Long day, full freezer

We have had a long weekend!  After the Harvest Fair yesterday, we processed both of the broilers we showed. We thought we'd break up the job between the two days. Aside from the meat you see in the photo (2 chickens), we harvested THREE more birds and NINE rabbits!!  I also picked a ton of ripe tomatoes and canned 5 pints worth. I lost a pint and a quart in the water bath in the process. One jar busted the bottom clear off and the other blew a seal and a ring!! Of course, I can't have a nice, easy experience canning there always has to be some lesson learned while I do it!  Today's lessons were that some jars are flawed and will break for no reason, never mix pints and quarts- do one or the other, and place my jars into the hot water bath at an angle. 

All in all, we are all exhausted and my poor lover boy still had to go to work. He's amazing and extremely tired every Monday morning! 

Also-- We are searching for a small square freezer and a vacuum sealer for keeping our food. If you know of anyone selling, we are actively looking to buy. Please pass us the info if you have it! Thank you, friends!

Cabezas de Ajo

While the girls and I were enjoying the fair and the heat of the Yakima Valley, Andy was having fun harvesting our garlic and braiding them together. Andy loves braided garlic. He's funny like that. ;) 

TRY IT! 

To peel garlic, either cloves or heads, put them in a jar, replace the lid, and shake it! It takes a minute or two, but it works! 

Sowing the seeds...

Meet our fall harvest. 

Cabbage Worms 1 - Smiths 1

Our incessant search for those little green caterpillars paid off. We were constantly on the lookout for cabbage worms and because of our diligence we have a happy, healthy, cabbage! Those tiny green worms eat and eat and eat giant holes in our precious cabbage leaves, so whenever we walk into the house or out of the house we would inspect the leaves and peel the worms off. Most of the time I would collect a few and send one of the girls to the backyard to give the Donnas a treat. Other times, I would just let the greedy little worms meet their demise. 

Last year, we lost this battle. This year we evened the score. 

Blurry Potato

The first potato of our 2014 harvest was a cute heart shaped potato. 💚 Cute or not, it has friends and they will taste splendid with a pat of butter and a pinch of s&p! Muwhahahaha!

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Today we received our packet for the Seattle Tilth's Urban Farm Tour. We are motivated to get things tidied up and to fix a few things before the 12th rolls around. Please stop by and say hello!  We would love to see each and every one of you! If you need another excuse to come to West Seattle, it's also the street fair weekend, so visit and make a day of it! 

Hugh Mung Us Are Vest (say it aloud and quickly)

Matilde and I harvested a ton of mixed salad greens. If we continue to harvest, our plants will continue to produce, so we decided to share our bounty with our neighbors! Our neighbors to the left, right and directly across the street each received a gallon bag full of lettuces to enjoy. Matilde had fun delivering them and giving directions such as "please wash them before you eat them," and "if there's a yucky one just throw it in the compost!"  They each got a kick out of that. :) 

Andy and I feel that it's important to connect with our neighbors, and if sharing a little bit of salad assists in building our community then why not share. I hope they enjoyed eating it as much as we enjoyed growing it! 

Boo-Ya

And that, my friends, is how you harvest some strawberries. 

Rude Awakening

This morning we were jolted awake by the crowing of a rooster, "¡QUI QUI RI QUI!"  

As a reminder, as of yesterday, we did not own any roosters. Since roosters are illegal in city limits, Andy had to dispatch this animal ASAP. It was a small bird, but it will still provide nourishment. Our poor turkey, Mr. Bowling, is in mourning. He hasn't stopped gobbling in grief since this afternoon. He's lonely. :( 

Happy Father's Day! 

Broccoli Harvest

We harvested four heads of broccoli yesterday, but they had already stretched and flowered. We have never grown broccoli before but had heard that it does well here in our area. We thought we'd give it a go and we were very successful!  We just didn't know exactly how long to let it grow before harvesting. We left it too long on the stalk and learned our lesson the hard way. Our bitter broccoli was a treat for our rabbits. The gobbled it right up as I sat back and watched. We still have more heads growing from the same plants, but none will be as large as the first.  We'll get it right sooner or later.

Harvest time!

Matilde and I enjoyed harvesting our first of the strawberries!  After she dropped all of them and then stepped on two, we brought in about a dozen. They are delicious, sweet and juicy. Well worth the wait and there are PLENTY more where they came from just waiting for the sun to ripen them to perfection. 🍓🍓🍓

Harvesting the Rain

We have found that harvesting rain through barrels and buckets is the most efficient method of watering our farm animals. We collect the run off from the barn and fill the Power Rangers' water feeder through the spigot. The Donnas have water cups that fill from the same barrel when they peck at them. The rabbits have a self-watering bucket, but it is currently hooked up to a city water spigot. It has a mechanism that works like a toilet float and fills when it gets below a certain point. (I hope that's not a permanent solution...)

We hope to find a way to collect more runoff to recycle in the garden and to somehow water the lawn with our wasted bath water and dish water, but the waste from inside our home is a continuing discussion whereas the garden problem can be remedied in an afternoon of brainstorming. 

The amount of water wasted inside and outside a single family home is outrageous!  We're just attempting to make a difference on our tiny parcel. It's a bit of work for some things, but worth the savings in the end. 

If you have ideas, please share!  

Home Sweet Home

Empty Beds & I failed.

We've cleaned out the beds and will be weeding and composting and filling them again soon.  Planning for next year has begun since we slacked off on winter planting. 

This is what's left to compost of our fantastic green onion crop. Andy suggested green onion pesto. The girls love pesto, but I didn't think it sounded good. I made it anyway. I should have gone with my gut because it was not good! It could have been my oil choice or my nut choice, but it whatever it was, it was bitter. 

The last of the tomatoes. I promise this time.

Ha!  

This is all that is left of the five large tomato plants we grew in our front garden beds. I will miss seeing them grow wildly about. *sigh* 

The last of the carrots.

Oops!

The "last of them" pic from the other day was suppose to have the potatoes not the tomatoes!  Sorry family. 

Unless I have already sent this one too!  Then I'm really losing it!  

Toms

Here are a few of the tomatoes that are left. We have had an excellent crop this year!  

Here's the last of them.

Eating a rainbow!

These awesome, colorful, yummy carrots were pulled and eaten with dirt still on them! Haha "A little dirt don't hurt"...I've actually heard Chacha say that! There are a few still out there and we will be harvesting them soon. The rabbits enjoyed eating the tops.  It was nice not to have to let them go to waste. 

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

One of the last strawberries of the season. Very sweet.  Very red.  Worth the wait. 

Our first taste of the corn we grew. It was so sweet and delicious!  Thank you Gary for advising us to only pick when we are ready to eat it in order to retain the natural sweetness of the plant. We appreciate the tips!  Everyone is welcome to pass them along! 

Jen has been begging for some salsa.  We are another small step closer to filling her order!