Garden Plans

Angie’s post earlier made me think that I ought to post about what will be going into our garden (or not going into it as the case may be)!!

So here is our hopeful garden list:

Veggies
peppers-sweet, hot and paprika & chilli; Tomatoes - paste - Amish Paste Tomato, Roma Tomato, San Marzano Tomato; slicing - Beefsteak Tomato; cherry - Amish Salad Tomato; crispino lettuce; romaine lettuce; Butterhead lettuce; multiple leaf lettuces; rhubarb; onion; carrots; sweet potato; cucumber varieties; melon varieties (not sure yet); summer squash; winter squash; spaghetti squash; celery - Utah celery; cabbage; sweet & green onions; peas; beans-green, kidney and lima; sunflower; eggplant; and sweet corn (1-2 acres)
Herbs
rosemary; thyme; oregano; dill; savory; parsley - Italian Flat Leaf; cilantro/coriander; basil - Spicy Globe Basil; garlic; chives.

I have all my tomato, pepper, celery, lettuce and herb seeds to start hopefully this weekend. I figured some of this stuff I will buy in plant form (having had bad luck in previous years trying to start seeds) and some I can plant seeds direct into the garden (around here squash grow really, really well).

Now at this point, if you were Todd, you would be saying I am certifiably nuts to grow all of this for our family of 4. But I keep reminding myself - it is nothing for us to go through 5 to 6 6 oz. cans of tomato sauce a week here, so my intention is that all the sauce tomatoes I will simply make into tomato sauce, and if I can process a canner full a night, awesome. I want to do some diced as well. I’m not going to make spaghetti sauce, or pizza sauce - I will do plain old tomato sauce that I can use however we see fit.

All the lettuces - to me that is fairly self explanatory. We all love salads (even with just lettuce, cheese and dressing). But I am so afraid to buy lettuce in the stores after all the eccolli scares (it also does not help to have a MIL who works for the Health Department and knows these things) that we haven’t had a good salad in months (and one little piece of brown in a bag of lettuce turns me off of the whole bag).

Brand new seed starting trays

Cucumbers - we are almost out of pickles that I processed 3 years ago - 25 quarts (and I cheated then and just brought them - this year I am growing them).

The herbs - after reading Angie’s post on drying herbs, I want to try that. Since I have started cooking from scratch, I’ve found you do need to add herbs and seasonings to food (no need to season the pre-made junk - but in getting away from that, all food needs some herbs for seasonings).

Brand new grow light for Todd to put together

I’m going to try some new things this year - which is . . . .pretty much everything. Have I bitten off more than I can chew? Almost definitely. But there is another reason I am doing this as well
. . .
We are seeing prices spike around us pretty badly, and I just hate paying good money for groceries (that aren’t even healthy for you). It’s amazing the people that think brown, mushy, veggies are perfectly acceptable to eat (as I am gagging just writing this). So while it may be a lot of work, we figure if I can get it all processed, late summer and next winter we will be reaping the rewards from having a very fully stocked pantry.

On the farm front - we had our 5th (yes 5th) bull calf last night. I pulled in at 4:45, she wasn't doing a thing (and I walked in the pen with her to check). When Todd came home at 5:55, there was a calf, trying to stand up. At least she is a good mama, and looks like she can pop out any size calf with very little effort:

Mama Cow however is very protective - she was a first calf heifer last year who wanted nothing to do with her calf - this year she didn't want me taking pictures anywhere near that calf. But that is good, I guess, until we have to process it here in a few days. hehe.

Boys - 5 Girls - 0

(As I told Todd, there is someone out there who wants to make sure Jessie has plenty of opportunity to show a quiet, calm steer at the County Fair in 2009 - otherwise we would be getting heifers right and left).

Hope everyone enjoys their Easter weekend,

Kris