Taste of the Valley

It doesn't take long for our short summers to blow right past us!  It's already the end of September and soon we will be packing up the garden and utilities for yet another year.  We had a busy summer with ups and downs.  One of the ups being that I didn't have to pick in the rain like last year but the lack of rain over the summer really played havoc with the growing.  We invested in irrigation this year and at the beginning was really  wondering if we would use it! Well good thing we did!!  Next year is row covers!!  But I am digressing.

Cherry and Roma Tomatoes 

My highlights of the year were doing the Taste of the Valley in Renfrew and the morning show with CTV.  I didn't think we were going to get individual air time but they did a whole segment on our market and we were interviewed!!  I think I did ok considering I don't so well in public speaking!  You can catch me on the YouTube video at http://www.youtube.com/user/CTVOttawaMorningLive#p/u/9/dSiLIzgaQsU .  This has made for a very busy September but good for getting my product out there. 

Andria (left) and I at the Taste of the Valley in Renfrew

At the Taste of the Valley we had approx 70 vendor displaying and selling crafts, baking, chocolate, meats, produce and more.  There are about 5 of these in various towns in the valley starting mid summer and ending in the fall.  There were a lot of people but I think the threat of rain kept a lot of people away.  A friend of mine came down for the weekend and we had a great time selling produce and catching up!  I think next year I will try and do a couple more of them!

Hill Billy Tomatoes....brain food!

This week I am going to the Eganville 100 Mile Market and then will be back at the Renfrew Market on Saturday!  Having had a heavy first frost a couple weeks ago I am hoping that I will have enough produce for this weekend and hopefully the next couple of weeks!!  

Carrots and Beets and a gourd for decoration!!

Fresh Home Grown Chickens!!

Well it is that time of year again!! We will have free range chicken available Thurs Sept 1st ranging 3 - 8 lbs.  It will be $3.50/lbs.  They are naturally raised with no antibiotics or growth hormones.  If you would like them fresh please let me know in advance as most will be going into the freezer.

Beer Can Chicken

Flower Miracles

The most blooms I've had in years!

Very hardy ground cover. I was told what it was a couple
 years ago by the nursery owner but it has slipped my
mind as to what it is called.

Going in a different direction today.  I do lots of vegetable gardening and when I have time, I try to keep some flowers about.  My grandmother died when I was 5 so I don't have too much to remember her by.  I have a couple memories of her, like her making donuts and making the centers for my brother and I, shelling peas in front of the house and washing my mouth out with Ivory soap when I said 'damn'...that was a bad word in her books.  So when we moved back here and started cleaning up the place...as it had become overgrown something terrible...I actually found some snipits of her gardening.  This in itself is quite a miracle as there was no gardening being done here since 1980.  Between this and my grandfather mowing everything or the cows running amok when they got out, I was quite surprised to find these.  This also gives me something to remember how hard she tried to make the property nicer even if my grandfather kept mowing it down for more space! I found a Begonia plant in amongst the Lilacs still trying to grow, I found 2 Iris tubers laying on the ground by the old fence, and some ground cover growing under the trees.  So I transplanted these flowers/ground cover to see what would happened.  I got some purple Irises and they have been mulitpling ever since.  The Begonia has been desperately trying to grow but every year a kid, dog, chicken, ants or something or other knocks it down or eats it.  However, this year by some miracle I have quite a few flowers blooming...it was quite surprising! The ground cover is growing so well I am pulling it and weed wacking it!!  Just a little more heritage to add to the farm !

The bush on the left is Lilac and the other on the right is a purple
leaved bush which turns green as the summer progresses.

Chatting Up Dexters

This past Monday I had a visit by some nice people from Barry's Bay.  They said they have passed by numerous times on the way to Ottawa and saw someone home (I was feeding the chicks out front) so they stopped in.  They had seen the 'little cows' in the field and wanted to know more.  So we had a nice little chat about Dexters!!  I find I like talking about them, which is odd as I never before liked talking about cattle.  I have definitely fallen for the breed that's for sure.  We have 3 Registered Dexters, Whisper, Willow and Xander.  I hope they learned something new that day!

