Long time away...

So sorry for the radio silence.  Those of you who connect with us on facebook have gotten regular updates on some of the happenings on the farm, but for those who don't we'll do a quick wrap up!

We're now living with our farm neighbors which is working out great!  Hopefully our next move will be into the house. 

The garden is exploding.  We've harvested close to 350 lbs so far and its still going strong.  It feels wonderful to be canning and dehydrating and fermenting again.  We've put up sauerkraut, naturally fermented pickles, regular pickles, salsa, spaghetti sauce, canned tomatoes, tomato juice, green beans and tons of jelly (blackberry, peach, mulberry and gooseberry). 

Blackberry and peach jelly and peaches

 

Mid summer garden

 

The preliminary results of the biochar trial show a significant increase in yield and plant health in the biochar beds vs. the normal beds.  We'll tally up final results once everything is harvested in the fall.

We hayed our top field and are working steadily to clean out the sumac patches.  The field is also infested with lespedeza which is a noxious week in Kansas.  It is also pretty good goat food!  Which brings us to...

 

Hay in windrows before baling in the top field  

We brought the 3 doelings and the buck (Jack) to the farm at the end of May and all are doing well.  The does are growing well and helping us clear out sumac with relish.  They are truly adorable and Catherine in particular has fallen in love with them.

Our girls (from L to R) - Beldandy, Erd and Skuld

The chickens are also doing well and laying 3-4 eggs a day most days.  They are clearing our north field for us bit by bit in their chicken tractor.  Jeremy built an addition to the tractor that can link up through the gate or not, so they can have double the forage room.  They seem to enjoy it a lot. 

Chicken tractor before wire and paint.  The gentleman in the flannel shirt did most of the building (can't thank him enough!).

 

We are making some progress on the house, although we've found that the busy of the growing season has not left us as much time as we'd like to work on that project (not to mention the two kids, work, sleep thing). 

Jeremy working on joinery

We've been making compost piles with food scraps from Jeremy's job and some of the hay and weeds from the farm.  Its looking promising for having enough finished compost by next spring to put a healthy layer on all the growing beds.  You can never have enough compost!

In the coming weeks we'll be putting in full crops of broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage; second plantings of lettuce and radishes; annual planting of garlic and potato onions and a host of other things.  If I have time, I'll update here.  If not, look for an update when it gets cold in the fall!