Earth Heart

Tomorrow we plant, the good news and pics should start coming on strong. Thanks you and goodnight, JR

Feed Field Trip

Now that our young chickens have grown they are producing a vast amount of eggs. Equally so they are eating a bundle of food, so today Justin and I are road tripping to Deer Park to get a ton of chicken pellets. Our friends at Half Moon Feeds have been very helpfull and we have had great results with their feed. Our chickens thank us each day for the wholesome and buffer free local grains. I will keep you updated with changes on the farm so check back soon. Until then keep your head high and do your best. JB

snow day

Hello again my friends. It comes to me that we must all take time in our busy lives to embrace our mother, and thats what I did today. My good friend Trev and I went into the back country this morning with snowshoes on our backs, wow ,what an experience. We only made three runs but they were well deserved. Away from everyone, without modern noise to disrupt, we truly lived today. Back to greenhouse prep tomorrow, sore legs in the back of my mind. Love to all,
Jb Till

Frosty Mornings

Headed up to the greenhouse this morning in hopes of getting our propane heater working. Its awfully cold out now, but I would love to plug some trays with Kale seed. The only thing getting in the way now is the sharp chill in the air. Keep moving, if not forward, then back. Stagnation will only further separate you from your goals.
with pride, Joe
"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." HDT

Preparing For Precipitation

Our small solarium has served it purpose, although it has had it downfalls. Today JR and I spent the morning buttoning up the leaks in the aged plastic roof. We stretched 6 mil clear plastic over the top and sides of the room, leaving the south facing glass wall uncovered for maximum sun penetration. It looks like it will be a suitable greenhouse for another season. We also sent in our order for onion seeds today, and selected 5 verities of old world heirlooms. My early favorite is the Red Welsh Bunching Onion, a super-hardy bunching onion that originated in northern China or Siberia. Grown for its thick green stems and hollow leaves which possess a sharp onion flavor.

Stay positive, Joe

Winter Warmers...

Well my friends it has been a while since I've posted. So I take this time to share my thoughts on the winter months. Its been freezing here in Spokane this far, although winter has yet to begin. Only a few more days until seasons change and we will be graced with longer days filled with more sun and positive thoughts. Its hard to stay motivated in terms of farming, but with my classes done for a month I am now able to allocate more energy into our farming experiment. Our seed catalog arrived a few days ago and Justin and I have been thumbing through the pages over frosty glasses of winter ale. We also have great plans for an expansion next spring. Taking the farm down the road to 37th and Glenrose we hope to plant an acre or more, and that's where you come in. With the added garden space we will be in dire need of help maintaining the project, so get a hold of us. Thanks for reading. Joe

"Dreams are the touchstones of our character." -Henry David Thoreau

Slow-vember

In this month, my favorite, I find less is more once again. A slow process of shade-ripening the last of our tomatoes yielded great results, having delivered the last batch yesterday. The only chores these days are cleaning up the new plot more and more, and feeding the chickens. The county slapped a burn ban on us this week, so we'll play nice. Otherwise, we'd probably burn every night. So much slash and duff... Only have a few more squash and pumpkins left as ornaments, and I'll save the seeds from them too. The picture is of the seeds from a Jarrahdale blue pumpkin, which as the picture shows, provided many seeds for it's smaller stature. Very excited to see the results this coming Spring. Other than that, let's all continue to strive, but be calm all at once. "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." -Ben Franklin Cheers, JR