Take A Stand For The Land

Take A Stand For The Land

KNIT WIT

It is the time of year where the pressures of the farm are on low dial for now. It gives me the luxury of fiddling around and about the house. About a month ago I was looking for Christmas paper to wrap something and it started something really big. I got very upset and angry with myself as I began to realize how much stuff I had accumulated and saved for all the rainy days. I am one of those, " I might need this one day" kind of people. Well I just don't have room anymore for all the "one day" things.

 

It is now at least a month later and I am still sorting and organizing and ruthlessly throwing out those "one day I'll use it things."

 

My biggest load of stuff has turned out to be all the knitting and crochet paraphernalia I have accumulated over 30 + years. I have thrown very little out to be truthful but it was truly all over the place. It is now organized and all in one place. It is labelled and sorted and I certainly don't need to purchase yarn or patterns for, well, almost forever.

 

Of all the creative things I have learned to do and love to do in my life this has got to be the one I enjoy most. It gives me endless hours of quiet pleasure. All the studies that tell you to do crosswords and stuff have nothing on learning and creating a challenging pattern of stitches. Plus you get something lovely you have created and can give yourself or someone else.

 

So the clutter is down to a minimum. Its a good feeling. Probably the only one who needs to fear me once I am through with sorting my things is my husband. Workshop. Watch out !!!  "ha, ha. Only kidding honey."



A Story of Soup

Today I made soup. One of my favourite foods. I grew up on a lot of soup. The Germans have a word for creating soup. EINTOPF, it means one pot. At the end of the week everything leftover goes into one pot and it becomes soup. The origin of the word soup is suppa.  An old word, before Latin even. In German the word for soup is still suppe. It means "to sop".

 

Until bread was invented there was NO soup. Only a thick kind of gruel at best. Made from pounded grains or plants with maybe some meat cooked into it.( It doesn't sound good.) The "sop" part of soup is the thick slice of bread that was placed on the bottom of the bowl and then the soup ladled over it to sop it up.

 

Soups could be very, very nutritious when cooked over a length of time to extract the goodness of the marrow in the bones and stuff. The soup became a staple food in most medieval homes. They could afford to make soup from basically the scraps of leftover food, especially the bones which couldn't be eaten and were until then thrown to the dogs.

 

What is most interesting is that the invention of soup also beget the first restaurant. The word comes from the root "to restore". A Frenchman had the brilliant idea to make a nutritious soup and sell it to the weary travellers who needed something with sustenance to restore their energy.

 

Now you understand my little drawing. No criticism please. Drawing on the tablet isn't the easiest thing to do but I am trying. As good as it gets folks.

 

A little bit of fun - "oui?"

 

Types of Soup

Bouillon -concentrated

brown stock

Consomme -clarified

brown stock

Broths -clear

Jellied -made from

bones and clarified

Vegetable -prepared

with or without meat

Puree -with/without

cream

Bisques -shellfish based

cream soup (my fave)

Chowders -thick, fish

meat and vegie base

Fruit soups - huh???

what ?? (if you are

European you know.

I grew up on this.

Delicious !!! )

Pie in the Sky

Today I was preparing a turkey pie for our supper and my stream of thought took me to thinking about pie crusts and their purpose. Preserving food was a very difficult task before refrigeration, freezers and canning. These are all very recent methods of keeping our foods fresher, longer. Food had to be dealt with quickly and eaten within a very short time. 

Pie crusts became a way of keeping the food within them a few days longer. They were made with lard and usually in a heavy, deep dish. The crust would be thick and heavy as to envelope the food and protect it. It was most often a meat dish. Usually hunted game or pork. It was baked in a wood fired oven and then set to cool. 

Pie cupboards were created to keep the vermin out of the food. They were made mostly of wood with holes (vents) drilled into the sides to allow air to flow through. The vents were tacked with bits of metal grating so no creatures could get in. 

These pie safes, as they were called, are very collectable now and often found as decorative furniture in some homes. 

My mother tells of a story when she was young. The pie safe was full of goodies as Christmas was near. My grandmother had a lock on it. She was out and so my grandfather conspired with the children to enter the cupboard from below and remove some of the tasty morsels. He was positively delighted to be conducting this prank with the children and all anticipated how my grandmother would react once she discovered the theft !

