Just another Day on the Farm

Snow, Sleds and Snow Shoes

Posted on January 3, 2016 by Just another day on the farm

Well, winter has finally arrived on the farm, and when it came, it came with direction and force.. we went from green, record breaking warmth.. to..

To snow..

Which means that there has been lots of shoveling, and it was time to break out the sled, switching from the wheel barrel to the sleds for moving things around, I highly recommend getting and having at least one extra sled on the farm at all times, its just a great idea.. I mean that wheel barrel is used lots and it can still be used in winter, its perfect for being placed in the walk ways if you are cleaning anything in barns and so forth but for movement outside, be it hay, water, feed or manure, the sled is your friend..

Having said that.. Farmgal tip of the day.. Different sleds for different uses, if you are going to haul five gallon water buckets with lids snapped on (trust me, get the lids, as every now and then, a spill will happen) then it only needs to hold four pails and it can be rounded, short and stout.. water pails do not do never as good with longer sleds.. for hay or feed, the longer sled is perfect, its lighter and can take those corners and turns better.. So having hauled water by hand for ten plus years in winter to the big barn.. heavy duty round and smaller for the water buckets, long and wide for the hay and feed bags..

Our old second hand snow shoes gave up the ghost on their ninth year of working on the farm.. (photo just to show example of them, not my photo)

so one of hubbies xmas presents was snazzy new modern light but tough snow shoes.. I am still on the hunt for some that can take my weight with gear.. I can find them that can take my own weight, if I was just wanting to go for a walk, but add in upwards of 50 more pounds worth of carry, tack and so forth and its getting harder to find.

Hubby did much better, even with us add the extra 50 pounds, we were able to find a great deal for him. I think a good pair of snow shoes on a northern homestead is a must have, we have had in a single night had drifts appear that are hip plus high, and there are times you just need to strap on the snow shoes, sled and walk your way over the drifts to make sure your hunkered down critters are well feed and watered.. while its always a good idea to have hay, and feed in each building, it sounds great but its just not as perfect as it sounds.

Sometimes, you store more of one thing then another in different buildings, so you will find yourself, having lots of hay but perhaps you need to haul straw, any way you cut it, when its that cold, I like to make sure they get warm water and when its bitter cold, warm mash for everyone..

I had a friend tell me all about her hip high struggle in snow while she tried to carry a bucket in each hand to give her the look.. she now has a sled and snow shoes 🙂

What is one of your must haves for winter, for some its the heat lamp, for some its the heated water buckets, your set up and how many critters you are caring for does make a difference to a point.

Happy New Year 2016

Posted on January 1, 2016 by Just another day on the farm

While I understand that this saying is meant to be about life in general, I love it for the blog. I know that I have never been able to write every single day on the blog, it comes and goes at times, sometimes flooding, with more than one post per day, other times, very steady.. one post a day for a month, and at other times, it slows down due to time demands.

the desire to write, to share, it’s always there.. even when I do not get word on the paper, er blog, I runs in my head.. My hubby is by far the better writer, and I do not just mean a better writer because he gets published.. (by the way, he has a new short story in the coming in Superhero Universe: Tesseracts Nineteen Available for pre-order) but because he follows all the rules, and his spelling and grammar is outstanding..

Me.. not so much, in fact I am just going to come out and say.. thank you for those that stick around, because I know that you must at times read some things I put out and go huh.

I often despite reading my first writing, will fill in the blanks in my head on what is missing on the writing.. I truly feel for those that get the posts by email, that means you get the very first version, at least those that read from the blog a day later, gets the first edit round from me as I can then see some of my mistakes.. those that read popular back posts have the best chance at a well done post as at times I have can edit two to five times as I go back and read something and correct it yet again.

So here is my request to you.. If something is not clear, and the subject interests you, if you have a moment, pop me a note in the comments and I will do my best to answer and clear up the area that is poorly worded or explain it more 🙂

The other thing I wanted to touch on was what is the blog about.. when I started 5 years ago, it was ok to jump all over the place but the blog world has become much more tailored.. and I have not and do not expect to follow on that path..

So what does hold the blog together.. the farm of course..

The farm is the very heart of the Blog, be it the land, the critters, the plants, the season’s themselves all play a part.. If you join the blog at a certain time of the year, when its heavy on recipes or gardening or ?? it will shift with the seasons of the year.. it will flex and move when I take on small challenges, but it will always come back around to things that flow on the farm with the seasons.

