Kennebec Organics Soil review

Recently Kennebec Organics supplied me with a sample of their NEW potting soil/seed starter for an Achorn Farm review. It was amazingly light and fluffy with a rich mahogany color. It looked good enough to eat. Not really but you get the picture.

For years I've used the commercially available over the counter Pro Mix. I figured if it was good enough for the professional gardener it should certainly should work for us.

With this in mind I set out on a head to head comparison between the big box stores and a new local business.

My initial expectation was that I would find a 10- 20% measurable difference between the two soils. However, to my surprise the results were far greater then I expected. The Kennebec Organic soil on the LEFT grew twice the size of the Promix which is on the right. I will be interested to see if this equates to twice the yield at harvest time. But more important than the numbers, healthy vigorous plants produce more nutritionally dense food which is one of the main reasons we garden.

These bell peppers were grown side by side using the same seed tray, water, and light exposure. I know which seed starter we will be using from now on.
Remember... plant SMARTER not HARDER with Kennebec Organics!

Currently this product is available at Visions on KMD in Oakland, ME (465-8200)

~Maine Man

I spy with my little eye...

....Something green in February~ONIONS~

Nice to see seedlings sprouting upon the window sills!

Last night was the first meal I cooked since my procedure.
I am not 100% but definitely better then I was pre-procedure.
Today was the first time in a while I did not have to lay down and did not take ANY meds.
Wooo hooo!
Nice to be back in the kitchen!
Many (not all) of the meals we cook come from the farm.
When we first started raising our own food each homegrown meal created a stir of excitement.
Now we often take it for granted.

We had pork chops from H1 who went to the butcher shop last week.
MM has processed some of our pigs in the past but with everything going on as of recently it was best to pay someone else to do it.

I also cooked up some mashed potatoes from the root cellar, we have enough left to bring us into summer I think.

For a vegetable I cooked up some Butternut squash. That stored nicely in cool storage...(Country Boy's closet) He was real impressed with me :/
Buttercup is my favorite but it was the worst for storage. Had I paid better attention and in the future I will Always eat those up first. Acorn squash & Spaghetti squash stored quite well but the Hubbard & Butternut by far stored the BEST! I am certain we will have enough until next years crop.

My Little Onion Chopper ~ day 11

No need in crying when your cooking up dinner.

Clever and effective idea the kids came up with.

In the past I have refrigerated the onions prior to cutting them up.

I thought that was effective but I am not always good at planning that far ahead.

Sad to report but these are store bought onions. (ha, actually this picture just above is celery, lol) Last year's harvest was marginal. This year Maine Man will try to grow them in ash as it has been said to be an effective way of growing onions. What about you? Do you have any tricks to cutting up onions without fighting back tears? How about growing onions? Any gardening tips to share? Would love to hear all your secrets!

Hoop House Update

The outside gardens are all done producing for the season with the exception of a few onions & some late season potatoes. We did have several tomato plants but those were taken out by the first frost, this past Saturday night.
This is our first fall with the hoop house.
Maine Man has lots of vegetables growing, including...leeks, spinach, lettuce, turnips, beets, bok choy, and peppers. Not sure if the peppers will produce but they have flowers. We are still have a few left to harvest from the our initial crop. The tomato plants remain and continue to produce. Thankfully MM had it all closed up in anticipation of the frost.
I am anxious to see how much longer these tomato plants survive.
Not sure what we will attempt to grow through the winter. I am hoping at least for some fresh greens because I really do not care for store bought lettuce if I can help it.

Leeks

Wordless Wednesday ~LOVE my new boots~

Dried Beans

This was the first year that we grew dried beans. I picked up some Soldier Beans from a local market and instead of eating them I opted to plant them.

I hung the whole plants to dry in the barn for a couple weeks then...
...Country Boy, my Mom & I took the beans out of the pods.

Next year I'd like to grow a few other varieties.

This whole process makes you look at a bag of dried beans in a different light that is for sure.

In general I find growing your own gives you a deeper appreciation for food and those that prepare it.

On a final note...has anyone watched the documentary "The Future of Food"? If not you really should. Maine Man and I watched it last night. All I am going to say is "Scary!" Let me know if you watch and what you think.

Garlic Harvest

Maine Man & the kids pulled the garlic last week.

Before anyone asks I have no idea what variety it is....organization is not my best quality ;)

What I do know is that it is a mix of soft & hard neck varieties.

It has been drying in the barn. I have given some away and I cook with it frequently.

Hard neck garlics do not have a long shelf life so my plan is to try and freeze a bit, make some pesto, and I may even attempt to pickle some. Flower Girl LOVES pickled garlic. Has anyone ever pickled garlic before? Any suggestions for alternate storage?

