Canning Beans

So my daughter told me instead of posting on Face book www.facebook.com/tirocfarms or my web site www.tirocfarms.com that I need to keep my blog going and just point my facebook & website here. I believe it will cut down on my time spent at the computer.

Of course I really don't have a recipe. Maybe that is why my daughter is gently guiding me to do this. So we have it in writing. Most of what I post is from memory of my Mother and Grandmother & Mother-in law has taught me through the years.

First I wash the beans in the sink, then carry them out to the front porch.
Then you break the beans, this is one of the best parts, because you get to visit with folks and sometimes they join in. Make sure you allow at least an hour or two for this.
I have a basket or bowl what ever is handy at the time, that the beans are in on my left. A towel on my lap to throw the castaways in and a bowl to my right to break the beans in. You can do it however you like.

 After the beans are all broke, I wash them again. and pack them in Hot Quart Jars.
You can use smaller Jars if you wish.

 Add a teaspoon of Salt for Quart Jars, adjust for smaller jars.

 Then Pour Hot boiling water over the beans up to the shoulder of the Jar.

 Then you want to make sure all the air bubble are out, by running a butter knife down along all 4 sides of the jar. If you need to add more water and repeat.

 Make sure you lids are bowling in hot water.

 wipe the rim of your jar, to make sure there are no pieces of salt or beans on it and it is clear to put the lid on.

 I have to use tongs to get the lid and band out of the hot water and put on the Jar.

Follow directions with your pressure cooker to know where to fill water to. Bring the Pressure Cooker up to 10 lbs of pressure, then set the timer for 25 min. you may need to stay there to keep track of the pressure and adjust the temperature  so it stays at 10 lbs for the 25 min

My cooker will do 7 jars at a time. So now to do this a few more times for our winters supply. Have fun and enjoy!!

Don't you just love Mushrooms?

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Mushroom Omelet, Mushroom Quesadilla, Mushroom Gravy, Sautéed mushrooms in spaghetti sauce, Stuffed Mushrooms, Mushrooms on Pizza. I could go on and on.
We grew mushrooms years ago and they were so easy to grow. This year we are starting mushrooms on the Farm.

Shiitake Mushrooms to be exact.

Some people liken them to Lobster or Steak. When we get the large ones off the logs about 7 inches in diameter, I like to soak them in a little Salt water and then sauté' them, and just eat them like you would a steak with a salad and baked potato. They also have medicinal qualities check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiitake

First we make sure we have healthy Oak logs, this one happens to be a scrub oak. We really don't want a tree bigger then 5-9 inches in diameter, this makes it easier to handle. Oak trees seem to last longer meaning they should produce for 5 or more years.
Once the tree is cut down, we cut it up into about 4 foot lenghs. Also making it easier to handle.

We put the log on Gary's homemade table, or you can put them across saw horse's. 

We drill holes in a diamond shape pattern, then you start inserting the plugs with spawn on them into the holes.

Once you insert the plug you will need to use a mallet to pound it down into the log.

You then put a thin layer of wax over the plug so the spawn will start to eat on the log to produce mushrooms. 

We try to do this in the late winter or early spring so when they are outside they get a lot of rain water to keep them wet.

Just in case you want to know where we get our mushroom spawn check out http://www.mushroompeople.com/ They have other mushroom spawn also, check them out.

Planting by the Moon

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Have you ever heard what the old-timers say about planting by the moon?

Some friends were visiting the other day and of course we were talking about the farm.
They asked us, “Why did we have beautiful plants last year and not much fruit?”
Gary asked them if they plant by the moon? The look on their faces showed they did not understand what he was talking about.

Gary said, "You plant the above ground fruiting plants by the light of the moon. The below ground plants by the dark of the moon."

