Missing Time...

I had a feeling that once kidding season arrived my ability to garden, update, etc., would be severely diminished, and - what do you know? - I was right!

The weather here has mellowed out incredibly for March in Southern Oregon (at least to my experience). High 60's in the day, lower 30's at night. My brandywine tomatoes (germinated in December) already have blossoms on them, and I am trying out those water-filled teepees for the first time this year. Can't say that I am too impressed thus far, but it's been less than a week. Overall, I have to say that the better method for me has been to move them into the greenhouse at night, and outside onto the porch during the day. This involves a lot of tedious, heavy lifting, but I think in the long run the results are better.

Speaking of tomatoes, I have completely run out of table space in my greenhouse! I am at the point where I am either going to have to make a lot of plant sales fast, or I am going to need to beg, borrow, or steal some more tables! I have found that I cannot set plants on the floor due to occasional slug that somehow manages to find its way in. Anywho, thus far I have had a lot of people express interest in purchasing my starts, but I have only managed to convince one party to come down to the farm and actually buy anything. At this point, I'm more in it for the table space than the money! *grin* I have been talking with one of the local country market stores in Medford, and they want to sell some of my plants on consignment. The problem is that I want to give the people who have expressed a desire to buy starts from me first choice, because I have some very nice (and large!) starts right now. However, if they procrastinate too long, I am going to be forced to take the best looking ones down to the store...

I have set my watermelons and musk melons germinating this week. I know that the local extension office doesn't recommend starting the seeds until the end of April. However, I followed their time table last year and my watermelons barely had enough time to produce a single fruit before the fall frost set in. This year, I am giving them an extra month of growing time. I have also discovered (thanks to lessons learned last year), that about the end of March to beginning of April is the latest I can successfully germinate things in the greenhouse. After that, the heat gets too much for tender sprouts. So, I am germinating like MAD these remaining few weeks, in order to get all of my seeds going on time!!

Ryan has been making a great deal of cheeses and yogurts. He made the most amazingly delicious 1-lb. wheel of Manchego that I have ever tasted, as well as many pounds of queso fresco for pizzas and other tasty dishes! I made a large batch of my cherry-fennel granola to go with the fresh yogurt, and as soon as I get a chance, I am going to get my kefir going again.

So much to do!!!...

The (Un)Usual Insanity...

Things are a bit more insane around here than normal...we had our final goat (Apothecary Farm GO Poit) kid on Friday evening without a peep. Ryan had checked her ligs the night before and that morning (still present), and we had looked in on her at 3 pm (everything normal)...I went to feed the goats at 5 pm, and had quite a shock. There was one more goat in the stall than there should be! Poit, in typical Zilla-like fashion, had kidded without warning, without a peep, and thankfully, without any trouble. The baby is a beautiful, bouncy, and healthy girl we have jokingly named "Captain Flowers." She, like her mother, has inherited Zilla's gorgeous moon spots, but I am hoping that the cross with Piddlin Acres BZ Suede Boots improves Poit's conformation in her offspring. Captain Flowers makes a total of 7 female babies for the 2010 kidding season (and 3 boys - now wethers). Not too shabby.

Speaking of babies, we had a very nice couple come out to the farm on Saturday and purchase our three baby wethers. They will be picking them up in about 2-3 weeks. It's so hard to see the babies go (especially Muffin!!), but I really liked these people, and it sounds like the boys are going to have a very wonderful home where they will be loved and spoiled. I am trying to comfort myself with the knowledge that I get to keep pretty much all of the girls (we are only going to sell 1 or 2), but I love all of my goat babies and wish I could keep every last one of them!!

On the gardening front, I found a fellow gardener nearby who bartered with me last weekend (my plants for her seeds). She has a strain of okra that she has cultivated to specifically grow very well in southern Oregon, as well as two heirloom tomato varieties (one of which I have a suspicion may be an unknown - or at least VERY rare - variety). I also obtained leek, celtuce, garlic, pimento pepper, corn, and lavender poppy seeds from her, as well as boysenberry cuttings and more walking onions to add to our patch. I was pretty happy! I planted a large section of my new 2nd garden patch yesterday, and can hardly wait for garden fresh veggies!! She also gave me quite a few artichoke sprouts, which also inspired me to go out and buy 2 packets of artichoke seeds (which are currently germinating in my seedling trays in the greenhouse). I had no idea that artichokes grew well in Oregon! For some reason I thought that they could not grow here...I am excited to be wrong on that front!

Next weekend is jammed full of all kinds of farm chores and errands (including an appointment to do our taxes...bleh), and the 2nd weekend of March my mother-in-law is flying out to visit us for 4 days. Hard to believe that 3 weekends from now is the first official day of spring! Where does the time go?? I am so excited for spring though, and for my garden to begin producing. My goal this summer and fall is to not have to go the grocery store for any vegetables, eggs, or dairy products.

The chickens have begun laying again. We are now averaging 3 eggs every other day. I am loving having the eggs again! Nothing compares to FRESH!!!

Back to the insanity!...