a little crafty nest

outside

With winter becoming a memory, and before the bugs descend, we live to be outside.  This year I am noticing how easy it is for mama to be working hard in the garden and the three littles busy being, well, little.  While I have been turning over turf and creating new beds for the Big Garden, my three children have been by my side for little bursts of help, playing with worms and toads and snails and slugs, helping Papa build the chicken coop, setting up bike trails and jumps, climbing trees, splashing in the creek, and exploring this new corner of our land that we have claimed this spring.  I am left often for long periods of time while the three of them orbit around me, always within hearing range but often out of sight.  They listen to our boundary limits ~ most of the time...the neighbour's children tempt them outside of our agreement a few times, or else you can hear my three shout "Come on up!  We're up here...come on for a play!" and then before you know it, three or four friends are wandering up our laneway for some fun.

first nettles emerging

spring pie...made with nettles and chives and a grain-free crust

We are all grateful for being outside...in sunny or windy or cloudy or rainy weather.  As the day progresses, we shed layers and I am often picking up bits of clothing and equipment as we head in for meals or snacks or a change of clothes.

eight more days til our first farm friends arrive...and yes, this is still a work in progress but no, this is not the chicken coop!

she says she looks like Princess Leah here (a new obsession of her older brother, though I'm mystified how he knows about Star Wars)

My body aches a bit in the morning and it feels good!  But the progress we are all making feels even better...slowly, day by day, with a bit of work here and there, we are manifesting dreams.  Yes, outside is where you'll find us right now...it's our happy place.

homestead happenings ~ lasagna lover

I am so grateful for the lovely autumn we have been having, despite the last few weeks of wet weather.  Therer were a few sunshiney days sprinkled here and there and we managed to do most of our garden tidying up.  I still have a few more afternoons of mulching and composting to deal with, and then Jack Frost is welcome to come and do his magic.  And just in time...the snow line is creeping down the mountainsides daily.

With my youngest being old enough to shadow the older two more independently, it freed up a little time for my husband and I to create two new beds, both 8' x 4.5'.  It was a long, tedious process of digging up weeds and bracken...tenacious stuff I tell you!  I do that part by hand as renting a machine is not economical when I'm only out there for half an hour to an hour at a time.

In the foreground is one of our two garlic beds and my daughter is standing in our back gateway.  All the gravel you see and the dirt all the way over to my husband is the area I cleared, digging down about 10 inches.  We lie on a creekbed so raised beds are essential.  I also prefer them as they keep little feet, both of the human and animal kind, out of my gardens...our kitchen garden is often trampled through with a stampede of both kinds of little feet.

My husband took his chainsaw mill into the mountains and made a few boards from dead-standing cedar...beefy 8" wide planks.

All that landscape fabric around the beds...for years I have battled the weeds that grow up, so unwelcome, in the pathways only to overtake the beds.  I really dislike how they make themselves at home in the vegetable beds and have tried various methods to dissuade them from setting root.  In my Big Garden, I may have found the answer to keep the bracken and couch grass at bay.  I dig out the roots by hand really deep, then place two layers of landscape fabric down, followed by a thick layer of gravel.  One day soon I want to top it all with cedar bark chips, too.  In the five years of having this garden, the weeds have stayed out, except for a light raking needed once a month or so.

After a few weeks of playing in these lovely beds, and picking rocks, we were ready to lasagna build.  The idea is to basically build a composting bed, layering green and brown materials that will break down over time to create rich, healthy soil.  It is ideal for so many reasons, including the fact that it is relatively very little work.  We made both our garlic beds this way and the soil quality is just superb.

For our two beds, we layered newspaper, straw, aged sheep manure a few times, finally topping it all with our own compost.

Just in time we finished these two beds, and now King Winter can come and blanket them with a thick layer of snow.  Over the next four or five months, they will turn into Gardener's Gold in time for planting season next spring. 

Now, just about fifteen more beds to go...

 

homestead happenings ~ planting time

Garlic planting is a family affair around here and we plan it for the weekends when Papa is available.  Timed with the advice of our dog-eared Stella Natura calendar, Sunday was the optimal day for planting garlic (waning moon in Virgo).  During the week, I prepared the beds by topping them each with composted sheep manure, then turned them over with the pitchfork.  I noticed how dry and dusty the soil was after a long hot summer and fall, so we were so pleased for the steady rain that has been blessing the gardens these past two days.

In July when we harvested all of the heads, I set aside 75 of our biggest and fattest garlic to cure for planting.  Our perfect drying space is our sauna which hasn't been used in a long, long while (thinking we're going to remedy that one really soon)!  Everyone pitches in for planting...first breaking the cloves from the stalk, being careful not to bruise or peel the thin skins, then we set them in rows atop the soil.  After a step back in admiration (as any gardener would gladly understand), five pairs of hands gently tuck 300 garlic babies into their dark beds, promising to visit in March when they poke their heads back up again.