I don't think you have to imagine too hard how my grandmother reacted. At first she just couldn't figure it out but once she did she was angry. Problem was, she couldn't get mad at the children because their father had set them to it. 

Needless to say they didn't try it a second time. Its always interesting to me how food got to be presented the way it is. There is always a story, usually practical and makes perfect sense. 

By the way. Our turkey pie tonight was delicious. 

A Wortcunner - to know plants

I learned a new word recently. "Wortcunner"  A wortcunner, a simpler . Wortcunners were those that lived with and understood plants on another level. These were the folks, the wise women who truly understood all the ways of plants. Not just what they were useful for but the magick of them as well. They learned and knew how to engage the "spirit" of the plant and see beyond what was seen by the naked eye.

I have always loved and been forever enamored with plants. I grew up in the city but we had a lovely garden and our neighbour, Mr. Wilson, had a double lot and grew flowers for the florists in Vancouver. Chrysanthemums by the hundreds of every colour and variety. Our home was always full of flowers. My mother always had spring flowers and lots of roses in the garden. We had a weeping cherry tree in the front yard and I can remember countless hours spent lying under the graceful, bent down branches. It was like a living tent that hid me in the garden and allowed my spirit to roam free.

My mother has often told me what a "vivid" imagination I had. I was always communicating with living things and telling my mother the stories they were telling me. Lucky me that my mother never told me to "stop that nonsense !" My mother has always thought that I would become a writer and I guess in a way I have. I have many stories inside me.

It is interesting that as I become older I am also remembering and retrieving memories of "simpler" times. As an adult I went to school and studied herbal medicine and have taken countless courses to learn as much as I can about plants and how they can help us. But my "true" love has always been the "magick" of them. What they can tell us if we move past the physical reality and see beyond, into the ethers.

Plantago lancelata - Ribwort plantain 

Plants are SO much more "connected" than we are. Of course they are ! They are "rooted" into the earth and grow under the influence of planetary forces and so much more. They are here to help us this much I know. We cannot live without them. 

grows under the influence of Venus. 

I have spent a lifetime trying to figure out what I really want to be when I grow up. "EUREKA" I have found it, in the definition of this very appropriate word, wortcunner. I am an aspiring wortcunner and still have a lot to learn. The plants will teach me and I am doing  my very best to be a worthy student. 

Stay tuned :-)

Plan Now, Reap Later

By now many of you will have ordered seeds or even begun working in your gardens or greenhouses. It is a great time of year, before it gets much busier, to do a little planning.

Plan on paper. Draw out your area. Label the beds and rows and determine what is going where according to your crop rotation cycle.

Plan for your needs. Order/ purchase seeds/ plants. Look at your tools. What needs fixing, sharpening, replacing? Can I get something new ? Have a look at your irrigation needs. Are hoses, pipes, sprinklers in good working order ? Has anything changed with water tables, wells ? Is the pump in good repair ?

 Plan to assess and walk your garden more this year. There is an old saying "THE BEST FERTILIZER IS THE FARMER'S SHADOW." This could not be more true ! Walk through your garden regularly at every time of day to properly "SEE" and inspect what is going on. Are the plants thoroughly watered ? Are there too many weeds? Are the plants disease free ? Are there any pests evident ? By walking about on a regular basis you will notice what needs to be taken care of and dealt with quickly before it becomes a problem.

Most of all PLAN to enjoy every moment you have in your gardens and they will reward you abundantly !

SEEDS

catkins on alders

 The signs are everywhere. The landscape is "waking" up from its' winter sleep. Time to start planting for the upcoming season.

fragrant violets

The first seed order should be arriving in the mail soon.

Seeds are the most amazing things. Each one holding the complete potential of a new living plant.

Each one is an embryo plant. Each has enough food stored within it to feed itself until it has formed a root and seed leaves. It takes about 10 to 30 days to reach that stage. Then the process of manufacturing food begins.  The little plant needs air, warmth, light, moisture and access to nutrients to grow on. Vegetative growth occurs at the tips of roots and stems.

seeded trays of early greens

Utmost care must be taken handling these precious seedlings when transplanting. They each have only ONE stem and ONE root . They can afford to lose a leaf but not the others. The best way to handle the plant is by holding it on one of the leaves and gently placing it into the soil.
This transaction should be done as quickly and efficiently as possible so the plant has the best chance of recovery from this "trans plant" shock.

