Garlic Day part 1

Today is garlic planting prep day and, I must confess, I'm terrified. I have no idea what I'm doing. I hope this works out. I've never planted garlic before and after my potato failure and the murder of my onions  I just don't know if I'm a root vegetable type of gal (assistant to our main man that helps with our yard put a weed whacker in my FENCED onion bed and killed them all). Today I'm going to finish weeding, hand till with my trusty garden hoe, mix in chicken manure, used coffee grounds and our chickens' egg shells, water it all in, mix it again and make some raised rows. I'll place the garlic bulbs in the ground on Saturday. 

We are trying two types of garlic, Samarkand and Kettle River Giant; both are organic Heirloom varieties from Seed Savers Exchange. I did some math, and if all goes well, we'll end up with 15-22 pounds of garlic at harvest! 2-3 pounds will be saved for replanting and the rest will be eaten fresh or preserved. I can't wait.

Have you planted garlic? Or any root type of vegetable? What are your secrets to success?

CSA  Dreams/Crowd-sourcing-->Here

See ya in space, my friend...

Can you believe it's already October 11th? I can't. Where is time going? Old age makes time space go much faster; I am not a fan. 

This past week and a half has been a rough one. We had to go to Ohio to celebrate the life of my stepbrother, Greg. He unexpectedly passed due to complications in his journey for better health (chemo to kill what little immune system he had left to receive a bone marrow cell transplant which was supposed to ultimately make him better/stronger than he was.)

 It's been said that tragedy brings people together. Unfortunately, that is the case here. I had no idea how many wonderful, amazing cousins I had on my stepdad's side of the family and I'm honored and incredibly proud knowing that they stood by his side during all of this until I could join them. Greg was all about family, friends and love. He had a veil over his eyes and mind that I used to think of as an adolescent way of thinking and living. But, now I wish I could have that veil. That complete, seriously true happiness that he carried everywhere with him, he never saw the negative, he never felt bad feelings, and trust me they were there and we had to combat that hate with love this past week. Greg literally smiled and happily bounced his way through life, like he couldn't see the existence of something that wasn't positive. He always wanted everyone to be together and sadly it took him leaving us to finally do just that. And ya know what, when we did, we found that we were and are a force to be reckoned with. I'm sorry it took us so long Greg, but you were right. We all love each other and we couldn't have done it without you. We'll do our best to honor you until we're able to see you again, when we can all happily bounce around the stars together.

October Goals and a Cute Chicken Update!

It's a new season and with new seasons come new beginnings! I haven't joined a blog link-up in a while, but times are a changin'.

My goals for this month are quite simple..

  ☾ Take summer plants out of garden and prepare for garlic and onion planting.

☆ Post at least 1 blog post a week. (I really really need to get back into blogging.)

☾ Apply for two new farmers markets/craft shows.
☆ Buckle down and market SK daily online, again.
☾ Start marketing farm more - sell more seeds/focus on WitLift.

☆ Take a further leap of faith and actually start letting people know about my future CSA GoFundMe.. I don't know why I'm so nervous about it, maybe the fact I hate asking for money, but it's to ultimately serve my community and I need some help getting there, still though. ahhhh

☾ Get everything set up with the city for our new house--most important one.

Monthly Goals Link-Up

☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆

Okay, are you ready to see something super cute?

How adorable is she? This fabulous babe is a Polish Barred Rock chick and her name is Nefertari. Don't you just love her hair? (They're actually feathers.)

