June 2017 In The Gardens

July 5, 2017 Sarah1 Comment

I have come to realize the longer I am at this, the more aware of yearly weather changes – and patterns – and how they affect our farming the gardens. This year has been “special”, and June was frustrating in many ways. It went from cold and wet (as it had been all year) to blazing hot, then back to cold, then hot. No middle of the road. Is it too much to hope for say 72° and sunny every day? Not 62° for a week, then 90°, and back. I feel whiny. It was so bad we backed out of the local farmers market this year. We were not ready by any means, due to the weather. But it has been OK, and I call it part of the learning curve.

However….it has caught up and the beds are producing. We had some losses (we lost most of our onions) though. But again…learning curve.

Chamomile loves the cool weather and has produced tons. I have dried much of it for the cold months.

The blueberries however pressed on and oddly are on time this year (usually we are able to harvest the first ones around the 4th of July – and we did this week).

Spanish Lavender in bloom.

The pea crop was very behind, but we did get a late bounty…in June!

While we wait for our walk behind tractor to come (which will bring huge changes to our farm), I eeked out some late season beds. The growth since this photo has been huge.

First of the White Soul Strawberries.

I harvested a Lupine start for a friend’s daughter.

Some of the “field” tomatoes early in the month.

Garlic Scapes mid-month.

Potato flowers.

Late June harvest.

Finally sun. And the June Bearing Strawberries came on strong.

Rosemary.

And the first harvest of Lavender.

I got a lot of work done, and we had our week in Canada attending the urban farming class. Change is coming for us, and I am very excited. Soon it will look different, and be heavily producing. Next month will be quite the photos of what has grown – and been harvested.

Dehydrating And Preserving Herbs And Flowers

June 28, 2017February 25, 2018 Sarah

Dehydrating and preserving herbs and flowers is a satisfying part of gardening and homesteading. If you are at all interested in herbalism, it is a much wiser choice to grow and preserve your own supply, rather than buy them – and not know how the items were grown. This is of utmost importance if you are using the dried items to make teas and tonics and will be ingesting them.

While there is the cost of a dehydrator upfront, if one wants one, the end cost of harvesting in season and preserving for long-term storage is quick and cost saving.

While there are many dehydrators on the market, most run about the same in quality. We use a L’EQUIP 528 Dehydrator, and have for about 10 years now. I like the look of the unit, and how it fits on the counter. It is also relatively quiet. The key to buying one is having a fan and an adjustable temperature setting. Nesco makes affordable dehydrators, and are work horses. Yes, there are fancier ones, but being able to start and not spend $300 has its benefits.

You don’t need a dehydrator for smaller herbs, such as chamomile and lavender, these can dried in paper sacks, in a dry and breezy area. However, if you live in a humid area, I highly recommend using a dehydrator, if it takes too long to dry you can get mold. On our sister site, TrailCooking, we talk about how you can use your oven to dehydrate. For herbs and flowers, I don’t recommend this. It is just too hot for them (where as for pasta, rice and meat, it works great!).

For best results, pick in the cool of the morning, before the air heats up. This keeps the volatile oils in where they belong. As well, some herbs can cause skin irritations if picked when hot (such as sage, you don’t want to get a lot of the oils on your skin). Some plants you will cut off sections, such as lavender, rosemary, thyme. Once dry, you can strip them off and store. For plants such as peppermints, lemon balm, sage, basil and so on, pick sections, then pop each leaf off before drying. They will be more delicate, and will crush if you strip after drying. For flowers, pick as close to the flower top as you can. Stems are tossed.

I dry at below 110°. How long it takes depends on the plant material, how thick it is, and the humidity in your drying area. In most cases it takes a few hours to a day.

Once fully dry, let cool and promptly pack into glass jars, and sealed.

Then enjoy as needed!

Gardening · Homesteading · Markets · Urban Homesteading

Profitable Market Gardening Workshop

June 26, 2017 Sarah1 Comment

Kirk and I had the chance last week to attend Green City Acres “profitable market gardening workshop” in Kelowna, British Columbia.