It is truly amazing to be part of process of watching a plant go from seed to fully matured and ready for harvest. From a small beginning to a plant that is often hundreds times the size of the original seed in a matter of months.

It never ceases to astonish and surprise me.

All the Right Tools

 I know why I love baking and gardening.

Both let me get my hands into it.
As a child I remember how much I liked "feeling" things.
The many different textures and sensations.
Nothing has changed. I still like it !

 I also learned from my mother that having the right tool for a job made things a lot easier in the kitchen.
I do everything with hand tools.
I have cultivated quite a collection over the years.
When I am in the thrift stores I am always on the look out for those forgotten, neglected hand gadgets that don't get used by most people anymore. Many of mine were old when I got them but they work like new every time and have stood the test of time.
They don't make things like that anymore.



On bake day, out come the essential tools I need to accomplish the task of creating wonderful breads and more.

 Best of all I get to have my hands involved. They are absolutely my BEST tool. They give me the ability to feel, sense and know when the doughs are at their right moment.

Dough is alive and has different feelings through the course of its' creation from culture to bread.  


I love being in my kitchen and knowing
that I have all the things I need at
my fingertips so that I can pull up my
sleeves and get my hands busy whenever it strikes me.

Working in the garden or out in the fields is the same. The work goes a whole lot better when the tools are there when you need them.
Mostly though I like to have my hands in the soil, feeling it and knowing it. When I think about it I already knew as a child what my destiny was going to be.

Thank goodness my inner child followed through.

Spring is Teasing Us

Snowdrops along the creek

The weather has been spectacular and warm and sunny the past three days. We have recorded a high of 12C during the day but it went down to -1C last night with hard frost this morning. It was even colder up in the open fields. The weather in general has been above normal since late January. The propagation greenhouse is bursting with seedlings but they are afforded the warmth and protection of a more controlled environment. We can close the doors and put covers over the heated propagation tables. It is all too tempting to try and plant something out too soon. Our records show that we have received frosts as late as the final week of May. I have a few videos from the last 3 years alone that show all too clearly how quickly a hail storm can wreak havoc here. We always have plastic covers ready to put over plants just in case. More than once we have been found scrambling to get tender, precious seedlings under cover out of the weather. A good guide is to prune your roses when the forsythia bloom. Forsythia are one of our earliest blooming shrubs with their bright yellow flowers. Branches can be cut and brought indoors for a forced bloom. What this tells you is that this plant will only bloom when the temperature is of a reliable warmth. Some plants are genetically predisposed to bloom at a certain time irregardless of temperature and some can gauge when is the right time. Forsythia is of the latter. Roses can still die if they are pruned back too far too early. So as tempting as it is to get started with clearing and cleaning and planting and pruning be wary of what time of year this still is. It is only mid-February folks.Go out, stroll through your gardens and take a peek at all the lovely plants bursting forth to spur on the coming of spring. Turn the compost, clean up the yard, order seeds, plant seeds indoors. There is lots to do. It feels good !

Aconites

Sweet Violets

Blissing Out On A Glorious Day

Today was a spectacularly glorious day. The first day of this new year that one could see, smell, sense the spring in the air. A fine day to be part of. I sat at the beach across from the farm. The tide was out and Waterloo Creek was burbling it's way to meet the sun sparkling sea. The sounds, the sights, the mood, all was good and felt good. Bliss.

