March 8, 2016

So much to do.  You would think there isn't that much when it is mostly cold out, wouldn't you?  So we have been planting seedlings:  tomatoes (Juliet, Amish Paste, Cherokee Purple and German Johnson), peppers (cayenne, bell and jalapeno), lima beans, cilantro, onions (red and white),  fennel, and basil (one of my favorites to dry - I use it every day, I bet.)

For the lima beans, we decided to try buying some at the grocery store and see how they would do.  They are doing great!  The best luck we had for the seedlings coming up in a hurry were the cayenne peppers from our own seeds saved last year.  We also cut 20 lbs of potatoes to get them drying for planting next weekend.

The sweet potato slips are starting to emerge from the sweet potatoes.  We got some sweet potatoes from our friend Amy (hers are bigger than ours) and we followed her instructions to place them in a Mason Jar with water where the temperature is even (not next to a window).  So now they are my new kitchen bar decorations.  Five sweet potatoes in jars.
Soon it will be more jars as the slips get long enough to be pulled from the sweet potatoes.

Another project we have going on is learning about having cows.  This weekend we went to the Cohen farm and they graciously showed us around their place and educated us on what they do with cows including the basic equipment we need, pasture cultivation and mineral supplements, how to read a cow as to whether they are just curious, or you better watch for the closest fence, where to stand if you want them to move forward, how to use a stick to distance yourself from the cow or keep from falling over with the divots in the pasture, and rotational grazing (among other things).  At one point, the cows got curious about us and came over to socialize.  Their pig and chicken operations were also very interesting.  We really enjoyed the visit and learning from them.  Thank you Esta and Murray! We hope that was the beginning of a long lasting friendship.