I hope you will enjoy what gets put down on the pages in 2016, its exciting to think that at the end of the year that book will be full, where today its wide open!

Cheers to your wide open clean book, may you write an awesome story of your own in 2016!

Posted in Life moves on daily | Tagged Writing a blog | 9 Comments

Growing Seed..

Posted on December 31, 2015 by Just another day on the farm

Well, as its a time to reflect, there are many things I learned in 2015, I learned how to replace a sub-floor and build a new one, I learned that a certain mix of manure from pigs will cause you major issues in the garden..

But what I want to talk about in this post is growing seed.. saving seed.

Let me tell you a secret, while I do come from a “farming Family” in the sense that I had years in my childhood and youth on farms, that I gardened beside grandma and mom, while I had my own little garden and flower garden at the age of eight onward, what I did not come from was a family of seed savers.

now if my grandparents saved garden seed, I am unaware of it, I know that she saved some flower heads and seeds, that I remember, I remember collecting and saving poppy seeds for baking, I remember grandpa explaining what fruit would come true an what needed to be grafted..

but every single year, my mother would head to the store and buy her seed, and (opps, now I am really letting the cat out of the bag) her started plants.. and she still does, she seemed most interested and at the same time puzzled at my trays of seeds drying all over my kitchen this fall.

I started plants in my late teens and early twenties not because I wanted to but because I could not afford to go buy started plants, in fact on some of my most lean years, I could not afford seeds much either, I would talk to every older lady I could find, put up flyers on community boards and offer to trade my hard work, back and hands for extra plants and for saved seeds.

I learned the hard way that amy composting all winter did was get me a happy black bear in the back yard come spring.. and nothing to help me in the garden area..

That was when I talked to the older ladies yet again and asked for old timer advice and turned to permaculture (without knowing its name) and foraged (again without knowing its name LOL) and I hiked, I would bring home things from the local woods around me, I trapped and used minnows, I hauled home aged moose droppings, I cut and hauled and turned in green crops from the wild, I walked and hiked edges (learning just how amazing edges and I would create what is now called a local food map, that meant, I would track flowering shrubs in the spring and go back for harvests. I even hauled out leaves to add to the gardens, I would trade, in one case I cleaned house, and for another, I baked bread..

I certainly did not get the harvests I do now, and I know why, I did not understand creating micro-climates and I had no idea how to successfully extend seasons.. I was a straight, plant it May long, harvest as it goes and just clean and prepare for next year.. but I did get good harvests none the less, I expect the second area that I did very poorly at, was getting the right seed for the right zone, I remember getting seed given to me, and losing most of the crop to frost, now I would have thought.. what zone was that plant grown in.. but at 24, it never really crossed my mind..

I started saving seeds on the farm, the very first year here, I wanted to reduce costs in the coming years, an then spring on my second year came, and o my, tomato’s self seeded, potato’s self-seeded, and things left to overwinter that in alberta would just have died, started growing again and I was in garden heaven.. suddenly, I started reading and I realized that I could pretty much with care grow anything you could in B.C.

I started saving and I made mistakes and I had success and my ability and knowledge grew, I took courses and bought books, I made pollination cages and so much more..

So when I saw that they wanted seed growers for a project last year I thought, yes, lets do that..

I was given two things to grow, pea’s and beans, the beans where easy, I made the bean teepee, placed it far into the top of the food forest yard area, and planted it with morning glories, scarlet runners and brussel sprouts, it was a loaded area but none that would cross, the beans grew and the harvest is good, I started with 30 beans and I have 400 plus to give back.. they are a bad eating bean, funky to look at, taste bad and are a total pain to shell.. I could not try any of the dried bean for cooking as I want to give all back.

The pea’s however where over producing, got mold and where of mixed breed, I would get poor quality sugar pea’s with a mix of shelling.. I gave up growing my own sugar pea’s, my shelling pea’s and my later season crops in this regards because I needed the iso zone, and I wanted to produce pure seed.. which in the end did not matter.. those pea’s never stopped blooming all summer, but my overall crop was very poor indeed, I did get some seed but I can not in good manner send it in.. as I KNOW its mixed.

But here is the real rub, I gave up growing food for my family for a ideal, that in the end failed.. I was 50 percent successful, but in the end, I could have used the space in a much better way.

In 2016, I will not be growing pure seed for someone else, I will do my landrace projects, I will grow and produce pure seed, and I will freely share it but I will not take the pressure of growing officially for someone else.

