Crazy Fall

Like I said in my food blog, Omnivores Delight I've had a crazy couple of months.  It's not been a fun crazy, but I keep trying to move forward.  Unfortunately all this craziness has taken a lot of time from my blogs.  I have been busy in my garden though.  I've been attempting to see what I can grow into the winter months here in Humboldt.  So far lettuce and Chinese Kale are thriving well beyond my wildest dreams.  The Oriental Spinach would be if the slugs didn't like it so much.  My turnips and beets are struggling.  The soil just doesn't have the nutrients they need to thrive, but my carrots seem to be doing pretty well.  I just stuck some onion starts in the ground, walla walla's and green bunching onions.  I'm pretty sure this is the wrong time of year to do this, but they seem pretty happy, so we'll see how this goes.  I also have a bunch of mustard greens doing pretty well.  My arugula is struggling, but the seeds I had were pretty old.  I'll have to get some pictures of my garden, as weedy as it is, and keep you posted on the progress.  Hopefully I'll find the  time between now and the crazy Christmas holiday, which by the way we will be enjoying leg of lamb from the lamb we raised ourselves.  I'm so excited about that! 
Happy harvests!

Little apple tree - HUGE apples

My little apple tree produces pretty big apples every year, but this has got to be it's biggest ever:
4 inches across:

This is my giant apple next to an apple that is the size of one you would buy in a store:

A Growing Market

Interesting article for local Humboldt County Farmers with a farm to table concept coordinated by the Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) http://www.caff.org.

The new food fighters - Health

The new food fighters - Health & nutrition | GreatSchools

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busy busy

I haven't posted in a while. I've been busy busy. I haven't been spending near enough time on my garden, but I have been scrambling to keep it alive. My daughter is in 4-H and has been raising a sheep to show in the fair. We spent the entire last week working on that, as well as her getting the opportunity to learn how to show animals by showing some goats for a friend the week before. It's been an exhausting and rewarding experience for the entire family. She ended up selling her lamb for $5 a pound and made herself a nice profit. I'm very proud of her and she is of herself as she should be. This is her first year (and mine and her dad's) and it's great that she has done so well. Next week is the last week of summer before the girls are back to school and we're off to visit family. I hope I come back to a garden that isn't demolished, other then by the friends who'll be here to watch it and the livestock. They're welcome to indulge. I just hope the varmints, goats, and elements leave me something to work with when I get back.
Enjoy the last dog days of summer, and may your harvest be bountiful!

Love Your Farmers Market

I just voted in the "Love Your Farmers Market" contest sponsored by Care2.com and LocalHarvest.org to help my favorite market, Ferndale Farmers' Market, win a grand prize of $5,000. I care about promoting fresh, local and healthy foods, and I need your help to get enough votes to help Ferndale Farmers' Market win. Please vote here: http://www.care2.com/farmersmarket/17312?refer=21496.01.1249686504.164956.

Humboldt County Fair Livestock Auction

Cordelia is showing her first sheep at the fair. Be there at 1 pm for the auction to cheer her on or put in your bid.