He Says I'm Crazy...

... but since I'm the one responsible for getting things done when it comes to growing food on the land, I requested that we make a trip to the land today to begin spading the potato bed in order to prepare it for spring.  While I only shoveled a few rows, at least there are that fewer clumps of weeds and hibernating bodies of grubs to deal with next year.

I found one more potato, not sprouted, yummy to eat.  It's James' dinner tonight.

While I was shoveling, James took the kids on a driving tour of the land.

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

katie z.

Final Produce of 2010

On expectation of colder weather, I ventured out to the garden to pick the last fresh greens for the winter: lettuce, pea tendrils, plantain, oregano, rosemary, thyme, parsley, green onion.

More Home Cooking...

On Tuesday, I made chili powder and bone meal.

I dried all the remaining peppers from our garden and my dad, with a result of approximately 2 cups of dried pepper strips.  It's best to use peppers like cayenne or ancho chilis, but I used what I had.  Then I toasted 2 T. cumin seeds.  Finally, the peppers, cumin, 2 T oregano, a dash of paprika (the last of the bottle, or I would have used 1 T) and 2 T garlic powder went into the blender, only to come out (after a minute to settle the powder) as a multi-colored chili powder.  Now to see how spicy it is.  Mmmm...

Bone meal contains excellent amount of phosphorus, so it's used as a fertilizer in the garden.  It's pretty easy to make, just time consuming...

After you've cooked a whole chicken, save the bones.  Simmer the bones with water and veggies (carrots, celery, onions, garlic, a bay leaf, oregano - what sounds good to you?) until it's done.  I put it all in my slow cooker on low overnight.  Then clean any remaining meat, tissue, or fat off the bones.  Spread them out on a cookie sheet and place in the oven at 300 degrees F for 3 hours.  I then put them in a plastic bag and ran over them with my rolling pin.  They were fairly brittle by then, so they broke easily.  Next time, I'll use something more durable than a plastic bag, but it worked for this time, and one less item ended up in the trash.

(We had another house showing yesterday, so say a prayer that we get an offer!)

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

Canning

Isn't the green pretty?  We tried two different colors and amounts of Wilton food coloring.  The prettiest?  Kelly Green, added only in one small dollop rather than two!

I should have posted about our canning exploits this summer, but I didn't.  (c'est la vie, right?)  While the canning took place not on the ranch, it is a skill we want to master in order to live with the ability to make use of all the food we grow.

Today Myle and I made mint jelly while the menfolk took the kids to a playground.  It was a much faster process than our original day-long sticky, hot agony over a few quarts of applesauce.  We're much more efficient, significantly less clumsy, and more confident.  Next year, we'll knock out those apples in no time at all.

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

Hello again!

Last night, our family drove out to the land briefly.  The garlic is growing well, especially considering that there has been little rain and no external assistance since I planted it.

The pond is still dry.  We need to get someone to clean it out!

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

Fall Planting

The kids and I (katie z.) make a fast trip out to the land today, Columbus Day, to plant our fall crops before the appropriate planting window passed.  I suppose, for a handful of bulbs and only an eventual pound or two of crop, it was a waste of gas, but as we may or may not be in our house next summer to harvest from our yard, I wanted to plant out at the land too.

Because James weed-whacked a week ago, and I had hoed some at the time, I have some fairly easy soil to prepare, unlike the men's first tilling this spring.  I dug my patch with a hand-trowel, throwing out a few grubs, and finding that we had missed at least two potato plants in our harvest earlier in the summer. Two potatoes were still edible, but the rest were mushy or moldy.

I mixed in a few handfuls of vegetable fertilizer, then planted garlic bulbs (the biggest heads from this summer's crop) and some multiplier onions that have been waiting on the counter for a month.  Next June, I should have onions and garlic to harvest, barring drought or other drastic events.

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

Six Penny Pond Cleanup, Attempt #1