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The frost is here and here to stay for many of the nights. Some things are hit too hard by it but other go right on growing. They freeze then thaw and do just fine! The flower harvest continues as does the seed harvest as I search for every last possible bloom that has the tenacity and temerity to got to seed in our short seasons here. But the frost also means the Kale, Chard, and Spinach will be extra sweet and it gives me a bit of extra time in the morning to sip my tea or coffee with a cat curled up in my lap while I wait for the sun to reach each corner of the valley and chase that frost away.  Yepsies! It's frost time and the Dahlias didn't even have a chance to get started! With more frost on the horizon for me it means the probable end for them and the Zinnias but a lot of things aren't bothered by it (until it gets too cold or if it lasts for too long, every plant has its own limit)  I spend most afternoons harvesting flowers, grasses, and all the little odd bits to dry for making beautiful dried flower creations this winter. I gotta snag them and get them hung up before the deep frost decides to take them!  While harvesting all the things, I often find tiny garden helpers like this caterpillar or a grasshopper hiding amongst the foliage. Yes, they eat a little bits of greenery or damage some petals but they have their place and purpose so I either let that stem stay for them and the bees or gently push them off onto another so that they can go about their buggy business! Don't let that frost fool you into thinking the flower days are done! Everything has gotta be tough out here and there are still some beauties for fresh bouquets and a lot are getting dried (like those prickly Echinacea tops and the crisp Paper Daisies) so everyone can enjoy them year-round. Two very different plants. Two identical feelings of abundance. On the left is Broomcorn Millet a grass usually grown for use as a cut flower (you will have seen its flowing heads of drooping heavy grain in the mixed bouquets!) and on the right is Cerinthe or Honeywort a relative of plants like Blue Bells and Comfrey. It too has drooping heavy heads of purple to blue to indigo foliage and blooms. Both heavy armloads came from 2 feet of bed space. Don't let anyone tell you you need large amounts of land, knowledge, or equipment to grow food or flowers. You just need a space to plant some seeds, time to give them to grow, and the energy to give them the care they need to thrive (these need no more than regular irrigation).  The cherry tomato harvest continues and the beans are just getting started! (ignore the tiny ear of corn. it was an experiment that I kind knew the outcome of even before I planted the seeds :) )  Even if I want to stay in and play with the kittens all day long, the harvest must go on. They watch me from their window perches in the bedroom as I go back and forth from plot to plot going about my day and I make sure to sometimes stop and let them smell the rose colored Yarrow.  Hella, the adventure cat, got to join me on a little jaunt up the ridge just across the road from the farm. I often pop up a few deer trails to visit a favorite tree and this time she joined me. I would pause to wait for her to find her own way up downed logs and under low branches until we had to turn home and go back. But at each pause she was right at my heels wanting to smell new smells and see new sights. Who says walks are only for dogs? If you're a gardener, you may recoginize this weedy 'foe'. But did you know it is edible and tasty! It's a native to both North America and Europe from the same plant family as Lamb's Quarters and Spinach. Meet Strawberry Spinach! The leaves are edible either raw or cooked (just like Lamb's Quarters, but these don't get as bitter after they flower) and those red 'fruits' are surprisingly sweet and juicy (kinda like a mix of a delicate strawberry with celery or watermelon) and they have tiny black seeds that give it a pleasing crunch. I'll have a few boxes of those fruity tops available this week if you're feeling adventurous!  Just a perfectly pleasantly warm evening with clear skies that indicate a nighttime frost is on its way. That is what fall is like on the farm. What's available this week?
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Even as the flowers keep cranking out blooms more signs of the changing of the season begin. The coops gradually fill with feathers as the hens begin their yearly molt and egg production slows as replacing a full body of feathers and laying an egg a day is just too much to ask. The tiny sparrows fill the field to dine on grass seeds and grasshoppers as they migrate south. And the rains return. Another sign of the nearing end to a busy season is impending burnout. Even before harvesting and selling at the markets begin, there are months of planning, seeding, planting, and bed prep that gets done and once the market season begins it is near impossible to begin or finish any larger project. And with a high tunnel to finish, mowing and straw storage to get done before winter, an entire field worth of irrigation to get fitted, and flats upon flats of perennials to get planted asap on top of the usual fall clean up, there is just not enough time in a normal work week to get it all done and after working 7 days a week for over 8 months, I have to find time somewhere. Sadly that somewhere is the Troy Farmers Market. I'll still take orders for pickup in Troy but I won't be setting up a full booth. This means that I won't need to get there early to set up, can leave after the orders are gone, and don't need to load up the entire truck and trailer. It also means a whole day for projects, chores, and maybe a nap with some cuddly kittens.  Lettuce is in! It's been a few weeks since I've had any salad mix (mainly bc of the previous heat waves messing up my carefully planned plantings) but now a happy patch gets planted and watered in right before the soaking rains!  This has been the year of the Butterflies with at least 10 new varieties seen here on the farm! and they still keep crowding around the late season bloomers and the blooms I leave for seed production. Speaking of blooms, the parade of flowers continues!  The garlic is here and this year it's all softnecks that can get braided for easy storage. Softnecks have a bit longer shelf life than other garlics when stored cool and dry, so just hook that braid over a peg or nail in the pantry and have locally grown! garlic all winter long  Some of those blooms don't make it into the buckets but get hung up to dry for use in everlasting bouquets, wreaths, crowns, and more! I know it's been a good flower season when the rafters are heavy with blooms!  The very welcome rains left the hens and guineas a little bedraggled but glad for all the worms and bugs it brings up  The young Grouse have joined the Guineas in their daily patrols of the fence lines, this is just one of three that walk around in a loose flock and generally startle me while getting work done  Hella helps watch my back for those scary Grouse and all the Fawns as I collect eggs each day Oliver works on his poses While Nuit and Hecate do their best to never sit still and siblings will be siblings no matter if they have four legs or two as they can never let another enjoy a quiet moment either in front of the camera or in the bathroom!  the rains bring a quiet end to the busy mid-week before the market! What's available this week?
