A Glimmer of Hope

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Our beautiful Avocado Tree died this year. We are devastated. 3 years we have babied this plant. Bringing it inside during winter, making sure it did not get too much afternoon sun in the summer. It grew big, healthy and strong. Until we brought it in for the cold weather this year.

We refused to give up hope.. Until the top little limbs grew dry and snapped easily. Our little tree was lost. Refusing to be defeated, we decided to try again. Zoey began saving seeds from avocados. Our theory to the dead tree was that perhaps it had outgrown the container it was in. We were hoping the tree would only grow to the capacity of the planter, staying that size instead of growing into a large tree. Where we live is prone to very mild winters, however, it is not uncommon to have short bursts of freezing cold temps. It it got too big, we would not be able to bring it inside and protect it. The last ones that were in the ground died when we had icy weather.

We finally took our little, sad, dead tree back outside today. I figured it was gone, but did not have the heart or the time to pull it up out of the planter. While we were cleaning up some carrots from the garden, I looked over at the tree, sighing... but look!

Just when we thought all was lost with our little tree ... a little glimmer of hope came up through the ground! All is not lost!

We can apply this to life.

1. Things are not always as they seem.
2. Sometimes things do not go according to plan. Do not give up.
3. Try and try again!
4. Always have a back up plan.

Read how we got our avocado started by clicking the pic!

Maybe we will have avocados yet!

Disclosure: This post contains no affiliate links, However, I am Amazon Affiliate and may receive a small compensation for including links on my blog. Buying through my links is not necessary, just appreciated. Amazon does not charge extra for linked items recommended by their affiliates.  I only recommend products that I use and trust OR plan on using in the future. Please buy responsibly and do your own product research before buying anything online. 

Trying Potatoes.. AGAIN!

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     After killing almost every potato bucket we have ever tried growing and having last years ground potatoes washed out from under the ground from a flood, we have decided to try again. Yes, we may be a glutton for punishment, but we eat a lot of potatoes! 

     We went to a local feed store, bought Red Seed Potatoes, cut them so each piece had an eye, let them dry for a couple of days. We made deep trenches in the garden and laid the potatoes about 6 inches apart along the bottom of the trench row. We only covered them with a few inches of dirt. When they started to grow and leaves started to show, we would pull a few inches of dirt over them from the side of trench. In a couple of days, when the leaves would pop through the dirt again, we would cover them a little more. Finally, all the dirt from the trench side was mounded up on top of plants. I plan to do it one more time. That way it insures my plants run deep and we hopefully will get more tators this way! Hopefully.. 

     Sorry we didn't get any pictures of the process, I just didn't think to blog about this until I saw they were doing so well. We also have volunteer potato plants popping up all over the garden from the skins of potatoes we have eaten and put into the compost. The compost was tilled into the garden this year. Apparently, it was not all composted. Hubby surprised me for Valentine's Day with a freshly tilled garden! <3 Best present ever! I am going to let the volunteer plants stay where they are and grow through out the garden. Hopefully we will get some Russet Potatoes as well. 

Want to read about our other Tator Adventures?

Click the Pic! 

     Do you grow potatoes? In the ground? In a bucket? Hay bails? Let us know how it turned out for you, or perhaps how we can NOT manage to kill them again! ;) We love your comments! 

Disclosure: I am Amazon Affiliate and may receive a small compensation for including links on my blog. Buying through my links is not necessary, just appreciated. Amazon does not charge extra for linked items recommended by their affiliates. I only recommend products that I use and trust OR plan on using in the future. Please buy responsibly and do your own product research before buying anything online. 

(Not So) Wordless Wednesday #4

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     Out of 9 hens of laying age, we are getting about 4-6 eggs a day. Not so bad considering that is a couple of dozen a week. We eat a lot of eggs, but not that many! I was thinking about selling some to local friends to help off set the cost of feed and maybe make a little profit. 
     Today, Zoey and I are taking our old planting pots and emptying the dirt into one large bucket. Then, we are adding in some new dirt, fertilizer, sand and compost in to aerate it and freshen up the old dirt from last season. I decided we needed some more pots to plant in. Zoey and I walked out to the back garage to get the pots from out of the loft. As I am standing on top of the back of my husband's old Chevy Truck bed, looking around for what is easiest to grab, I see this.... 

