last night i arrived home to find some absolutely puny trees from the arbor day society. i'm a little irked, its far too cold to plant them and as the arbor day society—shouldn't they know better?
not sure yet what to do with them.
plant them? is it too cold? how do i know?
a more exciting mailbox find was a catalog from Burnt Ridge Nursery—a nursery located in washington specializing in unusual varieties of fruit and nut plants. cue the day dreams of owning some edible acreage with hazelnut and blueberry hedgerows
Showing posts with label farming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label farming. Show all posts
8.27.2008
lets get it on
things are running at a good clip in the right direction.
my farm partner and best friend has been in town and its been lovely. i will probably go into withdrawls next week (but luckily there are some more people in town too.) she met my farm mentor and they totally hit it off so i am feeling really good about our farming future, except for the problem of distance. hopefully we can find a way to resolve that.
i've decided to volunteer for them as well as join and become more involved in the activities they are holding—bike rides to farms and foodie book clubs.
i am eager for some down time and after a weekend in portland and seattle, i think i will be even more eager. it will be the perfect opportunity to catch up on the garden. i need to cut back the tomatoes and continue my intensive harvesting.
it also sounds like i might raise a cow for some beef with a friend. looks like he has access to pasture and i would love to raise some meat for myself.
lots of promising ideas in the works....
my farm partner and best friend has been in town and its been lovely. i will probably go into withdrawls next week (but luckily there are some more people in town too.) she met my farm mentor and they totally hit it off so i am feeling really good about our farming future, except for the problem of distance. hopefully we can find a way to resolve that.
i've decided to volunteer for them as well as join and become more involved in the activities they are holding—bike rides to farms and foodie book clubs.
i am eager for some down time and after a weekend in portland and seattle, i think i will be even more eager. it will be the perfect opportunity to catch up on the garden. i need to cut back the tomatoes and continue my intensive harvesting.
it also sounds like i might raise a cow for some beef with a friend. looks like he has access to pasture and i would love to raise some meat for myself.
lots of promising ideas in the works....
6.04.2008
future farmers of america
my farming cohort and i are getting serious.
big article came out in the new york times recently about the area and now we have the fire under our feet. we need to be looking for land and getting up and running before we are priced out of the valley.
my spare time has been spent this week on research.
thus far it is going really well and looks promising.
we might have a potential business partner, i've found several snatches of land that could work, some opportunities to lease, a real estate agent and a good lead on a financing institution. all in all, while it is promising it is also a little overwhelming and definitely daunting.
so i have my notebook and my cohort arrives this weekend.
so hopefully next week things will be a little less frightening.
i have my practical hat on, instead of my fanciful one.
i am learning a lot and in that sense am feeling better about it. so in that respect it has all been very good.
if there is anyone out there with some advice—i'm all ears!
big article came out in the new york times recently about the area and now we have the fire under our feet. we need to be looking for land and getting up and running before we are priced out of the valley.
my spare time has been spent this week on research.
thus far it is going really well and looks promising.
we might have a potential business partner, i've found several snatches of land that could work, some opportunities to lease, a real estate agent and a good lead on a financing institution. all in all, while it is promising it is also a little overwhelming and definitely daunting.
so i have my notebook and my cohort arrives this weekend.
so hopefully next week things will be a little less frightening.
i have my practical hat on, instead of my fanciful one.
i am learning a lot and in that sense am feeling better about it. so in that respect it has all been very good.
if there is anyone out there with some advice—i'm all ears!
2.21.2008
...at last...
so i think i'm in love.
and its the best kind of love.
i'm in love with a farm.
and the farmer and her husband and her dog and property and outlook and personality and lifestyle and warmth and friendliness and skills and friends and children.
its really awesome to take off work early at 3, drive across down and play around in the dirt while drinking a beer from someone's personal keg-erator. to be instantly welcomed, instantly privy to the in's and out's, instantly at ease. to be encouraged to explore and plant some roots (literally and metaphorically).
it was an absolutely great afternoon.
in other news: chicken report.
i've been unable to find all the breeds that i want to buy and am incredibly sad about it. the hatcheries in town can get one of the breeds. a couple of the hatcheries online have two or three of the breeds available but one, require a minimum purchase of 25 chicks and two, only sell them straight run. straight run is no fun.
at lunch i thought i'd found my saviour, Meyer Hatchery. they have nearly all of the breeds i was interested in, all of which were available sexed and for an extra cost would ship small orders (as small as three chicks.) sounds perfect right? at second glance, all the breeds i was interested in were sold out. *&@^$@*!
so i am not sure if i'll be getting new chicks this year.
some ameracaunas from phinney for sure. and red sex links have big eggs, but they can be violent and i am trying to get away from aggressive birds.
so i've been a little disappointed about that.
this weekend i am going to work at taking the coop apart and moving it farther back. if i get really into it, i might rent a rototiller and dig up the berry patch and raise bed area. and i'll probably start some things indoors, brassicas and peppers and maybe herbs as well.
and its the best kind of love.
i'm in love with a farm.
and the farmer and her husband and her dog and property and outlook and personality and lifestyle and warmth and friendliness and skills and friends and children.
its really awesome to take off work early at 3, drive across down and play around in the dirt while drinking a beer from someone's personal keg-erator. to be instantly welcomed, instantly privy to the in's and out's, instantly at ease. to be encouraged to explore and plant some roots (literally and metaphorically).
it was an absolutely great afternoon.
in other news: chicken report.
i've been unable to find all the breeds that i want to buy and am incredibly sad about it. the hatcheries in town can get one of the breeds. a couple of the hatcheries online have two or three of the breeds available but one, require a minimum purchase of 25 chicks and two, only sell them straight run. straight run is no fun.
at lunch i thought i'd found my saviour, Meyer Hatchery. they have nearly all of the breeds i was interested in, all of which were available sexed and for an extra cost would ship small orders (as small as three chicks.) sounds perfect right? at second glance, all the breeds i was interested in were sold out. *&@^$@*!
so i am not sure if i'll be getting new chicks this year.
some ameracaunas from phinney for sure. and red sex links have big eggs, but they can be violent and i am trying to get away from aggressive birds.
so i've been a little disappointed about that.
this weekend i am going to work at taking the coop apart and moving it farther back. if i get really into it, i might rent a rototiller and dig up the berry patch and raise bed area. and i'll probably start some things indoors, brassicas and peppers and maybe herbs as well.
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