{notes and pics from the farm week 3and 4}

Olivia was yelling for me to hurry uuuuupppp!

It was HOT and I was taking to many pictures! LOL

Week #3 at the farm

.75# greenbeans

2 onions

2 squash

1 cucumber

1# baby red potatoes

1 pint cherry tomatos

2 vine tomatoes

1 head of lettuce

1 bundle of greens

1 cabbage

1 pint of blueberries

u pick herbs

We also buy the flowers and bag salad mix.

WEEK #4 at the farm

1# Purple string beans

2# vine tomatoes
1 cucumber

2 squash

1 onion

1 head of lettuce

1 bundle of greens

2 pints of blueberries

u pick herbs

We also buy the flowers and bag salad mix.

 
Our Friday trips to the CSA farm have been nutriously rewarding! I pray to have time soon to post some of the yummy recipes I have been making with our garden harvest.
I have taken a ton of pictures of all my original recipes I have come up with.
 I just need some time to get the posts written up.
 
Have a great weekend!
 
Peace,
Georgiann

{notes from this weeks CSA co-op harvest}

We were warmly greeted this week by a girl conducting a strawberry taste test.

We sampled 6 kinds of strawberries and rated them on several qualities.

So fun!

This weeks sample share was:

1 head of cauliflower

1# of potatoes

.75# of squash

2 med. sweet onions

1 med tomato

.75# green beans

1 head of lettuce

1 bundle of greens

1 pint blueberries

1 pint cherry tomatoes u-pick

Herbs u-pick

Plus I buy a salad and u-pick flower share!!!! :)

All my kiddos came to the farm except Jarett whom rarely goes with us.

He is 17yr old and busy with sports etc.....

In Search Of Spring

Wow today I woke from my winter slumber to feel the warmth of the sun on my face as it was peaking through my bedroom curtains. I grabbed my camera and headed out......in search of spring!

I felt like a child as I chased this robin from tree to tree and keep him/her in my sights with my zoom lens! My heart was happy and dancing as I felt GOD bathe me in peace and love.

Nature has that effect on me.

What a truly wonderful day this is going to be!

Spring fever is here........even if for a day!

Garden clogs here I come!

I can smell the dirt already!

I'm just a little excited!!!!!!!

We did have a little bit of frost this morning but think I will plant my cool weather plants today!

I have a cloche I made last year to use as a crop cover!

I will be planting a flat each of cauliflower, broccoli and a few cabbages.

I will also get my potato tubs planted.

This year I will grow only 2 kinds..... russets and a blue/purple potato!

If I have time I would like to get the ground ready for my peas today.

{I will sow seed directly into the ground}

Peace and Love,

Georgiann

Raking leaves and piles of chores!

Boy we are certainly in to fall.

These pictures were taken a few weeks ago when the weather here was still kind of warm!

Here in the Pacific Northwest the rains have officially arrived {not that they left for very long}lol

Most days here in our region will be dark and grey :(

Today is going to be a soup day......

Olivia has a cold and has had to use her Nebby (nebulizer) 2 days in a row.

Jacob has had the barfs since Saturday night......200 kids went home sick on Friday from his school!

He is home today~

My to do list for today:

Wash towels 2 loads

Wash the dishes 3 loads

Homeschool Noah

Tidy house from weekend:}

Put 3 baskets of clothes away

Clean all 3 bathrooms

Wash Jacob's bedding

Oh and..... I will be making time

to lock myself up in my room so I can practice my new found knitting skills!

Peace and Love,

Georgiann

Celebrate the Harvest {herbal tea}

Cottage Blend {herbal tea}

my creation

Chamomile

2 kinds of mint {spearmint and ?}

Rose petals

1 cinnamon stick

lavender buds

Dehydrate flowers and herbs in food dehydrator or method you prefer

Place in a mason jar or canister.

 {store in a cool dark place}

Herbal teas are fun to make and most herbs are so easy to grow.

Other herbs and things one could {grow or buy} for use in a herbal tea are:

dried citrus peels

lemon balm

cat nip

echinacea

ginger root

Thyme

Rosemary

****If you have a recipe to share please leave a link in the comments box!

Also leave a link back to my blog in your post so others can join in the fun!****

Peace and Love,

Georgiann

Getting To Know My Local Farmers {part2} The Cranberry Farm!

After a fun morning at Terry's Berries Organic Farm we were off to a Cranberry Farm over in my neck of the woods! I never even knew there was a Ocean Spray grower out here.
WOW how cool is that?