Breaking the blog Fast with Bread

Its been awhile since I last posted. Winter is our down time. There are always things to tend to on a farm but for the most part it is quieter and easier to convince yourself to take a load off and read a book, visit a friend, take a walk, linger over morning coffee. We spend much of our time conversing on the past season and the season coming up. There are the usual seed catalogues to look through and plans to make for the coming year. Already the requests for farm stays and apprentices are being interviewed and booked. This winter has been somewhat different in that we have had a new "toy" to play with and figure out. This past summer we built a french Canadian style bread oven. It was curing until November and in the meantime I was practicing with bread recipes and culturing a good sour dough starter. Our first bake was in late November and we have been baking weekly since then. We have had a few failures but surprisingly few. Even the burnt bread was great inside ! We have made pizzas and cakes and use the residual fire to bake one of our organic chickens slowly in a cast iron pot that roasts and browns the chicken to perfection ! It is a real learning curve figuring out how long the fire has to burn to get the interior hot enough long enough. Then the fire comes out and the oven has to "soak". The timing is everything. Bryne is working the fire and I am working the doughs so that all is ready at the same time. Coordination and being organized is key . There is not much that can top the taste of bread baked on the hearth. The essence and energy of all the elements that come together to form this most ordinary of foods becomes extraordinary !

Folk Lore and Tales of Christmas Past

CELEBRATION OF ST. MARTINSTAG IN ERMLAND, PRUSSIA

My mother, Margarete was born in East Prussia in 1923. Her homeland is located in the north eastern portion of what is now Poland. Historically in recent centuries this is a predominantly catholic part of the world. The traditions and observances are a rich mix of blending Christian systems with ancient pagan customs and ritual. During my mother’s childhood she knew of no one who wasn’t catholic and grew up being told and believing that anyone not of the catholic faith would look like a monster. She was very surprised and happy when she ventured forth in the world that this was not true.

My mother grew up in a very different time, ripe with old, observed customs and traditions that shaped their lives. I am fascinated by the stories she tells me of life back then. It is really quite remarkable how recently this way of life was lived and yet it seems like a life from a century and time much older than my mother.

A few weeks ago I asked her to tell me about some significant memory she might still have about Christmas. Well, well, well, little did I know what a fascinating tale she was about to enter me into.

St. Martinstag, November 11. As a child she remembers living in a kind of excited anticipation and fear of this day. A man on a white horse carrying a switch brought children apples, nuts and sweets. So why the fear? I will tell you all later as the history of this day unfolds.

My Tante Trudi, mother’s sister in Germany has privileged me with quite detailed memories which she and my uncle have written down for me and sent me by email. They gave me an incredible insight to some of the customs and traditions that were observed during the Christmas time. With the help of friends and internet to assist with some of the more difficult translations I have been able to piece together some insights and understanding to the unbelievably rich and colourful practices that were part of life back in the days. Life may not have been easy but it was deep with traditions and rituals that guided how the year was lived.

St. Martin was a saint who existed from c.317 – 397. A roman soldier who legend has it became significant for his kindness to a beggar. Story told that he took his red cloak and cut it in half to share with the beggar who was freezing in a snowstorm. Feeling unworthy of becoming a bishop Martin hid in a stable full of geese that made such a cackle that the people of Tours found him and consecrated him as a bishop. This is why the eating of goose became tradition in Germany and other European countries at Christmas time. My aunt wrote that the slaughtering of the geese on St.Martinstag was a significant event in each village and household on this day. Every part of the goose was made into something delectable. A favourite was “Blutflinsen” (pickled web feet) of the goose. Some of the geese were hung in the frost to cure in time for Christmas dinners. Geese were also used to pay taxes and wages and leases and more. What?? Please explain.

St. Martinstag marked the end and beginning of the “natural” year. It indicated the end of harvest, the completion of the farming cycle. It clearly became the “natural” day on which to pay taxes, sign and renew leases, begin and end employment contracts. Not many people actually had money so much was paid in what was called “Naturalien”, goods that were naturally produced. It was also the one day a year you could leave your employment and you would be given a goose as a bonus. New maids, helpers, farm workers were hired on this day as well. Young women were always accompanied by their fathers or head of household to the new employ and were given coffee and bread and the father even a Schnapps! Once business was taken care of the slaughtering of the geese began and was the “high point” of this festive day! Delving into some of the mysteries behind these customs reveals connections to pagan rituals of animal sacrifices from long, long ago. There were also sacrifices to the wine.  This was the day on which the Martinsminne was drunk. The first wine drunk from the vintage year. It was believed that this wine taken at Martinmas would bring beauty and strength to all who took it. Needless to say the young men and women imbibed! The traditional toast was “ Raise the glass at Martinmas, Drink wine all through the year. “It was a time to drink, eat and celebrate before the strict observance of the 40 days of Lent and fasting before Christmas.

