Wordless Wednesday

Jumbo egg from a 3 year old Buff Orpington.

Drunk mothers

I'm not much of a drinker.  I'll have a glass every now and again, but for the most part, alcohol is just not a part of my life.  As a result, we often end up with extra wine after a get together.  It used to sit in my basement until I tossed it.  Throwing things away drives me nuts.  After lamenting the price of white wine vinegar, I decided to take matters into my own hands.  It all started with the mother at the bottom of a bottle of apple cider vinegar.  You need the natural kind that has floaty bits in the bottom.

This is from Whole Foods, but I've also seen it from Spectrum, Eden and Braggs.

I poured about a half cup of the ACV with the little bits into a mason jar and then poured an equal amount of white wine into the jar.  Then I sat it on a shelf and let it sit.  After a week or so, a film formed over the top.

This is a new mother forming.  There was a distinct vinegar smell at this point.  I let it for a few more days until the mother got thicker and more powerful.  Meanwhile the kids and I danced around the kitchen screaming "We made a mother!"

Once I had a good strong mother, I filled the jar with another cup of wine and repeated the process.  I didn't want to overwhelm the mother.  Each time it formed another mother and became stronger.

This is the end of the process.  You can see the mothers at the bottom of the jar.  The remaining vinegar was poured into another jar to be used in dressings and the like.  I'll keep the mothers in a jar with some vinegar for the next batch.  Next up will be some red wine vinegar and this fall I'm hoping to make a big batch of ACV.  The chickens get vinegar in their water every day, so the cheaper I can get it, the better.  We also use a lot of vinegar in our food.  Since this was naturally fermented, it will be even better for us.

This post is part of the Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways blog carnival.  I will also be linking to Little Farm in the Big City Homestead Helps Wednesday.
Also Simple Lives Thursday at a Little Bit of Spain in Iowa.

Progress is being made.

Do you remember that huge list I made?  The one with all the things that needed to be done around the yard and garden?  I'm happy to say that I've made it about 2/3 of the way through the list. 

The front flower/herb bed has been cleaned up and edged.   I divided up my daylillies and added them to the beds.  The daylillies are like weeds and will fill in nicely over the next few years.  The lovely couple that just bought the other side of our duplex, is very anxious to pretty up the place.  We'll be fixing the sad state of the yard in the next few weeks.  Loam will be delivered and grass seed spread.  Since the septic is in the front yard, we're very limited in what we can do.  The loam will be put on the far end of the yard, so we don't harm the leaching field.

 

The strawberry bed has been weeded and manured.  The strawberries don't take up the whole bed, so the rest of the bed will be planted with onions.  I have terrible luck starting onions, so I'm ordering from Dixondale Farms this year.  They should be here next week for planting.

 The Northwest corner of the yard was becoming overrun with wild blackberry canes and other weeds.  Despite long sleeves and leather gloves, I still ended up with a number of scratches.  However, it looks great now and is ready for my newest plans.  I'll let you in on those later.

The chicken coop got cleaned out of all the winter's mess.  One of the Rhode Island Reds sat in the coop and squawked at me the entire time.  It was pretty funny.  They now have fresh bedding and the electric that is run out to the coop has been cleaned up and put away.  We are still having cold nights, but they don't need the water heater anymore.  The lights were turned off about a month ago after I decided not to artificially light them anymore.  We'll be getting new chicks in the next few days, so we should be fine with the excess through next winter.  

Toby and our new dog Molly, had to rest after supervising all of the action.  Molly is another dog from a client.  She is a 7 1/2 year old lab mix and is sweet as can be.  She is really loving being a 'farm' dog.  

Today we planted a small garden just outside the coop.  The kids and a few friends helped.  It will contain greens and sunflowers.  The sunflowers to add some shade and the greens for yummy chicken treats.  They get a lot from the garden, but I thought it would be nice for them to have their own supply of yummy food.  

Lots more is happening and I'll update it all in time.  Enjoy your Easter or Passover celebrations!

I'll be linking to the Homestead Barn Hop.  Check out what others are doing around the homestead.

Late March in the garden

What a Spring we're having!  It was in the mid 80s yesterday and the garden is loving it.  We're due for a dose of reality in the next week, but it's been nice while it lasted.  The garden has been growing faster than normal.  Most years, I still have frozen ground, or even snow at this point.  So, I'll take what I can get.

The peas are poking their little heads up already.

The potato onions are getting big.  I'm hoping for a better harvest this year as they acclimate to my garden.

Spinach is up in the hoops.  Lettuce and swiss chard are also poking their heads up.

The rhubarb is getting bigger by the minute.  At it's current rate of growth, I fully expect it to take over this bed.  That's only a slight exaggeration.

The strawberries are looking healthy and we're hoping for a great crop.  If we can keep the other birds and animals away.

Lastly, are the brassicas.  They're hardening off to go into the hoops later in the week. 

What have you got going on in your garden.  Any signs of spring?

Wordless Wednesday: Rhubarb

Rhubarb

Please check out my post over at Edible South Shore today on why we should grow our own.  I would love your input.

Long to do list

It's been a crazy week here.  I spent all day on Wednesday at the hospital with Hubby (all is well, this was a positive thing).  While I waited, I read gardening books and made lists.  We are predicted to have some more gorgeous weather this week, so my to do list has gotten rather long.  I thought I'd post it for you as much for myself as it may possibly remind you what needs to get done in your own world.  I'll try to check back later in the week to see what has gotten done.

-Talk to Glenn about leaves in the fall.  ( a friend who is a landscaper)
-Turn compost and harvest what is there for the strawberry bed.
-clean and sharpen tools
-get new sharpener tool
-clean out shed
-get barrel for straw
-clean out chicken coop and add to compost
-pull out remainder of fence
-cut back and burn invasive blackberries
-clean up fallen branches behind coop from hurricane
-plant sunflowers and borage
-create garden bed by coop
-harvest Jerusalem artichokes
-write a post for edible on above
-plant more beets, carrots and second round of brassicas
-pot up peppers and brassicas in basement
-start hardening off brassicas for planting in hoops
-get hardware for 2 more hoops
-make list for fall seed list
-make more seed tapes
-fix front flower bed
-mulch everything
-extend bed by mailbox
-get loam from Glenn
-build 2 more beds and 1 with uprights for grapes
-order grapes and asparagus for next year
-plant 2 more fruit trees in back corner
-cut t shirt strips for tomato supports.
-weed and turn remainder of beds

It's a lot and much of it will have to wait for a bit.   What are you doing in the garden and yard this week?

Enjoying the warmth

I know most of us are experiencing this warmth, but it is still just amazing to me.  I can't get over the fact that it is mid March and not only do we not have snow, but I have things in the ground already.  I don't ever remember being able to plant peas so early.  In my hoops I have added some carrots to the greens already there.  The hoops have been open as well, since night temps have been so warm.  It will get cooler, it always does, but this nice little interlude sure is satisfying.

The girls are enjoying the warmth as well.