Where to find it all?
I'll be at the Farmers Market at Libby, this Thursday from 3-630pm! Limited Selection at the Amish Farm to Market Store in Libby It's harvest season for me, not that I haven't been harvesting since May, but August is the big flower season. When it seems like all that can bloom is going, one more thing pops open that I forgot about and it feels like there is never enough time to get them all out of the field or to do them justice in turning them into bouquets. This also means I tend to set other things aside this time of year or just forget about some things, like late season plantings of veggies (which I promise myself I am going to prioritize but it never happens). But that autumn feeling is in the air and I can see into the future as the nights get cooler and that first hard frost creeps closer and closer. So enjoy the flowers while you can because this boom only lasts for so long!  The microgreens are looking extra fresh and juicy this week  I'm back baby! Baby Kale that is! Sweet and tender, it works just as well in a stir fry as in a salad!  Unfortunately, there will be no lettuce of salad mix this week since all that previous heat mucked up my carefully planned out plantings and you just can't rush a good thing, can you?  My goal of getting everyone to enjoy the wilder side of life continues though with a new green, Stinging Nettles!!! Yep, that's right they are edible, super tasty, and loaded with nutrients but yes, they sting when they are fresh. Dry or cook them and no more sting! May I suggest a nettle and spinach soup, nettle green pesto, or maybe a simple fresh nettles tea.  The tomatoes are towering and it becomes a never ending relay race to start at one end to prune, trellis, and harvest only to start again at the beginning as they grow and grow and grow!  The seed saving continues with some of the beautiful, soft, and moody Cerinthe or Honeywort. It is a Bumblebee's ultimate fav and a fav cut flower of mine for the pink/magenta blooms tucked into the dusky green foliage and naturally drooping stems. Even Hella approves too! So many flowers! Which is why August is always the flower month. Get your flower fix at either Farmers Market or at the Amish Farm to Market Store in Libby! Who might these be?!?!?! Welcome the newest addition to the family farm, sisters Hecate and Nuit and little Oliver. Hecate (the Greek goddess of death, magic, and poisonous plants) and Nuit (the Egytian goddess of the sky and the heavenly bodies) are short hair all black kitties who run around to chase anything the moves and generally causing mayhem and havoc. Oliver (named after the movie Oliver and Company, itself a disney version of Oliver Twist) is a medium hair orange tabby who purrs like a freight train and likes to give head butts and cuddles. They are future cuddle pals and tussle buddies for Hella (named herself after the Norse goddess of death and the underworld, yes there is a general theme :D ) So far, Hella is cautious, hesitant, and grumpy about all the new smells and sounds that fill her house. It will be a slow transition for them all to be together even if only so I have time to kitten proof more than just the bedroom and bathroom, which isn't an easy task when you have many special orchids and other house plants. Oh, and anyone who comes to the last Farm Tour and Dinner of the year will be able to meet them if they wish! What's available this week?
Where to find it all?
I'll be at the Farmers Market at Libby, this Thursday from 3-630pm! I'll be at the Troy Farmers Market, this Friday from 330-630pm! I'm back from the slightly southern wilds and the blooms in the field are going BOOM! So many flowers for me to harvest and craft bouquets from so get ready for a bounty of blooms. The Dragon Dome is also starting to crank out the tiny cherry 'maters full of juicy sweet sunshine! The lettuce and salad mix is thin because of the continued heat but the rainbow chard, kale, turnips, hopefully radishes and the eggs of course are all piling up in a harvest time bounty too!  Some flowers for me, some for you, and some left for the beautiful butterflies  So many flowers, so little time. So back to the harvesting, conditioning, and bouquet-making!   I had a great time in the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness doing trail work, sleeping under the moon and stars, and making new friends (human, furry, and feathered!) Plus I got to see beautiful rock formations, alpine meadows full of wildflowers, and crisp lakes!  What's that!? Just a little box of golden, pink, and purple sunshine wrapped up in the sweet kiss of a ripe, locally-grown cherry tomato, hand-picked by me into the box just for you!  Shhh! The baby kale is sleeping. It needs a few more days before it is all grown up and ready for the outside world so until then, we'll let is rest.  The hens keep enjoying their outings and the watered lawn since it harbors all the neighborhood worms!  Riri shows off her dusty dirty feathers from using the dust bath. If only humans could get clean by rolling in dust too! While the rows are full of flowers, some don't get picked but get to remain to make beautiful seeds that I get to save for all to enjoy! What's available this week?
Where to find it all?
I'll be at the Farmers Market at Libby, this Thursday from 3-630pm! I'll be at the Troy Farmers Market, this Friday from 330-630pm! |
AuthorI'm Farmer Megan with a life full of cackles, clucks, quacks, weeds, crazy kitten, and one tiny, senior, blind dog. Archives
December 2021
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