One Potato...Two Potato...

Potatoes are by far my favorite vegetable. Potatoes are also my favorite crop. The versatility of a potato is unsurpassed. I truly enjoy every aspect of potato growing.

I like to plant them. Although the hilling makes my shoulder hurt terribly, the end result is worth every bit of pain. We buy seed potatoes in the spring, planting half in March or April and the other half in July. That gives us two crops of new potatoes with their delicate skin. It also assures that the potatoes stored for winter remain firm and fresh until spring.

I just love digging them.
When I was a little girl, my dad would just laugh at me for wanting to dig the potatoes. Didn’t I know it was work? It didn’t matter to me; it was like hunting for buried treasure. The only thing I didn’t like was that sound of S-L-I-C-E…as the potato fork went through the potato. That was never the intention. But, then the potato wouldn’t store because of the dirty injury down through its center. Wasted potatoes made me sad.

Now we use a “potato buster” hooked onto the tractor. It works like a plow, gliding beneath the potatoes and turning the soil over so the potatoes just roll out. Way cool! While it IS cool, it doesn’t do ALL the work. We go along and sift the potatoes out of the turned and softened earth, often on our hands and knees.

For those of you who may not know, the only part of the potato plant that is edible is the tuber. The plant, its flowers and any berries it may have contain way too much solanine for human consumption.

In the past, we’ve had good yields on the potato crops. Last year, we had a dismal failure with some of them. This year we have had an AWESOME year.

Today, the Boss and I picked up more than eleven bushels of potatoes from the July planting. This was in addition to the five bushels he had already harvested from that patch. The reefer-cooler is pretty full! …and we’ve already sold a lot.

These are by far the biggest potatoes we’ve grown. The biggest one weighed in at over 2 pounds. It was huge.
I don’t know if it means I am turning into Cliff Clavin (remember the TV show Cheers?) or I am just so very tired, but it really looked like a face to me! The Boss got lots of laughs at my “Mr. Potato Head” the all-natural version.


Sometimes we have entirely TOO MUCH fun! But, you can never have too many potatoes!

...and Sweet 'Tater Pie

It really doesn’t matter how many cans of Bruce’s Yams are sold this holiday season…

I am here to tell you that those orange things that you find on buffet tables from Thanksgiving to New years are NOT, I repeat NOT…yams.


They are in fact …Sweet Potatoes! Sweet Potatoes, or Ipomoea batatas, are the basis for those holiday casseroles, soufflés and pies that so many of us enjoy.

Since both the sweet potato (ipomoea batata) and the yam (dioscorea) originated in the same area of the world, an error in translation is said to be blamed for the confusion. I am not going to get into a discussion of etymology, so suffice it to say….we’re just talking about sweet potatoes.

In the spring, we get “slips” (little plants)from a plant company in Tennessee. The slips are essential sprouts off the tuber that are allowed to form some roots.This company specializes in all sorts of sweet potatoes. There are red, white and yellow varieties. We particularly like the Georgia Jets. They have a fairly short growing season, produce well, and make some real big tubers. Their deep orange flesh is sweet and creamy.

Since the sweet potato is a tropical plant, heat is a necessity. We cannot plant them until the ground is warm, and all threat of frost is past. After their arrival by mail, the “slips” spend some quality time in the green house. While the “slips” are growing in the greenhouse, we prep the growing area. The Boss puts black plastic over the ground prior to planting. This serves several purposes; it keeps the weeds down, and provides some added warmth for the growing tubers. It also holds in moisture from the irrigation supply.

This year we planted more “slips” than in the past. The hope was to have a bigger crop. Unfortunately, the critter population was enjoying the sweet potatoes long before they were ready to harvest. We’re fairly certain those 10 groundhogs, 6 raccoons and two possums that the Boss “eliminated” out back were enjoying the plants! The tops were eaten off the plants in half of both rows repeatedly. There were probably some rabbits enjoying sweet potato greens, too. This caused our crop to be far less than we had anticipated. However, it was MUCH better than last year’s complete failure, so we’re happy.

When the weather begins to turn cool, the sweet potatoes must be harvested.
They should not be allowed to suffer a frost. The vines must be pulled off, the plastic and irrigation removed, and the potatoes dug from the earth. The sweet potato is a relative of the morning glory, so there are lots of long, trailing vines, although the tubers remain under the main part of the plant. Generally, one pass with the plow uncovers most of the tubers.

After the tubers are dug, they are dusted off and taken to “cure”. Our “curing area” is actually a big piece of cardboard on the floor of the shop with a sheet over the top. The tubers are given about two weeks to cure in which time the starches convert to sugar and the delicious taste develops.