I love our October garlic ritual and it serves as a reminder of the cycle of growing, the rhythm of the seasons.  We seem to mark our calendar more and more by the planting of certain crops, the expectation of when one sprout will appear or when another will flower.  My children are learning it all, soaking it up without intending to.  Gardening and growing food will be second nature to them, the cycle of the year will tell them so.  And hopefully, they will remember with pleasure the moments we shared when we planted out the garlic, year after year.

homeschool harvest lunch

Our little community is blessed to have a growing homeschool community.  This year we are really putting a lot of effort into providing lots of opportunties for gatherings and celebrations with the dozen or more families involved.  Between weekly afternoon "hikes" and art get-togethers, harvest celebrations and an upcoming variety night...we are busy!

While collecting hollyhock seeds last month, Forrest wanted to give his best buddy a gift of seeds from our garden.  A little brainstorming between the two of us, and the homeschool harvest lunch was born!  The children all collected their own seeds from home, and they did their own seed exchange...such fun.  We also made a surprise stone soup for the children, which they loved.  Then outside we went to our friend's home, right next door to the hall we rented (which happened to be the old alternative school where I once taught).  It was quite a success because we all lingered a long while, into the afternoon.

After sharing things we are thankful for this past weekend, I can definately say that this blossoming homeschool community is definately at the forefront of that list.

homestead happenings ~ squirrelling

 





And just like that, brrrrrrr, it got cold overnight.  Killer frost cold.  While making dinner, I felt the cold creeping in and realized we could be in for the first real frost.  Out I trudged with three excited helpers skipping along behind me, eager to bring in as many tomatoes and herbs as we could manage.  We made a game of it, really.  And while it was a meager picking, we definately rescued some sweet little orange nuggets of delight. 

Now, our home is laden with harvest...every surface is covered with ripening tomatoes, hanging basil and chili peppers.  The dehydrator is humming, the crock full of kraut is bubbling, and the curds are separating from the whey to make cream cheese.  Pots are steaming with the saucing of apples and pears, alternating days with jam making. 

And in between putting the harvest by, there is homeschooling lessons enjoyed, birthday gifts trying to become a priority, and a little spinning to keep my hands busy.

Oh, my.  Did I mention I love this time of year?  I think it is the squirrel in me that comes alive with all the busy-ness.  In fact, we do have a resident squirrel that the children love to watch climb the big spruce tree behind our house.  The branches come right up to the windows and often, there is just a few inches, and a pane of glass, separating this chatty little rogue and my gleeful little ones.  But when he gets to scolding, which is often enough, it is difficult not to laugh right out loud!  The attitude on such a small, scrappy fellow!

And with the frost, out came the wooly trunk to provide some essential layers for the early part of the day.  My indigo hat fits Forrest perfectly, though I had intended it for me.

And as our home is filled with the smells of wood smoke and cooking fruit, and the tables are overflowing with garden bounty...I am reminded of how much I have to be grateful for.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving, friends!

* ravelry notes here

homestead happenings

A big thank you to the person who calls this her regular gardening, homesteading post series...I forget who you are, but the title is wonderful.  I hope you don't mind me borrowing it.

It's the middle of August and suddenly the homestead chores are piling up, teetering a little on an angle, and threatening to fall over.  I'm just managing to keep on top of all the garden bounty coming in (hello tomatoes, potatoes, onions and more basil and cucumbers than I thought we might grow)!  There is an endless list of things to do around our place right now and we have it up on our fridge.  Josh is pretty wiped with a new contract he's working on for the next few months, so a lot of things are getting put aside for the sake of family sanity.  Yes, I reckon that trumps clean floors and bathroom sinks any day.

Keeping an ongoing list not only tickles my Virgo nature, but it allows us to prioritize the tasks at hand.  This weekend, canning all the peaches sitting in the entryway was slightly important (24 L so far) in comparison to going into the mountains for a cord of wood.  Also, a complete cellar tidy up happened while Papa took the littles on a relaxing fishing afternoon.  It feels good down there now, ready for the barage of canning jars to line the shelves, ready for the long winter ahead.

I think the best surprise in my garden this year is the corn.  It is my first time growing it and I'm wondering now why I haven't done it sooner.  It is such a beautiful plant to watch grow...and so quickly it unfolds then shoots to the heavens.  And now, there are a few little ears nestled against the mama stalk ~ reminds me of my baby slinging days which are nearing an end.

The berries continue to amaze and now we are eating blueberries, blackberries and the last of the raspberries all at the same time ~ what a treat!  Thank goodness for all that early summer rain.

Is that a giant raspberry or a gnome's hat?  Hmmmm...

Overgrown and scented by angels!  Oh, sweet peas, how we love you!

Picking August bouquets is my favourite indulgence on a sunny late afternoon stroll in the garden. 

