Winter Growing

I'm still answering questions from my post on Monday and will try to get around to most of them. They are calling for the weather to worsen and we got a dusting of snow this morning. Our first snow of the season.  I thought I would continue to answer your questions. 

AnonymousDecember 2, 2013 at 11:06 PMI've learned so much from you and I want to thank you for your recent post on canning turkey broth. Do you grow anything indoors during the winter? I just started a flat of microgreens. I would also like to see your quilting. :)

I finish up with my fall garden usually about the middle to the end of October. After that the gardens are disked for winter unless they are no till and then I rest. I have freezers of food and pantries of food that we consume. I include canned greens and frozen salads such as freezer slaw which satisfies our need for greens most years. During the winter months from November to the end of March we consume preserved foods and I buy the occasional head of lettuce from the supermarket and I buy citrus in season because I cannot produce my own in this climate. Our fruit consumption consists of frozen blackberry, strawberry and rhubarb dishes. Canned peaches and canned applesauce round this out. 

I do not use row covers and such to extend the season because to be honest by October I am tired and ready for the season to end. I own a small greenhouse but took it down several years ago because it was being shaded by a tree that had grown to shade it over the decade it had been there. It was dismantled with the intentions to move it to a sunnier location. As of yet we have not done that. 

In January I will start my onions indoors to allow them 3 months growth before they are set outside. We like to set them out with the potatoes and peas around St. Patrick's Day.   

My other seeds are then started around March first such as cabbage and broccoli. By April I am usually picking asparagus and lettuce. Other than seedlings I rest during the winter and enjoy the fruits of my labor. Hope that answers your question. 

Leslie FergusonDecember 3, 2013 at 12:22 PM

A question for you on putting your gardens to bed until next season. Do you ever burn leaves or debris as a way to "help" your garden soil? For the past couple of years we've layered our garden spot with leaves in the fall and then turned them under in the spring. A friend suggested burning the pile to "help" the soil. I would love to have your opinion on it!
By the way...I'm working on my first quilt top and loving every minute of it!

To answer the first part of your question as my crops come out I plant green manure or cover crops. I have lots of field pea seeds and they grow ell. I plant them after a crop and let them grow until they bloom and then mow them down and disc them into my soil to rot over the winter. 

I also add lots of compost and natural straws and manures. 

As I pick an area sometimes I also will throw some straw or even plants down and allow them to rot into the soil until winter smothering out weeds and improving the soil. Any large stuff that does not rot I use a pitch fork and pick up and move to the compost and disk for the winter. 

On my no till gardens I simply mulch. As you can see in the picture above with both straw and leaves. The green grass in the picture is wheat that has sprouted from the straw which we pull and feed the chickens. 

As to your question on burning leaves lime and ashes both raise pH, reducing acidity. I think people get confused because lime the fruit is very acidic, while lime the crushed stone is just the opposite. It used to confuse me, anyway.

Lime (calcium carbonate) also adds calcium, which could be beneficial to calcium rich plants like tomatoes and broccoli. Ashes add potassium and phosphorus, two other important nutrients. (Most commercial fertilizers are a mixture of nitrogen, potassium, and

phosphorus.) So ideally, you'd want to apply both, or get a soil test and see which one would be more beneficial for your soil.

Soil generally becomes more acidic over time, especially when nitrogen fertilizers, including manure and green mulch, are used. So you're much more likely to need to raise the pH of your soil than lower it. I occasionally add lime to my soil in the spring. 

If you plan to grow acid-loving plants like potatoes, you may want to leave a section of the garden un-limed or -ashed, so those plants can have the acid soil they prefer.

My parents always threw their fireplace wood ashes in the gardens occasionally for that purpose. Wood ashes are also useful when placed in the chicken pens as the hens will dust in them keeping down mites. 

 By the way Leslie that quilting stuff is addictive! 

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Your Questions

Sometimes the hardest part about blogging everyday is thinking up things to blog about. So yesterday i opened up the floor to questions. Oh my goodness I love all the questions and  I'm gonna tackle this one first!  

