Garden Planning
It’s nearly the end of January and we have lots of garden
planning and prepping going on here at Ramsey Farms. The most exciting point
for Chief Farmhand Chris was the delivery of his new tiller last weekend! He
has already tilled most the 14 rows in what we call our “front garden” which
will be home to beets, carrots, celery, peppers, Kandy Korn sweet corn,
cucumbers, lettuce, onions, potatoes, heirloom pumpkins, radishes, yellow
squash and zucchini, and tomatoes. We will be planting sweet onions come Valentine’s
Day!
Chief Farmhand Chris has also tilled about 1,000-square
feet into our new planting area, a 100x100 section of one of our fields. We’re
calling this one the “field garden”. It will growing feed corn and a plethora
of yummy greens and fodder for our chickens along with bush snap beans,
cantaloupe, and okra to feed us. You can see photos of the new 2015 garden here.
Our soil analysis came back from the University of
Georgia and all in all is in good shape. Chris took samples from the two major
planned planting areas, the front garden and the field garden. Both areas have
a potassium deficiency but phosphorus and the minerals were good and pH was
fine in both. This year we will fertilize with a 15-0-15 to pump up the soil
and we will continue to use organic methods including compost, wood ash, cover
crops, and manure to replenish this old cow pasture and transform it into a
productive foundation for growing our crops.
We had some seed potatoes from the NC garden starting to
sprout in a brown paper bag. So Chief Farmhand Chris tilled up a 16x4 bed and
fertilized this small area to plant those potatoes on January 20. We can’t be
sure they’ll do anything since it’s a little early, but they may have gone bad
before the traditional March 1 planting date. Keep your fingers crossed!
I had to get my hands into some dirt and made some
planters from washed two liter bottles and other recyclables. I got some
lettuce seeds planted along with parsley, lemon balm, celery, and chives. These
are all warm and toasty in my kitchen along the windows next to the wintering
aloe and cacti. Speaking of which, both are doing well. The aloe looks better
than I’ve ever seen it especially during winter. The aloe arms are thick and
strong and every plant has light green fresh growth in the center. I’ve been
cutting them sparingly for use on my face and as boo-boo ointment (aloe is a
natural antiseptic and analgesic that numbs the skin and promotes healing), but
I do plan to harvest a good amount for my next batch of homemade shampoos.
In The Kitchen
We are still baking our own homemade breads and other
food items like sour cream (1 cup milk with ¼ cup white vinegar, shake very
well, chill well in fridge. The cream will rise to the top – it’s amazing!). I
have been using my new mini food processor from my mom to grind up stale home
baked bread slices into breadcrumbs and day-old slices I use to make croutons.
I’ve been mixing up my blue cheese dressing along with a delicious vinaigrette dressingfor salads. (See also my ranch dressing recipe.) We’ve perfected the art of roux and gravy and no longer have a need
to purchase the sodium laden cans of cream of chicken (or other cream of
flavors) and I’ve been making beef broth from leftover beef neck bones and
scraps of onion, garlic, potato, and carrot. I’ve even frozen my broth into ice
cube trays for easy to use portions that will last a year in the freezer!
As far as bath and body products, we are making our own
body washes and bar soaps, hand wash, dish soap, lotion, face wash, face scrub,
body scrub, deodorant, anti-itch cream, and sunscreen. I’ve made some teeth whitening gel with
baking soda and peroxide and may one day attempt toothpaste. I’d like to try my
hand at making mineral makeup but I wear it so seldom that I may never run out
of my store-bought version. I did find a great recipe for mixing up my own
mineral veil powder that I’ll be trying soon.
Why do we make so many of our food and body products
rather than just purchase these at the store? (Oh yeah I totally forgot to mention we've also been making our own household cleaners too!) There are so many toxins and
preservatives in everything from soup to shampoos and I’d just rather avoid as
many of them as I can. The convenience of processed foods is thanks to loads of
sodium and unnatural preservatives. For example, compare the ingredients one
major food label uses in its cream of chicken soup (http://www.campbellfoodservice.com/details.aspx?code=322 )
to what I use in mine: water, chicken stock (homemade), milk, flour, pepper,
salt.
Which would you rather eat?
I hope the weather is nice wherever you are and that you enjoy your week!
Remember to laugh and smile as much as you breathe. ~Ramsey