While Life seems full to bursting right now, it's important to pause and take a deep breath, inhaling the scents of summer.  Tonight, I happened to stumble upon a quote Josh wrote on the top of our lengthy list board that says, "These are the good old days!"  Indeed, my sweet, indeed.

notes from the garden ~ late july

With all this rain we're having, things are easily getting out of hand out there.  It only takes a few days of neglect and then the whole garden is nearly unrecognizable.  Our Big Garden on this side of the greenhouse has no raised beds, but we have corn, potatoes, onions and leeks in the ground...but with last year's clover planting coming up strong this year, it's very hard to see anything growing...

My husband did some magic with his brush saw right after I took this photo, and lo and behold, there were onions growing strong amidst the weeds.   Our water system is all messed up right now, so every few days I call him in to fix it again...tedious!  But he manages to save the veggies from dehydration every time!

Flowers are blooming, plums and tree fruit are forming, and our greenhouse got cleaned up ~ we can see our basil and tomatoes again!

We've been having fresh pesto a few times a week now, and the cucumbers are pumping out delicious snacks for us at all times of the day.  The greens are winding down while the roots are getting bigger and the berries...it's been a terrific raspberry year so far!  Lots and lots of raspberries on the bank alongside our creek.  This year, my oldest joins me for a harvest every other day and we are putting lots by for the winter.  We will begin harvesting our garlic this week, I think, and we are eating carrots fresh from the earth every day ~ nature's candy!

I am also trying to do as much wildcrafting as I can, which isn't very much at all, actually.  However, today I noticed that it was high time to harvest some St. John's Wort.  It is so very pretty, these flowers.  On a family bike ride today, my husband showed the children how to crush a few yellow petals of the wort and your fingers will be stained purple...they loved this!

I quickly filled this jar up with petals and leaves of St. John's Wort, then added some olive oil.  In six weeks, the oil will be ready.  Along with our Oil of Gilead (Poplar or Cottonwood buds),  I'm hoping to make a little Calendula Oil so in the fall we will make some Healing Salve, or as my children call it, "The Balm".  We go through a lot of The Balm throughout the year, on cuts, scrapes, bites, or burns.

There is so much beginning to happen in the garden and on the land around us, it can be a little overwhelming.  At this stage of my life, I'm grateful if I can manage to put a little food by for the winter.

Finally, I wanted to share my favourite meal right now...an Everything Salad from the garden.  Filled with the rest of the lettuce before it bolts, some kale and beet greens, leftover peas, dill and basil, carrots and cucumbers, and a few edible flowers on top ~ this is my very favourite food!  It changes every day, but the dressing is pretty consistent.  My dear friend passed it on to me from a random cookbook (so I apologize for not citing the source), but it is so delicious!

Sophie Bee's Best Dressing

1/3 cup olive oil

3 cloves garlic

1 Tbsp fresh ginger root

2 Tbsp tamari (or Bragg's)

2 Tbsp nutritional yeast

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp Dijon mustard

*blend well with a hand mixer or cuisanart...it makes all the difference!

I hope your garden's are thriving and bountiful...July is so magical!

notes from the garden ~ first of july

All this rain has certainly helped with my garden tasks!  Between the soaker hoses in the greenhouse and most beds and the abundantly soggy weather, life is bursting forth.  A few hours of sunshine here and there, and we have got one thriving garden!

Along with all the rain and growth, we find ourselves noticing the weeds cropping up.  Tenaciously.  In our kitchen garden, it is not so bad as I easily pick a few here and there as the children play in the yard.  However, over the creek and in our big garden, I hastily put in the rootsy beds amongst the clover and couch grass, and it is a veritable jungle.  Toads, snails, snakes and other critters have a metropolis over there and it is quite funny to watch the dogs sniffing, freezing and pouncing high up in the air hoping to land on something.  Usually, they don't.

This is our first attempt at corn, a sweet variety that I clumsily planted beneath black plastic hoping that it might warm the soil despite our cool, wet spring.  It worked!  Thirty little corn plants are standing at attention in our old pumpkin patch. 

In other corners of the gardens, there is lots of opening and unfolding...including the pollen in the trees ~ like snow in July!

Beauty and bounty...just outside our front door.  Ohhhh, July, I am so happy to welcome you!

notes from the garden ~ mid June

With such a cool and rainy spring (though speckled with an occasional sparkling sunshiney day), the garden has thrived in some ways ~ hello, lettuce! ~ and sadly, suffered in other ways ~ what is happening to the strawberries, and who is eating my peas?!

At this point, the mosquitoes are barely beginning, thank goodness.  So every evening, I love to stroll through the kitchen garden and gather a salad and some flowers for the table.  This is the largest bed of greens I've had so far, which is still quite restricted by the small scale of the kitchen garden, but it is plentiful and beautiful to behold.

My sweet girl is my lettuce washer and spinner, and she loves to make the spinner go really, really fast!  I can count on her as my garden sidekick, though Forrest also has quite a green thumb, too.  Ah, how lucky I am to share this space with them!