The berries are floated then picked by machine. Once picked the berries are trucked to Aberdeen a few hours away to be processed into sauce etc.. The machine can't get the berries that are along the irrigation ditches or the sprinkler heads,so my Self Reliant group was notified.
Bruce the farm owner said,we could come pick for a few hours on Saturday.

Here's a look:



Cranberries grow in mushy airy compost in 5 soil from clippings.



Rufus the farmers bloodhound, kept chasing the kids,knocking them over and 
trying to do the  humpty dumbty on everyones  leg.......EEEKKK!

Me and my Little's at the Cranberry farm!



~Cranberry Fields~


I hope you have enjoyed taking a look at a cranberry farm that grows for Ocean Spray.
We had a bundle of fun getting to pick {even though Rufus was a bit of a pest at times}.
Now its time to make a batch of cranberry sauce! I only had time to pick about 1 large bowl full,
before we had to leave to get ready for church. (we go to the Saturday Mass and CCD beforehand.)
We had a FULL day~

The herb class I took the other night was fun and informative.
It only cost me $1.00 for the hand out. The class was offered at The Free University in my area.
 At the Free University they have all sort of classes from painting, guitar, beading and gardening.
The next class I'm signed up for is a Herbal Tea class!
I bought the Herbal Remedies For Dummies book while I was there. I will share more when I post on the subject!
As for now...my nose is in my new book!
{and a quick stop for a sip of tea and a bite of fair trade chocolate.}

Be sure to stop by tomorrow for my Friday post of

{this momment}

Peace and Love,

Georgiann

Getting to know my local farmers! {Part 1}

The air was crisp outside when early Saturday morning I roused my three Little's out of their warm beds for a day of Farm field trips!We all  dawned our rubber boots and headed out for a days venture to several local farms. The first farm we stopped at was Terry's Berries! I had always thought this farm to be just a berry farm, the name IS Terry's Berries. This place was much more than JUST a Berry farm, I once thought it was.
I had heard from a church friend about this farm (just last week). So when the Daisy Scout troop my daughter just joined said, Saturday we are going on a field trip there, I was thrilled! My friend was sharing with me how she goes the the farm once a week to pick up her stuff! (not really knowing what she meant) Just thinking she meant shopping there! But she belongs to the CSA food share co-op.

What is a CSA co-op?
Community Supported Agriculture    
Terry's Berries is a local organic farm that has a CSA co-op program. For a fee of X amount of dollars (paid at the beginning of the 8 week season) you go on YOUR pick up day and get to fill your basket with what is there in the co-op area and the quantity specified.
Though the idea sounds tempting I have my own veggies I grew in my own yard! (I might join in the spring or summer because you get more food for the money and a bigger variety in the share.)

I will now definitely shop there for things I do not grow! Though this years growing season was a bit rough, I do have plenty to feed my family. The winter list for the winter co-op share is mostly squash,potatoes and winter greens (I grow Swiss Chard and the other). So no need to join the

pre-pay co-op,  I will just shop for what and when I have a need!

You can also go and shop (and not belong to the co-op).
She sells fruits and veggies,eggs,honey,breads,nuts and knitted wears.
{On a side note: I will be learning to knit soon, so be prepared for me to post pictures of some really poorly knitted things! lol}

Also Terry is sell a few of her layer hens for $8.oo each....I'm tempted to get a few but they are not as pretty as the ones I can get if I just wait until spring! Hubby wants me to just wait.

Call me weird, but there is just something sexy about an eggplant!
It looks like its wearing a hat!

Most of the stuff is grown right on the farm or from a local farm in the area. All organic!

We had a awesome time. The kids got to take a hay ride,pick a pumpkin, press and taste some fresh apple cider!

I bought a jug of cider, an eggplant,some blue potatoes and a loaf of Artisan Bread (Sweet Perrin).
 It is made with pear,hazelnuts and figs! It is yummo for breakfast!

Noah found a twin pumpkin!

After we left that farm, the kids and I went to pick cranberries at a little farm a bit closer to our house!
My Self Reliant group was invited to glean from the cranberry field for a few hours! Only myself and Rhonda came from our group! (She brought her mom and I brought my three youngest kiddos!)
Bruce the farmer is contracted by Ocean Spray.....I will post more about the cranberry picking venture soon in {part 2}. (I will shoot for tomorrow) It was cool that Terry from Terry's Berries knew Wayne the founder of the Self Reliant group I belong to.

Tonight I will be going to a Herbs for Flu and Cold season class.
I can't wait to share what I learn!
I will be posting soon about my stash of Homeopathic remedies!

Lots of fun and exciting things happening here at
The Garden Gate!

Peace and Love,
Georgiann