Last week was the first week we were able to offer sweet potatoes for sale at the Market. Somehow, they just seem to symbolize Autumn to many folks. The tasty tubers will show up in a variety of ways, baked, roasted, boiled, glazed, “souped”, stewed, fried, casseroled,

…and as Sweet ‘Tater Pie!

Here's a recipe:

• 1 (1 pound) sweet potato
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust
1. Boil sweet potato whole in skin for 40 to 50 minutes, or until done. Run cold water over the sweet potato, and remove the skin.
2. Break apart sweet potato in a bowl. Add butter, and mix well with mixer. Stir in sugar, milk, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until mixture is smooth. Pour filling into an unbaked pie crust.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 55 to 60 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Pie will puff up like a souffle, and then will sink down as it cools.

Rather like pumpkin pie, but lighter and fluffier. YUM!

Hen-fruit

It always amazes me that the little balls of fluff that arrive in a small box in the mail turn into some of the most productive and profitable creatures on the farm.

The layer chicks arrived Friday morning. While they seemed a little sleepy and bemused upon their placement in the brooder, that quickly changed. Within half an hour, they were cheeping, scratching, pecking, and drinking like they had always lived there. Not bad for two days old!

In a mere 18 to 22 weeks, these little girls will be laying eggs and beginning to pay their way around here. At that point, each pullet will be producing an egg approximately every 26 hours …and they produce without complaint…working for just “chicken feed”.

Eggs are a great source of nutrients and protein. Recently, the USDA announced that the cholesterol levels are lower in eggs than previously thought. They also contain more Vitamin D than reported in the past. This is great news for both farmers and consumers. For further egg information....check this out Incredible Edible Egg | Egg Recipes, Egg Nutrition & Egg Facts

Whether you call them eggs, cackleberries or hen-fruit, they provide great nutrition in a neat little package. The uses of eggs are deliciously myriad. They can be fried, boiled, scrambled, baked, shirred; they make soufflés puff, sauces creamy, and cakes and cookies soft and tasty.

However you choose to enjoy them, do so knowing that the “hen-fruit” from Homestead Hill Farm has been gathered within the seven days prior to your purchase and will last at least one month in your fridge.

A note about farm-fresh eggs: they do NOT peel well. If you are making devilled or pickled eggs and need the eggs to peel smoothly, try letting them sit on the counter for a few days prior to cooking. Yes, unrefrigerated. Yes, they will be fine. However, once you cook them…please refrigerate any leftovers.

A Change is in the Air

The shift from September to October is more, much more, than a simple turning of a calendar page. The patchy frost we had in mid-September was just a teaser, a wake-up call if you will. There is a chill in the air most mornings; the dew is heavy and quite cold. This week’s very warm temperatures are not a sign of global warming. The real change is coming, no doubt about it. Mid-October will see the cold weather settle in for the season. That is generally when we begin to have frost on a regular basis. The knowledge that winter weather is beginning to bear down on us keeps us motivated to get all those “fall” projects done.

Early October has us planting garlic. Over the winter, the garlic will develop a great root system in its underground home, growing unobtrusively until spring time. Then it will make rapid growth and be ready for harvest in June or July.






The barn gets cleaned out in October as well. All the waste hay and bedding becomes mulch for the garden. When the sheep start coming into the barn for the winter, they will start the cycle of “super mulch” once more.

All but the hardiest of plants are finished in the garden. Much of the garden is bush hogged to get it looking tidy. The old plants will be pulled out and the irrigation system winterized in anticipation of freezing cold weather.

The hoophouses are being filled with winter-hardy greens and lettuces. It is our hope to be able to offer these for sale throughout the course of the winter, as we have done for the past three years.


The last of the lambs will head out to the processor during October and early November. This will stock the freezers with meat until the lambchop crop of 2012 is ready.

As for poultry…The last broiler processing of 2011 is on the “to-do” list this month as well. The layer chicks for next season are scheduled to arrive today.

There are lots of other jobs that need doing prior to the onset of cold weather. The chimney needs cleaning, the firewood should be stacked, the greenhouses cleaned out, and hoophouse #1 needs a “new skin”. The small clean-up jobs and multitude of winterizing tasks never even make the list, although they must be done as well. Then, there’s the Boss’ new chicken house project….

That chill in the air and the tinge of color on the mountains can only mean one thing…

We better get busy!

