2. Harvested: arugula, lettuce, spinach, chard, basil, blueberries, cherries
3. Preserved: canned cherries, canned blueberries, dehydrated blueberries, banana chips
4. Stored: first aid supplies, alfalfa pellets,
5. Prepped: first aid kit
6. Managed: Cleaned out project room to make room for home canned veggies. Cleaned bunny barn and chicken coop. All gardens and orchard weeded.
7. Local: milk pick up
2. Harvested: lettuce (4 types), spinach, chard, arugula, mint, radish, basil, 3 gallons of sour cherries
3. Preserved: dried basil, milk as yogurt, canned cherries
4. Stored:almonds, dates, raisins, yeast, peanut butter, hay for the year,
5. Prepped: extra 5 gallon food grade buckets, working on emergency checklists
6. Managed: Bunny barn cleaned, chicken coop cleaned, barn cleaned. Weeded all gardens and orchards. Overwintered carrots are flowering — seed saving soon!
7. Local: another milk pick-up, talked with orchard owner about bulk blueberry purchases for the year, called blackberry man to arrange yearly pick-up. Picked a ram for this year’s breeding. He’s gray toned; that should make for some lovely fleeces next year.
Kim
What a week! We spent a lot of time getting ready for HM’s graduation. We still managed to get our usual chores done and even did a bit of experimenting.
1. Planted: radishes, tomato seedlings
2. Harvested: lettuce (4 types), spinach, chard, arugula, mint, radish, eggs
3. Preserved: strawberry infused vodka, lavender infused vodka, chamomile infused vodka, mint infused vodka
4. Stored: chocolate, nuts
5. Prepped: Worm bin materials collected, articles consulted, and ready for construction next week.
6. Managed: Bunny barn cleaned, 3 new rabbit does brought onto homestead, cleaned chicken coop. Weeded all gardens and orchards. Barn ready for hay delivery on Sunday.
7. Local: Passed 2 rabbit does and a buck along to a friend to get started, bought local milk and tried to make mozzarella (failed, but will try again), made yogurt. Set up hay delivery for this year. Shared home brew with “Hay Bob” which resulted in an invitation to come pick as many cherries off their trees as I want.
Our list doesn’t look as big this week, but preparing and canning all those strawberries took a lot of time. The gardens are getting ready to “pop.” Soon we’ll be swimming in produce to eat, can, and dry.
1. Planted: sunflowers, prairie sunflowers, watermelon, pumpkin, 6 blueberries, arugula, artichokes, 6 blueberries
2. Harvested: lettuce (2 types), spinach, chard, mint, radish, eggs
3. Preserved: more strawberry leather, more strawberry jam, more canned strawberries, mint jelly, pear/mint leather, dehydrated mint,
4. Stored: cat food, dog food, rabbit food
5. Prepped: None this week
6. Managed: Bunny barn done, brought in a new rabbit doe (Maggie the Marshmellow) and a new rabbit buck (Eric). Cleaned bunny barn and chicken coop. Weeded all gardens and orchards.
7. Local: None this week
1. Planted:arugula, artichokes, 6 raspberries, pineapple mint, rosemary, lavender, more holes filled in
2. Harvested: arugula (1 pound), mint (2 pounds), tastes of lettuce, chamomile (8 oz)
3. Preserved: dried chamomile, dried mint, yogurt bites, 100 pounds of strawberries (jam, canned puree, dehydrated bits, strawberry leather)
4. Stored: flour, sugar, parakeet food
5. Prepped: lamp oil, candles, added shade tents to our camping supplies
6. Managed: Chicken coop cleaned out. Bunny barn nearly done. Hay from barn to compost heap is proceeding very slowly. All gardens and orchards weeded and tended. Created new (non-computer based) storage checklist and spreadsheet.
7. Local: gave a homestead tour and explained choices we are making with our animals and gardens
Week three has come and gone. Here’s my update.
1. Planted: black seeded simpson lettuce, oak leaf lettuce, lolla rossa lettuce, rainbow chard, kale, cantaloupe, luffa gourd, English sorrel, maple tree, sweet purple pepper, neopolitan pepper, poblano pepper, jalapeno pepper, pimiento peppter, eggplant, celeraic
2. Harvested: arugula
3. Preserved: strawberry yogurt bites, more dehydrated onions, 7 pints salsa (from a bulk purchase), 4 pints pinto beans
4. Stored: white flour, sugar for canning, pectin for jams
5. Prepped: cleaned out more buckets
6. Managed: worked on bunny barn, top fencing on Balfour yard, picked strawberry flowers (again), more bedding from barn to compost heap, May coop order sent in.
7. Local: Helped 3 more people get started on a garden and/or food storage
2. Harvested:arugula
3. Preserved: dehydrated some onions (My dehydrator came late yesterday afternoon. We wore the old one out.)
4. Stored: I added a little rice and canned fruit to my pantry.
5. Prepped:
* Water storage is up to 5 days (plus the water in the Berkey).
* I bought 1 case of canning jars.
* Purchased a dutch oven cook book.
6. Managed:
We’ve been really busy this week.
1. Planted: basil, leek, carrot, cascade hops, tansy, amaranth, thyme, rhubarb, horseradish, lobelia, and more pansy.
2. Harvested: pansy, dandelion greens, asparagus, peppermint, spearmint
3. Preserved: 7 pints of black and pinto beans.
4. Stored: I added a little wheat, oats, barley, black beans, and dry milk to my pantry.
5. Prepped:
* Water storage is up to 4 days (plus the water in the Berkey).
* I bought 3 cases of canning jars.
* Animals: Converting the chicks to more homegrown food rations. Rabbits are completely on grass and roots. Sheep and goats are still eating oats and alfalfa pellets along with pasturage. Added 6 months of cat food and 2 months of dog food to the animal food closet.
6. Managed: Moved 30 wheelbarrow loads of old hay and manure out of the barn and onto the new compost heap. Kept up with weeding the garden, herb garden, orchard, and strawberry bed. Started using “Food Storage Planner” from Frugal Squirrels to help keep all this under control. I just deleted all the stuff they had that we’ll never eat or store and added my own foods based on what we grow and eat.
Kim
