The Weather ...........................

was really nice Tues. and I couldn't hold myself back from the garden any longer. I was going to move my asparagus back in the Fall and never got around to it. So I decided to move it and hope there wouldn't be any problem with moving it at this time of the year. We have mild winters , so hopefully it will be o.k. The stalks were filled with asparagus seeds , so I stripped those little red berries to plant.

I dug up the asparagus roots and planted some of them in the two raised beds near Dh's garage. I also planted a couple near the chicken coop , plan to see were it grows best.



I've been peeling , chopping , drying garlic ..........

and grinding the garlic into .........

garlic powder this week too. I haven't tried it yet , but it smells really good. Have you ever made homemade garlic powder ?

Garden Blessings

JoyceAnn

2011 ~ 2012 Garlic Planting

A couple of months ago as I was preparing to plant the garlic .....

I had a new helper , Mojo ( more of a supervisor .... look at those eyes ... LOL ) that took over Ms. Fern's job. Ms . Fern was the rhode island red hen I lost back in the Spring that was always by my side the past two years as I separated the bulbs into cloves to plant.



I planted 2 rows about the middle of November , but it was the week before Christmas that we mulched the garlic.

The weather has been mild , so it's about 2 inches tall and already popping out from under the deep layer of leaves we used as mulch. It was cold the first 3 days of this week , but it's been in the 60's yesterday and today. This weather makes me want to get in the garden , maybe I'll start planning the Spring garden instead.

Happy Gardening

JoyceAnn

2011 Garlic Harvest ...............

We planted the garlic back in Oct. 2010 , by Mar it had sprouted and was around 6 inches tall.


We harvested the garlic the end of May .........

It's been curing for 2 weeks now , a few more weeks and it'll be ready clean , braid and hopefully sell some at our local " Grower's Market.

If we do well with sales at the " Grower's Market " , we plan to expand our garlic production this year.

~ Green Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

Farmer's Market ..........................

I've been wanting to sell at the Farmer's Market for a few years now , but I've been so busy helping with the Grands , that I just didn't have the spare time. Now I'm only helping out 3 days a week , so this year I'm going to give it a try. I've been busy potting up herbs ......................................



bushes , shrubs and trees. Over the years , we've had plants self spreading all over the place , so instead of destroying them , I hope to sell a few of these volunteers.



We have English Ivy , Forsythia (Yellow Bell) , Nadina , Oregon Grape Holly , Vinca (Periwinkle) and Sweet Violet just to name a few of the plants. There are also many small trees growing around here that will be smothered out if not removed.



I'll also be selling wild herbs that are freshly gathered , excess garden veggies ....................................






and garlic , if it produces well this year.


~ Many Blessings & Happy St. Patty's Day ~

JoyceAnn

Garlic ~ Goats ~ Guineas

I'm really hoping for a good year with the garlic , the garlic didn't do well last year due to drought conditions. We had more rain Sunday and we're suppose to have rain coming on Thursday. It's time to fertilize , I'll be spraying the plants with fish emulsion next week. If all goes well I hope to start selling at the Farmer's Market this year.

I think the girls have decided that they don't want kids or maybe I'm wrong and they're not pregnant. They're beginning to make me second guess myself , but I'm pretty sure their udders are filling with milk.

I decided that we didn't need 15 guineas around the farmette , so I listed the 8 that were hatched in the Fall on Craigslist last week. Last Friday I had a lady come and purchase 4 of them for tick control , she said ticks were awful at her home and last year the doctor removed a tick from her youngest daughter's eardrum and she really needed something to help get them under control. I'm happy , I know they've gone to a good home and will help rid them of their tick problem.

~ Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

Around the Farmette Last Week .......................

Last week was a busy one , the week started out with Dh and I cleaning out the dark and dingy basement. I got things organized down there and cleaned out a lot stuff.

On Tuesday Dh made the rows for the garlic and I planted 2 rows on Wednesday. Now I need to get it mulched.


The guinea keets are doing well , they graduated to the chicken coop a couple of weeks ago and have adjusted well. They're starting to get their dots and they're skittish little things , they always huddle up in a corner when I feed and water or try to take a photo (LOL).


I gathered some bark from the shag bark hickory trees the other day when I took the goats for a hike. I've been wanting to try to make some shag bark hickory syrup.



I made a couple of pints on Friday as a test run. I wanted to taste it and see if we liked it before making anymore. I used dark brown sugar that I had on hand when I made this batch , it tasted like molasses when I tasted it the first time. But , after it sit for a couple of days I can taste the hint of it's nutty flavor. I plan to make it a little different next time , I will infuse more bark and add light brown sugar.




~ Many Blessings ~
JoyceAnn

This Past Week Around the Farmette ..........................

We've been busy again this week, Dh and I trimmed the goats hooves on Monday.

Dh has been getting the garden ready for planting the garlic , we'll be planting in the next week or so.


I've been cleaning up this years harvest of garlic , getting it ready for storage and saving the biggest cloves for planting. I want to make some garlic jelly this week and I may pickle some too.

