So it comes as no surprise that every spring, I come out of hibernation alongside the rest of nature. The first days above 60 degrees have me dreaming of spring planting and starting seeds indoors anticipating the coming days of April. Usually, by February I have the garden planned, even when the only space to grow is at our limited house in town. And likewise, I am often over ambitious, ending up having to give away multitudes of seedling vegetables to anyone who will take them.
However, this winter we were a little more productive than usual. With the pastures in better shape and the fruit orchard planted, we had time to focus on the next phase of our operation, putting a cabin on the property. This was a case of someone's loss becoming our gain, as we managed to purchase a small log cabin from a bank repossession. It's small enough that we can have it transported to our property, and our good friend Charlie brought the big dozer over to carve a nice flat spot in the mountain for it. All we are waiting on now if for it to get dry enough to haul it in.
We were able cut and stack a good supply of firewood, with the help of the new manual hydraulic wood splitter. A neighbor friend gave us over a dozen huge oak trunks which nearly filled the woodshed once split and stacked. I also planted about a half acre of winter wheat which has over-wintered very well, so we are looking forward to trying some fresh bread soon using the new Country Living grain mill.
I did find that the assortment of plows that came with the tractor was lacking one really needed implement- a bottom plow. I needed to turn the grass under so I paid a visit to the local tractor dealer and then the wheat field plowed up nicely. This weekend I will plow under the 2011 garden spot and get it ready, which is also roughly half an acre and runs alongside the wheat patch.
Over the fall I pieced together an irrigation pump, some solar panels and a DC/AC power inverter. I still need to get a few deep cycle batteries and build an enclosure for the system, but it will be ready by the time we need it. After the devastating drought last year, I am determined not to let that much hard work go to waste again. Figuring all those solar power calculations was an interesting learning experience. When I flip that switch I'll either be dancing or cursing my way back to the drawing board, but I'm actually pretty confident in the numbers.
The band is still booked every weekend through the summer, which is a great source of income, but leaves little time for working at the farm. Over the winter we have been ramping up our food reserves of dry goods, meats, grains and canned items (I'll blog about our reasons later) and have decided that given the time restrictions we foresee this summer, it doesn't make a lot of sense to try and plant high maintenance crops that require daily monitoring during harvest season. Instead, I'll be growing crops suitable to dry in the field, or harvest green all at once. We'll add the dry goods to our reserves and skip the canning of fresh vegetables for the most part.
We'll buy or trade for a couple cases of tomatoes for canning, as they are quick and easy to put up. Lettuces, Cucumbers, Squash, Peppers and a few other kitchen vegetables I can grow in town like every year. I will miss the okra though, and may have to make a trip to the farmers market as I am down to the last few packs in the freezer.
So, I've completed successful germination tests on the following and have plenty of seed stock:
- Black turtle beans
- Red Kidney beans
- Jackson Wonder butter beans
- Navy beans
- Red Calypso baking beans
- Mississippi cow peas
- Honduran Lima beans
These will definitely make it into the garden. I'll also be planting a patch of Soy beans for roasting, and Floriani Red flint corn, along with red, white and yellow onions, garlic, leeks and shallots. Down in the lower section I'll set out the seed potatoes and peanuts. If all goes well, I'll plant at least a half acre more of hard white wheat for berries and straw.
I've got a dozen or so Blackberry and Raspberry bushes to plant in the orchard along the fence by the Blueberry patch, and I need to find a good permanent spot for the Asparagus roots and a few grape vines I bought earlier this month.
Speaking of grapes, I have both Chery and Blackberry wine in fermentation, and a wonderful batch of 2009 Italian Montepulciano grape wine aging on oak. The remaining 2009 Cabernet are bottled and aging quietly downstairs in the 60 degree "cellar". (the space formerly known as the basement) I may pull them out this fall or I may let them rest another winter, it all depends on how they progress over the next several months.
Even though I detest winter, this past one wasn't so bad with regards to getting stuff done. Maybe I'm just getting soft in my old age.
