Eggs, eggs, eggs...

In the Kitchen

Last week, I got some duck eggs from Meadowlark Heritage Farm!  I had duck eggs for breakfast yesterday.  I had never tried duck eggs...they were great!  Everyone says they are super good for baking.  I will be making some cookies later this afternoon...

Ducks at Meadowlark Heritage Farm

Yesterday, I went to the Women in Ag Conference.  I met a lady that said she sells goose eggs and duck eggs.  I was really interested in the goose eggs!  She said that she has 3 pairs and that they mate for life.  They only lay eggs in the spring (March through June).  She sells them at the Co-op so the boys and I went to the Co-op and bought one.  They sell individually for $2 each.  In this picture, the duck egg is on the top, the chicken egg is the brown one on the left and the goose egg is the bottom right.  I will probably be eating the goose egg for breakfast tomorrow. 

Duck egg, chicken egg, and goose egg

Women in Ag Conference

The conference topic was communication.  We walked through a DiSC Personality Test and tried to figure out which "personality style" we had.  The idea is that if we understand our personality/communication style and recognize that others have different ways of communicating, then we can identify different types and adjust our communication to fit that person.  Or, just don't talk to personality types you do not like...just kidding!

If you are looking for a quick tool to help you better understand yourself – and others – immediately, you are in the right place. Our Free disc Personality Test gives you an instant estimate of your disc profile based on answers to 12 short questions.

In no more than 10 minutes (probably more like five), you’ll have a better understanding of why you communicate the way you do and insights into how you can communicate with others more effectively. With your results, you can:

Immediately improve interpersonal communications

Connect with co-workers more effectively

Understand what you need to do to be more successful in your interactions with others.

It was hard for me to narrow it down...I felt that I was D, C and S.  I knew that I was definitely not an "I".  Then, someone told me that you could take a free test online.  I did the 12 question test and it came out with D, C, and S.  Of course, they want me to pay to find out more details about which type best fits me (not going to happen.)  I feel that I am mostly C...(maybe that is wishful thinking...)

New sunflowers for this year...

Sunflowers

I am trying some new sunflowers this year.  To see the varieties that I planted last year, check out this post HERE.

I am adding the following new varieties:

SORAYA SUNFLOWER: First sunflower to win an All-America Selections award.  This big sister to Sonja has larger flowers and thicker, sturdier stems. Branches average 20" and sport 4-6" blooms. May yield as many as 20-25 stems/plant.

GIANT SUNGOLD:  Fully-double, yellow-gold flowers.  A tall, Teddy Bear-type with up to 8" blooms.
Last year, I grew Double Quick Orange (another double/teddy bear sunflower).  It was the only flower that did really poor for me.  I think I only ended up bringing about a half dozen to the market. A lot of them were deformed and the head was just not pretty.  So, I am excited to try a new "double" this year.

STARBURST LEMON AURA Gorgeous, pale yellow, branching double.  Lovely, fully-double blooms on long, sturdy stems cover this compact plant. The light yellow shade lends itself well to pastel bouquets making it a great addition to an existing sunflower line.

STRAWBERRY BLONDE  Ruby red flowers that hold their petals.  Flowers have burgundy, sometimes pink, petals with lemony tips and dark centers. Branching plants have long, strong side stems for cutting.

BUTTERCREAM An early bloomer with great color and habit.  Pale, butter-yellow flowers with brown centers are 3 1/2-4 1/2" across. Long side branches that continue to provide blooms for several weeks make this a perfect cut flower. 

GREENBURST Early blooming, semi-double flowers.  Golden yellow petals surround green centers. 4-6" blooms on 12-24" stems. Sturdy, branching habit. 

So, in all there will be 11 varieties.  Five varieties that I grew last year and then these new 6 varieties. Why so many?  I am still experimenting with which varieties do best.  I want to "experiment" with more branching type sunflowers vs. single stem flowers.  Also, I am still experimenting with the best way to plant them...seed vs. transplants.

Top bar hive

Beekeeping

Joshua and I are going to get a top bar hive and try our hand at beekeeping.  This will be a 4-H project for him.  He has always been fascinated by bees although he is really worried about being stung.  So, we will see how this goes.  

We already ordered our bees.  We got an Italian queen.  We ordered them through Tate's Honey Farm in Spokane.  When I called to order them, he said that Italian bees were more friendly.  The bees are to arrive sometime around mid-April.  Click on the picture to learn more about Tate's Honey Farm...

We have decided to use a top bar hive because it is a more natural way of beekeeping.  There are advantages and disadvantages of the top bar compared to the traditional Langstroth hive.  If you want to learn more about it, click on the picture of the inside of a top bar hive...

Now, to get the hive!  We will probably order our hive through Bee Thinking.  Here is a video that they have on their website describing the top bar hive:

Next week, I will be ordering sunflower seeds!