Her Universe $50 Gift Card Giveaway -hosted by Angie at MySoCalledChaos-

Wow, October already? This year is flying by at warp speed, but at least I have an awesome crew to accompany me on this fast-paced journey! An awesome crew of fangirls who have teamed up with My So-Called Chaos to bring you a fun and nerdy group giveaway for the month of September-a $50 gift card to Her Universe! Her Universe is a website filled with geek clothing, jewelry, and what they call "everyday cosplay." Angie chose them (this is not sponsored by them at all-just Angie and her fab sponsors-like me!) for our Group Giveaway this month mostly because she just got back from Salt Lake Comic Con and she's still geeking out, but also because they have a lot of gorgeous nerdy plus-sized items too. We love a company that supports all sizes with cute clothing. It's not just for us fangirls, they also have nerd clothing for kids and men too! Since we're going geek this month, Angie asked us sponsors what we geek out about-here's what we had to say: "We're Harry Potter fans. We love having marathons with our cousins on Saturday nights while under the blankets drinking homemade butter beer #sorrynotsorry" - Emilie & Laura from Burke Does. "I am one of those people who can get lost in a book and be crying over fictional characters with no shame at all. Give me Jane Austen, Harry Potter, or even Charles Dickens, and I'm there!" - Christine from Christine Everyday. "Right now, I'd say the biggest thing I nerd out about would be my ever-growing Funko collection. It all started out so innocently - a few on the rare side My Little Pony Funko collectibles found their way onto my shelves thanks to some awesome friends. Next thing I knew, I was collecting more and more Funko products - specifically Funko Pop figurines from every corner of the nerdiverse. I think that's what makes me nerd out so hardcore for them - they cover ALL the fandoms! Must. Collect. Them. All." - Kimi from Kimi Who. "I nerd out about something that may seem a little odd.. I love seeds! I go on too many heirloom vegetable, fruit and herb seed shopping sprees; always looking for something more rare than the last gem I found. When my seeds start to grow, I talk to them and tell them how lovely they are, I do.. And, that's my weird nerd out!" - Bethany from Stella Kenton Body Shop. "I nerd out about books! I am obsessed with finding new things to read and spend way too much time stalking Goodreads and the library. I also tend to brag to anyone who will listen when I'm #1 on a book request list at the library!" - Brittany from Your Friend Brittany. Want to participate in next month's awesome community feature and giveaway like this one? Well you can-just sign up for an ad spot on the My So-Called Chaos sponsor page-and don't forget to take 23% off your ad for Fall by using the code MABON at checkout. You'll love working with Angie! One lucky winner will win a $50 Gift Card to Her Universe where they can pick out their very own geek wear or everyday cosplay. Giveaway is open worldwide, ends at 12AM on October 13th, and entering below agrees to all the terms and conditions within the rafflecopter widget. Giveaway entries will be verified, no false or giveaway only accounts.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Planning for a Fall Heirloom Garden

It's time to start planning for the fall garden! I've got a large variety of organic heirloom seeds to pick through and I'm wondering what are your favorite fall and winter vegetables? What do you like to eat when there's a chill in the air? I'm longing for something new and different that can grow in 40-70*F temperatures. So far I have Alaska Shelling Peas, Late Flat Dutch Cabbage (these things are monsters, 10-15 lbs each!),  Leeks, Cream of the Crop Winter Squash, Waltham 29 Broccoli, Preococe D'Argenteuil Asparagus, Red Onions, Yellow Onions, Pie Pumpkins (already planted) and various Greens. 

I live in Zone 8a and have fairly mild winters so I'm able to easily overwinter a lot of different hardy plants. However, for those that can't, I set up a little guide of starting/transplanting dates for the most popular fall crops.

:Plant Name:                      :Start Seeds:                              :Transplant:                      :Spacing:    

Broccoli                     8-12 weeks before 1st frost          4-6 weeks before 1st frost         8-10 in apart

Cabbage                    8-12 weeks before 1st frost          4-6 weeks before 1st frost         20-24 in apart

Carrots                      Direct Sow 8-10 weeks before 1st frost                                        3-4 in apart

Winter Squash           Direct Sow mid July - early August                                              2-3 feet apart

Peas                         Direct Sow 8-10 weeks before 1st frost                                         2-3 in apart  

You can find your specific frost dates here.




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Help me in my journey to having my own Organic CSA

On to the Next Step!

Well, I did it. I actually did it. I made the leap from dream to hopeful reality. 

I set up a GoFundMe to help me expand the garden and future areas for the chickens and other livestock across the street where we're building our house.

I moved here with the intention of having a garden large enough to be able to donate and sell our organic heirloom produce for cheaper than most. I want to make natural healthy living within reach and affordable for everyone around me. It's time to start. There's no time like the present and the present moves quickly.

My GoFundMe for my Organic Farm Startup 

I feel like I've done something crazy. A GoFundMe? Really? Me? Yup. I did that, I am doing it. Maybe crazy isn't what I'm feeling, maybe it's excitement. Excitement for finally going for it. I'm taking a leap of faith here and it's not just the GoFundMe; I'm finally taking the steps to move on to the next phase of my life. I'm expanding my animals, my stock pile of garden equipment and seeds, I've got a folder full of plans and drawings for my new area across the street. There will be more chickens and hopefully some pigs, a 3000 sqft garden area and my own cute little farmstand. 

I'm excited. That's all I can say.

Just a small farm update

I know I said "I'm back!!" but, while it is true, it is also becoming apparent to me and others that I'm not spending much time online anymore.

I think it's been the lifestyle change. I'm no longer living in the fast paced Cleveland; I'm on a farm in the middle of Georgia! I have satellite internet with data limits (who knew that was a thing?!) and at first it was hard to only use 15 gigs a month, but now I'm lucky if I even use 10. I can still google, pin and do all that stuff freely but no videos, no Netflix and so help me if I accidentally miss a video ad playing and don't pause it (bye bye 1gb of data!) The data isn't what's keeping me away, though. It's outside. It's the heat, the sun, the garden, the chickens, everything.. I like it this way. 

We've been pretty busy on the farm. I've got chickens laying delicious 100% pastured organic eggs every day and an organic heirloom garden that is beginning to thrive. I'm hoping that I'll have a cute little farm-stand set up in 2-3 weeks, depending on my harvest dates.

My goal is to be here two times a week with updates on our new organic life. I'll be seein y'all soon!