By Daisy Luther
Hi, everyone! I hope this has been a wonderful week for you. This week’s Friday Farm Blog is full of all of the projects that we’ve been doing. Now that it’s fall (even though it was 104 degrees one day this week) I’ve been feeling sort of domestic.
I’ve been in a cooking mood this week. Maybe it’s the Once-a-Month Shopping Challenge, but I’ve been feeling more creative in the kitchen when forced to work with only the things I have on hand. I made the most delicious cookies from a recipe on the Whole New Mom blog. I substituted maple syrup for the sweetener called for in the recipe and used coconut flour, since we don’t eat grains very frequently. (It doesn’t make your recipe turn out coconutty, FYI – I loathe coconut, so you can trust me on this one!) They really are that gorgeous orange color you see in the photo, too. I noticed when searching for recipes that most pumpkin cookies don’t actually contain pumpkin, just pumpkin pie spice. These contain real pumpkin puree made from last year’s Jack-o-Lanterns.
We had such a salty-crunchy craving that I tried my hand at making zucchini chips in potato chip flavors using my Excalibur dehydrator. (By the way, the 4 tray version of this dehydrator is on sale for only $99 at the time of this post. That’s SUPER cheap. Whether it’s practical for you depends on the amount of food you normally dehydrate. For large batches, look to the larger 9-tray version.) The non-stick sheets that I ordered for it have made life FAR easier because they wipe clean with a sponge. I don’t have to spend an hour afterward poking the holes in those little screens with a brush to get the food out. I made barbecue, ranch, and parmesan/black pepper/garlic flavors. Look for the recipes this week.
I also had to channel my creativity when I ran out of dishwasher soap, something I had totally forgotten about on my shopping trip. I’ve made the homemade stuff in an ice cube tray before, but this time I decided to be lazy and make a powder instead of a cube. I used some lemon essential oil from Spark Naturals for a fresh clean scent, and added it to pantry items. The first batch didn’t get things clean, so I had to add a couple of ingredients and remix it to perfect things. This recipe will be posted soon too.
For those of you doing the Once-a-Month Shopping Challenge, how’s it going? Have you hit any snags? How did you resolve them? Please share in the comments section! If you haven’t joined yet, check out the details HERE.
There could be some light on the horizon with regard to California’s epic drought. There is an El Nino system building over the Pacific. Much debate is occurring on whether this will hit all of California or just part of it. Many think it will be the answer to our prayers for rain, and I’m very hopeful too. But what a lot of folks are forgetting is the need to prepare for this.
Forest fires have left much of our mountains bare. This increases the risk for severe erosion, and even mudslides. Another risk is flash flooding. The ground is so hard and compacted from drought that much of the water is likely to run right off. For low-lying areas (like my house) this could be an issue. Below is a photo out my kitchen window. There is a four-foot drop-off behind that raised bed, and it’s at the base of a large hill. If there is a huge storm, it’s probably going to turn into a waterfall.
I went out to try and dig a trench to divert the water, but the ground was so rock hard, I couldn’t make a dent in it. During the upcoming week, we’ll be using some heavy equipment to try and prevent a flood here and around my barn. (Note the scraggly tomato plants that are STILL producing.)
I’ve always been a morning person, but having farm animals makes me love it even more. They’re always so happy to see me when I let them out of their respective sleeping areas. Maybe it’s because I bring food.
They’re also always good for a laugh. Our little goat Nameless barged into the chicken coop with me this morning. She made herself at home in the chick brooder, much to the dismay of The Littles (our four youngest chicks).
Speaking of goats, Cora’s still hanging on to those babies.
This weekend, I’m getting my storage areas organized. I have to make room for some food storage buckets that I have coming soon. I was really sold on the Numanna products, so I’m adding them to my emergency stockpile.
We know how to party around here. What’s going on at your little homestead this week? Are you still harvesting? Are you also in “nesting” mode for the winter ahead? I truly love hearing about your projects, goals, and achievements.
Until next week!
OMG Daisy; drought, fires, floods, mud slides, the only thing you’re missing is the Big One! It seems the way your property is sculpted you need some sand bags around your house plus other types of diverters to move the flow of water around your house. Can you rent/borrow a small backhoe to do the hard work? Is it lawful in CA to dig a “drainage ditch”, aka rain catchment system? I used to have a house where the water would come off a slight hill directly in line to my patio on the back of the house. After the first 2-day rain storm, which we watched in horror, we built sort of a horse shoe shaped 2’ wall around the patio which diverted the flow from the back of the house to either side and then we dug just a very small channel on each side which took the flow around the rest of the house. On the garage side we inserted 8” high hard plastic edging to keep the water moving down the driveway to the drain swell, which moved it down the hill. On the other side we used the natural dip of the land to keep the water moving away from the house. We added drain extenders to the down spouts to keep the water away from the base of the house. It worked really well and we never got a wet basement. Keep us posted on your progress!