My greenhouse may be small, but is awfully lush right now.  I took this photo before I took down all the volunteer dill that has seeded and reseeded along the pathways in the greenhouse for one too many years.  It is so dense that snakes and toads and voles have a mini-city going on in the green jungle.  Last year I dried a gallon jar of dill, and we still have 1/3 of it left.  Now that there is more air circulation, I am hoping that the basil and peppers will take off, like the tomatoes and cukes are beginning to do.  And look what I discovered hidden behind the dill...

So pretty!  I planted several seeds back in early March only to have a vole eat all of it over one night.  I guess the vole family missed a few seedlings ~ lucky us!

It was a little overcast when I took this photo (surprise, surprise), so it may be difficult to see the colour beginning to brighten everything up.  It may be a small little garden, but it is my happy place.

pondering

After several years of on and off discussions, we took a leap and began a project.  A big project.  A project that we have spent much time wondering and pondering over, ahem.

Tucked behind our blackberry spiral, in a quiet, unused part of our property is a marshy area.  Josh is an avid fly-fisherman and he has always had a vision of a pond.  As we tossed the idea around over the years, it became obvious that my idyllic vision of a pond is definately not the same as my husband's.  At all.  However, like many things in marriage, compromise is needed and I let it all go...so we moved forward to create a small trout pond with lots of plant life and animals. 

So this is where we are at...a giant, gravelly hole in the ground.  I have to swallow hard and look away from the mountain of sod (and topsoil!) that sits behind me in this photo.  I do have faith in my ever-optimistic husband and that he will create something beautiful out of this crater.  He envisions trout and lily pads and ducks, while I see turtles and a dock...and winter skating ~ yes!

Perhaps the word got out that there is a new habitat to explore as the children found this enormous Woodhouse toad on the wrong side of the creek.

The children delighted in following the wee hops this fella did throughout our kitchen garden.  He was about 4 inches long and made the sweetest bleating sounds, just like a lamb ~ really!  I find I have to constantly remind the children to be gentle with the creatures, and they did a great job with Mr. Toad.  At lunch, we came inside and looked through this book, which is a wonderful beginner book for 3 and 6 year old biologists.

I hope to find more of these over the summer to make a science basket filled with magnifying glasses, field guides, binoculars, and more.  With a pond in our backyard, I feel we will have hours of studying, identifying and learning right out our door.

Having said that, I am very cautious and concerned regarding the danger of water, and I am relieved that the pond is still a bit of a walk from the house, especially for little ones. 

As far as filling it goes, we are looking into natural ways to keep the water from seeping out.  It is fed by our creek with a drainage back into it, and we will be catching the trout to eat from the pond, so it is important to us not to use plastic pond liners.   We've been told to use clay and let it settle, and we are looking into a local source for that.  Does anyone have experience with this?

For now, there remains a big hole.  And while it is not exactly how I envisioned it, just this picture alone tells me this is a good idea.  A very good idea, indeed.

notes from the garden ~ second week of may

On this lovely, sunshiney Mama's Day weekend, I wanted to be outside as much as possible, with family by my side.  Being in the garden is just about the perfect way for me to spend my time, and with Papa minding the littles nearby, I got to dig and plant and water to my heart's content.

Garlic's thriving...

Blueberry bushes budding out...

Granny's maple tree seems decorated for this special day ~ I love the garlands it is wearing!

I have been spending much of my time on this patch of the garden beside our two big garlic beds.  This is the back gate (though, the gate is still in Josh's shop being made), and I am digging and digging and digging out the couch grass and tenacious bracken.  After this monotonous and finicky task, I lay landscape fabric and then gravel and then woodchips.  I guarantee this insures no weeds get in.  It is a tremendous amount of work, but it is so worthwhile for there are no weeds to be battling.  My window for finishing this 12' x 11' space is closing as soon the mosquitoes arrive and surely I am not that crazy to do this while fending off hungry bloodsuckers!

Other garden chores happening around here include breaking down the eggshells we have collected since January.  If anyone visits my home, they often quietly note the overflowing pile of eggshells toppling over in the cookstove warming oven.  We save all the eggshells to be ground into somewhat of a powder to sprinkle generously in the soil as we plant out the tomato starts.  Apparently, the calcium in the eggshells prevents blossom end rot...and I think it works because I've never had that problem with them.  I also add it to the beds that will have tomatoes the next year, and then the compost gets the rest.  But, the job of grinding the shells is a popular one...

I'm a believer in using what you have around your home to help your garden grow.  Eggshells for fertilizer, comfrey leaves for garden teas, toilet paper rolls for collars against cutworms, matchsticks for pepper plants, manure for making the black gold...it goes on and on.  I am always testing out folklore advice, and jotting notes down in my gardening journal. 

This week, we also planted our greenhouse full of tomatoes, peppers, basil and cucumbers.  And wouldn't you know it...that first night we had a spring killing frost!  I scrambled out of bed and raced down to the greenhouse to assess the damage, which wasn't too bad.  Somehow the frost crept in and claimed two tomatoes, two peppers and four basil plants ~ all of which I have replacements sitting under the lights inside here.  Thank goodness for being cautious!