I would rather grow extra each year and offer it up in gift, barter and trade form with friends and fellow gardener.

P1050042 I plan on expanding my seed saving this year, I hope to have many things to offer in the future but it will be on my own terms..

Do you save seed? Have you grown seed for someone else? did you like to do so? Would you do it again? if yes, why and if no, why? Are you taking seed saving courses this year? If so, how did you find the class, was it free or did you need to pay?

Posted in Life moves on daily | Tagged Saving heritage seeds, Saving seed for the garden, Saving seed in canada, Saving Seeds, Saving seeds on the homestead | 2 Comments

Adding a Alfalfa Growing Program to the Homestead

Posted on December 30, 2015 by Just another day on the farm

So far we have been able to keep GMO Alfalfa out of the Canadian Market but the question is for how much longer.. this is a concern to me for sure, I buy my hay from a local producer, and I do mean local, I often ride the edges of the hay fields with my horses and many times hay and straw are watched being cut, dried and at times are dropped at the farm on the way to being hauled home.

Still Alfalfa has a few other uses here on the farm, and so this year, I am going to start growing and holding back organic alfalfa on the farm.

http://www.cban.ca/Resources/Topics/GE-Crops-and-Foods-Not-on-the-Market/Alfalfa

Update April 2015: GM alfalfa will not be sold on market in Canada in 2015. Farmer and consumer protests in Canada have delayed the introduction of genetically modified (GM) alfalfa since 2013 and we now have confirmation that GM alfalfa seeds will not be sold again this year in Canada.This confirmation follows statements against the introduction of GM alfalfa in Western Canada from the farmer association Forage Seed Canada. Monsanto and Forage Genetics International continue to pursue future commercial sales in Canada of GM glyphosate tolerant “Roundup Ready” alfalfa as well as also other GM traits. (GM Roundup Ready alfalfa is already sold in the US).

A bit more of the struggle that has been ongoing on this issue..

The Canadian Biotechnology Action Network claims U.S. company Forage Genetics International wants to release alfalfa seeds with Monsanto’s genetically modified herbicide tolerant technology, called Roundup Ready, in Canada this year.

The NFU says Roundup Ready alfalfa will become another weed. Roundup Ready alfalfa has been approved for planting in the U.S. since 2011.

“We’re struggling to find even one farmer in our area who wants to use this GM alfalfa. Most farmers will pay dearly if GM alfalfa is allowed onto the market,” said Hilary Moore, an organic farmer who is president of the Lanark National Farmers Union Local 310.

Murray Bunnett, of New Brunswick, has farmed his entire life. Last week, he told CBC News he plans to take his concerns to Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe Conservative MP Robert Goguen.

Bunnett made the switch to organic crop production in the 1990s. He relies heavily on alfalfa in his crop rotation to help fertilize the soil. He said if a modified strain spreads to his fields, he can’t guarantee his crop is organic.

“When a person trespasses on somebody else’s property and it causes damage, the property owner can seek compensation,” he said. “But when the genetically modified crops trespass on farmers’ land, they can’t go after the company to get compensation. That’s fundamentally wrong.”

Monsanto disputed some of the information provided by demonstrators Tuesday.

“At this point, [Forage Genetics International] has not finalized any commercial plans for Eastern Canada but I guess maybe CBAN and the NFU are either not aware of that or have chosen to ignore the information that has been shared with them,” Monsanto Canada spokesperson Trish Jordan said in an email to CBC News. “From a Monsanto perspective, we are supporting FGI (our licensee) from a regulatory and stewardship perspective.

“We have been providing bi-annual updates to farmers and industry on this file for 10-plus years and we issue these public updates in the spring and fall of each year.”

Monsanto claims that organic alfalfa acres in Eastern Canada account for about 1.4 per cent of total alfalfa acreage in that region.

“That leaves 98.6 per cent of farmers choosing non-organic production methods,” Jordan said.

A rally was scheduled for 12 p.m. PT at the the Kootenay Co-op in Nelson, B.C.

Alfalfa is a high-protein feed for dairy cows, beef cattle, lambs, poultry, and pigs, but because labelling for genetically modified crops is not mandatory in Canada, it’s unlikely consumers will know they are eating altered crops.

NFU-Ontario president John Sutherland told Farms.com there are a number of concerns about the release of genetically modified alfalfa, including:

The risk of contamination of non-genetically-modified alfalfa crops and seed stocks.
Increased seed and herbicide costs.
Spread of glyphosate-resistant weeds.