Xander in new pasture this in May

I got to chat more about my Dexters and the breed the next day too!  I had a local farmer stop by and asked if my bull was forsale or if he could lease him.  I know there are not many Dexter owners around these parts and thought it was kind of odd for a local beef farmer asking about my bull.  I must of had a bit of a confused look and he ask if I was all right.  At this point I had to ask him if he realized that my bull was not a black angus but a Dexter.  Well was he kind of surprised and said he thought he was just a small angus bull as he was looking for something that would give low birth weight calves but have good growth.  Well Xander would definitely give low birth weight calves!  We had a good chat about the breed though.  I think he was just being nice.

Garden is Finally Done!!

Making the hills with a homemade hiller

Well almost.  I still have my succession plantings to do but that will come.  We were finally able to get out on the garden to plant and I have been doing so since the beginning of June.  I will hopefully be at the Renfrew Farmer's Market June 25 with lettuce, swiss chard, radishes, maybe strawberries if there is extra for market, rhubarb and hopefully some other stuff!!  Now I am just working on market set up.  I had some issues with my bunching onions so that will be a little later. The chickens are growing well and will be processed at the end of June beginning of July.

Row covered in plastic mulch

Making the holes using a propane torch

Chickens and Strawbery Rhubarb Crunch!

I am currently taking orders for meat chicken.  I have a limited number this year so call to reserve.

Also the Rhubarb is ready!!  $2.00 per bunch (approx 5 stocks).
Eggs for farm pick up available $3.50 per dozen.  Tueday and Friday pick up 12 - 6pm or by appointment.

I have also posted a recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb Crunh if you don't know what to do with Rhubarb!  I have used this recipe with mixed berries as an alternative!  Supper yummy served with ice cream :)

Rain, Rain, and more Rain

No I'm not going to complain about the rain (as much as I want to) as there are places that are worse off than we are.  I just can't get into my gardens, unfortunately.  We get nice weather for couple of days and as soon as it dries out enough to get on with the machinery...it rains again.  We are on clay loam soil with old drainage that is starting to fail so when it is time to go we have to get going.  So today (as it is raining) I thought I would bring you all up to speed as to the goings on around here.  We finally made a mini greenhouse to get the indoor seedlings outside and I have had to start more in pots so they will be along far enough to plant when I can get into the gardens.

My 4 yr old broke his collarbone at the beginning of May and that has been quite an adventure for us and him.  For us it is a new experience as we have never had to deal with broken bones till now!  For the 4 yr old, learning how to manage with something that is so painful but there is little they can do for you.  It's like breaking your toe...not much they can do.  He is in a light brace to keep everything aligned while it heals and that's it.  He is almost back to normal and giving his mom, me, and dad constant anxiety.  We go next week to see the doctor and x-rays and hopefully get the brace off!

The Dexters out on a newly opened pasture enjoying the fresh grass.

I'm thinking Xander, our Dexter bull, did he job as Willow and Whisper haven't shown being in heat lately, so hopefully they are bred and will have our first calves next spring.  I can't wait!!  I hope everything goes well and we have some happy health calves!

Hey any bugs on here!! One of the layers checking out the newly planted  Red Pines.

We have gotten our meat chickens for the year.  We are doing the White Rock Broiler and Bonnie's Meaty Reds (I think that's what they are called).  We are using Bonnie's Hatchery this year to give them a try!  The chicks are doing well and the Reds have moved to the outside run to get the fresh grass and bugs.  Once they get a little bigger they will be let out to graze freely for a couple hours each day.  We were disappointed in the weights of our meat birds last year and we are thinking that they were allowed to free range a little too much thus getting too much exercise!  So this year we are going to try controlled free range.  The Chicken Tractors get moved daily and near the end of the day they will be let out to go about freely but not walk miles and miles like they did last year!  The White Rocks are about a week behind the Reds but they should finish at the same time by the end of June!!

Layer and Rooster enjoying the outdoors!  Yum Yum Bugs.

Also in May we had the 1rst Renfrew Scouting Troop out to plant 200 Red Pines.  The Beaver came here and Cubs and Scouts did another property.  It was a really good day!!  Although it pretty much rain the week prior it was an absolutely gorgeous day.  Bubble, one of the Beaver leaders, showed up in shorts!!  She was heckled a little bit in the morning as it was cloudy but 1/2 later was laughing at all us hecklers as the sun came out to stay!!  We hosted the lunch afterward and a good time had by all.  Most of the Beavers got to check out the new baby chicks and some got to check out the Dexters!

Our littlest beside one of the new plantings.

Well I see the clouds are starting to break up a little so maybe there will be a break in the rain and I can get the rest of the chores done!!