This week has been more chicken problems; some the 6 week old chicks have started tail pecking. These are barnyard mix chicks and are in an outdoor transition cage (4’x4’x4’). I found 3 chicks with pecking damage and separated them immediately. I identified who I thought were the troublemakers (the 2 largest chicks) and moved them out to another area. Just moving chicks to different cages will probably solve the problem, but I’ll add additional calcium and salt and see if that helps.
Hope you have a wonderful week and pray you can beat the el nino coming your way.
As far as the laws are concerned, I’m a big fan of the “ask forgiveness, not permission” philosophy. 😉
Me too! And now that I’m nearly 70 I find the “befuddled little old lady who just doesn’t know any better” works really well. lol
Greetings! My wife and I finally left the Bronx for a 40 acre farm in central Maine 2 years ago in late September of 2013. Although we met about 5 1/2 years ago we both shared the same dreams of living in the rural country and living relatively self sufficiently. I’m in my late fifties and she in her early sixties so we aren’t young and foolish dreamers mind you. As we both love the cold we came to the right place! We are not totally prepared but do what we can, got a dozen fruit trees and 25 Elderberries in our first year. Started veggie gardens this year and built HugelKulture beds for herbs and medicinal plants this year in addition to asparagus beds and garlic in the ground now, and as fall is here I continue to improve and add to compost beds with free 3 year old leaf compost and shredded wood chips I load into my pick up from a local transfer station in preparation for this coming springs serious planting schedule. I will have nut and berry trees in along with all the berry bushes in spring as well. I have already enriched with free sheep poop and have a source for cow manure as well. Most importantly is contacts with local organic farmers, honey, maple syrup, and meat in the way of beef, pork, and chickens. I have a safe coop with 11 hens laying since 13 months ago, which survived a brutal winter of nearly record breaking snowfall and occasionally minus 25 degree temps with wind chills of minus 45, and the girls are healthy and happy! Everyday is a learning experience and you will make mistakes, learn from them, and keep moving forward! Best to all
Chuck
Wow, it sounds like such a wonderful set-up! Maine is gorgeous this time of year. 🙂
This year’s growing season was a challenge for us. What could go wrong, did go wrong. The good news is that what went wrong was fixable, but we were out of synchronization with the ideal seasonal timelines; it was very frustrating.
We lost four mature apple trees to rodents last winter, but have a fabulous apple harvest-we will be making apple cider vinegar, and the rest will go to the sheep and chickens.
We lost too much butter squash to the ground hogs. The animals ate these treats recently rather than during the winter. At least they did not go to waste. We will eat the rest during the winter-next year we are going to focus on root crops.
The green beans grew great, but we could not process them as it coincided with the health crisis of my elderly father that is still on going. The sheep and rabbits (meat) are enjoying the harvest of pods and vines, and we will be saving the seeds for next year. Ditto with tomatoes. (glad I processed an abundance of tomatoes last year!)
We will be preparing the garden and chicken free range area until snow (or ice) covers the ground. Maybe we can get a jump ahead for spring. At least that is the plan.
Getting a shearer was a problem as well. Due to lambing problems the year before, we moved our lambing dates to later time than earlier. Alas, our shearer was unable to do it, and it took months to find one for an “off season” time. I have quite a few bags of fleece from the sheep and plan on cleaning and spinning during the winter months. I am looking forward a winter “hibernation.” In our congested state, many events/obligations are quickly cancelled with bad weather–a hibernation treat!(Even minor accidents or slips and slides become a nightmare in this area. The police get vehicles off the road and have the driver call a tow truck. You are expected to have AAA insurance.)
We did not put up enough food for sure; we must supplement the larder with purchases including Numanna products. You convinced me with your review.
We are still playing “catch up.”
I am optimistically looking forward to the winter months to regroup and replenish
Have a great fall/winter!
I’m sorry to hear about your father. Very best wishes for his improved health.
I like hibernating in the winter too. 🙂
Just a caveat about the $99 amazon price of the 4 tray Excalibur – you have to be a Prime member to get that price. Would have liked to give you the credit when buying that, but I don’t want to also go Prime for $99/year.
At BBBeyond it’s $220 for the 9 tray, minus the 20% coupon makes it $176.
Oh thank you, Renee! I’m sorry, I didn’t realize this was just for prime members. I appreciate you letting us know!
I am in the Gulf south so I garden year round. I still have summer okra and peppers coming in, in addition to the fall/winter crops just getting started, most notably kale. So far this year I’ve doubled my growing space (I have to grow in raised beds because the clay is just evil) and while my fall/winter beds are hopefully pumping out the food I’m doubling my space again (hopefully 1200sqft or more when it’s all done), for the spring garden. The new beds are made out of tree trunks, which is a Herculean task. Eventually I want to build a new compost bin (http://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/garden/make-fertilizer-faster-building-ultimate-compost-bin) because I’m going to need a lot more compost for all those beds!
Really nice post! I love the idea of making zucchini chips. It sounds easy to make and tasty. It is nice that you made your own dishwasher soap! I love homemade cleaners! Thanks for sharing!