Do you see all that green mossy looking stuff on the right and at the bottom?  That is volunteer dill plants...thousands of them!  A few years ago, I didn't take the plants down before they seeded and now we have so much dill it is ridiculous!  Even after all the stepping on it (though we try and be careful), it still springs up anew...hardy stuff, that dill!

And finally, Josh and the children went to a local planer and filled up the truck with sawdust.  Such fun to back it into the spot by the blackberry spiral and jump into the mountain of sawdust they scooped off!  Well, such fun the first time, because sawdust down your boots and shirt and even in your undies is a wee bit uncomfortable.  Lesson learned, this year.  Next year, they will undoubtedly relearn that one...again.

I moved almost the whole pile onto the pathways of the spiral in under 24 hours...oh, my back is tired!  It is a little crazy this whole spiral, but I confess to loving it!  Last year, we had 3 canes give off berries that allowed a few desserts and one freezer bag filled, in addition to a lot of eating.  3 canes!!!  I have already counted 12 canes for this year, with over 30 growing for next year.  I look forward to the jungle this will become.  It is a lot of work to maintain the pathways here, but while the children are little, it is so worth it.  They have such fun in here and that keeps me going.

It is incredible the amount of work that growing food requires, but it is such honest, hard work that I love!  My body aches now, but this past weekend of digging and hauling was so incredibly satisfying...with papa taking care of the littles nearby, hooting and hollering.  Indeed, a blissful mama's day for me.  I hope you all enjoyed your days with your sweet ones, too!

notes from the garden ~ early may

Already my garden note-taking is falling by the wayside as there are so many other things to tend to right now.  Between watering the indoor starts, digging temporary beds in the newly fenced in Big Garden, transplanting some timid flower starts (that are not liking the morning coolness it seems), and setting out lots of veggie starts...my garden journal has remained closed for far too many days now.

Ah, well, it all grows upwards right?  Eventually I'll see evidence of what I've done...(I like to give myself positive affirmations when I know I "ought" to be doing something that I've neglected).  But I do have a few pictures from the garden.

I did plant out the potatoes into a makeshift bed in the Big Garden.

Because we have a creek running through the property, there is much too much gravel in the soil.  I prefer the raised beds for so many reasons, but I thought I'd try 70' of potatoes directly into the earth.  There are yellow, red and purple varieties straight from the shelves of our local organic grocery store.  I always use these spuds for my "seed" potatoes, but in the future I hope to save my own.

These last few weeks have been cool and damp, giving us a bounteous nettle and morel mushroom harvest. 

These photos show the first harvest of both nettles and morels, right from our property.  My little Sunshine is an expert morel spotter as her eagle eyes don't miss a single mushroom!  I'm so happy she loves to go morel hunting every day...Yum!

Last year we moved our driveway to give us more privacy from the road and it created a little spot for a very special tree.  My granny is 101 years old, and every birthday we get a little money to spend on ourselves.  Usually, I use it to pay bills but last summer, I bought a Sunset Maple tree and planted it right on that newly created spot.  My granny was an incredible gardener, and back then, it was not only a necessity to grow your own food, but it was also only organic.  They didn't call it organic, of course, they just called it food.  Funny that now, in a supermarket, that kind of produce is labelled "organic" while conventionally sprayed and treated and fertilized and chemicalized produce is unlabelled.  I wonder what granny would think if she thought about that!

Anyhow, we also planted 40 daffodil bulbs last fall around granny's tree.  It was hard work breaking the gravelly and rocky soil to place the bulbs, but we perservered...

Late in the winter, I began to think about those sleeping bulbs and every day I got more excited about what we would soon see.  Last weekend, they started popping up...and now...

Affirmation.  (At last count, 23 little bits of affirmation out of 40...not bad).

Isn't gardening all about affirmation?  Hope, promises, fulfillment.  'Tis a miraculous thing, indeed.

notes from the garden ~ end of april

There has been a magical transformation over the last few weeks here...you can see it, smell it, hear it, feel it.  A truly sensory experience as Spring just sprung into every little cranny of our property.  The creek is thundering and washing up over the banks, the birds are chattering amongst themselves, and blossoms are peeking out ~ all over!  If anyone doubts the power and magic of Mama Nature, this is the season to become a believer!

Lately, sweet peas have been planted around the children's tipi.  We alternate between sweet peas ande scarlet runner beans, and Sunshine and I are very happy it is a flower year...the smell is intoxicating!

In our little kitchen garden, this is the time I mulch the pathways.

I layer several thicknesses of newspapers and then top with some straw.  It seems to keep the couch grass out for nearly the entire season.  In the past, I have also tried cardboard which is rather stubborn to bend into the right shapes.  Also, there is often glues used in the cardboard, so I try and avoid that from leeching into the beds.

We also repotted our tomato starts into bigger pots...they were looking to stretch out a bit.

