I'm Back....!

Ok! Ok! I've been getting trouble from all over for not blogging lately. To that, I say SORRY! Personally, I can't believe so many people read this silly thing;-)

I have a LOT to catch up on, and will do so gradually over the next little while.
First, to let you know why I haven't blogged for a while!

My CSA shares finished in mid-October. I did 18 shares this year all told. Last year I did 5, and really didn't think 18 was all that much. For some reason, the workload from 5-18 shares didn't just triple... it seemed to rise exponentially. I felt like I was picking veggies for 50 shares. From about mid-August on, when the shares got bigger, it was taking me almost 2 days to pick, clean, package and bag everyones veggies. At the same time, the dog boarding biz was super busy, so all I did was work from dawn to dusk. I got tired, and cranky and just plum burned out. I would just finish one week, then I would have to start picking again for the next. Plus teaching dog training classes. I just didn't have the energy for anything extra, it seemed. It is mid November now, and I feel like I am just recovering now. Honestly, I don't really think that the shares alone were too much, it was the combination of everything, every day, all the time. If I was JUST doing farming for a living, I think I would have handled it just fine. But, the dog boarding is what pays the bills, so I must plug on for another year or two until I get the farm up to snuff. Next year, I am only going to do 10 shares or fewer. I think the other problem I had was delivering 10 of the shares to Nanaimo each week. That took a lot out of me, too. I would just go to one location, and everyone would pick their bag up from there, but I had to rearrange my doggy day care schedule, and then drive for 2 hours. So, the other decision I have made is to ONLY do local shares. Even if I only sell 2 of them, but they are local, it won't take so much out of me. Instead, I may try to go to a local farmers' market on Wednesday of next year. It will help to raise awareness and build some clientele for the farm.

Oh! But good news! I have decided to bite the bullet, and hire someone regularly for Saturdays from now on. Sooooo, starting next Sat, I will be having the day off!! I am so excited... it's been about 3 years since I've had a regular day off. I don't even know what to do with myself! I needed to do it whether I can afford it or not, just to keep what sanity I have left;-) It will all work out, right??!!!

It's a Brave New Year

I'm not sure why, but I am super stoked about this year. It's going to be an awesome year, I can just feel it!! I started the new year out right... I got my new fancy car yesterday. Drove home with it just fine. Cost me a zillion or so dollars to fill it up. Ugh. Hope it lasts more than a moment or two! I will be really, really watching how much I use it, and how often.
I spent the morning putting up ads for my CSA shares. The next month or so I will be doing a big push to make sure I get lots sold. I have also warned my friend, Elliot, to get his greenhouses ready, as I am going to start seeding in Feb, and won't stop until Aug. I need to grow a lot of veggies this year. I have also filled out a form to join 'Cowichan Green Community' where they list all the local growers of fruit, veggies, etc, so people who are interested in buying local will find it easier. So far, it looks like I will be the only farm listed in Crofton. On my form, I put that I will be doing farmgate sales, starting June 1. This puts a lot of pressure on myself, to get a new fence and gate done, so customers can shop in my 'farmgate' store, but not get attacked by the boarding dogs. I questioned whether I should put this in, but I figure it will help to keep me from procrastinating. If it's out there for the world to see, I'd better get it done!! I am trying to do everything possible to make certain this is a stellar year for the gardens, so I can reach my lofty goals a bit sooner. It's gonna be a busy, busy year!

Busy Days again

This is the first slow day I've had in weeks on the farm, and it is pouring rain out, so I've decided to take a break while I can... you never know when you may get another slow day again! Besides the dog boarding, I've been busy in the gardens, planting tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, melons, potatoes, etc. I made enough money this month to get another load of soil in, so I can really get going again. I am quite often out there at 9 pm, weeding, and killing slugs, and hoping everything will grow on time for my CSA shares. Which start next week.... my first lettuce planting got decimated by the slugs, and I am a bit worried about having enough ready for my CSA members. Thankfully I didn't sell a million shares! I'm glad I only did a few for my first year... gives me a much better idea of what I am doing. I have also sold 5 egg shares for this year... something I didn't expect! I have 29 more laying hens coming up, so maybe I will be able to sell a few more shares as time goes on. Anyway, my first few shares will be a bit skimpy. I talked to one of my members, and she said the shares she got last year from elsewhere was the same, so maybe I'll be all right. Won't be long until other things come along... my peas are starting to bloom, and the fava beans are also blooming, and I've replanted the lettuce and mesculin, and have a lovely crop of radishes coming along. Keep your fingers crossed for me! I am starting to build more garden beds, so I can plant more of everything, and also get started on a fall crop in June/July.

I had one of my favourite dog boarding clients tell me about Ruth Stout. She was a lady who gardened into her nineties, and never really worked in the garden. She just planted, and laid mulch around everything. She hadn't watered or hoed or dug the garden in 14 years. So, I am trying it out to an extent. I really like the idea of not having to water.... that would be a huge pressure relief in itself for the summer. Really, water is my biggest worry. Besides the slugs. I've got about 8 or so beds planted, and put hay and mulch around everything. Should keep everything toasty warm, and moist for the summer. I'll let you know how it goes!

