Happenings on the Ranch

For those of you following the greenhouse saga, we STILL haven’t been able to get the plastic back on after making repairs from the wind storm.  The wind won’t quit and if there’s no wind, there’s a ton of rain instead.  Many of the seedlings that haven’t made it into the ground yet have been relegated to the garage under lights.  Believe me, the plants are begging to be out in the sun.  Unfortunately I can’t just lay them all out in the front because the chickens and ducks would decide it was a buffet laid out just for them!  Hopefully the weather will cooperate with us sometime soon just long enough to get the work finished.

The hens are laying up a storm right now. The picture is one I took this morning of the 50+ eggs we’ve collected in the last couple of days.  We have some younger girls that haven’t even started laying yet so I’m hoping this year we will have enough eggs for everyone.  We just never seem to be able to keep up with the demand for these fantastic tasting beauties.

Over 50 eggs collected in the last few days. Yummy!

For those of you waiting for chicken, we are planning our butchering for Sunday, May 9th.  We will be out of town for about six days prior to that, so we won’t be at the Lee’s Summit market on the 5th or 8th.  If you’ve ordered chicken, we’ll send you an email when they’re ready.  For those of you who haven’t ordered, we’ll be bringing some with us to market on the 12th in Lee’s Summit.  These are going to be a little bigger than we originally anticipated and many will be close to 5 pounds.  No worries, they won’t be tough just nice and plump!

On another note, if you’re on Facebook we’ve just created a Facebook page for the farm.  Keep up with quick statuses and frequent picture uploads by going to the profile and clicking the ‘Like’ button.  We’ll also post events on the profile, too.

Until next time!

~Karin

As some of you know, we had 70mph winds around here on Friday.  I stood at my bedroom window watching loose items fly across the front of the property and the chickens running for cover.  Unfortunately, the plastic at the base of the greenhouse had not yet been secured.  So, as I watched, the wind blew underneath the plastic, picked up the east side of the greenhouse into the air like a parachute, pulled the supporting poles off their concrete bases and slammed the whole thing down.  The center pole couldn’t handle the violent drop and the whole north section collapsed in on itself.  I was screaming at it the whole time, like my desperate cries of, “No, No, NO!!!” were going to help.

I was really concerned about the destruction and, after the winds died down and the rain went away, I headed out to survey the damage.  The plastic was torn, several wood beams were snapped in half and three sections of the frame were bent beyond repair.  Thankfully we had split the original structure into two halves and intended on putting up two small greenhouses instead of just one.  This meant we had extra parts in the back that hadn’t been used yet.  So, Arcenio and our oldest son, Anthony, worked all weekend to repair the greenhouse.  Everything is back up, for the most part, and we’re waiting for these windy days to subside so we can put the new plastic on.  It’s still a devastating blow and I’m trying not to let it put us behind for the start of the season.

Speaking of seasons, the deadline for paying for your CSA shares for 2010 is fast approaching.  All shares must be paid for in full by May 1st.  We still have spots available so head on over to our CSA page for more info and to download the share agreement!

Despite the wet weather and persistent winds we have managed to get some seeds planted.  Spinach, carrots, radishes, green onions, lettuce, sweet peas, kale, arugula and mustard greens have all gone in and the earliest seedlings are looking great.  We’ve got a newly developed strawberry hill with 50 plants in the ground and the rhubarb bed is coming back beautifully.  Once these winds subside a little bit we’ll be planting beets, turnips, cabbage, and cauliflower.

Everything is turning green on the farm and we have momma geese and turkeys sitting on their eggs.  I love this time of year as it gives a real sense of renewal.  I can’t wait for the first harvest to be able to taste all the wonderful veggies the farm has to offer.  My stomach is growling just thinking of it.

Until next time!

~Karin

I’ve come to the conclusion that trying to blog during the busiest part of our season is just an exercise in hopelessness.  As evidenced by the fact that I haven’t written a word since May, the season went very well for the most part and we were very busy.  The weather has had it’s ups and downs and it never really got to our usual summer temperatures, but some patience was all it took for most of our crops to come in and fair quite nicely.

Our fall schedule, however, has been thrown completely off by the early cold weather.  Our first two plantings of spinach and lettuce did absolutely nothing.  Not even a sprout.  That, I think, was due to all the wet weather and inconsistent temperatures.  The third planting is now coming up nicely, but we lost all the green beans and the majority of the tomatoes, peppers and squash way earlier than expected; the temperatures have been 20 degrees below normal and we’ve had heavy frost several times.  We had the forethought to cover many of the tomato plants, along with some of the peppers, and the herbs have toughed it out through the cold nights.

We are in the process of putting together our new greenhouse (more on that later) and, in the meantime, have added a smaller version to the front of the house.  This area is serving well for some of the mums and other decorative plants and will serve as a winter area for more herbs, peppers and greens.  It’s also doing a great job of adding warmth to the house in general.  On a sunny day, it’s like summer on the front porch!

Even though the largest part of our season is coming to an end, we do have plenty going on.  Right now we are taking sign ups for our 2010 CSA season.  We’ve already had several folks from our last two seasons sign up again and several new members have found us, as well.  We are also trying our hand at a winter farmer’s market at the Grand Court Farmer’s Market at 107th and Wornall.  We will have our free-range, organically grown chicken, canned and baked goods and whatever we can manage to grow through the season.  Right now it looks like we’ll have leafy greens, radishes, herbs, tomatoes and peppers (for as long as they last), along with micro greens and sprouts.  We are also planning to do some holiday gift baskets, so come check it out!

I have also been invited to give a talk/class at Powell Gardens in February.  As soon as the class is listed in their directory, I’ll be sure to let you all know!

Now that the season is winding down a little, I hope to be able to post more frequently and give you all updates.  And maybe, just maybe, I can get organized enough for next season to be able to keep everyone updated throughout the summer, too.  Here’s to wishful thinking!

Until next time!