High  61    Low 49   Grey and overcast with showers on and off all day

I’m assuming you all have heard of rain gardens, cutting gardens, forest gardens, bog gardens and plenty of other types of gardens that follow a central theme or purpose.

Well, after all of the questions I have been getting form folks this year, I am proclaiming this the year of the slug garden.

Due to massive rains, the not so charming descendants from snails are abundant in the Pacific Northwest this year. To qualify my above statement, slugs can be charming and even downright pretty except when they are uninvited guests to my garden. By the way, some slugs aren’t bad but instead provide a much needed service. North Coast banana slugs, Ariolimax species, are a vital part of forest ecology, cleaning up debris and dispersing mushroom spores and native plant seeds. They are a valuable food source for the Pacific giant salamander.

But what about common garden slugs?

They wait in formation every night as we turn our backs and walk away to clean ourselves up after a hard days work planting and preening the rows. They chant songs of conquering the peas and lettuce and laugh in the face of our astonishment when we return in the morning to lacey leaved vegetables looking helpless and perhaps a little embarrassed.

Like it or not, this is the year of the slug. Consider it an opportunity to hone your skills at keeping these little creatures in check. After all, they are only trying to make a living.

If you want more information on slugs, check out this link http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/pdf/fs/fs277.pdf

High 61 Low 45  Drizzly but warm. ( Our seedlings are loving this!)

Farm Camp

http://songcroft.com/index.php/farm-camp/

This month has been busy with all of the usually Spring chores of getting the cover crops turned in, garden planted, pullets out to forage, hens in their Spring/Summer home, goat kids birthed and settled in, does milked, cheese made, rabbits bred and the post-construction landscaping started, all the while enjoying the flush of green that has taken over our land.

Although these things have me excited, it’s Farm Camp that has been on my mind. In August we will be opening SongCroft up to those who would like to live and learn about how to run a family farm. This is so exciting that I am finding it hard to concentrate on other projects. We’re going to have a lot of fun!

You’ll experience instruction on dairy goats, chickens, ducks and rabbits as well as growing your produce year-round and preserving the harvest. Mushroom logs, the basics of permaculture, food forests, alternative energy and home arts are all part of the program. It’s great to read books and dream about living a more self-reliant lifestyle but it’s a rare opportunity to be welcomed on to a farm where you are able to learn and try things out for yourself!

Checked out the Farm Camp page. Tell us what you think, what you would most like to learn and if you intend to enroll don’t wait because space is limited.

High 43 Low 35  (Heavy rains all day mixed with hail)

It’s been a windy and wet week. Twice I have been trying to get work done outside only to have a shower of hail come down on me like it was raining bb’s. That’s when it’s smart to wear a hat with a brim. Hail can hurt when it pings against your cheek.

We have peas and spinach started in the garden as well as quinoa, lettuce, leeks, garlic, onion, radishes and beets. I placed tunnels over them as protection because the hail has been the size of  small marbles. It’s hard to watch our vegetable garden be pummeled when things are just starting to come up.

There is celery, cauliflower, leeks, collards and kale still growing in the greenhouse from Winter. We have tomato, pepper, ground cherry, celery, basil, cucumber and basil seedlings in the house. We are running out of space so I’ll be getting them in pots later this week. Whatever can withstand the cold evenings will go in our unheated greenhouse.

Everyday, I look out the back doors that overlook the vegetable gardens. I long to be weeding with the sun on my back and the buzz of honeybees around me. But for now, I will sit in my chair, waiting for the weather to warm and our vegetable garden will be lonely.

Have you planted anything in your garden? Do you have seeds started?

Write a comment and tell us how things are going.

High 56             Low 45                 Warm afternoon breeze

Spring ahead? Not us, we’re taking giant leaps! There’s been a ton of stuff happening at SongCroft this week. Where can I begin…?

Over the course of the week we brought in a bit more hay to get us through until it is haying time here in the area. With a couple extra goats this past Winter, we went through more hay than usual so our estimate in August was a bit off. But no worries, I hauled the bails across our land. It is rugged terrain as we haven’t filled that side of the property yet and it is very uneven. It is hard to keep a bale on a hand-truck since they all want to fall downhill. Then I had to stack them under cover. At eighty pounds a bale, this job takes that take all by 5’4” frame has to offer. To keep the goats from leaning from their stall over in to the hay storage area, I installed a wooden barrier. Now they can only look at it longingly instead of gorging themselves until they look like someone ought to tie a line to a hoof so they don’t float away as giant goat balloons.

We also got almost all of the fencing around the vegetable and forest garden done. We just need to install a few gates. This means even if the goats do get out, they wont be eating my cabbages and strawberries!

The Winter rabbitry was converted in to a brooding house for the 17 pullets and 6 ducklings we are raising. We also have a hen on a nest in there. It is a good use of a small space. I will post photos and a video later.

All but the vegetable garden beds got compost on them. I will make another go at it over the coming week. The goats ate part of the garden in front of the house, that’s what happens when the kids leave the gate unlocked, so I put the compost down there first hoping it would help the poor plants survive. Even our big horse trough full of bamboo looks like Giant Panda’s attacked it!

