May 31, 2019

We are gearing up for a workshop to be held here on the farm.  David House is coming here on June 15th to present a workshop on biogas digesters.  The first part will be on a less expensive plastic bag digester, then on the Cube digester.  We are excited and anxious as we have not done a workshop here before.  There are still a few spots left, and you can learn more about it here.

Garlic Chives

Hibiscus

I am still working at Edge of the World Farm, and have learned many things about herbs and their uses, and still more about weeding.  I wonder if any going into herbs or farms have thought about what percentage of their day would be spent on weeding?  I have learned a whole new level of weeding.  Because there are so many medicinal herbs that volunteer in odd places or wild medicinals, I have learned to only pull weeds that I have been told to pull and if anything looks different, ask first.  This, of course, makes weeding a much longer job, but precious plants are saved.  Henrietta and Erin are very precise in their care of the plants, as well as the medicinals they make.  Careful cleaning, weighing, harvesting, glassware washing etc.  has impressed me so much, they have probably made me into a fan for life.  I have personally enjoyed their tinctures.  I enjoy purslane on almost a daily basis to help face the heat of the day, and eleuthero for energy, as well as in the adrenal support tincture.  I highly recommend their products as they are constantly striving to put out the best tinctures possible for their customers.  My personal garden has also grown since I have been working there.  My kitchen garden now has some garlic chives that were extra, and our regular garden now has some hibiscus that I can use to make tea.  They have inspired me to dry some of my own fennel for teas, as well as lemon balm for a calming tea, which was something I kept saying I was going to get around to, but didn't before now.  I have brought away so many positive things and one negative item.  By the time I get back to our farm, I am a bit tired of weeding. . .

Progress in the Garden

Beets

Our garden is in progress.  My russett potato experiment did not work though.  Not a single potato came up.  However, the sweet potatoes I bought from the grocery store are finally producing slips.  It has been so hot and dry this last couple of weeks, we are now back to wishing for rain.  Can you believe it?  My husband is doing such a good job of tilling in between the rows and we are both trying to get to the remaining weeds.  The one plant that seemed to germinate well from the seeds we purchased was beets.  Looks like it is going to be a bumper crop this year.

Front of House

Back of House

We are looking forward to another huge summer project this year.  We are buying a small fixer upper house to get into shape for our daughter and her husband.  They will buy it back from us as soon as it is in good enough shape that the bank will actually make a loan on it.  It will be quite a challenge, but we are excited about it and the fact that they will be living not too far away so we will be able to enjoy our coming first grandchild, who will be a boy:  Elijah Matthew Turner.  Can't wait!  This is one of the few ways we could help them find affordable housing in a good neighborhood.

The Incredible Serenity View

Manning the Grill

We had a new experience this year.  For our 38th wedding anniversary, we celebrated by renting a yurt for the night.  It was in a very peaceful area and the view from the back deck was worth it alone.  We found it on Airbnb.  The Yurt at Frog Pond Farm.  My husband did a great job getting us packed and cooking dinner for us.  Not only did I enjoy it, but also one of their dogs named Gerret enjoyed the scraps from the steaks.  He was a quiet but personable fellow and companion.  When he was done with us, he quietly got up and walked into the back door of the yurt and out of the front to go to his other home.  LOL.