Almost all our root vegetables are in the ground (onions, leeks, carrots, beets), though parsnips and potatoes have still to be planted.  We have a larger salad bed this year mixed with various kales and broccoli and spinach.  Oh, and the spinach and peas are up and thriving!!!  That never fails to excite me  :)

Forrest loves to collect chives for the dinner salad...he is the salad fella, and eager to help!

In the woods by the creek, we spotted a most welcome friend that suggests Spring Pie is not too far away...

Oh, lovely nettles, how I've missed thee!

The most exciting garden progress these last few weeks is in our Big Garden.  For years and years, while our family grew (and grew), the Big Garden has sat a little idle, waiting for many busy hands to nurture it into the garden of our dreams.  We have two big garlic beds in there that we know the deer don't touch, but otherwise, it has been a dormant place, beckoning me with dreams of the future garden I want it to become.

Finally, our temporary garden fence to protect the blueberry patch was extended, and we now have a fenced in Big Garden.....eek!

To the upper left is our blueberry hill, surrounded by a temporary deer fence.  We dug a trench around the Big Garden years ago to put up a weed barrier (sheet metal), and now Josh is doing the hard work of re-digging it to put in the cedar posts he harvested last year.

Our main entry into the garden...it just needs a gate now.

Tonight, Josh asked me how I like the feel of the Big Garden with the fencing up.  I told him it was my sanctuary.  Oh, the possibilities...

moments from the week

While the sun was playing peek-a-boo with the clouds for most of the week, we found ourselves outdoors for longer and longer stretches.  There is so much to do right now...aside from gardening chores which are delightfully endless (yes, I really think so!), there were also ziplines to be attempted from scratch...

And boats to make and float at a homeschool nature group...

There is always a little one beckoning mama to follow him about...

And a girl by my side, reaching for my hand.

We were so lucky this week to have papa around a few more days than we thought...so we jumped right into some projects on our little piece of land that we have been meaning to do for a few years now.  It was wonderful to get to it, but mostly, it was wonderful to be outside together ~ digging in the soil, hauling rocks, raking rocks, sorting rocks (do you see a pattern here?), clearing brush, having several bonfires, creating garden spaces, making dams, and swinging about on our new swing.  We were all so very busy and immersed in activities, but there was such a sense of family and connection happening...bliss!  Even Forrest, who likes to share his heart's thoughts, remarked, "I really like this.  I really like being out here and doing this with everyone."  Indeed, me too.

I noticed that this week I have several photos of togetherness, something that seems rather rare...

And my favourite, (and not just because the littles are sitting on my new compost bins)...

Mind you, it wasn't all perfectly smooth and lovely, but I do hope my children will remember that this week, we were all five together a lot, and we shared a wonderful time making our land more into our home.  I am so grateful to all of them!

May you all a wonderful weekend!  Happy Earth Day on Sunday!!!

notes from the garden ~ making black gold

Every gardener knows the importance of good, nutritent-rich compost in their garden.  Kind of like feeding your children good food so they grow strong and healthy.  Well, compost is just the same, you feed your garden plants this black gold and they grow strong and healthy so your family can grow strong and healthy.

Really, it's plain old common sense.  But, in all my years of gardening, I have never had the proper, or ideal, composting system.  Until this week.

Sure, I've had a compost bin that sat in a neglected corner of the yard, with kitchen waste rotting in a stinking heap of a mess.  Yuck.  I'd be lucky to scrape together a shovelful of the black gold all year. 

A few years ago, we bought the fancy shmancy garden brackets from Lee Valley which cost a pretty penny.  They worked but you have to buy three sets to make a proper system and we skimped and just went for two.  Well, one hot pile and one working pile always leaves a gap as to when you can harvest some of the good stuff.

This winter, the bears got into our bins and it was the motivation I needed to get it together and build the proper system.  A three bin system where one is working (you add your kitchen and yard scraps), one is hot (cooking), and one is the black gold ready to be used.

We cleared some hawthorn bushes out of our site, which is no easy task.  Boy, they are tenacious!  And you have to be careful because the thorns are terribly painful if they poke you in the foot!  With ten wooden pallets collected (for free!) from our local nursery, eight stakes, a pocketful of nails and some twine, we built the three bin system in under an hour.  (I say "we" because it was entirely my idea and project, which my husband was all too thrilled to step back from.  However, after banging some nails for a bit, I realized I had overdone some hauling with my wheelbarrow and my elbow was not  cooperating properly.  I had to ask for help, and he graciously stepped in to bang a few nails for me.)

But I did the unpleasant and tedious job of hauling the old compost to the new bins...and in the process realized that we were on the right track with these two because there was very little stink.  And the children loved seeing all the busy little wrigglers...a real homegrown science class!

Altogether, we spent a few dollars on the nails, the rest was free.  Those Lee Valley garden brackets will make a nice leaf mould bin and a straw bale bin to throw on top of the kitchen waste. 

Yes, that is our scavenging pup, Cocoa, inspecting the inside of the bin.  The dogs easily hop right in, despite our discouragement!

