Spending a chilly birthday at the Last Resort

Tomorrow is my birthday and last night it dipped down to 20 degrees with wind chills in the teens. In all my years, it has never been this cold on my birthday. Usually, this time of year I have already started planting some cold tolerant plants. I am glad I decided to wait this year and keep it all in the greenhouse because none of it would have survived the night. We are just about out of firewood too. We didn't anticipate having to restock the woodstove this much in March. We did get a little break from it last week, when the temperatures got up to almost 70 degrees and we had several days in the 50-60's. Now we are back to a full load of wood daily. I am using this time to catch up on the farmers market rules, order some greasy bean heirloom seeds (if you've never heard of those, then you don't know beans!) and do a little sewing on the sewing machine I gave myself for my birthday. I haven't tried to sew anything in years because I haven't been able to find the old sewing machine I had. It is packed away, somewhere in the container full of things that I didn't consider necessities when we downsized from 3000 sq.ft. to this 1000 sq.ft. cabin. My husband jokingly calls this place "The Last Resort" but when thinking of a farm name, it just didn't sound right to buy products from the "Last Resort," so I went with a name that signifies this area and native plants. We have Mountain Laurel growing all along this ridge, especially back along the cliff line at the rear of our property. It gets such pretty flowers in the late spring/early summer and the leaves stay green through the winter. It is a wild rhododendron and gets about 15 feet tall here. Little Laurel is also the name of the holler at the base of the cliff line here, identified on the USGS map. It is a tributary to the Licking River. So Laurel Ridge Farm seems like an appropriate name for this place. Getting back to the subject of sewing, I don't really miss that old sewing machine that I can't find in the hundreds of boxes stacked in the container. The machine was heavy and smelled like a burning belt and oil. It also had very few features and often made me really frustrated. The foot pedal was either really slow or pedal to the metal. I am hoping this new machine with 130 built in sewing stitches, 170 stitch functions, build in LED light, LCD display, start & stop button, extension table for quilting and large pieces, free arm option and it threads itself! That is important because my eyes are not as good as they used to be, thanks to all these birthdays that keep creeping up so quickly. Time really does speed up as you get older. I always thought older people were silly for saying that, so I guess I am the silly one now! Here are some recent pictures including one of the finished greenhouse/workshop/outdoor kitchen/bar. It really is a multipurpose structure! We absolutely love it. There is nothing else designed like it that I have ever seen. I put some black plastic down on part of the garden, hoping to warm the ground up and keep the weeds down. My dad gave me a rolling A/V cart he got at a school board auction and it works great for rolling the plants in and out of the greenhouse. Inside the greenhouse, I have some supplemental lighting for cloudy days and I have wrapped the windows with white frost cover to keep the sun from burning and drying out the plants on warm days. The chicken cages I had to build to keep the cats off the seedlings. The cats live in the greenhouse over the winter. It is heated by the outdoor woodstove boiler along with the house, hot water heater and our hot tub. It keeps the greenhouse at least 55 degrees. I start the seedlings on a thermostat controlled heat mat at 70 degrees. We have started terracing some of the garden because we are on a hill and not only does that cause soil loss but you get tired of standing kneeling on a hill trying to garden. It wears out the knees, ankles and hips quick! Tomorrow, I will borrow a friends tractor and start on making some newly tilled areas for my popcorn, squash and melons.

 
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KY PROUD

I have progressed in my knowledge and farming skills over the past few years although anyone who farms as a hobby or a business can tell you, there is always more to learn and no two years will be alike. The winter wasn't too bad until the very end. All of a sudden, we had two significant snow events that turned into record breakers, followed by flooding, then some 70 degree weather, and now, possible snow again tomorrow. Bulbs are breaking ground and coming up to bloom, while insects are gearing up for the season. Weeds are already awake and the grass is getting greener. I started seeds in the greenhouse in January. I have lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, kale and other cold loving crops ready to go in the ground but I am afraid to stick them out there. It seems about every two weeks, the temperature drops and we get a frost or snow event. It's just not worth losing them so I am keeping them in the greenhouse until I feel more confident. I will probably stick them out sometime in April with a low tunnel frost protection.

This year I have signed up to sell at the local farmer's market. I always have more than I can eat or preserve, so I usually give away the extra and also feed some to the chickens. I decided to grow more than last year. Each year I make the garden areas bigger and the soil better. Hopefully that means I will have even more extra food to sell this year. I have two boys that need to get a sense of what work is and how hard it is to make some money. This seems like the perfect opportunity for that. I told them they could keep most of the money we make if they would help me. So far, they do not seem too excited but I am hoping that will change once they get some dollars in their pockets. I try to explain to them the importance of buying local and growing organic. I am not sure if they get it but I guess if I say it often enough, it will eventually sink in. It will be a challenge since they are dedicated to soccer and it will be going on most of the summer. We will do the best we can though. Soccer comes first for them and I am okay with that. I only have a small amount of time before they are grown and making a life on their own, so I have to put them first for now.

Since I used to sell my soaps & candles at craft fairs, I understand what it will be like to sell at the farmer's market. I am excited to be able to label my products Kentucky Proud and Appalachian Proud. Tonight I went to the local farmers market meeting and filled out the paper work to use the special labels. I also bought a big Appalachian Proud banner to hang up in my booth and some stickers for my products. I am so excited to share what I love to do with the community and make some money for it too. To me, farming is not a job but a healthy lifestyle choice. I can't stand to jog or exercise in a group class. I like to work outside all day and not even realize I am sore and tired until it is dark. I also love the reward of having fresh organic food to feed my family.

I ordered seeds from Johnny's seeds again but I also ordered seeds from Sustainable Seed Co. this year. I am excited to start growing popcorn this year too. I have expanded the variety of fruits of veggies that I grow to include some bok choy, Chinese cabbage, swiss chard, red celery and some herbs and heirlooms I have never tried. I am also going to try selling cut flowers. I am not sure how great the market for that is here, but it will help make my booth look nice, even if they don't sell!

I will post some pictures of the greenhouse plants this weekend, I have to finish watching these KY Wildcats beat the West Virginia Mountaineers. I love my Old Kentucky Home! KY PROUD! GO CATS!