Monday, October 31, 2011

Oh golly, Goats!

We are now owners of two Nigerian Dwarf does (female goats).  I can honestly say that I never thought we would be goat owners.  Jayme and I are cattle people. We know and understand cattle.  Not goats...

But, cattle get a little larger than goats.  So, the goats are better projects for our kids right now.  Each boys is the proud owner of one goat.  Jacob's goat is named Pudding and she is 4 years old, just like Jacob.  Pudding is hopefully bred to have babies in February.  Daniel's goat is Rayne (the white one) and she was just born in March of 2011.






Daniel is starting 4-H this year with his goat.  Jacob can't start 4-H until he is older.  However, the boys have their goats because Jacob loves animals so much.  Jacob spent so much time at the petting zoo with the goats that his grandparents wanted to get him a goat of his own.  Thanks grandparents!


So, you can expect to hear more about goat adventures in the future.  And, if you live near us, you may have to come see them!

Monday, September 26, 2011

Totally Tomatoes!!!

Ripe tomatoes are finally here.  I made salsa and canned tomatoes this past week.  I was able to make 20 pints of salsa using only ingredients from my garden - onions, peppers, and tomatoes.  The salsa turned out great!



This is an example of "don't do what I did".  I canned the last bit of salsa into quart jars.  I've actually canned salsa into quart jars for years not knowing that it is a "no-no".

Here is the salsa recipe that I used:

Chili Salsa (Hot Tomato - Pepper Sauce)




Now that we have enough salsa for the next year, all future tomatoes that we don't eat fresh will be canned.  I use a quart of canned tomatoes in spaghetti sauces, chili, and pretty much any recipe where you would use canned tomatoes.  Here are instruction on how to can tomatoes.







Start with tomatoes.  Like those burgundy/green tomatoes?  Those are an heirloom variety called Cherokee Purple.  They taste great!  And look cool...









I pressure canned these tomatoes.  You can also process them using a water bath.  The processing time is longer and I was in a hurry this day.








The most annoying part about pressure canning (in my opinion) is having to watch the pressure gauge constantly to make sure it is right where it is supposed to be.  I have to adjust my burner heat up and down a little to keep the needle where it needs to be.  I forgot how much I dislike standing and watching to make sure the needle stays at 12 pounds of pressure.  I will be water bath processing future batches.  It takes longer, but I can at least clean my kitchen while I wait.


But, in the end when I add all the jars of tomatoes and salsa to my basement storage, it is all worth the time and effort.

Friday, September 23, 2011

September Update

The greenhouse is finished - complete with plastic sheeting on top.  It works well.  During our cold snap, the temperature inside the greenhouse was easily 10-15 degrees warmer than outside.  When it warmed back up to the 70's, the greenhouse got up to 90 degrees before I remembered to vent it.

Now Jayme is working on a fence for the garden using some old rusty wire fencing that our neighbor gave to us.  The fence will also slow the deer down a little.  They enjoy eating my tomatoes and lettuce on occasion.  Jayme is very precise in his work with huge attention to detail.  This is one of the joints that he is using to join the boards. He uses his router to shape both the fence post and the 2X4.  Once again, we are using all recycled wood that he got for free from job sites where a person is having a new deck or fence built.


Here is the finished stretch of fencing on one side of the garden.


I love how it looks.  I am busy harvesting and redesigning my garden for more production next year.  I will have more beds that are laid out in 30 inch rows with an 18 inch walking path through them.  Gone will be the days when the kids get to go into the garden and dig with their toys and shovels.  The beds will be permanent.  After harvesting a crop, I'll just need to gently till the top, add more compost and any soil amendments that are needed, and replant.

We are considering starting a weekly vegetable subscription option for people.  Each week, you would pick up a box containing a mixture of vegetables (whatever is ready for harvest) for a flat weekly fee.  Stay tuned for more information - if we decide to go ahead with the plan.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Weekly Update - August 16, 2011


Here is the overall picture of most of the garden.  The Asian greens that I planted are ready to pick.  The greens are a mix of tatsoi, mizuna, endive, and more stuff that I can't remember the name of.  I am making this recipe for Wilted Asian Greens tonight along with chicken and jasmine rice.



I picked our first cucumbers this morning.  These two beauties probably won't survive past lunchtime at our house.  Next summer I plan to grow my cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers inside the greenhouse.  They love warmth and sun and we just haven't had a ton of either this summer.



