LONG OVERDUE UPDATE.
It has been quite a spring, and this poor space has been so neglected. We apologize for that! We are making it a priority to start finding the time to post here – social media makes it easy to fire off quick photos and captions, but we miss our little blog community!So, here is a very brief update of our past month or so, to catch you up:We put up two high tunnels, thanks to an NRCS grant and the fine folks at Grow Appalachia. The tunnels were immediately filled with plants overflowing from our tiny greenhouse: cherry tomatoes, sweet peppers, basil, cucumbers, and squash. We also installed drip tape irrigation in the tunnels – a VERY new experience for us as we have never really used any type of irrigation before, other than praying for rain! We are still getting the hang of it, but everything in the tunnels looks great!
We now have SHEEP! We took a trip back down to Bugtussle to visit with our old neighbors, and while we were there we picked up seven Katahdin sheep. Their main job is to help us control the 6+ acres of pasture that we are definitely not going to mow. We have loved having them around and also loved that they are already trained to a rotational grazing system and an electric fence!
The CSA started and the season has been going great so far. We are enjoying getting to know the new members and, although we miss the social aspect of the farmers market, we spend so much less time doing the deliveries and one of us is able to stay at the farm while the other does the drop-offs.
We also have DUCKS! This is a very recent addition and also a long story, in need of its own post, but they are a fun new chore to add to the list and our counters are already overflowing with delicious eggs.
Well! That is what we have been up to! We miss you, blog friends, and hope to be more regularly visiting this space! Happy summer!– Hannah.
WINTER FARMING.
Every winter we get teases of Spring like we received this week, where the highs are in the fifties and rain holds off for a bit. It's good working weather. Maybe even perfect. And it's a nice time to start easing into the labor ahead of us. I pulled tomato cages out of the garden for hours. I mulched like crazy. I yanked the remaining plastic off the high tunnel and right now, as the rain is beginning to come back, I feel sore and fulfilled.We need these little tastes of the growing season to help get ready for the real deal––mentally and physically. We enjoy that we get to work just as hard during these periods as we will in March and April, but get to do so without the stress of HAVING to work hard. It's all the joys of hard work without the pressure. So when the Spring comes, and everything explodes, we will be well conditioned and ready. And over the next month or so, while the ground is still bare, we will take every opportunity to get out in the dirt and sun to prepare. The more we do now, the less we will have to do later. Off-grid farming like this––or more precisely, homesteading––requires that you are always working to take care of the future you. So right now we're taking care of our Spring selves by getting in shape, and getting the farm ready for several months of mayhem.- Jesse.
FRIENDS AND TOMATOES.
We were so lucky to have a dear friend of Jesse's stay with us last week, and while he was here, he helped us finish stringing up our tomatoes in our garden by the cabin. The garden is looking lovely, and the tomato plants are doing well. We have been dreaming about tomato sandwiches for weeks now....thanks for the help Aaron!
CABIN PROGRESS.
Cabin progress was rather unexciting this week, as much of it involved insulating, insulating, and more insulating. But some new developments: Jesse and Eric started installing the stove pipe, which involved cutting a hole in the into the bedroom floor and building a funny little contraption on the ceiling (very technical terms, I know. Clearly I was not involved in this project). We also were given the most wonderful of gifts by the Smiths - some beautiful hardwood flooring! Jesse and I were planning on sticking with the good ol' plywood sheet flooring for the time being - maybe painting and sealing it, but nothing fancy. So this new flooring is truly a surprise for us - and we are loving the way it looks so far!We also worked on our inherited high tunnel this week - removing the old plastic that is ragged and torn in hopes of one day reframing the ends of the tunnel and attaching new plastic. Slowly but surely, things are taking shape!- Hannah.
