Just Get it Done

I am the queen of half finished projects. Often times I run out of daylight hours or materials then something more important needs done and the project stays half finished for long periods of time. With that in mind on one of my FARMcation days I decided to weed and finish mulching two of my flower beds, I started last year.

Two wagon loads or 6 scoops of mulch were needed to complete this job. This mulch is from the shredded brush from the trees that fell at the farm during the big storm.

4 hours of weeding was made easier with the 4.5 inches of rain we got on Sunday afternoon. This photo shows the water standing off our deck right after the rain.

This is the bed at the top of our driveway half mulched in the spring. All the plants and bulbs in this area were given to me by co-workers or our friends the Burtons last fall. As plants flower I am always surprised with what might appear.

This is the first completed bed with plenty of room to add new plants this fall.

This area is known as the dip and is mostly wild flowers and features a white wild rose (Wild Willie) and pink one (Wild Ruthie). It was taken over by crab grass, Queen Anne’s Lace and clover.

The dip is mostly completed; it just needs a few more wheel barrows full of mulch to smooth out the edges. It will be a few days before I post again. Stay tuned to see what will be on the schedule next.  



Cleaning Day

All the chicken “ladies” demand a clean coop.  I got up at 8:15 am on Sunday morning to make my ladies happy.  

Not a corner was missed. My ladies are very picky.

Some of the ladies were making sure the job was done right.

When everything passed inspection the ladies went off to play in their run.

Yummy for the Tummy

After canning all those peaches I couldn’t resist making a peach cobbler. Bill got this recipe off his favorite cooking show. It was so yummy it was gone in two days. The recipe is available at http://www.cookscountrytv.com/recipes/print/detail.asp?docid=8593

Peach cobbler before it was baked.

Final product, note  take the leftovers out of iron skillet. Otherwise peaches tend to darken from the skillet.



Keep the Water Coming Bill

With the heat index making it over 100 degrees all week we have had to water everything at the farm four times. The first day we tried just laying the hose in a drain pipe to disperse water in the garden. This was an okay method but it was more swamp like at the top of the garden with very little getting to the end of the rows.

Bill (my husband) being the brains of this outfit used a broken garden rake connector to make what is now know as “the water cannon.” The water cannon can reach far and wide and gives a slower, deeper shower then our first method. One must be very strong to operate the cannon for any length of time.

The water for the cannon is pumped out of the spring fed creek that runs near the house.

Bill and his water cannon at 7:30 am this morning.

Peaches Galore

26 pounds of peaches, what felt like 10 gallons of water and 3 pounds of sugar equals 12 quarts of peaches.  I put another 6 hours total in on peaches Tuesday night and Friday afternoon. This time I canned them in a very light (5 jars) and light (7 jars) syrup.  The very light jars will be used for cooking. Detailed instructions on how to can peaches and several other fruits are available at http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/5000/pdf/5343.pdf.

The left side is filled with 2 gallons of cold water, 4 tablespoons each of white vinegars and table salt. This solution keeps the peaches from browning.

Rinse the peaches extremely well or they will retain the salty flavor.

This shows a filled jar with a half inch of headspace. Proper headspace and clean rims are very important to making sure the jar seal.

This is the appropriate way to fill the water bath canner.

Final results, we have already opened a jar from Tuesday night.

Up, Up and Away

I worked a booth this weekend at the MidUSA Ohio Balloon Challenge. Our booth location was in a prime spot for a few good photos.  

The Purple People Eater was by far the best balloon there but was really too dark to be a part of the Balloon Glow.

Smile I'll see you soon.

Peaches Are In Season

26 pounds of peaches, 11 pounds of sugar, 8 lemons and 4 boxes of Sure Jell equals 18 jars of yummy peach jam.

I picked up 52 pounds of yellow Georgia peaches from Amatulli Produce across from the Madison Township fire station Wednesday night. My mother-n-law (who will be called mom from this point on) and I spent a good six hours over the next three days making jam.

It’s not costly or even hard to make jam it just requires PATIENCE and time. If you think you would like to try to make jam or jelly follow the recipe in the Sure-Jell box.  The most high tech tool required is a potato masher.

4 cups of mashed peaches

Cooked jam

The finished product, next up is canned peaches.

Berries Baby

So what do a former chimney and a mound of compost have in common? In this instant the answer is a new bed for berry bushes. About 6 weeks ago the farm had several trees blown down and a brick chimney blown off the roof in a wind and hail storm.  On Saturday, I had the brilliant idea of making a bed out of the bricks.

Bricks and compost loaded for the trip to our house.

The move: My first time driving this tractor by myself and up the hill of our driveway. A bit scary and my cry of triumph was heard down at the farm.