The greenhouse construction is moving along well.  Our back-ordered greenhouse film is supposed to ship this week.  Then we will have a roof!  We found a screen door and a gallon of green colored wood stain at the Habitat for Humanity Store




 The gallon of stain was $8 and the screen door was $15 - great prices!  The stain is a dark green - perfect for a greenhouse!  I like the screen door because it has character.  The raised panel design on the front is unique.  Maybe someday the boys and I will stencil designs on it too.




 I like how the colors of stain look together.  The brown stain was free from the Waste to Energy Plant.  The green came from the Habitat Store for $8.  So, we have colors that look great together and they weren't selected from endless choices.



 
There are only 4 more windows to go in, a roof, and some siding.  So exciting!  Stay tuned for the final project pictures.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Weekly Update - August 1, 2011


Summer is finally here - and hot!  High temperatures have been in the upper 80's for a few days now.  The pole beans are starting to climb up the teepee we made.  Tomatoes are beginning to turn closer to yellow - on their way to red.  Corn is just starting to tassel out.  Raspberries and strawberries have really slowed down production - just a handful here and there.

I really am still watering the potatoes.  This is what they look like when they start to die back.  Once over half of the plant is yellow/brown, I stop watering it.  I'll dig the potatoes once the plants are completely dead.  We planted some blue potatoes, red (though the whole potato) potatoes, and some "normal" potatoes.





The greenhouse is coming along.  Jayme does a great job with the recycled materials he finds.  The windows are recycled (with help from craigslist and a friend) and the redwood trim came from an old deck that was no longer wanted.  I love the look of the redwood.  Once he put the old boards through the planer, they look new again!

Friday, July 29, 2011

Creamy Fruit Salad Recipe

We picked strawberries, raspberries, and the first blueberries this morning.  There weren't enough berries to make a pie or tart.  So, I made this simple fruit salad instead.  It was our dessert after dinner tonight.


The recipe is really simple, equal parts vanilla or plain yogurt and coolwhip and a little bit of instant vanilla pudding.  Mix it all up, the add fruit.  Fold gently.  This is the specific recipe I used tonight.  You can increase or decrease based on how much salad you want.


2 cups vanilla yogurt
2 cups coolwhip, thawed
1/2 of a small packet of instant vanilla pudding mix
Combine all togther in a large bowl

Add 8 cups of fruit
Gently fold.  Enjoy!  Here is our finished product.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Blue Potatoes and Cherry Pie

We harvested our first green beans for dinner tonight.  I thought it would be fun to let the boys dig up some of the blue potatoes.  One of the plants is starting to die, so harvest is nearing anyway.  This is our first year growing blue potatoes.  We can let you know how they taste after dinner tonight.



Jacob is very excited to show you a blue potato.  They are actually more like a very deep purple.

I am cooking these just like boiled baby red potatoes.  I'll serve them with butter and parsley.






I used up the cherries from our cherry tree today.  They became 7 pints of Cherry Jam using a recipe from my friend Ronda.  Ronda owns an orchard up at Greenbluff.  The remaining cherries became a pie.  Yummy!



We plan to go up to Greenbluff and get some more cherries this weekend.  I'm after the sour "pie cherries".  They are fantastic!  Maybe I'll see you up there.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Weekly Update - July 23, 2011



Harvest has started on our family farm.



We are picking strawberries and raspberries every 2-3 days.  Jacob insisted on being in every photo.  He loves having his picture taken!

Yesterday we harvested the first head of cabbage.  Sugar snap peas are ready and waiting for a stir-fry tonight.  Jacob is in front of our sugar snap peas climbing up a trellis.
The boys eat carrots straight from the garden "bunny-rabbit-style".  We recently took some freshly dug carrots to a friend's pool party.  Who would have thought that preschool kids would love carrots so much!  Carrots are one of the crops that I am going to experiment with overwintering in low hoops.



We are also entering some vegetables in the Spokane Interstate Fair.  One of the contests is for the largest turnip.  We are hoping to win 1st place with this mammoth!



Lastly, greenhouse construction continues.  Jayme is working on the roof.  We are using many recycled materials in the construction.  The cement block was previously used.  Some of the timber is recycled from an old deck.  All the windows going into the walls are recycled from houses getting a new set of windows.  The roof will be a plastic greenhouse film, coated with uv protectors and an anti-drip material.  It will let in 85% of the sunlight and will help in warming the greenhouse this winter.





The plan for this greenhouse is to be a "cold greenhouse" - unheated except by the sun.  We are hoping to raise a variety of winter vegetables - primarily baby leaf lettuce and greens.  Maybe we'll even sell some.  It promises to be an adventure!

