More Harvest: Soybeans

Yesterday I harvested most of the soybeans. (The beans I managed to wrestle away from the rabbit and the chickens.) Even with all the competition for the soybeans, I managed to get six bags of blanched beans for the freezer.

Usually, the beans are all ripe at the same time. I just pull them out and then strip the beans from the plant, usually in mid-September.

 Throw whole pods into boiling water. Let the water heat to a boil again, and then remove beans to a cold water bath.

Drain and then put in freezer bags.

More Reasons to Hate us

All of these birds have been saved by an animal conservation group. They are unable to survive in the wild because they cannot fly.

 The group, takes them around to rural fairs to raise money. I like that they are trying to save birds but I wish they did not have to display the birds like this.

Pomona's Universal Pectin Saskatoon Jam

I have been looking for alternatives to the high sugar pectin I have been using. I just hate adding 7 cups of sugar to 5 cups of fruit, so I was happy to discover Pomona's Universal Pectin. The pectin in Pomona's doesn't require sugar to set, it sets with calcium.

Pomona's costs more than the usual pectin, but it also makes 2 to 4 settings of jam. With the smaller amounts of sugar,  I think the cost of Pomona and Certo's about the same.

Freshly picked Saskatoon berries

Saskatoon Jam

I tried my first batch of Pomona's using Saskatoons. I just used the blueberry recipes. Instead of sugar, I used honey. The resulting jam was delicious.

Berry Picking

-->

Yesterday, I made Saskatoon jam, and it reminded me of my parents. They used to go picking every summer, and then my mom would put up a batch of wild blueberry jam.

I remember picking with them. I hated it. I would get hot and sun burned, and usually make myself sick from eating too many berries. And when we would all gather for the picnic after we finished picking, I would have the fewest blueberries in my pail.

It's funny but I think those are my fondest memories now. I imagine we did a multitude of things as a family, but only a few stand out in my mind, and berry picking is one of them. Sometimes, my dad would bring along his 22 and we would practice shootings at beer cans after lunch.

I wasn't much of a shot then or now, but I am a better picker. I still eat lots of berries when I pick, so much so, that I can't quite meet the eyes of the people at the upick places when we weigh out.

Kildeer

Amazing camouflage.

We came across this nest a day ago. It is very amazing how the eggs are so well hidden in plain sight. I am not sure if this is a viable nest as there were no signs of the adults. I will check again tomorrow.

This would be the second set of eggs for the season. I love how at the end of the summer, there are kildeer all over the farm, each practicing its acting. It is like being surrounded by a thousand tiny ham actors, all trying to lure you away with their broken wings.

The Garden at the Start of Summer (Maybe)

The garden as of June 30, 2012

The gardener standing in front of the mock orange

 The garden is growing very fast due to the excess amounts of rain. 

The strawberries are ripe now, but the have had too much rain. They taste more like water than berry. Same with the raspberries and cherries. They have a hint of flavour, and are no doubt still very good for you.

There hasn't been too much trouble with bugs, mostly because it is too cold.

The cabbage and the onions are all very content. It is only the water logged gardeners that are complaining!

Lush new growth due to the endless rain.

First harvest from the New Garden

There is a brief window of opportunity to harvest garlic scapes. Great for pasta, bread, and soup.

Cabbage loves this cold June weather.

Finally, strawberries before the robins eat them all.

Preparing the Garden 2012

 Finally managed to get the rototiller into the garden.

Asparagus!

We tried to build a new asparagus bed four years ago. Eventually, we realized that the new spot was too shady and we only ever harvested a few asparagus. This year we decided to move it to a newer bed still.

We dug up the old roots, which were really well developed. They were a little creepy too, kind of like an alien creature.

Anyway, they reside happily in the new bed.

Dandelion Jelly

Scot made some Dandelion Jelly this weekend. We used our special dandelion sniffing dog to help find the star ingredient.
Scot had to use scissors and trim the petals from the flower stem, and then he collected about four cup fulls. (We have a lot of dandelions.) The petals of the flower are surprisingly sweet, not bitter like the rest of the plant.