November 11, Martinmas made it officially winter and lamps and candles could now be lit so the spinning and weaving and knitting could begin. The women and girls would work feverishly until Christmas to complete pullovers, socks, gloves and scarves in time for gift giving. All gifts had to be practical and needed. The men set about making spoons and bowls and other useful items. Spinning and weaving traditionally carried on until February 2 and then stopped.  Candlemas, the end of winter and a new season of cultivation and harvest would begin.

So now we are getting to the story of my mother being frightened on St. Martinstag. When it snows on St.Martinstag (which it usually did), the saint would ride in on a white horse. The Schimmel reiter would appear. The ghost horse rider. In my mother’s region he was more ominous than other parts of Europe. He was called the Peltzmartin, the Skin Martin. He would have a blackened face and wore a cow bell on him and he would run around wildly along with the symbolic bear and stork and they would nip at the heels of the children and snap the beak at the children’s faces and rap their feet with the birch tree sticks. The symbolic chimney sweep would have his hands in the kachel ofen and with his smeared hands blacken the faces of the hausfrauen, wives and women. Use your imagination, how frightening this would be. They would finish by leaving the children apples, nuts and Pfefferkuchen, a traditional sweet.

This annual visit and custom is more reminiscent of ancient pagan rituals than a visit from a Christian bishop. The folk ritual of using boughs and branches from sacred trees to hit the children with were not forms of punishment but a way of driving away evil influences.  The birch endowed the qualities of purity, light and new beginnings. Farmers traditionally flogged, slapped and beat everything with young birch branches in the spring that was to flourish. So in a cultural sense children were being blessed with these qualities. These “loving” floggings were a symbolic form of making a physical connection with the life-giving virtues of the tree. In this way the treats the children were given in the form of apples and nuts were a way “ingesting” and “internalizing” the nature spirit and virtues of the sacred tree.

So today, in modern times St. Martinstag is observed as a children’s affair throughout Germany, Austria and a few other countries. The children wear costumes and make lanterns to light the way. This evening procession is often led by the red cloaked rider on a white horse. These processions usually culminate with a Martinsfeuer, a huge bonfire at the end of the parade. Everyone is merry with food, singing and dancing. Christmas is coming soon and not far off.

Little thought is given to what we do and how we do it. It seems like it has always just been done that way but everything had a “first time.” Those first times are steeped in culture and ancient knowledge of why a thing must be done. For myself the unearthing and discoveries of these exquisite morsels of experiences connect me to myself, my family and my ancestors. I am those people, those traditions, those experiences. They are passed on to each and every one of us in vitro and flow through us and our spirit each and every day. What is so astonishing is when we find the stories that reveal us to our past.

“Thank you Mom for sharing your fears.”

A Two Day Montage of Activity at the Farm

Not going to write too much to go with this video montage. I think the photos will speak for themselves. I will say that fall has always been my favorite time of year. As much as it is a time for slowing down the pace it is the best time of the year for me to be inspired and creative. Maybe its the cooler weather but my head always feels clearer and brighter as fall approaches. As much as I love the warmth that summer days bring I really love the shorter day lengths as it means we don't have to be out working so early and so late. Farming is really ruled by the rhythm of the days and nights and the weather. As long as there is daylight there is always something you could and probably should be tending to. I appreciate the changing seasons and the different day and night lengths.  From the photos I think you will see that there is lots to see and do and observe at this special time of year. Enjoy and be kind to each other.

