Progress Photos...

The season is in full swing at Susitna Farm & Fiber, and I thought I would share some photos of what's growing!

Blue Potatoes and Horseradish ready to be planted.

 

 The Salad Garden

 The Herb Garden

 Pepper Plants

 Sunchokes (Jerusalem Artichoke)

 Perennial Flowers for Pollination

 Arugula

 Broccoli

 Gratuitous Compost Picture

 Blurry Picture of a Baby Asparagus

 Lavender

 French Tarragon

 Pumpkin

 Snap Peas

 Bleeding Heart and Volunteer Chives

 Marigolds Everywhere!

 Beautiful Lettuce

 Cucumber

What are YOU looking at?

Frost protection in the garden...

Spring appears to have arrived early this year, and although most of us have experienced snowfall in May, we all seem to be having a difficult time refraining from planting the entire garden by Mother's Day weekend! Honestly, in most of the Matanuska Valley and Anchorage area, your seeds can be safely planted now, if you take a few steps to warm the soil a bit.

Raised beds are a great way to maximize the heat from the sun. They tend to thaw faster, and if you cover them with black plastic or row cover until you are ready to plant, your soil should be plenty warm. Cold Frames are usually insulated on the bottom, and that, paired with the heat brought in through the glass, make a great place to keep starts, or to plant cold tolerant veggies such as lettuce and spinach a little earlier in the season. Hoop houses are essentially cold frames on a grand scale. They make great season extenders, and can be custom built over raised beds with the plastic removed once the danger of frost is past.

If you decide to brave the frost and plant out your starts, the first thing to consider is micro climates within your space. Generally the south facing side of your house will provide the best cold protection. Large rocks strategically placed amongst your starts will absorb heat during the day and release it at night, and a black garbage can or jugs full of water will retain a surprising amount of heat. For more active frost protection, some sort of nightly cover may be needed. You can buy specially designed fabric to cover your plants with, but an old bed sheet will do just as well.

In my garden, the best protection I have found is to cut the bottom inch off of a clear plastic milk jug and place it over the plant like a miniature greenhouse. You can remove the whole thing on nice days, or just the cap on colder days.

If you do decide to plant now, remember to harden off any starts for a few days before placing them in the dirt, and be sure to use air temperature water so you don't sent the roots into shock! Good luck, and happy planting!

Slow-Cooker Baked Apples

This is how it all started... 3 chopped apples, 4 tbsp butter, 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tbsp vanilla extract and some sprinkles of cinnamon and sugar all set on low in my crock-pot early this afternoon.  Now....

My house smells heavenly, and after dinner this will be topped with caramel praline ice cream.  My children are drooling as we speak...


In other news, we FINALLY got the snow we've been missing for over a month! Yesterday started out with an ice storm which turned into a huge snowstorm, and finally the world is white again!  The kids are loving it, and even the geese seem to enjoy it a bit.  I thought they might sleep in the coop for once, but they seemed quite content to sleep outside in their usual spot!

A Woodside Gardens First!!!

My sweet goose, Gerdie, laid her very first egg!

And it was delicious!

Mmmmm Dinner...

On the menu tonight...

Vegetable Beef Soup & Fresh Baked Dinner Rolls

All from scratch, all organic, all delicious!!!

We eat good around here...

Fall Vegetables...

I just finished harvesting the last of the carrots from the garden. I got almost 10 pounds this year, and it really didn't take up that much space in the raised beds! I roasted a chicken the other night, and now I have leftover chicken, onions and fresh carrots simmering for chicken and dumplings tonight.

Homemade chicken stock smells AMAZING!!

I also have the carcass boiling away with the leftover onions and brussels sprouts from the first dinner, as well as the stems from the herbs I cut from the herb garden and added to the chicken and dumplings. This stock will go into the freezer to cook with later. I love that I can get 3 good meals (that serve 4 people!) from just 1 chicken and some veggies from the garden!

I also bought my first pumpkin of the season last weekend! I love pumpkin, and I hope that someday soon it will grow in my own garden, but for now I was just happy to see it on the grocery store shelf! There are so many ways to cook it, and the flavor is adaptable to most any dish or seasoning. This one will be roasted and pureed, most likely, and eaten with just a touch of salt and pepper.

Do you have a favorite fall vegetable that you look forward to all summer?

Sometimes Husbands are listening and thinking, just not saying anything!