That means the plants you want to bare a lot of fruit like Tomatoes, Peppers, Egg plant, etc. that you would plant before a full moon. The plants you want to have a lot of bush to feed the below ground fruit like Potatoes, turnips, carrots, beets etc. you plant after a full moon.  Not to be confusing, but things like Spinach, Kale, Collards, Cilantro, Lettuce,  bushy greens you want to plant after a full moon because you also want them to be all plant.

Some people don’t believe this theory of planting.  But, Gary's Mom & the old farmers have used this method for generations and has proved to be a successful way of planting their crops.  Last year we tested “Planting by the moon” and it worked great for our farm.  We had more fruit and vegetables above ground and below ground than we have ever had.

Gary made another comment that I thought was really good. "If the moon is powerful enough to move the ocean, why don't people think that it has anything to do with the garden."

For us not just ordering seed, deciding where we will rotate the plants to this year, we also get the calendar out to see when the full moon is, and schedule our planting around the moon.

Kale! Kale! & more Kale!

This year we planted a lot of Kale! It seems as if everyone wants Kale. It is so good for you!

Wikipedia can say it better them me, so here goes Kale is very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, zeaxanthin, and reasonably rich in calcium. Kale, as with broccoli and other brassicas, contains sulforaphane (particularly when chopped or minced), a chemical with potent anti-cancer properties.

 Boiling decreases the level of sulforaphane; however, steaming, microwaving, or stir frying do not result in significant loss.

 Along with other brassica vegetables, kale is also a source of indole-3-carbinol, a chemical which boosts DNA repair in cells and appears to block the growth of cancer cells.

 Kale is also a good source of carotenoids.

There are so many ways to prepare Kale, Some people make Kale salads, I have not tried that. I have evan heard of people drinking straight kale juice for a pic me up.I have put it in my juices, & Smoothies. mmm!

I have also put it in my quiches. But here is my Favorite way to fix Kale.

Kale Chips

One bunch of Kale

1-2 Tbs of olive oil

Sea Salt to taste.

Destem your Kale and chop in about 1 inch squares, place in bowl and drizzle the olive oil over it and sprinkle on sea salt. Mix untill well covered and lay on cookie sheet in single layer. Bake 250 for 20min. turn out on plate and dig in. 

Herbs Are Oh So Good!!

Herbs are among the easiest plants to grow. Evan if it is only a pot on your front porch. But I love to have them in the flower beds right out side the kitchen.

Especially in the winter there is nothing more satisfying and simple than snipping off just what you need and enjoying the garden fresh flavor without having to run to the grocery.

Here is my Top ten 'Can't Live Without' garden herbs.

1) Rosemary Use it fresh or dried, the flavor is fantastic either way..

Favorite uses: Chopped and sprinkled in pizza dough before I add the liquid, Holiday Gifts in vinegar or Oil.

Plant with: beans and carrots to repel: bean Beatles, carrot files, mosquitoes, & moths

2) Thyme is a low growing plant and is really a ground cover. It is perfect for edging beds or placing in the front of a mixed container planting. The plant is very hardy.

Favorite Uses Chopped and sprinkled in pizza dough before I add the liquid, Holiday Gifts in vinegar or Oil. Home made stews & soups.

Plant with: Cabbage, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Brussel Sprouts to repel White Fly

3) Sage Love the smell of sage & I always use it fresh, but you can dry it too. Once you have a herb garden by the kitchen I cut it all year long.

Favorite uses: I like it in vegetable soups, After I open one of my canned soups, & I add

it fresh to the soup.

Plant with: Cabbage, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Brussel Sprouts & Carrots to repel: Cabbage White fly, carrot root fly, moths, ants, ticks

4) Parsley Parsley is ones of those super foods that do more good things for a body than seems possible for just a little leafy green plant. Among other things, it contains vitamin C.

Favorite uses: I'll chop about a 1/2 cup and add it to my Potato Salad, It gives it such a fresh taste. You can make lots of things with it, and pretty much chop and sprinkle it on most every dish that comes out of your kitchen.