Seriously Chickens? 

     
     Seriously? Guess how many there are? 22. Nearly two dozen eggs hiding in an old pet carrier. They all appear to be from the same chicken. 22 days worth of perfectly good eggs that now might be wasted. Time to do the float test. Please... 

Click the Pic to read how to test your eggs
and see how fresh they are! 

     Out of 22 eggs, only 10 were salvageable. None of them actually floated, but several where standing on end in the water. We have plenty of eggs in the fridge already, so I will feed the eggs we are not sure about to the new pig we have. We will still get use out of them so it is not too bad of a find. :) 
     We have set up the pet carrier where it will be a little bit easier to see into. If she lays there again.. we will find them! 

Do you raise chickens? 

What is the craziest place you have found eggs?

Disclosure: I am Amazon Affiliate and may receive a small compensation for including links on my blog. Buying through my links is not necessary, just appreciated. Amazon does not charge extra for linked items recommended by their affiliates.  I only recommend products that I use and trust OR plan on using in the future. Please buy responsibly and do your own product research before buying anything online. 

Blossom End Rot

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     Homesteading, for us, has always been a 'Trial and Error' adventure. We have raised mini watermelons and squash, had mystery plants take over the front yard, potato bucket fails, strange eggs, and have two incubators full of eggs that never hatched. This, however, is one of the oddest things we have ever seen... 

What on Earth? 

It looks like something on an alien movie!

???

     So I posted the photo in a gardening forum. Someone mentioned blossom end rot. I did a little searching and found a photo that looked just like our crazy alien zucchini squash on THIS website. Blossom end rot it is! 

But what is blossom end rot? 

Blossom end rot is when the plants have a calcium deficiency. Like calcium helps to build our bones, calcium also helps a growing plant keep it's structure. If there is not enough calcium, the structure of the plant starts to break down at the end of the plant. The end where the blossom is, starts to get mushy and decay. We do have some that have developed the traditional blossom end rot. 

However, our end did not rot, it just mutated.

So How Do You Fix It? 

The Missouri Botanical Gardens suggestion is to test the soil PH, stay away from high ammonia fertilizers and get some Calcium Nitrate to help prevent the ends from rotting. 
     Another site recommended using Gypsum or Lime in your garden to help balance the soil for optimal calcium intake. Also, do not over water. If you notice blossom end rot on your plants, remove the affected fruit and spray with a calcium rich fertilizer. 

What Are You Going To Do?

Nothing. It is the end of the season and the garden is winding down. I think I will work on building up the nutrients in the garden for next year after the garden has died out for this year. 

So What Did You Do With The Alien Looking Thing? 

I let Zoey dissect it of course! :D We just had to see what was under all the craziness. And guess what we found... 

     Nothing much. Just looked like a regular zucchini. Zoey tried a nibble of it and said it tasted normal as well. (She likes to eat raw zucchini.) We did not eat the rest of it because, I already have 4 more waiting to be eaten. Zoey thought the pig might like it, so into the slop bucket it went. 

We love your comments! Do you have any crazy produce photos to share? 

Disclosure: I am Amazon Affiliate and may receive a small compensation for including links on my blog. Buying through my links is not necessary, just appreciated. Amazon does not charge extra for linked items recommended by their affiliates. I only recommend products that I use and trust OR plan on using in the future. Please buy responsibly and do your own product research before buying anything online. 

Well, That's NOT Cabbage!

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     Right before hubby's accident, our amazingly awesome neighbor, Bree, gave us an assortment of plants she got from the store. There was lettuce, spinach, and cabbage. We kept them in the garage with the plan to plant them as soon as it was time. True to our luck, our plans failed, and most of the plants died while we were in the hospital. My garden plans were thwarted even more with all of the crazy storms. The garden was not put in as early as I had hoped. 

     By the time we got our garden in the ground, the only plants left were the cabbage... or so I thought. Only, these cabbage plants were not like any I had ever seen before. The leaves were coming out from the top, and a little from the sides. They were not hugging the cabbage head like I was used to seeing. I was really starting to wonder, "What kind of cabbage is this?" So I called the person who gave them to me. She once again said, "Cabbage." She didn't know any more than that. Her aunt had bought them for her. Great...

