This Week at Ramsey Farms

Last Sunday
My body hurts - that's how hard we worked this weekend. Row 2 is fully installed and we tilled about a ten-foot length down about two feet. By hand. By hand. Did I say, "by hand"? We don't have a tiller. We have a shovel (two in fact) and two perfectly usable arms and hands each.

My daughter made refrigerator bread. I marinated some beef tips/kabobs all day. When Chris and I finished in the garden, he fired up the grill for the steaks which we served with rice and sauteed frozen veggies and rolls.

• Refrigerator Bread Recipe
• Garden Pics

Monday

Another sunny day with temps near 70. I opened the cold frame all the way about 11:00 am - it had already hit 100 degrees in there! Finally, you can spot lettuce sprouts!
Also my daffodil bulbs near the bottle tree are blooming! There is a plethora of broccoli side shoots maturing so I'm forecasting broccoli in soon!
I got more hand-tilling done today after work, but we still have quite a bit of work to do before we can begin planting in row #2. I received seeds from my seed-exchange group today: chamomile and lemon balm! (Thank you Stephanie and Laurrie!)

Tuesday
It was such a nice, warm, sunny today! Near 70 degrees. I planted lemon balm seeds in a pot and cilantro and chamomile in my herb garden. It is a bit early still for planting herbs, unless you're planting indoors or under cover. Mine are nestled under the warmth of a plastic 2L bottle cloche for germination and will stay over the plants for two or three weeks (let me refer to my garden plan).

I also got more hand-tilling done in row 2. My wonderful neighbor, Mike, came over to chat and see what I was doing and so kindly offered his tiller! (They are such good neighbors). We couldn't use it in the beginning of our garden work this year, because

Me tilling last year's garden 3/2013

the soil was so wet and we were apprehensive about damaging the wooden raised bed frames. However, if conditions are good we are going to borrow Mike's tiller this weekend and knock out row 2 and 3 and get some other areas prepped as well. I will be taking lots more veggies and homemade goodies next door in the near future for sure (note to self: Mike's favorite veggie is broccoli). :)

Bread production is now a daily task here at Ramsey Farms taken on by any of the above-age-four "staff". The work and time involved are so worth the incredible aroma and flavor of fresh breads. Chris said he looks forward to lunch everyday even more because his ham and cheese sandwiches are much tastier, crunchier, and flavorful on homemade rolls or bread than store-bought white bread. I mean, this is food! The stuff you buy off the shelf in a plastic bag at the store was made three days ago in Pittsburgh and is functional. Why settle for just functional? It would be tough to go back to store bought bread now. This week I've made several batches of a basic white bread that includes egg and milk. It comes out perfectly tanned, moist, and delicious. I'm going to try out several recipes just for fun. I wish I had a little road-side market at which to sell my breads and kitchen delights! ;)

Wednesday

Covered the cold frame, sweet peas, carrots and leaf lettuce, and the herb garden and brought inside any of my tender potted plants that have been frolicking out of doors enjoying the spring-like weather. (As much as potted plants tend to "frolic" anyway.) Though I so wish it to be spring already, we really have 21 more days until the equinox and more cold temps to come. The low in the morning will get down to about 27 and another cold overnight to 21 for Friday morning!

Made a spicy red bean jambalaya for the adults and personal-sized pizza crusts for the kids to make their own homemade pizzas for dinner tonight!

Thursday
My little boy and I uncovered the gardens this morning as the sun began hitting each one and after the temperature rose above freezing. Each section got another good watering to help the soil retain more heat as temperatures are expected to get down to 24 over night. All the new plantings and the herb garden got covered in sheets again this evening.

I did not bother with covering the kale, garlic, broccoli, and cabbage as those plants have survived far worse with no problems. The kale is thriving once again after a short winter rest and I see marked growth in the cabbages. I love how the broccoli looks with all it's wild side shoots. The main head has been harvested and now the multiple side shoots are prospering! (See pic)

Friday
Everything survived last night's cold snap with flying colors.  Everyone around here is so glad it's finally Friday! Time to put the work week behind us for a couple days and focus on our favorite things: family, food, and farm! :) Saturday and Sunday are always busy garden / farm work days and I for one am really looking forward to it.

Saturday * Happy March! *
Today started out overcast and cold. But we worked anyway! The sun eventually came out and it was a nice, fairly warm sunny day. We got lots of work done including some plowing (thank you neighbor Mike!). All of row 1 and 2 are tilled in with compost and Chief Farmhand, Chris got the entire backrow plowed too. This is a 30' long row that mostly has not been used except for lawn and overgrown bushes since we've been here (over 13 years) but this year will be home to corn, beans, and cucumbers! I filled up two wheelbarrows full of clean compost (combing through it by hand to remove sticks, roots, and other debris). I got row 1 uncovered and reseeded onions, lettuce, and carrots where no growth was visible. We worked the sweet pea area - every seed has germinated! Got each sweet pea under a plastic cloche for two more weeks. And I made some row markers. I will update the garden pics album Sunday night if I'm awake.

Our teenage daughter kept things running smoothly inside including assisting the four year old whenver he went inside. She made bread and wound up making our chicken and dumplings (from scratch) too. Chris and I finally came inside when the sunlight was completely gone.  We showered, ate, drank some wine, and I know I was sound asleep by 9pm! A good night's sleep and another farm work day for tomorrow!

Happy March!
This month holds my daughter's birthday and the first day of spring - two of my all time favorite holidays.
Thanks for being a part of our farm and our blog. Listed below are the top three posts you guys read and shared in February. If you haven't seen them yet, check them out! :)

1. The #1 viewed post this month was...The Cold Frame!
2. 2nd was the Ramsey Farms planting schedule...weird that so many people read it...but yay! I am excited and curious to see how well pre-planning changes or enhances the gardening outcome.
3. And 3rd was the Rosemary Hair Rinse & Bodywash recipe post from January! I'm ready to make more of the hair rinse, but want my rosemary plants to look healthier and lose their winter pallor before I harvest large branches. Have you tried either of these? Leave a comment telling me about it.