The final result! Beautiful honey coloured jelly. It has a mild flavour but quite tasty. We used our certo mint jelly recipe to make it. It set-up quite well.

Loggerhead Shrike

Scot caught this unusual visitor to these parts on film--or more accurately, on memory card.

New Raspberry Patch

Two years ago, our raspberries had cane blight, so we dug them out, replaced the soil and brought in new plants. We had a pretty good crop last year, considering how young the plants were. Even though the new crop seems to be flourishing, we decided to start a new patch away from the old one. We placed it behind the berm, where we figured it would get better sun exposure and there would be less chance of mildew forming. The canes we planted were dug from other farms and we chose golden raspberries and a couple of tulameens that came from our original stock.

Sleepy Doormouse

Making a Chic-a-dee Quilt

I call this the lost weekend quilt. Well, it isn't really a quilt, more appliqué than quilting. I have to master the machine before I can try my hand at quilting.

It Begins Again

Come to historic Ladner Sat. Jan 28/12 from 10 to 2 pm. Seedy Saturday will be located at the Ladner Baptist Church Hall at 5624 Ladner Trunk Road. The venue is wheelchair friendly with plenty of free parking, located on bus route # 601 and admission is by donation.''''

http://www.richmondfoodsecurity.org/ai1ec_event/ladner-seedy-saturday/?instance_id=

Christmas at the Farm

It has been a very wet winter. Wet and too warm. Yesterday, we spotted a frog hopping around the dykes. Last night the rain sounded like a monsoon coming down. This morning, a noticed a newly hatched round of flies in the kitchen.



Even in this unseasonable weather, we had an enjoyable Christmas.

Birds Around the Farm

The bird feeder is up and the fall birds have settled in. I always like when the fall visitors arrive. It helps to relieve the monotony of the grey weather. We have seen all sorts of ducks and geese coming through. During the cranberry harvest we saw an American Kestrel haunting the fields. This year there have been many raptors of all descriptions. There are harriers, grey and red hawks and the little sparrow hawks. We have heard an owl at night but we haven't seen it yet.


Scot took this great picture of the now resident king fishers. They are fishing along the canals right now and will hopefully stay here for a while longer. I love to hear their little chittering call.

Cranberry Harvest Time

Suddenly it is winter. I have missed the gloomy grey of the west coast fall. It is when I get the most writing done, and when I remember my dreams the most.


At the farm, they have begun to harvest the cranberries, It is like living in the middle of an island (of course we are on an island), but now it is a much smaller one with all the fields flooded.

The flooded fields have attracted all sorts of ducks. It is lovely to see them. There have been so few of them coming through this year. I am not sure why they have been so scarce. The eagles have killed many of the ducks around the farm, but it seems to me there are fewer in general.

In fact, I think the eagles were pretty desperate for food, because they hunted all the herons this year.

Drying Apples in the New Dehydrator

We had an unexpected windfall, so we decided to use the proceeds to buy a dehydrator. We probably should have bought a new fridge, but we decided to be whimsical instead. I am not sure if the dehydrator will pay for itself. It does have a ten year warranty, so maybe it will. Anyway, it sits where our fridge used to and it does use much less energy.



I love apple chips, so we went to the UBC Botanical Gardens Apple festival and bought around 12 pounds of apples for drying. We have Czech, a King, and a long keeper apple. I read somewhere that if you planted all the seeds of an apple, each seed would produce a different variety. I am not sure if this is true or why this would be the case.


As you can see the apples turned out really well. I used a mandolin cutter to speed up the task and to get even portions for consistent drying. After cutting, I put them in a citric acid water bath, rinsed and then dried them at 135 degrees F for 8 to 15 hours. I made various thicknesses, so the drying time varies. The dehydrator costs between 4 to 8 cents an hour to run, and it heats up the kitchen and makes it smell nice. It also attracted wasps, but they have now gone to ground for the winter.

The Fall