Materials are unloaded and ready to start.

Black Gold, proving the compost pile was active once upon a time.

After two days of high heat and no patience to wait for these weeds to die; I laid newspaper down and just went to work.

An hour later a finished bed is ready for baby berries to be planted.

Our cat Sir Buddy Grey aka “The Situation” helping his mom prepare for tomorrow’s project.

Calling ALL the Chicken Ladies

These Wyandotte chickens are my pride and joy. They are 15 weeks old today; five more weeks until they lay their first eggs and the rooster crows. These ladies are very spoiled they get ice water twice a day in the heat, have their own fan and get a wide array of treats. Their newest favorite treat is microwave popcorn. They run and fly with joy over it. You can find regular updates on their facebook page at Country Corner with Chicks.

 Lady the rooster and his favorite gal enjoying the fan.

A nice cool treat on a hot summer day.

Compost

I was suppose to bush hog a field this weekend but my husband did it for me. (Hugs) Instead I worked on a much more labor intensive and stinky project. Compost is a wonderful thing but at some point you have do something else but add material.

This compost pile has been over a year in the making and I really don’t think I would be lying when I say there is a least a ton worth of inactive ingredients. This pile contains straw, horse and cow manure, leaves, grass clippings, wood ashes, plants from last year’s garden and any food scraps left from canning.

In February there was no real sign this pile was actively working  and was still to the very top of the cage. To get the process moving again I poked holes through the layers and added 4 boxes of Ringer 3050 Compost Plus. This seemed to really work and even 6 weeks ago the inside of the pile was still cooking in temperature. With this much material, it will only remain active when you remain active. So I ordered 4 more boxes of Ringer 3050 Compost Plus, my husband helped by supplying a pile of shredded sticks for a base and I got started moving this material.

 Orginal Compost location about an hour into the project.

New location after moving material for an hour.

Weeds like this may be a normal person’s worse nightmare but when you need a layer of green to add to all that brown compost it is a gold mine.

 This is my sister-in-law Bettiann. (This picture doesn't do her justice. I promise a less blurring picture with her soon.) She offered to help me clean beds so I could have a nice middle green layer. We produced four full wheelbarrows of green material for a very hungry pile. ThanksJ

The final product is always the best. A good 5 hours of labor over three days was put in but we have this nice pile of soon to be active compost for our garden and two trees bases and a bed weeded. My back is a bit sore but it is all will be worth it when next year’s garden harvest is healthier and higher in yield.

Refried Bean Tostadas

In order to use up my corn torts I selected another Mexican recipe. This was a very smooth and creamy dish and balanced out the meal we had the day before. I did splurge and bought Taco Bell refried beans. I served this with a $1.25 bag of Spanish rice.  Making this meal about $1.50 a serving instead of the $.75 suggested.  The whole meal was 9 Weight Watcher points. This recipe is available, at http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/refried-bean-tostadas-10000001875723/.

Tip: To avoid the cracking and tearing of corn torts my mother-in-law taught me to: dampen a couple of paper towels, wrap torts and microwave between 30-40 seconds (warm to touch not hot) and shape immediately.

 Cracked and torn tort.

  Microwaved tort. There is a difference.

Finished Product

Huevos Rancheros Verdes

These turned out pretty well considering I have never fried an egg, only scrambled them. I cut this recipe in half; four of these would have been too much for two people. This dish was yummy but had to be served with three glasses of water. Tip: If using green sauce make sure to get mild green sauce or cut it in half with a mild red salsa.

Approximate cost $1.25 a serving. This is 9 Weight Watcher points on the old system. The recipe is available,  at http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/huevos_rancheros_verdes.html.

 Finished Product

Mid Point

First Blog Intro

Hello. I would consider myself an average cook whose current goal is to cook cheap but healthy meals. By average cook, I mean if it has a recipe I can follow it. But I have been known to burn toast, popcorn and French bread pizza. My husband believes that the word “instant” in the regards of food shouldn’t be in my vocabulary. For reasons I am too embarrassed to say.

I would love to use fresh herbs but they quickly add up the food bill. So I use dried herbs from my spice rack. To figure out herb conversions, visit http://www.ehow.com/how_5809828_convert-fresh-spices-dry-spices.html.

Cooking cheaply does require meal planning for the whole week and often times you will notice your weeks will have a theme such as Mexican or revolved around a certain meat.

This blog will also be about farm adventures. I have now lived out in the country for 13 years in mid-August and it is a constant learning experience. Like the time I got chased across the field by a few cows because I was trying to give a cup of feed just to the horse. Gardening, chickens and all my critters will also be a topic of discussion.  I am very new to chicken and guinea fowl care and am some what crazy about them.

I look forward to everyone comments.