Last night, for the umpteenth time, I attempted to talk to my husband about getting chickens. He has been adamantly saying no for about 5 years now, but I have been faithfully been pestering him in the hopes that he would at least tell me why. As I said it again, I braced myself for the usual "I don't want to talk about it right now", but instead, he threw back "I am actually VERY interested in getting chickens now, and what do you think about getting a cow?"

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A cow! That is not something that would happen any time soon, but my husband has been listening to me after all! Our conversation briefly touched on raising pigs and rabbits as well, and I can say with some confidence now that this IS going to happen. When my Husband has been thinking about something enough that he starts talking about it, it means that he's already weighed the options in his head, and that part of the battle is won. Now lets just hope that Mr. Super Planner doesn't go overboard on the coop!

From Scratch Chicken Noodle Soup!

My husband has been feeling under the weather for a few days now. He is always asking for chicken noodle soup with homemade noodles. I had never made noodles before, so yesterday, I decided that I would learn!

Basic Homemade Noodles:

2 cups flour
1 tsp dried herbs (such as basil, sage, or rosemary) crushed *optional*
1/2 tsp salt 
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup water
1 tsp olive oil
1/3 cup flour


Stir together flour, herbs, and salt. 
In a separate bowl, combine eggs, water and oil. 
Add to flour mixture and stir to combine. 
Sprinkle remaining 1/3 cup flour onto clean kneading surface. 
Turn dough onto floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes). 
Cover and let the dough rest for 10 minutes. 
Divide dough into four equal portions. 
Using a rolling pin or pasta roller, roll each portion into a 12 inch square, about 1/16 inch thick. 
Let stand, uncovered, 20 minutes. 
Cut as desired. 

You can dry it to cook later, or make it right away! Boil for 10 minutes or so, and you're good to go!

 Hanging my first ever homemade noodles! Why have I never done this before?

The soup was a hit, especially with the 3 year old, and we'll be eating the leftovers for dinner again tonight! It was made with carrots from the garden, and the chicken stock was some that I had made previously and stored in the freezer. Honestly, the noodles were so simple to make that I don't see myself buying them any more! Home cooked may take a bit longer, but what a great feeling to share this wonderful meal with my family, knowing that there are no chemicals or preservatives anywhere in the meal!

Today's Harvest...

Despite the mediocre harvest due to this year's wonky summer weather, there were plenty of successes as well! Today Lily and I decided to harvest the potatoes and the carrots...

From 4 seed potatoes and 1 garbage bag came this...

 3 pounds of perfect little potatoes!

Next we pulled the carrots... (well 2/3 of them, the rest we are saving for another day)

6 pounds of beautiful, sweet, crisp carrots!

Lily wanted to eat ALL of them!! I love teaching her where food comes from, and I really look forward to the day that she plans and plants her own garden!

Perennial Edibles in Alaska

There are a number of annual vegetables that do well in Alaska, but did you know that there are several perennial vegetables, herbs, and fruits that thrive here also? In my quest to make my property a major source of nutrition for my family, I have focused on bringing in only trees that will produce edible fruit (there's always the exception, of course!), and I am working on plans to create a perennial wing in my vegetable garden.

Here's a list of the Perennial Edibles that currently grow on my property:
Crab Apple
Choke Cherry
Raspberry
Black Currant
Red Currant
Gooseberry
Strawberry
High Bush Cranberry
Low Bush Cranberry
Rhubarb
Rosehip
French Tarragon
Sheep's Sorrel
Mint (Chocolate and Apple)
Lavendar
Chives

Here are a few I would like to add to my property:
Grafted Apple (Norland and Parkland)
Blueberry
Kiwi
Apricot
Indoor Citrus
Asparagus
Jerusalem Artichokes
Horseradish

Making space for perennials in your garden is an important part of any good permaculture plan. It is imperative that you plan for the long term when selecting a location and creating a space for the roots to thrive. Pay attention to not only the soil you nourish them with, but also the amount of sunlight they will receive, the space they will require when they are fully mature, and the amount of shade they will cast onto the surrounding areas. Just about anything can benefit from a fork full of compost at the bottom of the hole before planting, and plenty of loose soil beyond the edge of the root ball will give your plant room to wiggle its toes and settle happily into its new home. If you pay special attention to watering and pampering your plant for the first season or two, they will happily produce for you for years to come, with no more investment needed!

What types of perennial edibles do you have on your property? Do you have plans to integrate more in your garden?

Because Pictures Speak So Much Louder Than Words...