     When the awesome neighbor came over, we walked my garden. I finally got to show her why I was so confused. "It's kohlrabi." What? Could you repeat that please? "It's kohlrabi."
Well, That's NOT Cabbage!
     Turns out, kohlrabi IS a type of cabbage. I had just never heard of it. I didn't even know how to fix it, eat it, or what to do with it. What the heck is this stuff? I asked around. Most of my friends just said to peal it, slice it up and eat it with Ranch Dressing. Everything tastes better with Ranch, right? 

Okay, let's do this!

     I was really hoping it tasted like Jicama, but it didn't. It was kind of peppery, but not. It was kinda sweet, but not. And it was not good to anyone in my family... Now what? I have all of these kohlrabi plants. I can't just waste it! 

     So I did another shout out on Facebook to see how others prepared it. However, I have not been brave enough to try them yet. My next 'Try' will be to dice one up and fry it like a potato. Wish me luck! 

Some interesting facts about Kohlrabi:

• The whole plant can be eaten raw or cooked
• It's name means 'cabbage turnup'
• Kohlrabi is actually pretty nutritious
• My animals love getting the leaves as a treat

Here is how some of my blogger friends prepare theirs:

How do you prepare your kohlrabi?

I'm open to suggestions!

Disclosure: I am Amazon Affiliate and may receive a small compensation for including links on my blog. Buying through my links is not necessary, just appreciated. Amazon does not charge extra for linked items recommended by their affiliates. I only recommend products that I use and trust OR plan on using in the future. Please buy responsibly and do your own product research before buying anything online. 

Green Beans!

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     Green beans.. grown in our garden, hand picked by us, no pesticides, insecticides, or chemicals of any kind, and Pressure Canned by us! I feel like running around singing that Flashdance song, What a Feeling. (Seriously, especially after I looked it up!)
     Remember last week, when I found Zoey reading our canning cook book? Well, that night we took the plunge and finally opened the box to our Pressure Canner. I had gotten it for Christmas from my mom, and never opened it. I didn't want to can store bought produce but now we had finally picked enough of our home grown green beans to be able to can our very own. 

     First we washed, trimmed and cut our beans into the length we wanted. Then, we followed the easy steps in our pressure canning cookbook, The Organic Canner by Daisy Luther.  Daisy's cookbook is easy to follow and follows all of the technical guidelines, with out all the technical talk that intimidates most newbies. It reads as if a seasoned canner is talking to you and sharing their recipes. (The background story for her recipe "Renegade Taco Sauce" is pretty funny too!) This book covers her favorite recipes from fruits and veggies, to sauces, meats and meals in a jar. We love this book. :)

Okay, back to canning.. Here are some photos.

It took a lot longer to cut and prepare the beans than what we thought. 

Forgot to get photos of us filling the jars, but here is how they looked in our canner. 

We squealed a lot at this point.

Look how excited she is! We started this project around 7, but by the time we got everything prepped and ready, it was well after 11 p.m. She took a shower while we waited for the steam to build up in the canner. 

We only had enough green beans for 5 pint size jars. We used 2 water filled jars to fill the canner the rest of the way.  

All finished! What a beautiful sight! 

ISSUES:

     The only 'issue' we had with the recipe, (and really, it was not a big issue) was how much salt to add to the jars. Daisy says to add salt if you would like, but she didn't say how much. We did some online research for recipes, and decided to add 1 tsp. It made me nervous that we might have added too much. We would just have to wait until we ate a jar to find out. 

So How Did They Taste? 

     Oh my goodness! They were amazing. I think we will only add a 1/2 teaspoon of salt to them next time though. We like to add Lawry's Garlic Salt to our green beans and after we did, it was a bit too salty for my taste. Kids loved them though. Zoey and I have told everyone we know. WE CANNED OUR OWN GREEN BEANS! AND they tasted and looked like regular canned green beans! I know that is odd to say, but when you are raised on Green Giant green beans,  and rarely eat fresh.. you want your family to recognize them and want to eat what you canned! 

Will We Be Pressure Canning Again? Was it worth it? 

      Oh yes! AND YES! Actually, we have already pressure canned another of our garden goodies. I will show you that one later. The satisfaction and joy of taking a little seed, making it a home in your garden, watering it, watching it grow, mature and produce FOOD and then preserving that food for later use by your family, is one of the greatest feelings we have ever felt. Well worth it!