Denny144December 2, 2013 at 6:31 PMDo you cut a fresh tree from your property? My in- laws, who live in Missouri, would go to a friend's farm and cut the rattiest looking cedar tree and that's what my husband grew up with. My family always bought a fir/spruce. One of our biggest newlywed fights was over what kind of tree to have and I won mainly because the lots where we lived didn't have cedars.

Oh my gracious Denny you bring back such memories for me that I could just cry. Maybe I will go cut me a ratty cedar Christmas tree. 

You see this is the house I grew up in not long after my parents bought it sometime around the early 50's. Daddy had gotten out of the merchant marines after the war and he and mama had traveled the country in a travel trailer. Daddy was working the pipelines and such as an iron worker and they were saving money for a home. Initially they bought this old cypress Acadian style home and 30 acres. They sold the travel trailer and settled down and started accumulating kids. 

And a mule!

Daddy worked during the day, mama stayed home and gardened and canned. Milked the cows, took care of the stock and the house and daddy worked nights and weekends on the farm. We lived off that garden and what the land provided. Fruit from the trees, fish from the swamp and game from the woods. Cedar trees grew plentiful and who was going to throw away good money buying a dead tree? Like everything else it had to come from the farm.  So my father bundles up his children and we all helped to pick out that ratty cedar. And to a child the cedar was 20 feet tall and plated in gold and my Dad was the greatest man of all time. 

To this day I can close my eyes and see the interior of that old cypress tongue and groove ceiling. The smell of fat pine lighter over by the fireplace and smell the twang of cedar from the Christmas tree. It may have been lopsided but to us it was the most beautiful tree God ever made. It always set in the window there right by Mom's treasured shiny white World Book encyclopedias because her kids weren't gonna grow up to be no dummies! Seems like everything we owned back in those days came from the Sears and Roebuck catalog if it didn't come off that land. 

Time went by and Mom and Dad bought more land, and finally built a shiny new red brick ranch home complete with turquoise tile bathrooms and asbestos floor tile. And that ratty old cedar Christmas tree was still beautiful

It was an exciting time of colored television and talking dolls. Mama dressed me up to match them and my hair was permanently kinked now with those new fangled home perms every year just for Christmas.  New dolls called Barbie and Ken, and Chatty Kathy dolls that talked.  Electric trains that you dropped little white pills in and they puffed smoke. I still have many of my Christmas presents from then. Sapphire birthstone rings and music boxes, and probably my most treasured posession is my white leather King James Version with my name engraved on the front in gold. A present from my parents that has lasted a lifetime.

Then Mama decided we needed to get modern and the old ratty cedar was no more. It was the 60's after all and we had to have a shiny new silver tinsel tree complete with color wheel. And while to a child still beautiful it just never had the appeal of that old ratty cedar dripping with mismatched glass balls and peppermint canes.  

Years ago when I lived in the city as a young woman we bought a tree every year, like you, usually a fir or spruce. Then my oldest daughter developed horrible allergies to them and I had to go to an artificial tree because of that. So I invested in a huge and expensive artificial tree. The oldest daughter has since married and left home. Now that she has little ones of her own I have given her the big tree for her family and now have a small artificial tree. I have started passing some of the family ornaments that belonged to the children on to them for their own trees. 

And that little farm girl in all these pictures grew up and moved to the city.

And like that tinsel tree with the color wheel I sparkled for awhile.

And then I realized that like that old ratty cedar I belonged back on the farm. That deep down the season is in the message and not the trappings. 

 And perhaps it is the most simple that shines the brightest and the purest of heart that receives it. 

Ya know what though. 

Maybe I will see if I can find me a ratty cedar for old times sake and load it down with crocheted ornaments, popcorn strings, candy canes and mismatched balls. 

Your turn! 

I want to know about your childhood Christmas memories too!

What kind of tree did you have and how was it decorated? 

PS Keep those questions coming!

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

A Foggy Morn

Hope everyone had a safe and happy Thanksgiving! 

The landscape is looking pretty dreary off the front porch this morning. The leaves are now just a memory and we move into the dark season of winter. Many mornings the fog is thick and this morning was no exception.  You can see the mist rising off Toe Creek at the bottom of the holler. 