Jamming plums

In the Kitchen

I had been given some plums last fall.  I did not have time to do anything with them so I chopped them up and put them into the freezer.  So, I finally got around to making jam from them.  Last summer, I had a couple people ask if I had low sugar jams.  I did not make any low sugar jam but decided I wanted to try to make some for this year.  

I used Pomona's Pectin to make the low sugar plum jam.  Basically, it uses less sugar (about half as much in this case).  For example, the regular plum jam used about  6 cups of plums and 6 cups of sugar.  The low sugar plum jam used 4 cups of plums and 2 cups of sugar.

Click on the picture to go to their website.  Here is some more information:

Jam Today! With Pomona’s Universal Pectin®

Our sugar free, preservative free, low-methoxyl citrus pectin is specially formulated for making low sugar jam & jelly.

Sweeten jam & jelly to your taste with low amounts of any sweetener: sugar, honey, agave, maple syrup, frozen juice concentrate, stevia, xylitol, Sucanat, concentrated fruit sweetener, or Splenda and other artificial sweeteners.

I have to say that I REALLY enjoyed making the low sugar jam and I am planning on making a lot of our own personal jam this way.  

Decluttering

I had shared with Linda (my mother-in-law) that I wanted to concentrate on decluttering this year (2016 New Year's Resolution).  So, she bought me this book called The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up.  Here is a little YouTube video about the book:

I am almost finished reading it.  Mostly, the gist is that you first declutter and then you organize and only keep things that bring you joy.  I like the idea behind the book and the system that she uses to do this but it is not practical for the way I am decluttering.  I am literally, going through every single room and only spend about 15 minutes each morning on one small part.  Sometimes, in the evening, I will spend some more time going through things i.e. I am going through old pictures now so I will sit down in the evening and decide what to keep, what to toss, and what to send to grandparents.

I am using a monthly printable from Home Storage Solutions 101 to decide where to concentrate my 15 minutes a day of decluttering.

According to her printables, you basically spend January and February working on the kitchen.  I did the kitchen in January.  So, I am working on the March printable which is the laundry room.  Our laundry room is also a huge storage area for us.  I went through EVERYTHING and I am almost finished with this.  I am completely overwhelmed with the amount of paper we are saving!  So far in February, I have tossed more than 70 pounds of just paper!  I have spent many nights shredding too and even over heated the shredder one night.  One good thing is that I found a 2 drawer file cabinet that I had forgotten about.  It was actually in Henry's office and I had totally forgotten about it...we have lived here over 4 years and I never once remembered that I had stuff in there.  There was over 10 pounds of paper in there.

I am very happy with the progress that I am making and have now tossed or donated over 345 pounds of stuff!  It feels good to get organized and know where everything is!

Fermenting sauerkraut

In the Kitchen

This will be a short post this week.  It has been a busy week but I did manage to FINALLY start some sauerkraut fermenting!  I have been wanting to do this for months and just never got around to it.

If you click on the picture above, it should take you to the recipe I used but it is pretty easy...cabbage and salt!  Months ago, I had supported a Kickstarter for Pickle Pipe - a silicone based airlock that can be used to ferment vegetables and fruits.  

My Pickle Pipe finally came and so I have no excuses to start my fermenting!  Finger's crossed...my sour dough died!  I am going to order some more starter.

Decluttering

I had mentioned that my New's Years Resolution is to declutter a "ton" of stuff from our house.  I had a mini-goal to get rid of 200 lbs in January...you know, to really get off to a great start!  It was tough but I did it!  Basically, I spent the month of January working on the kitchen and anything food related.  Now, I have moved on to the laundry room which is also a storage area with LOTS of those rubbermaid tubs...ugh!  I am slowing going through them one-by-one...these tubs moved to this rental house with us over 4 years ago.  I can count on one hand the number of times I have had to open them to look for something.  So, hopefully, some major decluttering happening in the laundry/storage area in February!

Shameless plug warning...

I am organizing a Walk and Roll Disability Awareness Event...please, click on the picture below and like our Facebook page!

Happy (early) Valentine's Day!

New opportunity...

Sunflowers

Some good news...I was talking to my friend at Meadowlark Heritage Farm and she said that I could grow my sunflowers at her farm!  I think she is so excited to have access to unlimited sunflowers all summer.  She would often buy 2 big bunches from me at the Farmer's Market...it seems she really enjoyed them and is excited to have them on her property.  There is no infrastructure so I will be starting from scratch but I already have a good idea of how I would like to proceed.  We are going to walk the property in March to determine the best placement for the flowers.  There is lots of space!

Click on picture of goat to go to their website.