I hate to even say it, but my garden is starting to wind down for the year. We have been enjoying fresh turnips all summer long, and they are wonderful, but I was looking to try something new with them. I had a few dozen still in the ground, so this morning the kids and I headed out to the garden for one final turnip harvest. We ate a bunch of them raw, and then I set about finding a good canning recipe for the rest. Below are photos of my newest creation... pickled turnips! It doesn't sound appetizing, but it is absolutely amazing!

Roasting Garlic...

Growing garlic is something I have long wanted to do, but have yet to attempt. I put garlic in almost everything I cook, which means it is a crop that I need to be growing.

I absolutely LOVE the smell of fresh-roasted garlic cloves, so today I brought out my trusty clay garlic roaster and put it to good use.

I bought this lovely thing at a local thrift store a few years ago for a whopping $2.00.

Roasting garlic in a clay roaster is super easy...

1)  Submerge the base and lid of the clay roaster in water for 15 to 20 minutes before use.

2)  Trim the tops off of the garlic heads to expose the tips. (Leave the peel on the garlic.)

3)  Place the garlic heads into the roaster and drizzle lightly with olive oil.

4)  Set the lid on top of the roaster and place in a COLD oven.

5)  Set the oven to 350 F and leave the roaster in the oven for an hour to an hour and a half, until the heads feel soft and smell fragrant.

You can use this roasted garlic in just about anything you cook. Just break off a clove or two and squeeze the roasted garlic out of the peel. Store any unused garlic in a air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Remember to use nothing but boiling water to clean the clay roaster, as it will soak up any chemical cleaning agents you might use.

Here's the finished product...

I can almost smell the garlic just by looking at this picture!

Do you make your own roasted garlic? Do you have a different method of doing it?

Seriously, fresh baked bread is the easiest thing EVER...

This beautiful thing just came out of my oven. Thanks to my KitchenAid Mixer and the worlds best bread book (Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day), this loaf of deliciousness took me a total of about 5 minutes of effort, just like the title of the book claims! I don't eat a lot of bread, honestly, but when I make something like steak and potato soup for dinner, like I did tonight, a loaf of crusty bread is a prerequisite! (I'd like to note here that I am not being paid in any way for this post, and have never been contacted by anyone regarding this book... I just love it!!) Fresh bread can be such a treat, and its great to find a recipe that works easily and consistently.

I have a lot of recipes that I rotate throughout the year, depending on what the weather is like and what is producing in the garden. Spring and Summer are always full of fresh salads and lots of raw vegetables, whereas Fall brings lots of soups and hearty breads, roasted veggies and lots of baked squash. All of these recipes are centered around fresh, wholesome foods, so I really can't make many of them year round, and it works well for us because we never get tired of them this way!

Do you rotate your recipes seasonally, or do you eat the same way year round?

Are you a consumer, or a creator?

Reading my blog roll this morning got me thinking about something important.  To the food companies, and the government, we are all just "consumers".  We buy whatever they put on the shelves, whatever they tell us we need to spend our money on.  New cars, huge houses, gadgets and gizmos that are outdated a week after we purchase them.  Buy this, buy that, work 80 hours a week so you can buy more of our products... after all, your neighbor has one... so don't you need one too?  My answer is a resounding NO!!!  Why should I spend every hard earned penny on pre-packaged crap and things that will break after only a few uses.  Why should I spend $50K on a new vehicle when my 11 year old truck is functional and already makes me happy?  Why should I trust a food company who just recalled a bunch of their "kid-friendly" meals because they are full of bits of wire, or feed my children from a package that has to shout out what is healthy about it, because when I look at the ingredients list, most of it I can't even pronounce, let alone know what it is?  Because my government tells me that spending all my money on this crap is the "American Way"? NO!!!  NO NO NO!!!

I refuse to be defined as a "Consumer" any longer.  I am a creator!  I created a beautiful, bountiful garden where there was just a pile of large rocks.  I create the most beautiful garden soil by being conscious of my waste around the house and yard.  I grow amazing tasting vegetables that have no unpronounceable ingredient lists.  I can create cheese, butter, beautiful jams and jellies, sew a $50 curtain from $5 worth of material, crochet a warm blanket for my children from the scrap yarns that were given to me, knit scarves and hats and gloves, bake rustic loaves of bread, build most of the garden tools I need... the list just goes on and on!  I am limited in my creations only by my own imagination, and for the government to tell me that I am an irresponsible citizen for not going out to spend spend spend is simply assinine.

