turned into about 30 tomato plants total.  When it came time to thin out my seedlings, I didn't have the heart to snip them.  I couldn't kill any of them!  I worked so hard to get them to grow!  So, I did what any sensible 20 something female would do....I dug up more of my lawn to plant them all!  God bless my husband for letting his crazy wife tear up the lawn.  I obsessively tended to my plants every night after work getting that same thrill that I did when I was just planting corn seeds.  Here are a few pics of my harvest...

 

and this...

 

and the tomatoes...oh the tomatoes...

Stay tuned for part two of  "Why on earth would we want to farm?"!!!!

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A dog and a shotgun...

So, the very first thing that I decided that I needed when we moved to the farm was a dog and a shotgun.  Now, why a dog and a shotgun? 
1. My husband travels at times and being left alone on a farm by myself...I think not. 
2.  I have been begging my husband for a dog since we first got married a little over three years ago.
3.  I've always wanted to learn how to shoot a gun although it seems pretty stereotypical to shoot guns in the country. 
My husband who grew up on a farm keeps telling me that it is scarier to be in the city with people trying to break into your house and steal your 42 inch tv.  But I like to be on the safe side.  Now if I actually learn to shoot the shotgun is another story...

So, without further ado, meet Max:

He may look all cute and innocent with those batwing ears, but he is definately still a puppy.  He is a 13 month old German Shepherd.  We are still unsure if he is actually all GSD or not, since he is skinnier and has a white chest/paws.  We've been told that he could have a little border collie in him.  Maybe someday we will actually do a doggy DNA test.  No joke...

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Testing, testing...

Is this thing on?

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