Meadowlark Heritage Farm raises goats and sells goat soap at the Farmer's Market.  They also have several other products.  Check them out on Facebook by clicking on the picture below:

Palouse Clearwater Grower's Conference

Yesterday, I went to the first Palouse Clearwater Grower's Conference.  It was a nice round table discussion of local issues that pertain to small, sustainable farms in the area.  Some of the areas that were discussed included:  wholesale marketing, labor, collaboration, and a lot more that I simply cannot remember.  

One thing I learned about was Good Agricultural Practices (GAP).  It seems that lots of people have questions about the GAP codes that may be going into effect in the next couple of years.  Here is some information from the Food and Agriculture Organization:

What are Good Agricultural Practices?

 A multiplicity of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) codes, standards and regulations have been developed in recent years by the food industry and producers organizations but also governments and NGOs, aiming to codify agricultural practices at farm level for a range of commodities. Their purpose varies from fulfillment of trade and government regulatory requirements (in particular with regard to food safety and quality), to more specific requirements of specialty or niche markets. 

The objective of these GAP codes, standards and regulations include, to a varying degree:

ensuring safety and quality of produce in the food chain

capturing new market advantages by modifying supply chain governance

improving natural resources use, workers health and working conditions, and/or

creating new market opportunities for farmers and exporters in developing countries.

Good Agricultural Practices are "practices that address environmental, economic and social sustainability for on-farm processes, and result in safe and quality food and non-food agricultural products" (FAO COAG 2003 GAP paper) (html).

These four 'pillars' of GAP (economic viability, environmental sustainability, social acceptability and food safety and quality) are included in most private and public sector standards, but the scope which they actually cover varies widely.

The concept of Good Agricultural Practices may serve as a reference tool for deciding, at each step in the production process, on practices and/or outcomes that are environmentally sustainable and socially acceptable. The implementation of GAP should therefore contribute to Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development (SARD).

Lots of great networking at the event and a chance to meet other farmers.

Some bad news...

Sustainable Small Farms Class

Saturday was the first all day Farm class.  We had webinars about Whole Farm Planning, Evaluating Your Resources, Selecting Enterprises and Assessing the Market.  Each webinar presentation had a farmer speak about their experiences with starting their farms.  I enjoyed this part the most - they were all very inspiring.  Here are the local farmers that presented from the Palouse area.  If you click on the picture, it will take you to their website:

Wilson Banner Ranch

Our landmark family heritage farm has been sustainably run and diversified for over 100 years. We grow many varieties dating back to the first fruit trees in the state. We believe in using environmentally friendly, scientifically proven methods of farming.

In 2006, Skylines Farm added beef steers and then feeder pigs to the operation, caring for them using the same management practices and attention to detail that the sheep were receiving. In 2013 I retired the sheep portion of the businees and greatly expanded the grassfed beef and pastured pig operations.

Deep Roots Farm in Moscow, ID grows vegetables, fruits, and eggs using techniques that promote biodiversity on their farm. They practice an intensive planting rotation to create diversity for plant health while increasing production on a small land base. They utilize laying hens for fertility and pest control. They provide open and untouched space for beneficial insects and wild animals.

This is one of the homework assignments for the Small Farm Class:

Choose a timeframe from one, five to ten years (or more). Revisit your values if necessary. Next, develop a description of your business and personal future using some or all of the questions that follow.Or if you prefer, write a story, draw a map. Dream a little! Don’t worry about the development of specific goals or action strategies—you will be setting goals and developing business strategies in the Worksheets and chapters that follow. For now, keep your vision fairly general and, if possible, address your critical planning need in some way. Remember—have each of your planning team members develop their own personal and business vision for the future. Most importantly, ask,What will our farm or business look like in one, five or ten years?

Dreaming a Future Business Vision

In 2 years, our dream for our farm business is to start looking to purchase a property with 5-10 acres. Then, after Mark completes high school (he is currently a Freshman), we will start to purchase equipment/housing to raise free range chickens for pastured eggs. We will probably start with 100 chickens and then increase a little each year, if we continue to see demand for eggs. We will actively sell these eggs at the Farmer's Market from May-October. During the winter, we may have a drop off time/location for people to come and get eggs each week.

In addition to the eggs, we want to explore a you-pick berry farm, you-pick pumpkin patch

and you-cut Christmas tree farm. This would continue to provide some additional income

when the market is not in session. We also make and sell jams/jellies from the fruit produce that

we grow or forage for. We have sold cut sunflowers in the past at the Farmer's Market and

we are not sure that we will continue to do this once we have the chickens going.

All our products will be direct sales.

Okay...now for the bad news that was promised in the headline.  The farm where we grew our sunflowers last year has been leased so a different farmer.  There will be no room for us to grow our sunflowers (sad face...).  So, we are not sure what we are going to do at this time.  Possibly locate a new farm to grow at???