If the price of consumables skyrockets, (ha... "if".  Its happening right now, folks), I will be ok.  I'm not 100% self sufficient, but between me and my family, we can mostly take care of ourselves if it is required.  I have neighbors that I can count on to lend a hand, even though we all mostly keep to ourselves in our day to day lives.  I live in a small community which chooses to self fund their projects through raffles, community donations, and volunteers, (most recently a sports arena/hockey rink,) rather than asking the government for money.  I am a creator, and I choose to create a healthy, happy, anti-consumerist life for myself and my family.  And guess what... you can be a creator too!  There are people out there that will help you, teach you, guide you.  Its not as hard as the big corporations who want your money would like you to believe!  Reach out... try it... you can make it happen!  Your bank account and your quality of life will thank you!

It doesn't get much better than this...

These are the ingredients from last nights dinner:

Coho (Silver) Salmon I pulled straight from the ocean 2 days prior,
Turnip, Broccoli, Garden Peas, Radishes and Summer Squash, all fresh from my garden, mixed with a little olive oil and herbs from the herb garden.

I grilled the whole thing, and served it with some Basmati Rice.

My son thinks I'm the best cook in the whole world!

Its Alive!!!!!

I have potatoes, lettuce, peas, spinach and turnips all breaking ground!!!

Getting ready for this years garden...

So much is happening around here, I am finding it hard to sit down long enough to post about this years garden happenings!  The snow is all gone, and my raised garden beds are thawed out and warming nicely!  I have prepped all the garden beds, and so far have planted lettuce, turnips, spinach and snap peas.  I have also planted potatoes for the first time ever!  I am trying the black garbage bag method, as this is the cheapest, easiest route for me this year.  Also, I have officially started a worm farm!  Vermicompost will be nourishing my tomatoes this year, and I am very excited about it!  I don't have any pictures yet, but I will work on that for all of you yearning for a little garden porn!  What are you all doing in the garden right now?

Snow on the horizon...

Looking out my window this morning, I can't help but notice the snow that is slowly creeping its way down the mountains.  Although the last few days of rain and cloud cover have produced some warmer fall temperatures, there is no denying that winter is knocking at the front door.  Its time to finish up the garden, clean up the yard, and make any repairs to the house that have been pushed to the back burner.  Its the time for baked squash, yummy fall soups, and the family favorite around here, pot roast with roasted root vegetables.

I have mostly stopped eating red meat, as I find that it sits in my stomach like a rock for far too long, but I'm not going to deny the rest of my family the option.  I just make myself something different on the days I make roast for the rest of my family.  Do you make more than one meal at night, to satisfy the different tastes at the dinner table?

Harvest in full swing!

Despite the month long cold/wet spell we had, my garden is providing surprisingly well for me.  Yesterday I harvested 3 more quarts of snap peas, which I steam blanched and put in the freezer.  I got several summer squashes as well.  I decided to go ahead and pull up all the squash plants, as I was still fighting the gray mold issue, although the ones I harvested today were ok.  After I pulled the squash vines, to my GREAT surprise, I pulled out a cucumber hiding in the back that is as big as my forearm!  Holy Moly, where did that thing come from?!  There are LOTS of other cucumbers as well which are looking healthy and delicious.

The eggplant is very close to opening its first buds, which I assume means I WON"T be getting any actual eggplants this year again.  I'll let them keep growing until the frost kills them anyway, because the blossoms are quite lovely.  The tomatoes are growing like crazy, but I have no red ones yet.  They will probably have to be brought inside to ripen... no worries there.

I officially ate my first green beans yesterday as well.  They are growing FAST!  I will have to pick the first batch this week for sure, and probably a second by next week.  Dilly Beans here we come!  I'll be freezing as many as I can get my hands on as well.

The Brussels Sprouts are sprouting, the cabbages are almost ready to split, and the Broccoli is seeding, attracting all sorts of beautiful insects to its blossoms.  I pulled most of the lettuce as it is finally going to seed, and the Kale is looking awesome!  I'll wait until after the first frost to process that.

I don't think I'll get any turnips out of the second batch, but it looks like there will be plenty of greens to harvest yet.

I'm sitting here this morning, watching the fog which was a thick as pea soup slowly burn off and make way for what appears to be some sunshine!  I might even get a load of clothes out on the laundry line today!  Fall is most definitely in the air... I can feel it and smell it.  Almost time to turn on the heater!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

I had to pick and toss 4 zucchinis into the compost pile this morning.  It has been so wet that they started developing some major gray mold and rot.  I think I got it before it affected the whole plant, or the other plants in the hothouse.  This rain is really starting to get depressing!