After the Market

Our Market day starts with the sound of the alarm clock at 4:15….yes, A.M.! It’s still dark when the Boss arrives downtown to set up for sales. He’s the Market Manager as well, so he has a lot of work to do.

The animals are fed and watered by the light of the flashlight before I head into town as well. Making sales, keeping product stocked and answering questions coherently for the entire morning makes for a long day sometimes.

When NOON arrives and it’s time to close down the Market for the day, we’re ready. We’re very ready to get home, unpack and EAT LUNCH!

By the looks of it…

…we are not the only inhabitants of the farm thinking of food! The early morning feeding throws the animals’ internal clocks off as well. They spend the afternoon complaining…and waiting for afternoon choretime to arrive.

A Multitude of Mushrooms

As I returned home the other day, I glanced up the hill toward the house as I turned in the lane. I have made it a habit to check things out as I approach the old homestead….never know what odd and/or random thing may be happening.

Wait! What is that under the pine trees?

I headed out to check it out. Of course, since the sheep are in that paddock, they went along to “help”. That always keeps things interesting.

The pine trees grow in several large groups out front. In the history of this piece of land, at one point someone wanted to start a Christmas tree farm. The next owner thought this was a completely stupid idea, and attempted to bush hog everything. The land is hilly and lumpy and a fair number of trees escaped the bush hog. That was about 20 years ago, so the trees are quite large now.

As I rounded the first group of trees, I could finally identify the “stuff” I had seen from the lane.

It was MUSHROOMS! Bunches and bunches (and bunches!) of mushrooms.

Mushrooms kinda freak me out. I immediately assume that they’re all highly poisonous. (I think this is baggage from reading Babar the elephant as a small child.) There were all kinds of mushrooms: yellow, red, white, puffballs, some slimy mushrooms and some that defied description. Yikes!

The sheep were in this paddock. Had they eaten the mushrooms? Would the mushrooms hurt them? There were lots of damaged mushrooms. I couldn’t tell if they had been eaten, or just walked on. I know nothing about mushroom identification. Sure wish “papaw” hadn’t sworn off the “ ‘puter”! I could have emailed him some pics and he could have identified them. As that wasn’t an option, I put the helpful sheep in another paddock for safe measure, and did some internet research.

My internet research revealed that I don’t have anything to worry about. It doesn’t appear that they are highly toxic. And, as the Boss pointed out, the sheep probably won’t eat them anyway with all the grass available. Although, I am fairly certain that a couple of the "characters" had to at least taste one.

It would appear that weather conditions were just perfect for great mushroom growth for the first time in our history with this piece of property. It is just part of the growth habit of this particular species to grow around coniferous trees.

Well, that’s one for the books! We’re supposed to get some real cold weather later this week, so that will spell the end for the mushrooms.

I do wonder….what’s next?

Teamwork

When we said “I DO” that hot September day back in 1984, our plans for the future never included: starting our lives anew from the ground up (LITERALLY), meeting the vet at the barn at 2am, beating snow off the hoophouses in the middle of a blizzard, hauling hay in hundred degree weather, performing a successful post-mortem caesarean on a ewe, working far harder than we ever thought we could, worrying and praying our way through countless farming scenarios. (the list could go on and on) Our plans for our future together were pretty tame…just the “Mr. and Mrs.” somewhere in quasi-suburbia. Farming was never an option, we thought we had our lives all figured out.

If we had only known…

We never planned to move to the Valley, become farmers…and love this life we live. I don’t think we had heard of a Farmers’ Market. Growing vegetables was a hobby...we never expected it to become our life and livelihood! They say that life is what happens while you’re planning other things. That is exactly what happened to us! While it has been a bumpy ride to the point at which we find ourselves…we arrived together…intact.

We have always worked well as a team. Always. We’ve had a number of mishaps and “adventures” along the way, but it’s always been together. When we faced the challenge of a totally new and different life here in the Valley, we pitched in TOGETHER and worked through it.

We each acknowledge our own weaknesses and rely on the other’s strengths. Each of us has an area of expertise, and we help each other whenever we can. The Boss can make almost anything a reality. He keeps everything running and does the muscle work. I get the nurturing jobs…and try to keep track of the little details. The farm runs somewhat smoothly because we’re generally on the same page, although we see things from slightly different perspectives. It’s become second nature to anticipate the other’s needs.

Looking back on those vows made years ago, we can actually say “…been there…done that!” to for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health. Despite a few scares along the way, we’re hoping that “ ‘til death do you part” is a long, long way in the future. There’s a still lot to do around here.

Here’s to another 27!