Fall Planting

We opted to try planting seeds in the fall again, hoping for a better harvest earlier in the season this spring. Last time we tried fall planting, there wasn't any snow to insulate the seeds and only carrots and radishes came up. This year's winter is predicted to be wet, so I'm hoping for better results. 

I went through my box of seeds and planted anything I thought might grow in the cold spring- carrots, radishes, turnips, rutabaga, beets, cabbage (first time growing from seed), broccoli (first time growing from seed), and garlic. There are definitely more vegetables I would've planted, but we didn't have any seeds. This January I'll have to place an order. 

G had dug our carrots out of the garden, so the ground was nice and loose for planting. I made careful notes and a map in my plant notebook to hopefully be more organized. I don't think I have enough space for notes on how they grow, so I might redo those notes later.

I had saved seeds from a few radishes that bolted and went to seed. Some I had dug the seeds out, but some were still in the pods. Each pod held 2-3 seeds. We'll see how they do!

Here are our dug carrots drying for a few days to get a harder skin. They got moved to the fridge after drying. If we had a root cellar, I would've stored them there long-term. Maybe next year!

Oat Milk

Oat milk is both easier and harder to make than I thought. 

Soak oats in water, rinse the starch off to keep it from being slimy, blend with new water (cold), strain out the oats. Done. 

We made some hot chocolate with it, and it tasted pretty watery. Maybe if I let the oats soak longer? 

I kept the spent oats to use elsewhere... I tried making pancakes. Like the banana buckwheat pancakes I made before, they really stuck to the pan. 

I tried cooking some in the toaster oven. Still didn't cook super well. I'll have to keep experimenting. 

Jaron liked it though!

Compost Area

After revamping the goat fence, a number of pallets were left available. I took my opportunity to finally build my compost area. 

We settled on two bays to start; I debated a third, but they're easy enough to add, I can always do it later. You can use twine, screws, or zip ties to link the pallets together. We opted for gigantic zip ties. 

To contain the compost, I used a staple gun to attach empty chicken feed bags. Isn't it colorful! 

Here it is with compost inside. I raked up a bunch of leaves and little sticks that had accumulated around the shed. I wonder how much will break down by spring? 

The chickens love it. They've already scratched out a ton of what I raked in. 😂 

I guess I should install a board on the front of the bays. TBD if I'll put a pallet on top to cover the compost.

Vacuum Sealing Beer?

One of the downsides to a growler of beer is that it goes flat fairly soon after opening, so it's best not to keep it long. 

We had some "leftover" beer from a family birthday celebration. Of course I could make beer bread with it, but I thought I'd try to preserve it with our mason jar vacuum sealer. 

I tried two containers - a pint and a quart. Even with the carbonation, the jars sealed. They stayed sealed for a few hours. However, a day later, the lids had unsealed and the beer was flat. So, beer bread it is! 

This recipe tasted delicious. 

Christmas Cactus Buds

I wonder when the buds will bloom. These were an unexpected surprise when I watered the plant the other day. 

It's amazing this plant is doing so well considering where it came from. It was a wedding shower present from G's cousin three years ago. It had been thriving with a ton of flowers, and all of a sudden, it died. I think that was a side effect of "the great freeze" during our honeymoon. 

The heat quit working during the coldest days of the year and almost all of my plants died. All that was left unfrozen were two leaf sections. The vibrant green made me keep them, also considering the fact that cacti are succulents and can be propagated. I tossed them in a box of soil with other experiments and promptly forgot about it. 

A few months later, the chunk was still green. A few months after that, the chunk had a few roots. I repotted it into a small pot. It grew more leaves! Now it's triple the size of the original two salvaged leaves. One of the original leaves shriveled up and the second original is beginning to die off. 

 

Shed Door Update

G spent a lot of time out in the goat shed winterizing it and making it more efficient for our animals this winter. 

In addition to installing water heaters to keep waterers from freezing, he set up both a light and a heat lamp, both on timers, so the chickens will keep laying this winter and the eggs won't freeze. 

He also cut the shed door in half to keep even more of the warm air in while allowing the animals to come me and go.

We have it cracked open about a foot and a half for now. 
 

Mulching when the Mulching is Good

As you can see from the photos, I'm a little behind on posting... There's snow on the ground now. G and I worked fast and furious to get our property winterized before the snow came and the ground froze, so there will be a few posts from the past coming up.

One of the big winterizing tasks was to put more tree mulch over existing mulch in the orchard and medicinal herb garden. It took many trips with our little black cart.

I recently bought a babywearing jacket with a zipper up the back so you can wear baby on back. It's tricky to put the jacket on by yourself; it has to be centered just so or the baby gets stuck. But nice and cozy once it's on. 

Jaron likes changing it up, so he had a little time in the stroller too. 

While I worked, I heard a strange noise. I looked up and saw first one eagle, then a second, then a third, then a fourth! Four eagles circling in a gentle pattern above my head. 

I worried the eagles would go for our chickens and ducks, but thankfully they kept to the sky.