Cute little story about pickled garlic....last Christmas I bought some pickled garlic for FG. That night she ate a handful. The next day I noticed she had peculiar breath. It seemed to persist for days. I felt it was endocrine in nature. Ha, the nurse in me! I was convinced she was in DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis) or something and even went as far as checking her blood sugar with a glucometer I had. It was normal of course. That afternoon while talking to my BF about the situation, she chuckled and reminded me of all the garlic she'd consumed in the days prior to.

LOL, sometimes knowing more is not always better.

Fruits of our Labor

Well, veggies....it just didn't sound right. What I like most about this time of year is all the availability of produce. Three times a day we benefit from the fruits of our labor! Going to an event? Need to put a quick dish together. Nothing like going out foraging in the hoop house & gardens to make a quick, colorful, nutritious delightful addition for a BBQ.

Greenhouse Update

April 12th we harvested our 1st bowl of lettuce. That's nearly 8 weeks ahead of our norm.
Maine Man has quite a few vegetables growing strong in the greenhouse. Mostly cold weather crops. He was feeling brave and planted his beloved tomatoes a week or so ago. He is been closely watching the weather forecast for nighttime low temperatures. A good many nights he has had to cover the tomatoes and a few nights we've had to run a propane heater.
By next year we will have a wood stove piped in.

Peas

Peppers he's yet to plant in the ground

We mixed some beet greens in our salad mix
Nothing like fresh greens sowed from seed just out your front door!

Garlic in the outside garden. Looking forward to July's harvest. Thankful I still have some from last season.

It's getting HOT in here!

There is nothing like the feeling that you get when you step into the greenhouse. Warmth, brightness, moisture and the smell of earth. LOVE it!

Maine Man made a raised bed on one side of the greenhouse. In the raised bed he planted bok choy, spinach, swiss chard, carrots, beets, kale, onions, and lettuce. This week we plan to place an extra cover over the crops at night with the predicted drop in temperatures.

Cocoa has been creating lots of fertilizer for the gardens. It will not be long before he is out to pasture. After MUCH shopping around MM picked up and electric fence. Thanks to his frugal ways he saved over $100. I forsee the assembly of that as a future post.

Although garlic is typically started in the fall MM planted a few cloves in the greenhouse last month. They seem to be doing as well as the garlic in the back garden . Looking forward to July's harvest.

Anyone cook with Bok Choy before? This is a first time planting and will be a my first time cooking and eating it.

Peas, yum!

As the Garden Grows, so does the Gardener

Maine Man had an early start at planting this season. For seedlings so far he has started: kale, tomato, peppers, lettuce, onions, cabbage, beets, and broccoli.

In the morning we walk tray after tray out to the greenhouse and at night it all comes back in the house. Maybe next year we will have a wood stove out there.

MM reached deep into his squeaky pockets and paid a whopping $6.00 for tomato seed at Johnny's. Have I ever mentioned before how frugal (tight) he is? It was a painful experience for him but they are especially suited for the greenhouse.

In the back right of the greenhouse he has planted some peas. Next will be onions. The greenhouse has reached near 90's on the warmer days.

Can you guess what is hatching today here on the homestead? You'll just have to come on back to see some great pictures in my next post.

Seeds, Seeds, and more Seeds

Johnny's had a $1 bin the other day! That is a rarity so I took at advantage and bought a few ;) packs of seeds that were on the verge of expiring. Depending on who you talk to and what you read germination may not be as good but I DON'T CARE! We have seeds from years back that still seem to produce. For me it was an opportunity to try products we've never grown and/or tasted before. There was a mix of hybrid and heirloom seeds available. We grow both but my interest in heirloom seeds is increasing as I plan to learn more about seed saving. Next time I go to the library I plan to take out a book on seed saving and see what I can learn and put to action this year.


So here are some of the goodies we are going to plant this year. And I SWEAR this is the year that I am going to keep track of what is where! I can always tell what is what, those are pumpkins, here is the corn. This year I WILL go beyond that by knowing the variety. For instance, Winter Squash, Specialty Long Island Cheese

My plan is to make a map and track the varieties Maine Man plants where. He truly is the brains behind this operation! The garden is the one place I do as I'm told as he is the Master Gardener;) He does give me free range in my assigned herb area, that is about it. Harvest and preservation, that is a whole different story!

I am so excited to grow the above squash. If you click the link there is lots of great info! I have always admired them year after year at the Common Ground Fair. Now I am going to have them growing in my back yard! They are said to be a great for cooking. This past year was the first time I've ever cooked up pumpkins and froze. I have enjoyed having a pumpkin/squash stash to cook with but I really can't wait to see what this year's bounty taste like.

Basil Dark Opal is another variety I picked up. This with be my 3rd year of growing herbs. This year's herb patch will be bigger & better then previous years. I am amazed how easy they are to grow!