Making Pies for Thanksgiving

I "LOVE" making pies. Wasn't something I grew up with and didn't know how to do until I became an adult. I love making pies and I love eating pies ! Sweet, savory, doesn't matter.
A lot of people are hesitant to make pies saying they are too difficult and the pastry doesn't turn out very well. There are countless ways to make the pastry and countless ways to create a pie. I have different recipes and techniques depending on my mood, the amount of time I have, ingredients on hand and what kind of pie I am making.
My mother in law, who I had the privilege of knowing only a short time, taught me a lot about making pies. She made pies for the families' small restaurant in northern Saskatchewan from 1952 until about 1968. This woman made A LOT OF PIES !!! My husbands' personal favorite is raisin. For some reason I don't make this kind too often but many, including husband, say I make the BEST butter-raisin tarts in the world. They are better than raisin pie I think.
Pies like so many things that are worked and created by hand take practice. They take practice and more practice. You do it until you become familiar with it and comfortable with it and eventually you can't help but be proud of your handiwork. I think pies are an incredibly artistic type of food. There is a lot you can do with the pastry to make the pie look appetizing and beautiful.
I have my tried and true recipes for pastry and fillings but I also like to attempt new recipes that intrigue me to see what comes out of it.
In Canada we have spent the last two days celebrating Thanksgiving. It is time of celebrating the harvest and abundance of food from the season. It is a time of family and friends coming together to share and celebrate over a feast of roast turkey and all the wonderful foods that go with it. Our traditional meal is usually turkey, potatoes, squash, brussel sprouts, red cabbage. Lots of gravy and turkey stuffing and of course cranberry sauce to go with the turkey. For dessert OF COURSE there is PIE, pumpkin pie and apple pie are probably the favorites.
Next day is the best. We get to eat left over turkey made into.......TURKEY PIE !!!
When my daughter was in school we used to go every year for spring break to Victoria for the day. One of our indulgences was to go to the Dutch Bakery on Quadra Street and eat CHERRY PIE with ice cream. It was something we really looked forward to and became a special memory for my daughter and me. Then we would go to the best used book store ever, next door. Wow, that was a great time.
Special holidays and occasions and good food go hand in hand and create some of the most precious memories of our lives. I LOVE to create wonderful foods for my family and friends. This is a gift my mother handed down to me as well as a number of other special elders throughout my life. These women showered their families with a most amazing talent for LOVING to cook for and feed their families and friends. It is truly a fine and generous way of displaying your love and affection. It satisfies both the cook and the eater(s).
HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE.

Stormy Days

So fall has come on with a vengeance. One day we were experiencing temperatures of 28 - 29C and the next, BAM !!!!, the fall rains and sou'westers begin. We had ONE terrific storm sweep the whole of the west coast here the past 24 hours. Winds were clocked at 169km per hour off the top of Vancouver Island and the rain was torrential. Power went out all over the place. We lost electricity here for almost 24 hours. 

Its interesting explaining to the apprentices what happens here when the power goes out. There is no water, no toilet to flush, no heat, no light, no telephone and NO Internet until the electricity is restored. All these things require electricity to function. Fortunately out here in the rural areas we have our own wells from which to draw water. When you have water you can flush the toilet with a bucket of water, you can have something to drink. You can put on extra clothes to keep warm. There are candles and flashlights and we all have transistor radios so we can listen to CBC radio ! 

We have experienced so many power outages over the years that we did invest in a generator a few years ago. With it we can turn on a few lights and turn on a hot plate or coffee maker. Even the television works with the generator ! This makes Bryne especially happy. Most of us have gas BB Q's and so it is not difficult to cook a meal either. We enjoyed a supper of rice, hamburgers and corn. After supper we boiled water and did a reasonable cleaning of the dishes.

What I am really excited about is that next time we have a storm and power outage we should have the outdoor clay oven operating. We are just waiting for some decent weather to put a roof on the building and then we can uncover the oven and start laying some fires in it. Thanksgiving is in just over a week and we would like to have the oven conditioned by then so we can roast the turkey and squash in it and bake some bread.

Storms are a regular occurrence here on the west coast throughout the winter. They can be very frightening and intense at times. Mostly its the falling trees that present the biggest hazard. I do not like hearing the trees crack and groan as they break in the wind. It always makes me sad. Fortunately most of the trees here are programmed to handle the wind. Its quite a beautiful experience to watch the wind move through the trees and the sounds that emanate from it. You can actually hear the wind building momentum when its gaining strength and the gusts "hit" the house and trees. Its a very "wild" experience that forces your attention.

When I read "HEIDI" as a child I remember most vividly the part of the book that told of the wind in the trees. It was my favorite part. I really do love listening and watching the wind move through the trees and the dance that is orchestrated.

So for me storms are an adventure. They create the chaos needed to excite you into a flurry of activity as you prepare to "hunker down" and wait out the storm.

