Frustratedearthmother's Journaling Journey

[flowerbug]

There are definitely bean plants!

Garden Update:

The purple dove beans are up!

yay! aren't they purdy!? wait until they flower.

The white zucchini germinated faster than the black zucchini but both are up now. Potatoes are going to going to town - they're in tubs. Tomatoes and peppers are transplanted. Tomatoes are doing better than the peppers. Okra is spotty. Might need to replant. Tried a new variety and it apparently sucks, lol. Will replant with my old favorite, Clemson Spineless unless there is miracle germination soon. I wanted to plant some pole beans and red rippers on the okra so I might need to regroup and get some trellis's out there so I can get those climbers planted with or without okra. I need to pull the rest of the carrots soon. I've let some of the watermelon radishes and black radishes go to seed. I've got a mess of collards I need to eat! I'm still getting a few sugar snaps so I'll leave them until they get heat stroke, lol. Malabar spinach is coming back on it's own. I was a little worried because we did have a couple hard freezes - but they're apparently pretty hardy.

all sounds good to me. peas so good. need to plant them in the next few weeks.

I've started another batch of Kimchi and will can half of it when it's fermented. The other jar I'll keep for snacking. I'm almost through the 50 lbs of onions. I've got caramelized onions canned and a few for the freezer. Lots of dehydrated onions so far. I've given away probably 10 lbs of the onions to a neighbor and my son.

Started actual weaning for two of the does. I'm not milking them and their babies are at least 3 months old. Those girls need a break! I'm milking 2 does every day and 2 more occasionally when I lock them away from their babies. I like leaving the doe babies on some of the mama goats (as long as they can maintain their condition) so I can milk them at will. I'm getting plenty of milk for us and the pig and even the dogs get a treat occasionally. I ordered new cultures and will start some cheese tomorrow.

No rain to speak of lately besides the 14 drops we had this morning. Somehow I don't think that's going to do the garden or the pasture grass much good. We're officially in a severe drought. Oh yay - that'll help hay prices, right?

i wish we could send you some rain, we're due for more tonight/tomorrow/Thurs and again later this week (Sun->). we don't need it at all.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

i wish we could send you some rain, we're due for more tonight/tomorrow/Thurs and again later this week (Sun->). we don't need it at all.

Me too! It's all around us right now - and going everywhere but here.

 

[baymule]

I’ve never grown the Malabar spinach, is it good in salads or just cooked? Nice that it overwintered and is coming back out for you.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I’ve never grown the Malabar spinach, is it good in salads or just cooked? Nice that it overwintered and is coming back out for you.

I eat most of it raw - right in the garden, lol. I've tossed some in soups, and I've sauteed it with some link sausage. It's a vigorous climber and grows along the fence.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Geeze, I've been meeting myself coming and going. I'm tired! I start every morning milking 2 - 4 goats. Two of them are milked every day because I've sold their babies. The other two I can milk share with. The pig isn't complaining about her milk-soaked corn. She's packing on the pounds for sure.

After milking I start doing something, anything in the garden. Mostly wrapping my hands around the hoe and massacring weeds - then trying to put down some mulch. I can't find my stirrup hoe to save my life! ARGH! Those things are expensive too. Maybe a gift for mothers day?

We've had no rain so I'm watering daily. I have my garden spread out in three different areas so I've got lots of hoses now. I planted sweet potatoes today. I'll be planting some more bush beans tomorrow and some red rippers . Got the place for them ready to go. I'll have to do some trellising there too. Haven't done that yet but I'll get to it - eventually. Pulled some more carrots. I'll probably clean that bed out this next week and decide what else to put there next.

I'm trying to keep everybody off the pasture so I can get some growth. The bermuda is trying to make a comeback - but it's crying for rain. The horses have been rotated through every place I have to rotate them through (except the pasture) - including the back yard. Hey - it's cheaper than gas for the mower, lol.

Gotta go out and finish feeding. I'm going to grab some collards and put them in the crockpot this evening or in the morning. I'll put most of 'em in the freezer. I don't think I want to try canning them, but I sure do want to preserve them. Freezer it is!

 

[baymule]

Can you freeze the goat milk?

Usually you are dealing with mud. Mud, mud and more mud. I guess a little mud would be mighty welcome about now.

Your garden sounds good, lots of good vegetables in it. I’ll have one next year!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

You definitely can freeze goat milk. A few years back I provided milk for a person and they requested it frozen. I've never used it after freezing myself. They told me that they would let it defrost in the fridge, shake it really well and it was just like it had never been frozen. But... no personal experience. I've used it for bottle babies and they never complained.

I'm trying to plan most of my garden choices for things that have a good return and are simple to process. I don't want to freeze too much. Blanching is yuck, lol. And I don't have that much freezer space anyway. I'm looking to can and dehydrate this year. Oh - and I'd like to have some veggies for fresh eating too, lol.

We haven't had a drought like this in years. I/m generally trying to beat the rain, or waiting for things to dry out, or slogging in ankle deep mud. I don't say this very often - but WE NEED RAIN!

 

[flowerbug]

...
We haven't had a drought like this in years. I/m generally trying to beat the rain, or waiting for things to dry out, or slogging in ankle deep mud. I don't say this very often - but WE NEED RAIN!

i hope you get some rains soon! i'd send you ours if i could as we're still getting more than we really need.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

i hope you get some rains soon! i'd send you ours if i could as we're still getting more than we really need.

I would take it! We have rain in the forecast for Monday - but we haven't had any appreciable rain since January. This time of year I'm usually ankle deep in mud.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Kids/grands are coming next weekend for another motorcycle race. It's one of the weekends that their entire blended family will be together - all 5 grands! So, 7 bodies descending on me. Yay! But - oops.... I realized they are coming the same weekend as a goat show I've been planning on attending for months now. Had to break the news that I won't be attending the race on Saturday. I'm really bummed - but I committed to the goat show back in January. It's ok - they can race without me. And a goat show will be a lot less stressful for me.

I'll try to get a bunch of stuff together before they get here - like meals. I generally make a bunch of lunch stuff to take to the race on Saturday because food service is hit or miss out there. Sometimes they'll have a food truck. My grands like to eat! I generally make a big batch of chicken salad and some fruit salad to go with. Lots of snacks cuz who doesn't like to grab a handful of something tasty in between races? I guess they can manage a day without me...