A couple phone calls, a quick check on the chickens and I'm off. My girlfriend from Chico (2 hours North) and my other friend living in Auburn (1 1/2 hours East) and I decided to check out a favorite nursery and have lunch. I met Paula in Marysville 45 minutes East of here we jumped in my Land Rover and we were off! We do tons of emailing and a couple calls a month but we really have missed each others' company. We tried to go to the cabin a couple of times but the snow is still to the tops of the windows and I'm not servicing the snowmobiles so we can ride in. So we took today and *bonded*...we talked so fast none of us were making sense...laughing until we peed our pants! We hadn't met since Christmas so we shared our holiday horror stories...only with each other can we complain about family and feel comfortable about it...we compare notes and trump each other's stories...we've been friends since we were six and we finish each other sentences...sometimes we answer questions that are just thoughts and not spoken...we are that close...there's actually five of us but the other two ladies couldn't come.
Eisley's Nursery: THE BEST!
I bought several pepper seed packets: NuMex Joe E. Parker and a nice Poblano/Ancho, another OP parsnip since the seed doesn't save well, Great Lakes Lettuce (I'm trying it again) and some stevia seeds. I bought a 6 pack of Dutch Flat Cabbage, another 20 crowns of asparagus (I planted 45 last year and 20 the year before...we love asparagus), two crowns of Victoria rhubarb (we now have four), 200 Sparkle strawberry crowns, two gooseberries, a 4" pot of sage, lemon thyme, creeping thyme, Spanish lavender, English lavender, and French lavender. I got 100 corms of mixed gladiolas and 100 corms of ranuculas and 4 dahlias (in memory of my sister-in-law: her favorite flower).
After our seed/plant fix we headed down the hill into Old Town Auburn and lunch at:
I had the steamed clams, San Francisco Sourdough bread for sopping up the broth and sweet potato fries with blue cheese dressing. Paula had a really scrumptious Reuben with Yukon fries and Nancy had the chicken pot pie and mini field greens salad with the house dressing....for desert: Meyer Lemon Curd with mixed Summer berries and real whipped cream...and steaming mugs of fresh roasted coffee. OMG!
Auburn is an old mining town built on the confluence of the American River's Middle and North Fork. Lots of gold was and still is found here. Most of the old buildings have be re-vamped and are open for business. Weekend's find Auburn a very touristy town...and fun. We trooped up and down the hills wearing off the mega calories we consumed at lunch. I didn't spend any money...but Nancy and Paula found a few must-haves! I hate driving at night and a storm was moving in so a quick stop at my favorite Auburn store and we headed home:
Sorry so fuzzy: Pioneer Mining
Yep! I do some gold mining when I'm not gardening or chasing grand kids and chickens. All five of the gals are pretty good miners. Three of us have family history of gold mining. My grandfather and Nancy's grandfather worked several claims...Dee Dee's (a friend that couldn't come on this road trip) grandmother owned 1/2 of the gold mining town North San Juan and my husband's father worked in the Empire Mine when he was just a kid...so it's in our blood! We have a 5" Keene dredge (you can't dredge in CA), a proline highbanker, several sluices, gold pans, trommels and metal detectors....get the picture: we're serious...we have a couple hot spots and we're done pretty good if I don't say so myself. We didn't go out last year...but with gold at $1300 plus an ounce we've planned 4 major gold mining trips this summer so stay tuned!
Last night was our weekly Family Fun Night...I don't know why we call it that...it's really just dinner and conversation...I had originally thought we'd play board games after dinner...that didn't work out...we eat between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. and finish up with desert around 8 p.m. and then everyone has do get home. The grand kids have school the next day and the grownups rise with the sun: It's a Farmer's Life. So the board games happen on some weekends...when there's not a *game* on the boob tube.
Last night my brother and his wife shared our meal with us. I think they enjoyed themselves. They are a delightful couple. They enjoy each other's company more than any other couple I've ever known. They own the agriculture flying service (crop dusting) my father started and they farm rice. They work together side-by-side. I admire them both. They've also raised two wonderful adult children.
I was a show-off last night and roasted two of the chickens I raised, with turnips, carrots, celeriac, potatoes from the garden. I steamed broccoli and baked a beautiful loaf of Challah bread. Our salad was lettuce, spring onions and radishes from the garden. For desert I made bread pudding, lemon meringue and chocolate pies. It was fun to talk about the garden, chickens, making cheese, raising what we eat...they took home a whole pie and plenty of left-overs. I also loaded up a bag of canned goods.for them to take home..I think my sister-in-law is now a convert and will be putting in a garden and joining us in our canning marathons up at the cabin (they own the cabin next door to me). She already has a small flock of chickens and a beautiful coop my brother and his crew built.