Plant with: Roses and Carrots. To Repel: Rose Beatles & Carrot flies

5) Basil This is the herb that you must grow. harvest leaves all season. Make sure you keep pinching off the flower heads so that the plant will keep throwing out new leaves all season. I seed this inside in Feb and then transplanting plants late spring

Favorite uses: Everything - Salads, pesto, pizza, sauces, and with summer's treat, tomatoes and fresh mozzarella.

Plant with: Tomatoes, Peppers & Asparagus. To Repel Horn worm, Aphids & White fly

6) Chives - Another perennial favorite

Favorite uses: I add it to anything that call for onions, It is really great in salads.

Pant with Tomatoes to repel Aphids

7) Mint - I strongly recommend growing this in a container or a contained are because it will fill whatever space you give it. It's a lovely plant to have around, but don't say I didn't warn you.

Favorite uses: In all kinds of juice, and lemonade.

Plant around your garden to repel, ants & mice.

8) Oregano. This plant also acts like a ground cover but it is generally polite and doesn't spread too aggressively..

Favorite uses: Chopped and sprinkled in pizza dough before I add the liquid. add to the pot when making sauce from abundant garden fresh tomatoes.

Plant with: Cabbage, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Brussel Sprouts & Carrots to repel: Cabbage W

hite fly,

9) Dill: This a annual plat, so if you want this to season dishes in the winter make sure you dry some.

Favorite uses: Every one knows that it is good with pickels, but I also like to cook with it. It gives a great flavor to casseroles.

Plant with: Cabbage, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Brussel Sprouts & Carrots to repell: Cabbage White fly, carrot root fly

10) Cilantro - Cilantro is easy to grow from seed and I start planting it about this time every spring. I find that it bolts easily so I think that it is handy to plant a few seeds now and then a few more every few weeks for the next month or more. This way, you will have a ready supply through out the summer.

Favorite uses: Gary's Salsa. While there are many other ingredients you could add to make a great guacamole, I think that you could actually get away with only two, cilantro and avocado.

Carrots in a Coke bottle

As promised, I am sharing my carrot and celery experiments, so this is how it is going so far.

Not a lot going on at the farm last week, other than Gary almost has the Greenhouse ready to put the plastic on, I have transplanted the cabbage and broccoli. The Kale got to spindly to transplant. I might put it outside with a white storage bin over it to see what happens. It is fun to experiment with plants.

Today, I did took about 36 cuttings off of my rosemary bush. I would really like to have a large herb garden this year & start a lot more different Herbs that I usually don't grow. I'd like to try and make tinctures, and learn more about medicinal uses.

Getting back to the farm life, is so rewarding, relaxing, & mind stimulating.

See you next week!

This is what we were able to do on the farm this week. Gary got the Greenhouse up, except we need to get the plastic on it.

I had seen where someone had taken a coke Bottle and planted some carrots in it so we could grow them inside for the winter. I am going to try it. and when the Grandkids get here, I have some for them to try with too. Another thing that I read was how you can cut the bottom off of the celery and start it in water then plant it 1 inch under the ground and it will grow another celery stalk. So follow me to see how these to grow. I'll try to give you a picture every week so you can see it happen.

I also started seeding Broccoli & Cabbage & Kale, I know that it is a little early for the Kale, but I just want to see how it will do. Hopefully we will put it in a hoop house in a couple of weeks.

We also ordered Tomato and Cucumber & purple Cauliflower. We have grown all the these varieties before. except for the Purple Cauliflower. We really like the flavor of the tomato's. I thought you might like to know the story about the "Granny Crantrell Tomato" taken from the

Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Catalog

This meaty beefsteak-type tomato is named after Lettie Cantrell, who received seeds from a soldier returning from Germany during World War II. She grew this tomato in the hills of eastern Kentucky for many years. This was her favorite tomato and the only one she grew. Each year she saved seeds from the largest tomatoes, some of which reached 2 1/2 lbs. Our growers find it to be quite productive. Ahh! What a flavor! This variety was named best tasting tomato of the year at the 2006 Heirloom Garden Show in our taste testing contest.

