In the Garden
Last year we got our first frost really early in the year, October 11th. This year, it has been so warm! I am very grateful because I still have so much to do out in the garden before we get a frost and it gets super cold.
We are still harvesting loads of peppers and every time I go out to the garden, I grab one or two and eat it like an apple. They are so good! The kids and I found one that was super sweet and I brought it in to save the seeds.
I set it on the counter without thinking and it was accidentally put into the compost bowl later in the day and got mixed in with the others. Oh well. Next time I’ll do a better job of taking off the seeds right away to dry.
We are harvesting carrots and they look great.
The project for this week was getting the spot where our tomatoes used to be cleared out. We are still working on it and it’s taken the kids, Grandma (Cam’s Mom), and I several days working to clear tomatoes, weed, take out bermuda grass, and rake.
I still need to go through and broadfork, then I’ll plant more cover crops in that area.
Also planted some comfrey under my apple trees this week.
Preserving
This week we dried more apples and fermented jalapenos. I had planned on canning the jalapenos but found a better fermenting recipe. I love fermenting because it takes less time on my part and keeps all the good bacteria in the food.
I put both of these projects into our recent YouTube video HERE.
Homestead Projects
The gravel got poured and the driveway is finished! I walked down there several times intending to get a picture to put on here but I got distracted and forgot. But here is a video Cam sent me of them putting down gravel.
After it was dumped we ended up renting a skid steer and smoothing it out. It’s so much smoother than it was.
This isn’t a project but it was something we were really excited about, our friend who is moving sold us his mower.
Thankfully the cows do most of the mowing around here but inside my garden needs to be mowed, as well as the area between the berry rows, and a little bit close to the house. It is fast!
6 comments
Do you have a recipe for the cucumber kimchi that you made in the youtube video this week? Thanks!
Hi Sarah, here is the book I got the recipe for cucumber kimchi from: https://amzn.to/3BneU9d (this is an affiliate link)
I just wached your latest Video and I can‘t believe you have been on your land for just one year!!! You are amazing, really, getting all this done with 4 kids in the back! We are renovating an old house our self with two Kids and I startet to grow our own Food, we actually stayed in a tent in the barn in the beginning too. I still don‘t have a real bathroom, but it is SO great to eat your own food, even if it‘s just a salad and homemade bread! Your Videos are very inspiering and encouraging, keep going, the Winter and some rest is near;-) thanks and greets from germany
Hi Julia! Thanks so much for your kind words. And congrats and growing your own food too! That’s so great!
Hi Becky and family!
Melanie from Colorado here. Just watched your UTube on canning for a whole year. Loved it!! I have been gardening , canning and drying for most of my 62 years. It just makes me feel at peace and whole. Bet it does you too!! As I watched ….I kept thinking that you need a Camp Chef propane stove with two burners to help with your canning. I think they run up to 1600 BTU’s and you can bring a hot water bath up to boil quick! They cost around one hundred bucks. Also… I have flat worn out my back from lifting those heavy canners as you were doing. There has to be a better way!
Take care and grab some rest this winter. Spring is only 142 days away!!
Thank you Melanie! Yes I definitely need a double burner- and two canners! My sister who is does a lot of canning too has two pressure canners and says it’s the only way to go if you can a lot. I will need to invest in these things soon! 🙂