Rhubarb and asparagus were planted. Only a few more years until we get our first harvest. (That was sarcasm incase you didn’t notice)

We cleared out an area so that we can bring in soil to level the land on the side of our house. This will make getting to the hay a lot easier. This is going to be major work.

We taught both our first year and second year courses from Saturday through Monday. We covered soils science, composting, fertilization and pruning. It was really busy and a lot of fun. Folks learned to do soil samples, test for ph and how to make compost. We mixed bedding and goat poo with a beautiful combination of scrap vegetables and juice bar compost. The colors were amazing and the results will be powerful. We also made a worm bin and were able to send it one with one of the student’s family. I truly love being with all of the course participants and am blessed to live such an amazing life.

Sometimes the songs here are the chirpings of birds and others times they are the grunts made while heaving bales of hay but it all makes for a beautiful rhythm that we love to live in.

It’s early March and Seattle just got snow. It was just a light dusting but it was enough to make me worry about my peach and apricot trees which are in full bloom.

A hard freeze after the trees are in bloom can destroy all hope of those sweet succulent morsels ending up on our menu.

The past week has been a rush to get compost spread, livestock fencing up and other farm chores done. One bit of hard work was an accidental discovery: our nephew was digging in our yard and discovered a boulder which after six men and a few large poles (used for leverage) worked on getting it out of the ground, it became a nice addition to the landscape.

I also started more seed so that we can get an early start on the growing season. We have a nice set up for seed trays to germinate and then receive the light they need to thrive. Our tomato, pepper, and ground cherries have already got their true leaves and are doing well. Seeing them makes me long for warmer weather.

In the greenhouse and cloche there are beets, celery, lettuce, cauliflower, mustards, collard greens and radishes all ready for harvest. We took the bunny tractor out and turned the rest of the cover crop in to the soil but not before eating all we could. Check out our Facebook fan club page to see the conversation on chickweed. http://www.facebook.com/pages/SongCroft/232174564481?ref=sgm

We are getting lots of amazingly rich and butter duck eggs as well as chicken eggs with whites perfect for meringues. I was so inspired by the quality of our eggs that one of the recipes in the upcoming issue of the newsletter will have eggs as a main ingredient. If you subscribe, you’ll get a recipe for a rhubarb tart with a meringue top. This is one of my signature dishes. If you make it for a gathering, people will be amazed as it has a beautiful presentation as well as being incredibly delicious! You can tell them were you got the recipe. http://songcroft.com/index.php/the-songcroft-self-sufficiency-newsletter/

High 52    Low 38     Overcast with rain from mid-day on

Okay, so I’m going to blatantly brag about my kid. What can I say, I’m a mom who loves her kids and like most moms, I’m proud of them. So bear with me while we both experience one of my proud mama moments.

First, a little background, our fan club on Facebook has been experiencing a lot of activity lately. Folks have been really getting in to sharing their favorite ways to use different wild plants that are harvestable this season. The creativity has been really fun.

Harvesting wild greens is a fun pastime for the kids and I, so Sofie, our twelve year-old daughter, has been enjoying reading what others are posting on the Facebook wall. She has always been a really creative girl and has become an exceptional cook.

In fact, her cooking skills surpass those of many adults.

While I ran to the market one day this week, she made me lunch. Upon returning, I was pleasantly surprised to find maki sushi awaiting me on a plate complete with wasabi and soy sauce. Maki sushi is the name for sushi that is rolled, typically in a sheet of nori. The presentation was pretty with the black nori, white rice, bright yellow of the egg she gathered from our hens and vivid green sprigs peeking out the end. When I took a bite, I was surprised and delighted to realize that the greens were chickweed.  It was such a lovely fresh combination with the rich egg cooked Japanese style, tamagoyaki, and the brightness of the taste of Spring carried in the chickweed. I ate the whole plate!

It’s always a good feeling to see my children become accomplished at something. It feels great to know that they will not only leave our house with the basic skills of being able to cook for themselves but it is a blessing that they will also know that they can identify, gather and use wild plants from season-to-season. And admittedly, it is sheer pride I feel when I see their creativity and ingenuity manifest itself into something as wonderful as chickweed sushi!

Chickweed is not only delicious but it also is nutritious and has been used in herbal medicine for centuries. If you are interested in more information, check out the SongCroft Facebook page to see what others are doing with this wonderful winter perennial.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/SongCroft/232174564481?ref=sgm

High 59              Low 34 The sky was clear blue.

The weather was at a record high for February in Western Washington. The warm air and the bright blue in the sky felt lovely. It was a perfect weekend for having the SongCroft Self-Sufficiency Skills School Classes.

The first year course participants were on the land on Saturday and the second year participants were on the land on Sunday. It was busy and fun.

The first year group spent the day learning about starting their own seeds. We discussed why they would want to start seeds of their own, different techniques for starting the seed and how they would transplant the seed. They planted their own seed trays to bring home and care for as well as potted up some seedlings I had started in advance. It was a very fun day. We had a good sized group but what warmed my heart the most was that my twelve-year-old daughter decided to join the class and start seeds for her own garden. She grows a small vegetable garden each year so learning to start her own seed will build upon those skills she is already cultivating. These skills are part of our legacy.