A New Year

As we are getting ready for a new year, I looked on my blog and was disappointed that I quit posting in August 2011, So One of my resolutions is to Make sure I post at least once a week if not more.
Just to let you know what is happening on the Farm, Today Gary is going to be working on finally gettng our Greenhouse back up, after the Tornado did its job in April. I have been pouring over Seed catalogs on line, and Today, my biggest project will be Checking what seeds we have left and what seeds we need to order. Making my schedule of when to seed indoors and when to plant in the garden.

There are several new plants I would like to try this year like the Cheddar & Purple Broccoli, Red Okra, Yellow Patty Pan Squash, Rhubarb, Ground Cherries, & I would really like to get some Asparagus in the ground too.
Here is the last Garden Pic of last year. It was taken in October. An very interesting Thing we learned last year to keep the deer out was, we put up stakes at about 100 ft intervals around the garden & just strung a string about head high and one about knee high, tied plastic grocery sacks on the string on the top string so that when the wind blew, it would blow the sacks down the string. Something else we did different is that we planted Squash, beans, and cucumbers the end of July and still get a good harvest before Frost.

Heres to hoping you have a great year in your Garden.

Local Restraunts are using our Produce!!

Wow It has been a long time since I wrote on here. We have been so busy!
We decided to try 3 markets this year. The Main Street Market in Chattanooga, on Wednesdays from 4-6, Blue Cross Blue Shield invited us to sell to their Employees on Thursdays from 3:30-5:30pm, and The Chattanooga Market at the Tennessee Pavilion on Sundays from 11-4

On market days We start about 6:00am, picking and working in the Garden before it gets to hot for a couple of Hours. Then we bring everything back to the house to wash & pack for Market. We get done just in time to pack the truck and head to Market. We usually get to the Market about an hour before to start setting up.

One of the greatest things that has an impact on us is, that we have really have met a lot of neat people at Market. Like other farmers, that we have learned tips from. Also it is really neat how all the farmers really like to help each other out. Such as one farm gave our farm name to a restaurant that wanted to buy Patty Pan Squash. Right now we are featured on the St Johns Menu for our heirloom Tomatoes.

We have also learned that there are a lot of People out there that are really concerned about what they eat. They want to make sure they are not getting the pesticides on their foods. There is a foundation out there called Gaining Ground that is promoting Locally grown foods within 100 miles of Chattanooga. Maybe you have noticed the bill boards for MSFM, or the magazine called Taste Buds, we are also featured in there as one of the local farmers. They have a listings of the restaurants that use local farmers too.

To Market to Market.

Last week we went to the Main Street Farmers Market for the first time. Here is their website. http://mainstfarmersmarket.com/

Wednesday morning up bright and early to pick in the cool of the day, and that is when you can capture the best flavor of the veggies. We picked Broccoli, Kale, Collards, Onions, Turnips, Peas, and took some of the Tornado survived plants to the Market. Later that morning we cleaned and packaged the veggies, on this Table Gary built. It really did the trick.

Of course it was the Hottest day yet this year. 100 DEGREES!!!!
We defiantly were not prepared. We didn't have a tent to keep the Sun off the produce, but were very fortunate that another farmer had an extra tent to let us borrow. We also did not take enough Water for being so hot. Then we should have taken Ice Chests to keep the Greens cool. We also forgot our Sign and cards. Lesson well learned. I am sure we will learn more as we continue on.

We are still planting too. We planted Yellow Brandy wine Tomatoes, and also replanted yellow squash & pink-eye purple eye peas. Today I planted Basil & Marigolds to help with keeping the bugs away. Talking about bugs. Remember I said we were going to try to grow all organic this year. Well we have found an organic bug spray made from Chrysanthemums, Called "Pyrethrin". It really is working well, since it is made from flowers, you can pick the same day. We don't do that though.