Update and Map of the Farm

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WOW ! its been awhile since I looked at the blog or had enough time to write anything. We are over the seasonal hump. Still lots and lots to do but the worst of it has been done. The last few weeks have been some of the most demanding ever !

Decided to open the farm to the public for a first annual cycling event on August 6. Along with all the daily jobs of running and operating the farm we needed to tackle a major clean up of the farm. We moved, discarded, bush whacked, weed whacked, mowed, trimmed, weeded, poured cement and more during the last few weeks. I was often out at 6 a.m. and still on my hands and knees at dark trying to get certain tasks accomplished. There were things we did that we haven't done since we came here in 1996. Nothing like an event to get you motivated to do stuff you can't otherwise justify doing.

The cycle event turnout for our route was very disappointing. I was SO ready and proud to show off the farm and only 9 cyclists showed up. They were all great and I SO thank them for coming. There were three routes to choose from and we were on the longest route.

The positive outcome is that we did get a lot accomplished and that makes me happy :-D

We have started operating a farm stand at the front road to the farm. It is going very well. My mom, who just turned 88 years old, is tending the stand most days. She really, really enjoys running the stand and talking to people who stop by. She always has her knitting with her and has even sold some of her wonderful socks and shawls.

Whats ready to harvest at this time ? Picked the first beans today, tomatoes are beginning to ripen, second wave of strawberries are ripe for the picking. What I am really excited about is the corn. We planted out about 2000 plants. Its the most we ever done and they are about 10 days away from being ready. Certified Organic corn, YUM, YUM !

To give you some more detail of the little map I drew. The rows at the very top of the page are about 80+ metres in length. The rows below it running north and south are about 70 metres in length. The tomato hoop house is 30 metres and houses about 300 tomato plants, the timber frame hot house is about the same size and is housing tomatoes and peppers and cucumbers. The hot house with basil is about 15 metres in length and there are at least 300+ basil plants in it. There are about 50 dahlias planted alongside the basil hot house. The strawberry field contains about 1000+ strawberry plants. They are ever bearing and are just starting to fruit again. The berries are huge and sweet ! We are in the process of taking off the runners and starting new plants for next year and extend the amount of berries.

The chicks we hatched earlier this year are well on their way and looking almost like full grown laying hens. Bryne extended the yards for the birds and they will start laying late this fall. We now have a concrete pad for our produce washing station and it certainly keeps things a lot cleaner underfoot. Soon we will build the roof over it.

That is about all I can say for this time. Hope all your gardens are growing well and that you are enjoying the outdoors in whichever way you can. The weather has been glorious and Bryne just informed me that the weather network is showing rain ALL next week. If it so then I want to enjoy the sunshine and warmth for the next few days. 

Good night and sweet dreams to you all. ;-)

Video and Farm Update

It is the time of year when everything needs attention and doing. You hardly know where to begin first. The video is of our upper field and gives a concept of the scale of Ironwood Farm's operation. There are two other fields down below closer to the house. This is also where the hoop houses and chicken yards are. Hope to get a video of these areas done soon.

The first of the chickens went to the processor last week and Bryne is on the road as I write taking the last of the birds in. One job that is finished for the time being.

The weather is simply not its' usual self this year. We have had some very hot and sunny days but they are few and far between. The video happened to be one of those few days. In between we have experienced some incredibly windy days and nights. These winds which we call the "Qualicums" occur throughout the summer during our hotter weather. They usually start in the afternoon for a few hours but this year have been relentless and long. We even had some power outages due to their strength. They dry out the fields in very quick order, thus the need for irrigation.  Thought summer was finally coming and now we are looking at another week of cool, damp, cloudy weather. Its not cold though.

This is what I mean when I talk about one of the advantages of being a diverse, multi crop farming operation. There is always something that will do well in every kind of weather. The swiss chard, spinach, spring onions, brassicas,radishes, lettuces, parsley, cilantro and even potatoes are doing well. The few hot days got the zucchini and patty pans off to a good start and there are already lots. We had a good first flush of strawberries but it has all but stopped now. Too bad. The snow peas have been outstanding !

