Today's Work

Last summer, we planted corn for cornmeal, since I (sadly) used up the last of our previous harvest over the summer.  The Assistant helped me with the harvest, right before rain was due to arrive, and we quickly shucked and sorted the ears.

Then, the ears sat on my kitchen desk in two ice cream buckets.  Finally, today, I determined to clean off the ears, get rid of as much chaff as possible, and get the corn ready to store properly.

It only took an hour or two, between cleaning, stripping by hand, and sifting.  Now I have that white container in the back full of corn for cornmeal.  My hands are a little sore, which is partly why I'd delayed this task, but I'm proud of supplying our needs for our cornbread for another year or two!

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.

Odds and Ends

We have 9 turkeys still in the turkey coop.  We tried heritage turkeys this year, and of the 10 we started with, only 4 remain.  That's an expensive turkey, my friends, when only 40% survives.  We'll return to our Atwoods standby for now, as we've never lost one of them.

Three different coops hold our juvenile chickens.  There are 13 teenagers, and it's nearly time to butcher the roosters.  Soup's coop, with six chicks about a month behind the teenagers, are just working out who's a hen and who's a rooster.  Finally, Ms. Crazy Pants, a first-time mom, have five chicks less than a month old, and I can't wait until her mothering instinct settles down, as she really is crazy.

We have four actively laying egg coops.  Some of the juveniles will be introduced to these coops, so they all function at full capacity.  I must admit, part of me is ready for the chickens to be in their winter quarters, snugged up near the barn, for my convenience.  I'm tired this end-of-summer.

The vegetable garden is a mass of weeds as we pull up drip hose, etc.  We need a dose of compost this fall, so we're cleaning up earlier than usual.

Our apple orchard is fighting cedar rust, so next spring we'll be spraying with an organic spray.  There are apples this year, but not particularly attractive ones.

James has a mighty harvest of grapes.  Can he turn them into wine soon enough?  That's an excellent question.

The three big kids are finally old enough to work on tasks outside without one-on-one supervision, so they're learning to weed.  Woohoo!

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.

Change in Plans

Oh, the predictably unpredictable life of farming.

We won't be selling our (delicious) chicken at the farmer's market this year due to licensing requirements.  It's long and complicated, and I see the reason behind it, but we aren't big enough farmers to eat the cost of the license right now.  Maybe in a year or two.

Our onion crop is nearly a total loss.  Between the baby, the warm spring, the wet May, and our other projects, we don't have much to show for all the onions we planted.  Hey, it happens.

The potato crop currently stands at 240 pounds, split equally between red and white potatoes.  This may be our best crop ever, despite the weeds.  I spent two early, early mornings digging on my own, as the wee ones can't be trusted out at Purgatory Ranch yet.

Purgatory Ranch will probably be allowed to lie fallow next year.  Getting out there to weed has been nearly impossible this year, and we must spend our time as best we can.  Maybe, when the babies are bigger, we will return, but for now we must reduce.

Strawberries are growing, but slowly.  The heat has slowed down the formation of berries.  The new strawberry bed is planted, drip hose laid, and mulched.

All our long term projects have taken serious time away from the current garden.  The above new strawberry bed as well as 50 new grape vines will pay off in the future, but this year, we are simply behind.

I also forget that no matter how lovely our baby is, between her mobility and needs and her brother's developmental issues (a story for another day), we are behind.  I can't tackle my usual projects, which leaves more for James, and he can only do so much, as heroic as he is.

Garlic leaves are browning, so it's time to gather in that harvest as well.  I hope it does not disappoint.

This probably reads as a long, drawn out complaint, but I don't mean to complain.  We have been blessed abundantly by our Creator this year, as in past years.  There will be plenty of produce to gather; and we are all healthy; and our farm is just changing!

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.

Zucchini!

The first harvest of any food is always so exciting to me.  With the rain and my other work these past two weeks, I haven't been in the rows looking for food.  This morning, it struck me that harvest would arrive soon, so I moseyed along and discovered these beauties!  Called Eight Ball Zucchinis, these small round zucchini are perfect for one or in a vegetable medley.  There are many more to come.

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.

The Week in Review

Planting... Peppers and sweet potatoes.  I sprouted the sweet potatoes myself this year, for the first time, and am pleased I made the effort.  The starts are much better than the slimy starts I've received in the mail in the past.

Harvesting... Strawberries!  Tonight, we picked a gallon bucket full.  I see jam and jelly making in our future.  The asparagus is about done.  Eggs are steady, but we're fighting a few egg-eaters in both coops.  Grr!

Growing... The garlic is gigantic, and the bulbs are shaping up nicely.  Our corn didn't come up, so it looks like no sweet corn this year.  The meat chicks are in the ugly stage and are nearly ready to split into two coops to give everyone more room.