There was a bit of a festive air as the first compost bucket was brought from the kitchen to be dumped in the new working bin...it doesn't take much around here for excitement.  I just wish taking the compost out was always such a sought-after task!  Josh chuckles a bit at my giddiness over the new system...I just love it!  And oh, the veggies will too...just wait and see, dear husband.

moments from the week

We are feeling that quickening pace of spring already, with more activities beckoning us to leave the comfort of our property and venture further afield.  This week, we have had friends come play with us, we have visited our favourite goat farm, we participated in a children's nature walk along the river, we (nearly) finished a little home renovation (details coming!), and we accidentally found a lovely new place to play on our land that has us very excited indeed!  Phewf!  Yes, it was a busy, full, lovely week of clear weather sprinkled with spring storms...I love it!

Little boy blue come blow your horn...

Dancing on the pallet tower (soon to be our newest compost bins).

Snails and slugs are still rather sweet at this point in the gardening season.  By August, not so much.

On the spur of the moment, we decided to clear an area lower down our creek for a better compost system.  Josh used his brushsaw and his chainsaw to take out some stubborn hawthorn bushes and suddenly we discovered a whole new world.  As we raked and stoked a fire to burn all the nasty little thorny branches, Forrest used the clippers to make a path into the woods beside the creek, whereupon we discovered the perfect branch for making a swing.  With a quick hole drilled into a branch and a piece of climbing rope slung over teh branch, we had a daring little swing that even holds me!  Our little creek has begun to swell, and just overnight with the rains washing down some snow further up the mountain, the quiet murmur has been replaced with a raucous babbling.  How exciting to swing out over the rushing water on a branch swing...

Huckley insisted on trying it, too (of course), but I couldn't take a photo as I was holding him upright!  Besides, he preferred to be close to his chainsaw-wielding papa...he truly loves big, loud, noisy machines.

I do think we will be using this swing often in the coming months...it is within sight of my big garden which is exactly where I want to be right now.  I can see some fun weeks ahead of us, for sure!

Friends, I wish you a lovely weekend in the fresh air, nurturing whatever gardens you find yourselves in!

notes from the garden ~ early april

Easter weekend brought some beautiful weather, and I'm hoping it will stay!  Most of the snow is melted away, except for in the darkest parts near the forest and creek's edge.  The newly emerging crocuses invited visitors from our neighbour's farm...

The children and I spent some time watching these busy honeybees ~ the first of the season ~ asking them to make wonderful honey for our friends, Corky and Helen. 

Our biodynamic calendar calls for very little garden activity during the Easter week, but we were so eager to plant our peas and spinach in the just-thawed soil.  It amazes me how each year brings different weather, and our pea plantings can vary up to nearly 2 months depending on the snow load.

This year we will be planting sweet peas around the children's tipi.  Last year was scarlet runner beans...we like to switch it up.  It was a great adventure to find eight branches in the forest by the creek to make new pole supports...the last ones endured four years of all season weather before rotting.  Papa and Forrest did most of the work, and then everyone lent a hand erecting the whole tipi.

I once read somewhere that it is customary to plant seed potatoes on Good Friday.  That is not an option around here as I'm planning to dig a new area for more potatoes this year and the snow just disappeared yesterday.  However, we started our potatoes, local organic ones from a nearby farm.  After slicing them in half, we set them out in the light by the window for a few weeks til the soil has warmed up.

I also started a second batch of flowers today, as it was a biodynamic day for flowers ~ calendula, marigolds, globe thistles, more strawflowers, elephant amaranth, and cosmos.  Yes, we do like lots of colour with our vegetables!  Already, the hollyhocks from a month ago are looking strong and green and beautiful!

In the garlic bed, the shoots are beginning to gather strength, too, and push through the leaf mulch.  Oh, I've been waiting for you, my lovely garlic tops!

This week, while little was planted, there was great progress in tidying up what we have.  I do most of the real work in the fall, knowing that in the spring I just want to dig into the earth and not weed so much.  All the weeding, manuring, and mulching happens in October and November, just before the long winter's rest.  Now, in the spring, I just top dress the beds with some aged manure compost and wait for good days to plant.  I also put rocks around the beds, as two dogs and three little ones running around the garden can damage corners. 

Here is our humble little kitchen garden, all ready to plant.  Each year, I am just as excited to see how our garden will transform over the next six months.  We are ready to go!

moments from the week

As the snow recedes, though not disappearing quite yet (it snowed today!), we are expanding into recently uncovered areas to play.  Once again, we found ourselves drawn to the shop, to be close to papa and hear the buzz of his saw.  Before he begins his first contract of the season next week, he is working on a little home renovation ~ of the inexpensive variety...love those!!!

But over the bridge and to the shop we go...to climb, chisel, and teeter-totter ~ country style!

When I moved the long board over, I asked the children to stay clear, and it looks like they took it to heart.  I suppose they are not used to seeing mama move big boards around, but they look nervous, don't they?

Indoors, this little bug is as snug as one can get...he loves to get cozy in tiny little spaces, and there he sits until he is discovered, upon which he gleefully giggles!