I planted another tray of seeds this morning. I plant in trays with 128 cells: I plant at least four of everything in each tray: 4 of each tomato variety (yeah tomatoes...gonna' keep trying)...4 of each variety of broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, leeks, celery, celeriac, bell peppers, hot peppers and lettuce. I'll plant another tray in 3-4 weeks and possibly one more...then I take a break. I start the Fall/Winter transplants in August...same thing every 3-4 weeks and lots of direct seeding. Most of my transplants make it and I'm usually giving away lots of seedlings or if I have any in May I sell them at the Farmers Market. The grand kids have their produce stand and vendor's booth at the Farmers Market, so I have to make sure there's plenty of produce for them to sell. Nothing goes to waste and I enjoy every minute.
I Use an Old Heating Pad for Bottom Heat!
I'm so in love with my raised beds. The soil really warms up early...they drain like a dream (not wet plant *feet*)...very little if any weeds...I can plant my carrots and lettuce in the holes of the blocks and they grow really well. Everything stays nice and neat...a big plus for me. I won't be growing the tomatoes in the raised beds this year. I'm doing some experimenting. I'll be growing them at the back of the garden...I'll work up the strip of soil, add lots of organic compost and then put retaining bricks or timbers in to hold the soil in place...no landscape/weed block before adding the soil...the roots will be allowed to meander at will...I think that will work and I should get some great tomatoes. I need to learn and have the courage to *prune* my tomatoes, too...I don't do a very good job at that...I found a couple YouTube videos that are great at showing you step-by-step the whole process.
I potted up the blueberry starts I got from the gentleman in Washington state. I will have to baby them, so I've set up an nursery area...blueberries, currants, bush cherries, loquats, and a honey crisp apple...they need the chill, but they need to be watched, too. I planted them in 100% worm castings...I've read that the castings are a primo transplanting medium.
Speaking of worm casting it's time to split my worms and make two bins. I love those worms...they eat just about anything and then make the best poop in the world. I credit my mushroom compost and the worm casting tea for the great vegetable and flower gardens I have.
I split a bee hive while I was at it today. I was surprised to see how much of the surplus honey had been eaten! I added sugar syrup and some protein patties...I need them to build up lots of brood, I would like to do several more splits this season. The almonds are starting to bud up, and my fruit trees and spring flowers will provide a good diet of diverse nectar. I noticed my girls' had bright orange pollen in the *baskets* on their hind legs...I don't know what they've found blooming...but they sure are busy gathering pollen and nectar.
Homegrown potatoes, onions, puffy egg omelet with mozzarella and herbs, homegrown pastured pork breakfast sausage. Fresh squeezed OJ from my trees.........mmmmmmm..........what's for dinner?
I love Craigs List! I always seem to find the best deals. This week I found bee boxes! Three complete hive set-ups with frames and queen excluders for $50! The fellow threw in a brand new smoker, bar tool and if I would have had an extra $25 on me I could have bought the bee suit, hat w/veil and gloves...I told him to email me if they didn't sell and I'd come back for them...I'm checking with him on Sunday...the more I think about it the more I know I should have told him I'd take the extras. I have a budget on all of my mini-farm purchases and I really try to stick to it...so I only took EXACTLY what I planned on spending...sometimes the plan works, sometimes it doesn't! And I want to spend some more time visiting with this REALLY interesting fellow.
The $50 Bee Boxes!
I had a fun morning talking with this gentleman...he and his partner raise water buffalo for a CSA in San Francisco! He gets $14 a pound! He has goats for meat and beautiful raised beds of Asian vegetables for the CSA, too. They are selling out and moving to South Africa. Now, you really can't get too personal with someone you've just met...but I'd love to know the story. Here's someone that's smart, retired, has a neat farming set-up in the country that's making some money and they're selling out and leaving good ol' ULTRA Conservative Colusa County???? ...makes you kinda' wonder...BUT WAIT here's a clue:
Four (4): count them FOUR... campaign posters still in the front yard (and they looked pretty new) ...some of the old timers must really have their panties in a bunch! Made me smile to myself all day! Of course I must keep my opinions to myself...I still have to live here! (as Oprah would say: No emails please...just making an observation).
The Weather Channel has given me good news: at least four days of uninterrupted sunshine. I have a list a mile long: move the garden tool clutter to the shed, pot up the fig tree cuttings, the grapevine cuttings and the wild blackberry cuttings. Brew up 20 gallons of compost tea, prune some roses and the apple tree. And I'm Gonna' be Walking on Sunshine...and Don't it Feel Good!
