Missing Willow Farm

We’ve got ginger growing in the greenhouse.  It’s a culinary experiment that will hopefully turn out well.  I figure if citrus grows in there, ginger should also.  I’m making Asian chicken tacos with a peanut satay sauce for dinner.  This will help.

Our sheep are getting fluffy again, just in time for the cold weather.  We’ll shear again in March, so they’ll be toasty over the winter. Augusta and Beatrice are my two most favorite ladies.  They know their names and  come when I call them…  sometimes.  Gus came to us with the ear damage.  She used to have ear tags.  I guess she doesn’t like wearing jewelry.

We didn’t prepare this dish, chef Bruno of The Landing restaurant did (and holy hell was it delicious)!  We did, however, grow the microgreens on top.  Garlic chives, bull’s blood beets and micro cilantro.  They pair quite well with amazingly prepared shrimp and pork belly I must say.  😀

We received our annual shipment of garlic and shallot starts yesterday, we have two raised beds prepped and waiting to be planted.  Our hot peppers and fig trees have been relocated inside the greenhouse.  The fishing line deer fence around our garden is down so the potato bed can be plowed under.   October garden chores are in full swing.

We spent the weekend at a wine, food and music festival spit roasting a lamb for a friend.  I love the ‘talent’ passes they gave us.  It was one of the nicest festivals ever and we ran into lots of friends.  We got to sample awesome food such as BBQ peanuts, quail sausage, shrimp and grits and duck pot pie.   Who wants to meet us there next year?

I purchased a calamondin orange tree during a trip to Florida earlier this summer.  The tag said it grows well in pots and has abundant fruit.  Sounded good.  The plant had flowers on it and everything.  We just had our first harvest.  It’s not only the size of a quarter, it’s more sour than any lemon I’ve ever tasted.  I guess I should have read the tag more carefully!  Oh well.

Lemons, limes, lemongrass and a banana tree that’s never fruited are growing in our greenhouse in Virginia.  We used to bring them all indoors over the winter but they made a huge mess inside so now they live in the greenhouse with the temperature set right at freezing.  We love our citrus.  A banana would be nice.  Just saying.

Jack won’t give up his wubba.  At all.  He does, however, get annoyed if you don’t try to take it from him.

This cherry tomato plant in the greenhouse must be 20 feet long.  That’s a 55 gallon rain barrel it’s covering. We’re hoping to have tomatoes through the winter.  It will mean we have to hand pollinate new flowers.  A small price to pay for fresh tomatoes from our garden.