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Ross Family Farms - 2011 Vegetables and More

Ross Family Farms - 2011 Vegetables and More

Basil - Italian type Genovese 80 days, annual
Broccoli - Blue Wind 49 days, hybrid (F1)
Broccoli - Green Sprouting 55 days
Cabbage - cone shaped Caraflex 68 days, hybrid (F1)
Cabbage - round Copenhagen Market 69 days
Cantaloupe - Hale's Best 85 days
Cauliflower - white Early Snowball 60 days
Cauliflower - White Snow Crown 50 days hybrid (F1)
Celery - Conquistador 80 days
Celery Root - Brilliant 100 days
Cucumber pickling - Boston Pickling 55 days
Cucumber - slicing Genuine 48 days, hybrid (F1)
Cucumber - slicing Straight Eight 60 days
Eggplant - purple & white Fairy Tale 63 days
Eggplant - purple Mangan 60 days, hybrid (F1)
Leek - King Richard 75 days
Melon - Sun Jewel 68 days, hybrid (F1)
Melon - white flesh Tigger 80 days
Pepper - Hot JalapeƱo Chile El Jefe 90 days, hybrid (F1)
Pepper - Hot Serrano Chile Serrano del Sol 75 days, hybrid (F1)
Pumpkin - carving Jack O Lantern days, 110
Pumpkin = carving Magic Lantern 95 days, hybrid (F1)
Squash - Winter Kabocha Orange Sunshine 95 days, hybrid (F1)
Squash = Winter - Acorn Mesa Queen 70 days, hybrid (F1)
Tomatillo - (ground cherry) Mexican Strain 65 days, organic
Tomato - Indeterminate Ace 55,  80 days
Tomato - Indeterminate Cherokee Purple 72 days
Tomato - Determinate Polbig 60 days, hybrid (F1)
Tomato - Determinate Siletz
Turnip - purple top, white globe 55 days
Watermelon - small Sugar Baby 75 days
Watermelon - small Little Baby Flower 70 days,  hybrid (F1)

NOTES: The notation "hybrid" means that the plant is a product of cross-breeding varieties.
You will not be able to save the seeds and grow the same plant next year. For tomatoes,
indeterminate varieties need to be staked, determinate varieties do not need to be staked. I will
provide growing information and be available to answer questions.
All seeds are started in a mixture of peat, pearlite, and slow release fertilizer. Seeds are not
started organically as I use a slow release fertilizer. My seeds are also not organic seeds unless
noted. We are not an organic farm.
All plants will be "hardened off" in a cold frame before release to you. This means they will be
acclimated to the local outdoor weather and ready to be planted in the ground.

ORDERS: Each plant in a 3-4 inch plastic container is $1.25. Pre-orders and deposit need to be
received by April 15th for delivery or pick up around May 15th - 25th, depending on weather.
50% deposit due upon ordering. Balance due at delivery/pickup. Please note that seed
germination is subject to many conditions. If for some reason there is a crop failure and we are
unable to grow the specific plants requested, you can choose a substitute plant from stock on hand
or be refunded your deposit. If you decide to not take possession of your plants (decide you don't
want them, buy them somewhere else, etc) you will forfeit your deposit.

TO PLACE ORDERS:
By email: April Ross at rossfamily98 "at" gmail "dot" com

I will send an order confirmation within 2 business days. If you don't receive an order confirmation,
please contact me to make sure your order was received.

Thank you for your business!

Jayme and April Ross

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Springtime! Garden time!

It is time to start thinking about that garden.  Such fun!  What to plant?  How to rotate the location of the plants from last year to reduce disease?  What soil amendment is needed?

I usually draw out my garden on a piece of blank paper and start drawing squares to represent the different types of plants - and where they will go.  I intentionally move plant location from year to year.  Except, of course, those plants that don't move - like raspberry and blueberry bushes and the strawberry patch.

I began starting my own seeds for the plants in my garden years ago.  I just couldn't find tomato plants locally that would give me enough tomatoes for lots of salsa before our first frost - sometimes in September!  Then, since I began growing tomatoes from seed, it was easy to just start adding on other veggies.

This year I will be starting many different veggies from seed.  For the first time, I'm taking pre-orders for garden plants.  You can choose from the seeds that I have.  Then in mid May - I'll have a plant for you in a 3-4 inch pot ready to go into your garden!  Need an order form or more information, just let me know.