Well, I mis-spoke on my post about grocery prices increasing up to 20%...food prices will go up approximately 3 to 5 percent in 2011 according to the USDA.
BUT: If farm fuel costs increase up to 20% to 40% (I figure if I'm paying $3.50 a gallon for fuel and it's projected to hit $5.00 a gallon that's an increase of 42.8%...am I right on that?) I think we better hope the increase is ONLY 3 to 5 percent.
So...I'm doubling the size of garden...staking it out today...making long raised beds this time from timber...filling them up with mushroom compost and planting feed crops for the animals: mangles, grains, milo and forage turnips. The old garden feeds all of us pretty well and a couple of my kids have their own gardens and fruit orchards so we're ok there. I will add more potato beds, put in more storage onions and I'll put in tomatoes...even tho I swore I wasn't growing tomatoes this year: Sam's growing acres of processing tomatoes...but I'm a worrier...so I'm covering my bases. I want to strongly urge everyone to plan on saving this year's seeds...make it a priority...the price of seed will defiantly be going up!
That's a shot of the Great Central Valley...San Francisco Bay on your left and directly North East...that's me...Colusa County...LOTS OF TULE FOG...drip, drip, drip...eerie...creepy...scary sounds...kinda' groovy...yep: Tule Fog...4 days...bit of sun yesterday late afternoon...run out check the hens, pet the roosters, feed everyone, collect the eggs...do a quick check on the garden...pull some beets, dig a couple potatoes...check for fungus among us: nope! Then back in the house. Bundle up...the chill of the fog gets right into your bones...brrrrrr!
When it gets like this I bake, eat, knit, eat, sew, snack, read, watch t.v., mega snack, cook way too many beans, can the beans, eat the beans. All you can do is wait...this too shall pass.
Helped Little Lynda with her paper sewing practice: poor thing...Grandma told her she has to sew 4 straight lines BEFORE we sew on fabric...she sewed on and off all day... she finally got it...just about the same time her Dad came and picked her up...she didn't get to play outside...the Fog was so thick she said it scared her.
While she sewed I juiced a bag full of Meyer lemons...I'll be picking from this tree, the Key lime and the orange trees for the next couple of weeks...lots of squeezing and freezing. I love California...Tule Fog and all.
My husband brought me a note from the new Post Mistress...my seed envelopes had been detained and I needed to personally present myself at the United States Post Office. I had to swear to the Post Mistress the items sealed in the envelopes on her desk where not explosives, potentially dangerous or illegal...that's it... I just said: no, no, no! Then she asked: "Do you mind if I ask what's in the envelopes?" and I couldn't help myself I said: "Drugs!". I have been going to this post office for 40 years...everyone knows me and my wacky humor...and they also know I don't suffer a fool...the assistant Post Master, Tim, quickly jumped in and was explaining me and my humor as I waltzed out of the Post Office. Your seeds are now on their way to your waiting gardens as they should have been when I first sent them a few days ago...sorry for the delay...but my Post Mistress was just doing her job.
Local grass fed rack of lamb: thank you Rosanne! Carmelized roasted root veggies: thank you Me! AND baked butternut squash with maple syrup and butter: thank you Sam! Awesome Family Fun Night Dinner!
I spent the last few days separating, organizing, and packaging seed. I should have everything sent out by the end of the day. I not only save seed, but I'm given LOTS of seed. My husband and my son are commercial seed producers (the other son is a field man for a company that commerically produces sunflowers) . They grow hybrid and op/organic seeds for Seeds by Design, Terra Organics, Sakata, Bonanza and on and on. It's an interesting business. My husband grows hybrid vine seeds (melons, cucumbers, squash). With the hybrid seed you grow several rows of female seed and then a row of male...you harvest the female rows (for seed) and leave the males to rot or for me to feed to the livestock! Whenever I explain this growing process people ask me how you can tell the males from the females: I always say "The males have a penis!" I just can't help myself! The truth is I don't know how they know...it just says male/female on the bags of seed! I think the client must say "Hey! Let's cross an xyz watermelon with a zyx watermelon and let's see what we get"...other than that I just don't know. I grow most of our produce. I use organic open pollinated seeds and a few hybrids. I save only op's...they seed true (if I pay attention and don't let them cross-pollinate!). And every once in a while I accidentally create a veggie I like...and I collect the seed.
Harvesting the Females...the Males Feed the Flock!
So...I'm sending the seed out...I hope your gardens flourish...if you get a *surprise* veggie save the seed and send me some...pass on what you don't use...enjoy. And if you have questions about hybrid or open seeds please ask me and I'll find out (I have a house full of seed experts)...I know sometimes you can't believe everything you read and it's nice to get it from the "horses mouth"...