Hopefully this week we will get all the fall seeds in the ground like Pumpkins, winter squash, gourds etc.

A very busy week........ planting, planting, planting.





Tina and the kids came up to be with us the last week of April for Planting the Garden. This is the week we are planning on getting most of the Veggies in the Ground. And did we work hard! We also had a friend come up because she wanted to learn, to plant her own garden.
While Tina and I were putting stakes in the ground Part way through Gary Rototinng, we heard this awful noise that made me think OH NO! and then Gary tried to start it again. It wouldn't start. He thinks it threw a Rod. So off to Northern Tool to get a new engine. We planted, Yellow Squash, Clemsen Spineless Okra, Kolbs Gem Watermelon, Blue Lake Bush Beans, Patty Pan Squash, October Beans, Cucumbers, Lima Beans.

The next day we planted 2 different Varieties of Heirloom Tomatoes, Corn, and Zuccino. When we plant Tomatoes there is several steps we do. First we take the first two sets of leaves of the plant and dig the whole as deep as the height of the plant. We put in a teaspoon of Epson salt and mix it with dirt in the bottom of the hole, this keeps the tomatoes from getting blossom end rot. Then we put in the compost and throw a little dirt in and mix it in the whole. Then we put the tomato in the ground and just leave the top two sets of leaves out of the ground. The tomato plant will grow roots all along the stem that is in the ground and make it a much sturdier Plant. Gary had Rototilled one pass on a plot above the cabbage so Tina & I set up the stakes and Strings before we went to fix Supper.

Wednesday Morning the storm was coming.... could we get anything in the Ground before the Rain? We grabbed a Banana for breakfast Gary started rototilling the second pass above the Cabbage patch. Tina Spread Compost & I started planting. We got in one row of Chambers Renegade Watermelon & 3.5 rows of Pink-eye purple hull peas in the ground as it was raining on us. That was it for the day. As the day continued the first storm was so bad we went to the basement for fear of a Tornado. The winds were so strong that is threw our Swing across a log and moved the Greenhouse 1 ft off the foundation. That evening we got another storm that rolled through and finally did a job on the Greenhouse. We will have to rebuild it. But I have to be thankful for only that damage. In the valley less than 1 mile from us in Trenton there was a large Tornado that passed through and destroyed some homes and there were some folks that did not make it. My heart goes out to their family's. Although I am so proud of my home town. Everybody pulled together helping each other. Even some of the business gave out water, instead of gouging people.

seedlings growing

Yesterday It was down to 40 degrees in the morning & when I walked in the Greenhouse and all my baby tomato plants leaves were folded together like little praying hands. We had not put down the back side of the greenhouse because we didn't think it was going to get that cold. I had never seen that before, and thought it was interesting, then in the afternoon when it got warm they opened their leaves. We have about 300 tomato plants started.

We are planting all Heirloom plants, Last year we planted about 4 different varieties of Tomatoes and came out with 2 that we really liked. Granny Cantrel and Romenesco. This year since I like the taste of Yellow tomatoes we adding a Yellow Brandywine to see if that is a good one or not. Yellow tomatoes are not one of Gary's favorites. I collected some purple Tommy toe tomatoes from a farmer an we are going to plant those too.

We are really going to try to grow all Organic this year too. To do this we are going to interplant with a lot of Herbs. I got a list from the extension office of which herbs help to deter different bugs. I have started these in the green house so we can plant them the same time we plant the Garden. But when the bugs start destroying the food , I don't know if I can keep Gary from spraying. He just hates it when food goes to waste. I talked so some friends yesterday and they suggested that we use an organic spray derived from Chrysanthemums. It kills the bugs and you can harvest the next day. We will try that and see if Gary will be happy with the results.

Yeah!! We have a Greenhouse!!