New... Turkeys!  We picked up six turkeys last night.  So far, they all look good.

The rain has been glorious.  Mucky, but glorious.  A downpour this morning delivered another .25."

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.

Weekly Recap

Maybe if I make an effort to recap our week, I can get back into the habit of blogging.

There's always (always) weeding to be done.  And lest you think our property is perfect and we've got it all together, behold just one rock...  The kids decided to decorate the top with pulled weeds, but there are still plenty more to tackle.  We have come a long way, but, please, don't be too impressed.  I don't take many pictures of our messes.

What's sprouting?  Radishes and summer squash are sprouted.  Strawberries and cherries are forming.  The garlic is now waist high.  I didn't even know garlic could grow so tall!  I certainly hope this means we'll have splendidly large bulbs in a few months.  The rhubarb is finally looking healthy, although watering it regularly remains a challenge.

What are we planting?  Tomatoes are two rows down, a million to go.  (Not literally.  There are still eight flats sitting on the deck awaiting my attention.)  I've also planted herbs and flowers.  The basil seeds are high on my list for some soil and water.

What are we harvesting?  Asparagus and eggs are keeping us hopping.  We're trying new laying boxes to foil our egg eaters.  Thus far, I'm disappointed in the lousy boxes, but our efforts are to make them work.  Our two sheep are at the butcher, so I've cleaned out two of our deep freezes while they're empty.  Soon enough, with sheep and chicken, we'll be full again!

What about those chickens?  The layers are now moving to fresh grass each evening, meaning the yolks are during the delicious, deep, orangey-gold that no store egg can match.  The layers-to-be remain in our stationary pen until James has time to build a new tractor for them (and who has time in the spring?!).  Our meat chicks are busy growing too, and while on grass, don't get moved every day (yet) until they can tolerate less heat.

 We are moving along with the business of living and growing!

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.

the Root Harvest has begun

Due to circumstances beyond our control and a boring long story, we are expecting a harvest much smaller than we originally anticipated, but the beginnings sure look (and smell) fabulous!

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.

Butchering Day

This is not a how-to on butchering, friends, but I have a few bloodless pictures to include.

cooling carcasses

Yesterday was a long day of processing 53 chickens (including a mean year-old rooster).  I didn't help with the actual butchering as I probably would have vomited all over the chickens in my pregnant state, but I was support staff.  I brought ice, cleavers, bird scissors, more ice, etc., to James and the friends assisting us.  I supervised kids and prepared lunch.

the mean old rooster

We discovered, after the fact, that only James removed the crop from his chickens, so I will be doing crop removal surgery before cooking any of our chickens.  Sigh.

We will probably only raise chickens in smaller batches, as 50+ was simply too many at once.  We also figured we have about an 11% mortality rate as we raised them! which is less than half what we were expecting from reading about raising Cornish X.  Our average weight was 5.4 lbs, which was a little lower than I was hoping, but pretty good according to everyone I told.  What do I really know, anyway?

Chicken pluckers are awesome.  We need at least two pots of hot water going, one for plucking and one for shrink wrapping the chickens.  Our friend Myle is an eviscerating machine.

I did help with cleanup after everyone else had gone home, and I think James and I did a pretty fine job gathering trash, disinfecting tables and so on, and returning the area under the trees into a less bloody, less muddy place.

the kids declined any interest in butchering

The coyotes were active last night, no doubt picking up the scent of blood wafting from a specific corner of our property.

Turkeys... spared until the fall

I'm still wiped out from being on my feet so much yesterday, so this slightly disjointed post is all you're getting for now.  Enjoy!

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.

Life in Pictures

Blueberries for pots

Ripe blueberries

Zucchini

First zucchini

Okra (and weeds)

Autumn

Some part of me wishes I could craft a wistful blogpost about the changing of seasons, but I find that most of all, I am exhausted in the fall.

 With the changing of the leaves comes harvest after harvest, each demanding its own type of attention. Corn cobs and sunflower heads still hold their bounty, and when the more perishable food is put up, these will be addressed.   Three afternoons of sweet potato digging have yielding a happy harvest, although thinner than I expected.  This afternoon, I will be stripping sorghum heads.  This is new to me, so I anticipate plenty of problems and slow going.

 Most of the neighboring farms have harvested their sorghum as well (albeit on a much larger scale than my own), although I think a few were caught in the rain and have to wait for the fields to dry.

 After the frost of last week, the garden is done.  I have been tearing out tomato refuse and piling it for burning.  All but two rows of fencing are down.  Cooler weather makes this task easier, but I also find the mornings are already too chill for the boys to accompany me, which makes outdoor tasks hard to accomplish.

