2014 Spring Garden Update {Wordless Wednesday}

1. Bee on grape leaf 2. Bee on celosia flower 3. Chickens in their new dual pasture yard 4. Old chicken yard garden beds in progress 5. Fig finally springing back to life 6. Rows of garlic plants 7. Harmonious Gardens managed by Swainway Urban Farm 8. Potato leaves 9. Row of tomatoes and pollinator food, aka weeds 10. Strawberries

The spring garden is growing! Our annual produce garden is 75% planted, the front yard organic farm rows are in progress, and the egg-laying chickens are finally in a pastured system (more on that another time). What's going on in your garden?

2014 Spring Garden Update {Wordless Wednesday}

1. Bee on grape leaf 2. Bee on celosia flower 3. Chickens in their new dual pasture yard 4. Old chicken yard garden beds in progress 5. Fig finally springing back to life 6. Rows of garlic plants 7. Harmonious Gardens managed by Swainway Urban Farm 8. Potato leaves 9. Row of tomatoes and pollinator food, aka weeds 10. Strawberries

The spring garden is growing! Our annual produce garden is 75% planted, the front yard organic farm rows are in progress, and the egg-laying chickens are finally in a pastured system (more on that another time). What's going on in your garden?

BIG Plans {Friday Five}

What's going on behind the computer these days? Planning, saving, measuring, and more planning. In the coming few months, our little homestead will undergo a lot of changes. Here's what's going on:

Kitchen Renovation Underway - When Uncle Leonard, our personal contractor-like friend, suggests moving up the start date for the big gut and replace kitchen project, we had to say yes. Mid-April is now early April, which means supply purchases begin now. In four weeks we will (pending no big surprises) be cooking with gas! Gas! I can't wait to fix our dysfunctional kitchen. I'll share specific plans and our strategy for quick renovations soon.

Mudroom Finishing - Uncle Leonard will tease us endlessly unless we finish the mudroom before he arrives in a few weeks. Afterall, he was instrumental in building it...in July... We'll be drywalling, painting, and adding gutters this weekend. Oh, and clearing out the garage so we have room to store the kitchen supplies as they're purchased

Ponds and Swales - The front plot where we'll plant Swainway Urban Farm produce has some water issues. We debated an agricultural tile system but that seems to be throwing away a potential resource. Instead, we're going to try digging two small ponds with a series of swales to direct and hold water. We will plant the edges in water-loving habitat flowers and grasses.

Move the Chicken Yard - Our chickens need more space to roam further away from the main garden. We're going to give them a big portion of the yard in a shady area that isn't ideal for planting. I think we're finally going to invest in portable electric fencing so that we can change the shape of their yard as other projects reveal themselves.

Low Mow - Alex is thrilled that I want to mow a lot less this year. We'll keep enough grass mowed for kids to run in and baby trees to survive, but we want to let a lot more grow wild. The wild will be managed be seeding flowers and incorporating native transplants. Less fuel wasted, more wildlife habitat, and less work - why didn't we think of this last year?

Of course, we're still seeding greens and roots in the hoop house, potatoes and peas outside, and tending seedlings inside. And celebrating Pi Day. And teaching classes, working with Swainway Urban Farm, and occaisionally tending shop at City Folk's. And making freezer food for the week or so we'll be without a kitchen. Busy days.

What are your BIG Plans?

BIG Plans {Friday Five}

What's going on behind the computer these days? Planning, saving, measuring, and more planning. In the coming few months, our little homestead will undergo a lot of changes. Here's what's going on:

Kitchen Renovation Underway - When Uncle Leonard, our personal contractor-like friend, suggests moving up the start date for the big gut and replace kitchen project, we had to say yes. Mid-April is now early April, which means supply purchases begin now. In four weeks we will (pending no big surprises) be cooking with gas! Gas! I can't wait to fix our dysfunctional kitchen. I'll share specific plans and our strategy for quick renovations soon.

Mudroom Finishing - Uncle Leonard will tease us endlessly unless we finish the mudroom before he arrives in a few weeks. Afterall, he was instrumental in building it...in July... We'll be drywalling, painting, and adding gutters this weekend. Oh, and clearing out the garage so we have room to store the kitchen supplies as they're purchased

Ponds and Swales - The front plot where we'll plant Swainway Urban Farm produce has some water issues. We debated an agricultural tile system but that seems to be throwing away a potential resource. Instead, we're going to try digging two small ponds with a series of swales to direct and hold water. We will plant the edges in water-loving habitat flowers and grasses.

Move the Chicken Yard - Our chickens need more space to roam further away from the main garden. We're going to give them a big portion of the yard in a shady area that isn't ideal for planting. I think we're finally going to invest in portable electric fencing so that we can change the shape of their yard as other projects reveal themselves.

Low Mow - Alex is thrilled that I want to mow a lot less this year. We'll keep enough grass mowed for kids to run in and baby trees to survive, but we want to let a lot more grow wild. The wild will be managed be seeding flowers and incorporating native transplants. Less fuel wasted, more wildlife habitat, and less work - why didn't we think of this last year?

Of course, we're still seeding greens and roots in the hoop house, potatoes and peas outside, and tending seedlings inside. And celebrating Pi Day. And teaching classes, working with Swainway Urban Farm, and occaisionally tending shop at City Folk's. And making freezer food for the week or so we'll be without a kitchen. Busy days.

What are your BIG Plans?

Early Spring Inside The Hoop House {Friday Five}

What's going on inside the hoop house we built? 1) Garden beds of Price Farm Organics soil from City Folks Farm Shop and peat moss over cardboard broken by walking paths of landscape cloth covered by mulch. Alas any gaps between the cardboard and cloth are already growing weeds... 2) Seedlings hardening off on the hardware-cloth shelves. 3) Strawberry plants under the shelves where water drains down from seedlings. 4) Cold-tolerant food like kales, lettuces, and beets. 5) Friends and family hanging out. The hoop house is always warmer than the outside; on the days reaching 70 deg F recently, the hoop house sauna was positively steamy!

Rhubarb Infused Vodka

It's rhubarb season in central Ohio! I like rhubarb in jam, strawberry rhubarb pie, and my grandmother's rhubarb crunch. But my favorite way to enjoy this slightly sweet, floral, first "fruit" of spring is in a vodka infusion. You might think I'm a lush but hear me out. Rhubarb is tongue-searingly sour and requires a lot of sugar or another strong flavor to temper the tart. Until I infused vodka with rhubarb, I had never truly appreciated the subtlty of the rhubarb flavor.

Making an infusion, with rhubarb or any other fruit, is dead simple. Chop or mascerate fruit in a clean glass container. Fill with vodka to cover all the fruit. Age in a dark place, tasting regularly, until the infusion matches your desired flavor. Strain out the fruit and enjoy the infusion as a mixer or on its own with fizzy water, a delightfully low-cal, high-zest drink.

In the case of rhubarb, I like to leave the infusion for up to two weeks. The clear vodka will turn a dusty red color and keep its piquancy for up to a year. The picture above shows the last of our 2011 rhubarb infusion, in one of my favorite jars made in Columbus Ohio, surrounded by the fresh rhubarb from the Greener Grocer that will make this year's batch.

I am reserving some rhubarb to make into a shrub, a sweetened vinegar infusion. I suspect that the shrub method will show off the many characteristics of rhubarb much like the vodka infusion I hold so dear.

Do you like rhubarb? How do you prepare it?