Either way, the garden brings a lot of joy to my life. We've actually harvested our first radishes and pretty much everything I've planted from seed has shown some sign of life.
It's a slow process, figuring out what's already growing on our property, but much easier when the flowers show themselves. For example I've got peonies, irises and columbines, and even lilacs tucked away in a shady thicket, but I'm still wondering if I've got comfrey, though secrectly I was hoping for borage, and, what exactly the blooms of these various multiplying bulbacious plants will look like. It's clear Paula obviously had a penchant for the blue purple spectrum.
There's more planting to be done, now that the month of May has passed. Some direct sowing of seeds mail ordered from Dan at Salt Spring Seeds, and possibly also some perennials depending on our free time from "Work with a Pay Cheque" to tend to our "Labour of Love". Ultimately organic gardening, or natural raising, as I might be more obliged to call it, is the idea behind our home grown consumables (and that includes animal products and animals). Many projects, ideas and hopes...
We've purchased some old fashioned equipment to pull behind our tractor by three point hitch. The machinery is now quite hard to come by because big farms have long since retired the shrimpy, nearly manual bits and pieces, or farmers just can't bear to part with them preferring to let them become delapitated lawn ornaments. (To be fair, we have ornaments ourselves and will be leaving the horse drawn Massey Harris tractor and single bottom horse drawn plow right where they are to be slowly reclaimed by the earth, and admired, too.) Nevertheless, these pieces of equipment are the perfect size for a farm like ours where we are still young legs and enthusiastic.
Breaking new ground is hard work, as imagined, even with the help of gas guzzling machinery. But it is coming along as my appreciation grows ten-fold for the settlers (true survivors and adventurers) who dug all their garden spaces by hand, not just some measley 300 square feet like I did. The soil itself is nicer than I'd ever imagined, it's really just the top layer that's a nightmare - woven and matted dread-lock style - which takes some (hours of) hand hoe wielding like a barbarian (yes, some people pay to go to the gym, but you could just come help me! Your back and shoulders would thank me for the sculpting, your back, though, will never be the same even post multiple massages.) We have two spaces we are preparing - Bob and Frank, for back and front - and we are close to planting Frank. The idea here are dual purpose cover crops, improving soil (and not too bothered by chunky organic matter i.e. colds of grass) and feeding our chickens and rabbits. Bob we may have to allow to run the course of the season... We will see. It's me who wants to get going and get growing. I could totally be a fruit and flower farmer. Maybe I will be. If patience doesn't get me first!
Speaking of hand tools, I've just found a scythe and sharpened and learn to use it. Very, very cool. It does give reaping a fierce feeling.
Spring means there's really no time for writing, meaning mostly, all extra energy is given to plow and cultivate our newly opened plantable patches comprising in total about 18,000 square feet. Also I've been sad because my Kitchen Aid super mixer hasn't been feeling too super lately. It's eaten itself from the inside out once again and parts are on order and reordered since they never arrived. Obviously I use said mixer a lot. This is not a decoration on my counter folks. So because cake is my thing, I got an idea and went with it. Cake mixed in a blender? Yes! Especially if it requires an ingredient to be puréed anyway.
Brick-Red Velvet Cake
In a bowl with a whisk combine:
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 heaping tsp baking powder
In a blender mix until smooth:
130-160g Cooked beet
2 Tbsp cocoa
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup butter milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Then add and mix until incorporated:
2 eggs
And an optional splash of vinegar
Remove the center part from your blender (if it detatches because it is much easier to remove batter and to clean the blender afterward with it out) and mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated.
Use a spatula to get the batter all out and bake in either cupcake liners or an 8" round pan until done.
Adorn as you please. Here the chocolate icing was a great flavour and texture companion.
After we recover from being pooped out, we must concentrate on watering. Once we contemplate all the solutions, gather the necessary parts and put the system in place, it seems to simply become a function that time must be reserved for, versus a cumbersome chore.
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