The second-year course participants, learned about setting fence posts, espalier trees and greenhouses. I demonstrated how to train young fruit tree branches to grow against a fence to create a two-dimensional tree and walked the land showing which wild greens were ready for harvest.

I feel fortunate to be in a place to share the things I know well with others. Life is very good.

Some of our course participants were interested in learning more about the world seed bank. Follow the link for more information.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/02/26/norway.seeds/index.html

High 56             Low 34

It was a beautiful clear day.

It’s hard to believe that it is February in Washington. In all my years, I have never seen it so warm this time of year. We have peas sprouting in the garden  and it feels like May.

During this early warm-spell, we have been able to get a lot done. Brian has been setting fence posts and I have been cleaning up the fallen branches from winter storms.

I have cleaned the goat stalls in anticipation of kids being born over the next few months and even installed a new automatic watering system. With two less goats, we sold two kids, there is a bit more room. Our buck will be leaving us soon. We will just have three does. Milking time is coming on fast and I relish the mornings where I still get to sleep in.

The winter rabbitry has been cleaned out and made ready to become a brooder for the broilers that will arrive soon. We hope to keep a few from this flock to use as breeders so we can sell them locally. If we have time to prepare their home, we will also raise a few heritage breed turkeys. The heritage breeds are beginning to disappear since they are not as breasty and fast growing as the more common commercially raised turkeys. These turkeys haven’t had the turkey bred out of them.

The henhouse and yard were also cleaned and given fresh straw. We have hens and ducks sitting on eggs and the kids are raising another 13 chicks in the house. We hear the “cheep-cheep” of little ones and it brings smiles to our faces. These chicks will grow to be part of our egg layers. We sell a fare amount of eggs from our flock and occasionally need to raise new girls to replace older girls who stop laying.

Today, our daughter took the goats out for a long walk in the sun. They were all leaping and jumping as they happily went looking for fresh browse. On the way back, they took a diversion and caused some havoc in the garden. Brian is trying to get the fence up as fast as he can. I can only laugh at the thought of the goats biting things as they run off knowing darn well they are not suppose to be there.

It’s only February and the nettle is up, the winter wren is still singing and the frogs have been in chorus. Another song has been written on our croft.

Washington State University Extension has been hit really hard. As a Master Gardener, I know value of the many programs that the extension services offer. In these changing times things are harder for many people. Teaching our communities how to grow their own food, preserve food and food safety are important roles. Helping farmers (new and existing) with new business information, technology and sustainability skills are vital to our food supply. The WSU Extension programs are needed.

Yesterday, another program was cut. Master Food Preservation and Food Safety Consultant. Does this sound like a good idea to you? With all of the issues that have happened with commercially processed food, I doubt that many of us are going to do much worse at home but the reality is that except for in rare cases aunties and grandmas no longer gather to preserve the harvest, where are people going to learn these skills? How will they learn them safely? Will they be forgotten all together or will people get sick following outdated books that no longer apply to the genetically modified foods who’s acid levels have changed?

These are some of the issues that brought SongCroft in to being. Whether you participate in the programs or read the newsletter, we hope to pass on some of these essential practices before they are lost.

If you are interested in food preservation, you can purchase the Fall 2009 issue of the SongCroft Newsletter. There is a lot of good information to be had there.

High 49  Low 37  Slight afternoon clearing

This evening I found myself asking my almost teen daughter to turn down the stereo. It’s not an unusual request since she loves music, the louder the better. But tonight, was different. She wasn’t listening to music. You see, ever since our trip down to Oakville last week, she has been listening to Barbara Kingsolvers “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.” http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/

Sofie enjoys the story parallels to our own family life and I think she even feels comforted at times. She has commented on Camille’s recipes and commentary, Barbara’s witty way with words and sense of humor as well as her ability to take her thoughts and form them into beautiful and clever sentences. Sofie even chose Animal Vegetable Miracle as an offering for our Mother-Daughter Bookclub because she would like to discuss issues of local food and growing our own with other kids!

Sofie is an amazing artist and I suspect writing may be part of her future.  In the eyes of my twelve year-old, Barbara Kingsolver rocks!

This is not to say that our eight-year-old son doesn’t also listen to Mrs. Kingsolver. He was only halfway listening until he heard her talk about the character who’s other name is “Malcolm You Get Your Backside Over Here or You Aint Getting No Dinner”! After that, he was sold and has been right there next to his sister, folding paper airplanes or rolling cars across the floor, listening to the book on tape.

For me, it is nice to have my kids hear that I am not the only mama who refuses to buy fruit out of season, who does her best to grow or raise most of our food and who might be heard yelling, “You all have 3 minutes to get that stuff off the table or it’s going to the landfill!” (I took secret pleasure in having them hear that!)

Although I normally prefer to read books with my kids rather than listen to them, listening to this one has been a family pleasure. We are on the eleventh disk out of twelve. I wonder what we will do when we’re done with the set?

Any good suggestions?