And in an hour or two it just got worse. O Wise One was out hunting in this and came in early. He says this is the kind of weather a person can get shot in no matter how much orange you wear. 

Things have been pretty quiet on the homestead. We enjoyed a quiet Thanksgiving and Friday we watched the two grandbabies while our oldest daughter got her Christmas shopping done. The grands were nice enough to leave behind their colds with us and we are fighting those now. Saturday was O Wise One's birthday.

O Wise One is preparing to pull up his traps for the year. He is having a horrible time with the cold. Remember when he burned his hands last year. Seems as if there was some nerve damage and now they are extremely painful when they get cold. It is so bad that he is talking giving up trapping for good after doing it for almost 55 years. 

We are working on housecleaning in preparation for putting up the Christmas tree this week and preparing all the animal pens for the first snow they are predicting by the end of the week. I did manage to make it over to visit my Amish neighbors and do some shopping at the store to stock up. And I continue to watch for those baking supplies as they go on sale for the holidays. We have walnuts to crack and pick out for the freezer and a few of the last spring turkeys to butcher. We are going to grind them and freeze the meat. O Wise One is also finishing up his deer hunting for the year but is trying for one more doe before season closes. 

The seed catalogs have begun trickling in and I have already started quilting so winter has officially begun for me. 

There hasn't been a whole lot to blog about so how about I open up the floor for questions. Surely there must be something you want to ask!

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter 

Holler Update

The beautiful colored leaves of autumn are gone now and the woods are now bleak with their bare trees. Heavy frosts blanket the holler pretty well every morning now as we slide deeper into the clutches of winter. As in the summer during gardening season I continue to rise early to see the sun rise by nothing else but habit probably. Sunday's sunrise above was a gorgeous one as it set the morning sky on fire with it's red, yellows and oranges.  

Many have emailed and left messages concerned by my silence and all I can say is bless your hearts! Not long after I published the post with the recipe from my ex mother in law the other day for the muffins than she passed away. Grandmother to 4 of my 5 children she was truly a remarkable woman in her eighties, surviving two bouts with cancer and inspiring generations with her devotion to her God, family and her husband of 60 years. My oldest daughter "Fred" took her grandmothers death extremely hard. I babysat her young children while she prepared for a drive across country with the two boys to go and pay her respects to her grandmother one final time. 

Once back from the funeral we then picked up my oldest son from the airport who stayed 5 days and visited, hunted a little and enjoyed his time on the farm. He managed to get back on the plane with an ice chest full of venison and duck meat frozen and will enjoy the fruits of his visit for many months to come. While he was here we celebrated our Thanksgiving early with a huge family dinner. So there was lots of baking and cooking going on too. 

We enjoyed ham, au gratin potatoes, green bean casserole, homemade rolls and chocolate pecan, chocolate cream, lemon cream, pumpkin and apple pies. 

Last week was also a very difficult week for me because I celebrated a milestone. Last week was 5 years ago that I was in remission for my cancer. I so remember the doctor sitting there telling me that after 5 years they considered me cured. I can't help but remember all the wonderful people that I met along the way in the hospitals and doctors offices that did not win their own battles. Those that did not last that 5 years. I guess I have a touch of survivors guilt but I will not dwell on it too long. I will simply be thankful and move on. 

Deer season is also open and we are processing venison right now. 

In going through my storage onions I found some with soft spots and had to go through the entire lot and pick out any with bad spots. I simply chopped them up and threw them in the dehydrator. We continue to eat storage apples in pies and muffins and last night had baked sweet potatoes from not this year but the year before. Simply wrapped in newspapers and stored in a cardboard box on the floor of my cool pantry under the shelves in the dark they have lasted an entire year. With a crop failure this year I am thankful that I kept that many in storage and canned as many as I did. 

Trapping season is also open right now and O Wise One is running his trap lines as usual. A few years ago he was the only one around that trapped. This year when he went to purchase his licence the lady told him she had sold more trapping licences this year than she ever had.  I guess in a bad economy people are making money where they can. It remains to be seen how that will affect the prices of the pelts.  