Kirk and I have had dreams and plans for the farm/homestead, and while we are making headway with that, we needed help to achieve it all. How do you take your goals/wishes/wants and make it happen? Sometimes it feels so overwhelming, to go from gardening to farming.

So we drove 6+ hours to Canada to take Curtis Stone’s first class on urban farming and how to be profitable. Green City Acres is his farm, which is a collection of lots (land) that they farm on, doing high density/rotation of higher value crops. The class was split between inside and outside, in the field.

The flagship plot is easy to spot, and it’s a beauty. There is no house on the lot, meaning the entire lot is used.

We got put to work, even on day 1. Here we were getting instructed in a Greens Cutter.

If you have watched Curtis’s videos…this is the German 😉

I walked out with a lot of knowledge and how to put it to use.

5 burner flamer. For when a 1 burner isn’t enough 😉

Just remember kids…keep the blade away from your legs…..

One highlight during the week was talking tomatoes. I grow a lot of them. But I have always grown mine as “field tomatoes” so had wanted to learn in person on this subject, which was led by Roger:

A lot to take in, but again, it puts me where we want me to be. (Does that sound odd? I am sure it does)

Some of the days we worked at the ‘home base’ at Curtis’s home. This is where they grow micro-greens.

Learning to do flats of micro-greens.

Peas!

Pea sprouts.

Sunflower shoots.

Second type of pea shoots.

Washing produce.

From growing to bagging.

This is an incredibly pretty salad mix.

Curtis talking front yard growing.

Salad blends (which we harvested).

A lot of tool talk, and hands on use.

Curtis with his BCS – we have one coming which will help us bust our glacial till soil up….finally. It has been the hugest issue for our dreams.

Hands on time helps a lot to shorten the learning curve.

Plots….and more plots. A lot of visiting.

Setting up a cat tunnel.

And as well, tearing it down.

Kelowna is a flat city and easy to walk. So much to see, and a lot of urban gardening going on.

One of the plots, having its front yard being removed and getting ready to be worked.

The back yard of the plot.

Another plot, which was one I recognized instantly from his videos.

And to that……it was a great (and educational) week.

DIY · Gardening · Homesteading

Herbal Hair Rinses For Every Head

June 12, 2017 Sarah

If you missed my recent post on making Rosemary Hair Rinse, for brunettes, you might not know how wonderful herbal hair rinses are. They can boost your natural hair color, leave it feeling lighter, cleaner and the smell is amazing. It can allow you to get off of conditioner as well, which often leaves your hair feeling bogged down, and heavy by the end of the day.

What types of herbs you choose will depend on your hair color and hair conditions you are trying to remedy. You can use one solo herb/spice or make a blend of them. Use what you like the smell of. One note though: Know where your herbs and spices came from. Buy organic or locally grown. Better, grow your own and dry them (it’s as simple as picking and drying in a paper lunch sack, then transferring to a mason jar, I’ll be posting more about dehydrating in the near future). Don’t use dollar store herbs. You don’t know what might be in them. The risk of lead, and other contaminants are high. Your skin is porous, so use the best – you deserve it!

Light Hair:

Calendula, chamomile, orange flowers, nettle

Dark Hair:

Rosemary, sage, cloves, lavender, mint, marjoram

Red Hair:

Calendula, hibiscus flowers, witch hazel bark, cloves

Oily Hair:

Lemongrass, peppermint, witch hazel

Dry Hair:

Citrus peel, comfrey, elder flowers, red clover

Herbal Hair Rinse

Ingredients:

¼ cup dried herbs
1 cup water

Directions:

Bring the water to a boil, pour over the herbs. Steep for 5 minutes, then strain. Add in another cup of water (cool), pour into a container to take to the shower.

After shampooing and rinsing well, pour the hair rinse over your hair, gently working it in. Squeeze out excess, but don’t rinse.

Makes 1 batch.

Gardening · Homesteading

May In The Gardens

June 5, 2017 Sarah

It finally warmed up! That was the biggest thing about May. And wow, it warmed up fast. We went from cold and wet, to hot and dry, with temps in the high 80’s. At least everything grew like crazy. The entire garden spent that hot week, where Spring started, to catch up.