Garden Plans for 2016

Now that all the snow has melted I can easily see the sorry state of my garden area.  The chickens have had free access to the garden since the end of the last growing season and they have been doing a good job of scratching and kicking up the earth.   It is amazing how much stuff gets blown into the fenced area through the winter that I now must collect.

The outside temperature has been inching its way into the fifties and I have the urge to start working in the garden again.  I love the way it looks after the soil has been turned over and fluffed up.  Of course the chickens won't be too pleased when they are once again barred from their favorite area.

In the next week or two I plan to begin sowing seeds indoors.  Lots of seeds!  I am also adding some things to the garden that I have never grown before such as kale.  The first seeds I will be planting are onions.  Once again I am going to try to grow onions, this time from seed.  I will be preparing all four of the raised beds with a nice loose compost in the hopes that this will be the year I get a decent crop of onions and carrots, rutabagas and beets.

www.dollarseed.com

Heirloom seeds for only $1 package, bulk seeds for around $5!
(I do not earn anything for recommending this site; I buy my seeds from them and want to share the information with you)


I read somewhere that I can raise lettuce among the onions to save on space.  We also eat lots of spinach both cooked and in salads, so a third raised bed will loaded with spinach.  The fourth, and last of the raised beds will be for rutabagas and beets.

Last year I didn't plant any corn and ended up buying ten dozen ears from a local farmer.  This year I will plant corn instead of the the winter squash, except for the butternut squash which we love and eat often.

Then there are the usual veggies: heirloom beefsteak tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, cabbage, green beans and summer squash.

This will be the final summer for this garden as we plan to be relocated to the farm by the end of the growing season.  This will, hopefully, be the first gardening summer at the farm as well.  My plan for that garden is to raise field peas and butternut squash as forage for the goats.  I read that the butternut seeds are a natural de-wormer, and that field peas are a healthy treat for my girls.  Since the farm is located in an area with a longer growing season and milder winters than CT I am hoping to be able to reduce our reliance on stored hay and store bought feed.  There will be several acres of hay and forage for the goats.

Back to planting talk.  This year I ordered wholesale, some planting trays for starting the seeds.  For the past few years I have used paper cups, re-used seedling trays from the garden center, and whatever else I could make use of for starting seeds.  I got the trays for a good price and they can be used again and again.  In the long run I believe it will be money well spent, and should I sell some of the seedlings the cost will be recovered by the sale of only a dozen trays of seedlings.

future home for our small live-stock ?

This weekend we begin working at the farm to prepare for living there.  Along with doing some clean up of the house interior and the yard area around the house which has been overgrown with weeds and vines, we will begin our attempt to rescue an old out-building which was previously used for small animals, probably chickens and rabbits.  This little

post and beam building looks in terrible shape, but with some work, and replacing the siding, it will make a good home for the chickens and ducks.  

"Here Are Three Sugarless Cake Recipes for Wartime" 1940

This old, yellowed, newspaper clipping was found in my grandmother's cookbook (Marion Cole Fisher Handbook of Cookery, 1927) and thought I would give it a try since I eat way too much sugar these days, and I love cake.

Notice in the article instead of writing 1/2 they typed 1-2;  3/4 as 3-4 and 1/4 as 1-4.

The cakes, Spicy Molasses Cake, Cambridge Gingerbread, and Economy Cake rely on either molasses or corn syrup for their sweetness.

I can remember conversations with my grandmother about how she managed to clothe and feed her family of six children during the Great Depression and the period during WWII.  She was proud to say that no matter how bad things got, her children were always clean, well dressed and well fed.  She lived frugally, as did most of the population at that time, but she made certain her family was well cared for and comfortable in spite of the dismal economic times.

She is my role model and I refer to stories of long ago when trying to make ends meet and live simply.

Well now, back to the recipes, I baked two of them.  The Molasses Spice and the Economy Cake.
The Molasses Spice cake is similar to a gingerbread.  Icing it with frosting seems to defeat the purpose of "sugarless", so we will keep it plain, or perhaps add a lemon sauce as I would for a gingerbread.  I used a rectangle cake pan since I don't have any round layer pans.

The flavor is okay as long as you enjoy molasses.

The economy cake, which I made into cup cakes, is a bit bland for my personal taste.  Although the little cakes came out OK, I did forget to add the baking powder and salt (My husband kept looking over my shoulder and trying to confuse me.  It worked.)

I may make another attempt at the economy cake but remember to add the baking powder and salt, and make a few alterations such as adding more eggs and flavoring.

I am not going to try the third recipe, Cambridge Gingerbread, because it seems very similar to the first cake.

I had an unexpected and unsuspecting taste panel arrive after I finished baking the cakes.  My four youngest grandsons came for a visit and while they were I gave them each a cupcake and a little slice of cake to taste. They are always ready for cake, and Grandma's cakes are usually very good.

After a brief explanation that these were new recipes I was trying and that I would appreciate their opinions on whether the cakes are good and I should keep the recipes, or should I toss it all into the trash.

The vote was unanimous:  Can we go give it to the chickens please?

Have I learned from this test?  Yes, I am glad I didn't live during those times, most of the pastry recipes I have tried from these periods are not very tasty.

I don't know who created these "delights", but they certainly didn't help the war effort.

Goat's Unique Eyes from National Geographic

Explorer: Goat's Unique Eyes
Goats may not seem that extraordinary, but recent studies reveal a special secret about the goat's pupil, an adaptation that gives it an incredibly wide range of peripheral vision.
Posted by National Geographic Channel on Friday, February 12, 2016

The New Farm is Ours, Now the Work Begins

This thirty-five acre abandoned farm is now ours and soon the work will begin to relocate the Henny Penny Farm to its new home.

We have decided to keep the old farmhouse and restore it rather than to replace it with a brand new home.

The old house is in surprisingly good condition and has already been gutted to the framework, with the original stairway and some of the trim remain,  and new windows have been installed.

A new kitchen and bathroom have been framed at the rear of the building, in the ell.

An old barn stands where the pasture meets the woods and near a small, spring-fed pond.  The siding is worn, and missing in some places, but its big surprise was its interior which appears nearly new!  The framework is strong, and completely undamaged by time and the elements.  Even the metal roof is in excellent condition.  Bringing this building back to life will be a joy.

The small spring fed pond will be
 enlarged to at least 1/2 acre.

During this year we will be dividing our time downsizing and preparing to sell our CT homestead, and working on preparing the VA farm for our arrival.


It will be wonderful to see the goats reactions to having so much more space to roam and forage.  Of course one of our first projects will be to construct housing for them and the chickens.

The land is covered with 18 acres of grasses as tall as me, and there are 17 acres of woodland.

Our first trip is scheduled for the end of February when we will spend a weekend sweeping, and shoveling out the house in preparation to begin the restoration work.  As well as working in at clearing out overgrown brush, weeds and grasses around the house and spreading out from it as far as we can during our brief visit.

Can't wait to get started.  In the meantime there is plenty to do here in CT downsizing, getting rid lots of stuff and deciding what to keep, donate or trash.  Followed by getting the house ready to sell.

So much to do.  So much to look forward to.