So you see life has been very busy here and I am exhausted. Now that we have had our big family meal we look forward to a quiet Thanksgiving Day with just Baby O, O Wise One and I.  

What's going on in your neck of the woods?

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

   

Canning Meat ( Chicken, Rabbit And Turtle )

Life the last week or so has been very busy trying to get our small animal butchering done before the heavy winter weather sets in. Thus far we have butchered 18 chickens, 3 remaining rabbits and 4 snapping turtles. We have 10 bourbon red turkeys yet to butcher and deer season opens up this weekend.  My oldest son is also flying in this weekend and we will be celebrating an early Thanksgiving family style dinner while he is here. So life is indeed busy on the homestead. I did want to finish my information on turtle though as it is a meat that you rarely see canned. 

In the picture above you will see starting from the left the first three jars are canned chicken in broth, the next two jars are canned rabbit in broth and the last jar in the picture is canned turtle in broth. Notice the difference in the colors of the meat and broths. All are canned in their own broth, off the bone and processed for the same amount of time. These meats and broths will become healthy and nourishing, soups and stews for my family throughout the winter.     

To continue with yesterdays instructions on turtle I left off with our meat soaking overnight in salt water. The next day the meat is taken and washed under cold water and trimmed of any fat or membrane.   

Once your turtle meat is cleaned it goes into a large pot and covered with cool clean water. To that water add 2 tablespoons of baking soda and allow to cook on medium heat. After about a half hour you will see a foam start to gather on the top of your pot. Continue cooking for about another half hour. Once a thick foam has formed turn your pot off and pour your meat into a colander to completely drain and rinse both your meat and pot well.  Return the meat to the pot and cover with water again and now you are ready to cook your meat. Cook your turtle until it is cooked tender and can be deboned easily.  

If you do not want to can your meat it can be frozen. I like to put my turtle in a freezer proof container and cover with water and freeze. I recycle cardboard half gallon milk cartons for this. Simply freeze standing then close, tape and label, these also work great for fish. It can also be vacuum bagged.  My husband is particularly fond of turtle necks. This is the white meat on a turtle. These are a treat about once a year. He coats them in milk and egg and then flour and fries them. Then puts them in a crock pot on a rack or on top of several inverted jar rings and cooks on low for several hours until tender.  O Wise One says "it will make you take back stuff you never stole".

If you are like me and both freezers are busting at the seams then cook your meat and can it.  

Once the meat is cooked drain the meat reserving the broth. Strain the broth through a colander or cheesecloth to remove any small bones. Remove meat from bones carefully watching for any small bones. Just like deboning cooked chicken.  Notice in the picture above that it is not a white meat like chicken at all but a darker richer meat with a consistency closer to veal in my opinion.  

I then take my turtle meat and place it in a small pot and cover it with some broth and place it on the back of my stove on real low to keep it warm. 

I then return my strained broth to the stove, cover and heat it up to boiling. While your broth is warming put your lids on to warm and heat your jars and pressure cooker.  

Once everything is hot I fill my quart jars about 2/3 full of meat and pour broth over meat and fill jar leaving one inch head space. I add 1/2 teaspoon canning salt to each jar (optional) and remove air bubbles and clean rim of jar with clean rag. Place hot lid and ring on hot jar and finger tighten only. Any leftover broth I add to hot quart jars and process in the same pressure canner with my meat. 

I pressure can at 10 pounds pressure for 90 minutes.

Remove from pressure canner and allow to cool and seal. 

This is how I can my chicken, turkey and rabbit meat also. The broth can be drained off and the meat used just as you would use frozen cooked meat or a can of chicken you would purchase at the supermarket for casseroles, noodles or pot pies. These bone broths are extremely healthy for you. 

Not bad for a weeks work  with 4 quarts turtle meat in broth, 2 quarts turtle broth, 4 quarts rabbit meat in broth, 9 quarts chicken in broth and 4 quarts chicken broth. 

Down to just the turkeys left to butcher and just in time for Thanksgiving. 

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter