Sunday, February 16, 2014

This Week at Ramsey Farms

This Week at Ramsey Farms

Sunday 2.9.2014
We spent most of the day until sunset out in the garden last Sunday. The temps were in the low 60s but the sun was high and bright. We got row 1 completely built, filled in with soil and compost, smoothed and raked, and the first 7' section to be planted covered in 4 mm opaque plastic to help warm the soil. Removing the good, usable soil and dirt from sod is not an easy task and neither was tilling the bed by manual force with our shovels! (I have finally figured out why Chief Farm Hand Chris is so skinny lol). 
Our teenage daughter helped out by doing some inside chores and making her first batch of bread on her own! She made the 40-minute hamburger buns (recipe here). They were super delicious, she did a fantastic job, and I bet she's scared I'm going to hand over this daily job to her! I might.
Teen Daughter's 1st Hamburger Buns (All By Herself!)
Monday 2.10
Ugh the crazy NC weather strikes again! Today's weather? Cold, gray, dreary, and rainy! :( The high today was only 47 but felt like the 30s all day. My dear daughter and I covered the sprouting crops in the cold frame with a sheet of large-bubble wrap and sheets of newspaper. Let's see if it is enough to protect the babies from the 30 degree low and snow in tonight's forecast.
Tuesday 2.11
Snow! It started coming down about 9am or so and didn't end until about 4pm.  I picked up the little one from preschool at 9:35 and the eldest child got home about one o'clock.
I harvested the last kohlrabi while it was covered in snow. Chief Farm Hand, Chris, left work early and got here just in time for an hour or two of snow play with our four year old. Then while I finished up work, Chris made homemade potato and sausage soup that simmered for a few hours then he added fresh kohlrabi leaves to it! (See the recipe here!) Yum, served up with his first batch homemade bread on his own using the 40-minute hamburger buns / rolls recipe! Such a delicious dinner - thank you sir!
Wednesday 2.12
Almost all the snow that fell yesterday had already melted away by this morning. Schools were closed and most businesses closed early today (including grocery and liquor stores!). It started snowing about 9am then it began to pour snow by 10am and continued pouring snow all day. Late in the evening it switched to sleet then freezing rain. We did get the cold frame's plastic lid cleared of snow before the ice started falling and I pushed snow up against the sides to further insulate.

The kids made homemade hot chocolate mix and doughnuts. I boiled chicken thighs to later make a big pot of  homemade chicken 'n dumplings! I will have to share this recipe with you sometime, too. Even my picky daughter will scarf down two bowls of this in a hurry!
  • Got about 6.25 inches of snow today for grand total so far of 7.35"!
Thursday 2.13
My first thoughts after getting out of bed and looking out the window this morning? "I CANNOT BELIEVE IT IS STILL SNOWING!" Sometime while we slept it began pouring down snow again! I think the total in the backyard was about 8-9". The raised beds disappeared under that much snow and it nearly covered the cold frame.

Today we built snowmen, had snowball fights, made snow angels, ate snow cream, and attempted sledding using all I could find - a smooth plastic trashcan lid. LOL! It did not work well at all. But we had fun trying. We saw a tow truck towing a tow truck that got stuck trying to get a car out of a ditch! Chris and some other neighbors helped our next door neighbor get his car unstuck when he tried to venture out. Chris and our son shoveled the driveway.

I used a kid's plastic shovel to gently remove the 6" of ice and snow that accumulated on the cold frame lid to prevent it from breaking the plastic. I admit, I took a quick peak inside and under the newspaper inside to see that the green onions are doing really well. It was about 40 degrees in there during my sneak peak. I am sure it got pretty cold inside the cold frame during this storm, but the plants that are inside won't mind that too much. I'll be happy to get a good look at everything inside when it warms up tomorrow.
  • Another 5-6 inches of snow fell today! The grand total is...12.35" of snow fell in my backyard.
Friday 2.14 Happy Valentine's Day!
Temperatures warmed up today! It was sunny and the high got to 54. I set out in
my knee waders to the cold frame. Inside the cold frame, it was about 50 degrees. I removed my newspaper and bubble wrap insulation and let the water pour onto the soil for a moment. All is well in there! The radishes have huge leaves, the onions are getting taller, and the carrots have sprouted during the snowstorm! It got warm and sunny enough to push temps to over 70 humid degrees in the cold frame while snow lays on the ground all around it! We propped open the lid about 5" to vent it and control the temperature. Check out the pics on the cold frame photo page.

Soggy melting muddy mess
We are supposed to planting spring onions in row #1 and sweet peas in the kids' raised bed this weekend. Not sure if that will happen, if the snow melts it should not be a problem since I covered those beds in thick plastic last weekend. The sweet peas will remain under cover by the plastic for two weeks anyway and spring onions enjoy the nippy cold. Chris and I rolled back the plastic sheeting on both of those beds to remove the thick layer of snow and replaced the plastic to keep heating up the soil. I'm excited and do need to go buy more onion sets so hopefully Ford's Seed Store will be open for business tomorrow and the weather will bend to my will! ;)

We all enjoyed a nice Valentine's home-cooked dinner of grilled lobster tail,
steak, sausage-stuffed mushrooms, baked potatoes, fresh baked bread, wine, champagne, and chocolate. My dear son gave both my daughter and me a pink rose (such a little sweetie)!


Saturday 2.15
Today was my first venture out since the snow started falling Tuesday! :) We trekked over to Ford's Seeds & Plants and got white onion sets, Detroit dark red beets, and cilantro seeds. I couldn't resist and bought myself a hot pink cyclamen in honor of Valentine's and
to give me a bright burst of color in the house to celebrate the coming of spring! (Even though it's still 32 days away.)

The soil under the plastic in the two spots I want to plant today is nice - not too wet or dry, despite the 12" of snowfall and now the great lakes melting everywhere. I am bound & determined to put green onions and sugar snap peas in the ground today! SEE GARDEN PICS!


Later in the evening...
I did indeed plant my onions and peas today as planting conditions were ideal in the raised beds that have been covered in plastic (and snow) for a week. It will drop below freezing tonight, so we covered the onions back up with the plastic as well as the peas. The peas will stay under cover until mid-March. Also got some chocolate mint root transplanted to a pot and transplanted my rosemary cuttings from the water glass on the kitchen table to pots.

Making a simple baked pasta tonight for dinner! Yum, it's gonna be so good! And tomorrow there will be leaf lettuce seeds going into soil in row #1 and you know I am excited about that!! :)

Be sure you didn't miss any other posts this week! :)

Rosemary cuttings potted in soil
~ Have a wonderful week, get outside in the sunshine, take time to see the sunrise or sunset, start some pepper seeds inside, hug your kids, count your blessings, call your mama! :) Best, Ramsey ~


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