And that is where my own concerns come in.. trying to find Non-GMO soybean since its Canadian release has been tricky, its like trying to find non-GMO suger beets, I can find them, but almost all Canadian sugar is now produced from GMO sugar beets, I have gone back to making sure that the sugar I buy is only from cane, and pretty much from a single source, only some of my stores carry it now, and I make sure I tell them I want it. I hate the idea that someday, I will need to either drive to a big city to get it or order it online.

Alfalfa is needed to increase the protein count for my pasture livestock feeds (for my milking girls) for my homemade mix for my wee chicks, ducklings and so forth and its also needed to make Alfalfa meal for the garden use..

Alfalfa is a type of flowering plant that belongs to the pea family. It originates from south-east Asia. Cultivation of alfalfa started in Persia 6.000 years ago. Due to ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen and increase fertility of the soil, alfalfa is often cultivated as rotation crop (it improves quality of soil for the future crops).

Over the past ten years, its amazing to me how often something will be available one year, only to be gone the next While I do think it will be available in organic, the cost will be quite high at that point.

There will be more about growing, harvesting and using this plant in 2016

I forgot to ask, what are my USA readers and homesteaders an farmers doing in regards to the GMO Alfalfa in your neck of the woods?

Posted in Life moves on daily | Tagged Alfalfa, Canadian Alfalfa, Growing Alfalfa for the homestead, Non-GMO Alfalfa | 1 Comment

Goals for 2016- Steady as she goes!

Posted on December 29, 2015 by Just another day on the farm

I am not setting goals per say.. but o do I have plans 🙂

If I had to say I have a goal for 2016… well.. It would be summed up as..

STEADY AS SHE GOES.

Everything I have planned for 2016 is going to be so interesting and fun but its all about little tweeks on things we already do.. but tweeks are pretty hard to be able to say if you were successful at the end of the year.

I guess that means I need to be clear on my plans

1)I will continue to grow food on the farm, I will continue to garden what I have already, and I will expand on my gardens. I will work towards producing 5000 pounds or more for our use and I want to expand the amount of fodder produced for my livestock.

2) I will continue to have breeding programs, raise and produce 100 percent of our protein, which include Milk, Eggs, Meat and Beans, including continuing a worm breeding program (for chickens) and meal worms (for chickens) and new for 2016, NON-GMO soybean and Alfalfa grow out programs for increased protein for my layers.

3) I will continue to improve my pastures, I will continue to use all extra that are offered to me from the farmers around me, allowing me to use the ditch, allowing me to use the field edges and for wild forage.

4) I will continue to process my own food, I will continue to learn way to preserve, to use the hides, use the wool, eat nose to tail.. Waste nothing, the goal is to create and use the farm to make everything as closed loop as possible.

5) we will continue on with the home and farm reno’s that were started in 2015, we have a lot of the required items, its just a matter of finding time to do them plus as with all projects, the first cost is just that, we have figured out and quickly that every time I think I have something done in a budget, pretty much just double that sucker and it should cover the costs when finished..

Not included the Steady as she goes year goals is the Improve the farm 2016, I am so excited about this sweet plan of mine.. I have been able to almost everything on sale, either though black Friday sales, Christmas sales or boxing day sales, some of the bigger ticket items I was able to get 70 to 80 percent off on really great flash sales on amazon..

These items will be tied in to each month, I have gotten 7 of 12 books to review already, I have gotten ten of the 12 items to upgrade on projects to help make things easier or just do more. I have gotten the recipes picked, I have ordered the seeds, O my the seeds, so many seeds, I am on track for adding in another 100 plants to the farm, (this included sub-species of certain plants)

I am booked to attend events, I am booked to be speaking at local events, I am planning on taking everything I learned about public speaking last year and making sure I get better at it in 2016

Hubby and I made a plan that once a month we would get out and do a little something off the farm in 2015, while I found that some of our little off-farm trips were more costly then I had planned last year, they created awesome memories and great times were had, so we have agreed that will continue this into 2016, with the goal of once a month off the farm events, which can be as simple as hike in the woods, to going to fair, or going to concert etc.

What do you have planned for your homestead? Your goals for 2016? What do you hope to change in the coming year? or are you hoping for a steady as she goes year as well?