Yeah!!! We finally have a Greenhouse!
Gary built us a Greenhouse. Good thing too, because I need to transplant all the plants I seeded a couple of weeks ago, and we have run out of room in the house. I'm really quite proud of Gary, When he was taking down a porch this last fall for a lady, he hauled the lumber to our place instead of taking it to the dump. This last winter he ripped the 2X12 & 2X10 in to 2X4 so we could build the Greenhouse. I think that was a great recycling effort on his part. It was a lot of work but it really paid off in the long run.

I seeded tomatoes & peppers on the 8th of March & a lot of herbs and flowers on the 15th and now they are coming up.

I worked in a green house my freshman & sophomore year in High School. Funny how just the little thing of tapping the side of the seed pack comes back to you without even thinking about it after so many years. I was very fortunate to have that job. My boss was Skip Mc Candless, wonder if he ever thought that he was really a teacher? He taught me just about as much as going to High School.

Before & After pruning the 2 variety tree.


A lot has gone on at the farm since then. I will try to post everyday this week, so you can see what we have been up to. We have 4 mature Apple Trees on the Farm, we really do not know what kind they are, but they are very good. One of the trees bear 2 different Apples. Since we really have not had Apple trees before, we bought a book to see how to care for them. This is what we have learned about pruning them. The first thing is to take out all the dead wood, then to trim all the limbs that cross and rub on each other, because that causes disease to set in. Then it said to trim the limbs that grow straight up. Well here are a couple of examples of what we have done. We have one Tree that I call the grandma tree. It looks like it is really struggling to make it. We did not get apples off of it last year because when I went to check on it in July They had already ripened and fell on the ground. I think they are an early June Apple, which makes really good pink applesauce. Gary thinks it is a Yellow delicious. We will keep a better eye on it this year. Glad these are here so we can practice on them while we wait on the new orchard to grow.
This is the tree I call the Grandma tree.

Spring is in the air Its time to plant!

Good Spring Morning to you! Now that we have all the fruit planted, it is just in time to start planting the Spring garden.
Last week we got in 126 Cabbage. We have always made Kraut in Jars. Last year we tried our hand at making it in a Crock. I really liked the texture and the taste, except We put a little to much salt in it. I would like to make Pickles in a crock this year to see how it does. Oops got off the subject.

We also planted Kale, Collards, Spinach, Purple Lettuce & Head Lettuce. This is the first time we planted Head lettuce, I am anxious to see how that works. We planted, Early peas & Snap peas, Kohlrabi, Turnips, Beets, Carrots & Radish & Onions, we planted 2 types of onions, one was given to us by a neighbor he called them bunching Onions, you plant just one & they multiply, they never get a large bulb, Just good green onions to eat, or what some people call scallions. The other was a sweet onion like a Vidaila. Wow until I put it on paper I didn't realize how much we can plant in the early Spring. We planted Red Potatoes, & Kennebec Potatoes, These we planted early so we have some when the beans come in. We will plant more after may first of May so they will keep better over the winter.


I remember the first time I planted Potatoes, It was with my Grandpa Faber. He had cut all the Potatoes and we went out to the Garden be hind the Cottage on their Farm, where He had a vegetable Garden. The rest of their farm they grew for the farmers Market or for the Cows. Anyhow, He took the stick end of the Hoe and pushed it down in the ground and told me to drop a potato in the hole then he kicked the dirt back over it. We plant the potatoes just about the same way today.

Oh, I need to get some cilantro planted, It really likes the Cool weather just like the spinach. It seems to bolt when the weather gets hot. One year I planted it among my Rock garden & It lasted longer, till the Tomatoes came in. I think that is because the Rocks kept the Roots cool. I'll try that again this year too. We will probably get the Cauliflower, Broccoli, & Brussel Sprouts planted this week.

Happy Planting!!