My dahlias are blooming and present some spectacular colour in the garden which makes me feel bright and happy ! Flowers are great for raising the spirits. Nasturtiums in the salad mix really perk thing up too.

Well the rain is really coming down now. There is still nothing like a good rain to keep things hydrated and growing. Saves a lot of physical and manual effort on our behalf to move irrigation pipes and sprinklers around. Going to do some work in the hoop houses today and stay dry.

Stringing the Tomatoes and Setting Up the Hoop House

Want to show you all some of what we have been doing. Yesterday it rained enough to call for a job that kept us out of the wet weather. Tomatoes needed pruning and stringing so that is what we did. I went ahead of the others and pruned each plant, Bryne tied the strings from the wires and the gang attached the clips and carefully wound each stem around the string.  After it was all done each plant was watered. Its always a tedious job but so important to get done. Every week we will prune and wind the growing point of each plant around the string. You want the energy of the plant to go into developing fruit and not growing more stems.

There are about 300 plants in this hoop house and about 12 varieties. Black Krim, Black from Tula, Black Prince, Black Cherry just to name a few. Looking forward to a good tomato harvest.

Early last week we reassembled our original hoop house into another field. We have planted it full of basil. The location gets the very last rays of sun for the day. Good for basil. Those are my dahlias on the right side of the hoop house and snow peas on the left.

Bryne putting the finishing touches on the hoop house before the planting begins. We planted first, watered the transplants in with the sprinklers on and then put the plastic on the next day. I will post some photos of the basil soon. Here on the west coast you really can't grow large amounts of basil successfully without cover. Made some pesto for supper last night. What a great smell and flavour.

Principles of Plant Health

The past few days have been full of questions and discussions about health and herbs. I love it when I get to talk about plants and their uses in our lives. I studied herbal medicine and nutrition and believe that food should be a substantial portion of our daily medicine. Plant foods that are grown conscientiously and with good, sustainable practices are some of our most powerful allies in maintaining good health. I remember my naturopath doctor telling me long ago that "ideally" his job was to help me maintain my good health and not to wait till I got sick before seeking guidance and assistance. I should prevent disease not wait till I was diseased. So much about health and growing plants go hand in hand. Organic growing follows the same principles, prevent disease, not create conditions for disease.

With 16 years of certified organic growing and countless programs and courses under my belt I have learned a thing or two about maintaining my health, my families' health and the health of the plants and the farm. The number one question people ask is "What do you do about pests and disease ?"

I say you have to first ask what you consider a pest ? a disease ? Everything alive on this planet is food for something else. If you keep taking the so-called pest away you are taking away food from another living thing. Even diseases are alive and have to eat. Take away what they normally feast on and the system becomes unbalanced and open to attack. Its all about balance.

That is the beauty of bio-diversity. In nature you never see anything living in isolation, on its' own. It is a great community that operates on co-operation and balance. No one, nothing is an island.

Plants and foods grown using the "industrial model" have been manipulated to the point of having no natural defenses of their own anymore. We have taken their ability to look after themselves away. Many crops are grown in enormous quantities, essentially in isolation, and do not have the benefit of their plant communities to help them out. They have been altered and hybridized to grow in a specific way with predictable results and rely on chemical applications to feed them, force their growth and protect them. If "anything goes wrong" in this model the results are often disasterous !

Science is beginning to show and understand that plants "think" and "communicate" with each other and their surroundings through chemical interactions. Stands to reason that they adapted this ability. I have often thought about this. A plant,a tree, cannot move to get away from something the way we can. They are forced to stay in one spot for the duration of their lives. They are at the mercy of the wind, weather, insects, animals, whatever comes their way and they have shown the many ways they have made brilliant adaptations to their environment. They have had millions of years to figure things out. A lot longer than we have.

Some of the most important practices we use at Ironwood Farm are crop rotation, green manures (cover cropping)and companion planting. By NOT using any types of chemical controls the farm attracts and thereby hosts all manner of insects, birds, wild life and most important, beneficial bacteria and micro-organisms. Together this bio-diversity creates a balance and feeds everyone.

We need to get back on track and let nature take the lead. By using and implementing practices that ensure soil health and vitality, bio diversity and mindful handling and care we not only help the planet but we help ourselves too.