So excuse me while I end this post and go on singing... 

~Take your passion

And make it happen

Pictures come alive

Now I'm dancing through my life~

What a feeling...

Book Review Info: Daisy Luther sent me her book for a review but also, really so my daughter and I could learn to pressure can. I was not paid for this review and all of my opinions and statements are purely my own. We honestly love The Organic Canner. 

Disclosure: I am Amazon Affiliate and may receive a small compensation for including links on my blog. Buying through my links is not necessary, just appreciated. Amazon does not charge extra for linked items recommended by their affiliates. I only recommend products that I use and trust OR plan on using in the future. Please buy responsibly and do your own product research before buying anything online.

A New Friend

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     This was actually meant to be a post about our new bunnies. The mini lop rabbits we got at Easter breed and 7 little baby bunny kits were born this month. Our rabbits live in colonies, not cages. Two died from being dragged out of their nest by mom. Because of all of the thunderstorms that weekend, we didn't realize they were out until it was too late. I imagine it is about the equivalent of being born on the wire. We were sad, but we had 5 baby bunnies to make up for it. 

She was so happy.

     Then the other night, thunderstorms came again. I work up at 4:30 amidst the thunder, lightening and the downpour of rain. Did I pull the tarp back down over the rabbit shed? Did I put the lid back on the tote used as their house? I could not sleep. Finally, I put on my sweatshirt and mud boots to go outside. The tote's lid was secure, the tarp was in place, and everyone was just fine.  I posted on the blogs Facebook Fan Page about my early morning adventures and went back to bed with a sigh of relief. 
     When I awoke later that morning, my husband was just coming in from feeding the animals. I could tell something was wrong. He told me he had bad news. Four of the kits made it out of the tote and then out of the rabbit shed. Four bunnies laid on the cold wet ground, dead. My heart broke. Not only for the bunnies, but for my daughter as well. She had spent the night at my mom's house. We were meeting in just a little bit in town so Zoey and I could go paint the boys bathroom at my work. I dreaded telling her the awful news. 
     I checked on them. They were all fine just 3 hours before! What could have happened? Maybe when I went out there, the mommy bunny was nursing? Maybe she drug them out of the nest on accident while she was trying to figure out what I was doing? Did they crawl out? How could baby bunnies crawl out of their nest, out of the tote and out of the shed? :( I'll never know. 
     Zoey was devastated, as I knew she would be. She has decided maybe the rabbit business is just not for us. We had three other rabbits die previous to this. All three escaped and was 'rounded up' by our dog. We fortified the colony after that and thought we were on the right track. It is hard on us. Maybe we are just not read for rabbits yet... 
     As we finished painting and started cleaning up for the night, my son texted me, "Can we have a cat?" My first reply was, "No!" My husband is not a cat fan, he would not be happy! We have chickens and rabbits and we certainly didn't need a little predator running around that lives with us! We have enough problems on the farm as it is! 
     When I picked up my son from his friends house, I saw the kitten. I saw my children's faces. In a moment of weakness, I said "yes" to the cat. 
     The new kitten was at our house for over an hour before I told my husband. I gave him my best pouty face and said I was weak hearted from the bunnies dying. After a little of working my sweet magic, he sighed his resignation to the fact we now have a new friend. However, the kitten can not sleep in the house at night. (We have made him a bed in a cat carrier until he gets big enough to roam on his own.) AND if he smells cat poop in the house, it will not be allowed in the house anymore, period. (My hubby is cat poop sensitive and can smell it a mile away. Even the best kitty litter around can not keep him from sniffing it out! Kids are now on constant kitty watch.)  

     Today, the kitten came out to the garden with us. We spent a good deal of time weeding and planting. It ran around our feet, climbed up our legs, attacked our toes and kept us smiling and laughing all day. I think we all really needed him as much as he needed us. 

By the end of the day, we were all tired. 

Especially this little guy! Zoey tried everything to get him to wake up for some photos. Nope. Not happening! 

Do you have a cat around your farm? We <3 your comments! 
     

Disclosure: I am Amazon Affiliate and may receive a small compensation for including links on my blog. Buying through my links is not necessary, just appreciated. Amazon does not charge extra for linked items recommended by their affiliates.  I only recommend products that I use and trust OR plan on using in the future. Please buy responsibly and do your own product research before buying anything online.