Remember the heirloom blueberry bush , I decided to move it again. This is the third time I've moved it. I didn't feel like it was getting enough sun , so I moved it to the edge of the garden. I know it will get full sun there. Hopefully the third time will be a charm and it will grow huge and provide us with plenty of blueberries.

The hens are happy with their clean , fresh hay filled nest.

Well , everyone except for her , she's moulting and looks so pitiful.

I've also canned 13 quarts of potatoes this week. I've been canning all the small potatoes and the ones that have bad spots , that can't be stored. I hope to can at least 2 more batches. We're going to have to add another shelf to the pantry (LOL).

I gathered the last of the red clover I saw in the field, although it's not much. I want to make a little red clover salve to have on hand.

So as you can see , it's been busy around here. That's why I've haven't been blogging or visiting much. Hope everyone is well and having a great weekend.

~ Happy Autumn Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

In the Garden ................

It's been very busy around here , working in the garden and helping with the grands , plus all the other chores. But here's a quick update to show what's happening in the garden

The sunflowers have came up , they're about 2 inches tall.

The squash and jalapeno peppers have been weeded and mulched .

The tomatoes are growing nicely and starting to bloom. I'll be mulching and adding the tomato cages this week.

Looking forward to some salad tomatoes ..............

and the garlic has been hung and is drying , I need to start braiding it this week too.

~ Garden Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Garlic Harvest 2010 ~

Yesterday , we harvested the garlic , it was an early harvest due to weather conditions this year. We had lots of rain and snow this past winter while the garlic was kinda dormant , but in the warmer months of April and most of May , there was very little rain during the prime growing season for garlic. Although the garlic died back early and the heads are a lot smaller , there will be plenty to keep the vampires away (LOL). Today I'll be sorting , grading and hanging the garlic to dry.

The " Lavender Festival " is this weekend too , hope to get a chance to check it out tomorrow. So , what are you doing this weekend ?

~ Harvest Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

It's Raining ..................................

and I'm soooo happy ..................... it's been very dry here during April and most of May. I haven't planted the main garden because it's been so dry , so hopefully now we can get some beans , corn and tomatoes in the ground as soon as it dries up a bit. We really need to dig a small pond , so we'll have a way to irrigate the garden.The garlic looks like it's ready to be dug , but it won't be as big as the past few years , due to no rain.

Saturday , my oldest daughter and I took the grands to the lake. They enjoyed the water , it was a beautiful day. I didn't take any pics , afraid I would get sand in my camera and I really didn't have time with 3 toddlers in the water (LOL).

The goats spent their first night in the new goat shed Saturday night , they weren't to thrilled. They cried liked babies when I left them to come to the house around dark. I went back later to check on them and they had pushed the hay cart out and snuggled up behind it and settled down.

The chickens had to enjoy their breakfast inside today since it was raining. They had sunflowers along with their feed as a special treat.

Hope Your weekend was Wonderful !!

~ Be Blessed ~

JoyceAnn

~ * ~ Wild Onions & Eggs ~ * ~

Yesterday , I cooked up some wild onions with eggs just like my ancestors have always did this time of the year. It was a ritual of the Cherokee people to cook wild onions and scrabbled eggs to celebrate Spring's arrival. Making them with fresh eggs really gave them a better flavor , so umm umm good.

Dh mowed/mulched our leaves the weekend , so today I plan to rake and mulch the garlic with them. I mulched the garlic back in the Fall but the winds have blew most the leaves through the woods. I'll probably work on the hugelkultur bed too.

What's on your agenda today ?

~ Spring Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Yesterday started off well ...............................

I strolled down to the chicken coop to feed the chickens , guinea and check on the young hen. I released her from the inside pen Sunday night and let her roost with the other chickens , but the older hens kept pecking at her. She finally found a safe place in one of the nesting boxes. She was doing well yesterday morning , although she was sitting alone atop the door of the pen when I opened up the coop.

I took some veggie scraps and dumped them in the compost bin , the older hens love getting in the compost bin and scratching around. I let the chickens out to free range and walked around checking out the garlic and greens. I was amazed how the garlic and greens had grown since last week , everything looked like it had grown an inch or more.

The lettuce I planted last week has started sprouting , the spinach looks better since I thinned it out. After taking a few pics I headed back to the house to do dishes and household chores. I went back out to check on the small hen around lunch , she was fine but was alone near some old wooden doors. So I went back to the house for awhile , went back out around 2:30 and she was hanging out with the guineas at the edge of the woods.

At 5:00 I went out again and as I was walking to the coop , I saw a small hawk in a tree at the edge of the woods , he flew away upon seeing me. Unfortunately this time I couldn't find the little hen. I was looking for her when Dh got home from work , he started looking too and found her lying near some steel he has in the field , the hawk had killed her. So my day didn't end so well. Some days you wonder if it's worth the effort you put into trying to be self sufficient , it was definitely one of those days.

~ Blessings ~

JoyceAnn