When the sun rises and sets with less and less daylight, my body responds by reminding me how little sleep I got in the summer.  Summer was a time of up at dawn and to bed after the sun.  Necessary, but the body can only take it for so long.  Now I still have plenty to do, but am feeling slower and slower.

Not only are there plenty of harvest chores to attend to, but with the arrival of frost comes cold weather considerations: how will we over-winter our chickens, what can be left outside to the elements, dealing with dead trees, preparing ourselves with plenty of firewood.  The list goes on.

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.

No Idle Hands Here

"I don't know what that deer's thinkin', but she's thinkin' crazy."

The Assistant made the above comment about a deer that persists in running into our vehicles.  James has actually "love tapped" it once, and we've seen it repeatedly, usually far too close for comfort!

I think we might be "thinkin' crazy" around here too, as we have put far too many things on our plate!

There's corn to dry and separate for cornmeal.

A chicken coop to complete.

Neighbor's apples to harvest, juice, and can.  (I might try fruit vinegar this year as well!)

 Weeds (and more weeds) to pull.  At least I freed the mailbox from the volunteer mulberry tree and the chest high weeds.

 The same cannot be said about the flagpole bed.

 And then, in case we weren't busy enough, this lovely catapas tree was struck my lightning.  This was (and is) traumatic on many levels.  Firstly, it will have to be cut down, as the entire center is dying.

 Secondly, there is a large field of debris.  We are SO blessed that no one or no animal was near the tree, and that James' truck windows weren't burst.

 Unfortunately, said lightning strike fried a breaker in our house and I am having trouble getting an electrician.  We did get power back in a reasonable amount of time, and AT&T replaced our modem by midday, giving me the freedom of internet and phone access again.

There are bushes and weeds running rampant.

 At least I finally cleared the table of harvest mess.  You can still see the bucket of sunflower heads waiting me to the left, but all the peppers, beans, and tomatoes are corralled or preserved (for now!)/

With a grateful heart for the food and shelter around us, I'm back to work!

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.

Chicken Update

The girls and I have been excited to collect our first eggs from the adopted chickens (not our original Naked-Necks... yet).  Knowing that I may not have to buy many eggs at the store in the near future is a rewarding feeling for all the hard work and trauma we've put into this chickens.

 Dinosaur legs!

The chickens have such different personalities.  We know exactly which two hens will be the last in at night.  Only one rooster (of three) crows of yet, and he starts early in the the morning.  Since their turken tank is directly outside our bedroom windows, I get to hear the symphony!  In reality, the noise is not yet as bothersome as some people make it out to be.  Since nearby neighbors have had adult roosters since before we moved in, the early crowing is a normal noise.

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.

Potato Harvest 2013 Results

Sad, especially when I just read that a 10 pound per pound ratio is considered "normal."  I suppose not watering and minimal weeding is a fair trade-off for such a large yield, but it didn't encourage me with the results this year...

In 2010, we planted and harvested 130 pounds, for a 3.5:1 ratio.
In 2011, we planted and harvested 265 pounds, for an almost 4:1 ratio.
Last year, we planted 40 pounds and harvested 293.5 pounds, for a 7.3:1 ratio.
This year, we planted 81.5 pounds and harvested 253, for a 3.1:1 ratio.  After going back to find the earlier years, it is disappointing that this was the lowest year ever.

We also had a cold, wet spring.  We saved potato seed, and they were too sprouted to produce reliably. Also, we used our younger, less fertile bed.  All that being said, I could probably crunch numbers, but we'll just leave it as it is.

Of course, last year, we planted LOTS of onions and lost most of them.  This year, we have a rock-star performance by onions, harvesting 282.5 pounds at this point, with one more largish harvest to total. Reds were definitely less productive than yellow.

Let the numbers speak for themselves...

Type	Seed Weight	Yield	Ratio
Russet Burkbank	5	3	0.428571429
All Blue	7	8	1.142857143
Kennebec	6	18	3
Purple Viking	5.5	0	0
Dakota Pearl/Crisp	26.5	55	2.075
Red Norland	12.5	97	7.76
Yukon Gold	12	72	6
Total	81.5	253	3.104294479
Onions
Candy	4	151.5	37.875
Red Candy	3	17	5.666666667
Vidalia	4	97	24.25
Burgundy	1	17	17

Next year, All Blue, Yukon Gold, Dakota, and Red Norland will be back on my list.

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.

Grasshoppers

The skeletal remains of potato plants signaled for us that harvest time had arrived.

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.

Yahweh Jireh Acres

pumpkin

acorn squash

not quite sure... the ink has worn off my markers!

Painted Lady caterpillar, devouring our sunflower foliage

We ate this tomato... it was fabulous!

Harvest-yet-to-be

Growing onions!