Missing Willow Farm

Plowing our potato bed.  We mostly use the tractor to scrape our driveway and move large hay bales.  Once a year we’re happy not to have to turn our in-ground potato bed by hand.  Very happy.

We stopped buying compost a few years ago because we’re able to make our own.  We’ll use it to supplement all of our garden beds.  We use the tractor to scoop it into the back of the Mule, which has a lift gate on the back.   Anything to minimize shoveling by hand!

Just a sample of what needs to get into the ground soon.  Shallots, potatoes, carrots, beets, spinach, lettuce, peas, kohlrabi & rutabaga.

Every single raised bed looks like this and there are 18 of them. Yuck.  That’s what happens when you spend a few weeks at the end of the growing season on vacation, then head right into the holidays.  Once the cages and stakes are set aside, we’ll need to weed and work in compost.  Then there’s the in-ground potato bed to plow.  This is a busy time for us.

I’ve started four flats of seeds so far, two each of heirloom tomatoes and hot peppers.  We received our seed order for the remainder of the garden yesterday.  The tomatoes and peppers will go in the ground in about two months.  I’ll group the seed packets into timeframes for planting.  Time to get the beds ready.

Here are most of them are so far (plus an older one), thick as thieves.  They run in a little fluffy gang.

Hermione gives me this much milk every morning.  I made my first batch of chevre yesterday and it didn’t set right.  I need to order fresh rennet and culture to remedy that.  I hope to put at least 50 blocks of cheese in the freezer before I get tired of the daily milking routine.  Probably sooner than later.  🙂

Hermione’s back on the milking stand.  Every morning.  Too icy to get the key into our mule?  Nope, still milking.  11 degrees out?  Too bad.  I keep reminding myself goat cheese is delicious.

Is there anything cuter than a newborn lamb?