Apple Orchard

Working this farm brings back a lot of Childhood memories, I think that though out this blog is the best place to recount them. just like planting the Orchard. I can remember picking Apples in Grandpas Orchard, I can't remember what he shook the tree with, but after he shook it, and the Apples fell to the ground, I remember picking up bushel after bushel of Apples Helping load them on the Truck. Then he let us go to the Apple Press in town with him. It was always a big thing when we got to go with Grandpa. The Apple press was in a big building, and they would unload all the Apples in a big bin, I remember walking through the building and there was a long flume like thing with a conveyor belt, I really don't remember why they were on the conveyor belt, maybe that was were they washed the apples. What I do remember is the wonderful taste of the cider that came out at the other end.

We finally got all the trees planted, a total of 140 Apple Trees & 20 Peach Trees. We planted 20 each of the following Apple trees, Macintosh, Early Harvest, Arkansas Black, Fuji, Golden Delicious, Wynesap & Jonagold. We eat a lot of Apple sauce, and my favorite Apples to use are a mixture of Golden Delicious & Wynesap. That way you get the sweet of the Golden Delicious & the Tart of the Whnesap & you don't have to use sugar in your Apple sauce. I have a friend that peels & cuts her Apples mixes them with sugar & Cinnamon and then freezes them so she can just put that in her crust for Apple pies throughout the year. She makes really good Apple pies too! Now with all these trees maybe I'll try that.

Another Memory with Apples is of one after I was Married and had kids. The church that we were going to called Little Brown, decided on a Investment Project, of making Apple butter. It was quite fun. I really don't remember how many Apple is took. but It seemed as if the whole church came to our house & all the women were sitting on the front porch peeling Apples, while the Men were making a fire and building a stand to put this huge black pot on in our front yard, to make the Apple butter. ( I know I have a picture somewhere, I'll post it when I find it.) After we made the Apple sauce, the men poured it into this big pot outside and added the spices. they cooked it down and everyone had to take a taste to make sure it had the right amount of spices. We canned it and sold it for investment. I really don't remember how much money we made, or if we made any money, But the memory will live on. It seems we are too busy these days to spend enjoyable times with friends that much, and starting this farm seems to have brought me full circle to the slower pace, that is truly much more fulfilling.

Seed Catalogs & Planning

I like this time of year just about as much as planting & picking, This is the time of year when We get to go through all the seed catalogs and decide or dream about what we want to plant this year. There are all the old favorites, Tomatoes, watermelon, sweet corn etc. and last year we did taste tests of new veggies we planted and saved the seeds from them. Then there is all the new varieties you want to try, and the garden is only so big. This year We want to incorporate a lot of Herbs in and around the garden. We have been reading which herbs deter bugs around which veggies. Also since we are starting the orchard, I have read that Tansy, an herb & a pretty flower that grows about 1 ft tall helps to keep Deer away. We have deer that have been coming here for years, and I really don't want Gary to shoot them. So we are going to try the Tansy route. I have also read that Tansy is like mint. It can really take over. But if it is in the field with the orchard, is that bad? I don't Know. If any one is reading this, what do you think?

Planting Started On the Farm

I really will try to keep this up to date this year. This week we started planting.
53 Grapes
30 Raspberries
10 McIntosh Apple Trees.
One day it was so cold that my toes about froze. Yesterday I was so tired, I just wanted to lay down right in the field. I sure does let me know that I have been to lazy, and need to do more manual labor.

What we picked Friday

On Friday we harvested some veggies, with Tina, Xander & Katherine. Here is a picture of our bounty. The large curly vegtable is a new Zucchni we decided to grow. The plants get very large and run at least 6-8 feet long, when planting this vegtable, put them on an outside part of your garden. You can do everything with this Zucchni that you do with other zucchni, like fry it, make bread, make soup, my daughter-in-law even made raw pasta with it. Now I have to try it too.

Our Garden

Here is our Garden this year. We are starting to pick quit a few veggies, and have already put up Broccoli, Califlour, Pickels, & sweet relish.