Spring is on it's way....

Well, the weather has still been mild and wonderful. This has officially been my favourite 'winter' EVER! It's raining right now, but I got lots done today before the drops started falling. I just planted a Yellow Transparent apple and a Lapins cherry tree. My orchard will be finished before you know it! The Y. Trans. is a heritage apple, and is apparently the best for cooking and baking. The Lapins  is a newer introduction, but is self pollinating, and I've had the fruit before, and it's delicious. Sweet and juicy. I've also now built 12 new garden beds... the count is now at 37 total. I'm getting there! I am going to have to break down and buy some compost to put in- it's getting too late to put in fresh manure, and I just haven't had enough years here to build up a good pile of usuable compost on my own.

I got a dumptruck load of driveway chip in this morning, and got it raked into the biggest holes in the driveway. The driveway was degrading fast after all the rain we had over the winter months. I was getting afraid I would start to lose customers due to the fact that it was so bumpy and muddy. I did, however, grossly underestimate how much driveway a dumptruck full would cover.... I thought it would do most of the driveway. Turns out I will need about 3 full loads to get it all done. It's a loooonnnnngggg driveway!! The worst is fixed, so I will let it rest for now and put my funds into my orchard and gardens.

I've also been working on fixing my coldframes, and am starting to plant a bit underneath them. Mesculin went in yesterday. If the weather holds, I should have fresh salad again starting in about a month or so!
I went to a couple of seminars over the last weekend on how to grow fresh veggies all winter long, and also on how to maximize the space you have for the greatest amount of yield. I learned ALOT, and feel much more confident about growing my CSA shares. Plus, I will have the added bonus of harvesting fresh veggies all next winter.

Rain, Winter? and Garden Beds...

Another torrential rainy week! We had a brief break this morning, and I got busy outside. You have to get these things done when you get a break, or nothing would ever get done! I am really pleased with what I did this morning. I built 3 more garden beds, filled one with manure and soil, and rescued a stupid turkey again. The turkeys go in next week... if I can catch them....

I now have 30 garden beds done- but 27 ready to go for the spring. The only hold up is gathering enough manure and compost to fill them with. Regardless, I am super happy about my progress! I got everything I needed to get done by the time the rain started again, so it worked out perfect today. Just wish that horse would poo a little faster!

I made some new friends who brought me a bunch of cardboard to lay down under these beds. People are so awesome and helpful when you are farming! That's my other holdup- trying to get enough cardboard to lay under the beds to keep the weeds down. I go down about twice a week and rob all the local dumpsters of their cardboard... the only problem is that I can only reach down so far, so I find it hard to collect all I need.

Oh! The best thing is..... I sold another CSA share, and have a couple more people interested.  I made up my contracts the other day, and mailed them out. It is super exciting! I have actually been getting responses from ads on Craigslist and UsedNanaimo, etc. Very cool, and very promising for the spring!

First Snow

Our first snow arrived 2 days ago. Lasted a day, then rained like crazy and it's all melted already. Typical of the island! Plus, it's the kind of snow I like- doesn't last long! I am hoping like mad that we don't get a repeat of last year where we had 3 feet of snow on the ground for over a month. People back east may think that's wimpy, but I live on the island because of it's typical mild winters... although, we haven't had a true mild winter in quite some time now. I think we are due!! Oh, and we are also due an early spring- last spring bit the big one!

It hasn't stopped raining since the snow the other night- it is torrential again. I am already cabin-feverish. I am just dying to get out into the garden. I am trying to do some indoor projects- Christmas baking, making soup stock from the chickens, and I tried my hand at making my own salsa with the remainder of my Roma tomatoes. The salsa turned out ok- I just made up the recipe- I made 21 jars, and then put them in the freezer. Some will go into my Christmas baskets that I'm making for my family, the rest will feed me for a while. The only thing really missing from the recipe was the fact that I couldn't seem to find any hot peppers... salsa really needs some spice to it!

Kybosh exiting the agility tunnel in the snow. Snow is Fun!!

I have also been going over my seed catalouges making up my orders for the spring. I am ordering WAY too much, but my enthusiasm this time of year is hard to control- I have no outlet for it! I am getting some things in that I have never grown before, so I can hopefully have some surprises for the CSA members in the summer.

Oh! Good news! I applied for my farm to be Certified Naturally Grown, and recieved confirmation last week that I succeeded! The only thing that remains to be done is sometime in the spring/summer, there will be another local farmer coming to check my farm out and do some soil testing, etc. That should be interesting, and hopefully I am doing everything correctly! I decided to go the CNG route instead of the Organic route, as it is WAY more cost efficient (by donation) and WAY less paperwork. With C Organic, you have to document every seed and every crop you grow, which is too much for a small farmer growing multiple crops- it is more for a larger farmer growing one or two crops. Plus, I have to admit, I don't really like anything government regulated- I think it's too much red tape for something that should be relatively simple.