We have been spending the last of our homeschool money...for science experiments like this worm garden.  Indeed, it is fascinating to watch the wormies compost the leaves and dig their tunnels.  Forrest was right into this activity, trudging out in the pouring sleet to dig up some critters from our gardens.
We also purchased a beautiful "real" guitar for Forrest to begin Suzuki guitar lessons in the fall.  I had intended to hide it away til September, but he asked me if I had bought it yet, so I showed him.  He is thrilled!  He really seems ready to begin...and, as he says, "rock out!"

Oh goodness, do you see his haircut?  He hadn't had a trim since a family event at my parent's last summer, and it was really getting too long.  So, I just began to trim it up here and there before realizing that I should NEVER cut my family's, or anyone's, hair ever!  Luckily, he doesn't know any different, but Josh reminded me of the time I managed two distinctive clearcuts up the back of his head with the clippers that forced him to buzz his whole head.  Yes, I can manage to shave hair, but not trim it.

And finally, we spent a few moments here and there this week in our garden, reconnecting with the soil that is coming alive again!  Critters of all sorts are visible, waking up and greeting this new season.  My little girl preferred to help mama in the kitchen garden while the boys tended a bonfire across the creek. 

Yes, indeed, it feels good to be back in this space...how I've missed it!

notes from the garden ~ april fool's day

Three weeks has passed since my last journal, though day by day, there are little miracles popping up and inciting a riot of excitement in my green thumbs.  Finally, we are seeing daily progress on our snow melt ~ hooray!  Our creek is directly beside our home and with all the windows closed, we can still hear the not-so-quiet murmuring of its uncovered waters.  Oh, that babbling burble, how I missed it!

Early in March, I started the first round of flowers indoors...hollyhocks, foxgloves, Shasta daisy, Sweet Williams, straw flowers, calendula, and pumpkin-on-a-stick.  These are the hollyhocks today, three weeks after sowing.

This was our pea bed on March 12...it required desperate measures.

This was far from the easy task we have performed on other big snowload years.  After shoveling the top layer, we reached four inches of solid ice.  And after we cleared it, the ground stayed frozen for another week.  It is only now ready for us to begin planting our peas.

Today, on April 1, this is our little kitchen garden all naked and ready for the fun to begin...

Across the creek in the big garden, there is still a lot of snow.  But beneath the lingering snowy pillow, little garlic shoots are emerging, slender and pale.

We really, really like our basil plants.  They are one of our easiest crops to grow and we eat from the bushy plants all summer long.  I often make pesto each week during the summer, saving it in muffin tins in the freezer, and by the first frost, I bring the whole plant indoors to hang upside down and dry for our gallon jar.  This year I started 90 plants of lettuce leaf (our favourite), genovese, and lemon basil.

And now I have my first disaster story of the season...and it's only been a few weeks!  I planted two long rows of spinach in my greenhouse in early March and waited and waited and waited.  Nothing seemed to be happening, until one day, hauling the water buckets in, there were flecks of green emerging.  Hooray!  I have babied these spinach plants for a few weeks now, compulsively checking on them every day.  Well, today I went out for my visit and I could not believe my eyes...not a speck of spinach anywhere!  After close inspection, I saw the tell-tale signs of several cutworms.  They are so incredibly destructive, and I knew we had a few in the greenhouse every year, so I religiously collar my baby basil and tomato plants.  I never even thought about the tasty, tender spinach.  Of course!  Sighs.  One thing with gardening I have learned over the years, is that it has a very humbling learning curve.

 
We finished the week with a little cottonwood bud harvesting from a tree my husband felled beside his shop.  A third jar of oil sitting in the kitchen bay window, soaking up the sun's goodness.  I can feel Mr. Sun getting stronger, coaxing new life to spring forth.  We are more than ready...

notes from the garden ~ still early march

I must say that this weekend was the quintessential blustery March kind of weekend where you might want to wear a hat and a raincoat, but be prepared for unexpected snow and slush and wind - oh, the wind!

It was a weekend for making potting soil out in the woodshed, protected from March's moody temper.  My children mixed up some equal parts potting soil with peat moss and worm castings, with a wee bit of perlite for breathability.  We brought the bin inside to warm up by the cookstove before planting.  We started our roots, onions and leeks, and just for fun, we began some more lettuce, this time for indoors.  Our greenhouse is still not showing signs of little green sprouts...were our old seeds too old?

We've been so preoccupied awaiting the return of crocuses and snowdrops beneath our beloved oak tree that we didn't notice other shoots awakening.  I found this poppy stretching awake and was inspired by its tenacity despite the chilly weather. 

Well, we may yet to have seeds sprouting in the greenhouse, so we jumpstarted some fresh greens by doing a little kitchen sink gardening...sprouts. 

We haven't done this in ages, but I'm really hankering for some tasty greens and these will be so nice this week on some fresh bread with a little hummous or homemade butter!

What are you doing while you wait for your gardens to awaken?