To list a few of the seed packets pictured above: Sorrel (I have never tried but heard of), Endive (Is known to be winter hardy. This will be our first year attempting 4 seasons growing/harvesting), Chinese Lanterns (I have always wanted to grow these), hedgehog gourds (just for the fun of it!) then there are the traditional peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, corn and so on.
So psyched for Spring! The past few weeks in Maine the weather has been UNUSUALLY warm and recent rains have wiped out much of the snow in our area. Wouldn't it be sweet if this was our end to winter? Ha, we will see what March brings!


On a final note, a FYI for my fellow bloggers:

I have previously mentioned printing out my blog into a book and I have finally taken a step towards this. Reasons why ..... 1) if the internet crashed and burned I would be distraught at the thought of loosing documentation of the last 3 years of our life. Not to mention the recipes that I recall almost on a weekly basis. 2) as a keepsake for my children 3) in this world of digital photography the days of photo albums (at least in this house) are over. Back in the days of film photography I was faithful at filling my albums but right around 2003 that all ceased. Now I rarely print them out except if I plan on framing, giving as presents, an occassional photo book for family or friend, and my annual calender that I give to our parents as a Christmas gift.

The secret is Blog2Print . It literally only takes a few minutes! You type in your link and a few minutes later you can view the book and see what the cost will be if you decide to order. No cutting and pasting, Quick & easy! I made and ordered a book from the first year of my blog, 2008. The more information you have naturally the more you will pay. I also made a book for 2009 and placed it in my shopping cart. I am waiting to see if I like the end result. I did not include comments as that added many more pages which = more $ and I ordered soft cover to limit the money paid out. My plan is to print one at at the end of each year therefore making the cost more managable.
I will let you know how I like. In the meanwhile I encourage any of you fellow bloggers to give it a try. Hope you all find this helpful!

Embracing Nature

Today the weather was absolutely GORGEOUS!

What started out as me heading out on the back forty for a work-out turned into a family affair.

This patch of pines is one of my favorite spots in the trail.

We scouted out many paw prints: rabbit, squirrel, partridge, and deer....not sure what the above is. I thought a bear but Maine Man suspected it may be a coyote. What do you think?

Almost forgot to mention (not)...I bought a new camera. Wooo Hooo, I have been talking about it for a year now. Ha, I had to prep MM for the purchase ;) It is a Canon Rebel XS. I love it but figured out quickly that I need a telephoto lens sooner than later. That may send MM over the edge. He's REALLY frugal, not a bad thing. I'll just tell him after I order it like I did with the camera. Prep him, Order it, then Tell him. Sneaky... Still each others best friend although they'd never admit it.

Later in the day MM did some experimental planting in the greenhouse. It had to be at least 70 degrees in there. He planted a few potatoes we had sprouting in the cellar and a couple garlic cloves. Now as I type he and his girl are in the kitchen starting tomatoes, onions, and green peppers.

He tilled in the ashes. We have burned wood exclusively this season except this past weekend as we were away. I had to order oil for the for the first time this winter, it was painful!

Hard to believe this coming fall he will be carrying around a real gun in the woods.

I am just thankful he has a Dad that will safely guide him through this phase of his life.

We ended the afternoon with a sled ride and a fire.

Now we are watching the Olympics.

Lovely day!

Life is good!

Grocery Shopping

On Christmas Eve I went out behind the barn and dug up a couple rows of carrots. Enough to fill two large bowls. They were under at least 6 inches of snow but the ground had yet to freeze. It would have been a whole lot easier to dig up a month or so ago but....I didn't. I had it with picking and processing, thought about mulching the beds but I didn't. Little more work but it still beats buying a bag at the grocery store!

THE GREENHOUSE IS UP!!!!!

Looks kind of like this picture but with a lot more white stuff surrounding it. Someone decided that winter was to begin this week in Maine. The week before it was in the 50-60's and the only attire needed while working outside was a sweatshirt. We had a storm at the beginning of the week and it is snowing as I type. This past Wednesday was the kids first snow day from school, always an exciting moment.

If you want to read a bit about where we bought the greenhouse here is the post form back in April .

Credits to Maine Man who worked from dusk til dawn to finish this project.
First breaking ground...

Lots of cow poo dropped off by the farmer down the road.

Then MM tilled it in.

Doesn't look like a whole lot but MM spent many hours putting this together. Our new neighbor just across the way even commented on his persistence when he is out working on projects in the yard.

Challenging moments. I wouldn't exactly say we work well together. If only pictures could speak!

farm help

farm clown

Temporary side enclosure. MM will do something different come Spring to promote optimal ventilation. We do have a big box fan we bought along with it but we'd rather not use if we don't have too.

We put up 48 feet of the 96 feet we have. It is good to start with. See if it will withstand a Maine winter. We can learn from our mistakes on a smaller scale and if we find we need more we have it.

Now to all you with greenhouse experience...

Is this considered a hoop house where it is not heated or a greenhouse?

Do you have anything growing is yours right now? What do you grow in yours typically?

I have some kale and mesculin greens all sprouted. Should I attempt to put in the ground? If so should I put a row cover on top?

HELP....any advice appreciated here!