More Learnin'

Last week, I went up to my long lost cousins home, and we made our tomato basil soup, mostly made from ingredients from our gardens. It was delicious! I brought enough home for 6 full meals. While up there, Cousin L (I never know if I should put people's names into these things... is there a privacy issue?? Comments are welcome on this point!) introduced me to a fellow farmer. This was one of the most fasinating people I have ever met! He does organic gardening, and was the first person to introduce CSA to the Island, way back when. He gave me an amazing tour, and showed me different techniques for doing my gardens... now I'll have to rethink alot of what I had planned! and how he gets all his compost- he just calls up all the local landscapers and arbourists in the area, and they just come by and drop off all their compost for him. They get rid of it faster and cheaper, and he gets free compost! It's so simple... why didn't I think of that?? lol! He also gave me some Jerusalem Artichoke to plant in my garden for harvest next year. The whole gist of these ramblings is that I learned ALOT, I met someone who is successful at doing what I want to do, and it got me hugely revved up for doing my gardens this next year. I was revved up anyway, but now it's at super-revved status! I ran home, planted another bed of garlic, got a bed prepared for the JA, and started making new and improved plans for my little farm. Tomorrow, I plan on getting over my shyness issues, and want to start calling landscapers in the area, let them know I am a convenient drop off spot for their garden waste.

We had a really, really sharp frost the other night that knocked off my peas. I knew it was a long shot with them, and they were SO close to being ready. Next year I will have my timing down, and I will get a good fall crop. It's not a total waste, anyway- I got lots of yummy pea shoots from it, plus the foliage can either feed the chickens and turkeys, or make good compost. Either is a good thing!

I have pretty much decided not to do pigs next year. I want to put all my energies into my gardens, so I think the piggies will have to wait until the year after. At least there is no shortage of things to do around here!

I have been doing some layering with the cascade berries I was given last fall. I only had 3 plants by the end, but now I am getting my numbers back up. I've got about 6 plants now, and by spring, that should almost double. I hope to be able to get some more beds ready by then, so I can really work on expanding the berry patch. I am going to do the same with my thornless blackberry, so I won't have to buy any more plants... I'll just make my own.

Dinner

Tonight I felt like having a salad... so, I just walked outside and picked one. I just LOVE being able to do that! This time, I put some pea shoots in it. It was delicious! My peas are forming pods, but I don't think they'll be quite ready before the first cold snap hits. If I had been able to plant them when I should've planted them (about mid August), they would have been ready just on time for the weather to turn. Hopefully next year the water situation won't be so dire, and I can get my fall crops in on time.

I have been doing lots more research and planning for becoming a CSA farm. I am so excited about doing this, but really nervous, too. So much to think about. Will I have enough of everything? Will I be able to sow my crops at the proper times so I always have a good selection to go in the bag each week? Will the deer eat everything in sight, and ruin everything I've worked so hard for? Will I be able to get enough beds in this winter, so I have room for everything I've planned? Will the weather cooperate, even just a little? My brain is swimming...

The weather has been nasty this week. Not cold yet, but RAINY. All that rain we needed over the summer arrived in the last 2 days. It has been torrential. My root cellar (which is almost 2' deep now!) has become a swimming pool. My driveway is a river. My stream is a flood. My lawn is a big mushy swamp. You get the idea! And there is more to come over the next few days. We need the rain, but maybe not all at once???!!!

Putting the Farm to Bed for Winter

Well, it definitely feels like fall these days. They are even calling for flurries next week. When I heard that, I realized I was dragging my feet- time to put things away for the winter. I packed up all my hoses and put them away, mowed the lawn for the last time, have been busy trying to finish my hedge before it gets cold- I should be able to finish that tomorrow. I harvested all my Roma tomatoes... there was a bumper crop of those! I wasn't sure what to do with them all, but thanks to some helpful advice, I am blanching them, cutting them up, and freezing them for later. I am also going up to my cousin's soon, and we are going to make a big batch of tomato basil soup from all our garden ingredients. I am sure looking forward to tasting that!!! I also got my garden cloches up and done- they are covering a bed each of cabbage, mesculin mix, spinach, and broccoli. Hopefully, I will get salad from this for most of the winter.

The turkeys were driving me crazy- almost every morning, they had broken their 'roof' of the coop (just some netting) and some had escaped into the chicken coop. Almost every morning, I had to get them back into their own home, and fix the roof. I finally found my left over stucco wire (which I was saving for another job later) and decided it was time to use it. I put two rows of it over the turkey house where they were escaping. It took quite a while, but I am happy to report it's been a week, and no more escapes! Whew. I was so worried they were going to fly up into the trees, and I would never be able to catch them!

The coolest and best news is...... I sold my very first CSA membership already! I really wasn't expecting anything until after the new year. The people who know what CSA is, are really behind it, and support it fully. Just a matter of educating the public! I still have lots of research to do on CSA's over the winter, and a tonne of work in the garden, putting in all my new beds and such, but I am excited and looking forward to it all!