Posted in Life moves on daily | Tagged Goals on the homestead, Happy New Year, Planning for 2016, Setting goals | 5 Comments

Merry Christmas 2015

Posted on December 25, 2015 by Just another day on the farm

this was taken from a past year when we had snow, and a white year.. Wishing you all a very merry Christmas and hope your holidays are filled with family, friends and good cheer.

This is what I have this year but its still wonderful indeed.. plus 16, sun is shining and grass is growing.. Juno says Hi!

Posted in Life moves on daily | Tagged merry christmas 2015 | 1 Comment

Mom’s Magic Fruitcake Recipe

Posted on December 24, 2015 by Just another day on the farm

As my mother for the first time publicly shared this recipe on facebook, it means I can share it on the blog! Think you do not like fruit cake, just could not find the time an it must be aged right.. Trust me.. try this one.. its delightful!

Mom got the recipe from a older lady called Mrs. Lou Scott that she worked with in the 80’s, she says that it was on the back of a canned milk can in the 1050’s from when she was living on her farm.

Magic Fruitcake:
I am posting this recipe after numerous requests again this Christmas.

If you like a mild fruitcake that doesn’t have to age, this is the one!

2 eggs
3 cups of mincemeat/your choice of brand
1 can of condensed milk
Mix well in large bowl:

Then add…
2-1/2 cups of flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups of chopped dried fruit-your choice eg cherries
1 cup chopped nuts

Mix well, place in well greased bundt pan.

Bake at 300 for about an hour and a half.

Let rest for fifteen minutes and then turn out of the pan. cool on rack. this is the fastest and delicious.

http://bornagainfarmgirl.blogspot.ca/2015/12/misadventures-mondays-blog-hop-51.html

Posted in Life moves on daily | Tagged magic fruitcake, moms magic fruitcake recipe | 6 Comments

Antique tablecloth

Posted on December 24, 2015 by Just another day on the farm

My mom found this lovely tablecloth at a local second hand shop in central alberta, the grand daughter had brought in a lot when they were cleaning out granmothers house. its all hand done and its got a few stains but otherwise in amazing shape..

Here is a close up of the big patter, it really is a outstanding design.

I love my tablecloths, I have a good number of them for all seasons.. Do you like to use a old fashioned tablecloth? Can you imagine the hours it must have taken to do, there are six much less fancy but still nice napkins.

Posted in Life moves on daily | Tagged tablecloths | 2 Comments

Hamburger Goulash Recipe

Posted on December 22, 2015 by Just another day on the farm

True Goulash is a thick rich dish of meat and veggies with deep full bodied seasonings, Its origin traces back to the 9th century to stews eaten by Hungarian shepherds. Back then, the cooked and flavored meat was dried with the help of the sun and packed into bags produced from sheep’s stomachs, needing only water to make it into a meal. It is one of the National dishes of Hungary and a symbol of the country.

Many of my farmgal stews recipes would fall right into the goulash dishes and if you want to follow the link to see where I have just some of my recipes listed ( I so need to keep adding more recipes to that page, as the blog itself holds so many more then it shows)

The key to a old fashion goulash is three things, meat cuts that have lots of natural bone in, long slow cooking times and excellent root veggies..

Today however I am coming back to N.A. and that is the hamburger Goulash, I am not sure how or where the switch in N.A. this dish came about, I would like to blame Mr. Hamburger LOL

According to my readings, there have been recipes of the N.A. type since 1914, but the only real cross over is beef.. Its basic’s are ground meat (instead of meat that is long slow simmered till its fall apart tender), tomato based, which include sauce or diced and spices.. and its removing the root veggies and replacing it with pasta, normally elbow macaroni. (this was made in my big soup-stew pot, it holds 13 Quarts)

Farmgal Style Goulash Recipe #1

2 pounds of beef burger
3 large onions peeled and diced
4 cloves of garlic- peeled and diced
1 pint of diced tomato’s Or one large can of diced tomatos
1 quart of pasta sauce or 2 large cans of pasta sauce or 1 large jar
1 quart of beef broth or 4 cups of beef broth
1 pint of canned corn
1 pint of beans, your choice, I used mixed
4 cups of elbow Macaroni
3 tsps. of your favorite mixed seasonings
or Salt, pepper, bay leaf, seasoning salt and basil

Cook your meat and onion and garlic first, then add the rest, stir often, you do not want your pasta to stick to the bottom of the pot. Serve hot, can add a dollop of salsa on top, or sour cream or grated cheese on top if you would like.